Star-Telegram.com: News

Passenger's fall raises questions of whether scooters are properly secured on Fort Worth buses

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:15 CST

By GORDON DICKSON

One in an occasional series

Sitting in her three-wheel motorized scooter, Pamela Taylor thought she was safely strapped in for her bus ride home from the store, her chair held in place with safety hooks.

So nobody was more surprised than Taylor when, as the bus made a routine right turn, the scooter suddenly rolled into the aisle and toppled over, landing her in the lap of a fellow passenger.

"I’m barely getting around. I’m in constant pain," Taylor said in an interview after the Aug. 2 incident that left her with neck and back pain and a damaged scooter.

But what happened to Taylor, 48, raises questions about whether battery-powered scooters — commonly prescribed for people with limited walking ability — are being properly secured on local buses.

Officials at the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, known as the T, say the bus driver acted properly in trying to secure Taylor’s scooter, although it was difficult because the straps and hooks are designed to stabilize four-wheel devices such as wheelchairs.

"Our obligation is to tie the chair down, and we tied her chair down," T Executive Vice President Tony Johnson said.

Federal officials admit that the use of three-wheeled scooters, wheelchairs and other mobility aids are problematic. But while a study 15 years ago examined the number of injuries, it didn’t conclude that the scooters, which are more prevalent today, are a safety hazard on buses.

"Three-wheel and four-wheel scooters are allowed on transit vehicles," said Federal Transit Authority spokesman Paul Griffo. "Transit agencies must use the best means available to secure them."

Captured on video

Video from an onboard camera, reviewed by the Star-Telegram, shows the T bus driver, Tracie Burns, fastening three floor-mounted straps with hooks to Taylor’s scooter — two to the rear and one to the front — at the beginning of Taylor’s ride.

But Burns didn’t attach a fourth strap to the scooter — a three-wheel vehicle — because she couldn’t find a suitable place to affix it, other T officials said. Burns could not be reached to comment.

Sixteen minutes into the ride, as the Route 14 bus turned from southbound Riverside Drive to westbound East Lancaster Avenue, Taylor let go of a railing to shield her eyes from the sun. At that point, her scooter rolled into the aisle and toppled over, the video shows.

Taylor fell partly onto a vacant seat and partly into the lap of another passenger and a stroller-type cart. Other passengers helped her up; she did not request immediate medical attention.

Taylor, who uses a scooter because sciatic nerve pain makes it difficult for her to walk long distances, said she began hurting shortly after the fall as the bus continued on its route.

The driver then called for a T supervisor, and at the end of her shift she filed an incident report.

Taylor hired lawyer David Cantu of Fort Worth to represent her claim seeking reimbursement for medical bills and scooter repairs. She said she decided to hire a lawyer two days after her fall.

"I’m still waiting to get my scooter fixed," said Taylor, who has completed about a dozen of 17 physical therapy sessions at a west Fort Worth clinic, which she is asking the T to pay for. "I’m going to therapy still. I’m just waiting to get a response from them."

Improvisation

After reviewing the tape of Taylor’s fall, the T’s Johnson agreed in an interview that perhaps Burns should have tried harder to find a place to attach the fourth strap to Taylor’s scooter.

TCC broadens eligibility for Stars of Tomorrow scholarships

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:31 CST

By BILL HANNA

HURST — Freshman Tyler Beaubien was going to Tarrant County College whether he received financial assistance or not.

But Beaubien, 18, of Grapevine, was ecstatic when he found out in early October that he qualified for one of TCC’s Stars of Tomorrow scholarships, which would pay his tuition.

"This was huge," said Beaubien, a student at the Northeast Campus, in Hurst. "It would have been very tight. We would have put our heads together and found a way to pay for my tuition, but this has made a big difference."

For Beaubien, a Carroll Senior High graduate, that meant $800 this semester, enough to cover his tuition plus $150 for textbooks. He also received a $300 gift card for textbooks.

