News from the Lone Star State

[TexasStooge]

Irving teacher found dead in burning house

IRVING, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) — Irving firefighters discovered a woman's body inside a burning house early Friday.

The fire was reported just after 5 a.m. in the 2500 block of Markland Street across from Nimitz Park.

While two occupants of the 1,300 square foot residence were able to escape the smoky blaze, firefighters found the body of Cecelia Allen in a first floor bedroom where the fire apparently started.

Allen was a fifth grade teacher at Brandenburg Elementary School in Irving.

It could not be immediately determined whether she died before the fire or as a result of it.

[rainstorm]

Garland gym aims to attract old people

By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8

GARLAND, Texas - It's not exactly pumping iron the old fashioned way - but it is sweating to the oldies.

Fit after 50 in Grapevine is the first franchise of its kind in Texas targeting baby boomers.

"I didn't see any spandex or any hard bodies around, so I thought it was a natural place to come to," said Roger Sandberg, 64.

"We don't have any mirrors. We don't have scales, we don't measure people. We're really just about staying healthy and fit and keeping our mobility and our heart healthy through our older years," said the owner, Linda Martin.

The concept uses circuit training.

Exercisers use a piece of equipment for just 45 seconds before moving on.

Unlike the already popular Curves franchise for women, Fit after 50 is co-ed - so husbands and wives like 77-year-olds Billie and Bo Coburn can work-out together.

The atmosphere is designed to make this crowd feel comfortable with people from their own generation and juke box tunes to match.
"It's our music and you kind of want to dance from one station to the other because the music is fun," said Janie Williams.

And even though "those were the Days," these folks say this is the time, to be Fit after 50.

oh my

[TexasStooge]

Judge to decide fate of Schlosser, who has brain tumor

By JAKE BATSELL / The Dallas Morning News

Dena Schlosser waived her right to a jury trial Friday, placing the outcome of her prominent capital murder case in the hands of a judge.

State District Judge Chris Oldner scheduled a bench trial in McKinney next Friday for Ms. Schlosser, the Plano mother accused of killing her 10-month-old daughter, Maggie.

During the court hearing held Friday, it was also revealed that Ms. Schlosser has been diagnosed with a brain tumor.

The relevance of her latest health condition to her trial was unclear Friday, but her attorneys said they wanted the court to be aware of the diagnosis.

In February, Judge Oldner declared a mistrial in the Ms. Schlosser's case after a jury knotted at 10-2 in favor of finding her not guilty by reason of insanity. Maggie died in November 2004 after Ms. Schlosser severed the girl's arms, acting on what she believed to be God's orders.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys say they expect Friday's bench trial will be relatively brief, with no new testimony or evidence. The judge can find the defendant guilty, not guilty, or not guilty by reason of insanity.

"The judge has heard three weeks of testimony about this case already," said David Haynes, Ms. Schlosser's attorney. "He doesn't need to hear it again."

The judge said he will prepare for the bench trial by reviewing transcripts from the original trial.

"It'll just be arguments and then the judge will, at that point, make a decision based upon the testimony and exhibits that were proffered during the trial," said lead prosecutor Curtis Howard.

At Friday's hearing, Collin County Jail psychiatrist Xiaoyan Wu testified that Ms. Schlosser, who is under medication, understood that she was waiving her right to a jury.

Dr. Wu, who has diagnosed Ms. Schlosser as mentally ill, also said that the defendant appears to have a lesion or tumor in her brain.

The lesion was first detected in an MRI taken in March 2005 at North Texas State Hospital in Vernon. But Mr. Haynes said Ms. Schlosser was returned to the Collin County Jail before hospital doctors could follow up, and the MRI remained unknown to attorneys until a medical superintendent mentioned it during the February trial.

Mr. Haynes said a second MRI taken since the mistrial confirmed that Ms. Schlosser has a brain tumor, which her neurologist believes could cause loss of balance or "vivid focused hallucination."

"You can't say that (the tumor) did cause that (hallucinations) in her case, but it's interesting," Mr. Haynes said. "We wanted to follow up on it, we wanted to inform the court of it."

"Could it have been there in November of 2004? Yeah, it could have, but the report calls it a neoplasm of unclear duration, so no one knows how long it's been there. We thought the court needed to know about it. So, we told him."

[TexasStooge]

Kidnap-torture similar to '05 case

Fort Worth: Tarrant County grand jury didn't indict man facing new charges

By DEBRA DENNIS / The Dallas Morning News

A man charged with torturing his ex-girlfriend may have committed a similar crime a year ago in Forest Hill, according to police and court records.

Robert Drew Stephenson, 43, is in jail facing charges that he brutally beat a Fort Worth woman while holding her hostage at his home for 19 days.

Police said Mr. Stephenson, also of Fort Worth, kidnapped the woman on March 5.

Mr. Stephenson, held in lieu of $250,000 bail, couldn't be reached for comment.

That woman isn't the first to accuse Mr. Stephenson of abduction and torture.

He was arrested last April on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after a Forest Hill woman gave police a similar account.

The woman said Mr. Stephenson beat her in March 2005 and forced her to have sex with him.

Mr. Stephenson also used a makeshift electrical device to shock her, she said.

"A charge was prudent," said Forest Hill police Lt. Chris Hebert.

A Tarrant County grand jury declined to indict Mr. Stephenson in the case last July, officials said.

The Forest Hill woman dated Mr. Stephenson, as did the woman in the most recent case, police said.

Carla McCollum, a relative of the woman who said she was held captive in 2005, said she allowed Mr. Stephenson to move in with them because his Miller Avenue home was uninhabitable. "I'm the biggest softie," Ms. McCollum said.

Mr. Stephenson intimidated the entire household, but he was most vicious to the relative, whom he accused of infidelity, Ms. McCollum said.

"He is sick," she said. "He scared me to death. When he gets into one of these rages, he's a totally different person."

Ms. McCollum said she hopes Mr. Stephenson will be indicted and convicted in the latest case.

"I'm just so glad that somebody got ahold of this," Ms. McCollum said. "I don't see how he can get out of this one."

In the latest case, Fort Worth police on Wednesday charged Mr. Stephenson with aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping and retaliation after the former girlfriend accused him of repeatedly beating her during the 19-day kidnapping.

The woman also told police that Mr. Stephenson burned her with a blowtorch, poured Drano on the fresh burns and tied her with duct tape.

If convicted, Mr. Stephenson could get 99 years in prison.

Jim Douglas of WFAA-TV contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Grand jury cleared torture suspect

By REBECCA RODRIGUEZ / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas — Police said it was sadistic torture and cruelty of the most unimaginable kind. But the alleged victim—who was held captive for 19 days—may not be alone.

