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Campus
Courses in creative writing, Texas
history, the American novel, human
aging, the psychology of alcohol
abuse, and European people and
customs will be offered by Learner’s
Marketplace, a liberal arts program
offered by Texas A&M University.
Enrollment periods will be held
6-9p.m. Friday, Jan. 7 and 10 a.m.-4
p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8 at Manor East
Mall.
Sign-up ends Jan. 14. Enrollment
may also be completed at the Col
lege of Liberal Arts in the Har
rington Education Center on the
A&M campus, or by mail.
A $30 fee is charged per class and
no formal admission to A&M is re
quired to take the courses.
Dr. John M. “Jack” Knox, head of
the Department of Dermatology for
Baylor College of Medicine in Hous
ton, has been elected president of
Texas A&M University’s 70,000-
member Association of Former Stu
dents for 1977.
Local
The College Station Planning
and Zoning Commission will hold a
public hearing Thursday, 7 p.m. at
City Hall, to determine how
$275,000 in federal Community De
velopment funds should be spent.
City Planner Al Mayo said that
past hinds in 1975 and 1976 were
used primarily for street and water
drainage improvements.
A public hearing on aging pro
grams will be hosted by the Area
Agency on Aging of the Brazos Bai
ley Development Council and the
“Years for Profit’’ nutrition pro
gram Thursday, Jan. 6at 1:30p.m. in
the Medallion Room of the Bryan
Utilities Building, 300 S. Washing
ton, Bryan.
Title III and Title VII aging plans
for 1977-78 will be reviewed to plan a
more efficient coordination of serv
ices available to the elderly.
Texas
Gov. Dolph Briscoe has approved
three criminal justice grants for the
Brazos County area.
A total of $48,182 was awarded for
preliminary jail planning, a College
Station juvenile diversion unit in the
College Station Police Department,
and to continue expanded probation
services for both juvenile and adult
offenders.
Mexican authorities yesterday
marched Juan Pena Rocha to the
center of Gateway International
Bridge and turned him over to McAl
len police to answer a murder
charge.
Rocha was arraigned before McAl
len Municipal Judge Halbert Steele
on a charge he shot Tito Molina to
death outside a lounge two years
ago. The suspect apparently had
been living in Mexico since the
shooting.
Pearl Brewing Co. of San An
tonio has increased the price it pays
for recyclable used beverage cans by
two cents a pound.
The increase to 17 cents a pound
went into effect yesterday. Pearl of
ficials said more than 10 million
pounds of cans were collected by the
company during 1976 and the firm
paid out $1.5 million in the recycling
program.
In Houston, a federal mediator
has scheduled a meeting Wednesday
between representatives of striking
bus drivers and the Houston Transit
System.
E.D. Kincaid said he was “not
overly optimistic” the two sides
would agree to end the six-week-old
walkout by members of the Tranport
Workers Union.
The strikers are seeking more than
the two-year, 8 per cent pay raise
transit managers offered when the
old contract expired. The two sides
have not met since Dec. 17.
Officials at Snyder yesterday
said there was no danger to munici
pal water supplies from about 150
barrels of oil which spilled into a
tributary of the Colorado River.
The accident was caused by a
tanker truck that overturned
Monday night west of town. Au
thorities said crews were mopping
up the oil yesterday in a section of
the river that has a small flow.
weather
Increasing cloudiness and mild
today with a slight chance of light
rain. Considerable cloudiness and
cooler tonight and Thursday with a
chance of rain or drizzle. Light and
variable winds today becoming
north to northeast 8-18 m.p.h. this
afternoon. High today near 60. Low
tonight mid 30s. High Thursday
upper 40s. Precipation probability
20 per cent today, 30 per cent to
night and 40 per cent tomorrow.
The Battalion
Vol. 70 No. 57
6 Pages
Wednesday, January 5, 1977
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
WASTEWATER
TREATMENT PLANT
o>
This is a map of the new polling sites for the Col
lege Station ward system. They are College Hills
Elementary School (Ward 1), A&M Consolidated
Middle School (Ward 2), Lincoln Center (Ward 3),
South Knoll Elementary School (Ward 4), Bee
Creek Park (Ward 5) and the College Station Fire
Station (Ward 6). (See related story.)
