The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 1, Ed. 1, Monday, August 26, 2002 Page: 4 of 12

                                
Page 4
The Optimist
Monday. August 26 2002
Kidnapping
numbers down
Media coverage up
despite a decline in
kidnap frequency
Jennifer McMichael
Mantfi;inj; TJitor
Parents are responding to
the increase in national kid-
napping coverage with their
own increase in watchfulness
Kidnapping frequency is
actually lower this year by
more than 44 1 percent
according to the National
Center for Missing and fcx-
ploited Children The increase
in coverage however has led
many to believe that the inci-
dents are becoming more fre-
quent A local kidnapping made
national news Aug 13 when 1-month-old
Nancy Chavez was
taken from the Wal-Mart
Supercenter parking lot while
her mother returned a shop-
ping cart With the help of the
AMBER Alert system the FBI
and Texas Rangers the child
was found and safely re-
turned Hazel Fillmon administra-
tive coordinator for the De-
railment of Family and
Consumer Sciences said that
media need to reach a balance
' It almost becomes sensa-
tionalized' she said 'How-
ever when ou publish some-
one's picture everywhere
there's a greater chance of
someone finding the children "
One positive aspect of the
increase in coverage she said
is the reminder to pray
'It makes jou more aware
makes ou pray forjour grand-
children' she said
One alternative to the stan-
dard news coverage is the
AMBER Alert svstcm started in
1996 Using the Emergency
Alert Sstem media have
joined forces with local law
enforcement agencies to air
descriptions of mjssing chil-
dren and their abductors
The AMBER Plan has been
implemented m local regional
and statewide areas More than
a dozen states hav e also adopt-
ed a version of the plan The
program is credited with help-
ing to recover 26 children since
its inception including the
child taken from Wal-Mart
Programs like the AMBLR
Alert sstem are helping media
cover kidnappings with more
cfficiencv and better results
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Shoppers cautious
after kidnapping
Security cameras were instrumental in aiding law enforce-
ment agencies in the safe return of l-nmnlh-old Nancy
Chavez.
Often hearing the announie-
ments on the radio giv es listen-
ers a sense of ownership and
responsibility said bheih
Jones director of the didactic
program in dietetics
I in not going to be putting
up shopping carts or anything
like that an) more Jones s ml
Its heightened in) awareness
that an) tiling could happen
Although her 2-) ear old son
is too voting to talk about sub-
jects like the Wal Mnrt abduc-
tion she said she pi ms to teach
him how to deal with a similar
sitintion
You dont want to live
Parents urged
to keep an eye
on their children
Jennifer McMiciuei
VI m igm nilor
Shoppers arc more aware
of their surroundings after
last week's kidnapping at an
Abilene department store
Tony Poe co-manager of
the Wal-Mart Supercenter at
4350 Southwest Drive gave
several suggestions for shop-
per safet)
Shopping with a friend
especially when out late at
night is one precaution Poe
urged students to take
Taking along just one friend
can greatly dccieasc a shop-
pirs chances of having trou-
ble Whoever might be going
to pull something will think
twice about it he said
Jimmy Lllison chief of
police and director of Public
Safet) said the most vulnera-
ble time shoppers experience
is while walking from their
cars to the store
"If )ou get a bad feeling
about something go back
Into the store' lie said If
)ou're walking to )our car
and )ou see some suspicious
people staying near your car
go back into the store and
contact security or call the
police It's much better to be
safe than sorry'
People with ill-intent are
drawn to shopping centers
he said because stores are
target-rich environments
Parents should resist the
urge to shoo their children
off to the toy department
Poe said He said )ounger
children should ride in the
cart while older ones should
hold their parent's hand
Nothing the parents can
be doing in our store or even
in the parking lot is worth
more than their child' he
said
Both Lllison and Poe said
the best way to prevent a
crime is to pay attention
I ven short lapses of atten-
tion can counteract hours of
cautiousness In the case of
last weeks infant abduction
Poe said the mother was
gone for only seconds when
her child was taken from
their vehicle
While being attentive to
surroundings is important
shoppers also should act on
what they see
Lllison encouraged anv-
one who sees suspicious
West Nile virus spreads to West Texas Taylor County
Haskell man likely
infected several
birds found dead
Melissa Dossev
Copy editor
National fears about the
mysterious West Nile virus
began creeping into the Big
Country last week after local
physicians said they were
confident a Haskell man was
infected with the illness
The announcement came
at the end of a summer where
several birds and horses were
confirmed to have been
infected
Little is known in the U S
about the virus that is spread
by mosquitoes and that ma)
be a reason people are more
alarmed b) it said Dr Ton)
Rector medical director for
clinical services
Not knowing promotes a
certain amount of fear and
apprehension" Rector said
In actualit) according to
the Centers for Disease Con-
trol most people who be
come infected with West Nile
virus will have either no
s)inptonis or onlv mild ones
oung people can get
infected just as easy as older
people can if )ou get bitten
)ou re infected Rector said
'Older people have more
serious complications
)ounger people do fine end
of stor) no major complica-
tions The more serious compli-
cations include encephalitis
the inflammation of the actu
al brain tissue and meningi
tis the inflammation of the
lining of the brain Older peo-
ple can get both S)inptoms
oT these complications in-
clude severe heaihches con-
fusion stupor and severe
muscle aches possibl) fol-
lowed b) coma or death
I ess than 1 percent of
those infected with the virus
will develop severe illness
lesser s)inptoms include
flu-like s)mptoms like head-
aches and a mild fever which
are far more common in
cases of human infection
Rector said
One wa) to prevent infec-
tion is to remove all standing
water which is mosquito
breeding ground Also Hector
suggested covering skin with
insect repellent preferabl)
one containing Dl II
Sta)ing indoors at dawn
and dusk when mosquitoes
are most active is another
wa) to prevent infection
West Nile is carried mainly
b) birds crows and blue
ja)s arc the most common
carriers Mosquitoes arc in
fected when the) feed on
birds that carry the virus
Humans and animals are
infected when carr)ing mos-
quitoes feed on them The
virus sits m the mosquitos
salivary glands
The West Nile virus was
first isolated in Uganda in
1937 and made its break onto
the American scene in New
York in 1999 It has been
spreading westward ever
since This summer lias seen
the worst national outbreak
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