Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 166, Ed. 1 Monday, January 15, 2018 Page: 3 of 14
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3A
Denton Record-Chronicle
Monday, January 15, 2018
BRIEFLY
From Page 1A
WHEN IT’S ICY, WATCH OUT FOR THESE ROADS
ACROSS THE NATION
Washington
U.S. set to cut U.N.
funds for Palestinians
Weather
■ Chisholm Trail Parkway in Fort Worth: The
stretch of roadway near downtown Fort Worth
isn’t particularly dangerous but is one of the
higher elevated areas in the NTTA network, Rey
When the threat of icy weather comes to
Dallas-Fort Worth, crews hit the highways in force
to pretreat pavement and make even the most
treacherous roads safe for commuters.
Drivers don’t need to avoid certain roads when
traveling in hazardous conditions, transportation
and law enforcement officials say, but they
should take caution and adjust their speeds
accordingly.
As always, bridges and overpasses freeze first
because there’s no ground beneath them, and
side streets and farm-to-market roads may not be
pretreated and could be slippery.
Icy roads are harder to see at night, and even
if the temperatures are expected to rise the next
day, it may still be below freezing in the morning
and overpasses could still have slick spots, Texas
Department of Transportation spokesman Tony
Hartzel said.
Here are some of the roads, in no particular
order, that can get kind of dicey as it gets icy:
■ Lake Lewisville Toll Bridge: It’s a slightly
higher bridge structure, Hartzel said.
■ Bush Turnpike and LBJ Freeway,
interchanges of the Dallas North Tollway and
Sam Rayburn Tollway: There’s a lot of elevated
roadway in this area, North Texas Tollway
Authority spokesman Michael Rey said.
■ I-35E at Belt Line Road and at the Bush
Turnpike: These elevated roadways in Carrollton
recently were completed. “I’d like to emphasize
that people may be used to driving on those, but
this is the first time that they’re going to be open
on a snow and ice event,” Hartzel said.
■ The Dallas Mixmaster: The part of Interstates
30 and I-35E through and south of downtown
Dallas is a knot of elevated roadways. There also
are some newly completed structures that were
part of the Horseshoe project that may throw
people off, Hartzel said.
■ The High Five: The 120-foot multilevel Dallas
roadway that includes the Central Expressway
and LBJ Freeway interchange almost goes without
saying. But we’ll say it anyway.
■ Texas Spur 408: The highway passing through
southwest Dallas between Loop 12 and Interstate
20 presents a few trouble spots. There’s a large
incline at Loop 12 that can cause problems. It’s
one of the areas TxDOT focuses treatment,
Hartzel said. Spur 408 also has been the site of at
least one deadly incident in recent years during
cold weather.
The shelter is open during se-
vere weather and on Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday nights,
opening at 6:30 p.m. and clos-
ing at 8 a.m. But because of the
recent cold weather, the shelter
has remained open daily since
Christmas Eve.
“There have been quite a few
children now; we take pets, too,”
executive director Betty Kay said.
‘We have been open more days
now because of the cold weather.”
The shelter, run by volun-
teers, has seen an increase in
people this winter.
The Salvation Army opens its
Denton shelter at 5 p.m. daily
and closes at 7 a.m., but allows
people to stay later in the morn-
ing if temperatures are below
freezing, according to an em-
ployee at the shelter.
As of Sunday evening, Den-
ton’s annual Martin Luther King
Jr. Day Celebration events re-
mained on schedule.
said.
■ Bush Turnpike in Grand Prairie and Garland:
The areas where the turnpike intersects with 1-20
in Grand Prairie and 1-30 in Garland will be among
the roadways treated for icy conditions, Rey said.
■ 1-20 near Hutchins: Crashes are plentiful on
this stretch of 1-20 between Interstate 45
The Trump administration is
preparing to withhold tens of
millions of dollars from the U.N.
agency for Palestinian refugees,
cutting the year’s first contribu-
tion by more than half or per-
haps entirely, and making addi-
tional donations contingent on
major changes to the organiza-
tion, according to U.S. officials.
President Donald Trump
hasn’t made a final decision, but
appears more likely to send only
$60 million of the planned $125
million first installment to the
U.N. Refief and Works Agency,
said the officials, who weren’t
authorized to publicly discuss
the matter and spoke on condi-
tion of anonymity.
Future contributions would
require the agency, facing heavy
Israeli criticism, to demonstrate
significant changes in operations,
they said, addingthat one sugges-
tion under consideration would
require the Palestinians to first re-
enter peace talks with Israel.