News 8 has learned that a grand jury declined to indict Robert Drew Stephenson in a previous torture case.

Stephenson was fresh out of prison when he moved in with a Forest Hill family last March. One of the women in the home—who asked not to be identified—said the stranger began a relationship with her daughter-in-law and the violence began.

"He's just one sick... one sick individual," the woman said, explaining that she invited Stephenson into her home as a kindness and was repaid in terror.

"He had been using this blowtorch thing, setting it to her eye, telling her to say things that aren't true," the woman said.

Last April, Stephenson was arrested by Forest Hill police. The women told investigators:

"Before he begins to beat them, he unplugs all the phones so that the police cannot be called...

"Sometimes he will not allow them to leave the house for days ... they believe he will kill both of them.

"He had a makeshift device and would electrocute her and used a soldering iron, putting it to her eye ... telling her he was going to burn out her eyes."

Stephenson was arrested and charged, only to be cleared by a Tarrant county grand jury in July. One of the alleged victims refused to cooperate with investigators after filing charges.

Fort Worth police said Stephenson unleased the same type of terror against an ex-girlfriend who is now recovering from 19 days of torture.

The women we spoke with in Forest Hill know this victim, but thought if anyone could control Stephenson's violence, it would be her.

"She is the one who's always been able to talk him down when he gets in one of these rages," the unidentified woman said.

Stephenson remained jailed Friday night on a $150,000 bond.

The Forest Hill women said they hope there is enough evidence this time to put Stephenson away for a very long time.

[TexasStooge]

ID theft ring busted in Euless

By JIM DOUGLAS / WFAA ABC 8

EULESS, Texas — A large and sophisticated identity theft ring is out of business in North Texas.

Euless police found about 5,000 pieces of stolen mail from 38 cities in an apartment. Andrea Garay and Joseph Murnim were arrested in connection with the case.

Police seized nearly 2,000 checks—including tax refunds and FEMA payments to hurricane victims.

"This is the most checks, credit cards and stolen merchandise in regards to identity theft that I've seen," said Euless police Lt. Wayne Pavlik.

Investigators also found computers that were used to produce fake drivers licenses and social security cards.

"Based on past experience, when you make a seizure like this, and we have this variety of checks, credit cards, drivers licenses, there's going to be a lot of victims," Lt. Pavlik said.

Officers said Garay and Murnim were also making methamphetamine in their apartment.

Investigators believe this identity theft operation is related to mounds of stolen mail found in two Fort Worth apartments in December.

[TexasStooge]

No prom for student protesters

By BRAD WATSON / WFAA ABC 8

ENNIS, Texas — Mayra Hernandez and Lesly Hernandez planned to look pretty for the Ennis High School senior prom on Saturday night.

But they won't be going because they joined a protest.

"We all bought dresses, accessories, and we rented a limo and all that," Mayra said. "Now all that money is just going to waste."

Thousands of North Texas students skipped classes this week to demonstrate against the immigration bill now being considered by the U.S. Congress.

About 130 Ennis ISD students—from sixth graders to seniors—joined in Thursday, despite a school district warning that any student participating would be suspended until Monday, including the prom.

The district suspended Aracely Garcia, even though her mother excused her from school for the demonstration. "We shouldn't get suspended—and especially not from prom—just because he thinks we shouldn't protest over something we believe is right," Aracely said.

Mayra's sister-in-law, Noemi Garza, urged the school district to let the suspended students attend the prom. "They are trying to punish these kids with something that they've been looking forward to," Garza said. "These girls will never have another chance."

But as parents and school staff set up decorations for Saturday's event, the Ennis ISD held firm.

School officials declined interviews with News 8, but Superintendent Mike Harper told the Ennis Daily News, "one of the greatest gifts we give to immigrants and their families is a free public education, and it shows extraordinarily poor judgment for those who have received that gift to walk out on it."

If they can't go, the suspended seniors said they will walk in protest Saturday night outside KJT Auditorium, where the prom takes place.

[TexasStooge]

New policy keeps detention center busy

As more non-Mexicans cross border, agency changes release rules

By DAVID McLEMORE / The Dallas Morning News

PEARSALL, Texas – Except for the 10-foot-high security fence topped with barbed wire and the concrete barriers at the front door, the institutional gray complex in a former farm field along Interstate 35 could pass for a new high school.

It's not.

To immigration officials, South Texas Detention Center is simply a part of the nation's effort to efficiently detain illegal immigrants pending deportation.

To critics, it's a prison by another name and an example of increasing erosion of civil rights for immigrants.

At the heart of the debate is the Department of Homeland Security's policy of expedited removal to address the dramatic increase in the number of immigrants crossing illegally – particularly those from countries other than Mexico.

Last year, some 135,000 "other than Mexicans," or OTMs, were apprehended in Texas. Most were released on their own recognizance pending deportation hearings. But 90 percent failed to show up for their hearing dates, disappearing into the U.S. interior.

Eleanor Arce of Human Rights First, a New York-based immigrants rights organization, calls expedited removal "a flawed system with no meaningful safeguards to prevent deportation of an asylum seeker with a valid claim."

"It essentially gives an immigration officer the power to issue a deportation order, not a judge," she said.

But Marc Moore, the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention and removal for a 54-county area in South Texas, disagrees.

"We're not in the incarceration business," he said. But "we don't want people to believe they have free access to our borders. So our goal is to move people out in as short a time as possible and do so without trampling on their legal rights."

On average, about 720 detainees flow through the Pearsall center daily, though the number fluctuates with round-the-clock movement. On any given day, there are about 23,000 illegal immigrants nationwide in the 17 detention centers that fall under Homeland Security.

Holds about 3,200

Of the five facilities in Texas, the three in South Texas can hold about 3,200 – the Pearsall center southwest of San Antonio, about 1,020. Immigration officials also move detainees to other federal facilities or county jails throughout the state as needed.

At the Pearsall center, the largest and newest facility in the state, cameras and guards monitor movement throughout.

Immigration officers or guards accompanying detainees flash their IDs through a number of security checkpoints as they work their way through the building.

No one moves through the complex unless accompanied by a guard.

Ruben Garza, a detention officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said detainees are free to ask questions about their case.

"And we provide a grievance box in each pod where they can file complaints," he said. "The security is more for the detainees' sake than ours. We do what we can to make their stay here safe and comfortable."

New detainees are fingerprinted, photographed and checked for criminal history. Those with no criminal history get blue jumpsuits. Those with pending criminal charges, such as smuggling people, get orange. And detainees with criminal records get to wear red.

Blue jumpsuits are kept separate from the red and orange.

Men and women stay in separate compounds on opposite sides of the complex. The men's areas, called pods, are arranged for groups of 32 or 64. Women's facilities are arranged for groups of 20 to 40.

