This is KAMR-TV Amarillo, and this is News 4 at 6.
Authorities are investigating whether a man found dead in this house in Amarillo may have
died of asphyxiation.
This, on the same day, fire from a faulty chimney sent a family fleeing their burning
home in the middle of the night.
The dangers of staying warm are a tough story on News 4.
Good evening, an autopsy is being performed on an Amarillo man who died yesterday possibly
of carbon monoxide poisoning.
24-year-old Billy John Rogers was found by his roommate early Sunday morning in the bedroom
of this house.
Rogers was unconscious and rushed to Northwest Texas Hospital where he later died.
Fire officials were called to see if Rogers had died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The autopsy results won't be known for a few days yet.
Carbon monoxide poisoning can be deadly, but the danger is that you can't see it, smell
it or even taste it.
Deadly gas usually spills out into the air through faulty heating systems.
That's why it's important to make sure that you know your heating system is not only working
but is not poisoning your home.
Rene Romo spent the afternoon with the Amarillo Fire Marshal to inspect the system in one
home and give you some tips on how to check the safety in yours.
It's something most of us take for granted once it comes on.
We don't really think about how dangerous it can be.
But how you heat your home is important.
We've got to vent this stuff out to the outside.
Again, this is a fairly old installation.
You can tell by the condensation that's run down the pipe from outside.
But it's in fairly good shape.
Amarillo Fire Marshal Greg Taylor has seen a lot of carbon monoxide poisoning in the
past.
He says most of them could have been prevented with a few easy steps.
What's happening is that these are just coming right back out into the room and circulating
and being reused.
You can burn out the available oxygen in the room rather quickly.
If your home has one of these, Taylor says you should either leave a window cracked open
or else just stop using it.
If you use your fireplace a lot every year, then you need to have your flue cleaned at
least once a year.
Many times people don't have what we call spark arresters or chimney caps.
That's what could have caused a fire at an Amarillo home last night.
Taylor says checking your heating system is very important, especially if your house is
like one of these that's already getting up there in age, around 40 or 50 years old.
If you don't, you're risking your life.
It's just that simple.
Carbon monoxide is a very serious problem that we have Renee Romo used for.
Taylor says you can't go wrong by having plenty of smoke detectors in your home.
If you're elderly and either don't have a smoke detector or can't afford one, the fire
department will help you.
You can call the fire prevention department at 378-4238.
If you're 55 or older, the fire department will give you a free smoke detector.
A U.S. soldier arrested as a suspect in a 1983 Amarillo death appeared in court today.
47-year-old Vernon Scott Johnson went before Judge Abe Lopez.
Johnson is charged with voluntary manslaughter.
The judge set his bond at $15,000.
He was arrested for the beating death of Milton Thompson, a transient.
Thompson's body was found in an alley behind Pier Street in downtown Amarillo.
The death went unsolved until special crimes got a tip that led to Johnson's arrest.
An Amarillo teenager was charged today with the November 19 traffic death of another Amarillo
man.
The 18-year-old Steven Minkoff was arraigned on involuntary manslaughter charges.
Police say that Minkoff's pickup collided with another pickup November 19th of last
year at I-40 and Grant.
24-year-old Clovis Brian Jackson of Amarillo was killed in that accident.
Minkoff's bond was set at $7,000.
Potter County commissioners today put off making a final decision concerning what to
do with the Willow Creek Juvenile Detention Center.
Now that Randall County has opened a new facility, that leaves Potter County's building vacant.
Members of the volunteer fire department have said they'd like to use the building for training
programs.
We have approximately 70-75 volunteers in our department and training is a big part
of a fire department.
And right now we do not have a dedicated area where we can do our training.
We have to make available areas within the courts, courtrooms and other areas at this
time to do classroom training.
That's our biggest problem.
We have areas to do our practical training out in the field and we don't have a classroom
facility.
Chief Brown submitted a plan that commissioners will continue to review over the next two
weeks.
So far the volunteer fire department is the only group to express an interest in the old
building.
Still ahead, one Amarillo company creates jobs for 100 people with a little help from
the Economic Development Corporation.
And Jaja is creating a stir in Texas.
In Midland no less, she's back in court.
And later, cowboy mania.