The State Department said
Sunday that “the decision is un-
der review. There are still delib-
erations taking place.” The
White House did not immedi-
ately respond to questions about
the matter.
eastbound and Dowdy Ferry Road, Dallas police
said.
■ 1-20 and 1-30 in Arlington: The 1-20 and State
Highway 360 interchange in Arlington, as well as
the overpasses and elevated bridges along 1-20
and 1-30 are ones to look out for, Arlington police
said.
■ “Dead Man’s Curve”: The turn at U.S.
Highway 175 that northbound C.F. Hawn drivers
take to connect to S.M. Wright before 1-45 in
Dallas. Plans have been made to replace the
dangerous stretch of road, which can be
especially hazardous in icy conditions.
— Claire Z. Cardona,
The Dallas Morning News
east Denton, meet with other and continue the remaining half-
marchers at the American Le-
gion Senior Center and Fred King Jr. Recreation Center for after the evening,” event orga-
Moore Park about 4:30 p.m., dinner and a program at 5 p.m. nizer Cynthia Cochran said.
A rally is set to begin at 3 p.m.
outside the University of North
Texas Union. Afterward, rally
participants will march to South-
‘From my understanding,
mile walk to the Martin Luther the weather won’t be bad until
Hawaii blunder has people
worried about real disaster
r
f
control and simply waited for
the attack.
The 911 system for the island
of Oahu was overwhelmed with
more than 5,000 calls. There
were no major emergencies dur-
ing the false alarm, Mayor Kirk
Caldwell said.
An investigation into what
went wrong was underway Sun-
day at the Federal Communica-
tions Commission, which sets
rules for wireless emergency
alerts sent by local, state or fed-
eral officials to warn of the threat
of hurricanes, wildfires, flash
flooding and to announce
searches for missing children.
The state of Hawaii “did not
have reasonable safeguards or
process controls in place to pre-
vent the transmission of a false
alert,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai
said in a statement, calling the
mistake “absolutely unaccept-
able.”
Accidental push
of the button sent
alert about missile
Montecito, Calif.
Prayers as mudslide
death toll reaches 20
u
■L
Mtr
Rfej
By Jennifer Sinco Kelleher
and Brian Melley
Associated Press
HONOLULU - A blunder
that caused more than a million
people in Hawaii to fear that
they were about to be struck by a
nuclear missile fed skepticism
Sunday about the government’s
ability to keep them informed in
a real emergency.
Residents and tourists alike
remained rattled a day after the
mistaken alert was blasted out
to cellphones across the islands
with a warning to seek immedi-
ate shelter and the ominous
statement “This is not a drill.”
“My confidence in our so-
called leaders’ ability to dissemi-
nate this vital information has
certainly been tarnished,” said
Patrick Day, who sprang from
bed when the alert was issued
Saturday morning. “I would
have to think twice before acting
on any future advisory.”
The erroneous warning was
sent during a shift change at the
state’s Emergency Management
Agency when someone doing a
routine test hit the five alert but-
ton, state officials said.
They tried to assure residents
there would be no repeat false
alarms. The agency changed pro-
tocols to require that two people
send an alert and made it easier
to cancel a false alarm — a pro-
Worshippers prayed Sunday
for those killed and for families
still searching for missing rela-
tives in a Southern California
community ravaged by mud-
slides, and authorities announced
another body had been found, in-
creasing the death toll to 20.
The body of 30-year-old Pi-
nit Sutthithepa was discovered
Saturday afternoon. His 2-year-
old daughter, Lydia, remained
missing. His 6-year-old son,
Peerawat, nicknamed Pasta, and
his 79-year-old father-in-law,
Richard Loring Taylor, also were
killed in the mudslides.
“This family is one of several
that lost multiple family mem-
bers,” Santa Barbara County
Sheriff Bill Brown said. “And we
know that the suffering of those
who knew and loved all of the
victims is immense.”
The fist of those still missing
in the mudslides has shrunk to
four.
A EMERGENCY ALERTS
Emergency Alert
BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND
TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER.
THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
2m ago
_
Jake King/DRC file photo
Tiffiny Wright, holding her son, receives a flu shot from Shir-
ley Nuche, a member of the Denton County Medical Reserve
Corps, on Sept. 20 in Sanger.
iSL *
v.%x
Ea
Q PHONE
Mommy
2 Voicemails
Experts not sure why
flu season is different
now
Li
lUjiSEil
j ^ DUOLINGO
Yesterday, 4:14 PM
Jennifer Kelleher/AP
This smartphone screen cap-
ture shows a false incoming
ballistic missile emergency
alert sent from the Hawaii
Emergency
Agency system on Saturday.
come down with the flu.