A separate two-story building holds high-risk cases or those who pose a danger to other detainees.

Each of the pods has a living area, beds, and showers and toilets arranged in utilitarian simplicity.

The immigrants take their meals here, watch TV or talk. The kitchen provides both regular meals and special diets required for medical or religious reasons.

The 238,000-square-foot facility also houses a 67-bed hospital unit with complete medical, dental and emergency facilities staffed by on-site physicians and nurses.

About two hours each day, detainees can go to an outdoor recreation area adjacent to each pod.

But unless they volunteer for kitchen or cleaning crews, they must stay locked in their pods.

A bank of phones against the back wall gives them access to attorneys or immigrant advocates. And family and attorney visits are available during fixed hours during the day.

Security issues

Last year, the 54 counties covered by ICE in South Texas removed 17,000 detainees – mainly from Nicaragua, El Salvador and throughout Central America, but also from throughout Central Europe, the Middle East and China.

"About 30 to 40 percent have a criminal record – ranging from the very minor to the very serious," Mr. Moore said. "There are cases that come through that are now the focus of further investigation on national security issues."

Expedited removal has been around in a limited way since 1997.

But in early 2005, as the number of non-Mexican illegal immigrants skyrocketed, it was expanded to the Border Patrol sectors in Tucson, McAllen and Laredo, then to the entire Southwestern border. Earlier this year, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff expanded expedited removal to cover all U.S. borders.

Javier Maldonado, a San Antonio civil rights attorney, said the new policy is subjecting "more people than ever" to detention "while the standards for legal relief have gotten stricter."

"For those who make a claim for asylum, the process just grows longer," he added.

Mr. Maldonado said some can "be stuck in detention for six to nine months" before seeing an immigration judge. And appeals can last another year.

"The government can deport them while they appeal their removal," he added. "No one can say life is easy for these people."

Under special agreement, illegal immigrants from Mexico, about 92 percent of those apprehended in 2005, were eligible for "voluntary return" and taken across the border within hours.

But for those from other nations, lengthy detentions pending deportation proceedings meant they'd spend an average of 90 days or longer in captivity. A shortage of detention space meant the OTMs with no criminal record or who posed no security risk were issued a notice to appear later before an immigration judge.

More than 118,000 "other than Mexicans" failed to appear for deportation proceedings since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to Border Patrol data. The vast majority were from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Brazil. But a handful came from 35 "special interest" countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Yemen.

Mr. Chertoff has vowed that all catch-and-release will end by October, largely through the rapid increase in detention space. In fiscal 2006, Homeland Security's appropriations bill provided for the construction of 1,920 new detention beds. By fiscal 2007, the White House wants an additional $400 million for 6,700 new beds to bring the total to 27,500 by the end of the year.

Lost in the cracks

Ms. Arce of Human Rights First said the emphasis on detention and rapid removal means that asylum seekers can more easily get lost in the cracks.

In fiscal 2005, there were 32,900 claims for asylum, according to the government's Immigration Monthly Statistical Report, only a slight increase over the preceding year.

"People who come to this country because of political or cultural oppression have suddenly found the way much more difficult," she said. "They are improperly jailed in prison-like facilities and often found it more difficult to find legal representation for their claim."

For the man in charge of detaining and removing illegal immigrants in South Texas, it's not an issue.

"I don't see any infringements on individual rights by the expeditious movement of detainees home," said Mr. Moore. "Asylum applications can come at any time, right to when they walk out to get on the plane home."

The current system is a one-size-fits-all policy that reflects the overall national shift in immigration policy that favors security over individual rights, Mr. Maldonado said.

"In essence, the government says that anyone in this country without documents can be detained with no bond allowed and held for return regardless of how established they may be, how benign they may be or with little regard to what drove them to enter illegally," he said. "We need something better than a policy that tries to fit all circumstances."

[TexasStooge]

Students 'devastated' by loss of classmates

By KIMBERLY DURNAN and KARIN SHAW ANDERSON / The Dallas Morning News

GARLAND, Texas - Two tall wooden crosses and a center post topped by a star and crescent moon anchored an impromptu memorial to three Garland High School friends Friday afternoon. Rubble from the Firewheel Estates entryway wall, destroyed the night before by their careening car, supported the timbers.

Scores of grieving students excused from school hovered for most of the day around the charred site at Brand Road and Muirfield Drive, where the three popular classmates died the night before in a fiery accident.

"They were three seniors with seven weeks left until graduation," Garland High principal John Morris said. "What a tragedy."

School officials identified two of the victims as Raheed Salam, 17, the driver, and Shane Petroski, 18. The third boy's family identified him as Alex Manriquez, also 18.

Mr. Morris said they were top students. Raheed was in the International Baccalaureate program and on the tennis team. The other boys both took Advanced Placement courses. All belonged to Key Club, an academic group that teaches leadership and service.

Witnesses told police that the youths, who had just attended a school band concert at the Plaza Theatre in downtown Garland, were traveling northeast on Brand Road in a 2004 Toyota Camry about 9:30 p.m. Thursday when the driver apparently tried to turn left onto Muirfield and clipped a small pickup stopped at the intersection. Alex's father, Phillip Manriquez, said the three were probably headed to either Shane's or Raheed's house to go running together.

The car slid sideways into the curb, then hit the wall at the subdivision entryway. Police said the vehicle apparently was going too fast to make the turn, although the speed hadn't been determined.

Leanh Dang, who lives across Muirfield from the scene, said she heard the screeching tires, then a loud boom, and ran outside to see a flash of fire quickly engulf the car.

"Someone tried to help," she said. "He couldn't help. The fire was too much."

Andrew Olson, 39, of Garland said he was driving by when he saw the car slam into the wall and burst into flames.

"I immediately ran to the car and realized someone was in there and most likely unconscious," Mr. Olson said. "I only saw one person in the car, and I tried to pull him out, but I had a problem getting the door open. I kept having to step away because of the heat. It was horrible."

'So many options'

The crash ended three promising lives.

Raheed's family said he had been accepted to both Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin and wanted to study political science. He loved soccer and basketball, participated in the debate club and held a part-time job at a local Chinese restaurant.

"He had so many options, so many things he wanted to do in life," said his aunt Sayeeda Hafeez. "And he was such a beautiful writer. The school district framed some of his papers and delivered them to his family this afternoon, and we have been reading them and crying."

Shane's family also remembered the things he wrote, particularly his songs. His family said the guitarist and keyboardist hoped to become a professional musician, though he also was interested in starting a business. Although he had not yet graduated from high school, Shane was already taking a real estate class one night a week at Richland College. He had received word Thursday of his acceptance at St. Edward's University in Austin.

