Arlington TX Police Department Shows Students a New Way of Training

By
Nikki Frisby
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To give academy students a better insight into what it actually means to be a police officer and make decisions under stress, the Arlington Police Department recently purchased a firearms training simulator.

This simulator was determined to be a significant addition to the AISD Dan Dipert Career and Technical Center, and cost around $95,000. According to the Arlington Police Chief Will Johnson, the physical training exercises are typically labor intensive and can’t be done too often.

This amazing piece of technology, however, can provide training 24/7 to up to four people at once. The simulator is called Ti Training Corp TL-102, and it’s a high-definition, ultra-wide screen that transforms a 32-foot-wide wall into dangerous scenarios where the young police officers can test their skills.

The Chief further explained that the primary purpose of this simulator is to teach students to try to find non-lethal options when they are making decisions under enormous pressure. “Their job can be dangerous at times. We also want to equip them with the skills to de-escalate in all instances that they can to avoid the use of force”; said the Chief.

Ti Training Corp TL-102 provides 600 scenarios, and the scenarios will be updated every year. In those scenarios, students can find themselves in a slew of different kinds of situations from school shootings to answering domestic violence calls. Their response will trigger a reaction chain that will lead to the actual outcome.

“Reality based training has proven to provide the greatest opportunity for officers to enhance their decision-making skills under stressful conditions and improve the likelihood for successful outcomes. This technology will expand our current reality-based training efforts while also serving as a tool to begin to develop the decision-making skills of our potential future employees through our Hometown Recruiting Program with AISD”; stated Chief Johnson.

An Admin of the Arlington TX Optimist Program Arrested for Child Pornography

By
Nikki Frisby
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One of the former administrators of the Optimist Program in Arlington, who also worked as a
coach in for a youth football league, is facing federal charges for possession of child
pornography and sexual abuse of a child. The 40-year-old Arlington resident Carlos Alberto
Guzman was arrested on these charges in July of this year.

During his career, Guzman worked as commissioner of the football program in the club. He was
coaching the Pope Panthers, Optimist Vikings, and Lamar Vikings 7-on-7 teams. Allegedly, the
victims were young boys.

Guzman allegedly possessed child pornography and abused one child continuously. The
Optimist Club claims that the Board of Directors never received any accusations of misconduct
for the actions of Guzman, neither while he was with the organization nor after that.
Guzman purportedly left the organization in 2016 because he wanted to pursue other interests
not connected to the club.

The statement from the club further claims that the organization runs criminal background
checks as well as sex offender checks on each and every member that participates in the
program. Guzman’s background check did not amount to anything, which allowed him to work in
the youth programs.

Last year, it was by parents of children in the league that the Arlington Voice was made aware
that Guzman was being investigated for these crimes. The police department was then
contacted, and it was confirmed that the Crimes Against Children Division was reviewing the
evidence connected to the alleged crimes committed by the club administrator.

Guzman is currently being held in Tarrant County Greenbay Unit under a $22,500 bond, waiting
to face a grand jury which, according to the District Attorney’s office, will happen before the end
of October.

37 Years After his Nephew’s Disappearance, a Tarrant County Man is Charged with Murder

By
Nikki Frisby
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Just a few miles away in the city of Mansfield, there has recently been a horrifying confession that has left an entire community shaken to the core. After the police decided to take another look into a cold case from 1981, a new and more
gruesome act of cruelty hit the headlines.

37 years ago, Terry Lee Woodson told the police that his nephew Anthony Tyrone Woodson, who they called Burt, had been kidnapped from in front of a 7-11 convenience store. Woodson explained that he had left the five-year-old asleep in the back seat of his car when he went inside to make a purchase. After returning, Woodson claimed that he went home without even noticing that the child was gone. He reported the incident as a kidnapping, testifying that he saw another car pull up to his before returning to the vehicle from inside the store.

The police searched for the boy, but the investigation never yielded further evidence.
But then, in May of this year, the Mansfield police re-opened the case and decided to talk to Woodson Lee Woodson once again. After they interviewed him multiple times, he finally
confessed that Burt had not, in fact, been kidnapped. Instead, he and his wife Della Woodson had beaten the child to death with an electrical cord.

Apparently, the beating took place as a disciplinary measure. After they finished beating the boy, they left him in his room without providing medical care. Woodson admitted that if he, at that point, had gotten Burt to a doctor, he might have survived. After the boy passed away, Woodson wrapped him in blankets and drove him to a four-acre property where he left him in some bushes on the side of the road.

