Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 302, Ed. 1 Monday, May 30, 2016 Page: 11 of 22
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11A
Denton Record-Chronicle
Monday, May 30, 2016
Leaders mark 100 years since bloody battle
By Sylvie Corbet
Associated Press
VERDUN, France — In sol-
emn ceremonies Sunday in the
forests of eastern France,
French President Francois
Hollande and German Chan-
cellor Angela Merkel marked
100 years since the Battle of
Verdun, determined to show
that, despite the bloodbath of
World War I, their countries’
improbable friendship is now a
source of hope for today’s frac-
tured Europe.
The 10-month battle at Ver-
dun — the longest in World
War I — killed 163,000 French
and 143,000 German soldiers
and wounded hundreds of
thousands of others.
Between February and De-
cember 1916, an estimated 60
million shells were fired in the
battle. One out of four didn’t
explode. The front line villages
destroyed in the fighting were
never rebuilt. The battlefield
zone still holds millions of un-
exploded shells, making the ar-
ea so dangerous that housing
and farming are still forbidden.
With no survivors left to re-
member, Sunday’s commemo-
rations were focused on edu-
cating youth about the horrors
and consequences of the war.
The main ceremony took
place at a mass grave where, in
1984, then-French President
Francois Mitterrand took
then-German Chancellor Hel-
mut Kohl’s hand in a break-
through moment of friendship
and trust by longtime enemy
nations.
“This gesture said more
than any words,” Merkel
stressed in her speech at the
Douaumont Ossuary, a memo-
rial to 130,000 unidentified
French and German soldiers.
She said the dead of Verdun
were “victims of bigotry and
nationalism, of blindness and
political failure” and the best
way to commemorate them is
to bear in mind “the lessons
that Europe drew from the ca-
tastrophes of the 20th century
— the ability and willingness to
recognize how necessary it is
not to seal ourselves off but to
be open to each other.”
Merkel added that “the
common challenges of the 21st
century can only be dealt with
together.”
Hollande has called for the
“protection of our common
house, Europe.” He warned
that the “time needed to de-
stroy it would be much shorter
than the long time it took to
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Laura Leon/AP file photo
Britain’s Royal Navy ship HMS Westminster sails along
the Gibraltar stretch on Aug. 19, 2013, backdropped by
the tiny territory on the southern tip of the Iberian penin-
sula the rock of Gibraltar, near to La Linea de la Concep-
cion, Spain.
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Gibraltar fears border
with Spain could
close if U.K. quits EU
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AP file photo
This undated photo taken during the First World War shows French soldiers resting inside the
Fort de Vaux, one of the second fortress to fall in the Battle of Verdun, eastern France.
1
4
Volker Schloendorff.
Hollande and Merkel rekin-
dled the flame of remembrance
and gave each other a hug in-
side the Douaumont Ossuary.
They spent the entire day
together.
In the morning, he wel-
comed his German counter-
part under heavy rain at the
German cemetery of Consen-
voye, near Verdun, where 11,148
German soldiers are buried.
They laid a wreath, accompa-
nied by four German and
French children, and walked
side by side for few minutes in
the cemetery, sharing an um-
brella.
After lunch, they were visit-
ing the newly renovated Ver-
dun Memorial. The museum,
which reopened in February,
immerses visitors in the “hell of
Verdun” through soldiers’
belongings, documents and
photos, and from its new roof-
top, they can observe the bat-
tlefield.
“But, it’s important to send
a message to those in the U.K.
who think that there would
be no adverse consequences
for Gibraltar in the event that
the U.K. were to leave the EU,
that Garcia-Margallo made
his point very clearly,” Picardo
said.
By Harold Heckle
Associated Press
MADRID -
could find its access to the sin-
gle European market blocked
by a hostile Spanish govern-
ment if the United Kingdom
were to vote to leave the Euro-
pean Union in a referendum
next month, the chief minis-
ter of the tiny British territory
on Spain’s southwestern tip
said Sunday.
Fabian Picardo told The
Associated Press that Spanish
Foreign Minister Jose Manu-
el Garcia-Margallo had
warned that if Britain exits
the EU, the Popular Party
government currently in
power would “require that we
accept joint sovereignty with
Spain to have access to the
market.”
Picardo said British For-
eign Minister Philip Ham-
mond had acknowledged that
the European mechanisms in
place to keep the frontier be-
tween Spain and Gibraltar
flowing “will not be available
to us if we are not members of
the EU.”
Gibraltarians were over-
whelmingly “on the ‘remain’
side” in the EU debate, he
said.
