Fort Worth Star-Telegram from Fort Worth, Texas • 29

Wednesday April 30 2003 1 Star-Telegram wwwstar-telegramcom 1 5B not dealing with budget cuts dealing with amputations Dr Linda Villarreal a Border Health Caucus member Story below Health care cuts seen as Metroplex problem I cerns in Dallas and Houston hoping to persuade lawmakers to reconsider the proposed reductions which were includ-ed in the House budget approved earlier this month The version before the Senate includes similar cuts but they are not as steep A spokesman for Gov Rick Perry who supports the House budget cuts and has said the budget will maintain health care for the neediest Texans emphasized that the cuts are not set in stone and could change before final adoption of the budget budget process is said Perry spokesman Gene Acuna The House plan would trim more than 275000 youngsters from the Health Insurance Program and 17000 low-income pregnant women from Medicaid It is estimated that 56000 frail elderly and disabled people would be left without home care The border caucus argues that the reductions will cost more than they save because patients who lose care will be forced to seek more expensive treatment at hospital emer gency rooms The reductions also will cause the state to lose matching federal funds caucus members said Dr Ron Anderson president and chief executive officer of Parkland Health Hospital System agreed that the proposed reductions would hit hard among urban hospitals serving the poor The reductions would force the Parkland system to cut $43 million from its $800 million budget and a tax rate increase would be likely- think that the cuts are any worse in the south than they are Anderson said I are devastating Although Anderson said he did not expect the cuts cause South Texas patients to come to the Metroplex several border physicians said their patients already are going to San Antonio and Houston for health care because of overbur- dened border hospitals and low Medicaid reimbursements- that nonvisible line is slowly creeping north because-we cannot feasibly Villarreal said Mary McKee (972) 263-4448 mmckeestar-teleqramconi A HERO AT HEART Burglar feels good about saving children despite being arrested By MARY McKEE STAR-TELEGRAM DALLAS BUREAU DALLAS Doctors who serve border cities predict that the health care reductions being considered by state lawmakers would not only devastate their communities but also cripple hospitals in the Metroplex If House Bill 1 becomes law members of the Border Health Caucus said poor South Texas patients would likely seek medical treatment in San Antonio Houston and as far north as Dallas and Fort Worth forcing health care providers in I' i c' 1' i f' Inmate indicted in deaths qf woman son in 1981 Ji Dallas County grand jury has indicted a prison inmate in the 1981 slayings of a Dallas woman and her 5-3eap-old son according to court records released Sheriffs Department officials announced earlier this month that DNA evidence lipked the killings of Roxann Jeeves and her son Kristopher to George Washington Hicks Jr 52 who is already serving 80 years for rape Officials plan to bring Hicks back to Dallas on a bench warrant to face two counts of murder punishable by another prison term of life Or five to 99 years They also hope to upgrade the charges to capital murder which is punishable by lethal injection Sgt Don Peritz spokesman said under current law the murder of a cjhild is a capital offense but Ijecause the Jeeves slayings Occurred 22 years ago laws tjiat existed then must be applied He said that in 1981 capital uder was applied only if victims were killed during the commission of another crime Investigators believe the Victims were kidnapped yhch they hope to prove itfr information from a woman i- either Hispanic or Illative American who witnesses saw with the suspect on the day of the Two inen in custody after shooting death Two men were in police custody Tuesday afternoon $1 Connection with the early-morning shooting death of a £)aflas man £htd Brooks 28 died at Presbyterian Hospital of £aflas where he was taken ftr-the 1:30 am shooting in hisiiorih Dallas apartment thfeSjOOO block of Timber-glep Road said Sgt Larry DALLAS By BETSY BLANEY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ABILENE A man who rescued four children from a burning apartment said Tuesday that my heart I do feel like a despite being arrested on a probation violation after authorities saw him on TV Kris Leija said in a jail-house interview that he hesitate to enter the burning apartment although smoke burned his lungs and he could feel the heat even think about said Leija 22 who is on probation for a 2002 burglary thought about the victims who lived there I care about what happened to me felt like God put me there for a Leija was passing the apartment complex on his bicycle early Sunday when he noticed the blaze He braved the flames three times in rescuing the children including one in a baby seat ignoring paramedics who warned him not to endanger himself Video footage showed Leija collapsing on his hands and knees afterward apparently from exhaustion Later Sunday a deputy recognized Leija when he appeared on television with the grandmother He was arrested Monday after doing several interviews with local and national news media lot of people call me a hero but I really feel a hero because of what been charged with and the I viniiiriViVliJrr ft retrieved the infant in the car seat and returned for the-mother who had left the ond-story apartment About 70 families were homeless by the fire which destroyed three buildings in an apartment complex No one died in the blaze but fire officials said one woman suf- fered a broken arm The cause remained under investigation THE ASSOCIATED PRESSTONY GUTIERREZ After Kris Leija spoke to several reporters Sunday he ended up in an Abilene jail even think about myself I thought about the victims who lived there I care about what happened to Leija 1 Ml South Texas physicians warn that health care cuts under consideration by state lawmakers would have a significant effect on North Texas hospitals those cities and their taxpayers to shoulder the burden not dealing with budget cuts dealing with said Dr Linda Villarreal a caucus member from Edinburg during a news conference at Dallas City Hall on Tuesday The caucus aired its con Lewis of the homicide unit The men face charges of capital murder Lewis said Jailer linked to inmate sexual assault is fired A jailer at the Lew Ster-rett Justice Center was fired after DNA evidence linked him to