College board chairman says
state schools overbuilding
United Press International
AUSTIN — State College Coordinating
Board Chairman Harry Provence said yes
terday Texas officials must slow the boom
in erecting new college buildings or the
state may find it has more college buildings
than it can afford to maintain.
Provence said Texas senior universities
and medical units have building debts in
excess of $1.3 billion, with payments on the
debts of more than $103 million annually.
He said his concern about “overbuilding” is
not limited to construction costs.
“Unless we put some brakes on the col
lege building boom, we can well end up
with more buildings than we can afford to
maintain,” Provence said. “Maintenance
costs are up. Utility costs are climbing so
rapidly that they have sparked heated con
troversy and regulatory legislation.”
He said budget requests for utility costs
at state universities for the next two years
are double present spending, totaling
about $167 million.
“Our college enrollments are peaking
and will start to decline. At the same time,
our state tax revenues and oil and gas in
comes to the Permanent University Fund
are growing at rapid rates. We have the
dedicated resources to provide adequately
for buildings at our colleges and universi
ties. We must use them wisely and share
them equitably,” Provence said.
Provence, a member of the Joint Advi
sory Committee on Government Opera
tions, recommended all state senior col
leges share in one of the two constitutional
funds.
At present, 22 colleges share in the
funds, while seven universities, four medi
cal schools and the state’s public technical
institute are excluded.
He also recommended approval of a con
stitutional amendment allowing revenue
from the constitutional funds to be used for
repair and remodeling as well as for new
college construction.
Rate board to recheck Bell rates
United Press International
AUSTIN — The Texas Public Utility
Commission has been asked to determine if
Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., has set
higher rates than those approved under a
recent commission order.
John F. Bell Jr., PUC legal counsel, filed
the motion charging the utility with setting
rates higher than those approved by the
PUC last month. The commission will con
sider the motion at its meeting Monday.
The PUC last month rejected South
western Bell’s request for a $298.3 million
rate increase, instead approving a $57.8
million rate increase, designed to lower
base rates for many customers.
Bell said the telephone company may
not understand the intent of the PUC or
der.
“There are a couple of areas we feel as
though what they have filed is in violation
of the commission order,” Bell said.
“There are some areas where they did
not reduce charges as they said they
would.”
Monday’s hearing originally was called
to hear the telephone company’s request
for a rehearing on the rate increase propo
sal.
“It could be that Bell didn’t understand
the intent of the order,” Bell said. T
wouldn’t go so far as to say there was any
bad faith on Bell’s part.”
Bell said he does not know how much
more the tariffs would increase Southwest
ern Bell’s revenue, but there would be
some increase.
In his motion. Bell asked the commission
to require the telephone company to more
fully explain and develop its tariff proposals
so the commission staff can compare it with
Southwestern Bell’s original rate request.
He also asked the commission to force
Southwestern Bell to comply with the rate
increases the PUC approved in December
and to refund to its customers any money
collected from rates that are inconsistent
with the PUC order.
Court says executions may be televised;
media to exercise right at own discretion
United Press International
DALLAS — A television station which
won a court order upholding its right to film
Texas executions now has to decide
whether it wants to broadcast the elec
trocutions.
KERA-TV station manager Ed Pfister
said yesterday the station will determine
whether to carry such broadcasts on the
basis of its “obligation and responsibility”
to the public.
The suit about the right to film execu
tions was filed by KERA newsman Tony
Garrett.
The order, issued Monday by U.S. Dis
trict Judge William M. Taylor Jr., rejected
arguments from the Texas Department of
Corrections to ban reporters from the
execution chamber and said the media
must be allowed to report and film the
executions.
Billy Porterfield, executive director of
KERA’s newscast, said the decision proba
bly would be made by the station’s board of
directors.
“If it were I, I would film it and televise
it,” Porterfield said.
Taylor’s order adding television cover
age followed a previous TDC policy of al
lowing wire service reporters from United
Press International and Associated Press to
represent the print media.
Taylor said a radio reporter would be the
fourth media representative attending the
execution.
“I think the people have the right to
know and should actually see what is going
on. I think it might make a difference in
what they think about the death penalty,”
Taylor said.
