Next on KENS 5, eyewitness news.
More guards or fewer prisoners.
The county faces a crunch over the jail.
Teed off, officials at a local golf course upset about vandalism.
Back to school.
Bridget Smith spends the first day of classes with some emotional parents.
Now, KENS 5 eyewitness news at 6.
Good evening, I'm Sarah Lucetta.
And I'm Chris Marrou.
Well, last week the state told the county to fix the overcrowding problems at the jail
or face the consequences.
County officials were given two choices.
One controversial, start letting some inmates go.
The other choice, hiring more guards.
Of course, that causes some financial problems.
Amanda Taylor is live at the Justice Center with more on a possible solution.
Amanda?
Chris and Sarah, county commissioners were practically forced to make some sort of decision
today.
And that's because the Texas Commission on Jail Standards told them they only have one
month to try to fix this problem of overcrowding in our jails.
We're going to have to deal with the issue whether we like it or not.
A frustrated commission spent about an hour dealing with the state's ultimatum to either
lower the number of inmates, hire more staff, or do both.
They say Bexar County Jail is in violation of the staff to inmate ratio, which needs
to be about 1 to 48.
Our jail is seen at as high as 1 to 100 in the past.
So commissioners voted to give about $1 million toward the hiring of 40 new guards.
But that alone will not be enough to meet the state's standards.
That's a step in the right direction.
We are under the gun.
We have to be in compliance within 30 days.
We're going to do the best we can to lower the population so that we can get in compliance.
But if we're not successful, then we would have to ship inmates to other counties.
And shipping inmates elsewhere can be costly, about $37 per inmate each day.
So the county will also be looking at alternative ways to get the jail's population down, like
finding different punishments for non-violent offenders, for instance, deadbeat dads.
How are they going to pay their child support sitting over there in that jail?
There's 147 of them sitting over there right now.
At least it was a few days ago.
I'd say put them on a voice verification.
Put them on electronic monitoring.
Make them go out and pay their child support.
Don't throw them in this jail.
Now the money to hire the new guards is not going to raise taxes, but it is going to come
from pay raises and overtime that some guards would have received.
Chris and Sarah?
Alright, thanks.
Amanda Taylor, live downtown.
He's accused of shooting at a police officer 16 times today.
A jury handed down their verdict.
We, the jury, find the defendant, Benric Pena, guilty of aggravated assault upon a public
servant.
28-year-old Benric Pena showed no emotion as the verdict was read, but his mother shook
her head in silence.
It was January 14th of this year that a traffic stop led to a high-speed chase and ended with
Pena opening fire on rookie police officer Crystal Brown.
If he is willing to do that, ladies and gentlemen, those are the folks that stop him.
And those are the folks that stand between us and him.
The trial is in the punishment phase.
The trial is in the punishment phase, the trial is in the punishment phase, the trial
old boy. It happened yesterday afternoon in a home on Lake McQueenie, sort of
northeast of San Antonio. Investigators say the victim was shot in the neck by
another team who claimed it was an accident. Paramedics airlifted the
victim to University Hospital for treatment. His condition is unknown. The
suspect has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Some vandals
spent their Saturday night tearing up a local driving range. They did more than
damage the greens. They caused a setback in a program designed to help local kids.
Vicki Bufalino is here with that story. Vicki? Sarah, the driving range at
Brackenridge Park is being transformed into a golf course for at-risk kids. Now
it's the facility that's at risk of opening late. Oh man, after all the work
we put into this, this happens. Joe Castro is the manager in charge of the
Polo Field driving range at Brackenridge Park. There's nothing else we can do
except be positive. This is the first time Joe is seeing the damage done to
his greens Saturday night, Monday morning, and mud is the color of the day. For
somebody to come in here and do something like this is just uncalled for.
It's totally uncalled for. Tire tracks mark where the first T program was just
beginning to grow. This driving range is about to also become a mini golf course
for kids. Any kid at risk, special needs, you name it. We teach them how to do
goal setting. We teach them how to deal with adversity. And then put the sand,
break the sand over them. Now it's the program's dream team that is dealing
with adversity and having to set new goals. A new opening date of late October
instead of September. This was a setback. It interfered with our goal, but we will
keep going anyway, so we'll just use this as one of our our life skills lessons.
