The Battalion
Vol. 71 No. 118
10 Pages*
Tuesday, March 21, 1978
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
Inside Tuesday
Fighting food poisoning, p. 3.
Growing pains for the intramural
program, p. 7.
Aggie track team wins on relays,
p. 9.
Officers bust 27
county residents
on drug charges
‘Falling Star to star
College Station rock group “Falling Star” performed before a small
studio audience Monday night at the KAMU television station. The
taped concert will be broadcast April 15. Members are (left to
right) lead guitarist Mark Davenport, drummer Rick Richards,
bass player Frances Martin and rhythm guitarist Mike Reeves.
Hattiilion photo by David Kcahcy
By GARY WELCH
Battalion Staff
Only two of the 29 Brazos County resi
dents named last week in 67 sealed in
dictments on felony drug charges had not
been arrested as of Monday afternoon.
Hay Nutt, a Texas Department of Public-
Safety (DPS) narcotics officer, said 21 per
sons were arrested Wednesday for posses
sion and sale of controlled substances, in
cluding cocaine, methamphetamines and
marijuana. Two suspects were ap
prehended Thursday and four more over
the weekend, he said.
The 27 suspects who have been ap
prehended will be given an opportunity to
plead to the charges today in 85th Judicial
District Court. Those pleading not guilty
may request a jury trial, and attorneys will
be appointed for those unable to afford
one.
The arrests resulted from a DPS inves
tigation that began in December, said Dis
trict Attorney Roland Searcy. The entire
investigation was handled by DPS under
cover officers “assisted at times by other
agencies,” he said.
Ronald Green, a narcotics officer at the
DPS Region 6 headquarters in Austin, said
the investigation and indictments came as
? our die in pilgrimage crash, ‘laughing’
urvivors say deaths were expected
United Press International
pTAMONT, Tenn.-One state trooper
J “It’s hard to know what to believe,”
jM an apparently hard-drinking reli-
: group whose members seem to dis-
! on where they were going or where
' Jiad been when their rented truck
|ged off a mountain, killing four of
other 18 members of -the six-family
jip were injured in varying degrees
the truck careened off a treacherous
| on Burgess Mountain north of Chat-
oga Sunday night. The driver of the
Ik, Irwin C. Schmidt, 51, of
lagordo, N.M., was charged with
urder by reason of drunk driving
onday night.
Witnesses said the less seriously injured
nbers of the band laughed and joked
each other while the dead and badly
! were hauled up the mountainside in
itchers dangling on ropes.
Their leader, Peter Thomas, 25, told au
thorities he had foreseen the accident in a
dream, and death was nothing to be
alarmed over. Thomas told police he
thought the wreck in the dream involved
an airplane crash, but those killed in the
dream were those killed in the truck crash.
Officials of the Grundy County Sheriff s
office said a handwritten journal of the
group’s trip which Thomas kept — mainly
about chores and supplies — contained an
entry about the dream.
Another entry, officers said, read
“Everyone must know that this is war and
that this is not just another joy ride down
the road...Remember we are going to be
attacked and there is going to be a separa
tion.”
Thomas, who received minor cuts on his
clean-shaven head, told police the group
was traveling to Florida to search for prop
erty in which to establish a church where
they could worship according to their doc
trine.
Other members said they were going to
Florida, but some said they were return
ing from Florida and headed for Mobile,
Ala. t
“Thomas told us a lot of strange things,
like ho saw a flying saucer and that he had
dreamed the wreck would happen,” state
trooper J.E. Northcutt said. “It’s hard to
know what to believe.”
The truck, modified for passengers, was
rented in New Orleans, authorities said,
and was to be turned in at Mobile last
Thursday.
Thomas told authorities the truck was
headed toward Pelham, Tenn., after leav
ing Beersheba Springs when it rounded a
sharp curve, hit the soft dirt of the shoul
der and crashed down the cliff into a small
creek. He did not explain why the group
was going to Pelham.
Sgt. J.W. Sons of the Grundy County
Sheriff’s Department said he saw the
group at a campsite earlier Sunday, and
“They was drinking and raising all kinds of
hell.”
“The whole thing was strange,” said
Terry Dey:dy, a Coffee County ambulance
driver who helped' transport the wreck
victims to area hospitals.
“When we got there, the only people
that were upset were the spectators.
“The people who had managed to get
out of the wreck were standing around
talking and laughing,” said Terry. “It was
unbelievable.”
Killed in the crash Sunday night were
Mary Schmidt, 50, of Alamogordo, N.M.;
Ryan Kollhopp, 1, ofTucson, Ariz.; Jansen
Baker, 19, of LaluzJ N.M.; and Rose Mary
Baker, 54, of Laluz.
a response to increased drug traffic in the
Bryan-College Station area.
“All arrests were results of buys of
either cocaine, methamphetamines or
marijuana,” Green said.