He is one of the students who qualified when TCC expanded the income thresholds for a family of four from $57,000 to $77,000. Many of the families’ incomes were too high for federal or state aid but low enough that tuition was still a burden.

"What we ended up with is actually very few scholarships," interim Chancellor Erma Johnson Hadley said. "If you qualify for financial aid that is what you get first. Our scholarship picks up after financial aid has been exhausted."

A big help

Recipients must graduate in the top half of their class, live in Tarrant County and attend an orientation class.

"Before income thresholds were increased, we had 43 students eligible for funding," said David Ximenez, district director of financial aid. "After the income thresholds were increased, we have gone up to at least 174 students."

Ximenez projects that 225 students could be eligible, still a relatively small number that TCC officials hope will grow in coming years.

Beaubien’s father, Cliff Beaubien, who was injured several years ago and can’t work, said the scholarship will help. His wife works, and he collects a disability check.

"Times are tough," Cliff Beaubien said. "It’s going to help us out immensely."

Tyler Beaubien plans to attend TCC again next year and hopes to transfer then to the University of North Texas in Denton and major in business.

Expanding the program

Stars of Tomorrow was created last year using natural gas royalties and corporate donations. As of Sept. 30, the fund had more than $14 million. Scholarships are funded from the interest of the endowment.

TCC officials hope to expand the fund someday to cover all Tarrant County high school graduates, said Bill Lace, interim vice chancellor for administrative and community services. Whether that happens depends on natural gas prices and how quickly the fund grows.

But the program could be expanded to reach all high school graduates who meet the income threshold regardless of whether they finish in the top half of their class.

"If we do open it up to all high school graduates, there would still be some element of merit, perhaps a bridge program they have to successfully complete, possibly in the summer," Lace said.

About 16,000 of TCC’s 44,355 students receive financial aid. Of those, about 13,700 receive federal aid, and the remainder receive TCC assistance.

Stars of Tomorrow Public and private high school graduates who finish in the top half of their class are eligible. To continue receiving the scholarship, students must pass two-thirds of all semester hours and maintain a 2.25 grade-point average. Students must also complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid and attend an orientation and advisement session. The priority deadline for the spring semester was Nov. 1, but applications will still be processed. The deadline for summer sessions is April 15. Information: 817-515-8223 or www.tccd.edu/Student_Services/Financial_Aid/Stars_of_Tomorrow/Requirements.html

Fort Worth girl, 16, fatally shot in head

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:40 CST

By DEANNA BOYD

FORT WORTH — Police are continuing their investigation of a suspected gang-related shooting Saturday night that left a 16-year-old girl dead.

Police said the victim, Zuly Ledesma, had been riding in a vehicle with her boyfriend, the apparent intended target of the shooting, when she was shot shortly after 11 p.m.

According to police, Ledesma and her boyfriend had been traveling westbound on Seminary Drive and stopped at a red light at the south entrance of La Gran Plaza, formerly known as Town Center mall.

A vehicle occupied by at least four to five people, pulled alongside in the left turn lane and began yelling at Ledesma's boyfriend, police said. The boyfriend was attempting to drive away, when someone in the suspect vehicle opened fire at his car, striking Ledesma once in the head, police said.

The boyfriend drove about a block, pulling into convenience store parking lot where emergency crews were summoned. Ledesma was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 7:50 a.m. Sunday.

No arrests had been made as of Monday morning, police said.

Obituary: Jimmy Ho established the Tu Hai Vietnamese-Chinese restaurant

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:26 CST

By MITCH MITCHELL

HALTOM CITY — For years, the doors to Tu Hai restaurant in Haltom City never closed during the day.

Seven days a week — Thanksgiving and Christmas, too — owner Jimmy Ho opened his restaurant at East Belknap and North Beach streets, cleaned up a little and started cooking his Vietnamese-Chinese foods, which became a staple of meals for thousands of North Texans.

But the doors have been closed since Thursday, Mr. Ho, 57, collapsed at his Fort Worth home and died.

A ruling on his death is pending.