"If you could dream up a son, it would be Shane," said his mother, Eileen Petroski, who recalled that Shane made a point of saying he loved her each night.

Alex loved engineering and was planning to join the Air Force.

"I was really happy that he was going in that direction," his father said. "He was really excited about that."

Alex played soccer his freshman year at Garland High. Mr. Manriquez remembered a young man who also loved fishing and skateboarding.

A skateboarding rail, missing much of its red paint from frequent use, was tucked behind the hedge near the front door of his parents' home. Family members flocked to the house throughout the day Friday.

"I think it's kind of good to have everyone here," Mr. Manriquez said. "It helps keep your mind off of it."

Alex's mother, Shelley Manriquez, said her son was outgoing and friendly. "He loved life and having his freedom," she said.

He had recently left jobs at area restaurants to prepare for the Air Force. "They were saying that he was going to go in June," Ms. Manriquez said.

Student memorial

Friday, the blackened ground and remaining debris were slowly being covered by dozens of bouquets. Some single red roses were tied with black ribbons.

Initially, students had hammered together three crosses at the crash site, and friends used red and black markers to write farewell notes. In the afternoon, friends pried off the horizontal cross bar on Raheed's memorial, replacing it with the symbols of his family's Muslim faith.

Some of the sentiments scrawled on the wood planks talked about meeting again. Others mentioned inside jokes. One message called Raheed a "sun god."

A field inspector from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration arrived at the scene Friday afternoon. He measured tire marks and debris distribution before heading to the impound yard to examine the car.

He expected that the car, being so new, would have a computer measuring device, rather like the "black box" in an airplane, that would help him make sense of the scene he had surveyed.

A 6- or 7-foot-wide hole in the brick-faced concrete wall that served as the neighborhood entrance testified to the impact. Pieces of the car's dashboard remained intact up to 50 feet away. Sections of scorched seat foam and melted wiring told of the heat of the blaze.

Time to heal

Mr. Morris, the Garland High principal, said about a third of the senior class was given permission to leave school Friday morning after learning of the accident.

"We told them, as long as they talked to their parents first, they could leave if they needed to," he said. "I told them, 'I don't want another accident to occur because you're upset.' "

Students stared at the scene for hours. Some marked their faces with soot from the ground. Some stood quiet and still. Others were sobbing and shaking.

One knelt on the ground and yelled, "It should have been me! I'm so sorry. It should have been me."

Three boys sat on the ground in the morning, clutching clumps of earth and crying.

"We are trying to have school, but it's hard," Garland school district spokesman Reavis Wortham said. "They were three well-respected and popular students."

Samantha Thompson, 18, described her classmates as outgoing and fun. "If you had a down day, they were there to make you feel better," she said.

"All the English teachers were crying and consoling each other," she said of the scene at school. "Students have been going to the gym supporting each other. A bunch of seniors have left."

Mr. Wortham said counselors from across the district had been called in to help the students. "We've urged them to stay in school if they can," he said.

Steve Knagg, another school district spokesman, said the students were in shock.

"We have a school full of crying kids," he said.

Mr. Manriquez said he hoped the accident would serve as a reminder for other parents.

"If they can just remember to hug their kids ..."

Staff writers Kimberly Durnan and Richard Abshire contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Paying the price for protest

By BERT LOZANO / WFAA ABC 8

ENNIS, Texas — They were all dressed up with nowhere to go.

The parking lot of Ennis' KJT Auditorium was the closest Lesly Hernandez and Araceli Garcia would get to their senior prom.

The Ennis High School seniors were among a group of students banned from entering the front door where inside the final touches were being made for the big dance.

"We don't think it's right that they are just taking it away because they don't agree with our opinion," Araceli said.

More than 100 Ennis ISD students were suspended from school after participating in a school walkout to protest an immigration bill in Congress.

"We don't want to regret not coming to our senior prom, Lesley said, "but yet we still also want to participate in everything that we think is right."

There are differing opinions in Ennis on an appropriate punishment.

"This is not a punishment," said Noemi Garza, the sister-in-law of a suspended student. "This is getting even."

But parent Florena Carrillo saw it differently. "Unfortunately, they are having to learn a lesson the hard way," she said.

The school district did not budge from its decision. Administrators said students were warned before the walkout that they would be suspended from school—and that included the prom.

"My heart goes out to them," said Ennis High School Principal John Doslich. "At the same time, I just want them to know there are consequences."

Still, Araceli Garcia said the punishment would not keep her from standing up to what she believes. "If I had to do it again, I would," she said.

"I'm from here," Lesley added, "so I can't say much about everyone else; but I know my parents are not from here, so I'm doing it for my parents."

Otherwise, there could be true consequences to their families and friends.

[TexasStooge]

Teens speak out for families, future

Hispanic teens say they must speak up for illegal immigrants

By HOLLY K. HACKER and TOYA LYNN STEWART / The Dallas Morning News

For Gianna Giodano it was personal.

After thousands of students walked out of North Texas high schools Monday to protest federal immigration proposals, she had to speak up.

"People like us are affected by the decisions that are made," said Gianna, 17, a senior at Sam Houston High School in Arlington. "This is our future and our families."

The protests last week by Hispanic middle and high school students awakened a generation that had never been politically active in such large numbers, and it caught many adults off guard.

But many of the students say their emotions, fueled by concern for family and friends who are illegal immigrants, had been building.

Some activists even ask why it took so long.

Jose Angel Gutierrez, a political scientist who led Chicano protests in the late 1960s, said he and others "have been trying to get this kind of reaction for the last 20 years."

The walkouts from schools in the Dallas area, Houston and other cities around the country seemed to happen spontaneously over three or four days, with plans spreading by cellphone, the Internet and Spanish-language radio.

But the fear that proposed changes to federal immigration laws could make felons out of friends, relatives and possibly even parents jolted the teens.

Students say they realized they could make their thoughts on the super-charged topic of immigration known in the most American of ways: through demonstration and free speech.

"We decided to march to make our voices heard," said Agustin Bolanos, who once marched in California to support farm workers and helped Gianna organize the Sam Houston march on Tuesday that ultimately drew more than 500 students from at least four Arlington schools.

"We wanted to show the people out there that we care."

The trigger for the protests, students said, was debate in Congress over proposed changes to federal immigration laws – some that would make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant or help one.

Taking it personally

Like Agustin and Gianna, many students who protested are U.S. citizens but may have relatives or friends who are here illegally.

They take the debate personally.

"The way your parents succeeded and the hassles they endured to make a living are not invisible to the students. It has to do with not just nuclear families, but extended families, families on both sides of the border," said Rodolfo Rosales, a political scientist at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

"The point is that they're all hit from different directions, so immigration is a major issue."

