Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 1

LONE STAR FINDING HARMONY IN INDIA: Father son trek to the source of the Ganges TRAVEL (o3n Uml RXt fcti SUNDAY AUGUST 4 1996 Tarrant County Texas "Where The West Begins" Price: $150 COMING MONDAY: from community policing to longer prison sentences law I I I 1 I I I a I I interview with a witness in a stabbing the night before At noon you'd have a new case a body dumped at the railroad tracks" said Brannan shaking his head Six years later Fort Worth's homicide rate is so low that detectives are dusting off files and cracking old cases With 29 homicides reported so far this year Fort Worth is well on the way to its lowest homicide rate in more than two (More on HOMICIDES on Page 22) FORT WORT! I It wasn't that long ago that Fort Worth's nine homicide detectives could barely keep pace with the city's killeis "We were just inundated with new cases" said Curt Brannan whose busiest day brought him four killings and one attempted killing on Independence Day in 1990 "At 8 am you'd be working on a robbery slaying At 10 am you'd have an A drop In the homicide rate is enabling Fort Worth's homicide unit to dust off old files and clear unsolved cases from years past From left detectives David Thornton Manny Reyes Charles Riley David Sears Tom Boetcher Sgt Paul Kratz Jim Desmarais and Dian Tefft KEVIN FUJII Star-Telegram 1: enforcement officials cite a variety of theories as to why the homicide rate is dropping in cities across the nation 1 ATLANTA'S CENTENNIAL GAMES: THE FINAL LEG Another attack on forces feared Threat in Saudi Arabia imminent Perry says After Olympic dreams come not-so-pleasant realities 1C Andre Agassi wins tennis gold medal 11C What did the US track team accomplish? 11C Cuban boxes win two finals lose two 18C 3F I tat i Lewis out US losses in 4x100 4 JUSA' 1 '7 ByRobGloster The Assi)ciated Press ATLANTA With Carl Lewis reduced to the role of spectator the US men's 4x100-meter relay team was upset by Canada yesterday for its first outright loss in Olympic history Canada with 100-meter champion Donovan Bailey running a strong anchor leg finished in 3769 seconds the fastest time ever by a non-American team and the sixth-fastest ever The Americans captured silver in 3805 Brazil took the bronze in 3841 The US men's 4x1 00-meter relay team had never been outrun in the Olympics They were disqualified in 1912 1960 and 1988 and the US boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics Tim Harden who ran the (More on OLYMPICS on Page 17) A 1 1 By JohnMintz The Washington Post WASHINGTON US military personnel in Saudi Arabia are operating under the threat of imminent terrorist attack not only from huge car bombs and chemical weapons but also from a possible new threat powerful mortars that can fire projectiles long distances Defense Secretary William Perry said yesterday The threat of mortar attack is one reason that 4000 Air Force personnel are moving from the Khobar Towers housing complex in Dhahran the target of the June 25 truck bomb that killed 19 people and going to a remote (More on TERROR on Page 14) More teachers use mini-lessons to reach students By Yamil Berard Star-Telegram Staff Writer Techno-music pounding in his ears 12-year-old Matthew Dutcher is jamming the joystick left and right and bouncing his fingers across six control buttons simultaneously His video reptilian creature hurls itself against the enemy an animal twice its size with a blood-oozing mouth The Grapevine seventh-grader unleashes a whirl of hits faster than the eye can see "Killer Combo!" screams an enthusiastic computer Two seconds and the game is over Now enter the classroom version of video game quick hits: today's mini-lessons three- to five-minute blips of teacher-directed instruction Mini-lessons have become the most popular way that youngsters like Matthew weaned on (More on LESSONS on Page 15) Slar-TelegramJtRRY Donovan Bailey left waves to the crowd after anchoring Canada's 4x100 men's relay team which defeated the United States for the Olympic gold medal yesterday in Atlanta Dennis Mitchell center was the anchor runner for the US team Brazil finished third LIFE ON THE LOW END Charity event at speedway gives 38000 fans test drive Rushing toward a monthlong recess Congress on Friday gave final legislative approval to an Increase In the federal minimum wage the first since 1990 It was approved by overwhelming majorities in both the Senate and the House The bill provides for the minimum to rise by 90 cents an hour in two stages: by 50 cents on Oct 1 and by an additional 40 cents Sept 1 1997 It would affect more than 10 million Americans whose wages now lie between the current hourly minimum $425 and the new one $515 glimpse of what will soon be the biggest sports facility in Texas With 150000 seats surrounding a mammoth infield the Texas Motor Speedway going up in north Fort Worth is big enough to hold eight Texas Stadiums "The Cowboys ain't nothin'!" proclaimed John Farrer of Euless a 58-year-old inspector at the General Motors plant in Arlington and longtime racing fan "People are going to be amazed when this (More on SPEEDWAY on Page 11) By Bob Mahlburg Slar-Telegram Staff Writer While many North Texans spent yesterday doing weekend chores and watching the Olympics tens of thousands of others fought through traffic to a remote dust-blown field in Denton County for a chance to stand in the blistering August sun and dream By 10 am a double line of cars stretched for more than a mile as occupants waited in near 100-degree temperatures for a Still full-time workers will earn less than the federally designated poverty level Just how do people in Tarrant County get by at minimum wage or slightly better? Not easily SEE STORY BUSINESS Market listings 4-5E Movies 5G Parade Magazine Travel Has MTV become passe for teen-agers? IN LIFE Classified Crosswords 4F 2M Editorials Horoscope 4F WEATHER Sunny and hot with southerly winds 15 to 25 mph High near 103 low in the upper 70s Full weather report on 6B Dial DEL-IVER 1 iii in 1 yw No 101 paeu Copyright 919M Fort Worth StwTtegrwn I.