The Zapata Times 5/21/2014

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WEDNESDAY MAY 21, 2014 FREE A HEARST PUBLICATION ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM STADIUM SHUT DOWN $60M HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL STADIUM IN TEXAS CLOSED, 8A A Texas Parks and Wildlife Department official said this week that he “believes that lower lake levels and fishing- related mortalities are the pri- mary causes” of the decline in the bass population in Falcon Lake in Zapata. Fishermen in Zapata Coun- ty had attributed the declining bass issue to alligator gar, say- ing the massive fish feed on FALCON LAKE Disappearing bass Official: gar likely not to blame By GABRIELA A. TREVIÑO THE ZAPATA TIMES Professional fisher Keith Combs displays his two heaviest bass catches of the day during the 2010 FLW Outdoors tournament at Falcon Lake. Zapata County’s economy depends on the lake and its bass population. File photo by Times staff See LAKE PAGE 10A Federal agents have arrested a man accused of moving illegal immigrants at $100 per person, court records recently released show. A criminal complaint filed May 16 charged Pedro Gonzalez-Almaraz with transporting 11 illegal immigrants with a motor vehicle. He’ll remain in federal custody, pending a detention hearing. U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Zapata area received an anonymous call May 12 regarding two suspicious ve- hicles in San Ygnacio. One vehicle was described as a gold extended cab GMC pickup. Border Patrol set up surveillance in an unmarked vehicle across U.S. 83 in an open field in San Ygnacio. Agents spotted the GMC parking in an empty lot adjacent to an abandoned home, the complaint states. Identified as the driver, Gonzalez-Al- maraz exited the GMC and walked to- ward the abandoned home. He removed small pieces of brush from the home and surveyed his surroundings. Gonzalez-Almaraz then walked to- ward Pepe’s Gas Station and returned with two jugs of water. Two people from inside the home “cautiously look out from inside the house and reached out to get the containers of water,” the com- plaint reads. “(An agent) observed Gonzalez-Alma- raz escort one disheveled person into the passenger side of the gold GMC,” court records state. “The manner in which the person was dressed was con- sistent with illegal (people who) have been in the brush for numerous days.” Gonzalez-Almaraz escorted more peo- ple until agents approached him. Five individuals, including Gonzalez-Alma- raz, were determined to be undocument- ed immigrants, court records show. Fur- thermore, agents discovered seven peo- ple who had crossed the country illegally inside the abandoned home. “Gonzalez-Almaraz is an illegal (im- migrant who) is currently released on his own recognizance by Enforcement and Removal Operations,” the com- plaint states. In a post-arrest interview, Gonzalez- Almaraz admitted he was to be paid $100 for each of the 11 immigrants de- tained. He would have received an addi- tional $250 for smuggling the group to Zapata. Four people found inside the GMC were on their way to Zapata, while the remaining seven were supposed to be smuggled to Laredo, according to court records. Gonzalez-Almaraz identified Jorge Arambula, also known as “El Cama- rón,” as the man who was going to pay him and with whom he had made ar- rangements, according to the complaint. Agents found Gonzalez-Almaraz in possession of $3,499.25. Questioned about the cash, he said it was the mon- ey the 11 immigrants had given him. Gonzalez-Almaraz was to give the mon- ey to Arambula, according to court re- cords. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or [email protected]) COURTS Alleged smuggler arrested Man was allegedly to be paid $100 per immigrant By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES LIGHTING THE WAY Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times Special Olympian Adan Lopez is assisted by CBP agent Felipe Pantoja as they carry the Flame of Hope outside the Webb County Courthouse Tuesday morning for the inital leg of the 436-mile journey to Arlington, where the 45th Special Olympics Texas Summer Games will take place. The prosecution brought forth witnesses Tuesday who recounted events pertaining to an alleged incident involving a local U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer facing con- spiracy, human smuggling and bribery charges. During day two of 27-year- old Juan Bonilla’s federal trial, those who testified on behalf of the government included a Homeland Security Investiga- tions special agent and a CBP watch commander, chief and officers. The alleged incident oc- curred the night of Oct. 11, when Bonilla is accused of at- tempting to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country from Mexico. The HSI special agent testi- fied that he received an anony- mous tip that “some undocu- mented individuals were going to be smuggled into Laredo CBP TRIAL Witnesses testify against officer By PHILIP BALLI THE ZAPATA TIMES See CBP PAGE 10A

description

The Zapata Times 5/21/2014

Transcript of The Zapata Times 5/21/2014

Page 1: The Zapata Times 5/21/2014

WEDNESDAYMAY 21, 2014

FREE

DELIVERED EVERY SATURDAY

A HEARST PUBLICATION ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

TO 4,000 HOMES

STADIUM SHUT DOWN$60M HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL STADIUM IN TEXAS CLOSED, 8A

A Texas Parks and WildlifeDepartment official said thisweek that he “believes thatlower lake levels and fishing-related mortalities are the pri-mary causes” of the decline inthe bass population in FalconLake in Zapata.

Fishermen in Zapata Coun-ty had attributed the decliningbass issue to alligator gar, say-ing the massive fish feed on

FALCON LAKE

Disappearing bassOfficial: garlikely not to

blameBy GABRIELA A. TREVIÑO

THE ZAPATA TIMES

Professional fisher Keith Combs displays his two heaviest bass catches of the day during the 2010 FLW Outdoorstournament at Falcon Lake. Zapata County’s economy depends on the lake and its bass population.

File photo by Times staff

See LAKE PAGE 10A

Federal agents have arrested a manaccused of moving illegal immigrants at$100 per person, court records recentlyreleased show.

A criminal complaint filed May 16charged Pedro Gonzalez-Almaraz withtransporting 11 illegal immigrants witha motor vehicle. He’ll remain in federalcustody, pending a detention hearing.

U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned tothe Zapata area received an anonymouscall May 12 regarding two suspicious ve-hicles in San Ygnacio. One vehicle wasdescribed as a gold extended cab GMCpickup.

Border Patrol set up surveillance inan unmarked vehicle across U.S. 83 inan open field in San Ygnacio. Agentsspotted the GMC parking in an emptylot adjacent to an abandoned home, thecomplaint states.

Identified as the driver, Gonzalez-Al-maraz exited the GMC and walked to-ward the abandoned home. He removedsmall pieces of brush from the homeand surveyed his surroundings.

Gonzalez-Almaraz then walked to-ward Pepe’s Gas Station and returnedwith two jugs of water. Two people frominside the home “cautiously look outfrom inside the house and reached outto get the containers of water,” the com-plaint reads.

“(An agent) observed Gonzalez-Alma-raz escort one disheveled person intothe passenger side of the gold GMC,”court records state. “The manner inwhich the person was dressed was con-sistent with illegal (people who) havebeen in the brush for numerous days.”

Gonzalez-Almaraz escorted more peo-ple until agents approached him. Fiveindividuals, including Gonzalez-Alma-raz, were determined to be undocument-ed immigrants, court records show. Fur-thermore, agents discovered seven peo-ple who had crossed the countryillegally inside the abandoned home.

“Gonzalez-Almaraz is an illegal (im-migrant who) is currently released onhis own recognizance by Enforcementand Removal Operations,” the com-plaint states.

In a post-arrest interview, Gonzalez-Almaraz admitted he was to be paid$100 for each of the 11 immigrants de-tained. He would have received an addi-tional $250 for smuggling the group toZapata. Four people found inside theGMC were on their way to Zapata, whilethe remaining seven were supposed tobe smuggled to Laredo, according tocourt records.

Gonzalez-Almaraz identified JorgeArambula, also known as “El Cama-rón,” as the man who was going to payhim and with whom he had made ar-rangements, according to the complaint.

Agents found Gonzalez-Almaraz inpossession of $3,499.25. Questionedabout the cash, he said it was the mon-ey the 11 immigrants had given him.Gonzalez-Almaraz was to give the mon-ey to Arambula, according to court re-cords.

(César G. Rodriguez may be reachedat 728-2568 or [email protected])

COURTS

Allegedsmugglerarrested

Man was allegedly to bepaid $100 per immigrant

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES

LIGHTING THE WAY

Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata Times

Special Olympian Adan Lopez is assisted by CBP agent Felipe Pantoja as they carry the Flame of Hope outside the Webb County Courthouse Tuesdaymorning for the inital leg of the 436-mile journey to Arlington, where the 45th Special Olympics Texas Summer Games will take place.

The prosecution broughtforth witnesses Tuesday whorecounted events pertaining toan alleged incident involving alocal U.S. Customs and Border

Protection officer facing con-spiracy, human smuggling andbribery charges.

During day two of 27-year-old Juan Bonilla’s federal trial,those who testified on behalfof the government included aHomeland Security Investiga-

tions special agent and a CBPwatch commander, chief andofficers.

The alleged incident oc-curred the night of Oct. 11,when Bonilla is accused of at-tempting to smuggle illegalimmigrants into the country

from Mexico. The HSI special agent testi-

fied that he received an anony-mous tip that “some undocu-mented individuals were goingto be smuggled into Laredo

CBP TRIAL

Witnesses testify against officerBy PHILIP BALLI

THE ZAPATA TIMES

See CBP PAGE 10A

Page 2: The Zapata Times 5/21/2014

PAGE 2A Zin brief WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

Thursday, May 22Foster Care Festival. 6 p.m. 1708

Victoria St. Live music, face paintingand informational booths on local fos-ter care agencies. Contact 727-8691 [email protected].

Orthopedic clinic by Dr. Earl A.Stanley. During office hours. Ruthe B.Cowl Rehabilitation Center, 1220 N.Malinche Ave. Benefits children withcerebral palsy, club foot, scoliosis, spi-na befida and more. $5 processing fee.Patients must register at center beforeday of clinic. Contact 722-2431 or [email protected].

Friday, May 23TAMIU Planetarium shows.

“Lamps of Atlantis” 6 p.m. and “Ex-treme Planets” 7 p.m. General admis-sion $4 children and $5 adults. Call326-3663.

Saturday, May 24TAMIU Planetarium shows. “The

Little Start that Could” 3 p.m.; “Force5: Nature Unleashed” 4 p.m.; and “An-cient Skies, Ancient Mysteries” 5 p.m.General admission $4 children and $5adults.

Monday, May 26Monthly meeting of Laredo Par-

kinson’s Disease Support Group. 6:30p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Laredo Medical Cen-ter, Tower B, First Floor CommunityCenter. Patients, caregivers and familymembers invited. Free info pamphletsavailable in Spanish and English. CallRichard Renner (English) at 645-8649or Juan Gonzalez (Spanish) at 237-0666.

