Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 034, Ed. 1 Friday, December 24, 2010 Page: 4 of 14
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Sweetwater Reporter
Friday, December 24, 2010 ■ Page A3
Obituaries
LINDA MARTIN FRY
Linda Martin Fit. 66, of Dallas and formerly of
Sweetwater, died Thursday, Dec. 23, 2010, at a Dallas
hospital.
She will be cremated. There will be a private family
graveside service at a later date.
Fry was born Oct. 17, 1944, in Brady, Tx. She was a
member of Broadway Baptist Church. Fry was a 1963
graduate of Sweetwater High School and attended
Western Texas College in Snyder. She was a lifelong
resident of Sweetwater and had lived in Abilene and
Amarillo at different times and worked as a bookkeeper
for A.I.G.
Survivors include two daughters, Pam Reynolds and
husband Donald of Sweetwater and Janet Watson and
husband David of Amarillo; brother, Gregory Martin
of Dallas; father, Melvin Martin of Dallas; five grand-
children, Jeff Ludlum of Sweetwater, Kevin Ludliun of
Sweetwater, Julie Watson of Amarillo, Bryce Watson of
Amarillo and Lori Watson of Amarillo.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Nancy
Martin; and a sister, Janelle Lanier.
Moody Gardens welcomes
blind sea lion 'Squirt'
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — A blind California sea lion
with a knack for playing with toys is doing just fine at her
new home in Galveston.
Moody Gardens this month welcomed the young, eye-
sight-crippled creature named "Squirt" to its aquarium
exhibit.
The Galveston County Daily News reported Thursday
that Squirt was found a year ago along the shore of Santa
Barbara, Calif.
Doctors discovered Squirt was blind while she was being
nursed back to health by volunteers with the Santa Barbara
Marine Mammal Center.
Experts say Squirt is doing well, is now 80 pounds and
gets along with the other animals.
Assistant curator Diane Olsen says Squirt is curious, has
had a great time exploring the exhibit and is "very much a
young, playful sea lion."
Letter to Santa
Dear Santa,
I,m not writeing this letter to ask any thing for me,
but I am asking for my PaPo. He would really like Good
Health, Family & Friends and I dont now why but he
would like an old car. An ok, maybe I would like some
boots.
John Medina
Taylor County lail custodial death
On Friday morning, Dec. 17, Taylor County jailers were pre-
paring inmates for breakfast at the jail. Initiate Daven Ellis,
54 years of age was found unresponsive in his cell. Justice of
the Peace Deatherage pronounced Ellis dead at 6:05 a.m. at
the jail.
The body was taken to the Tarrant County medical examin-
ers' office in Fort Worth for autopsy. Those results are pend-
ing. The final autopsy report may take as long as two months.
Taylor County Sheriff s Office requested Texas Ranger Mike
Parker to assist with the investigation. This is normal in a
custodial death.
This is an ongoing investigation.
m
rv
Continued from page A1
where patients relax and visit, and either watch television,
read or play games."
"We are always in need of television sets, and we thought
Christmas would be the perfect time to ask the public for
their used television sets.'
"Our only requirement is that they be at least a 13-inch
screen and that they be in working condition," Couch said.
"Remote controls are not necessary, but we will take them
with the television set."
Televisions can be taken to the Community Relations
office on the Big Spring State Hospital campus, 1901 N.
Highway 87, or the hospital can arrange to pick up televi-
sions from a local address, she said.
Donations are tax-deductible, and the Community
Relations office can provide receipts for the donations.
If you have any questions, please call the Community
Relations office at 432 268-7535.
Big Spring State Hospital is a 200-bed psychiatric hospi-
tal in Howard County for people in West Texas. The hos-
pital employs more than 650 people, including physicians,
nurses, therapists and direct care workers.
Gays ousted from military now hoping to return
DAVID CRARY
AP National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -
Joseph Rocha reported
being cruelly hazed by
Navy colleagues. Katherine
Miller resigned from West
Point halfway through,
weary of concealing her
sexual orientation. David
Hall was outed by a fel-
low Air Force cadet and
booted from the career he
loved.
The exits from military
service were wrenching
consequences of "don't
ask, don't tell," the policy
prohibiting gay and les-
bian personnel from being
open about their sexuality.
Yet Hall, Rocha and Miller
savored military duty and
now — with 'don't ask,
don't tell" heading toward
oblivion — they want to
return.
