Corpus Christi Caller-Times from Corpus Christi, Texas • 13

SECIIttJB IMbvMmiBS LMng87 OWtMrteWW Metro Editor Scott Rothschild 886-3683 Designer: Gary Fulghum 886-3600 Local Copyritf 0 1990 CtototThm PubMkig Company wwwcallercom Thursday March 5 1998 State fund helping crime victims in Nueces County 290 local residents given more than $500000 in financial assistance attorney fees counseling funeral expenses and child care Money from the Crime Victims Compensation Fund helps victims or their family members pay for such expenses which are not usually covered by insurance is part of the attorney emphasis on balancing the rights of crime victims with the rights of said Ward By Anna Tinsley Scripps Howard Austin Bureau AUSTIN Criminals who preyed on Nueces County residents were forced to pay their victims $337719 last year Locally 290 residents were among the nearly 10000 Texas crime victims who split $282 million from a state assistance fund last year according to the Crime Vic- Through court fees restitution and donations criminals put $826 million into the fund from Sept 1 1996 to Aug 31 1997 according to the Thus attorney office Crime victims often face unexpected finandal burdens medical expenses crime scene cleanups a person becomes a victim of a crime it is devastating to families emotionally physically and Clements said when the victim is the breadwinner It leaves the family without finandal support 'fund is the absolute safety net for many many families in this Compensation 1997 Annual Report The fund which helps reimburse crime victims for costs related to acts of violence is essential to victims statewide said Diane Clements president of Justice For All a Houston-based victims advocacy group Rebate coming firomCHL Credit on March bills to be as much as $36 By Anna Tinsley Scripps Howard Austin Bureau AUSTIN Central Power and light customers will get as much as a $36 credit on March electnc bills as part of a state-ordered refund for overcharges This is the second of a two-part refund ordered by the Texas Public Utility Commission which regulates the electric industry In December CPL customers received a credit of about $35 comes at a good time of the year for CPL customers while people are probably still recovering from the said Jessica Mahaffey a spokeswoman for CPL in Corpus Christi heard from customers in December who were pleased about the refund and the lower Last year PUC commissioners said they wanted estimated 589000 customers to receive a refund from millions of dollars of overcharges CPL officials divided the refund into two months because of the size of the overall reimbursement estimated to be about $71 million The average customer who uses about 1000 kilowatt hours of electricity a month will get a refund of about $36 on March's bill CPL offi- -dais said Wednesday There will be a message on the bill directing customers' attention to the refund is the culmination of the original order to simply strike a balance between utilities and their said-Katy Bohuslav a PUC spokeswoman This is the latest development in a case that began in 1993 as a request by CPL for a $708 million rate increase CPL wanted to charge customers millions of dollars for costs related to the rate request -including more than $19 million in legal fees Utility commissioners accused the utility of setting new standard for outrageousness" in wanting to charge CPL customers for the cost PImm sea CPLB2 Chef to open Friday Chet a well-known Corpus Chris ti restaurant that was dam-v aged by a fire lUesday night likely will reopen Fnday morning said family members of owner Jeff Dolson wife Karen Dolson said restaurant staff will work out of the second kitchen which received little damage and the menu will be limited Jeff Dolson hopes to have the restaurant fully operational by Monday Keren Dolson said Fire investigators said the blaze started about 7 pm near a stove They had not determined the cause of the fire on Wednesday but said it could have been electrical The building was damaged by smoke throughout I Mobile permanent voting locations Early voting mobile locations today include: H-E-B No 7 3133 Alameda St 11 am to 6 pm H-E-B Na 3 11100 Leopard St 11 am to 6 pm H-E-B Na 14444 Kos- toryz 11 am to 6 pm Corpus Christi Army Depot Building 8 308 Crecy St9 am to 3 pm Banquete Senior Citizens Center 8 am to 5 pm Permanent early voting locations will be open from 7 ajnto 7 pm today They are: Nueces County Courthouse 901 Leopard St Robstown County Building 710 Main St Bishop County Build- 6115 Ash St Port Aransas City Hall 710 Avenue A Flour- Bluff County Building 10110 Compton Road Corpus Christi Area Council for the Deaf 5151 McArdle Road Greenwood Senior Citizens Center 4040 Greenwood Drive Hilltop Communit Center (Annaville area 11425 Leopard St Boy Scout Camporee to be Friday-Sunday The Boy Scouts of America Gulf Coast Council will host a Camporee Friday through Sunday at Knolle Farms on Farm-to-Market Road 70 east of Sandia About 730 Scouts from 17 counties will take part in the program which will be the council's first Camporee in four years Events will be open to the iblic from 9 am to 4 pm iturday This year marks the 30th anniversary of Camporee where Scouts compete in categories such as first aid knot tying campfire