Arlington Morning News (Newspaper) - April 23, 1999, Arlington, Texas UTA JUNIOR STANDOUT PAGE 1B Jftj Own Newspaper Arlington April 1999 members ordered to pay fees Arlington musician may appeal By David Houston Special Contributor to the Arlington Morning News LOS ANGELES A federal judge Thursday ordered Arlington resident Howard Scott and another former mem ber of the 1970s funk band War to pay in legal fees for being on the los ing end of a lawsuit California guitarist Harold Brown Brown said he and Mr Scott are definite ly appealing District Judge William D Kellers decision on the lawsuit they filed three years ago Mr Brown said Mr Scott was in Arlington working on an album the two plan to release Mr Scott could not reached for com ment Thursday Jay Coggan the lawyer for Avenue Records and Far Out Productions had sought in legal fees Mr Scott and Mr Brown were trying to wrest control of music they wrote and performed and the name of the band which they say they founded in 1969 The musicians had sought more than mil lion in damages Last month Judge Keller dismissed Please see War on Page 1 LIBRARY urges dialogue Two sides asked to settle historic district dispute out of court By Ben Tinsley Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News Texas Historical Commissions executive director urged the parties embroiled in a defamation lawsuit Thursday to resolve their conflict through dialogue Larry Oaks said his organization will work aggressively with the entire community to pinpoint all historic sites in Arlington in the hopes of ending a divisive legal battle The controversy sparked by a bitter dis pute over the citys first proposed historic dis has divided some Central Arlington neighbors along racial lines and prompted one couple to file a lawsuit against City Council member Barbara Nash for allegedly calling them racists Neither Mrs Nash nor her attorney would say whether the council member made the remark in referring to Walter and Kristina Rumans the Central Arlington couple who drafted boundary lines for the proposed his toric district But they insist Mrs Nash is not guilty of defaming the Rumans whom critics accuse of excluding blackowned property in the neighborhood from the proposed district 1 would love to see them resolve their dif without a said Mr Oaks His organization gave approval to the historic district proposal last month The lawsuit complicates our getting the job done up In their lawsuit filed Tuesday in a Tarrant County district court the Rumans also accused Mount Olive Baptist Church leaders of calling them and their neighbors racists An attorney representing Mount Olive has said he was disappointed the Rumans had resorted to legal action Like Mrs Nash Mount Olive officials have criticized the districts boundary lines because no blackowned property is included The Rumans contend historical considera tion not race determined what property was included in the proposed district loosely bounded by Sanford Street on the north Division Street on the south Elm Street on the east and North Oak Street on the west Please see Meeting on Page Examiner identifies girls body Irving police treating Ryno case as slaying By Rick Klein Staff Writer of The Dallas Morning News IRVING A young girls body found in the Elm Fork of the Trinity River was identified Thursday as that of Cristy Ryno the from Irving who was reported missing from her apartment last weekend The Dallas County medical exam iners office used medical records and help from the girls family to identify the body after an autopsy Thursday The medical examiner did not rule on the cause or manner of death Irving police are treating the death as a homicide until they have more information said Officer David Tull a department spokesman Im not going to draw any conclu sions or he said The case is still dragging mother Leticia Ryno told police that when she woke up Saturday morning the girl was miss ing from the apartment in the 2700 block of East Grauwyler Road Police have said Cristy could have wandered outside by herself but Please see Body on Page DISASTER DRILL Morning Tom Foi During a staged emergency Arlington firefighter Eddie Saldivar center and triage officer Mora of work together to simulate treatment of some of the 31 patients in a mock tornado incident Thursdays training exercise helps the department and other agencies prepare for possible crises Mock emergency prepares workers for the chaos that comes with crisis By Nancy Calaway Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning It was a disaster that wasnt real fortunately With this weeks Colorado high school shootings fresh on many minds members of the Arlington Fire Department responded to their own mass casualty incident as part of a training exercise Thursday morning The Arlington firefighters said practicing how to respond to events and including realistic elements such as hysterical family mem bers and frightened survivors is a key to preparing workers for emergencies Its not a matter of its a matter of when this prepared ness is said Lt Marvin Shafer Fire Department spokesman If there was a school shooting our response would be a little different because police would be in charge of that scene but this helps us to develop a command structure which you always need Please