Mr. Ho spent more than 25 years turning his small eatery into a North Texas magnet for people who wanted good food and friendly service.

Repeatedly, Tu Hai was named by more than one publication as the best place for Vietnamese cuisine in the area. According to his family, some of his customers would not eat without him.

"Our customer base really valued my father’s presence," his son Tim Ho said. "He knew exactly what they wanted and how they wanted it. A good percentage of the customers didn’t want to deal with me. I’d come up, and they wouldn’t even let me take their order. They would be like, 'Where’s Jimmy?’ I’d say, 'Give me a minute’ and go tell him. He would stick his head out from the back, give them a wink and a nod, and it would be a done deal."

The restaurant was more than a business, relatives said. Customers were part of the family. His customers’ children would come home from college with their own children in tow, his sons said.

And those customers came from diverse backgrounds. They included state judges, lawyers, police officers, construction workers, priests, electricians and teachers.

Mr. Ho would greet them with a hug and say, "Hey, what are you doing here?" Now signs have been placed in the restaurant’s doorway announcing the temporary closure. Customers have called the family to ask whether the signs are true. Is Jimmy really dead?

Victoria Gutierrez of Fort Worth stood in shock Sunday afternoon as she read the signs.

"I’ve been coming here for more than 10 years," Gutierrez said in Spanish. "He was such a good man. I didn’t even know his name, but when I walked in he knew exactly what I wanted to eat."

Tu Hai is scheduled to reopen Nov. 16.

"When I go back, it will be hard," said Lee Ho, the oldest son. "There are so many memories of him around there. I will be reminded of him constantly. I will have to keep telling the customers the same story over and over. The wounds will never heal. But I know what he would want me to do. He would want me to be strong."

He is the logical person to keep the restaurant going — to keep this extended family intact, Lee Ho said. It will be difficult because Lee Ho and Mr. Ho were not just father and son but also best friends. They lived together, worked together, laughed together — a lot, the sons said.

"The night before he died we were joking around watching the World Series, watching the Mavericks," Lee Ho said. "My dad was a storyteller. I’m not sure how accurate the stories were, but they were entertaining. My dad was the comedian type."

But the comedian had a mind like a steel trap, his sons said. Mr. Ho remembered his customers’ favorite dishes, their favorite sauces and whether they wanted their meals served with one extra bowl or two so they could share. Mr. Ho memorized children’s names, where they went to school and their birthdays, the sons said.

"He really cared about his customers," Lee Ho said. "I know that there are people who would come in who were hungry and didn’t have any money, and he would let them start a tab. There are people who came there who have never paid their tab. He would feed homeless people. On cold days, he would bring them hot meals and tea. He had a big heart."

Mr. Ho left Vietnam about 30 years ago after the Viet Cong had taken everything the family owned, his sons said. They lived in India, then Seattle, then Texas, where Mr. Ho worked for the U.S. Postal Service, at the airport and at the restaurant he bought and made his own, the family said.

The restaurant had fallen on hard times, and his father initially worked seven days a week and every holiday, Tim Ho said. After the family pleaded, Mr. Ho finally agreed to close Sundays. Closing time was 8 p.m., but Mr. Ho would serve those who arrived as late as 7:59 because of his loyalty to his customers, Tim Ho said.

Slight chance of rain in Fort Worth area this morning

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:43 CST

By ANDREW YOUNG

For those wondering if you should keep your umbrella around, there is a 20 percent chance of rain showers in Tarrant County this morning.

The chance of rain will end by noon and it will be partly cloudy for the rest of the day, said Dennis Cavanaugh, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

An upper-level, low-pressure system over North Texas is the cause for the rain chance, Cavanaugh said. The system will move northeast by noon, he said.

According to the weather service, it will be mostly sunny for the rest of the week until Saturday when there will be a 20 percent chance of rain.

Hurricane Ida is not the cause of the possibility of rain today, Cavanaugh said. As Hurricane Ida moves on shore in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, it will bring drier air to Tarrant County, but the effect will be nothing more than a slightly windier day, he said.

