GRAND PRAIRIE -- Police arrested a 30-year-old teacher on Monday who worked in the Grand Prairie school district.

Robin Smith, of Grand Prairie, faces an indecency with a child charge after the issuance of an arrest warrant, according to authorities.

Investigators said in a press release that the alleged acts of indecency occurred in 2006 and 2007 with a 12-year-old victim.

Smith has been placed on administrative leave with pay. The case is currently under investigation, police said.

WASHINGTON — Prospects dimmed Monday for enactment of a $25 billion bailout for the faltering auto industry before year’s end as congressional Democrats and the Bush administration headed for a stalemate over the plan.

Help for Detroit’s Big Three, which have been battered by the economic meltdown that has choked their sales and frozen credit, is falling victim to a partisan fight over where the money should come from.

Senate Democrats propose denying bonuses to U.S. auto executives making more than $250,000 a year in exchange for giving the companies and their suppliers $25 billion in loans from the $700 billion Wall Street bailout. The companies would first have to give the government a plan for "long-term financial viability," according to a copy of the legislation obtained by The Associated Press.

The loans — which would start at 5 percent interest — would come from the second half of the financial-industry rescue money. The measure would also extend jobless aid to unemployed workers whose benefits have run out.

The White House and congressional Republicans insist that the automaker bailout money instead come from redirecting a $25 billion loan program approved by Congress in September to help the industry develop more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he will hold a test vote this week on a broad economic-aid plan — including spending on public-works projects, aid to cash-strapped states, an extension of jobless aid and the automaker loans — that most now concede has virtually no chance of passing.

If that fails, he will seek a vote as early as Wednesday on the auto-industry bailout and the unemployment benefits, Reid said.

"If we move forward, we can protect and create American jobs, help working families and prevent our economy from falling even further into recession," Reid said as he opened a postelection session. "I ask my colleagues to show the American people that in the face of tremendous economic pain and uncertainty, we will not wait until January."

The White House, meanwhile, took pains to clarify its position on the bailout, saying the administration "does not want U.S. automakers to fail." Press secretary Dana Perino said reporting on the White House’s statements on the issue has involved "attempts to shorthand the administration’s position."

Perino’s statement also made clear, however, that the administration steadfastly opposes drawing funds from the bailout plan to help Detroit. The White House opposes the idea of automakers’ getting an additional $25 billion.

The financial situation of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Llc. is growing worse.

"There’s a high degree of urgency" for federal action if GM is going to stave off a financial crisis, Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and chief executive, said Sunday in an appearance with United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger on WDIV-TV in Detroit.

Had JPS been equipped to serve critically ill patients in Arlington, Barbara Perkins may have lived to see her next birthday, her daughter believes.

On April 3, Perkins went to JPS Diagnostic & Surgery Hospital in Arlington after having a fever and cough for several days. Doctors diagnosed pneumonia, although a chest X-ray did not confirm it. What it did show was atherosclerosis of the aorta, a hardening of the heart’s arteries.

The 54-year-old Arlington woman was sent home with a prescription for antibiotics, said her daughter, Regina Thompson.

She died just hours later.

"If they diagnosed pneumonia and suspected it," Thompson said, "they should have admitted her."

JPS officials say patients wouldn’t typically be admitted with the symptoms that Perkins had, and they don’t believe that she died of pneumonia.

But the officials agree that the facility doesn’t have the equipment or personnel to handle seriously ill patients.

A committee of nine Arlington physicians and JPS officials says it wants to change that. The committee, appointed by County Judge B. Glen Whitley, is recommending to county commissioners that the facility be expanded into a full-service hospital.

"That was something we all had in mind," JPS Board President Steve Montgomery said. "The direction is, let’s grow this into a full-sized hospital."

County commissioners are expected to hear the committee’s report this month. At issue will be whether tax dollars should be used to expand the Arlington facility and whether John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth is at capacity. Officials have not yet estimated the cost of such an expansion or what the facility would look like.

