Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 47

-V1- wFf I I Section A Page 24 I ARUM Fort Worth Star-Telegram I Friday July 141995 Panel formed to red-k6 drownings accidents Safety campaign pledged at Lewisville Lake MI11 am I 1r 380 latilts Denton 40 i (73' 03 -t Fort Worth Dallas I i 0' 1-" i 4' Lewisville 4 le Lake Lake '4 Dim ton Lewisville Lake Lake 44moouo A NS elf:" we it 4 4 -'Ft 4') I 1 -0 ts- i Alt I 4 kt 't 4 I it i 04 4 4 1 itt 1 tte A )' -t LI Yr sro to 4 Nature From Page 23 Foundation got a boost from Katie and other Brownie troop members who presented a $1000 check to the nonprofit organization A 500000 challenge grant from an anonymous donor is expected to provide the incentive the community needs to raise enough money to finish the project said David Moritz a car dealer and a River Legacy Foundation board member For every $2 that the public donates the grant will match it with I up to a total of $500000 he said The challenge will continue until the end of the year Donors can make contributions directly to River Legacy Foundation "This should rejuvenate our public effort in Arlington" said Moritz who is leading the effort to raise money for the center Since the foundation kicked off its Nuts About Nature campaign in March $27 million has been raised including $70000 from children in Arlington schools Interim financing has been provided by three banks so that construction on the project can begin this summer Moritz said "We shouldn't have to draw on that credit line" he said "But it has assured us the ability to get started on the project" Before about 50 people River Fort Worth Star-Telegram I BRUCE MAXWELL classes participate in groundbreaking ceremonies yesterday natural resources Phoenix architect Eddie Jones said he has designed a building that he hopes will enhance the natural setting of the woods rather than detract from it "My fondest goal is that once the building is complete we'll all feel better off for having the structure here" he said "I am committed to making it as natural as it can be" Suspect arrested in barbell burglaries 1 i i -4 I 1 i 1 I I I BY ROBERT THARP Fort Worth Star-Telegram ARLINGTON An Arlington man who police say used pieces from a weightlifting set to break convenience store windows and steal beer and cigarettes was ar- rested after an early morning chase that ended in a fiery wreck of: ficials said yesterday Michael Hale 29 was arrested yesterday after his car wrecked at the intersection of Arbrook Boule: yard and South Collins Street ac- expected to begin today The facility will be tucked into the park woods where it will house the foundation's popular Living Science program which allows elementary school students to explore nature Interactive and visual exhibits costing about $14 million will allow visitors to explore nature Programs will focus on preservation and restoration of Eric's Towing called police when they heard breaking glass next door at the Kwik Stop 2718 Division St The drivers recorded the license-plate number of a car parked in front of the store which police traced to an east Arlington neighborhood The window of that store was also broken with a piece from a weightlifting set that was left at the scene according to police reports "It looks like he took his whole weightlifting set on this spree" view of certain records of the district That review has been duly and comprehensively conducted by independent accounting and legal counsel The board has been briefed on the findings of the review and based on that briefing has directed that minor changes be made in record-keeping procedures The board expresses its full confidence in the chancellor staff and faculty of the college" Chancellor CA Roberson said afterward that he did not know --TOC board changes accounting procedures BY BARRY SHLACHTER Fort Worth Star-Telegram LEWISVILLE Vowing to "stop the madness" Denton County Judge Jeff Moseley announced formation of a task force yesterday to recommend by Labor Day ways to curb drownings and fatal boat accidents that have made Lewisville Lake one of Texas' most dangerous Sheriff Weldon Lucas said there will be an immediate crackdown on the 10 percent to I 5 percent of boaters he says are violating safety laws At a news conference at Copperas Branch Park on Lewisville Lake Lucas promised results by the end of summer Upset by a number of drownings and accidents county residents "want something done and they want something done now" Lucas said Another official suggested posting lifeguards at the lake's swimming areas The popular lake 25 miles from Dallas has had five drownings since March Last month 31-yearold Stephanie Booker of Carrollton was maimed by the propeller of a speedboat that landed on her smaller craft just off a marina in a no-wake zone Even before a Labor Day deadline set for the task force's recommendations the county will step up lake patrols and tighten enforcement of current laws Lucas said "There are some solutions to stop the madness" and change "Lewisville from being one of the most dangerous to one of the safest in the state of Texas" Moseley said State Rep Burt Solomons RCarrollton co-chairman of the task force said he will push for passage of a bill in the next legislative session to license pleasure boat operators and change boating regulations to set speed limits and require insurance Solomons noted that there are no laws setting boat speed limits unless the boats are in a designated no-wake zone In the meantime Solomons said the task force will among other things consider placing lifeguards ARLDIGTON The following items were discussed or acted upon at last night's school board meeting Year-round education: An interim report on