Hurricane center officials said that Ida will make landfall about 6 a.m. Tuesday between the east Louisiana coast and the Florida Panhandle coast, Cavanaugh said.

The high today is expected to be in the mid-70s. Tuesday will be partly cloudy with a high in the mid-70s, as well.

Quicksilver posts profit, on pace for record production

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:44 CST

By JACK Z. SMITH

Fort Worth-based Quicksilver Resources reported today a third-quarter net income of $0.7 million, or less than a penny per share, on revenues of $206.7 million. That compared to a net loss of $3.8 million, or two cents a share, on revenues of $236.3 million in the third quarter of 2008.

The natural gas producer said its third-quarter production averaged the equivalent of 311 milion cubic feet of natural gas per day, up 12 percent over a year earlier. Quicksilver "is on pace for a record production year," company CEO Glenn Darden said. Its third-quarter production in the Barnett Shale in North Texas was up 14 percent.

Quicksilver's third-quarter adjusted net income was $42.7 million, or 25 cents per share, compared to $69.8 million, or 40 cents per share, in the corresponding period in 2008.

The adjusted net income for the 2009 third quarter excluded net charges of $49.9 million associated with the company's ownership in Breitburn Energy Partners and an income tax expense of $9.6 million, while the 2008 third-quarter included a charge of $103.5 million for hedging losses associated with the the company's ownership in Breitburn and a charge of $9.6 million related to the company's settlement of litigation.

Darden said the company's performance for the first nine months of this year has been solid, despite a steep downturn in natural gas prices. In addition to being on pace for record production, the company "generated record cash flow through operating activities" and "reduced unit production costs nearly 30 percent," he said.

North Richland Hills offers grants to business to spruce up building exteriors

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:21 CST

By CHRIS VAUGHN

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS — About a year ago, Ash Azer bought a building on Davis Boulevard with intentions to fix it up for his Allstate Insurance business.

The building was years past its prime, the wood siding warped, the paint faded, the parking lot bumpy.

Azer started by building a monument sign and landscaping near the street. But he kept procrastinating on renovating the building because of the cost. He’s finally moving ahead, though, on a "total face-lift" because of a city revitalization program that will pay part of the cost.

"I found out about the free money," he said. "It’s awesome. I hope my neighbors will do it too."

Azer is one of a growing number of small-business owners who are learning about the Business Improvement and Growth program, overseen by the economic development office of North Richland Hills. The city, with 65,000 residents, is Tarrant County’s third–largest.

The program offers thousands of dollars in grants to small businesses in the older southern part of the city that would like to spruce up the exterior of their buildings, although the free money does come with some strings attached, including the requirement that pole signs be removed.

"The program has been very timely, given the recession," said Craig Hulse, the city’s economic development director. "It’s a way for a businesses to improve their looks and potentially gain more customers."

The program was drawn up for what officials call the city’s "mature corridors" of southern Boulevard 26, Davis Boulevard and Rufe Snow Drive, most of which have commercial properties that date back 30 years or more.

Many businesses along those stretches of road are locally owned and have neither the deep pockets nor design requirements of corporate chains.

The city will soon consider adding two streets, a section of Bedford-Euless Road north of Loop 820 and Glenview Drive west of Boulevard 26, based on interest from businesses in those areas.

"It’s basically the same market, and they’re in the same situation, so we’re getting a lot of inquiries from businesses there who want to participate," Hulse said.

Testimonial examples

Under the program, the city will provide up to $10,000 for facade improvements and up to $3,000 to build a monument sign. The city will also pay to remove a pole sign, provided it costs $2,000 or less.

The money comes from a development fund established with signing bonuses from energy companies that want to drill for natural gas on city-owned property.

Three businesses have used the grant program in the last year — two on Rufe Snow Drive and one on Davis Boulevard. Four others are in various stages of construction, and five have applied and are awaiting approval.

But word is spreading, and officials have handed out 15 applications in the last month.