"Nobody should think this is going to be quick and easy," committee Chairman Wes Jurey said. "It’s going to take some time and some commitment."

The JPS facility has been a longstanding point of contention in the Arlington medical community.

The 30 beds at the hospital, part of the taxpayer-financed Tarrant County Health District, have been mostly empty since JPS acquired it. That’s because the hospital doesn’t have an intensive care unit, won’t accept transfers of critically ill patients and can’t admit women in labor.

Signs at its entrance urged patients to go to an "emergency room" in the back of the building; however, patients who went there were told to go to other Arlington hospitals. As their emergency rooms overflowed, physicians at those hospitals began to wonder why the public hospital wasn’t treating needy patients.

"Really, what’s happening at local hospitals in Arlington is that we are providing a tremendous amount of care for JPS-eligible patients" who qualify for discounts, said Dr. Cynthia Simmons, medical director for Arlington EMS. "We think JPS Hospital has a responsibility to provide that care themselves, and the local hospitals should not be taxed with providing that care."

Arlington has fewer doctors and hospital beds per capita than the North Texas average, studies show. Yet the load of its needy patients is growing. Census reports show that 41 percent of Arlington families would qualify for the county’s discount program.

Montgomery said that JPS had not expected such demand when it purchased the hospital on New York Avenue three years ago. Officials believed that the hospital would draw privately insured patients, he said, and JPS had aimed a marketing campaign at such patients.

"What took us by surprise was how big a need [for indigent care] there was out there," he said. "It took us a couple of years to figure that out."

The hospital has largely provided outpatient services, such as scheduled radiological procedures. From November 2007 to January 2008, a total of 10 inpatients were admitted. It now is averaging about 19 patients a month, JPS said.

To ease pressure on other Arlington hospitals, Montgomery said that JPS is trying to expand care at its Arlington clinics. An urgent-care clinic opened next to the hospital in March, and officials planned to expand it. However, urgent-care clinics are not required to treat every patient who arrives, regardless of ability to pay. Federal law requires emergency rooms to do so.

Lewisville police have opened a homicide investigation in the case of an Alzheimer’s patient who disappeared from Dallas/Fort Worth Airport almost seven years ago, officials said Monday.

The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office has confirmed that skeletal remains found last year near Lewisville Lake are those of Margie Dabney and has ruled her death a homicide. Dabney died from head injuries, a spokeswoman for the office said Monday.

Candice Price, Dabney’s daughter, said the news was a shock to the family of the 70-year-old, who vanished during a layover Dec. 5, 2001.

The family held out hope for years that Dabney was being taken care of somewhere, Price said Monday. But last month, authorities asked the family for a DNA sample to compare with skeletal remains found last year near the lake.

"We really had to sit down and say, 'What if this is Mama?’ " said Price, 38, of Indianapolis. She began preparing herself for bad news and imagined that her mother, who was diabetic, might have died peacefully in her sleep.

"Now, to hear that somebody has killed my mother, that’s a blow to my heart," she said.

The medical examiner’s office could not determine when Dabney died or whether she was killed where her remains were found, spokeswoman Linda Anderson said. Police have no leads in the case, said Capt. Kevin Deaver, who oversees criminal investigations in the Lewisville Police Department.

Detectives began reviewing D/FW Airport police files from the disappearance last month, after Army Corps of Engineers workers discovered Dabney’s clothes and business cards near the area where the remains were found, he said.

D/FW Airport police officials could not be reached for comment Monday.

New state and local laws will require in-ground sprinkler systems installed next year to be more efficient at conserving water — which will also mean higher costs to customers.

Cities with populations over 20,000 have recently adopted or are working to adopt new ordinances that reflect state requirements for the installation of commercial and residential irrigation systems. Starting Jan. 1, customers will have to get permits and inspections for their sprinkler systems as well as a checklist of rules designed to better regulate outdoor water usage to reduce runoff and evaporation.