Thursday, May 29Grief support group. Noon to

1:30 p.m. First United MethodistChurch, 1220 McClelland Ave. Free andopen to public. Contact 722-1674 [email protected].

From New York to Havana – ABallroom Dance. 7:30 p.m. to 10:30p.m. Laredo Center for the Arts, 500San Agustin Ave. Featuring VMT’s pre-mier jazz ensemble SoundTown. BigBand classics, Latin favorites fromsouth of the border and energeticsounds from Havana. Tickets $15;available at VMT office, 820 Main St;by calling 273-7800, and at the Centerfor the Arts at 725-1715. Also sold atthe door. Semi-formal attire recom-mended. Guests may bring party trays.No alcohol; concession stand included.Contact 273-7811 or [email protected].

Friday, May 30TAMIU Planetarium shows. “Star

Signs” 6 p.m. and “Live Star Show” 7p.m. General admission $4 childrenand $5 adults. Call 326-3663.

Saturday, May 31TAMIU Planetarium shows. “Se-

cret of the Cardboard Rocket” 3 p.m.;“The Future Is Wild” 4 p.m.; and “Sev-en Wonders” 5 p.m. Admission $4 chil-dren and $5 adults. Call 326-3663.

Saturday, June 7Computer genealogy workshop by

Villa San Agustin de Laredo Genealogi-cal Society. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Churchof Latter Day Saints. Members only.Bring laptops. Call 722-3497.

Sunday, June 8Mexico Lindo 2014. 3 p.m. Laredo

Little Theatre. Gabriela Mendoza-GarciaBallet Folklorico to perform folkloricdances of Mexico. Children and adultcompany members to perform. $10 ad-mission adults and $5 children 12 andunder. Tickets purchased at door orcall 725-1832.

Thursday, June 19J.W. Nixon’s Class of 1989 selling

tickets for 25th reunion. 6:30 p.m. to8 p.m. 317 E. Calton Road #1. $25 perperson for event on Friday, July 25 atLife Fair, Branding Iron; $25 per personfor event on Saturday, July 26 at Em-bassy Suites.

Wednesday, June 251964 Zapata High School Class

50th reunion. Dinner at The SteakHouse. Call Dora Martinez at 324-1226or Ninfa Gracia at 500-5219.

Submit calendar items atlmtonline.com/calendar/submitor by emailing [email protected] with theevent’s name, date and time, lo-cation and purpose and contactinformation for a representa-tive. Items will run as space isavailable.

CALENDARTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Wednesday, May21, the 141st day of 2014. Thereare 224 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in His-tory:

On May 21, 1924, in a casethat drew much notoriety, 14-year-old Bobby Franks wasmurdered in a “thrill killing”carried out by University ofChicago students Nathan Leo-pold Jr. and Richard Loeb.Both men received life sen-tences; Loeb was killed by afellow prison inmate in 1936while Leopold was paroled in1958, dying in 1971.

On this date:In 1471, King Henry VI of

England died in the Tower ofLondon at age 49.

In 1542, Spanish explorerHernando de Soto died whilesearching for gold along theMississippi River.

In 1881, Clara Barton found-ed the American Red Cross.

In 1927, Charles A. Lind-bergh landed his Spirit of St.Louis near Paris, completingthe first solo airplane flightacross the Atlantic Ocean in33 1/2 hours.

In 1932, Amelia Earhart be-came the first woman to fly so-lo across the Atlantic Oceanas she landed in Northern Ire-land, about 15 hours after leav-ing Newfoundland.

In 1941, a German U-boatsank the American merchantsteamship SS Robin Moor inthe South Atlantic after theship’s passengers and crewwere allowed to board life-boats.

In 1956, the United Statesexploded the first airborne hy-drogen bomb over Bikini Atollin the Pacific.

In 1972, Michelangelo’s Pie-ta, on display at the Vatican,was damaged by a hammer-wielding man who shouted hewas Jesus Christ.

In 1991, former IndianPrime Minister Rajiv Gandhiwas assassinated during na-tional elections by a suicidebomber.

Ten years ago: The U.N.Security Council approved apeacekeeping force of 5,600troops for Burundi to help theAfrican nation finally end a10-year civil war.

Five years ago: A day afterthe Senate voted to keep theGuantanamo prison campopen, President Barack Oba-ma made his case for closingthe facility, denouncing whathe called “fear-mongering” bypolitical opponents; Obamamade his case moments beforeformer Vice President DickCheney delivered his own ad-dress defending the Bush ad-ministration’s creation of thecamp. A 66-year-old womanwith terminal cancer becamethe first person to die underWashington state’s assisted su-icide law.

One year ago: Former IRSCommissioner Douglas Shul-man told the Senate FinanceCommittee he first learned inthe spring of 2012 that agentshad improperly targeted politi-cal groups that vehemently op-posed President Barack Oba-ma’s policies, saying he decid-ed to let the inspector generallook into the matter.

Today’s Birthdays: SingerRon Isley (The Isley Brothers)is 73. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., is 63. Actor Mr. T is 62.Actor Judge Reinhold is 57.Actor-director Nick Cassavetesis 55. Actress Lisa Edelstein is48. Actress Fairuza Balk is 40.

Thought for Today: “Ifyou want to be free, there isbut one way; it is to guaranteean equally full measure of lib-erty to all your neighbors.There is no other.” — CarlSchurz, American politician(1829-1906).

TODAY IN HISTORY

BANGKOK — Thailand’s powerful mili-tary chief intervened Tuesday for the firsttime in the country’s latest political crisis,declaring martial law and dispatching gun-mounted jeeps into the heart of the capitalwith a vow to resolve the deepening conflictas quickly as possible.

The move stopped short of a coup and leftthe nation’s increasingly cornered caretakergovernment intact.

Despite a steady stream of army edictsthroughout the day that expanded the mili-tary’s power and included censorship ofnews and social media, life continued nor-mally, with residents largely unfazed by thedeclaration. But the intervention, which fol-lows six months of crippling protests thatkilled 28 people and injured more than 800,

left the country at another precarious cross-roads — its fate now squarely in the handsof the military.

“The key going forward will be the mili-tary’s role in politics,” said Thitinan Pong-sudhirak, director of the Institute of Securityand International Studies at Bangkok’s Chu-lalongkorn University. “If they play the roleof enforcer of law and order and even media-tor ... this could be a resolution to the im-passe.”

But if they don’t, “we can expect protestsand turmoil from the losing side.”

Thailand, an economic hub for SoutheastAsia and a world tourist destination, hasbeen gripped by off-and-on political turmoilsince 2006, when former Prime MinisterThaksin Shinawatra was toppled by a coupafter being accused of corruption, abuse ofpower and disrespect for Thailand’s king.

AROUND THE WORLD

A Thai soldier mans a checkpoint as motorcyclists ride past near the site where pro-government demonstrators stage a rallyon the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday. As Thailand finishes its first day under martial law, there are some ques-tions that the military action raises.

Photo by Wason Wanichakorn | AP

Martial law in ThailandBy THANYARAT DOKSONE & TODD PITMAN

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tons of drowned livestocka new Balkan threat

SAMAC, Bosnia-Herzegovina— A new calamity emergedTuesday in the flood-hit Balkansas rescue workers battled over-flowing rivers — and were con-fronted by wastelands ofdrowned livestock.

As the rainfall stopped andtemperatures rose, the withdraw-ing floodwaters revealed a har-rowing sight: thousands of deadcows, pigs, sheep, dogs and otheranimals left behind as their pan-icked owners fled.

“There are tons of dead ani-mals that we must dispose of,”said Serbian Prime MinisterAleksandar Vucic.

Video prompts look atkilling of Palestinians

JERUSALEM — Security-cam-era video showing two unarmedPalestinians crumpling to theground during a lull in a stone-throwing clash with Israeli sol-diers revived allegations by hu-

man rights activists Tuesdaythat the troops often use exces-sive force.

The Israeli rights group B’Tse-lem said the images back itsfindings that troops killed theteens without cause by firing liverounds from more than 200 me-ters away. The soldiers were in“zero danger” at the time, saidSarit Michaeli of B’Tselem.

Israeli Defense MinisterMoshe Yaalon said, “It was a life-threatening situation, so the offi-cers acted accordingly.”

2 bomb blasts in Nigeriakill at least 118

JOS, Nigeria — Two carbombs exploded at a bustling busterminal and market in Nigeria’scentral city of Jos on Tuesday,killing at least 118 people,wounding dozens and leavingstreets strewn with bloodied bod-ies.

There was no immediateclaim of responsibility for thetwin car bombs. But they borethe hallmarks of Boko Haram,the Islamic extremist group that

abducted nearly 300 schoolgirlslast month and has repeatedlytargeted bus stations and otherlocations where large numbers ofpeople gather in its campaign toimpose Islamic law on Nigeria.

The second blast came half anhour after the first, killing somerescue workers.

Libya: Election set forJune in bid to ease crisis

TRIPOLI, Libya — Libya’selection commission set new par-liamentary elections for nextmonth, trying on Tuesday to finda peaceful resolution to a crisistriggered by a renegade general’sefforts to crush Islamist militiasand his demand that the Isla-mist-led legislature disband forallegedly supporting extremism.

The announcement of a na-tionwide June 25 vote came afterthe parliament met in what law-makers had hoped would be a se-cret location. A missile was firedat the hotel where the sessionwas taking place, causing panicbut no injuries.

— Compiled from AP reporters

Marine to get medal ofhonor for heroism

WASHINGTON — Cpl. KyleCarpenter remembers lying onhis back on a rooftop in Marjah,Afghanistan, crammed upagainst sandbags alongside hisfriend and fellow Marine, LanceCpl. Nicholas Eufrazio.

It was Nov. 21, 2010, and hissquad was trying push south in-to Taliban strongholds.

He doesn’t remember throw-ing himself in front of Lance Cpl.Nicholas Eufrazio to protect himfrom a grenade, an act that willmake him the eighth living re-cipient of the Medal of Honor forservice in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The White House announcedMonday he will receive the med-al June 19.

Courts must decide fateof death row inmate

ST. LOUIS — Attorneys for acondemned Missouri inmate re-

mained hopeful Tuesday that acourt will halt his execution,which would be the first in thenation following a botched lethalinjection in Oklahoma lastmonth that left a condemnedman writhing on a gurney beforehe died of a heart attack 40 min-

utes later.Russell Bucklew, 46, is sched-

uled to be executed by injectionat 12:01 a.m. Wednesday for kill-ing a southeast Missouri manduring a violent crime spree in1996.