Gibraltar
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Gibraltar would find its
trade adversely affected if
Spain took such action, but
nevertheless, “we will never
pay any sovereignty price ei-
ther for access to the single
market or for any other rea-
son,” Picardo said.
Spain’s main opposition
Socialist Party wasn’t against
keeping Gibraltar’s borders
open because it acknowl-
edged it is “an important ac-
tor on the economic front,”
creating 10,000 jobs in the
southwest region, Picardo
said.
n
Thibault Camus/AP
France’s President Francois Hollande, left, speaks with a his-
tory reenactor dressed as a World War I French soldier during
a remembrance ceremony to mark the centenary of the bat-
tle of Verdun, in Verdun, northeastern France, on Sunday.
Spain’s June 26 general
election was hence almost as
important to Gibraltar as the
U.K.’s referendum on June 23
because a political divide ex-
ists over a free-flowing bor-
der, Picardo said.
Spain ceded Gibraltar’s
sovereignty to Britain by trea-
ty in 1713 but has persistently
sought its return ever since.
“The visit follows the steps
of the soldiers. First reaching
the front, moving into shell
holes, fighting, surviving on
the front line, the daily life,”
said historian Antoine Prost.
Verdun has become a com-
mon place of remembrance be-
cause “it’s a place of massive
death equivalent for the French
and the Germans,” Prost add-
build it.”
Amid rising support for far
right parties and divisions
among European countries
over howto handle refugees, he
said Europe’s role is “to fight
against terrorism, fanaticism,
radicalization” and at the same
time to “welcome populations
who are fleeing massacres.”
About 4,000 French and
German children re-enacted
battlefield scenes to the sound
of drums amid thousands of
white crosses marking the
graves — falling on the ground
in a moving evocation of death,
and getting back up as a sym-
bol of hope, in a ceremony con-
ceived by German filmmaker
ed.
From Page 1A
Water
taken after nitrogen-rich runoff
from rain flowed into the water
system, resulting in low chlorine
disinfectant levels in the water
supply.
Corpus Christi typically re-
ceives about 10 inches of rain by
this time of year, but 2016 has
been unusually wet with more
than 18 inches, according to the
National Weather Service.
Previous boil-water notices
were issued in July and Septem-
ber, the first for elevated levels of
E. coli and the second for low
at a news conference Wednes-
day that city staff must do better
at identifying problems before
they lead to a public health haz-
experts say that while the in-
crease in boil-water notices in
many states reflects problems
with failing public utility sys-
tems, they also speak to new
rules and greater transparency
in notifying the public when wa-
ter quality may be undermined.
As Steve Via with the Amer-
ican Water Works Association
explains, “It does eventually
work its way back to an aging in-
frastructure because if the pub-
lic isn’t aware of the consequenc-
es of not taking care of our
drinking water then they’re not
supporting the investment to
keep it up to date and improving
on it.”
chlorine levels, the Caller-
Times reported. The notices
mirror two others that were is-
sued in 2007. In some cases, var-
ious parts of the city were affect-
ed, and in others, such as the
most recent one, the notice was
citywide.
City crews have worked to re-
configure some mains to ensure
that water keeps circulating and
to prevent bacteria growth. But
an overarching concern is an old
water system where more than
half of 225 miles of cast-iron
pipe needs to be upgraded, ac-
cording to the newspaper. Many
of the pipes were installed in the
1950s and when they decay
they’re prone to collapse or to
slow water flow, allowing bacter-
ia to fester.
A fear for civic leaders is that
the recurring advisories could
cause long-term harm to the ar-
ea’s vibrant tourism business for
its miles of sun-splashed beach-
es and protected coastline brim-
ming with wildlife.
Mayor Nelda Martinez said
There are many reasons a
city’s water quality can be com-
promised, among them broken
water mains, loss of pressure,
high bacteria levels and weath-
er-related causes.
Several appear to apply to
Corpus Christi.
The city’s latest advisory,
which ended Wednesday, was
largely a precautionary measure
ard.
“This is a symptom of our sig-
nificant deferred maintenance
challenge — it tells us how much
work we have in front of us and
where we need to prioritize our
resources,” Martinez said. “And
it’s not just about addressing
structural needs but looking at
how we handle the operational
aspects as well.”
From Page 1A
From Page 1A
Flooding
Memorial Day
Sunday on the north end of a re-
tention pond near the Circuit of
the Americas auto racing track,
which is close to where two peo-
ple were reported to have been
washed away by a flash flood
early Friday, Travis County sher-
iff’s spokesman lisa Block said.
