Home > Waco Breaking News > Archives > 2008 > June > 27
Friday, June 27, 2008
Afternoon tire fire in Elm Mott obscures I-35 traffic
Firefighters are battling a large fire at an Elm Mott wrecking yard this afternoon.
A Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman said traffic is slow-going on the southbound side of Interstate 35 through Elm Mott as firefighters battle a large tire fire.
The interstate has not been shut down, although smoke and slowed traffic are causing some headaches on the road, the spokeswoman said.
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WISD superintendent gets $15,000 raise plus bonus
Waco ISD superintendent Roland Hernandez will receive a $15,000 raise and $8,500 in bonuses, Waco school trustees voted after a marathon meeting.
The Waco Independent School District board of trustees approved a salary increase, bonuses and new contract terms for Hernandez after roughly four hours spent in negotiations in closed session.
Around midnight, the board emerged to announce that Hernandez’s base salary will go from $159,000 to $174,000. The board also reviewed Hernandez’s performance throughout the 2007-08 school year and awarded him $8,500 out of a possible $12,000 in bonuses, which will be paid by June 30. The bonuses are based on student performance, finance and community-staff relations.
The superintendent also gets a travel allowance of $6,000.
Watch wacotrib.com for more details.
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French man charged in U.S. in theft of paintings
A French man allegedly involved in the theft of paintings by Claude Monet and two other artists has been charged in the U.S. with attempting to broker the sale of the stolen art to undercover FBI agents, federal prosecutors said today.
Bernard Jean Ternus, 55, was indicted by a grand jury on a single count of conspiring to sell the paintings stolen in August 2007 by masked gunmen from the Musee des Beaux-Arts in Nice, France, federal prosecutors said.
The paintings are Monet’s “Cliffs Near Dieppe;” “The Lane of Poplars at Moret” by Alfred Sisley; and two works by Jan Brueghel the Elder: “Allegory of Earth” and “Allegory of Water.”
All four were recovered in Marseilles, France, on June 4 after a deal was struck to sell them to the FBI undercover agents for 3 million euros, or about $4.7 million at current exchange rates. French national police arrested at least two other men when the art was found.
Ternus is a French citizen who lives in Cooper City, a suburb north of Miami, and several of the alleged meetings with the FBI agents took place in Miami, according to the indictment.
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Foreclosure prevention clinics offered
NeighborWorks Waco this morning sent out a release announcing that every Thursday in July it will hold a foreclosure prevention clinic to help people who are struggling paying their mortgage.
The clinics are from 6 to 7 p.m. at NeighborWorks Waco, 922 Franklin Ave. (just a couple of doors over from the Trib).
It is free and confidential. Those who attend need to provide a copy of their most recent mortgage statement.
To ask questions, call 752-1647.
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Oil prices hit $142 a barrel before sliding back
Not the news we want to read: Oil prices touched a record high above $142 a barrel today, before easing a bit, CNN Money reports.
Several analysts are predicting that the market is headed for $150.
At 11:14 a.m. EDT, light, sweet crude was up 70 cents to $140.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The front-month contract had hit an all-time high of $142.26 in electronic trading earlier.
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Obama, Clinton to campaign together
Putting their political turbulence behind them, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton began a show of unity today aboard Obama’s campaign plane as it carried them to New Hampshire for their first public appearance together since the primary race ended.
After greeting each other with a handshake and a kiss on the tarmac at Reagan National Airport, the former foes settled into the second row of the MD-80 plane, Obama at the window and Clinton on the aisle. They were smiling and gesturing to one another as they boarded the plane - Clinton in a powder blue pantsuit and Obama wearing a tie of a nearly identical shade - and spent the entire flight, just over an hour, talking animatedly.
— The Associated Press
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California wildfires threatening Big Sur
Firefighters dug in today for a long battle against wildfires creeping toward the storied tourist town of Big Sur.
Low humidity did little to slow the fire overnight, and temperatures were expected to be noticeably higher today than the day before.
The massive lightning-sparked wildfire burning through the Los Padres National Forest and toward Big Sur on Thursday. Firefighters rushed to protect about 575 threatened homes and historic structures.
They allowed the fire to rage nearly unchecked through steep mountain forests, where flames torched massive redwoods and sent them toppling.
The blaze was only 3 percent contained, and had burned nearly 42 square miles near the coast about a mile south of Big Sur, officials said.
