The Zapata Times 3/28/2009

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Four Lady Hawks take powerlifting medals1B

The Zapata TimesA HEARST PUBLICATION ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM

SATURDAYMARCH 28, 2009

FREEPUMPING IRON

High bid gets contractBy TARYN WHITE

THE ZAPATA TIMES

Beating out lowest bidder, Coastal Re-sources, Zapata County CommissionersCourt voted Friday to hire Hoover Construc-tion to expand the county landfill on U.S. 83,two miles south of San Ygnacio.

“Based on our history with Coastal Re-sources we decided to go with Hoover in-stead,” said Pct. 3 Commissioner Joseph Rath-mell.

Coastal Resources offered to expand thelandfill for $499,237 where as Hoover’s bidwas $536,082.

The county will pay for the expansionwith allocated funds from the fund balance.

Currently contracted by the county,Coastal Resources was hired last year torepave a number of streets in precinct 3 andprecinct 4.

According to Mike Mendez, owner ofCoastal Resources, a variety of small prob-lems arose that have prevented finishing theproject on time. Originally scheduled to becomplete in August 2008, the project stillhasn’t been finished.

Mendez specifically cited a water main,which had to be moved.

“I have been involved in the steps of con-

struction and there have been some littleproblems,” Rathmell said. “But the projectshould have been done by now.”

During a special called meeting on Friday,Mendez attempted to reassure the commis-sioners that if hired, Coastal Constructionwill get the job done.

“Yes, we do have some fault, but not all,”Mendez said about Coastal’s delay in finish-ing the road paving project. “We have dozersand scrapers ready to get on the (landfill ex-pansion) project and finish it on time.”

But, unconvinced, the court unanimously

2 get medals at state meet

Gun smuggling draws 4 years

By JUAN A. LOZANOASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON — A Houston manwho says he fears for his family’ssafety after working for an or-ganization that bought military-style firearms that ended up withdrug traffickers in Mexico wassentenced to nearly four years inprison on Friday.

Prosecutors say Juan PabloGutierrez was one of 23 peoplewho purchased 339 weapons in a15-month period. At least 40 ofthese weapons have been recov-ered in Mexico and three havebeen found in Guatemala, ac-cording to court documents.

“He was arming an infantrysquad,” prosecutor Mark Whitetold U.S. District Judge Gray Miller.“He wasn’t just arming local streetthugs. This defendant was doingsomething a lot more serious.”

The 24-year-old pleaded guiltyin January to eight counts of mak-ing false statements to a federalfirearms licensee, claiming hewas buying the weapons for him-self.

White said Gutierrez refusedto identify his customers.

But prosecutors suspectGutierrez was purchasing theguns for a cousin, and White saidGutierrez has a cousin whose fa-ther-in-law is Osiel Cardenas-Guillen. The drug kingpin wasextradited in 2007 from Mexico toTexas and is set to be tried inHouston in September.

After the court hearing, Whitedeclined to say if he knewwhether the guns were purchasedfor Cardenas-Guillen’s son-in-law.

“He’s scared of the people thatgot him into this. That’s why he

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Two members of Zapata HighSchool’s UIL Cross-ExaminationDebate team reached the Octofi-nals at the 2009 3A State C-X De-bate Meet meet in Austin onMarch 16-17.

Ediel Bernal and AlexandraHarsacky were the octofinalists.

The state meet in Austin isthe largest debate meet in thenation.

At Austin, the 56 teams from3A each debated four rounds onMonday, March 16. From thoserounds, the top 16 teams (basedon win-loss record and individ-ual speaker points) advanced tocompete the next day in theOctofinal Round, the first of fourelimination rounds held thatday.

Bernal and Harsacky were in-cluded in those 16 teams that“broke” to the second day of com-petition.

Zapata High restarted its de-bate team three years ago.

Team members watched thequarterfinal and final rounds, and

Courtesy photoEdiel Bernal and Alexandra Harsacky areshown after receiving their medals atthe 3A State C-X Debate Meet in Austinearlier this month.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RECOGNITION

Photo by Marlen Guerra | Special to the TimesArturo L. Benavides Elementary School in San Ygnacio recently honored its Teacherof the Year and Instructional Assistant of the Year. Standing left to right, back row, areteachers Ana Ruiz,Anna Gutierrez and Marlen Guerra; Principal Gerardo D. Montes andteachers Guadalupe Hughes, Lety Muñoz, Irasema Gutierrez,Yolanda Solis and RebeccaGonzalez. Sitting, left to right, are Sergio Perez, the ALBES Teacher of the Year; and Mar-garita Villarreal, the ALBES Instructional Assistant of the Year. Perez, who lives in Lare-do and commutes to Zapata every day, is a first-year teacher at ALBES. He’s the school’scoach and also co-teaches second, third, fourth and fifth grades. Villarral is the first-grade instructional assistant. She’s from San Ygnacio.

Photo by Cuate Santos | The Zapata TimesFrank Briscoe, who has worked on several restoration projects, stands near a door inside the Treviño Fort in San Ygnacio, his latest project.

Masons have worked on the exterior walls of the historic Fort Treviño in San Ygnacio.

Ferank Briscoe works on the entrance to Fort Treviño in San Ygnacio on Thursday afternoon.

Grant helps Fort Treviño with facelift

By ERIKA LAMBRETONTHE ZAPATA TIMES

One of the most historicstructures in San Ygna-cio, Fort Treviño, once on

the verge of complete disarray, isnow being preserved.

The Texas Historic Commis-sion awarded a special grant tothe River Pierce Foundation.

The foundation reached out tostonemason Brian Ash and ar-chitectural conservator FrankBriscoe, to name a few, to revive afort that once represented thethriving ranch culture in SouthTexas.

“We are stabilizing the struc-ture,” Briscoe said, adding theearliest building in San Ygnaciowas a wonderful complex thatstretched about half a city block.

The complex is comprised ofseveral structures that wereadded to the original fortifieddomicile.

“Some of these buildings werein a dangerous conditions,”Briscoe said.

The overall goal of the projectis to rehabilitate and restore thebuilding without diminishing itsauthenticity and characterthrough insensitive repair.

Briscoe said the structure isvery important to San Ygnacio.

“It is so original, authentic …and not too many interventions(have been done in the past), soour work was to stabilize thebuilding without affecting the au-thenticity of the building,” he

SAVING A PIECE OF HISTORY

See COUNTY | PAGE 12A

See DEBATE | PAGE 12A

See FORT | PAGE 12A

See GUNS | PAGE 12A

Business Manager Dora Martinez.. . . . (956) 500-4748Chief Accountant, Thelma Aguero . . . . . . .728-2553General Manager, Adriana Devally . . . . . . .728-2510Retail Adv. Manager, Alice Arce . . . . . . . . . .728-2511Classified Manager, Sandra Valderrama . .728-2525Adv. Billing Inquires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2531Circulation Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2550Creative/Production Director, Raul Cruz .728-2596MIS Director, Michael Castillo . . . . . . . . . . .728-2505Editor, Diana Fuentes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2581City Editor, Julie Daffern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2565Sports Editor, Dennis Silva II . . . . . . . . . . .728-2579Business Journal Editor, Joe Rutland . . . .728-2529A&E Editor, Kirsten Crow . . . . . . . . . . . . . .728-2543

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ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 2AZin brief SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2009

WWHHAATT’’SS GGOOIINNGG OONN

TTOODDAAYY IINN HHIISSTTOORRYY

AARROOUUNNDD TTHHEE WWOORRLLDD | IN BRIEF

AARROOUUNNDD TTHHEE NNAATTIIOONN | IN BRIEFAARROOUUNNDD TTEEXXAASS | IN BRIEFTUESDAY, MARCH 31

The Zapata County Clerk’s office willbe selling corn nuts, pickles, and sods for$3 today starting at 2:30 p.m.This event ispart of their Relay for Life.

SATURDAY, APRIL 4 The Falcon Lake Tackle shop will be

hosting their first ever Bass Blast SundayApril 5. Registration for the tournamentwill be today from 5 p.m. to 7p.m. at theirshop located 2195 South Highway 83. Formore information please call 765-4866 or765-5854, or visit them online at www.fal-conlaketackle.com Sunday, April 5 The Falcon Lake Tackle Bass Blast

will be held today. The weigh in will be atOso Blanco Ramp. The rules for the two-man team open tournament include a threefish limit, a $124 entry fee, includes bigbass. Meals will be served at registration,and many great door prizes will be givenaway.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 The Zapata County Museum will

have its groundbreaking ceremony today.The public is invited to join in celebration.For more information please call the Zapa-ta County Chamber of Commerce at 765-4871

FRIDAY, APRIL 10Staff development day at Zapata In-

dependent School district; no class for stu-dents.Pre-registration will be held today

for the Falcon Lake Big Bass Tournament,which kicks off tomorrow, at the HolidayRestaurant. Or you can register online atwww.zapatausa.com For more informationplease call the Zapata Chamber of Com-merce at 765-4871 The Laredo Center for the Arts will

host the offical opening reception for theirlatest exhibit “Light”today from 6 to 8 p.m.The exhibit is by Laredo native,Jerry Cabr-era, and will run until April 30. For more in-formation, call the LCA at 725-1715.

SATURDAY, APRIL 11 Falcon Lake Big Bass Tournament is

set to start today. Planning is underwayfor live entertainment and food sponsors.More details to come. For more informationplease call the Zapata Chamber of Com-merce at 765-4871

SUNDAY, APRIL 12Today is the start of National Library

Week. The San Ygnacio Public Library andthe County Public Library will celebratewith what is called Amnesty Week. Thismeans no late fees will be charged on anybook. The event runs though April 18. Formore information, call 765-5351

MONDAY, APRIL 13 Easter Monday. No classes today for

Zapata Independent School District students

SATURDAY, APRIL 18 Today is the last day of Amnesty

Week hosted by the San Ygnacio Public Li-brary as part of its celebration of NationalLibrary Week. For more information, call765-5351 The Zapata County Chamber of

Commerce will host a fishing tournamentfor bass champs today at the Zapata Coun-ty public boat ramp. For more informationplease call the Zapata County Chamber ofCommerce at 765-4871.

The Boys and Girls Club of Zapata in-vites you to the Inauguration ceremony forthe Devon Energy Soccer Field and OpenPavilion today from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thecelebration will also be honoring club di-rectors, past presidents, and club contrib-utors. There will be fun, food, and games.For more information please call the Boysand Girls club at 956-765-3892.

Blizzard creates chaos, dumps foot of snow in Panhandle

By LINDA STEWART BALLASSOCIATED PRESS

DALLAS — A spring blizzard slammedinto the Texas Panhandle, causing nu-merous accidents, shutting down majorhighways and paralyzing the region asresidents braced Friday for up to a foot ofsnow, freezing 45-mph winds and massivesnowdrifts.

“We’ve had several accidents, severaltractor-trailers jackknifed but no fatali-ties,” Texas Department of Public SafetyTrooper Wayne Williams said Friday.

The blizzard is part of a storm systemthat’s all over the Southern High Plains,including eastern New Mexico, Colorado,Kansas and Oklahoma. About 1 millionpeople are affected, including some400,000 Texans, the weather service said.The weather has left hundreds of travel-ers stranded in Colorado and knockedout power in Oklahoma.

The storm system moved into the re-gion late Thursday, and by early Fridayofficials had closed Interstate 40 east andwest of Amarillo and U.S. 287 north of thecity early Friday. All major highwaysaround Dalhart in the northwest corner

of the Panhandle also have been closed. The National Guard has been placed

on alert to help any blizzard-strandedmotorists, a DPS dispatcher in Amarillosaid. Schools and businesses were shut-ting down in the Texas Panhandle, andmost flights were canceled at the RickHusband Amarillo International Airporton Friday, officials said.

Although traffic Friday morning waslighter than usual, police said it didn’t takemuch traffic to create a problem. Visibilitywas limited, especially in flat, open fieldsand agricultural areas with no houses to re-strict the horizontally moving biting winds.

“This afternoon, as the wind picked upand the snow picked up, things got con-siderably worse,” said Sgt. Brent Barbee ofthe Amarillo Police Department. “We’rehaving a rash of accidents right now.”

Around 4:30 p.m., he said overpasseswere snow-packed and glazed but mostresidential streets were passable.

The National Weather Service is pre-dicting snowfall in Texas of up to a footand winds gusting to more than 45 mphthat could lead to zero visibility andsnowdrifts of up to 11 feet before the stormwanes near midday Saturday.

Republican wants delayof voter ID rules

AUSTIN — Seeking compro-mise where none has seemedpossible, a top Republican leaderis pushing for a delay of up tofour years before enacting newvoter identification require-ments, giving Texas time to con-duct a massive statewide voterregistration campaign.

The proposal for tougher vot-er ID rules tied the Senate inknots and sparked days of parti-san bickering.

The voter ID debate is akin toredistricting, where party mem-bers run to their respective cor-ners and refuse to compromise.

License supervisor arrested in scheme

DALLAS — A supervisor inTexas’ drivers license divisionaccused of conspiring to provideidentification documents to ille-gal immigrants was arrested Fri-day, federal prosecutors said.

Texas Department of PublicSafety Lt. Alvaro Ivan Adame, 40,of Wichita Falls, was indicted ona charge of conspiracy to transferunlawfully issued identificationdocuments.

Adame, who has worked forDPS since 1988, has been sus-pended with pay pending theoutcome of the investigation.

Ed board approves science standards

AUSTIN — State educationleaders forged a compromise onthe teaching of evolution Friday,capping a week of impassioneddebate.

The move represented some-thing of a victory for pro-evolu-tionists, who wanted the StateBoard of Education to drop a 20-year-old requirement that both“strengths and weaknesses” ofall scientific theories be taught.

But the board’s 13-2 vote alsomeans students in public schoolwill be encouraged to scrutinize“all sides” of scientific theories.

— Compiled from AP reports

Tibutes honor fallen Oakland officers

OAKLAND, Calif. — The cityvirtually halted Friday for thefuneral of four slain police offi-cers, with a populace still inshock jamming a large sportsarena, spilling into an overflowstadium and filling the streets topay their last respects.

The funerals for MarkDunakin, John Hege, Ervin Ro-mans and Daniel Sakai, who au-thorities say were gunned downMarch 21 by a parolee, shut downmajor freeways into and out ofOakland for much of the day.

The entire 815-member Oak-land Police Department, wear-ing dress white caps and glovesand black mourning bands ontheir badges, filled the frontrows, saluting their fallenbrethren as their flag-drapedcaskets were carried inside.

Kansas: Before abortions,offer ultrasounds

TOPEKA, Kan. — Gov. Kath-leen Sebelius signed a bill Fri-day to ensure that women andgirls seeking abortions inKansas are allowed to see ultra-sound images or hear their fe-tus’ heartbeat before the proce-dure.

The measure requires abor-tion providers who use ultra-sound or monitor fetal heart-beats to give their patientsaccess to the images or sound atleast 30 minutes before an abor-tion.

Spokeswoman Beth Martinosaid Sebelius concluded that thebill had no constitutional flaws,didn’t jeopardize patient privacyand did not block access tohealth services. The governor

has in the past vetoed legislationsought by anti-abortion groups.

Scientists focus on thesouthern San AndreasTHERMAL, Calif. — An arid

expanse of California desert atthe southern end of the notori-ous San Andreas Fault is beingwired with high-tech sensorsthat scientists hope will tellthem when the state’s sleepinggiant could awaken.

The effort could not be moretimely. A swarm of more than250 earthquakes has jiggled thedesert for a week where the firstnew seismic instruments wereinstalled earlier this year.

In the first large-scale moni-toring upgrade to one of theEarth’s most infamous cracks,scientists are showering un-precedented attention to the for-gotten southernmost section,which has not ruptured in overthree centuries and is thought tobe the most ripe to break.

Judge orders releaseof CIA documents

NEW YORK — A judge hasgiven the CIA a month to beginreleasing documents related tothe destruction of videotapes ofdetainee interrogations.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein inManhattan federal court saysthe CIA should start turningover the information and a list ofwitnesses to the American Civ-il Liberties Union within 30days or explain why the agencyshould be exempt.

The judge reviewed the CIAdocuments and on Friday gave theagency until April 9 to produce aschedule for releasing them.


Iraq to move Iranianopposition group

BAGHDAD — Iraq plans tomove members of an Iranianopposition group from a campnorth of Baghdad to remote ar-eas elsewhere in the country asit steps up efforts to rid itself ofa major source of tension withTehran.

Iraq’s Shiite-led governmenthas long sought to get rid ofmembers of the People’s Muja-hedeen Organization of Iran,which fought alongside SaddamHussein’s forces during the1980-88 Iran-Iraq war and isconsidered a terrorist organiza-tion by the United States as wellas Tehran.

Police raid hitman training camp

GUATEMALA CITY — A hit-man training camp for Mexico’sinfamous Gulf cartel was foundin northern Guatemala, alongwith 500 grenades, police saidFriday.

Officials also seized six ri-fles, three motorcycles and sev-eral boxes of ammunition dur-ing Thursday’s operation.

Mexican drug cartels oftenuse grenades in attacks, andmany of the weapons are be-lieved to be coming from Cen-tral America. The grenadesfound at the camp originated inMexico.


ASSOCIATED PRESS

Today is Saturday, March 28,the 87th day of 2009. There are278 days left in the year.

TTooddaayy’’ss HHiigghhlliigghhtt iinn HHiissttoorryy:: On March 28, 1979, Ameri-

ca’s worst commercial nuclearaccident occurred inside the Unit2 reactor at the Three Mile Islandplant near Middletown, Pa.

OOnn tthhiiss ddaattee:: In 1834, the U.S. Senate voted

to censure President AndrewJackson for the removal of fed-eral deposits from the Bank ofthe United States.

In 1854, during the CrimeanWar, Britain and France de-clared war on Russia.

In 1896, the opera “AndreaChenier,” by Umberto Giordano,premiered in Milan.

In 1930, the names of theTurkish cities of Constantinopleand Angora were changed to Is-tanbul and Ankara.

In 1939, the Spanish CivilWar effectively ended as Madridfell to the forces of FranciscoFranco.

In 1941, novelist and criticVirginia Woolf died in Lewes,England.

In 1969, the 34th president of

the United States, Dwight D.Eisenhower, died in Washingtonat age 78.

In 1994, absurdist playwrightEugene Ionesco died in Paris atage 84.

TTeenn yyeeaarrss aaggoo:: NATObroadened its attacks on Yu-goslavia to target Serb militaryforces in Kosovo in the fifthstraight night of airstrikes;thousands of refugees floodedinto Albania and Macedoniafrom Kosovo. The BaltimoreOrioles beat a Cuban all-starteam 3-2 in Havana. VenusWilliams beat younger sisterSerena 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 to win theLipton Championships in thefirst all-sister women’s final in115 years.

FFiivvee yyeeaarrss aaggoo:: French Presi-dent Jacques Chirac’s govern-ment suffered stinging defeats inregional elections seen as a voteof censure against painful eco-nomic reforms. Actor and writerSir Peter Ustinov died in Genoli-er, Switzerland, at age 82. Gameshow host Art James died inPalm Springs, Calif., at age 74.

OOnnee yyeeaarr aaggoo:: President Bushdeclared that Iraq was standingat a defining moment as it strug-gled to put down heavily armed

Shiite militias in new flare-upsof violence. Cuba made it legalfor its citizens to own cell phonesin their own names.

TTooddaayy’’ss BBiirrtthhddaayyss:: FormerWhite House national securityadviser Zbigniew Brzezinski is81. Country musician CharlieMcCoy is 68. Movie directorMike Newell is 67. Actress Con-chata Ferrell is 66. Actor KenHoward is 65. Actress DianneWiest is 61. Country singerReba McEntire is 54. Olympicgold-medal gymnast Bart Con-ner is 51. Rapper Salt (Salt-N-Pepa) is 43. Actress TraceyNeedham is 42. Actor Max Per-lich is 41. Movie director BrettRatner is 40. Country singerRodney Atkins is 40. ActorVince Vaughn is 39. Rapper Mr.Cheeks (Lost Boyz) is 38. ActorKen L. is 36. Rock musicianDave Keuning is 33. Actress An-nie Wersching is 32. Actress Ju-lia Stiles is 28.

