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 > September > 04
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Jurors choose death penalty for Coble
Jurors have once again sentenced triple-murderer Billie Wayne Coble to death in his capital murder sentencing retrial.
The verdict came after a jury of seven men and five women deliberated for about four hours, after hearing witness testimony for eight days.
Coble, 59, was on trial for the second time in Waco’s 54th State District Court in the August 1989 shooting deaths of Waco police Sgt. Bobby Vicha and his parents, Robert and Zelda Vicha, at their homes near Axtell.
Coble spent more than 17 years on death row before a federal appeals court in New Orleans overturned his death sentence and ordered his retrial on punishment only. The jurors had the choice of sending Coble back to death row to await execution giving him a life prison term.
Check back at wacotrib.com for updates.
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Man involved in shooting incident runs onto Waco elementary playground
Two men have been detained by Waco Police following a shooting near West Avenue Elementary Thursday morning in which one of the men ran onto the school campus.
Police spokesman Steve Anderson said officers heard gunshots fired near a residence at 16th Street and West Avenue around 11:30 a.m., just one block away from the elementary school.
The school’s principal was notified of the disturbance and placed the school under an immediate lockdown.
Dale Caffey, Waco Indpendent School District spokesman, said one of the individuals involved with the shooting tried to enter the front door of the building as the lockdown was being initiated. He then ran toward the back of the school and managed to enter the playground area where four classes of students were in the process of re-entering the school.
Caffey said teachers were able to corral the students inside the building and lock the man outside. There was blood on the man’s T-shirt, but it was not known whether or not he had been shot.
Anderson said the man was detained by police shortly afterward in an alley behind the school.
Around the same time, another man had driven to Providence Health Center to be treated for a gunshot wound. Police determined that he had been involved in the shooting and detained him, Anderson said. Names of the two men have not yet been released by police. It is not known yet what charges may be filed against the two men.
Caffey said West Avenue Elementary was under lockdown from 11:30 a.m. to about 1 p.m. A few parents came to check on their children, and at least two parents picked their children up from the school early, he said.
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Pakistan parliament condemns U.S.-led attack
The Pakistan Parliament condemned an American-led attack in Pakistani territory today after the government summoned the U.S. ambassador to protest the unusually bold raid in a troubled border region.
The same area was hit by a deadly missile strike today, and a man who lives nearby said he later saw Taliban militants surround the site.
The criticism grew two days before Asif Ali Zardari is expected to be chosen as president in a vote by legislators. A spokesman said Zardari condemned Wednesday’s pre-dawn assault in the South Waziristan tribal region. It killed at least 15 people, officials say, and was the first known foreign ground assault in Pakistan against a Taliban haven.
But Zardari also said Pakistan stands with the U.S. against international terrorism.
— Associated Press
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Headlines, Military, World news
Waco balloon pilot wins Rookie of the Year title
Waco resident Ron Frusher, president of Balloon Operations for Curves International, placed seventh at the 2008 U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship that ended Monday in Anderson, S.C., and was named Rookie of the Year.
You might recall that last year’s national championships were held in Waco. San Angelo’s Joe Heartsill defended the national title he won here, becoming the fifth pilot to win back-to-back crowns.
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Midway High teacher finalist for educator honor
Midway High School geometry teacher Debbie Perry is one of six educators chosen as finalists for the Texas Teacher of the Year program.
Those making the finalist pool were chosen from 40 regional Teachers of the Year, and that’s further divided by three in the secondary education category and three for elementary schools.
What’s interesting about Perry’s selection is that she received the regional honor while a mathematics teacher at Travis Junior High in Paris ISD. She began teaching this fall at Midway High.
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Kids interview Chet Edwards, wife Lee Ann
Yes, this is the week for the Republicans to shine with their convention, but I have to post this link to the Kids Rock the Vote ‘08 blog that went up yesterday. It has two kids, who apparently were friends with Chet Edwards’ sons, and they interviewed “the almost vice president” and his wife.
Check out the videos.
They also interviewed celebrities Anne Hathaway, and Hayden Panetierre.
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Detroit mayor pleads guilty, steps down
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to felony charges today in a sex scandal and will step down after months of defiantly holding onto his job leading the nation’s 11th-largest city. He was ordered jailed for four months and fined $1 million.
The plea deal brings to an end a seven-month-long ordeal that led to felony charges against Kilpatrick and plunged the city, region and state into political chaos.
During a separate hearing moments after Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Groner accepted the mayor’s plea, Kilpatrick (reading statement in photo) offered a no-contest plea in an assault case.
The judge also accepted that plea, which called for Kilpatrick to serve a four-month jail sentence that would run at the same time.
Kilpatrick had faced 10 felony counts in the two separate criminal cases.
— Associated Press
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Courthouse, Headlines, National news, Police & crime
Searching for Sarah Palin
Ah, but the question becomes “Just what are we searching for?” The Time magazine Web site has this interesting article about just what Internet searches on the Republican vice presidential candidate are seeking.
According to the story, among the top 10 words that appeared alongside “Sarah Palin” in Internet searches were “Vogue magazine” (No. 2), “Beauty pageant” (No. 4) and “Hot” (No. 10).
There is this YouTube treasure of the then-Sarah Heath reporting sports from the mid-1980s. It has more than 5,600 views, which I imagine will only increase exponentially in the days ahead.
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Closing arguments next in Coble retrial
Both sides have now rested in the retrial of convicted killer Billie Wayne Coble and closing arguments will begin soon.
Coble, 59, spent 17 years on death row for the August 1989 deaths of Robert and Zelda Vicha and their son, Waco police Sgt. Bobby Vicha. But his death sentence was overturned earlier this year and and he was awarded a new punishment trial although the murder conviction remained intact.
