Cbe Battalion
Copyright 0 1975, The Battalum
Vol. 69 No. 25 College Station, Texas Tuesday, October 14, 1975
Federal prison escapees
captured, two still at large
■pi
■^ Ihl ■ m
Taking off
Stall photo h\ Stexe Ca»!>lc*
University police haul off five hi- chains to clear a ramp designed for
cycles confiscated Monday morning the handicapped who must enter the
after officers cut their locks and east wing of the Chemistry Building.
Associated Press
SALEM, 111. — Two federal prison es
capees who had eluded searchers for three
days were captured Monday night after one
of them sought a drink of water at a house on
the edge of this farm town, authorities said.
Two other escapees were still at large.
A fifth convict was captured Sunday.
Maurice J. Philion, 40, was captured by
two deputy sheriffs about 8:30 p.m. Mon
day as he walked along the railroad tracks a
half-mile outside Salem.
Fifty minutes later, a second convict,
Edward Roche, 39, was captured, au
thorities said. Details of his capture were
not immediately available.
Sheriff s deputy Dennis Green said Phil
ion, a convicted bank robber, offered no
resistance. Green said the deputies found
Philion after learning that a man had
knocked on the door of a home and asked for
a drink of water.
“He was thirsty. He said they hadn’t had
water for three days,’ Green said.
Aside from a few cockle burrs on his
clothes, Philion looked all right. Green
said.
Early Monday, two men believed to be
among the fugitives were spotted on the
front porch of an isolated farmhouse, but
they fled when a watchdog started barking.
The five convicts, all serving long prison
sentences, used an electronic gadget to
open the locks on the prison gates Friday
night when they escaped from the
maximum security federal prison at Marion,
111., 75 miles south of Salem in Southern
Illinois.
During the day Monday, two spotter
planes and a helicopter circled overhead as
police and FBI agents carrying M16 rifles
and automatic shotguns ringed a six-mile
circle of woodlands and farm country. More
than 150 lawmen joined the search.
Roadblocks were set up on all six roads lead
ing from the area. Three specially trained
tracking dogs joined the search.
One escapee, a convicted murderer, was
captured Sunday when the fugitives’ stolen
car careened into a ditch near Salem during
a police chase. The other four took off on
foot.
The Salem policeman who was pursuing
the car when it crashed said he wounded
one of the fleeing men with a shotgun blast.
But the FBI said a trail of blood leading from
the scene turned out to be animal blood.
The search area is sparsely settled coun
tryside with no towns. Soybeans and field
corn grow in the fields.
Police said they did not know how many
persons live in the area. State trooper R. J.
Miller said he was not aware of many
families leaving the area. But, he added,
many persons had armed themselves.
T racks
story
delayed
The fourth story concerning the
moving of the railroad tracks,
scheduled for today’s edition, will
appear in Wednesday’s paper.
Jerry Needham will report on
Southern Pacific Railroad Com
pany’s position on possibly relocat
ing the tracks that run parallel to
Wellborn Road near Texas A&M’s
proposed west campus.
“I couldn’t blame them,” Miller said.
Before dawn Monday, two men, believed
to be half of the fugitive band, walked onto
the front porch of Mr. and Mrs. Larry Stor-
ment’s two story farmhouse, authorities
said.
Peggy Storment, 37, caught a glimpse of
them through a window.
Storment, also 37, was sitting in the
kitchen with two shotguns. He alerted au
thorities with his citizens’ band radio.
“They were here in less than a minute,"
he said.
Two sets of footprints were found, lead
ing in different directions, but searchers
were unable to follow them in the darkness.
The convicts used an electronic beeper,
made by one of the escapees in a prison
workshop, to open the electric locks on the
prison gates Friday night.
China visit to exclude Chou
Associated tress
TOKYO — Chou En-lai, ar
chitect of Chinese-American reap-
proachment, lies ill, perhaps criti
cally, in a Peking hospital and
probably will not receive his old
partner in detente. Secretary of
State Henry Kissinger, during his
Oct. 19-23 China visit.
Stricken with heart disease in
the spring of 1974, the charismatic
and once tireless Chinese premier
has been barred for nearly a month
from seeing foreign visitors.
Yugoslav Premier Dzemal
Bijedic left China on Sunday after a
week-long visit without meeting
the 77-year-old Chou.
Whether Kissinger sees the ail
ing premier or not, he will be deal
ing with a familiar team of
negotiators — First Vice Premier
Teng Hsiao-ping and Foreign
Minister Chiao Kuanhua — both
executors of Chou’s moderate
policies.
In the nearly 11 months since
Kissinger’s last China visit, Chou
has put the Chinese administrative
house in order, thus insuring a
smooth transition in the event of
his death or further incapacity.