— Compiled from AP reports

AROUND THE NATION

This photo taken May 13 shows medically retired Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Carpen-ter speaking to media at the Pentagon. The White House announced Monday thatCarpenter, 24, will receive the medal of honor on June 19.

Photo by Carolyn Kaster | AP

Publisher, William B. Green....................... 728-2501Account Executive, Dora Martinez ...... (956) 765-5113General Manager, Adriana Devally .............. 728-2510Adv. Billing Inquiries ................................ 728-2531Circulation Director ................................. 728-2559MIS Director, Michael Castillo.................... 728-2505Managing Editor, Nick Georgiou ................. 728-2565Sports Editor, Zach Davis ......................... 728-2578Spanish Editor, Melva Lavin-Castillo............ 728-2569

SUBSCRIPTIONS/DELIVERY(956) 728-2555

The Zapata Times is distributed on Saturdays to 4,000households in Zapata County. For subscribers of the LaredoMorning Times and for those who buy the Laredo MorningTimes at newsstands, the Zapata Times is inserted.

The Zapata Times is free.The Zapata Times is published by the Laredo Morning

Times, a division of The Hearst Corporation, P.O. Box 2129,Laredo, Texas 78044. Phone (956) 728-2500.

The Zapata office is at 1309 N. U.S. Hwy. 83 at 14th Ave-nue, Suite 2, Zapata, TX 78076. Call (956) 765-5113 or e-mailthezapatatimes.net

CONTACT US

Page 3: The Zapata Times 5/21/2014

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 Local THE ZAPATA TIMES 3A

Nacho Guarache and his hap-less bandana-wrapped sidekickFulano entertained readers of theLaredo Morning Times, and laterthe San Antonio Express-News,with their wry observances andimprobable misadventures.

The often bumbling but alwaysearnest vatos were the creationsof cartoonist and native LaredoanLeo Garza, a quiet man of deepCatholic faith, strong politicalconvictions and a mischievous in-ner laughter. Garza, 57, died Sat-urday of kidney cancer.

He was a cartoonist for LMTin the 1980s. He drew the popular“Needles” comic strip for LMT,which introduced Nacho Gua-rache.

“When he picked up the pen,he had this little character whowas like an alter ego, who couldexpress all that he wanted to say,what he thought was funny andimportant about life,” HectorGarza, 53, said of his older broth-er.

“He wanted people to look intoa mirror. He used the Hispaniccharacters to present views andissues about the City of San Anto-nio. And while people connectedwith these characters, it was themeaning and content of the stripthat was important to him,” hesaid.

And, he said, his elder brotherwas a figure of moral and intel-lectual authority within the fam-ily, both for his Catholic faith andhis personal integrity.

“If there was a question or aproblem in my life, I’d take it tohim. He was basically on thesame level as my parents as beingsomeone I had confidence in,” headded.

After being laid off with manyother newspaper employees in2007 in a cost-saving move, Garza,57, turned to painting and sellingwestern art. Before he died, hepainted a series of historical mu-rals for the Cibolo Creek Ranchin West Texas.

But his first love was cartoon-ing, which he had begun whileliving in Laredo. During his timeat the Express-News, Garza used

Nacho Guarache and his pals toprick, provoke and amuse the pa-per’s readers.

“Leo always finished first inthe readership polls of the paper’scartoonists, including the syndi-cated ones. He had a strong fol-lowing and some strong critics,which meant he was doing hisjob,” said Sterlin Holmesly, theeditorial page editor who hiredGarza in 1987.

Occasionally, Holmesly said, hehad to reel Garza back in.

“He was very strongly anti-abortion, and it got pretty close topropaganda in a couple of strips.I said, ‘Leo, you’re a cartoonist,’and he handled it,” Holmeslysaid. “I made many, many goodhires, and he was an extraordina-rily good one.”

Former Express-News cartoo-nist John Branch, whose viewswere as liberal as Garza’s wereconservative, said the two cameto respect and like each other de-spite their obvious political dif-ferences.

“Cartoonists are kind of lonewolves. It’s rare that there ismore than one in a city, muchless in the same department, andso that was our bond right there,”he said.

Eventually, he said, he andGarza realized they were good foreach other.

“We kept each other on ourtoes, and I think it was good forthe paper to have two really dis-tinct voices,” he said. And, hesaid, in creating a local opinion-

oriented strip with its own cast ofrecognizable South Texas charac-ters, Garza was a pioneer.

“Nacho and Fulano saw it allthrough the lens of the commonman in San Antonio, and thatwas really unique. That’s notsomething you can get from asyndicated cartoon. It’s not onlygood stuff, it expresses a localpoint of view,” Branch said.

Quiet and reserved at the of-fice, Garza was a different personat home, said his wife, Eloisa,whom he married in 1989, twoyears after he moved to San Anto-nio from Laredo.

“He had a great sense of hu-mor, and although he didn’t dis-play it to outsiders, at home hewas always making us laugh, justacting up, saying crazy things,”she recalled.

And, she said, her husband, soshy in public, would often talk toher about his work and whathigher purposes he was trying doaccomplish with Nacho and Fula-no.

“The cartoon was his voice.Even though he was not a talker,what he was saying came alivethrough his cartoons. The charac-ters were saying what Leo wasthinking,” she said.

“He wanted people to think. Hewanted them to not just readsomething, but study it, check thefacts, look into the issues. Hewanted people to make up theirown minds, not just believe some-thing because someone toldthem,” she said.

Laredo, SA cartoonist dies

Leo Garza is seen in his San Antonio office Dec. 12, 1996. Garza, formerly cartoo-nist for Laredo Morning Times and San Antonio Express-News, died Saturday.

File photo by Express-News

Laredoan known for‘Nacho Guarache’ dies

of kidney cancerBy JOHN MACCORMACK

SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Zapata County ISD is pre-registering all incoming PK4students for the 2014-2015school year until Thursday.

Parents should pre-registerfrom 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Fidel &Andrea R. Villarreal Elemen-tary, Zapata North Elementaryand Zapata South Elementary.Registration kicked off Tues-day.

Required information forstudent registration includes:

Valid photo ID for parent/guardian

Social Security card forstudent

Immunization recordsBirth certificateProof of residency/utility

bill invoice (current or previ-ous month) electricity, water,telephone, cable, etc.

For more information, calleach school at: Zapata North,765-6917; Zapata South, 765-4331; and Fidel & Andrea R.Villarreal, 765-4321.

PK4 studentsRegistration underway at elementary schools

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Uni-Trade Stadium will playhost to the 2nd Annual “NoMud, No Glory” Mud Run, totake place 8:30 a.m. Saturday,June 14, on the stadium groundsimmediately adjacent to the VIPParking Area.

The main course of the runwill feature more than 30 obsta-cles, including several mudtrench runs, wall climbs, bal-ance beams and long-hill slides.

The event is free for specta-tors, and vendors will offer foodand beverages along the sides ofthe race course.

Music will also be playedthroughout the day.

A portion of the proceeds willbenefit Sacred Heart Children’sHome in Laredo.

Registration costsYouth, 11-17: $20 up to June

14Adults 18 and up: pre-regis-

tration $45 before June 11Adults 18 and up: late regis-

tration $55, from June 11 to June13

Adult 18 and up: Day-of reg-istration $65 June 14 (7 a.m. to 11a.m. only)

Groups are encouraged tosign up and participate as partof the team competition. All reg-istered participants will receivea complimentary ticket to theLaredo Lemurs’ game that night,when the Lemurs take on theKansas City T-Bones at 7:30 p.m.

For information on the mudrun, call the Lemurs at 956-7LE-MURS.

A competitor runs through one of the many muddy obstacles during the first“No Mud, No Glory” Mud Run at North Central Park in May 2013.

File photo by Times staff

Mud run setSPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Page 4: The Zapata Times 5/21/2014

PAGE 4A Zopinion WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SEND YOUR SIGNED LETTER TO [email protected]

On June 2, 2003, I wasnamed editor of the Phila-delphia Inquirer and be-came — as Jill Abramsondid later at The New YorkTimes — the first femaleeditor in a storied institu-tion’s hundred-year-plushistory. In November 2006,I achieved another dis-tinction that Abramsonlast week came to share. Iwas fired after aboutthree years.

The difference in thepublic reaction to thoseevents tells me somethingboth wonderful and terri-ble about what haschanged for workingwomen.

Terrible because it ex-posed in a raw way thereservoirs of resentment,hurt and mistrust thatwomen feel at work. Won-derful, because it is clearthat something fundamen-tal has changed in thoseseven short years. Womennow feel not only resent-ful but also, finally, enti-tled: Entitled to lead, bepaid equally and beflawed. Entitled to befired, yes, but also to pointout: Men with even moredifficult flaws get not onlylonger tenures but alsomore dignified landings.

My path out was pavednot with the face-savingtransition that one sawfor men removed fromsimilar jobs but ratherwith the marshaling ofevidence that I hadcaused this demotion. Thesame hints that I was dif-ficult to work with. Did Ihave those flaws? I guess.Were they worse than theflaws of the men who pre-ceded and succeeded me?I doubt it.

I did what most self-re-specting female leadersdo: I blamed myself.

The second thing I

know from experience iswhy the charge of un-equal pay landed withsuch force. At each of ofthe five organizations Ihave managed at, I sawwomen paid less thanmen in what I thoughtwere identical positions.

Was everyone lyingwho said they were com-mitted to equal pay? Icame to believe not. It wasworse than that. I saw twopeople who, I believed,were doing the same workbut being paid unequally.How many women in thepast decade have beenpromoted past their peers,only to see in the spread-sheets the sad evidencethat their own storieswere apparently not aspersuasive?

So what caused thedam of silence to break?For one thing, there isnow a growing body ofwomen who are undenia-bly successful and notafraid to talk about theirexperiences as women.For another, there is theequally growing body ofwomen like me, withwhom stories like Abram-son’s resonate because ofour own experiences.

COLUMN

Women facejob disparity

By AMANDA BENNETTSPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST How many

women in thepast decadehave beenpromoted pasttheir peers, onlyto see in thespreadsheets thesad evidencethat their ownstories wereapparently notas persuasive?

I would like my D6 buswithout a side of Hitler,please.