Some who heard about the protests wondered why students carried Mexican flags instead of American ones, or why students marched to city halls, where officials have no say over immigration policy. They questioned whether students understood the different immigration bills before Congress, or whether they were more interested in ditching class.

Dr. Gutierrez, now a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, organized many student walkouts in the 1960s. The best known occurred in 1969 in the South Texas town of Crystal City. Mexican-American students felt mistreated under their schools' policies, which forbade them, for example, to speak Spanish or eat tacos in school.

Today's immigration debate reaches across the U.S., but still Dr. Gutierrez sees common threads.

"What's similar is youth are trying to defend their future," he said. "They may not have all of the facts, but they've got good intentions. ... This is a real social movement."

Younger, wiser

Unlike the civil rights movement and Vietnam War protests a generation ago, which thrived on college campuses, last week's protests involved high school and junior high students.

But that makes sense to some experts, who point out that Texas has a large, growing population of young Hispanics. They make up almost half of public school children in Texas, a sizable increase from even a decade ago.

Often, children of immigrants live a dual existence: they go to school but also help their families navigate the adult world, often acting as interpreters for Spanish-speaking parents. These children know the obstacles their parents face and see how they are treated, Dr. Gutierrez said.

The duality played out last week when some protesting students carried Mexican or other Latin American flags. They said they marched to city halls because they're visible symbols of authority.

Peer pressure also played a role in decisions to leave, some students said.

Rocio Estrada, 16, a sophomore at Skyline High School in Dallas, joined the thousands of others who left school on Monday. She heard about the plans through friends and on MySpace.com, a Web site popular among teens, but wasn't convinced she'd join them.

At first she resisted the idea of cutting classes.

"I didn't think that many people would go, but then I saw everyone leaving, so I left," Rocio said. "If it was just 20 I wouldn't go, but it was like 2,000."

The fact that she and her parents are U.S. citizens didn't lessen her conviction.

"Everyone wanted to show that Latinos matter," she said, "that the world couldn't go on without them."

Dominique Garza, 16, a sophomore at Arlington's Bowie High School, said for some students, the message was, "If you're a true Latino, a true Mexican, you would do what was right" and walk out of school to show solidarity.

"I walked because I believed in it," Dominique said.

What do others think?

The protests were a big topic of discussion among non-Hispanic students who stayed in school while classmates marched.

Marquita Malone, 17, a senior at Arlington's Bowie High School, said she wasn't sure students who left school did the right thing.

"I looked at it as them fighting for a cause," Marquita said. "We have to understand that people want their rights and defended their rights." But she's not sure if leaving school was the way to get their point across.

Kimberly Cummings, 18, a senior at Skyline High School in Dallas, thought students had the right idea but the wrong approach.

"Protesting was a good idea to prove their point, but it should have been more civilized and after school was out," said Kimberly, referring to the students who left school on Tuesday and ended up in a large reflecting pool outside Dallas City Hall.

This week's walkouts mark not so much an end, a culmination of pent-up frustrations, as a beginning of political awareness and involvement, some political scientists and sociologists say.

"They know more now because of the walkouts than they did before spring break," Dr. Gutierrez said.

Many students who demonstrated last week said they want to participate in a march planned for April 9 in Dallas. Some are discussing immigration on their personal Web journals, called blogs. Some schools are tackling the issue more in class. Irving's MacArthur High School, where many students walked out, for example, is planning a debate over immigration policies this week.

It will take time to know whether the student activism will affect debate in Congress, experts say.

"A lot of the significance of the protest depends on how it ends up interacting with the policy debate, and it's very unclear what the outcome's going to be," said Michael Young, a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin.

But history offers plenty of evidence that when students speak, they can spur lasting change.

"This is not a new phenomenon, what we're seeing here in terms of students, particularly Hispanic students, walking out of school" to protest, said Rudy Rodriguez, an education professor at University of North Texas. "What we saw back in the 1960s was much more massive than what we're seeing today, but nevertheless there was commonality in the ultimate goals for both movements – that is, groups seeking a fair and just treatment."

[TexasStooge]

Arlington march seen as prelude to mass protest next weekend

By TOYA LYNN STEWART / The Dallas Morning News

ARLINGTON, Texas –Elia Chavez was certain there was no place she needed to be on Saturday other than Carl Knox Park in east Arlington.

She wasn't alone.

About 250 others felt the same way and joined Ms. Chavez to speak out against proposed changes to immigration laws during a noon rally and march.

The Arlington gathering –one of many held locally and throughout the country during the past week –served as a prelude to a planned mass protest next Sunday in Dallas.

"We as Hispanics can make a difference," said Ms. Chavez, of Arlington. "When we get together, we are powerful."

Community leaders, students and residents quickly organized the peaceful march as a way to make their voices heard, said Mary Dominguez-Santini, president of Casa Chihuahua Community Alliance in Arlington.

"We're saying, 'Hey, we're here, listen to us,' " Ms. Dominguez-Santini said. "We're getting people to speak out for their rights."

Everyone's rights are important, said Maribel Chavez, 16, president of the sophomore class at Arlington's Sam Houston High School.

"Everyone has the right to live the American dream," said Maribel, Ms. Chavez's daughter. "I'm here today because I'm really committed to this."

Arlington City Council member Robert Rivera said the event reflected the importance of Hispanics' participation in the American political process.

"This is an awakening of the Hispanic political giant that we are," said Mr. Rivera. "It's an issue that affects a large population of our community.

"We're trying to strengthen our voting base and make people aware of the [immigration] legislation," Ms. Garza said.

In Fort Worth on Saturday, the District 21 chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens met to plan a silent march there next Sunday. About 100 people gathered at the Diamond Hill Community Center, LULAC spokeswoman Ana Garza said. The march is to start at 1 p.m. at the federal building in downtown Fort Worth.

After the rally in the Arlington park, protesters walked nearly three miles through the neighborhood chanting, waving U.S. and Mexican flags and carrying signs that read: "We love the U.S.A.!" "We are not criminals!" "We're workers, not criminals, and we have equal rights!"

Staff writer Stella M. Chávez contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Garland skateboarder hit by car, killed

GARLAND, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) — A nine-year-old skateboarder died early Sunday after being hit by a car behind his home.

Police said the boy, whose name was not released, had been practicing tricks in the alley behind his house in the 2500 block of Limestone Lane when he was struck just after 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

The boy was rushed to Children's Medical Center Dallas for treatment of head trauma. Garland police spokesman Officer Joe Harn said the youngster died at around 1 a.m.

The motorist who hit the child was a neighbor and elementary school teacher.

No additional details were available.

The National Safety Council estimates that more than 15,000 children require emergency room treatment for skateboarding injuries every year. The Council offers these suggestions for skateboarders:

• Give your board a safety check each time before you ride.
• Always wear safety gear.
• Never ride in the street.
• Obey the city laws. Observe traffic and areas where you can and cannot skate.
• Don't skate in crowds of non-skaters.
• Only one person per skateboard.
• Never hitch a ride from a car, bicycle, etc.
• Don't take chances; complicated tricks require careful practice and a specially-designated area.
• Learn to fall—practice falling on a soft surface or grass.

[TexasStooge]

Development, spurred by TMS, picking up speed

By LAURIE FOX / The Dallas Morning News

FORT WORTH, Texas – Something about the unremarkable 1,500 acres of pasture appealed to Eddie Gossage from the moment he spied it from a helicopter window.

The land was about 20 minutes north of downtown Fort Worth, near an interstate and a state highway. It was just minutes from Alliance Airport.

It was Alliance developer Ross Perot Jr. who piloted the helicopter that day in 1994 when Mr. Gossage and Speedway Motorsports owner Bruton Smith took a look at the land that would later become Texas Motor Speedway.

The appeal hasn't been lost on new residents and businesses that have converged on the area since the speedway staged its first race in 1997.

The track set a new northern boundary for Fort Worth, and, within the last 10 years, development throughout the area has followed. Fort Worth officials say that 60 percent of the city's growth within the last year has occurred north of Loop 820.

Hundreds of rooftops have also emerged in nearby Haslet, Justin and Northlake.

"This really was perfect. The perfect place to build," said Mr. Gossage, the speedway's president and general manager.

Alliance Airport and Mr. Perot's Hillwood development still are working in concert with the speedway a decade later.

Coupled with the residential growth fueled by Hillwood along I-35W, a few hotels, restaurants and convenience stores have emerged near the track. The upscale Doral Golf resort and golf course opened just south of the track.

"I see all of this area like a mall," Mr. Gossage said. "We're like an anchor tenant to the north, and other shops fill in to round things out."

"There's much more to come," he said. "We're just scratching the surface."

For most cities around the track, the speedway has had more of a ripple effect than a direct boon, but two cities on either side of the speedway experienced population and property tax surges within the last 10 years.

Officials say much of the growth was coming and the speedway was simply a part of that, but some of the numbers are striking.

Roanoke, the speedway's eastern neighbor, saw property tax values climb from $111 million in 1996 to $667 million in 2005, according to the city manager.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments estimates that Roanoke's population has grown from 1,900 in 1996 to 5,650 in 2006.

Haslet, to the west of the speedway, has benefited from new home construction and a piece of Alliance development.

The Tarrant Appraisal District reports that the city's property tax values ballooned from $97 million in 1996 to $533 million in 2005. The population grew from 1,000 in 1996 to 1,400 in 2006, according to COG estimates.

In Roanoke, city leaders credit the long-awaited improvements to State Highway 114 through town for opening the door for a crush of retail development.

The once-rural intersection of U.S. Highway 377 now boasts a new Wal-Mart, Home Depot and other stores and restaurants.

Roanoke City Manager Jimmy Stathatos said the city got aggressive about attracting new business after the dust settled from the Highway 114 construction – which he credits the speedway with helping expedite.

He said Roanoke merchants and restaurant owners have learned over the years that the their giant neighbor's impact on the town is more subtle.

Ten years ago, no one really knew what to expect come race weekend.

Some shop owners expected fans to stop in on the way to the track. They stocked up on NASCAR-related merchandise and planned for the crowds.

But the traffic just kept on moving toward the track – and right through Roanoke.

Today, the Wal-Mart still stocks Jeff Gordon coolers and seat cushions.

But folks have learned that the fans who camp or stay in nearby hotels for the race stop in gradually throughout the week.

On race day, business is slow, said Jay Bivin, the general manager of a Roanoke mainstay, Babe's Chicken Dinner House. He says the restaurant is popular with fans and some NASCAR drivers leading up to the Sunday race.

"You definitely know when it's race week," he said.

By contrast, business picks up remarkably at Alliance Airport on race day as team owners, drivers and spectators fly in and helicopter to the track.

How the speedway will affect the area in the next 10 years remains to be seen.

Mr. Gossage said the track's master plan includes more permanent seating, which could bring tens of thousands of more people on race day.

But he said additions to the speedway are on hold as officials await more freeway improvements in the area.

A group of government and business leaders led by Fort Worth auto dealer Mac Churchill have formed the 35W Coalition to address the mounting transportation and traffic problems on I-35W between Meacham Boulevard and State Highway 114.

The two lanes of traffic in each direction are inadequate for the main artery serving a growing number of businesses, industries and homeowners, the group's members say.

In the meantime, the area bordering the track continues to fill in.

New homes just across Highway 114 are the closest to the facility, and residents there know they must contend with the speedway.

"It will be a factor in your life. If there's a race, you have to consider that," said Jane Hill, who lives in the new development. "For the most part, you know when things start and end. It's all about planning."

[TexasStooge]

BREAKING NEWS: Traffic

DALLAS, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - All lanes of southbound Interstate 35E are shut down between Motor Street and Wycliff Ave.

Live Dallas/Ft. Worth Traffic Reports from Traffic Pulse

[TexasStooge]

Funerals set for Garland students

GARLAND, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Funeral services were scheduled Monday for Garland High School student Shane Petroski.

The 18-year-old and two of his friends died Thursday night in a car wreck.

Family and friends remembered 17-year-old Raheed Salam at services this weekend.

The seniors were returning from a high school band concert when Salam lost control of his car, hitting a brick wall.

Services for the third victim, 18-year-old Alex Manriquez, were tentatively set for Friday.

[TexasStooge]

Tracking truants troubling Dallas ISD

By TAWNELL D. HOBBS / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - Here's a math problem: How many times can a DISD student miss school before being sent to truancy court?

The average is 43 unexcused absences, according to a Dallas County analysis. It's not unusual for students to rack up 40 to 70 unexcused absences. And a truancy case was filed against one DISD student who skipped classes at least 112 times.

"When a child gets that many absences, getting him back in school is a very tough job," said Dallas County Commissioner Mike Cantrell, who helped establish the county's three truancy courts. "And what does it tell the child? It says, 'I can still miss because the school district isn't going to get their stuff together.' "

DISD Assistant Superintendent Joseph Brew said the district believes it is filing cases in a more timely manner than Dallas County records indicate.

But he said the district does need a better way to monitor truants and plans to implement an electronic tracking system next month.

Without such a system, Mr. Brew said, "we will not be able to file the number of truancies we have in a timely manner."