Should Teng, as now expected, be
come premier, he would have a full
quota of 11 vice-premiers and 29
ministers in all posts to help him.
Chou’s success in filling gaps in
the government administration
'which had existed since the 1966-
69 cultural revolution may prove to
be one of his most significant and
lasting contributions to Chinese
stability.
Kissinger is expected to stop
over briefly in Tokyo going to and
from Peking, chiefly to brief Prime
Minister Takeo Miki on the
Chinese talks. He has already said
Korean security will be one of the
subjects — one of great interest to
Japan — discussed in the Chinese
capital.
Kissinger will be making prep
arations for President Ford’s China
trip, expected late in November.
The Chinese would like to see that
visit crowned with full diplomatic
recognition but are said to be aware
of, if not happy about, the fact it
will not take place.
They recognize that Ford’s
hands are tied by his quest for
another term in the White House.
Though recognition might be
popular in the United States, the
President would risk losing the
support of pro-Taiwan conserva
tives in Congress.
Officials debate
consolidation
By J. BRIAN FOOTE
Battalion Staff Writer
Mayor Lloyd Joyce of Bryan said there are strong economic
reasons for College Station and Bryan to consolidate.
Joyce debated Monday with mixed emotions as he presented
arguments favoring consolidation. College Station City Council
man Gary Halter, on the other hand, said cooperation between the
cities with possible co-ownership of city services was more work
able, but consolidation would be to College Station’s disadvantage.
Joyce was for unification of effort through consolidation because,
“What is good for one city is good for the other. ” He added it would
provide economy of government and better services with one
police department, one fire department and other unified services.
College Station would no longer have to purchase its power from
Bryan’s electrical utility plants if the cities consolidated, said Joyce.
Competition for sales-tax dollars could be dangerous if it created
attitudes against shopping in the other city, he added.
The two cities were already in business together with the electri
cal utilities, telephone, natural gas, water, civil defense and other
services, Joyce said. He considered the cities “one people.
The major also mentioned the cooperation in the Bryan-College
Station Chamber of Commerce and an Intergovernmental Coor
dinating Committee.
Joyce said that the decision was up to the people. They should
contact their mayors and the city councils. And if it was merited, he
felt that the cities should appropriate funds to study the pos
sibilities.
Halter tried to present what woidd prevent consolidation. He
stated that a study showed only eight successes in ninety attempts
at county-city or city-city consolidation. “There is a trend toward
decentralization and local control in the county now, said Halter.
A required petition of 15 per cent of the qualified voters and
'required majority vote of each city for consolidation was stressed.
He said that zoning laws and school zones would be issues, hut that
existing animosities were not valid issues. Consolidation would not
necessarily he more economical for the cities, Halter said.
Campus
economical and a benefit to the environ
ment.
Women will have a limited role in Bon
fire activities this year.
They will be allowed to sell candy, cokes,
chewing tobacco and coffee, Marianne
Hughes, women’s coordinator for the Bon
fire, said Monday night.
They will be allowed to go to the cutting
area only in groups and must call ahead on
the Citizen Band radios used for communi
cation. “It’s too dangerous for the women,”
said Hughes.
Women can go to the stack but remain
outside the perimeter fires, Hughes added.
•
The Corps trip to Fort Worth this
weekend includes a midnight yell practice
and dance at Texas Women’s University
and a march and yell practice in downtown
Fort Worth.
The activities kick-off Friday night with
the annual TWU-sponsored dance at Old
Sub Ballroom on the TWU campus at 8. A
midnight yell practice will be held on the
Hubbard Hall lawn at 11:30 p.m.
The Corps will assemble at 9:30 a. m. on
Grove and Pecan Streets and move-out at
10. The parade will travel west on Weather
ford, south on Houston, east on 9th Street,
north on Main and east on First Street. The
reviewing stand will be at the Tarrant
County Convention Center with Brigadier
General John E. Taylor Jr., USAF, review
ing.
•
A two-day conference on using city
waste as an energy source will be held Oct.
16-17.
Texas A&M engineers and scientists plan
to bring together city officials and rep
resentatives of industry and government to
show them that converting garbage to
steam and electrical energy is possible.
City
Claims for unemployment insurance in
Bryan dropped from 741 in August to 537 in
September, the Texas Employment Com
mission (TEC) in Bryan reports.
During September the TEC provided
423 workers with jobs, 17 jobs less than last
month.
Currently there are 1,242 people looking
for jobs through the Bryan TEC.
The preliminary statistics for August in
Bryan show 1,144 people unemployed out
of a labor force of 30,492.
