Arizona Daily Star from Tucson, Arizona • Page 6

9 1 (JQpy SECTION ARIZONA DAILY STAR SERVING PIMA, COCHISE, SANTA CRUZ AND PINAL COUNTIES Editor: Tim Konski Telephone 520-573-4101 Fax 573-407 -mai7 tkonskiazstarnet.com PjjryjTT 01101 figyy Hi "Kid show involving lesbians airs today If (ft I Vr U.S. education chief calls the episode inappropriate 1 i By Stephanie Innes ARIZONA DAILY STAR A children's television show that was denounced by the new education secretary for including two lesbian couples will air in Tucson today. The show, "Postcards from Buster," features a cartoon rabbit who sends video postcards to his mother about his travels around the country. In the episode that upset U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, Buster learns how to make maple syrup in Vermont with some real children and their parents, who are all women.

One little girl refers to her mother and stepmother. "That's a lot of moms!" Buster remarks in the episode titled, "Sugarland!" Nothing more is said about the families. "I think that every family, parent and caregiver certainly should make their own decision on viewing the program," said Rudy Casillas, the assistant general manager for television at KUAT, Channel 6, the local PBS affiliate. TUSD budget cuts hit classroom By Daniel Scarpinato ARIZONA DAILY STAR Parents and educators in the Tucson Unified School District are preparing for the effects of $6 million in classroom-targeted budget cuts and are keeping their fingers crossed that $11 million left to trim won't jeopardize student achievement. Reflecting the sentiment of many, parent Jennifer Willey said the budget cuts will hurt, but losing the all-day kindergarten program in which her daughter, Chloe, is enrolled would have been more devastating.

The school board spared the program Tuesday. The changes mean larger classes and fewer teacher aides and tutors. And while Chloe's school Corbett Elementary will keep its principal, some smaller schools will need to share one with another site. Willey wonders how the cuts will upset her 6-year-old's education. "It's a hard one," she said.

"It's hard with them increasing the class size. It's difficult for the teacher to get 20-some students to sit down already." Class sizes By raising the maximum class size in all grade levels by one student, 80 teaching positions will be eliminated. That's a savings of $4.2 million. Deputy Superintendent Patti Lopez said the district doesn't plan to fire or layoff anyone. Instead, the savings will come by not filling open positions and transferring some teachers to other schools.

The move doesn't seem like a large increase, but in the context of other cuts which will reduce the number of teacher aides and tutors it means less attention for students, said DelAnn DeBenedetti, a kindergarten and first-grade teacher at Blenman Elementary School. "With younger kids it's important a little extra hug and extra attention if someone's feeling bad," she said. Tutors and teacher aides Blenman, at 1695 N. Country Club Road, receives more than $20,000 for teacher aides, tutors and art and music activities. Cutting that in half, which the board approved to save $1.5 million, means something will have to give.

"It will cut our programs for kids," Blenman Principal Bobbe Woods said. "For some families, they're going to look at other schools where class, sizes are smaller." Parent and certified teachers aide Julia Hillman doesn't plan to take her kids out of the district, but she might leave. She recently was certified and is working toward a teaching degree. If her paycheck is cut, she can't afford to volunteer. "I'll be here for the rest of the year, but I do need to get paid," she said.

There's no telling how many tutors and teacher aides the dis- SEETUSD CUTS 62 When to watch: KUAT will air the controversial episode of "Post-cardsfrom Buster" at 3:30 p.m. today. Courtesy of the Gobea family G.H. Gobea, a longtime Southern Arizona rancher, carried the Mexican flag in the Fiesta de los Vaque-ros parade for 15 years, until 1963. His family continued the tradition until 2003 and returns again this year, this time carrying this 7-by-7-foot poster of Gobea astride his favorite horse, Sundown.

Pioneer rancher rides again, in spirit "The episode shows two same-sex couples who have families in Vermont But the (focus) of the program is Buster learning to harvest sugar from maple trees and make maple syrup. The families featured in it interact with Buster." Casillas said the show, a spinoff of another popular children's program, "Arthur," has a mission of SEE 'BUSTER' B2 News I ai a Do you agree or disagree with the local station decision to air the show? Why? I What, if any, is an appropriate way to teach children about homosexuality? t's been 42 years since ir Guadalupe Hernandez mJi Gobea, a Southern Arizona ranching pioneer, last rode his palomino in the annual La Fiesta de los Vaqueros parade. Today, Gobea returns. This time, his spirit and a 7-by-7-foot picture of him astride his favorite horse, Sundown will be part of the 80th Tucson event. Gobea's extended family will have a float number 213 in today's parade, carrying four generations of the horse-loving family.

The entry, G.H. Gobea Rides Again, will honor Gobea, the family patriarch, who for 15 years carried the Mexican flag as part of the parade's color guard. He died in 1972 at the age of 92. "It's something very special," said Gobea's granddaughter, Rosie Gobea, 56, a 1967 graduate of Pueblo High School and Sierra Vista resident. grandson will bear the Mexican flag similar to one the elder Gobea used when he first rode in the parade in the late 1940s.