Texas prison head expected
courts to allow filming
United Press International
HUNTSVILLE — The director of the
Texas prison system says he has no com
plaint with a judge’s ruling allowing the
news media to be present at executions.
Texas Department of Corrections Direc
tor W.J. Estelle Jr. said yesterday his pro
hibition of the press was based on a re
cently passed state law. He said he ex
pected the challenge which resulted in the
law being declared unconstitutional.
“I fully anticipated there would be a test
ing of that decision,” Estelle said. “I did not
anticipate an execution where there would
be absolutely no representatives of the
press or electronic media.”
Although he said he was not surprised by
the ruling, he said he did not expect U.S.
District Judge William Taylor to go as far as
he did in overturning the law. He said he
expected the media would be granted ac
cess to death row inmates and would be
allowed to be present at executions, but did
not expect Taylor would allow the execu
tions to be filmed.
“We have had a concern about First
Amendment rights and the public’s right to
know,” Estelle said. “Very honestly, we
did not anticipate the mechanical or photo
graphic recording of an actual execution,
but other than that I have no problem.
Estelle said he did not believe Taylor’s
order established a lasting precedent nor
did he think any execution carried out in
the absence of news media representatives
was “secret.” State law requires as many as
24 specified witnesses at any execution.
Garrett said the issue was philosophical
and said he had no personal desire to film
an execution.
“I don’t care if I do it or somebody else
does it or if it’s done at all so long as the
right exists,” Garrett said.
University puts fall
housing applications
in moratorium
Texas A&M University has placed
a moratorium on applications for
on-campus housing next fall because
the number of applications already
exceeds available space except in the
Corps of Cadets.
Corps applications are the only fall
semester applications which will be
processed, announced the Housing
Office.
Applications for future semesters
are available at the Housing Office,
room 101 of the YMCA Building. A
new telephone number has been as
signed the office, 845-4744.
Officials are also advising persons
searching for off-campus housing to
wait until April or later since many of
the apartment complexes have indi
cated they will not lease until Au
gust.
A hopeful note was sounded be
cause early indications are that new
construction in Bryan-College Sta
tion will provide ample off-campus
housing, say the Texas A&M
spokesmen.
The Student Development Coor
dinator Office will issue an off-
campus housing manual in Feb
ruary with updated information on
topics such as leasing, finding
roommates, transportation and cost.
Polling sites set
for city elections
By RUSTY CAWLEY
Battalion StafT Writer
Polling sites for the new College Station
ward system were designated during a
meeting of city council last Wednesday.
The ward system adopted in November
divides the city into six wards. A council
man will be elected from each ward with
the mayor elected at-large.
Presently, councilman are elected on a
place system with six places. Under the
new plan, Ward 1 will elect a councilman to
Place 1, Ward 2 to place 2, etc. Each place
is to be filled by residents of the corre
sponding ward.
Places 1, 3 and 5 on the city council will
be up for election this April. Under the
ward system, odd-numbered wards choose
their councilmen during odd years, even-
numbered wards during even years.
The mayor is also elected in the even
years.
College Hills Elementary School was
chosen as the voting site for Ward 1. Lin
coln Center on the corner of Holleman and
Elenor was designated as Ward 3 polling
spot. Bee Creek Park will be the polling
center for Ward 5.
Councilman Gary Halter presently holds
the place 1 seat, Larry Ringer now holds
Place 3 and Anne Hazen is the Place 5
councilman. All three are eligible for re-
election since they live in the wards they
now represent.
As for the even-numbered wards which
elect their councilmen in 1978, A&M Con
solidated Middle School was chosen for
Ward 2, South Knoll Elementary for Ward
4 and the College Station Fire Station for
Ward 6.
No polling centers were placed on the
Texas A&M University campus. The cam
pus is divided into three districts by the
ward plan, two of which will elect council-
men in April.
The city council has often expressed the
opinion that it is easier for students to make
their way to an off-campus voting center
than for other residents to get to an on-
campus polling site.
Absentee voting will be held in the office
of the City Secretary in City Hall.
Aggies begin SWC play with win
Wally Swanson scores two points during Texas A&M’s victory against the
University of Texas basketball team last night in G. Rollie White Col
iseum. (see Story page 5) Battalion photo by Kevin Venner