The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, September 24, 1975, Image 1
Campus The Chemistry Department is holding a physical chemistry seminar Thursday featuring Paid W. Jagodzinski. The presentation, “Resonance Raman Spectra of Biological Molecules, will he at 4 p.m. in room 231 of the Chemistry Building. Texas A&M University’s student body this year includes 148 National Merit Scholars, up 19 from last year. The 15-percent gain should move Texas A&M up significantly in the rankings among colleges and universities having large enrollments of National Merit Scholars. For the past two years, Texas A&M has ranked 17th, tops among public institutions in the state. • Introduction and advanced Fortran short courses will be offered by the Texas A&M Data Processing Center in October. The introductory course will be held 3:30-4:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays beginning Oct. 6 and continuing through Oct. 31. The advanced short course will meet 3-5 p.m. Oct. 7 and 9. Registration may be completed by contacting Susan Sandefer in the DPC or calling 845-4211. A staff member will be in Rep. Olin E. Teague’s district office in Bryan Sept. 24, 25, and 26, Teague, D-Tex., announced Friday. “Having a staff member in Bryan three days each month is in !« I keeping with my decision last month to have someone there on a regular basis, he said. Teague s 6th Congressional District office is on the main floor in the old Bryan Post Office at 216 W. 26th St. Teague said Roy Garrett will be in the main floor office from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on those three days. The phone number is 779-5744. Texas A federal judge struck down a motion for acquittal in the Hunt wiretap trial Tuesday and the defense disclosed it will lead off its case with the widow of billionaire oilman H. L. Hunt. • Zertuche’s General Store transferred more than $139,000 from its bank account to the bank account of a Benavides store owned by suspended District Court Judge O. P. Carrillo and Duval County Commissioner Ramiro Carrillo, an Internal Revenue Service agent testified Tuesday. It is not against the law for a county judge to spend county hinds on hiring as his secretary the daughter of d county commis sioner, Attv. Gen. John Hill said Tuesdav. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint Tuesday against Gulf States Energy Corp. and six company officials accusing them of selling unregistered securities and “employing a device to defraud investors. • 1 Metropolitan San Antonio grew to more than one million residents in either May or June, the city s chamber of commerce said Tuesday. National The Secret Service is drawing up new protective procedures for President Ford, who insisted Tuesday he will not become a hostage of his off ice because of would-be assassins. (See related storv, P«. 7) • Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, accused of attempting to assas sinate President Ford, was declared mentally competent Tuesday to stand trial and act as her own co-counsel. • The woman who fired a shot at President Ford on Monday bought the weapon from a private collector earlier in the day' and bought another gun from him to weeks before, the collector con firmed on Tuesdav. • California Gov. Edmund Brown Jr. signed bills Tuesday imposing mandatory sentences for persons convicted of using guns in committing serious crimes and requiring gun purchasers to wait 15 day s for delivery . Law enforcement officials say they were alerted to watch for Sara Jane Moore during an appearance by President Ford at Stanford University on Sunday . A day later, she fired a newly purchased gun at the President in San Francisco. (See related story, pg. 7) • Sara Moore told authorities that she debated whether to shoot at President Ford and that if he had come into view 10 minutes later she would have been gone because she wanted to pick up her nine- year-old from school. • Patricia Hears! was ordered by a federal judge in San Fran cisco to undergo a mental examination. (See related stories, pg. 6) • TheU. S. House of Representatives, by a vote of204 to 201, approv ed an amendment to the energy bill Tuesday prohibiting bus ing of school children beyond the nearest school. • Hurricane Eloise, sprawning tornadoes to accompany torren tial rains and roaring winds, plowed a wide path of destruction almost 150 miles inland Tuesday after pounding the Florida panhandle’s coast with its hardest punch. World Ministers of the 13-nation oil export bloc met in Vienna today amid reports they will hike the price of their oil by about 15 per cent. Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said Tuesday night that his country will press for a continued freeze on oil prices or only a nominal increase on order to increase consumption and help Western economies out of their current recession. • The French government said Tuesday it has won at least a temporary reprieve for a French archeologist threatened with death by her African rebel captors unless France gives them military supplies and money. The American dollar surged Tuesday to its highest rates this year on Europe’s money markets while the price of gold plummeted more than $8 an ounce, a record drop in a single session. Shell, Exxon yield to ecologists Associated Press HOUSTON — Two major oil companies are suspending coal mine development projects in Mon tana and Wyoming because of ad verse court rulings on environmen tal impact statements. Shell Oil Co. announced Tuesday' the suspension of a multi-million dollar design and construction con tract for mine facilities on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana. Carter