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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015 LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL
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holes: Public’s help encouraged Jury’s makeup seen as critical in Boston Marathon bombing case FROM page A1 level off by communicating with city staff, officials said.
‘Pothole mode’ Potholes certainly aren’t unique to wintertime, but they are exacerbated by what Kevin Lair, Lubbock’s streets and utilities supervisor, and other street engineers call the freeze-thaw cycle that, over time, can wear down the integrity of a road. “When it freezes, it shrinks then it expands over and over,” Lair said. The roads eventually crack. Given enough traffic, a small crack becomes a big crack and then a hole. And that’s certainly been the case after last week’s winter storms that dumped more than an inch of snow on Lubbock Jan. 3 alone, with other rounds of frozen precipitation creating layers of ice on roads throughout the week. “We were working 12-
hour shifts for six days,” Lair said of city efforts to clear ice and snow from streets. “As soon as that part’s done, we automatically go into the pothole mode.”
Before getting ‘really, really mad’ Neither Lair nor Lubbock Chief Operations Officer Keith Smith had an estimate for the number of pothole work requests the city has received from citizens in recent weeks. But both said they often go unreported. “Most of the time, people don’t call this stuff in until they get really, really mad.” Smith recalled once reading a letter to the editor in the Avalanche-Journal from a resident complaining about a pothole never being fixed. Smith wondered: “Did they even call it in?” Lair urged Lubbockites to call the city’s pothole reporting line at 775-2606, re-
Sammy’s lighthearted tips to avoid potholes n Don’t drive over them. n Dodge them. n Go around them.
How to report a pothole n Call: 775-2606 n Report online via the city’s website: http://www.mylubbock.us/departmental-websites/departments/311-on-line/ report/lists/report/report-apothole
minding callers to provide an accurate location of the pothole. Crews aim to repair potholes within 24 hours of the damage being reported, Lair said. And they actively look for potholes while they’re driving streets responding to other calls. “The sooner we hear about them, the sooner we can get it fixed,” he said. adam.young@lubbockonline.com l (806) 766-8725 Follow Adam on Twitter @AYoungReporter
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flu: Another spike in cases likely FROM page A1 from Dec. 28 through Jan. 3, she said. Overall, the hospital tested 945 patients for flu during that time period, she said. She said 254 tested positive — 72 were confirmed from Dec. 28 through Jan. 3. Two kids and 11 adults over 65 were hospitalized between Dec. 21 and Dec. 27, Kingsbery said. Kingsbery expects another spike in flu numbers within the next few weeks now that students are back in school, but it’s impossible to be sure that’s what numbers will reflect, she said. Her numbers show only surveillance at Covenant Health’s main campus and the Women’s and Children’s hospital, but they shed light on what’s going on in the community, she said. “CDC influenza surveillance systems are showing elevated activity,” she said. “It just says (in) the last couple of weeks, it’s really shot up. There’s a lot of flu circulating.” Phone calls and email inquiries to University Medical Center and Community
Stop the spread of germs n Thoroughly wash your hands. n Disinfect high-traffic surfaces. n See a doctor as soon as flu-like symptoms present themselves. n Stay home if you have flu-like symptoms. Source: Lynnette Kingsbery, infection preventionist for Covenant Health
Health Centers of Lubbock for flu surveillance numbers were not immediately returned. Deusen said the reports are showing similarities to flu activity in the past. “At this point, that’s tracking pretty close to what we saw the last couple of years,” he said. “It can drop off or it can keep going.” Health officials at Covenant are urging people to take precautions, including thoroughly washing hands, disinfecting hightraffic surfaces, seeing a doctor as soon as flu-like symptoms present themselves and staying out of school or work if flu symptoms are present to reduce exposure. “If you’re sick, stay
accident: School to provide help for classmates FROM page A1 the Mendez girls’ accident. “Tragically, our eighthgrade student suffered fatal injuries and did not survive,” the message said. “Her death has had a major impact on our students and staff. Events like this can and do have a profound effect on students, even when they are not in the same grade level. Please know that the school will continue to provide follow-up services for those who need them.”