Rocha, 24, was
in Washington on
Wednesday, watching
euphorically as President
Barack Obama signed the
bill clearing the way for
repeal of the 17-year-old
policy. Obama encouraged
those who were discharged
to re-enlist, and Rocha said
he hopes to do just that
by enrolling in the Marine
Corps' Officer Candidates
School in Quantico, Va.
"I had a rough child-
hood, and the only father
figure I had was a godfa-
ther who was a Marine,"
Rocha said in a telephone
interview after the cere-
mony. "To me the Marine
Corps exemplified honor,
integrity, a sense of family
— things that were drasti-
cally the opposite of what I
experienced as a child."
Rocha's eagerness to
serve is remarkable, given
his experience in Bahrain
in 2005 with a Navy bomb-
sniffer dog unit. He report-
ed being tied to a chair and
left in a dog kennel, hosed
down while in uniform and
forced to simulate oral sex
on another sailor — part of
series of hazing incidents
that prompted a high-level
Navy review earlier this
year.
After Bahrain, Rocha
attended the U.S. Naval
Academy Preparatory
School in Rhode Island
but decided to leave the
Navy in 2007 by telling his
commander he's gay. He's
scheduled to graduate in
May from the University
of San Diego.
A recent Pentagon sur-
vey found that the Marine
Corps, among all the ser-
vice branches, had the
highest portion of mem-
bers worried that repeal
of "don't ask, don't tell"
would cause problems.
But that hasn't deterred
Rocha from aspiring to a
Marine career.
"Marines are very loyal
to their leadership, and
unfortunately they have
leaders who've been insub-
ordinate to the president,"
he said. "But I know the
Marines appreciate to a
great degree how a per-
son's qualifications — if
they're willing to die for
their country - is far more
important than a person's
sexuality."
More than 13,500 peo-
ple were discharged under
don't ask, don't tell." The
question of reinstatement
was addressed earlier this
year in a Pentagon study.
It recommended that oust-
ed gays and lesbians "be
considered for re-entry,
assuming they qualify in
all other respects."
The study said the fact
that they violated "don't
ask, don't tell" should not
be held against them but
added that if they received
an "other than honorable"
discharge for accompany-
ing reasons, those reasons
should be considered.
Miller, a 21-year-old
from Findlay, Ohio, wasn't
discharged, but "don't ask,
don't tell" was the reason
she left the U.S. Military
Academy despite impres-
sive achievements there.
She ranked ninth in her
class of more than 1,150
and relished most aspects
of academy life. But lying
about her sexual orien-
tation — in conflict with
West Point's honor code
— took its toll.
"Every day was a com-
promise — portraying
myself as something I was
not," she said.
She said she also felt
anguished over her reluc-
tance to speak up when
some members of her mil-
itary ethics class used anti-
gay slurs and suggested
that sexually active gays
were going to hell.
She resigned from the
academy in August and
is now halfway through
her junior year at Yale
University. But with "don't
ask, don't tell" soon end-
ing, she has already reap-
plied to West Point and
hopes to return there this
summer to complete her
final two years.
Why go back?
"Retrospectively, now
that I've been to Yale,
everything at West Point
is more of a team effort,"
she said. "You get a feeling
of cohesion, camaraderie.
I like that."
If she does pursue an
Army career, it's not a desk
job she wants. First choice,
if combat units are opened
to women, would be duty
with an armored unit. If
not, flying helicopters.
Hall is a former staff ser-
geant with the Air Force,
which he joined in 1996,
following in the footsteps
of a father and stepfather
who each served more
than 20 years.
After basic training,
Hall served with fighter
squadrons at Langley Air
Force Base in Virginia
and Elmendorf Air Force
Base in Alaska. He was
honorably discharged as
an enlisted man in 2001
to enroll in the Air Force
ROTC program with hopes
of becoming an officer, but
he was discharged the next
year after a female cadet
told his commanders that
he's gay.
"You can't even imagine
how that feels," Hall wrote
in a letter to Obama in
May. "Almost 8 years later,
I still remember wearing
my flight suit for the last
time and handing my ID
card to the NCO who was
trying not to cry."
Hall subsequently got
a job as fundraiser and
information technol-
ogy manager with the
Servicemembers Legal
Defense Network, which
campaigned against
"don't ask, don't tell." On
Wednesday, Hall was on
hand as Obama signed the
repeal bill.
Now, at age 36, he's
pondering whether to
return to the Air Force.
"I definitely do want to
look into it," he said. "If
the Air force does want
me, what do they want
me to do? Do I go back an
enlisted man or to officer
candidates school?"
He said he enjoyed the
structured schedule and
the team spirit of the Air
Force.
"You make a lot of
close friends," he said.
