Texas News: July 1-15, 1996

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Texas News Archives (searchable)

• 7/15 - Both Parties Giddy Over 1.6 Million New Voters: Rapid growth, highlighted by suburban expansion, could result in as many as 1.6 million more Texas voters registered in November than during the last presidential election in 1992.
  
  ...That's a 19 percent increase in registered voters, compared to just an 8 percent increase in the population over the past four years.
  ...What does it mean?
  ...Some GOP leaders, giddy about growth in the suburbs, say the new voters are more voices for the "Republicanization" of Texas. Democrats, happy about Hispanic growth, say the Republicans are dreaming.
  ...Despite the suburban numbers, Secretary of State Tony Garza, a Republican, says he is not ready to claim all of the growth for his party.
  ..."There is growth everywhere, but I think the real growth you are seeing has less to do with demographics and just more to do with mindset, and that is independents, people who are just sort of all over the ballot now," Garza told the Austin American-Statesman.
  ..."I think that has been where the real change has come about," he said.
  ...The state had 8.4 million registered voters when then-President Bush carried Texas in his unsuccessful 1992 re-election effort. By this year's March primaries, voter registration was up to 9.7 million. Garza is confident the total will top 10 million by the Nov. 5 general election.
• 7/15 - Wellfire Kills Two Near Austin: Blowout specialists began efforts Sunday to snuff an angry mushroom of fire blasting from a natural gas well explosion that killed two men and reduced a towering steel rig to twisted rubble.
  
  ...Because of heat said to be in excess of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, rescue workers were unable to recover the bodies of two men killed when a series of three explosions rocked the rig, owned by WCS Oil & Gas Inc. of Dallas, on Saturday night.
  ...Authorities and company officials said they wouldn't release the identities of the victims until all attempts had been made to recover their bodies. No other injuries were reported.
  ...Members of Joe Bowden's Wild Well Control Inc., of Spring, said efforts may take from two to 10 days to extinguish the 40-foot fireball, which raged so brightly Saturday night its glow could be seen from 20 miles away and illuminated the blackened sky like a rising sun.
  ...Firefighters and other rescue workers used ear plugs to dampen the sound of the fire, which rivaled that of a jet engine or freight train.
  ..."It'll probably take a week to get this fire out," said Pat Campbell, vice president of Joe Bowden's. "The gas doesn't pose much of a threat because everything is burning. You almost have complete combustion. Everything else is dissipating into the air. It's quite safe."
• 7/14 - Taxpayers Paying the Bill for Expenditure Abuses
• 7/13 - Here He Goes Again: Regardless of whether Ross Perot says he wants the race for top billing in the Reform Party to be open, his name alone will appear on more than half of the state ballots.
  ...Perot, who made it clear he will run for president on the Reform Party ticket if he is tapped by party members, said Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America," that he wanted the Reform Party's nomination race "wide open ... and I don't want to do anything that will tilt this thing in my favor."
  ...So far, he has been joined by former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm, who announced Tuesday that he was seeking the nomination.
  ..."That has all the trappings of a fixed pro-wrestling match. I think we know who is going to win and who is going to get pinned to the mat," said Earl Black, a political scientist at Rice University.
  ..."Maybe Mr. Perot is just looking for some way to create drama," he said. "You wonder if Governor Lamm thinks it is likely he's going to beat Perot in Perot's own party."
• 7/12 - Lotto Heirs Suffer Big Tax Bites
• 7/12 (early) - Routier Attorneys Want Change of Venue: Attorneys for a Rowlett woman who's accused of killing two of her children want the case moved from Dallas County.
  ....Darlie Routier is fighting capital murder charges alleging she fatally stabbed her sons Damon, 5, and Devon, 6, in the family room of their upscale home June 6.
  ....The change of venue motion was filed Wednesday and cites media attention in the case as the reason to move the proceedings.
• 7/12 (early) - TP&WD's Venture Languishing: The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's new nature tourism venture is languishing in customer disinterest and financial discomfort, according to a published report.
  ....The Austin American-Statesman reported Thursday that the agency's six-month-old Texas Passport Adventures program will lose at least $100,000 by Aug. 21. The newspaper said staff members acknowledge that the program missed its target audience.
  ....New marketing plans are being developed, including refocusing efforts on international travel business.
  ....The newspaper said that only 65 individuals had booked or taken trips through July 2, according to department records.
• 7/12 (early) - ATF to Investigate Fire: The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms will assist with the investigation of an early Thursday morning fire that burned the sanctuary of a white church in this Dallas suburb.
  ....The Audubon Park Baptist Church, which has a membership of about 300 people, also is used by a group of black missionaries, according to Garland Fire Department spokesman Steve Strempke.
  ....The blaze caused about $100,000 in damage and apparently began in the sanctuary. Arson has not been ruled out.
• 7/12 (early) - Judge Rules for Dallas Cops: A federal judge has ruled in favor of Dallas police officers who were sued by two anti-abortion demonstrators accusing them of using excessive force during their February 1993 arrests.
  ....U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis granted summary judgment Monday in favor of the defendants, who included the city of Dallas, the Police Department and six officers.
• 7/11 - Texans Seek to Reallocate Highway Trust Fund Dollars
• 7/11 - Summer Program Gives Students a Chance to Try Medical Careers
• 7/11 (early) - Counties Named Disaster Areas: The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture has named 22 Texas counties as natural disaster areas due to drought.
  ....The announcement came Wednesday after requests from Gov. George W. Bush that the counties be made eligible for assistance.
  ....Because counties adjacent to those that have been declared disaster areas also qualify for help, farmers in 119 Texas counties can now apply for Farm Service Agency emergency loans, according to the Division of Emergency Management in the Texas Department of Public Safety.
  ....The FSA takes into account the extent of losses, security available, repayment ability and other eligibility conditions. The deadlines for the loan applications vary from county to county.
• 7/11 (early) - Church Member Set Fire: A fire that burned a black church in East Texas was set by a church member, who is also a volunteer fireman, say authorities.
  