Children are considered high-
ly vulnerable to the disease. Stud-
ies show that for children, a shot
can significantly reduce the risk
of dying. (The CDC reported that
101 children died of flu-related ill-
ness in the 2016-17 season.)
High-dose vaccines are rec-
ommended for older people,
who also are exceptionally vul-
nerable to illness, hospitaliza-
tion and death related to the flu,
according to the CDC.
“Some protection is better
than no protection,” Bergen said,
‘but it’s certainly disappointing
to have a vaccine that’s just not
as effective as we’d like it to be.”
Shots may still be available
from your doctor or health clin-
ic, as well as at some chain drug-
stores. Check vaccinefinder.org.
4. Basic precautions may
spare you from days in bed.
As much as possible, avoid
people who are sick. Wash your
hands frequently and avoid touch-
ing your mouth, nose and eyes.
Masks aren’t particularly ef-
fective in keeping you from catch-
ing the flu, although they may
help keep sick people who wear
them from spreading their germs.
If you are sick, cover your
cough and stay home from work
if you can, Bergen said. Remain-
ing hydrated, eating nutritious
foods and exercising can also help
strengthen your immune system.
Because elderly people are so
vulnerable to the flu, some nurs-
ing homes and assisted-living
facilities may limit visitors and
resident activities.
By Barbara Feder Ostrov
Kaiser Health News
The nation is having a terri-
ble, horrible, no good, very bad
flu season.
Flu is widespread in 46
states, according to reports to
the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
Nationally, as of mid-Decem-
ber, at least 106 people had died
of the infectious disease.
In addition, states across the
country are reporting higher-
than-average flu-related hospi-
talizations and emergency room
visits. Hospitalization rates are
highest among people older
than 50 and children younger
than 5.
Health experts aren’t sure
why this season is different.
‘We’re seeing the worst of it
right now,” said Randy Bergen, a
pediatrician who is leading the
anti-flu effort for Kaiser Perma-
nente Northern California.
‘We’re really in historic territory,
and I just don’t know when it’s
going to stop.”
Here are five things you should
know about this flu season:
Management
“False alerts undermine pub-
lic confidence in the alerting sys-
tem and thus reduce their effec-
tiveness during real emergen-
cies,” he said.
Homeland Security Secre-
tary Kirstjen Nielsen urged
Americans not to lose faith in
their government.
“I would hate for anybody
not to abide by alerts and warn-
ings coming from government
systems,” Nielsen said on Fox
News Sunday. “They can trust
government systems. We test
them every day. This is a very
unfortunate mistake, but these
alerts are vital. Seconds and
minutes can save lives.”
cess that took nearly 40 minutes.
President Donald Trump said
the federal government will “get
involved” with Hawaii, but didn’t
provide any additional details.
The error sparked a dooms-
day panic across the islands
known as a laid-back paradise.
Parents clutched their children,
huddled in bathtubs and said
prayers. Students bolted across
the University of Hawaii cam-
pus to take cover in buildings.
Drivers abandoned cars on a
highway and took shelter in a
tunnel. Others resigned them-
selves to a fate they could not
North Bethesda, Md.
Chelsea
confirms U.S. Senate run
Chelsea Manning on Sunday
confirmed via Twitter that she is
a candidate for U.S. Senate.
Three days after making her
intention known to federal elec-
tion officials, Manning tweeted
“yup, we’re running for senate”
with an attached campaign vid-
eo indicating her intention to
run in the 2018 Maryland Dem-
ocratic primary. She sent a sub-
sequent tweet seeking donations
to her campaign.
Chicago
Kennedy targets gun
violence in III. campaign
Few people running for pub-
lic office have been more person-
ally affected by gun violence
than Chris Kennedy, who was a
child when his father and uncle,
Sen. Robert Kennedy and Presi-
dent John F. Kennedy, were as-
sassinated.
Now the 54-year-old Demo-
crat has made the issue a center-
piece of his campaign for Illinois
governor, talking often about
growing up without a father and
family trips to Arlington Nation-
al Cemetery, and saying too
many people in Chicago and
elsewhere in Illinois are dealing
with the same kind of pain.
The move has brought en-
dorsements from African-
American leaders, including
U.S. Reps. Bobby Rush and
Danny Davis, and could help
Kennedy earn support in the
March primary from black vot-
ers who have been dispropor-
tionately hurt by gun violence.
But it’s also put him at odds
with Chicago Mayor Rahm
Emanuel and some others and
prompted accusations of race
baiting.