the district's two-year pilot year-round education program showed that the 1994-95 session cost $221895 Scores on the writing portion of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills administered to fourth-graders showed students attending year-round programs had slightly better scores Of students in traditional programs 84 percent passed the test while 85 percent of students in year-round programs passed the exam "That is not statistically different at all" testing director Wally Carter told the board Reading and math scores will be available next week Year-round education programs are in Atherton Bebensee and Roquemore elementary schools and Barnett Planes From Page 23 would like to see all of the banners disappear he is pleased that some of the clubs have dropped them "That's very good news as far as I'm concerned" Greene said "I' wish it was something they'd all agree to" Greene said he is still anxious to see legislation intended to ban such ads go forward Because airspace is controlled by the Federal Aviation Administration neither the city nor the Texas Rangers can do anything about banner-towing airplanes US Rep Joe Barton an Ennis Republican whose district includes parts of Arlington has reintroduced a bill that wouldtan low-flying planes from The Ballpark's airspace during games )4101 Grapevine Flower Mound Grapevine 'C TARRANT COUNTA cc DAL -26 COU 03 A Fort Worth Star-lblegram at the lake's swimming areas "Historically every Labor DaS every Fourth of July we have drownings at state park lakes and 1 think we can do something about that" Solomon said "To me it's a disgrace an absolute disgrace to put kids in an area without a lifeguard" Aside from the water-safety-task force Sen Jane Nelson R-Flower Mound said she is organizing Lewisville Lake Watch a sort of "neighborhood crime watch" for' pleasure boaters modeled after a program at Lake Travis near Austin Brent Booker the father of the woman maimed June 17 said he was initially skeptical about the task force idea but he said yesterday that he is confident that it will help "put the lid back on" the lake- Booker who has hired a private detective to help trace the couple whose boat injured his daughter' said authorities have collected teal-colored chips from the boat's hull Lucas confirmed that "chips and other forensic evidence" were found but said that tracing the boat remained difficult He said his department has been receiving information on possible leads every day A $14000 reward has beep offered Lif Stephanie Booker manager of a temporary employment agency before the accident will undergo surgery on her face at least a half times during the next two years her father said School Board Junior High About 860 students in the program attend school fort 12 months with three-week in- I tersession breaks 1 tersession oreaKs Budget: School officials gave trustees a written report on the 1995-'96 budget but delayed discussion until the next meet-: ing scheduled for July 20 Votes: In accordance with Senate Bill 1 the state's new education law trustees a policy affirming students': "right individually voluntarily and silently to pray or meditate' In school" Superintendent Lynn Hale said the policy restated the law and told trustees- that district officials will propose local regulations later A separate policy was approved that prohibits students from being enrolled in two pro grams simultaneously unless the second is an Arlington gram Barton was able to halt the IIYovers during the All-Star Gar Eie with the help of the Federal Administration and an scure provision in the law that -ifstricts airplane fly-overs durink special events At least two clubs Legends arid Baby Dolls apparently plan continue with airborne advei tising An official with Fort Wores Baby Dolls who identified himsalf only as Scott said the club only agreed to suspend flyover ads daing the All-Star Game Legends officials could not be reached for comment yesterday but a plane that streaks the clulfs banners across the sky is set- to make its usual seven passes when the Rangers host the Baltimbre Orioles on Monday "My club's still doing it" sald Roger Ward president ofEkywais Advertising of Dallas "If they don't like it just don't look upt''' Grapevine -Al 1 Flower DENT6N 1 Mound COUNTy TAGRranpAevNinTet cc 'DALLAS CONN tdo --6 CON TT 03 By LINDA CAMPBELL AND BOB MAHLBURG Fort Worth Star-Telegram FORT WORTH The Tarrant County Junior College board of trustees ordered what it described as minor changes in record-keeping procedures last night but declined to reveal details about a monthlong investigation into a personnel matter Trustees met for more than 32 hours in closed session before issuing a brief statement declaring that Children from various nature Legacy Foundation President Sylvia Greene thanked the community for its support "Today was a tremendous success" Greene said after the ceremony "The turnout shows that the community has come together for this project and that it is going to make it happen" Construction on the parking lot of the 12000-square-foot center is cording to police reports He was taken to the Arlington jail on two burglary charges and a charge of driving while intoxicated Bond was set at $1 1000 The two burglaries occurred within 15 minutes early yesterday At about 1:50 am at the Mart 2005 Sanford St officers said a front window was broken with a barbell that was found on the scene But the man fled when he realized a clerk was in the store At 2:05 am wrecker drivers at the issues raised by the investigation are closed After a lengthy closed meeting last month the board voted to hire an independent accounting firm and an attorney specializing in employment matters