  ....Kendrick Demond Biggs, 21, was arrested Tuesday in Tyler by Harrison County Fire Marshal Dennis Engdahl and charged with arson of the Longridge CME Church. He was released Wednesday on a personal recognizance bond of $25,000.
  ....More than 40 black churches that have been damaged or destroyed by fire across the South in the last 18 months. Because of national concern over the burning of rural black churches, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms as well as the state fire marshal had been involved in the Longridge Church investigation.
• 7/11 (early) - Drug Summit is 'First Step': A drug summit convened Wednesday in El Paso is only a first step in plans to develop strategies to fight smugglers, and even when the last is taken the battle won't necessarily be won, U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey told hundreds of law enforcement officials.
  
  ....The El Paso summit bringing together top-ranking Clinton administration officials and front-line officers from the U.S.-Mexico border will be followed later this month by other meetings with the same goal: devising a plan for fighting drugs in the future.
  ....But authorities understand that their plans will have to evolve, even as traffickers change their own tactics, said McCaffrey, head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which shapes the nation's anti-drug strategy.
  ...."These (meetings) are snapshots in time," McCaffrey said as he opened the summit. "None of us expect them to deliver a final blueprint."
• 7/10 - Republic of Texas Leaders Want Peace But Will Fight for Independence
• 7/10 - Governor Travels Around State Promoting Nature Tourism
• 7/10 (early) - Ag Fee Increases Delayed Due to Drought: The scheduled increase of three agricultural licensing and inspection fees will be delayed because of the drought, Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry announced Tuesday.
  
  ....Fees on grain warehouse inspection and licensing; produce dealer licensing and seed certification label and inspection were scheduled to go up Sept. 1.
  ...."Due to the severe drought conditions we are experiencing and the projected $2.4 billion loss in agricultural income, I have determined that it is not feasible to implement these fee increases at this time," Perry said.
• 7/10 (early) - Abatements Hurting School Districts: School property tax abatements granted to businesses are hurting both poor and wealthy school districts, according to a report released by the Senate Economic Development Committee Tuesday.
  
  ....The committee adopted a recommendation that will encourage the 1997 Legislature to find alternatives to the school tax abatements as a way to attract businesses in Texas.
  ....Sen. David Sibley, R-Waco, chairman of the committee, vowed that if another lawmaker didn't draft a bill to address the matter, he would.
  ....According to the report, the state's new school finance plan no longer makes it economically sound for school districts to enter into property tax abatements.
  ....Prior to 1993, school districts could exempt property that was subject to a tax abatement from their lists of taxable properties and the state would make up the local revenue loss with additional aid.
• 7/9 - Lindale School District Bans 32 Books, Including Classics
• 7/9 - Juveniles Detained in Stamford Murder: Two juveniles accused in the murder of a 40-year-old Stamford man were ordered detained for 10 more days following a hearing in Jones County Court Monday.
  