TThhoouugghhtt ffoorr TTooddaayy:: “Human-itarianism needs no apology...Unless we … feel it toward allmen without exception, we shallhave lost the chief redeemingforce in human history.” — RalphBarton Perry, American authorand educator (1876-1957).

Photo by Michael Norris/Amarillo Globe-News | APA vehicle that collided with a truck is seen Friday, in Amarillo.A major spring blizzard plodding eastward over the Southern Plainsshut down major highways and paralyzed the region as residents braced for up to a foot of snow, freezing 45-mph winds andmassive snowdrifts.

The Zapata Times

Photo by Jacquelyn Martin | APThe design concept for the National Museum of African American History and Cul-ture submitted by Foster + Partners/URS Group, Inc., is seen in Washington, onFriday. Six architectural models for the planned National Museum of AfricanAmerican History and Culture are on display.

DESIGNED FOR HISTORY

CCOONNTTAACCTT UUSS


The Zapata Post Office is hav-ing a passport fair today from 11a.m. to 3 p.m. at the office, 810U.S. 83.

The fair will provide infor-mation to U.S. citizens aboutthe passport process, and pass-port applications will be ac-cepted.

The Zapata Post Office isjoining the Department of Statein celebrating “Passport Day inthe U.S.A.” — a national pass-port acceptance and outreachevent.

June 1, U.S. citizens must pres-ent a passport book, passport card

or other travel documents ap-proved by the U.S. government toenter the United States fromCanada, Mexico, the Carribeanand Bermuda, at land borders and

sea ports of entry.For more information on how

to get a passport, visittravel.state.gov or call toll-free(877) 487-2778.

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 3AZlocal SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2009

FAILURE TO REGISTER AS ASEX OFFENDER

A man identified as Jesus Martinezattempted to renew his driver’s licenseTuesday at the Department of Public Safe-ty driver’s license office on U.S. 83 and wasarrested for failure to comply as a sex of-fender.

STOLEN VEHICLE Deputies received a report Monday

that a 2008 Chevrolet Impala was stolenfrom the 600 block of Roma while the own-er was out of town.

FALSE REPORT TO A PEACE OFFICER Antonio Arturo Ledezma, of 2410

Fresnos, complained to police Monday that

he left his vehicle in a parking lot and it wasstolen. Deputies later proved Ledezma wasmaking a false report, and a warrant was is-sued.

POSSESSION OF MARIJUANADeputies on Sunday responding to a

fight near the corner of 2nd Street and U.S.83 arrested a man identified as Jose LuisRodriguez on a charge of possession of mar-ijuana.

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLENCE Deputies performing a traffic stop

Saturday on Roma Street arrested a manidentified as Reymundo Solis for drivingunder the influence of an alcoholic bev-erage. At the Zapata County Jail, Solis

was found to be in possession of mari-juana.

POSSESSION OF ACONTROLLED SUBSTANCE

Deputies on Saturday arrested Ar-nulfo Guzman Sanchez at the corner of 9thStreet and Highway 16 on a charge of pos-session of a controlled substance. School administrators at Zapata

Middle School found a female juvenile tobe in possession of rohypnol on Wednes-day.

STOLEN BOATDeputies received a complaint Friday

that a 1970 Delkl 14-foot rowboat was stolenfrom the 600 block of Papaya Street.

THE BLOTTER

Membership service coordinator of chamber moved to Zapata

Passport fair today at post office

BY DORA MARTINEZ

Celia Balderas has been the membership servicecoordinator of the Zapata Chamber of Commerce forabout three years.

A native of McAllen, she moved to Minnesota af-ter completing high school. In Minnesota she stud-ied photo typesetting at St. Paul Technical College.

Celia worked for Sexton Printing Company for afew years then went to work for West Publishing, alegal publishing company, for 24 years.

During those years, the company was bought outby the foremost provider of integrated informationsolutions to the U.S. legal market, Thomson WestGroup.

She had the opportunity to be with Westlaw, acomputerized legal research tool, in its first stagesand also had the opportunity to be involved in the de-velopment and implementation of Thompson SAPSystem Customer Service Module.

Celia said all that gave her business experienceand provided a steadfast work-ethic environment,but her goal was always to move back to Texas as a

winter Texan. She wasn’t sure what the future would hold after

32 years away from Texas; however, during thattime, some of her family had moved to Zapata.

Celia’s sister Lydia came to marry her husband,Raul Serna, and that is what started the family con-nection here.

Now her mother, two sisters and five brothers livehere in Zapata. Celia says it is a great place and thatshe enjoys working for the Zapata Chamber of Com-merce because she gets to meet the whole town.

Zapata has made her feel welcome, Celia said.She has a daughter and a son and is a proud grand-mother of four who live in Minnesota. She hopessomeday they will follow her path to Zapata.

Thanks, Celia, for a job well done. She is anorgullo and pride of our town.

(Dora Martinez is a native of Zapata who waspublisher of Hispanic News in San Antonio for 21years. She can be reached at [email protected])

Zapata State Park to limit entry on Easter Sunday


Falcon State Park will have limited day use en-try into the park on Easter Sunday, April 12, due tothe high water level of the lake.

For visitor’s safety we will stop entry into thepark once all day use sites are full.

The state park will have 53 picnic sites availableon a first come–first serve basis, each with a bar-becue grill and table.

In addition, there will be an area designated toaccommodate approximately 30 picnic sites, ofwhich visitors will need to bring their own portablegrills and tables.

The county is under a fire ban so no groundfires are allowed.

The park will open at 5:30 a.m. Easter Sunday.Entry will be $4 each for adults; children 12 and un-der are free entry. Contact Falcon State Park forany additional information at 956-848-5327.

COLUMN

Keep up on the latest in entertainment

by readingKirsten Crow’s

column in ¿Que Pasa? in Laredo

Morning Times.

The worsening drug war onthe U.S.-Mexican borderearned only a brief men-

tion in President Obama’s pressconference earlier this week, butwe will be hearing more about it.

As the president noted, theMexican government has dis-patched its military to take overfrom police deeply corrupted bythe drug cartels’ payoffs andbribery, and the Obama adminis-tration has newly assigned hun-dreds more agents to the borderand is sending additional tech-nology.

In both countries, those areonly stop-gaps. The drug trade isso extensive and profitable that itis unlikely to yield to even thesternest and most technically so-phisticated of the usual deter-rents. The rival cartels’ ownshoot-outs are piling up bodieswithout discouraging the traf-ficking. In effect, even summaryexecution hasn’t slowed recruit-ing.

An analysis for the U.S. De-partment of Homeland Securitywarns that, unchecked, the drugwar could metastasize into a po-litical insurrection whose com-plications for this country couldbe grievous.

Mexican President FilipeCalderon is confronting the chal-lenge boldly and the problem ismainly Mexico’s to handle, butthe violence is spilling into theAmerican Southwest, drugs fromMexico are spreading east andnorth and the trade is provokingmore illegal immigration and ishampering legitimate trade.

Mexico’s efforts and our owninterests deserve more from theUnited States than the temporarysurge Obama has ordered. Weneed to rethink fundamental poli-cies.

Obama hinted as much him-self Tuesday when he said, “Weneed to do more too make surethat illegal guns and cash aren’tflowing back to the cartels.”

Perversely, our own loosey-goosey gun trade is largely arm-ing the cartels. President Bushgave cartel violence a boost when

he reneged on a pledge not to letthe ban on military-style assaultweapons lapse. The huge loop-hole that forgoes backgroundchecks for gun-show sales allowsstraw buyers to load up statesideand clean up Mexico-side.

The bloody result is just onemore of the prices we pay to ap-pease our domestic gun lobbiesand their political intimidation.

And it is our huge market thatenriches the drug gangs. Genera-tions of a sometimes waxing,sometimes waning but never end-ing “war” on drugs manifestlyfailed decades ago. Rather thandaring to look for a better strate-gy we keep grinding away at the“war” futilely with nothing muchto show for it but a boomingprison industry.

As with our constant defer-ence to the firearms lobby, politi-cal cowardice holds us back here,too — keeping us from consider-ing how treatment, controlledsales of some non-addictivedrugs, decriminalization of oth-ers, alternative punishments toprison and other means might beapplied to lower drug use andtake the high, crime-inducingprofits out of what remains.

As Obama’s news conferenceonce again made clear, this coun-try right now has an agenda togroan under. Small wonder thepresident and Congress aren’trushing to attempt more than apatch for the border drug issue.

The issue looks likely to add it-self to the agenda anyway. Wemight as well begin to prepare forit.

(To reach Tom Teepen, an At-lanta-based columnist for CoxNewspapers, e-mail [email protected])

OTHER VIEWS

DOONESBURY | GARRY TRUDEAU

Obama right tofocus on Mexico

COLUMN

EDITORIAL

Don’t give up onhealth care reform

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

President Barack Obama isstanding firm on reforminghealth care, and that just in-

furiates some people. We’reguessing most of these folks havenever worried about missingwork to tend to a sick child orhad to decide between puttingfood on the table and renewing avital prescription.

Stay strong, Mr. President. Ac-cess to affordable health care is anindispensable piece in the re-building of this sickly Americaneconomy.

In these days of widening lay-offs, the fear among Americanworkers is palpable, and much ofit relates to a possible loss of ben-efits.

That has been addressed in ashort-term way by inclusion inthe stimulus package of a provi-sion for Washington to pay 65percent of COBRA costs for up tonine months for those laid off.COBRA is the program that al-lows laid-off employees to keeptheir health benefits for up to 18

months after the axe falls, but attheir own expense. Defrayingthose costs brings a needed boostfor thin pocketbooks.

It was no coincidence that theinsurance industry this week sig-naled its willingness to give on itslong-standing position of charg-ing higher premiums to peoplewith a history of medical prob-lems.

We feel sure that Obama’sfirm stand on reform caused thatwelcome change in attitude.

Health care uncertainty canamount to an excise tax on peo-ple’s dreams. Who doesn’t knowof a co-worker with a good ideafor a new business who staysfrozen in place year after year,fearing to risk a loss of benefits?Imagine the possibilities if thatrisk could be eliminated.

By staying the course, thepresident can continue to set andshape the agenda on health carereform.

The time for getting this fixedwill never be better, and the ben-efits of doing so will be manifest.Let’s do it without delay.

EDITORIAL

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Areport recently issued byan alliance of federalwildlife agencies and non-

profits has some findings thatshould alarm those committedto protecting our winged friendsand the marshes, prairies andforests that provide their essen-tial habitat.

Entitled “The State of theBirds,” the study issued by Sec-retary of the Interior Ken Salazarutilizes decades of observationsto evaluate the health of particu-lar species. It documents thatnearly a third of the 800 birdspecies found in the U.S. are un-der threat, with the most criticalsituation in Hawaii.

Birds in grassland and aridhabitats in the continental U.S.are particularly imperiled, main-ly as a result of destruction ofhabitat caused by urban sprawl.Species restricted to ocean habi-tats are also threatened by pollu-tion, overfishing, and warmingsea temperatures resulting fromglobal warming.

Forest birds have fared betterby comparison, but many speciesare in decline as a result of un-sustainable logging, increasingseverity of wildfires, and pestsand diseases inadvertently im-ported from elsewhere.

In citing global warming andenergy industry practices asthreats to bird conservation, thereport marks a sharp break with

the Bush Administration, whichgenerally downplayed climatechange and repeatedly undercutthe Endangered Species Act.

The report also has some pos-itive findings, with bald eaglesand peregrine falcons bouncingback from near extinction andwaterfowl beloved by hunters aswell as birders increasing innumber due to successfulwildlife management measuresand wetland conservation efforts.Many varieties of resident urbanbirds have benefited from the cre-ation of green space by city plan-ners and the popularity of back-yard bird feeders.

Among other recommenda-tions, the report calls for morefunding for wildlife agencies, a

regional system of protected ar-eas to balance land developmentwith habitat maintenance, andefforts to make agricultural prac-tices compatible with birdpreservation.

The fact that wildlife conser-vation and regulation haveproved so effective in maintain-ing game birds and nurturingsuch iconic species as the whoop-ing crane and the California con-dor demonstrate that wherethere’s a determination to pre-serve our natural treasures,there’s usually a means to makeit happen. The issuance of “TheState of the Birds” indicates a re-newed determination by the fed-eral government to play a leadingrole in that effort.

Study shows bird protection needed

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 4AZopinion SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2009

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY

Take time to learn about autism; April is Autism Awareness Month

Help South Texas Food Bank raise funds to fight hunger in Laredo, Hebbronville and Zapata

YOUR OPINION

TToo tthhee eeddiittoorr::Something short of miracu-

lous happened at the LaredoPublic Library on Friday, March20, 2009.

That’s when CongressmanHenry Cuellar announced$238,000 in funding for a virtu-al diagnostic center for autism.

Of course, the autistic com-munity is elated

This has been in the makingfor a very long time; some par-ents have been waiting for thisfor the last 20 years.

This is not the undertakingof one particular person, butthe many children, parents,

and families that deal withautism and the many trails andtribulations that come with thelabel.

Every time our children lookdirectly into our eyes, are ableto utter at least one completesentence, are able to take careof themselves, and even attendat least one regular class, we, asfamilies of children diagnosedwith autism, slowly start punch-ing our way out of the verylonely autism world.

This center will start tobring the Laredo area into the21st century.

Parents will no longer have

to travel to San Antonio for theservices that the new centerwill bring. When a child is firstdiagnosed with autism, as achild is every 20 minutes, thischild will be able to start on hisown individualized plan.

This will give the child agreat head start since early di-agnosis is one of the best inter-ventions to reach a child withautism.

April is Autism AwarenessMonth and April 2 is WorldAutism Awareness Day.

Families for Autism Supportand Awareness (FFASAA)would like to invite everyone in

the community to becomeaware of the autism characteris-tics.

For example, autism affectsmore than 250 families in theLaredo community.

Keep in mind that autism isbeing diagnosed at a rate of 1out of 150 births.

Join our effort, learn thefacts and get involved.

For more information visitour Web site at www.families-forautism.org

SSiiggnneedd,,Veronica V. Orduño PresidentFFASAA

TToo tthhee eeddiittoorr::The South Texas Food Bank

and Border Media of Laredoare teaming up again to hit theairways to battle hunger inLaredo, Hebbronville and Zapa-ta.

This year’s fourth annualSouth Texas Food Bank-BM Ra-dio Radio Drive for the Hungryhas a new fundraising twist.

For first three years, it’s beena one-day radiothon event inthe BM studios on Calle DelNorte. This year’s will be amonth-long campaign, called aRadio Drive, from April 1 toApril 30 over the five BM sta-tions — La Ley 100.5 FM, Hot106.1, The Works 94.9, Digital

107.3 and Norteño 1490.Ana Rivera Soto, executive

for Border Media of Laredo, an-nounced the format.

She said, “It’s not your tradi-tional radiothon. It’s a 30-daycampaign. Border Media trulybelieves in the South TexasFood Bank mission of feedingthe hungry and this appeal willmaximize the efforts to raise asmuch money as possible.”

The food bank is grateful tothe Border Media group, itsmanagement and employees forletting us have the air time toget our mission across and al-low South Texans, especiallythe generosity of Laredoans, toshine through.

The radiothon raised$112,000 last year. This year’sgoal is $150,000.

Hunger is not a problem youjust see on television appealsfrom third-world countries.Hunger exists in our own back-yard. The South Texas FoodBank is on the front line ofcombating the issue.

In Zapata, the STFB servesmore than 1,000 families, in-cluding nearly 1,500 children.

Valued South Texas FoodBank board members OlgaMaldonado and Roberto Diazare the event co-chairs.

Donors can call the SouthTexas Food Bank office at 726-3120 Monday through Friday

from 8 to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 tomake their pledge or mail in thedonation to P.O. Box 2007, Lare-do, TX, 78044.

Donations are also beingtaken at all Wendy’s and Mari-achi Express restaurants.

You can also visit our Website for more information atwww.southtexasfoodbank.org

Listen throughout the monthof April and make your muchappreciated and needed tax-de-ductible donations.

God bless you and thankyou.

SSiiggnneedd,,Alfredo Castillo,Executive DirectorSouth Texas Food Bank

The Zapata Times does notpublish anonymous letters. To bepublished, letters must includethe writer’s first and last names aswell as a phone number to verifyidentity. The phone number ISNOT published; it is used solely toverify identity and to clarify con-tent, if necessary.

People who want to air theiropinions publicly must do soopenly. We want to assure ourreaders that a letter is written bythe person who signs the letter;

The Zapata Times does not al-low the use of pseudonyms.

Letters are edited for style,grammar, length and civility. Noname-calling or gratuitous abuseis allowed.

This space allows for publicdebate of the issues of the day. Wedo publish “thank you” letters, butdue to limited space, we ask writ-ers to list no more than 10 namesin such letters.

Mail letters to 111 EsperanzaDrive; Laredo, TX 78041. Or e-mail to [email protected]

Letters also can be dropped offat 1309 N. US Highway 83 at 14thAvenue, Suite 2, in Zapata.

TOM TEEPEN

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 5ASATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2009Zlife

Photo by Ulysses S. Romero | Laredo Morning TimesPedro Jose Rojas’“Collateral of the Last Supper.”

All that is sacredBy TARYN WHITE

LAREDO MORNING TIMES

It has been said that art is a tryst where the painterand viewer meet. Enticing and inspiring artevokes great emotion from all of its devoted

lovers. Never neglectful or disappointing, great artbegs the beholder to feel something profound andlook into oneself for true interpretation.

On the walls of the Reyes Meza Museum at theCentro Cultural in Nuevo Laredo hang dozens ofmasterpieces, which may conjure up nothing lessthan passion, joy, sorrow and reverence from theirbeholders.

More than 100 works created by the greatestartists from Mexico line the walls of the Reyes MezaMuseum in an exhibit being shown in Mexico for thefirst time.

Aptly titled “Myth, Mortals and Immortality” pa-trons are taken on a journey of abundance, religion,death and serenity.

Walking through the museumUpon entering the dimly lit room housing paint-

ings and sculptures, large colorful brush strokesgreet visitors in a painting called “Beautiful Mexico.”

“It shows a representation of Mexico showingwhat we have to offer the whole world,” said HectorRomero Lecanda, City of Nuevo Laredo cultural af-fairs director.

Painted by Jorge Gonzalez Camarena, five beau-

tiful, smiling women clad in costumes representingdifferent regions of world stand in front of the Mex-ican flag holding baskets filled with fruits and veg-etables.

According Lecanda, this painting with its vibrantcolors and classic beauty represents what peoplethink of as “stereotypical” Mexican art.

Taking a right turn after “Beautiful Mexico,” mu-seum patrons enter a room of Baroque-style art in-spired by religious icons.

Exquisitely detailed renditions of the Virgin Marypainted in golds, rich reds and blues by artists likeJuan de Sáenz and Francisco Martínez inspire rever-ie when looked upon.

“Religion is very important to the Mexican cul-ture,” Lecanda said. “In these pieces, you can feel thesuffering of Jesus and the sadness of the Lady ofGuadalupe.”

Rounding out the exhibit are sculptures, including“The True Portrait of Christ of the Column” and anadorned reliquary holding a sliver of what is believedto be the original cross where Jesus was crucified.

Celebrating deathImmediately following the pieces inspired by re-

ligion are works representing Mexico’s cultural in-terpretation of death.

“We don’t see death as dark; it is just a part of ourcontinuing life,” Lecanda said.

Courtesy photoJerry Cabrera stands in front of his oil-on-canvas work,“Haven 5.”

Cabrera to bring ‘Light’ to the Laredo Center for the Arts


The Laredo Center for theArts is encouraging the commu-nity to visit its new exhibition,“Light,” opening April 3 and clos-ing April 30. The center will alsohost an opening reception for theexhibit on Friday, April 10, from6 to 8 p.m.

