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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 1978)
Battalion Friday, February 10, 1978 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 Inside Friday: Student government officers con sider resignation, p. 6. Ransom Wilson Quintet in review, p. 3. Aggies lose to Arkansas 80-79, p. 7 Police say drug use increases, arrests drop Battalion photo by Ken Herrera where pean Moncrief on the move Arkansas forward Sidney Moncrief (No. 32) drives to the hoop against Willie Foreman. Foreman fouled Moncrief on the play. The Aggies lost to the Razorbacks 80-79. See related stories on page 7. By JANICE STRIPLING Local police officials say drug traffic is increasing in the Bryan-College Station area, even though arrests have declined. “If a citizen calls in with information concerning an individual smoking pot, the first thing I ask is, ‘Are they dealing?’ If they’re not dealing, I’m not interested,” said Bobby Yeager, detective for the Col lege Station Police Department. “We just don’t have the time to pursue every marijuana investigation,” he said. Yeager added that an officer will arrest someone if marijuana is discovered while the officer is giving a traffic citation. “The Bryan-College Station area has a severe drug traffic problem, and it is grow ing," said Yeager. Yeager s statement that drug traffic is increasing is not evident in the arrest rec ords from 1976 to 1977. In 1976, there were 59 drug abuse violations. There were 52 drug abuse violations in 1977. Yeager said the decline in arrests is be cause many previous offenders were smok ing marijuana for enjoyment in their own homes. Now the department does not place much emphasis on apprehending marijuana users. They are more interested in apprehending dealers. The Texas A&M University Police rec ords also show a decline in drug arrests. In 1976, there were 45 arrests and 19 convic tions. There were 13 arrests and eight convictions in 1977. “Most of the students get caught with drugs off campus, said Sgt. J. D. Gossett, chief investigator for the University Police. Gossett agrees that College Station has some drug problems. \ When Gossett arrests someone for pot he says he “throws the book” at them. “I know the offender will not tell me where he’s getting the drugs, and if he does it’s probably a lie,” he said. “So I try to get as many charges as possible against the offender. This way the drug abuser will think twice before using drugs again. Even though arrests have declined, local police, say there is an increase in drug traffic. There are several possible reasons for this increase, said Yeager. Greater student enrollment combined with population growth in College Sta tion could be affecting the drug traffic, said Yeager. Between 1973 and 1977 there was an enrollment increase of 10,894 at Texas A&M. Drug offenders coming out of jail and returning to this area are another potential reason for the increase in the drug traffic, he said. “The known offenders are returning, not being rehabilitated. ” Only a few of the offenders have reformed, he said. The College Station Police Department does not have a designated narcotics divi sion, Yeager said. “Because the department does not have a narcotics division, the offenders think they won’t get caught.” The department has three detectives who primarily handle felony cases. The same three men handle illegal drug cases. “We need a full-time person to handle just the illegal drug cases,” Yeager said. “Criminal offenses such as theft, rob bery, rape and murder, take jurisdiction over drug offenses,” he said. The Bryan Police Department has a separate narcotics division. Jerry Fiekey, narcotics detective , handles all cases involving illegal drugs. 'We need at least three people in the narcotics division to get the job done,” he said. There are a variety of drugs in College Station because there are A&M students from all over the country, said Yeager. When students come back to school after Christmas or summer break they will bring marijuana from their hometowns, he said. Yeager said that within an hour, anyone in College Station could purchase a lid of grass (marijuana) without any difficulties. “I don’t think it would even take 20 minutes to purchase a lid in Bryan,” said Fiekey. The average price for an ounce of marijuana in Bryan-College Station is be tween $10 and $15. Marijuana confiscated by the College Station Police is usually found in small quantities through traffiee violations, said Yeager. Small quantities are two ounces or less. Possession is a class B misdemeanor. The penality for a class B misdemeanor is either a fine not exceeding $100 or a jail sentence not exceeding 180 days, or both. “The largest bust in College Station was for 50 pounds, two years ago,” Yeager said. Two weeks ago a citizen turned in three kilos (almost seven pounds) of marijuana, he said. It was found within five blocks of the police station, he said. “Most of the marijuana that we confis cate is through complaints from citizens,” said Campus Police Chief, O.L. Luther. He said there is not much of a problem with drugs on campus. “If we have a drug problem I don’t know about it,” Luther said. Bryan is also experiencing an increase in drug traffic. “Since I am the only narcotics officer, the drug offenders know who I am so they avoid me like the plague,” said Fiekey. “I can’t even try to go undercover. I am too well known by the drug dealers and abus