The defense rested its case Wednesday in Judge Matt Johnson’s 54th State District Court. The prosecution called its final witness this morning because of scheduling availability issues.
The witness was A.P. Merillat, a senior criminal investigator in Huntsville who handles cases within the prison system. Merillat testified about the differences a prison inmate faces whether he’s serving a life sentence or is on death row.
It will likely be used by the jurors when they deliberate Coble’s punishment after hearing closing arguments from both sides.
In Wednesday’s testimony, Coble’s 35-year-old son told jurors about his good relationship with his father.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Courthouse, Headlines, Police & crime
Groundbreaking under way at Waco mammoth site
Right about now, the Waco Mammoth Foundation, city of Waco and Baylor University are holding a groundbreaking and dedication ceremony at the Waco Mammoth Site.
Congressman Chet Edwards, Mayor Virginia DuPuy, City Manager Larry Groth and representatives from the National Park Service are scheduled to take part in the private ceremony. Members of the Waco Mammoth Foundation and donors of the project are in attendance.
There’s more activity tonight as the National Park Service will have a public meeting to discuss the Waco Mammoth Site Special Resource Study Report at 7 in the SBC Theater at Baylor University’s Mayborn Museum Complex, 1300 S. University-Parks Drive.
The meeting will include public discussion and comments on the findings of the study, which evaluates the site’s potential for inclusion in the National Park System.
For more information, visit www.wacomammoth.org or call 750-5980.
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Pottery feud divides North Carolina town
How many clay pots have been broken over this? Here’s a bizarre story out of Seagrove, N.C., about a big feud that’s enveloped the town because of dueling pottery festivals the same weekend.
Check out this Associated Press story about it. As the first paragraph of the story reads: North Carolinians take their pottery seriously.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Headlines, National news, Weird & wacky
MCC gets $575,000 donation from local couple
McLennan Community College last night got the single-largest donation in the history of the school.
During the MCC Foundation’s Scholarship Reception, local businessman Jim Hawkins and his wife, Nell, presented the school with a $575,000 donation.
MCC spokeswoman Lisa Wilhelmi said MCC President Dennis Michaelis indicated the money would be earmarked for a new plaza on campus and artwork for the science building currently under construction.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Education, Hot stories
U.S. productivity shows gains
Here’s some good news on the U.S. economic front: The Commerce Department reported today that productivity, the amount of output for every hour of work, jumped 4.3 percent at an annual rate in the April-June quarter, a full percentage point higher than economists expected.
At the same time, labor costs fell at an annual rate of 0.5 percent, slightly better than expected.
Those two outcomes should help relieve concerns that inflation is getting out of hand, according to an Associated Press report.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Business, Headlines, National news
Biden says Palin family off-limits to critics
Republican presidential nominee John McCain began his final drive for the White House today with a boost from running mate Sarah Palin while Democratic opponent Joe Biden declared her family “off limits” and suggested that some news media coverage of her had been sexist.
Palin and her husband, Todd, announced this week that their 17-year-old unmarried daughter was pregnant and would be marrying her boyfriend, saying they were making a private matter public because of Internet rumors. Biden said the Democratic campaign was not attacking Palin over her family.
“It is off limits to talk about her family,” Biden said in an interview with “Fox and Friends” on Fox News Channel. “Every family has difficulty as they’re raising their children. I think the way she’s handled it has been absolutely exemplary.”
The Palins have five children, including a 4-month-old son with Down syndrome, which has sparked widespread discussion over whether Sarah Palin could balance her family responsibilities with the duties of vice president.
Asked if some of the criticism aimed at Palin has been sexist, Biden said: “Yes, by you guys in the media. … When I heard that media response, you know, this coming from some of the right-wing guys, saying that, ‘Well, how can you be a mother and a vice president at the same time?’ … I mean, millions of women in America are going through exactly what she (is going) through. And guess what? They can handle it.”
— Associated Press
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Cheney slams Russia for war against Georgia
In a speech today in the war-ravaged nation of Georgia, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney condemned Russia for what he called an “illegitimate, unilateral attempt” to redraw this U.S. ally’s borders by force.
Speaking during a closely watched trip to this strategic South Caucasus nation, Cheney also said the United States was “fully committed” to Georgian efforts to join NATO.
“Georgia will be in our alliance,” Cheney told reporters while standing alongside Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.
A longtime critic of Russia, Cheney was visiting Georgia and two other ex-Soviet republics — Azerbaijan and Ukraine — that are nervous about Moscow’s intentions.
— Associated Press
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That’s how to start a morning
A good, cool morning to ya, Waco. Temperatures in the mid-60s to start this Thursday feels just great. I could get used to mornings like these.
We should have more sun than yesterday and top out at around 88 degrees. We reached only 84 for a high Wednesday; that’s 10 degrees lower than average. That north-northwest wind around 10 mph will be with us again today.
The 70 residential-care patients who arrived Sunday from Lake Charles, La., and stayed at the Waco Veterans Affairs Medical Center should be heading out of Waco about now for their trip back to their facility.
Officials with the Waco VA Medical Center plan to keep Building 91 ready throughout hurricane season for possible future evacuations. With the likelihood of more tropical storms and hurricanes this month, that sounds like a prudent move.
Speaking of Hurricane Ike and Tropical Storm Josephine and TS Hanna, check out this interactive Web site, stormpulse.com. I think it’s a sharply designed site for keeping up with those tropical storms, though as its disclaimer notes, it is not an official weather site.
Ike, by the way, went from Category 1 status to Category 4 in a six-hour span. That’s scary.
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