The police searched through the very area indicated by Woodson, both in ’81 and again after the recent interviews, but never found any remains. However, they did have enough to pin the murder to the uncle, and on August 16th, 2018, he was arrested on a murder warrant with a $200,000 bond. Police have asked anybody with any information connected to the case to please step forward.

Limitless Gaming Holds Super Smash Bros. Tournament in Arlington TX

By
West Myers
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On Saturday, October 6, 2018, Limitless Games was packed. Although Limitless Games is usually a trading card game store, players from all over DFW had gathered there to compete in a video game tournament for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is a fighting video game made by Nintendo featuring many of video games’ biggest stars. Despite originally being designed as a party game that showcased Nintendo’s mascots, the Smash Bros. series eventually grew into a popular competitive game, with some tournaments featuring more than 2,000 players.

However, Limitless Games wasn’t hosting an audience of 2,000. The tournament of the evening, Divine Light 4, had only attracted around 45 people. For Limitless Games, this was a great turnout; it was about all that the store could hold in addition to its normal card game audience. Plus, this tournament was special.

That night, all of Arlington’s best players had come out to defend their turf. A group of players from Denton had driven into town for a crew battle, where two teams of players face off in a series of one-on-one matches until one team runs out of players to send in. The rivalry between Arlington’s team and Denton’s team had been going in the DFW Smash Bros. scene for months, so the crew battle was highly anticipated. Between 7PM and 8PM, the two teams cheered on their teammates and fought valiantly, but Arlington eventually claimed victory with two players remaining.

Despite the competitive rivalry, both teams showed great respect after the war had ended. Players were smiling, laughing, and talking about the matches together. Some players embraced each other to celebrate the healthy competition that had just occurred. It was a sight of unification. No matter who won, they were all players of the same game, and they were there to enjoy their digital sport.

After the crew battle, the main event began. Among the competition for the night’s one-on-one bracket was UT Arlington student Karthik “Karna” Manohar, who was ranked as the second-best player in DFW and at one point was just shy of reaching top 50 in the world. Karna’s world-class skill helped him secure a 3-1 victory over Faizan “Kurry” Mohammed in grand finals to win the first-place prize.

For a small trading card store on the west edge of the Arlington area, Limitless Games had seen a good night of business. Even though there was less than 50 people in attendance, the pool of competitors was unusually stacked with talent, and the Arlington vs. Denton crew battle had brought everyone together. By all accounts, Divine Light 4 was a big success.

In addition to holding the Divine Light tournaments once every month, Limitless Games also holds a weekly Super Smash Bros. tournament on Monday nights. Titled Skyworld Rumble, this tournament series often features between ten and fifteen of Arlington’s up-and-coming players. Attendance for Skyworld Rumble had struggled over the summer, but with the team at Limitless Games boosting their advertising efforts – and with a new Super Smash Bros. game being released in December – the Arlington player-base has seen a revival. Yet, this can be tied back to a bigger movement.

The growth of Esports has been prevalent in the Arlington community. UT Arlington’s Esports Club has seen great success in the past two years, and the new state-of-the-art Arlington Esports Stadium is set to host its inaugural event in late November. The Smash Bros. community at Limitless Games is a great example of the competitive gaming spirit that has helped Esports grow into a massive new industry. There are heated rivalries sometimes, and players are always looking to improve so they can beat their peers. But at the end of the day, it’s all about the game and the people you play it with.

Six Flags Over Texas Will Include the World’s Largest Loop Coaster in 2019

By
Nikki Frisby
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There’s exciting news for all the adrenaline junkies and roller coaster lovers in Arlington! Next year, all of Arlington will have the chance to ride the largest loop coaster in the world, soon to go up at Six Flags Over Texas.

The name of the coaster engineered and ready for construction is the Lone Star Revolution, and will stand 100 feet tall according to Sharon Parker, a spokeswoman for Six Flags. This adrenaline monster will be installed in Caddo Lake Barge and will be able to fit 32 people per ride.

This colossal coaster will offer its passengers unforgettable loops both forward and backward before letting them hang upside down for an extra adrenaline rush.
The Park President Steve Martindale stated the following: “The Six Flags brand is synonymous with innovation at the highest level, and we are excited to welcome another record-breaking attraction to an already stellar thrill ride arsenal; this Texas-sized loop coaster offers an intense, heart-pounding experience unlike any other ride in the park.”

The ride will offer a pendulum-style takeoff, shooting its passengers through 360 degrees of breathtaking revolutions and making pauses at the top to make hearts pound even more! It also uses exciting new coaster techniques for implementing more energy into the rides, such as sudden changes in direction halfway through the cycle.