It's not just stirring up the fans, but it's making some retailers happy too.
News 4 continues in a moment.
News straight to you with Mary Allison and Lynn Walker.
Weather with meteorologist Steve McCauley and Steve Zing on sports.
This is News 4 at 6.
One Amarillo manufacturing company is going through an expansion thanks to a loan from
the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation.
Rich Vaughn visited the Maywood Company as this report.
Employees at Amarillo's Maywood Company have been making wood doors for 39 years.
The company started out with five employees in 1953 and has now expanded to 500.
An additional 100 employees were hired locally when Maywood closed its Plymouth Falls, Oregon
plant.
Maywood officials considered consolidating the Oregon operations in Amarillo and a loan
from the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation made that move possible.
As many small companies have, we have problems getting enough working capital and enough
capital to do things like move an operation such as we've done.
And this enabled us to do it, frankly.
The $350,000 loan from the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation not only let Maywood
incorporate its new 100 employees, but also buy some additional equipment.
Well we really haven't decided what additional equipment we'll purchase for sure.
We have some designs on the board now, some layouts, some proposed equipment, and we'll
be finalizing those decisions in the next month.
Maynard says with the new equipment it will make his company more competitive in the marketplace.
Rich Vaughn, News 4.
Maywood manufactures 5,000 doors a day.
They ship pine and oak doors to all 50 states.
The Panhandle region has escaped the axe dropped by Sears Robican Company.
Sears announced today it's closing more than 100 stores across the country, laying off
about 50,000 workers and doing away with the big Sears catalog, a fixture in American retailing
for more than a century.
No Sears stores in the Texas or Oklahoma Panhandles or eastern New Mexico will be affected.
In all, six stores in Oklahoma will close.
Other news now, a newborn baby abducted from a Dallas hospital yesterday is safely back
with her mother today.
A tip led police to the baby and the woman who kidnapped her.
The suspect had apparently posed as a nurse at the Parkland Hospital Maternity Ward and
took the baby, Sharitha Lister, from her mother.
The baby is fine.
The suspect faces kidnapping charges and the hospital is considering new security procedures.
Jaja Gabor, star of stage screen and courtrooms, performed at the courthouse in Midland today.
She's being sued by a Texas businessman who says Jaja broke a contract in which he would
promote his luxury vacation getaways.
The trial was moved to Midland from San Antonio on a change of venue.
Today Gabor is set next to her famous lawyer, Melvin Belli, sipped coffee and sprayed herself
with perfume.
Before you make your next trip to the dumpster, consider recycling some of your garbage.
Amarillo's recycling program expanded today.
This new trailer will travel to four fire stations in Amarillo on designated days of
the week.
You can deposit tin and aluminum cans and three types of glass, green, brown, and clear.
Organizers say recycling now can prevent problems later.
It's important to bring recycling and make it more convenient for the residents of Amarillo.
We don't have the landfill problems here that are prevalent in other parts of the country,
but we do want to play our part in protecting and preserving the environment and conserving
landfill space.
The recycling program works hand in hand with the Keep Amarillo Beautiful campaign.
Spokeswoman Dusty McGuire says a little preparation is needed before you drop off your trash.
To find the recycling location nearest to you, call the city's public works division.
The number is 378-3024.
Well we have something that's kind of on the strange and unusual side.
Strange and unusual as far as this winter goes.
Steve McCauley's next with a different kind of forecast.
This portion of News 4 is brought to you by iMasters.
Right now though in Amarillo we do have clear skies.
Our temperatures at 41 degrees.
The dew point has dropped since the weekend.
It's down to 25, relative humidity at 53 percent.
Pressure not going anywhere at 30.19 and we have a lazy south wind blowing in at about
five miles an hour.
Our temperatures today, 19 degrees this morning, but we did manage a high of 48 this afternoon,
fairly close to our normals of 21 and 50.
Records, that takes us back to 1897 when we dropped down to an even zero on this date.
High of 77, set in 1952.
No precipitation in the last 24 hours, so we're still holding at our three quarters
of an inch, about four tenths of an inch above the normal.
And Lake Merritt rising still.
Water temperature 40 degrees, soil temperatures creeping upward 33 and 34 degrees.