Twenty Metro busesare crisscrossing the na-tion’s capital with DasFuhrer on their sides forthe next month thanks toan incendiary, anti-Mus-lim ad campaign by theAmerican Freedom De-fense Initiative.

Adolf Hitler is a littletoo present these days.

There’s the video paro-dy showing Hitler de-nouncing the AffordableCare Act, there’s the Hit-ler goldfish, the AngelaMerkel Hitler mustacheshadow picture and theever-present last resort onCapitol Hill when a poli-tician runs out of hyper-bole.

Hillary Rodham Clin-ton, Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and John McCain, R-Ariz., — among many oth-ers — have recently com-pared Vladimir Putin toHitler for his saber-rat-tling in Ukraine.

But we’ve also seen Hit-ler invoked by critics ofWal-Mart, the CommonCore education standards,President Barack Obama,former president GeorgeW. Bush, union oppo-nents, the American Hu-manist Association andtax equality.

Let’s be clear: AdolfHitler orchestrated the

deaths of millions of peo-ple. A new way to domath is not the Holocaust.

And constant compari-sons to Hitler will eventu-ally dull and deaden theassociation with pure evil.Like yelling fire in thetheater, if another ThirdReich ever begins rising,we’ll all be too numb tonotice.

The ad on the busessays: “Islamic Jew-Hatred:It’s in the Quran.”

It shows a photo of Hit-ler meeting with HajAmin al-Husseini, a Pales-tinian nationalist whowas an ally of the ThirdReich and is described inthe ad as “the leader ofthe Muslim world.”

The ad calls for an endto racism by ending U.S.aid to Islamic countries.And the Washington Met-ropolitan Area TransitAuthority can’t do a thingabout it.

Really, what ends uphappening with much ofthat ad space is that it be-comes a paid forum forage-old wars.

But with the FirstAmendment comes re-sponsibility.

And shrill use of ourfreedom to speak is noth-ing but abuse, especiallywhen it comes to invokingHitler.

Hitler should be fea-tured prominently in his-tory books and Holocaustmuseums.

But not on my D6.

COLUMN

Too muchHitler talk

By PETULA DVORAKSPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST

OTHER VIEWS

The Zapata Times doesnot publish anonymousletters.

To be published, lettersmust include the writer’sfirst and last names aswell as a phone numberto verify identity. The

phone number IS NOTpublished; it is used sole-ly to verify identity andto clarify content, if nec-essary. Identity of the let-ter writer must be veri-fied before publication.

We want to assure our

readers that a letter iswritten by the person whosigns the letter. The Zapa-ta Times does not allowthe use of pseudonyms.

Letters are edited forstyle, grammar, lengthand civility. No name-call-

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Via e-mail, send lettersto [email protected] or mail them toLetters to the Editor, 111Esperanza Drive, Laredo,TX 78041.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

FORT DAVIS — Allgood things must come toan end. On the positiveside, bad things face thesame fate. And that’s defi-nitely a good thing be-cause the current battlefor the GOP nominationfor lieutenant governor isdefinitely a bad thing.

Next Tuesday night,we’ll know if the winneris three-term incumbentDavid Dewhurst or Hous-ton Sen. Dan Patrick. Theloser’s already been de-clared: Texas.

This race begs the peri-odic question about thestate of our democracy:Third-world nations yearnfor this?

Those of you who arepaying attention (andyou’ve been forced to ifyou have a TV that getscommercials) know this isa bloodbath of a mudfestof a sleazeathon betweentwo guys who used to saynice things about eachother and, inexplicably,now say they’d vote forthe other guy in Novem-ber despite insisting thatother guy is pond scum.

It’s kind of been like afamily Thanksgiving gonebad, but with high-dollar

TV ad buys.Fact: Patrick and Dew-

hurst are scratching andbiting and spending mil-lions over a job that pays$600 a month. One mightworry about the mentalhealth of anybody so in-vested in such a low-pay-ing job.

Which brings us to cur-rent concerns that Dew-hurst and Land Commis-sioner Jerry Patterson,who ran fourth in thefour-man lite guv primaryin March, want you tohave about Patrick’s men-tal health. Patterson lastweek distributed Patrick’smedical records that be-came part of a long-agolawsuit involving Patrickand a columnist at thenow-defunct Houston Post.

The short version is Pa-trick sought treatment fordepression in themid-1980s. He says heovercame it with medicalcare, family support, restand religion. He deniedsuffering a nervous break-down. Patterson cameback with records indicat-ing Patrick attempted sui-cide in 1986.

My favorite line of thiswhole sordid episodecame from Dewhurst: ”Myheart goes out to Dan andhis family for whatthey’ve endured whilecoping with his condi-tion.”

In 18 words, Dewhurst

(a) claimed he has a heart,(b) touchingly expressedsupport for the Patrickfamily, and (c) got to men-tion “his condition.”

What we know about“his condition” is that itwas long ago. Patrick,save for Stage IV Tea Par-tyitis (a diagnosis Dew-hurst covets), seems OKnow — if a bit much attimes. But “his condition”is a phrase that allows themind to wonder: could bea long-ago bout with de-pression, could be an on-going belief that one isNapoleon.

Dewhurst said Mondayhe doesn’t think what hap-pened “20 years ago is rel-evant today unless itspeaks to your continuingcharacter or your capacityto govern or lead.” Doesit? Dewhurst, not havingread the documents, saidhe can’t “make a judg-ment today. ... I may beable to in the next day ortwo.”

I asked Dewhurst, wholast year put Patrick incharge of the Senate Edu-cation Committee, ifthere’s any reason for vot-ers to have doubts aboutPatrick’s mental health.

“I don’t think there’s aquestion at all that there’sa big difference in temper-ament, there’s a big differ-ence in judgment, be-tween myself and Dan Pa-trick,” Dewhurst said.

Will Weissert of The As-sociated Press asked if themental health issueshould be on voters’minds.

“Again,” Dewhurst said,“I’m going to leave this upto the voters of Texas.” Hewent on to say he hadnothing to do with the re-lease of the records andthat he urged Pattersonnot to do it. But Dewhurstdeclined to condemn therelease.

I tried again, askingDewhurst if he’s willing tosay Patrick, with whomhe’s worked since Patrickarrived in the Senate in2007, does not have cur-rent mental health issues.

“The Dan Patrick Iknow, I wish him all thebest in life,” he replied,moving on to declaringhimself the candidatewith the “temperament”and “integrity” for thejob.

All sides in this battlehave gone beyond reasonin their attacks. Though afan of politics as enter-tainment, I find this cam-paign depressing.

Early voting continuesthrough Friday. On-timevoting is next Tuesday.And no, write-in votes arenot allowed in runoffs.

My heart goes out toTexans and their familiesfor what they’ve enduredwhile coping with thiscondition.

COLUMN

Mud, sleaze in primary raceTexans are the real losers in the trashy GOP battle between state Sen. Dan

Patrick and David Dewhurst, both candidates for lieutenant governor

“KEN HERMAN

Page 5: The Zapata Times 5/21/2014

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 Crime and more THE ZAPATA TIMES 5A

A Mexican nationaldetained in Zapata Coun-ty is accused of being il-legally in the country, acriminal complaint re-leased Monday shows.

U.S. Border Patrolagents apprehended JoseLopez-Roman on Satur-day near Zapata. An in-vestigation revealed thathe was an undocument-ed immigrant from Mex-ico, court records state.

Lopez-Roman hadbeen previously removedfrom the country Sept. 27

in San Ysidro, Califor-nia, agents discoveredduring an investigation.Lopez-Roman did not ap-ply or receive permis-sion to re-enter the Unit-ed States.

He has a preliminaryhearing set before U.S.Magistrate Judge Guil-lermo R. Garcia for 10a.m. May 30 in Court-room 3C of the U.S.Courthouse in Laredo.Lopez-Roman has a$75,000 bond.

(César G. Rodriguezmay be reached at 728-2568 or [email protected])

BP detainsMexican man

Lopez-Roman accused of being in thecountry illegally for second timeBy CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ

THE ZAPATA TIMES

An Edinburg woman at-tempted to pass through afederal checkpoint with aU-Haul truck loaded with23 illegal immigrants, ac-cording to court docu-ments released Tuesday.

Sarah Laverne Mat-thews was charged withtransporting illegal immi-grants with a motor vehi-cle, according to a crimi-nal complaint filed in fed-eral court in Laredo onMonday. She is in custodyon a $75,000 bond, pendinga hearing scheduled forMay 30.

A 2007 GMC U-Haultruck driven by Matthewsarrived at 1:30 p.m. Satur-day at the U.S. Border Pa-trol checkpoint in Heb-bronville on Texas 1017.

“Upon an initial immi-gration inspection, Mat-

thews appeared nervousand was shaking … as aresult (she) was referredfor a secondary inspec-tion,” the complaint reads.

A K-9 unit conducted aninspection of the truck andalerted to the presence ofhumans or narcotics inthe rear cargo area. An X-ray of the U-Haul showed“several human forms inseated positions through-out the entire rear cargoarea,” court documentsstate.

Agents opened thetruck’s doors to find 23 im-migrants.

“Inside the rear cargoarea, agents discoveredseveral fans and coolingdevices, which were pow-ered by a car battery aswell as a case of bottledwater,” the complaintreads.

Homeland Security In-vestigations special agentsinterviewed Matthews. Shesaid she had traveled fromCorpus Christi to Donna

to pick up a U-Haul “sheknew contained undocu-mented (people).”

Matthews had inten-tions of delivering the im-migrants to several peoplein Houston. She claimedshe had set up the fanspowered by the batteryand provided the case ofwater, records states.Three immigrants wereheld as material witnesses.

(César G. Rodriguezmay be reached at 728-2568or [email protected])

Woman arrested in smuggling‘Inside the rear cargo area, agents discoveredseveral fans and cooling devices, which werepowered by a car battery as well as a case ofbottled water,’ the complaint reads. She claimedshe had provided the fans and water.

By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZTHE ZAPATA TIMES

Page 6: The Zapata Times 5/21/2014

6A THE ZAPATA TIMES WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

WASHINGTON — Thevictims were their ownworst enemies.

The hacking techniquesthe U.S. government saysChina used against Amer-ican companies turned outto be disappointingly mun-dane, tricking employeesinto opening email attach-ments or clicking on inno-cent-looking website links.

The scariest part mightbe how successfully theruses worked. With amouse click or two, em-ployees at big-name Amer-ican makers of nuclearand solar technology gaveaway the keys to theircomputer networks.

