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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1977)
fexas press ASSOCIATION 1977 e Ba Vol. 71 No. 1 12 Pages Thursday, September 1, 1977 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 Weather Partly cloudy, warm and humid today with easterly winds 15-20 m.p.h. No rain. High today and to morrow mid-90s; low tonight mid- 70s. Slightly increasing cloudiness Friday with 20 per cent chance of showers. udents apartment life unsettling SSI 1 je students who leased new apartments in Bryan-College Station this discovered that the buildings were not ready for occupancy when they arrived last week. They Cheyenne apartments above were among those not meeting construction schedules. Battalion photo by Ken Herrera. Tax for tourists draws fire .49 .38 19 33 98' l ►9 <1 Bv DARRELL LAN FORD Battalion Staff motel owners and managers are with the College Station City I over a proposed increase in the lintel tax. ike is a 1 per cent increase in the ich hotel-motel people are against they say higher tax will eventually pirists from this area. ■ouncil was going to take definite n the meeting last Thursday night, h hearing arguments from several hotel people they tabled the mat- hotel-motel personnel agreed that nt is a higher tax than most, if not ?r cities in Texas. City Manager Bardell said Carrollton has a 4 per [ty tax, plus the mandatory 3 per ite tax. 3 per cent city tax drew $76,000 in bout $16,000 from the tax earnings ?en spent; the rest is salted away, ' interest. of the $16,000 was given to the ler of Commerce, to be spent on ires, ih Deitrich, manager of the Holiday said Tuesday, “I don’t think it’s going them (the customers) if the tax is led.” I think somebody else is going to itjasa tool to say. Don’t go to College the taxes are higher. It’s going to a useful cause, I’m for Hit’s going to sit in a quiet fund, I in’t be for it. The state is consider- reasing its tax to 4 per cent also, he He suggested checking with other ■ities to see how much its taxes are. looked into a Holiday Inn tax guide, that all other major Texas cities 6 per cent tax rate. Pottberg, co-owner of Ponderosa Inn, said she doesn’t believe the ise is necessary. “I don t think the il knew that the tax was already 6 per she said. e said she always has complaints about the present tax, and expects more if the tax is 7 per cent. She pointed out that only one half of 1 per cent is used for direct tourist promo tion, the other two and a half is spent in indirect tourist promotion. Pottberg said she called up the Texas Hotel-Motel Association and asked if any other cities have a 7 per cent rate. The person at the other end of the line said she knew of none. Mrs. Dick Schwab, resident manager of Saber Inn, said T think it’s completely un fair. Why don’t they tax theaters or apart ment projects? she asked in jest. “They have to satisfy me that it is needed’” she said. “Unless they have spent it, why should they increase it?” she asked. Betty Young, general manager of the Ramada Inn, stud tax on a $20 room would he $1.40, not $1.20, under the new tax. Councilman Gary Halter said, “I thought they would be delighted with the increase. He said the council has been criticized, even by Bryan, for not spend ing the funds. He said the council has been working with the Chamber of Commerce to estab lish an tourist information office here. It would require more than $100,000 to put an office in or around the proposed com munity center. One possible site for the center is on Andrew Street, which Halter said would not make a good site for a public informa tion office. Halter said he would prefer the office to be on University Drive or Texas Avenue, more visible locations. Councilman Larry Ringer said yester day that 1 per cent increase would double the amount of money spent for direct promotion. He thought the hotel-motel people would have been pleased with it, because it’s not out of their pockets. Supreme Court Justice Powell leaves gas on in Crystal City United Press International CRYSTAL CITY, Tex. — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell Wednesday at least temporarily forbid the LoVaeo Gathering Co. from shutting oft’the city’s natural gas supply for not paying its bill. Powell ordered the gas to remain on past the 12:01 a.m. Thursday scheduled cut off. He said he would study docu ments in the case to determine if LoVaca could cut the gas supply to the city of 8,000. Crystal City is refusing to pay more than $750,000 Lo-Vaca says it is owed. Residents have refused to pay the bill until a suit is settled which challenges Lo-Vaca’s right to charge rates higher than those contracted. Lo-Vaca says it has had to increase rates because its costs have risen. Pedro Nieto, an attorney for Texas Rural Legal Aid Inc., said attorneys fighting to keep the gas flowing were working to prepare more information for Powell’s study in the hope he would permanently bar the cutoff. The application to stop LoVaca which Powell approved Wednesday said residents who started the lawsuit are on fixed incomes, below the federal poverty standard, and needed the gas for cooking and heating. They also claim there was a lack of proper notice and an opportunity to be heard prior to the cutoff. “Of course, we re glad we got the restraint, but that’s only pending consideration of the documents we filed and we really don’t know what he’s going to do in terms of longer range relief, but sometime (Thursday) we ll get word on whether he’ll enjoin Lo-Vaca,’ Nieto said. “We have until 9 a.m. to supply additional documentation. Paul Rich, another attorney for Texas Rural Legal Aid, is in Washington now and he will be