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SERVING UP EXPECTATIONSZAPATA VOLLEYBALL LOOKS LEGIT EARLY ON, 1B

Items of interest on the advanced agendafor the Zapata County Commissioners Courtdeal with growth in economic and techno-logical areas as well as changes in countypersonnel.

In business tabled from the July 11 meet-ing due to lack of pertinent information, thecourt will consider approval of a request byBorder to Border Communications, Inc. tobury fiberoptic cables under the intersectionof 20th Street and Highway 16 near ZapataHigh School. The cables, which will run un-der Miraflores, Alamo and Evergreen

streets, will bolster Zapata’s communica-tions abilities, according to Border to Bor-der general manager Steven Andrews.

“We’re trying to give Zapata a big pipe tothe outside world,” he said.

The cables will yield data usage capabili-

COMMISSIONERS

Tech upgradesNew fiberoptic cables to help town’s communications

By MIGUEL HERRERATHE ZAPATA TIMES

See COUNTY PAGE 10A

On top of the $4 billion slash topublic education funding duringthe next two school years, Texaslawmakers also cut more than $1billion in education-relatedgrants.

Among them was the $32 mil-lion distributed to Texas’ 27 Com-munities in Schools, a programthat aims to prevent studentsfrom dropping out.

Because of reduced funding tothe grant, Communities inSchools – Laredo will receive 30percent less money, or $240,000,from $742,000 to $502,000, said JoeGutierrez, executive director ofthe nonprofit.

Nonetheless, the organizationwill operate at the same capacitythanks to support from areaschool districts, he said.

The local program, establishedin 1991, works with about 2,700students throughout 17 publicschools in Laredo, Zapata, Heb-bronville and Carrizo Springs.One full-time counselor is at each

EDUCATION GRANTS

Golf tohelpraisefunds

Multi-county programto get tourney money

By NICK GEORGIOU THE ZAPATA TIMES

See SCHOOLS PAGE 10A

WASHINGTON — With scanttime to spare, President BarackObama signed legislation Tues-day to avoid an unprecedentednational default that he saidwould have devastated the U.S.economy. But the truce with Re-publicans that defused the crisisseemed to be fading already.

The compromise deal to per-suade GOP lawmakers to raisethe federal debt limit — U.S. bor-rowing was to collide with it atmidnight Tuesday — will cut

BUDGET

Debtdeal to

cutspending

By DAVID ESPOASSOCIATED PRESS

See BUDGET PAGE 10A

The Zapata Chamber of Com-merce will host the Back toSchool Kids Fishing Tournamenton Saturday, Aug. 20 from 8:30a.m. to 3 p.m.

Event coordinator Celia Balde-ras says events like this are im-

portant for the reputation of Fal-con Lake.

“We have a wonderful lake,”Balderas said. “Our kids andfamilies go fishing here.”

Though such events have beenheld in the past, Balderas saysthey’ve taken on new importancein light of negative publicitybrought upon the lake by reports

of Mexican drug gang “pirates.” “We try to promote tourism,”

she said. Falcon Lake, unusable for the

tournament due to constructionof a public boat ramp, serves asnot only the cause for the tourna-ment, but the inspiration foryouth art. Over 268 Zapata Ele-mentary School students entered

an art contest inspired by thelake and the love of fishing.

“They were so great,” Balde-ras said of the art. “The kids lettheir imaginations go wild.”

Among the winners wasfourth-grader Jorge Ramirez-Be-navides, who drew a detailed

RECREATION

Chamber to hold fishing tournamentBy MIGUEL HERRERA

THE ZAPATA TIMES

See FISHING PAGE 10A

LIBRARY OF CONGRESSSHARES ITS BOOKS

Cassandra Flores, 9, looks over some of the books that were donated to the Imaginarium of South Texas in Laredo on Friday morning by Rep. Henry Cuellar and hisstaff. Cuellar collected the books from the Library of Congress.

Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times

PAGE 2A Zin brief SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2011

SATURDAY, AUG. 6A book sale will be held in the

Widener Room of the First UnitedMethodist Church, 1220 McClellandAve., from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Donatedbooks and magazines are accepted.

The Diocese of Laredo will hold aMass of Thanksgiving today at 9 a.m.at the Laredo Energy Arena. The Massbegins at 10:30 a.m. The event willhave live music and entertainment be-ginning at 9:30 a.m. The mass is freeand open to the public. For more infor-mation, please call 727-2140.

TUESDAY, AUG. 9The local chapter of AARP meets

every second Tuesday of the month at2 p.m. at the Laredo Public Library,1120 E. Calton Road, 956-795-2400.The meeting is open to AARP mem-bers. Discussions are held regardinghealth, Social Security, Medicare andkeeping safe. For more information,call Jorge Castillo, local president, at956-722-5307.

The American Cancer Societymonthly Look Good … Feel Better ses-sion is scheduled for 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.today at the American Cancer Societyoffice, 9114 McPherson Road, Ste.2520. Cancer can rob a woman of herenergy, appetite and strength, but itdoesn’t have to take away her self-con-fidence. The program is a complimen-tary makeup session that teachesbeauty techniques to women in activechemotherapy treatment to help themcombat the appearance-related side-ef-fects of cancer. Ladies receive a freemakeup bag. For more information orto reserve a seat, call 956-723-7933.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 10New student registration for Unit-

ed Independent School District for2011-2012 is today and Monday from 8a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3:15p.m. for elementary school students,8:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to3:30 p.m. for middle school students,and 8:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.to 4 p.m. for high school students.

The American Cancer Society issponsoring classes for people with can-cer and their family and friends. The ICan Cope program gives participantsan opportunity to share their concernswith others and to design ways tocope with the challenges of a cancerdiagnosis. Guest speakers include can-cer management professionals. A phy-sician will be present at all meeting toanswer cancer questions. This month’stope is “Communicating Concerns andFeelings.” The class is at Doctors Hos-pital of Laredo, in the Women’s CenterConference Room, from 6 p.m. to 8p.m. The class is free and open to thepublic. To RSVP or for more informa-tion, call Diana Juarez at 956-723-9682.

THURSDAY, AUG. 11The South Texas Food Bank’s

Empty Bowls V fundraiser for the hun-gry will take place today at the LaredoEnergy Arena (LEA) from 5:30 p.m. to11 p.m. The event features five-timeGrammy, Oscar and Golden Globe win-ner Christopher Cross. A table of 10tickets starts at $1,000 per table, in-cluding dinner and access to a silentauction of artwork. Concert tickets canbe purchased at the LEA box officeand Ticketmaster for $25, $15 and$10. For information call the SouthTexas Food Bank at 568-3673, Mondaythrough Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

MONDAY, SEPT. 5This Labor Day weekend, the La-

redo Chamber of Commerce will behosting “one of South Texas best golftournaments” today from 7:30 a.m. to1 p.m. at the Laredo Country Club! Callthe Laredo Chamber of Commerce at722-9895 for information.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21The 18th Annual Logistics and

Manufacturing Association’s Symposi-um will be taking place today, tomor-row and Friday at Texas A&M Interna-tional University. The theme, entitled“Mexico’s Top Manufacturing and Con-suming Regions Utilizing Port Laredo,”will focus on the ability for transporta-tion and communications infrastruc-ture, port and border administration,market access, and the overall busi-ness environment to govern a port’sability to become a leader in facilitat-ing global supply chains. For more in-formation, contact Joseph Mendiola atinfo@ldfonline.org.

To submit an item for thecalendar, send the name of theevent, the date, time, locationand contact phone number toeditorial@lmtonline.com

CALENDARASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Saturday, Aug. 6,the 218th day of 2011. Thereare 147 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in His-tory:

On Aug. 6, 1961, Soviet cos-monaut Gherman Titov be-came the second man to orbitEarth as he flew aboard Vos-tok 2, call sign “Eagle” (henceTitov’s repeated exclamationover the radio, “I am Eagle!”).

On this date: In 1806, the Holy Roman

Empire went out of existenceas Emperor Francis II abdicat-ed.

In 1825, Upper Peru becamethe autonomous republic ofBolivia.

In 1890, convicted murdererWilliam Kemmler became thefirst person to be executed inthe electric chair as he wasput to death at Auburn StatePrison in New York.

In 1911, actress-comedianLucille Ball was born in Jam-estown, N.Y.

In 1926, Gertrude Ederle be-came the first woman to swimthe English Channel, arrivingin Kingsdown, England, fromFrance in 141/2 hours.

In 1945, during World WarII, the United States droppedan atomic bomb on Hiroshi-ma, Japan, resulting in an es-timated 140,000 deaths.

In 1965, President LyndonB. Johnson signed the VotingRights Act.

In 1978, Pope Paul VI diedat Castel Gandolfo at age 80.

In 1986, William J. Schroed-er (SHRAY’-dur) died after liv-ing 620 days with the Jarvik 7artificial heart.

In 1991, the World Wide Webmade its public debut as ameans of accessing webpagesover the Internet. TV news-man Harry Reasoner died inNorwalk, Conn., at age 68.

Ten years ago: Endingmonths of speculation, formerPresident Bill Clinton said hewould write his much sought-after memoirs for publisherAlfred A. Knopf. General Du-ong Van “Big” Minh, who wasthe president of South Viet-nam for just a few days beforethe country fell to Communistinvaders in 1975, died in Pasa-dena, Calif., at age 85. Brazi-lian author Jorge Amado diedat age 88.

Today’s Birthdays: Jazzmusician Charlie Haden is 74.Actor-director Peter Bonerz is73. Actress Louise Sorel is 71.AcActress Catherine Hicks is60. Rock singer Pat MacDo-nald (Timbuk 3) is 59. Countrymusician Mark DuFresne(Confederate Railroad) is 58.Actress Stepfanie Kramer is55. Actress Faith Prince is 54.Rhythm-and-blues singer Ran-dy DeBarge is 53. Actor Le-land Orser is 51. Country sing-ers Peggy and Patsy Lynn are47. Basketball Hall of FamerDavid Robinson is 46. ActorJeremy Ratchford is 46. Coun-try singer Lisa Stewart is 43.Movie writer-director M.Night Shyamalan (SHAH’-mah-lahn) is 41. Actress Mer-rin Dungey is 40. Singer GeriHalliwell is 39. Actor JasonO’Mara is 39. Singer-actor Da-vid Campbell is 38. Actress Ve-ra Farmiga is 38. Actress Ever(cq) Carradine is 37. ActressSoleil (soh-LAY’) Moon Frye is35. Actress Melissa George is35. Rock singer Travis McCoy(Gym Class Heroes) is 30. Rockmusician Eric Roberts (GymClass Heroes) is 27.

Thought for Today: “Themore things you do, the moreyou can do.” — Lucille Ball(1911-1989).

TODAY IN HISTORY

SAN ANGELO — A polygamist sect leaderconvicted of child sexual assault walked outof his sentencing hearing in protest Friday,after reading a statement he claimed wasfrom God. The statement promised a “whirl-wind of judgment” on the world if God’s“humble servant” wasn’t set free.

Warren Jeffs, 55, represented himself dur-ing a trial that ended with his conviction ontwo counts of sexual assault. The same jurymust now decide his punishment

But before the punishment phase beganand jurors had been brought back into courtFriday, Jeffs said, “I request the full removalof myself as an objection to all that has beenpresented.”

He asked to keep serving as his own attor-ney, but state District Judge Barbara Walther

said he couldn’t leave and continue to repre-sent himself at the same time. Instead, sheordered two lawyers who had been Jeffs’standby counsel to represent him.

“Mr. Jeffs, I know this is difficult for youto understand, but you do not have controlover these proceedings,” Walther said.

Jeffs is the ecclesiastical head of the Fun-damentalist Church of Jesus Christ of LatterDay Saints, which believes polygamy bringsexaltation in heaven.

Jeffs asked to be taken back to jail, butWalther said that would make it difficult forhis lawyers to communicate with him. In-stead, he was placed in a room near thecourt and will be allowed to return to thehearing whenever he chooses. The judgesaid Jeffs won’t be able to dismiss his attor-neys again and go back to defending him-self..

AROUND TEXAS

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott responds to a reporter’s question after making a statement regarding the two guiltyfindings against polygamist religious leader Warren Jeffs outside of the Tom Green County Courthouse on Thursday in SanAngelo.

Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP

Jeffs walks out of courtBy WILL WEISSERTASSOCIATED PRESS

AG: Ex-agent has historyof sexual misconduct

BASTROP — A former liquorcontrol agent accused of sexuallyassaulting a teenager recruitedfor an underage drinking stinghad a history of sexual miscon-duct with teens, and he washired to enforce Texas liquorlaws despite being fired from apolice department for drunken-ness, prosecutors allege in a newcourt filing.

Joe Chavez, 42, is scheduled togo on trial Monday in Bastrop ontwo counts of sexual assault of achild stemming from a 2009 inci-dent with a 16-year-old girl.

2 face fed charges overfake cash in Austin areaAUSTIN — Police in Central

Texas have arrested two men oncounterfeiting charges.

Austin police announced thearrests Friday. They say the menused fake cash to buy iPhonesand iPads from people who ad-vertised the items online.

Derailment in East Texas,heat could be factor

MINEOLA — Union Pacific of-ficials are trying to determinewhether heat was a factor in an18-car derailment in rural EastTexas.

UP spokeswoman Raquel Espi-noza says crews are working toclear the tracks, several mileseast of Mineola, but it wouldlikely be Saturday before the linereopens.

