Five stories that have North Texas talking: two football players hit a referee; a crossing guard is back on the job in Trophy Club; Larry McMurtry gets a White House honor; and more.
A San Antonio-area police department is investigating two football players who rammed into a referee during a high school game. Marble Falls police said in a statement Monday there have been no arrests. The Northside Independent School District is conducting its own investigation into the incident Friday and has suspended the two players from the school and the team. Video showed the referee watching the play, and his head snapping back when he is leveled from behind. The other player then dove on top of him. The team from John Jay High School in San Antonio was playing Marble Falls High School in Marble Falls, located about 90 miles north of San Antonio. The names of the players and the referee have not been released. Meanwhile, the referee is talking about what happened. [Associated Press/USA Today]
Here's a YouTube video of the incident:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNCrs63JeuM
Here's more from KXAN-TV in Austin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N63n7XysVww
- The Dallas Morning News takes a closer look at what happened to Susan Hawk, the Dallas County district attorney who’s taking a leave from work to battle depression. The News reports it’s “the latest incident in a tumultuous tenure marked by controversial firings, allegations of erratic behavior and her acknowledgment that she once sought help to stop taking prescription drugs. The sudden cascade of personal difficulties has perplexed colleagues and constituents alike, leaving many wondering how the Hawk they remember — the friend, respected former judge and great hope of the local Republican party — got to this point. While Hawk’s troubles came to light publicly after she took office, those who know her say a confluence of factors has been building behind the scenes for at least two years.” [The Dallas Morning News]
- Texas novelist Larry McMurtry will receive the National Humanities Medal on Thursday at the White House. KERA’s Jerome Weeks reports at Art&Seek: “The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and Oscar-winning screenwriter joins Indian-American writer Jhumpa Lahiri and food writer-activist Alice Waters among this year’s recipients. … The National Humanities Medal was inaugurated in 1997 and previous recipients include Philip Roth, Jim Lehrer, Toni Morrison and Garrison Keillor.”
- A popular crossing guard is back on the job in Tarrant County. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports: “Just before the start of school last week, the Trophy Club Police Department posted on its Facebook page that Alvin Peters, 74, would not be a crossing guard this year. The post went on to say, ‘The safety and security of our community’s children is our first priority and we appreciate Mr. Alvin’s years of service. Human Resources information is protected and prohibits us from releasing additional information.’ News spread quickly on social media and was met with a flurry of negative feedback, with residents voicing their disappointment in the news and the manner in which it was posted about one of their favorite crossing guards and neighbors. Peters works as a crossing guard at Beck Elementary School.” [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]
- In case you missed it: A route has been chosen for the Dallas-to-Houston bullet train that’s in the works. The Dallas Business Journal reports: “The federal agency charged with determining the corridor for the proposed bullet train between Dallas and Houston has decided on a route that follows major electrical transmission lines through mostly rural areas. The corridor is the preferred route for Texas Central Partners, the private company behind the Texas high-speed rail project, the organization’s new CEO said in a … meeting [last week] of business leaders in Irving. ‘We’re down to one corridor with numerous potential alignments,’ Texas Central CEO Tim Keith told me in an interview after speaking to the North Texas Commission. ‘It’s called the utilities corridor.’” [Dallas Business Journal]
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
