Traffic death alters plans for State of State

CARSON CITY -- The Junior Reserve Office Training Corps program cadets who were scheduled to serve as the color guard and sing the national anthem at Gov. Jim Gibbons' State of the State speech at 6 tonight have called off the appearance.

The students decided not to participate to show their sorrow over the death Tuesday night of Alex Woods Jr., the director of ROTC instruction for the Washoe County School District. Woods, 66, died in a single-car accident in Reno.

The JROTC cadet at Galena High School in Reno first chosen by Woods to sing the national anthem at the State of the State ceremony was the daughter of Kathy Karrasch, said Daniel Burns, Gibbons' director of communications.

In March and April 2007, Karrasch received more than 750 text messages from Gibbons, who had to reimburse the state for the cost of sending the messages on a state-owned phone.

Gibbons has acknowledged having a friendship with Karrasch but has denied a relationship beyond that.

Cal Dunlap, the lawyer for Gibbons' estranged wife, Dawn, has stopped short of accusing the governor of having an affair with Karrasch. The governor filed for divorce from his wife in May, citing incompatibility.

Burns said another teenager will be asked to sing the national anthem.