A recent Texas attorney general's ruling may complicate the situation. School districts must file truancy cases within seven school days of a student's 10th unexcused absence in a six-month period or the case is thrown out. Mr. Brew said that the district had braced for the ruling and that the pilot program in May will track student attendance by class period.

Dallas County had requested an opinion from Attorney General Greg Abbott in the fall to clarify legislation that established new rules on filing a truancy case against a student.

Differing views

The county and DISD had different views on how the new legislation worked. Dallas County officials concluded that school districts had to file truancy cases within seven school days of a student's 10th unexcused absence in a six-month period. DISD officials contended that the district would have time to investigate the causes of a student's absences before any deadline was triggered.

Mr. Abbott sided with Dallas County. He wrote that failure to comply "leads to the mandatory dismissal of the complaint ... by a court." The legislature's reason for setting a deadline for complaints to be filed, Mr. Abbott wrote, was to ensure that students would have time to make up missed work.

But school districts are not penalized for missing the deadline. And once a complaint is thrown out of court, the district can file a new case if the student gets another unexcused absence within the six months. The district still would be held to filing within seven school days.

Mr. Cantrell said that if DISD goes through the "perfunctory act" of filing cases when it can't meet the deadline – and files again when the students have additional unexcused absences – that means more work for everyone involved.

For every case that's filed, "we've got to do all the work on them and they're automatically dismissed," Mr. Cantrell said. "The school district can drag it out. They can let a child miss 60 days."

'So far behind'

Mary Strickland, a math teacher at Kimball High School in west Oak Cliff, said something has to be done to catch youths before they have too many unexcused absences. Returning to school can be frustrating for the child, she said.

"They're embarrassed that they're so far behind," said Ms. Strickland, a teacher for more than 35 years. "It is virtually impossible to bring the kid back up to where he needs to be, but we really try."

Samuell High School parent Angela Petty knows all about dealing with truant children. She has two sons who have been through Dallas County truancy court. She said one son cost her about $500 when he was sent to truancy court for a second time.

Ms. Petty believes that schools should do a better job of keeping youths in the classroom. She said one of her sons was goofing off in the building instead of being in class.

"He's there every day," she said. "He's just late to class."

Last school year, DISD filed about 17,000 cases in Dallas County truancy courts.

Warning signs

Educators say truancy is an early warning sign that students are at risk of dropping out. High rates of truancy also have been linked to daytime burglaries and vandalism, according to a 2005 report from the U.S. Department of Education. Student absentee rates are higher in urban schools than rural ones and generally increase with the percentage of low-income students, the report said.

Mr. Cantrell hasn't given up on getting severe truant cases in court sooner than later. He's already discussing taking up the matter with lawmakers. He'd like to see more consequences for school districts that don't file truancy cases in a timely manner.

"Hopefully, we'll get that fixed in the next legislative session," he said.

[TexasStooge]

BREAKING NEWS: Traffic

From WFAA ABC 8 and Traffic Pulse Networks

IRVING, TX: Northbound Loop 12 is closed between Union Bower Road and Guauwyler Road

DALLAS, TX: Only two lanes are open at southbound I-35E between Motor Street and Wycliff Ave.

Live Dallas/Ft. Worth Traffic Reports from Traffic Pulse

[TexasStooge]

Chamber readies for bridges

By FRANK TREJO / The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS, Texas - A new world could soon knock on West Dallas' front door thanks to two planned multimillion-dollar bridges.

And West Dallas better be ready.

"To me, time is of the essence," said John Cappello, president of the West Dallas Chamber of Commerce. "If we don't do it now, get ready for what's coming, we're going to lose a great opportunity."

Where there is now empty grassland and levees, Mr. Cappello sees restaurants, parks, plazas and monuments. Along some long-neglected streets dotted with vacant land and industrial facilities, he sees retail shops, neighborhood grocers and new single-family homes, nestled up against condos and townhouses.

He hopes for a Dallas Area Rapid Transit rail station with a line that will not only bring tourists and visitors to the Trinity River, but also carry commuters to and from work each day.

The chamber's ambitious effort is called Signature Project.

"These are the kinds of things we've been asking for, forever," Mr. Cappello said. "Now we have the opportunity to do it. We have to be the catalyst. We have to do it."

The West Dallas chamber is spearheading an effort to get $100,000 from the North Central Texas Council of Governments to launch a study aimed at taking advantage of one of the city's largest economic development projects. Approval of the first study phase, to determine the area's assets, could come next month. The first bridge should be finished in mid- to late 2008.

People in West Dallas say they are used to being ignored, being the city's "stepchild" as one longtime resident put it. But the so-called signature bridges, all designed by noted Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, are changing that. They are part of the city's $1.25 billion Trinity River redevelopment project.

"I think John [Cappello] is very well on track with what's possible in West Dallas," said City Council member Ed Oakley, whose district includes part of the community. "The only way it's going to happen is if you keep talking about it and start getting people to think about it."

One of three bridges will funnel traffic and people directly into West Dallas neighborhoods where, according to the 2000 census, up to 40 percent of the population is below the poverty level.

Mr. Oakley noted the area has drawn interest, citing as an example a 40-acre site that could soon become a mixed-use development.

"A lot of us have been focusing on building those bridges," Mr. Oakley said. But, he added, Mr. Cappello and the chamber have been focusing on what happens to the people who cross. "You don't want them to just turn around and go back."

Council member Steve Salazar, who also represents part of West Dallas, said he and Mr. Oakley have worked hard to reclaim many of the hundreds of abandoned properties in West Dallas to turn them into affordable single-family housing.

"My concern has been that in past examples of Dallas history, the people who get left behind are the residents and the people who were the original developers of an area," he said, mentioning the area once known as Little Mexico, near American Airlines Center.

There, downtown development swallowed up a once-vibrant neighborhood of the city's original Hispanic residents.

Mattie Nash, a longtime West Dallas resident and former City Council member, said the area has been begging for development for decades yet still doesn't have a bank or fast food.

"The thing that some of us are concerned about is that the way they want to use the Trinity River is not necessarily going to benefit all the residents of West Dallas," Ms. Nash said.

She said she only recently learned that the Continental Viaduct will become a pedestrian and bicycle crossing when the new bridge is completed.

"Some of us wanted that bridge to stay open [for vehicles] and nobody ever told us it was not going to be open," she said.

Rosa Lopez, executive director of Vecinos Unidos, said she hopes residents become part of the planning process. Vecinos Unidos is a nonprofit West Dallas organization that aims to develop affordable housing and generate economic growth.

"I would like to see people being part of all that is being planned, so that they get the opportunity to be among the entrepreneurs, not just the dishwashers and cooks," she said.

Mr. Oakley said the city's goal is to create sustainable communities and neighborhoods in West Dallas. Some of that, he said, is being done by developers and organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Vecinos Unidos.

