Educators says legislation would jeopardize student safety and probably not save money
BY CINDY RAMIREZ, EL PASO TIMES
El Paso Times (Texas)
Updated: 05-18-2011 1:41 pm
A Texas House bill passed by the Senate on Friday will require the nine school districts in El Paso County to study and consider consolidating their police and security forces -- a measure educators say would jeopardize student safety and probably not save taxpayer money.
House Bill 1254, sponsored by state Rep. Joe Pickett, requires the districts to meet by Jan. 1, 2012, and present a report to the commissioner of education no later than May 1, 2012. The bill does not require that they consolidate, but rather that they collect and review data and discuss the practicality of sharing the employment of those staffs.
"This is not a mandate or a recommendation, but merely a way to open up a discussion that may or may not end up with some benefits," Pickett said. He added this is especially important "during today's difficult financial times when we have to do everything we can to spend money wisely."
Most school districts in the county have security employees, but only the Socorro and El Paso districts have certified police officers.
"At the end of the day, I don't see any major cost savings that's going to help me overcome a $27 million shortfall from the legislature," El Paso district Superintendent Lorenzo Garcia said. "But the bigger concern is the safety of our students and the security of our campuses. You can't eliminate that."
The El Paso district has 37 police officers, 95 campuses and about 64,000 students. Socorro Independent School District officials didn't immediately return calls, but the school system has a certified police force, according to its website. The district has about 40 campuses and 42,500 students.
The Ysleta Independent School District has only two certified police officers and a staff of security officers. It was unclear how many security officers serve the district's 44,700 students and 60 campuses.
Jimmy Loredo, associate superintendent of finance for the Ysleta school district, said the idea raises many concerns, including whether relationships and knowledge of the schools and the communities would be lost.
"One size does not fit all," Loredo said.
He added that it's the fault of the legislature, not the school districts, that budgets are tight.
"As we speak, the Ysleta district is financially stable," Loredo said. "We're just waiting to see what damage the legislature is going to make."
Police: Man who tried entering Army base caught
Suspect also reportedly entered and left a university building where classes were in session
BY ALAN SCHER ZAGIER
Associated Press
Updated: 05-12-2011 2:06 pm
ROLLA, Mo.
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Police said Thursday that they captured a man who tried breaking into an Army base and fired on police during a high-speed chase before entering and leaving a university building where classes were in session.
Rolla Police Chief Mark Kearse said officers took Cody N. Willcoxson, of South West City, into custody Thursday afternoon, hours before they say he tried sneaking into nearby Fort Leonard Wood using a fake ID.
Willcoxson was released from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections in 2008 after serving about 3 1/2 years for burglary, escaping from jail, and other felonies.
Fort Leonard Wood spokesman Mike Warren said a man tried entering the base through its west gate Thursday morning but was told to leave by a security guard, who determined the man's identification card didn't look legitimate. Instead of leaving, the driver accelerated rapidly and drove through the gate, then led military police on a chase that ended when he drove back out through the front gate and the St. Robert Police Department began the pursuit, he said.
St. Robert Police Chief Curtis Curenton said the officers had been on Interstate 44 for only a couple miles when the driver began firing shots from what appeared to be an AK-47. Curenton said he followed the gunman about 32 miles to Rolla when his driver's-side mirror was hit with one round and his engine compartment was hit by another.
Officers put "stop sticks" on the road and punctured a tire before the driver reached Rolla. He eventually had to ditch the vehicle and fled on foot before stealing another vehicle and heading toward the interstate, according to the sheriff's department website.
Just before 9 a.m. the Missouri University of Science and Technology received a report of a gunman entering McNutt Hall, which houses the school's Department of Mining and Nuclear Engineering. A university spokeswoman said the gunman was seen leaving the campus.
Campus police issued an alert at 8:50 telling those on campus to remain indoors and everyone else to stay away. The suspect left campus without firing a shot, a campus police official said.
Willcoxson was among nine inmates who attacked a jailer and fled on foot from the Delaware County Jail in Oklahoma. He had escaped twice previously, and authorities suspected him of masterminding the jail break.
During the escape, a prisoner attacked the jailer, stole his keys, kicked in the door to the sheriff's office and stole a .22-caliber rifle before all nine slipped out the side door of the courthouse, the Tulsa World reported at the time.
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Associated Press writers Heather Hollingsworth and Bill Draper contributed this report from Kansas City
Colorado elementary school evacuated after students complain of nausea, dizziness
60 treated for noxious fumes
BY ALAN GATHRIGHT, 7NEWS CONTENT PRODUCER
thedenverchannel.com
Updated: 05-12-2011 1:52 pm
LOVELAND, Colo.
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450 students were evacuated from Winona Elementary School in Loveland after several began complaining about nausea and dizziness Tuesday morning.
Fearing a buildup of carbon monoxide, authorities shut down the school.
Emergency responders treated 60 people -- 57 of them kids -- for dizziness and nausea and headaches.
Several students and three adults were taken to nearby hospitals for further observation.
•11 victims were taken to McKee Medical Center
•21 victims were taken to Medical Center of the Rockies
•11 victims were taken to Poudre Valley Hospital
Another 17 victims were treated at a staging area in front of the school.
Loveland Fire Division Chief Merlin Green said the patients had a sudden onset of illness around 10 a.m.
"I just got dizzy, then my stomach kind of hurt and if felt like I was going to throw up," said Valeria Torres, who was treated for nausea.
Parents were notified about the emergency via phone call.
Valeria’s mom drove to the school then to a nearby assisted living center and back to school frantically searching for her daughter.
“They told me she was taken to a hospital,” Paula Velasquez said. “But they didn’t say which one.”
“It’s kind of frustrating because you’re scared,” Velasquez said. “We knew she was at the hospital and no one’s telling us which one. Finally an EMT (emergency medical technician) was able to tell me which hospital she was taken to.”
Carol Zugarramurdi learned about the emergency from a friend who happened to drive by the school and saw Zugarramurdi’s grandson sitting on the curb with an oxygen mask.
“That scared me because I didn’t know what was going on,” Zugarramurdi said. “Of course I rushed over here.”
Both her grandson and her granddaughter were transported to a nearby hospital after complaining about headaches, dizziness and nausea.
“They gave me these tablets that like dissolved on my tongue and gave me some Tylenol and it helped me,” said 10-year-old Candi Zugarramurdi.
“We just rested a while and they took our vitals a lot,” added 11-year-old Cisco Zugarramurdi. “After a while we started feeling better.”
What caused the sudden illness among the students and staff is still a mystery.
When asked if it may have been carbon monoxide, Green said, “We don’t know. We conducted air monitor tests inside the building, but detected nothing out of the ordinary.”
Loveland Fire & Rescue and Xcel Energy cleared the school and the surrounding area early Tuesday afternoon, after finding no apparent cause for the reactions.
Children who showed no symptoms were taken to the Marisol Senior Living Center at 1153 Finch St., said Melissa Adams, spokeswoman for the Thompson School District. Parents were directed to pick up their children at the senior center.
School was canceled for the rest of the day.
The school will reopen for normal operation on Wednesday. Parents have been notified.
The building will be re-inspected, including air sampling, at 5 a.m. to ensure the safety of all its occupants.
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