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 > 05
Friday, September 5, 2008
It’s a dangerous night to be traveling north on Interstate 35
Highway troopers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians stayed busy on Interstate 35 this evening, working at least three wrecks in the northbound lanes or frontage roads with at least two people being taken to the hospital.
For northbound motorists, it meant slow-going through the Waco area, especially just south of the city.
The first of the accidents — involving at least one rollover near the Sun Valley exit in Hewitt — occurred about 5:25 p.m., just in time for rush hour traffic. It caused traffic on northbound I-35 to back up for about two miles, highway troopers said.
At about 6:30 p.m., with traffic at one point backed up on a two-way frontage road nearby, the driver of an SUV reportedly tried to move onto the highway, only to crash into a southbound mini-van.
Witnesses said the SUV rolled over and one of the occupants was sent to the hospital.
About an hour later, with traffic moving again on northbound I-35, a motorcyclist reportedly cut in front of a car, only for the two vehicles to collide when traffic up ahead suddenly came to a halt, witnesses said.
The motorcyclist was sent to the hospital.
Texas Department of Public Safety troopers were too busy trying to get information on the accidents, tend to the injured and keep traffic moving to immediately provide more detailed information on the accidents.
By 8 p.m., traffic on Interstate 35 appeared to be moving steadily.
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I-35 accident victim is daughter of Bellmead police chief
Highway authorities today identified Ronda Latrice Harold, 37, daughter of longtime Bellmead Police Chief Robert Harold, as the woman who was struck and killed early Tuesday morning while crossing Interstate 35.
A Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman said that just before 4:20 a.m., the driver of a northbound 2005 Nissan pickup truck struck the Waco resident near the Craven Avenue exit in Lacy-Lakeview. The spokesman said the driver didn’t see the woman crossing the interstate.
A spokesman for McDowell Funeral Home said this evening funeral arrangements are pending.
DPS spokesman Frank McKinney earlier told the Tribune-Herald that the usual high speeds of interstate traffic combined with pre-dawn lighting made crossing the highway perilous.
“That time of morning, the lighting is not very good, and when you have a vehicle traveling at interstate speeds and there’s a pedestrian attempting to cross the interstate, it’s not a good situation,” McKinney said.
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I-35 wreck this evening backs up rush-hour traffic
Just in time for Friday night rush-hour traffic, an accident on busy Interstate 35 has caused a traffic jam backing up northbound lanes.
The Department of Public Safety said an accident near the Sun Valley exit in Hewitt was reported about 5:25 p.m.
Officials said they didn’t know how many vehicles were involved, though at least one vehicle had rolled over.
Traffic at one point this evening was back up about two miles, officers said.
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State panel to review handling of graves at Waco museum site
PHOTOS
A Texas state legislative committee has ordered an inquiry into the handling of graves that were discovered and exhumed for the expansion of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco.
The House Committee on Culture, Recreation and Tourism has appointed a special subcommittee that will hold hearings on the case.
The subcommittee will try to determine whether state and federal laws are being followed as the expansion work continues, and whether current policies to protect graves need to be strengthened, said the subcommittee’s chairwoman, Donna Howard, D-Austin.
The Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee oversees the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Historical Commission, two state agencies that have been involved in the Ranger museum case.
The city of Waco in 2007 discovered skeletons along the path of a utility line trench it was building to serve the new annex to to the Ranger Museum. The city hired an archaeologist to study and exhume the bones, under the guidance of the Texas Historical Commission.
The Texas Ranger Museum grounds, known as Fort Fisher Park, lies atop a historic cemetery known as First Street Cemetery. A state judge in 1968 granted permission for the city to relocate graves to another part of the cemetery to accommodate the new museum. But new evidence has emerged that most of the bodies were not moved when the headstones were moved.
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Baylor University philanthropist dies
Baylor University sent out a news release that BU alumnus, former trustee and longtime philanthropist Milfred Lewis of Missouri City, Texas, died Tuesday in Houston.
He served nine years on the board of trustees and made the naming gift for the Lewis Art Building of the Hooper-Schaefer Fine Arts Center in the late 1970s. That gift provided Baylor art students with much-needed studio, gallery and museum space.
“Their gift has meant so much to the art department over the years, because it allowed us to prosper and grow,” said John McClanahan, professor and chair of the department of art, who has seen the number of department faculty more than double since the Lewis’s gift. “I don’t think we could’ve grown at such a rate without the Lewises.”
