The Odessa American from Odessa, Texas • 12

12A ODESSA AMERICAN LOCALWAR IN IRAQ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 17. 2004 Commander Quick evacuations, body armor saving lives in Iraq Troops try to take control of Mosul Insurgent attacks rise in city after Fallujah offensive armor has worked very well for many Protective gear can' make the difference between injury and death, influencing how many troops survive with wounds for every soldier killed in battle. Landstuhl keeps no such comparisons, but Cornum said she believes steady improvements in airborne evacuations for injured troops and field hospital technology have shifted the balance toward survival, including in Iraq. "I suspect we are saving a much higher percentage than we have in the she said in a telephone interview. hunt for fighters hiding in Fallujah, but airstrikes and gunfire waned considerably after a week of heavy fighting that left- the Americans in control of the city west of Baghdad that had been the main insurgent bastion.

A US. soldier was killed and another wounded north of Baghdad on Tuesday when a bomb detonated near their convoy, the U.S.'military said. Stepped-up assaults on insurgents in Fallujah and elsewhere have pushed the US. death toll to at least 91 in November, making it the second-deadliest month for American troops since the Iraq invasion in March 2003, Pentagon figures show. The worst month was April, with 135 deaths of American troops.

The operation was launched after US. and Iraqi reinforcements were rushed to MosuL A U.S. Army infantry battalion was recalled from the fighting in Fallujah, 300 Iraqi National Guard soldiers came from garrisons along the borders with Iran and Syria and a special police battalion was sent" from Baghdad. US. military spokeswoman Capt Angela Bowman said the attack began Tuesday as troops closed Mosul's five bridges and American soldiers began securing police stations in the western part of the city.

"We are in the process of securing all of the police stations and returning the police to these stations," she said. US. Marines continued to cled over Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city with more than 1 million residents. Mortar shells hit two areas near the main government building in the city center, killing three civilians and wounding 25, hospital officials said. One American soldier was wounded when a car bomb exploded near a US.

convoy in western Mosul, the military The offensive is aimed at seizing control of the city 225 miles north of Baghdad, where gunmen stormed police stations, bridges and political offices last week. The city's police force was overwhelmed and in many places failed to even put up a fight Some officers also supposedly cooperated with insurgents. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BAGHDAD, IRAQ US. and Iraqi troops recaptured police stations and secured bridges in the northern city of Mosul on Tuesday in an offensive aimed at pushing out fighters supporting the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. Troops met "very little 1 resistance" in securing several of the dozen or 'so police stations that had been captured by insurgents, the US.

military command said. Nineveh province's deputy governor said militants blew up the Zuhour police station ahead of the US. advance, but the US military denied any stations were destroyed. Loud explosions and gunfire could be heard as US. warplanes and helicopters cir 0 perlia pwmfflti r-i tf i C.LL ALL CINGULA3 TuT WIRELESS fr, i4pab a r-ri vh rr9 icTrumnDe cro cocc Onipbra.Adiondtfw9KappSfitow", THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LANDSTUHL, GERMANY The commander of the biggest US.

military hospital abroad said Tuesday that' American troops' body armor and speedy evacuations appear to be helping save lives in the Fallujah offensive, where house-to-house fighting has brought a fresh stream of casualties. "A lot of it has to do with the fact that we have very good personal protective equipment," said CoL Rhonda Cornum, the head of the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. "I think the body KOCV-TV From Page 1A However, the station has been waived of having to match funds by the Corporate Public Broadcasting Company. Because of the waiver, the station will receive about $500,000 in funds from the CPB. Most of the station's budget depends on federal funding.

A small portion- about $60,000 comes from private donors and is included in the current budget ECISD acquired KOCV from Odessa College in 2003, and the board at that time agreed to revisit the station's standing a year after they acquired the station. Board member Bill Rutherford said the board did not know what it was getting into when it approved taking on the station. "We naively thought we'd just drop it in a spot and on day two say 'go out there and raise Rutherford said. "Lo and behold, we dropped it in and we spent time to repair it We had a station in such disrepair that it had to be brought up to snuff." Board member Carol Gregg said the board's decision is a compromise. "I realize this is not something we can continue to fund the school district, but I would not want to take it away- from the community," Gregg said.