Dallas’ irrigation ordinance, which includes some rules that are stricter than the state regulations, will go before the City Council next month. Arlington’s irrigation ordinance is being considered today, and Fort Worth’s ordinance is still being drafted, city officials said.

Outdoor watering accounts for about 50 percent of public drinking water usage during the summer, city officials said. Last July, the city of Arlington treated an average of 97 million gallons of water a day to keep up with demand — 51 million more gallons per day than it treated in January, said Dustan Compton, Arlington’s conservation program coordinator.

And up to 50 percent of water for irrigation is wasted because people are overwatering, watering during the rain or heat of the day, or are watering impervious surfaces, officials said.

"One of the big issues is water conservation," said Lonnie Erwin, chief plumbing/mechanical inspector for Dallas. "We are having a hard time producing clean water for people to drink. When you see irrigation systems that are watering the streets or sidewalks, you are wasting water."

Permit required

Local irrigation companies say their additional costs for administrative fees, materials and time will be passed on to customers.

All sprinkler design plans, including those done by do-it-yourselfers, must now be reviewed and approved by the city. Some cities will charge a separate design review fee. In Dallas, that means the cost to permit a sprinkler will rise from $75 to $195, Erwin said. Others, like Arlington, include the cost of the review in its permit fee, which is expected to be $100 for residential customers and $150 for commercial customers. Fort Worth, which charges $53.31 for a permit and inspection, hasn’t decided on its new fees.

A typical residential sprinkler system will likely increase from $2,400 to $3,000, said Marty Jenkins, owner and president of Arlington-based The Lawn Brigade. And what is normally a one-day job today will likely take three times as long so the city can review design plans and inspect the system, Jenkins said.

Some new requirements include placing sprinkler heads no closer than 4 inches from a sidewalk or street to prevent overspray, adding valves to shut off the water flow in case of line breaks and installing automatic controllers with water conservation features.

Jenkins said he understands the importance of the conservation measures but he’s worried about the cost increases.

"There are some irrigators pretty upset about it," Jenkins said. "It’s going to at least triple our time."

More efficient

City officials say they are going to try to make the permitting process painless for customers. Most cities will be using their existing staff to handle the increase in workload.

"Our goal is to make this is as simple and as easy for the customer as possible," said Jim Parajon, Arlington’s director of community and development planning.

It’s not clear yet whether the new law will result in water savings. The most visible part of the law is the requirement that sprinklers be properly designed, Fort Worth spokeswoman Mary Gugliuzza said.

Installers will also have to show customers how the automatic controllers work. City officials say they have heard of customers with $3,000-plus water bills because sprinklers came on every day, even when not needed.

"The design is a key component," Gugliuzza said. "The second part is getting the homeowner to understand their system and secondly to operate them efficiently — to realize that watering every day is not efficient."

Staff writer Mike Lee contributed to this report.

Boy’s leg severed by train

FORT WORTH — A 7-year-old boy’s left leg was severed below the knee Sunday afternoon when he slipped under a train while playing on tracks near downtown, according to a police report. Anthony Bell was reported to be in good condition Monday at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas. Anthony was playing behind his baby sitter’s home in the 300 block of North Harding Street when the train passed about 2:30 p.m., according to the report. The Police Department’s crimes against children unit is investigating. — Deanna Boyd

Cigar-seeking robber strikes again

FORT WORTH — For at least the 12th time in about a month, the cigar-seeking robber has struck. The latest incident was about 4 a.m. Sunday at the 7-Eleven store in the 2800 block of Northeast 28th Street, police reported. The robber asked the clerk for a cigar, and when she opened the register, he demanded money. The clerk did not see a weapon but told police that the man kept his hand in his sweatpants as if he had a gun. Police have said 11 similar robberies have been reported since mid-October. Anyone with information is asked to call the robbery unit at 817-392-4370 or Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS.