the sexual assault of a female inmate in March a sheriffs department spokesman said Tuesday Cedric Carson also faces felony criminal charges in the assault of the 37-year-old Oklahoma woman who was being held on theft charges in Dallas Sgt Don Peritz said The assault allegedly happened March 9 and deputies learned about it from the mother Peritz said The inmate has been returned to California to face parole violations Truck driver indicted in fatal crash on 1-35 A truck driver has been indicted in connection with a November crash that killed an 11-year-old girl according to court records released Tuesday Jaun Olds 37 of Elm Mott was indicted on a manslaughter charge in the Nov 13 death of Elizabeth Hampton of Austin The girl died when her four-door GMC pickup was crushed by a tractor-trailer driven by Olds on Interstate 35E near Pleasant Run Road according to reports Investigators have said they believe Olds who is free on bail was driving too fast as he tried to change lanes while northbound on the interstate parents and older sister survived the crash Charges were also filed against James Arthaud 46 of Kempner the owner said Sgt Don Peritz sheriffs department spokesman The grand jury did not release any information about him country dance club when he noticed a suspicious man in a dark-colored pickup Frisco chased the pickup and grabbed onto it The truck traveling up to 100 mph dragged the officer down a road witnesses said At least one passing car ran over the body Although the case received extensive news coverage police were unable to track leads to a suspect They finally got a break in the case when San Antonio police arrested Richard Ruiz in a narcotics case two years ago Ruiz a friend of Salinas told police what happened according to court records Ruiz said Salinas told him about the night Frisco died Ruiz gave police a description of the truck and where it could be fdund Compiled ton staff and wire reports On Tuesday Leija said that after he saw the fire he ran to the complex and began knocking on doors A child answered one door and Leija removed three of the four children inside was already smoky and I could feel the heat he said lungs were burning and I breathe at He ran back inside Tiny invaders create flap with Texas-size appetites STATE way people are viewing as a criminal Leija said in my heart I do feel like a Leija is charged with violating his probation for failing to meet with his probation officer last month A bail hearing was set for Wednesday Authorities lauded exploits but said they were-obligated to serve the arrest warrant Fast-flying creatures invade Texas to feed on blankets of spring flowers insects and gallons of sugary water pus have been coming across the coast for about a month They come from Yucatan and southern Mexico probably as far as our birds go Sometimes they go that far away If the weather is just right and it has been recently a lot of the fluttery little birds just hang around the Rio Grande Valley Most of them however will eventually work their way to Canada before returning south What keeps them on the move is food Tizard said They need a lot of food Hummingbirds can flap their wings as much as 80 times per second although the normal rate is about 50 or so when flying Tizard said in a story published by the university And their heart rate has been recorded as high 1260 beats per minute So they need a lot of nourishment Still they just down to eat There is no such thing as a nice relaxing meal Every meal is a power lunch They eat on the fly and they especially enjoy eating at the feeders we often hang from porches and tree limbs Hummingbird feeders ordinarily contain sugared water and the best mix is about one cup of sugar for every five cups of water use red dyes Tizard said are attracted by he said is OK to use red bulbs in the feeders but the red water does them no Tizard says best to have several feeders scattered around because well frankly hummingbirds will duke it out over a feeder They are territorial Hummingbirds are known for fighting among themselves for food why best to have more than one feeder out he said A tree is an ideal place because hummingbirds will get a drink fly away for a few seconds and almost always return Tizard says hummingbirds must have solid food besides the quick sugar fix they get from feeders But even try giving them birdseed They wanr bugs tiny little bugs Some of their favorite eating places include honeysuckle and azaleas trumpet creepers mimosa trees and petunias Their rapid movement requires that they eat almost continuously adds Tizard If they they can easily starve to death Although hummingbirds are entertain- ing to watch the tiny birds do -have some enemies These include owls hawks cats lizards snakes and even pray- ing mantises and spiders Hummingbirds range from 22 grams to the giant hum- mingbirds of South America which weigh over 20 grams and are about the size of a sparrow Tizard said tiny birds are pure hunks when it comes to mus- cle and staying power They migrate from 500 to 1000 miles each year searching for flowers and food and been clocked at 27 mph but suspected they can fly at least 50 Tizard said They should be among us now he said But they stay more than three months eat and move on he said every- Art Chapman (817) 390-7422 achapmanstar-teleqraiiicom ESI Texas is under siege not a menacing attack nothing like killer bees Most people even notice the assault in their day-to-day lives But there is an invasion In big numbers Hummingbirds Thanks to a generally kind winter the Ruby Throated Black Chinned Buff Bellied Blue Throated and Magnificent hummingbirds are now darting up through Texas across your backyards and through your trees causing a buzz And they are a voracious lot not earth scorchers like locusts or other crop devouring bugs But these little creatures can consume some calories At Texas University Dr Ian Tizard a bird specialist keeps track of their habits and habitats began coming through College Station a couple weeks he said from his office on the cam- SAN ANTONIO lck used in crime nd 17 years later Central Texas law officers able to solve a 17-year-police murder case when uck involved in the crime i found hidden in a shed at a southwestern Bexar County ranch The missing truck was the last fetectives needed to the case i discovery led to the of the driver Pablo nan Salinas who was need Monday to 25 i in prison linas 39 was found of killing Lt John Paul 39 on Dec 13 1985 isc0 of the Windcrest Department was in rm working off-duty ity at a northeast side.