ers. “I don’t put a great deal of emphasis on alifornia mudslides Residents evacuated, major highways closed after rain i :IAL ieef her )ole may request secret session o air drug smuggling allegations United Press International ounding rains inundated Southern lifornia today, marooning dozens of hill ellers and loosening huge mounds of lid that mired highways and moved ’uses off their foundations, n the snowbound Northeast, residents ged a dramatic effort to overcome the eets of the worst blizzard to hit the region a century and kept wary eyes at more low to the west. A 40,000-ton mudslide, the second in a week, closed southbound lanes of In terstate 5 — California’s main north-south artery. Numerous streets and highways were closed by slides. A Transportation Department spokesman said it was “too dangerous” to clear the oozing mud, “espe cially with the forecast for more heavy rains and high winds.” Four young men, who abandoned an off-road vehicle moments after it was swept into the raging San Gabriel River, swam the chest-deep waters to a sandbar where they were rescued by sheriff’s deputies. There were no reports of serious in juries. A hillside home was loosened from its foundation in Matilija Canyo north of Ventura, and slid five feet toward a mountain road. A San Pedro family was forced to evacute their ocean-front home United Press International WASHINGTON — Sen. Robert Dole, Kan, said today he will seek a secret ses- nof the Senate if necessary to air for his (leagues persistent allegations that high namanian officials have engaged in drug aiggling. Tlf necessary. Dole said, “I am pre- fed to offer a motion for a closed session. If that is what is required to assure that the entire Senate has an opportunity to learn the facts and to consider their relevance to the treaties, then 1 am prepared to propose it an early point in the debate.” In a speech prepared for today s treaty debate, Dole said he believes the charges “deserve to be explored and explained to the satisfaction of all members of this body. ClAl DIP ice ising ifany ighting continues in Mideast United Press International BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian peace-keeping troops and Lebanese right-wing militiamen clashed today in the fourth straight day of the worst fighting since the end of the civil war 15 months ago. Diplomatic sources estimated that up to 70 people died and many more were wounded in the past three days of clashes between the Syrians and rightist militia units and Lebanese troops. Rightist militia sources put the casualty figure considerably higher and said many Jof the dead were Syrian soldiers and Lebanese civilians. The Syrian-dominated Arab peace-keeping force has issued no casualty figures. A spokesman for the right-wing National Liberal Party said the fighting appeared to center on the Furnal Chebbak and Hazmieh suburbs, which are predominantly Christian sections of east Beirut. There was no immediate indication whether clashes had also developed again between Syrian troops and Lebanese army units at the Fayadieh military base, two miles east of the city, the site of the first outbreak of violence Tuesday. Relative calm prevailed in Beirut until roughly midday, when the shelling was reported in the eastern suburbs. Area residents said they heard at least 20 shells landing in the eastern sectors in the space of about an hour. “I will not consent to drop the issue sim ply because of personal assurances that might be given to me as an individual,” he said. The Senate today went into its third day of debate on the controversial accords, which would turn the historic waterway over to Panama at the end of 1999. Dole and Sen. Paul Laxalt, R-Nev., last week received plain white envelopes con taining documents taken from the files of the Drug Enforcement Agency with allega tions relating to Panama s Gen. Omar Tor- rijos. Dole said the envelopes were deli vered to his office anonymously. Aides said Dole believes that if the alle gations are true they have a bearing on the integrity of the Panamanian government and its ability to adhere to any treaties it concludes with the United States. However, the Kansas Republican has been unable to receive any comprehensive briefing on what the U.S. intelligence community knows of the narcotics smug gling allegations. When Dole raised the issue dirctly with Torrijos, the Panamanian leader said he would urge the DEA to make available whatever information it has on the charges. DEA has declined to do this, instead telling Dole he may read the complete files, which are on deposit with the Senate Intelligence Committee. smoking pot for pleasure, as long as the person doesn’t have an excessive amount. “I comb down hard on offenders caught dealing,” Fiekey added. “A person can talk himself into jail by not cooperating. ” Fiekey said he does not have problems with students. “I deal mostly with blacks,” he said. The use of hard drugs is also increasing and use of phencycladine (“angel dust,” or PCP, an animal tranquilizer) is increasing rapidly, said Fiekey. ‘Th ere is a lot of money made in drug dealing here in Bryan,” he said. “On a good day a dealer can make $1,090.” “Due to the great amount of profit that can be made dealing, illegal drugs are in creasing,” said Yeager. Both the College Station and Bryan Police have found illegal drugs scattered on highways and dropped in dumpsters. Fiekey said some of the drugs possibly came from drug stores that