You've never seen a police commissioner like Tony Scali. I'm so freakin' lootley! The premiere of The Commedge tomorrow. K-View 24 Action News at 6 is closed captioned for the hearing impaired. Good afternoon. After more than a week in the hospital and 400 stitches later, a woman who was nearly beaten to death is going home. Kathleen Cook has finally been able to give police a description of the man who left her for dead. Authorities have used the description to come up with a composite drawing of the suspect. As K-View 24's crime reporter, Besenta Adanis, tells us, officials hope the drawing and others like it will help them collar violent criminals. She begged the guy not to hurt her and when she asked him, please don't hurt me, he choked her. Pat Cook finds what happened to her daughter hard to believe. 30-year-old Kathleen Cook was nearly beaten to death with a tire tool by a man she left 6th Street with last Thursday. The ACC student crawled to this house near Robroy and asked for help. Before leaving the hospital today, Cook gave investigators what they needed to come up with a sketch of her attacker. He's described as a white man, 22-30 years old, 5'7"-5'10", with a medium to muscular build and dirty blonde hair. I wouldn't think it should lead to the person. Obviously, she remembers his facial features pretty well, so I wouldn't think the composite would be of very good likeness of him. Cook's parents and investigators are hoping the sketch will lead them to a suspect like this one did in a recent case. Two months after deputies released this drawing, Robert Paul Martin was arrested in connection with a murder in southwest Travis County. Composites, though, don't always work. Police are still looking for this man in connection with several rapes in northwest Austin. And what happens if a composite doesn't help catch someone? Then you're pretty much back to square one, but you would be at square one without the composite. So the composite can only serve to help. And that is what the Cooks want. Vicente Arenas, KVU 20 for Action News. If you have information about who may have attacked Kathleen Cook, you're asked to call the Travis County Sheriff's Department at 473-9285. Claiming every Texas county is now firmly on board, Attorney General Dan Morales today signed a multimillion dollar settlement designed to ease jail overcrowding. The signing comes two days before Sunday's deadline and silenced those who claim the deal was falling apart. The agreement offers counties compensation for housing inmates the state has no room for in its prisons. The plan also guarantees rapid transfer of criminals out of county jails in the future. Morales says he's happy to put an end to the long and costly controversy. It is my fervent hope that this settlement agreement between the counties and the state signals the approaching end of an era marked by conflict and mistrust in Texas government. Judge Bill Aelshahr says Travis County will get about five million dollars a year out of the settlement, money which would have had to come out of the pockets of local taxpayers. Well, Austin has moved up in a national poll, but it's nothing to brag about. New crime statistics released today show that auto thefts in our town have risen dramatically, up nearly 44% between 1989 and 1990. Those numbers mean Austin is now 189th in terms of U.S. cities with the highest numbers of car thefts. Models most likely to be snatched off the streets are recreational vehicles like Suburbans and luxury cars. As a comparison, close to ten times more cars were stolen in Houston and Dallas. Those numbers were put together by the Texas Action Council on theft. An Austin man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Police say Randolph Brown was intoxicated when the car he was driving hit two cyclists Sunday. One of those cyclists, Christopher Kern, died yesterday in Brackenridge Hospital. The other, Susan Gillian, is in fair condition this afternoon. The pair was riding in the annual Moonlight Stroll on Lamar Street Bridge when they were hit. An Austin man is in jail this afternoon charged in connection with a murder in northeast Travis County last month. Darryl Brown turned himself in to sheriff's officers this morning. He was wanted in the execution-style killing of 27-year-old Michael Sterling. Officials say Sterling was shot four times in the back of his neck, his body dumped off Johnny Morris Road on August 18. Brown has been charged with murder and is being held in lieu of a $50,000 bond. And a suspect is in custody now in what police are calling a gang-related shooting. 