The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, May 17, 1978, Image 1

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    The Battalion
Vol. 71 No. 155
6 Pages
Wednesday, May 17, 1978
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
Inside Wednesday
A short story about good ol’ boys
and politics — page 2.
Warnings about the deadly assassin
bug — page 4.
Aggie track team has a heyday in
Austin — page 6.
Hill crime task force
said working illegally
By United Press International
AUSTIN — Gov. Dolph Briscoe’s Crim
inal Justice Division said Tuesday that
Attorney General John Hill’s Organized
Crime Task Force is operating illegally.
The 55-page report from an audit re
quested by the governor said Hill’s task
force members have operated illegally as
peace officers, performed undercover
police work, participated in gun-point ar
rest and engaged illegally in intelligence
activities.
“Until and unless the Legislature acts to
grant such powers to the attorney general
any exercise of police power, which is
granted by law only to ‘peace officers,’
must be viewed as an illegal activity,’ the
report said.
A Hill spokesman termed the report
ridiculous and said the allegations of illegal
activity are “sour grapes from a lame
duck.”
“There are going to be a lot of mad
people in law enforcement when they read
this report,” Tim James, task force direc
tor, said. “The way they read the law no
body but the Department of Public Safety
is authorized to maintain any intelligence
files. They’re saying cities, counties, and
everybody else can’t keep files. It’s amaz
ing to me that they would put out a report
like this.
Briscoe asked his staff to look into ac
tivities of Hill’s task force and to audit the
federal grants totaling $1.7 million that the
governor’s criminal justice division had
awarded the organized crime unit in the
past five years.
The audit report was released late
Tuesday after Hill and Briscoe left Austin
for Washington for a series of separate
meetings with President Carter and con
gressional leaders.
Robert C. Flowers, head of Briscoe’s
criminal justice division, said copies of the
report were delivered to the governor and
attorney general.
The xeport says Hill circumvented the
Legislature’s expressed intent in refusing
to certify his task force members as peace
officers and obtaining certificates for them
to carry guns through a district attorney.
In addition to questioning arrangements
under which the task force members re
ceived authorization to carry guns, the
governor’s group criticized Hill’s unit for
assigning three members of the task force
to work with state and local law enforce
ment agencies.
Flowers also said auditors found poor
and inaccurate records, incomplete em
ployee activity and time reports, and a lack
of, or weakness in, controls over expendi
tures.
The audit report questioned 19 financial
records and cited a “net overstatement in
allowable expenditures of $3,728.”
James said the $3,728 involved “pid
dling” bookkeeping matters.
The task force director denied the unit
has operated illegally and said the group’s
surveillance and undercover work is au
thorized under state law.
“Certainly we do surveillance work,
undercover police work, general police
work — how else can we combat organized
crime. We do it and we re proud of it.
We re certainly authorized to do it,” James
said. James questioned the timing of the
report’s release—10 days after Hill de
feated Briscoe in the Democratic primary.
Safety agency levies fines
related to grain explosion
The pause that refreshes
Curtis Dickey takes a minute to relax after win
ning the 100-meter dash during Saturday’s 63rd
annual Southwest Conference track and field
meet. Dickey finished with a time of 10.05, just
Battalion photo by Pat O’Malley
ahead of Texas’ Johnny “Lam” Jones. Texas A&M
won the meet with 126 points, the first conference
victory for the Aggies since 1970. See related
story, page 6.
By United Press International
DALLAS — The federal government
today recommended that Continental
Grain Co. be fined more than $47,000 for
willful and serious health and safety
violations at a Westwego, La., grain plant
that exploded last December killing 36
persons.
The fines were recommended by the
Labor Department’s Occupational, Safety
and Health Administration’s regional of
fice in Dallas.
