Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/710175
ByWillWeissertand Emily Schmall The Associated Press LOCKHART, TEXAS Thepi- lot of a hot air balloon that crashed in Texas, killing all 16 people aboard, was con- victed of drunken driving at least four times in Mis- souri and twice spent time in prison, court records show. A former girlfriend de- scribed Alfred "Skip" Nich- ols as a recovering alco- holic. She said the 49-year- old had been sober for at least four years and never piloted a balloon after drinking. Nichols also had a long history of customer com- plaints against his balloon tour companies in Missouri and Illinois dating back to 1997. Customers reported to the Better Business Bu- reau's St. Louis office that their rides would get can- celled at the last minute and their fees never re- funded. Nichols pleaded guilty to driving while intoxi- cated in St. Louis County in 1990, then twice in 2002 and again in 2010, accord- ing to online court records. He was also convicted of a drug crime in 2000 and spent about a year-and-a- half in prison before being paroled. He was returned to prison in April 2010 after his parole was revoked be- cause of his drunken driv- ing conviction that year. He was paroled again in Janu- ary 2012. The former girlfriend, Wendy Bartch, said Nichols "did not fly when he wasn't supposed to. Having other people's lives at stake was Skip's primary concern." Authorities have not publicly named anyone killed in Saturday's crash, saying it could take a while to identify the bodies. But Nichols was identified as the pilot by his friend and roommate Alan Lirette, who said Nichols was a good pilot. Authorities say the bal- loon, which was operated by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, hit high- tension power lines before crashing into a pasture Sat- urday near Lockhart, about 60 miles northeast of San Antonio. The National Transpor- tation Safety Board is in- vestigating. Board member Robert Sumwalt said the pi- lot was licensed to fly the balloon. Between late 1998 and 2001, the Better Business Bureau said it had received more than three dozen com- plaints against Manchester Balloon Voyages, leading it to twice warn the public about the company. Customers complained that canceled rides cost them $70 to $700. In one case, a Catholic nun cele- brating her 50th anniver- sary of service had lost $364 that she paid toward a ride for her and three friends. TEXAS Balloon pilot was convicted of drunken driving 4 times JESSALYNTAMEZ—AUSTINAMERICAN-STATESMAN Flowers sit next to police tape at the site of Saturday's hot air balloon crash near Lockhart, Texas, on Sunday. By Kelli Kennedy and Josh Replogle The Associated Press MIAMI Government health officials warned pregnant women Monday to avoid a Zika-stricken part of Mi- ami and told couples who have been there recently to put off having children for at least two months, after the number of people feared infected through mosquito bites in the U.S. climbed to 14. In its highly unusual and perhaps unprecedented travel warning, the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention also said expectant mothers should get tested for the virus if they have vis- ited the neighborhood since mid-June. All 14 cases are thought to have occurred in Mi- ami's Wynwood arts dis- trict, a trendy, fast-gen- trifying neighborhood of warehouses, art galleries, restaurants and boutiques. Florida Gov. Rick Scott asked for a CDC emergency response team to help the state combat Zika, which after sweeping Latin Amer- ica and the Caribbean is be- ginning to spread in the U.S. The White House said a team will be sent quickly. Health officials last Fri- day announced four cases of Zika that they believe are the first ones contracted from mosquitoes on the U.S. mainland. Ten more cases were announced Monday. Zika infections in preg- nant women can cause se- vere brain-related birth de- fects, including extremely small skulls. The outbreak has led to more than 1,800 serious defects. CDC officials said they could not remember an- other time in the 70-year history of the agency when it told members of the pub- lic not to travel someplace in the U.S. The virus can linger in the blood and urine for weeks, and has been found in sperm for months. As a result, the CDC said men and women who have re- cently been in the affected area should wait at least eight weeks before trying to conceive a child. The travel warning cov- ers an area of about one square mile in Wynwood to the east of Interstate 95 and south of I-195. It's large enough, health offi- cials said, to provide a buf- fer around the suspected hot zone. The tropical mos- quito that spreads Zika travels less than 200 yards in its lifetime. Some experts said that's far too small a radius. Dr. Peter Hotez, a tropical med- icine expert at the Bay- lor College of Medicine in Texas, said the CDC should be more cautious and ex- pand the travel advisory to all of Miami-Dade County. "If you're pregnant or think you might be preg- nant, avoid travel to Miami, and possible elsewhere in South Florida," he said. "I'm guessing most women who are pregnant are doing that. I don't think they're sitting around for the CDC to split hairs and fine-tune it to a specific area." CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden said the narrowly drawn warning was dic- tated by science and not by any concern for Flori- da's crucial tourism indus- try. He said it was based on the nation's ability to con- tain outbreaks of other dis- eases carried by the same mosquito. U.S. health officials have said all along that while iso- lated clusters of Zika may occur in this country, they do not expect major out- breaks like those seen in Latin America, because of better sanitation and mos- quito control and wide- spread use of air condition- ers and window screens. ZIKA VIRUS CDC warns pregnant women about Miami P a i d a d v e r t i s e m e n t RUNNINGS ROOFING and CONSTRUCTION SheetMetalRoofing ResidentialCommercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane ServingTehamaCounty 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 No Money Down! "NoJobTooSteep" " No Job Too Flat" FREE ESTIMATES CA.Lic#829089B&C39 TUSCANPOOL SUPPLY MonthlyPoolService Equipment Upgrades and more Licensed, Bonded & Insured CLS#944446 40 CHESTNUT AVENUE (530) 527-3262 13540 Trinity Ave, Red Bluff (530) 527-8262 • (530) 528-8261 IF NO ANSWER CALL 529-7400 www.garysautobodyandtowing.com AUTO BODY REPAIR 24 HOUR TOWING WE BILL ALL MAJOR INSURANCE COMPANIES • ECO-FRIENDLY&DRUGFREE • COLLISION REPAIR APPROVED BY ALL MAJOR INSURANCE COMPANIES • LIFETIME WARRANTY • STATE-OF-THE-ART DOWN DRAFT SPRAY BOOTH • NATIONAL AWARD WINNING RESTORATION • AUTO & RV REPAIRS "WE MEET BY ACCIDENTS" • ECO-FRIENDLY&DRUGFREE • FAST! COURTEOUS SERVICE • CLEAN AIR CONDITIONED TRUCKS • REASONABLE RATES • LOCAL & LONG DISTANCE • FORK LIFT SERVICE • ANTIQUE & LUXURY CAR TOWING • ON & OFF ROAD RECOVER • MOTOR HOMES & RV'S TOWED • AUTO & RV REPAIRS • INSURANCE WORK • 5TH WHEEL TOWING • AUTO BODY WORK Full Auto Detailing Available Free with collision repair GARY'S AUTO BODY & 24 HOUR TOWING, INC. "GOODSAM" MOTOR CLUB 734MainStreet 530-690-2477 11am-9pm Mon.-Thur. 11am - 10pm Fri. & Sat. 11am-8pm Sun. 9 CRAFT BEERS ON TAP Pizza Restaurant | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2016 4 B