— The Associated Press
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4 Fort Hood soldiers die from roadside bombings
The Army says four Fort Hood soldiers have died in two separate roadside bombings.
A statement issued by the Defense Department today says 20-year-old Spc. Joshua L. Plocica of Clarksville, Tenn., died Wednesday in Baghdad of his wounds after the bomb was triggered near his vehicle.
He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood.
Another Pentagon statement says 24-year-old Sgt. Alejandro A. Dominguez of San Diego; 20-year-old Spc. Joel A. Taylor of Pinetown, N.C.; and 25-year-old Pfc. James M. Yohn of Highspire, Pa., died Wednesday in Mosul, Iraq of wounds suffered when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle Tuesday.
They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment, Fort Hood.
— The Associated Press
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Police: German torches BMW in gas protest
This is an interesting way to protest high gas costs: set your car afire. That’s what police in Germany say a 30-year-old man did today, according to this Associated Press story.
The unemployed man drove the black 1995 BMW 3-series sedan onto the lawn outside Frankfurt’s convention center grounds at about 7:30 a.m., police spokesman Karlheinz Wagner said.
He then jumped out, emptied a canister of gas over the vehicle, and set fire to it, Wagner said.
By the time the fire department got to the scene, the car was entirely burned out.
The Bavarian man, whose name was being withheld because he has not been charged with a crime, told police that gas prices were so high he could no longer afford to drive the vehicle.
As in many countries, gasoline prices have risen steadily in Germany; a liter of regular gasoline now costs about euro1.55, or $9.40 per gallon.
Police were investigating whether the man could be charged with violating German environmental laws with the stunt, Wagner said. Penalties range from fines to five years in prison.
I think I would have just sold the car, instead of spending money on the gas to burn it up.
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Surveillance photos of Subway robbery released
Robinson police today released surveillance photos of last week’s aggravated robbery of the Robinson Subway Sandwich shop.
The robbery happened at 2:40 p.m. Saturday at the restaurant, 427 N. Robinson Drive, when a man displayed what appeared to be a firearm and demanded money from an employee, according to Robinson Lt. Tracy O’Connor.
The suspect left with a small amount of money, O’Connor said.
Anyone with information can contact the Robinson Police Department Criminal Investigations Division at 662-0525 or Crime Stoppers at 753-4357.
Two of the photos, one from each of the cameras, are below.
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North Korea blows up cooling tower
The Los Angeles Times today has a good story and Associated Press video of the destruction of a nuclear reactor cooling tower in North Korea, a made-for-TV event designed to show that the country is sincere about scuttling its nuclear weapons program.
Please excuse the editing error in the second paragraph that mentions leader Kim Jong Il’s “flare” for the theatrical. We know, of course, that the writer meant to type “flair.”
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Baylor names faculty university ombudsperson
A Baylor University professor of philosophy has been appointed to serve as the school’s faculty university ombudsperson, it was announced today. Robert M. Baird, Ph.D, was named to the post by Baylor University Executive Vice President and Provost Randall O’Brien.
Here’s the release from Baylor:
With concurrence of the Faculty Senate, Baylor University Executive Vice President and Provost Randall O’Brien has appointed Dr. Robert M. Baird, professor of philosophy and Master Teacher, to the position of Faculty University Ombudsperson.
The position of Faculty University Ombudsperson serves to facilitate resolution of problems, questions or disputes for faculty in an informal, impartial and confidential manner. The Ombudsperson is not an advocate for the administration or faculty, but is an advocate of fair process and impartial mediation. The Ombudsperson operates independently of the university’s formal grievance procedures and is independent of the university’s normal academic administration.
“Integrity, fairness, compassion and wisdom are four imperatives for any mediator, along with legal and policy expertise, which obviously describes Bob Baird,” O’Brien said. “We are exceedingly pleased that Bob has agreed to serve as University Ombudsperson. Faculty and administration alike trust Bob in this important position.”
Baird’s responsibilities as Ombudsperson will include promoting consistent application of policies and practices with the values of fairness, equity, justice and mutual respect; mediating disputes to resolve problems; serving as an informal, confidential sounding board for faculty questions, issues and concerns; directing parties to the appropriate office, department or organization in the university or the community that might help resolve concerns; recommending an appropriate course of action to resolve issues and to inform all parties involved in the mediation of those recommendations; making sure concerns are addressed or responses to expressed concerns are provided; giving advice on how to maintain formal written records consistent with policy; and informing the administration of patterns of endemic problems or complaints in periodic meetings and recommend changes.
