Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 25

Wednesday April 9 2003 1 Star-Telegram Dallas State Digest wwwslar-tolegramcom 1 5B want to retire without clearing Larry Forsythe detective for the Dallas County Sheriffs Department on a 1981 slaying in which new evidence has led to a suspect Story below Great Westerner to get reins on the real title Russell Don Steagall is about to become an official member of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Hall of Great be recognized among all of those people who have contributed to the lifestyle of the West is just overwhelming Red Steagall cowboy poet It is a recognition long overdue He is Red Steagall to his fans family and friends He is the official cowboy poet of Texas and one of the Fort Worth most valued assets He and his wife Gail live on their ranch Art Chapman WIMJJIl'il Red Steaqaii's iJiiilBiiiai recognition by a national hall of fame is long overdue around here Steagall the kind of guy who requires a parade although deserving He seek public attention unless it is for a good cause or it promotes his cherished cowboy way of life Perhaps he is too accessible too quick to lend a helping hand If he were more reclusive we might pry him away from his ranch for a public salute We do tend to take him for granted and that is truly a shame really is a big he said a few months ago when he first learned of the honor be recognized among all of those people who have contributed to the lifestyle of the West is just overwhelming It means somebody thinks I contributed something to the preservation of that Steagall was named the official cowboy poet of Texas by the Texas Legislature in 1991 He has had more than 200 of his compositions recorded he has produced 26 consecutive records on the national charts he has released 18 albums Steagall performs an average of 200 days a year at rodeos fairs and private functions Since 1994 he has hosted the Red Cowboy Comer a weekly one-hour radio show on 170 stations in 40 states Locally it airs on radio station KFWR959 FM He is most visible in Fort Worth each year when he hosts his annual chuck wagon gathering and western swing festival in the Stockyards music and poetry are primarily of cattle drives and chuck wagons They are the language of his youth think Mother would tell you that I started reading about cowboys and Indians as soon as I learned to he once told me know that been more than five days in my entire life that I read something about He grew up in the Texas Panhandle and he figured he would be a It was polio He grip a ball or grasp a saddle horn made a deal with Mrs Harry Miller who lived about three miles away for me to take mandolin he remembered paid $10 for it and paid it out $1 a month I would either ride a bicycle or walk that three miles each way to take lessons from Mrs The music lessons brought back strength to his hands and started him down a career path that eventually led to his cowboy music and poetry Of that music and poetry he said has been the most rewarding time of my life I think It is not an art form palatable to the masses but its market is fairly Substantial enough to place him next to other Hall of Great Westerners like Willa Cather Frank Dobie and Will Rogers In the parlance of his music and poetry Red Steagall has ONLINE: wwwredsteaqallcom Art Chapman (817)390-7422 artcstar-telegramcom tkxas at larcj: i cowboy of us who grew up there thought we were he said were always horses to ride We have any saddles but there were horses to ride I remember three of us saved well over a year for $14 to buy an army surplus McClellan saddle the most uncomfortable thing you can ride but we tore it up We rode it until there anything He eventually became a musician not by choice but by circumstance When he was 15 and the starting left end for the Phillips Black Hawks a state champion team he suddenly lost the use of his left arm and hand in Azle Steagall will be honored at the 42nd Western Heritage Awards ceremony in Oklahoma City on Saturday night The museum considers entry into the Hall of Great Westerners its highest honop In any other town there would likely be a parade If it was any other person there would probably be a call for speeches and toasts and all kinds of folderol That happen anywhere DALLAS RODEO SILHOUETTES she died at 6 pm Monday a spokeswoman for the Dallas County Medical Office said A suspect Marcus Dewayne Andrews 19 was being held at the Lew Ster-rett Justice Center on Tuesday with bail set at $100000 Detectives were unavailable to comment Tuesday and the motive for the shooting was unclear Police reports do not indicate whether another person was the intended target Girl 9 shot inside apartment dies A 9-year-old girl who was gravely wounded as gunfire poured into her apartment Sunday night has died Tiffany Johnson suffered a gunshot wound to the head at 8:23 pm when assailants opened fire at her home in the 2800 block of The Mall about three miles southeast of Love Field She was taken to Med-' ical Center of Dallas where STATE A group of cowboys watches bull riders at the Galveston County Fair and Rodeo in Santa Fe Texas on Tuesday Lawman finally gets his suspect Information Anyone with information on the case can call detectives at (214) 749-8641 By BILL MILLER STAR-TELEGRAM DALLAS BUREAU DALLAS Larry Forsythe recalled how his heart leapt two years ago when he was handed a report that listed a name he had sought for 20 years George Washington Hicks Forsythe a detective for the Dallas County Sheriffs Department in 1981 was unsuccessful in trying to find the person who killed Roxann Jeeves 30 and her 5-year-old son Kristopher Even after his promotion to executive chief deputy Forsythe was still gripped by the unsolved case and kept his files and notes in a cardboard box under his desk But in 2001 a DNA test matched two hairs taken from a knit cap at the crime scene in rural southeast Dallas County to evidence taken in a San Antonio rape case A suspect in the Jeeves slayings finally emerged Hicks heart just jumped right out of my chest" Forsythe said Tuesday during a news conference investigat- WWITi The suspect faces two counts of murder in the 1981 killings of Roxann Jeeves and her young son but investigators want to upgrade the charges to capital murder which can be punished by death ing murders you become hardened used to it But this was a child shot at point-blank range to the forehead a little difficult to get that out of your mind want to retire without clearing Hicks already serving 80 years for rape now faces two counts of murder Forsythe wants the charges upgraded to capital murder which can be punished by death Current law states that the murder of a child is a capital offense But because the Jeeves slayings occurred in 1981 officials must abide by the law that existed then Forsythe said At that