— Deanna Boyd

City Streets club robbed

FORT WORTH — A masked man armed with a knife robbed the City Streets club in Sundance Square on Monday morning, police said. The manager was alone inside the closed club, 425 Commerce St., about 11:30 a.m. when she was confronted by the robber, who demanded money and tied her up, robbery Sgt. David Yerigan said. Anyone with information is asked to call the robbery unit at 817-392-4370 or Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS. — Deanna Boyd

Center wins $2 million grant

FORT WORTH — The University of North Texas Health Science Center has won a $2 million grant for geriatric training, school officials announced. The school received the award from the Las Vegas-based Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, which supports projects that prepare doctors to meet the needs of elderly patients. Dr. Janice Knebl will lead the health science center’s project. — Maria M. Perotin

Pharmacy program planned

IRVING — The University of Dallas is seeking accreditation for a doctor of pharmacy program and expects to enroll its first class in 2011, officials announced Monday. The university would be the only option in North Texas for people who want to become pharmacists. There is a nationwide shortage of pharmacists, and the demand in Texas ranks among the highest in the nation, according to the Pharmacy Manpower Project. George MacKinnon, previously a vice president at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, was named founding dean of the School of Pharmacy. The University of Dallas is a Catholic liberal arts school in Irving with about 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

— Maria M. Perotin

Town-hall meeting for police, TV

ARLINGTON — Residents are invited to a town-hall meeting to tour the new South Arlington Police Service Center and to learn about digital TV conversion. The meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Thursday at the service center, 1030 SW Green Oaks Blvd.

— Susan Schrock

Superintendent job posted

ARLINGTON — The school district posted an ad on its Web site Friday for a school superintendent, about a week after community members flooded a trustees’ meeting and demanded that the board rule out hiring a firm to do a national search. Trustees agreed, but state law requires the district to post the job opening for at least 10 days, they said. Many of those at the meeting said they favored interim Superintendent Jerry McCullough for the permanent post. According to the ad, requirements include experience as a superintendent, three letters of reference and an up-to-date résumé. Trustees also want someone proficient in seven areas. Those include: "creating a learning environment where all students, regardless of wealth or ethnicity, achieve equally" and "recommending innovative approaches for the delivery of instruction to children and general improvement of the district’s effectiveness." To see the full advertisement, go to www.aisd.net.

— Traci Shurley

Party hearty and donate a toy: The Margarita Society will kick off its next quarter of a century at the 26th annual Margarita Gala at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Arlington Convention Center. This legendary holiday shindig’s signature is that the cost of admission is a new unwrapped toy valued at a $40 minimum. Society president Tony Roth says two bands, Special Addition and Johnny D and the Doo Wops, will be cranking out great tunes for dancing the night away. Bart Thompson, vice president, says that guests will enjoy a fabulous casino, silent auction, tasty hors d’oeuvres and the ever-present complimentary margaritas. Last year, the event provided more than 3,000 gifts to needy children in the area, and Roth and Thompson hope to exceed that amount this year. The Santa Cops program of the Arlington Police Department generously collects the mountain of toys donated and distributes them to needy children in Arlington. For details about the event, visit www.arlingtonmargaritasociety.org. Directors are listed on the site, and they can be contacted with questions.

Pumpkin-patch thieves: Kudos to St. John the Apostle United Methodist Church on another successful Pumpkin Patch and Family Fun Day this year. They raised a record amount of money for youth missions. Organizer Aprill Oberkrom reports that 600 children scheduled visits with a live scarecrow storyteller during the monthlong event and that families had a great time with games, slides, foods and fun. The organizers are an energetic group that keeps the event, which is in its 13th year, open every day during October and that decorates the pumpkin patch with adorable yard art and other decor. Although the fundraiser was a success, things ended on a sad note when thieves made off with all the decorations and equipment. Visit www.stjohntheapostle.org/pumpkinpatch to view the event photos.