The present local unemployment rate for
Bryan-College Station is 3.8 per cent.
•
The A&M Consolidated elementary
schools began nutrition programs Monday
for National Lunch Week, Oct. 12-18.
Both College Hills and South Knoll
Elementary Schools are participating in
this year’s program entitled “Nutrition —
You Are What You Eat.”
Mrs. Anu Barton, Consolidated’s food
services director, said the program stresses
lunches with at least one-third or more of
the recommended daily allowances of
needed nutrients.
She said this type of lunch is served at
Consolidated schools each day.
The American School Food Service As
sociation said an example of this kind of
meal is a cheeseburger, potatoes, coleslaw,
peaches and milk.
Texas
Tarleton State University has been rec-
ognjzed as a bicentennial university and
. representatives will be presented a bicen
tennial flag and plaque at the homecoming
luncheon Saturday.
Dr. Sue McGinty, bicentennial commit
tee chairperson, is coordinating activities
for university organizations planning to
participate in bicentennial homecoming ac
tivities.
A University Arts and Crafts Fair, in
cooperation with the city of Stephenville, is
being planned for April 9-11.
•
Senator Lloyd Bentsen, D-Tex., presi
dential hopeful, said he is having trouble
raising as much money as he would like for
the campaign, Monday.
He said he would probably enter presi
dential primaries in Ohio, California,
Pennsylvania, Upstate New York and
downstate Illinois as well as Texas next
year.
National
Congress should examine spending re
ductions proposed by President Ford over
the past year for an indication of the budget
cuts he will seek in the future, an aide said
Monday in Washington, D. C.
•
The fire at Atlantic Richfield’s Arco re
finery in Philadelphia was declared under
control Monday afternoon, but flames were
still in evidence as more than 20 firemen
continued to pour water and foam onto
nearby storage tanks.
The only reported injury was suffered by
Mayor Frank Rizzo had his thigh broken
when he was knocked to the ground. He
had been on the scene to observe the
firefighters.
The cause of the blaze is unknown and no
estimate of damages has been made.
Slult |>1><**<> l»> Su-w- Colilo
Loading confiscated bicycles into the back of a cam
pus police scooter are Officers Charles Owen (left),
Josie Hoelsher and Russel Rector. Five bicycles were
Loading up
confiscated Monday as the officers cleared the handi
capped ramp leading into the east wing of the Chem
istry Building. The ramp is not marked.
Utility rates investigated
By JACK HODGES
Battalion Staff Writer
College Station has a utility-rate
structure committee, which is pre
sently looking into utility rates
Bryan is charging College Station,
temporary committee chairman
James Dozier said Monday.
The committee was appointed in
late August and held its first meet
ing two weeks ago. The committee
includes seven residents chosen by
the city council.
In the first meeting the members
organized and outlined the rate
structure, Dozier said.
“I don’t feel that the committee
will have much bearing on whether
the rates go up or down, but it can
get citizens’ input on what the rates
should be,” he said.
College Station has an interim
contract, effect until Dec. 31, with
the city of Bryan, to buy needed
water and electricity.
Both cities must renegotiate a new
^contract before Jan. 1. Before July
1, when Bryan increased the utility
rates, for both cities College Sta
tion residents payed less for its
utilities than the residents in
Bryan, College Station City Man
ager North Bardell said Monday.
The reason for the different rates
is that Bryan uses more of its utility
income in its city budget.
“College Station hasn’t as big a
budget and expenses and we didn’t
need to charge as much,” Bardell
said.
Bryan implemented its rate in
crease a month earlier and College
Station absorbed the cost differ
ence for the residents, he said.
Bryan increased the rates, fol
lowing a compromise with College
Station, which brought the two
cities’ rates to about the same.
College Station’s present elec
trical costs for residential areas is
$2.50 charge per month. The
breakdown is 5.6 cents per kilowatt
hour for the first 25 kwh, 4.4 cents
per kwh for the next 75 kwh, 3.54
cents per kwh for the next 100
kwhs, 1.9 cents per kwh for over
200 kwhs and 1.3 cents per kwh for
over 700 kwhs used from
November through April. These fi
gures come from the new ordi
nance passed by the College Sta
tion City Council Aug. 1.
According to the previous ordi
nance, the cost of electricity for re
sidents was 5 cents per kwh for the
first 25 kwhs, four cents per kwh for
the next 75 kwh, 3 cents per kwh
for the next 100 kwh, 1.7 cents per
hour for more than 200 kwh except
1.15 cents per kwh for over 700
kwhs used in the months .of
November through April.
The next meeting of the commit
tee will be today at the College Sta
tion City Hall at 5 p.m.