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Police
officer killed during afternoon standoff
WHITE
SETTLEMENT (AP) — A police officer was shot and killed Wednesday
afternoon during a standoff at a home west of Fort Worth.
Police Capt. George Scott Monier died at Harris Hospital shortly
after the 12:30 p.m. shooting.
Monier,
34, was among officers who responded to a call at a house near an
elementary school, White Settlement police spokesman John Clapp
said.
The
officers were dispatched to the scene after reports of shots fired,
but few details of how the standoff began were available.
Clapp
said he did not immediately have details of why Monier, an 11-year
veteran of the force, entered the house.
Fort
Worth police were among officers at the standoff scene on Wednesday
afternoon.
White
Settlement Police Department has about 30 officers. The community
is about 10 miles west of Fort Worth.
Bryan
council approves rule limiting people in residence
BRYAN
(AP) — Any more than four is definitely a crowd for city leaders
in Bryan.
The
city council on Tuesday approved an ordinance that allows only up
to four unrelated individuals to live together in one house.
Lloyd
Joyce, a former Bryan mayor, said as many as eight students who
attend Texas A&M University in nearby College Station are living
in some houses.
“I
feel strongly (that) we’re being invaded in our neighborhoods
by students, and it’s just damaging our property,” Joyce
said.
College
Station has a similar ordinance.
City
officials say the ordinance — part of a council plan to improve
the quality of neighborhoods — will reduce noise and parking
problems.
The
council added amendments that exempt foster families and allow two
families to share a house for a maximum of six months.
Existing
leases for houses with more than four unrelated residents will be
exempt until the agreements expire or until Sept. 1, 2003, whichever
comes first.
The
ordinance was approved by a 6-0 vote. Councilman Mike Beal, a real
estate agent, abstained.
Former
clerk pleads guilty for stealing from the dead
SAN
ANTONIO (AP) — A former courthouse clerk accused of stealing
millions of dollars from the dead to finance a ritzy lifestyle that
included six Ferraris pleaded guilty in exchange for a maximum 10-year
prison term.
Prosecutors
believe the scheme may have spanned more than 14 years, the San
Antonio Express-News reported Wednesday.
They
said Mel Spillman would fake papers naming himself temporary administrator
of an estate, stamp them with stolen Bexar County seals and then
use the documents to withdraw bank funds and take control of houses
and other properties.
The
ex-clerk, who had earned $33,000 a year from the county, lived in
a $400,000 home.
Spillman,
54, was charged with defrauding at least 65 estates out of an estimated
$4.9 million through forgery, tampering with government records
and impersonating a public servant. He plead guilty Tuesday.
Sentencing was set for June 4.
DFW
may not meet Dec. 31 installation deadline
FORT
WORTH (AP) — The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport may
not meet a Dec. 31 deadline for installing bomb-detection equipment
because of a delay in obtaining federal approval for its plan to
reconfigure terminal space, officials say.
D/FW
hoped to begin design work this month on the $193 million project
to make space for a massive luggage-screening system. Fast-track
construction was to begin in mid-May to meet a congressional mandate
that all bags be screened with bomb-detecting machines by year’s
end.
But
discord between the Transportation Security Administration and a
House subcommittee has delayed funding and regulatory approval of
security plans at all airports. D/FW had sought approval by April
15.
“We
have not started any of the work,” said Jim Crites, D/FW executive
vice president of operations, on Tuesday. “We cannot guarantee
that the facilities we identified for the plan will be available
by the statutory deadline.”
Many
in the industry wonder whether enough machines can be manufactured
by year’s end for the nation’s 429 commercial airports.
Man
found guilty of killing two daughters for revenge
DALLAS
(AP) — An accountant was found guilty of capital murder Wednesday
for shooting to death his two young daughters while their anguished
mother listened on the telephone.
Jurors
deliberated 20 minutes before convicting John Battaglia, 46, in
the deaths of 9-year-old Faith and 6-year-old Liberty.
Defense
attorneys for Battaglia rested their case Tuesday without calling
any witnesses and said they planned to turn their attention to saving
his life. He faces life in prison or the death penalty.
In
closing arguments Wednesday, prosecutors called the crime an act
of vengeance against Battaglia’s ex-wife, Mary Jean Pearle.
The
punishment phase of the trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday afternoon.
“This
case was just never about guilt or innocence,” defense attorney
Paul Johnson said Tuesday. “We’ve never tried to deny
guilt.”
Virginia
revamping honor code video for students
CHARLOTTESVILLE,
Va. (U-WIRE) — Incoming University of Virginia students will
get a fresh look at the honor system in June when they view a revamped
version of the honor video “On My Honor.”
The
new video, currently being shot for the Honor Committee by the educational
technologies department of the School for Continuing and Professional
Studies, stars ABC Sportscaster and University alumna Melissa Stark
and features New York Giants running back and University alumnus
Tiki Barber.
“This
is part of re-energizing honor education,” Committee Chairman
Chris Smith said. “We want to reach out to new classes with
a new video that is vibrant and more relevant.”
The
tape is the third generation of such honor recordings, which originated
with a film shown on a big screen during convocation. The current
video, which has been distributed to all incoming students since,
was shot six years ago.
The
video will not discuss the plagiarism and cheating cases initiated
by physics professor Louis Bloomfield that dominated the Committee's
efforts this year and received national attention.
Student
diagnosed with meningitis after visiting OU
NORMAN,
Okla. (U-WIRE) — A student from Dallas Baptist University who
visited Norman last weekend was diagnosed with meningitis, University
of Oklahoma President David Boren said Tuesday.
The
person was on campus visiting friends and family, arriving Thursday
evening. By Sunday, he began to show symptoms of the disease. He
has been hospitalized in Norman. An emergency response center was
established Tuesday at the McCasland Field House to accommodate
students, faculty and staff who feel they might have come in contact
with this person.
Those
determined to have been at risk will be given Cipro, an antibiotic,
said Jerry Vannatta, dean of the OU medical college.
Boren
said the safety of the student body is the university’s first
concern.
“I want to stress that there is no reason for any kind of panic
in this situation,” Boren said. “We want to err on the
side of caution.”
Mayors
along Bosque River upset over proposed rules
CLIFTON
(AP) — After years of blaming each other for polluting the
North Bosque River, nearby cities and dairies now may be joining
forces in fighting stricter state regulations.
Leaders
from seven towns met Wednesday about the Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission’s order to reduce phosphorus levels
by 50 percent while additional studies of the watershed are conducted.
The
Federal Environmental Protection Agency approved that plan in December,
and the commission’s requirements on how to achieve those reductions
will be released this summer.
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