The Lilia G. Martinez Galleryis set to present 18 new paintingsby Laredo native and emergingartist Jerry Cabrera. “Light’ is aseries of paintings first con-ceived after the artist visited theconcentration camp sites and theJewish Museum in Germany.His work is rooted in both themeand palette in the importance oflight in isolated environments,environments of extreme suffer-ing and that are considered sa-cred, such as a church or cathe-dral.

Through his paintings, theartist explores the facets of lightas a representation of life and allthe associations that come tomind with it, such as hope,warmth and energy. The artistalso plays with light as an ar-

chitect would as an element ofdesign. In considering the ar-chitecture of a prison cells andthe limited amount of lightavailable, light is used as a vehi-cle for escapism. The paintingsinvestigate the psychology be-hind light as an element of hopein such environments. Light isthe only source of visual escapefrom imprisonment and isola-tion.

The paintings should be usedas a reminder for the viewer ofthe vastness of light people arefree to experience on a day-to-day basis, as opposed to thosewho do not have that freedom towalk in the sun. The intention ofthe paintings is also a chance togive the viewer a narrow, yet

vast, window of light — narrowenough not to physically fitthrough, but vast enoughthrough which to visually es-cape

Cabrera’s work is in manyprivate and corporate collections,including the Neiman-MarcusCollection and the AT&T Centerin San Antonio. Cabrera ob-tained his bachelor’s degree inpainting from Texas State Uni-versity in San Marcos and hismaster’s degree in painting fromthe University of Texas at SanAntonio. He is also an adjunctprofessor of art at the Universityof Texas in San Antonio.

For more information, call725-1715 or visit www.laredoart-center.org.

Through his (Jerry Cabrera) paintings,the artist explores the facets of light as a representation of life and all the

associations that come to mind with it.

Subscribe to the Laredo Morning Times at 728-2550 or online at www.lmtonline.com

See SACRED | PAGE 6A

6A | THE ZAPATA TIMES SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2009

One of the most interesting pieces from this ex-hibit is a painting titled “Portrait of a Dead Child” byDavid Alfaro Siqueiros.

According to Lecanda, the story behind this paint-ing is just as fascinating as the rendering itself.

“The story is, the little girl in the painting askedSiqueiros to paint her with her little sister who hadrecently died,” Lecanda said. “But because of how ex-pensive creating a painting was, Siqueiros painted iton a potato sack.”

And now, “Portrait of a Dead Child” hangs in itsoriginal form, painted on a potato sack at Reyes Meza.

History on canvasNext, patrons will look upon paintings depicting

historical accounts of Mexico from the 17th to 19thcentury. Paintings of landscapes by artists like PedroVillegas, Conrad Wise Chapman and Gerardo Muril-lo portray images of what Mexico once looked like.

Also, portraits of Spanish warriors and Mexicansoldiers, as well as scenes involving debaucheryand celebration, depict Mexico’s rich history.

At the last display, the exhibit returns to the tra-ditional Mexican style of art, using vibrant colorsand images of plentiful food and beautiful women.

According to Lecanda, the exhibit the exhibit inits entirety brings together classic Mexican im-ages, which will give people a better understand-ing of Mexico’s influence on the rest of the world.

“This exhibit has been shown in places like theSmithsonian and museums in San Antonio, andthis is the first time it is being shown in Mexico,”Lecanda said. “We believe this museum is an orig-inal center that promotes art from this region.”

“Myth, Mortals and Immortality” will remainon display at Reyes Meza until mid-April, when itwill travel to Monterrey, Lecanda said.

(Taryn White may be reached at 728-2568 orby e-mail at [email protected])

SACRED | Continued from Page 5A

Photo by Ulysses S. Romero | Laredo Morning TimesJean-Fedrick Maximilien de Waldeck,“ Ideal Reconstruction of a Pre-Hispanic Ceremony."

MISS MANNERS |BY JUDITH MARTIN

DEAR MISS MANNERS —My problem is not one of mis-taken identity, but rather one of

accidentally re-vealed identity!

I am a regu-lar participantin an active on-line discussiongroup, andwhile heateddebates overpolitics and re-

ligion are the norm there, we usu-ally manage to keep things civil.

One prolific participant is asort of self-appointed expert onmany things, and makes quite athing of the fact that she has twobachelor’s degrees and reads alot. She goes to great pains to tryto make people see her as smartand interesting.

As a result, she is one of thepeople most likely to end up em-broiled in a personal argument,and has revealed a lot about heroff-line life. She recently posted alink to something with her realfull name on it, and it turns outthat this is someone I have known,or at least known about, in thepast. She is a former friend of afriend, who was known, years ago,to have stirred up quite a bit ofcontroversy, told a lot of damaginglies about someone and generallyhurt a lot of people.

It also appears that she has toldsome blatant lies about herself andher past in our online forum. I’mtrying to decide how to proceedwith her, and with the rest of thegroup. Would it be wrong of me tocontinue to participate in discus-sions with her without revealingthat I know who she is? I have noidea what etiquette dictates in asituation like this.

GENTLE READER — ExcuseMiss Manners for being naive, butdon’t we assume that most self-sketches on anonymous groupsare at least embroidered, if notoutright fantasy? Surely the ques-tion is whether you should revealher identity, not whether you cankeep participating without doingso.

Where anonymity is pre-sumed, even by the careless, youshould not spread her name.Where is the clear and presentdanger from which you wouldbe protecting the other partici-pants? It isn’t as though you haddiscovered that your friend’s fi-ance was wanted for the murderof his first three wives.

MARTIN

Secretidentity

revealed!

Comedic opera to play at LCCSPECIAL TO THE TIMES

For the first time at LaredoCommunity College, “TheBartered Bride,” a “challenging,yet comedic opera,” will be per-formed Friday through Sundayon LCC’s Fort McIntosh campusat the Guadalupe and Lilia Mar-tinez Fine Arts Center theater.

The LCC Opera Workshopwill perform Smetana’s operawith shows today at 7:30 p.m andSunday, March 29, at 3 p.m. Ad-mission for each performance is$5 per person.

“It’s very entertaining, upbeat,and a great form of family enter-tainment for the Laredo commu-nity,” said Joseph Crabtree, LCCperforming arts chair and direc-tor of the LCC Opera Workshop.“This is the first true opera thatwe’ll be performing at the Mar-tinez theater and (it) is one ofthe most challenging pieces thatwe have done to date.”

“The Bartered Bride” is acomedic tale of a penniless manin love with a girl who is sup-posed to marry a wealthy man.

It is one of the top 20 and ahandful of Czech operas that arecontinually performed through-out the world.

“The Bartered Bride” was writ-ten by the Czech Republic’sBedrich Smetana in the late 1800s.

The cast is composed of 22LCC Opera Workshop studentsand about 20 stage crew.

This will be the workshop’slast performance of the academ-ic year.

“The real practical musical ex-perience is invaluable and rarelyfound in any undergraduate in-stitution. I really encourage folksto see it,” Crabtree said. “Everyonethinks that operas are just sad andeveryone dies at the end. ‘TheBartered Bride’ is nothing like

that. You’re allowed to laugh.” Stephanie Schnyder, a 25-

year-old LCC student, is one of22 cast members for the opera.

Her role as Esmeralda, a cir-cus performer as a tight-rope-walker, is one she enjoys playing.

“There is so much going onduring my performance — andinsight — that I think the audi-ence will have a pretty goodlaugh out of it,” Schnyder said.

Schnyder has always dreamtof performing in front of a largeaudience.

“I see myself as one day per-forming in New York CityBroadway theaters,” Schnydersaid. “This is a great way of set-ting that foundation, by per-

forming this type of challengingand amazing opera at LCC.”

Stephen Miller, who is now20 years old, has been perform-ing at LCC since the age of 15.

Miller is a Zapata native whoalso has performed at varioustheatres across the Laredo area.

“I like this particular opera be-cause there is a little of unravelingof the plot, which will surprise theaudience near the end,” Miller said.

Miller admitted that it can gethectic juggling homework andweekday evening dress re-hearsals, but things always workout in the end.

For more information, con-tact the LCC Performing ArtsDepartment at 721-5330.

Courtesy photo Laredo Community College’s Opera Workshop will perform “The Bartered Bride”to-day through Sunday at LCC’s Fort McIntosh campus at the Guadalupe and Lilia Mar-tinez Fine Arts Center theater. Admission is $5. From left to right, Krusina (SergioBernál) comforts his daughter Marie (Alexa DeAnda) during a dress rehearsal forthe Czech comedic opera.

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 7ASATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2009Zentertainment

Photo by DreamWorks Animation LLC | APIn this publicity still released by DreamWorks Animation LLC, Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D., voiced by Hugh Laurie, left, and B.O.B., voicedby Seth Rogen in a scene from DreamWorks Animation’s “Monsters vs. Aliens.”

‘Monsters’ has high-energy humor

Photo by Danny Moloshok | APMusician Pitbull performs during KIIS-FM's Wango Tango concert, Saturday, May 12, 2007 in Irvine, Calif.

Pitbull to unleash at the LECSPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Reggaeton and Latin rap starPitbull — known for hits like“Shake,” “Toma,” “Go Girl” and“The Anthem,” as well as the morerecent “Krazy,” featuring Lil Jon —lands at the Laredo Entertain-ment Center stage Thursday,April 2, at 7:30 p.m.

Joining Pitbull will be Hous-ton-based rapper Slim Thug, whois enjoying renewed popularitywith his single, “I Run,” and thetongue-in-cheek, self-proclaimed“Tamale Kingpin,” Chingo Bling.

Tickets for the concert, avail-able at the LEC box office, Ticket-master and by phone at 712-1566,are $46, $36, $26 and $6, plus fa-cility fees.

The big dogPitbull — also known as Mr.

305 and Li’l Chico — has madeseveral appearance in the Gate-way City. He also headlined con-certs in 2005 and 2007.

Born to Cuban immigrants asArmando Christian Perez, Pitbullwas raised by a single mother inMiami. The family endured fre-quent relocation to different parts

of town, which honed Pitbull’sskills to adapt to any environmentand interact with different typesof people.

All the while, Pit was fallingfor hip-hop. Through his constantwinning verbal warfare and hisVIP friendships with Li’l Jon andLuke Campbell, Pit signed withTVT. Since then, Pitbull has be-come one of the top MCs in thegame, releasing his gold-sellingdebut, “M.I.A.M.I. (Money Is A Ma-jor Issue)” in 2004 and his sopho-more album “El Mariel” in 2006.

In his last studio effort, “TheBoatlift,” Pitbull was joined by astar-studded crew, includingGrammy award-winning produc-ers Play-N-Skillz for his first sin-gle “Secret Admirer” featuringR&B sensation Lloyd. The diversealbum ranged from R&B-influ-enced sounds with his hit single“Secret Admirer” totechno/dance-inspired tracks like“The Anthem,” as well as songslike “Midnight” that are heavilymainstream/pop-influenced anddown South-inspired tracks like“Dookie.”

“The Boatlift” boasts appear-ances from Trina, Jim Jones, DonOmar, Twista, Lloyd, Frankie J,

Young Berg, Trick Daddy, Fabo ofD4L and Young Boss. Pitbullteams up with Trina and YoungBoss on the club banger “Go Girl,”which he also filmed a video for inMiami. Other album notables in-clude “Sticky Icky” produced byLi’l Jon and featuring Jim Jones,“Fuego” featuring Platinum artistDon Omar and produced by Mr.Collipark, and the Twista-assisted“Candy Man” produced by Echo.

Pitbull’s last album, “ElMariel,” produced numerous ra-dio hits, including the club an-them “Bojangles” and the hit rapsingle “Ay Chico.” In 2004, Pitbullsurpassed gold status for morethan 600,000 copies sold of hisdebut album “M.I.A.M.I.: Money IsA Major Issue” in the UnitedStates. The feat gave Pitbull thebiggest-selling bilingual hip-hopdebut since Cypress Hill’s 1991self-titled debut, and put him inthe rare category of Latino rap-pers who have achieved majorsuccess at English-language ra-dio.

More recently, the hits have in-cluded “Krazy,” featured Lil Jonand the East Side Boyz, and “IKnow You Want Me (CalleOcho.)”

By CHRISTY LEMIREASSOCIATED PRESS

Classic creatures from the 1950s get a high-tech makeover, with a healthy amount of attitude,in the 3-D animated “Monsters vs. Aliens.”

The Blob, The Creature from the Black Lagoon,The Fly — they’re are all here, led by The 50-FootWoman, who’s now 49 feet, 11 inches as voiced bythe diminutive Reese Witherspoon. (Animation, bythe way, is a great fit for her, and for both the crisp-ness and sweetness in her voice.)

Far from being menacing, they’re optimistic mis-fits who just want to be loved and understood. Ratherthan destroying each other, they’re loyal friendswho’ve been trapped together as government testsubjects, only to be unleashed on the world when analien invasion requires their unique powers.

It’s an enormously clever concept — no pun in-tended — with a choice voice cast. Who else butSeth Rogen could play a lovable blue blob namedB.O.B., who always has a smile on his gelatinousface? Will Arnett essentially revives his hilarious-ly cocky-but-clueless “Arrested Development” char-acter, Gob Bluth II, as the half-fish, half-ape Miss-ing Link, and Hugh Laurie lends his rich voice tothe British mad scientist Dr. Cockroach.

Just seeing the words “And Stephen Colbert asThe President” during the opening titles is good fora laugh, especially given the comic’s faux run for

The White House from his home state of SouthCarolina.

And the laughs keep coming steadily from there.Directors Rob Letterman (“Shark Tale”) and Con-rad Vernon (“Shrek 2”), working from a scriptfrom about a half-dozen people, maintains a highenergy throughout, although the explosive climaxfeels bombastic and repetitive. Far more effective isthe way this motley crew comes together.

Witherspoon’s Susan is a simple woman fromModesto, Calif., who’s about to marry pompous TVweatherman Derek (Paul Rudd). On their weddingday, as Susan dreams of honeymooning in Paris andDerek obsesses over an anchor audition in Fresno,a meteor hits Earth, exposing Susan to galacticgloop that turns her into a giant with a shock ofwhite hair. (And as she grows, her wedding gownrips and clings to her in sexy ways — but there’snothing too racy here on any level. “Monsters vs.Aliens” is decidedly PG, with any vestiges of an-tagonism softened for the sake of family-friendlycomedy. It could have used a bit more edge.)

The military, led by Gen. W.R. Monger (KieferSutherland), scoops her up and sticks her in aholding cell along with B.O.B., Link, Dr. Cock-roach and a goofy, 350-foot bug named Insec-tosaurus. (Their back stories, rendered in run-down film clips, are a nice nostalgic touch.) Theyalso rename her Ginormica, which gives her aself-esteem boost when she needs it most.

Courtesy photo“Angels of Desire,” by Sheila Elias.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The formula is pretty familiarby now in these Judd Apatow-produced comedies. A couple ofbuddies get into trouble, and asthey try to bumble their way outof it, their friendship only growsstronger.

“Pineapple Express” tries tobreathe some fresh life into thiscomic genre by turning it into aserious action movie. But becauseit tries to be both, it doesn’t com-pletely work on either level. SethRogen and James Franco havegreat chemistry, though — not sur-prising, since they’re both long-time friends of Judd who co-starred on his TV series “Freaksand Geeks.” Rogen also co-wrotethe script with lifelong pal EvanGoldberg, with whom he wrotethe script for “Superbad,” whichwas inspired by their geeky ado-lescence.


The Laredo Center for theArts will hold its Art Happeningfrom 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday in anevening that will feature anartists reception and a disc jock-ey set by the Pop Rocks.

The Lilia G. MartinezGallery will exhibit “Some-where, Anywhere” by SheilaElias. “Somewhere, Anywhere”is a midcareer retrospective ofthe multimedia artist, whosework includes paintings andphotographs spanning a 35-yearcareer. Her work connects lifeand art through aesthetics andsocial consciousness. Elias’work portrays a perception ofurban tension, raw emotionsand harsh realities temperedwith gentle optimism and beau-ty, countering an AmericanDream that has gone astray.

In the Mezzanine, “Full ofCold Air,” an interactive site-specific inflatable installationby Jimmy Kuehnle, continuesits run. The exhibit will be ondisplay through Aug. 29.

On exhibit in the Rosalie G.Goodman Gallery is “July left inSeptember,” large-scale pen-and-ink drawings by local artistJorge Javier Lopez, while theLaredo Art League Gallerypresents “Vive Le Arte,” artworkby The Santos. “Vive Le Arte” isa group show consisting ofpaintings, photographs and in-stallations influenced by popculture, art, consumerism andfashion.

In addition to the visual arts,the event will incorporate a DJset by The Pop Rocks, a localDJ duo that combines art and

music in a masterful way. The event is free and open to

the public. It is sponsored byIBC Bank, L&F Distributorsand the Texas Commission onthe Arts.

For more information, callthe Laredo Center for the Artsat 725-1715 or visit www.lare-doartcenter.org.

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 8AZentertainment SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 2008

‘Forum’ is great can’t miss, funny musical comedyBy KIRSTEN CROW

LAREDO MORNING TIMES

Boisterous. Flamboyant.Bawdy. Downright (well, mildly)scandalous.

“A Funny Thing Happened onthe Way to the Forum” isn’t whatmost people envision whenthey’re considering a trip to thetheater — but for anyone who en-joys a brief respite from the reali-ties of the world within the con-fines of a cool auditorium or justenjoys a good snicker or bellylaugh, this is a can’t-miss musicalcomedy.

Under the direction of Joe Flo-res and produced by the LaredoInstitute of Theatrical Education,“A Funny Thing Happened on theWay to the Forum” combines theflutterings of a first-love storybookended by laughs, as theyoung actors throw themselvesfully into their over-the-top rolesbringing to life the phrase fromthe musical’s opening number:“Tragedy tomorrow, comedytonight.”

Making LITE of loveBased on the book by Burt

Shevelove and Larry Gelbart andthe plays of Plautus, and with mu-sic and lyrics by renowned com-poser Stephen Sondheim, “A Fun-ny Thing Happened on the Way tothe Forum” centers around thestuff of romantic comedies: younglove versus its lustier counter-parts, the comedic circumstancessurrounding nearly insurmount-able obstacles, and, of course, thetrue staple — cross-dressing.

Immediately following itsopening song, replete with highkicks, the audience is introducedto Pseudolus, the charismatic,good-hearted slave of Senex, thewould-be philanderer who makesno qualms about his distaste forhis wife, and Domina, the der-riere-blessed battleaxe whohounds him and behaves like aharpy true to her name. AllPseudolus wants in the world ishis freedom — and perhaps the

company of some of the comelycourtesans that reside next door.

The prominent couple leavetown, Domina’s bust in tow — andyes, it is a literal a bust in the artis-tic sense that bears a “frighten-ing resemblance” to its inspira-tion — willing their son, Hero, tothe charge of the servants, andnamely Hysterium, a mouse of aman who continuously and hu-morously overreacts to any andall situations. It is explicitly statedthat Hero is to have no contactwith the fairer sex.

Enter the young man in ques-tion, who has been struck withCupid’s arrow and the first blushof love. Unfortunately for him, the

object of his affection is residing inthe house of Marcus Lycus — acourtesan house with many un-mentionable delights — or, as it isphrased, “gross indulgences” sureto “satisfy an Olympian appetite.”

Upon discovery that Heropines for the fair-haired Philia,Pseudolus strikes a deal with hisyoung master: If he can secure thegirl for Hero, Hero will secure hisfreedom.

Now the only problem is woo-ing the beautiful but empty-head-ed Philia –she was “taught onlybeauty and grace and no more” —away from the courtesan houseand her impending marriage toher betrothed, Miles Glorius, who

is almost as impressed with hisbride-to-be as he is with himself.

In between, we find Erronious— an elderly man who occasional-ly brings the scenes to a humoroushalt as he continues his never-ending search for his missing off-spring, kidnapped by pirates whenthey were merely small children.

The playersHitting the stage in LITE’s lat-

est and most mature project are anumber of stage vets encompass-ing the ages between high schooland the recently graduated, manywith a number of UIL One-ActPlay accolades.

For some, this will be their lastLITE play, noted Armando X.Lopez, board member.