During the investigation, undercover
narcotics agents frequented local business
establishments in attempts to buy the il
licit drugs. Searcy said some surveillance
of suspects’ homes was included in the in
vestigation.
Green said that all law enforcement
agencies in the Bryan-College Station area
helped in the undercover operation “in
their own way.”
Searcy’s office also took the cases before
the Brazos County Grand Jury to obtain
the indictments.
Those arrested, including several Texas
A&M University students, were booked at
the Bryan Police Department and then
taken to the county jail. Most are being
held under bonds ranging from $10,000 to
$65,000, though one man charged with
two counts of delivery of metham
phetamines and two counts of possession
of methamphetamines is being held under
$80,000 bond.
Arrest warrants were also served in
Brazoria, Burleson, Robertson and Travis
counties. Twelve warrants were served in
these four counties, and only one of the
twelve persons is still at large.
Searcy said that staging the arrests dur
ing Texas A&M’s spring break was an
oversight. The date was set about a month
ago, he said, but he and the DPS officials
were unaware of spring break until it was
too late to change it. Nevertheless, most of
the suspects have been apprehended, he
added.
Arresting officers had only arrest war
rants, Searcy said, not search warrants, so
the officers could not search anyone’s
home. However, some of those arrested
were holding narcotics at the time of ar
rest, he said.
Officers of the Alcoholic Beverage
Commission “operated in some of the es
tablishments” and assisted in some under
cover work, said James Bundren, district
supervisor for the TABC. Mostly, though,
they assisted in the arrests.
Ten of 11 sons are Aggies
A&M: a Kubeka tradition
onsolidated School Board
pproves site for ‘Safety City’
By MICHELLE BURROWES
iSafety City, a mini-city designed to
ach children traffic safety, moved a step
6wer to reality Monday when the A&M
bsolidated School Board approved a site
Republicans block
barter’s $1.5 billion
lucation aid bill
United Press International
iVASHINGTON — The House voted
1S-156 Monday against President Car-
[r’s $1.5 billion aid to education bill,
'hich was brought up under prodecures
lat would not have allowed amendents.
iThe vote was a sound rejection of a
frategy requested by the White House —
fid agreed to by the House leadership —
^attempt to push the bill through the
[use without a vote on amendments,
bbe considered again, the bill must be
lared for House floor action by the Rules
jmniittee. That committee is expected
[allow votes on amendments for tax cred-
for college, vocational school and pri-
Je school tuition.
epublicans successfully blocked de
le on the bill on a vote on a parliamen-
v motion.
Republicans called the procedure a
latant political maneuver which stem-
xl from “Carter-Califano chicanery.”
ey predicted they have the votes to
>ck the move and then to bring up the
under procedures that would allow
lendments.
Carter and HEW Secretary Joseph
alifano prefer to expand current educa
te aid programs rather than allow tax
edits for school tuition.
House Peaker Thomas “Tip O’Neill
id he scheduled the bill under the no-
nendments bill after receiving a call from
e White House Friday.
O’Neill acknowleged that the maneuver
as designed to block a vote on the tuition
* credit amendment being offered by
ep. Bill Frenzel, R-Minn., but promised
>at the House would have a chance to
te later on tuition tax credits.
for the construction.
The board had previously been unable
to agree with the Safety City Committee
on a site. On Feb. 23 the board suggested a
site on Jersey Street next to the Special
Services Building. However, on March 6,
the board said that a site on Timber Lane
would be more appropriate because it was
more secluded and the district will be less
likely to need it.
Sue Neeley, chairman of the Safety City
Committee, told the board last night the
committee would agree to the Timber
Lane site because the Jersey Street site
has too much traffic noise.
Safety City will be an enclosed mini
city, complete with streets, traffic lights,
and aluminum buildings. Children will
learn traffic safety by using “Big Wheels’
for cars as well as traveling by bicycles and
on foot.
The College Station City Council do
nated $15,000 for the project on Feb.22,
but most of the funding will come from
citizens and local businesses. The build
ings will be provided by businesses, and
will be decorated like the business that
donates them.
“We are still in need of concrete, fenc
ing, building, Big Wheels, and landscap
ing materials,’ Keeley said. Several citi
zen groups have pledged labor when con
struction begins.
The next step is for the board to approve
the exact plans for the project and Keeley
said she hopes construction may being by
August or September.
The board announced that the school
district had received HEW approval and
funding to continue Head Start, an
enrichment program for exceptional stu
dents. The funding will finance a year’s
extra-curriucla activities for 60 children on
a part-time basis, and for 275 students on a
full-time basis.
Local man charged
with wife’s murder
By ANDREA VALLS
A College Station man, Michael Loren Reynolds, was charged Monday with the
murder of his wife, a Texas A&M University student.
Reynolds, 24, of 309 Ash St. was charged before Justice of the Peace B.H.