In a 31-count indictmentannounced on Monday theJustice Department saidfive Chinese military offi-cials operating underhacker aliases such as“Ugly Gorilla,” ’’Kandy-Goo” and “Jack Sun” stoleconfidential business in-formation, sensitive tradesecrets and internal com-munications for competi-tive advantage. The U.S.identified the alleged vic-tims as Alcoa World Alu-mina, Westinghouse, Al-legheny Technologies, U.S.Steel, United SteelworkersUnion and SolarWorld.

China denied it all onTuesday.

“The Chinese govern-ment and Chinese militaryas well as relevant person-nel have never engagedand never participated inso-called cybertheft oftrade secrets,” ForeignMinistry spokesman HongLei said in Beijing. “Whatthe United States shoulddo now is withdraw its in-dictment.”

That’s unlikely. Whatthe Justice Department isdoing is spelling out exact-ly how it says Chinapulled it off.

The U.S. says the break-ins were more Austin Pow-ers than James Bond. Insome cases, the govern-ment says, the hackersused “spear-phishing” — awell-known scam to trickspecific companies or em-ployees into infecting theirown computers.

The hackers are said tohave created a fake emailaccount under the mis-spelled name of a then-Al-coa director and fooled anemployee into opening anemail attachment called“agenda.zip,” billed as theagenda to a 2008 share-holders’ meeting. It ex-posed the company’s net-work. At another time, ahacker allegedly emailedcompany employees with alink to what appeared tobe a report about industryobservations, but the linkinstead installed malicioussoftware that created aback door into the compa-ny’s network.

“We are so used to solv-ing problems by clickingan email link, looking atthe information and for-warding it on,” said ChrisWysopal, a computer secu-rity expert and chief tech-nology officer of the soft-ware-security firm Vera-code. “And if hackers knowabout you and your com-pany, they can create real-ly realistic-looking mess-ages.”

And use of the rudimen-

tary efforts the Justice De-partment describeddoesn’t mean foreign gov-ernments and others won’tuse more sophisticatedand harder-to-detect tech-niques, said Joshua Cor-man, the chief technologyofficer for Sonatype, whichhelps businesses maketheir software develop-ment secure. Determinedhackers escalate their at-tacks when necessary, hesaid, but in the cases citedin the federal indictmentannounced Monday, theydidn’t have to escalate ve-ry far.

Corman noted that theU.S. has much higher in-vestments in research andintellectual property, mak-ing America’s risk of lossin such thefts dispropor-tionately higher than Chi-na’s.

Other security layersfailed in the hackingsblamed on China, too.More-effective antivirus orsecurity software couldhave blocked the maliciousattachments or preventedusers from visiting riskyweb links. Back-end serverfilters could have prevent-

ed dangerous emails fromreaching employees. Intru-sion-detection systems oncorporate networks couldhave more quickly raisedred flags internally after asuccessful break-in.

“The problem is thetechnology hasn’t ad-vanced enough to detectmalicious code,” said Ke-vin Mitnick, the famoushacker who now works asa corporate security con-sultant. Tricking someoneto let you into the systemis far easier than identify-ing hidden vulnerabilitiesthat can be exploited.

Even worse: Employees,by their nature, are social-ly conditioned to want toopen and respond to anemail that purports to befrom the boss — nevermind that the messagemay actually be a trick.

“If you start with an in-correct assumption thatevery email that comes inis a real email,” said Hos-sein Eslambolchi, chief ex-ecutive at security compa-ny CyberFlow Analytics,“you’re putting yourselfand your corporation at amajor risk.”

Press materials showing some of the five Chinese hackers charged with economic espionage and tradesecret theft are displayed on a table of the Justice Department in Washington on Monday.

Photo by Charles Dharapak | AP

China hacking scandalOfficial: US hacking victims fell prey to mundane ruses

By JACK GILLUM & ERIC TUCKERASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA —Pennsylvania’s ban ongay marriage was over-turned by a federal judgeTuesday in a decisionthat legalized same-sexunions throughout theNortheast and sent cou-ples racing to pick up li-censes.

U.S. District JudgeJohn E. Jones III calledthe plaintiffs — a widow,11 couples and one cou-ple’s teenage daughters —courageous for challeng-ing the constitutionalityof the ban passed by law-makers in 1996.

“We are a better peoplethan what these laws rep-resent, and it is time todiscard them into the ashheap of history,” the judgewrote.

The judge declined toput his ruling on hold fora possible appeal by Re-publican Gov. Tom Cor-bett, so it went into imme-diate effect. The governor,who opposes gay mar-riage, did not issue astatement or indicatewhether he would appeal.However, his state partychairman complainedthat an “activist” judgehad usurped the power ofthe Legislature.

Amid a frenzy of cele-bration across the state,county offices in Philadel-phia stayed open late tohandle marriage applica-tions, while officials inPittsburgh were closed forelection day but acceptingthem online. Couplesmust wait three days be-fore getting married, un-less a sympathetic judgegrants a waiver.

Joe Parisi told his part-ner to “jet out of work”and get to PhiladelphiaCity Hall.

“We didn’t want to takethe chance of having thisbe challenged and mis-sing out on our opportu-nity,” said Parisi, a Phila-delphia resident whoplans to marry StevenSeminelli.

They were among the

first to get a license Tues-day afternoon, just hoursafter the judge’s ruling.

The judge also orderedPennsylvania to recog-nize same-sex marriagesperformed elsewhere.

Vic Walczak, legal di-rector of the AmericanCivil Liberties Union ofPennsylvania, which pur-sued the case, said of theruling: “It’s everythingwe had hoped for.”

“There’s nothing thatthe government can dothat’s more intrusive thanstanding in the way oftwo people who love eachother and want to getmarried,” Walczak said.

State marriage banshave been falling aroundthe country since the U.S.Supreme Court last yearstruck down part of thefederal Defense of Mar-riage Act. If Tuesday’s de-cision stands, Pennsylva-nia would become the19th state to legalize gaymarriage and 43 percentof Americans would livein a state with full mar-riage equality, accordingto the advocacy group

Freedom to Marry.The ACLU had argued

that the bans deprivesame-sex couples andtheir families of the legalprotections, tax benefitsand social statuses afford-ed to married couples.

Corbett’s office was leftto defend the law afterDemocratic AttorneyGeneral Kathleen Kanerefused to do so. Aspokesman for Corbett’soffice said it was review-ing the legal issues pre-sented in the opinion.

The Pennsylvania law-suit, filed July 9, was thefirst known challenge tothe state ban.

At least five later testcases emerged, includingone over a suburbancounty’s decision lastyear to issue 174 mar-riage licenses to same-sexcouples, before a courtshut them down. Officialsin Montgomery Countywere trying Tuesday tohave that order lifted.

Oregon became the18th state to recognizesame-sex marriage onMonday.

Penn. ban overturned

Plaintiffs Julie Lobur, left, and Marla Cattermole look out on sup-porters of gay marriage at the Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa.

Photo by Matt Rourke | AP

By MARYCLAIRE DALEASSOCIATED PRESS

Amid a frenzy of celebration,county offices in Philadelphiastayed open late to handlemarriage applications, whilePittsburgh accepted them online.

Page 7: The Zapata Times 5/21/2014

ZAPATA05/21— La Clase 1964

de Zapata High School sereunirá para celebrar los 50años de haber graduado elmiércoles 25 de junio en elSteak House. Interesados enasistir a la cena pueden soli-citar informes con Dora Mar-tínez al (956) 324-1226 ocon Ninfa Gracia al (956)500-5219.

05/21— Zapata CountyISD estará realizando la Pre-Inscripción apra alumnos dePK-4 para el Ciclo Escolar2014-2015. Esto se realizaráde 9 a.m. a 2 p.m. en Fidel& Andrea R. Villarreal Ele-mentary, Zapata North Ele-mentary, Zapata South Ele-mentary. Para más informa-ción comuníquese a losteléfonos de cada escuela,(956) 765-4321, (956) 765-6914, y (956) 765-4332, res-pectivamente. Proceso conti-núa el 22 de mayo, en mis-mo horario.

LAREDO05/21— Concierto de la

banda de Cigarroa MiddleSchool en el gimnasio a las6 p.m. Ubicado en 2600 Pa-lo Blanco.

05/21— Concierto demariachi y banda en MartinHigh School en el gimnasioBatey a las 6:30 p.m. Ubica-do en 2002 San Bernardo.

05/22— Clínica Ortopé-dica a cargo del Dr. Earl A.Stanley en el Centro de Re-habilitación Ruthe B. Cowl,1220 N. Malinche Avenue. Sebeneficia a niños con paráli-sis cerebral, pie equinovaro,escoliosis, espina bífida, ymás. Costo del proceso: 5dólares. Pacientes deben re-gistrarse en el centro antesdel día de la clínica.

05/22— LISD invita alConcierto y Musical de Es-cuelas Primarias, Coro Infan-til Honorario presenta ‘Cin-derella’ de Disney’ a las 7p.m. en el Auditorio del Cen-tro Cívico, 2400 San Bernar-do.

05/22— La obra de tea-tro “Noises Off” de MichaelFrayn se presenta a las 8p.m. en Laredo Little Thea-ter, 4802 Thomas Ave. Paraaudiencia madura. Costo: 15dólares. Otra presentación el23 y 24 de mayo a las 8p.m.

05/23— Planetario La-mar Bruni Vergara de TAMIUinvita a “Lamps of Atlantis”a las 6 p.m.; “Extreme Pla-nets”, a las 7 p.m. Costo: 4dólares, niños; y 5 dólares,adultos.

05/24— Planetario La-mar Bruni Vergara de TAMIUpresenta “The Little Starthat Could” a las 3 p.m.;“Force 5: Nature Unleashed”a las 4 p.m.; “Ancient Skies,Ancient Mysteries”, a las 5p.m. Costo: 4 dólares, niños;y 5 dólares, adultos.

05/24— Evento de Lu-cha Libre “Guerra de Leyen-das” a partir de las 8 p.m.en Laredo Energy Arena.Costo: 48 dólares, 38, 28 y18. Adquiera su boleto enTicketmaster o en la taquilladel LEA.

NUEVO LAREDO, MX05/21— Cine Club pre-

senta “Las Señoritas Vivan-co” a las 6 p.m. en el Audi-torio de Estación Palabra.Entrada gratuita.

05/22— “Jueves de Tea-tro” presenta la obra “Intra-table”, de la compañía Cale-tre, en el teatro Lucio Blan-co de la Casa de la Culturaa las 7 p.m. Entrada gratui-ta.