Our satellite picture, all kinds of things are happening, but not really here in the
Texas panhandle.
First take a look down here to the southeast.
We've got a cauldron of thunderstorms just bubbling up across the Gulf of Mexico taking
aim on Florida.
As a matter of fact, some pretty big thunderstorms.
You may see some tornadoes breaking out across portions of the Sunshine State during the
overnight hours tonight.
Other places though, we've got a big mass of clouds, but the bark is really a lot worse
than the bite, because when we drop down to the radar screens, we really don't have that
much going on underneath all those clouds.
Most of it's just a low cloud deck, a lot of fog up there as well.
The snow way up here in Canada, a little bit of precipitation there in the Pacific Northwest,
but again, just not a lot going on.
There is where a lot is going on across Florida.
As a matter of fact, we'll take a little bit closer look out of the West Palm Beach radar
screen.
Just a whole bunch of showers and thunderstorms lining up.
Now this is the light to moderate rain.
The real heavy stuff is out of radar range just to the southwest of Key West, and again,
we may see severe weather watches and warnings go up across the southern peninsula of Florida
later on tonight.
Here in our own deck of the woods, not a lot going on.
We did have a little bit of cloud cover, but you can see as it tries to drop down to the
south, it's going away, and that leaves us with clear skies here in the Texas panhandle.
We do have a little bit of low cloudiness just to the north of our viewing area, but
I think most of us are going to enjoy a very nice evening for tonight.
High temperatures today.
The cool spot once again for you folks up in liberal Kansas.
Still have a little bit of snow up there in southwest Kansas, 41 degrees there.
42, but getting rid of the snow fast in the Perryton vicinity.
51 here in Guymon, also in Borger.
Again, our 48s being matched in Canyon, Hereford, Demid also in the Tulia vicinity, and 52 is
very popular out there in east New Mexico, and the warm spot appears once again to be
Wichita Falls at 53 degrees.
Again, you can see what's left of the snowpack up to our north gradually being eaten away,
and I think we're going to get rid of nearly all of it during the next couple of afternoons.
For tonight's lows though, again the cold spot, liberal Kansas dropping down to 18 degrees,
20 for Guymon, 22 here in Amarillo, upper 20s for the southeast panhandle, and mid 20s
coming up for you folks in Clovis and Portales.
Tomorrow's weather map, a lot of high pressure across the southern half of the country.
That means nothing but sunshine and an actual warming trend that should last at least a
couple of days before we get the back end of this cold front sweeping through probably
by Thursday, and we may see a chance of precipitation later on this week, but right now it looks
like most of that should fall far to our south.
And again, the all day rain down in the southeastern corner of the country.
How about this for tomorrow?
56 in Amarillo, 57 Lubbock, and again we may see a few 40s left over across the snowpack
up to the northeast, 49 degrees in liberal, but 54 Guymon, 56 here in Amarillo, and upper
50s down to the south and it's only going to get warmer for your Wednesday.
Here's the forecast then for Amarillo in the city.
Just tonight, clear skies.
We'll drop down to about 22 degrees, winds out of the south at 5 to 10.
For tomorrow, sunny and mild, a simple forecast, high of 56 degrees, a lazy south wind at 5
to 15 miles an hour, and then by tomorrow night, clear and cold again with a low near
25 degrees.
Extended outlook, about upper 50s for your Wednesday, and then cooling back down to the
40s for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
I got it mostly cloudy there on Friday, but there is actually a chance we could put some
precipitation in that forecast late Thursday night and Friday, but right now it looks like
it should fall to our south, but we've got a couple of days to update that just in case.
So again, nice winter weather for a change here in the band.
Round of applause.
Denver Broncos didn't have to look too far to find their new coach.
Steve Saino will tell us about that in a moment.
And what do the Cowboys have that other teams don't?
A blonde-haired, blue-eyed wonder, the rising star, who's one reason the Cowboys are headed
for the Super Bowl.
How much did you pay for your last pair of glasses?
About $170.
I know it was over $250.
Not anymore.
Now at iMart Express, get one complete pair of single-vision glasses for only $38.74,
or get two complete pair for $67.92.
My vocals are only $20 more per pair.
Both of us got two pair for $67.92 each in less than an hour.
