Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/688359
ByJimVertunoand Michael Graczyk TheAssociatedPress FORT HOOD, TEXAS Fort Hood commanders were in the process of clos- ing roads on the sprawl- ing Army post in Central Texas when a truck carry- ing 12 soldiers overturned in a fast-flowing flooded creek during a training exercise, killing five and leaving four missing, offi- cials said Friday. The portion of road on the northern fringe of the post where the Light Me- dium Tactical Vehicle over- turned Thursday hadn't been overrun by water dur- ing past floods, Fort Hood spokesman Chris Haug said. The vehicle resem- bles a flatbed truck with a walled bed and is used to carry troops. He said during a news conference Friday that the soldiers were being trained on how to operate the 2½- ton truck when it over- turned along Owl Creek, about 70 miles north of Austin. "It was a situation where the rain had come, the wa- ter was rising quickly and we were in the process, at the moment of the event, of closing the roads," Haug said. Soldiers on training ex- ercises regularly contend with high-water situations following heavy rains, he said. "This was a tactical ve- hicle and at the time they were in a proper place for what they were training," Haug said. "It's just an un- fortunate accident that oc- curred quickly." The bodies of two sol- diers were found late Thurs- day night. Three soldiers were found dead shortly af- ter the vehicle overturned. Three others were rescued by personnel traveling in a separate vehicle and hospi- talized in stable condition. Maj. Gen. John Uberti said they could be released later Friday. Aerial and ground crews were searching the 20-mile creek that winds through heavily wooded terrain. Army aircraft, canine search teams, swift-wa- ter rescue watercraft and heavy trucks were being used. Owl Creek Park, where the creek feeds into Lake Belton at the northeast edge of Fort Hood, served as a launching point for Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens who deployed two sonar boats in the search effort while a state Depart- ment of Public Safety heli- copter flew overhead. The normally 30- to 40-foot- wide creek at the park was swollen Friday to some 500 feet wide. The Army has not yet released the names of the dead because it was still notifying relatives. "This tragedy extends well beyond Fort Hood and the outpouring of support from the country is sin- cerely appreciated," Uberti said. The 340-square-mile post, one of the nation's largest, has seen fatal train- ing accidents before. In No- vember 2015, four soldiers were killed when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a training exercise. And in June 2007, a soldier who went missing for four days after a solo navigation exercise died from hyper- thermia and dehydration while training in 90-de- gree heat. Nearly the entire eastern half of Texas, including Fort Hood, was under flash flood warnings or watches. WEATHER FortHoodofficialsclosingroadsastruckoverturned By Risa Johnson rjohnson@chicoer.com @risamjohnson on Twitter CHICO Democratic pres- idential candidate Ber- nie Sanders announced to a sweaty crowd of nearly 6,000 people at a Chico State University rally that as of Thursday, California polls put him above Hill- ary Clinton by 1 percent- age point. During his speech in Chico in front of the bois- terous crowd, Sanders said he is confident that if he wins the California pri- mary Tuesday, he will win the presidential nomina- tion despite the fact that Clinton currently holds the sweeping majority of votes from Democratic superdel- egates. Sanders has won 20 state primaries and is traveling up an down the state in an attempt to make California the 21st. People waited in line starting as early at 8 a.m. to see the senator from Ver- mont as temperatures hit the high 90s midday. Sanders was introduced by actress Susan Sarandon and took the stage at 7:30 p.m. He spoke for about an hour. Sanders' campaign said the crowd numbered 5,804. Sanders called for invest- ment in rural areas and in- ner cities, as opposed to Afghanistan, as well as the need for equal repre- sentation of people in the LGBT community and Na- tive Americans, for African- American people and Lati- nos and Latinas. He stood by women's rights to equal pay and abortion. "Women want the whole damn dollar and they're right," he said. He also called for a $15 minimum wage, which Cal- ifornia has pledged to en- act. He declared health care a human right and shared his plans to increase Social Security benefits, which he told the crowd that Pres- ident Barack Obama sup- ports as well. Candidates should be able to run a campaign without big-money inter- ests controlling them, Sand- ers said. "The current campaign finance system is corrupt and undermining Ameri- can democracy," he said. "It is time for us to tell corpo- rate America that they are no longer going to get it all." Sanders is optimistic about winning several other states and defeating Repub- lican presidential candi- date Donald Trump in No- vember. "It is extremely difficult to keep up with 'the Don- ald' because every day he makes a statement more absurd than the statement he made the day before," Sanders said. "He came to California to tell the people of California that there is no drought. He cannot be- come president after all of the pain this country has gone through since its in- ception, all of the racism. We do not want a president who insults Mexicans and Latinos, insults Muslims, every day insults women, who insults veterans and who insults the African- American community." Sanders estimated that those in the crowd were likely from over 100 coun- tries. "The American peo- ple understand that our strength is in our diver- sity," he said, "And that our strength is bringing people together, not dividing us up. This campaign is extraordi- narily proud that we have won in state after state, even in states we have lost, the overwhelming support of young people." Sanders says he owes his constant drive to young people, who understand the vision of the United States to be one of social justice, racial justice and environ- mental justice. "Our campaign is going to win because we are do- ing something that most politicians today do not do, which is telling the truth, whether in our personal or political lives. The truth is not always pleasant but if we want to go forward, we must confront reality." Almost every supporter interviewed before the rally spoke of Sanders' honesty as a key reason in their sup- port, including Lynn Roof, 59, of Oroville, who was sporting some Bernie sil- houette earrings. She said she has been a supporter of his campaign since the be- ginning. "I don't think we will see another candidate in our lifetime with his convic- tion. Like Bernie said, it's not about him — it's about all of us," Roof said. "He is the only candidate who has stated that the environment is the No. 1 issue." People were also sur- prised by Sanders' rising popularity, like Wyatt Cul- bert, 34, of Chico, who has been a fan of the senator since the '90s. "I never thought he would become popular be- cause I mean, he declared himself a socialist," Culbert said. On whether Sanders would be able to enact his policies with a majority Re- publican Congress, Culbert said he wasn't sure. "You know, Obama didn't succeed in all he wanted to but if anything, he made people want to be more so- cially Democratic and that's something." ELECTION Thousands gather in Chico to hear Sanders BILLHUSA—ENTERPRISE-RECORD Bernie Sanders addresses a crowd of thousands on the lawn in front of Laxson Auditorium on the Chico State University campus Thursday. SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 3 B ★