prepared to walk these into Powell’s chambers in the morning. “He (Rich) has a number of attorneys doing some investiga tion and they will dictate their findings to him by phone to night and he will have them typed up there and ready for presentation. Nieto said the additional information hopefully would in clude documentation Lo-Vaca charged Crystal City, and perhaps other cities, twice for gas. A spokesman for Lo-Vaca in Houston said following Powell’s order, “Obviously we ll comply with the wishes of the court since the appeal was filed so late. “The court obviously needs time to review all the papers submitted, so we will delay until the court rules further.” Lo-Vaca won authority from the Texas Supreme Court ear lier this summer to cut off the gas unless Crystal City paid $772,743.68 in overdue bills. A U.S. District Court threw out the initial complaint, which now is before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Tuesday, the federal appeals court, Tuesday refused to extend a five-day injunction it issued last Friday against the gas cut off. Ry GLENNA WHITLEY One Texas A&M University student spend nine days in an apartment that had not yet been certified for occupancy. Others moved in with friends until their apartments were completed. Students who opted to stay in motels somethimes had their rent paid by the apartment own ers. Mnay students decided to rent in other apartment buildings. But all were inconvenienced because several apartment complexes in the Bryan-College Station area were not com pleted before the start of classes at Texas A&M. Sundance, Cheyenne, Arbor Square and Hyde Park were not ready for stu dents to move in the weekend before school began. The first time some students were aware of the delay was the day they at tempted to move in. Cheyenne apart ments, whose leasing agent was A&M Realty, had leasing dates before the start of school. Reed Jones, a sophomore who lived in the apartments nine days before they were certified, said he knew nothing of the delay until he arrived to move in. His roommate Aadrian Anderson, said he had contacted A&M Realty repeatedly in Au gust and came to College Station about a week before he was to move in. He said the realty company and the apartment manager repeatedly assured him the building would be ready. Anderson said he was angry and irri tated. “Especially since it’s my first year here. I don’t know what the heck is going on.” Of 84 units, 74 were leased at Cheyenne. Four of the units were cer tified for occupancy yesterday. These units will be occupied. “We placed 90 per cent in other apart ments,” said Margo Reese, a salesperson at A&M Realty. More than 100 students decided to rent other units rather than wait for Cheyenne to be completed. “Actually they got a better apartment for about the same price. They all seemed happy,” Reese said. Anderson said that the water was turned on when he had planned to move in, but that minors, appliances, carpet, cabinets, doorknobs and drapes had not been in stalled. The electrical wiring had not been strung from the utility poles to the units. Some future residents worked for $3.25 an hour to help complete their own units, Anderson said. Seven or eight people worked to install oven vent hoods, move appliances and attach doorknobs. Jones said the owner and his family worked with them to clean and complete the apartments. “I can assure you he spent a lot of extra money to get them finished,” Jones said. A spokesman for A. B. Syptak, Jr., the owner of Cheyenne Apartments, said the delay was caused by the failure of Sears Department Store to supply the inside furnishings as contracted. The Planning and Zoning Commission’s late approval of the complex also contributed to the delay, the spokesman said. She said the tenants who decided to honor their leases at Cheyenne do not have to pay rent until Sept. 15. The rest of the Cheyenne apartments should be ready for occupancy soon, the spokesman said. No money would be lost by the owners, she noted. However, the manager of A&M Realty, Gerald Farrar, said, “The owners just have to bite the bullet.” He said they will probably lose money because of the delay. Many apartments are leased steadily all year round in some areas, but in Bryan- College Station the turnover is considered seasonal, corresponding to the university school year. Sundance Apartments on Harvey Rd. had deadline problems, too. June Spikes, the manager, said their problems involved hanging drapes, instal ling locks and repairing a backed-up sew age system. “We didn’t lose anybody. Everyone (tenants) was really nice except for a few,” Spikes said. “The units themselves are finished.” All but three of the 316 units had been leased. “We had problems getting personnel, like plumbers and electricians,” Spikes said. Arbor Square Apartments on Southwest Parkway were leased for Sept. 9 occu pancy, said manager Susie Glover. “We were really rushed. We Couldn’t get furniture on time. But\the day they were completed they (tenants) moved in,” she said. Hyde Park Apartments off Boyett Street were not completed by the beginning of school, but the lease signed by renters states Sept. 1 as the leasing date. Appliances, carpet and drapes are among the items not installed. Judge Boyett, the owner of the complex, said there were no students in apartments that were not inspected and released for occu pancy. Some students moved into completed apartments at Hyde Park a week before the leasing date of Sept. 1 and lived rent- free, said a local contractor who was work ing on the apartments. Some students whose apartments were not completed when they arrived were al lowed to stay at the Ramada Inn until their