"And you know every-
one's going to do their
job."
Another potential
re-enlistee is Jeremy
Johnson, who is pursu-
ing a bachelor's degree
in sociology at the
University of Maryland-
Baltimore County.
Johnson, 33, served 10
years in the Navy, spe-
cializing in public affairs
and journalism while
traveling to far-flung
posts and advancing to
chief petty officer first
class. But he eventually
tired of "don't ask, don't
tell" hypocrisy and told
his commanding officer
in 2007 that he's gay.
"I basically just had
that moment where you
choose integrity over
career," he said.
Now Johnson wants to
talk with recruiters about
options for serving again
— perhaps in the Navy
Reserves, perha ps trying
to become an officer.
"Professionally, the
military was a great expe-
rience," he said. "When
it came to personal life,
it was very difficult."
Rolling Plains Rural Health Clinic
Regfetfully announces that
Dr. Maria bro
Family Practice/Obstetrics
Is leaving the Clinic.
Dr. Toro's Last Day At The Clinic Will Be January 20th, 2011
Patient Records Will Continue To Be Maintained At The Clinic.
Call 325-235-8641 For Appointment.
Rolling Plains Rural Health Clinic
201 East Arizona in Sweetwater
325-235-8641
www.rollingplainsrhc.com
Tarrant County employee
fired over computer porn
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A Tarrant County
employee in charge of a court records software system
has been fired after pornographic images allegedly were
found on his work computer.
Mark O'Neal, who worked for the county since 1985,
says he'll appeal. County commissioners are expected to
consider the matter on Jan. 24.
O'Neal was a senior project manager when audit
issues were raised last month. KTVT-TV reports O'Neal
was in charge of a project that has taken several years to
develop and the software is still not online.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports documents
indicate O'Neal's laptop had more than 150 inappropri-
ate images and records of visits to an adult dating site.
Dec. 1 submitted his resignation, effective Jan. 27. He
was terminated Dec. 6.
A county spokesman declined comment, citing per-
sonnel issues.
Two men hurt in small
helicopter crash near Hemphill
HEMPHILL, Texas (AP) — The Department of
Public Safety says two men from Center have been
hurt in the crash of a small helicopter into a shallow
part of the Toledo Bend Reservoir.
DPS says the accident happened Wednesday about
14 miles south of Hemphill.
Sgt. Beau Clark says the two men suffered non-life
threatening injuries and were transported to a hos-
pital.
Clark says Christopher Tyree flew to his lake home
with Bradley Richards. The accident happened as the
men were leaving.
KTRE-TV reports the men told investigators that it
felt like the helicopter caught something on takeoff,
sending the chopper into a spin. The helicopter came
to rest on its side in water several feet deep.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Lynn
Lunsford says the cause of the crash is under inves-
tigation.
Texas mom gets life over
death of adopted son, 13
MARSHALL, Texas (AP) — A Northeast Texas
woman has been sentenced to life in prison after being
convicted of the 2008 starving and beating death of
her adopted son.
The victim was 13-year-old Samuel Hudson.
A jury in Marshall deliberated nearly two hours
Wednesday before convicting 47-year-old Cynthia
Hudson of capital murder. Prosecutors did not seek
the death penalty, so State District Judge Ralph
Burgess sentenced Hudson to life in prison without
parole.
Investigators say the teen was beaten and his hands
and feed were bound with plastic zip ties.
The trial was moved to Harrison County due to
extensive publicity about the case in Cass County.
MIDDAY ON WALL STREET
Today's Trading
Change
DOW
11,571.45
+11.96
NASDAQ
2,668.40
+0.59
S&P
1,258.12
-0.72
General Motors
35.25
+0.33 ^
Ford Motor Co.
16.91
AT&T
29.16 ^
Pepsico, Inc.
65^^^?
' +0.01
USG Corp.
+0.01
Archer-Daniels
-0.16
18.07
+0.01
83.52
-0.43
McDonalds Corp.
77.01
UNCI I
Chevron Texaco
89.88
-0.04
Exxon Mobil
72.96
+0.16
Fst. Fin. Bnkshs.
51.84
-0.08
Coca-Cola
65.80
+0.21
Dell
13.85
-0.03
SW Airlines
13.05
-0.04
Microsoft
28.21
+0.02
Sears Holdings Co.
68.13
+0.13
Cisco
19.57
+0.01
Wal-Mart
53.24
-0.07
Johnson & Johnson
62.08
+0.06
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Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 034, Ed. 1 Friday, December 24, 2010, newspaper, December 24, 2010; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth229351/m1/4/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.