|
Dallas
man killed in house explosion Monday
IRVING
(AP) — A suburban Dallas home exploded and burst into flames
early Monday, killing a man inside.
Neighbors
said they heard what sounded like two claps of thunder about 5 a.m.
Monday. “There was a loud explosion, then a big burst of flames
up in the air, then several smaller explosions,” neighbor Don
Ford told Dallas television station KDFW.
Firefighters
said the first blast apparently happened in the garage, and the
house was engulfed in flames by the time they arrived. A neighboring
house had minor damage.
Firefighters
found the man’s body around daybreak. He was unidentified pending
notification of relatives.
Neighbors
said the man lived alone and was an ammunition reloader who kept
large amounts of gun powder in the house.
Dalworthington
Gardens to increase presence of police
DALWORTHINGTON
GARDENS (AP) — Police in this Fort Worth suburb will soon start
making
house calls.
It
will probably take about two years for officers to visit all of
the estimated 650 homes.
“We
want to introduce ourselves and give an idea of the services that
we provide,” Deputy Chief T.L. Campbell said.
The
program is modeled after one in Highland Village, a city of 12,000
in Denton County. The program began 10 months ago after a resident
caught a burglar.
So
far, officers have visited about 300 of the city’s 3,400 homes.
“We
went door-to-door that first time, putting out suspect information
and giving out crime prevention information,” said Highland
Village Police Chief Ed O’Bara. “It was so successful
that we decided to do it on a monthly basis.”
The
program helps police be proactive rather than reactive, O’Bara
said.
In
Dalworthington Gardens, officers will offer residents gun safety
locks and batteries for smoke and burglar alarms. They’ll ask
residents to complete a survey on police services and area crime.
Frisco
parents push to change name of mascot
FRISCO
(AP) — Parents in one of Texas’ fastest-growing cities
say the name of their high school mascot is racially insensitive
and should be changed from the Fighting Coons to the Fighting Raccoons.
When
the mascot was created in 1924, no one attached any racial significance
to the name, said Bob Warren, a former mayor and a 1938 graduate
of Frisco High School.
“In
those days, no one around here called a raccoon a raccoon. We called
them coons,” Warren said.
But
Frisco resident Pete Campbell, whose two sons play football at Frisco
High School, said the issue struck home for him when he saw other
black children wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the name.
“That
was the most disheartening thing,” Campbell told The Dallas
Morning News. “I knew that the people of Frisco did not mean
any ill will with this name, but they must realize its potential
dangers, considering the society and world we now live in.”
Last
year, Campbell asked school trustees and superintendent Rick Reedy
to call the mascot by its full name — Raccoon. He said he is
frustrated by the district’s gradual approach.
Murderer
escapes from Abilene prison Sunday
ABILENE
(AP) — John William Roland III, serving life in prison for
murder, had often said how easy it would be to escape, his father
said.
Roland,
33, turned the boast into reality early Sunday, overpowering a correctional
officer at the Robertson Unit just north of Abilene, donning his
uniform and driving away from the maximum-security facility.
Roland
handcuffed Sgt. Wesley Hurt and beat him in the head and legs before
taking Hurt’s gray 2001 Silverado Chevrolet pickup about 4:50
a.m. and driving away, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman
Larry Todd said.
Roland’s
father, speaking from his home in a Fort Worth suburb, predicted
his son would “turn into a hermit” in the woods somewhere.
“I
don’t think he would hurt anybody. I don’t think that’s
what is on his mind. I just know he does not want to go back to
prison ... does not want to live as a caged animal,” Johnny
Roland Jr. said.
He
said he fears his son will attempt suicide under the pressure of
the search.
In
June 1994, Roland was convicted of capital murder in the death of
Thomas Columbus “T.C.” Barrett, 56, a construction contractor
with whom Roland had been living for several weeks.
|
