Concerns About AA Contractor Security Credentials

Ray Villeda, NBC 5 News

American Airlines has contracted with a third party company to clean its airplanes, but now there are concerns about the employees' credentials and security at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

Contractor Credential Concerns at DFW

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Some American Airlines employees are raising security concerns at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport over the airline's use third-party contractors.

Sources say that crews from Air Serv Corp. that began cleaning and inspecting planes before takeoff on Thursday did not the proper credentials needed to be in secure locations.

The workers were going through an old American Airlines mail facility and making it to the airline's planes without IDs, badges or credentials, sources say.

American Airlines employees say they are concerned that the contracted workers have not undergone enough background screenings in order to be around the planes.

"We are currently working with Air Serv to handle some of our cabin cleaning," American Airlines spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said. "As is typical with a vendor, we had a few hiccups during the first days; however things with Air Serv have greatly improved since then. We hold our contractors to the same high standards as our in-house employees."

Transport Workers Union sources say complaints have come in from various airports across the country, including DFW Airport.

Much of the Fort Worth-based airline's cabin cleaning was done by TWU members, but those jobs were lost as part of the offer accepted by union during the carrier's bankruptcy process.

Thousands of positions have been outsourced nationally, including at least 200 locally.

"There will always be a concern when you lose good American-quality jobs because of quality service," Darrin Pierce, TWU Local 513 president. "You get what you pay for, so our concern is that American Airlines is able to provide the same quality service that they've always had. And our position is that we can do those jobs best."

Representatives for both DFW Airport and Air Serv did not return calls for comment Monday.

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North Texans Prepare for Freezing Temperatures

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Much colder weather overnight is good news for some and potentially bad news for others.

The sound of winter was evident at Big John's Wood Products on Monday as workers loaded up cords of wood for customers.

"We hit our peak this time of year," said Brandon Pettijohn, Big John's operations manager. "It's what we've worked all year for. [It's] real good for us, yeah, good for business."

Pettijohn said business was up with news of the season's first freeze.

"We were busy this weekend, but you're right, people will come in after work," he said. "People like to burn a fire; 50 degrees, they'll start trying to burn them."

Pettijohn said he hopes this is the start of a cold and profitable winter.

"We're ready, let it rip," he said.

Big John's workers said they hope this winter won't be like last year. In the spring, they still had cords of wood after the warmer winter.

"We didn't have no winter at all, so we're really hoping," Pettijohn said. "They're anticipating it's supposed to be a good winter. We had some good cold fronts come through."

This current cold front is a chance to make sure residents are ready for the entire season, said Fort Worth Water Department spokeswoman Mary Gugliuzza.

"When the pipes freeze, it can create more calls for us," she said. "It leads to loss of water for them, and it's on their side of the meter when those breaks happen, so we're just trying to help folks know what they need to do to get ready."

It includes wrapping water pipes that are outside or lack insulation with Styrofoam padding and placing Styrofoam protectors over spigots on the side of the house.

"The foam helps with that against the house," Gugliuzza said.

Letting a faucet drip keeps pipes from freezing, but the Fort Worth Water Department doesn't recommend it. Gugliuzza said it's a waste of water and money, saying other measures work to keep pipes from freezing.

Gugliuzza also said it would take several days in a row of freezing temperatures for city water pipes to have issues and break.

Anyone who sees a possible broken water main is urged to immediately call the city. People also shouldn't drive through areas with broken water mains because they might not be able to see holes in the ground.

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477 Code Violations at Arlington Apartment Complex

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The owner of an Arlington apartment complex has been cited after violating 477 different city codes.

Code compliance officers found violations in 100 different units at the La Joya Apartments on New York Avenue in East Arlington. The hazardous conditions forced many tenants into other buildings.

The city said 25 citations have been issued so far, with the rest being processed. Fines are being assessed daily.

The violations included roaches, trash and animal feces in apartments, as well as mold and standing water, although the city said some of those units were unoccupied.

"They're very serious conditions that no human being should have to live with this," said Sue Phillips, president of East Arlington Renewal, a group focused on the betterment of East Arlington. "These homeowners need to be held extremely accountable."

The city said the property owner is arranging repairs and was unaware of the issues.

Attempts to contact the owner, which has a Utah-based address, were not returned Monday.

People who live and work nearby the La Joya Apartments said the owner has been uninterested in repairs for years.

Jorge Lorenzana, senior pastor at the House of Prayer for All Nations, which is located right next door complex, said his congregation often tries to lend a hand to its low-income neighbors. He said many of their living conditions are deplorable.

"Since it's very inexpensive for a lot of people to live there, they get used to it because they have to, not because they want to," he said.

Residents in surrounding neighborhoods, nearby business owners and the church said they have also suffered.