She says nobody was hurtThursday afternoon in the de-railment.

BancorpSouth sells 2Texas offices

TUPELO, Miss. — Regionalbanker BancorpSouth Inc. hasagreed to sell two of its Texasbranches.

Under the deal revealed Fri-day, BancorpSouth branches inMaud and Redwater, Texas, willgo to the First National Bank ofHughes Springs, Texas. A pricewas not disclosed.

Gonzales Ramos sworn inas federal judge

CORPUS CHRISTI— State Dis-trict Judge Nelva Gonzales Ra-mos of Corpus Christi has beensworn in as a federal judge.

Gonzales Ramos took the oathoffice Thursday afternoon.

The U.S. Senate late Tuesdayapproved her nomination. Presi-dent Barack Obama approvedthe confirmation Thursday.

San Antonio man chased,subdued with Taser, dies

SAN ANTONIO — San Anto-nio police say a man driving thewrong way on a busy highwayhas died after a struggle inwhich he was subdued with aTaser.

Three officers were hurtThursday trying to arrest 30-year-old Pierre Abernathy.

Abernathy was handcuffedand in a patrol car when hestopped breathing. An autopsyhas been ordered.

— Compiled from AP reports

Transgender inmates winappeal over treatmentsMADISON, Wis. — A federal

appeals court on Friday upheld aruling striking down a Wiscon-sin law banning publicly-fundedhormone therapy for transgen-der inmates, saying denying thetreatment amounted to torture.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court ofAppeals decision came in a casebrought by a group of male in-mates who identify as female.They argued they needed hor-mones to treat gender identitydisorder and not having themwould lead to health problems.

On Friday, a three-judge panelof the appeals court upheld theruling, saying the law violates aconstitutional ban on cruel andunusual punishment because itdenies medical treatment.

Peace Corps condemnsalleged abuse

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The

Peace Corps said Friday that aformer volunteer’s alleged sexualabuse of young girls in SouthAfrica is “reprehensible” and theagency supports the vigorousprosecution of the case.

Jesse Osmun, 31, of Milfordwas arrested Thursday in Con-

necticut on federal charges ofsexually abusing children at acenter in Greytown, which helpsAIDS victims. Authorities sayOsmun molested five childrenunder the age of 6, some multipletimes.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION

A 3-month-old red fox rests in a parking lot near Mount Rainier National Park,Wash., on July 11. Foxes are building dens next to roads and parking lots near Par-adise to get easy access to visitors’ food scraps, but it puts the animals at risk.

Photo by Dean J. Koepfler/The News Tribune | AP

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2011 Zlocal PAGE 3A

BOWLING FOR JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT

Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times

Douglas Gonzalez, right, of Zapata, district manager for HEB, is one of the team members who will participate in the HEB Super HeroBowl-A Thon to benefit Junior Achievement of Laredo. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct 19, at the Jett Bowl North in Laredo. Pic-tured with Gonzalez are from left, Denisse Moreno and Danny Lozano of HEB, and Bill Green and Oralia Bernal representing Junior Achieve-ment of Laredo. The event will kick-off the 2011-2012 campaign for Junior Achievement of Laredo.

A Mass in honor of the10th anniversary of the Dio-cese of Laredo is scheduledfor today at 10:30 a.m. at theLaredo Energy Arena.

The doors open at 9 a.m.and music is set to begin at9:30 a.m. Free tickets havebeen available at all of theparishes, but those who

can’t make the event will beable to watch a live broad-cast online. A link will bepublished at www.dioceseo-flaredo.org today at 9 a.m.

Bishop James Tamayo isexpected to reveal the pasto-ral vision for the diocese forthe next 10 years.

The slogan for the eventis “10 for 10.”

“I am using that as a

good catchphrase becausewe are concluding the 10thanniversary year and as fol-lowers of Jesus, he told usto go out to all the worldand share the good newsand tell them of God’s love,”the bishop told LaredoMorning Times in June.

“I am saying to people asdisciples, invite 10 of yourfriends, family members, co-

workers to celebrate our an-niversary so they recognizethe joy, the faith, the lovethat I celebrate is not justfor me but all of God’s peo-ple.”

Diocese Mass is this morning in LaredoTHE ZAPATA TIMES

Three months ago, Za-pata residents AndrewMiller and his friend LiliCisneros had high hopeswhen they ventured intouncharted territory andthey opened up Progressto Success.

The plan was to startup a tutoring business,but since then they saythe demand for theirbusiness has grown and afew months into startingtheir venture they’re al-ready expanding.

Their services havesince spread out to in-clude San Antonio, Heb-bronville, Roma, Kings-ville and Laredo.

“My family has alwaysbeen in education,” saidMiller. “I worked with atutoring company andthey wouldn’t open uptheir businesses in a ru-ral community.”

That’s when the ideafor the business sparkedup, he said, adding thatZapata had never had a

tutoring business before.Modeling their busi-

ness with the customersneeds in mind, Progressto Success uses bench-mark tests to evaluate astudent’s level and identi-fy their problem areas.

Math, reading andEnglish are the core ar-eas they concentrate on;however, they providespecialized test prepara-tion, too.

One-on-one, group ses-sions and in-home in-struction is offered to bet-ter students at any level.

Cheap prices for thetwo-hour, twice a weeksessions also make thebusiness an attractive al-ternative for customers,said Miller.

“We understand thatthey need help, so let’smake it as cheap as pos-sible,” said Miller. “Peo-ple don’t have to drive toLaredo anymore.”

Payment plan optionsare also available.

For more information,visit the Progress to Suc-cess website at www.pro-gresstosuccess.org.

(Denise Blaz may bereached at 728-2547 ordblaz@lmtonline.com)

Local duo opentutoring service

5 locations, fromRoma to S.A.

By DENISE BLAZ THE ZAPATA TIMES

PAGE 4A Zopinion SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2011

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO EDITORIAL@LMTONLINE.COM

WASHINGTON—Members ofCongress, past

and present, are amongthe many that etiquetteassigns a designation of“Honorable” in front oftheir names. The properaddress on a letter, for in-stance, is “Honorable(Name).”

Maybe the time hascome to undo that tradi-tion.

If you decide to attendsome meeting with yourcongressperson if he orshe is masochisticenough to confront con-stituents during the Au-gust vacation, consideroffering this question:“Are you ashamed,” asksweetly, “that you are inCongress?”

If the answer is “no,”be concerned. Be veryconcerned.

He or she has justcome slinking back fromWashington, taking partin a process that barelyavoided doing seriousand lasting harm to thecredit of the UnitedStates. In the process, theparticipants brought se-rious discredit on them-selves, as well as their in-stitution and the countryitself. Russia’s spook-strongman Vladimir Pu-tin jumped at the chanceto say that the U.S. is“living like parasites offthe global economy.”

Harsh? Possibly so.But listen to the wordsvolunteered by respon-dents in a WashingtonPost-Pew Research Cen-ter poll that asked: “Ifyou had to use one singleword to describe yourimpression of the budgetnegotiations in Washing-ton, what would thatword be?” The surveyconcluded on July 31, asthe debt deal was con-summated.

“Ridiculous” toppedthe list, but “Stupid,”“Childish,” “Idiotic” and“Pathetic” were well rep-resented.

A New York Times/CBS News poll showedFriday that public disap-proval of Congress is atan all-time high. A re-cord 82 percent of Amer-icans now disapprove ofthe way Congress ishandling its job. Morethan four out of five peo-ple surveyed said thatthe recent debt ceilingdebate was more aboutgaining political advan-tage than about doingwhat is best for the coun-try. Nearly three-quarterssaid that the debate hadharmed the image of theU.S. in the world.

However, our nationhas survived, for the mo-ment, another “Do Some-thing Even If It’s Wrong”plan as the alternativeeconomic catastrophe.

And this definitely iswrong. It is absurd thatthe wealthy get away

with paying so little intaxes for their opportuni-ties to get rich. Given theunregulated wheelingand dealing by far toomany of them, maybe weshould levy a teeny feefor what sometimesseems like their licenseto steal.

But their Republicanenablers put up a barrier,while the Democratsscurry around wailing“Woe is me, woe is me”or calling the result oftheir most recent defeata “Satan Sandwich.”Whatever that is, it’stough to swallow and weare left with an upsetstomach about a systemthat cannot survive ifpeople are sick of theway it works.

Part of this devil’s bar-gain is the appointmentof a congressional com-mittee to come up withsome sort of financialrescue plan that will as-sure the credit ratingservices that they don’thave to ultimately lowerthe USA’s triple-A ratingand push all citizens fur-ther along those dire eco-nomic straits that somany navigate already.Another committee.Whoopee.

We’ve had a bunch ofthose already and theyall come to the same con-clusion about the finan-cial mess: A solution canonly be found in toughausterity AND added rev-enue. The fat cats have tobe a little less gluttonous.Each time one more blueribbon panel issues itsreport saying just that,the members are thankedfor their service. Then ig-nored by the officehold-ers, who don’t want tomake tough decisions.

They even had troublewith the easy ones. Con-sider how Congress justskipped town, leavingthat squabble over theFederal Aviation Admin-istration unresolved. Un-til a huge public outcryforced congressionalleaders to come to theirsenses, about 75,000 hadbeen laid off nationwide,with various construc-tion projects temporarilyhalted. Planes kept fly-ing, thanks in great partto conscientious airportinspectors staying onwithout pay, handlingtheir job-related expens-es with their own moneyand credit cards. Howgrotesque was that?

Republicans and Dem-ocrats accused each oth-er of “petty politics.”Both were correct, al-though both were guiltyof obvious redundancy.

If not ashamed, we canonly hope that some ofthem, in some off-cameramoment, feel a twinge ofembarrassment. Embar-rassed, like their entirecountry is.

(Email Bob Frankenat bob@hearstdc.com); onthe Web: www.bobfran-ken.tv)

COLUMN

Politics earnslow score,high scornBy BOB FRANKEN

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The Zapata Timesdoes not publish anony-mous letters.

To be published, let-ters must include thewriter’s first and lastnames as well as aphone number to verifyidentity. The phonenumber IS NOT publish-ed; it is used solely toverify identity and toclarify content, if neces-sary. Identity of the let-ter writer must be veri-fied before publication.

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Letters are edited forstyle, grammar, lengthand civility. No name-calling or gratuitousabuse is allowed.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

The highlight of thedebt-ceiling debate,such as it was, oc-

curred when Rep. GabrielleGiffords entered the Housechamber Monday night. Herremarkable return to Wash-ington to cast a vote was astory of triumph over trage-dy, of national interest overpartisan interest, of civilityover rancor.

It was only eight monthsago, in the wake of her at-tempted assassination andthe murder of six others,that the nation’s leaders andtalking heads agreed that itwas time to tone down therhetorical vitriol. Politicalopponents are not enemies,they sermonized, and cer-tainly not enemies of thestate.

“At a time when our dis-course has become sosharply polarized,” Presi-dent Obama said at a me-morial service, “at a timewhen we are far too eagerto lay the blame for all thatails the world at the feet ofthose who think differentlythan we do, it’s importantfor us to pause for a mo-ment and make sure thatwe are talking with each

other in a way that heals,not a way that wounds.”

An irony of Giffords’ in-spiring return is that manyof those who piled onto thecivility bandwagon in Janu-ary jumped off hurling rhet-orical dynamite in the debt-ceiling debate. They labeledopponents who insisted onaddressing the perils of ournation’s deepening debt as“the Republican Talibanwing,” the GOP’s “Hezbol-lah faction” and “politicalsuicide bombers.”

At a caucus of HouseDemocrats on Monday, sev-eral members referred totheir Republican colleaguesas terrorists. Politico report-ed that Vice President JoeBiden, who attended thecaucus, joined in the teaparty terror bashing. Bidendenied the report. At the ve-ry least he is guilty of ac-quiescing in the face of po-litical discourse thatwounds, not heals.

Nearing the tenth anni-versary of the 9-11 attacks,these champions of faux ci-vility, these hypocrites ofhate speech have trans-formed opponents withwhom they have a politicaldisagreement into our na-tion’s most savage enemies.In deference to comedian

Jeff Foxworthy, it’s worthexamining who the real ex-tremists are in this debate.

You might be a terroristif you believe that difficultdecisions about the debt cri-sis can no longer be post-poned, that “America’s long-term fiscal gap is unsustain-able and, if left unchecked,will see our children andgrandchildren living in apoorer, weaker nation.” Butthat was the bipartisan Na-tional Commission on Fis-cal Responsibility and Re-form appointed by Obama.

You might be a terroristif you say “federal debt heldby the public would doubleunder the president’s bud-get, growing from $10.4 tril-lion (69 percent of GDP) atthe end of 2011 to $20.8 tril-lion (87 percent of GDP) atthe end of 2021.” But thatwas the nonpartisan Con-gressional Budget Officeevaluating the president’sproposed 2012 budget.

You might be a terroristif you’re a member of agroup that unanimously re-jects a White House propos-al. But that was the U.S.Senate, including everymember of its Democraticmajority, who voted 97-0against the budget Obamasent to Capitol Hill in Janu-

ary. You might be a terrorist

if you created a debt-ceilingplan that cut billions of dol-lars from federal programswithout raising a singlecent in taxes on million-aires or billionaires. Butthat was Senate DemocraticLeader Harry Reid.

You might be a terroristif you refer to enhance-ments in federal revenuesas “massive, job-killing taxincreases.” But that wasObama, explaining why hedidn’t favor raising taxesnow while the economy isweak.