Kennedy is one of six Demo-
crats seeking the party’s nomi-
nation March 20 for the chance
to unseat first-term Gov. Bruce
Rauner.
BRIEFLY
ACROSS THE STATE
charge of child endangerment.
Arlington
Meth lab explosion
leaves infant uninjured
A mother and daughter have
been arrested after a metham-
phetamine lab in an Arlington
apartment exploded with an in-
fant inside.
Arlington police spokesman
Lt. Christopher Cook said Sun-
day that 21 pounds of meth were
seized when the women were ar-
rested late Friday. No one was
injured in the blast.
Nancy Cruz-Rodriguez, 39,
has been charged with manufac-
ture or delivery of a controlled
substance and is being held in Ar-
lington’s jail on $25,000 bond.
Her 18-year-old daughter Odalys
Corrales is being held in Arling-
ton’s jail on a $35,000 bond on
the same charge as well as a
Llano
Half of town’s police
force on paid leave
The police chief of a Central
Texas town and two officers have
been placed on paid leave as part
of an ongoing investigation.
KXAN-TV reports Llano Po-
lice Chief Kevin Ratliff, Officer
Aimee Shannon and Sgt. Jared
Latta are under investigation by
the Llano County District Attor-
ney’s office and the Texas Rang-
ers. No details of the investiga-
tion have been made available.
Theyjoin another officer who
is on paid leave after being in-
dicted on charges including
tampering with evidence.
The department in Llano,
about 75 miles northwest of
Austin, employs nine people.
— The Associated Press
Dallas
1 elderly woman dead
in East Dallas house fire
L It’s shaping up to be one
of the worst in recent years.
The influenza A subtype
H3N2 that appears to be most
prevalent this year is particularly
nasty, with more-severe symp-
toms including fever and body
aches. Australia — whose experi-
ence U.S. public health officials
follow closely in making their flu
forecasts, in part because Austra-
lia’s winter is our summer — re-
ported a record-high number of
confirmed flu cases in 2017. An-
other influenza B virus subtype
also is circulating.
Flu season in the U.S. typical-
ly starts in October and ends in
May, peaking between Decem-
ber and February.
2. This season’s vaccine is
likely to be less effective.
U.S. flu experts say they won’t
fully know how effective this sea-
son’s vaccine is until the season is
over. But Australia’s experience
suggests effectiveness was only
about 10 percent In the United
States, it is 40 to 60 percent effec-
tive in an average season. Vaccines
are less protective if strains are dif-
ferent than predicted and if unex-
pected mutations occur.
3. You should get the flu
shot anyway.
Even if it is not a good match
to the virus now circulating, the
vaccine helps ease the severity
and duration of symptoms if you
The body of an elderly wom-
an has been recovered after fire-
fighters put out a house fire in
East Dallas.
Dallas Fire-Rescue spokes-
man Jason Evans said in a state-
ment that emergency crews re-
sponded to a 9U call around 6
a.m. Sunday. Two elderly wom-
en were trapped in the blaze.
Evans said a neighbor re-
portedly rescued one woman.
She was later taken to a hospital
for possible smoke inhalation.
But when the neighbor re-
turned to search for the other
woman, the flames had made
the home inaccessible.
5. Don’t mistake flu
symptoms for a cold.
The hallmarks of flu are fever
and body aches that accompany
cough and congestion, Bergen
said.
If you feel as if you’re having
trouble breathing, or if your fe-
ver can’t be controlled with
medication such as Tylenol,
check with your doctor. It’s even
more important for patients to
see a doctor if they have a chron-
ic medical condition such as dia-
betes or heart disease, or if they
are young or elderly.
Kaiser Permanente doctors
are now being advised to pre-
scribe antiviral drugs such as Ta-
miflu, Bergen said. According to
a report in the Los Angeles
Times, however, Tamiflu sup-
plies are running low.
And Bergen cautioned that
these medications are only part-
ly effective, reducing the length
of illness by just a day or two.
To All Interested Persons And Parties:
Ed Bell Construction Company, has applied to the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for an
Air Quality Standard Permit, Registration No.
85027L005, which would authorize construction of a
temporary concrete batch plant located at the northeast
quadrant of the intersection of State Highway 114 and
Harriet Creek Drive, Justin, Denton County, Texas 76247.
Additional information concerning this application is ?
contained in the public notice section of this newspaper. 1
— The Associated Press
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Parks, Scott K. Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 166, Ed. 1 Monday, January 15, 2018, newspaper, January 15, 2018; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1138230/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .