Arlington Morning News (Newspaper) - April 6, 1999, Arlington, Texas SGPS ROBINSON EARNS HONOR PAGE IB Own Newspaper Arlington Texas Tuesday April 6 1999 1999 Arlington News 3 Sections cents Man 19 dies from gunshot Family baffled no arrests made By Julie Elliott Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News Arlington police are investigating the shooting death of a man found in his mothers home Monday Jerome King died of a gunshot wound at in a home in the 200 block of Hosack Street police said The mans brother and a family friend dis covered Mr Kings body Police are unsure how Mr King was shot We cant call it a homicide but we arent at the point where we can call it a suicide said Sgt James Hawthorne a police spokesman Right now we have a lot of questions to determine if the gunshot was or if there were other circumstances that may have led to the cause There are just too many unan swered questions to say what we are dealing with at this The fatal shooting has left family members struggling to understand Mr Kings senseless He was such a good said Cheryl Johnson Mr Kings aunt He was just a polite kid not at all He would spend time with his family and tried to help everyone He was a Yes maam no maam and a Can I do that for of Ms Johnson said Family members said they would remember his bright smile most Mr King was mentally disabled relatives said He was an athlete who played baseball and football at Corsicana High School He had attended Nichols Junior High School in Arlington years ago Although the call to police described the shooting as a suicide Sgt Hawthorne said several factors lead police to question whether the gunshot wound was For example he said police ini did not find a gun in the house Family members later report ed that they had found two guns stashed in a hallway furnace Investigators said they believe one of those guns is the weapon used in the shooting We have not talked to everyone that was at the house when this happened because they were not at the scene when police Sgt Hawthorne said We cant say any thing for sure until we talk to every Sgt Hawthorne said investigators were attempting to talk with Mr Kings brother and four friends who may have been at the home Please see Mans on Page LETS BEDEWED APR 0 6 ARLINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY mests in cheap seats enjoy view By Kelly D Patterson Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News Perched on seats 510 feet above the baseball diamond these Texas Rangers fans proba bly would feel closer to the action watching it on televi sion Ballplayers resemble minia ture action figures The sound of the ball coming off the bat takes a good five seconds to travel up this high The beer guy rarely tackles the steep steps Welcome to the cheap seats For a mere five bucks some baseball fans on Monday either chose the nosebleed seats or had no other option during Opening Day at The Ballpark in Arlington As the Rangers faced the Detroit Tigers only to fall to them 115 fans in these seats had a birdseye view of the action Speed Gun a hit Gov Bush visits Above Texas Rangers fans Don Whiteley right and his brother Billy read about the teams latest addition Rafael Palmeiro as they wait for him to step up to the plate The Rangers lost their Arlington Morning News Mall Houston Opening Day game Monday to the Detroit Tigers 115 Below Rangers Manager Johnny Dates tips his cap to the crowd during player and coach introductions Game coverage Opening Day memories 1B Rangers fans scoop up tickets By Todd Wills Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News Joe Monje had Mondays game all mapped out Hed watch a few innings in left field move to center field for a few more innings and then watch part of the game between the Texas Rangers and the Detroit Tigers from behind home plate All advantages of a only ticket sold by the Rangers for the first time for a regular season game since the 1994 opening of The Ballpark in Arlington Ticket holders can watch the action from areas behind the back rows of sections in the out field Its Opening Day Just being here thats enough for the Arlington resident said as he watched the game from center field This right here its not a bad view at Several hundred fans took advantage of the tickets that went on sale Thursday They were among the people in attendance Monday the largest Opening Day crowd in Rangers history Most of them were gone by the time Detroit finished off an 115 victory over the Rangers The tickets helped those who learned at the last minute they could attend the opener These are a lot better than sitting way up said William Burris of Arlington who decided Friday to attend The Rangers should do this more often but they The Rangers offered the standing tickets for the 1995 AllStar Game and three playoff games against the New York Yankees in 1996 and 1998 Stony Morton a landscaper from North Richland Hills said he found out when he arrived at work Monday morning that it was too wet to work so his boss gave him the day off Mr Morton picked up his wife Barbara and son Cody who is on Please tee Standing on Page Well virtually all the action We just have to take every ones word for it if someone hits the ball out in right Jeremy Lyons said as he lounged in his seat in Section 345 You cant see the You cant see the right fielder You cant see the Mondays game was the largest Opening Day game crowd in Rangers history The game drew people the seventhlargest crowd to view a Rangers home game The teams meet again Tuesday It was here or stay at said Linda Parks of Fort Worth Her seat was on the 20th row in Section 245 To get to these uppermost seats in The Ballpark fans can take at least three routes The most common way up and the least exhausting is to take two sets of escalators to the third deck Or you can try the ramp and its 19 turns as it winds its way to the top Finally there is a stairwell with 124 steps Thats the route a group of Dallas police officers took to their seats in Section 343 But once they reached the Arlington Morning News Brad Loper Please See Fans OD Page Slew of accidents ties up midday traffic Police report more than a dozen pileups By Rufus Coleman Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News Traffic are common during Texas Rangers games But a slew of accidents in North Arlington on Monday added to Opening Day congestion As baseball fans left The Ballpark in Arlington about a dozen accidents backed up traffic on nearby roads In a span of about two hours there were about a dozen said Mike Zufelt a communications supervisor for emergency dispatch services This was a very atypical day we expect heavy traffic problems but nothing like what we got Most of the accidents occurred between 4 and 6 within a few miles of The Ballpark officials said Arlington police said most accidents were caused by traffic coupled with the slew of baseball fans People were in just too much of a hurry to get home or to get out of The said Officer Lang We were working another accident here not more than an before this its just the A motorcyclist was injured Monday afternoon when his motorcycle and a car Arlington Morning News J Mark Kegans Arlington emergency personnel examine two of the five vehicles involved in a pileup on Interstate 30 near Ballpark Way Police reported more than a dozen accidents within a span collided on East Park Row Drive He was taken by helicopter to Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth His condition was not available Monday night Two accidents coincidentally occurred at separate times on Interstate 30 near the Ballpark Way overpass Four people were transported to Arlington Memorial Hospital with minor injuries after a minivan overturned about 4 About an hour later a accident occurred in the same area Two people were taken to hospitals but no ening injuries were reported police said Its just a big ol said Fort Worth resident Gary Ballard whose truck was involved in the accident The accident occurred when a 1999 Dodge pickup heading eastbound on 130 attempted to speed ahead of traffic police said The truck a 1997 Nissan Please see Accidents on Page INSIDE Area traffic Classifieds Business Lottery Movies Obituaries Opinions Sports Stocks TV listings Weather IB 2A Featuring works by students of all ages 83197 00025 Despite delays rec center has residents excited By Rani Cher Monson Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News North Arlington resident Suzy recently let her health club membership expire in anticipation of exer at the nearby Elzie Odom Recreation Center But shes been waiting awhile The facility opened without much fanfare at 6 Monday more than three months later than sched uled Weve been watching the construction every day because we live just across the said Mrs adding that her three children are excited about playing basketball and learning gymnastics at the million center Were here to take a look she said while wait ing in a short line to talk with an employee and get more information about the building at 1601 Green Oaks Blvd Construction delays prevented the indoor facility from opening meaning residents were unable to access the wall running track and rink It also meant the city lost money Revenue generated from things such as skate rentals and hot dog sales would have been used to pay off the debt the city issued to build the facility Instead the Parks and Recreation Department has to use alternative funding 10 make debt payments preventing Please aee Odom on Page