At least 15 of Gobea's daughters, granddaughters, great-granddaughters and great-great-granddaughters will ride on the horse-drawn float. Gobea last rode in 1963 when he was 83 years old. His son, Efren Gobea, and grandsons Raymond and Robert Gobea, continued the flag bearer tradition until 2003. Before Gobea ceased riding in the parade, he received honors from then Gov. Howard Pyle, Mayor Don Hummel and the Tucson Chamber of Commerce.

Gobea's story in Arizona started when he crossed the border in 1897, as a 17-year-old, arriving in Nogales. He had left the Mexican army, which had SEE PORTILLO B2 Share your thoughts on NewsTalk. Responses will be published on Thursday's Opinion page. A sample will be selected to offer a range of opinions. Please include your name, a phone number for verification and information about yourself, such as your occupation.

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Responses become Star property. METRO BRIEFING Kids blamed in trailer fire Rodo parade won't be on TV Ernesto Portillo Jr. jr, 'it'- The family will honor its patriarch for his dedication to family, his love of horses, his contribution to ranching, and his appreciation for his Mexican heritage. The Gobea family raised money to create the large photo of the elder man resplendent in a traje de charro, a Mexican cowboy's attire, sitting on his silver-studded saddle and holding the red, white and green flag. The parade also will serve as a family reunion.

The Gobea family will attend the rodeo after the parade and end the day with a family dinner. Two great-granddaughters will carry the banner. A great Rodeo parade starts here AJ0 ui Tucson i Rodeo Grounds Entrance general parking (blocked tntrance: box seat -parking during Arenaf iBwiMirrriM Grandstands the parade for a couple of years and also grappled with the cost. "It's a tremendous overtime cost, it's a tremendous equipment allocation cost," KOLD Vice President and General Manager Jim Arnold said. "It's a massive project for a three-hour event." Arnold decided a few years ago not to compete with KGUN over coverage of the community event.

However, with KGUN stepping aside, Arnold said KOLD might reconsider televising the parade next year. "We take a look at it every year, and we would look at it again if nobody was going to do it," he said. In the past, Telemundo's local ARIZONA DAILY STAR Two teenagers playing with matches caused their trailer home to explode into flames Wednesday afternoon. One of two 14-year-olds who were home at the time admitted to playing with matches in and around a gas stove before the gas ignited and caused the explosion that destroyed their home, near South Nogales Highway and Hughes Access Road, said Battalion Chief Rick Flores of the RuralMetro Fire Department. "They were lucky to get out unharmed," he said.

No humans were injured in the fire, but one of two puppies trapped inside died. The two teens, their parents and another child are receiving help with temporary' housing, food and clothing from RuralMetro and the American Red Cross. Children should never be left unsupervised near open flames, Flores said. Children are curious, and a small flame caused by a match can quickly grow into a devastating fire, he said. affiliate, KHRR-TV Channel 40, has televised the entire parade, but rather than showing the morning parade live, it televised it in Spanish during prime time.

KHRR didn't have the funding to do that this year. "We don't have enough crew to go out there, and we didn't get a sponsor," KHRR program manager Lupita Celaya said. "Hopefully we'll be able to continue next year, maybe." You can see the parade in person as it heads south on South Park Avenue from East Ajo Way beginning at 9 a.m. It turns west on East Irvington Road to South Sixth Avenue and ends at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds. You can also catch clips of the parade on any news station, including KGUN.

"We'll cover it as a news story," Depa said. "We did that when we televised the parade. It is a big event, and I'm sure it will get appropriate coverage it just simply won't be tele-( vised." Contact reporter Sarah Mauet at 573-4124 or at smauetSazstarnet.com. KGUN taking a pass because of the expense By Sarah Mauet ARIZONA DAILY STAR If you want to see the Tucson Rodeo Parade today, you're going to have to watch it in person. For the first time in a generation, not one news station in Tucson will be televising the parade.

For more than 30 years, KGUN-TV Channel 9 has aired the parade in its entirety, but despite good ratings, the station will not be televising it this year the price tag of $20,000 to $25,000 is simply too high, KGUN Vice President and General Manager Ray Depa said. "I can't keep losing the money I've been losing on it," he said. "When you don't run commercials during the parade and even if we did, and we used to we'd never, ever recover our hard cost. I simply can't afford to continue doing that." KOLD-TV Channel 13 aired School changes I Class sizes will be increased by one student, eliminating about 82 teacher positions and saving $4.2 million. Expected average class sizes: Kindergarten: 24 First through fifth grades: 29 Middle school: 27.3 High school: 28.9 To help pay for all-day kindergarten, $1.5 million in money spent on teacher aides, tutors and other kindergarten though third-grade programs will be vulnerable.

Eight schools will be grouped in pairs, each to be run by one principal, to save $331,200. The schools are: DrachmanandCarrillo Van Home and Wrightstown Richey and Jefferson Park Borton and Holladay TRAFFIC WATCH I Crews are working on driveways along North La Cholla Boulevard between West River Road and West Omar Drive and along West 1C0RTAR0 1 MAGEE 5 o. Orange Grove Road near La Cholla this week. The I work is in preparing the driveways tor paving. 5 10 IMA Preparing driveways for paving HARDY 2.

1 OMAR RIVER Staff.