From iMart Express, across from Westgate Mall.
The Oldies are alive in Amarillo.
Just let me hear some of that rock and roll music.
Amarillo's good-time rock and roll station, Oldies 1071 FM is on the air with the greatest
hits of the 60s.
Oh, I heard through the grapevine.
In the 70s.
Your official good-time rock and roll station.
The music and the memories.
Oldies 1071 FM.
It's the final two weeks of Homeland's fifth anniversary sale, where you'll find aisle
after aisle of extra-low prices.
Stop in today and look for these grapevines.
Country Pride brand Friar breasts in bonus packs of four pounds or more.
Only 99 cents a pound.
Boneless beef sirloin tips in 9 to 12 pound sizes, although 168 a pound.
And townhouse chicken noodle or tomato soup.
10 and a half ounce cans, three for one dollar, limit three.
Plus, pick up greater savings with double coupons up to a dollar.
All at the fifth anniversary sale at Homeland.
It's rape, it's seduction, it's molestation.
On the next Jenny Jones, when Anita's 15-year-old son had an affair with an older woman.
He is still a minor.
She tried to have her arrested.
Excuse me for being a mother and being concerned.
But was he old enough to make his own decision?
Because I know we never had sex until after he was 16, period.
Anita confronts her son's seductress.
He a child molester.
On the next Jenny Jones.
Tomorrow at 9 on KAMR.
Well Amarillo now has kind of a unique tie with Denver, I suppose.
That's true.
How many Fannin Panthers are head coaches in the NFL?
Former Fannin Panthers.
Absolutely the day, as of now there's one.
As Wade Phillips is now the head coach of the Denver Broncos.
That was announced late this afternoon.
Other NFL news.
Over the past eight years Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman has played most of his games in
two stadiums.
Of course one of them is Texas Stadium.
The other the Rose Bowl where he played for UCLA.
And right now Aikman's preparing for what he hopes will be a triumphant return there.
Terry Briggs has more in this report.
In October of 1985 Dallas got a sneak preview of the Cowboys' future.
Texas territory 45.
He's at the 40.
Count it off at the 30.
OU freshman Troy Aikman from Henrietta was the toast of his home state as he led the
Sooners to victory at the Cotton Bowl in the Red River rivalry while Willie Nelson sang
a little traveling music.
And Troy soon was on the road.
A broken foot and broken promises in Norman soured him on the Sooners.
So he transferred to UCLA where a fresh start and a pro style passing game made him the
hottest gun in the West and everywhere else.
We're proud to announce today the Dallas football club that Troy Aikman has signed.
Hopefully I'll play for many years here and please a lot of folks.
1989 was anything but pleasing for the rookie quarterback or his coach and a disturbing
pattern began.
Aikman was shelled for part of 89 with a broken finger.
His second season in 1990 ended with a separated shoulder.
In 91 it was a knee and while the Cowboys continued on into the playoffs some people
began wondering if Troy would ever make it all the way through a season or if he could
take the team to the promised land.
I think critics are going to always be critical so I don't really care what the critics say
and it's not a concern of mine and I've said many times that I don't play this game to
try to soothe anybody's opinions of me and I play the game because I want to do well
for the guys that I play with.
In 1992 he was determined from day one of training camp to do just that.
We're much further along than I ever hoped to be.
Never was that more evident in Troy and his team than last week.
On the outside, Aikman going deep.
He's really come through staying healthy for him.
I think that was the biggest thing.
He knew he would be very productive in the league if he could just stay healthy.
And probably as happy as he's ever been playing football this week.
The nice thing for me, I've said it to a few of my buddies that the nicest thing if we're
going to go this was really the perfect year for me and getting an opportunity to go out
there and play in Pasadena.
Perfect that is with one more win.
At Super Bowl 27 in California, this is Terry Briggs for Sports Extra.
And finally in tonight's Super Bowl memory, Don Schuola recalls the Super Bowl loss that
led to his leaving Baltimore and going to Miami.
It destroyed a relationship, Terrell Rosenblum and I had an excellent relationship.
He put his arm around me and he said, I hope this is the last coach that I ever hire.
And after the Jets game, things changed.
And the following year, our relationship completely fell apart.
