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Tuesday • March 18,15
Epidemic of poisoned dogs grips small town
► State
FISHERMAN’S PARADISE, Texas (AP) —
Among cedar- and oak-lined hills overlooking the
Brazos River, dozens of crosses remind residents
that there’s trouble in Paradise.
By residents’ count, 47 dogs are dead or miss
ing. The poison, strychnine, is an increasingly pop
ular weapon that also killed Texas rodeo horses
and other animals this year.
Melissa Drinning recalled the horror of finding
three dead dogs in her back yard Jan. 15. A cross in
front of her house lists two of the victims, her 6-
month-old beagle, Domino, and her mother’s
year-old Rottweiler, Gypsy.
“I walked down the back stairs and the neigh
bors’ dog, the little white dog Tuffy they had, was
dead, lying by the trash can,” the teen-ager said. “I
saw him and I just started crying, because I loved
that dog just like he was my own.
"Then I went around the back of the house and
I saw Gypsy by a tree. She was dead,” said Ms. Drin
ning, 18. “I was screaming, hollering and crying. I
turned around and saw Domino dead, lying about
15 feet away.”
At least some of the dozens of animal poison
ings around the state in 1997 are believed to be
copycat crimes.
Eighteen horses died at the Van Zandt County
Rodeo Arena less than a month after the poison
ings at Fisherman’s Paradise, an unincorporated
development about 70 miles southwest of Dallas.
In Wichita Falls, four dogs were poisoned by
strychnine-laced food last month.
Although thousands of dollars in rewards are
posted in the unrelated attacks, there are no sus-
“Someone could be upset
from dogs running around
the place and just decided to
take care of it themselves.”
Pam Jetsel
Sheriff spokeswoman
pects, no leads and no firm motive.
Some residents reported seeing a suspicious
truck before the dog poisonings. And 37-year-old
Debbie Spears, Ms. Drinning’s mother, chased two
trespassers from her back yard afterward.
Neither lead has panned out.
"There have actually been dozens of different
[poisoning] incidents,” said Dr. John Reagor, a tox
icologist at Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic
Lab in College Station, where two of the dogs from
Fisherman’s Paradise were autopsied.
“Some of it is the mimic business. Certainly,
it is tailing off now,” he said, blaming media cov
erage about the availability of strychine-based
poisons as a reason for the surge. “In just one day,
a couple of weeks after Fisherman’s, we had five
different cases.”
Johnson County Sheriff Bob Alford joined a task
force with the county attorney and judge as well as
commission members to solve the mystery.
Some residents acknowledge the community
has a problem with numerous dogs running loose.
Although Johnson County does not have a
leash law, the second spate of dog poisonings in
three years at Fisherman’s Paradise has prompted
new restrictions. Commissioners have directed
sheriff’s officers to impound wandering dogs be
lieved to be dangerous.
“They are beginning to suspect the culprit
could be someone who lives right there,” Pam Jet
sel, a sheriff’s spokeswoman, said of the residents.
“Someone could be upset from dogs running
around the place and just decided to take care of
it themselves.”
Tuffy’s owner, 62-year-old Reba Horton,
said her affectionate Pekingese didn’t deserve
to die from poisoning.
Dallas fails to attract
Blockbuster workers
family ties there, accordinj
Jonathan Baskin, a Blockbuste
nior vice president.
Others, he said, viewed Dalte
a long way to go for an hourlyjd
DALLAS (AP) — With most Block
buster Entertainment Corp. workers
opting against following their compa
ny from Florida to Texas, up to 600
jobs are up for grabs in the city where
the $3 billion chain started about 11
years ago.
About two-thirds of the 900 head
quarters workers for the world’s
largest video rental company have re
jected various relocation packages.
About 40 percent of Blockbuster’s
available jobs in Dallas pay hourly
wages while the remainder are
salaried, said Rosanna Durruthy,
Blockbuster’s vice president of
staffing and relocation.
“It’s a broad range” of jobs, she
said. “From information systems to
finance and accounting, retail mer
chandising and store planning, online
technologies, corporate relations, hu
man resources, the office of the gen
eral counsel — a bit of everything."
Many of those who chose to stay
in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said they had
Property taxesyif
more state revem
AUSTIN (AP)—Schools,citiesi
ties and other local govemmentsai
the state levied nearly $16 Bo
property taxes in 1995, a 3.4 pe
increase over the previous yea'
state comptroller reported Morca
Texans' property tax
$15.98 billion, with 58.5 perce
that going to local school disfc
School taxes, which totaled!!
billion, rose 3.5 percent over 199;
report said.
The school levy is the targetdi
George W. Bush’s push fora
tax overhaul.
Bush proposes replacing ate
billion in local school taxes with;
billion state budget surplus,ahari
sales tax increase and a newbysi
activity tax.
Legislative committees are to
at the school property tax andtc
to see if alternatives can beta
3 pa
This day in History
Weather
(AP) — Today is Tuesday, March 18, the 77th day of
1997. There are 288 days left in the year.
On this date:
In 1766, Britain repealed the Stamp Act.
In 1922, Mohandas K. Gandhi was sentenced in India
to six years’ imprisonment for civil disobedience. He was
released after serving two years.
In 1931, Schick Inc. marketed the first electric razor.
In 1940, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini held a meet
ing at the Brenner Pass across the Alps during which the
Italian dictator agreed to join in Germany’s war against
France and Britain.
In 1959, President Eisenhower signed the Hawaii
statehood bill.
In 1974, most of the Arab oil-producing nations end
ed their embargo against the United States.
Five years ago: South African President F.W. de Klerk
claimed victory for his reforms a day after a whites-only
referendum on whether to end apartheid. National Foot
ball League owners voted to drop the use of instant video
tape replays to settle disputed calls during games.
One year ago: Rejecting an insanity defense, a jury in
Dedham, Mass., convicted John C. Salvi III of murdering
two women in a pair of attacks at two Boston-area abor
tion clinics in December 1994. Last November, Salvi com
mitted suicide in his cell.
Today
Tonight
Tomorrow
Highs & Lows
Today's birthdays
loday’s Expected Hi
75°F
Tonights Expected li
44°F
Actor Peter Graves is 71. Author George Plimpton is
70. Author John Updike is 65. Former South African pres
ident F.W. de Klerk is 61. Country singer Charley Pride is
59. Singer Vanessa Williams is 34. Olympic gold medal
speedskater Bonnie Blair is 33. Rock musician Jerry
Cantrell (Alice in Chains) is 31. Rock singer-musician Miki
Berenyi (Lush) is 30. Rapper-actress Queen Latifah is 27.
Tomorrow’s Expects
High
68°F
Clearing in the after
noon with a 30 percent
chance of rain and NW
winds of 20-25 mph.
Fair skies and cool with
NW winds of 10-15
mph.
Clear with NW winds of
10-15 mph.
Tomorrow Nights
Expected Low
SOT
Information courtesy of TAMSC
Class of ‘00
Room 111
Koldus Bldg.
Class of ‘99
Room 502
Rudder Twr.
General Class Meeting
Wednesday March 19, 1997
7:00 RM.
All students are welcome to attend!!!!
Class of ‘98
Room 707
Rudder Twr.
Class of ‘97
Room 302
MSC
LOST & FOUND
AUCTION
Come and bid on
umbrellas, coats,
clocks, basketballs, and
much more.
Wednesday, March 19
MSC Flagroom
11:00~2:00
Sponsored by:
MSC Hospitality ’’VT'
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if van
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Wranglers
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AGGIECON XWIII
Presents on March 20-23:
Drew Hayes
Poison Elves
Bruce Sterling
Difference Engine
Dave Doorman
Artist - Star Wars
Arthur C. Clarke
Phone-In Interview
Brian Stelfreeze
Artist - Shadow of the Bat
Plus: Gaming, VLARP, Falkenstein LAPP,
Movies, Panels, Art Show, Dealers Room,
Anime Room, Network Gaming, Masquerade
Ball, and Charity Auction to benefit Scotty’s
House!
For More Information Contact
MSC Cepheid Variable at 845-1515
4v
Persons with disabilities please call 845-1515 to inform us of your special
needs. We request notification three (3) working days prior to the event to
enable us to assist you to the best of our abilities. Tr
Want to help New Students? ^JCant to make new friends?
Become an O.L.!
Join the Aggie Orientation Leader Program
o
^ ,,ov <
h
5Jd
Information Sessions: Applications:
March 18 & 19, 8:30pm Available at 314 YMCA
Rudder 401 Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm
Applications Due March 21 7 M4 YMCA
For more information - Call 862-2746
u Headin' in the Right Direction... .Aggieland, U. S.A.
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