Ride of Silence raises brings attention to cyclists safety

■ The event: Ride of Silence

■ When: Wednesday, May 15 at 7 p.m.

■ Where: Texas Tech Parkway and Indiana Avenue

■ Key details: Event honors cyclists who have been killed or injured while riding on public roadways.

■ Why: West Texas Cycling Association planned the event during May, which is Bike Safety Month.

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Gravel crunched underneath the tires of vehicles on Interstate 27 Wednesday evening, May 15, after a semitrailer crashed, spilling its load of crushed rock on north and southbound lanes.

Lubbock police said the driver was taken from the scene to a hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.

Northbound traffic on I-27 slowed for emergency workers responding to the crash, where the tractor-trailer’s cab separated from its trailer.

The trailer came to a rest against the concrete barrier wall and the cab came to a rest under Loop 289.

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Code exercise targets east neighborhoods

Lubbock code inspectors will conduct a field exercise between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. today, May 16, in the Sky View and Clayton Carter neighborhoods in east Lubbock.

The boundaries of this exercise are Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Interstate 27 on the east and west, and Regis Avenue and North Loop 289 on the north and south, according to a statement from city spokesman Jeff McKito.

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In City Councilman Floyd Price’s 33 years with the Lubbock Police Department, he never cut a dead person wearing a seat belt out of a flipped automobile.

Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Bryan Witt said he has investigated too many crashes where the vehicle had little damage, yet someone died because he or she didn’t buckle up.

Texas Department of Transportation launched its 12th-annual, two-week Click It or Ticket campaign during a news conference Wednesday, May 15, and the message from TxDot, DPS and LPD was “Seat belts make a difference.”

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An employee in the shop bay of the Frenship ISD bus barn was injured during an explosion Wednesday morning, May 15.

Frenship Police Chief Gerardo Arranaga said the employee was cutting into a 50-gallon barrel with an acetylene torch.

“He believed it was empty,” Arranaga said.

The barrel was not empty, but Arranaga said he did not know what was inside — only that it was flammable. He said the employee was struck by the lid of the barrel and suffered “minor injuries,” as well as burns.

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Another ace for Pistol Annies

The Pistol Annies, “Annie Up” (RCA Nashville)

“Annie Up” is a good title for the Pistol Annies’ second album. Like the gambling term it playfully puns, the title underscores that this brash trio is raising the stakes, investing more time, effort and artistic nerve into its new 12-song collection.

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Plans are moving to the next phase after more than 20 months of discussion by the Imagine Lubbock Together steering committee and contributions from more than 2,000 Lubbockites at community forums since last fall.

And that phase could mean more bike trails along the Canyon Lakes, eye-appealing gateways to the Hub City and more shopping centers, organizers hope.

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The High Plains Underground Water Conservation District Board on Tuesday, May 14, reminded area groundwater well owners and operators they have until June 1 to report groundwater production for calendar year 2012.

Operators are required to record groundwater production from wells or well systems either through use of a flow meter or an alternative measuring method, such as natural gas consumption, electricity consumption, or nozzle packages and hour-meter readings on center pivots, said district spokesman Carmon McCain.

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Student described as suicidal detained

Texas Tech police and medical personnel detained a female Tech student who alarmed officials by showing suicidal tendencies Tuesday afternoon, May 14, in the Tech chemistry building.

The student was described as despondent when she was taken by ambulance to a Lubbock hospital for observation just before 2 p.m. Tuesday, said Tech spokesman Chris Cook.

It was not clear if the student used or displayed a weapon or if she was injured, Cook said. No other injuries were reported.

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The next phase of an ongoing face-lift at Lubbock’s Citibus Downtown Transfer Plaza could come this year after Lubbock’s city council accepted a state grant earlier this month.

The $250,000 Texas Department of Transportation intercity bus grant will go toward finishing Citibus’ wish list, ranging from a new roof to fluorescent lighting to possibly replacing grimy grout and tile on the floor of the terminal’s passenger waiting area, said Maurice Pearl, general manager for Citibus.

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114th Street and Slide Road to stop all ways

On Thursday, May 16, the intersection of 114th Street and Slide Road will be converted to an all-way stop with stop signs.

Message signs alerting drivers of the upcoming change were installed last week for northbound and southbound traffic.

The city of Lubbock analyzed the amount of vehicles at the intersection and compared it with the criteria established in the Texas Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices in making the conversion.

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AUSTIN — With little time left in this session, a lawmaker is pleading to his colleagues to pass legislation aimed at investigating wrongful convictions to determine what went wrong so such mistakes can be avoided in future cases.

“This is a plea for help,” Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said in reference to House Bill 166, which would create the Timothy Cole Exoneration Review Commission. “So, I hope you get the word out.”

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Workers set off tire fire at warehouse

A warehouse tire fire, Tuesday morning, May 14, sent smoke into the air but caused no injuries.

Workers at C&D Waste were welding a tire shredder but forgot to remove tires from under the machine, which sparked the fire just after 10 a.m. at 505 Ave. G, Lubbock Fire Department Battalion Chief Shaun Fogerson said.

Fogerson said the fire was limited to what he called a small pile of tires but caused significant damage to the shredder.

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