"It’s been good for people to see examples on the street," Hulse said. "They tend to be testimonials."

It’s part of a significant public investment in the southern sector of the city that also includes two recently approved intersection overhauls and the planned burial of utilities.

Richland Hills and North Richland Hills have agreed to split the costs of improving the intersections at Boulevard 26 and Glenview and Boulevard 26 and Rufe Snow, both of which will receive new lights, landscaping and cobblestone crosswalks. And the North Richland Hills City Council has enlarged a tax increment financing district to help pay for burying the utilities on its side of Boulevard 26.

"We’re hoping the public investment will help to stimulate private investment," city spokeswoman Mary Peters said.

Fort Hood suspect attended Virginia mosque linked to 9-11 hijackers

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:31 CST

By BARRY SHLACHTER

The suspect in the Fort Hood shootings once regularly attended a mosque in Falls Church, Va., that the FBI has linked to two of the 9-11 hijackers, but the congregation’s spiritual leader said Sunday that the government’s claims of connections are wrong.

In 2001, the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center was led by Anwar Al-Awlaki, a New Mexico-born scholar now living in Yemen. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, according to new disclosures by a Fort Hood acquaintance, was an admirer of Al-Awlaki, who has been described as a radical Islamist.

The 9-11 Commission report accepted FBI findings that two of the hijackers, Nawaf al-Hamzi and Hani Hanjour, briefly worshipped at the mosque after one met Al-Awlaki during the imam’s religious posting in San Diego. But the FBI found no evidence that Al-Awlaki had prior knowledge of the attack, The Washington Post reported.

Shaker el Sayed, the mosque’s current imam, said the FBI turned over to the commission the fact that two of the hijackers used the mosque as their home address on driver’s license applications. El Sayed ridiculed that as a specious link, saying that even FBI agents he met could not provide credible proof of a connection with the congregation.

Moreover, no congregant remembers seeing either al-Hamzi or Hanjour at Dar, one of the capital area’s oldest and largest mosques, the imam told the Star-Telegram.

No luck finding a wife

El Sayed said he spent time with Hasan but that was after being asked to assist the bachelor psychiatrist find a wife.

"I met him personally because he sought my help to get him married. This was unsuccessful," said the imam, who said he learned little of the man’s worldview.

Like most worshippers, he said, Hasan "joined prayers, finished prayers, then left. I didn’t see him hanging out with people, joining discussion groups or classes. But there has been a lot of blogging about our mosque, a right-wing conspiracy, trying to make a mountain out of cardboard."

Contrary to many reports that Hasan was a brooding loner in Killeen, a more detailed picture has surfaced: He had at least one close friend, an Army officer who had converted to Islam several years ago. They had worshipped through the night together during the final days of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting holiday.

Kamran Pasha, a Pakistani-American novelist, quoted the Fort Hood officer as saying he befriended the Army psychiatrist, prayed with him hours before Thursday’s mass killings and had once challenged Hasan’s view that Islam condoned suicide bombings.

Hasan also said Jews were "cursed by God," according to the officer, who had contacted Pasha long before the shootings to discuss his novel, Mother of the Believers, an account of Islam’s beginnings as seen through the eyes of the Prophet Muhammad’s wife Aisha. The officer, a 22-year Army veteran, declined to be identified or speak to reporters because of his past work in special operations in Iraq, Pasha said. No independent corroboration could be made Sunday.

War on Islam?

The following is what the officer purportedly told of his relationship with Hasan, according to Pasha:

At their first meeting, in July, Hasan said that the war on terror was a war on Islam and that Muslims should have no part in the U.S. military.

Despite his disagreement, the career officer and Hasan were to forge a friendship. Hasan also got to know the officer’s family, and the 10-year-old son, who wanted to study medicine, began to consider the Army psychiatrist as a role model.

The officer respected Hasan’s evident piety and they often met at Killeen’s mosque, which Hasan attended daily. But Hasan’s black-and-white interpretation of Islam affording no room for nuance or debate, sometimes led to flare-ups between the two men. At the mention of Al-Awlaki, he recalled, Hasan’s eyes "lit up."