see Mock on Page Woman wont be charged in husbands death By Nancy Calaway Staff Writer of the Arlington Morning News Tarrant County prosecutors said they will not charge an Arlington woman who told police she fatally shot her hus band in selfdefense in November Sheila Brown 34 wont be charged in the slaying of Kenneth Keith Brown because her story of selfdefense is cred ible prosecutors said We declined to take the case because there is ample evidence and the evi dence is consistent with her said Robert Hester an assistant district attorney As far as Im concerned the case is Mr Brown 32 was killed Nov 18 Prosecutors say evidence supports selfdefense claim inside his South Arlington home The woman called police to report a domes tic disturbance She said Mr Brown was attacking her with a fireplace poker The call was disconnected and police said the woman then retrieved a semiautomatic pistol from a closet and repeatedly shot the man dur ing the attack After police arrived the woman was taken to a hospital where she was treat ed for bruises swelling and a head injury The physical evidence was fairly con with what she was saying hap said Officer Dee Anderson police spokesman during the initial investigation There was some evi dence of a struggle and the fireplace tool was at his The woman had called 911 and said her husband was after her and shes trying to get Officer Anderson said Then the phone disconnects and the 911 operator calls back within a few seconds and Mrs Brown says she shot her Mrs Brown was still talking to the 911 operator minutes later when officers arrived at their home in the 2100 block of Post WoodLane She left the door ajar for officers to enter police said at the time Family members told investigators that the couple had a history of domestic violence but officers had not been called to the Browns home Officer Anderson said Local battered womens advocates said at the time that women often do not report domestic abuse Domestic violence is still the most underreported said Mary Lee Hafley executive director of the Womens Shelter in Arlington When the victim is trying to keep an explosive episode from happening she is really walking on eggshells and in a mode to try ar d stall that Ms Hafley said Martin pitcher unlikely to play regardless of court action By Kevin Lonnquist Skiff Writer of the Arlington Morning News A justice of the peace on Friday may clear Martin High School pitcher Scott Autrey of his deferred adjudication for a citation But Justice George decision in the case prob ably wont mean Mr Autrey will be reinstated to his team His season probably is over school district said Deferred adjudication does not equal dismissal according to our said Kobertson spokeswoman for the Arlington Independent School District The only way a student could be reinstated is if the judge said the charge never There is a remote but unlikely possibility that the jus tice could dismiss the initial citation and the policy would not apply in that instance she Mr Autrey could not be reached for comment Thursday night His father Rick Autrey said Thursday that he didnt believe the justices action would be enough to get his son reinstated 1 dont know what the wording is going to be but Im sure it wont be strong he said If that means Scott wont play again this season then well just have to go with The player was placed on deferred adjudication after he was cited for underage alcohol possession last November by Texas University police in College Station A representative from Justice office said Mr Autrey appears to have completed the terms of his deferred was told not to receive a cita tion of any kind during a period complete 25 hours of community service attend a sion class and pay approximately of court costs The policy bans a student from activities for one academic year But the student could be reinstated by going through a counseling program for a minimum of six weeks Because deferred adjudication is not stricken from a persons record Mr Autrey is not allowed to be rein stated to the team The district policy does not interpret a dismissal through deferred adjudication in the same manner as a dismissed citation Mrs Kobertson said Deferred does not get you off the hook in regards to our she said The players father said his options are limited since it is too late in the school year The elder Mr Autrey said he was frustrated that his sons high school athletic career ended early This is vigilante he said 1 think its grossly unfair There are other cities and school dis that dout have nearly as strict as standards as the ones we have to live up Please see Pitchers oa Page INSIDE Area traffic Classifieds Free Advice Lottery Movies Obituaries Opinions Sports Stocks TV listings Weather P WEATHER Mostly i cloudy and warm high 85 Winds southerly at 10 to Heat index 88 See Page 2A fa NEWS metropolitan population expected to reach 5 million next month See Page Arlington surrounding cities kesp pace with population growth Soe Page fa WEEKEND Same old tune 1776 declares its dependence on history See Page 1C fa OPINIONS Cooper House Financial settlement agreement represents abuse of public trust See Page fa SPORTS UTA runner adapts well to sudden change See Page 1B SGPs Calvert making a name for herself See Page IB 83197 00025