You might be a terroristif you voted against thecompromise debt-ceiling billand threatened to push thenation over the cliff of de-fault. One hundred and oneDemocrats in the House andSenate voted against themeasure, both a highernumber and a higher pro-portion of the Democraticcaucus than the 85 Republi-cans who did so.

Remind me again: Whichsupposedly is the party ofcivility and which is the onethat poses a threat to theRepublic?

(Email Jonathan Gur-witz at jgurwitz@express-news.net)

COLUMN

Who really are the terrorists?By JONATHAN GURWITZ

SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Aprestigious medicalgroup is concernedthat most medical

devices are cleared for salewithout evidence that theyare safe and effective. Thatshould give everyonepause. A panel of expertsassembled by the Instituteof Medicine found the cur-rent regulatory approachso flawed that it called forit to be scrapped and re-

placed with a system bet-ter designed to protect thepublic’s health.

The committee found noreason to believe that anydevices on the market areunsafe or ineffective; itsaid their use in clinicalpractice provides at leastsome level of confidence.

Only the highest-risk de-vices, such as implantabledefibrillators and replace-ment heart valves, under-go clinical trials in pa-

tients to show that theyare safe and effective. De-vices deemed a “moderaterisk” are cleared if themanufacturer can showthat they are “substantial-ly equivalent” to devicespreviously cleared.

The FDA promptly re-jected the notion of junk-ing the system but said itwould hold hearings onthe report. Industry lead-ers, who had been makingscurrilous attacks on the

panel’s objectivity even be-fore the report was issued,voiced opposition.

The hearings will pro-vide an opportunity toidentify proposals — suchas more rigorous surveil-lance of devices after theyare on the market — thatcan be adopted compara-tively quickly. The moreradical notion of buildinga wholly new system needsmore thorough airing butmay be the way to go.

EDITORIAL

Medical devices need controlNEW YORK TIMES

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2011 Crime & More THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

ASSAULTAn assault was reported at

2:16 a.m. July 31 in the 1600block of Laredo Avenue.

CRIMINAL MISCHIEFA juvenile was detained at

about 2:15 a.m. Wednesday in the400 block of Papaya Drive. An inci-dent report states he broke hismother’s cell phone and resisteddetention. The alleged offenderwas turned over to juvenile author-ities.

DAMAGES TO VEHICLEA man reported at 4:35 p.m.

Wednesday from the parking lot ofthe Zapata Regional Jail, 2300Kennedy St., that he noticed hisvehicle had damages to the rearbumper.

DEER ACCIDENTA minor accident with a deer

was reported at 3:11 a.m. July 29on Texas 16, just before JenningsRoad.

DWIDeputies spotted a vehicle

driving toward oncoming traffic atabout 9:45 p.m. July 31 in the in-tersection of Seventh Street andRoma Avenue. A person identifiedas “Angeles” was charged withdriving while intoxicated. A passen-ger identified as “Hernandez” wascharged with public intoxication.Both people were taken to jail.

HIT AND RUNA hit-and-run incident was

reported at 6:03 a.m. Wednesdayat 23rd Avenue and Alamo Street.An incident report states a vehiclestruck a fence and fled the scene.

PUBLIC INTOXICATIONA public intoxication incident

was reported at 12:20 p.m. July 31in the 100 block of U.S. 83. Aftera traffic stop, deputies arrested thedriver of a vehicle. His or hername was blacked out from the re-ports.

THEFTDeputies responded to a

theft call at 7:44 p.m. July 29 inthe 500 block of Villarreal in theNicholson Addition. An incident re-port states someone stole a fencefrom the property.

THE BLOTTER

Last weekend, a gunbattle between Mexicansoldiers and suspecteddrug gangsters killedthree people, and result-ed in weapons and ammoseizures in Matamoros,next to Brownsville. Aninspection of the vehicledriven by the alleged of-fenders yielded two bod-ies.

A report by Mexico’sdefense ministry or SED-ENA states while EighthMilitary Zone soldierspatrolled kilometermarker 29 of the Mata-moros-Reynosa highway,a group of people in a ve-hicle opened fire onthem.

The SEDENA reportstates troops foughtback, killing threearmed civilians. Afterthe firefight settleddown, military personnelseized three assault ri-fles, 15 ammo clips, 430rounds of various cali-bers and one vehicle.

Soldiers found thebodies of two men insidethe vehicle’s cargo com-partment. A SEDENA re-port states the menfound were blindfoldedand their hands and feettied up. Their nameswere not immediatelyavailable.

Federal authoritiestook custody of the bod-ies, weapons and ammofor an investigation. Thismacabre finding came aday after SEDENA offi-cials announced a state-wide sweep counteringnarcotrafficking and or-ganized crime.

Between July 27 and28, soldiers working Op-eration Northeast tack-led border cities such as

Matamoros, Nuevo Lare-do and Reynosa. OtherTamaulipas state citiesincluded in the sweepwere Abasolo, CiudadVictoria, Hidalgo, NuevaCiudad Guerrero, NuevoMorelos, Ocampo, Padil-la, Tula and Valle Her-moso.

Officials say the oper-ation yielded 87 assaultrifles, 28 handguns, 496ammo clips, seven gre-nades and 11,523 roundsof ammo. In addition,soldiers confiscatedsmall amounts of narcot-ics, such as 4.74 poundsof marijuana, 82 marijua-na doses and 171 cocainedoses.

Nine vehicles and$20,000 were also seized.

(César G. Rodriguezmay be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmton-line.com)

3 die aftergunfight

with troopsBy CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ

THE ZAPATA TIMES A SEDENAreport statesthe menfound wereblindfoldedand theirhands andfeet tied up.Their nameswere notimmediatelyavailable.

A chase between Mexi-can military personneland suspected gangstersyielded one arrest andmore than 250 pounds ofmarijuana, Mexican feder-al officials announcedWednesday.

A Procuraduría Gener-al de la República or PGR,Mexico’s attorney gener-al’s office, report statesthe incident developed ina small town called “L Án-geles,” a municipalitywithin Miguel Alemán,which is across the riverfrom Roma.

According to a PGR re-port, soldiers patrollingthe Ribereña highway in“Los Ángeles” initiated achase of two trucks thatsped away when theirdrivers noted the militarypresence.

Soldiers caught up to awhite General Motors ve-hicle, bearing Tamaulipaslicense plates. Troops de-tained the driver, MarioCasimiro García Niño. Aninspection of his vehicleresulted in the seizure of76 bundles of marijuana.The contraband weighed253.53 pounds.

García Niño, the vehi-cle and the marijuanawere turned over to feder-al authorities for an inves-tigation.

(César G. Rodriguezmay be reached at 728-2568or cesar@lmtonline.com)

Pot findyields 250pounds,

one arrestBy CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ

THE ZAPATA TIMES

Zapata County Independent School District17th & Carla Streets - Zapata, Texas 78076

(956) 765-6546 - www.zcisd.org

Public Notification of Nondiscrimination in Career andTechnology Education Programs

1. Zapata County Independent School District offers career and technology education programs in: Agriculture,Food & Natural Resources; Business Management & Administration; Finance, Health Science; Hospitality &Tourism, Human Services; Information Technology; Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security; Manufacturingand Transportation, Distribution & Logistics. Admission to these programs is based on student interest, gradelevel, age, stated prerequisites and qualifications as stated in federal and state guidelines.

2. It is the policy of Zapata County Independent School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color,national origin, sex and handicap in its vocational programs, services, or activities as required by the Title VI ofthe civil rights act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; and Section 504 of theRehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

3. It is the policy of Zapata County Independent School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color,national origin, sex, handicap, or age in its employment practices as required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Acts of1964, as amended; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amend-ed; and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a amended.

4. Zapata County Independent School District will take steps to ensure that lack of English language skills will notbe a barrier to admission and participation in all educational and vocational programs.

5. For more information about your rights or grievance procedures or for employee concerns, contact the Title IXCoordinator, Jose Luis Morales at the Human Resources Office located at 17th & Carla Streets, (956) 765-6546,or for student concers, Derly Villarreal, Jr., 504/Dyslexia Administrator at the Office of Special InstructionalServices, (956) 765-6546 extension 2401.

Distrito Escolar del Condado de Zapata17th & Carla Streets - Zapata, Texas 78076

(956) 765-6546 - www.zcisd.org

Notificación Pública de NoDiscriminación en Programas Vocacionales

1. El Distrito Escolar Independient del Condado de Zapata ofrece programas vocacionales para la planeación pro-fesional y la technología en: Agricultura, y Recursos Alimenticios y Naturales; Technología y Comunicaciones;Comercio, Supervisión, y Administración; Finanzas; Ciencias de la Salud; Hospitalidad y Turismo; Leyes,Seguridad Pública, Correciones y Seguridad; Transportación, Distribución, y Logística; y Mercadotecnia Industrial,Ventas y Servicio. La admisión a estos programas se basa en el interés del estudiante, nivel del grado académi-co, la edad del estudiante, los pre-requisitos y cualificaciones indicadas en las directrices federales y estatales.

2. Es norma del Distrito Escolar Independiente del Condado de Zapata no discriminar por motivos de raza, color,origen nacional, sexo o impedimento, en sus programas, servicios o actividades vocacionales, tal como lorequieren el Título VI de la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964, según enmienda; el Título IX de las Enmiendas enla Educación, de 1972, y la Sección 504 de la Ley de Rehabilitación dde 1973, según enmienda.

3. Es norma del Distrito Escolar Independiente del Condado de Zapata no discriminar por motivos de raza, color,origen nacional, sexo, impedimento o edad, en sus procedimientos de empleo, tal como lo requieren el Título VIde la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964, según enmienda; el Título IX de las Enmiendas en la Educación, de 1972,la ley de Discriminación por Edad, de 1975, según enmienda, y la Sección 504 de la Ley de Rehabilitación de1973, según enmienda, y la Sección 504 de la Ley de Rehabilitación de 1973, según enmienda.

4. El Distrito Escolar Independiente del Condado de Zapata tomara las medidas necesarias para asegurarse deque la falta de habilidad en el uso del inglés no sea un obstáculo para la admisión y participación en todos losprogramas educativos y vocacionales.

5. Para mas información sobre sus derechos o procedimientos para quejas, comuníquese con el Coordinador delPrograma Título IX, José Luis Morales, en la Oficina de Recursos Humanos ubicada en las calles 17th & Carla,(956) 765-6546 o para servicios al estudiante, con Derly Villarreal, Jr., Coordinador de la Sección de 504 en laOficina de Special Instructional Services, 765-6446 extension 2401.

PAGE 6A Zentertainment SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2011

Christopher Cross hasturned 60.

The singer, songwriterand guitarist was known asChris Geppert when he at-tended Alamo HeightsHigh School in San Anto-nio and made music withthe band Flash in the ‘60s,won five Grammy Awardsand an Academy Award inthe ‘80s. He’s feeling hisage.

“I’m getting older andhopefully a little bit wiser,”he said with a slight chuck-le in a recent phone inter-view from his Los Angeleshome.

His new CD is “DoctorFaith” on Eagle Records,and opens with the songs“Hey Kid” and “I’m TooOld for This.”

“I don’t think we’ve dealtour kids a very good handof cards,” Cross said. “IfI’ve learned anything inmy 60 years, it’s that nomatter what side of the ais-le you’re on (politically),they’re not doing a goodjob. ‘I’m Too Old for This’is my Bill Maher rant.

“Rob (Cross’ longtimelyric-writing partner RobMeurer, a veteran of theband the Zilches) and I areupset that it’s raining mo-rons. We don’t pull anypunches as we get older.”

Cross’ words are tough-

er, but the music remainsthe fusion of rock and popwith jazz touches here andthere, the fusion that madesongs such as “Ride Likethe Wind,” “Sailing,” “Nev-er Be the Same,” “SayYou’ll Be Mine” and Ar-thur’s Theme (“Best ThatYou Can Do”) big hits.

“Rob and I have knowneach other since highschool. We’ve been writingtogether since 1988,” Crosssaid. “We get a seed ofsomething and go fromthere. We used to hammerout songs on a legal pad,now it’s email. On ‘DoctorFaith,’ the music was moreme, and Rob did the lyrics.We’ve found our corners,

our individual strengths.”

Winning, with a priceRacking up five Grammy

Awards, including best newartist and song of the year,not to mention an Oscar, issomething that’s awfullytough to try to duplicate.

“I’m never going to out-do that,” Cross said bluntlyand quickly. “It did plagueme. That best new artistGrammy has plagued other

people. When Rob and I re-corded the first record withAndy (Andy Salmon of theLaughing Kind) and theother guys, we did so withno expectations. Now we’reback to the same thing. It’sa lot like it was with thefirst record. We sort of gotover ourselves. We’re asproud of ‘Walking in Ava-lon’ and ‘Doctor Faith’ aswe are of any album.”

Cross grew up playinglive, working teen clubs,parties and bars.

Cross returnswith ‘Faith’

Grammy Award-winning singer plays atLEA on Thursday for ‘Empty Bowls V’

By JIM BEAL JR. SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS CROSS IN CONCERT

Christopher Cross will perform atthe Laredo Energy Arena on Thurs-day, Aug. 11, for the South TexasFood Bank fundraiser “Empty BowlsV.” Concert tickets on sale at LEA andTicketmaster at $25, $15 and $10.Proceeds to South Texas Food Bankmission of feeding the hungry. Sponsorship tables are available bycalling 956-568-3673. The food bank, a 501c3 nonprofit,distributes supplemental food to24,000 families, 7,000 elderly,6,000 children, 250 veterans andtheir widows per month.Visit its website at www.southtexas-foodbank.org.