The body still must be recovered
and no identification has been
made.
the swollen creek he fell into Fri-
day night, according to Wichita
Fire Department battalion chief
Scott Brown. “We are more in
body-recovery mode than res-
cue,” Brown said Saturday night.
Four people died from flood-
ing in rural Washington County,
Texas, located between Austin
and Houston, where more than
16.5 inches of rain fell in some
places Thursday and Friday.
The bodies of two missing
motorists were found Saturday
in separate parts of the county,
according to Judge John Brie-
den.
daughter of original Roselawn
owners H.M. and Maijorie Pitn-
er, attended the service as well,
though she has no direct con-
nection to the military.
“I am not a veteran, which
makes it that much more impor-
tant to show my eternal grati-
tude for those who have laid
down their lives and their fami-
lies,” she said. “It’s really impor-
tant to take time to do that.”
RHIANNON SAEGERT can
be reached at 940-566-6897
and via Twitter at
@missmusetta.
caused a power outage. Clark es-
timated as many as 50 inmates
in the 1,300-inmate prison were
involved.
The rising water in several
Houston-area rivers and creeks
prompted Harris County offi-
cials on Saturday to ask about
750 families in the Northwood
Pines subdivision to voluntarily
evacuate their homes and apart-
ments. Officials also warned res-
idents living near the west fork
of the San Jacinto River, north of
Houston, that rising waters were
likely to flood homes, even those
that are elevated, Sanchez said.
“The skies are clear and
things look good. But we want to
make sure people understand
that we are not out of the woods
yet. We have to keep an eye on
water that’s coming through our
bayou system,” said Francisco
Sanchez, a spokesman for the
Office of Emergency Manage-
ment in Harris County.
In Kansas, the search for the
missing 11-year-old resumed
Sunday and expanded beyond
story to share. This year, Saun-
ders spoke about Staff Sgt. Roy
P. Benavidez, a Medal of Honor
recipient who died rescuing
eight people in 1968 during the
Vietnam War.
“When I give a presentation I
pick a person just to remind
them it’s a personal thing,” Saun-
ders said. “It’s not a big group of
people. Here’s an example of a
person who was willing to make
a sacrifice.”
Tom Royster, who served in
the U.S. Air Force during the
Vietnam War, attended the ser-
vice with his wife Shirley. He
said services like this one are im-
portant when the meaning be-
hind the holiday is so often lost.
“I think it’s important for the
community to see and recognize
that they’re not forgotten,”
Royster said. “Everything has
evolved around the holiday
sales, three days off, a big vaca-
tion. Really, this is what it’s all
about, and a lot of people don’t
recognize that fact.”
Beth Weddle, great-grand-
“The skies are clear
and things look
good. But we want
to make sure people
understand that we
are not out of the
woods yet."
— Francisco Sanchez, a
spokesman for the Office of
Emergency Management in
Harris County
To the southeast along the
rain-swollen Brazos River near
Houston, prison officials evacu-
ated about 2,600 inmates from
two prisons to other state pris-
ons because of expected flood-
ing, Texas Department of Crimi-
nal Justice spokesman Jason
Clark said. Inmates in a low-lev-
el security camp at a third prison
in the area are being moved to
the main prison building, Clark
said.
working with our state partners
as the river level rises,” Clark
said, noting that additional food
and water has been delivered to
prisons that are getting the dis-
placed inmates and sandbags
have been filled and delivered to
the prisons where flooding is an-
ticipated.
Another prison that’s about
70 miles northwest of Houston
saw a brawl between inmates
and correctional officers on Sat-
urday that began when flooding
Tropical Depression Bonnie
reached the South Carolina
coast early Sunday, bringing
heavy rain and rough tides to an
area packed with tourists for the
Memorial Day weekend. Fore-
casters say up to 8 inches of rain
have fallen in parts of southern
South Carolina. About 3 inches
of rain fell in Charleston in 24
hours and more is expected, ac-
cording to the National Weather
Service.
John Lawhon
Attorney
Wills • Trusts • Probate
Board Certified
Estate Planning
& Probate Law
Texas Board
of Legal
Specialization
All three prisons are in coast-
al Brazoria County, where the
river empties into the Gulf of
Mexico.
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“TDCJ officials continue to
monitor the situation and are
(940) 387-4401
Denton
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Parks, Scott K. Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 302, Ed. 1 Monday, May 30, 2016, newspaper, May 30, 2016; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1127453/m1/11/: accessed July 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .