By BJ Austin, KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX – Plano Police are releasing additional information in a series of attacks on members of the same sorority.
Detectives say they believe a man on surveillance video released last month actually used a pay phone at the Mesquite convenience store to call one of the sexual assault victims to inquire about her welfare.
The man, believed to be in his 40's, is described as six feet tall, near 300 pounds and balding. He is believed to be responsible for at least three sexual assaults targeting sorority members in their 50's and 60's.
Plano police also say they have a crime lab report provides a DNA profile of the suspect.
The assaults have occurred in Plano, Coppell and Shady Shores.
Anyone with information is asked to call police.
Report: Students learned only math, reading
Third-graders at a Dallas elementary received stellar math and reading scores on a state standardized test, but school district investigators say they missed nearly a year of instruction in some other subjects.
The Dallas Morning News reports that Field Elementary received an "exemplary" ranking. But it came at a cost.
Students learned only math and reading for most of the school year. Third-graders take math and reading portions of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.
Principal Roslyn Carter is on paid administrative leave after the public school district found numerous cases of falsified grades during the 2010-2011 school year. Carter denied many of the allegations and said she was not aware of some rules concerning grading.
A 227-page school district report was obtained by the newspaper under opens records law.
Policy change means students can get free vaccine
State officials have made a policy change that allows college students to receive a mandated meningitis vaccine for free.
After the Austin American-Statesman raised questions, state officials said Friday that they have notified local health departments and clinics that students are eligible to get the new vaccine for free if they cannot afford it. College administrators said the $100 to $200 price for the vaccine was proving cost-prohibitive for some students.
Students who live on campus have been required since 2009 to get the meningitis vaccine. Earlier this year, the Legislature extended the requirement to all incoming students under age 30, including those who live off-campus.
The newspaper reports that Texas is the first state in the nation with such a broad mandate.
Depleted Texas lakes expose ghost towns, graves
As the drought continues, receding lakes are exposing long-hidden artifacts in Texas. A marble headstone marking an infant's grave from 1882 and concrete foundations from the old town of Bluffton have appeared in Lake Buchanan. The lake created in the 1930s is now shrinking. A prehistoric skull, ancient tools and fossils have been found in dry areas of other lakes in recent months. A small cemetery that appears to contain the graves of freed slaves was discovered at a Navarro County reservoir.
Some artifacts have attracted interest from historians, and looters also have scavenged for pieces of history.
Texas finished its driest 12 months ever through September. Water levels in many of the region's lakes have dropped by more than a dozen feet.
Arlington Scout Leader Arrested For Child Porn
An Arlington Boy Scout den leader and karate instructor is under arrest on child pornography charges.
41 year old Timothy Weirich was arrested last week. The charges against him were released by federal officials Monday.
Agents say they identified a computer at an Arlington address that had used file-sharing software to download child pornography. Investigators found the images on Weirich's home computer. He was arrested at work, and admitted that viewing child pornography had become a compulsion.
He also informed agents he taught karate to children and was a Boy Scout leader. Officials say, however, there is no evidence of child molestation in this case.
If convicted, Weirich faces up to 20 years in prison and a 250 thousand dollars fine. He remains in federal custody.
Garland State Rep To Enter Guilty Plea
Garland State Representative Joe Driver is expected to plead guilty in an Austin courtroom Tuesday morning. The charge is "abuse of office, a third degree felony.
Driver was indicted for double-billing his campaign AND taxpayers for travel expenses. He later reimbursed his campaign about 50 thousand dollars.
He is NOT running for re-election, and is expected to get probation.