Good Morning El Paso: 06.22.15

a community continues to heal in south carolina. but last week’s shooting is also igniting a heated debate over the confederate flag. former fort bliss commander dana pittard could get demoted after an investigation by the pentagon. we have the latest. and breaking news this morning: the body of a white house chef gone missing in new mexico is found. a very good morning el paso, las cruces, and juarez. i’m stephanie valle. and i’m hillary floren. good morning, everyone. good morning! today we’re watching another hot hot forecast! today we’re starting with clear conditions on radar. the conditions should remain this way for most of the forecast. we’re expecting mostly sunshine with the possibility of some scattered showers over the gila and sacs later today! the tempratures are nice this morning. they will get extreme as we track into the afternoon above 100 again across the map. we’ll talk how hot and for how much longer beore rain returns coming up! developing now– a former fort bliss commander could be stripped of his rank before he’s allowed to retire this year. the washington post is reporting major general dana pittard– an el paso native– is accused of steering a defense contract to a former classmate. good morning el paso’s denise olivas is live with the details… denise? those allegations against major general dana pittard– reportedly happened while he was commander here at fort bliss. this is file footage of general pittard. the washington post says pittard was reprimanded earlier this year after a three-year investigation by the army’s inspector general. major general pittard is accused of steering a defense contract to a firm run by one of his former west point classmates. now a review board is deciding whether his rank will be taken away. the post says it was a whistle-blower who said pittard abused his authority by awarding a big contract to one of his friends. pittard– an eastwood high school graduate returned to el paso in 2010 to become commander of fort bliss. in 2013– he was reassigned to command us troops in their efforts to train iraqi forces. new this morning …. and developing now… the search for a missing white house chef ends with tragedy in new mexico. walter scheib had been missing for a week, after going hiking alone. he served under presidents bill clinton and george w. bush. late last night … state officials say they found his body off a trail in the mountains near taos. schieb recently moved to taos from florida. no word on how he died. the search continues this morning for a las cruces woman missing in the arizona mountains. 44-year-old janet castrejon was last seen friday night. her aunt tells abc-7 she was with her parents and brother before she disappeared in the coronado national forest in arizona. castrejon and her brother got separated and he couldn’t find her. the peak where she was last seen is part of the chiri-cawa mountain range in easter arizona right by the new mexico stateline. the safford county sheriff’s office tells abc-7, they’re assisting the cochise county sheriffs office in the search. a divisive fight over the confederate flag in south carolina and a plea for unity are spreading across the country this morning. days after that horrific church shooting… as many as 20-thousand marchers united on a south carolina bridge last night. abc’s kennth moton has our complete coverage. traffic on i-10 at transmountain is back to normal after a head-on crash over the weekend. yesterday morning … police say 24- year-old brandon lugo was killed after he was driving the wrong way and crashed into a semi- truck. the trucks fuel tanks ruptured and spilled fuel onto the freeway. the freeway was closed for nearly 12-hours while crews cleaned up the mess. investigators are still trying to figure out whether lugo was driving drunk or speeding. and fortunatley the driver and the passenger in the semi-truck were not injured. it looks like el pasoans may have to celebrate the fourth of july without fireworks for a fifth year in a row. county judge veronica escobar says she will ban all fireworks on the fourth … with or without the governor’s consent. “we’ve seen a pattern. ever single day it’s been going up by 3 points.” county judge veronica escobar is talking about the keetch-byram drought index. el paso is only one of two counties in texas that surpassed the drought requirement. county judge escobar plans to ask commissioners court today to approve a one-week disaster declaration. she will then ask the governor for permission to extend that ban until july 5th. this year, it’s uncertain how new texas governor, greg abbott, will react. while el paso is dealing with a drought. the rest of texas has been dealing with too much rain. thousands of texans are seeking government aide. the federal emergency management angency said more than 1 – thousand 5- hundrend individuals have registered for assistance. fema says nearly $29 million has been approved for claims with the recovery since the severe weather began on may 4th. more than two dozen people were killed statewide. at , here’s a look at how your commute is shaping up this morning. the tx-dot traffic cams at … still ahead on good morning el paso … a texas law that criminalizes unexcused absences in public schools is being erased. what this change means for your kids and school districts. plus, an expired link to a ketchup website takes a customer somewhere else that — shall we just say is a bit more saucier. but first – stormtrack weather! meteorologist krystal kleihas your complete forecast. krystal… and this is abc-7, where news comes first!