Deadly icy road accidents, City Hall’s 2018 agenda, interim sheriff: Your Tuesday morning roundup

Good morning. Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. [Good morning. Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day.] January 02,  2018 By Tara Bryant Good morning! Here is a look at the top headlines as we start the day. 🌞 Weather: [Mostly sunny and cold](. High: 32 degrees. Wind: N 5-10 mph. 🔎 Prefer the online view? It's [here](. [Ice covered part of the overpass of U.S. Highway 67 over Hampton Road in Dallas on Sunday. Dallas Fire-Rescue was waiting for sand trucks. (Irwin Thompson/Staff Photographer)]( nIce covered part of the overpass of U.S. Highway 67 over Hampton Road in Dallas on Sunday. Dallas Fire-Rescue was waiting for sand trucks. (Irwin Thompson/Staff Photographer) Weather Dallas police report 4 deaths in overnight crashes on icy roads Four people are dead, including a wrong-way driver, in [three separate overnight crashes during icy conditions]( on a frigid New Year's Day, according to Dallas police. The first accident occurred at 12:33 a.m. on Interstate 35E south of Dallas when a man driving a 2013 Hyundai Elantra southbound in the northbound lanes crashed into a 2012 Ford Expedition driven by a 34-year-old man at East Wheatland Road. The man driving the wrong way died at the scene. The other driver was pronounced dead at the hospital. In a separate crash, the driver of a 2015 black Dodge Challenger was killed at 5:20 a.m. when the car hit a curb and slammed into a large light pole while rounding a curve in the 200 block of Regal Row north of Irving Boulevard, police said. The car caught fire. The third fatal crash happened at 5:25 a.m. Monday on LBJ Freeway when a car plowed into other vehicles that stopped at an accident scene, police said. [Dozens of other crashes]( were reported Sunday. DFW Airport: Passengers at DFW International Airport reported [long lines at U.S. Customs]( on Monday night that were thought to be the result of a technical issue. Transportation: The second phase of Northaven Trail, [Dallas' first east-west bicycle-pedestrian trail](, is set to begin early in the new year. SPECIAL OFFER [special offer unlimited digital access]( Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price (right) swears in Dallas County's Interim Sheriff Marian Brown at midnight in the Central Jury Room at the Frank Crowley Courthouse on Monday. (Irwin Thompson/Staff Photographer) Dallas County Marian Brown, Dallas County's first black sheriff, is sworn in for interim period Dallas County started the new year with [the swearing-in of Marian Brown as the interim sheriff]( during a midnight ceremony at the Frank Crowley Courts Building on Monday morning. Dallas County commissioners selected Brown to serve after Lupe Valdez stepped down to run for Texas governor. Brown, 52, a Democrat who is running for the office, was Valdez's third-in-command and recommended choice for successor. She is the county's first black sheriff. Brown will serve as interim sheriff until voters elect a new sheriff in November. Courts: [What you need to know about jury duty]( — your chance to join the “most powerful group” at the Dallas courthouse. Jobs: The Dallas-based Skratch app [helps busy teens find jobs in their neighborhoods](. A Vbike, one of the bike-share companies in DFW, is left along Zang Boulevard. (Ron Baselice/Staff Photographer) Dallas Bikes, bonds and big plans: 6 things to watch at Dallas City Hall in 2018 Dallas City Hall spent 2017 staring down the ghosts of years and decades past: Confederate monuments, the police and fire pension mess, the Trinity toll road, four of six back-pay lawsuits and billions in deferred maintenance. Save for the sudden arrival of Amazon or another twist, 2018 shouldn't be as dramatic as last year. But consequences are still ahead at Dallas City Hall in the coming year. [Here are six things to watch in the new year](. Politics: Despite fierce headwinds for the GOP, Sen. Cornyn's crystal ball says the [2018 elections may not be so bad](. Education: [Only half of Latino college students graduate.]( What are Texas schools doing to help? Advertisement (Ron Baselice/The Dallas Morning News) Photo of the Morning Icicles hang from a fountain at the The Village at Sports Center shopping center in Arlington on Monday. Below freezing temperatures greeted the D-FW metroplex in the new year, but our partners at NBC5 say we can expect [warmer temperatures this weekend](. Around The Site - Amber Alert: A person of interest their mother’s death [may have abducted two girls](, 7 and 14, from Round Rock. - Fire: An Irving family escaped without injury after [a small gas explosion rocked their house]( early Monday. - New year, new you? Here are [seven practical tips for surviving the Whole 30 diet](. - If you’re not dieting: Get ready for [these restaurants opening in Dallas in 2018](. - Cowboys: [One troubling trend has emerged during Jason Garrett's tenure]( as Cowboys head coach, writes staff writer David Moore. Donald Harris plays chess with Duncanville High School student Pablo Ramirez during lunch in the school's cafeteria. Harris sets up chess boards and plays as many students as he can when he visits the school. (David Woo/Staff Photographer) Finally... Duncanville school bus driver uses chess to help students make the right moves Donald Harris isn't a professional educator, but he's about to teach somebody a lesson as he calls out like a carnival barker during a lunchtime chess session at Duncanville High School. "Come on over!" he shouts to a passing student. "I'll get you!" The Duncanville bus driver sets up shop in the cafeteria two or three days a week, spreading out an array of chess boards along a table. The table quickly fills with competitors — some taking on Harris, others playing against their friends. "I was just going to teach one kid," Harris said. "But then the principal came over and started taking pictures, and it just blew up." Harris, who has driven a bus for the school district for nearly six  years, likes to teach the cerebral game, all the while understanding that he's just a novice himself. [Read more about the Duncanville bus driver teaching chess to students.]( AdVERTISEMENT 👋 That's all for this morning! For up-to-the-minute news and analysis, check out [DallasNews.com](. 💖 Share the love! If you like this newsletter, please forward this email to a friend and [check out our other newsletters here](. 📧 Do you have feedback? 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