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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 2, 1976)
ecj Id ■ poleJ M ul ortoiij Stew Cbe Battalion 1 ! I Tom(J lon g; Tip e,J field (j lier, IcCloi iBa ty en •tier, I ‘r andj rint i r, Wj IK0I11 imprii rk anil -mile. Vol. 68 No. 84 College Station, Texas Tuesday, March 2, 1976 avasota election’s legality questioned By JERRY NEEDHAM u Battalion Staff Writer I! 4 new section in the Texas Election lo® is creating confusion, and the City of njjj'Msotn held an election which may be mvasota is awaiting a decision on the les [lity fi' e election from the Texas Sec- ■ 11 -y of State’s office. ne incumbent and two new city com- iioners were elected by Navasota resi- s on February 21. We were of the opinion that we could our election on the day set in our e rule charter,’’ Navasota City Man- Wayne Yaeger said yesterday, icoraing to a section in the Texas Elec- Code which was approved in the last dative session (HB 275, Art. 201), all ral or state elections must be held on of four specified days during the year, section went into effect Jan. 1, 1976. or to January 1, a city could hold its itions on the days specified in its home- charter, which is granted by the state. |\ccording to the election code, the has taken the power of the home-rule ter away, ’ said Yaeger. “I don’t know if legal or not." “T-jlhe election code does make provisions poiriw 12 ['"1 ,A« 18 pf lecttfl irdfl urthi for emergencies specified by the governor, but permission must be granted before the election is held, Yaeger said. He said he does not know if the city will contest the constitutionality of the law if the election is ruled invalid. “I don’t understand the reason behind the legislature doing this, and I can’t find anyone who does,” Yaeger said. No cities are known to be in violation of this section of the election, said Lee Couch, a legal adviser in the Secretary of State’s office. “We had 17 election bills passed in this last legislative session, and they all had to get pre-clearance from the Federal Voting Rights Commission before going into ef fect,” Couch said. “This makes it extremely difficult for us to keep up with the law. I know it must be confusing to the cities, he said. “I doubt a court would invalidate Navasota’s election unless a citizen con tested it,” Couch said. One of the new sections to the election code sets aside the the third Saturday in January, first Saturday in April, second Saturday in August and the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November as legal days for municipal elections. The section expires on Jan. 23, 1978. “I don’t have any indication why the legislature changed the law, ” said Navasota City Attorney Joe Falco. “I’d like to know because I don’t understand it.” Falco said the city was not notified of any changes in the election code. “The state does not notify us when they pass a statute,” College Station City Man ager North Bardell confirmed yesterday. Bardell said he first learned of the new provisions by reading them in a newspaper when they were approved by the legisla ture. He said he later read an article about the changes in a magazine published by the Texas Municipal League. “It certainly does create confusion for cities which have set aside a day for elec tions under their home-rule charter,” Bar dell said. He pointed out that College Station is in compliance with the law as the city council has set the municipal elections for April 3, the first Saturday in April. If the state declares the election invalid, Navasota will have to have another one, Yaeger said. And this time it will be an emergency. ■ Vv-V-tffy ; . ' jm "fiM IP'- * •' ili * . »■ fiCWf - v. > ./Vi ’.l-h'’ x > tom*, ftp About 20 Frisbee flingers showed up Saturday for the Intramural Frisbee contest in Kyle Field. Each of the five contender in the Photo courtesy of Kevin Venner winners won a T-shirt. The photo is Wayne Newman. ITeiJ \cludes student r m MB I. 011 ree file for school board positions jThrce persons, including a Texas A&M have lik'd for A&.XI Consolidated Board School positions, I. II and IV. ■Hie present board members, Charles ■nsarling, Nancy Donaldson and Lain- kn Wilkes, are not seeking re-election. pbrir tarns expire with the April 3 elec- Vron. Position IV is vacant because Charles Hensailing, who replaced Dr. O. C. Cooper in September 1975, said he would remain in the position only until the spring elections. Bruce Upham, a 19-year-old sophomore business management major at A&M, has SWevl tw the. owe-year left in the position IV' term. He said he feels there should be more equal representation on the board. Upham is an 11-year resident of College- Station and was graduated from A&M Con solidated High School. Elliott Bray has filed for Position I va cated Position by the present school hoard President Nancy Donalds'on. Bray is pres ident of the College Hills Elementary school Parent-School Teacher Organization. Donaldson said she plans to devote her time to getting the proposed bond issue- passed . Roger Feldman lias filed for Position II, which is being vacated by Lambert Wilkes, present vice-president of the school hoard. Feldman says he has a sincere interest in the hoard. He has three children enrolled in College Station schools. Wilkes says he also intends to support the school bond issue. Filing closes Wednesday for the three positions. Nature, city law violated by signs Staff photo by Jim Hendrickson SIGNS, SIGNS, EVERYWHERE SIGNS The College Station sign laws are being revamped. By JIM PETERS Battalion City Editor I think that l shall never see, A billboard lovely as a tree. Perhaps, unless the billboards fall. I’ll never see a tree at all. — Ogden Nash College Station’s chief building inspec tor estimates that about 40 per cent of the signs in the city are in violation of the zon ing ordinance. The inspector. Bill Koehler, said some permits for non-conforming signs are still being issued. He admits, however, that his department does not have the time or manpower necessary for a sign enforce ment program. “I consider new building construction to be the highest (inspection) priority item right now,” Koehler said. “We just don’t have the time for signs. That’s one of the hazards of a growing city.” “It’s the only thing we’ve