Lewis earned his bachelor of business administration degree at Baylor in 1955. A charter member of Baylor’s Endowed Scholarship Society with his wife, Mary Lee (BBA ’55), the couple established scholarships for athletes as well as business students and has been recognized at the Golden Bear Circle level of the society.
“Milfred Lewis selflessly gave of his time and resources to promote Baylor’s bright future,” said Dr. David E. Garland, Baylor’s interim president and dean of George W. Truett Theological Seminary. “In sharing his blessings with Baylor art and business students, athletes and beyond, he touched countless lives.”
For more information, go to this story on Baylor’s Web site.
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Nation’s unemployment hits five-year high
Not good news today on the economy. The unemployment rate soared to a nearly five-year high in August as employers trimmed jobs for the eighth straight month, the government reported today.
The unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent, the highest level since September 2003. That’s up from 5.7 percent in July and 4.7 percent a year ago.
In addition, the economy suffered a net loss of 84,000 jobs in August, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, compared to a revised reading of a 60,000-job loss in July.
The U.S. economy has lost 605,000 jobs so far this year.
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Who ya gonna call? Third Ghostbusters movie apparently in works
I’m not sure I’m keen on the idea of a third “Ghostbusters” movie, but apparently Columbia Pictures is up for it, according to this story from Variety.
The first one was great. The second one fell a bit short, as sequels often do (unless it’s Spider-Man II or The Dark Knight). But you know, I’d probably go see it.
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Campaign music hits wrong note with another performer
Now the McCain-Palin campaign has got under the skin of rocker Nancy Wilson of the group Heart for taking its hit “Barracuda” and making it vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s anthem at the convention.
Wilson is not happy about it, and is asking the campaign to cease and desist its use.
It is a rockin’ song, as you can see and hear in this YouTube video.
Remember earlier that McCain’s campaign drew the ire of Jackson Browne for using his “Running on Empty” song without Browne’s permission. Apparently there’s also a bit of a stir over the Obama campaign’s use of country stars Brooks & Dunn’s “Only in America” after Obama’s acceptance speech. Seems that song was played by Brooks & Dunn at President Bush’s inauguration in 2000 and used again at the 2004 GOP convention.
So now politics and music make strange bedfellows.
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European Union leaders seek Russia-Georgia probe
European Union nations are considering a call for an international inquiry as to which country is responsible for starting the conflict between Georgia and Russia.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and other ministers at the start of two-day talks in Avignon today say a probe is needed to find out who was guilty of allegations of human rights abuses during the five-day conflict between the two countries.
The EU ministers agree that an independent “high representative” is needed to help solve the standoff peacefully.
— Associated Press
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East Coast prepares for soaking from Hanna
Beach vacationers in the Carolinas prepared to pack up and head inland today as Tropical Storm Hanna cruised steadily toward the coast, while others decided to ride out the fast-moving storm that threatens to become a small hurricane before crashing ashore overnight.
The storm will likely wash out the weekend from the Carolinas to Maine. Tropical storm watches or warnings ran from Georgia to areas just south of New York City.
As the first rain started to fall on the popular barrier island beaches south of Wilmington, N.C., Sam Owens packed up the camper he brought from State College, Pa., to the dunes that line the ocean side of Holden Beach. He had rented a spot for four months, but the campground’s owners said the high winds Hanna will bring with her meant it was time to go.
“We have to be out by noon and that is what we are going to do,” said Owens, a 56-year-old retired Marine. “I hope I can come back because either way I have to pay.”
The latest forecast called on Hanna to make landfall on the northern coast of South Carolina around 2 a.m. Saturday before marching quickly up the Atlantic seaboard and pushing into New England by early Sunday morning.
— Associated Press
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Woman struck, killed on I-35 identified
Highway authorities today identified Ronda Latrice Harold, 37, of Waco as the woman who was struck and killed Tuesday while crossing Interstate 35.
A Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman said that just before 4:20 a.m. Tuesday the driver of a northbound 2005 Nissan pickup hit Harold near the Craven Avenue exit.
The spokesman said the driver did not see the woman crossing the interstate.
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Gustav blamed for higher gas prices
Why not blame the hurricane? Even though Hurricane Gustav reportedly did little to disrupt oil production, AAA Texas said that the average retail price of gasoline in Texas jumped 7 cents this week.
