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POWs get medical leave a&m declines to
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FORT BLISS, Texas — Five former
prisoners of war from Fort Bliss are in good
enough health to be released to their units
so they can begin a 30-day leave, the com
mander of the William Beaumont Army
Medical Center said Wednesday.
“They are in excellent spirits this after
noon,” said Col. Glenn W. Mitchell, med
ical center commander. “They have had
enough of our poking and prodding and
they will be very happy to be returned to
their units today to start a convalescent
leave that will begin within the next couple
of days.”
The soldiers must complete some paper
work and have it signed by their command
er, which could be done in as little time as
a few hours, said post spokeswoman Jean
Offutt.
Mitchell said the soldiers, members of
the 507th Maintenance Company who
were captured on March 23 near
Nasiriyah, Iraq, have shown no signs of
picking up any diseases. He said they will
be monitored for their physical and psy
chological health in the coming months.
He said Spc. Shoshana Johnson, who
was shot in both ankles, is healing well.
“Shoshana is doing extraordinarily well
and she has been placed in two walking
casts and given crutches,” Mitchell said,
adding that all the soldiers are expected to
make complete recoveries.
He declined to discuss the specific
injuries of any other of the former POWs.
In addition to Johnson, the 507th sol
diers taken prisoner were: Spc. Joseph
Hudson, 23, Alamogordo, N.M.; Spc.
Edgar Hernandez, 21, Mission; Pfc. Patrick
Miller, 23, Park City, Kan.; and Sgt. James
J. Riley, 31, Pennsauken, N.J.
Arrangements have been made with
hospitals, military and civilian, in their
hometown areas to provide any needed
care, and when they return to Fort Bliss
after their leave they will have to check in
at the medical center, he said.
“I would hope that as they begin this
period of decompression and intensive rein
tegration back into their lives and their fam
ilies,” Mitchell said, “that we could leave
them as much privacy as possible to be able
to use this brief time that they have before
we expect them to get back to work.”
disclose budget
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)
Texas A&M University officials are as!
the attorney general for a ruling on whe
budget plans sought by the Bryan-Colles
Station Eagle under the Texas 1
Information Act are public record.
The newspaper requested copies <
budget plans, which outline how individii;
colleges would slice spending to absort
looming cuts in state funding, earlier
month. The University told the newspa[e
Tuesday in a faxed letter that it would ask Is
an attorney general’s ruling.
The A&M University System legalofti
contends the budget plans may be keptpr
vate because they are internal memos pm
tected by privilege. The documents e
believed to indicate where A&M may ct
spending to balance its budget.
Deputy General Counsel Scott Kelly ati
A&M System said the documents includt
advice, recommendations and opinions rd;
ed to upcoming policy decisions.
He said Tuesday that the law exemps
such documents from disclosure under
concept of executive privilege.
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Virtual charter schoo
bill defeated in House
approved in Senate
Sti
|By Janet >
THE ASSC
By Natalie Gott
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
affected our lives,” Gruseni’ 1
said early while presenting:
legislation. "It’s an appro;
AUSTIN — The Texas
Senate on Wednesday approved
a bill that would allow universi
ties and colleges to operate
“virtual charter schools” using
taxpayer money to educate
kindergarten through high
school students at home.
The approval on 27-3 vote
came shortly after the Texas
House of Representatives reject
ed a similar bill.
Under the Senate bill by Sen.
Florence Shapifo, R-Plano, the
schools, chartered through a
public university or college,
would receive an average
$4,700 per student per year of
taxpayer money. The money,
which is equal to the funding for
public school students, would
pay for students to get a com
puter, printer and
instructional mate
rials.
The schools
would provide
state -mandated
curriculum and
student perform
ance would be
assessed regularly.
Under the
Senate bill, only
2,000 students
could participate in
the program and
only two universi
ties would be
allowed to set up
where the focus will be on: he largest j
individual needs of the indivi
ual students. The focus will
on learning rather thanoniead
ers.”
Shapiro and Grusent
chairman of the House Pi
Education Committee, saidte
believed the schools would?
children more flexibilil)
study at their own pace.fr
example, a gifted high»
freshman who is able to st
Losing w
lent one of
leaths in the
nore than ^
According to
hat experts
Lancer more
|ver before.
Researche
Ivaluating 9(
Lere cance
Ltudy begar
Loncluded tl
nay account
ill cancer d<
fO percent ol
The study
|o back up a
mly in canc
)een known ]
n eight whe
videly do'
jesearcher Ei
Calle, wl
Thursday’s
ournal of IV
was surprise
was the rub
ixception.”
A comm
tudy is 10 t
senior-level math would be,
to do so, Gnisendorf hassaia
But some representative
opposed the bill, sayingoaslt
strapped Texas could m
afford it.
“No matter whether
a
...it’s not the
right time at this
time to pull funds
from our public
schools in order to
fund this bill
think it’s good or bad, it’si)
the right time at this timetojn
funds from our public schools
order to fundi*
bill,” said Rf
Sylvester Tu
D-Houston.
do not have
money.”
T e a c he(
groups that
c r i t i c i z
G r u sendorf
mearsure as
“stealth vouclifl
program
would take
away from
schools applauds
the House.
>9
Rep. Sylvester Turner
D-Houston
such a pro
gram. If the program is success
ful, the program may expand
later, Shapiro said.
“Education in my opinion
should not be a one size fits all
in our society,” said Shapiro,
chairwoman of the Senate
Education Committee.
“Virtual schools are the
coming craze,” she said.
The House, apparently, did
not agree.
The 150-member chamber
voted 79-63 to table the bill,
meaning it cannot be brought
back for reconsideration. The
House bill was much broader
and did not cap the number of
students or charters.
Shapiro said she would work
with House members to try to
get her bill approved there.
After the House vote, Rep.
Kent Grusendorf, a Republican
from Arlington who sponsored
the bill, would say only that he
would wait to see what hap
pened to the Senate legislation.
“The Internet has drastically
“With Texas likely notaB
to purchase new textbooks
public school students, usii
taxpayer funds to pay for cot
puters for home-school s»
dents doesn’t make
sense. There are better,
cost-effective ways to mal 1
online learning available
will benefit all of our si
students,” said Larry Contf
spokesman for the Associati®
of Texas Profession!
Educators.
John Cole, president
Texas Federation of Teachet
said that if the Senate
“makes it to the House I
the same argument that
the House version should si»l
the Senate version.”
The three senators whovolf
against the bill were Sen:
Gonzalo Barrientos, D-Austii
Mario Gallegos, D-Houston
and Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo
Under the Senate bill, la"
makers would have to votel ;
continue the virtual chart ([
school program past 2009.
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he research
hey are linkc
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ind strength
irrefutable,”
Ryan, head o
it the Pennii
Research C
ouge. “It’s
vincing. An
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