Whatever it takes, but we can do the job. We can do it. The first T program already
has 300 kids signed up. They'll be recruiting more when they open up at
Brackenridge again in late October. Chris and Sarah. Thanks Vicki. Students all
across the state made Texas history today reciting the Texas pledge to kick
off class. Honor the Texas flag. I pledge my allegiance to thee, Texas one and
indivisible. That's it. The United States and the Texas pledge are followed by 60
seconds of silence, part of a new state law that actually goes into effect
September 1st, even though not everyone may like the idea. They can't fault us
for obeying the law. We have to do that, but to my knowledge we've gotten no
calls from irate citizens saying that they do not believe that this is a good
idea. If you don't want your child to participate in one or both of the
pledges, and that is the biggest problem you have in the world, all you have to do
is inform the school principal. Some students received free school supplies
handed out at Herff Elementary in the San Antonio Independent School District.
Second graders got backpacks filled with plenty of pencils, paper, and more to get
them started this school year. Employees at CH Gunther and Sun Incorporated,
along with Pioneer Flour Mills, raised the money for the backpack project. Herff
students and staff members were also treated to breakfast tacos the first day
back to class. You know the weather's nice in New Mexico this time of year.
Texas Democrats, including San Antonio Senator Leticia Van de Pute, remained
holed up in a New Mexico hotel. Today the Democrats asked Republicans to lift
those sanctions and fines against them. The Senators left Texas three weeks ago
today to stop a congressional redistricting plan. Last week Senate
Republicans ordered daily fines for the Democrats which add up to thousands of
dollars each. Governor Perry says even if the lawmakers stay away until the end of
the current special session, he'll just call another one at the end of the month.
An incredible scene in Tulsa, Oklahoma this afternoon. Explosions rock a gas
distribution center. Raging fire started after the blast at the air gas products
plant. The company distributes specialty medical and industrial glasses. Here are
some live pictures of the fire as it's happening right now. The explosions also
sent canisters as high as a mile in the air which landed on nearby homes and
started fires in those structures as well as on nearby cars. Authorities are
evacuating everyone in a one-mile radius of the place. There are no reports of
injuries yet.
Later on eyewitness news.
I think we need one over here.
Yeah I might need all of those things.
Yeah she may need the whole box.
For the first day of school, Bridget Smith has the story of parents coming
undone as they send their children off.
Could one San Antonio resident possibly recycle more trash than the entire city
of Dallas? The evidence is piling up.
And I'm Bill Taylor. We need some rain. We're gonna see if a couple of these
showers on Viper are gonna help us out. Plus we're going wailing.
Wailing.
Pick around.
KENS 5 eyewitness news is brought to you by Edward Jones.
Wink.
Some breaking news from the San Antonio airport. Airport officials say they had a
Cessna flying in from Santa Monica with just the pilot on board. What
happened though was the landing gear collapsed as the plane was landing
causing the plane to catch fire.
So airport fire crews were called and they use foam to put out the fire.
As you can see, it wasn't that bad. The pilot was not injured in the accident.
He got out and ran away wisely. Other runways are open and flights are not
being affected.
And turning to Texas at 6, a man dies after leading Houston police on a chase.
It happened late last night and officers say the man tried to run over several
pedestrians and officers as the pursuit made its way through a neighborhood.
Police say a spike strip didn't stop the man and two officers crashed their
cruisers into each other during the chase.
Eventually police opened fire and the man was found dead in his car.
After I read this, you won't be in an elevator for the next couple of weeks.
Authorities in Houston continue to investigate a bizarre elevator accident
which decapitated a doctor. The accident happened Saturday morning at
Christus St. Joseph Hospital in Houston. The elevator's doors pinned Dr. Hitoshi
Nakaito's shoulders and his head was severed when the elevator car moved upward.
A hospital employee witnessed the accident because she was in the elevator car.
She was in there with the head until firefighters rescued her.
Police say maintenance crews had worked on the elevator during the past week.
Well, city council members in Dallas may trash the city's garbage pickup plan
this week. Officials say the current system isn't working and recycling
efforts are going so badly the city collects only six pounds of recyclables a month.
That's the whole city. A special report put together by a task force suggests
the city allow people to dump all recycling into one container instead of
making residents sort it out.
Still ahead on Eyewitness News...
If you think kids have it tough on the first day of school, then wait until you see some of the parents.
This evening, Bridget Smith takes you to El Dorado Elementary where the PTA's job is to turn a parent's tears into cheers.
It was a room full of sad faces. The kind of grief even a jelly donut couldn't fix.
I'm proud of them all, but this one's the hardest because he is my baby.
Because he is your baby.
Little sad? Yes.
If it's your first one, it's just so traumatic.
I was prepared, but I couldn't break down in front of her while she was in the classroom.
You know you're living in a modern day when an elementary school provides use of their cafeteria.
For a Tears and Cheers club.
Support for parents who don't look like they're actually trying to go home.