Christopher Cross poses at the Bandidos Studios in Culver City,Calif. The Grammy Award-winning musician will be in Laredo onThursday for a South Texas Food Bank fundraiser.

Photo by Alex Solca | Special to the Times

Laredo has already pro-duced a Miss Texas USAand a Miss Teen TexasUSA in the past couple ofyears.

On Sunday, 13 localswill compete for the MissLaredo 2011 title, whichearns them a shot at thestatewide Miss Texas USApageant in Houston nextmonth. For the Miss TeenLaredo 2011 competition,22 girls have signed up.

Miss Laredo Produc-tions is hosting theevents, which also includethree categories for younggirls. There’s the Juniordivision for girls 9 to 11years old, the Preteen di-vision for those 12 to 14,and the Little division forgirls ages 6 to 8 years.

The pageants take placeSaturday for the youngergroup and Sunday for theTeen and Miss divisionsat the Laredo Civic CenterAuditorium at 6 p.m.

Reigning Miss TexasUSA Ana Rodriguez, whocompeted in the MissUSA Pageant in Las Ve-gas in June, will host thepageants, along with an-other Miss Texas USA,Stephanie Guerrero Wan-ic, who won the statecrown in 2005.

It’s not the first timeRodriguez has hosted apageant; she’s emceed a

Miss Laredo pageant be-fore. Just last week, shewas in Fort Worth, forthat city’s pageant. Lastmonth, she attended theMiss Teen USA in the Ba-hamas, where Harlingen’sDanielle Doty wascrowned.

The Miss Laredo con-testant field has experi-enced a big jump sincethe time Rodriguez firstcompeted. That’s partlybecause of Rodriguez’ andChelsea Morgensen’s(Miss Teen Texas USA2010) success. It’s given lo-cal and area girls hope,motivation and encour-agement, according toRoel Gonzalez, the MissLaredo Productions exec-utive director.

“Knowing that it can bedone motivates girls,”Gonzalez said. “We have alot of beauty and potentialhere in Laredo and, gladly,girls are finally comingout to compete.”

Shyness may have beena factor, but now Laredogirls have role models tolook up to, he said.

“We have built a namefor ourselves, not just inTexas, but at the MissUSA level, too,” he said.

Gonzalez also attributesthe professionalism of thepageants, which also in-clude a two-week work-shop for potential compet-itors. The workshops in-clude interview skills.

Miss Laredopageant is Sun.

By EMILIO RÁBAGO IIITHE ZAPATA TIMES

SÁBADO 6 DE AGOSTOLAREDO — Una Misa

de Acción de gracias estáprograma para hoy por laDiócesis de Laredo en Lare-do Energy Arena, 6700 Are-na Blvd. Las puertas abren alas 9 a.m., un concierto estáprogramado a las 9:30 a.m.y la Misa dará inicio a las10:30 a.m. La Misa es gra-tuita y abierta al público engeneral. Informes en el(956) 727-2140.

LAREDO — El Musicalde Broadway “RENT” se pre-senta por actores del LaredoInstitute for Theatrical Edu-cation (LITE) en el segundopiso del Laredo Center forthe Arts, 500 avenida SanAgustin, hoy a las 8 p.m. Lamesa para seis tiene costode 200 dólares y la entradageneral es de 15 dólares.Evento para audiencia madu-ra. Otra función el 7 deagosto a las 3 p.m.; el 12 deagosto a las 8 p.m.

NUEVO LAREDO, Méxi-co — Convención Cultural Ni-pona de 10 a.m. a 7 p.m. enEstación Palabra. Informesen Resistencia.Ota-ku.5@gmail.com y a en el(867) 712-7844. Entrada gra-tuita.

NUEVO LAREDO, Méxi-co — Estación Palabra invitaal Bazar de Arte de 12 p.m.a 5 p.m.; Festival Infantil “ElCirco” en el área infantil alas 2 p.m.; Lecturas in Me-moriam en la Sala GabrielGarcía Márquez a las 2 p.m.y Taller de Creación Literariacon Jacobo Mina en la SalaGabriel García Márquez de 3p.m. a 5 p.m.

DOMINGO 7 DE AGOSTOLAREDO — NUEVO

LAREDO, México — Domin-gos de Teatro Universitariopresenta “Jóvenes para unúnico suicidio” con el Grupode Teatro Teatropolis en elTeatro Lucio Blanco de Casade la Cultura a las 7 p.m.Entrada Libre.

JUEVES 11 DE AGOSTOLAREDO — El evento

benéfico del Banco de Ali-mentos del Sur de Texas,Empty Bowls V, se llevará acabo en el Laredo EnergyArena, 6700 Arena Blvd., de5:30 p.m. a 11 p.m. El even-to presenta un concierto porparte de Christopher Cross.Costo de mesas para 10 per-sonas empiezan en 1,000dólares e incluyen cena yacceso a la subasta silencio-sa de obras de arte. Boletospara solamente el conciertoa la venta en la taquilla delLEA y a través del sistemaTicketmaster, precios: 25, 15y 10 dólares. Informes en el956-568-3673.

EL CENIZO — El Alcal-de Raul Reyes presentará elpresupuesto balanceado delAño Fiscal 2011-2012 hoy alas 6 p.m. durante la juntaregular del Cabildo de laCiudad de El Cenizo.

VIERNES 12 DE AGOSTOLAREDO — Hoy es la

noche de apoyo a El NopalMexican Food en Galley 201,de 5:30 p.m. a 7:30 p.m.Costo: 20 dólares, donaciónque se destinará a hacerrealidad el proyecto de NinfaCarrizales de iniciar unacompañía para elaborar torti-llas de nopal.

LAREDO — “FashionEntourage” se llevará a caboel viernes 12 de agosto apartir de las 9 p.m. en LasCananas Revolution Bar,2331 Endeavor. Las ganan-cias serán destinadas a laCasa Hogar Monseñor Enri-que Tomás Lozano,

SÁBADO 13 DE AGOSTOLAREDO — El Festival

del Libro de Laredo: TheBest of Texas and Beyond eshoy de 9:30 a.m. a 4 p.m.en la Biblioteca Pública deLaredo, 1120 E. Calton Road.Habrá paneles de discusión,y talleres de escritores.

Agendaen Breve

Zfrontera PÁGINA 7ASÁBADO 06 DE AGOSTO DE 2011

Luego de varios días de en-frentamientos a lo largo del RíoGrande, el ejército mexicanoanunció que dio muerte a unmiembro de alto perfil de la orga-nización narcotraficante de LosZetas que era buscado en EU porintento de homicidio.

La Secretaría de la DefensaNacional (SeDeNa), anunció quele dio muerte a Jorge Luis “Pom-pín” de la Peña Brizuela, el capode Los Zetas en la plaza de NuevoLaredo, México, el martes. Lapolicía de Laredo dice que él erasospechoso en la balacera contratres hombres y un adolescente enel 2005.

El anuncio se emitió mientrasel ejército concluía una opera-ción denomina “Lince Norte”, te-niendo como su objetivo a LosZetas al noreste de México. Laoperación incluyó 4,000 militaresy resultó en la muerte de 30 y ladetención de casi 200 sospecho-sos. Un soldado muerto, según laSeDeNa.

La operación “contaba con elobjetivo de afectar la administra-

ción, operación financiera y es-tructuras logísticas de gruposcriminales en los estados de SanLuis Potosí, Coahuila, Nuevo Le-ón y Tamaulipas”, según un co-municado de prensa por partedel ejército mexicano.

El Laredo Morning Times re-portó que por lo menos seis per-sonas murieron a causa de losenfrentamientos del martes quecobraron la vida de Peña Brizue-la.

El ejército también dijo quecapturó en Coahuila a un finan-ciero a “nivel nacional” de LosZetas, Valdemar “Adal” Quinta-nilla Soriano. Las ciudades deMatamoros y Reynosa reportaronenfrentamientos y la Procuradu-ría General de la República(PGR) anunció la detención enMatamoros de cuatro supuestosZetas, incluyendo a un ex militarde las fuerzas especiales mexica-nas.

El Alguacil del Condado deWebb, Martín Cuellar, dijo que suoficina recibió noticias que de laPeña Brizuela había estado a car-go de la plaza de Nuevo Laredo,México, sólo seis meses. ‘Plaza’ esel término utilizado para descri-

bir un área de control por partede narcotraficantes.

“Él iba a ser, créalo o no,transferido a otro sitio justoantes de que fuera muerto”, dijoCuellar.

La policía de Laredo dijo quede la Peña Brizuela es un sospe-choso en una balacera del 2005que hirió a cuatro personasmientras partían de un juego defútbol soccer. Los hombres fueronemboscados por varias personasviajando en dos vehículos, segúnreportes noticieros. Los supues-tos atacantes luego se fugaron ha-cia México. Las cuatro víctimassobrevivieron al ataque, pero dosde los objetivos pretendidos fue-ron asesinados posteriormente.

La balacera se presentó en untiempo cuando miembros de LosZetas, en ese entonces trabajandopara el Cartel del Golfo, y el Car-tel de Sinaloa estaban luchandopor el control de los corredorescontrabandistas en Laredo y Nue-vo Laredo, México. En el 2005, La-redo documentó 22 homicidios.El año pasado, esa cifra fue denueve.

(Dudley Althaus contribuyó aeste reporte)

SEDENA ASEGURA DIO MUERTE A LÍDER ZETA DE ALTO PERFIL

México detallaoperativo Lince

POR JASON BUCHSAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

PHOENIX — Las armerías de los es-tados fronterizos con México demanda-ron al director interino de la agencia decontrol de armas por la nueva normaque requiere alertar a las autoridadesen caso de compras múltiples de fusilesde alto poder.

El nuevo requisito sólo es aplicable alas armerías en los cuatro estados fron-terizos con México: California, Arizona,Nuevo México y Texas. Entrará en vi-gencia el 14 de agosto y se deriva de laoperación policial denominada “Rápidoy furioso” de Arizona, la cual resultó enel envío ilegal a México de armas degran calibre.

Los propietarios de las armerías sos-tienen que el requisito que pide la Of-icina para el Control de Alcohol, Taba-co, Armas de Fuego y Explosivos es ile-gal, les perjudicará económicamente einvade el derecho de sus clientes a laprivacidad.

Las demandas fueron interpuestas enla capital federal de Washington, enTexas y en Nuevo México el miércoles yel jueves. Están financiadas por la Aso-ciación Nacional de Portadores de Ar-mas.

RÁPIDO Y FURIOSO

Armeríasdemandana agencia

de EUASSOCIATED PRESS

CIUDAD VICTORIA, México — Elequipo de fútbol integrado por jugadoresde la categoría 94-96, que obtuvo el cam-peonato del “Torneo Nacional ‘Copa Pre-mier’”, avalado por la Federación Mexi-cana, visitó las oficinas del Instituto Ta-maulipeco del Deporte (ITD).

Los jóvenes disputaron el torneo enBoca del Río, Veracruz, del 17 al 24 de ju-lio, donde se impusieron a los equipos deTuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz, Tabasco,Chiapas y Necaxa; derrotando en la finalal representativo chiapaneco 3 goles por0.

El entrenador Rafael Zárate de la Rosainformó que con el campeonato, la es-cuadra obtuvo el derecho de participaren la Copa Premier que se celebrará enAcapulco, Guerrero, en diciembre.

“Antes viajarán este fin de semana aPachuca, Hidalgo, para participar en elTorneo Internacional de Centros de For-mación del Club Pachuca”, dijo Zárate.

El Director General del Instituto Ta-maulipeco del Deporte (ITD), Enrique dela Garza Ferrer, por su parte anuncióque al conquistar este logro, el estadoconsidera que algunos jóvenes pudieranempezar a integrarse al fútbol profesion-al.

De la Garza se comprometió a solic-itar al Director de las Fuerzas Básicasdel Club Correcaminos, Jorge Vantolráque detecte a aquellos jugadores que pu-dieran integrase a ese equipo, si así lodesean.

“Queremos que nuestros deportistastengan la oportunidad de mostrarse,primero que nada, en nuestro estado”,dijo De la Garza Ferrer. “Si es el caso, yustedes deciden dedicarse al fútbol profe-sional, vean en el Club Correcaminosuna opción más en su carrera deporti-va”.

Finalmente, el capitán del equipo, An-tonio Hernández, hizo entrega del trofeoque los acredita como campeones na-cionales a De la Garza.

DEPORTES

El capitán del equipo campeón del “Torneo Na-cional ‘Copa Premier’”, Antonio Hernández, en-trega el trofeo a el Director General del ITD,Enrique de la Garza Ferrer, en Ciudad Victoria.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

Campeonespresumen

títulonacional

ESPECIAL PARA TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

A fin de responder al creci-miento de la demanda ylas necesidades de las uni-

dades de salud en Tamaulipas, elGobierno del Estado informóacerca de las acciones para con-struir, sustituir o mejorar hospi-tales y centros de salud, a travésdel Programa de MantenimientoPreventivo, Fortalecimiento ySustitución de Unidades Médicasy Equipo.