16-year-old Jason Phipps was shot in the stomach and neck early yesterday morning. He is in serious condition this afternoon. Behind bars in connection with that shooting is 18-year-old John Louis Lopez. Lopez has been charged with attempted murder. He's been in trouble with the law before and his bond has been set at $50,000 cash. Preventing young people from joining gangs, that was the goal behind a program at Mendez Middle School this morning. Eighth graders piled into the school auditorium and listened intently as officers described some of the frightening realities surrounding gangs in Austin. Last year we had 125 kids that wound up at Brackenridge Hospital seriously hurt. I'm talking about we had three kids that got their eyes popped out. They're blind. They don't have any eyes. We had some kids broken arms, broken noses, all the teeth knocked out. We had not one little boy that was thumped to death. He was 14 years old. He was killed. Former football star Raul Allegre also spoke to the students today urging them to stay in school and off the streets. Residents of one South Austin neighborhood say they are sick of overgrown weeds and the red tape they must go through to get the problem solved. KV-24's Ann Wentworth has the story. Debbie Reed says she chose her home for its nice location in Southeast Austin. But since builders went bankrupt leaving acres of vacant land in her neighborhood three years ago, she's been fighting wild plant life that threatens to choke off her street. I'm in a jungle. Our neighborhood is disappearing under the weeds. We can't see our neighbors. We can't monitor activities. We can't walk safely through here anymore. Debbie says her mailbox has been vandalized. Her house has been burglarized and the area has become a dumping ground for everything from trash to stray animals. They came and put a no dump sign up for us, the city health department did, and the weeds have overgrown it. Debbie says she started calling the Resolution Trust Corporation last April before a mower finally came out in June. But that was the last time that these weeds were touched. Ultimately we are responsible for those properties, but the way RTC does business is that all the properties that we have that we've taken over from failed savings and loan institutions are contracted out for management and disposition to private contractors. The contractor in this case is NCNB, who's handling hundreds of other foreclosed lots. Bank officials say the weeds were scheduled to be taken care of soon. The city environmental health department tells us that in cases like this residents should contact their office to expedite the clearing of overgrown property. But Debbie says she's done so and is still waiting for some results. And Wentworth KV-24 Action News. And the RTC advisors residents faced with overgrown property in their neighborhoods to call its local office at 443-9464. Officials there will help you track down the responsible parties. Cleaning up the environment and putting local high school students to work. We'll have those stories and much more when we come back. Cat Hollow. Homes from the 70s to 160s. Yeah. Just a little reminder from Nissan. Right now is the best time to get the best price on a 1991 Nissan. Which means the best incentives of the year on the best cars of the year. So get to Nissan's best of the best 1991 clearance before the selection is gone. Best move you'll ever make. Who makes the world's greatest hamburger? World's greatest. Bud Ruckers. At Bud Ruckers you start with a freshly ground half pound hamburger. After that it's in your hands. Yes. So who makes the world's greatest hamburgers? Bud Ruckers. Bud Ruckers and you. Bud Ruckers. McNair's appliance, your Austin GE connection has extended our warehouse. As the only full service Premier Plus dealer in the Austin area, we now have direct computer hook up to the GE regional warehouse seven days a week. This means if GE has it, McNair's has it. Any washer or dryer, any refrigerator or freezer, any dishwasher or any other new GE appliance. McNair's and GE, the only names you need to know. McNair's earning your trust since 1939. Austin City officials are gearing up for yet another long week as the battle over Austin's water quality continues. The debate grew more intense last night when two groups put forward two different recommendations on how to keep our water clean. KB24 City reporter Carolyn Mungo is in the newsroom with reaction. Carolyn? Dick, the City Council is expected to take action next week on controversial rules designed to protect Barton Creek. But today all they're getting is mixed signals. Last night the Mayor's Task Force came out of a marathon meeting with a compromise on new water rules. But that recommendation was struck down late last night by the Planning Commission, a group that passed a whole new proposal of their own. Both groups were asked to provide some direction to the Council, but that direction is not leading down the same road. Today environmentalists blasted both ideas, saying they're a betrayal of the public mandate to clean Barton Creek. The Council members really need to face the music. They need to face the people, and if they