And you've been in the Tears and Cheers support room here for?
Yes.
A little while.
Yes.
How long do you think you'll be in here?
All day? No.
I think maybe.
Actually, I plan to stay up here until lunchtime.
I think we need one over here.
Yeah, I might need all of those things.
She may need the whole box.
Deborah Hampton heads up this program and the PTA.
Naturally, this day required a bright pink hat and the right words.
We have a poem that we read on the first day.
And you'll have to walk your path alone no matter what's in store.
I can't read it right now.
I thought so.
We'll bring you up to life's classroom, then leave you at the door.
So, it's really dramatic.
Little bit dramatic.
I see you tearing up in the corner there, Gary.
Yeah.
I wish I had some Kleenex, but Diane back there used it all.
I pray for the teachers.
I pray for the principals.
You need some Kleenex, Gary?
I'm okay.
You're okay.
I'll be okay.
You need to pray for Gary over there because he's having a hard time.
This is my little girl's first year, so that just seems like she's just growing up too fast.
Finally, Mrs. Montgomery found a way to deal with leaving her child on the first day.
You just don't leave.
You won't be doing this by Friday, will you?
Just the first week.
Bridget Smith, Kins 5, Eyewitness News.
I'm getting teary-eyed just watching them.
You won't yet.
Next year, we'll both do that.
That's right.
She's going to mail her kids in.
A lot of tears.
Just keep the donuts going.
Everything's fine.
Everything, Krispy Kremes or whatever it takes.
Wow.
Even the dad was crying.
Way to go, Bridget.
All right.
Today, we talked about Erica over the weekend.
She fizzles out on landfall, the fifth storm of the season.
Pretty wimpy.
Unfortunately, not as wimpy as Bill.
That was the other big wimpy storm of the season.
I want to first show you the whaling that's going on in Iceland.
For the first time in like 15 years, they're out on a whale hunt.
This is for scientific purposes.
We be sailing.
See?
The pirates.
Now, there he is.
You spot him right there.
That's our lone whale.
And we got that was it.
I hope you didn't blink.
I hope you didn't blink.
All right.
Outside in San Antonio, it's a pretty nice but hot evening.
We're still at our high for the day at 94.
Heat index still at 100.
Southeast winds have picked up to about 13 miles per hour.
And we've got a falling barometer.
This evening's forecast, don't expect any rain.
Things stay steamy.
Its temperatures will go to about 83 on a very humid Monday evening.
Viper 5, 3D tonight.
And we'll show you a fast track and give you an idea of how close showers you're getting.
Just outside of Austin, and you can also see on the other side of Seguin, pretty far cry from San Antonio.
Some of this activity could shift a little farther westward if high pressure slips to the northeast.
We've got a high in control in the upper levels right now.
If that'll slip to the northeast, maybe we can sneak one of those showers in over the next couple of afternoons.
In the meantime, no weather makers.
Let me show you San Antonio today, how the atmosphere was behaving.
You'll see partly cloudy conditions.
We saw a few morning clouds, but then a lot of sunshine.
In the morning hours of Tuesday and Wednesday, you'll think you're looking at rain clouds,
but we're going to burn off to afternoon just like that.
We'll have to watch the Gulf activity.
Sea breeze could pick up a shower or two.
That's why we saw that rain around Houston today.
Some of that activity, again, could slip a little farther east or west if that high slips off.
In the meantime, we keep things saturated, pretty humid.
Dew points near 70, 75 at Houston.
So with daytime heating, about a 20% opportunity on Tuesday and Wednesday both of popping up an afternoon shower.
Speaking of showers, how are we looking?
Well, for 2003, 16.6 now, about an inch and a half in August, which is right about normal.
We're still pacing behind for the year.
So is San Angelo at a little more than 10 inches, Dallas about 7.5 behind, Houston over 8 inches behind.
All right, this evening's forecast.
Temperatures will go from the mid-90s to the mid-80s at 10.
Skies will stay partly cloudy.
Overnight, pretty quiet, 75 degrees.
And then for tomorrow, we start out with cloud cover,
but the forecast does call for most of the showers to stay east of us with daytime heating, 95.
I think one slips in, shower that is, on Wednesday, maybe even Thursday.
And then rain chances are probably next to nothing for Friday and Saturday,
but we're staying shy of the triple digits.
And you've got those little clouds through the whole week.
Yeah, and a little rain chances, too.
It'll stay partly cloudy, cloudy, cloudy mornings, though.
So the rain slipped in, Coach Parcell slipped on out of there.
Yeah, it did. It's in a mess.
I've got to tell you guys about a trade that just went through.
