TORAH ON TOUR
LIGHTER AND BRIGHTER
SEE TRENDS PAGE 8
SEE TRENDS PAGE 9
Hasidic reggae superstar brings Youth to Austin
Start flexing your thumbs for Nintendo’s new DS Lite
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS
www.UniversityStar.com
THURSDAY
MARCH 23, 2006
Three hospitalized after car collision Wednesday morning By Kirsten Crow The University Star A head-on collision early Wednesday morning sent three of the four occupants in the two vehicles to the hospital for what officials called serious injuries. The collision occurred at about 1 a.m. on Aquarena Springs Drive in front of the Korner Food Store when the driver of a gold Cavalier traveling outbound crossed over the yellow divider line into the incoming lane, striking an oncoming black Lexus ES300 head-on, said San Marcos Police Department officer Sam Myers. The accident drew almost a dozen SMPD and UPD squad cars in addition to ambulances, a fire truck and wreckers. Three of the four occupants in the vehicles were taken to Brackenridge Hospital following the accident for injuries Myers described as serious, but not critical. At least two of the occupants in the Lexus were members of the Texas State men’s golf team, said Ron Mears, director of sports information. Myers said the male driver of the Lexus had broken his leg in several places and the female backseat passenger had flown forward into the windshield upon impact. Police officials said they were unsure if she had not been wearing a seatbelt, or if she may have been wearing one very loosely and slipped out during the crash. The third passenger, John “Bobby” Hutcherson, exercise
VOLUME 95, ISSUE 65
The Skeleton Crew SWEEPING THE AREA: (Left) Standing side by side, forensic anthropology students and regional law enforcement officers sweep a field in a line search looking for signs of disturbed earth or piles of branches and stones in a simulation for finding a buried body. The line search was only one of the educational activities offered during The Advanced Body Search and Recovery School on March 10. (Below) Anthropology professor Jerry Melbye removes forensic evidence for indentification and analysis as students and sheriff’s deputies look on.
and sports science junior and member of the golf team, was not transported to the hospital. Hutcherson, who has received all-state, all-region and all-conference honors in golf, said he and his companions were headed to Taco Bell after playing a tournament in Lufkin earlier in the day when the collision occurred. He said the driver of the Lexus was Todd Parks, exercise and sports science junior and member of the golf team. He said on Wednesday afternoon that Parks suffered two fractures in his leg, but had just come out of surgery and was doing well. Mears said Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act guidelines prevent the athletic department from releasing the names of the students involved in the accident or their current statuses. “I don’t even know what their injuries are, other than they are not life-threatening,” Mears said. Myers said the driver of the atfault gold Cavalier was unable to remember the accident Wednesday morning. Officers did not smell alcohol on any of those involved, and Myers said there will be no subsequent investigation by SMPD. The accident occurred in what was once a turning lane in front of the Korner Food Store, but was changed last year to a third lane running inbound. An accident report identifying the driver of the Cavalier and the female passenger in the Lexus was not available at press time.
Forensic workshop trains students, police to uncover hidden bones By Leah Kirkwood The University Star
W
hen police uncovered the grave of a 14-year-old girl, they knew the case would be tough one. The crime scene was old and badly scavenged by predators, leaving only bones and bits of clothing behind. That’s when investigators called forensic anthropologist and visiting anthropology professor Jerry Melbye to utilize his expertise in crime scene data collection in the case. The same crime scene was reconstructed at a local ranch for last week’s Advanced Body Search and Recovery School. This was just one
part of the four-day course that also included demonstrations in forensic entomology, cadaver dogs and ground-penetrating radar. The Texas State anthropology department and the Hays County Sheriff ’s Office teamed up to instruct law enforcement officers and anthropology students in the latest methods of solving homicide cases. “It’s a combination of police training and student training,” Melbye said. “Students interested in forensics put this on as a training course for the police officers.” This workshop was the first of its kind held at Texas State, but Melbye See SKELETON, page 4
Mark Decker/Star photos
Roundup persuades residents to take care of warrants By Ashley Richards The University Star
Emily Messer/Star photo TWILIGHT TRAFFIC ACCIDENT: John “Bobby” Hutcherson, exercise and sports science junior and member of the Texas State golf team, talks with San Marcos Police officer Sam Myers and Cpl. Kelly Ernest. Hutcherson was one of the passengers in a black Lexus ES300 that was hit in a head-on collision early Wednesday morning.
disposition on the ticket.” Williams said most of the people who were still in the area went to court before the roundup, communicated with the municipal judge and dealt with the warrant. Others whom officers could not locate are likely not in the city anymore, Williams said. — Howard Williams “The people we were lookSMPD Chief ing for might not even still be around, or they were hiding,” Williams said. a warrant. At some residences, officers “It worked remarkably well, as knocked on the door and got no you see from the numbers from answer, but later in the day rethe court. We got people to go cords showed those people had in and made people make some made their way into the court disposition on their ticket,” Wil- and dealt with the warrant, Williams said. “I don’t care if people liams said. go to jail. We would much prefer While Williams said SMPD if people would go in when they will no longer focus a concenget a citation and make some trated effort on finding people
t worked “I remarkably well, as you
No arrests or pick-ups were yielded from the San Marcos Police Department’s participation in the March 4 warrant roundup of Central Texas. However, after SMPD announced its participation in the roundup on Feb. 19, defendants addressed 501 warrants in the city. “We had a lot of warrants addressed that would have not have been otherwise,” Susie Garcia, municipal court administrator, said. The lack of arrests on the day of the roundup was not a concern of SMPD Chief Howard Williams, who said he cared only about people taking some sort of action to resolve any ignored citations that resulted in
see from the numbers from the court.”
with warrants, they will still run routine checks during traffic stops. Garcia recommended that anyone with a warrant make an effort to communicate with the court before the planned hiring of a deputy marshal. She also said people who worked out a payment plan or any other agreement with the court should realize any default on the agreement could result in another warrant being issued. “We are going to be hiring a deputy marshal, which one of their functions will be to follow up with these people who have these outstanding warrants,” Garcia said. “We haven’t even put it out there yet. Probably in April sometime is when we will bring that person on, but it is coming.”
Student’s grievance aired, ordinance concerning vehicle idling passed By Clayton Medford The University Star Criminal justice senior Howard Smith spoke about his bad experiences dealing with his neighborhood association and city officials at the San Marcos City Council meeting on Tuesday. Smith purchased a home on Pearce Court in San Marcos in 2003 when he was 19 years old. He alleged that Councilman Gaylord Bose, who was chair of the Greater Castle Forest Neighborhood Association when Smith bought the house, harassed him and his roommate. “The first encounter I actually had before I even had a chance to meet
“I
— Howard Smith criminal justice senior
any of my neighbors or anything was actually from the president of our neighborhood association, (who was) Councilman Bose at the time. It was kind of disheartening because I was actually walking out with a roommate, taking out the trash, beer boxes, et cetera. The first
Today’s Weather
Mostly Sunny 64˚/35˚
IDLE ORDINANCE: The San Marcos City Council passed a new ordinance prohibiting vehicles heavier than 14,000 pounds from idling for more than five minutes within the city limits to reduce emissions for air quality, among other reasons. Vehicles caught in traffic are exempt from the ordinance.
t was kind of disheartening because I was actually walking out with a roommate, taking out the trash, beer boxes, et cetera. The first thing he said to us was, ‘If you are going to do that, you need to do it elsewhere.’”
Precipitation: 20% Humidity: 45% UV: 9 Very High Wind: N 16 mph
thing he said to us was, ‘If you are going to do that, you need to do it elsewhere,’” Smith said. Smith said the negative experience made him feel unwanted and almost drove him from the city.
Two-day Forecast Friday Sunny Temp: 68°/ 36° Precipitation: 0%
Tiffany Searcy/ Star file photo
See IDLING, page 6
Saturday Saturday Temp: 73°/ 42° Precipitation: 0%
Inside
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS
News ..............1-7 Trends ...........8-12 Comics ............ 12 Crossword ....... 12
Sudoku ............ 12 Opinions .......... 13 Classifieds ....... 14 Sports ......... 15,16
To Contact Trinity Building Phone: (512) 245-3487 Fax: (512) 245-3708 www.UniversityStar.com © 2006 The University Star