“For (this musical) you needsome real comedians, and we hadthat, and you need some beautifulwomen, and we had that,” he saidabout the selection, a change fromthe originally planned The Who’s“Tommy.”

Several parts have two actorsportraying the characters on dif-ferent nights: Alex Lopez andErnesto Gonzalez play Pseudolus,Oliver Saenz and Mark Gonzalezplay the lascivious Senex, and Vic-toria Young and Cassandra Varaplay the “just lovely” Philia.

Other standouts include Santi-

ago Moreno as Hero, sweetly por-traying a young man touched byPhilia’s unforgettable smile,Carmella Diaz-Lolar as the de-lightfully snarky Marcus Lycus,Marla Perez as the shrewish Dom-ina and Ricky Vera as Miles Glo-rious in all his self-aggrandizingsplendor.

But David Gonzalez, playingHysterium, and Homer Gonzalezas Erronious, possibly have themost comic opportunities. Al-though he has few lines, HomerGonzalez is able to provoke laughsby his mere presence and theslight shake in his old-man stride.

Also notable are the courte-sans, who showcase some im-pressive, hip-shaking moves cho-reographed by Ani Vera Perez,owner of Dance City and a formerSan Antonio Spurs Silver Dancer,along with the proteans, who slipeasily from role to role, bringing anew essence to each one.

But for parents of young chil-dren, be warned: This isn’t G-rat-ed. There’s no cursing or nudity,but there is a hefty dose of sexualinnuendo and suggestive dancingbefitting a play set during the Ro-man era. Although the majorityof the jokes will likely go overheads lower to the ground, itmight be best to leave the kids athome and keep it high school-aged and older.

On the way?Presented by the City of Lare-

do Parks and Leisure Departmentand LITE Productions through aspecial arrangement with MusicTheatre International, “A FunnyThing Happened on the Way tothe Forum” will have perform-ances at 8 tonight and Saturdayand 6 p.m. Sunday at the LaredoCivic Center, 2400 San BernardoAve.

Admission is $5.For more information, call San-

dra Gallegos at 645-8088 or Mar-ta Perez at 740-6410.

(Kirsten Crow may be reachedat 728-2543 or by e-mail [email protected])

Courtesy photoHomer Gonzalez poses as Erronious at the Laredo Civic Center. Gonzalez spends much of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” shuffling in and out of scenes,bringing them to an abrupt, amusing halt. The play will be performed at 8 p.m. tonight and Saturday and at 6 p.m. Sunday at the civic center.

‘Pineapple Express’

Art Happening at the C. for the Arts

ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFSSPECIAL TO THE TIMES

High flyingIf you believe in fairies, that

boys don’t really need to grow up,or that mothers are the healers ofthe hearts of children, the LaredoLittle Theatre is the place to bethis weekend and next.

Directed by Adalberto Chavar-ria, the Little Theatre’s version of“Peter Pan” takes the classic storyby J.M. Barrie with some young —but, make no mistake, very pro-fessional — young talent ages 5 to19.

Performances of the play willbe held at Laredo Little Theatre,4802 Thomas Ave., at 8 tonightand 3 p.m. Sunday. The produc-tion continues the followingweekend.

Admission is $5.

SmackdownThe Laredo Entertainment

Center, an SMG-managed facility,and WWE have partnered to puton an action-packed show withthe WWE Smackdown and ECWto take place Tuesday, Oct. 21, at6:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale Fri-day, Sept. 12, at 10 a.m. at the LECbox office and all Ticketmasteroutlets. WWE has promised anexciting lineup with all the fa-vorite Smackdown and ECWstars.

Ticket prices are $20, $25, $30and $40.

‘El Vaquero Real’The Webb County Heritage

Foundation has a new exhibit ofphotographs and paintings cele-brating the cultural legacy of va-queros, the original cowboys well-known and recognizedthroughout the world, titled “El

Vaquero Real, The Original Amer-ican Cowboy.”

The exhibit, on display untilthe end of October, may be viewedTuesdays through Saturdays from9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Villa An-tigua Border Heritage Museum,810 Zaragoza St. in historic down-town Laredo.

The photographs are the workof noted photographer John Dyer,while the paintings were createdby well-known advertising execu-tive Lionel Sosa. Both San Anto-nio artists will be on hand to meetthe public at an opening recep-tion Thursday, Aug. 21, at 6 p.m.The public is cordially invited toattend.

For more information, contactthe Webb County Heritage Foun-dation at 727-0977 or [email protected].

Auditions setOpen auditions for the Texas

A&M International UniversityOpera Workshop and LaredoCommunity College Opera Work-shop’s joint production of AndrewLloyd Webber’s “Joseph and theAmazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”are scheduled for Saturday, Aug.16, and Sunday, Aug. 17, from 1 to4 p.m. at the Martinez Fine ArtsCenter, Room 102, on the mainLCC campus.

The performance is slated forThursday, Oct. 16, through Satur-day, Oct. 18.

Singers should prepare onesong from memory and take acopy of their sheet music for theaccompanist for the audition.

Rehearsals will be held onweeknights from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

For more information, contactDana Crabtree [email protected] or 326-3040or contact Joseph Crabtree at LCCat 721-5869.

‘Sisterhood ... Traveling Pants 2’ASSOCIATED PRESS

Yes, the pants still exist, butnow they’re covered in patchesand jewels and etched with thememories and dreams of the fouryoung women who’ve been wear-ing them. And they still travel — toNew York and Vermont, Turkeyand Greece, and points in be-tween.

But the magic in those jeans,and in the bond that linked the

friends who’ve shared them overthe years, seems to have faded.The sequel to 2005’s surprisinglytolerable “The Sisterhood of theTraveling Pants” finds our eclecticgroup of heroines a little bit olderand wiser and a lot less connect-ed to each other.

“Sisterhood” is rated PG-13for mature material and sensu-ality. It is playing at CinemarkMall Del Norte and HollywoodTheaters.

SATURDAY, MARCH 28. 2009 THE ZAPATA TIMES | 9ANATIONAL

Subscribe to LMTat (956) 728-2550

Thousands flee ahead of floodwaters

$150M buys late TV producer’s L.A. mansionBy ALEX VEIGA

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — The widow of pro-ducer Aaron Spelling is placing “TheManor” in the exclusive Holmby Hillsneighborhood on the market for a jaw-dropping $150 million, making it by farthe most expensive home for sale in theU.S.

The French chateau-style mansion has56,500 square feet of space on more than4.7 acres and is the largest home in LosAngeles County. Among the neighborsare the Los Angeles Country Club and,

not too far away, the Playboy Mansion. Candy Spelling’s late husband pro-

duced hit shows such as “Charlie’s An-gels,” “Dynasty” and “Beverly Hills,90210.” He died in 2006.

“Everything there is glamorous, and isluxurious and it’s really great scale,” saidSally Forster Jones, an agent with Cold-well Banker Previews International inLos Angeles, which is co-listing the prop-erty. “There really is nothing to compareit to.”

Spelling told The Associated Press thatshe let her dog Madison, a soft-coatedWheaten Terrier, help pick out the best

real estate agent for the task. She had hersecurity bring the dog into the roomevery time she met one of the candidateagents and watched how the dog reacted.If Madison didn’t like them, Spellingcrossed them off the list.

Prospective buyers won’t have to wor-ry about passing such scrutiny, Spellingjokes.

“Not at all,” she says. The mansion, built in 1991, is gated

and features a winding driveway thatleads up to the three-story house, whichincludes ceilings that reach up to 30 feethigh, Jones said.

While some published reports put thetally of rooms in the mansion at well past100, Jones couldn’t provide an exactcount.

Spelling says she doesn’t know either. “You’re really asking the wrong per-

son,” Spelling jokes. “There’s a lot. (Thehouse) has evolved and I actually haven’tgone around and counted.”

The Spellings found no shortage ofuses for the many rooms in the mansion,however.

There’s a bowling alley, a wine storageand tasting room, gift-wrapping room, ahumidity-controlled silver storage room,

China room, library, gym and mediaroom, among many others.

The screening room is one ofSpelling’s favorites.

“I had some really wonderful timesentertaining in that room,” she said. “Weshowed movies and I still do.”

The room features a movie projec-tion system that automatically comesup from the floor at the same timethat shades extend over the windows.It ’s an idea that came to CandySpelling in a dream as she sought toavoid having a projection screen openall the time.

By PATRICK CONDON and DAN SEWELLASSOCIATED PRESS

FARGO, N.D. — Thousands ofshivering, tired residents got outwhile they could and othersprayed that miles of sandbaggedlevees would hold Friday as thesurging Red River threatened tounleash the biggest flood NorthDakota’s largest city has everseen.

The agonizing decision to stayor go came as the final hoursticked down before an expectedcrest Saturday evening, when theice-laden river could climb as highas 43 feet, nearly 3 feet higher thanthe record set 112 years ago.

“It’s to the point now where Ithink we’ve done everything wecan,” said resident Dave Davis,whose neighborhood was filledwith backhoes and tractors build-ing an earthen levee. “The onlything now is divine intervention.”

Even after the floodwaterscrest, the water may not begin re-ceding before Wednesday, creat-ing a lingering risk of a cata-strophic failure in levees puttogether mostly by volunteers.

National Guard troops fannedout in the bitter cold to inspectfloodwalls for leaks and weakspots, and residents piled sand-bags on top of 12 miles of snow-covered dikes. The freezingweather froze the bags solid, turn-ing them into what townspeoplehoped would be a watertight bar-rier.

Hundreds more Guard troopspoured in from around the stateand neighboring South Dakota,along with scores of AmericanRed Cross workers from as faraway as Modesto, Calif.

Homeowners, students andsmall armies of other volunteersfilled sandbags in temperaturesthat barely rose into the doubledigits.

The river swelled Friday to40.67 feet — more than 22 feetabove flood stage and beyond theprevious high-water mark of 40.1feet in 1897. In one flooded neigh-borhood, a man paddled a canoethrough ice floes and swirling cur-rents.

Fargo Mayor Dennis Walakercautiously expressed hope that theriver would stay below 43 feet —the limit of the reinforced dikes.Walaker said there was notenough time to build the leveesany higher.

Fargo escaped devastationfrom flooding in 1997, when

Grand Forks was ravaged by a his-toric flood 70 miles to the north.This year, the river has beenswollen by heavier-than-averagewinter snows, combined with anearly freeze last fall that locked alot of moisture into the soil. Thethreat has been made worse byspring rains.

“I think the river is mad thatshe lost the last time,” said engi-neer Mike Buerkley, managing asmile through his dark stubble ashe tossed sandbags onto his pick-up truck after working 29 straighthours.

Some 1,700 National Guardtroops helped reinforce the dikesand conduct patrols for leaks. Po-lice restricted traffic to allowtrucks laden with sandbags, back-hoes and other heavy equipmentto get through.

Guard member Shawna Cale,25, worked through the night on adike, handing up sandbags thatwere 30 to 40 pounds and frozen-solid.

“It’s like throwing a frozenturkey,” said sister-in-law TawnyCale, who came with her husbandto help with the sandbags andthen to help Shawna move hervaluables as she evacuated.

“When it hurts when you liftyour arms, you have to stop,”Shawna Cale said.

City Administrator Pat Zavoralsaid the cold firms up the bags,strengthening the dikes. “If youlay loose bags and now they’refrozen, they’re like a frozen icecube. It’s good shape.”

Authorities said they werekeeping about 300,000 of the 3million sandbags they had Fridayin warm buildings for use as need-ed. Sandbags that are alreadyfrozen when piled onto a dike donot fit together snugly.

But the freezing temperaturesactually helped stave off worseflooding; officials said the riverwas rising more slowly becausethe freezing temperatures pre-vented snow from melting.

The White House said it wasmonitoring flooding in NorthDakota and Minnesota, and Pres-ident Barack Obama has dis-patched the acting head of theFederal Emergency ManagementAgency to the region. WhiteHouse spokesman Robert Gibbssaid Obama has personally spo-ken with the governors of bothstates and with Fargo’s mayor.

The president called NorthDakota Sen. Kent Conrad on hiscell phone during a news confer-

ence in Bismarck on floodingproblems there and in Fargo. “Ifthere’s anything more that we cando, we will do it,” Obama said af-ter Conrad held the phone up to amicrophone.

Authorities in Fargo and acrossthe river in Moorhead — a city ofabout 30,000 people — expandedevacuations Friday across severalblocks. About 2,600 householdsin Moorhead — about a third ofthe city — were asked to leavetheir homes. Hundreds more inFargo were asked to evacuate.

Some residents were rousedfrom their sleep around 2 a.m. Fri-day and told to leave after author-ities found a leak in a dike. Theyexpected to be able to patch it se-curely.

More than 100 inmates weretaken from the county jail in Far-go to other lockups in the region,and Moorhead planned to evacu-ate the police station because ofencroaching floodwaters. U.S.

Sen. Byron Dorgan said North-west Airlines was sending two jet-liners to move hospital patientsto safer areas.

The effort to fortify flood-prone neighborhoods took placearound the city, with officialsbuilding a contingency dike sys-tem as a second line of defenseshould the river breach riversideneighborhoods. But some resi-dents were left between the twosets of dikes.

“There are people who are an-gry about being on the wrong sideof the dike,” said Tim Mahoney, aFargo city commissioner whosehome is in one of the “wrong-side”neighborhoods.

“We have a 500-year flood thatwe’re combatting, and we thinkwe’re doing as well as we can,”Mahoney said.

Residents in another of thoseneighborhoods placed pumps intheir yards in hopes of keepingwater out of their homes.

Photo by Brian Peterson/The Star Tribune | APHomes along the Wild Rice River in South Fargo, N.D. near its confluence with the Red River, are shown Friday. Thousands of shivering, tired residents got out while they couldand others prayed that miles of sandbagged levees would hold Friday as the surging Red River threatened to unleash the biggest flood North Dakota’s largest city has ever seen.


Accountability wanted in Enterprise Fund

Financial firms fail to meet job targetsBy KELLEY SHANNONASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN, Texas — Mortgage giant Coun-trywide Financial Corp. fell more than 1,600jobs short of its target last year for creatingjobs under its Texas Enterprise Fund agree-ment, while failed bank Washington Mutualwas 192 jobs below its goal, according to fig-ures obtained by The Associated Press.

Both companies have laid off thousands ofworkers nationally and have been taken overby other financial firms since receiving tensof millions of dollars from the taxpayer-fund-ed account overseen by Gov. Rick Perry.

Countrywide was to create 5,500 new jobsby the end of 2008 under its contract, but cre-ated only 3,876. Perry’s office said the com-pany is still in compliance with its long-termagreement to bring 7,500 total new jobs toTexas by the end of 2010.

That’s because it has “surplus credits” itcan use to offset the annual shortage, ac-cording to Perry spokeswoman Allison Cas-

tle. Surplus credits are accumulated whenthe company exceeds its job target in previousyears.

“There are challenges in the current econ-omy, and the goal of the enterprise fund is jobcreation,” Castle said. “Countrywide contin-ues to meet the terms of the contract.”

Washington Mutual had a target of creat-ing 2,400 jobs last year, but it reported only2,208. Like Countrywide, it has surplus cred-its to keep it in compliance, Castle said.

The AP has sought to obtain under theTexas Public Information Act the enterprisefund certification letters Countrywide andWashington Mutual filed with the state.Perry’s office is trying to block the releaseof those documents and has asked the at-torney general to allow them to be kept se-cret. Perry’s office says the information isproprietary and could cause competitiveharm to Countrywide and Washington if re-leased.

Late Thursday, Perry’s office provided theAP with a synopsis of the job creation num-

bers it said the companies reported in Janu-ary.

Castle said the governor is not shutting offaccess to government spending information.

“The governor is an advocate for trans-parency and accountability in state govern-ment,” she said. “We’ve provided the job cre-ation totals.”

Countrywide received $20 million fromthe Texas Enterprise Fund under its agree-ment signed in 2004. Bank of Americabought Countrywide last year, taking over acompany that was at the epicenter of themortgage crisis.

Washington Mutual — a recipient of $15million from the enterprise fund under a2005 agreement to add 4,200 new jobs inTexas by 2011 — became the biggest bank fail-ure in U.S. history when it was seized by fed-eral regulators and taken over by JPMorganChase in September.

The companies could be forced to paysome of the Texas money back if they don’tcreate enough jobs.

By JACKIE STONEASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN, Texas — Lawmakersquizzed leaders of the Texas En-terprise Fund and the EmergingTechnology Fund on Friday abouthow they distribute money after a$50 million state grant to theTexas A&M University Systemraised some eyebrows earlier thisweek.

The House Appropriations com-mittee asked leaders of the funds toexplain how they decide on grants.Gov. Rick Perry’s office came underfire when it was discovered the tech-nology fund’s 17-member advisorycommittee did not recommend a $50million grant for the Texas A&MUniversity System.

Members of the House budget-

writing committee called the funddirectors to task, suggesting thereis a lack of accountability becausefinancial decisions rest solely withthe top three leaders of the state —the governor, lieutenant governorand House majority leader.

“It seems like every day we gothrough this thing, it gets moredisturbing,” Appropriations chair-man Jim Pitts said.

Some committee membersalso expressed concern that mon-ey from state’s unemployment in-surance fund is redirected to theTexas Enterprise Fund.

The unemployment insurancetrust fund is currently flounder-ing. It is expected to have just $48million by Oct. 1, when it is re-quired by law to have $860 mil-lion.

Dorothy M. Hammond, age85, longtime resident of Zapata,passed away at Gulf Breeze,Florida on Sunday, March 8,2009.

Dorothy was born March 1,1924 in Arab, Alabama.

She is survived by herdaughter, Belva Mazzeo; son,Kelly Hammond; grandchil-dren, Staff Sgt. GennaroMazzeo and Jina Weaver andgreat-grandchildren Danillio

Mazzeo, Mia Mazzeo andCatherine Weaver.

Memorial services will beheld at 10:00 a.m. Saturday,March 28, 2009 at LakeshoreTabernacle, Zapata.

In lieu of flowers donationsmay be made to LakeshoreTabernacle School MissionaryServices, P.O. Box 577, Zapata,78076.

Remember her for her loveof life, plants, flowers and most

of all beautiful music.Arrangements are entrusted

to Rose Lawn Funeral Home ofGulf Breeze. You may offer con-dolences, share memories andsign the guest book atwww.roselawn-fh.com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON — Police and airlineofficials are investigating a distur-bance involving a passenger Fri-day on a Continental Express jet ona flight from Cincinnati to Hous-ton’s Intercontinental Airport.

The aircraft also reported abrake issue as it prepared to landabout 9:30 a.m., then taxied to agate after an inspection showedno problem.

No injuries were reportedand passengers departed with-out further incident.

“There was an incident onboard,” Kristy Nicholas, aspokeswoman for ExpressJetAirlines, the Houston-based op-erator of the flight, said. “I don’thave details. We had law en-forcement meet the aircraft.”

She said officers did “somequestioning” but wasn’t awareof any subsequent arrests.

Airport fire crews were alert-ed when the pilot, “acting on anabundance of caution,” radioedahead and declared an emer-gency before landing when in-struments showed brakes were

over acceptable temperatures,she said.

“Obviously you don’t take arisk when something is sayingit’s too hot and it slows the air-craft down,” Nicholas said.

SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2009 THE ZAPATA TIMES | 11A

OBITUARIES

Martin J. Coronado 58, passedaway Monday, March 23, 2009 atLaredo Medical Center.

Mr. Coronado is preceded indeath by his father, Juan AntonioCoronado; brother, Roel RolandoCoronado and a sister, AmandaElia Coronado.

Mr. Coronado is survived byhis wife, Alicia Martinez; sons,Martin Coronado Jr., Joseph GilCoronado, Anthony Coronado;daughter, Marie Coronado; grand-children, Christian L. Coronado,A.J. Coronado, Josiah Coronado,Kristal Requejo, Kariss Celedon;mother, Adelfa S. Coronado;brothers, Larry (Guillermina)Coronado, Raul A. (Noelia) Coro-nado; and by numerous nephews,nieces and many friends.