will still, in the face of public support for preserving Barton Springs, still vote for a plan that will kill it, then I think they'll have to answer to the voters. Now this is a struggle all too familiar at Austin City Hall. Environmentalists who want to protect Austin's water quality at any cost, and developers who don't want to strangle the economy in the process. Back to you. Thank you, Carolyn. Well, one homegrown Austin computer company is cutting costs to help the company run more efficiently. Compuad says it will be eliminating 50 jobs in engineering, technical support and manufacturing. Company spokesman John Pope says the job cuts are needed to reduce costs. He says it's clear that because of the tough competition in the personal computer industry, only the most efficient companies will survive. Compuad employs 800 people locally and 1,500 people worldwide. Offering career opportunities, not just jobs. That's what a new pilot program called High Expectations is designed to offer high school graduates. Area businesses have joined forces with the Austin Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations to get it started. Primarily the program will focus on students who do not plan to go on to college immediately, if at all. Organizers say these students are the ones needing the most encouragement. We think that it's important that we, if you will, make a deal with our youth. We want to present them with a package that tells them that staying in school really does make good economic sense for them. It's not just a nice thing to do, not just the right thing to do, but that it does pay off. Now this program doesn't guarantee jobs, but it does offer interviews for students who maintain a 95% attendance rate through both junior and senior years in school. The students also have to keep up a 2.5 grade average to be eligible. Troy Kimmel joins us now and I can smell some backyard barbecues cooking this weekend. It'll be nice. Maybe you have something tonight? Well, I don't know. This weekend is going to be dinner time. Right now across central Texas, plenty of sunshine coming up for the weekend. Your Weekend Forecast, up next. MUSIC I always thought luxury cars that knew how to attack a road came from Germany. The 1992 Cadillac Eldorado is here. Created from the inside out, integrated systems of electronics and mechanics work in harmony to provide a total driving experience. MUSIC Test drive the all-new 1992 Eldorado at Charles Monde Oldsmobile Cadillac, your Austin Cadillac dealer. Would you like to create some excitement in your bedroom? Then come to Paul's Home Fashion's fabulous one-week sale and decorate with quality bedspreads and comforters, names like Wamsutta, Springs, and Crossil. Twin and full-size comforters values to $100, now $29.99. Queen and king size slash to $39.99. Also on sale, big, thirsty bath towels by Field Press 2 for $8.99. For great selections at great savings, don't miss Paul's Home Fashion's one-week sale. MUSIC Join us this weekend for the Old Bacons Street Festival, brought to you by Coca-Cola. It's the 1992 showstopper sale at McMorris Ford. Take a look at the all-new 1992 Ford lineup. Fresh styling, standard airbags, and introductory rebates up to $1,000 mean tremendous value, all available with 3-year, 36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. Plus, save even more on all remaining 91s. Many priced as low as $1,000 below factory invoice. Even used cars priced from $29.95. It's McMorris Ford's 1992 showstopper sale. Don't miss it. MUSIC Troy Kimmel's weathercast has earned the seal of approval from the American Meteorological Society. Troy Kimmel, Mark Murray, and Bob Rose, your 24 Storm Team. MUSIC Well, across central Texas this afternoon, lots of sunshine, and with that, warm temperatures across the area, temperatures into the 80s throughout the central Texas area. Currently in the Austin area at 6 o'clock this evening, under a generally clear sky. We do have some high clouds around, though. It's mostly fair sky. Current temperature holding at 80 degrees. Quite a separation here as far as the dew point and the temperature is concerned, so we're still relatively dry. The winds are trying their best, but I want you to remember, this cool air we've seen lately has scoured itself all the way into the Gulf of Mexico, so it's going to be hard to get the low-level moisture back, and when it occurs, it'll be a very slow process. The pressure right now is holding steady. High temperature today, 84 degrees, 61 being our morning low this morning. Cooler in the outlying areas over the hills, north and west, well into the 50s this morning. A 59 degree, by the way, was the low out at Bergstrom Air Force Base at the base weather station, and no rainfall recorded today. And a quick check of your pollen count indicates a high mold count, a moderate ragweed count, grasses and fall down. Nothing really