"We always have issues with things like trash, crime," Lorenzana said. "It has been a sensitive area, and the police have been very involved. Places or properties like that tend to promote the deterioration of the whole neighborhood."

"Those apartments are not on an island," Phillips said. "This affects everybody in Arlington."

The city said it would inspect more buildings on the property later this week.

While there's much work to be done, there's still hope, Lorenzana said.

"I think if we all work together, East Arlington can experience a renewal," he said.

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As They Age, Veterans Look to New Generation

Lindsay Wilcox, NBC 5 News

Thousands of people lined the streets of downtown Dallas for the annual Veterans Day Parade, but one group says more veterans of recent wars need to get involved in the fight for veterans rights.

Dallas Parade Focuses on Veterans Rights

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Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars say it's important that there's a new generation who can take on the big issues.

The VFW is the largest American combat association with more than two million members, but the vast majority are from the Gulf War or earlier. About 10 percent of its members nationally are veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the VFW said.

"There are a lot of groups starting up now for the younger veterans," said retired Army Spc. Nathan Fane. "The American Legion and the VFW really need people, younger people from Iraq and Afghanistan to join to keep it going."

Fane was one of two modern war veterans representing the Carrollton Veterans of Foreign Wars post at Monday's annual Veterans Day Parade in downtown Dallas.

"When I came back in 1970 from overseas, I came back into the airport in Los Angeles, and I got spit on by bunch of hippies," said George Brocker, a Vietnam War veteran.

Veterans say things today are different for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

"When we came back, we had a hero's welcome -- lots of support," Fane said. "A lot of people didn't support the war, but they support the troops."

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Freeze Doesn't Chill West Nile Virus Worries

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The temperature may be dropping, but don't expect mosquitoes to drop like flies along with them.

Experts say that even biting cold won't stop mosquitoes from biting back -- and spreading West Nile virus.

"A freeze will slow them down, but it doesn't do away with them," said David Jefferson, manager of the Tarrant County health department's Environmental Health division.

Pete Esqueda of Arrow Exterminators in Addison agreed.

"If they can, they'll burrow themselves down into the ground," he said. "They'll sit there and just kind of slow their metabolism down [and] wait. Once it gets warm enough, they shoot off."

Many mosquitoes will die off in cold weather. But many others survive, mostly female mosquitoes, ready to get back to biting whenever temperatures rise.

"Just like us, once it gets nice weather, we all come rushing outside, go to the lake," Esqueda said. "These things just come out, and they look for the first thing they can find, which is a blood meal."

Spray trucks stopped running many weeks ago, but the need to protect yourself from West Nile virus still exists.

"If it's warm -- we have several warm days -- [it] wouldn't hurt to remember to use DEET as a repellent and still, always, always, all year round, get rid of the standing water," Jefferson said.

Mosquitoes that survive the cold are the ones smart enough to hang out near houses and other buildings, where it's always a bit warmer and easier to find someone to bite.

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A Veterans Day Wish Come True

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A Fort Worth teacher and Army veteran got an unexpected surprise Monday -- a replacement for the pair of Army-issued sunglasses he had recently lost.

Omar Elizalde's Oakley sunglasses survived an improvised explosive device blast and a suicide bomber attack, but they couldn't survive a ride on his car back home in Texas. The former Army Ranger lost them a few weeks ago when he accidentally placed them on his car roof and forgot about them.

The former Army captain who served two tours of duty in Iraq remembers feeling a pit in his stomach when he lost the sunglasses.

"It wasn't so much the inanimate object piece, the glasses; it was the memories," he said.

The glasses shaded him from the sun, shielded his eyes from sand and covered his tears when a fellow soldier died.

"Capt. Jason West -- he was killed in Ramadi," Elizalde said. "I wore those glasses with the clear lenses in a hero flight. The second brother of mine that I lost where I saw him through those glasses was another fantastic officer who I learned a lot from -- Travis Patriquin, Capt. Travis Patriquin."

Both men were killed in enemy attacks.

Elizalde, a Spanish teacher at North Side High School whose first teaching job was training the Iraqi police force in Ramadi, Iraq, posted about losing his glasses on Facebook.

Others -- NBC 5 among them -- found out about it.

Madalene Mielke, a political consultant in Washington, D.C., saw the post. She contacted Reggie Escalante in Orange County, Calif., a friend who is a dating coach and big supporter of veterans charities.

Escalante was able to use a contact at Oakley to rummage around the company's warehouse, where he found a new pair of the old glasses that Elizalde believed were no longer manufactured.

The glasses were then mailed to Texas, and Elizalde was presented with them on Monday, the federal observance of Veterans Day.

"A lot of memories here, bro," Elizalde said, holding back tears.