  ....County Judge Brad Rowland said he ruled to detain the two for an additional 10 days after making a similar ruling last week for a third juvenile. A fourth has been released to his parents.
  ....Three adults also are in custody in connection with the murder of John Thomas Hicks on June 29.
  ....Stamford Police Chief Glenn Smith said two of the juveniles are age 14, one is 16 and the one released to his parents is 13. Two are being held in Taylor County Juvenile Justice Center in Abilene and one is in the RECOR juvenile facility in Sweetwater, Smith said.
• 7/9 - Sweetwater, Cement Plant Reach Understanding: Representatives of Nolan County and of Maryneal's cement plant reached an apparent understanding Monday regarding wastewater discharge.
  
  ....Representatives of Lone Star Industries, a cement manufacturing plant located near the geographical center of Nolan County, appeared before Nolan County Commissioners Monday to iron out misconceptions concerning the plant's permit application to the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission. The company seeks permission to discharge up to 720,000 gallons of wastewater per day, for up to 180 days, into Sweetwater Creek.
  ....Company chemists presented an analytical report showing the water to be discharged was of better quality than most people drink.
• 7/9 (early) - Arguments Against Medicaid Referrals Begin: Tarrant and Lubbock counties began court arguments Monday in their joint effort to block a state pilot program that changes the way Texas Medicaid patients are referred to doctors.
  
  ....The hospital districts in Tarrant and Lubbock counties are seeking a temporary injunction that would block the state from implementing a pilot project that the districts claim fails to comply with state law.
  ....If the programs are put into place, county hospitals would be burdened with additional expenses, suffer dropoffs in primary care education and likely have to rely on tax increases to maintain services, according to arguments made by attorneys for the county hospital districts.
  ....Attorneys for the state say Texas welfare officials are still trying to negotiate the details of the pilot program with the federal government and that the hospital districts have sued because they want to help dictate the final outcome.
• 7/9 (early) - San Antonio to Be Part of Gun Tracing Program: Seeking to disrupt the pipeline of weapons sold to juveniles, San Antonio and 16 other cities are teaming with federal law enforcement officials to trace guns used by teen-agers to commit crimes.
  
  ....The pilot program was announced Monday by President Clinton.
  ...."We need a national campaign to cut off the flow of guns to teens who commit crimes," the president said at a White House news conference attended by prosecutors and law enforcement officials from the 17 cities.
  ....Under the pilot program, information on confiscated weapons will be entered into the federal computer system run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and traced back to the original seller through documents and serial numbers.
• 7/8 - Texas Poll: Advertisements in Schools Not Popular
• 7/8 - Five Killed Near Sweeny: Five men were killed Sunday when a pickup heading the wrong direction on a one-way road plowed into a car coming the other way, authorities said.
  ....The Department of Public Safety said the fatal crash occurred just before 10 a.m. near the intersection of FM 522 and County Road 353, about three miles northeast of Sweeny.
  ....The driver of a 1993 Ford Ranger pickup apparently was going the wrong way on a feeder that connects the two roads when it struck a 1986 Pontiac coming the other way, said Carol Gregory of the DPS office in Pierce.
• 7/7 - Texas Poll: Violence Exists in State's Schools
• 7/7 - Miss Dallas Wins Title: Miss Dallas Michelle Martinez won the 1996 Miss Texas title at the scholarship pageant Saturday at the Fort Worth-Tarrant County Convention Center.
  ....Miss Martinez, a senior at the University of Texas at Arlington who performed "Ballade No. 4" by Chopin on the piano, won a $10,000 scholarship and a chance to represent the Lone Star State during the Miss America Pageant.
• 7/6 - Judge Denies Bond Reduction in Routier Murder Case
• 7/6 - North Texas Sweltering Amid Record Highs
• 7/6 - Texas Poll: Men Gamble; Women Bingo
• 7/6 - Fourteen die during Fourth of July holiday: Fourteen people died in traffic accidents on Texas roadways over the July 4 holiday, the Department of Public Safety reported Friday.
  ....The DPS had estimated that 15 people would die during the 30 hours from 6 p.m. July 3 to midnight July 4.
  ....Three of the 14 who died were pedestrians and one was a bicyclist. Of the ten who died in vehicles, at least six people were not properly restrained by seat and shoulder belts or child safety seats, the DPS said.
  ....The death toll is preliminary because it does not include possible late reports and reports on injured people who succumb later to their injuries, the DPS said.
• 7/5 - Texas Has No Shortage of Youthful Flyers
• 7/5 - Wynne's Death Ruled Accidental: An autopsy has shown that former Texas Water Commissioner and EPA regional administrator Buck Wynne accidentally drowned, a family friend who flew to Belize to oversee the procedure said Thursday.
  