stands out there except for the moles, but I've got news for you. All those together do tend to cause trouble across the area if you're suffering at all from pollen-related illnesses, or that sort of thing. Let's take a look at our KV-24 Weather Watchers and talk about temperatures that are a little cooler than we'd anticipated today. We don't seem to be able to have much luck lately with these high temperatures yesterday and today. Today, the culprit was the layer of high-level clouds. We saw across the area the high-level clouds managed to shave some of these high temperatures down just a bit. To the east, about the same temperatures in the 70s to lower 80s across much of the area. As far as national weather is concerned, not that much going on. A couple of showers scattered here and there, a couple of tropical weather systems out here in the Pacific, but all in all, things are pretty quiet. Lows tonight, 50s and 60s over the low and star state, kind of cool off to the north and eastern portions of the U.S. Tomorrow, another warm one, 80s over much of the state. Across Texas this evening, things are very quiet as well. A few scattered high clouds working across the area, but that's about it. This frontal system will kind of wash into the area, kind of wash out across Texas. All in all, high pressure will remain in force, and that means a good weekend. Our forecast for Austin, surrounding communities tonight, is a low near 60 degrees. Then for tomorrow, more sunshine, another mild day. We're going for a high of 88 degrees east to southeasterly winds. And tomorrow night, we'll call for generally clear or partly cloudy skies, low of around 62. Our extended forecast for you now, partly cloudy skies. We're going to head back into the 80s, but cool down gradually getting into the first part of next week. There could be a chance of rain about, oh, I'd say Tuesday night into Wednesday, as highs pull down close to 80 degrees once again across central Texas. I want to take this opportunity on this Friday evening to remind you on October the 6th, the Austin Relief Triathlon. KVU24 proud to be a sponsor this year. That will start at 9 a.m. If you need further information, run across these folks you see on your screen, and you can call them at 476-1615 for the latest on the Austin Relief Triathlon, a good cause for the Central Texas area. It certainly is. Thank you, Troy. Hugh Lewis is, well, we'll tell you in a little bit. Kind of playing, though. Mike Barnes is here. Some trouble with the Auburn football program. We'll have to wait and see what the NCAA does about this. Some interesting news again. A couple of former Auburn football players are pointing fingers at their old school. We'll talk about it when we come back. Nolan Ryan's power, performance, and dependability have made him a baseball legend. He expects the same qualities in the car he owns, the Lincoln Town Car. With a powerful V8 engine and a four-year 50,000-mile warranty, Town Car gives Nolan all this and more. Yeah, a quiet, comfortable ride home. My Lincoln Town Car fits me like a glove. Lincoln Town Car, a legend in luxury. Pavilion Lincoln Mercury 13049 Research. Today, let's analyze the great taste of Long John Silver's battered-it fish. Now, the very first part is they get a fresh start. Then there's the matter of Long John's batter. They add the goodness of corn and wheat to give it a taste that can't be beat. Today's lesson in the school of fish. That Long John Silver, you're gonna get your wish. Go fish! Long John Silver. Go for our two-piece fish and fries now just $2.59. There's a train and it's a-leaving. Get out and spread the news. All aboard to J.C. Penney for a super sale of shoes. Hurry to J.C. Penney for our super shoe Saturday. One day only this Saturday. Save 20 to 40% on family casual shoes. Save 20 to 40% on dress shoes for the entire family. Save 20 to 40% on family athletic shoes. Save during our Super Shoe Saturday. One day only this Saturday. All aboard to J.C. Penney. Get on, get on, get on. Get on excitement. The all-new Pontiac Bonneville. A new way to ride. More than a work of art, an engineering masterpiece. With the stability of four-wheel independent suspension and the accuracy of anti-lock brakes. The art of excitement. The science of control. The all-new Pontiac Bonneville. Get on your Pontiac! See the all-new Pontiac Bonneville at your Texas best Pontiac dealers. It looks like trouble in Alabama where the Auburn football program has been implicated in a player, paying player scandal. A couple of former Tigers claimed they were regularly paid by the coaches while still in school. Coach Pat Dye denies the charges but won't talk to the media until after his game against Tennessee tomorrow. The Auburn team left for Tennessee this afternoon but sources in Montgomery say that Dye did not accompany the team. A little strange for the head coach. The NCAA