The area, he said, will sustain moderate- and low-income housing, as well as higher-end residences.

The current focus of the West Dallas Chamber is the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge onto Singleton Boulevard, the community's spine.

The bridge, a suspension structure with a span of 1,200 feet, will soar 40 stories high. It should be completed within three years at an estimated cost that has climbed to close to $100 million.

City officials and residents say Singleton is a prime candidate for major development. The street is being widened from three lanes to five lanes. Residents noted that initial funds for the improvements were approved 18 years ago.

"That is the kind of thing that has happened in West Dallas – we've been overlooked," said Ernesto Lopez, a board member of the West Dallas Chamber and president of Lopez Electric, a 40-year-old business in the area.

"We think West Dallas is a jewel in the rough, but we've been forced into that rough. I think that now, with the bridges and everything, there will be unstoppable growth."

[TexasStooge]

Heart recipient traces gift of a lifetime to N. Texas

By DAVID FLICK / The Dallas Morning News

Michelle Lineberry Mullins doesn't remember much of what was said in her first conversation with Debra King. But one sentence will stay with her.

"The part I will always remember is she said, 'I know now that my daughter will live on,' " Ms. Mullins said.

Ms. King's daughter, Radina Mundo, a 14-year-old Dallas student, died in June 1986. Her heart was immediately transplanted into Ms. Mullins, who was then 20 and living in rural southwestern Virginia, as she still does.

For 20 years, each was unaware of the other's existence – until last week.

Ms. King, 51, who now lives in Mesquite, was told that her daughter's heart had gone to a 59-year-old man. Ms. Mullins, 40, of Pilot, Va., was initially forbidden to seek out the donor's family.

"At that time, I was told not to even ask the donor's name. I wasn't supposed to ask anybody for any information," she said.

About 10 years ago, she wrote a letter to the family, whose name she didn't know, expressing her gratitude. To get around the privacy rules, Ms. Mullins asked officials at the Medical College of Virginia, where she had received the transplant, to forward it to the family.

When she didn't receive a reply, she asked hospital officials about the letter. In the course of assuring her that it had been delivered, they referred to the donor as a man. After Ms. Mullins replied that she had always been told that the donor was a young girl, they checked their records and told her she was right.

"So I think they might have sent the letter to the wrong family," she said.

The mix-up only made Ms. Mullins feel worse.

"I'm thinking that this family has never heard from me, that they think I just received the heart and said, 'Oh, well, thanks,' or not even that," she said.

Through the years, meanwhile, Ms. King clung to the memory of her daughter.

For a long time, she refused to throw out the girl's clothes. She still keeps a small gift bag on her dresser that contains tokens of Radina's life – a report card, a rabbit's foot, a letter to her grandmother and a plaque to "My Wonderful Mother" that the teen gave Ms. King a few weeks before her death.

In June 1986, Radina had just completed ninth grade at Gaston Middle School, where she frequently made A's. She loved books and toy bears.

"She had just reunited with her boyfriend, and she was in love and she was on top of the world," Ms. King recalled.

Radina had returned home from buying candy when she complained of a headache and collapsed. Ms. King, thinking the candy had been poisoned, took it to the emergency room to be analyzed. But the diagnosis was a brain aneurysm, and Radina died about 24 hours later.

Ms. Mullins was also a student in June 1986. She was born in San Antonio but moved to Virginia to live with her father when she was 14, after her parents divorced. Her mother died two years later in a traffic accident.

Ms. Mullins had just finished final exams at Radford College when she collapsed.

"I didn't know I had heart problems at the time," she said. "I just thought, 'What's this?' "

She was diagnosed as having viral cardiomyopathy and told she would need a new heart to survive.

Heart transplants were still a relatively new procedure at that time and were not covered by insurance. Ms. Mullins, who was holding down two jobs to work her way through college, was told she would have to come up with $100,000 before she could be put on the list of potential recipients.

Her town rallied around her, raising money through concerts, carwashes and bake sales.

She was lucky in one respect, said Dr. Clyde Yancy, medical director of the heart transplant program at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Her transplant occurred just as cyclosporine, a medicine that keeps the body from rejecting a transplanted organ, was being introduced.

Even so, Ms. Mullins is one of the longest-surviving heart transplant patients in the country.

"It's still fairly uncommon," he said. "It's within the realm of possibility, but it doesn't happen frequently."

Dr. Yancy said Ms. Mullins probably had the luck of obtaining a good genetic match, receiving good health care and having the determination to take care of herself.

But no one knows for sure, because so few transplant patients have lived so long.

"The doctors are learning from my case," Ms. Mullins said. "I'm the guinea pig."

Ms. Mullins said the side effects can be onerous. Her migraine headaches have been so severe, she has been unable to hold even a part-time job.

But another side effect is that she has a new appreciation for life.

"You have to have a positive attitude, and you have to have faith in God," she said. "You have to have something bigger than yourself, and you have to enjoy the good days and let the other stuff go."

After her unsuccessful attempt to get a letter to the family, Ms. Mullins continued to try to make contact. Every year, as the anniversary neared of what she called her "re-birthday," she tried through Internet searches to find information about the person whose heart beats inside her.

As the 20th anniversary neared, she said, resolving the mystery seemed to take on new urgency.

"I thought, 'I don't know, I may have only a few years left. I can't face the idea of looking for 20 years and not knowing,' " she said.

Her father once mentioned that he believed the donor had lived in the Dallas area. Last month, Ms. Mullins contacted The Dallas Morning News , which in turn called Pam Silvestri, public affairs director at the Southwest Transplant Alliance.

Ms. Silvestri was finally able to track down and contact Ms. King one morning last week.

The donor's mother was at first perplexed by Ms. Silvestri's phone call.

"She said there had been a mistake," Ms. King said, "and I thought for a moment she meant Dina was alive. I didn't know what to think.

"And then I realized she meant there was a mistake when I was told Dina's heart went to a 59-year-old man."

Within minutes, Ms. King called Ms. Mullins. The two women talked for more than an hour.

"She talked about her daughter. I talked about my life, and I asked what her daughter looked like," Ms. Mullins remembered. "We were both crying."

No detail was too small, Ms. King recalled.

"She asked me, 'What was Dina's favorite drink? Was it soda?' I told her it was Dr Pepper," Ms. King said. "And she said, 'Well, when I woke up from my surgery, I asked for Dr Pepper.' And she said she never drank soda."

They also resolved to meet in Dallas. Ms. Mullins is eager to meet Ms. King's family.

"I don't know how or when, but, yes, we're going to," Ms. Mullins said.

"I want to see their pictures and talk with them and embrace them and hold their hands and look them in the eye."