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Fatal heat
Summer prompts extreme temperatures, health concerns
Monday • June 22
(AP) — With two deaths and
several blazes already blamed on
rising temperatures, the stage is set
for a long, hot Texas summer.
A warning is posted through
Monday for residents of North
Texas, where moisture in the air is
expected to push heat-humidity
values to between 105 and 115 de
grees.
The only good news in the
midst of the heat wave is that the
haze plaguing Texas for the past
several weeks has dissipated — at
least for now.
A 2-year-old Hillsboro girl who
was left inside a car for more than
an hour was the latest to die of heat-
related causes.
Sheena K. Dunbar died Friday
morning at Cook Children's Med
ical Center in Fort Worth of hyper
thermia.
Sheena's mother had taken the
girl with her to run an errand
Wednesday afternoon, but left the
child inside the car when she re
turned to the family's residence,
Hillsboro Police Chief Richard
White said.
“When the mother went back
out, she had succumbed to the
heat," White told the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram.
“We certainly would encourage
people to be especially aware of
leaving anything — family or pets
— in an enclosed area like that,”
White said.
He said the distraught mother is
cooperating with law officers and
that no decision has been made
whether to file charges.
An autopsy report is pending
from the Tarrant County Medical
Examiner's Office. It provisionally
ruled the child's death “accidental."
A 2-year-old Hillsboro
girl who was left inside
a car for more than an
hour was the latest to
die of heat-related causes.
Wednesday's temperature
reached 99 degrees. Many Texas
cities Saturday were in the triple
digits, with readings from 100 to
113.
It was 107 at Cotulla and 113 at
Childress. Dallas-Fort Worth In
ternational Airport had 102 de
grees in the second straight day
over the century mark.
Highs on Sunday, the first day of
summer, were expected to reach
near 105 along the Rio Grande and
near 110 elsewhere in West Texas.
The other heat-related fatality oc
curred June 1 when 23-year-old Ja
son Bradley Stogsdill of Arlington
died while bicycling near Joe Pool
Reservoir. The high temperature
that day was 101.
His death was caused by over
heating combined with a pre-exist
ing heart disease.
Conditions also are favorable for
brush fires because vegetation is
high from heavy winter rains and
dead from the dry spring, firefight
ers said.
Despite the wet winter, farmers
in South Texas and elsewhere face
the prospect of a second drought in
three years. Agricultural losses of
$517 million this year and an over
all economic loss of $1.7 billion are
projected.
In Fort Worth, a string of small
blazes began Saturday along a
southeast side railroad track.
“We have been gearing up," Fort
Worth Deputy Chief Hugo Esparza
said.
No longer around to provide
some protection from the sun is the
haze caused by smoke from fires in
southern Mexico.
The smoke had been blowing
north into Texas, prompting health
alerts and pollution warnings. But a
change in wind direction has
pushed it elsewhere.
“We've developed a more east
erly flow in the Gulf of Mexico
down where the worst of the fires
are," Alan Moller, a meteorologist
with the National Weather Service
in Fort Worth, said Sunday.
“There's still smoke down there,
but much of it's being pushed
westward by the easterly winds."
Still, don't count on the clear
skies to last. Another wind shift
could cause the haze to return as
quickly as it disappeared, Moller
said.
Father’s Day turns solen
for family of Jasper m
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Far from his fam
ily on Father's Day, James Byrd Sr. said he hoped
the killing of his son — who was dragged to
death behind a pickup truck in Texas — would
not be in vain.
“I'm hoping that through my son s suffering
. . . the world will gain something," Byrd told
parishioners during a Sunday service at All
Saints Episcopal Church.
He also gave thanks for his remaining children.
“I had six girls and two boys," he told reporters
outside the church. “I still have six girls and one
boy and 1 thank God for having those children.
“I always thank God for what I have."
Parishioners offered the soft-spoken Byrd,
who is in his 70s, countless handshakes and hugs
after the service.
Byrd was invited to attend Sunday services at
the church and at Praises of Zion Baptist Church
in South Central Los Angeles. The congregations
raised a total of $15,000 for an educational fund
for Byrd's children and grandchildren.
A similar fundraiser was held Saturday at a
church in New York.
Byrd's children had planned to celebrate Fa
ther's Day together in Jasper, Texas. But that all
changed two weeks ago when James Byrd Jr, 49,
a father of three, was savagely beaten, then
shackled by his ankles to the back of a pickup
truck and dragged along 21 / 2 miles of a narrow,
twisting rural road in east Texas.
Pieces of his body were scattered along the
bloody trail.
Police contend that Byrd was targeted simply
because he was African-American.
Alleged white supremacists Lawrence Rus
sel] Brewer, 31, Shawn Allen Berry and John
William King, both 23 have been charged with
the June 7 murder.
They remain jailed without bond. Authorities
may seek the death penalty.
Byrd said the horrific death has brought the
town of 7,500 closer together.
"So far in our little town, thingsk
better," he said.