A downtown first: If any newcomers to town needed directions to Arlington’s Downtown-University District, I hope they didn’t miss the great Open House last Friday. Maggie Campbell said dozens of downtown businesses invited guests in for refreshments, entertainment, giveaways, fun activities and a chance to learn more about what they have to offer. O.K. Carter’s new downtown office was open for guests to sample his famous chili and to learn all about his media business; Randy Ford offered complimentary Irish nachos at J. Gilligan’s; and the Arlington Museum of Art and many other businesses hosted guests. This was the first unified open house in Arlington’s downtown, and it was great for everyone to see all the latest improvements and to experience the pedestrian-friendly feel of the area.

Even though everyone is entering the busy holiday season, don’t forget to send me your information.

Officials are refusing to release the results of a blood test conducted on state District Judge Elizabeth Berry after she was stopped by Alvarado police for speeding on Interstate 35W, but Berry has been charged with driving while intoxicated.

Johnson County Attorney Bill Moore said Monday that he approved the misdemeanor DWI charge late Friday after reviewing lab results from blood taken three hours after Berry was stopped Nov. 8. Authorities say she was driving 92 mph in a 65 mph zone.

Moore said he plans to ask the attorney general whether he has to release the results of the blood test. The Alvarado city attorney has refused to release video footage from the patrol car’s dashboard camera and instead is seeking an attorney general opinion as well.

The case was assigned to Judge Robert Mayfield of Johnson County Court-at-Law No. 1. However, Mayfield has asked that the case be reassigned because he was previously Berry’s supervisor in the Tarrant County district attorney’s office.

The case was then assigned to retired Senior Judge Bob Dohoney of Hill County. No court dates have been set.

Berry’s attorney, Mark Daniel, said the county attorney’s action was not unexpected.

"It doesn’t come as a surprise that he filed the case," Daniel said. "We’re more than prepared to defend against it."

Berry, 43, could face up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine if convicted of the Class B misdemeanor. She is free on $1,000 bail.

Alvarado Police Chief John Allen said last week that officers who stopped Berry for speeding about 4 p.m. noticed beer cans in her car and believed that she was acting intoxicated. After refusing a field sobriety test, she was arrested and taken to the Johnson County Law Enforcement Center in Cleburne. Officers obtained a warrant to take her blood after she refused a breath test, he said.

Even though Berry has now been formally charged, it is unlikely that she would be asked to step down from the bench, according to the Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Seana Willing, the commission’s executive director, said it would probably not investigate Berry until her criminal case is resolved unless someone files a complaint against her. The commission can also initiate its own investigation, but that wouldn’t happen before its meeting in early December, she said.

If the case is dismissed or if Berry is acquitted, the commission probably would take no action against her. However, commissioners could make additional inquiries and, if they determined the judge was impaired to some degree, they could recommend that she participate in a treatment program or order her to do so.

Even if Berry is convicted, Willing said, a misdemeanor conviction would not disqualify her from serving as a judge. She might be disciplined, Willing said, but it’s unlikely that she would be suspended unless she was convicted of official misconduct.

"Judges tend to get in trouble not because of a DWI but what they do during the situation," Willing said. "They throw their weight around and try to get out of it because they’re a judge. That’s why those videos can be helpful — to prove what the judge did or didn’t do."

It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt.

Or even killed.

David Slider, 22, who enjoyed riding his motorcycle faster than 100 mph, got lucky. While racing a car one morning in July 2007, Slider ran into the back of a pickup hauling windshields. He broke several bones and ruptured one of his vocal cords.

Slider was one of more than 130 motorcyclists who crashed their bikes in Arlington last year. Seven of them died; a helmet and a little luck likely saved Slider from being the eighth.

Slider attended the launch of Arlington’s SMART campaign — Safety Equipment, Motorcycle License, Awareness, Responsibility and Traffic Laws — on Monday at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Under the zero-tolerance campaign, officers will write more tickets to reckless motorcycle riders.