completion. The lease guaranteed that either the unit would be completed Sept. 1 or their accommodations would be paid for. The contractor said some stu dents who arrived before Sept. 1 were also provided with motel rooms. The contractor blamed the Bryan- College Station area’s low unemployment rate for the construction delay. He said laborers do not have to work quickly and efficiently because they know their serv ices are in great demand; Chris Kling of Texas A&M’s student legal aid office said no student has to move into an apartment he can’t live in. “Prior to moving in, he has the option to declare the lease null and void and get his security deposit back,” Kling said. “Once he has moved in he’s obligated to accept the premises as is.” Tarleton president emeritus dies at 76 United Press International STEPHENVILLE — Dr. E.J. Howell, president emeritus of Tarleton State Uni versity, died yesterday in a Mount Pleas ant hospital. He was 76. Howell had suffered a stroke a month ago. Funeral services were .scheduled to day. Howell was president of Tarleton from 1948 until his Aug. 31, 1966, retire ment. He served as dean of the university from 1945 until his appointment as presi dent. May hit by midnight Hurricane Anita heads toward Texas coast S United Press International Battalion Staff BROWNSVILLE — Intensifying to 105 mile-an-hour winds. Hur ricane Anita, the season’s first tropi cal storm, today pushed towards the South Texas coast. Hurricane warnings were issued along the Texas coast from Corpus Christi to Brownsville, Tex. See related stories, page 3 At 8 a.m. today the center of Anita was near latitude 25.8 north, longitude 94.8 west, about 175 miles east of Brownsville. Anita had increased its speed to 10 miles per hour and was moving generally westward. The National Weather Service (NWS) said she should continue on this course to day. The hurricane may hit Brownsville tonight if she remains on her present course, Charles Brenton of Texas A&M University’s weather tracking station said this morning. A team of scientists at Texas A&M’s Moody College at Galveston began tracking the hurricane Satur day with acoustic radar. Dr. Wil liam Clayton, college provost, said the radar bounced sonic signals off the storm to track its movements. Highest sustained winds were 105 m.p.h. and the NWS said the storm could strengthen during the day. A hurricane watch was in effect from Corpus Christi to Matagorda Bay. An earlier watch was discon tinued east of Matagorda Bay to Vermilion Bay, La. The NWS said tides would gradu ally increase along the Texas Coast, reaching five to eight feet above normal in the hurricane warning area tonight. The NWS said tides would be three to five feet above normal from Corpus Christi to Lake Charles, La., and over extreme Northeast Mexico. Evacuation of South Padre Is land, Port Isabel and other bay shore developments should be completed before nightfall. Fringe squalls from the storm reached the Texas coast yesterday. Waves up to 12 feet high, five feet above normal, were breaking on the beach at Port Isabel, the Coast Guard reported. The NWS recommended evacua tion of hundreds of persons living on land up to five feet above sea level. At the top of Galveston Bay ap proximately 1,200 persons had been Veterans not worried United Press International PORT ISABEL, Tex. — F.M. “Pop Dunson is 91 years old and has survived the bad hurricanes of “ought nine,” 1921, 1933 and 1957. He is not afraid of them. “That one in 1957, I rode it out in my house,” he said. “The hurricane caused me $1.45 damage.” Not million or billion. A dollar 45 cents, from a storm which killed 430 persons. “It broke a window,” he said. A pause. “I know how to build houses.” Dunson was one among thousands of people living along the 350 miles of Texas and Louisiana coastline preparing for the possible arrival of hurricane Anita, the first storm of the season. Most, like Dunson, are waiting for more information about the track of the storm. “If it moves directly west it’s going to hit between Corpus Christi and Brownsville,” Dunson said. “We re already feeling the effects of it in Port Isabel. The waves here are eight to 10 feet, but they are surfing over at Boca Chica, behind the jet ties. “Sure, it poses a danger and if it comes here there will be a wide- scale evacuation. I won’t leave (See ‘Hurricane’ page 3) advised to evacuate their homes, said Fletcher Hickerson, a civil de fense spokesman in Baytown, Tex. Hickerson said “most of the city is not in danger,” but those in low- lying areas have traditionally ex perienced flooding and closed roads in heavy storms. At Corpus Christi, lumber companies were expected to do a booming business as Anita ap proached the coast. “The lumber companies are going crazy with business,” said Mike Yuras, a salesman at a sporting goods store. “There won’t be enough wood in this town for people to board up their windows. A deputy sheriff at Galveston also reported that fishermen had con gregated at the seawall. “There are a lot of fools out at the seawall,” the deputy said. “Most of them are fishing out on the piers. I couldn’t tell how many people were out there because the waves were so high. I think, but I’m not sure, some of those people strapped themselves to the piers.” The last hurricane to hit South Texas was Fern which killed two persons and caused $30.3 million in damage in 1971. On Aug. 3, 1970 Hurricane Celia, the costliest hurricane storm in the state’s history, came ashore near Corpus Christi. Celia, with esti mated winds of 130 miles per hour and gusts estimated at 180 m.p.h., killed 11 persons, injured 460 others and caused $453 million in damage. Hurricane Anitas path