  ....Wynne, 40, a Dallas lawyer, died June 26 while scuba-diving off the coast of Belize. It originally was believed Wynne suffered a heart attack.
  ...."The autopsy was done by a pathologist down there. It was adequate," said Dr. Bryan Williams, a retired dean of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. "It was very evident that Buck drowned."
  ....The cause of the accident is unknown, said his wife, Katherine Wynne.
• 7/4 - Gas Prices Up and Down in the State for the Fourth
• 7/4 - Morales Says State Should Solve Redistricting Problem
• 7/4 (early) - Inspectors to Check Pumps: State Agriculture Commissioner Rick Perry's inspectors are going undercover to ensure Texans get what they pay for at the pump.
  
  ....As people were preparing for Independence Day trips to lakes, parks and family get-togethers, Perry announced Wednesday his agency will begin using five unmarked cars in its inspections of gasoline pumps' accuracy.
  ...."As a Texan who uses his fair share of gasoline, when I pull up to the pump ... I want to know for a fact am I getting my money's worth," Perry said at an Austin gas station.
  ....The Texas Department of Agriculture has 110 general inspectors to check the accuracy of more than 170,000 gasoline pumps across the state. Each pump must be inspected at least every three years, but Perry said the average currently is about every two years.
• 7/4 (early) - One Fire May not Be Racially Motivated: Two fires at black churches in Greenville were deliberately set but investigators are still trying to determine whether one was racially motivated, a spokesman for Texas Attorney General Dan Morales says.
  
  ....Ron Dusek said the Attorney General's office made the determination about last month's fires following discussions with Greenville law enforcement, city officials and local ministers.
  ....Law enforcement officials at Greenville did not immediately confirm nor deny details of the investigation.
  ....Dusek said the fire at the Church of the Living God in Greenville was set by a crack user who was angry at someone from the church after that person did not give him money.
  ...."Some crack addict went to a church and asked for some money and the minster refused ... because the minister knew he was going to go out and buy more crack," Dusek said Tuesday. "Then this crack addict comes back and burns down the church."
• 7/4 (early) - Accused Mother Talked of Suicide: The mother accused of killing her 5- and 6-year-old sons was so depressed following the birth a third child that she considered killing herself within the last three months, a social worker testified today during a child custody hearing.
  
  ....State Child Protective Services worker Jamie Johnson said Rowlett homemaker Darlie Routier, 26, called her husband Darin at work and told him she was down and felt as if she "couldn't keep up" with raising three sons.
  ...."He said he'd be home later ... she said something like, 'Well, yeah, maybe you'll see me later,' " Ms. Johnson testified that Mrs. Routier told her during a June 21 jailhouse interview.
  ....When Darin Routier came home, he found his wife writing in her diary a suicide note entry, which she apparently didn't finish.
• 7/4 (early) - Austin Rapes Related: A string of 14 sexual assaults over three years in Austin are believed to be the work of the same man, investigators say.
  
  ....The rapist may have struck again Tuesday "just to remind (police) that he was still out there," said Sgt. Bruce Boardman of the Austin Police Department.
  ....Police, who are consulting with psychologists at the FBI Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico, Va., linked Tuesday's rape to 13 others since May 17, 1993, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
  ....They say they are looking for someone who carries a knife, calls the victims by their names and familiarizes himself with their routines.
  ....Officials say certain words and phrases he uses point to one attacker; the rapes have all occurred between 1 a.m. and daylight; and the rapist has always entered the house or apartment through an unlocked door or window.
• 7/3 - Morales Says Ruling Affects Financial Aid, Private Colleges: Attorney General Dan Morales says a U.S. Supreme Court order not only halts consideration of race in public university admissions but extends to student financial aid programs and to private colleges taking federal funds.
  
  "We will never overcome past discrimination by practicing discrimination today," Morales said Tuesday, one day after the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling striking down the University of Texas law school's 1992 admissions policy.
  In a ruling that's binding law for Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said the policy discriminated against whites.
  The appeals court also said a landmark 1978 Supreme Court ruling allowing the use of race as one factor in college admissions is no longer good law.
  But Al Kauffman of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund said Morales is interpreting the 5th Circuit decision too broadly.
• 7/3 (early) - Rain Hasn't Ended Drought: Scattered rain has greened some parts of the state, but has not ended the severe drought for Texas.
  