got to control signs and it doesn’t even get enforced,” acknowledged councilman Jim Gardner. A subcommittee of Gardner’s Develop mental Controls Committee is working on a “stop-gap” amendment to the existing or dinance which would govern the size and height of signs not attached to buildings. The measure would be an interim guide for sign controls until a comprehensive sign ordinance is drafted by the committee later this year, Gardner said. The amendment will control the large number of signs expected in the rapidly growing southeastern part of the city, Koehler said. Under the present 1972 zoning ordi nance, no restrictions are specified for the height or size of a sign. The golden arches of McDonalds or the towering Exxon sign at the corner of Texas Avenue and State Highway 30 are cases in point. The existing ordinance includes restric tions on “spectacular” signs (ones that flash, oscillate, crawl or otherwise move,) billboards, the number of signs per lot, and the minimum distance from the vehicle right-of-way. The proposed amendment would ad dress itself primarily to a' “setback re quirement which relates the area and height of a sign to its distance from the curb line. Such an amendment was drafted by the subcommitteee on Sign Control and Street Appearances for presentation to the De velopmental Controls Committee last month. It was referred back to committee for further study, particularly its projected ef fects on the existing signs. Koehler said his biggest concern is finding a way to fix a time limit on the signs that don’t conform to the new guidelines. Non-conforming signs now are allowed to remain intact until repairs or renovations are required. They must then be replaced by following the guidelines. “What’s the sense in prohibiting a new builder from erecting a sign above a certain huge, tall signs?” Koehler asked. “It’ll (a new ordinance) work to his extreme detri ment. ” “Another month’s delay could be very critical, ” said J ohn Garner, chairman of the sign subcommittee. Once the amendment is approved by the committee, it must be approved by the planning and zoning commission and the city council — about a 45-day process. Garner said. Already, several signs, that would violate the proposed amendment, have sprouted up along Texas Avenue, and a permit was recently granted for a 50-foot sign for Cul pepper Plaza. A survey taken by the city’s Public Works’ office last year indicated that almost 100 per cent of the signs violated provisions of the zoning ordinance. All but 15 of the 500 signs had no permits posted, a provi sion that should be eliminated anyway, Koehler said. At least 20 per cent violated the restric tion on the number of signs allowed per building lot. Several businesses and shop ping centers are still in violation. Ten per cent of the signs violated the ten-foot minimum setback portion of the ordinance. Alike percentage disobeyed the (See signs, page 4) THE FORECAST for Tues day and Wednesday is mostly cloudy mornings, partly cloudy afternoons with temperatures in lo w80’s. Tonight’s low 67. Index Eight students were arrested after a three month drug in vestigation. Page 2. The Fish Drill Team returns from Tulane competition with first place honors. Page 4. A forgotten coffee pot re sulted in a fire in Dorm 1. Page 3. The Aggie track team returns from the Meet of Champions in Houston. Page 6: Muster site returned to Administration lawn J By DAVID WHITE Campus muster will be returned to the front of the Administration Building, where muster was held in the 1960s. The muster will be held in G. Rol- lie White Coliseum only in the event of rain, said Fred McClure, muster chairman. Muster is an Aggie tradition that began when the Corps of Cadets gathered on April 21, 1903 to com memorate the anniversary of Texas independence won from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto. Since then, muster has been a time to gather and honor fellow Aggies who have died during the past year. The largest and most elaborate muster has always been the one held on campus. “Our main goal this year,” said McClure, “is to make more students aware of the muster as a tradition as well as respect of all Aggies.” ’ The speaker for this year’s campus muster will be Charlie Scruggs, class of 1947, vice president and editor of the Progressive Farmer magazine. McClure said the committee chose Scruggs on his experience and be cause of his “dynamic style, and be cause he is a solid Aggie.” Muster was held in Guion Hall, which was on the site of the Rudder Complex, until the Memorial Stu dent Center (MSC) was built in the 1950s. Muster was held in front of the MSC in the 50s and early 60s. During the 1960s muster was moved to the front of the Administration Building. In recent years the muster has been held in G. Rollie White Coliseum but poor acoustics have prompted the Muster Committee to move the location. McClure is assisted by a commit tee of seven other volunteers and representatives of various organiza tions involved in muster cere monies. Kelly DeWitt is vice- chairman of the committee assisting McClure. Other members are Joanne Arnold, Lisa Swanson and Buddy Olivarri. Representatives on the committee from the organization participating in the muster are: Joe Chandler, Corps of Cadets; Stuart Gregory, Ross Volunteers; Keith Merrick, from the band and Fred McClure, Singing Cadets. The campus muster is planned exclusively by students and is fi nanced by a student government fund. Cadet corps commanders , posts filled Texas A&M’s 1976-77 Corps of Cadets will be led by Robert W. Harvey and Ger aid W. Krenek, both of Houston. Selection of the juniors for next year’s top cadet command posts was announced Friday by Col. Thomas R. Parsons, com mandant. Harvey will serve as the cadet colonel of the corps or corps commander. He is mechanical engineering major. Krenek was named deputy commander. He is a math major. Both hold overall averages above 3.5. Harvey, Krenek and other new Cadet Corps officers, drawn from the junior class, will be sworn in at Commanders Conference next fall. They were selected through an inter view process involving Col. Parsons, Col. Robert Elkins and Col. Jack Ivins, heads of the Reserve Officers' Training Program here. President Jack K. Williams approves the selections.