“The OSHA’s actions follow the agen
cy’s investigation of the explosion at a Con
tinental Grain elevator in the Louisiana
town Dec. 22, 1977, ” an OS HA spokes
man said. “The penalties proposed were
$40,000 for eight alleged willful violations,
$7,300 for 10 serious violations and $100
for one of three violations in other or non-
serious categories.”
An OS HA official said Continental had
15 days to appeal or pay the fines.
The “willful” violations listed by OSHA
included allegations Continental failed to
exercise proper safety precautions in using
compressed air to blow dust from around
machines on the top floor of the grain
company’s headhouse.
The explosion that killed 36 workers was
centered at the 250-foot headhouse, lo
cated along the Mississippi River five
miles above New Orleans.
OSHA also alleged that Continental vio
lated safety regulations by failing to
provide “adequate means for removal of
static electricity from the conveyor belts.”
Grain dust is highly explosive. Some in
vestigators have said they thought the
blast may have been set off by sparks from
one of the conveyor belts used to shuttle
grain from ships along the Mississippi
River to the plant.
“Among the 10 alleged serious
violations, four were cited under the Na
tional Electric Code,” said an OSHA
spokesman. “(They included) not provid
ing proper current-breaking contacts; im
proper fittings and boxes where dust could
enter; using unapproved electric spark-
producing equipment, and no grounding
for exposed non-current carrying metal
parts.”
an airmails himself out of Saudi Arabia
Gas well still
but reported
burning
stable
\
By United Press International
[HOUSTON — A Texas businessman
red from leaving Saudi Arabia because
[a contract dispute with local Saudi of-
aals says he escaped by air-freighting
iself from the Arab country in a packing
i“It was quite a hair-raising experience
were glad it’s over,” Mrs. John L.
fcDonald said. Mrs. McDonald had been
'ing to arrange alternate escapes for her
iusband, such as using a false passport.
McDonald, 47, president of Heritage
lilding Systems International, said he
itracted with the Saudis to supply con-
housing forms. But he said the
iudis claimed the $400,000 deal included
11aliation of the forms and erection of
msing.
■On Nov. 19, the Saudi government
seized McDonald’s passport. Although he
was free to roam the country, he said he
:came convinced he would not be ai
red to leave for years, if ever.
“Our contracts were solid. They (the
iudis) didn’t say anything about erecting
ie building until we got there and then
they took my passport,” McDonald said.
He charged the Saudis later tried to
trick him into signing a statement that he
had been treated fairly by presenting him
one document in English and a different
one in Arabic.
“I can read Arabic and they weren’t the
same as the English documents they
wanted me to sign. I told them I would die
before I would sign their documents. They
told me that could be arranged,” he said.
“I prepared the escape for six weeks. I
didn’t tell anyone but my confederate,”
McDonald said.
That included his wife, Pat, who was
waiting in Houston.
McDonald built a box four feet high,
two-and-one-half feet wide and two-and-
one-half feet deep with small air holes
drilled among crating nails so as not to at
tract attention. It also had a trap door in
the bottom. He tested it for livability.
Then, on May 7, McDonald placed a
bag of cement approximating his weight
inside the box and had it delivered to the
Dhahran airport for clearance through cus
toms.
After customs clearance, McDonald
went to the airport and slipped inside
through the trap door while guards weren’t
looking. When the box was unloaded
at a European airport, he climbed out and
declared himself. He arrived in Houston
May 8.
McDonald said he lost 158 days work
time and probably $82,000 the Saudi gov
ernment owes him. He said he will con
tinue business with other Middle East
countries but not Saudi Arabia. He
blamed the Saudi government and official
American passiveness.
“There are hundreds of Americans
locked up unjustly in Saudi Arabia every
year and nothing is done,” McDonald
said. “It goes all the way back to Washing
ton. They’re anxious to prove they’re nice
guys.”
He said he has turned the matter over to
a law firm for possible legal action but was
not optimistic because “they don’t have
any civil courts over there,”
McDonald declined to identify the
people who helped him, the European
city where he emerged from the box or the
air route he flew from Saudi Arabia.
