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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 1988)
Wednesday, September 14, 1988/The Battalion/Page 9 Unleaded gas shortage Mexican city mystery CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — A severe shortage of unleaded gasoline has hit this city of 1.2 mil lion, causing some gasoline stations to close and sending some motorists across the border to refuel their ve hicles, officials said. The reason for the shortage re mains a mystery. Some officials said the problem is caused by a damaged pipeline in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, dis rupting truck deliveries to the north. But Raul Mena Burguete, direc tor of the Juarez office of the na tional Chamber of Commerce, said Monday that the nationalized petro leum company, Pemex, has declined to provide an explanation. Pemex has promised to truck in gasoline from Mexico’s west coast. About one in 10 Pemex stations had run out of gasoline and shut off their pumps by Monday, the daily El Fronterizo reported. Though leaded “Nova” gasoline was available, unleaded “Extra” was virtually impossible to find in the city, the newspaper reported. Most new cars sold in Mexico burn leaded gasoline, but many Jua rez residents buy used American cars that use unleaded fuel. Unleaded gasoline is relatively un common in Mexico. Stations in many small towns sell only leaded fuel, and dependable supplies of unleaded are found in only larger cities. Mena said many Juarez motorists are buying enough leaded gasoline to get them across the international bridge and to U.S. gas stations to buy unleaded fuel. The economic effect on owners of Pemex stations is undetermined, said Mena, wTo also said that the Juarez motorists are crossing the bridges in increasing numbers to buy gasoline. Pemex has no local gasoline re serves in the Juarez area, Mena said, who criticized Pemex for the over sight. Last spring, a spectacular fire heavily damaged a gasoline tank farm in Chihuahua City, 220 miles south ol Juarez. - In July, a gasoline shortage in Chihuahua City became so severe that only one station remained open. Lines grew blocks long, and some of those waiting up to six hours in line got in fistfights when motorists tried to cut in. No such incidents have been reported in Juarez. Reagan authorizes release of funds to pay debt to UN WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi dent Reagan has authorized the re lease of $188 million in U.S. dues payments to the United Nations and has directed the State Department to work on a plan for settling all past debts, the White House announced Tuesday. Presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater told reporters in a late af ternoon briefing that Reagan told the State Department to work out a multi-year plan for paying a grand total of $520 million in current and HOUSTON (AP) — Mary Phillips once dreamed of being a missionary, and today is known as Houston’s “Church Lady.” But her answer to her religious calling is ministering to the sale of churches. The church real estate market in Houston is booming and Phillips has cornered and cham pioned it. “Right now I deal with 80 differ ent pastors,” said Phillips, who formed Phillips International Co. 16 years ago to deal with commercial real estate. “And 1 deal with the clergy all day long. I’m in church seven days a week, sometimes 14 times a week.” She closed her over seas office in London in 1986 and deals strictly with church sales. Phillips said there are many rea sons behind the sale of churches, the most frequent being congregations that outgrow their facilities and need to either buy a larger existing church or build a new one. Another reason includes a con gregation schism that leaves one group at the existing church and the other looking for a new meeting place. Sometimes the neighborhood changes, causing a declining mem bership and congregations opting to leave. Whatever the reasons, Phillips now has 35 churches with a com bined asking price of $52 million on the market. Prices range from a $250,()()() church accomodating 100 to $1 million or more, like the 1,000- seat Grace Community Church in nearby League City. Members there outgrew the 30,000-square-foot complex and Phillips helped them find 14 acres in neighboring Friendswood for a new 80,000-square-foot complex. A devout Christian who once as pired to be a missionary in foreign countries, Phillips said the mission ary has come to her. “Now it’s like my dream’s come true. I’m a missionary in my own backyard,” she said. “The mission field is right here — every national- late U.S. dues payments to the world body. The U.S. also has $1 1 1.8 million in past due payments separately to the U.N. peacekeeping fund. Fitzwater said the United Nations has reformed its operations to the point where Reagan felt he could act. “The president will release $44 million, which was withheld in fiscal 1988, and $144 million which was ity, every culture you can think of is here in Houston.” That rich religious mix hasn’t al ways made the church real estate business easy for Phillips. Because of her strong religious beliefs, she said she first