05/23— Presentacióndel libro “Casa Chica” deMónica Lavín a las 5 p.m.en Estación Palabra. Entradalibre.

05/24— Performance“Las 5 Puertas” a las 6 p.m.en la Galería Regional de Ar-tes Visuales del Centro Cul-tural Nuevo Laredo. Entradagratuita.

Agendaen Breve

Miembros del Comité de Cultu-ra, Recreación y Turismo de la Cá-mara de Representantes de Texas,se reunieron con residentes de Za-pata, a fin de atender el tema de ladisminución de población de lubi-na (robalo) en el Lago Falcón.

Ante un lleno total, expertos delDepartamento de Parques y VidaSalvaje de Texas fueron invitadospor el comité para ofrecer su testi-monio durante la audiencia lleva-da a cabo el viernes por la tarde enel Zapata Technical and Advanced

Education Center“La pesca es un negocio grande

en Texas, y todos sabemos eso”, di-jo Gary Saul, director de divisióndel Inland Fisheries Division enParques y Vida Salvaje de Texas.

La disminución de la poblaciónde lubina (robalo) ha impactadoampliamente no solo al ecosistemadel Lago Falcón, sino también hacontribuido a la baja en el númerode turistas que visitan el área.

Negocios que anteriormente sesostenían gracias a la cantidad detráfico que recibían por parte delos ávidos pescados, empezaron asentir las repercusiones económi-

cas de este aspecto ambiental, dije-ron los residentes.

El panel del Departamento deParques y Vida Salvaje de Texasatribuyó el problema a un incre-mento del catán (o pejelagarto) enel lago.

Dave Terre, jefe de Administra-ción e Investigación de la Divisiónde Pesca Interior, dijo que el catáncrece entre 7- a 8- pies de largo ypesa hasta 300 libras. Su vida seprolonga entre 50 y 100 años.

Los niveles fluctuantes de aguaen el Lago Falcón crean un am-biente excelente para que el catánviva y se reproduzca, mientras que

también se alimenta de la lubina,dijo Terre.

Terre agregó que su equipo hatomado un “acercamiento muyconservador” para combatir el te-ma del catán. En 2009, se colocaronrestricciones acerca de la cantidadde catanes que los pescadores po-dían extraer por día.

James Bendele, propietario deFalcon Lake Tackle, habló en con-tra de las restricciones, citandoque no había necesidad de restrin-gir a los pescadores.

“Deberías controlar (al catán)como a los ratones o ratas… noerradicarlos”, dijo Bendele.

TURISMO

Pesca en apurosPOR GABRIELA A. TREVIÑO

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Zfrontera PÁGINA 7AMIÉRCOLES 21 DE MAYO DE 2014

Agentes federales arrestaron a unhombre acusado de transportar a inmi-grantes sin documentos legales por unpago de 100 dólares por persona, mues-tran documentos de la corte reciente-mente emitidos.

Una querella criminal presentada el16 de mayo, acusa a Pedro González-Al-maráz de transportar a 11 inmigrantessin documentos legales con un vehícu-lo. Él permanece en custodia federal, ala espera de una audiencia de deten-ción.

Agentes de Patrulla Fronteriza deEU asignados al área de Zapata recibie-ron una llamada anónima el 12 de ma-yo, en la que se señaló había dos vehí-culos sospechosos en San Ygnacio. Unvehículo fue descrito como una camio-neta de la compañía General Motor, concabina extendida, color dorada.

La Patrulla Fronteriza estableció unperímetro de vigilancia en un área nodestinada para vehículos alrededor deU.S. 83 en un campo abierto en SanYgnacio. Agentes observaron a la GMCestacionada al lado de una casa abando-nada, señala la querella.

Identificado como el conductor, Gon-zález-Almaráz salió de la GMC y cami-nó hasta la casa abandonada. Movió al-gunas partes de maleza fuera de la casaabandonada y siguió observando a sualrededor.

Entonces González-Almaráz caminóhasta la gasolinera Pepe’s y regresó condos jarras de agua. Dos personas en elinterior de la casa “observaron cuida-dosamente hacia fuera desde dentro dela residencia y fueron a recoger los con-tenedores de agua”, se lee en la quere-lla.

“(Un agente) observó a González-Al-maráz escoltando a una persona desha-bilitada hacia el lado del conductor dela GMC dorada”, señalan documentosde la corte. “Por la manera en que lapersona vestía fue considerado un inmi-grante indocumentado (ya que) habríaestado en la maleza por varios días”.

González-Almaráz escoltó a más per-sonas hasta que los agentes se acerca-ron a él. Se determinó que cinco perso-nas, incluyendo a González-Almaráz,eran inmigrantes ilegales, indican ar-chivos de la corte. Además, los agentesdescubrieron dentro de la casa abando-nada, a siete personas quienes habíaningresado al país ilegalmente.

“González-Almaráz es un (inmigran-te) ilegal (quien) actualmente se en-cuentra en libertad bajo palabra por elEnforcement and Removal Operations(Operaciones de Aplicación y Remo-ción)”, indica la querella.

En un interrogatorio posterior alarresto, González-Almaráz admitió quese le pagaron 100 dólares por cada unode los 11 inmigrantes detenidos. Él hu-biera recibido un adicional de 250 dóla-res por contrabandear al grupo a Zapa-ta. Cuatro personas encontradas dentrode la GMC iban rumbo a Zapata en tan-to que las otras siete supuestamenteiban a ser llevadas hasta Laredo, deacuerdo a archivos de la corte.

González-Almaráz identificó a JorgeArámbula, también conocido como “ElCamarón”, como el hombre quien iba apagarle y como el que hizo los arregloscon él, de acuerdo a la querella.

Agentes encontraron a González-Al-maráz en posesión de 3.499,25 dólares.Interrogado acerca del efectivo, dijo queera dinero que los 11 inmigrantes le ha-bían dado. González-Almaráz iba a en-tregar el dinero a Arámbula, de acuer-do a archivos de la corte.

(Localice a César G. Rodriguez en el728-2568 o en [email protected])

QUERELLA

Arrestansupuestotraficante

POR CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZTIEMPO DE ZAPATA

DULCE RECAUDACIÓN

Foto por Victor Strife | Laredo Morning Times

Integrantes de la Fun-dación en Memoriade Kristine ElizabethMeza y el Club Án-geles de Kristine, lle-varon a cabo unaventa de pasteles, eldomingo por la tarde,afuera del Walgreensen Mcpherson Rd., enLaredo. Los fondosrecaudados por laventa se utilizaránpara continuar crean-do atención y edu-cando a estudiantes,desde secundariahasta universidad,acerca de la violenciadoméstica.

Durante el mes de mayo, perohace 60 años, inició oficialmentela historia del Club de Leones deZapata.

Fue en el café Blue Bonnetcuando 21 miembros decidieronmejorar las condiciones de la co-munidad. Era mayo de 1954 y suprimer presidente fue Santos Me-dina. Desde entonces ha habidootros 37 dirigentes.

Fidel Villarreal, uno de losmiembros originales, era propie-tario del Blue Bonnet, y es ahorasu hijo, Aurelio Villarreal, quienpreside el club.

El Club de Leones Internacio-nal, del que forma parte Zapata,es una organización que se fundóen 1917 a petición de un dirigenteempresarial de Chicago que pro-puso que los clubes empresaria-les se reunieran para ayudar acomunidades en el mundo entero.Después de tres años se convirtióen una organización internacio-nal que actualmente alberga46.000 clubes y reúne 1.350.000 so-cios, de acuerdo al sitio de Inter-net de Lions Club International.

A través de los años el Club deLeones de Zapata ha logradocumplir con sus objetivos reali-zando obras en beneficio de la co-munidad y ha llegado a contarhasta con 150 miembros entre susfilas.

Aurelio Villarreal señaló queen la actualidad el club está inte-grado por 30 miembros y se reú-nen dos veces al mes en Rubén

Flores Lions Hall. Indicó que desde sus inicios la

organización se ha dedicado aayudar a la comunidad.

“Desde su fundación, el Clubde Leones de Zapata, ha continua-do con su misión de ayudar a lacomunidad a cubrir las necesida-des del día a día”, expresó.

Comentó que se realizan treseventos principales durante elaño que son la venta de platillos,el torneo de golf y la venta de fi-chas para juego en la feria delcondado.

“Con estos eventos llegamos arecaudar de ocho a 10.000 dólarespara cubrir las metas del club”,comentó Aurelio Villarreal.

Agregó que entre los eventosque se celebrarán este año se en-cuentran el proyecto del dicciona-rio escolar, el club del libro, be-cas, la entrega anual del pavo na-videño y el patrocinio a Relevopor la Vida de la Sociedad Ameri-

can de Cáncer y el Campo deLeones de Texas, para niños connecesidades especiales.

Aurelio Villarreal también ha-bló acerca de las expectativas delfuturo para el club.

“Queremos permanecer acti-vos en todos los eventos de la co-munidad y estar muy visibles.Deseamos servir por muchosaños más a la comunidad”, expre-só.

Entre los miembros manejanun verso que han tomado del te-ma de la película “El Rey León” yque se ha convertido en una fraseinstitucional.

“‘Hay más por hacer de lo quenunca se ha hecho’ —así que enel club de leones hacemos nues-tra parte para compartir y hacerde esta comunidad una mejor co-munidad”, concluyó.

(Localice a Malena Charur en el728-2583 o en [email protected])

COMUNIDAD

60 ANIVERSARIO

Miembros del Club de Leones de Zapata visitaron a los alumnos de la Escuela Primaria Benavides en San Ygnacio. Ade-más de compartir un momento con ellos, les obsequiaron unos libros.

Foto de cortesía

Celebran años de servicio a comunidadPOR MALENA CHARUR

TIEMPO DE ZAPATA

Durante un evento de golf, con la presencia de los miembros del Club de Leonesde Zapata.

Foto de cortesía

Page 8: The Zapata Times 5/21/2014

Sports&OutdoorsWEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

Undermanned yet undaunted,Kevin Durant and Russell West-brook threw everything they hadat the San Antonio Spurs inGame 1 of the Western Confer-ence finals.

Even when they were down by15 points in the first half, the Ok-lahoma City Thunder’s dynamicduo didn’t give in.

They used their athleticismand shot-making to will Oklaho-ma City back into the game, andwhen Westbook’s 19-foot jumpersplashed through the net withjust under five minutes to play inthe third quarter, the Thunderjumped ahead.

What became apparent as thehighly anticipated matchup woreon was that the Spurs were turn-ing it into a game of two-on-five.

Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobiliand the rest of the experiencedSpurs sat back in that third quar-ter as Durant and Westbrook ledthe rally. But there are no TKOsin basketball. Every game goesthe distance. And by the time thefourth quarter came around, theThunder didn’t have anythingleft.

And if Durant and Westbrookdon’t get more help from theirsupporting cast, this could be anawfully short series.

“We turned the ball over a lit-tle too much but we’ve got to con-tinue to trust whether the guysare hitting shots or not,” Durantsaid.

“We’ve got to keep playingwithin our offense and playingwith the pass. We’ll be fine.”

Durant and Westbrook com-bined for 19 points in the firstseven minutes of the third quar-

ter on Monday night to get theThunder back into the game.

But they scored just nine totalpoints over the final 17 minutesof the game while the deep andbalanced Spurs continued tocarve up a defense that was sore-ly missing shot-blocker Serge Iba-ka.

Game 2 is on Wednesday nightin San Antonio.

Durant finished with 28 points,but was 1 for 4 with two turn-overs in the fourth quarter whilebeing hounded by Kawhi Leo-nard. Westbrook scored 25 pointswhile going 1 for 2 with two turn-overs in the final quarter.

Even more glaring, the re-maining three Thunder starters— Nick Collison, Kendrick Per-kins and Thabo Sefolosha — com-bined to score five points for theentire game.

NBA PLAYOFFS: SAN ANTONIO SPURS

Spurs use depth to dominateBy JON KRAWCZYNSKI

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs pulled away in the fourth quarter Mondayfor a 122-105 win over Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Photo by Eric Gay | AP

ALLEN, Texas — A $60 millionhigh school football stadium thatopened to massive fanfare in 2012will be shut down for the upcom-ing season after cracks werefound in the building’s concreteconcourse.

Administrators in Allen, Texas,northeast of Dallas, had hoped tohave Eagle Stadium ready for thisfall’s games, but said further in-spections found the structuralproblems will need significant re-pair. They insist the architecturalfirm and construction companywill fund any repairs.

The district said Tuesday thatboth companies had offered $1million each to allow repairs tobegin, but that their insurancecompanies refused to make thepayments.

“Our commitment to Allen stu-dents and taxpayers remains firmthat the stadium be repaired prop-erly at the expense of those re-sponsible for the failure: the ar-chitect and the builder,” superin-tendent Lance Hindt said in astatement.

Allen taxpayers approved a$119 million bond issue that in-cluded funding for the 18,000-seat

stadium, with a high-definitionvideo board, a second deck on onesideline and vendor stands hawk-ing Chick-fil-A and Texas bar-beque.

The facility is the flashiest ex-ample of the grandeur of high

school football in Texas, wherethe “Friday Night Lights” havebeen glamorized in books, moviesand television.

But the district had to close thestadium in February after exten-sive cracks were discovered in the

Allen, which won the Class 5ADivision I state championship lastyear, will not sell football seasontickets this year. It will host three“home” games at two stadiums inneighboring Plano and switch twoother home games to road games.

concourse. An outside consultingfirm hired by the district hasfound further building code viola-tions, including parts of the stadi-um where seating capacity ex-ceeds the legal maximum bymore than 70 percent.

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

$60M stadium shut down

The $60 million Eagle Stadium at Allen High School that opened to massive fanfare in 2012 will be shut down for the upcoming season after cracks were found in thebuilding’s concrete concourse.

File photo by LM Otero | AP

Cracks inconcrete

force closureASSOCIATED PRESS

Page 9: The Zapata Times 5/21/2014

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014 THE ZAPATA TIMES 9A

Josefa Sanchez, 62, has leftpeacefully to be in the arms of theLord on May 19, 2014.

She passed surrounded by herloving daughters: Veronica San-chez, Maria San Juanita Sanchezand Jessica Garcia; her son, Ray-mundo Sanchez Jr.; and her hus-band, Raymundo Sanchez.

She had a unique gift to makeeveryone around her feel loved andlifted by her presence, always smil-ing no matter the circumstance.Her generous heart filled her homewith love, family and friends, in-cluding an attitude that there wasalways room for one more.

She leaves all her children; 13grandchildren; and a great-grand-son, Mason Barragan. They weretruly loved, and they know thatshe truly loved The Lord.

“No one comes through the fa-ther except through me. I am theway, the truth and the life.” —John 14:6

Visitation hours will be heldWednesday, May 21, 2014, from 6p.m. to 9 p.m., with a rosary at 7p.m. at Rose Garden FuneralHome. The funeral procession willdepart 9:30 a.m. Thursday, May 22,2014, for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass atOur Lady of Lourdes Catholic

Church.Committal services will follow

at Zapata County Cemetery.Funeral arrangements are un-

der the direction of Rose GardenFuneral Home; Daniel A. Gonzalez,funeral director; 2102 N. U.S. HWY83 Zapata, TX 78076.

JOSEFA SANCHEZ

OCT. 8, 1951 — MAY 19, 2014

NEW YORK — Target is hav-ing an identity crisis.

The nation’s third-largest re-tailer was once high-flying, butnow it’s struggling to find itsplace in the minds of Americanshoppers.

Once known for its cheapchic fashions and home accesso-ries, Target faces competitionfrom trendy chains like H&M.The discounter also hasn’t beenable to ditch the image that itsprices on staples like milk arehigher than rivals like Wal-Mart. And it’s battling the fall-out from a massive data breachthat has hurt its reputation.

Meanwhile, Target on Tues-day fired the president of itsCanadian operations followingsome missteps in that country.The ousting comes two weeks af-ter the Minneapolis-based dis-counter announced it was look-ing for a new leader after theabrupt departure of its CEO.

All of Target’s challengescome as the broader retail in-dustry is dealing with a slow ec-onomic recovery that hasn’tbenefited all Americans equallyand a move by shoppers awayfrom buying in stores and to-ward shopping online.

As a result, Target reportedits first annual profit decline inits latest fiscal year in five years.Target’s first-quarter results,which are slated to be releasedWednesday, will offer more in-sight. And its shares have fallen10.5 percent this year.

"The nature of the retail land-scape has changed," said BrianYarbrough, a consumer prod-ucts analyst at Edward Jones. "Idon’t think Target has ad-dressed the changes well."

Here’s a look at the four bigissues Target faces:

Problem: Cheap chicstrategy

Target was the first low-priceretailer to team with designersto create affordable lines whenit forged a partnership with Mi-chael Graves in the late 1990s.But that niche has been copiedby traditional stores and foreignimports like H&M. Analysts sayTarget took its eye off the ball

on its trendy offerings when itfocused on expanding its foodbusiness since the recession.

Target also has tripped up onsome of its designer collabora-tions. During the holiday 2012season, its collaboration withposh retailer Neiman Marcusturned out to be a dud as themerchandise was criticized forbeing too expensive, among oth-er things.

SolutionTarget says it’s moving more

quickly to test the latest itemsin stores. It also made some per-sonnel changes on Tuesday thatare aimed at making it morenimble. "We’re getting back towhat we were known for," saidJohn Mulligan, Target’s chief fi-nancial officer and interim CEOsaid in a recent interview withThe Associated Press.

Problem: PriceSince the economic down-

turn, Target has battled the per-ception among tight-fisted shop-pers that its prices are too highwhen compared with rivals.That challenge only increased asWal-Mart, the world’s largest re-tailer, has pushed its lower pric-es even more lately.

According to a pricing surveyconducted in January in theNortheastern area by KantarRetail, a retail consultancy, Wal-Mart’s prices on an overall bas-ket of more than 40 nationallybranded groceries like healthand beauty items were nearly 4percent less expensive than Tar-get. That lead widened from ayear ago when Wal-Mart was on-ly 2 percent cheaper.

SolutionTarget has been pushing the

"Pay less" part of its advertisingslogan "Expect More, Pay Less."Last year, it touted prices onproducts in holiday TV ads, thefirst time it had done so in atleast a decade.

Problem: TechnologyTarget’s data breach late last

year, which compromised thecredit card and other personalinformation of millions of cus-tomers, exposed big flaws in itssecurity system. Analysts alsocriticize the company for beingtoo slow in creating a seamlessexperience for shoppers to jumpfrom physical stores to the web.For example, it just rolled out aprogram late last year that al-lows shoppers to order onlineand then pick up at the storewhen rivals have been doingthat for years.

SolutionTarget is overhauling some of

its divisions that handle securi-ty and technology. It’s also beenaccelerating its $100 millionplan to roll out the more securechip-based credit card technolo-gy in all of its nearly 1,800stores. Beginning in early 2015,Target will be able to acceptthese payments from all Target-branded credit and debit cards— becoming the first major U.S.retailer that will have its ownbranded cards with this technol-ogy.

Problem: CanadaTarget’s expansion into Cana-

da with more than 100 storeslast year has been fraught withproblems. Shoppers have com-plained that prices are too high,and the stores have been wres-tling with inventory problems.

As a result, the company’ssales in the country were weakand it recorded a nearly billionloss for the latest year.

SolutionTarget said Tuesday that it re-

placed Tony Fisher, the presi-dent of its troubled Canadian op-erations, with a 15-year U.S.company veteran.

Mark Schindele, 45, who wassenior vice president of mer-chandising operations, will nowrun the Canadian operation, ef-fective immediately. Schindele,who was senior vice president ofmerchandising operations,played a key role in launchingan expanded grocery area,among other achievements.

In this March 25 photo, a sign outside a Target store in Philadelphia is shown. The nation’s third-largest retailer wasonce high-flying, but now it’s struggling to find its place in the minds of American shoppers.

File photo by Matt Rourke | AP

Chain faces identity crisisBy ANNE D’INNOCENZIO

ASSOCIATED PRESS

DETROIT — Another day, an-other recall from General Motors.

At least that’s the way it seemsas the automaker reviews safetyissues across its line-up of carsand trucks in the wake of a mis-handled recall.

The number of recalls issuedthis year by the nation’s top car-maker rose Tuesday to 29 as GMannounced four separate actionsaffecting 2.4 million cars andtrucks. While no fatalities were in-volved in the latest recalls, theproblems were serious enoughthat GM has temporarily haltedsales of the vehicles.

