Texas
Texas Legislature steps in to help with EMS shortage
SAN ANTONIO – Emergency medical companies are going through staffing shortages throughout the nation and in South Texas.
Issues present earlier than the pandemic had been solely amplified by COVID-19.
After six years as a fight medic for the Military, Angie Kenai determined to take her medical information to the streets as an EMT for Acadian Ambulance.
“You’re there for that individual of their worst second, and you bought to do the very best you may for them,” Kenai mentioned.
Final yr, Acadian launched an accelerated program to get extra EMTs and paramedics into the workforce. That’s how Kenai acquired right here.
Kristine Koerner, a recruiter for Acadian, says there’s nonetheless a scarcity.
“Not simply at Acadian, however nationally, EMS has taken such successful. The very last thing we would like is for somebody to name 911 and nobody be capable to present up,” Koerner mentioned.
Proper now Koerner says they’ve 14 paramedic openings, which retains 14 of the Advance Life Help vehicles out of service.
The Texas Legislature put aside $21.7 million for EMS training and retention as part of Senate Invoice 8 to assist with the scarcity.
“That funding permits people to return within the door that won’t have that chance elsewhere,” Koerner mentioned.
The Texas Division of State Well being Companies created the EMS training scholarship fund with that funding.
It’ll cowl the price of getting their EMT, superior EMT, or paramedic certification.
“The one factor that the state requires again from them is 96 hours of their time a month for one yr,” Koerner mentioned.
There’s additionally precedence given to individuals working in rural counties and underserved areas of our state.
Koerner hopes this may permit them to make up among the misplaced workforces and maintain serving individuals going through emergencies.
“Actually placing it to make use of to develop people internally to be sure that whenever you name 911, somebody’s going to indicate up at your door,” Koerner mentioned.
The qualification course of is open to anybody 18 years and older with a highschool diploma or GED.
To join this system with Acadian Ambulance, e mail kristine.koerner@acadian.com by the start of February. Registration formally closes by February twentieth, orientation is February 22 and the category begins on February twenty seventh.
You may as well join with the Nationwide EMS Academy.
Copyright 2022 by KSAT – All rights reserved.
Texas
TCU Volleyball Dominates Texas Tech on Senior Night
A common theme for No. 22 TCU has been their complete dominance on their home floor this season. The Horned Frogs finished the year 14-1 at Schollmaier Arena. On Friday night, in front of over 3,000 fans, TCU swept Texas Tech (25-14, 26-24, 25-11).
The four seniors honored by TCU were Melanie Parra, Cecily Bramschreiber, Stephanie Young and Ashlyn Bourland. All four players found ways to contribute as Parra finished with 14 kills and seven digs. Bramschreiber filled up the stat sheet with four kills, four aces and seven digs. Both Young and Bourland got an ace.
Both teams traded points in the early going, but Bramschreiber sparked a 7-2 run to give the Frogs a 16-9 lead. TCU hit .417 in the first set and dominated the first set capped off by a Becca Kelley ace.
In set two, Texas Tech made things much closer jumping out to a 8-5 lead. A 4-0 run from TCU put them back in front. This set included multiple runs and it was Tech that got it to set point leading 24-22. TCU was able to end the set on a 4-0 run courtesy of kills from Jalyn Gibson and Parra paired with aces from Bramschreiber.
Trying to keeps things alive, TCU wasn’t met with much resistance from the Red Raiders in the third set. The Frogs kept up the pressure with multiple runs to build a massive 17-8 lead. Bourland picked up her first career ace and an attack error ended things.
It was a fun night for the seniors that played in front of the TCU crowd for the last time. The 14 wins at home tied the school record for most wins at home in a single season. They also picked up the most wins in a season since 2015. What Jason Williams has done for this program in such a short time has been remarkable to watch.
The Frogs move to 19-7 overall 11-5 in conference. They still are fifth in the Big 12 standings with two games to go. They will travel to Morgantown on Wednesday to take on West Virginia at 6 p.m. and then to Cincinnati on Friday at 1 p.m.
Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Killer Frogs message board community today!
Follow KillerFrogs on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest TCU news! Follow KillerFrogs on Facebook and Instagram as well.
Texas
Texas AG sues Dallas for decriminalizing marijuana
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a lawsuit Thursday targeting the blue city of Dallas over a ballot measure that decriminalizes marijuana.
Paxton alleges that Proposition R, which “prohibits the Dallas Police Department from making arrests or issuing citations for marijuana possession or considering the odor of marijuana as probable cause for search or seizure,” violates state law.
The attorney general argues in the lawsuit that the ballot measure is preempted by Texas law, which criminalizes the possession and distribution of marijuana. Paxton also claims the Texas Constitution prohibits municipalities from adopting an ordinance that conflicts with laws enacted by the state legislature.
MORE AMERICANS SMOKE MARIJUANA DAILY THAN DRINK ALCOHOL, STUDY CLAIMS
“Cities cannot pick and choose which State laws they follow,” Paxton said in a statement. “The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them.”
Paxton called the ballot measure “a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution” and threatened to sue any other city that “tries to constrain police in this fashion.”