Another hint of radicalism surfaced when Hasan angrily told the officer that he should not have asked a group of Muslims whether the Taliban followed Muhammad’s true path or were misguided. While others present defended the right to ask, the officer was taken aback by Hasan’s vehemence, which transformed what had been an amiable gathering.

Prayers before rampage

At pre-dawn prayers Thursday, the imam asked the officer to recite the call to worship, or azan.

Grocers irked to find out soy milk nonorganic

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:06 CST

By BARRY SHLACHTER

Organic-food shoppers are making a rude discovery at their grocers’ refrigerated display case.

"White Wave Silk Vanilla Soymilk is no longer Organic," declares a hand-lettered sign at the two Sunflower Shoppes in Tarrant County.

Silk has more than 70 percent of the market. Until this month, Sunflower routinely re-ordered it, thinking it was certified organic.

But its maker, Dallas-based Dean Foods, quietly removed the word "organic" from the familiar blue cartons Jan. 15 and switched to cheaper beans — not genetically modified but likely grown with chemical fertilizer and possibly pesticide — then called it "all natural" soy milk.

Dean did not change the product’s identifying bar code or package design, nor did it significantly alter the price — moves that would have triggered scrutiny by store owners, some of whom now feel duped. A number of other Silk products were similarly changed from organic without a new bar code, Dean confirmed.

A reintroduced Silk organic line — in green cartons — carries new bar codes but is not as widely available.

"We don’t want to be part of customer deception," said Erika McCarthy, a member of the third generation of her family to operate the Sunflower health food stores in Fort Worth and Colleyville.

Dean says it gave advance notice to its distributors and blamed them for not following through with independent grocers like Sunflower. It released to the Star-Telegram a form letter that distributors were supposed to send to retailers explaining that the nonorganic soy milk would carry the organic product’s bar code. National distributors Tree of Life and UNFI did not respond to repeated requests for comment.Specialty food markets contacted in California, Delaware and Texas said they did not discover the switch for six to nine months.

None has yet to be notified about the reformulation of what had been their stores’ biggest-selling soy milk product, they said.

Roy Beard, who has operated Roy’s Natural Market in Dallas for 41 years, said he hadn’t realized there was a change until contacted by a reporter last week. He said retaining the same bar code "was troubling," but "I don’t believe in soy milk anyways, although I stock it for customers."

McCarthy said: "Did we miss something? Our concern is that if it’s going from 'organic’ to 'natural’ we need to be informed. But we only found out about it now."

What it means

The "all natural" label on Silk cartons is a loose term, in contrast with "certified organic," which has strict federal guidelines that products must meet.

"Dean has only added to the marketplace confusion between 'natural’ and 'organic,’ as they definitely do not mean the same thing, and 'natural’ requires no verification whatsoever," said Urvashi Rangan, a senior scientist at Consumer Reports.

Sara Loveday, a spokeswoman for Dean’s WhiteWave unit, said "all natural" means that the drink contains no artificial ingredients and that the soybeans used were not genetically modified.

However, such soybeans are still typically grown with chemical fertilizers and synthetic pesticides when necessary, said professor Gary Stacey, associate director of the National Center for Soybean Biotechnology at the University of Missouri.

Dean carefully tests the beans for toxic residue, Loveday said.

Moreover, she said, the bean’s pod "naturally shields" it from chemicals, and a hull layer serves as a further barrier against contamination, which is true for all soybean varieties.

The new soy milk does not violate government labeling regulations because Dean rewrote its ingredient list and removed any organic reference.

But as American shoppers become increasingly concerned about food safety and the content of what they consume, the Silk product changes raise questions about marketplace integrity. Tipped off by the Cornucopia Institute, an organic-industry watchdog group, the nonprofit Organic Consumers Association launched a boycott of Silk-brand products this summer over the labeling issue. Silk products have not been affected, Loveday said.