El programa contempla la sus-titución para el 2012 del HospitalGeneral “Dr. Carlos Canseco” ydel Hospital Psiquiátrico, ambosen Tampico, al sur del estado; laampliación y equipamiento delHospital General de Nuevo Lare-do; el Hospital General de SanFernando; el Hospital General deRío Bravo; el Hospital Civil de Ci-udad Victoria y el Hospital Gen-eral de Reynosa, que en conjuntorepresentan una inversión supe-rior a los 60 millones 744 mil pe-sos.

El Secretario de Salud en elEstado, Norberto Treviño García-Manzo, dijo que la cobertura uni-versal en salud es una prioridad,así como “la prevención de la en-fermedad, la infraestructura deprimer nivel, hospitalaria y la in-vestigación para que la salud in-tegral sea atendida con calidad”.

Igualmente se efectúan los tra-bajos de remodelación de los cen-tros de salud de Granjas Económ-icas en Reynosa; del ejido Higue-rillas en Matamoros; y la sede dela jurisdicción sanitaria de Nue-vo Laredo; la ampliación del Hos-pital Infantil de Tamaulipas y delHospital General de Camargo.

Durante la semana, el Presi-dente Municipal en Nuevo Lare-

do, México, Benjamín Galván Gó-mez encabezó un recorrido paraconstatar el avance del 80 porciento de la obra de la Jurisdic-ción Sanitaria número 5, y delCentro Salud, en la colonia La Fe,al nor-poniente. Se estima que lostrabajos concluyan para finalesde año, en su primera etapa.

“El costo es de 44 millones depesos, una inversión bipartitamunicipio-estado”, dijo Galván.

La construcción de la Jurisdic-

ción Sanitaria número 5 está enun terreno de 1,083.15 metros cua-drados, y el Centro de Salud, enun espacio de 1,017.68 metros cua-drados. El estacionamiento tieneun área de 7,240 metros cuadra-dos, con capacidad para 64 vehí-culos y su construcción será debase hidráulica.

La segunda etapa de las obrasde la jurisdicción y centro de sa-lud contempla el equipamientoen ambos edificios.

RECORRIDO DE OBRASConstruyen,y amplían

unidades desaludTIEMPO DE ZAPATA

El Presidente Municipal de Nuevo Laredo, México, Benjamín Galván Gómez, enun recorrido para supervisar el avance del 80 por ciento en las obras de la Ju-risdicción Sanitaria No. V y del Centro de Salud, al nor-poniente de la ciudad.En la foto, Jaime Emilio Gutiérrez Serrano, titular de la Jurisdicción Sanitaria.

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Nuevo Laredo

CONVENIO TAMAULIPAS-ESPAÑA

Foto de cortesía | Gobierno de Tamaulipas

El Secretario deEducación de Ta-

maulipas (SET),Diódoro Guerra Ro-dríguez y el Rector

de la UniversidadPolitécnica de Ma-drid, Javier Uceda

Antolín, firmarontres convenios decolaboración para

fortalecer a las 15instituciones de

educación superiortecnológica.

8A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2011

PHOENIX — Gun storeowners in states along theU.S.-Mexico border sued theacting director of the federalagency that oversees fire-arms to halt a new require-ment that they alert author-ities if someone buys multi-ple high-powered rifles in afive-day span.

The requirement, whichgoes into effect Aug. 14, fol-lows a controversial 2009law enforcement operationin Arizona known as “Fastand Furious” that resultedin more than 2,000 high-powered weapons makingtheir way to Mexico as au-thorities went after peopledirecting gun buys on be-half of cartels.

The operation has beenthe subject of recent con-gressional hearings inwhich the Bureau of Alco-hol, Tobacco, Firearms andExplosives acknowledgedmaking mistakes.

The ATF’s new require-ment for high-powered riflebuys applies to California,Arizona, New Mexico andTexas. It stipulates that gunshop owners must start pro-viding the agency with de-tailed information, includ-ing birth dates, addresses,race and gender, about peo-ple who buy two or moresemi-automatic rifles great-er than .22 caliber in a five-day period.

In the three lawsuits filedWednesday and Thursdayagainst ATF Acting Direc-tor Kenneth Melson, storeowners in Arizona, NewMexico and Texas arguedthe ATF does not have theright to make the require-ment because it would hurtthe businesses economicallyand invade the privacy ofcustomers.

ATF spokesman DrewWade said Friday that hisagency will vigorously de-fend its authority to collectinformation from gun storeowners.

He cited the Gun Control

Act, saying it provides ATFwith that authority. He alsosaid courts have consistent-ly upheld the law.

“The point of this requestis to provide a targeted ap-proach to address the prob-lem of illegal gun traffick-ing through sales to ‘strawpurchasers,’ people whoclaim to be the true buyersof firearms but in realityare purchasing firearms onbehalf of others,” he readfrom a prepared statement.

The lawsuits were filed inWashington, Texas and NewMexico and are being fund-ed by the National Rifle As-sociation. The suits do notseek money, only a stop toATF enforcement of thenew requirement.

“We think the wholepremise is ludicrous,” NRAspokesman Andrew Arula-nandam said about the reg-ulation. “What they’re try-ing to tell the Americanpublic is that $40 billion-dol-lar transnational criminalenterprises will somehowmiraculously follow theirpaperwork rules and that’sgoing to solve some prob-lems.”

Arulanandam sees thenew requirement as asmoke screen to take awayattention from the “Fastand Furious” program. Ofthe 2,000 guns that got intoMexico, only about one-fourth have been recovered,meaning the rest could stillin the hands of drug smug-glers.

Two of the recoveredguns were found at thescene where Border PatrolAgent Brian Terry was shotto death in southern Arizo-na on Dec. 14, although it’sstill unclear whether the fa-tal bullet came from one ofthose weapons or anothergun.

Terry and three otheragents exchanged gunfirewith a crew of border out-laws. Officials have said oneperson has been chargedwith Terry’s killing; the restescaped to Mexico. The casewas later sealed.

Ben Suissa, owner ofFoothills Firearms in Yuma,is one of the two Arizonagun store owners suing Mel-son over the new require-ment involving high-power-ed rifles. The other store isJ & G Sales in Prescott.

“This is a constitutionalbattle against a governmentthat seems to have nobounds,” Suissa said. “I feelfor the plight they’re havingdown there (in Mexico), butblaming it on law-abidinggun shops is preposterous.”

He said Congress needsto pass a law with the newrequirement rather than theATF issuing an order.

“It’s blatantly illegal,” hesaid. “They basically enact-ed their own policy andthink they’re not beholdento the Constitution or thelaws of this nation. They’rejust enforcing stuff thatthey’re making up on theirown.”

He said multiple purchas-es of high-powered rifles area rarity for his store.

“And the average gunshop owner is going to spotsomething fishy and turn itdown, anyway,” he said.

Gun shop owners sueover new requirement

By AMANDA LEE MYERSASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN ANTONIO — Thedrought that has turnedTexas and parts of thePlains into a parchedmoonscape of crackedearth could persist intonext year, prolonging themisery of farmers andranchers who have en-dured a dry spell that isnow expected to be thestate’s worst since the1950s.

The U.S. Climate Predic-tion Center said Thursdaythe La Niña weather phe-nomenon blamed for thecrippling lack of rain mightbe back soon, just twomonths after the last La Ni-ña ended. If that happens,the drought would almostcertainly extend into 2012.

The extreme dry condi-tions have been madeworse by week after weekof triple-digit temperatures,which have caused reser-voirs to evaporate, crops towither and animals andfish to die off.

“The suffering and des-perate need for relief growswith the rising temper-atures and record-breakingheat that continue toscorch Texas with eachpassing day,” state Agricul-ture Commissioner ToddStaples said.

Even the state’s feralhogs are hiding from theheat, postponing a newreality TV show about Tex-ans gunning them downfrom helicopters.

Texas saw less than an

inch of rain statewide inJuly, and more than 90 per-cent of the state is alreadyin the two most extremestages of drought.

“Anything below 2 to 3inches of rainfall would bea fly-on-the-windshield typething as far as improve-ment,” said Victor Murphy,a climate expert with theNational Weather Service.“It wouldn’t reverse thiscontinued death spiralwe’re on.”

Also Thursday, the stateclimatologist declared thisthe most severe one-yeardrought on record in Texas.Officials expected to de-clare soon that it has be-come the worst droughtsince the 1950s.

A newly updated weath-er map showed the droughtholding firm — if not in-tensifying — through atleast October.

In Dallas, county offi-cials say at least 13 peoplehave died from the heatthis summer. The high tem-perature Thursday was ex-pected to hit 109 degrees,which would be a recordfor the date.

Statewide demand forpower was expected to ap-proach the maximumThursday for a fourthstraight day. Some large in-dustrial plants were forcedoff the overburdened elec-tric grid, requiring them toshut down or rely on theirown power reserves.

And for the first timethis summer, utilitieswarned residential custom-ers of the potential for roll-

ing outages. Beleaguered farms and

dead pastures have beenhurt the most. The agricul-ture industry, which ac-counts for nearly 9 percentof the Texas economy, maybe headed for the biggestsingle-year losses ever —potentially as high as $8billion, according to theTexas AgriLife ExtensionService.

The La Niña watch is-sued by the Climate Predic-tion Center warned thatthe phenomenon markedby a cooling of the tropicalPacific Ocean could soonredevelop. La Niña typical-ly results in less rain forsouthern states, and it’s

blamed for drought condi-tions in Oklahoma andNew Mexico, too.

A La Niña watch means

conditions are favorable forLa Niña to return withinthe next six months. ButTexas will probably know

as early as October or No-vember, said Mike Halpert,a deputy director of the Cli-mate Prediction Center.

By that time, the driestplaces could be out of wa-ter.

In the town of RobertLee, a rural farming com-munity of about 1,000 inthe middle of West Texas,people are worried thatLake E.V. Spence could dryup by winter and leave thetown without any water.

Some residents wonderif the National Guard canhaul in water. Making mat-ters worse, a pipe that wasprobably busted by the dry,shifting ground begangushing water Thursday.

Closer to Austin, the Lla-no River trickled at a rateabout 95 percent slowerthan normal. The city ofLlano already has contact-ed bottled water distribu-tors about supplying resi-dents with bottles for cook-ing and drinking if theriver flow stops entirely.

Some say another year for droughtBy PAUL J. WEBERASSOCIATED PRESS

The remains of a dead alligator gar is seen on the dried-out bed of O.C. Fisher Lake at San Angelo StatePark on Wednesday, in San Angelo. According to state park officials, long periods of 100-degree plusdays and lack of rain in the drought-stricken region over the past few years has nearly dried out theman-made reservoir that once spanned over 5,400 acres.

Photo by Tony Gutierrez | AP

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2011 THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

Adrian Ramirez IIIpassed away Sunday, July31, 2011, at Laredo Medi-cal Center.

Mr. Ramirez is preced-ed in death by his par-ents: Adrian Ramirez Jr.and Dora Gonzalez; andby his father, Eustolio Ra-mirez; and mother, Celes-tina Ramirez; sister, AidaSanchez; and a brother,Jaime Luis Ramirez.

Mr. Ramirez is survivedby his wife, Maria ElenaT. Ramirez; children: Dora(Roberto) Valdez, Adrian(Norma) Ramirez IV andDebra (Jorge) Garcia;grandchildren: FernandoM. (Jennifer) Rivera, Bi-anca Valdez, ChristianValdez, Sinai Ramirez,Adrian Ramirez V, JessicaLee Garcia, Rebecca LeeGarcia and Jorge GarciaJr.; brothers and sisters:Esther R. Williams, Rosa(Modesto) Buentello, Bud-dy Ramirez, Celia (Abel)Elizondo and Sylvia (Abe-lardo) Mendoza; brother-in-law, Domingo Sanchez;and by numerous neph-ews, nieces and manyfriends.

Visitation hours wereWednesday, Aug. 3, 2011,from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. atRose Garden Funeral

Home.The funeral procession

departed at 9:30 a.m. for a10 a.m. funeral Mass atOur Lady of LourdesCatholic Church.

Committal services fol-lowed at Zapata CountyCemetery, including fullmilitary honors by theAmerican Legion Post 486Color Guard.

Funeral arrangementswere under the directionof Rose Garden FuneralHome, Daniel A. Gonza-lez, funeral director, 2102Highway 83, Zapata.

ADRIAN RAMIREZ III

Darwin Merritt Harri-son-Bishop, 68, passedaway peacefully Wednes-day, June 29, 2011, at theLaredo Specialty Hospitalsurrounded by his lovedones.

Mr. Bishop was bornNov. 6, 1942, in Davenport,Iowa, and is preceded indeath by his parents: Au-byn (Lynn) Lamb andGeorge Flack Bishop.

Mr. Bishop is survivedby his wife, Arabela G.Bishop; daughter, Egna(Derly Jr.) Villarreal;grandchildren: Javier Jr.,Angela D. and Norma M.Ramirez; sister-in-law, Ma-ria Socorro Gonzalez;grandniece, Jennifer M.Rodriguez; sister, JoanSantogrossi; nieces: Gin-ger and Ashley; and neph-ew, Dr. John Santogrossi.

Mr. Bishop was an edu-cator for over 30 years; heheld several master’s de-grees in various fields. Af-ter retirement he was asubstitute teacher who en-joyed telling both jokesand stories to his students.He was an instructor forthe Texas Parks & WildlifeDepartment, as well as ascoutmaster. He had a pas-sion for animals, historyand antiques and was anavid gunsmith who prac-ticed the trade as a hobby.He served as a deputy forCameron County for manyyears and was a specialdeputy for Zapata County.