Oil Co., an Exxon Co. USA affiliate, announced Monday it is suspending next Tuesday' its de velopment of the Rawhide surface coal mine near Gillette, Wyo. Keith Doig, Shell vice president for mining ventures, said recent court decisions, particularly one brought by the Sierra Club against the Interior Department, have seri ously impaired efforts to develop much-needed energy resources. “Unless the decisions are re versed, they will result in great waste of dollars, and, more impor tantly, of time needed to attack our energy problem,” Doig said. C. E. Smith Jr., Carter presi dent, said the Sierra suit seeks to require an environmental impact statement covering not only the Eastern Powder River Basin in Wyoming but the entire four-state Northern Great Plains region. He said Interior already has prepared a six-volume environmental impact statement and extensive hearings were held in July. “The issue in the Sierra Club case is the geographic area which should be covered by an impact statement, not the manner in which the area is to be mined and reclaimed. Smith said. Rawhide was to have opened in 1976 with a production goal of 12 million tons of coal a y ear by 1980. Smith said the Sierra suit could delay coal production for years at great cost to customers of electric utilities which plan to use the coal. “It is my belief that in this case the environmental cause has gone far beyond what is reasonable, ob jective, or in the interest of the na tion,’’ Smith said. Shell said the suspended Mon tana project involved about 300 con struction jobs and about 240 mining jobs. Doig said the “energy roadblock court decisions require additional, overlapping, broad-scale impact statements covering new coal de velopment on federal and Indian lands in several western states. "These decisions are potentially very serious in terms of their ripple and inflationary effects on our na tional economy, Doig said. “The western low sulphur coal im pounded by the suits is among the lowest cost, most environmentally acceptable fossil fuels available for power plants. Smith said the Rawhide opera tions were being suspended pend ing resolution of the Sierra suit. Smith said he estimates that de mand for Powder River Basin coal which could be affected by the suit will approximate 64 million tons a y ear by 1980. “My estimate also indicates this coal would have been used by 25 utilities in 13 states to fuel a signific ant percentage of forecast power generated in 1980, he said. New Orleans Jazz New Orleans’ Preservation Hall Jazz Band brought a little southern jazz to the Rudder Center auditori um last night. See related story, pg. 5. the Battalion Copyright (u) 1975, The Battalion ^ Vol. 69 No. 14 College Station, Texas Wednesday, September 24, 1975 Regents lower fees for foreign students in financial straits Court order halts phone hike By STEVE GRAY City Editor A temporary restraining order was issued late Wednesday after noon against the General Tele phone Company, putting a quick halt to the $1,073,193 local phone- rate increase that went into effect Monday. The order was issued by 85th Dist. Court Judge W. C. Dav is in Bryan. B. A. Erwin, div ision manager of General Telephone, late Tuesday night said the order came as no sur prise to him. “At this point, all I can say is that we will fully comply with the orders of the court and go from there, he said. A hearing on the permanent in junction against the phone company has been set for Oct. 3 in district court. Neeley Lewis, city attorney for College Station, said Tuesday night he expects General Tele- The A&M Consolidated School Board approved a bond issue of more than $5.5 million at its meet ing Tuesday night. The seven-member board, con tinuing its meeting from late Mon day night, approved the $5,506,000 bond issue that will be voted upon sometime in late October or early November. The board voted 3 to 1 in favor of the bond issue, with board member Bruce Robeck abstaining. Board member Lambert Wilkes voted against including a new school in this bond issue because details on the school hav e not been finalized. “You can’t tell the public you need some kind of school for some grades kindergarten through eighth, on some site some time in the future and expect any one to v ote on it, Robeck said. Board member O. C. Cooper was not present at the meeting. School Board President Nancy Donaldson votes only in case of a tie among the board. The main expenditures in the bond issue are the new school, a vocational building for the high school and physical education build ings for the elementary schools. Other expenditures are increased food services for the middle school, drainage improvements for the middle school and remodeling or new construction of administrativ e facilities. The proposed cost of the new school is $1,813,000, Superinten dent Fred A. Hopson said. phone to react quickly if the court issues a permanent injunction on the rate increase early next month. “If we prevail, I hi sure that they (General Telephone) will file suit in court to re-implement their in creased rates, he said. The phone company requested the rate increase from the cities of Bry an and College Station in April. Both cities held public hearings concerning the proposed increase. General Telephone and both cities attempted Thursday to reach a compromise on the increase but the meeting resulted in a stalemate. Both sides amended their original offers several times but finally be came deadlocked on the issue after more than two hours of negotia tions. The phone company last sought a rate increase in May 1972. The case was finally settled out of court bet ween both cities and General Tele phone after a y ear of litigation in the 85th District Court. He said the cost excludes any ex penses for science equipment. The proposed phy sical education facilities for College Hills Elemen tary School and South Knoll Elementary School would cost $1,315,300.’ Hopson said the administration woidd like to see the fifth and sixth grades put in the school but no plans have been made as to what grades will be included in the new school or its location. A large gym facility, interior equipment and physical education classrooms are proposed for both schools for physical education prog rams. Hopson said the addition of these facilities and more teachers would give regular classroom teachers more time to plan for classes. The vocational building for the high school will cost $1,404,400. School Board President Nancy Donaldson said this expenditure was of top priority since it has been planned by the board for the last five years. The A&M Consolidated Middle School would receive $578,8(X) for improvements in the bond issue. Drainage improvements for the middle school will cost $67,500. The improvements would in clude retaining walls to help drain water into surrounding streets. Additional classroom facilities for the middle school will cost $137,300. The cafeteria capacity in the mid dle school would also be increased along with improvements to the de- (See “Consol”, page 9) By KARLA MOURITSEN Campus Editor The Texas A&M University Board of Regents Tuesday approv ed a request to charge lower tuition fees for some international students who were placed in extreme finan cial distress due to recent tuition increases. A minimum rate of $14 per credit hour was set by the Regents, with the total charge si*l at it minimum of $200. The development of a Horticul tural Sciences Department was also approved by the Regents. “It was a mov e undertaken many years ago by most land grant col leges, said University President Jack K. Williams. He explained the delay in remov ing horticulture from the Soil and Crops Sciences Department by say ing, “We ve worked hard at not overdoing the administrative ele ment at A&M. “No one has any thing close to this in Texas, Williams said. He added that the proposed department should rank about fifth or sixth in the nation when completed. The establishment of the depart ment is subject to the approv al of the Coordinating Board, Texas State College and University Sys tem . The Regents also authorized A&M to allow senior citizens to audit courses free of charge. Per sons age 65 or older must obtain the approval of the department head and the instructor involved, with approv al being subject to the av ailability of classroom space. Tarleton State University, a part of the A&M system, was authorized to offer a four-year degree program in horse production and manage ment. TSU already has the facilities to start the program, but further growth must wait until the program receives approval from the state coordinating board. Currently, TSU has a four-stall stallion barn and accommodations for 16 mares and foals. When the program is approved, a horse specialist will be hired to improv e the facilities and to expand the herd from its present size of two mares and two stud race horses. The Regents awarded contracts totaling $6,429,487, including $5,011,200 for a new science build ing at A&M. Ten thousand dollars was allocated for additional tennis courts and a new varsity baseball field. All of the contracts awarded are subject to the approv al of the Coor dinating Board, Texas College and University System. The new science building, to be used by A&M s biology, chemistry, and phy sics programs, will be built by B-F-W Construction Company of Temple. The four-story classroom and laboratory building will occupy the site formerly occupied by green houses. Kenaunee Scientific Equipment Corporation of Adrian, Mich, re ceived a contract for $455,467 to re place the fume hoods in the organic chemistry laboratories. Drew Woods, Inc. of Carthage received $280,500 to install central air- conditioning in the Heep Building, and the Ed A. Wilson Construction Company of Fort Worth receiv ed $163,464 to renovate the old En gineering Extension Serv ice Build ing for use by the University Police and the Radiological Safety Office. (See “Regents", page 7) CS Council to hear sidewalk proposals The College Station City Council is scheduled on Thursday night to consider recommendations made by the city s safety committee concerning sidewalks accessible to schools in the city . The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at City I fall, 1101 S. Texas Ave. The committee has recommended that several sidewalks be constructed in the neighborhoods surrounding College Hills Elementary School, 101 Williams, and South Knoll Elementary School, 1220 Boswell. Councilmen will also consider establishing a policy for im plementing park land requirements on unplatted land in the city . A report will be presented by the city s ambulance commit tee. The group has met with the Joint B-CS, Brazos County Ambulance Committee during the past week. The report is expected to adv ise the council to require Sherrill Ambulance Co. in Bryan to keep accurate records. The council will also consider establishing an arboretum in Bee Creek Park and application for further Community De velopment Program funds. mm $5,500,000 bond issue Tlie A&M Consolidated School Board funds, if approved by voters, would be voted 3 to 1 with one abstention in favor used to expand classroom facilities in the of holding a $5.5 million bond issue. The school district. School board OKs $5.5 million bond By PAULA GEYER Battalion Staff Writer