Visitation hours were heldThursday, March 26, 2009 from 6to 9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. at

Rose Garden Funeral Home.The funeral procession depart-

ed Friday, March 27, 2009 at 9:45a.m. for a 10 a.m. funeral Mass atOur Lady of Lourdes CatholicChurch. Committal services fol-lowed at Zapata County Cemetery.

Condolences were sent towww.rosegardenfuneralhome.com.

Funeral arrangements wereunder the direction of Rose Gar-den Funeral Home, Daniel A.Gonzalez, funeral director, 2102Hwy. 83, Zapata.

MMAARRTTIINN JJ.. CCOORROONNAADDOO

Frederick D. “Chips” McLen-don, passed away March 16,2009.

He was a native of Atlanta,Ga. and resident of Coden, Ala.

Mr. McLendon is preceded indeath by his wife, Marjorie McLen-don; son, Harold McLendon; par-ents, Jesse Martin McLendon andElizabeth Sartain McLendon, fourbrothers, George McLendon, JackMcLendon, Melborne McLendonand James McLendon.

Mr. McLendon is survived by

his children, James McLendon,Marjorie Stanley and Rick (Be-linda Clark) McLendon, sister,Mary Elizabeth McCutcheon;brother, Bobby R. McLendon,eight grandchildren; many great-grandchildren, and by numer-ous relatives and many friends.

A graveside service was heldSaturday, March 21, 2009 at 2p.m. at Zapata County Cemetery,including full Military Honorsby the American Legion Post 486Color Guard.



FFRREEDDEERRIICCKK DD.. ‘‘CCHHIIPPSS’’ MMccLLEENNDDOONN

Petra Quezada 52, passed awayMarch 18, 2009 in Houston.

Mrs. Quezada is preceded indeath by her father, Ubvaldo Gar-cia and two brothers.

Mrs. Quezada is survived byher husband, Juan A. Quezada;sons, Lucio (Viviana) Quezadaand Juan Luis Quezada; daugh-ter, Ludivina Quezada; grandchil-dren, Nathalie Quezada, HaleyQuezada and Amie Quezada;mother, Herminia G. Garcia; andby numerous brothers, sisters,nephews, nieces and many friends.

Visitation hours were held Fri-day, March 20, 2009 from noon to9 p.m. with a rosary at 7 p.m. atRose Garden Funeral Home.

The funeral procession depart-

ed Saturday, March 21, 2009 at8:45 a.m. for a 9 a.m. funeral Massat Our Lady of Lourdes CatholicChurch. Committal services fol-lowed at Zapata County Cemetery.



PPEETTRRAA QQUUEEZZAADDAA

Rev. Peter J. McNamara 81,passed away Wednesday, March11, 2009 at Falcon Lake NursingHome in Zapata.

A rosary was recited Sunday,March 15, 2009 at 7 p.m. at OurLady of Lourdes Catholic Churchvisitation followed until 9 p.m. atOur Lady of Lourdes CatholicChurch.

Monday, March 16, 2009, OurLady of Lourdes CatholicChurch opened at 8 a.m. for vis-itations. A funeral Mass startedat 11 a.m. at Our Lady of LourdesCatholic Church. Committalservices followed at Zapata

County Cemetery. Condolences were sent to

www.rosegardenfuneralhome.com.


RREEVV.. PPEETTEERR JJ.. MMccNNAAMMAARRAA

DDOORRTTHHYY MM.. HHAAMMMMOONNDD

Subscribe to the Laredo Morning Timesby calling (956) 728-2550

Plane with problems lands safely


voted to hire Hoover Construction.The county is hoping to begin expanding the

landfill within the next couple of weeks and as longas no unforeseen problems arise, the project shouldbe completed in 45 days.

Also on Friday, Zapata County CommissionersCourt voted to award the San Ygnacio street and

drainage improvement project to REIM Construc-tion with a bid of $2,603,712.

The drainage improvement project is be-ing funded through a previously approvedbond.

(Taryn White may be reached at 728-2568 [email protected])

COUNTY | Continued from Page 1A

learned new methods to incorporate into futurematches. The experience in Austin was new to sev-eral of the members, and has changed college plansfor some.

ZHS Debate coach A.J. Martinez was proud ofthis year’s success.

“This has been our goal from the beginning ofthe year, to break at state,” Martinez said. “I’m ex-tremely proud of the way the whole team has per-formed this year. Of course, next year will be bet-ter.”

The goal for next year is to keep on advancingto Octofinals, and perhaps beyond. To accomplishthis, the team is already focusing on next year’s de-bate topic: increasing social services for those wholive in poverty in the US.

The team is planning to attend a debate campduring the summer. At camp, the students will re-fine techniques, learn about argumentation stylesand begin building their cases and other files.

To raise money for the trip, the team had aweekly bake sale at lunch for the past month.

DEBATE | Continued from Page 1A

said. “We didn’t want our work to jump out atyou.”

The conservation effort will be aided by a studynow underway to help the preservation team de-termine how best to restore the structure to its

former glory.The project is expected to be completed later

this year.(Erika Lambreton can be reached at 728-2567

or e-mail [email protected])

FORT | Continued from Page 1A

didn’t cooperate. He’s worried for his family’s safe-ty,” defense lawyer David Adler said.

Gutierrez, who was also fined $7,500, apolo-gized to his family and friends before being sen-tenced, saying he didn’t know where the firearmshe bought would end up.

“I’ve hurt people who I’ve never met,” he said. Gutierrez bought 20 weapons from Carter’s

Country, a chain of four gun stores based in theHouston suburb of Spring, from October 2006 toDecember 2006. Five of these weapons have beenrecovered at crime scenes in Mexico.

Three of those included two Bushmaster assaultrifles that were among an arsenal of weapons seizedin April 2007 from a group of 20 suspected kidnap-pers and drug traffickers in Campeche, Mexico, inthe Yucatan Peninsula, and another Bushmaster ri-fle seized in December 2007 when 11 suspected Ze-tas — the Gulf cartel’s infamous hit men — were ar-rested in Campeche after assaulting police.

Prosecutors said Gutierrez also bought severalFN 5.7 caliber pistols, semiautomatic handgunswhich can fire armor-piercing bullets and are pop-ular with drug cartels. In all, Gutierrez boughtweapons worth more than $17,800. The organiza-tion he worked for bought weapons worth morethan $366,000.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms andExplosives began investigating in January 2007 af-ter a routine inspection of Carter’s Country’srecords. A worker at Carter’s Country declined tomake anyone available to comment on the case. Thechain was named Houston’s “best place to buyguns” by a newspaper in 2006.

Adler said guns dealers share culpability forguns going into Mexico.

“The problem won’t be solved until the govern-ment focuses on the conduct of gun dealers,” he said.

Authorities say that Gutierrez also used a so-called “straw buyer” to buy eight Beretta 9mm hand-guns. That person later cooperated with authorities.

Gutierrez could have been sentenced up to 10years for each count he faced and fined up to$250,000.

John Phillip Hernandez, another member of this or-ganization, pleaded guilty last year to similar chargesin the case and is set to be sentenced next month.

Authorities say one of the guns Hernandezbought was recovered from a bloody February2007 daylight shooting in the resort city of Aca-pulco, where more than a dozen armed assailantsstaged simultaneous attacks against two policestations, killing five police investigators and twosecretaries.

GUNS | Continued from Page 1A

Obama widens al-Qaida war, making it his own

By BEN FELLERASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — This is notthe war he’s ending.

President Barack Obama onFriday made clear that it will takemore troops and more time forthe United States and its allies to

regain controlof the war inAfghanistan. Ashe winds downan Iraq conflicthe considered ablunder, Obamais widening thewar inAfghanistan,

and calling the cause essentialand just.

At stake in taking on the al-Qaida terrorist network in Pak-istan and Afghanistan? Nothingless, Obama says, than “the safetyof people around the world.”

Obama launched a fresh effortby sending in 4,000 more troops,hundreds of civilians and in-creased aid for a war that has last-ed more than seven years and stillhas no end in sight. The presidentalso promised intensive diploma-cy with Pakistan and Afghanistanand an unprecedented world out-reach for help.

“I want the American people tounderstand that we have a clearand focused goal: to disrupt, dis-mantle and defeat al-Qaida inPakistan and Afghanistan, and toprevent their return to eithercountry in the future,” Obamasaid. “That’s the goal that must beachieved. That is a cause thatcould not be more just.”

Stirring echoes of Sept. 11 andmaking the war his own, Obamawarned that al-Qaida is actively plan-ning attacks on the United Statesfrom secret havens in Pakistan.

The president, who declaredlast weekend an “exit strategy”was needed for Afghanistan, nev-er used those words in announc-ing his plans on Friday. His strat-egy is built on an ambitious goalof boosting the Afghan army from80,000 to 134,000 troops by 2011 —and greatly increasing training byU.S. troops accompanying them— so the Afghan military can de-

feat Taliban insurgents and takecontrol of the war.

That, he said, is “how we willultimately be able to bring ourtroops home.”

There is no timetable for with-drawal, and the White House saidit had no estimate yet on howmany billions of dollars its planwill cost.

The essence of Obama’s strat-egy is to set clear goals for a wargone awry, to get the Americanpeople behind them, to providemore resources and to make a bet-ter case for international support.He is heading next week to aNATO meeting in France andGermany, where he expects alliesto pledge more help of their own.

Much like Iraq, the war effortin Afghanistan has been longerand costlier than American lead-ers expected.

U.S.-led forces toppled the mil-itant Taliban government thereafter the terrorist attacks onAmerica in 2001, but many mili-tants fled and regrouped in neigh-boring Pakistan. Obama said thatAfghanistan will now get the re-sources it should have receivedyears ago, “denied because of thewar in Iraq.”

Since becoming president,Obama has ordered 21,000 troopsinto Afghanistan, counting 17,000combat forces who will try toquell surging violence. The Pen-tagon says that will put the U.S. to-tal there at more than 60,000, themost to date. As the Iraq conflictwinds down, the Afghanistan waris growing.

Taking firm control of the warthat dominated Bush’s presidency,Obama broke with his predeces-sor in significant ways but alsoused phrases that sounded strik-ingly familiar.

He described the ruthlessnessof the enemy, the need to take onterrorists, the genesis of the fight.Bush often reminded the nationthat terrorists were plotting to killAmericans, even as the public feardissipated with each passing yearafter the 9/11 attacks.

“I remind everybody, the Unit-ed States of America did notchoose to fight a war inAfghanistan,” Obama said. “Near-ly 3,000 of our people were killedon Sept. 11, 2001, for doing noth-ing more than going about theirdaily lives.”

He tied Afghanistan and Pak-istan together as one conflict,pledging regular three-way diplo-macy with both countries and in-tensive outreach to the world forhelp in the region. He pledged tosend in 4,000 forces to train theAfghan army and police force. Heis sending in hundreds of U.S.civilians — agricultural special-ists, educators and engineers — tohelp a poor, broken country try tobuild itself up from the provin-cial level.

The president promised thatthe U.S. will hold itself and othersaccountable by using bench-marks, although those measuresare just starting to be shaped.

And showing the frustrationof many in American government,Obama spoke bluntly about theleadership of the government itis trying to help.

He said Pakistan must nolonger expect a “blank check” forits U.S. aid and must be willing totake on extremists within its bor-ders. He suggested that the U.S.would strike terrorist targets inPakistan if the country did not doso itself, saying he will insist thataction be taken “one way or an-other.”

“I want the American people to understandthat we have a clear and focused goal: to

disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida inPakistan and Afghanistan.”

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

OBAMA

Sports&OutdoorsThe Zapata Times

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COMSATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2009

BORDER OLYMPICS GOLF

Photo by Cuate Santos | Laredo Morning TimesZapata’s Denise Benavides tees off on Hole No. 6 Friday morning as she participatesin the Border Olympics High School Golf Tournament at the Casa Blanca Golf Course.

Seven positives in steriod tests

By JIM VERTUNOASSOCIATED PRESS

AUSTIN — The second roundof steroid testing for Texas highschool athletes found only sevenpositive results in nearly 19,000tests, about the same outcome asthe program’s debut last year.

The latest results, released by theUniversity Interscholastic Leagueon Friday, came from random testson male and female athletes fromSeptember through December.

The initial round of testing inthe nation’s largest high schoolscreening program found onlyfour cases of steroid use in 10,000athletes.

With such tiny numbers, somestate lawmakers have questionedthe value of the $6 million pro-gram. Gov. Rick Perry, a Republi-can, has suggested it may need tobe scaled down.

A spokesman for Texas Lt.Gov. David Dewhurst, a Republi-can who pushed the plan throughthe Legislature in 2007, said thefew numbers of positive testsshow the program “is clearlyworking as a deterrent.”

“The lieutenant governor be-lieves the program is working asintended to keep young peoplefrom destroying their bodies andtheir lives by using steroids,”spokesman Rich Parsons said.

Texas, New Jersey and Illinoisare the only states testing high

school athletes for steroids and theTexas program is by far the biggest,aiming to test up to 50,000 by theend of the school year.

Florida recently decided toscrap its smaller program withone steroid user caught in 600tests. State officials said theycouldn’t justify the $100,000 costin a tough economy.

Texas state Sen. Dan Patrick, aHouston Republican, had previ-ously criticized Texas program asa “colossal waste of taxpayer mon-ey.” His office declined commenton the results released Friday.

The Texas program is sup-ported by prominent testing ad-vocate Don Hooton, whose 17-year-old son Taylor committedsuicide while battling depressiondoctors believe was brought onby steroid use.

Hooton, who has testified be-fore Congress on the dangers ofsteroid use, said testing is designedto prevent drug use, not to measurehow many kids are doing it.

The small number of athletescaught should not discouragemore testing, he said. It could begeared more toward sports thatare known to draw users such asfootball, baseball and softball.

“They don’t stop testingOlympic athletes just becausemost of them don’t test positive,”Hooton said.

Woods ready for links comebackBy DOUG FERGUSONASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — Tiger Woodshas been on the golf course everyday, either practicing or playing,hitting his full array of shots with-out fear of pain shooting down hisleft leg or bones sliding out of place.

The next step is taking that in-side the ropes. And not even Woodsis sure what to expect.

“I’m as curious as you,” Woodssaid Friday during a conferencecall. “The feeling of adrenaline, therush of competing and playingagain, all that I haven’t done in awhile.”

Woods will have gone more thaneight months — 253 days to be exact— without hitting a shot that countswhen he returns from reconstruc-

tive knee surgery next week at theAccenture Match Play Champi-onship just north of Tucson, Ariz.

His goal is to win. That hasn’tchanged. The surgery in June wasto repair his knee, not his heart orhis mind. But as confident asWoods feels about his game, hismain concern is how sharp he willbe in his first tournament since theU.S. Open last June.

“It’s one thing to do it in a prac-tice environment at home againstmy buddies for a little bit of cash,”Woods said. “It’s a totally differentdeal to do it at a PGA Tour eventagainst the best players in theworld. I’m excited to get out thereand experience that.”

But at least he’ll be doing it on ahealthy knee, saying “it’s beenyears” since he was without pain.

“One of the great things comingback is my bones aren’t movinganymore,” Woods said. “It’s a verycomforting feeling hitting a golf ballwithout your bones sliding all overthe place. That’s been very excitingto play that way, and I’m lookingforward to the season.”

Swing coach Hank Haney saidthe only change in his swing will bethe finish, noting that Woods final-ly has a strong left knee that willnot give way and “flop all over theplace.”

The only noticeable changemight be his golf bag.

Woods ended his nine-year en-dorsement deal with Buick becauseof the automaker’s financial prob-lems. He said he will have AT&T onhis bag as an extended partnershipwith the telecommunications giant.

AT&T is the title sponsor of his PGATour event in Washington and amajor sponsor of his foundation.

He also has an endorsementwith Accenture, although Woodssaid that wasn’t behind his decisionto return.

The knee has felt strong enoughthat he could have played earlier.All he waited on was the birth of hisson, Charlie Axel, making sure hiswife and baby were healthy beforehe went back to work.

“It was making sure the familywas all good with the birth of Char-lie and making sure Elin was OK,Charlie was OK, everything wassafe and sound on the home front,”he said. “Then the focus was onplaying again.”

Woods offered some insight onthe name of his son.

Photo by Charlie Riedel | APIn this June 15, 2008, file photo Tiger Woods holds on to his left knee after tee-ing off on the second hole during the fourth round of the U.S. Open at TorreyPines Golf Course in San Diego.Woods will end his eight-month absence fromcompetition Wednesday, Feb. 25, at the Accenture Match Play Championshipoutside Tucson,Ariz. He has not played since capturing the U.S. Open last year.

Cagers eying bi-districtBy NINO CARDENAS

THE ZAPATA TIMES

The Zapata Hawks basketballteam has already surpassed ex-pectations, but don’t expect it torelax just yet.

The Hawks (11-3) finished in sec-ond place in District 32-3A, behinddistrict champion Hidalgo, and nowtravels to Falfurrias on Monday totake on Sinton in bi-district.

The game is set for a 6 p.m.tipoff.

While the team did set asidelofty goals to begin the season,the truth of the matter was thatthere was more reason to doubttheir success.

“Not too many people expect-ed that from us, especially withme being in my first year ascoach,” head coach Juan Villar-

real said. “At the beginning I did-n’t think it was going to be at-tainable. We just wanted to putup a dog fight in every singlegame and take one game at atime and hopefully buy a spot togo into the playoffs.”

A trip to the playoffs wasn’tsupposed to come this quickly,and challenging for a title as dis-trict play drew to a close waseven more of surprise.

Yet, from the beginning, themix of seniors and sophomoresdidn’t take the oil and waterroute. Instead, they steadily be-gan to believe in one another.

“These kids have come a longway from the first day of practiceto now,” Villarreal said. “Theybought into the program andwe’re excited, the town is excited.They started to listen to each oth-

er playing together. At the begin-ning they couldn’t find their iden-tities and most had not played to-gether. Out of the five seniors,only one had made it through thewhole year last year.”

By the time district play rolledaround the Hawks were slowlysmoothing out the road towardsuccess. The players responsiblefor the Hawks’ success are sen-iors Rene Garcia, Meliton Trejo,Arlo De Los Santos, Rene Bena-vides and Raul Serna and sopho-mores Andrew Magee, Joey Bar-rera, Louie Gonzalez, RickyMartinez and Francisco Trejo.

They opened with fourstraight district wins beforefalling to Hidalgo.

Despite that loss, the previousvictories served as the confidencespringboard that lifted the Hawks

back into the postseason.“They stepped up and met the

challenges,” Villarreal said. “I likedthe way they didn’t back down fromanybody or any of my challenges.”

Villarreal had his expectationstempered as he took over the pro-gram. His plan was to bring theglory of yesterday back into thepresent, but the hard part now forthe Zapata coaches and players isto focus on the task at hand.

While they’re satisfied at get-ting back to the playoffs, theywalk the fine line of being con-tent of just being there.

“We are trying to keep themrelaxed, to not think that it’s toobig of a step,” Villarreal said.“Hopefully they act like they’vebeen there before.”

GETTING READY FOR THE DIAMOND

Courtesy photoThe Zapata Lady Hawk softball captains this season are, from left, Lynda Leyva, Tessa Moss and Mayra Alaniz.

Lady Hawks prepare for tough opponents in new districtBy CLARA SANDOVALSPECIAL TO THE TIMES

The Zapata Lady Hawks have dustedoff their bats and are ready to hit thediamond full force to open the softball

season. Coach Jaime Garcia starts his soph-omore year at the helm for Zapata afterspending six years as the assistant softballcoach for the Lady Hawks.

Zapata will feel the effects of last year’srealignment as it faces some tough compe-tition in its new district, 32-3A.

The Lady Hawks will face powerhousesRaymondville, Lyford and La Feria, whichhave a strong hold on the district and havegone deep in the playoffs.

Raymondville, the defending 31-3A cham-pion, has owned the district, claiming thelast four district titles and making a trip to

the regional quarterfinals last year.Lyford returns fireball pitcher and last

season’s All-Valley Newcomer of the YearKatrina Zamorano.

