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
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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