The family wishes to

express its gratitude to hispersonal physician anddear friend Dr. Ernest andMrs. Hilda Cabrera, aswell as the Cabrera chil-dren, for their vigilantcare and especially theirgranddaughter, Elisa (Ba-by) Cabrera, Falcon LakeNursing Home, LaredoSpecialty Hospital and theChurch of Jesus Christ ofLatter Day Saints.

Visitation hours wereFriday, July 8, 2011, from8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. with achapel service at 10 a.m. atRose Garden FuneralHome.

Cremation arrange-ments were under the di-rection of Rose Garden Fu-neral Home, Daniel A.Gonzalez, funeral director,2102 Highway 83, Zapata.

DARWIN MERRITTHARRISON-BISHOP

Lourdes Catholic Church.Committal services followedat Zapata County Cemetery.

Funeral arrangementswere under the direction ofRose Garden Funeral Home,Daniel A. Gonzalez, funeraldirector, 2102 Highway 83,Zapata.

Ovidio Molina, 82, passedaway Friday, July 29, 2011, atRetama Manor West in La-redo.

Mr. Molina is preceded indeath by his parents: LucioMolina and Raymunda P.Molina; son, Juan Molina;and brothers and sisters.

Mr. Molina is survived byhis wife, Maria E. Molina;daughter, Leticia (Rene)Mercado; daughter-in-law,Araceli Molina; grandchil-dren: Juan Gabriel Molina,Venancio (Thelma) Molina,

Jessica Molina, Pedro(Amanda) Aleman, Gerardo(Gyzell) Aleman, Frank(Iliana) Aleman, Jesus(Jackeline) Rodriguez andArturo Mercado; great-grandchildren; brothersRaul Molina and BaldemarMolina; and by a sister Pie-dad Molina; and by numer-ous nephews, nieces andmany friends.

Visitation hours wereTuesday, Aug. 2, 2011, from1:30 to 3:45 p.m. with a 4 p.m.funeral Mass at Our Lady of

OVIDIO MOLINA

Porfiria B. “Nena” Me-drano, 80, passed away July29, 2011, in Laredo, at Lare-do Medical Center.

Mrs. Medrano is preced-ed in death by her hus-band, Benito Medrano; par-ents: Fidel and Rufina Bar-rera; brothers: BaldomeroBarrera and Fidel BarreraJr.; sisters Noemi Barrera,Frances B. Lerma, Irma B.Lerma and Noemi (Oscar)Rivas.

Mrs. Medrano is sur-vived by a daughter, Car-men (Sheriff Sigifredo Jr.)Gonzalez; sons: Manuel Al-bino Medrano, Jose Euge-nio (Graciela G.) Medranoand Jaime (Celia M. A.)Medrano; grandchildren:Erica D. (Alberto) Oliveros,Sigifredo III (Viola Cama-cho) Gonzalez, Manuel A.

Medrano Jr., Jorge L. Me-drano, Gina M. Medrano,Jessica Medrano, Benito L.Medrano and Jose E. Me-drano Jr.; great-grandchil-dren: Benjamin Perez IVand Alberto R. Oliveros Jr.;sisters Noelia (Reynaldo)Fabela and Dora (Gustavo)Garza; sister-in-law, Flavia

Barrera; and brother-in-law,Apolinar Lerma.

Visitation will be Sun-day, July 31, 2011, from 6 to9 p.m. with a rosary at 7p.m. at Rose Garden Funer-al Home.

The funeral processionwill depart Aug. 1, 2011, at9:30 for a 10 a.m. funeral

Mass at Santa Ana Missionin Falcon. Committal ser-vices will follow at the Me-drano Cemetery in Falcon.

The Medrano familywould like to thank theiraunt, Aurora Garcia, forhelping them in their timeof need.

Condolences may be sentto the family at www.rose-gardenfuneralhome.com.

Funeral arrangementsare under the direction ofRose Garden FuneralHome, Daniel A. Gonzalez,funeral director, 2102 High-way 83, Zapata.

PORFIRIA B. ‘NENA’ MEDRANO

Master Sgt. Heriberto D.Torres, USAF (Retired), 75,passed away Sunday, July31, 2011, at Doctor’s Hospi-tal in Laredo.

MSgt. Torres was bornJune 12, 1936, to Adrianand Avelina Torres. He ac-tively and proudly servedin the United States AirForce as an airplane tech-nician from 1954 until hisretirement in 1983. On Aug.19, 1961, he married thelove of his life, Dora EllaGutierrez. They were mar-ried for 43 years until herdeath in 2005.

Mr. Torres is preceded indeath by his wife, Dora G.Torres; parents: Adrian O.Torres and Avelina D.Torres; grandson Little Ed-die; brother, Adrian “Jr.”Torres; and a sister Jesus-

ita (Jose) Aceves.Mr. Torres is survived by

his children: Adela T. (JoseLuis) Cristerna, HeribertoG. (Isela) Torres and LynnaT. (Calixto III) Rodriguez;grandchildren Jose LuisCristerna III, Sotero G.Cristerna, Sabrina C. Cris-terna, Daniel P. Cristerna,

Brandon Torres, RaymondTorres, Jennifer M. Rodri-guez, Alberto J. Rodriguezand Carlos J. Rodriguez;great-grandson, Matthew I.Cristerna; sisters Alicia (Ig-nacio) Luevanos, Avelina(Richard) Inez, Lydia Estra-da and Martha (Frankie)Inez; sister-in-law, MariaTorres; and by numerousnephews, nieces and manyfriends.

Visitation hours wereWednesday, Aug. 3, 2011,from 6 to 9 p.m. with a ros-ary at 7 p.m. at Rose Gar-den Funeral Home.

The funeral processiondeparted Thursday, August4, 2011, at 9:45 for a 10 a.m.funeral Mass at Our Ladyof Lourdes CatholicChurch.

Committal services fol-

lowed at Zapata CountyCemetery, including fullmilitary honors by theAmerican Legion Post 486Color Guard.

The family would like tothank Amistad HomeHealth and Dr. J.R. Garciaand staff for their manyyears of care and service,as well as Ike Gutierrezand Derly Rodriguez Jr.

Funeral arrangementswere under the direction ofRose Garden FuneralHome, Daniel A. Gonzalez,funeral director, 2102 High-way 83, Zapata.

HERIBERTO D. TORRES

BREAKING THE RAMADAN FAST IN INDIA

Photo by Kevin Frayer | A P

An Indian Muslim praysafter breaking the Rama-

dan fast at the JamaMasjid in New Delhi, In-dia, on Friday. Muslims

around the world aremarking the holy fasting

month of Ramadan,where the devout fastfrom dawn until dusk.

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2011

bass with “Gone Fishing,Falcon Lake” and a red,white, and blue map ofTexas. Others went under-water: first-grader JadirGonzalez came up withsomething out of “FindingNemo,” a conversationamong fish.

The art contest wassponsored by Dairy Queen,and the winners will be ondisplay at the ZapataChamber of Commerce of-fice. Winners were chosenby Zapata County JudgeJoe Rathmell, Laredo art-ist Pancho Farias, andFarmers Insurance agentEsther Hinojosa.

In lieu of the lake, a gi-ant fish tank (approximate-

ly 20x30 feet) loaded withfish will be set up at theZapata Boys and Girls’Club.

“It’s like a huge swim-ming pool,” said Balderas.

While it misses some ofthe natural beauty of thelake, the fish tank decreas-es the potential for acci-dents, says Balderas.

“There is little chance ofanything happening, andthe kids will have a safe,fun time,” she said.

The chamber seekssponsors for the tourney.Those interested can visitthe Zapata Chamber ofCommerce at www.zapa-tausa.com or call Balderasat 956-765-4871, ext. 12.

FISHING Continued from Page 1A

school, helping the dis-tricts’ already over-whelmed guidance andcounseling departments.

According to the group,98 percent of the case-man-aged students stayed inschool in 2009-10.

Gutierrez said the groupwill be able to offset thebudget cut without affect-ing services or personnel.He said he and the group’s24-member board will off-set the cut through fund-raisers, acquiring more af-fordable contracted servic-es, seeking other grantsand dipping into savings.

“We’ve been fortunateenough to do that,” hesaid.

On Aug. 20, Communi-ties in Schools – Laredowill hold its 15th annualgolf tournament, the

group’s biggest fundraiserof the year.

Unlike in previousyears, the event will beheld at Casa Blanca GolfCourse instead of the Lare-do Country Club.

Funds generated fromthe fundraiser will benefitprogram operations.

The group is still look-ing for event sponsors andparticipants. Sponsorshiplevels range from $500 to$5,000, and the entrance feefor participants is $100.That $100 will also getthem breakfast, lunch andeligibility for door prizes.

To sign up or for moreinformation, call Commu-nities in School – Laredoat 791-2199.

(Nick Georgiou may bereached at 728-2582 or nge-orgiou@lmtonline.com)

SCHOOLS Continued from Page 1A

ties of 100 megabytes persecond, substantial because,as Andrews explained,“most homes run from oneto two megabytes per sec-ond.”

He’s also confident thismove will entice businessesto give Zapata a closer look.

“An engineering firmwon’t have to set up in Dal-las or somewhere like that,”said Andrews, who alsosees opportunities in tele-medicine and distancelearning.

Additional business-relat-ed items include the pay-ment of nearly $4,000 worthof membership dues to theLaredo-based South TexasDevelopment Foundation,an item requested by Coun-ty Judge Joe Rathmell, whoalso sits on the foundation’sboard of directors. The

foundation oversees theBorder Area NutritionCouncil, the Area Agencyon Aging, and HIV services.

Another economic bodyslated to receive moneyfrom Zapata County is theZapata County EconomicDevelopment Center(ZEDC), a private nonprofitcorporation. The court, ac-cording to the advancedagenda, will decide whetherto commit in the amount of$41,250 to the corporationfor unspecified programs,projects, and activities tocreate and retain jobs.

ZEDC President PeggyUmphres Moffet could notbe reached for commentabout the specific projectsto which the money wouldgo. The official website ofZEDC touts ecotourism, en-ergy extraction and health-

care as some of its con-cerns. It also lists Rathmellas chairman of its board ofdirectors.

Changes in county per-sonnel are also slated fordiscussion.

One position withincounty firefighting servicesmay see a pay decreasefrom $10.85 to $9.06 perhour, but the change is un-likely to be permanent, asZapata County Fire ChiefJ.J. Meza explained he re-quested the change morefor the individual currentlyoccupying the slot.

“The person in [slot 29]had his duties decreased,”said Meza. “We are alsochanging the slot from fire-fighter to dispatcher.”

Meza also said thechange was agreed to bythe employee partly due to

the individual wanting lessresponsibility due to health-related issues. Meza is opento returning the slot to itscurrent job title and rate ofpay should future circum-stances require it.

The court will also beasked to accept the resigna-tions of two fire departmentemployees — a paramedicand an emergency medicaltechnician. Meza says bothare taking jobs in Laredo.

In other action, the courtwill be asked to approve arequest for qualification forthe operation of the ZapataCounty Medical Clinic, aswell as a redistricting of thecounty precinct boundaries.

The meeting will be heldat the Zapata County Court-house, 200 E. 7th Ave. Suite108. The meeting starts at 9a.m.

COUNTY Continued from Page 1A

federal spending by $2.1trillion or more over thenext decade. But Obamaimmediately challenged Re-publicans to accept highertaxes on the wealthy in asecond round of deficit cutsthis fall. They adamantlyrefused to accept that ideaduring the past months’dispute.

A stern-faced Obamasaid at the White Housethat action to raise the debtlimit had been essentialbut more — and different— steps were badly needed.

“We’ve got to do every-thing in our power to growthis economy and putAmerica back to work,” thepresident said, arguingforcefully for including rev-enue increases as well asspending cuts in the nextround of efforts to trimhuge government deficits.

“The American peopleagreed with us on the na-ture of the problem. Theyknow the governmentdidn’t accumulate $14.3 tril-lion in debt because itdidn’t tax enough,” saidthe party’s leader in theSenate, Mitch McConnell of

Kentucky. Obama placed his signa-

ture on the bill in the pri-vacy of the Oval Office lessthan two hours after a bi-partisan 74-26 vote in theSenate. The House ap-proved the measure Mon-day night on a 269-161 rollcall that also reachedacross party lines and wassealed by a rap of the gavelby Speaker John Boehner.

The bill allows a quick$900 billion increase in bor-rowing authority as well asa first installment onspending cuts amountingto $917 billion over a dec-ade.

Without legislation inplace by day’s end, theTreasury would have beenunable to pay all the na-tion’s bills, leading to a po-tential default for the firsttime in history. Adminis-tration officials warned ofdisastrous consequencesfor an economy that showsfresh signs of weakness ona near-daily basis as itstruggles to recover fromthe worst recession in dec-ades.

The White House and

congressional leaders saidlegislation was importantto reassure investors athome as well as overseas,and also to preserving thenation’s Aaa credit rating.Talk of that rating’s precar-iousness continued none-theless.

This week’s peace pactbetween the two parties isunlikely to be long-lived.

The bill sets up a power-ful 12-member committeeof lawmakers with author-ity to recommend fresh def-icit savings from every cor-ner of the federal budget.

Politically sensitive bene-fit programs such as SocialSecurity and Medicare willbe on the table as the panelof six Republicans and sixDemocrats works against aThanksgiving deadline. So,too, an overhaul of the taxcode. Congress will haveuntil Christmas to vote onthe recommendations.