The La Feria Lionettes, defending 32-3Achampions, will put up a fight and hope toimprove on their 18-8 mark from last year.

Garcia also returns a wealth of experi-ence on the diamond as he welcomes backnine lettermen.

He hopes the experience will lead to winsfor the Lady Hawks and help them improveon last season’s 6-15 record.

“We are a year older and the experiencewe are returning from last year group willhelp us,” Garcia said. “If we can just put thepieces of the puzzle together we should dowell this year.”

Last season during district play the LadyHawks battled in every game and were with-

in striking distance of a win when theyseemed to lose their composure at the end.

They lost six district games by three runsor fewer, as small mistakes would have asnowball effect on the team.

“Every game we were in it but we justmade some costly mistakes down the stretchto cost us,” Garcia said.

Garcia welcomes back four-year lettermenLynda Leyva, Tessa Moss and Myra Alaniz,who have made a steady impact on the softballprogram since their freshman year.

“All three of them are great leaders, andI expect big things from them,” Garcia said.

Leyva returns to the mound for pitchingduties and will utilize her three years of ex-perience to help the Lady Hawks to a playoffspot

See LADY HAKWS | PAGE 2BSee SEVEN | PAGE 2B

See CAGERS | PAGE 2B

NNaattiioonnaall LLeeaagguueeAAllll TTiimmeess EEDDTT

EEaasstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL PPcctt GGBBNew York 74 60 .552 —

Philadelphia 73 62 .541 1½

Florida 68 66 .507 6

Atlanta 59 75 .440 15

Washington 49 85 .366 25

CCeennttrraall DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL PPcctt GGBBChicago 85 50 .630 —

Milwaukee 77 56 .579 7

St. Louis 74 60 .552 10½

Houston 68 66 .507 16½

Cincinnati 58 76 .433 26½

Pittsburgh 57 76 .429 27

WWeesstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL PPcctt GGBBArizona 68 65 .511 —

Los Angeles 65 69 .485 3½

Colorado 63 72 .467 6

San Francisco 59 74 .444 9

San Diego 51 82 .383 17

TThhuurrssddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Houston 3, Cincinnati 2

Atlanta 4, Florida 2

Washington 11, L.A. Dodgers 2

Chicago Cubs 6, Philadelphia 4

FFrriiddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Chicago Cubs 3, Philadelphia 2

Milwaukee at Pittsburgh, 7:05 p.m.

N.Y. Mets at Florida, 7:10 p.m.

San Francisco at Cincinnati, 7:10

p.m.

Atlanta at Washington, 7:35 p.m.

St. Louis at Houston, 8:05 p.m.

L.A. Dodgers at Arizona, 9:40 p.m.

Colorado at San Diego, 10:05 p.m.

SSaattuurrddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Philadelphia (Myers 7-10) at Chica-

go Cubs (Lilly 13-7), 3:55 p.m.

Milwaukee (Suppan 9-7) at Pitts-

burgh (Maholm 8-7), 7:05 p.m.

St. Louis (Looper 12-10) at Houston

(Moehler 9-5), 7:05 p.m.

N.Y. Mets (Pelfrey 13-8) at Florida

(Nolasco 13-7), 7:10 p.m.

Atlanta (J.Reyes 3-10) at Washing-

ton (Bergmann 2-10), 7:10 p.m.

San Francisco (Correia 3-7) at

Cincinnati (R.Ramirez 0-0), 7:10 p.m.

L.A. Dodgers (Billingsley 12-10) at

Arizona (Haren 14-6), 8:10 p.m.

Colorado (Jimenez 9-11) at San

Diego (Greer 0-0), 10:05 p.m.

SSuunnddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

San Francisco at Cincinnati, 12:35

p.m.

N.Y. Mets at Florida, 1:10 p.m.

Atlanta at Washington, 1:35 p.m.

Milwaukee at Pittsburgh, 1:35 p.m.

St. Louis at Houston, 2:05 p.m.

Philadelphia at Chicago Cubs, 2:20

p.m.

Colorado at San Diego, 4:05 p.m.L.A. Dodgers at Arizona, 8:05 p.m.

AAmmeerriiccaann LLeeaagguueeAAllll TTiimmeess EEDDTT

EEaasstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL PPcctt GGBBTampa Bay 81 51 .614 —

Boston 77 56 .579 4½

New York 71 62 .534 10½

Toronto 68 65 .511 13½

Baltimore 63 70 .474 18½

CCeennttrraall DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL PPcctt GGBBChicago 76 57 .571 —

Minnesota 75 59 .560 1½

Cleveland 65 67 .492 10½

Detroit 64 69 .481 12

Kansas City 56 77 .421 20

WWeesstt DDiivviissiioonn

WW LL PPcctt GGBBLos Angeles 81 52 .609 —

Texas 66 69 .489 16

Oakland 62 72 .463 19½

Seattle 50 83 .376 31

TThhuurrssddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

N.Y. Yankees 3, Boston 2

Tampa Bay 3, Toronto 2

Oakland 3, Minnesota 2

L.A. Angels 7, Texas 5

FFrriiddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Toronto at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Boston, 7:05

p.m.

Kansas City at Detroit, 7:05 p.m.

Seattle at Cleveland, 7:05 p.m.

Baltimore at Tampa Bay, 7:10 p.m.

Minnesota at Oakland, 10:05 p.m.

Texas at L.A. Angels, 10:05 p.m.

SSaattuurrddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Toronto (Parrish 1-0) at N.Y. Yan-

kees (Rasner 5-9), 1:05 p.m.

Seattle (Washburn 5-14) at Cleve-

land (Reyes 2-1), 3:55 p.m.

Baltimore (D.Cabrera 8-8) at Tam-

pa Bay (Sonnanstine 13-6), 3:55 p.m.

Chicago White Sox (Buehrle 11-10)

at Boston (Pauley 0-0), 7:05 p.m.

Kansas City (Duckworth 1-0) at De-

troit (Rogers 9-11), 7:05 p.m.

Minnesota (Liriano 4-3) at Oakland

(Braden 4-3), 9:05 p.m.

Texas (Feldman 5-5) at L.A. Angels

(Jer.Weaver 10-10), 9:05 p.m.

SSuunnddaayy’’ss GGaammeess

Toronto at N.Y. Yankees, 1:05 p.m.

Kansas City at Detroit, 1:05 p.m.

Seattle at Cleveland, 1:05 p.m.

Chicago White Sox at Boston, 1:35

p.m.

Baltimore at Tampa Bay, 1:40 p.m.

Texas at L.A. Angels, 3:35 p.m.Minnesota at Oakland, 4:05 p.m.

MMLLBB lleeaaddeerrssNNAATTIIOONNAALL LLEEAAGGUUEE

BATTING—CJones, Atlanta, .359;

Pujols, St. Louis, .357; Holliday, Col-

orado, .340; Berkman, Houston, .333;

CaLee, Houston, .314; Theriot, Chica-

go, .311; YMolina, St. Louis, .311.

RUNS—Berkman, Houston, 100;

HRamirez, Florida, 98; Holliday, Col-

orado, 95; JReyes, New York, 95;

DWright, New York, 93; Beltran, New

York, 92; Utley, Philadelphia, 90; Lud-

wick, St. Louis, 90.

RBI—Howard, Philadelphia, 112;

DWright, New York, 100; CaLee,

Houston, 100; ArRamirez, Chicago,

99; Ludwick, St. Louis, 97; Berkman,

Houston, 93; Delgado, New York, 93.

HITS—JReyes, New York, 174; Hol-

liday, Colorado, 156; Berkman, Hous-

ton, 156; DLee, Chicago, 155; Theriot,

Chicago, 154; Pujols, St. Louis, 153;

Atkins, Colorado, 152.

DOUBLES—Berkman, Houston,

41; McLouth, Pittsburgh, 39; Hart,

Milwaukee, 39; Young, Arizona, 38;

DWright, New York, 37; Kemp, Los

Angeles, 36; ArRamirez, Chicago, 36.

TRIPLES—JReyes, New York, 16;

FLewis, San Francisco, 11; SDrew,

Arizona, 9; Rollins, Philadelphia, 9;

Victorino, Philadelphia, 7; BPhillips,

Cincinnati, 7; Braun, Milwaukee, 6;

Loney, Los Angeles, 6; CJackson, Ari-

zona, 6; Weeks, Milwaukee, 6.

HOME RUNS—Howard, Philadel-

phia, 36; Dunn, Arizona, 34; Braun,

Milwaukee, 33; Ludwick, St. Louis,

32; Utley, Philadelphia, 31; Burrell,

Philadelphia, 30; Delgado, New York,

30.

STOLEN BASES—Taveras, Col-

orado, 61; JReyes, New York, 43;

Pierre, Los Angeles, 38; Rollins,

Philadelphia, 36; Bourn, Houston, 34;

Kemp, Los Angeles, 29; HRamirez,

Florida, 29; Victorino, Philadelphia,

29.

PITCHING (14 Decisions)—Lince-

cum, San Francisco, 15-3, .833, 2.43;

Webb, Arizona, 19-5, .792, 2.96;

Volquez, Cincinnati, 15-5, .750, 2.80;

Dempster, Chicago, 15-5, .750, 2.95;

Zambrano, Chicago, 13-5, .722, 3.53;

Haren, Arizona, 14-6, .700, 3.10; Welle-

meyer, St. Louis, 11-5, .687, 3.87.

STRIKEOUTS—Lincecum, San

Francisco, 210; Billingsley, Los Ange-

les, 171; Haren, Arizona, 171; Hamels,

Philadelphia, 168; Cain, San Francis-

co, 161; Dempster, Chicago, 160; JSan-

tana, New York, 159.

SAVES—BWilson, San Francisco,

36; Valverde, Houston, 35; Lidge,

Philadelphia, 31; Gregg, Florida, 29;

KWood, Chicago, 28; BWagner, New

York, 27; Hoffman, San Diego, 27.AAMMEERRIICCAANN LLEEAAGGUUEE

BATTING—Bradley, Texas, .322;

Kinsler, Texas, .319; Pedroia, Boston,

.317; Mauer, Minnesota, .317; Youk-

ilis, Boston, .316; Polanco, Detroit,

.312; ISuzuki, Seattle, .311; Damon,

New York, .311.

RUNS—Kinsler, Texas, 102; Pe-

droia, Boston, 101; Markakis, Balti-

more, 95; Quentin, Chicago, 95;

BRoberts, Baltimore, 92; Granderson,

Detroit, 88; Peralta, Cleveland, 86;

ARodriguez, New York, 86.

RBI—Hamilton, Texas, 116;

Morneau, Minnesota, 103; Quentin,

Chicago, 100; MiCabrera, Detroit, 100;

Mora, Baltimore, 97; Huff, Baltimore,

94; Youkilis, Boston, 91.

HITS—Pedroia, Boston, 174; ISuzu-

ki, Seattle, 174; Kinsler, Texas, 165;

JoLopez, Seattle, 158; BRoberts, Bal-

timore, 157; MiYoung, Texas, 157;

Morneau, Minnesota, 156; Ibanez,

Seattle, 156.

DOUBLES—BRoberts, Baltimore,

46; Kinsler, Texas, 41; Markakis, Bal-

timore, 40; Pedroia, Boston, 40; Rios,

Toronto, 40; Huff, Baltimore, 40;

Ibanez, Seattle, 39.

TRIPLES—Granderson, Detroit,

10; Crawford, Tampa Bay, 10;

BRoberts, Baltimore, 8; Inglett,

Toronto, 7; AJones, Baltimore, 6;

Rios, Toronto, 6; ISuzuki, Seattle, 6.

HOME RUNS—Quentin, Chicago,

36; Dye, Chicago, 32; Sizemore,

Cleveland, 31; Hamilton, Texas, 29;

Huff, Baltimore, 29; MiCabrera, De-

troit, 28; ARodriguez, New York, 28;

Thome, Chicago, 28.

STOLEN BASES—Ellsbury,

Boston, 41; ISuzuki, Seattle, 39; Up-

ton, Tampa Bay, 38; Sizemore, Cleve-

land, 34; BRoberts, Baltimore, 33;

Rios, Toronto, 30; CaGomez, Min-

nesota, 27.

PITCHING (14 Decisions)—CLee,

Cleveland, 19-2, .905, 2.43; Matsuzaka,

Boston, 15-2, .882, 2.98; Perkins, Min-

nesota, 12-3, .800, 3.96; Galarraga, De-

troit, 12-4, .750, 3.20; ESantana, Los

Angeles, 13-5, .722, 3.41; Lester,

Boston, 12-5, .706, 3.41; GFloyd, Chica-

go, 14-6, .700, 3.70.

STRIKEOUTS—Burnett, Toronto,

185; ESantana, Los Angeles, 176; Hal-

laday, Toronto, 175; JVazquez, Chica-

go, 163; Greinke, Kansas City, 151;

FHernandez, Seattle, 147; CLee,

Cleveland, 145; Beckett, Boston, 145.

SAVES—FRodriguez, Los Angeles,

51; Nathan, Minnesota, 36; Papelbon,

Boston, 34; Soria, Kansas City, 33;

Sherrill, Baltimore, 31; MRivera,

New York, 31; Percival, Tampa Bay,

27.

CCoolllleeggee FFoooottbbaallll SScchheedduulleeAAllll TTiimmeess EEDDTT

SSaattuurrddaayy,, AAuugg.. 3300

EEAASSTT

Coastal Carolina at Penn St., Noon

Bowling Green at Pittsburgh, Noon

Monmouth, N.J. at Rhode Island, 1

p.m.

Towson at Navy, 3:30 p.m.

Villanova at West Virginia, 3:30

p.m.

Bryant at Cent. Connecticut St., 5

p.m.

Albany, N.Y. at Massachusetts, 6

p.m.

Assumption at Sacred Heart, 6 p.m.

Colgate at Stony Brook, 6 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHH

Virginia Tech at East Carolina,

Noon

Hawaii at Florida, 12:30 p.m.

Georgia Southern at Georgia, 12:30

p.m.

Birmingham-Southern at Camp-

bell, 1 p.m.

Southern Cal at Virginia, 3:30 p.m.

Delaware at Maryland, 3:45 p.m.

Tulsa at UAB, 4 p.m.

Illinois St. at Marshall, 4:30 p.m.

Appalachian St. at LSU, 5 p.m.

SE Louisiana at Alcorn St., 6 p.m.

Alabama St. at Florida A&M, 6

p.m.

Texas College at MVSU, 6 p.m.

Johnson C. Smith at N. Carolina

A&T, 6 p.m.

Virginia St. at Norfolk St., 6 p.m.

McNeese St. at North Carolina, 6

p.m.

S. Carolina St. at UCF, 6 p.m.

Mississippi St. at Louisiana Tech,

6:45 p.m.

Tennessee St. at Alabama A&M, 7

p.m.

Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn, 7

p.m.

James Madison at Duke, 7 p.m.

Richmond at Elon, 7 p.m.

North Greenville at Liberty, 7 p.m.

Memphis at Mississippi, 7 p.m.

Texas A&M Commerce at North-

western St., 7 p.m.

Jacksonville at Savannah St., 7

p.m.

Tenn.-Martin at South Florida, 7

p.m.

Louisiana-Lafayette at Southern

Miss., 7 p.m.

Webber International at The

Citadel, 7 p.m.

Presbyterian at Wofford, 7 p.m.

Mars Hill at Furman, 7:05 p.m.

Alabama at Clemson, 8 p.m.

MMIIDDWWEESSTT

W. Kentucky at Indiana, Noon

Maine at Iowa, Noon

Syracuse at Northwestern, Noon

Youngstown St. at Ohio St., Noon

Akron at Wisconsin, Noon

Utah at Michigan, 3:30 p.m.

Fla. International at Kansas, 7

p.m.

N. Illinois at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

W. Michigan at Nebraska, 7 p.m.

North Texas at Kansas St., 7:05

p.m.

Boston College at Kent St., 7:30

p.m.

St. Ambrose at South Dakota, 8

p.m.

Illinois vs. Missouri at St. Louis,

8:30 p.m.

SSOOUUTTHHWWEESSTT

Florida Atlantic at Texas, 7 p.m.

Ark.-Monticello at Ark.-Pine Bluff,

7 p.m.

W. Illinois at Arkansas, 7 p.m.

Southern U. at Houston, 7 p.m.

Chattanooga at Oklahoma, 7 p.m.

Langston at Stephen F.Austin, 7

p.m.

Arkansas St. at Texas A&M, 7 p.m.

Angelo St. at Texas St., 7 p.m.

E. Washington at Texas Tech, 7

p.m.

Texas Southern vs. Prairie View at

Houston, 8 p.m.

FFAARR WWEESSTT

S. Utah at Air Force, 2 p.m.

Ohio at Wyoming, 2 p.m.

Adams St. at Montana St., 3:05

p.m.

Oklahoma St. at Washington St.,

3:30 p.m.

W. Oregon at Portland St., 4:05

p.m.

N. Iowa at BYU, 6 p.m.

TCU at New Mexico, 6 p.m.

Idaho St. at Boise St., 8 p.m.

Michigan St. at California, 8 p.m.

UC Davis at San Jose St., 8 p.m.

Grambling St. at Nevada, 9:05

p.m.

Humboldt St. at Sacramento St.,

9:05 p.m.

Cal Poly at San Diego St., 9:30 p.m.

Idaho at Arizona, 10 p.m.

N. Arizona at Arizona St., 10 p.m.

Washington at Oregon, 10 p.m.

Utah St. at UNLV, 10 p.m.

SSuunnddaayy,, AAuugg.. 3311

SSOOUUTTHH

Jackson St. at Hampton, 2 p.m.

Kentucky at Louisville, 3:30 p.m.

Fayetteville St. at N.C. Central, 4

p.m.

MMIIDDWWEESSTT

Dayton at Central St., Ohio, 5 p.m.

FFAARR WWEESSTT

Colorado St. vs. Colorado at Den-

ver, 7:30 p.m.

MMoonnddaayy,, SSeepptt.. 11

EEAASSTT

Fresno St. at Rutgers, 4:30 p.m.

FFAARR WWEESSTT

Tennessee at UCLA, 8 p.m.

CCOONNCCAACCAAFF CChhaammppiioonnss

LLeeaagguueeAAtt AA GGllaannccee

PPRREELLIIMMIINNAARRYY RROOUUNNDD

FFiirrsstt LLeegg

TTuueessddaayy,, AAuugg.. 2266

Joe Public (Trindad) 2, New Eng-

land (United States) 1

Tauro FC (Panama) 2, Chivas USA

(United States) 0

Cruz Azul (Mexico) 6, Hankook

Verdes (Belize) 0

WWeeddnneessddaayy,, AAuugg.. 2277

Montreal Impact (Canada) 1, Real

Esteli (Nicaragua) 0

Alajuelense (Costa Rica) 1, Puerto

Rico Islanders 1

Isidro Metapan (El Salvador) 2,

Marathon (Honduras) 2, tie

TThhuurrssddaayy,, AAuugg.. 2288

Harbour View (Jamaica) vs.

Pumas UNAM (Mexico), ppd., hurri-

cane

Jalapa (Guatemala) 1, San Fran-

cisco FC (Panama) 0

FFrriiddaayy,, AAuugg.. 2299


Pumas UNAM (Mexico), ppd., hurri-

cane

TThhuurrssddaayy,, SSeepptt.. 44


Pumas UNAM (Mexico)

SSeeccoonndd LLeegg

TTuueessddaayy,, SSeepptt.. 22

New England (United States) vs.

Joe Public (Trinidad)

Chivas USA (United States) vs.

Tauro FC (Panama)

Real Esteli (Nicaragua) vs. Mon-

treal Impact (Canada)

WWeeddnneessddaayy,, SSeepptt.. 33

Puerto Rico Islanders vs. Alajue-

lense (Costa Rica)

Hankook Verdes (Belize) vs. Cruz

Azul (Mexico)

Marathon (Honduras) vs. Isidro

Metapan (El Salvador)


San Francisco FC (Panama) vs.