WHAT ARE THE TOP RISKS OF MARIJUANA USE?
The lawsuit comes after interim Dallas Police Department Chief Michael Igo directed Dallas police officers not to enforce marijuana laws against those found to be in possession of less than 4 ounces.
Ground Game Texas, a progressive nonprofit group that campaigned in favor of the ballot measure, argued it would help “keep people out of jail for marijuana possession,” “reduce racially biased policing” and “save millions in public funding.”
TEXAS AG PAXTON FILES CRIMINAL REFERRAL AGAINST DOJ FROM ‘SUSPICIOUS DONATIONS’ THROUGH DEMOCRATIC GROUP
“It’s unfortunate but not surprising that Attorney General Ken Paxton has apparently chosen to waste everyone’s time and money by filing yet another baseless lawsuit against marijuana decriminalization,” said Catina Voellinger, executive director for Ground Game Texas.
“Judges in Travis and Hays counties have already dismissed identical lawsuits filed there. The Dallas Freedom Act was overwhelmingly approved by 67% of voters — this is democracy in action.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Since January 2024, Paxton has filed lawsuits against five Texas cities that decriminalized marijuana possession, arguing these policies promote crime, drug abuse and violence.
Texas
Tre Johnson, Texas Longhorns Scrape Past Saint Joseph’s to Win Legends Classic
The Texas Longhorns are heading back to Austin with some early-season tournament hardware in hand.
Tre Johnson battled through another poor shooting night but closed the game out for Texas once again, scoring a game-high 17 points to lead the Longhorns to a 67-58 win over Saint Joseph’s at the Legends Classic championship round in Brooklyn Friday night.
Transfer guard Julian Larry sparked the Longhorns late, scoring all 12 of his points in the second half. Arthur Kaluma added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists while Kadin Shedrick had 10 points and six rebounds.
The Hawks were led by Rasheer Fleming, who stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 20 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals. Xzayvier Brown added 15 points on 4 of 7 shooting.
The Longhorns jumped out to an 11-6 lead after seven early points from Kaluma. St. Joe’s started out cold from the field but controlled the game with hard-nosed defense and the occasional press while dominating the offensive glass. This was highlighted by a possession where the Hawks got four consecutive offensive rebounds but only scored one point as a result.
Johnson stayed aggressive on offense for Texas but was off on his shot and was impacted by the on-ball defense of St. Joe’s.
Mark, Pope and Johnson all hit a triple for Texas in about a two-minute span ahead of halftime to give the Longhorns their biggest lead at 32-26 but the Hawks responded with a free throw from Haskins 3-pointer from Brown before halftime to cut the lead to 32-30.
The defense from the Hawks ramped up even more, as the Longhorns were stuck in the mud on offense and had little to no ball movement. St. Joe’s was hardly much better, but its defense continued to set the tone and eventually swung the momentum.
Larry then hit back-to-back triples as the two teams traded buckets on five straight possessions. Consecutive dunks from Ajogbor and Fleming but the Hawks in front 50-46 with 8:25 to play, but Larry continued to take over. He hit 1,000 career points with a driving layup before finding Kaluma for a corner triple to put Texas back in front at 51-50.
It didn’t stop there for Larry, who found a cutting Shedrick for a dunk before diving on a loose ball down at the other end to secure possession for Texas, which had built a 55-52 lead with 3:13 left. The Longhorns used the momentum to put together an 8-0 run, which essentially sealed the win in a game where scoring felt hard to come by.
Johnson then closed the game out with six points in the final 4:11 of action, including a pullup jumper at the foul line to put Texas up 63-55 with 1:19 left.
Texas will host Delaware State on Nov. 29.
Join the Community:
Subscribe to our YouTube Page HERE
You can follow us for future coverage by subscribing to our newsletter here. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @LonghornsCountryOnSI & follow us on Twitter at @LonghornsSI
Other Texas Longhorns News:
MORE: Tramon Mark Injury Update: ‘He’s Close’ Says Texas Longhorns’ Rodney Terry
MORE: Tre Johnson Shines Again as Texas Longhorns Steamroll Chicago State
MORE: Texas Longhorns’ Tre Johnson Named SEC Freshman of The Week
MORE: Texas Basketball Finalist for Elite 5-Star Forward Koa Peat
MORE: Tre Johnson Recaps Texas Longhorns Debut: ‘Didn’t Faze Me’
-
Business7 days ago
Column: Molly White's message for journalists going freelance — be ready for the pitfalls
-
Science4 days ago
Trump nominates Dr. Oz to head Medicare and Medicaid and help take on 'illness industrial complex'
-
Politics6 days ago
Trump taps FCC member Brendan Carr to lead agency: 'Warrior for Free Speech'
-
Technology5 days ago
Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI
-
Lifestyle6 days ago
Some in the U.S. farm industry are alarmed by Trump's embrace of RFK Jr. and tariffs
-
World6 days ago
Protesters in Slovakia rally against Robert Fico’s populist government
-
News6 days ago
They disagree about a lot, but these singers figure out how to stay in harmony
-
News6 days ago
Gaetz-gate: Navigating the President-elect's most baffling Cabinet pick