"We’re out here to let motorcyclists know that we are serious," said Chris Holder, a traffic officer with the Arlington Police Department. "We can go from writing multiple tickets to confiscating bikes if the situation deems necessary."

Motorcycle fatalities in Texas have increased 73 percent, from 229 in 2000 to 397 in 2007.

Arlington’s seven motorcycle fatalities in 2007 more than doubled the city’s total the previous year.

"Whenever I see a motorcyclist cut in and out of traffic, it just sends chills down my back," Slider said. "They aren’t thinking about the consequences."

ARLINGTON — These are troubled, uncertain, unsettling times for workers at General Motors’ Arlington truck assembly plant.

The company, long an icon of American industry, says it is running out of cash. Sales of new vehicles have plummeted for months as the oncoming recession and the credit crunch followed high gas prices.

Executives say GM could be forced to file for bankruptcy unless the federal government provides billions in loans or other direct financial aid immediately.

"I’ve got to tell you, we’re really scared," said B.J. Worley, who works in the body manufacturing shop. "I’ve got 25 years invested here. My father is drawing a pension from GM."

Barry Porter, another 25-year veteran of the Arlington plant, said he has seen the company go through good and hard times. "But bankruptcy and GM? I never saw that coming."

Porter and his colleagues say politicians, pundits and everyday citizens who don’t think the government should aid the company may not realize the gravity of the situation.

Workers say that if GM, or Ford or even Chrysler went out of business, the ripple effects would be more like a tsunami. Citing data provided by the company and industry groups, they say hundreds of thousands of other jobs, perhaps 5 million nationwide, would be affected as well.

"If the auto industry goes down, it’s going to have such a domino effect," Porter said. "It’s going to affect so many other businesses. And we’re already in an economic crisis."

With about 2,500 hourly and salaried workers and an annual payroll of $309 million, the plant is Arlington’s largest private employer and an enormous economic presence.

A handful of companies that supply components and services to the GM plant employ more than 1,700 workers with wages totaling $82 million, money that filters through the Arlington and greater Dallas-Fort Worth economies.

Some observers and pundits say the U.S. automakers have failed to adapt to the times, failed to make vehicles that consumers want and failed to take on the United Auto Workers union to slash bloated wages and benefits.

GM employees say the critics are wrong on all counts. Both hourly workers represented by the UAW and their salaried counterparts say the company has made enormous efforts to cut costs, improve efficiency and build world-class vehicles.

The UAW agreed to contract terms last year that included dramatically lower wages for new hires and the union’s taking on responsibility for providing healthcare benefits for tens of thousands of retirees and their families, an enormous financial burden long borne by GM.

"Three years ago, we would not have approved that contract," said Enrique "J.R." Flores, president of UAW Local 276 and a 28-year GM employee. "We’ve made some hard sacrifices."

And GM’s latest vehicles, employees say, are as good as anybody’s, in some cases better. The past two vehicles voted North American Car of the Year by auto writers were the Saturn Aura in 2007 and the Chevy Malibu in 2008, both made by GM.

"You look at the Malibu, it’s an outstanding product," said Ronnie Soriano, an engineer at the Arlington plant. "The Cadillac CTS, the Saturn Aura, we’ve closed the [quality] gap."

But now the economy is undercutting their efforts.

"We’ve seen downturns, but to go from 17 million [U.S. annual auto vehicle sales] down to 11 to 12 million, that’s taking out a third of the product," said Mike Stevens, a planning administrator at the plant.

All manufacturers, including Toyota and Honda, have been hammered by the sharp decline in sales. Toyota recently restarted its San Antonio pickup assembly plant after a three-month shutdown.

Even before sales of new cars and trucks plummeted after the credit crisis and stock market crash, GM had already shut down or announced plans to close several plants. White- and blue-collar employees are receiving pink slips with little hopes of ever getting their old jobs back.