The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 06, 1973, Image 4

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    Aggie Is Licensed Falconer
By PAULA STEPHENSON
Looking' more like a Cuban
revolutionary than a junior pre-
vet student, long-legged and
moustachioed Mark Hitchcock is
a member of a select group of
Texas bird lovers.
“Hitch,” as his friends call him,
is one of a dozen or so licensed
falconers in Texas, and he just
received his license in January.
Dressed in his “hunting clothes,”
blue jeans and a work shirt, and
what looks like an ammunition
cartridge belt around his chest, he
goes tramping around College
Station scaring up game for his
red-tailed hawk to eat. The car
tridge belt around his chest holds
gear used in caring for the hawk,
and bait to lure it back after the
hunt is over.
“I became interested in hawks
in high school, after I read a book
about falconry,” he said. “So, I
talked my mom and dad into giv
ing me $35 to buy a hawk through
the mail. That was eight years
ago, and the bird never has come.
“Then I got in touch with a
guy who helped me trap my very
first hawk. My parents thought
I’d finally lose interest in fal
conry, but I never did.”
Hitchcock went through several
of the finer points of falconry,
telling how he caught a bird,
tamed it, and then gradually in
troduced it to a leash and a lure
in order to teach it to fly freely
and then return. After this “con
ditioned response” process, the
bird is ready to be freed to catch
rabbits and small game, and then
fly back to Hitchcock.
“The only time my hawking
ever got out of hand was when
I was in high school in Dallas,”
he said. “It was a Windy day,
and looked like it was fixing to
rain—not good hunting weather—
so I decided to exercise my bird
in our back yard.
“Unfortunately, our next door
neighbors decided to exercise
their poodle at the same time.
Well, my hawk flew over and
picked up the poodle. The dog
was too heavy for the hawk to
carry off, so they just kind of
struggled on the ground. I yelled
at my dad, and we caught the
bird and he let go of the dog.
The poodle wasn’t hurt at all, but
I don’t think he ever went outside
by himself anymore.”
MARK HITCHCOCK GAZES at his pet predator before
they gr> to hunt for its food.
Texas Forms ‘Government In The Sunshine’
Hitchcock, as a licensed fal
coner, has to know about the
medical care and owning of
hawks, owls, falcons and eagles,
most of which he has learned
through reading books on his own.
He has participated in the North
American Falconer’s Association
(NAFA), once in South Dakota
and once in Colorado. There are
about 400 members of NAFA in
the U.S. and Canada, and they
meet around Thanksgiving to fly
their birds in competition.
Aid To S. Vietnam
Called A Necessity
WASHINGTON <A>)—Congress’
auditors say the United States,
which has turned more than $5
billion worth of weapons over to
South Vietnam so far, will have
to continue both materiel support
and technical training “for the
foreseeable future.”
The ability of Saigon’s fleet of
some 600 helicopters to cope with
an all-out North Vietnam attack
“may be marginal” for example,
the General Accounting Office
said in a report released Monday.
GAO auditors also said U.S.
turnover of jumbo C130 cargo
planes to South Vietnam last fall
because of heavy combat needs
will require continued training of
Saigon’s pilots and mechanics on
how to use them “for some time
to come.”
The agency’s conclusion that
some indefinite U.S. arms supply
and training will be needed by
South Vietnam was drafted before
the Paris peace agreement was
reached providing that all arms
in Vietnam may be replaced only
on a one-for-one basis.
The report said that because
of the uncertainties of the peace
negotiations and defenses that
might be required against poten
tial renewal of hostilities after
a ceasefire, it could not estimate
the cost level of continued U.S.
arms supplies that might be
needed.
In greatest need, the report
said, is South Vietnam’s air force
which was the last major respon
sibility turned over to Saigon
and which was turned over ahead
of schedule.
The auditors questioned the
capability of Saigon’s helicopter
fleet on the basis of its size—550
to 600 helicopters compared to
a U.S. force of more than 3,200
during the height of its involve
ment in Vietnam—and the fact
that U.S. pilots had to take on
40 per cent of helicopter missions
immediately after Hanoi’s of
fensive last March.
This “suggests to us,” the
GAO report said, “that the VNAF
helicopter fleet may be marginal
at this time in its capacity to
meet all the burdens which could
be placed upon it.”