BoartfPresident Raiy Buckets From Page 1A days of near-steady rain. "This type of rain just seeps in," Vasquez said. Vasquez said he received about 30 calls for help Tuesday morning alone. Of those, Vasquez said he's responding to longtime clients first "I'm helping them out putting tarps oh top of their roofs because they've had leaks op their roof they've never had before, even from the hard rain we had several weeks ago." While the outbreak of leaky roofs will mean more work for Vasquez, he said the timing is poor right now because of the sudden jump in demand for roofers. "I'm trying to take care of my customers the best I can, and I can't get to all of them," he said.

"But Tm trying." Andy Reed, owner of Bos-tick Roofing and Sheet Metal added that not every leak originates from the roof. Weather From Page 1A area. However, many of the usual areas are a problem 42nd and Dixie, Muskingum, Tom Green, Hancock and various pockets throughout Ector County, Childers said. Ector County Commissioner Precinct 1 Freddie Gardner said there was some high water earlier Tuesday at West County Road and Hill-mont but it receded. He said he had not had any calls for assistance.

"We've been pretty lucky," Gardner said. In the eastbound driving lane of Interstate ,20, Glen Larum, TxDOT public information officer; said at mile markers 10 to 12 about eight potholes about 3 feet in diam- sty i Rives said if another entity has not taken the license by Aug. 3L the board will have to look at the issue again. "Every one of us, I feel, wants this thing to survive. We're just not the ones to operate it," Rives said.

The board-adopted resolution states that Revell and ECISD Superintendent Wendell Sollis, along with- two KOCV. station representatives, will be able to negotiate a change of license holder. Station Manager Lynn Dudney said the station likely will be funded by a foundation so it will be tax-exempt Should a foundation pick up the license, a board would be created that would make decisions on programming and expenditures. In other business, the board: Approved 28 ECISD Education Foundation grants awarded Nov. 10 to ECISD classroom teachers.

Approved an interlocal agreement to provide Alternative Education Program with Crane Independent School District. Approved an agreement with Communities in School for an attendance incentive program. Moved a grievance hearing filed by Nimitz Coach Arvey Villa to Nov. 30. Took no action on a hearing filed by Blanton Elementary parents Chris Brokaw and Mindy Medanich.

Rain can work its way inside from air-conditioning ductwork and blow in through cracks in windows, doors and skylights. "I can't think of all the things we've run across over the years," Reed said. "There's just so many things I've seen that aren't just roofs leaking." Earl Bower, a manager for Floodmasters of Midland, said since the pace of the rainfall picked up on Monday, calls for water removal in homes in Odessa and Midland have picked up. Bower said no one area appears to have been hit harder than another. "It's kind of spread out," he said.

"Unfortunately a lot of the people are having roof leaks, and we've gone on quite a few basement calls." Bower said most people with flooded homes or businesses are "just patiently waiting" for the rain to stop before scheduling appointments for water removal "It's pointless to clean up a big mess if if going to continue to persist" he said. eter and about 2 inches deep were being fixed Tuesday by TxDOTs Balmorhea Maintenance Crew using special patching material for rainy conditions. Larum said the driving lane is closed for a short distance and traffic is being diverted near mile marker 10 onto the passing lane to avoid the potholes. On Interstate 10 in the westbound driving lane, the Balmorhea Maintenance Section also is patching holes. Larum said the older pavement tends to develop potholes during prolonged rain events.

1 Reports of wrecks "calmed down" Tuesday, Lt. Judy Altom of the Texas Department of Public Safety in Midland said. "People have evidently slowed down and are paying more Altom said. I 1 S3- l3lD lUSoShjdi, 3300 ffinois, 689-7129 fadioStudi. Mdaml Mai NMkMI.

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