The recalls announced Tues-day:

1.3 million Buick Enclave,Chevrolet Traverse and GMC Aca-dia crossovers from the 2009-2014model years and Saturn Outlookcrossovers from 2009-2010. GMsays the front safety lap belt ca-bles can wear down and separateover time. GM has told dealersthey cannot sell new or used mod-

els of the vehicles until repairsare made.

1.1 million Chevrolet Malibusedans from the 2004-2008 modelyears and Pontiac G6 sedans from2005-2008 because a shift cablecould wear out over time. If thathappens, the driver may not beable to select a different gear, re-move the key from the ignition orplace the transmission in park.GM knows of 18 crashes and oneinjury from the defect.

1,402 Cadillac Escalade andEscalade ESVs from the 2015 mod-el year because a faulty weldcould result in partial deploymentof the front passenger air bag in acrash. GM has stopped the sale ofthe models and alerted 224 cur-rent owners not to let occupantssit in the front passenger seat un-til the vehicle has been repaired.GM knows of no injuries.

58 Chevrolet Silverado HDand GMC Sierra HD pickups fromthe 2015 model year because reten-tion clips attaching the generatorfuse block to the vehicle body canbecome loose and lead to a poten-tial fire.

This March 16, 2006 file photo shows a Pontiac G6 shown outside the General Mo-tors Orion Assembly plant in Orion Township, Mich.

File photo by Paul Sancya | AP

GM recalls roll on2.4 million cars and trucks affected in latest

By DEE-ANN DURBINASSOCIATED PRESS

Page 10: The Zapata Times 5/21/2014

10A THE ZAPATA TIMES WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2014

largemouth bass. However,the panel from the TexasParks and Wildlife Depart-ment does not attribute theissue to alligator gar, as pre-viously reported in The Za-pata Times.

“Our studies in Texasshows that alligator gar donot feed on largemouth bass,or sport fish, to any signifi-cant degree,” said DaveTerre, chief of managementand research of the InlandFisheries Division at TexasParks and Wildlife.

The department said thatlast fall, it examined thestomach contents of 28 alli-gator gar and found thatlargemouth bass only com-prised 10 percent of the gars’diets.

Members of the TexasHouse of Representatives’Committee of Culture, Recre-ation and Tourism met witha full house of concerned Za-pata residents during a pub-lic hearing Friday to addressFalcon Lake’s declining basspopulation.

Experts from the TexasParks and Wildlife Depart-ment were brought in by thecommittee as invited testi-monies during the hearing,held at the Zapata Technicaland Advanced EducationCenter.

The declining bass popula-tion has greatly impactednot only the Falcon Lakeecosystem, but has also con-tributed to the decliningnumber of tourists who visitthe area.

In 2012, Falcon Lake wasranked the No. 1 bass lakein the country by Bassmas-ter Magazine. In 2013, itranked No. 7, and this year,it ranked No. 12.

Alligator gar are fish thatcan grow between 7 to 8 feetlong and weigh up to 300pounds. Additionally, theirlifespan is anywhere be-tween 50 and 100 years.These fish spawn in floodconditions, but can also sur-vive through droughts. In2009, restrictions wereplaced on the amount of alli-gator gar anglers could har-vest per day.

James Bendele, longtimefisherman and owner of Fal-con Lake Tackle, gave his

side during the public testi-mony section of the hearing.He spoke out against the re-strictions, saying there wasno need to restrict all an-glers at all lakes in the stateto only be able to harvestone alligator gar per day. Ad-ditionally, he disagreed withTexas Parks and Wildlifeand said alligator gar arethe culprits behind the basspopulation decline.

“So if we say that we have20,000 gar, but only 5 percentof their diet is bass. Well,let’s just use a number thatis 5 percent of the gar tomake things simple,” Ben-dele said. “That’s 1,000 gar.And let’s say that they onlyeat a bass every other day.So we’ll divide that 1,000 bytwo just to keep things sim-ple. (It equals) 500. Five-hundred times 365 equals182,500 bass a year eaten bygar.”

Terre said Lake Falcon’sissue is common. He addedthat the two main issues henoticed are the shrinkingwater levels and angler har-vest of largemouth bass. Hesaid that while it is true thatalligator gar do consumelargemouth bass, they donot do so at an alarmingrate.

“Bass population isshrinking because the lakeis shrinking … bass eatmore bass than gars eatbass,” Terre said.

On Monday, KRGV, theRio Grande Valley’s newschannel, reported on an in-vasive species of fish foundin the reservoir in San Beni-to, less than 200 miles awayfrom Falcon Lake in Zapata.According to the report, doz-ens of Sailfin Catfish havebeen found dead on the res-ervoirs shores. The speciesis not native to the regionand feeds on algae, woodand eggs from other fish.

On Tuesday, Zapata Coun-ty Commissioner, Jose E. Ve-la met with local fishermenwho claimed the same kindof fish was affecting thelargemouth bass decline inNueva Ciudad Guerrero, Ta-maulipas, Mexico, on theother side of Falcon Lake.

According to a 2011 studycalled “The biological and

reproductive parameters ofthe invasive armored catfishPterygoplicthys disjunctivusfrom Adolfo Lopez MateosEl Infiernillo Reservoir, Mi-choacan-Guerrero, Mexico,”printed in Revista Mexicanathe Biodiversidad, the Sail-fin Catfish had affected tila-pia populations in Michoa-can and Guerrero.

“Invasive sailfin catfishhave impacted fish commu-nities and fisheries in sever-al countries. Several previ-ous studies have suggestedthat competition betweenthis invasive fish and the na-tive species can producenegative impacts on the lo-cal fisheries,” reported thestudy.

Additionally, a 2011 studyby Texas A&M University’sDepartment of Wildlife andFisheries Sciences, titled“Ecology of the AlligatorGar, Atractosteus Spatula, inthe Vicente Guerrero Reser-voir, Tamaulipas, Mexico”concluded that alligator gardid feed on largemouth bassin areas close to shore andin mass quantities.

“Alligator gar fed primar-ily on largemouth bass, Mi-cropterus salmoides and lessfrequently on other fishes …The dominance of large-mouth bass in the alligatorgar diet reflects this centrar-child’s high occurrence inlittoral habitats of the reser-voir, and the diet of alligatorgar inhabiting deeper hab-itats of the reservoir couldbe different.”

Whichever factor that iscontributing to the declineof the largemouth bass pop-ulation is taking its toll onZapata’s community.

Romeo Salinas, ZapataCounty treasurer, said hewanted to see a conclusivestudy completed by the Tex-as Parks and Wildlife, whichwill conclude its research onFalcon Lake in the fall. Sali-nas said that it was “toolong” to wait.

“That’s all we have. We’velost the oil and gas commu-nity … (bass population de-cline) is going to affect everybusiness,” Salinas said.

(Gabriela A. Treviño maybe reached at 956-728-42579or [email protected])

LAKE Continued from Page 1A

with the assistance of aCBP officer.”

The anonymous calleralso described the makeand model of the vehiclethe individuals would betraveling in, a 2002-2006grey Chevy Impala. Thecaller also said a womannamed Martha Maria Es-cobar, co-defendant in thecase, would be drivingthe vehicle.

The agent then relayedthe information to theJuan Chavez, CBP watchcommander on duty atthe time at internationalbridge II.

Chavez passed the in-formation to an officer onduty at internationalbridge I and told him tobe on the lookout for thesuspected vehicle whilehe, another officer andCBP Chief Reymundo Ca-vazos remained at inter-national bridge II.

The vehicle, driven byEscobar, arrived at inter-national bridge II, whereit passed through pri-mary inspection but wasstopped at secondary.

“It was revealed thatthe vehicle had three un-documented (immi-grants) and all occupantswere escorted to second-ary (inspection) for fur-ther questioning,” thecriminal complaintstates.

Court documents iden-tified the immigrants asEscobar’s 10-year-old ne-phew, her mother, MarinaInes Cardenas-Rodriguez,and her sister, ClaudiaMarisol Ramos Cardenas.

After Chavez discov-ered the vehicle had beenallowed to pass primaryinspection by Bonilla, heobserved video footagefrom the time Bonillaspent in the primary in-spection booth during hisshift.

The video recordingwas shown to jurors. Init, Bonilla is seen fre-quently looking backfrom his booth to the sec-ondary inspection sta-tion, where the Escobarwas stopped by anotherCPB officer.

“When he first got to

primary inspection hewas focused on all of thevehicles in front of him,but after the Chevypassed, all of his atten-tion was on secondary in-spection,” Chavez testi-fied.

Bonilla’s defense attor-ney, Jose Salvador Tellez,claims that it was Esco-bar and her mother whoorchestrated the humansmuggling attempt, notBonilla.

During a cross-examin-ation of Chavez’s testimo-ny, Chavez said it is notunheard of for people toget past primary inspec-tion and then be caughtwith drugs or other itemsin a secondary inspec-tion.

Escobar has pleadedguilty to bringing illegalimmigrants into the Unit-ed States and was sen-tenced to seven monthsin federal prison. She isexpected to take thestand.

(Philip Balli may bereached at 728-2528 [email protected])

CBP Continued from Page 1A

LOS ANGELES — Ac-tor Michael Jace, whoplayed a police officer onthe hit TV show “TheShield,” was arrestedTuesday after authoritiessaid he called 911 andtold an operator he shothis wife.

Detectives were investi-gating whether the cou-ple’s financial problemsor other marital difficul-ties played a role in thekilling that police said oc-curred during an argu-ment Monday night whilethe couple’s two sons,both under 10, were in

the house.Police

were un-sure if thechildrenwitnessedthe argu-ment orgunfire.

They were placed withrelatives.

April Jace, 40, was shotmultiple times and wasfound dead in a hallwayof the family home in thequiet, modest Hyde Parkneighborhood of Los An-geles. Police recovered ahandgun believed to be-long to her husband, LosAngeles police DetectiveDean Vinluan said.

“She came home with

the kids and then the dis-pute happened and theshooting happened,” hesaid.

Jace called 911, saidhe’d shot his wife andthen was seen walkingout of the home as offi-cers arrived, Vinluansaid.

Jace was booked onsuspicion of homicide,and detectives intend toreview the full 911 calland other calls fromneighbors reporting thatshots had been fired be-fore he is formallycharged.

Jace, 51, is best knownfor his role as LAPD Offi-cer Julien Lowe in “TheShield.”

Police arrest actor ‘Shield’ actor allegedly told 911 he shot wife in LA

By TAMI ABDOLLAH & ANTHONY MCCARTNEY

ASSOCIATED PRESS

JACE