The report said Pentagon of
ficials disagree, however, and be
lieve Saigon’s fleet “is now ade
quate to meet any anticipated
requirements.”
Bulletin Board
TONIGHT
Parents Without Partners will
hold their organizational meeting
at 7:30 p.m. in the CNB Room of
the City National Bank, 301 S.
Texas Ave.
Air Force Corps Wives will
meet at Accents Contemporary,
3219 Texas Ave. at 7:30 for a
program on “Home Interior
Decorating.”
Wildlife Biology Association
will meet in Room 113 of the Bio
logical Science Building-East at
7:30. Speaker will be Don Frels,
Assistant Director of Wildlife
Restoration Region IV, Laporte,
Texas.
Agricultural Economics Club
will meet at 7:30 in Room 112 of
the Plant Sciences Building.
Student Senate Radio Commit
tee will meet in the Student Sen
ate Office at 7:00.
ASM and ASME will hold a
joint meeting in lecture Room
No. 1 of the Zachry Engineering
Center at 7:30. Ed Bravenec
from Armco Steel Co. will speak.
Engineering Technology Soci
ety will meet at 7:30 in Room
107 of the Mechanical Engineer
ing Shops. Nominations for offi
cers will be made.
WEDNESDAY
Phi Alpha Theta presents Dor
man H. Winfrey, Director of the
Texas State Library in Room 226,
Library Conference Suite at 7:30.
He will speak on “The Texas
State Library-Resources and
Services.”
Rodeo
and
Rick
Nelson
_ *1.00
1 Off
At Houston Post Night At The Rodeo you’ll enjoy
both and save $1.00 per seat. Performance time is
Tuesday, February 27, 7:45 p.m.. Astrodome®. Just
clip the coupon. One coupon, one ticket, one dollar
off. It’s the only night to see Rick Nelson . . . and
more fun than a “Garden Party’’
By Texas Press Association
AUSTIN — The Texas Legisla
ture swept away some of the
clouds last week and made im
portant moves toward “govern
ment in the sunshine.”
In addition to passing the re
vised “open meetings” law—pat
terned after Florida’s famous
“sunshine law” — House commit
tees approved a new “open rec
ords” law for Texas and placed
on the House calendar a “free
flow of information” bill.
Changes in the Texas open
meetings law will allow the pub
lic and press to be informed of
all “quorum” meetings of public
bodies. It was approved 132 to 13
by the House of Representatives
and moved over to the Senate
Jurisprudence Committee.
Closed meetings will be held to
a minimum under the exemptions
in the new law. It was authored
by Rep. Carl Parker of Port Ar
thur and submitted as a part of
House Speaker Price Daniel Jr.’s
“reform package.”
A marathon five-hour hearing
by the House Judiciary Commit
tee—chaired by Rep. DeWitt Hale
—was held on the “free flow of
information” measure. This pro
posal is H.B. 10, sponsored by
Rep. Dave Allred of Wichita Falls.
It grants a “news source” con
fidential privilege, and allows
Texas journalists to get more in
formation about governmental,
law enforcement and other mat
ters important to the public.
The House Judiciary Commit
tee approved the bill 16 to 4 and
sent it to the House floor for
debate this week.
H.B. 6, the “open records”
measure, will allow the public and
press access to most all records
of government, city, county and
state, that are not closed by state
statute. A few other restrictions
were placed on the bill—sponsored
by Rep. Lane Denton of Waco.
All of these “government in
the sunshine” measures follow the
pattem of new House rules which
open committee meetings, and
follow the trend toward “open
ness.”
NEW SHIPMENT OF WRANGLER
BLUE DENIM JEANS
Flare & Cowboy Cut
All Lengths Including 36 & 38
BRYAN WESTERN WORLD
3806 Texas Ave.
846-0224
*1.00 Off
With coupon on any $4.50 Arena, $4.50 or $3.50 Mezzanine,
$2.50 Loge or Upper seat for The Houston Post Family Night at
the Rodeo. One coupon per ticket must be presented at time of
purchase, no facsimiles allowed. Coupon will be honored at the
advance ticket window at the Astrodome®, at all five Foley’s or
on the night of the performance at the Astrodome®
February 27, 1973 • 7:45 p.m. • Astrodome
The Houston Post
We Get There First And Stay All Day
(Additional coupons available at The Houston Post)
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Cbe Battalion
member of THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Byline of Dependability for 125 years
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