denise.marquez@lubbockonline.com 766-8754 Follow Denise on Twitter @DMarquezAJ
home,” Kingsbery said. “Stay away from sick people. When you’re at home, wiping down stuff with regular cleaner and sanitizer is recommended. That kind of stuff really from year to year, that stays the same. How to prevent it and keep it from spreading, that stays the same.” The effectiveness of the flu shot against one of the circulating flu strains has proven to be low, Kingsbery said, but it should not deter the decision to be vaccinated. “It’s not too late to get the vaccine,” she said. “CDC continues to recommend that unvaccinated people get vaccinated. It still provides protection and reduces severity and it might prevent hospitalization and death.” ellysa.gonzalez@lubbockonline.com 766-8795 Follow Ellysa on Twitter @AJ_Ellysa
By DENISE LAVOIE associated press
BOSTON — To try to save him from the death penalty in the Boston Marathon bombing, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers will probably look for jurors who are intellectually curious and eager to learn about other cultures and religions. Prosecutors, in turn, will no doubt try to pick conservative, patriotic types who have steady work habits, have lived comfortable lives and are particularly sensitive to the randomness of the terror attack. Such is the conventional wisdom among jury con-
sultants and other legal experts who say the question of whether Tsarnaev receives a death sentence will be all but decided during jury selection. Ts a r n a e v, 21, is accused of taking part in the twin D. Tsarnaev bombing at the finish line of the race on April 15, 2013, killing three people and wounding more than 260. He is also charged in the slaying of an MIT police officer. Prosecutors say Dzhokhar and his brother, Tamerlan — ethnic Chechens who had
lived in the United States for about a decade — carried out the attack in retaliation for U.S. wars in Muslim countries. Tamerlan, 26, died in a gunbattle with police days after the bombing. Given the evidence against Dzhokhar — including incriminating graffiti on the boat where he was captured, and video of him planting a backpack at the site of one of the blasts — legal experts say there is little doubt he will be found guilty. They say his lawyers are concentrating instead on saving him from a death sentence from the jury during the penalty phase.
killing: Investigation ongoing FROM page A1 into the door, then jumped into the bed of the pickup and left. Gonzales was behind the door and suffered at least one gunshot wound above his sternum, according to a report by LPD Officer Christopher Johnson. Carla Sifert, Gonzales’ common-law wife, told police she heard a loud knock on the door and a man calling out Gonzales by his nickname, Easy. She said she heard three or four shots. She said the living room was full of smoke and she saw Gonzales fall to the ground. Johnson said Gonzales’ son saw his father’s shooting. Johnson said he did not speak with the child because of his age. Sifert told police Gonzales warned her people were looking for him the day before the shooting. She said her husband was texting Michael Keith on Dec. 31. She said Keith owned a flooring company and drove a maroon pickup truck. Keith went to the police station where he told police in a sworn statement the truck used in Gonzales’ shooting was his. He told detectives he
lent his truck to his employee, Ashley Jungmann, a former girlfriend of Eby. He said the day of the shooting, Jungmann took him to Eby, who went by the nickname “Roach.” Keith said Eby admitted to shooting Gonzales through a door. Keith said he saw Eby with the gun used in the shooting. Jungmann also spoke to police, saying Eby occasionally stayed with her at her home in Shallowater. She said Eby was working on tiling her bathroom. She told detectives about a recent encounter with Gonzales and Sifert, who were giving her a ride home. She said she noticed speakers in Gonzales’ vehicle, which she later learned were reportedly stolen from Eby. She said the day before the shooting, she and Eby drove to Academy Sports and Outdoors where she bought a Taurus Public Defender handgun. The two went to her home and Jungmann said she went to sleep.
The next day, Jungmann woke about 10 a.m. to Eby frantically knocking on her door and windows. She said Eby showed her a story on lubbockonline.com about Gonzales’ shooting then pulled from his pocket the gun she had bought. She said Eby admitted to shooting Gonzales. Jungmann said she drove Keith and Eby to the County Inn Hotel before going to the police station. Keith said he did not have any contact with Eby after the day of the shooting. Lubbock police Sgt. Jason Lewis, an LPD spokesman, said Eby was arrested without incident. However, he could not say why Eby was at Southern Cotton Oil when police arrested him or what the motive behind the shooting was. He said he was not aware if more arrests are pending, but the investigation is ongoing. gabriel.monte@lubbockonline.com 766-8707 Follow Gabe on Twitter @AJ_GabeMonte