time capital murder was applied if the victims were killed during the commission of another crime why investigators are eager to talk with the Hispanic or Native American woman who witnesses saw with the murder suspect talking with Kristopher Jeeves at the apartment complex where he lived with his mother Detectives Howard Sparks and Robert Bjorklund said they believe the woman participated in the killings because she was not with the suspect who was seen fleeing the crime scene But she might be able to describe the motives that day they said he kidnapped Roxann and her son then we can prove capital Sparks said But timing is crucial because some witnesses interviewed in 1981 have since died Forsythe said Bill Miller (972) 263-4448 wmillerstar-telegramcom charged had not been arrested by Tuesday The drug ring had operated out of the Panhandle between January 2000 and April 2003 and was distributing 100-pound quantities of methaphetamines prosecutors say The Mexican amphetamine was sent through Los Angeles and Phoenix areas and on to Amarillo and Hereford in Texas and Warner Robins Ga prosecutors said One of those charged is cooperating with prosecutors He told them he made a profit of about $400000 for the alleged leader of the ring Emilio Sanchez-Vejar during a five-month period in 2001 the release states HOUSTON City lawyers seek funds to battle adult businesses The city of legal department wants $40000 to continue its fight to preserve a sexually oriented business ordinance which has gone unenforced for five years while it remains under court scrutiny So far Houston has spent $450000 to uphold the ordinance since it was enacted in 1997 The ordinance restricts how closely sexually oriented businesses can be located to schools churches day-care centers and residential areas While the legal battle has continued more than two dozen additional adult entertainment clubs have opened a majority of which violate the ordinance Councilwoman Amuse Parker said Tuesday Hie ordinance battle is before the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans which is expected to rule in the coming months Both sides have said they will probably appeal if the ruling goes against them City council members were set to decide Wednesday whether they should give the legal department the requested $40000 dompilcil from wire reports EL PASO Snowmelt should ease water conservation rules Late-season snow in southern Colorado should replenish the Rio Grande and allow El Paso to return to more relaxed water conservation rules by late June according to a federal water expert Some council members and busi- nessmen had complained i about the Stage 2 outdoor watering restrictions that began April 1 after experts warned about a river drought that could cause shortages this summer In particular they like limiting lawn watering to one day a week for two hours On June 17 the restrictions automatically revert to Stage 1 i which allow watering three 1 times a week unless the El Paso City Council votes to continue with Stage 2 El Paso gets more than a third of its water from the riv- er and 80 percent of the water that reaches the Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mcxi- co comes from snowmelt runoff in the San Juan Moun-j tains of southern Colorado and i northern New Mexico Wayne Treers a hydrologi- cal engineer with the US Bureau of Reclamation said about 57 percent of that snowmelt will reach the Rio Grande this year AMARILLO ft 10 drug suspects in I cuslody in Panhandle Sixteen people accused of smuggling and distributing hundreds of pounds of mcthamphetaminc out of the Amarillo area were in federal custody Tuesday INmi on charges alleging they brought the drug into Los Angeles from Mex- ico and shipped it to other larcas of the country according to the US office I A federal complaint filed last week charges 26 people 'with drug trafficking charges Ten of those black issue He said he also voted against the commitments and covenants partly because they could easily be overturned by a simple majority vote and do not bind school officials to continue the existing programs Trustee Rafael Anchia testified that it is irresponsible to bind future boards because circumstances and demographics can change Trustee Ron Price said it be wise for officials to cut funding to programs such as the learning centers which he called flagship schools of the district Price said lifting the order would give the district flexibility to address school needs without going through the court for approval which is the case for many funding issues Most trustees said the court order has not hindered them from serving students Nonetheless Juan Flores the internal desegregation monitor said during cross-examination that the school district is in compliance with the order and doing all it can to maintain that compliance Eva Mai in Ayala (972) 263 4448 edyald'-'stdf -telegram com By EVA-MARIE AYALA STAR TEt EGRAM DALLAS BUREAU DALLAS Some school board trustees testified Tuesday that they did not seek a dismissal of a 31-year-old desegregation order prompting criticism from the federal judge overseeing the case Five trustees testified Tuesday during the eighth day of hearings to determine whether the district should be released from court supervision However four trustees said they voted to have the court review the case not to dismiss it Trustee Joe May said he know the school attorneys were seeking dismissal just found that out today" May said Judge Barefoot Sanders was surprised and disturbed by the testimony He questioned Robert Thomas the attorney on why the hearing was being held if trustees did not ask for it just concerned about the apparent misunderstanding" Sanders said Thomas said trustees did not vote specifically to ask for a dismissal but did know that was a possibility because they adopted commitments and covenants they An attorney for the Dallas school district says trustees knew requesting a dismissal of the order was a possibility promised to adhere to if released from the order The order stems from a 1970 lawsuit that called for the school district to comply with the 1954 Supreme Court decision outlawing segregated schools and a 1959 appeals court decision ordering the desegregation of Dallas schools Superintendent Mike Moses who initiated the hearing declined to comment until the hearings are finished During previous board meetings Moses told trustees that the schools were in compliance and asked them to request a review heat ing Trustee Lew Blackburn said he voted against having any hearing because more needs to be done to ensure the survival of programs created by the desegregation order He said he strongly felt that funding levels for such programs would change without the longstanding order because some in the school district see desegregation as a --r ftm dfr fti mfr i ft.