LITTLE RIVER-ACADEMY - Officials have offered a $2,500 reward for information regarding a fire that destroyed a concession stand at Grossman Park in Little River-Academy. Arson is suspected in the blaze. Firefighters responded to the youth baseball park about 1 a.m. and found the concession stand, which also served as an equipment storage building, ablaze.

Just because Katrina was the perfect storm - a catastrophic combo of the wrong hurricane in the wrong place at the wrong time - doesn´t mean that history can´t repeat itself, leaving another city obliterated by another tempest. It can.

After Staff Sgt. Kristopher A. Higdon of Temple was killed in action last week, there was nothing left for the family to do but reminisce about the man he was and the number of lives he touched. Higdon, 25, died May 22 in Taji, Iraq, when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. He was sent to Iraq in early April, and this was his second tour to Iraq.

KILLEEN - After a week of searching Nolan Creek for the body of Scott “Scottie” Gjedrem, a helicopter spotted his body Friday morning hung up in a tree 18 feet in the air, a witness at the scene said. As floodwaters receded in Nolan Creek, Gjedrem´s body became hung up in underbrush and tree branches along the creek bank.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military is working more aggressively to forge cease-fires with Iraqi militants and quell the violence around Baghdad, judging that 80 percent of enemy combatants are “reconcilable,” a top U.S. commander said Thursday. However, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno also warned that he may not be able to make a full assessment of the situation in Iraq by September, as demanded by lawmakers.

ATLANTA - A globe-trotting Atlanta lawyer with a dangerous strain of tuberculosis was allowed back into the U.S. by a border inspector who disregarded a computer warning to stop him and don protective gear, officials said Thursday. The inspector has been removed from border duty.

AUSTIN - After Troy´s first trip through the batting order, having a perfect game tossed against the Trojan-ettes seemed more likely than a run-rule victory. But Troy roughed up Coahoma starter Heather Newton starting in the fourth inning as the Trojanettes came from behind to beat the Bulldogettes 11-1 a semifinal of the UIL Class 2A state softball tournament at McCombs Field on Thursday.

AUSTIN - Michelle Ege labored through the first inning of a Class 2A state semifinal against Coahoma on Thursday, throwing 25 pitches while giving up a run, two hits and a walk. Ege needed just 63 pitches in the last five innings, when she didn´t give up a hit, walked just one and retired 15 of the 16 hitters she faced.

BRENHAM - Normally a player with one pitching victory for the season wouldn´t be asked to start a game that could send his team to the state baseball tournament. Fortunately for top-ranked Rogers, Chris Joshlin isn´t a normal player or competitor - and Eagles coach Craig Coheley certainly hasn´t minded handing him the ball in that high-stakes situation two straight years.

HOUSTON - Lance Berkman ended a slump with a three-run homer and Woody Williams had a season-high nine strikeouts as the Houston Astros snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 10-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night. Carlos Lee had a two-RBI double during a four-run third inning off Bronson Arroyo as the Astros won for just the second time in 14 games. One more loss would´ve matched the longest skid in franchise history, set in August 1995.