won't talk about the allegations either. Only saying that if the players were paid, it would be a violation of the NCAA's extra benefit rule. The United States has the early lead in the Ryder Cup golf match. Playing the top golfers from Europe, the local boys from the United States started strong and never let up. On the second hole, Mark Kalkovekia almost gets an eagle there. The birdie was more than enough. Hem and Payne Stewart won their match. Freddie Couples gets the birdie here on number 8. Hem and Raymond Floyd won their match as did Lanny Watkins and Hale Irwin. Paul Aizinger and Chet Beck were the only American losers this morning. They lost to Semmy Ballesteros and Jose Maria Alotha Ball. The Ryder Cup, not the only golf tournament in the news today. The other one involves cow patties and here's a guy to talk about cow patties. Hugh Lewis. I have my cow patty jacket on. That's why I'm wearing this thing. Here we are at the Cow Patty Open, a golf tournament to benefit and mega skills. I know this jacket is kind of crazy so I need to talk to somebody that will lend some credence to this whole event. Who else but legendary coach Darrell Royle. How did you get involved in this? Please don't ask me to lend credence to that. I got to ask somebody. You got some ink on that. How did you get involved in this thing? Well, I'm told from mega skills, which means communications I guess basically between families, between the children and the parents. From past experience I can certainly tell you that's an important cause. It's a civic situation and I like to participate in as many of those as I can. I've had a lot of fun. I know you play golf a lot. How did you hit the ball today? Well, you know, I hit, I play like I play golf all the time. Sometimes I hit good shots, sometimes bad. But the golf, what kind of golf you played is really not the important thing in a situation like this Hugh, as you well know. You played in it, it's for fun and it's for charity and I had a great time. I'm glad I came. Okay, a quick question about football. The Texas football team off to an 0-2 start. How do you turn that team around? Well, it isn't my job to turn it around and therefore I have, I don't attend practices, I don't look at film. I don't know, I don't have enough information and input to really have an opinion and I leave that up to the people in charge. If you're in that situation, do you think it's tough to get the kids motivated or is it hard to motivate kids and get them to turn around that program? I think it's an extremely tough job. I don't envy their job. I've been in that situation, I've been in situations where we're down and we haven't had a spark of encouragement from anywhere. It seems like everything goes bad. Yes, I think it's a tremendous coaching job that they have to get the team ready to play. I hope we will be ready to play Rice. They're an opponent that, they've taken us right down to the wire before. I think they should be anticipating a tough game and I think they do. Thanks a lot for joining us, Coach Royal. Hey, Hugh, good to be with you. You hear the cows? The cows are mooing out here. Back to you, Mike. Okay, Hugh, enough about football. Let's go back to golf and talk about that swing you had. Oh, no, no, please. Okay, thanks, Hugh. I'll tell you what, the Johnson Rams are our high school football team of the week this week. Johnson lost a top-ranked basher up last night, but Wednesday we honored the Rams for last week's win over Westwood. Hugh Lewis presented our team of the week trophy to Rams head coach Jimmy Craig. There will be plenty of high school football action from the Central Texas area tonight. We'll have all the highlights and scores for you tonight on Friday Football Fever. Should be a fun one. Glad he didn't wear that jacket after high school. No, no, no, bad taste. Thank you very much. We come back having fun at 91. Now's your big chance to clean up on new Toyota trucks at your local Toyota dealers year-end cleanup. Come in and take your choice from a huge selection of Toyota trucks priced to move and ready to go. Clean up on option package savings up to $900. Plus, big distributor to dealer incentives on top of their already low year-end clearance prices. It's a fire's market right now, and there may never be a better time to clean up on the 91 car or truck you want, so hurry. Don't miss the year-end cleanup at your local Toyota dealer now. What's big in Texas? K-View 24, the Cowboys, Miller Lite, and now the Texas Environmental Center's 12th Man program. Watch Married with Children on K-View 24 for the qualifying phrase. Bendy! Go buy this Miller Lite display. Fill out a nomination form, and you're eligible for one of three 12-player positions with sideline access and more. For every nomination, Miller Lite will donate $1 to the Texas Environmental Center. It's so big, it's it and that's that. At McDuff, we're