  ....George Bomar, chief meteorologist with the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission in Austin, said the rains in parts of West Texas have not reversed the drought.
  ...."None of us should be deluded into thinking that the recent rains portend an imminent ending of the drought," said Bomar.
  ....In Washington this week, President Clinton declared an emergency in parts of the Southwest because of the drought and ordered about $40 million in assistance for ranchers struggling to feed their livestock.
  ....At least 24 West Texas counties will qualify for aid.
• 7/3 (early) - DPS Estimates Death Count: As many as 15 people will die on Texas roadways during the short Fourth of July holiday, the Department of Public Service said today.
  
  ....The DPS begins its holiday fatality count at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The count will run through midnight Thursday.
  ...."The potential for loss of life could be lessened if drivers follow a few rules of the road: buckle up, don't speed and don't drink and drive," Lt. Col. Dudley Thomas said.
  ....Thomas said the counting period is short this year because many government and private offices, including banks, will be open Friday.
• 7/2 - New Miss Texas USA Named: Amanda Little, representing the Dallas-Fort Worth area, was crowned Miss Texas USA in her third try Monday for the crown.
  
  ....Ms. Little, 20, is a junior at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. The public relations major says she wants to fight illiteracy because reading opens the doors to the future for all children.
  ....Pageant organizers say Ms. Little will win more than $100,000 in prizes and represent the state in the Miss USA pageant in February 1997.
• 7/2 - Truck Stop Compliant: The White Elephant truck stop and restaurant in Cisco will continue to be allowed to sell fuel after a Monday inspection by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission.
  ...."We were found to be compliant," owner Sam Guthrie said of the TNRCC's Monday morning inspection. "There will be no shutdown."
  ....The business had failed an inspection about a week ago, and the TNRCC had threatened to force the company to cease selling fuel. However, new environmental equipment was installed last week and was approved Monday by the TNRCC, Guthrie said.
  ...."It is good news for me and everybody else working out here," Guthrie said, noting that this marks the completion of a successful first phase of achieving compliance.
  ...."Now we will move on to other environmental issues, including the disposal of an underground tank that has not been used for many years," he said.
• 7/2 - Sweetwater Fire Ruled Accidental: Sweetwater fire officials have ruled accidental the fire that heavily damaged the law firm of Steakley and Wetsel on the west side of the square Saturday afternoon.
  ....Four adjoining businesses sustained smoke and heat damage, investigators said. The fire was reported by shoppers who were walking by about 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
  ....Fire Chief Jerry Huffman said quick response from Roscoe and Blackwell volunteer firemen helped local efforts in bringing the fire rapidly under control.
• 7/2 (early) - Accused Mom's Relatives Want Bond Lowered: Relatives of a Rowlett woman accused of killing two of her sons asked Monday to have her bond lowered.
  ....Darlie Routier, who claimed a male intruder killed 5-year-old Damon and 6-year-old Devon early June 6 in the family's upscale suburban home, faces one count of killing a child under the age of 6. The other count accuses her of killing more than one person in the same incident.
  ....Mrs. Routier remained in the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in lieu of $1 million bond, where she has been since her June 18 arrest.
  ....Her bail reduction hearing is set to resume Friday.
• 7/1 - Texas Poll: 48% of Texans Struggling to Pay Bills
• 7/1 - San Antonio Mayor Well-Traveled His First year
• 7/1 - Alligator Prank Costly: Two fisherman thought placing a dead alligator in the local country club pool in Cameron would be nothing more than harmless fun.
  ....But the prank landed would-be reptile wranglers James Gregg Samford, 20, and Daniel Ward Phillips, 22, in the Milam County Jail for a few hours Friday after stomach juices from the 200-pound beast contaminated the pool's water.
  ....Milam County sheriff's deputy Greg Kouba said the two, joined by a third man, were looking for a place to fish in northeast Milam County when they spotted the gator, which measured more than 8 feet long.
  ....The three took it back to Rockdale, where "they showed it to friends and took pictures with it," Kouba said.
  ....All three were cited for possession of an alligator without a permit, which carries a $250 fine.
  ....Samford and Phillips, both of Rockdale, were detained on charges of criminal mischief for actually dumping the carcass into the Cameron Country Club swimming pool.