Nick Van Exel, Avery Johnson, a couple of players.
There's a whole bunch of them.
For Antoine Jamison of Golden State, so Jamison coming to Dallas, a good player.
Also Danny Fortson and Chris Mills.
So the Mavericks just got a little better.
Chris stays here though.
Just happy, yeah, well, maybe.
We haven't decided. He's that player to be named later.
The Cowboys are all done with two-day practices, at least here in San Antonio.
They have just wrapped up their final practice of the day today.
Now, Bill Parcell, he made it through both practices today, unlike yesterday
when he walked out causing quite a splash.
Luke Tuckmeyer is down at the Dome.
Luke, why would Parcells walk out like that?
I think it's pretty simple.
Sometimes I feel the same way.
Three weeks of Cowboys camp and sometimes watching these practices
can be like listening to Bill Taylor sing songs, excruciating at times.
And Sunday, Parcells had seen more than his stomach could handle.
Sounds like you're getting, sounds like they're testing your patience.
Yeah, they are.
One day after his infamous walkout, Bill is back and his message is still fresh.
We need to put the pressure on them.
We need to make them accountable.
That's what they're going to be.
I don't care if we don't win a game.
They're going to be accountable.
Stunned players had nothing to say Sunday, but today they simply took it in stride.
Coach Parcell brings a lot of different things.
That's why he's called the tuner.
You can't seem to catch him.
As individuals, you got to do it yourself.
I mean, if you look for motivation from another man, you're in the wrong sport.
I mean, you got to dig deep within yourself and get the job done.
All I know is it hadn't been very good around here for a while,
and there's been reasons why and I don't really know what they were, but I don't care.
I'm here to try to do something different.
So it appears the tuner has spoken and the Cowboys are in for the ride of their lives.
There'll be a lot more than yesterday's stuff.
Don't worry.
You know, that wasn't, that's not much.
I'm just trying to get the team to do something on their own.
I'm not going to be out there with them.
I'm not going to be on the field.
I'm not going to be in the huddle, neither of the coaches.
It's as simple as that.
But he will be out there tomorrow one more time to see the tuner in San Antonio,
9 o'clock to 11 o'clock here in the Alamo Dome.
It's the last practice before they break camp and they play Pittsburgh on Thursday in Pittsburgh.
But this is it.
If you don't see him tomorrow morning, you're not going to see him again this year in San Antonio.
Joe?
I tell you what, Luke, you may not see him again tomorrow either because a big game against Pittsburgh.
He could be walking out of that one as well.
Who knows?
Cowboys had a special guest in practice today.
Danny Ferry.
He was out there watching the boys and these were out there watching really not knowing what his future holds for him.
One thing he is certain about though is the Spurs.
He says the moves they made this summer were good ones.
I think the Spurs did a wonderful job this summer.
You know, getting the guys they got, Turca Glue I think has a lot of upside.
He's had a very good career so far, but getting an opportunity to play for him is going to be key.
And Nesterovic, the size he brings, they put themselves in a situation where they have a chance to win if things go well.
That's all you can ask for.
All right, sorry to see Danny go though.
Houston Texans called off this morning's practice.
Instead, players attended meetings with coaches, undoubtedly, to talk about that embarrassing loss to Dallas on Friday.
Well today the team also learned that second year fullback Gerard Baxter is going to be out for the season with a severely sprained left foot.
Baxter got that bizarre injury in Friday's 34-6 loss to the Cowboys at Texas Stadium.
The Texans have one more practice this evening.
They will break camp after a midday practice tomorrow.
High school football teams continuing to get ready for the upcoming season.
One of those teams, a very tough Clark Cougar team, but the team that certainly comes into the season with some very high expectations.
Cougar is expected to be tops in District 28-5A.
One reason why, they're running back, Jarrell Wilkerson.
He's a great runner, great kid, just a great over-the-rack kid.
He has a good offensive line in front of him this year, probably better than last year.
So hopefully we can work off of that and bring our defense around.
Our defense is working hard.
They're improving every day and hopefully we'll be there in the end.
Again, a big trade that has been talked about all weekend, finally going down today.
A couple of the players from the Mavs, Nick Van Exel and Avery Johnson heading off the Golden State.
Avery as a player.
Avery as a player for Antoine Jamison, who's the big player.
He comes to Dallas and certainly a big move for the Mavericks.
They got better as well.
We don't want to hear that.
All right, we'll be right back.
I can't believe it.
I've got DSL.
Whoa.
Oh, my love, my darling.
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That does it for eyewitness news at six.
See you at 10.
And we'll see you at 10.