Waco area under wind advisory
The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory until 6 pm for all of North Texas, including Waco and surrounding counties. Winds from the north to northwest of 25 to 30 mph are expected, with stronger gusts during daylight hours.
Home > Waco Breaking News > Archives > 2008 > August > 20
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Clyde Hart: Rumors of coaching Team USA track star Merritt ‘laughable’
Brice Cherry brings us an official fact check on the Associated Press, which reported erroneously that 400-meters specialist LaShawn Merritt “recently snapped up coach Clyde Hart after Hart and Wariner ended their longtime partnership over financial terms.”
Brice gives you the full lowdown on what he’s observed out at Hart-Patterson this summer in the latest post on The Bear Blog. He also got Clyde Hart on the phone in Beijing, and the coach called the story “a total fabrication.”
Click here to read more.
We’ve also got photo galleries from Beijing of Jeremy Wariner and current Hart trainee Sanya Richards. You can get complete Olympics coverage, including video, photos and interactive features, at wacotrib.com/olympics.
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Group files restraining order motion to keep G.L. Wiley open
A group of East Waco community leaders known as Fighting to Save the Children filed a racial discrimination lawsuit this afternoon against the Waco school system and will ask a judge Thursday to reverse an order closing low-performing G.L. Wiley Middle School.
Photos: East Waco residents at board meeting
Video: Watch what the community had to say
The group and two parents of displaced Wiley students filed the lawsuit in Waco’s 170th State District Court and also are seeking a temporary restraining order to keep the school open.
Judge Jim Meyer has set a hearing for 1:30 today to consider the request for the temporary restraining order.
Check back at wacotrib.com for updates.
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Probable University High site selected
Waco school district trustees are expected to vote Thursday evening on whether to purchase 80 acres of land at the southwest corner of New Road and Old Robinson Road for the location of a new University High School.
The purchase price for the property is $3,350,000.
Funds for the new school were approved as part of the 2008 bond election.
University High is currently located at 2600 Bagby Ave.
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Russians appear to dig in as pullback drags in Georgia
Russian forces today built a sentry post just 30 miles from the Georgian capital, appearing to dig in to positions deep inside Georgia despite pledges to pull back to areas mandated by a cease-fire signed by both countries.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says his troops will complete their pullback by Friday, but few signs of movement have been seen other than the departure of a small contingent that have held the strategically key city of Gori.
A convoy of flatbed trucks carrying badly needed food aid to one of the areas most heavily hit by the fighting was waved through a checkpoint by Russian soldiers. But conditions throughout much of the country remained tense.
— Associated Press
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Baylor names Garland interim president
Baylor University has appointed David E. Garland, dean of the George W. Truett Theological Seminary, as interim president of the school.
Howard K. Batson, chairman of the Baylor University board of regents, announced the appointment. Garland succeeds Harold R. Cunningham, who has been acting president since July 2008 when John Lilley was terminated by the regents.
Batson expressed confidence that Garland will be able to unify some of the splintered groups at Baylor.
“It’s very important to (the regents) that he can be accepted by a broad consensus of the various Baylor constituents and it’s very clear that, whatever part of the Baylor family one might talk with, they’re pretty unanimous about one thing and that’s that David Garland’s a fine fellow that can lead Baylor during a time of transition.”
Batson added that Garland’s success guiding Truett Seminary “has given us a lot of confidence in David’s ability to lead.”
Read below for more background on Garland from Baylor’s news release.
Garland is dean of Baylor’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary, a position he has held since June 1, 2007. He joined the seminary faculty in 1997 as professor of Christian scriptures. He was appointed Truett’s associate dean for academic affairs in 2001, and was named The William M. Hinson Professor of Christian Scriptures in 2005. Garland, who will assume the duties of Baylor’s interim president immediately, will serve until a permanent president is named. He also will continue in his role as dean of the seminary.
The appointment comes after consultations with various university groups that focused on the characteristics desired in the individual selected and possible candidates to fill the position of interim president.
“We sought broad participation in this decision and consulted with members of the executive council, deans, executive committee members of the Faculty Senate, alumni, luminaries in Texas Baptist life and members of Baylor’s Board of Regents,” Batson said. “David was a consensus choice who was recognized as an outstanding scholar and able administrator.
“During his tenure as dean, Truett Seminary has recruited remarkably talented faculty and seen its enrollment grow to record levels. With a profound commitment to the integration of both the faith and scholarship elements of Baylor’s mission, Dean Garland embodies the best of vision 2012. He is not seeking this position on a permanent basis but has expressed a willingness to serve Baylor as interim while we move forward with a national search to fill the presidency,” Batson said.