As an incentive for Con-gress to act, failure to do sowould trigger $1.2 trillionin automatic spendingcuts, affecting the Penta-gon as well as domesticprograms.

Even before the presi-dent signed the legislation,he and Republicans weremaneuvering for politicalposition on the next stage.

“We can’t balance thebudget on the backs of peo-ple who have borne thebiggest brunt of this reces-sion,” the president said,renewing his call for high-er taxes on the wealthy.“Everyone is going to haveto chip in. It’s only fair.”

Senate Republicans sayit will not happen.

“I’m comfortable wearen’t going to raise taxescoming out of this jointcommittee,” McConnellsaid Monday.

In a speech shortly be-fore the vote, he predictedinstead a renewal of themost recent struggle overspending cuts.

The debt limit will haveto be raised shortly afterthe 2012 election, he said,predicting that no presi-dent of either party will be“allowed to raise the debtceiling without ... having toengage in the kind of de-bate we’ve just beenthrough.”

BUDGET Continued from Page 1A

Sports&OutdoorsSATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2011 ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

This week I was fortunate to travel toZapata to visit with coach Rosie Villarrealand talk a little bit about the upcomingvolleyball season.

On my drive to Zapata, I started think-ing about my hometown and the feelingthat I get when I have the opportunity tovisit.

I am from Raymondville, a small townin the Rio Grande Valley, and it mirrorsZapata in many ways.

I love the small-town feeling, especiallyon a Friday night during football seasonwhere traffic is minimal because everyoneis at the stadium.

The team can be undefeated or winlessand the stadium is still standing room on-ly.

Last year I was able to make it to aHawks football game and I loved the wholeatmosphere that it created, from the bandgetting ready on the side to carne asadabeing cooked just outside the stadium.

Those sounds and smells brought backmemories from my days at RaymondvilleHigh, when we could not wait until Fridayfor the football game.

Everyone was at the game, from admin-istration, to former players and students tothe school board president. It was just atime to get away from whatever problemswe had.

Small town lifeIn a small town high school, everyone

knows each other, so a new student com-ing in does not have a chance of not beingnoticed.

You grow up with everyone and attendelementary, middle school and eventuallyhead off to high school together.

On graduation day from high school,you know every one of the names that arebeing blared out by the announcer.

I have been to high school graduationsin Laredo and it takes hours just to callout the names. Try sitting through 600; itcan be very exhausting. I almost missedmy nephew’s name being called out be-cause my mind wandered off.

Sometimes we think when we live in asmall town that somehow we are missingout on the world and that might be true toa certain extent. We cannot wait to get outof here and start living our lives, so leav-ing to college was a welcomed sight.

What many fail to understand is thatsmall towns have an advantage opposed toliving in a large city.

When I get to visit my parents for an ex-tended period of time, I love it because Iget to slow down from my fast-pacedworld.

In Laredo, I am always on the go anddon’t slow down for too many things orpeople.

I go from assignment to assignment,from game to game, and don’t get mewrong, I love what I do, but sometimes Ineed to slow down and I have not foundany place better that lets me catch mybreath than my hometown.

I enjoy the laid back attitude and head-ing to the local grocery store to shop withno time constraints because I have anoth-er event to go to.

A small town is the core of Americanvalues. Everyone in Zapata is very fortu-nate to be in a place that contributes toour future.

Small towns are crucial to the fabric ofeveryday life. Never take them for granted.

Walkingdown

memorylane

Zapata remindsof home

LAREDO — With four practices undertheir belt, the Lady Hawks headed to La-redo on Friday to test the waters of theirnew team.

Zapata participated at the United Highscrimmage and played against EaglePass, Freer, Roma and host United in 25

increments.The scrimmages provided an opportu-

nity for coaches to juggle lineups andschemes and for players to continue tomake a solid impression for more playingtime.

Scrimmages are utilized to see if theteam is clicking on offense and what theyneed to work on before the first game ofthe season.

“Some are coming from the JV team,so I have to make sure that they are ableto handle the pressures of varsity ball,”Zapata coach Rosie Villarreal said. “I sawa lot of good things.”

On the same token, Villarreal saw afew things that they need to fix beforethey open the season with Nixon on Mon-

HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL

Zapata volleyball coach Rosie Villarreal talks to her team in a timeout during Friday’s scrimmage in Laredo at United High School.

Photo by Clara Sandoval | The Zapata Times

LADY HAWKS IMPRESS EARLYPractices look promising for Zapata volleyballers

By CLARA SANDOVALTHE ZAPATA TIMES

See ZAPATA PAGE 2B

SAN ANTONIO — DallasCowboys quarterback Tony Ro-mo finally had two of his pri-mary protectors in front of himagain Thursday night.

Re-signed offensive linemenDoug Free and Kyle Kosiertook part in the team’s resche-duled practice only hours afterNFL players ratified the collec-tive bargaining agreement. Allplayers with new contractssince July 26 were able to prac-tice for the first time.

In anticipation of the ratifi-cation, coach Jason Garretthad pushed back the start ofThursday’s second sessionfrom the usual mid-afternoonstart. He got what he hoped for,a full squad for the first time

since the team started practiceat the Alamodome a week earli-er.

“We wanted to practice atnight down here at least once,so it kind of fit together,” Gar-rett said.

Keeping left tackle Free wasthe top priority for the Cow-boys once most of the deal toend the NFL’s 41/2-month lock-out was agreed to last weekand free agency began. Freegot a $32 million, four-year con-tract with $17 million guaran-teed.

“It’s always fun to play foot-ball,” Free said, walking off thefield without stopping after thenearly three-hour session.“Yeah, doing good.”

Free, going into his fifth

NFL TRAINING CAMP

Romo set to stay uprightBy STEPHEN HAWKINS

ASSOCIATED PRESSDallas Cow-

boys’ TonyRomo runs

drills duringtraining campon Monday in

San Antonio.

Photo by Darren Abate | AP See COWBOYS PAGE 2B

ZAPATA MIDDLE SCHOOL 2011-2012 CHEERLEADERS

Courtesy photo

The cheerleaders attended their yearly camp instructed by Lauren Contreras Choreography. The girls are under the direction of Vianey C. Martin and areled by Captain Katy Ramirez, Co-Captains Monique Hurtado and Rebecca Villarreal. The girls are excited and ready to cheer on the Merlins.

PAGE 2B Zscores SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2011

season, became the starter on theleft side protecting Romo’s blindside last season.

Kosier got a $9 million, three-year contract. He is going intohis 10th season, the sixth in Dal-las.

“It was a little strange. I feltlike I was missing something,missing being sore or some-thing,” Kosier said. “I’m justknocking the rust off a little bit.... You can’t be at home hittingyour head against the wall allyear long. It’s going to take a lit-tle while to get used to.”

The Cowboys last week re-leased both right-side startersfrom last season, guard LeonardDavis and tackle Marc Colombo.

Unrestricted free agent AbramElam, who has agreed to one-yeardeal to reunite with new Cow-boys defensive coordinator Rob

Ryan, didn’t make it in time forThursday night’s practice andwasn’t officially put on the roster.

Elam began his career in Dal-las in 2006 and has started 31 of32 games in Cleveland the pasttwo seasons playing for Ryan’sdefense.

Other Cowboys who practicedfor the first time were defensiveends Marcus Spears, JasonHatcher and Kenyon Coleman,safety Gerald Sensabaugh, receiv-er Jesse Holley and cornerbacksAlan Ball and Bryan McCann.

Spears missed the final eightgames last season after being puton injured reserve because of acalf injury. He got hurt in a lossat Green Bay, the day before for-mer coach Wade Phillips gotfired, so he had never been partof a practice under coach JasonGarrett.

“It’s sort of like a game situa-tion. You’re moving from periodto period and you’re moving pret-ty fast,” Spears said. “To get intothe swing of things is tough whenyou’re coming off of eight monthsof no football. ... I hadn’t missedthat much football ever. It wastough to be injured and having tosit out at the beginning of train-ing camp. So to be back is phe-nomenal.”

Sensabaugh signed a $2.5 mil-lion, one-year contract Wednes-day to remain in Dallas for thethird consecutive season. LikeSpears and other defenders, he ishaving to learn the new schemebeing installed by Ryan.

“(My head) is spinning quite abit. It’s the first day learning thesystem,” Sensabaugh said.“They’ve been around the systemfor eight, nine days and I’ve had

just 24 hours to look over it. I’mjust in there trying to makeplays.”

Also back on the field Thurs-day was receivers coach JimmyRobinson, who was knocked un-conscious and sustained a con-cussion after being run over dur-ing a punt return drill Saturdaywhen the team was in pads forthe first time.

“He’s about as tough as theycome. He took quite a shot theother day,” Garrett said. “He’sstill not 100 percent, but he’s triedto work his way back into meet-ings and he’s been back on thefield a little bit now.”

The 58-year-old Robinson, alsothe team’s assistant head coach,is in his first season with theCowboys after coming from theSuper Bowl champion Green BayPackers.

“It’s a little frustrating whenyou can’t be out here doing yourjob, but getting a little better eachday,” Robinson said. “Still someheadaches, a little bit of doublevision. It kind of comes and goes.... I’m just trying to move slowly.I’m not trying to move too fast. Iwon’t be throwing any drills justyet. But, hopefully, we will get tothat kind of stuff pretty soon.”

Robinson said he remembersreceiver Teddy Williams cominghis way during the drill.

“He was pretty close at thepoint, because I think somebodystanding close to me had justmaybe jumped out of the way andI was the next in line, so tospeak,” he said. “It’s scary whenyou think about what could havebeen. It could have been a lotworse in terms of permanentdamage.”

COWBOYS Continued from Page 1B

day at home.“Of course you have

your good points but attimes it was, ‘Oh my josh,I know I taught themthat!’” Villarreal said witha laugh. “Overall, we didwell.”

In its opening scrim-mage, Zapata worked theball against the United de-fense and put together afew rallies that had theLady Longhorns search-ing for answers.

Kristina De Leon andShelby Bigler lookedsharp at the net, constant-ly putting pressure on the

United defense.Defensively, the Lady

Hawks had moments ofgreatness but at timeswere out of alignment andUnited took advantage.

Villarreal was im-pressed with sophomoresGabby Gutierrez and Va-lerie Gutierrez.

Gabby, in particular,made a name with hercoach.

“I was very impressedwith her,” Villarreal said.“She had not been doingvery well at practice thisweek and (Friday) she didreally well.”

ZAPATA Continued from Page 1B

CANTON, Ohio —NFL Commissioner Rog-er Goodell and NFLPAhead DeMaurice Smitheach grabbed a side ofthe massive 300-page col-lective bargaining agree-ment between the play-ers and league ownersand exchanged a relievedhandshake while posingfor the cameras.

And just like that, 41/2 months of acrimony,anger and posturingfrom both sides duringthe protracted NFL lock-out was over.

Smith and Goodellsigned the new CBA on amakeshift stage on thesteps of the Pro FootballHall of Fame Fridaymorning, a largely cere-monial gesture after theplayers agreed to ratifythe 10-year agreementThursday night.

Still, there was a senseof relief from both Smithand Goodell, who shookhands three times duringthe brief signing andeven hugged after spend-ing nearly half a year intense negotiations hag-gling over a new way todistribute the NFL’s mas-sive revenue stream.

“We’re all relieved be-cause football is back,”Goodell said. “That’swhat our fans want, andthat’s what we all wantand we’re thrilled thatwe got it done.”

One fan shouted“thank you” to Smith ashe took his seat, withSmith answering “morethan welcome.”

Following the signingboth men glad-handedtheir way to the NFLNetwork’s set inside theHall of Fame Gallery.With the busts of Hall in-ductees serving as abackdrop, Smith andGoodell detailed thesometimes difficult jour-ney to the new deal.

Neither pointed to abreakthrough moment inthe lengthy talks, insteadcrediting leadership onboth sides for being ableto find common groundso the 2011 season couldbe saved.

Goodell said a smallgroup of player represen-tatives and owners didthe leg work of puttingaside the considerable

differences between thetwo groups and focusingon the future.

“There was a tremen-dous amount of respectand an attempt to findsolutions,” Goodell said.“Once we understoodeach other and we under-stood that that was whatwe were there for, we gotit done.”

Both Goodell andSmith were vague on thepossibility of HGH-test-ing. Smith called it“something to be strivedfor,” with Goodell adding““we’re going to get itdone but we want to getit done right.”

Testing could begin bythe start of the regularseason, though the spe-cifics are still beingworked on, as are severalother details. It didn’tstop Smith from celebrat-ing a “joyous” day. Theprocess has turned himinto a celebrity of sorts,and he spent severalminutes posing for pic-tures with fans before be-ing whisked away in avan.

Though the playerswere eager to get back towork, not every teamwalked in lockstep to rat-ify the CBA.

The Pittsburgh Steel-ers voted no, citing therushed nature of the deal— the Steelers didn’t re-ceive a copy until 3 p.m.— and the agreement’sinability to addressGoodell’s role as judgeand jury for on-the-fielddiscipline.

“We felt it was shoveddown our throats,” Pitts-burgh defensive tackleWillie Colon said Thurs-day.

Smith declined to dis-cuss Pittsburgh’s vote.NFLPA spokesmanGeorge Atallah said sim-ply “we’re happy to beback playing football.”

Asked if the NFLPAviewed the defendingAFC champion’s decisionto vote against the dealas a protest, Atallah said,“ask (Steelers player rep-resentative) Ryan Clark.”