hesitated helping a Moslem representative find a site for an Islamic educational center. “Then I decided, ‘Well, we have freedom of worship in this coun try,’ ” she said. “I remembered that in this great country of ours we all have a right to worship the way we see fit. The freedom to worship as We see fit is a great f reedom we have been given.” Now she not only helps Moslems, but Buddhist monks. Baptists, Cath olics, Methodists, Greek Orthodox and any of the many other religious groups found in Houston. To deal with the different reli gions, Phillips says she has had to learn about the different beliefs and often refers to her other bible —a book titled “Religions in America^' She bought the book after show ing an Egyptian Orthodox Church group a site. She didn’t know to re move her shoes before reaching the altar, as is the Egyptian Orthodox custom. The faith also requires worshipping east to west. “I have to only show them things that face east and west,” she said. “I showed them First Baptist Church of Alief and we couldn’t manage turn ing it around.” That church faces north and south. The 40,000-square-foot “wrong way” church sits on a six-acre site and is listed for $ 1.5 million. “Our needs have just changed and we have a lot we don’t need,” said the Rev. Jay C. Riley. The First Bap tist congregation is planning to build new facilities on adjacent land. “I know if anyone can get a buyer, she will,” Riley said. “We’ve given her a big problem to solve. She’s very positive, conscientious and just stays right with it.” withheld in fiscal 1989. He will re quest full funding of the United Na tions’ in Fiscal 1990, which amounts to approximately $476 million,” he said. The $44 million will be released immediately, Fitzwater said, while the $144 million that had been ear marked in Fiscal 1989, beginning Oct. 1, will be set free as funds be come available. Officials in the U.N. press office said they were aware of Reagan’s ac tion but that they could not com ment until it is communicated offi cially to the United Nations. Fitzwater noted that Gohgress re quired the president to determine that the United Nations had made reforms, including cutbacks in the (U.N.) secretariat, the hiring of tem porary employees and improved budgeting procedures. Fitzwater said Reagan was con vinced that the United Nations had made progress in instituting reforms and that the president noted the in creasing peacekeeping role of the world body in such hot spots as Af ghanistan, Namibia and the Persian Gulf. The United Nations, he said, is serving iimportant longterm interests of the United States in these trou bled regions. Investigators wait for pilot to recover DALLAS (AP) — National Trans portation Safety Board members in vestigating the crash of Delta Air Lines Flight 1141 were waiting Tuesday to begin interviewing the injured pilot, whose jaw is wired shut. Gapt. Larry Davis’ physician ap proved the interview on Monday, a spokesman for Parkland Memorial Hospital said. Parkland spokesman Paula Jones said the interviews could begin Tuesday afternoon, following the approval by Dr. William Thompson. Davis, hospitalized since the Aug. 31 crash that killed 14 people, is walking but is wearing a back brace, a spokesman said. He has had sur gery for traumatic injuries. N I SB officials in Washington did not immediately return phone calls from the Associated Press on Tues day. The Greenville pilot has said he was ready to be interviewed by the agency on the crash. Davis, his co-pilot and flight engi neer were among 94 people who survived the crash of the Boeing 727-200 shortly after takeoff at Dal- las-Fort Worth International Air port. ‘Church Lady’ sells sacred real estate ALPHA EPSILON DELTA THE PREMEDICAL AND PREDENTAL HONOR SOCIETY OF TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY The primary goal of Alpha Epsilon Delta is to educate its members on current advances in medicine and dentistry. We are a group of individuals dedicated to encouraging each other to achieve acceptance into first-rate profes sional schools. NEW MEMBER INFORMATION MEETINGS REQUIREMENTS: 1. OVERALL AND SCIENCE GPA OF 3.2 2. COMPLETED 45 HOURS SEPT. 6 7:00 p.m. R.M. 607 RUDDER SEPT. 15 7:00 P.M. R.M.607 RUDDER ACTIVES MEETING SEPT. 8 7:00 P.M. R.M 302 RUDDER QUESTIONS? 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James Rohack Dermatology Dr. David D. Barton Family Medicine Dr. Art Caylor Dr. William R. Kiser Dr. Walter J. Linder Dr. Richard A. Smith Dr. Kathy A. Stienstra Dr. Robert Wiprud General Surgery Dr. Frank R. Arko Dr. Dirk L. Boysen Internal Medicine Dr. Valerie Chatham Dr. Alton Graham Dr. David Hackethorn Dr. Michael R. Schlabach Obstetrics/Gynecology Dr. James R. Meyer Dr. William L. Rayburn Dr. Charles W. Sanders Occupational Medicine Dr. Walter J. Linder Opbtbalmology Dr. Mark R. Coffman Orthopedic Surgery Dr. Robert F. Hines Otolaryngology Dr. Michael J. Miller Pediatrics Dr. Dayne M. Foster Dr. Mark Sicilio Plastic Surgery Dr. William M. Cocke, Jr. Psychiatry Dr. Steven Kirk Strawn Psychology Dr. Jack L. Bodden Radiology Dr. Luis Canales Urology Dr. Michael R. Hermans Health Education Sally Scaggs, RD Call 268-3322 For Appointment R1