Imam of mosque Hasan once attended denies alleged link to 9/11 hijackers

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:35 CST

By BARRY SHLACHTER

The suspect in the Fort Hood shootings once regularly attended a Falls Church, Va., mosque, which the FBI has linked to two of the 9/11 hijackers, but the congregation's current spiritual leader Sunday insisted the government's claims of connections are wrong.

In 2001, Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center was led by Anwar Al-Awlaki, a New Mexico-born scholar now living in Yemen. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, according to disclosures by a Fort Hood acquaintance, was an admirer of Al-Awlaki, who has been described as a radical Islamist.

The 9/11 Commission report accepted FBI findings that two of the hijackers, Nawaf al-Hamzi and Hani Hanjour, briefly worshiped at the mosque after one had met Al-Awlaki during the imam's previous religious posting in San Diego. But the FBI found no evidence that Al-Awlaki had prior knowledge of the attack, The Washington Post reported.

Shaker el Sayed, Dar's current imam, said the FBI turned over to the commission the fact that two of the hijackers used the mosque as their home address on driver's license applications, which el Sayed ridiculed as a specious link, noting that even FBI agents he met could not provide credible proof of a connection with the congregation.

Moreover, no congregant remembers seeing either al-Hamzi or Hanjour at Dar, one of the capital area's oldest and largest mosques, the imam told the Star-Telegram.

No luck finding wife

El Sayed said he spent time with Hasan, but that was after being asked to assist the bachelor psychiatrist find a wife.

"I met him personally because he sought my help to get him married. This was unsuccessful," said the imam, who learned little of the man's world view.

Like most worshipers, Hasan "joined prayers, finished prayers, then left," he said. "I didn't see him hanging out with people, joining discussion groups or classes. But there has been a lot of blogging about our mosque, a rightwing conspiracy, trying to make a mountain out of cardboard."

Contrary to numerous reports that Hasan was a brooding loner in Killeen, a more detailed picture of Hasan has surfaced that said he had at least one close friend, an Army officer who had converted in Islam several years ago. They had worshiped through the night together during the final days of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting holiday.

Kamran Pasha, a Pakistani-American novelist, quoted the Fort Hood officer as saying he befriended the Army psychiatrist, prayed side-by-side with him hours before Thursday's mass killings and had once challenged Hasan's view that Islam condoned suicide bombings.

Hasan also argued that Jews were "cursed by God," according to the officer, who had contacted Pasha long before the shootings to discuss his novel, Mother of the Believers, an account of Islam's beginnings as seen through the eyes of Prophet Mohammed's wife Aisha. The officer, a 22-year Army veteran, declined to be identified or speak to reporters because of his past work in special operations in Iraq, Pasha said. No independent corroboration could be made Sunday.

War on Islam?

The following is what the officer purportedly told of his relationship with Hasan, according to Pasha:

At their very first meeting in July, Hasan insisted that the war on terror was actually a war on Islam and that Muslims should have no part in the U.S. military.

Despite his disagreement, the career officer and Hasan were to forge a friendship. Hasan also got to know the officer's family, and the 10-year-old son, who wanted to study medicine, began to consider the Army psychiatrist as a role model.

The officer respected Hasan's evident piety and they often met at Killeen's mosque, which the psychiatrist attended daily. But Hasan's black-and-white interpretation of Islam that afforded no room for nuance or debate sometimes led to flareups between the two men. At the mention of Al-Awlaki, he recalled that Hasan's eyes "lit up."

Another hint of radicalism surfaced when Hasan angrily told the officer he should not have asked a group of Muslims if the Taliban followed Prophet Mohammed's true path or were misguided. While others present defended the right to ask, the officer was taken aback by Hasan's vehemence, which transformed what had been an amiable gathering.

Prayers before rampage

At predawn prayers Thursday, the officer was asked by the imam to recite the call to worship, or azan. But before he could begin, Hasan rose from his seat and performed the ritual, smiling and winking at his friend.