Dewey, Jr. after a six-day investigation.
The woman’s body was discovered Wednesday, March 15, about 10 miles east of
Bryan near FM 1179.
District Attorney Roland Searcy said the charges were filed as a result of an
investigation conducted by the Brazos County Sheriffs Office and Texas Ranger
Bob Connell.
Dr. J.C. Lee, pathologist at Bryan and St. Joseph Hospitals, said yesterday that
Mrs. Reynolds had died from massive hemorrhaging from head lacerations inflicted
by a sharp edged instrument such as a hatchet or axe.
The College Station Police Department received a missing person complaint
from Reynolds on Wednesday morning, March 15 for Pamela Sue Reynolds. Police
said Reynolds told them that his wife had gone to Fed Mart on University Drive
Tuesday evening. When she did not return, the report said, Reynolds drove to the
store where he found his wife’s truck parked. He told police he thought she had gone
somewhere with a friend, but that he became concerned when she did not return
home by morning.
Michael Reynolds is a senior at Texas A&M University and Mrs. Reynolds was a
senior physical education major at the University.
O.R. Kubecka promised his sons — all
11 of them — two things when they
graduated from high school: a new vehicle
and a college education.
Both promises have brought the Kubec-
kas quite a bit of statewide attention.
Having 10 sons attend Texas A&M Uni
versity and owning a fleet of Fords might
have something to do with it.
Currently the Matagorda County family
has five boys at Texas A&M. All are major
ing in agricultural economics. During the
past 18 years, five of the six older brothers
attended Texas A&M.
Those here now are Gerald, 24; twins
Gene and Dean, 22; Erwin, 20; and
James, 19. They knew long ago that they
were headed for Texas A&M. Their older
brother, Dickie, was the first to come
when he attended in 1960.
“Dickie came first on a football schol
arship,” said Dean. “That was when we
first got interested in going to A&M. We
have all sort of followed Dickie since
then.”
As for transportation, the Kubeckas
have gained notoriety by standing in front
of the family’s 25 trucks in a Ford Motor
Co. television commercial.
The boys’ mother is about as avid a fan
of Texas A&M as anyone. She was twice
elected president of the Matagorda
County A&M Mothers’ Club, an organiza
tion for students’ parents, and attends
most campus activities.
“Mother is a big part of our going to
A&M,” Dean said. “She became involved
when Dickie first went to A&M and she
just stayed with it. Both Mom and Dad
come to all the Corps activities and foot
ball games, anything they can get up here
for.
“All through high school. Daddy said if
we stayed and worked on the homeplace
he would send us to college and get us
something to drive,” he added. “Mother
and Dad said we could go anywhere we
wanted to go, but we re a conservative
family and I for one like what A&M stood
for. It represented more our way of life. ”
None of the boys are away from home
very long. All hands are usually needed to
keep the 10,000 acres of family farms
under production in Matagorda and
Jackson counties.
“We all go home on the weekends and
in the summer to help out,” said Gerald.
“That s how we are able to go to A&M. We
work.
“In the future we plan to return to the
farm,” he continued. “It’s a good way of
life. I don’t mean we 11 all head back im
mediately after graduation, but sometime
later. It’s a good place to raise a family.
Gerald, Gene and Dean are seniors
scheduled to graduate in May. Gene,
Dean and James are also members of the
Texas A&M Corps of Cadets.
Five the 11 Kubeka sons pose in front of — you guessed it — one of
the family’s Fords. All are currently agricultural economics stu
dents at Texas A&M University. Seated are Erwin, and Gerald,
and standing (left to right) are Corps members Gene, Dean and
James.
Eleven sons working on a farm are
bound to draw attention.
Recently the Kubeckas entered the
world of commercial television when they
did a Ford spot representing a backup to
the generation series of commercials cur
rently seen throughout Texas.
“The company told us they wanted
common, everyday people,” said Dean.
“They had been trying to get us to do it for
years, but in the past it was more trouble
than it was worth.”
“We farm a 60-mile radius, so it took a
frill day just get all 25 of the relatively new
Ford trucks to one place, washed and
ready to go,” added Erwin. “It’s an honest
commercial, anyway. They were all our
trucks.”
The whole family is featured in the
commercial, including the six older
brothers who work on or near the home
farm. Dickie, 35, farms; Don, 34, and Dan.
33, operate a crop dusting service; Doug,
32, farms; Billy, 29, is a veterinarian; and
Ronnie, 26, farms with his dad.
As for the money, each of the brothers
received a flat sum for doing the commer
cial. If it is shown nationally, then some
additional money will be coming.
“The cash is more or less spending
money, because when we divided it 13
ways there wasn’t all that much left, ” James
said. “What’s left over will probably be
going into savings.
“The commercial has given us a lot of
publicity, but it really hasn’t affected us
that much,” he said.