“I am grateful for and humbled by this demonstration of trust by so many within the Baylor family. Our goals are significant and it will take all of us working together to continue our forward momentum. I ask your prayers, encourage your patience, and invite your active participation as we lead Baylor during the months ahead,” Garland said.
Before joining the Truett Seminary faculty in 1997, David Garland served as The Ernest and Mildred Hogan Professor of New Testament and chair of the Biblical Division at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he taught for 21 years.
A magna cum laude graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and U.S. Navy veteran, Garland received his master of divinity and doctoral degrees from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and also completed postgraduate work at Eberhardt-Karls Universität in Tübingen, Germany, and Macquarrie University in Sydney, Australia. He is an elected member of the prestigious Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas.
Garland is the author of 13 books (including commentaries on Matthew, Mark, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Philippians, and Colossians and Philemon) and more than 50 academic journal articles. His most recent commentary on 1 Corinthians was given an Award of Merit by Christianity Today and was a finalist for the Gold Medallion presented by the Christian Booksellers Association. Two of his other books were awarded a Silver and Gold Medallion respectively. He has also edited four books and currently is the New Testament editor for the revision of the Expositor’s Bible Commentary.
Garland and his wife, Diana, dean of Baylor’s School of Social Work, published Flawed Families of the Bible: How God’s Grace Works through Imperfect Relationships, which was recently translated into Korean. Garland also is working on a commentary on the Gospel of Luke for the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary series for which he is a consulting editor.
In addition to his research, teaching and administrative duties, Garland directed both of Truett Seminary’s self-studies for accreditation by the Association of Theological Schools, from 2000-02 and 2005-07.
“Dr. Garland has many years of experience as a faculty member, both as a dedicated teacher and a respected scholar,” said Dr. Georgia Green, associate dean of the Baylor School of Music and chair of the Faculty Senate. “These faculty credentials combined with his experience as an academic administrator make him an excellent choice for this appointment.”
“I have every confidence David Garland will do an excellent job as interim president,” said Dr. Donald D. Schmeltekopf, Provost Emeritus at Baylor. “At one level, he embodies the very best of Baylor’s tradition of the scholar-teacher. At another level, David understands fully Baylor’s unique challenge to be the top Protestant research university in the country. I know those who care about Baylor will rally to his support.”
“It is encouraging that we have such a fine person in David Garland to serve in this role,’ said Jeff Kilgore, executive vice president and CEO of the Baylor Alumni Association. “As he has done at Truett, I think David should do a fine job continuing to build consensus through a process of inclusion on campus. I look forward to working with him and hope that this appointment is indicative of what’s more to come for the Baylor family.”
In the coming months, Baylor regents will study best practices in presidential searches in anticipation of a national effort to identify Baylor’s next permanent president. The interim president will not be considered a candidate in a broader search for a permanent president.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Baylor University, Education
Are video games spurring interest in rock music?
CNN has this intriguing story that the interest in video games like “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” have prompted a resurgence in rock music.
It also has enabled kids born in the 1990s to discover artists from the ’70s and ’80s such as Aerosmith, Twisted Sister and Pat Benatar.
I know that’s true for my kids, who play “Guitar Hero II” at home.
Apparently we’re far from alone. The two games last year brought in more than $935 million in revenue, according to the NPD Group market research company.
It’s a shame you can’t actually learn to play guitar from those games.
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N.C. man dies after waiting 22 hours at hospital
This is a disturbing story about the lack of care for the mentally ill at a hospital.
In North Carolina, a mental patient died after workers at a hospital left him in a chair for 22 hours without feeding him or helping him use the bathroom, said federal officials who have threatened to cut off the facility’s funding, the Associated Press reports.
The state sent a team Tuesday to help Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro draft new procedures to ensure patients receive proper care.
An investigator’s report released Monday found that Steven Sabock, 50, died in April after he at one point choked on medication and had been left sitting in a chair for close to a day at the facility about 50 miles southeast of Raleigh. Surveillance video showed hospital staff watching television and playing cards just a few feet away.
It was not clear from the report exactly how Sabock died.
Federal officials have threatened to cut off funding because of Sabock’s death and a report that a physician punched a patient after the teen bit the doctor.
You may recall a story from June in which a patient in New York died after she waited in a hospital’s mental ward waiting area for nearly 24 hours. Security video showed her writhing on the floor. It was nearly an hour before someone flagged down a staff member who got help for the unresponsive woman.
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Bolt wins 200, breaks Michael Johnson’s mark
Usain Bolt of Jamaica broke the world record by winning the 200 meters in 19.30 seconds today, becoming the first man since Carl Lewis in 1984 to sweep the 100 and 200 gold medals at an Olympics.
Bolt is the first man ever to break the world marks in both sprints at an Olympics. Not even Lewis or Jesse Owens managed that.