building ana campsite and uniform inspection DwM AdamflCaHor-Tlmoo And there sails a house A tug shoves a barge bearing a house destination unknown past the Lexington museum in Corpus Christi Bay on Wednesday Judge hopefuls fight for votes and funds Candidates say scramble for campaign cash can turn race into popularity contest State GOP primary races get dirtyB4 Huerta said: are in that position to serve the people The judges should serve the people not the government because everyday people on an everyday basis that go before these Huerta said -Brazell said: gives the greater number of people power to decide who the judges are going to be It could however be changed to nonpartisan But Republican Tom Greenwell who in November will face the winner of the March third' behind opponents Martha Huerta and Ida Hernandez Brazell in the scramble for campaign cash Errlinda Castillo has raised the least amount of money a popularity contest and that's a Stevens said whoever has the slickest Still he and his opponents said electing judges is better than proposals that would allow the appointment of judges Caller-lbnes Political contributors have poured more than $141000 into the Democratic primary race for judge of the 319th District Court according to county records The candidates say they believe judges should be elected rather than appointed but all say rather not have to fall into a money chase to win election to the state judiciary problem with the election system is people know who these judges said candidate Ryan Stevens running pimatMCouinyBs Dead Mend describes the events before fatal shooting Girl wounded by gunman describes attack in home Baltazar on trial in killing of Adriana Marines 5 By Jim Day CaUerllma By Guy Lawrence CiUcr-TImes pssrssjsrrnUB issaTf rss SSSS 9w i ed Cuellar for assaulting his mother Chief Prosecutor Gail Sadoskas told the jury Wednesday the first day of the trial in the 148th State District Court that Baltazar kicked in the door to the residence fired three shots at Vanessa and Adriana and then walked to the master bedroom where he fired shots at Jose Arturo Marines Baltazar was accompanied by Johnny Gonzales In December Gonzales was sentenced to 80 years in prison for his role in the killing Witnesses in Gonzales' trial testified that he acted as the backup to Baltazar Vanessa the first witness to testify said that she did not know she was shot until she coughed up blood The bullet entered her shoulder and lodged in her chest Sadoskas asked Vanessa why the doctors did not remove the bullet it was too close to my heart" Vanessa said Defense attorney Mickey Kol-pack asked Vanessa about the Ghoto line-up when police asked er to identify the suspect From court testimony Wednesday Vanessa was the only one of three Christine Rivera and her friend Mona Moore were having a couple of drinks at local bars and celebrating tneir recent graduation from dental hygiene school the night Rivera was killed by a gunshot wound to the head They were having a good time at Booters nightclub talking about Rivera's marriage ana accepting a round of drinks from a man when suddenly husband former state trooper Adrian Rivera confronted them Moore testified Wednesday His appearance at the bar had Moore so scared she told her friend she want her to go A Rivera home that night Moore testified was crying I was afraid for Moore told a jury Wednesday want him to hurt Moore was testifying in the first day of the murder trial of Adrian Rivera It is the second time he has been tried in the June 22 1993 shooting death of his wife A mistrial was declared in the first trial in May 1996 after a jury deadlocked 8-4 for acquittal Moore is a key witness for prosecutors because she testified that she was with Christine Rivera throughout that evening and saw Adrian Rivera shoot her Douglas-Tinker one of Adrian attorneys said Moore is lying about how much she saw that night Tinker said he would produce witnesses Eleven-year-old Vanessa Marines spoke in a hushed voice Wednesday when she described the night she was shot in the chest and her S-year old cousin killed while watching a videotape of men came in and kicked the door Vanessa testified in the capital murder trial of John Richard Baltazar just kicked the door down open and he just started shooting" Vanessa identified Baltazar as the man who shot her and her cousin Adriana Nicole Marines as the two girls lay on the couch in the living room of the house on Panama Drive on Sept 27 1997 Baltazar also faces two aggravated assault charges for shooting Vanessa and Jose Arturo Marines Adriana's father Testimony is scheduled to resume today Police have said that Baltazar went to the home to find Narciso Cuellar who was his boyfriend Cuellar was an uncle to Adriana and apparently stayed at the house at times but was not there the night of the shooting Br'tazar allegedly target Wi tod'-W sgwsj OMteCtoWWltolMnW KXrlAMralMtS fc hi Mk a SIMM aM fiStawwcllOiMtoM Ownd OongonVCaSatflmM fWHM 1 nP IWRBnB VMBW Swiot dMs nol pndtyt nbi tor Mmm AnMlMbtelMMal rJMMrlWMtoWMMMliSw lMMl Of MP tod Of OMSK Tending to the cemetery City worker Bonifacio Torres trims weeds Wednesday at Bayvlew Cemetery on Ramirez Street The cemetery Includes dating from the mkke 1800s saaMVEMU Z5S5365 uupum i.