serious about low prices. Some electronics and appliance stores only shout price. Others talk about selection. Still others, service. But at McDuff, you get all three. Guaranteed low prices, a huge selection of name brands, and knowledgeable, friendly service before and after the sale. So shop at McDuff for your electronic and appliance needs. And remember, at McDuff, we're serious about low prices. It's the time of year savvy truck buyers wait for, and the sabbiest have waited for their GMC truck. That's because in addition to the rebates, rebates up to $1,500. In addition to savings and option packages, and in addition to big dealer incentives, there are model closeout discounts, huge discounts to help your heart of Texas GMC truck dealer move out the 91 models to make room for the new 92s. It's time for the lowest prices of the year, and you'll get them at Classic, Monday and Hendrix GMC Truck between now and Columbus Day. Hurry, it's time. Finally this afternoon, working behind the counter at a fast food restaurant. That's where a lot of teenagers get their first taste of the working world, but young people aren't the only ones flipping burgers these days. Reporter Frank Billingsley has the story of one woman who was spending her golden years under the Golden Arches. Watering the plants, cleaning the tables, chatting with the customers. It's all in a day's work for Angie Runnels, McDonald's oldest employee. And now, thanks to this national television commercial, Angie is McFamous. They have another nickname for you. They call me McGranny and I'm 91 years old. Is that true, you're employed as a mother? Yes. I've had several men come in since I've been with McDonald's tell me they wish I was that mother. But the glamour hasn't shaken up McGranny a bit. What did you think about all the lights and the camera and the action? They don't bother me. I was just telling them a minute ago not to get nervous. I don't do things that makes me nervous. I guess I'm too old to get nervous. See how fast she's a great person. And now she's going to be famous. Yeah. You think it will go to her head? I don't think so. I don't think so. But you know this TV commercial is creating a following. I've already seen it. I told her just a minute ago that she looked very well. I thought it was nice. There's not many people can make doing that good. Of course, there are not too many people working at age 91 either. It's all in the attitude. I love to help little children. They come in here and they tell me all of that trouble. One of them lost it too. And I just happen to have a quarter in my pocket. I pull out that quarter and give it to him. I lose another tooth and come back with you help. Give me another quarter. In Houston, Frank Villingsley reporting. Smart kid. Thanks for being with us this afternoon. We'll see you later tonight. Good night. K-View 24 proudly serves the hearing impaired community together with the Sertoma Club. We'll hold the fourth annual walk-a-thon on Saturday, September 28th at North Cross Mall. Tell us what you bought at the Citywide Garage Sale today. Things I never got when I was a kid, right? Whole lot of the goodies. Citywide Garage Sale, Saturday and Sunday, City Coliseum. Anyone can have a closeout sale on 91 models, but at Maxwell, we go to the extreme. That's why our closeout sale is on 92 models. Hi, I'm Greg Maxwell. And yes, you heard it right. At Maxwell Chrysler, Plummet, Dodge, Jeep, Eagle, you get closeout prices on 92 Caravans, Jeep Cherokees, and 92 Dodge Dakotas. But if you want the best deal on a 91, we've got them on the largest selection of diesel pickups and Dodge conversion vans. At Maxwell Chrysler, Plummet, Dodge, Jeep, Eagle, just 15 minutes east of Round Rock in Taylor. On your mark, get set, shop. It's WeeBird Furniture's incredible marathon sale. Open tonight till midnight, Saturday till 8. Save hundreds of dollars on every style of furniture, from contemporary to traditional. Marathon savings clearly tagged. And you get free credit, absolutely no payments, and no interest for three full months. Save as never before till midnight tonight. Sale ends Monday. WeeBird Furniture's marathon sale. Dear Walgreens, I just wanted to say how pleased I am with your pharmacy. My daughter got sick while we were on a trip. Your pharmacists and my pediatrician coordinated everything for your satellite system. My daughter received the medication she needed, even though we were hundreds of miles from home. Thank you, Walgreens. P.S. My daughter is fine now. Juergens' new Advanced Therapy lotion heals and protects dry, rough skin. There are four improved formulas, and your choice is just $1.99 this week at Walgreens. The Eyes of Texas, Saturday night at 6.30 on K-View 24. Thank you for being a friend. Travel down the road and back again. Your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidant. Thank you for being a friend.