This will be the14th coaster at Six Flags and will feature an interesting addition: faceoff-style seating, where people have to sit facing each other. The ride is expected to be available to residents and visitors to Arlington sometime in late spring
2019, and it will welcome everybody who wants to ride who satisfies the 48-inch height
requirement.

Three Self-Driving Cars from Drive.ai are Making Their Way into Arlington TX

By
David Hoang
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Arlington is known for many things, among them the fact that we’re the largest city in America that does not own a conventional, public bus system.

Back in 2013, this title changed for a short time when the City of Arlington decided to introduce a bus line called MAX, or Metro Arlington Xpress. The public line was shut down a few years later due to the small number of people actually using it.

But now, the City is experimenting with two new solutions that might solve the public transportation problem in Arlington in a way never imagined before.

Last year, the City signed a contract with Via after shutting down MAX. Via is a service similar to Uber or Lyft, but with a few differences that the insurance underwriters were happy to note. But in similarities, there is an app the customers can use to call a Via shuttle to come to pick them up. But then, the algorithms owned by Via assemble specific routes by grouping people who are traveling in the same direction. The vehicle service often asks the passengers to walk to a nearby access point so the shuttle can pick up all the passengers along the calculated route in the shortest period. And, thanks to the shared ride, the fares that riders pay are usually around 3-5$ per ride.

Right now, Via is hardly known in the city; a lot of the people haven’t even heard of it. Moreover, the service area where Via operates for the time being is limited. It includes the Arlington stadiums, Six Flags, the University of Texas, City Hall, and at least three high schools. The City is planning to broaden the service area in the future.

For now, this service is being heavily subsidized, and that’s where the City’s second transportation solution comes in.

Autonomous cars have the potential to lower the costs of Via due to eliminating the cost of drivers’ salaries. That’s why Arlington is experimenting with Drive.ai. With this exciting new decision, the city of Arlington became the first city of Texas that included self-driving transportation in its public transit plan.

“Drive.ai looks forward to the opportunity to bring our innovative self-driving technology to the City of Arlington. This forward-thinking, bustling city has unique transportation needs, and we plan to provide a last-mile transit solution within a vibrant entertainment district. Together with the city, we aim to reshape the way people experience transportation in Arlington, Texas,” said Conway Chen, vice president of business strategy at Drive.ai.

The vehicles will drive among operator vehicles at pre-determined routes with speeds that go up to 35 miles per hour. At first, safety drivers will sit in the Drive.ai vehicles as a precaution during a trial period. This program will be used to increase the mobility of residents and to help visitors getting to destinations in the city.

These three Drive.ai vehicles cost the City $434,952, and if all is good with the pilot, the City is planning to raise that number to five vehicles.

However, this is not the first time Arlington has tried autonomous transportation. Last year, the City offered the first self-driving shuttle pilot program called Milo. It was operating safely, but now the funding for the program has transitioned into the new Drive.ai launch.

Rangers Reveal “Going To The Show” Bronze Statue in North Plaza

By
Kitan Lawson
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0

Back in 2010, the Texas Rangers won their first American League pennant. And for every fan out there who remembers that top-ten moment in Rangers history, that memory is depicted powerfully with the newly revealed bronze sculpture, “Going To The Show.”

The “Going to the show” statue depicts the very moment when the Rangers’ catcher Bengie Molina jumped into the arms of Neftali Feliz after the final out of the pennant closing game.

The statue was crafted by Harry Weber. The city commissioned Weber asking to create a realistic sculpture of the famous embrace from that 2010 American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees at Globe Life Park in Arlington. The statue was unveiled at its new home, a North Plaza in front of the Globe Life Field. During the ceremony, Bengie Molina was there, and the ceremony emcee was the Rangers’ longtime PA announcer Chuck Morgan.

Arlington’s mayor Jeff Williams said, “One of the greatest dreams of any professional baseball team is to make it to the World Series, this statue celebrates the first time that happened here in Arlington and we’re extremely proud of the work by Harry Weber. Our residents can now remember and appreciate this important moment in Rangers history that happened right here in their hometown.”

“The Rangers want to thank the City of Arlington and its Parks and Recreation Board for taking the lead on this statue project,” said Rangers Executive Vice President of Business Operations, Rob Matwick. He also complimented Harry Weber for doing an outstanding job depicting one of the most iconic moments in the history of the Texas Rangers.

The sculpture is permanently posted at the North Plaza, allowing every Ranger fan to continue relishing the moment when the Texas Rangers went to their first World Series.

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