Byrd recalled a small but poignarJ
by a local merchant. When Byrd weti
chase a watch battery, the merchant?
him for free.
"All these things, people in jasperj
to help us any way they can," he said
Membersof the Ku Klux Klanhavesc
a Saturday rally in Jasper to disavow!
nection to the three suspects in theca*!
Byrd said he disliked the ideaoitkij
lying in his hometown, but he supp
First Amendment rights.
"They can march all they want,"ByrJ
would like for all races to get along. Fre
speech, freedom of religion, black, wF
ever, we're all one blood."
The family has received hundreds^
lence cards and letters from aroundthej
"Europe and places I've never heardt j
said, adding that he was unabletoi
every letter but was thankful forthesu;
Greg Adams, 42, who used to liveeJ
mont, Texas, about 30 miles south ot|e
tended the Pasadena church service :)
Byrd's death was a rude awakening!
fighting for civil rights.
“That kind of barbaric mutilation,it |
thing that the whole country should;
pause and ask how something liket
happen," Adams said, who now livesir j
Cucamonga. "We have to be attunedto
that there's a lot of work to be done.”
Los Angeles resident Joey Johnson- I
to Pasadena to see Byrd, shake hishanc|
fer his condolences and support.
"I'm really angry about whathapp
Johnson said. " This whole society isbein:!
regated. ... I think we have toredediEj
selves to fighting racism."
Aikido instructor lends skills
to law enforcement officials
DALLAS — Martial arts instructor Bill Sosa teaches his students to
move like water.
“Fluid and free," he instructed students last week at his north Oak
Cliff school. This co-ed group included businessmen and lawyers, but
Sosa is best known for teaching his skills to local police officers. Aiki
do, he said, helps unify the mind and body.
“Aikido becomes a very powerful and effective method of self-
defense that can neutralize any attack without causing serious in
jury to an aggressor," Sosa wrote in his latest book. The Secrets of
Police Aikido.
“It helps to sharpen mental concentration, as the mind and body are
trained to work together in a more efficient and harmonious way."
Officers from departments throughout North Texas — including
Dallas, Arlington, Burleson and Euless — have taken Sosa's classes
since he began teaching the discipline more than 26 years ago.
Sosa, a sixth-degree black belt, is the founder of the International
Aikido Association and has schools in north Oak Cliff, Grand Prairie
and Fort Worth.
Burleson police Officer David Feucht has studied under Sosa for
about nine years. Aikido techniques, he said, have helped in his police
work by teaching him how to subdue people in a nonaggressive way.
“It helps you deal with people. We don't hurt people; we control sit
uations," Feucht, 36, said of the art. “It avoids a lot of liability."
Feucht, who wrote the foreword in Sosa's book, said he once used
a "pin" to control a person who had overdosed on Valium and alcohol.
He said he subdued the person by restraining his wrist and pulling him
to the floor and then handcuffing him.
The officer is now an assistant instructor at Sosa's Fort Worth and
Grand Prairie schools.
Government aid fails to reach needy neighborhooi ^
DALLAS (AP) — More than $50 million in
federal aid for poor neighborhoods hasn't
reached its intended targets, instead side
tracked for other programs. The Dallas Morn
ing News reported Sunday.
Records show city hall bureaucrats and
the city's often-criticized code enforcement
division have been the primary beneficiaries
of the unspent money, the newspaper re
ported in its copyright story.
“The failure to spend the money on poor
neighborhoods has left many of the commu
nity people disgruntled and disgusted," Se-
Gwen Tyler, vice chair of the citizens' panel
that monitors the money, said.
“City officials are simply not interested in
these neighborhoods being revitalized."
Dallas' pool of unspent money has risen
since 1991 to total $51 million at the end of
1997. The federal government approved the
money under Community Development
Block Grant and Neighborhood Renaissance
programs. The money is earning no interest
while it sits unused.
Meanwhile, the amount of community de
velopment dollars used to pay city staffers
almost doubled — from $5.7 million to $10
million — between 1995 and 1997.
One of every three dollars spent was used
to pay the city's code enforcement inspec
tors, who were recently blasted by the city
auditor for doing a shoddy job of enforcing
laws prohibiting dilapidated housing and
neighborhood blight.
Funding the Neighborhood Renaissance
program is $25 million in federal loans that
must be paid back with interest. The funds
were approved three years ago for six neigh
borhoods. However, only one percent has
been spent.
Some of the money has been spent on the
Southern Dallas Initiative for a Global Strat
egy, a program designed to attract interna
tional investment to south Dallas.
City manager John Ware said he sup
ports the program, which has received
$151,000 in community development mon
ey. Ware is leaving his office in August to
run a company, financed by Dallas Stars
owner Tom Hicks, that will invest in south
Dallas businesses.
A four-term Dallas City Council member
said there is no legitimate reason for the
city's inaction.
“It's an outrage," councilman Larry
Duncan said. "The best-case reason it's not
been spent is a lack of will. 1 he worst(f
is obstruction."
A member of the Community Devcli
ment Commission said the city's
has had devastating consequences. J
“It means we will continue tohave^l
ly and handicapped individuals whosUil
have caved in, who have to copewitbl
sewage, who don't have decent plumbii'l
electricity," Jan Bridges, who hasbeenonj
commission since 1995, said. "IheM
costs are enormous."
Robert C. Wallace Sr., 79, has lived if']
South Dallas home for 41 yearsan<W
three children there. But he now nea
home improvement loan and has
for funding with community develop® 1
money. ,
“I never heard back from the citj
said, adding that his area already ha
awarded $2 million in Neighborhoo
naissance money. It hasn't been spenty
Wallace, who is disabled, is conce®
that the code enforcement division''
tear his house down. The division has |
down 1,500 single-family homes in
past six years, and has replaced on)
the paper said.
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If You Have Something To Sell, Remember:
The Battalion
Classifieds Can Do It
Call 845-0569
MSC Barber Shop
Serving All Aggies!
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Cuts and Styles
All Corp Cuts $7.
Regular cuts start at f|
846-0629
Open: Mon. - Fri. 8-5
“wST Located in the basement of the Memorial Student Center
4r Memorial Student Center 1998 Summer Calendar of Events
( Dive into Summer!
June
Film Society Ghostbusters 9:30 p.m. Rudder Fountain
L.T. Jordan Institute for International Awareness Community,
Household & Status of Hacienda Tabi, Yucatan, Mexico and
Environmental Policies in Bolivia 7 p.m. Rudder 510
Town Hall Poolside with Polygram 2-4 p.m. Rec. Center
Outdoor Pool (A valid Texas A&M ID is required.)
Visual Arts Tour of San Antonio's Art Museums
(Cost: $10 Texas A&M students; $20 all others)
Cepheid Variable Series 2 p.m. Biochemistry 107-108
Great Issues and Political Forum Open Microphone
11:30-12:30 p.m. Rudder Fountain
Town Hall Hypnotist Rich Ames 8:30 p.m. Rudder Theater
Town Hall Lunch Box Concert 2-4 p.m. Rec. Center
Outdoor Pool (A valid Texas A&M ID is required.)
NOVA Gaming Night at Hullabaloo 6-9 p.m. MSC Bowling
and Games Area
Black Awareness Celebration 12:30 p.m.
MSC Flag Room
NOV A. SurduKahn I & a.m.-l 1 p.m. MSC 138-146
25 Town Hall Poolside with Polygram 2-4 p.m. Rec. Center
Outdoor Pool (A valid Texas A&M ID is required.)
25 Cepheid Variable Pleiades Reading Circle 7 p.m. MSC 145
27 Cepheid Variable Anime Series 2 p.m. Biochemistry 107-108
30 Film Society Sixteen Candles 9:30 p.m. Rudder Fountain
All events are FREE, except as noted.
Dates and times may change. Check out the MSC web site:
wwwmsc.tamu.edu and the MSC Hotline at 847-5463.
Please call 845-1515 for special needs.
July
Great Issues Drawing the Line-Technology and the Ethics
of Cloning 4 p.m. Koldus 110
NOVA Gaming Night at Hullabaloo 6-9 p.m. MSC Bowling
and Games Area
Town Hall Poolside with Polygram 2-4 p.m. Rec. Center
Outdoor Pool (A valid Texas A&M ID is required.)
Visual Arts Tour of Houston ’s Corporate Art Collections
(Cost: $10 Texas A&M students only)
Film Society Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
9:30 p.m. Rudder Fountain
Town Hall Lunch Box Concert 2-4 p.m. Rec. Center Outdoor
Pool (A valid Texas A&M ID is required.)
Cepheid Variable Anime Series 2 p.m. Biochemistry 107' 1
Town Hall Poolside with Polygram 2-4 p.m. Rec. Center
Outdoor Pool (A valid Texas A&M ID is required.)
Cepheid Variable Pleiades Reading Circle 7 p.m. MSC 1
24-26 NOVA Battle. Con 3 p.m. Fri.-2 p.m. Sun. MSC 224-225
Visual Arts Tour of Galveston s Historic Homes
(Cost: $10 Texas A&M students; $20 all others)
28-29 OPAS Broadway Cabaret 7:30 p.m. College Station
Conference Center at 1300 George Bush Drive
(Cost: $2 Texas A&M students; $5 all others)
Town Hall Poolside with Polygram 2-4 p.m. Rec. Center
Outdoor Pool (A valid Texas A&M ID is required.)
August
1 Cepheid Variable Anime Series 2 p.m. Biochemistry N 7 ' 1 '
Town Hall Poolside with Polygram 2-4 p.m. Rec. Center
Outdoor Pool (A valid Texas A&M ID is required.)
28 Fall Leadership Conference Trinidad, Texas
Cepheid Variable Pleiades Reading Circle 7 p.m. MSC
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