Texas

Garner Roberts

The city of Abilene has started prohibiting the operation of motorcycles, bicycles and other all-terrain vehicles in an area northwest of Lake Fort Phantom Hill.

The fenced area is near the intersection of Farm-to-Market roads 600 and 1082.

Harvey Rice

GALVESTON — Sheriff's officials were deciding whether the death of a man hospitalized after an all-terrain vehicle wreck near Crystal Beach would lead to additional charges for the driver.

Mark Carpenter, 45, of Crosby died Tuesday at the University of Texas Medical Branch, a spokeswoman said.

Jeremy Roebuck

EDINBURG — A Weslaco man convicted of dragging a 4-month-old puppy behind his all-terrain vehicle was sentenced Thursday to 6 months in county jail.

Jurors took more than six hours to settle on a sentence for 26-year-old Heriberto Zamora despite finding him guilty of animal cruelty charges in less than an hour Wednesday.

Jeremy Roebuck

EDINBURG — Heriberto Zamora Jr. never thought twice about walking his golden retrievers on a leash while zooming through Weslaco’s streets on an all-terrain vehicle.

The dogs liked to chase after him, he told jurors Tuesday, and he thought they could keep up — that is, until July 20, 2008, when his youngest pup, Ken, stumbled and was dragged several feet behind his four-wheeler.

Beth Kuhles

Four more major tracts are being assembled in Montgomery County for the Spring Creek Greenway, a 33-acre corridor for hiking, biking, boating and horseback riding.

In September, Legacy Land Trust signed a conservation easement for a 180-acre tract near the West Fork of the San Jacinto River, which includes 400-year-old bald cypress trees, cypress sloughs and neotropical birds. This month, Montgomery County and Legacy Land Trust finalized a deal with a chemical company and state and federal agencies to preserve 100 acres on Spring Creek west of Riley Fuzzel Road, which is expected to open to the public in 2010.

Libby Cluett

PALO PINTO COUNTY – What sits along the southwestern edge of the Brazos at Oaks Crossing almost resembles a Stonehenge or Avebury, two of England’s notable prehistoric stone circles.

But this stone semicircle of 81 boulders is new, put in place with heavy equipment to prevent motorized vehicles from passing through private property near this intersection of the Brazos River where Oaks Crossing Road, from the east, and Pleasant Valley Road, from the west, meet the river.

U.S. Forest Service

As gun deer hunting season begins, U.S. Forest Service officials are reminding hunters of guidelines designed to make their hunting trips to national forests and grasslands safe and enjoyable, while sustaining the health of the forests.

Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) use on the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas is restricted, according to Forest Supervisor Linda C. Brett.

Lisa Cortez

PENITAS - Two suspected smugglers accused of running over a border patrol agent with an all terrain vehicle are in federal custody. They were arrested after an all-out manhunt near Penitas last night.

NEWSCHANNEL 5 has learned the agent was walking on a levee, patrolling the area, when he was hit by two smugglers on the ATV. One is an adult, the other a juvenile.

Jared Taylor

PEÑITAS — Authorities arrested an 18-year-old who told investigators he rammed a U.S. Border Patrol agent with his ATV and fled the scene Tuesday night.

Orlando Lara, who had an underage passenger on the ATV, told investigators he rammed into Agent Anthony Gutierrez about 10:15 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Farm-to-Market Road 1427 and Military Highway near the Peñitas pump house, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in McAllen.