Showing what he can do when he runs at full speed all the way through the finish — something he hadn’t done yet in the Beijing Games — Bolt eclipsed the old record of 19.32 seconds set by former Baylor great Michael Johnson in Atlanta in 1996.
— Associated Press
Check out Olympics coverage here.
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45 die as jet swerves off Madrid runway
Spain’s Interior Ministry says 45 people are dead after an airliner bound for the Canary Islands swerved off the runway and caught fire during takeoff from the Madrid airport.
Another 19 were seriously injured, the ministry’s office for the greater Madrid region said.
Spanair flight JK5022 was bound for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands on Wednesday, a popular vacation spot off West Africa, the company said.
The ministry said there 178 people on board.
At the airport, helicopters and fire trucks dumped water on the plane, which ended up in a wooded area at the end of the runway at Terminal 4.
— Associated Press
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U.S. says Russia starts pullout from Georgia
The Bush administration says Russian troops are beginning to withdraw from war-battered Georgia but that the pullback is not significant and needs to increase.
National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the United States is seeing “early signs of some withdrawal” and that the pace of the withdrawal “needs to increase sooner rather than later.” He spoke on Air Force One as President Bush flew from his vacation in Texas to a speech to veterans in Orlando, Fla.
Johndroe also said the United States does not agree with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the United States or any other country has to choose between Russia and Georgia.
— Associated Press
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Lieberman to speak at GOP convention
Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate in 2000 and now an independent who is one of John McCain’s strongest supporters, will speak at the Republican National Convention, an official told The Associated Press today.
Lieberman will deliver a speech when Republicans gather in St. Paul, Minn., to nominate McCain for president. The party official requested anonymity because a formal announcement had yet to be made.
Lieberman is considered a potential McCain running mate.
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Plane crashes on takeoff at Madrid airport
An airliner bound for the Canary Islands swerved off the runway during takeoff from the Madrid airport today and caught fire, Spain’s national airport authority said. Local media reported at least 20 people dead.
Thick, white smoke billowed from the scene at Barajas airport.
Spanair flight JK5022 was bound for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, a popular vacation spot off West Africa, the company said.
— Associated Press
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Outlook grim for abandoned baby whale
A hungry and abandoned humpback whale calf that has been trying to suckle from boats in the waters off north Sydney rebuffed fresh attempts by wildlife workers to return it to the open ocean today and appeared to be weakening.
The 1- to 2-month-old calf was first sighted Sunday in waters off north Sydney, and on Monday tried to suckle from a yacht, which it would not leave. Rescuers towed the boat out to sea Monday and the calf finally detached from it — but the creature returned to an inlet near Sydney on Tuesday.
A second attempt to lure the whale out to sea today also failed, with the calf refusing to follow the wildlife officials’ boat, a spokeswoman for the Department of Environment and Climate Change said.
Unless the whale finds a lactating female to accept it, it will die — probably within days, said the spokeswoman, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
— Associated Press
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Here’s a stunner … ‘Bigfoot’ find was a hoax
The truth has come out about that supposed Bigfoot corpse found in northern Georgia. It’s a big fake, which is no surprise to those skeptical of the reported find.
BBC News has this video of “Bigfoot” thawing out. Researchers with Searching for Bigfoot bought the “carcass,” encased in ice, for an undisclosed sum.
But as it thawed, the “corpse” turned out to be a rubber ape outfit, which is what I thought it looked like from an initial photograph (seen at right).
Read more in this Associated Press story.
There’s also more on the Searching for Bigfoot Website, in which the researchers say they are upset at the deception.
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Jessica Simpson to push Dallas-based beer
Former Waco resident Jessica Simpson says she enjoys a cold beer once in a while and has signed on as spokeswoman for Stampede Light Plus, made by Dallas’ Stampede Brewing Co.
According to this Dallas Morning News story, she will appear in ads in stores for the beer and is taking a 15 percent stake in the brewer. The Morning News says terms were not disclosed.
Lawrence Schwartz, Stampede’s president and chief executive, said Simpson is the now face of the brand.
Simpson said in a statement that as an entrepreneur she’s “always looking for ways to diversify my portfolio with good ideas and good people.”
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Deal signed for U.S. missile base in Poland
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart signed a deal today to build a U.S. missile defense base in Poland, an agreement that prompted an infuriated Russia to warn of a possible attack against the former Soviet satellite.
The deal to install 10 U.S. interceptor missiles just 115 miles from Russia’s westernmost frontier also has strained relations between Moscow and the West, ties that were already troubled by Russia’s invasion of its former Soviet neighbor, U.S. ally Georgia, earlier this month.
Rice and Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski signed the deal this morning.
“It is an agreement which will help us to respond to the threats of the 21st century,” she said afterward.
— Associated Press
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