That's when I decided to make the move to Miami.
Tonight at 10, the WT Buffs are playing at home.
Also, we'll have more on Wade Phillips.
And we are all keeping our fingers crossed that Troy Aikman stays healthy through one
more football game.
That's right.
It's a safe bet that Sunday's Super Bowl game will be the biggest day in football this year.
It's also a safe bet that a lot of betting will be going on on that game.
As a matter of fact, the president of the Texas Council on Problem and Compulsive Gambling
says more money is bet on the Super Bowl than most Fortune 55 companies make in a year.
This Texan, who we'll call Joe, once won $18,000 on a Super Bowl bet.
He was hooked and he was a compulsive gambler.
When I first started gambling, I wasn't betting $12,000 on a football game.
I started out betting $100.
But it's a progressive disease.
And to continue to maintain the high or the level of excitement, you find yourself betting
more and more money.
And compulsive gambling, within 10 years, is going to be the most serious addiction
in this country because of casino gambling, because of sports betting, because of horse
racing, lottery, bingo.
It's going to be everywhere.
And it's going to be in Texas.
We already see the trend.
If you have a gambling problem or know someone who does, the Texas Council on Problem and
Compulsive Gambling may be able to help.
You can call them at 1-800-742-0443.
The rush is on to buy the hottest clothing in Texas right now.
And cowboy mania has hit the streets of Amarillo.
That story, when News 4 continues.
The real-value collection at eye masters.
179, 179, 179.
Write this number down if you need a new car, because for just 179 a month you get a sporty-looking
looking car that comes with power door locks, four-wheel anti-lock brakes, and many other standard features.
This car has more horsepower than Ford Escort, more head and leg room, and goes farther on a tank of gas.
What can you get for $179 a month?
A Chevy Cavalier.
Get yours from your local high-country Chevy dealer.
Hardy's new Santa Fe burger.
Thick all-American beef.
Onions.
Lettuce.
Tomatoes.
Cheese.
And spicy sauce.
Got a taste for the Southwest?
Then taste Hardy's new Santa Fe burger.
But hurry, it won't be around for long.
And for a Southwestern-style breakfast, try Hardy's Tortilla Scrambler.
Are you ready for some real fun?
Hardy's!
On the next, cops.
You guys, there's no fear of getting caught.
Well, he did all that folks while they're drinking a cup of coffee.
I mean, a man is a pro.
Police set up a sting to catch a car thief.
If I was breaking the law, why did you let me continue to break the law?
On cops.
Marlowe 5 on KAMR.
It's the latest craze all over Texas.
Cowboy memorabilia.
Stores all over town are stocking up on the blue and gray items.
In fact, store salesmen say the merchandise is selling so well, they're having trouble keeping it in stock.
It's been unbelievable.
Anything Cowboys is selling like hotcakes.
We cannot keep our hands on it.
We got 24 starter Cowboy jackets in Friday afternoon.
We sold out this weekend.
We don't even have one left.
Salesmen say not only are jackets the hot item this year,
Cowboys hats, shirts, and even foxers are big sellers.
Cowboy fans are definitely catching the Super Bowl spirit.
They're out buying anything blue and gold they can get their hands on.
We kind of collect Cowboy stuff.
We've got tons of stuff from like two years ago up to now.
We're just waiting for the Super Bowl t-shirt to come out.
I bought a Dallas Cowboy sweatshirt in Dallas.
I'm standing behind them the whole way.
I'm really proud of them. It's great.
Most stores selling Cowboy items will get this year's Super Bowl shirts in today or tomorrow.
Store owners say if the Cowboys win, these shirts are sure to be in high demand.
They'll make that blue and silver.
And you might get trampled if you go in Monday.
If you win the Super Bowl, try to get one of those.
That's our news. Coming up tonight at 10,
President Clinton is meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff
to discuss a controversial plan, lifting a ban on gays in the military.
Two people are dead and three wounded after an unidentified gunman
went on a shooting spree outside the CIA headquarters in Washington.
And Senator Bob Packwood is back in his home state for the first time
since being accused of sexual misconduct.
He didn't get a very warm welcome.
Join us for those stories and more tonight at 10 o'clock.
We'll see you then. Good night.