“I appreciate the confidence shown in me by the provost and the Faculty Senate,” Baird said. “In any organization conflicts inevitably arise, and I hope that I can play a constructive role in helping to resolve them.”
A cum laude graduate of Baylor in 1959, Baird also earned his master’s degrees from Baylor in 1961, a bachelor of divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1964, and his doctorate from Emory University in 1967. He joined the Baylor faculty in 1968 as an assistant professor of philosophy and served as chair of the department from 1987-2005. Prior to his tenure at Baylor, Baird taught at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Neb., and Oglethorpe College in Atlanta.
Baird is among a select number of Baylor professors designated as Master Teachers, the highest honor granted to Baylor faculty members. He also has been honored with several other awards, including the Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year Award in 2005, the Herbert H. Reynolds Award for Exemplary Service to Students in 2003, the Robert L. Reid Award for Outstanding Teaching in the Humanities in 2002, Piper Professor of Texas by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation in 1994, and Outstanding Faculty Service Award by the Baylor Faculty Senate in 1991.
In addition to his longtime service as chair of the philosophy department, Baird served as president of the Baylor Chapter of American Association of University Professors from 1973-74 and 1996-97 and chaired the Baylor Faculty Senate during 1999-2000. He also led a comprehensive university self-study, as well as the committee that developed the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core (BIC).
A highly respected teacher of ethics and social philosophy, Baird has edited 17 books on contemporary issues in philosophy, with several in their second and third editions. He also has written numerous book chapters, journal articles, reviews, booknotes, abstracts and encyclopedia articles.
Baird is a member of several professional societies, including the American Philosophical Association, Society of Christian Philosophers, Southwestern Philosophical Society and American Civil Liberties Union. Baird also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Church and State and Philosophy in the Contemporary World.
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North Pole could be ice-free this summer
I find it hard to imagine, but CNN has a story today that says the North Pole may be briefly ice-free by September as global warming melts away Arctic sea ice.
Scientists from the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., say there’s a 50-50 chance that the thin Arctic sea ice will completely melt away at the geographic North Pole.
Read more here.
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Levee breaks; eastern Missouri homes threatened
A corner of an earthen levee broke today, releasing Mississippi River waters that officials predicted would “ultimately inundate” part of a Lincoln County town.
The National Weather Service said in a flash flood warning issued at 5:55 a.m. that it was unknown how fast the water was moving. It was also uncertain about the condition of the rest of the Pin Oak Levee at Winfield, about 45 miles northwest of St. Louis.
The surrounding rural area is also expected to flood.
— The Associated Press
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Weather delays U.S. handover of Anbar province
The U.S. military today postponed a ceremony to hand over Anbar province to Iraqi security control, citing forecasts of sandstorms. The announcement came a day after a suicide attack in the western province killed more than 20 people, including three U.S. Marines.
A U.S. statement said high winds and sandstorms were expected to sweep Anbar on Saturday, when the ceremony was to have taken place. That would prevent U.S. and Iraqi officials from flying to the venue.
“A new date will be announced as soon as it is made available,” the statement said.
Anbar was the main battleground in the Sunni-led insurgency until Sunni tribes there turned against al-Qaida in Iraq starting in 2006. The tribes now work with the U.S. military to prevent al-Qaida from returning to power in the province.
— The Associated Press
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Average gas price is Texas down slightly
I can’t say I’ve seen the price of gasoline drop around here lately (at least I haven’t seen it go up), but according to AAA Texas, the average price of gasoline in the state appeared to edge lower this week.
AAA Texas today reported the statewide average for self-serve regular was $3.92 per gallon — down seven-tenths of a penny since last week.
Also, the nationwide gasoline price average went down one penny, to reach $4.06 per gallon.
The association reports Beaumont and the Dallas-Fort Worth areas had the most expensive gasoline this week in Texas at $3.94 per gallon.
Corpus Christi had the least expensive gasoline, averaging $3.88 per gallon.
Remember to check out GasBuddy.com link for prices around town.
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It’ll just be hot today
Lots of sun and plenty of heat today with a forecast high of 99 degrees. And with the humidity in the air the heat-index value could reach 102.
A south wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph, will cut into the heat a bit, but not much. If you’re going to be outdoors, drink lots of work and don’t overdo it.
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