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Teens Charged Over Destruction at Jewish Cemeteries

Hartford Police say they've arrested three teenagers accused of toppling more than 60 tombstones at a cemetery.

Arrests Made In Cemetery Vandalism Case

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Three teenagers were arrested over the weekend for allegedly destroying 90 to 95 gravestones at Jewish cemeteries in Connecticut, causing approximately $20,000 worth of damage.

Hartford Police began investigating the case in mid-October, and only recently received a tip that three teens living in the neighborhood were responsible for the crimes.

"They basically attacked the defenseless and the emotions of those survivors," Leonard Holtz with Congregation Ados Israel told NBC Connecticut. "(The arrests) don't lessen the pain for people who have had their monuments desecrated." 

Dozens of headstones are still toppled over at the Tower Avenue Jewish Cemeteries. 

Holtz had locked the gates here for weeks to keep the suspects out, but visitors were still uneasy.

"It has taken away the feeling that you can go here with peace of mind," Holtz explained.

Hartford Police said that the suspects may have destroyed the sacred ground while they were using it as a shortcut to a nearby park.

"It's a crime that inflicts pain and suffering on other families," Holtz added.

He wanted the suspects held accountable, and to understand the damage here wasn't just aesthetic.

"A cemetery should be a sacred place, holy ground, this should never happen," Holtz added.

At first police investigated the case as a hate crime, but after talking to the teens, they said this was no longer the issue. The names of the suspects will not be released.

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Two Shootings Hours Apart at Dallas Motel

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One person was killed and another injured in two separate shootings at a Dallas motel overnight Monday.

Both shootings happened in the parking lot of America's Best Value Inn on the 4100-block of Preferred Place in Dallas about three hours apart.

Detectives are investigating if the two shootings are related.

Police are questioning the first victim, who survived. The second victim was killed.

The motel manager said he heard gunfire at about 2:15 a.m. on Tuesday, looked out, and saw the wounded victim and a blue Cadillac circling the parking lot. The manager called 911, and the car took off. The victim took a bullet to the head and died at Methodist Hospital. Officers said he had a pistol in his pocket, but apparently didn't grab it.

Earlier, at about 11:30 p.m. Monday, a 37-year-old man was grazed by a bullet in the head. He was treated and released at the hospital and was back at the motel talking with investigators when the second shooting happened.

Crime scene technicians gathered evidence from the backside of the motel.

A man and a woman, believed to be witnesses to at least one of the shootings, were taken separately by officers for questioning at the police department.

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Petition Calls on Obama to Allow Texas to Secede

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Several petitions on the White House's website are calling for various states to secede from the Union -- including one for Texas with more than 57,000 signatures.

The petition asking President Barack Obama's administration to peacefully allow Texas to withdraw from the United States, and says the federal government is ruining the economy and abusing the rights of Americans.

The petition says Texas could serve its citizens better on its own and says it is "practically feasible for Texas" to withdraw.

The petition says it was created by a Micah H. of Arlington on Nov. 9. More than 57,000 people listing locations across the country had signed the petition as of late Monday night, far more signatures than any of the similar petitions for other states.

White House staff will review the petition and issue an official response because of the number of signatures. The White House responds to submitted petitions that reach 25,000 signatures in 30 days.

Legally, Texas cannot secede from the United States.

As the Texas State Library and Archives Commission states on its website: "In fact, Texas received no special terms in its admission to the Union. Once Texas had agreed to join the Union, she never had the legal option of leaving, either before or after the Civil War."

While many believe that an annexation treaty gave Texas the right to secede from the United States, Texas actually was admitted into the Union by a joint resolution of Congress, not by treaty. And no such provision is included in that joint resolution or in the 1845 Constitution of the State of Texas.

The U.S. Supreme Court has even answered the question of whether states can decide on their own to secede.

In Texas vs. White, the court ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not allow states to decide to secede from the nation. That same ruling also said that Texas had "entered into an indissoluble relation" with the United States when it became a state and remained a state even when it joined the Confederate States of America.

Gov. Rick Perry in 2009 made comments implying that Texas could secede, but later said that he was not advocating secession.

Perry spokeswoman Catherine Frazier issued a statement Monday about the petition on the White House website that says the governor "believes in the greatness of our Union and nothing should be done to change it."

The statement said that Perry also shares the frustrations that many have with the federal government.

"Now more than ever, our country needs strong leadership from states like Texas that are making tough decisions to live within their means, keep taxes low and provide opportunities to job creators so their citizens can provide for their families and prosper," the statement said. "We cannot allow Washington's tax-and-spend, one-size-fits-all mindset to jeopardize our children's future, undermine our personal liberties and drive our nation down a dangerous path to greater dependence of government."

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