The association reported the average cost of a gallon of gas increased to $3.54 on Thursday. It said nationally, gas prices rose 1 cent for the week, to reach $3.67 per gallon.
The average cost of gasoline in Beaumont, an area threatened by Gustav before the storm reached Louisiana on Monday, rose 13 cents to reach $3.63.
AAA Texas says El Paso, with gasoline prices down 2 cents, but averaging $3.58 per gallon, was the only area in Texas that saw a price decline.
The overall cost increase in Texas was attributed to concerns over Gustav’s potential impact on fuel supplies.
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Magazine sparks furor over pics of Taliban wearing dead soldiers’ uniforms
CNN has this story about a French magazine’s photo spread that shows Taliban fighters posing in the uniforms of 10 French soldiers killed last month. According to the story, the spread has sparked an angry response from people opposed to the coverage, saying that it promotes the Taliban.
The latest edition of Paris Match includes photos of the Taliban fighters and their commander, “Farouki,” wearing French uniforms, helmets and using French assault rifles and walkie-talkies.
Farouki, aged 30-35, claims in the accompanying story to have led his group in the Aug. 18 ambush that killed 10 French troops and injured 21 in an attack 40 miles east of Kabul. It was the French army’s single highest death toll in 25 years, the story says.
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Black bear busts Utah pot-growing operation
This sheriff is definitely having fun with this story about a large black bear in Utah that has raided a clandestine marijuana growing operation so often that it chased the grower away.
“This bear is definitely law-enforcement minded,” said Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins in an Associated Press story. “If I can find this bear I’m going to deputize him,” he said tongue firmly in cheek.
Deputies found food containers ripped apart and strewn everywhere, cans with bear teeth marks, claw marks and bear prints across the Garfield County camp on Tuesday.
Perkins said the operation on Boulder Mountain included 4,000 “starter” sacks of pot and 888 young plants.
“This particular bear apparently was not going to give up and basically chased these marijuana farmers away,” Perkins said. “Our county is so tough on drugs that even the wildlife are getting in on the action.”
What a riot, this guy.
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Montana motorcyclist dies in 239 mph crash
A 47-year-old record-setting motorcycle racer from Montana has died when he lost control and crashed while traveling at 239 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats.
Investigators weren’t sure what caused Cliff Gullett, of Bozeman, Mont., to lose control of the motorcycle Wednesday during a time trial.
The American Motorcyclist Association said on its Web site that Gullett was competing in the 500cc Streamliner class at the Salt Flats, where drivers go for speed records every summer on the flat, open space just east of the Nevada state line.
Gullett owned Team Bozeman Motorsports, a motorcycle and snowmobile dealership. He had set a handful of world land-speed records and wanted to eventually become the first to reach 400 mph on a two-wheeled Streamliner, according to an interview last week with The Billings Gazette.
Curt Lance, Team Bozeman’s general manager, said “Cliff always told me that if anything happened on the Salt, he wanted it to be quick and not lingering. He died doing the thing he loved to do most — racing at Bonneville.”
— Associated Press
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U.S. warship takes aid to Georgian port
The flagship of the U.S. Navy’s Mediterranean fleet anchored outside the key Georgian port of Poti today, bringing in tons of humanitarian aid to a port still partially occupied by hundreds of Russian troops.
Although Russia has watched the arrival of the USS Mount Whitney and other U.S. ships in recent weeks with deep suspicion, a Foreign Ministry official said Russia does not plan any military action to the U.S. naval presence in the Black Sea.
The Whitney was the first Navy ship to travel to Poti since Georgia fought a short war with Russia last month. The ship anchored just offshore from the port, according to harbor master Vakhtang Tavberidze.
Two U.S. ships have already come and gone from Georgia carrying humanitarian aid in recent weeks, but they anchored at a smaller port, Batumi, to the south.
— Associated Press
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It’s Friday, football fans
We’re at the end of the week and the beginning of a weekend filled with football. It’s officially week one of the season as last week was called “zero week” because schools had the option of whether to schedule games, though certainly most did.
To get yourself psyched for tonight’s action, hit our online football coverage here, and be sure to check back tonight when you return from the game.
Baylor plays Northwestern State Saturday night, and you can get your info about the Bears here.
It feels more like football weather, too, with another morning start in the mid-60s. We’ll hit a high around 90 degrees with sunny skies. That’s again a little below our average high for this time of year.
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