Jalapa (Guatemala)

Pumas UNAM (Mexico) vs. Har-

bour View (Jamaica)

GGRROOUUPP SSTTAAGGEE

GGrroouupp AA

TTeeaamm GGPP WW DD LL GGFFGGAA

PPttssDC United (USA) 0 0 0 0 0 0

0

Saprissa (CRC) 0 0 0 0 0 0

0

Cruz Azul-Hankook0 0 0 0 0 0

0

Metapan-Marathon0 0 0 0 0 0

0


D.C. United (United States) vs.

Saprissa (Costa Rica)


Isirdo Metapan-Marathon winner

vs. Cruz Azul-Hankook Verdes win-

ner


Cruz Azul-Hankook Verdes winner

vs. Saprissa (Costa Rica)



vs. D.C. United (United States)


Saprissa (Costa Rica) vs. Isirdo

Metapan-Marathon winner

WWeeddnneessddaayy,, OOcctt.. 11



TTuueessddaayy,, OOcctt.. 77


vs. Isirdo Metapan-Marathon winner

TThhuurrssddaayy,, OOcctt.. 99

Saprissa (Costa Rica) vs. D.C.

United (United States)



vs. D.C. United (United States)



vs. Saprissa (Costa Rica)




Saprissa (Costa Rica) vs. Cruz

Azul-Hankook Verdes winner

GGrroouupp BB


PPttssHouston (USA) 0 0 0 0 0 0

0

Firpo (Slv) 0 0 0 0 0 0

0

Jalapa-San Fran 0 0 0 0 0 0

0

Harbour-Pumas 0 0 0 0 0 0

0


Jalapa-San Francisco winner vs.

Harbour View-Pumas winner


Houston (United States) vs. Firpo

(El Salvador)



Houston (United States)


Harbour View-Pumas winner vs.

Firpo (El Salvador)


Harbour View-Pumas winner vs.

Houston (United States)


Firpo (El Salvador) vs. Jalapa-San

Francisco winner


Houston (United States) vs. Jalapa-

San Francisco winner


Firpo (El Salvador) vs. Habour

View-Pumas winner


Houston (United States) vs. Habour

View-Pumas winner


Firpo (El Salvador)


Firpo (El Salvador) vs. Houston

(United States)

Habour View-Pumas winner vs.

Jalapa-San Francisco winner

GGrroouupp CC


PPttssAtlante (Mex) 0 0 0 0 0 0

0

Olimpia (Hon) 0 0 0 0 0 0

0

J.Public-New England0 0 0 0 0

0 0

Canada-Real Esteli0 0 0 0 0 0

0


Canada-Real Esteli winner vs. Joe

Public-New England winner


Atlante (Mexico) vs. Olimpia or

Marathon


Joe Public-New England winner vs.

Olimpia or Marathon

Canada-Real Esteli winner vs. At-

lante (Mexico)


Atlante (Mexico) vs. Joe Public-

New England winner


Olimpia or Marathon vs. Canada-

Real Esteli winner



Canada-Real Esteli winner

Olimpia (Honduras) vs. Atlante

(Mexico)


Canada-Real Esteli winner vs.

Olimpia (Honduras)


Atlante (Mexico)


Olimpia (Honduras) vs. Joe Public-

New England winner

Atlante (Mexico) vs. Canada-Real

Esteli winner

GGrroouupp DD


PPttssSantos (Mex) 0 0 0 0 0 0

0

Municipal (Gua) 0 0 0 0 0 0

0

Alajuelense-PR Island0 0 0 0 0

0 0

Chivas USA-Tauro0 0 0 0 0 0

0


Alajuelense-Puerto Rico winner vs.

Chivas USA-Tauro winner


Santos (Mexico) vs. Municipal

(Guatemala)


Chivas USA-Tauro winner vs. Mu-

nicipal (Guatemala)



Santos (Mexico)


Municipal (Guatemala) vs. Alajue-

lense-Puerto Rico winner

Chivas USA-Tauro winner vs. San-

tos (Mexico)


Municipal (Guatemala) vs. Chivas

USA-Tauro winner


Santos (Mexico) vs. Alajuelense-

Puerto Rico winner


Santos (Mexico) vs. Chivas USA-

Tauro winner



Municipal (Guatemala)


Chivas USA-Tauro winner vs. Ala-

juelense-Puerto Rico winner


Municipal (Guatemala) vs. Santos

(Mexico)

QQUUAARRTTEERRFFIINNAALLSS

FFiirrsstt LLeegg

TTuueessddaayy,, FFeebb.. 2244--TThhuurrssddaayy,, FFeebb.. 2266

Pairings TBD

SSeeccoonndd LLeegg

TTuueessddaayy,, MMaarrcchh 33--TThhuurrssddaayy MMaarrcchh 55

Pairings TBD

SSEEMMIIFFIINNAALLSS

FFiirrsstt LLeegg

TTuueessddaayy,, MMaarrcchh 1177--TThhuurrssddaayy,, MMaarrcchh

1199

Pairings TBD

SSeeccoonndd LLeegg

TTuueessddaayy,, AApprriill 77--TThhuurrssddaayy,, AApprriill 99

Pairings TBD

FFIINNAALLSS

FFiirrsstt LLeegg


Semifinal winners

SSeeccoonndd LLeegg


Semifinal winners

EEuurrooppeeaann CChhaammppiioonnss

LLeeaagguuee

AAllll TTiimmeess EEDDTT

FFIIRRSSTT RROOUUNNDD

TToopp ttwwoo tteeaammss iinn eeaacchh ggrroouupp aadd--

vvaannccee

TThhiirrdd--ppllaaccee tteeaammss aaddvvaannccee ttoo UUEEFFAA

CCuupp

((HHoommee tteeaammss lliisstteedd ffiirrsstt))

GGRROOUUPP AA

GGPP WW DD LL GGFFGGAA

PPTTSSBordeaux 0 0 0 0 0 00Chelsea 0 0 0 0 0 00CFR Cluj 0 0 0 0 0 00AS Roma 0 0 0 0 0 00


Chelsea (England) vs. Bordeaux

(France), 2:45 p.m.

AS Roma (Italy) vs. CFR Cluj (Ro-

mania), 2:45 p.m.WWeeddnneessddaayy,, OOcctt.. 11

Bordeaux vs. AS Roma, 2:45 p.m.

CFR Cluj vs. Chelsea, 2:45 p.m.WWeeddnneessddaayy,, OOcctt.. 2222

Bordeaux vs. CFR Cluj, 2:45 p.m.

Chelsea vs. AS Roma, 2:45 p.m.TTuueessddaayy,, NNoovv.. 44

CFR Cluj vs. Bordeaux, 2:45 p.m.

AS Roma vs. Chelsea, 2:45 p.m.WWeeddnneessddaayy,, NNoovv.. 2266

Bordeaux vs. Chelsea, 2:45 p.m.CFR Cluj vs. AS Roma, 2:45 p.m.

TTuueessddaayy,, DDeecc.. 99

Chelsea vs. CFR Cluj, 2:45 p.m.

AS Roma vs. Bordeaux, 2:45 p.m.GGRROOUUPP BB


PPTTSSAnorthis 0 0 0 0 0 00Inter Milan 0 0 0 0 0 00Panathinaikos 0 0 0 0 0 00Werder Bremen 0 0 0 0 0 00


Panathinaikos (Greece) vs. Inter

Milan (Italy), 2:45 p.m.

Werder Bremen (Germany) vs.

Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyprus), 2:45

p.m.WWeeddnneessddaayy,, OOcctt.. 11

Anorthosis Famagusta vs.

Panathinaikos, 2:45 p.m.

Inter Milan vs. Werder Bremen,

2:45 p.m.WWeeddnneessddaayy,, OOcctt.. 2222

Inter Milan vs. Anorthosis Fama-

gusta, 2:45 p.m.

Panathinaikos vs. Werder Bremen,

2:45 p.m.TTuueessddaayy,, NNoovv.. 44

Anorthosis Famagusta vs. Inter

Milan, 2:45 p.m.

Werder Bremen vs. Panathinaikos,

2:45 p.m.WWeeddnneessddaayy,, NNoovv.. 2266

Anorthosis Famagusta vs. Werder

Bremen, 2:45 p.m.

Inter Milan vs. Panathinaikos, 2:45

p.m.TTuueessddaayy,, DDeecc.. 99

Panathinaikos vs. Anorthosis Fam-

agusta, 2:45 p.m.

Werder Bremen vs. Inter Milan,

2:45 p.m.GGRROOUUPP CC


PPTTSSBarcelona 0 0 0 0 0 00Basel 0 0 0 0 0 00Shakhtar Donetsk 0 0 0 0 0 00Sporting Lisbon 0 0 0 0 0 00


Barcelona (Spain) vs. Sporting Lis-

bon (Portugal), 2:45 p.m.

Basel (Switzerland) vs. Shakhtar

Donetsk (Ukraine), 2:45 p.m.WWeeddnneessddaayy,, OOcctt.. 11

Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Barcelona,

2:45 p.m.

Sporting Lisbon vs. Basel, 2:45

p.m.WWeeddnneessddaayy,, OOcctt.. 2222

Basel vs. Barcelona, 2:45 p.m.

Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Sporting Lis-

bon, 2:45 p.m.TTuueessddaayy,, NNoovv.. 44

Barcelona vs. Basel, 2:45 p.m.

Sporting Lisbon vs. Shakhtar

Donetsk, 2:45 p.m.WWeeddnneessddaayy,, NNoovv.. 2266

Shakhtar Donetsk vs. Basel, 2:45

p.m.

Sporting Lisbon vs. Barcelona, 2:45

p.m.TTuueessddaayy,, DDeecc.. 99

Barcelona vs. Shakhtar Donetsk,

2:45 p.m.

Basel vs. Sporting Lisbon, 2:45

p.m.

FFrriiddaayy’’ss EEuurrooppeeaann CCuuppss ((HHoommee tteeaammss lliisstteedd ffiirrsstt))

EEuurrooppeeaann SSuuppeerr CCuupp

AAtt MMoonnttee CCaarrlloo,, MMoonnaaccooZenit St. Petersburg (Russia) 2, ManchesterUnited (England) 1

UUEEFFAA CCuupp DDrraawwMONTE CARLO, Monaco (AP) —

Draw Friday for the 2008-09 UEFA

Cup (home teams for first leg listed

first):FFiirrsstt RRoouunndd

FFiirrsstt lleegg SSeepptt.. 1188,, sseeccoonndd lleegg OOcctt.. 22

APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus) vs.

Schalke (Germany)

Ajax Amsterdam (Netherlands) vs.

Borac (Serbia)

Austria Vienna (Austria) vs. Lech

Poznan (Poland)

Banik Ostrava (Czech Republic)

vs. Spartak Moscow (Russia)

Bellinzona (Switzerland) vs.

Galatasaray (Turkey)

Borussia Dortmund (Germany) vs.

Udinese (Italy)

Braga (Portugal) vs. Artmedia

Petrzalka (Slovakia)

Brann (Norway) vs. Deportivo La

Coruna (Spain)

Brondby (Denmark) vs. Rosenborg

(Norway)

Cherno More Varna (Bulgaria) vs.

Stuttgart (Germany)

Copenhagen (Denmark) vs.

Moscow (Russia)

Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) vs. Spar-

ta Prague (Czech Republic)

Everton (England) vs. Standard

Liege (Belgium)

Feyenoord (Netherlands) vs.

Kalmar (Sweden)

Hamburg (Germany) vs. Unirea

Valahorum Urziceni (Romania)

Hapoel Tel-Aviv (Israel) vs. Saint

Etienne (France)

Hertha Berlin (Germany) vs. St.

Patricks (Ireland)

Kayserispor (Turkey) vs. Paris

Saint-Germain (France)

Litex Lovech (Bulgaria) vs. Aston

Villa (England)

MSK Zilina (Slovakia) vs. Levski

Sofia (Bulgaria)

Manchester City (England) vs.

Omonia Nicosia (Cyprus)

Maritimo (Portugal) vs. Valencia

(Spain)

Metalist Kharkiv (Ukraine) vs. Be-

siktas (Turkey)

AC Milan (Italy) vs. Zurich

(Switzerland)

NEC Breda (Netherlands) vs. Di-

namo Bucharest (Romania)

Nancy (France) vs. Motherwell

(Scotland)

Napoli (Italy) vs. Benfica (Portu-

gal)

Nordsjaelland (Denmark) vs.

Olympiakos (Greece)

Politehnica Timisoara (Romania)

vs. Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)

Portsmouth (England) vs.

Guimaraes (Portugal)

Racing Santander (Spain) vs. Hon-

ka Espoo (Finland)

Rennes (France) vs. Twente

(Netherlands)

Sampdoria (Italy) vs. Kaunas

(Lithuania)

Sevilla (Spain) vs. Salzburg (Aus-

tria)

Slaven Koprivnica (Croatia) vs.

CSKA Moscow (Russia)

Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)

vs. Vaslui (Romania)

Tottenham (England) vs. Wisla

Krakow (Poland)

Vitoria Setubal (Portugal) vs.

Heerenveen (Netherlands)

Wolfsburg (Germany) vs. Rapid

Bucharest (Romania)

Young Boys Berne (Switzerland)

vs. Club Brugge (Belgium)

UU..SS.. OOppeenn AAtt TThhee UUSSTTAA BBiilllliiee JJeeaann KKiinngg NNaa--

ttiioonnaall TTeennnniiss CCeenntteerr

NNeeww YYoorrkk

PPuurrssee:: $$2200..665577 mmiilllliioonn

SSuurrffaaccee:: HHaarrdd--OOuuttddoooorr

SSiinngglleess

MMeenn

SSeeccoonndd RRoouunndd

Fernando Gonzalez (11), Chile, def.

Bobby Reynolds, U.S., 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-4.

Nikolay Davydenko (5), Russia,

def. Agustin Calleri, Argentina, 6-4, 6-

4, 7-6 (2).

Dmitry Tursunov (26), Russia, def.

Victor Hanescu, Romania, 6-7 (2), 6-3,

6-4, 6-2.

Jarkko Nieminen, Finland, def. Ivo

Minar, Czech Republic, 6-7 (2), 3-6, 6-

4, 6-3, 6-2.

Gilles Muller, Luxembourg, def.

Tommy Haas, Germany, 2-6, 2-6, 7-6

(5), 6-3, 6-3.

Roger Federer (2), Switzerland,

def. Thiago Alves, Brazil, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

Marin Cilic (30), Croatia, def. Rob-

by Ginepri, U.S., 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Nicolas Almagro (18), Spain, def.

Sam Warburg, U.S., 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Igor Andreev (23), Russia, def. Je-

remy Chardy, France, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-3.

Novak Djokovic (3), Serbia, def.

Robert Kendrick, U.S., 7-6 (8), 6-4, 6-4.

Fernando Verdasco (13), Spain, def.

Rui Machado, Portugal, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5),

6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-0.

WWoommeenn

TThhiirrdd RRoouunndd

Jelena Jankovic (2), Serbia, def.

Zheng Jie, China, 7-5, 7-5.

Li Na, China, def. Ekaterina

Makarova, Russia, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.

Elena Dementieva (5), Russia, def.

Anne Keothavong, Britain, 6-3, 6-4.

Katarina Srebotnik (28), Slovenia,

def. Svetlana Kuznetsova (3), Russia,

6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-3.

Caroline Wozniacki (21), Denmark,

def. Victoria Azarenka (14), Belarus,

6-4, 6-4.

Sybille Bammer (29), Austria, def.

Tatiana Perebiynis, Ukraine, 6-3, 6-0.

DDoouubblleess

MMeenn


Rik de Voest, South Africa/Ashley

Fisher, Australia, def. Pablo Cuevas,

Uruguay/Luis Horna (12), Peru, 7-6

(3), 6-2.

Lukas Dlouhy, Czech Republic/Le-

ander Paes (7), India, def. Eduardo

Schwank, Argentina/Potito Starace,

Italy, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Marcelo Melo/Andre Sa (15),

Brazil, def. Jurgen Melzer,

Austria/Rainer Schuettler, Germany,

6-3, 7-6 (0).

Maximo Gonzalez/Juan Monaco,

Argentina, def. Amer Delic/Alex

Kuznetsov, U.S., 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Mahesh Bhupathi, India/Mark

Knowles (4), Bahamas, def. Yves Al-

legro, Switzerland/Horia Tecau, Ro-

mania, 6-3, 6-3.

Martin Damm/Pavel Vizner (11),

Czech Republic, def. Michael Mc-

Clune/Kaes Van’t Hof, U.S., 6-0, 6-0.

Christopher Kas/Philipp Petzschn-

er, Germany, def. Jonas Bjorkman,

Sweden/Kevin Ullyett (5), Zimbabwe,

6-7 (2), 6-1, 7-6 (3).

Daniel Nestor, Canada/Nenad Zi-

monjic (1), Serbia, def. Ross

Hutchins/Andy Murray, Britain, 7-5, 3-

6, 7-6 (2).

WWoommeenn


Janette Husarova, Slovakia/Peng

Shuai (11), China, def. Liga Dekmei-

jere, Latvia/Tsvetana Pironkova,

Bulgaria, 7-5, 6-1.

Julie Ditty/Carly Gullickson, U.S.,

def. Tathiana Garbin, Italy/Tamira

Paszek, Austria, 7-5, 6-4.

Klaudia Jans/Alicja Rosolska,

Poland, def. Sorana Cirstea/Monica

Niculescu, Romania, 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-2.

Stephanie Foretz/Camille Pin,

France, def. Tracy Lin/Riza Zalame-

da, U.S., 6-3, 6-3.

Tatiana Poutchek, Belarus/Anasta-

sia Rodionova, Australia, def. Nuria

Llagostera Vives/Maria Jose Martinez

Sanchez (14), Spain, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia/Vir-

ginie Razzano, France, def. Iveta Be-

nesova, Czech Republic/Galina

Voskoboeva (12), Russia, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6

(5).

Marina Erakovic, New Zealand/Je-

lena Kostanic Tosic, Croatia, def.

Maria Elena Camerin, Italy/Gisela

Dulko, Argentina, 6-4, 6-3.

Cara Black, Zimbabwe/Liezel Hu-

ber (1), U.S., def. Lucie Hradecka/Re-

nata Voracova, Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-

1.

MMiixxeedd

FFiirrsstt RRoouunndd

Rennae Stubbs, Australia/Robert

Lindstedt, Sweden, def. Nathalie

Dechy, France/Andy Ram (8), Israel,

6-4, 6-4.

Flavia Pennetta, Italy/Dusan

Vemic, Serbia, def. Janette Husaro-

va, Slovakia/Jeff Coetzee, South

Africa, 6-1, 6-1.

Elena Vesnina, Russia/Mariusz

Fyrstenberg, Poland, def. Yan Zi, Chi-

na/Mark Knowles (7), Bahamas, 7-6

(7), 2-3, retired.

Jill Craybas/Eric Butorac, U.S.,

def. Ai Sugiyama, Japan/Kevin Ul-

lyett (3), Zimbabwe, 6-4, 6-4.

Nadia Petrova, Russia/Jonas

Bjorkman, Sweden, def. Anna

Chakvetadze, Russia/Max Mirnyi, Be-

larus, 6-3, 6-1.

TTrraannssaaccttiioonnssBBAASSEEBBAALLLL

MMaajjoorr LLeeaagguuee BBaasseebbaallll

MLB—Suspended New York Yan-

kees minor league RHP Justo Arias

and LHP Rafael Martinez and Chica-

go Cubs minor league RHP Jhon Ro-

driguez for 50 games each for testing

positive for banned substances. The

suspensions will be effective at the

start of next season.

AAmmeerriiccaann LLeeaagguuee

BOSTON RED SOX—Placed RHP

Josh Beckett on the 15-day DL,

retroactive to August 18. Placed 1B

Sean Casey on the 15-day DL, retroac-

tive to August 20. Purchased the con-

tract of C David Ross from Pawtuck-

et (IL). Transferred SS Julio Lugo

from the 15- to the 60-day DL.

CLEVELAND INDIANS—Activat-

ed C Victor Martinez from the 15-day

DL. Designated INF Andy Gonzalez

for assignment.