had been rob bed. “Nine out of ten times a person gets these drugs and doesn’t know what to do with them, Fiekey said. D-hall policies to stay the same By TAMMY LONG Trustee Bruce Robeck said this week “there are no plans to schedule a review of A&M Consolidated High School’s new detention hall guidelines, nor a review of serving chocolate milk in the schools. “We’ve had other things to do,” he said, “As long as things are going well, we won’t address them in the near future.” In an earlier interview, Robeck said the board has never established a policy concerning detention halls. Therefore, the high school administration will abide by its own policy unless the board approves a district policy. Parents, protesting the treatment of children in detention halls, confronted the board last October about revising detention hall practices. Paula LaRocque, a professor at Texas A&M University , produced signed state ments by students saying last year they had been forced to sit up straight in detention halls with feet flat on the floor, knees together, hands flat on desks and fingers outstretched. This position had to be maintained for the entire 50-minute period. According to some statements, students had to sit in this position while staring at a dot drawn on the wall; others had to hold a file folder between their knees. Failure to comply with the rules meant spending another session in detention hall. Consolidated’s new guidelines state that students assigned to detention hall are required to maintain good posture and keep their feet on the floor. They may not talk and they must study or work on “school-related materials.” Failure to report to detention hall as directed may result in suspension. Rodney LeBoeuf, principal of A&M Consolidated High School, said the new guidelines have been in effect since the beginning of the school year. However, they were not formally written until November. “It seemed to me to be a useless exercise,” said LeBoeuf. I don’t know why guidelines had to be written down for detention hall.” LeBoeuf also said he had not heard of any harsh treatment in detention hall while he has been principal this past year. In another matter left hanging since last October, Robeck suggested serving chocolate milk to students only once a week until the nutritional value of the milk could be determined. However, the program has not changed. Robeck said the board dealt with the issue because it received many petitions from children. “Everyone seems relatively content now,” said Robeck. We don’t want to rock the boat. If it comes up again, we ll spend one or two more hours discussing it.” Dieticians and dentists were concerned with the nutritional value and the sugar content of chocolate milk as compared to white milk. Dr. H. L. Wade, a children’s dentist, showed slides at an October meeting of decayed teeth and gums of 6-to-8-year-olds. He said chocolate milk offers children nothing but empty calories. Ann Barton, head of food services, said the sweetness of chocolate milk makes other foods taste bitter in comparison. Mary Sweeten, a dietitian, was the only proponet of chocolate milk. She said many parents had complained because their children would not drink milk unless it was flavored. when the steep hill behind them showed signs of giving way. Sheriff s deputies were standing by in Hacienda Heights to evacuate eight homes endangered by slides. Dozens of homes in Big Tujunga Canyon near Los Angeles were isolated by swirling flood waters. Flood gates were opened at the Big Tujunga Canyon reservoir to al leviate the flooding in the lower canyon that washed out roads and gouged at the mountainside. “Most of these homeowners are used to this sort of thing, ” a police spokesman said. “A few of the residents left their homes early in the day to stay with friends or rela tives but most will stick it out. Up to six inches of rain drenched South ern California Thursday with pouring rain forecast through today. The storm dumped 2.14 inches of rain at the Los Angeles Civic Center by late Thursday. More than 9 inches deluged the San Berrnardino Mountains community of Lytle Creek Vil lage and Lake Arrowhead recorded 7.61 inches. The Northeast, meanwhile, slowly dug out from the blizzard that killed at least 70 persons. “By now, the biggest problem here seems to be cabin fever,” said Gail Harper, a nurse aiding 200 people sheltered at Re vere, Mass., High School. More than 10,000 Army troops. National Guardsmen and state and local workers used heavy equipment and shovels to free more than 2,500 cars packed in the snow on Boston’s beltway. The work was expected to continue into next week. Gov. Michael A. Dukakis extended his state of emergency order through today, but said banks would be allowed to reopen if employees use public transportation. Reports of more snow moving from the West scared many Northeasterners, but the National Weather Service said it was too early to tell if the region would get more snow this weekend. Freezing rain and snow fell on northern Texas and Louisiana and on Oklahoma. Snow warnings were issued throughout the mountains of Arizona and Wyoming. Winter storms dotted the Upper Plains of northern Texas and Louisiana and on Okla homa. Battalion photo by Susan Webb It's not going to melt Though the temperature is hovering around 30, Candice Hill can still enjoy her ice cream. A sophomore from Houston, she seems to get as much ice cream on her nose as she does in her mouth.