Harris County to build new crime lab tower

  HOUSTON -- Harris County leaders have endorsed a land deal to build a new crime lab tower amid a growing number of forensic cases.

County commissioners on Tuesday approved plans to finalize a nearly three-acre land agreement with the Texas Medical Center in Houston.

The Houston Chronicle reports the deal would require construction on a nine-story Institute of Forensic Sciences facility to begin within two years.

District Attorney Pat Lykos says the unit, for testing evidence and doing autopsies, is at a critical juncture regarding capacity and population growth of the county.

The Houston Police Department runs the city's crime lab, which faces a backlog of thousands of untested rape kits. Harris County officials have discussed testing city samples at the new facility.

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Volunteers build home for war veteran

TOMBALL, TX (KTRK) -- Volunteers are building a Marine a new home in Tomball. The young man paid a hard price for freedom, losing his legs in an explosion in Afghanistan.

The first walls to the home in Tomball went up Friday morning, and between now and Sunday, volunteers will frame, side, roof the house and install windows and doors. It's under construction for Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Peterson.

An explosion in Afghanistan left him a double amputee, and this house is a way for him to gain a new start, in a home which will suit all of his needs. Even after all he's sacrificed, he remains incredibly humble.

"I didn't sign up for what I could get out of it," Lance Corporal Peterson said. "Somebody could say, 'I deserve this, I deserve that'. No. You definitely don't join the Marines because you think you deserve something. This is more than I ever even dreamed of."

This house is provided through the non-profit organization Homes for Our Troops and contractor Spawglass. It takes donations and a lot of volunteers to build a home. If you'd like to help out, you can visit the Homes for Our Troops website.

The home should be ready to move into early this spring.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
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