NNaattiioonnaall LLeeaagguuee

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS—Ac-

tivated OF Justin Upton from the 15-

day DL. Recalled RHP Max Scherzer

from Tucson (PCL). Optioned OF Alex

Romero and RHP Leo Rosales to Tuc-

son.

ATLANTA BRAVES—Added RHP

Elmer Dessens to the 25-man roster.

Optioned RHP Charlie Morton to

Richmond (IL).

SAN DIEGO PADRES—Placed OF

Scott Hairston on the 15-day DL. Re-

called RHP Cla Meredith from Port-

land (PCL). Purchased the contracts

of RHP Josh Geer and OF Will Ven-

able from Portland. Sent RHP Josh

Banks outright to Portland. An-

nounced LHP Wil Ledezma has been

claimed off outright waivers by Ari-

zona.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS—Sent

RHP Brian Sanches and RHP Chris

Schroder outright to Columbus (IL).

AAmmeerriiccaann AAssssoocciiaattiioonn

SHREVEPORT SPORTS—Traded

INF Ron Fenwick to Lancaster (At-

lantic) for a player to be named.

CCaann--AAmm LLeeaagguuee

NEW JERSEY JACKALS—Re-

leased INF David Urias.

QUEBEC CAPITALES—Released

RHP Gabe Ribas.

EEaasstteerrnn LLeeaagguuee

TRENTON THUNDER—An-

nounced RHP Victor Zambrano was

assigned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

(IL) and that LHP Zach Kroenke was

assigned to the team from Scran-

ton/Wilkes-Barre.

GGoollddeenn LLeeaagguuee

CALGARY VIPERS—Agreed to

terms with OF Richard Austin and

1B-OF Kit Pellow.

ST. GEORGE ROADRUNNERS—

Agreed to terms with C Kyle Wells

and RHP Kevin Cooper.

NNoorrtthheerrnn LLeeaagguuee

KANSAS CITY T-BONES—Re-

leased LHP Chris Shaver.

BBAASSKKEETTBBAALLLL

NNaattiioonnaall BBaasskkeettbbaallll AAssssoocciiaattiioonn

NEW YORK KNICKS—Acquired F

Patrick Ewing Jr. from Houston for

the draft rights to C Frederic Weis.

FFOOOOTTBBAALLLL

NNaattiioonnaall FFoooottbbaallll LLeeaagguuee

CAROLINA PANTHERS—Ac-

quired QB Josh McCown from Miami

for an undisclosed draft pick.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS—Re-

leased T Steve Fifita, OL Jimmy Mar-

tin, CB Jeff Shoate and TE Jonathan

Stupar.

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS—Placed

WR Adrian Arrington on injured re-

serve. Terminated the contract of S

Lance Schulters. Waived DE Jeremy

Geathers, TE Ronnie Ghent, DE Mar-

cus Pittman, S David Roach, G Isaiah

Ross and T Brian Stamper.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES—Re-

leased WR Bam Childress, CB Therri-

an Fontenot, CB Nick Graham, WR

Jamal Jones, S Marcus Paschal, OL

Stefan Rodgers and LB Pago Tagofau.

Waived/injured RB Ryan Moats.

ST. LOUIS RAMS—Released WR

Marques Hagans, S Jerome Carter,

WR Matt Caddell, TE Nick Cleaver,

CB Tanard Davis, CB Cortney Grix-

by, LB Marcus Riley, C Donovan

Raiola, DT Henry Smith and DT Willie

Williams.

HHOOCCKKEEYY

NNaattiioonnaall HHoocckkeeyy LLeeaagguuee

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS—

Signed F Maksim Mayorov.

LLAACCRROOSSSSEE

NNaattiioonnaall LLaaccrroossssee LLeeaagguuee

CALGARY ROUGHNECKS—

Signed D Brad McDonald to a one-

year contract.

SAN JOSE STEALTH—Traded G

Anthony Cosmo to Chicago for G Matt

Roik and a 2008 first-round draft pick.

Traded D Paul Dawson to Boston for

F Peter Veltman.

SSOOCCCCEERR

MMaajjoorr LLeeaagguuee SSoocccceerr

NEW YORK RED BULLS—Signed

F Sainey Touray to a developmental

contract. Moved MF Sinisa Ubi-

paripovic to the senior roster.

CCOOLLLLEEGGEE

METRO ATLANTIC ATHLETIC

CONFERENCE—Named Chris Her-

ring administrative fellow for cham-

pionships, Alison Adamski adminis-

trative fellow for compliance and

Christian Arnold administrative fel-

low for marketing.

BARUCH—Named Temi Arijeloye

women’s assistant cross country

coach.

LYCOMING—Named Erica Brown

women’s lacrosse coach and Dan La-

zorka softball coach.

N.J. CITY—Named John Ricca

men’s assistant soccer coach.

PRINCETON—Named Steve

Dolan men’s cross country coach.

TRINITY, TEXAS—Named Butch

Newman director of tennis and Ryan

a walking boot for several weeks starting in June af-ter an MRI showed a ligament to be five times the sizeof the one in his other foot.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had urged Ginobilinot to compete in the Olympics unless the injury im-proved. He not only competed in the games, but alsocarried the flag for Argentina in the opening cere-monies in Beijing.

During Argentina’s semifinal game against even-tual gold-medal winner United States, Ginobili hob-bled off the court during the first quarter after ap-parently aggravating the injury. He did not play inArgentina’s bronze-medal win over Lithuania.

“Aside from this situation, I’m comfortable with thesituation,” he said. “My plan was to be part of theOlympic games, and I knew that if I suffered frompain they would have to operate. This isn’t some-thing that took me by surprise.”

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM 2BZscores SATURDAY, AUGUST 30, 2008

SPORT SHORTSCasa Blanca Open for

Labor DayCasa Blanca Golf Course will be open on Labor

Day (Monday) from 7 a.m.–7 p.m.

Laredo Adult Baseball League

Team and individual registration for the LaredoAdult Baseball League will start Monday.

There are three divisions: Major/Open (youngadults up to 34 year olds), Veterans (35-47 year olds)and Masters (48-years plus).

For more information, contact Marco Escamilla at333-9005 or Jesse Montemayor at 333-6935.

Even while waiting for the rul-ing on whether he would be al-lowed to play this season, some ofthe biggest suspense surroundingJones during camp really hadnothing to do with off-field prob-lems that plagued his past and ledto the suspension that caused himto miss all of last season with theTitans.

Instead, the uncertainty wasover whether “Pacman” couldfield another punt while alreadycradling five footballs. (He did,though he said he’s caught eightbefore).

Owens is content with a newcontract that pushed his dealthrough 2011 rather than expir-ing after this season. The 34-year-old receiver who desperatelywants a Super Bowl title also talksoften about his good relationshipswith “Coach Wade” — who callsOwens by his name rather thanreferring to him as “the player”

like the previous coach — andRomo, who has thrown him 25touchdown passes the past twoseasons since replacing DrewBledsoe at quarterback.

While Romo spent much of theoffseason working on differentthrowing techniques, the two-timePro Bowler still has become asmuch a staple in entertainmentmagazines and Web sites as insports ones because of his starletgirlfriend.

The sometimes sensationalcoverage of his personal life,which Romo generally doesn’ttalk about, helps him keep thingsin perspective.

“People’s perceptions, they rollwith that stuff over and over andyou just have to try and keep a lev-el head about it all,” Romo said.“But for us, we don’t add to it. Wedon’t all talk about whatever hap-pened in Adam Jones’ past or cri-tique his lifestyle, or Terrell

Owens and what he’s wearing,even though it’s exotic and crazysometimes.

“We play a game and we enjoyit,” Romo said. “We just talk aboutthat sometimes. It helps.”

Part of their conversation ishow to make up for the missedopportunity last season, when af-ter matching a team record with13 victories and earning the NFC’stop seed, Dallas didn’t win a play-off game. The Cowboys have nowgone 12 seasons since their lastSuper Bowl championship, 11without winning a game in thepostseason.

It actually took an earthquaketo shake things up during trainingcamp, but even that measured asonly a minor tremor.

The lack of drama and intrigueamong the players probably isn’texactly what HBO executives hadin mind when they decided tohighlight the Cowboys again on

their “Hard Knocks” series. Thosecameras will be gone and the finalepisode of the series will air be-fore the Sept. 7 season opener atCleveland.

“Everybody has done a greatjob as far as interacting when theyneed to with the cameras, but atthe same time, when it’s time to fo-cus on football, then we’re playingfootball,” Owens said.

They have done an even betterjob of maintaining a determinedcalm about what they need to doon the field.

“We handled things well whenwe had a lot of odd games andDallas Cowboys-type games lastyear,” Phillips said. “They handledthat well and going into it last yearwe had a lot of high expectations,maybe not from everybody, butfrom us. We’re going through thesame thing.”

After breaking camp in Cali-fornia and spending a week in

Denver, the Cowboys returnedhome, where nearly 25,000 peopleshowed up at Texas Stadium towatch the team go through a mid-week practice without pads.

There is always plenty of at-tention on the Cowboys, whomPhillips often refers to as a bunchof “characters with character.” It isalso a veteran group that knowswhat it has to do now.

“Wade wants you go be who

you are, wants your personality toshow,” Witten said. “But theteam’s got to be first and I thinkeverybody’s bought into that.We’ve got something to prove.

“The most impressive thing forme is being able to put last yearbehind us and move forward be-cause none of that matters now,”he said. “It’s a new season.”

And so far, a surprisingly calmone.

C OW B OYS | Continued from Page 1B

SP U RS | Continued from Page 1B

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30, 2008 THE ZAPATA TIMES | 3B

AARRIIEESS (March 21 to April 19)Think about ways to im-prove your job and yourattitude toward your work.Think about ways to im-

prove your health. (That’s what todo with today’s New Moon.)

TTAAUURRUUSS (April 20 to May 20)You love the finer thingsin life. This is the best dayall year for you to scruti-nize the kind of balance

you have between play and pleas-ure versus work, obligations andresponsibilities.

GGEEMMIINNII (May 21 to June 20) Areyou happy with your homeenvironment? Are you hap-py with your family rela-tionships? What can you do

to improve your domestic life? CCAANNCCEERR (June 21 to July 22)

No man is an island.Communication withothers is important.What can you do to im-

prove your style of communicat-ing with others, especially rela-tives and siblings?

LLEEOO (July 23 to Aug. 22) You’rethe last of the big-timespenders. What can you doto boost your earnings andreduce your debt? Think

about this today.

VVIIRRGGOO (Aug. 23 to Sept. 22)Today is the only NewMoon that occurs in yoursign all year. What can youdo to improve your ap-

pearance and create a better firstimpression when others meet you?

LLIIBBRRAA (Sept. 23 to Oct. 22) Weall have a spiritual side,whether we acknowledgeit to ourselves and othersor not. This is a good day to

think about what you believe in toguide your choices in life.

SSCCOORRPPIIOO (Oct. 23 to Nov. 21)Do you hang out with qual-ity people? Do you like yourfriends? Your friends influ-ence your mind, and your

mind makes your choices aboutthe future. That’s why friends areimportant!

SSAAGGIITTTTAARRIIUUSS (Nov. 22 to Dec.21) Others notice you today.However, for you, it’s theperfect day to think abouthow you can improve your

relationships with authority figures— parents, teachers and bosses.

CCAAPPRRIICCOORRNN (Dec. 22 to Jan.19) What can you do toimprove your educationor your training for yourjob? You’re never too old

to continue learning.

AAQQUUAARRIIUUSS (Jan. 20 to Feb. 18)Each New Moon is theperfect time to make res-olutions to improvesomething. How can you

improve your debt scene? Whatcan you do to reduce your debt?

PPIISSCCEESS (Feb. 19 to March 20)Think of ways to im-prove your closestfriendships and part-nerships? Remember:In a successful relation-

ship, you must be as good for yourpartner as he or she is for you.

YYOOUU BBOORRNN TTOODDAAYY You’re re-liable. No matter what imagina-tive flights of fancy you pursue,your feet are on the ground.You’re excellent with money, andyou’re a good organizer. You knowhow to take care of yourself andyour loved ones. During this year,you’ll make an important deci-sion, which will lead to buildingor constructing something nextyear.

BBiirrtthhddaattee ooff:: Warren Buffett,billionaire/philanthropist; MaryWollstonecraft Shelley, novelist;Cameron Diaz, actress.

HOROSCOPES | BY FRANCIS DRAKE

Dear Readers: Bringing aFISH into your home is no less ofa responsibility than having a cator dog. Whether it is a $2 guppy

or a $10 an-gelfish, it de-serves thesame quality ofcare, regard-less of theprice tag. Itwould be wiseto invest in anaquariumbook to learn

about the proper care of the fishyou are going to buy. It is impor-tant to learn how big your fishwill get before purchasing anaquarium. Quite often, pet own-ers have fish that become ag-gressive because they havegrown too large for their aquari-um. If you have multiple species,be sure to find out if they are pas-sive or aggressive, and do not mixthe two. Only introduce fish thatare compatible with each other.

A fast-growing fish will need alarger aquarium than a fish thatremains small. — Heloise

HELOISE

HINTS BY HELOISE

ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM Zclassified BY PHONE: (956) 728-2527

CLASS

<DATE> LAREDO MORNING TIMES | 1B

Commissary Representative (Prison Store)

Keefe Commissary Network (KCN), a leaderin the prison commissary supply industry,seeks a FT Commissary Representative tohand-deliver commissary orders to inmates atRio Grande Detention Center. We offercompetitive pay and benefits include medical,401(k) & profit sharing. Must pass drugscreen, federal background and credit checks.Able to lift up to 50 lbs.

Please see full description and apply online atwww.centricgroup.com EOE M/F/DV

SE SOLICITAN TRABAJADORES PARA EMPACADORA DE VEGETALES

Representantes de la Empacadora de Vegetales LakesideFoods, Inc. del estado de Wisconsin estaran en Laredo

contratando para la temporada 2009 para las localidades de Belgium, Eden,

Manitowoc y Random Lake, WI. Se nesecitan: Mecanicos,Operadores de Combine, Operadores de Maquinas,

Control de Calidad, entre otros trabajos.Entrevistas: Marzo 25, 26 y 27, de 8am to 5 p.m. en el

Holiday Inn, 800 Garden St, en Laredo. Para mas informacion comuniquese:

Mario Escareno tel. (262) 285-3299 ext. 307 /[email protected] CaroSalazar

tel. (920) 477-2311 ext. 24 / [email protected] para Operadores de Combine:

Laura Kubsh (920) 684-0151 ext 3901 /[email protected]

Door to door repsneeded for aggressive

Time Warner salesproject. $1000+

weekly commission. Call Fred for an

interview. 956-774-1084.

TRUCKS FOR SALE 198

‘01 Land Rover Discovery, Fully loaded, excellent cond.

$7,000 Call 645-7233;645-3380

Chevy Blazer ‘02, V6, 4.3 liter, Auto, A/C, blue title, New Tires

$4,800 OBOcall (956) 286-8966

Chevy Step Van 3500 ‘91, 14 ft. long, $3,900.

Call:(956)763-9120 id # 145*4*11336

Ford FX4 ‘03, 4x4,a/c, 87k mi.,

$7,600.Call:(956)379-0806

Mazda MPV ‘06, Mini van, 32k mi., exc. cond. leather

int., dvd player, 6 cd changer, Must sell!

$11,900 Call 744-1754

Nissan X-terra ‘05,blue title,$10,500.

Call:(956)235-9405

Rampvan “Handicap” ‘99 Dodge Grand Caravan, power ramp, wheelchair tie downs, swivel driver’s side seat & hand controls. 60k mi $12,500.00 Call:722-1820

CARS FOR SALE 200

‘01 Honda Accord 4cyl, A/c, Sunroof, Electric, $3,800 O.B.O Call 635-5496

Mitsubishi Eclipse ‘03, convertible, good condition.$6,000 Call:(956)645-9036

Pontiac Sunfire GT ‘96, excellent condition, 1 owner,

very economical. $1,900 Call:(956)237-0914

ARTICLES FOR SALE136Country Club Full Membership.$2800. Call 206.1524.

TTRRAANNSSPPOORRTTAATTIIOONN

BOATS 190John boat ‘05,14 ft., 2.5hpMercury, trolling motor, fish

finder, seats, boat cover Asking $1,500 obo. Call:286-0090

CAMPERS & RV’S 191Ford RV 1972, in good condition, new tires, air

condition, gas range, kitchen, shower, toilet, lvn. rm. sleeps

two people. $2,500.00 Call:(956)771-5975

Travel trailer, good condition, ready to live in, bath & shower $2,500 obo. Call(956)220-9594

HEAVY EQUIPMENT 19201 International Trailer w/ 24’closed box. backlift, 140Kmil.,

$12,500 reduce to $8,500Call 774-8910

Storage containers, delivered to your ranch,

40ft long. Excellent Cond.$3000 Call 744-5059

AUTOMOTIVE PARTS194Chevy towing hitch and

Suburban side steps. $185 obo. (956)324-1148

Toyota Camry factory rims 16”excellent condition. $275.

Call:(956)722-7398; 337-5353

PETS & SUPPLIES 128

*Toy French Poodles, Schnauzers & Cocker Spaniels. With shots,

$200 & up. Call 791-1676.

7 week pure breed Pugs with initial vet check+vacc. $500ea.

2F & 3M. 791-7122

11 week old, Belgian Sheep dog puppies, $165. 324-1148

Adorable Fawn Boxer puppies, 5 wks. old, 3f, 3m, clipped, de wormed & 1 st. shots. $200ea.Call:(956)286-0150; 286-8215

French, Chihuahuas,Labradors & Pekinese. $150.

Call:(956)744-2342

Poodles, 2 females, puppies,6 weeks, beige, tails clipped,

2nd shots,de wormed $180ea.Call:(956)251-1100

LIVESTOCK & SUPPLIES130

Grey Moro 10 years, gentle, black mare, 3 years $1,000 ea.

Call:(956)286-8613

MMIISSCCEELLLLAANNEEOOUUSS

ARTICLES FOR SALE136

Jump Zone 14-FT Trampoline w/enclosure. less than 1yr old $140. Call 956-763-3869

LOTS FOR SALE 70

Lote Grande De Venta! $45,000 En Los Pres-identes Call 744-3299

North Laredo. 1.3 Acres on Loop 20 near TAMIU, next to Khaledi Heights on Blue Quail St. $12.50 Per SqFt

Neg. Can be sold separately Call

956-333-0122 or 011-52-867-714-1502

Solar y 1/2, esquina (corner lot) Sta. Rita sbdv.

$35,000 obo.(956)774-8879; 333-6505

ACREAGE FOR SALE 76

5 acre tract, frontageon Casa Verde Rd.

$200,000 per acre. Contact (956)725-6641

100 acres mile 60 Hwy 35 High fence, $330,000

Finance 8%! Call 722-4447

10ac. Las Lomas Fenced HWY 59 $8000 p/ac 712-4205; 774-6976

COMMERCIAL INVEST-MENT 79

3 Lots,14 Apts $550,000 OBO. Call:722-4447.

We Finance! 8%

PPEETTSS && SSUUPPPPLLIIEESS

RREEAALL EESSTTAATTEE

HOMES FOR SALE 61

House for Sale by owner, 1509 Sarazen (Plantation) 3bd/2.5ba. 2,477 SqFt per

WCAD. $275,500 www.buymyhouselaredo.com

Please Call for an appt.956-723-9705

Insurance case,fire damage, 3bd/2ba,

buy for the price of the lot, 60k.4601 Retama Dr.(956)206-1091

CONDOS FOR SALE 64

1 Condo $60,000 OBOMust Sell, Moving Out, negotia-

ble, 2bd/1.5ba, 2803 Bayard.Brand new, south Laredo. For

sale by owner.Call Dr. Rendon

011-52-867-714-1502 or 956-333-0122

LOTS FOR SALE 70Lot for sale, 8915 Peak Drive,

behind Shiloh Dr.60 x 108, 6,480 sqft.,

$52,000 firm.Call:(956)242-5947

2B | LAREDO MORNING TIMES <DATE>









The Zapata Times 3/28/2009

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