DAILY NZ

P A G E 1A

C O L O R CMYK

P U B D A T E 07-06-02 O P E R A T O R CCI

D A T E 07/06/02

T I M E 00:29

SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2002

50

SERVING SOUTH TEXAS SINCE 1865

MEDINA DAM Inspections spur leaders to caution residents about structures stability

FLEEING THE FLOODS Thousands evacuated from New Braunfels, Castroville and La Coste

TOLL RISES 11-year-old boy who fell into Apache Creek dies in hospital

DREARY FORECAST Weather service says it looks like a wet weekend in the area

Rivers unleash fury

GLORIA FERNIZ/STAFF

WILLIAM LUTHER/STAFF

NEW BRAUNFELS:

A school bus flipped on its side is wedged up against a house in New Braunfels. Officials said the flow out of the spillway into the already raging Guadalupe River could double by today.

BANDERA:

A military helicopter departs from Bandera after the city was cut off by rising floodwaters. The Medina River rose over the Texas 173 bridge Friday for the second time since flooding started.

Downstream towns brace for second wave

BY ROY BRAGG
EXPRESS-NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tons more rain feared next week

Flood 2002
flowing over the dam Wimberley spillway at more than 50,000 cubic feet per second Canyon Lake Blanco R. Guadalupe River New Braunfels & Canyon 2 1 Lake area More than 4,000 Boerne 5 residents and campers Luling 2 New evacuated, 200 homes damaged 3 Bandera Braunfels or destroyed Seguin 6 4 Gonzales Helotes 3 Bandera Medina River Medina Lake 8 expected to crest at 34 feet San 21 feet above flood stage Antonio Medina R. 7 Sa nA 4 Whartons Dock 1,500 Somerset nto residents isolated after only n road into town is flooded Falls City 5 Menger Creek Ninth flood victim, Chris Lewis, feared S drowned 6 Helotes & Grey Forest ni Derby o Chimenea Creek dam R. threatens both Choke Canyon 7 Castroville & La Coste Reservoir Flooding forces second Area of Frio R Texas evacuation Friday night . 8 Gonzales Guadalupe River expected to crest at 42 feet Sunday 11 feet above flood stage
adalupe R. Gu

BY JOHN MACCORMACK
EXPRESS-NEWS STAFF WRITERS

AND JAIME

CASTILLO

1 Canyon Lake Dam Water

NEW BRAUNFELS With Guadalupe River waters raging through the center of town, displacing thousands of people and destroying hundreds of homes, beleaguered residents are bracing for a torrent expected to rival 1998s epic flooding. Though a relatively small amount of rain fell Friday overnight forecasts for heavy rain on both sides , of the Canyon Lake dam didnt bode well for the waterlogged community officials said. , More rain means higher and stronger floodwaters, which could churn out a path of destruction bigger than the flooding four years ago that killed 19 and caused $1 billion in damages, they say . In that flooding, rain fell between here and the lake. This time, theres also water falling on the other side of the lake. The damage is devastating, Scheel said. I can assure you, because of the flooding that has occurred between the city limits up to the lake, which we did not have in 1998, our financial loss will be substantially more. The Corps of Engineers, which administers swollen See DOWNSTREAM/11A

Rain, rain and now more rain to come. After dumping up to a years worth of rain on some communities in just the past six days, the storm that broke the drought and some hearts is maddeningly slow to leave the region, and theres another right behind it. The forecast is for more rain, said Ken Widelski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in New Braunfels. Our forecasts through Sunday show a 40 percent chance of rain. And, not to scare anyone, but at the end of next week, it looks like we could have another system just like this one coming in, and that would mean tons of rain on super-saturated soil, he said. That was bad news for the people near Medina Dam, which officials said late Friday could be in peril. It been in the back of our minds, that might be a problem with the dam, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said. People below Medina Dam should move and get out of harms way . An inspector with the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission reportedly spotted cracks and seepage in the concrete dam, prompting the Department of Public Safety to issue a warning at about 9 p.m. Engineers were expected to check the dam this morning. See REGION/10A

ek Cre olo Cib R. io

Ho n do Creek

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Source: National Weather Service

EXPRESS-NEWS GRAPHIC

FLOOD OF 2002: FIVE PAGES OF COVERAGE INSIDE / 7-11A

Anti-PGA forces apparently did it

City clerks report says the petition drive didnt fall short.
D BY WILLIAM PACK
EXPRESS-NEWS STAFF WRITER

PGA Village foes apparently have obtained the number of names needed to force City Council to rescind its support of the golf resort or let the public decide the issue in a fall election. Although actual numbers wont be revealed until next week, City Clerk Norma Rodri-

guez sent a report to the council Friday statVILLAGE ing the D E BAT E opponents petition drive has not fallen short of the 63,006 names of registered voters it needed. If a petition effort is insufficient, the City Charter requires the clerk to file a notice within 10 days of when the final signatures are filed Friday in this case. However, it does not require a report to be filed if an effort is

PG A

successful. If no such notice is filed, it is reasonable to assume the petition drive succeeded, City Attorney Andrew Martin said. To me, that would be the logical conclusion that one could draw, he added. Members of the Save Our Aquifer Campaign, one of three organizations spearheading the anti-resort petition drive, said they reached the same conclusion as they celebrated their success with a cake. Were certain that we do have sufficient signatures, said Leticia Vela, the campaigns volunteer coordinator.
Business Classifieds Comics 1D 1F 8E

The campaign and two associated activist organizations, Communities Organized for Public Service and the Metro Alliance, turned in what they said were more than 26,000 new names on the last batch of petitions June 25. PGA foes need to obtain the names of at least 10 percent of the citys registered voters to trigger the referendum process. Rodriguezs office had 10 days to determine which names were valid city voters, but since the deadline landed on the July 4 holiday she had until Friday to , See PGA/24A
Deaths Editorials Metro/State 4B 8B 1B Movies Puzzles S.A. Life 3E 12E 1E Sports Stocks TV listings 1C 4D 5E
AP FILE PHOTO

Baseballs Splendid Splinter dies

As a rookie, Ted Williams wanted to be the best hitter of all time. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig says he made that goal, and then some.
Sports/1C

Todays Weather
Chance of storms High 93, Low 73 Full weather report, Page 10C

From the San Antonio Express-News and KENS 5. Get personalized news and information.

INDEX

137th year, No. 276, 132 pages. Entire contents copyright 2002, San Antonio Express-News. This newspaper is recyclable.

DAILY NZ

P A G E 1A

C O L O R CMYK

P U B D A T E 07-06-02 O P E R A T O R CCI

D A T E 07/06/02

T I M E 00:29