to review college records as part of the internal investigation The statement issued last night read by board President Ardis Bell says: "On June 15 the board of trustees voted to conduct a re Mike Sargeant 19 is the second person arrested in the shooting death He was arrested without incident Wednesday at his Alvarado home and is expected to be arraigned today on a charge of murder police said The body of Melton 17 was found June 5 in a field near Van for a archaeologist to locate a site of this historical importance this cultural importance" said Barbo Arnold a marine archaeologist for the historical commission Additional searches will be held in the area for other shipwrecks and parts of two late 19th-century lighthouses destroyed by hurricanes Archaeologists said the cannon is important because it could provide new information about the era including maritime trade exploration colonization and the development of Texas It also is significant because of its connection to La Salle whose full name is nators said guns and syringes have been found in the culvert The kids on the painting crew can rattle off the names of three or four local gangs That's why the I 4-year-old girl painted a young man in a wheelchair into the mural The faceless figure represents a gang member wounded by gunfire "Gang members expect to die but they don't expect to suffer" said another I 4-year-Plid painter Said the girl "I tell you gang members are very dumb" Second suspect jailed in Haltom teen's death said police spokesman Dee Anderson Officers in east Arlington spotted a red Ford Taurus driving through a stop sign on Timberview Lane and began pursuing it The driver lost control of the car several times on South Collins Street according to police reports At the Arbrook Boulevard intersection the car struck a median and caught fire Hale was arrested and declined medical treatment And'erson said whether he or other employees were the focus of the review He would not say what record-keeping changes will be made and referred all questions to Bell and board members Bell called the statement the "final word" on the matter "That's all I've got to say" he said as he left the meeting Other board members left without commenting They took no public vote after the closed session together two years ago when Melton was staying with his father in Alvarado Yesterday investigators for the first time indicated why Melton Simpson Sargeant and another teen were in Van Alstyne a farming town of 2100 in Grayson County Texas L'Belle is among 2000 shipwrecks off the Texas coast including hundreds of others in Matagorda Bay a major commerce center in the late I 800s Another ship belonging to La Salle Aimable sank a year before l'Belle and is also being sought by the archaeologists in Matagorda Bay The cannon will be shipped to the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History where it will undergo restoration and preservation This report contains material from The Associated Press ing chess painting in a concrete ditch and settling quarrels now could pay off down the road "I don't think parenting is easy right now but I think a lot of people in the past I 0 years have chosen not to parent" she said as she rounded up the troops to head home for a peppermint chocolate chip ice cream reward "I could work and make decent money but if do that and my kids grow up being supervised by HBO I may have the same problems some other people do" BY CARLOS ILLESCAS Fort Wonh Star-Telegram A close friend of slain Haltom City teen-ager Jimmy Melton whose body was found last month in a field in Grayson County has been accused of murder in connection with Melton's death police said LaSalle From Page 23 mote sensing devices which were used to survey the entire area This month underwater divers and excavation teams searched the bay waters Yesterday divers pulled out the cannon heavily encrusted with mud and ocean floor debris Hosing it off they exposed a bronze exterior decorated with a king's crest and two dolphins on top "It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing Mural From Page 23 "My mom won't let me walk down the street without an alarm" said the I 4-year-old girl who was working with Burkhart "We're moving next month mainly to get away from the gangs" Burkhart whom City Councilman Wayne Ogle called one of Arlington's best Crime Watch coordi Alstyne He had been shot once in the head officials said According to police the body had been there several days Police previously arrested Bryan Simpson 17 of Alvarado on June 21 Simpson has been arraigned on suspicion of murder The three teens went to school Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle La Salle was the first European to explore the Mississippi River and track it to the Gulf of Mexico After surveying Matagorda Bay in the late 1970s archaeologists found it teeming with shipwrecks The cannon has been the most significant find to date they said The cannon is believed to be from the ship l'Belle which sank on a mission to explore and set up a colony along the Gulf of Mexico It was La Salle's personal ship a gift from King Louis XIV and wrecked a year before La Salle was murdered by his own men in Burkhart who has chosen to stay with her children while her husband works wants these kids to be smart Thus the mural painting project which is just one component of her own summer activity program designed to keep the neighborhood youngsters con-' structively occupied They're also involved in learning to play chess well enough to hold a round-robin tournament The way Burkhart figures it spending a few summer days play I oW38111111112abs JOIAwat 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