Clark said he wouldn’tdiscuss the outcome ofthe vote, though both heand Pittsburgh quarter-back Charlie Batch ac-knowledged there weresome players on the 90-man roster who were notin favor of the deal.

NFL CBA set fornext 10 years

By WILL GRAVESASSOCIATED PRESS

Given the circumstancesof a most peculiar year, theslogan of the final major —“Glory’s Last Shot” —might not apply to TigerWoods.

In some respects, thePGA Championship is morelike a fresh start.

This is the seventh timein his 15 years on tour thatWoods has come to the lastmajor of the year withouthaving made any progresstoward the record that mat-ters the most to him — the18 professional majors wonby Jack Nicklaus.

In three of those seasons,he was changing his swing.Last year, he was goingthrough a divorce.

This year, he simplyhasn’t played.

Since closing with a 67 atthe Masters, briefly sharingthe lead on Sunday until hisgame stalled and he tied forfourth, Woods went fourmonths without playing afull round because of recur-ring pain in his left kneeand Achilles tendon. He on-ly missed four tournamentshe ordinarily would haveplayed, but two of themwere the U.S. Open andBritish Open.

“We get four chances topeak per year, and unfortu-nately, I was only able to tryand peak for one,” Woodssaid. “Obviously, my timeta-ble isn’t very long to tryand peak for the last onehere.”

Yes, it’s his last shot ofthe year to try to win a ma-jor.

Could this also be his lastshot at restoring belief thathe still can reach or evenbreak the Nicklaus bench-mark? That he could getback to No. 1 in the world?That his red shirt on Sun-day could still mean some-thing?

Some of these could getanswered when the 93rd

PGA Championship getsunder way Thursday at At-lanta Athletic Club.

Woods is only 35. Nick-laus, when he was this age,went on to win five moremajors in his career, andthe Golden Bear might havewon more if he had not al-ready broken the recordonce held by Bobby Jones.

But the trauma inWoods’ life — physical andemotional — makes him anold 35.

It’s more than the foursurgeries on his left kneedating to his freshman yearat Stanford. Woods used towalk into the locker roomor onto the practice rangefully aware that the otherplayers were looking him asgolf ’s best player, and theguy they would have tobeat. Now they look at himthe way everyone else does,wondering what’s going oninside his head, curiouswhat kind of scores hemight post.

The swagger is gone be-cause Woods hasn’t won atournament in 20 months.The aura is gone becausegolf looks deeper than ever.Three of the last five majorchampions are in the top 10in the world and still intheir 20s — U.S. Openchampion Rory McIlroy,Masters champion CharlSchwartzel and defendingPGA champion MartinKaymer.

Like so many otheryoung players, they have noreason to be afraid ofWoods because they havenot competed again him athis best.

And there are no guaran-tees they ever will.

“It would be a little in-timidating if you knew forsure that he was going tocome back and play the wayhe did in 2000 or 2001,”

McIlroy said. “But whoknows for sure what waythe game is going to go?”

It’s a question that hasbeen asked — and not an-swered — since Woods firstreturned at the Masters lastyear after his image wasshredded over extramaritalaffairs.

His “comeback” lastedone tournament — a tie forfourth in the 2010 Masters— until he missed the cutin his next tournamentwith his highest 36-holescore ever, then withdrew aweek later from anothertournament with a neck in-jury. He picked up a newswing coach in Sean Foleylate last summer andshowed signs of immediateimprovement, only to startthis year with ordinary re-sults.

He came back at ThePlayers Championship onMay 12 from what was de-scribed as “minor injuries,”only to quit after nineholes. Woods pledged not toreturn until he was 100 per-cent healthy, even to thepoint of missing two ma-jors.

Another setback now andthe skepticism will be asgreat as ever.

Still, he doesn’t see thePGA Championship any dif-ferently from other years,whether he was trying towin his first major of theyear or his third in a row.

“It’s a major champion-ship,” he said. “We get foura year and try to peak fourtimes a year. It’s as simpleas that.”

Not even after 13 majorshave come and gone with-out his name on the trophy?Not even after not beingcertain for most of the sum-mer that he could play thePGA Championship thisyear?

Woods shook his head.“Feels the same,” he said,

then raising his eyebrowwith a slight grin and add-ing, “Looking forward toit.”

So many others feel thesame way.

The PGA Championshipdoesn’t get the same respectfrom the public as the othermajors, some of that be-cause it’s at the end of theschedule and football startsto occupy American minds.

But there is no denyinghow tough it is to win. Itfeatures by far the strongestfield of any major, with 99of the top 100 in the worldranking scheduled to be atAtlanta Athletic Club whenit gets under way on Thurs-day. If no one withdraws,that will be the most top-100players at any major sincethe world ranking began in1986.

For some, there could bea sense of urgency.

That particularly holdstrue for Lee Westwood, thefirst golfer to replace Woodsat No. 1 in the world latelast year and the best activeplayer to have never won amajor. And there had to bea feeling of “When is it myturn” for the 38-year-oldEnglishman when hewatched one of his bestfriends, 42-year-old DarrenClarke who was No. 110 inthe world, cradle the silverclaret jug at the BritishOpen last month.

Westwood is representedby Chubby Chandler at In-ternational Sports Manage-ment, who is going for anagent’s Grand Slam. His cli-ents have won all three ma-jors this year — and four ofthe last five including LouisOosthuizen at St. Andrewslast year. Not many couldhave imagined Westwoodwould not be among them.

Tiger Woods reacts after missing a birdie putt on the 8th hole during the second round of the Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone CountryClub in Akron, Ohio, on Friday.

Photo by Mark Duncan | AP

Tiger on the major prowlWoods returns for

the PGA By DOUG FERGUSONASSOCIATED PRESS

Woods is only 35. Nicklaus, when he was this age,went on to win five more majors in his career, andthe Golden Bear might have won more if he had notalready broken the record once held by Bobby Jones.

DAILY CRYPTOQUOTES — Here’s how to work it:

FAMILY CIRCUS DENNIS THE MENACE

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2011 THE ZAPATA TIMES 3B

Dear Readers: People of-ten think that DOGS LICK-ING AND CHEWINGTHEIR PAWS is a normalactivity. If they lick once ina while, or after a meal,that’s not unusual. Howev-er, it can signal allergiesand/or an infection if it isconstant or causes rednessor hair loss.

Pollen, mold, mildew,dust, wool, insects and ahost of other things cantrigger an allergy. Also,your dog may be allergic tosoaps and shampoos, andeven fleas!

Take your dog to see avet if the chewing is con-stant and causes healthproblems. — Heloise

P.S.: Cabbie, our mini-schnauzer, sometimes doesthis when she comes in thedoggie door. We then lookfor ants on her paws!

RABBIT FIXDear Readers: If you are

thinking about getting arabbit as a pet, be awarethat it probably should bespayed or neutered. Youshould find a veterinarianwho specializes in exoticanimals. Spaying or neuter-ing is beneficial. Of course,this will keep your rabbitfrom multiplying like ...rabbits! There are otherbenefits. Litter-box trainingwill be easier, and your rab-bit will be calmer, less de-structive (chewing andsuch) and less aggressive.

— HeloiseP.S.: The House Rabbit

Society, www.rabbit.org,has more information.

RAINBOW FISH Dear Heloise: If you

want a fish that’s easy tocare for, consider a rain-bow fish! Rainbow fish arevery colorful — silver, withblue and red stripes. Theyare sometimes called rain-bow sharks, but they arenot sharks! Ours are partof the family, and they allhave names.

They like to “school” orswim in groups, so we haveseveral. They don’t costmuch, and the fish eat flak-ed food, shrimp and blood-worms. — K.B., via email

EASY SQUIRREL FEED-ING

Dear Heloise: I love towatch squirrels in mybackyard, but feeding themand the birds was gettingcomplicated. I found in mydiscount store a feeder thatholds one cob of corn. Iplace the cob vertically ona long nail, and it can beattached to a tree or pole. Ikeep this feeder away fromthe birds, and I can watchboth groups eating! —Theresa in Texas

HINTS BY | HELOISE

“HELOISE

4B THE ZAPATA TIMES Sports SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 2011

CANTON, Ohio — Deion,Marshall and Shannon.Three players who could getby with only their firstnames, and soon to beknown as Hall of Famers.

Deion Sanders, MarshallFaulk and Shannon Sharpe(of course) will be inductedinto the Pro Football shrineSaturday night. Sanders andFaulk were slam dunks intheir first year of eligibility.

Joining that trio will beRichard Dent, Chris Han-burger, Les Richter and EdSabol.

Sanders was one of foot-ball’s most versatile and en-tertaining players, earningthe nickname “PrimeTime.” According to Cow-boys owner Jerry Jones, healso was a phony.

“Deion was a fraud — afraud, OK?” Jones said. “Hewanted it to look easy, buthe was a hard worker. Hewould give just enough atpractice to be a team playerin strength and condition-ing, but when he wenthome he worked like a dogon his strength. He wantedeveryone to think he was anatural. He was, but itwasn’t only because he wasborn like that. He worked.”

The teams Sandersplayed for generally workedtheir way into the playoffs.In 1994, he joined the 49ersand helped them win theSuper Bowl. The next year,he was headed to Dallas,helping the Cowboys wintheir third title in four sea-sons.

“Deion was ‘Prime Time,’‘Neon Deion,’ always thatflashy player that everybody

wanted to be,” said MikeJenkins, the Cowboys cor-nerback who now wears 21.“He always stood out and helet it be known that he wasone of the best. He definite-ly made it exotic to play cor-nerback.”

Faulk wasn’t quite so ex-otic. He was just as formid-able, though, retiring with12,279 yards and 100 touch-downs rushing, another6,875 yards and 36 TDs as areceiver.

His dominance in an 12-season career, the first fivewith Indianapolis, the lastseven in St. Louis, earnedhim election to the hall overtwo other running backswho became eligible for thefirst time in 2011. Both Cur-tis Martin and Jerome Be-ttis rushed for more yardsthan Faulk, yet fell short ofenshrinement.

“People make a big thingabout going in on the firstballot, but it’s really moreabout getting in,” Faulksaid. “They don’t give you atarget to shoot at. In base-ball, you know what youhave to do to make the Hallof Fame. In football, youstart off, you don’t reallyknow what you have to doto make it. There’s no ’Ifyou break these records as atight end, you’re going toget in’ or Shannon Sharpewould have got in his firstyear. That’s hard to do.”

Sharpe retired in 2003and missed out on makingthe hall in his first twoyears of eligibility. He com-piled 10,060 yards receivingand 62 touchdowns, mon-strous numbers for a tightend, and won three SuperBowls — two with Denver,one with Baltimore.

This file photo shows Dallas Cowboys’ Deion Sanders dancing in the endzone following his touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles. Histalent was as undeniable, although often overshadowed by his flamboyance. His induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturdaynight will seal his greatness.

Photo by Eric Gay | AP

Primetime for NFL HallBy BARRY WILNERASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON — ArianFoster led the NFL inrushing last season, andHouston Texans teammateSteve Slaton was the toprookie rusher in 2008.

Throw in Ben Tate, Der-rick Ward and Chris Og-bonnaya, and a team thatonce struggled to find a de-pendable running back isnow overstocked.

Foster was on Houston’spractice squad for much of2009 before last year’sbreakout season, when herushed for 1,616 yards and16 touchdowns. He knowshe can’t rely on what hedid last year to be success-ful in 2011.

“The crazy thing aboutthis league is that — coach(Gary Kubiak) says it allthe time — that you haveto prove yourself every sin-gle day,” Foster said. “Youcould lead the league inrushing one day and thenext day they’ll forget youfast. You have to keep onmaking your mark.”

Foster sat out much ofFriday’s practice after ex-periencing tightness in hishamstring, but should beOK. It was a setback thatKubiak said highlightedthe need to have a deepgroup at the position, asplayers get banged upthroughout the season.

“We’re going to end upwith four dang good onesand we may be in a situa-tion where we can keepfive,” Kubiak said. “Sowe’re strong at that posi-tion right now, but y’allknow how this works. Youcome out one day or playone preseason game andyou go from having abunch of them to some-thing happening. So let’sjust keep our fingers cross-ed that they’re all going tobe there at the end andwe’re going to have a goodgroup.”

Slaton had 1,282 yardsrushing with nine touch-downs as a rookie in 2008,but hasn’t done a lot sincethen while dealing with in-juries and the emergenceof Foster. He’s healthy now,and the Texans believe hecould add to the runninggame.

Tate was selected in thesecond round of the 2010draft after rushing for 1,362yards and 10 touchdownsas a senior at Auburn. Hewas expected to see limitedplaying time last season,but missed his entire roo-kie year after breaking hisankle in Houston’s firstpreseason game.

“I’m very anxious to getback to a preseason gameand get to show everyone,the fans, the organization,teammates, what I can do,”he said.

Houston has so manyoptions at the position thatthe team may not be ableto keep all of them.

“He’s in a battle,” Ku-biak said of Tate. “He’sworking as a fourth guyright now and that’s ahumbling experience. Youcome out here after youmiss all last year (and) it’sa very competitive situa-tion, and we’ve got a niceproblem back there. Sowe’ll see how it worksout.”

Running wildwith the Texans

By KRISTIE RIEKENASSOCIATED PRESS

Houston Texans running backArian Foster (23) during atraining camp practice Fridayin Houston.

Photo by David J. Phillip | AP