“I’m not saying what city or what airport
because that might affect some other
people,” he said.
By United Press International
WALTON, Tex. — A leaking natural
gas well that has forced three evacuations
in the past six days was reported Tuesday
as “uncapped but stable” and burning with
a 30-foot flame.
About 110 families who live in the rol
ling hills surrounding the East Texas well
remained barred from their homes, which
they had to leave last Thursday, because of
the threat of poisonous hydrogen sulfide
gas.
A spokesman for the Department of
Public Safety in nearby Tyler said capping
activity at the well site was at a standstill
while workers awaited new strategy and
new equipment from Houston.
Ronald Hengen, a spokesman for the
N.F.C. Petroleum Corp., owners of the
well, said the evacuation was ordered only
as a “precaution.”
“It is emphasized that at no time has
there been any evidence of the escape of
hydrogen sulfide beyond the wellsite,” he
said.
“As previously reported, Red Adair is
continuing measures to control the well
that blew out when a valve above the drill
ing platform failed. Heavy duty equip
ment is being moved to the wellsite and a
relief well will be spudded as a further
precaution as soon as a rig has been moved
on location,” he said.
The well first erupted early last week. It
blew out again Monday.
County deputies, DPS patrolmen and
local police quickly evacuated residents
living as far as seven miles from the well.
By late evening, the evacuation line was
reduced to only two miles.
^Billy Carter to talk at graduation
in small Colorado farming town
By United Press International
ARAPAHOE, Colo. — This tiny eastern
Colorado farming town has a population of
15 and ne graduating high school
Seniors. Commencement exercises are ex
acted to draw up to 5,000.
The reason is — Billy Carter is coming
I to town.
“I’m not really sure, but I think we ll
have anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 here.
Some people have been talking about
15,000, but I doubt that,” Dr. Harold Tut
tle, superintendent of Arapahoe District
R-3, said.
Carter, the loquacious brother of the
j president, has agreed to speak to the nine
- graduating seniors of Arapahoe High
M School Wednesday night. Although he
jjl lormally charges a fee, this time Carter
Jill has agreed to speak for free.
|jj| Arapahoe, which has no motels, no cafes
; | md only one gasoline station, is preparing
1 as well as it can for the huge number of
iP visitors. The ceremonies will be held in
f the football field west of the main school
building, the only place that can be found
^ to hold all the people.
“If it rains or the wind blows we ll be in
trouble,” Tuttle said. “We’ll have to move
into the school gymnasium, which can
hold about 1,600. But we don’t have any
place for anyone to stay or to eat.
“There’s a couple of motels down at
Cheyenne Wells (nine miles away) and
som^ over at Burlington (45 miles), or they
can go to Sharon Springs in Kansas.”
Tuttle said the school had persuaded the
75-piece band from Limon High School to
perform at the exercises because
Arapahoe’s band only has six musicians.
The entire school system, which covers
450 square miles, only has 70 students in
grades kindergarten through 12.
Service today
for graduate
math assistant
Graveside services for John Bennet Voo-
rhees, a graduate teaching assistant in the
Mathematics department at Texas A&M
University will be held at 2 p. m.
Voorhees, 25, died Saturday.
The Dallas native, a resident of College
Station for the past seven years, received a
bachelor’s degree in physics from Texas
A&M in 1976.
Outcome of pari-mutuel vote uncertain
By United Press International
AUSTIN — The canvass of votes
in . the Democratic and Republican
primary elections Tuesday showed
Attorney General John Hill and Bill
Clements as winners of the nomina
tions for governor, but left consider
able doubt concerning the outcome
of a referendum on pari-mutuel bet
ting.
The State Democratic Executive
Committee took no action concern
ing the pari-mutuel vote, and the
State Republican Executive Com
mittee canvass reversed the earlier
apparent outcome favoring the
legalized horse race betting.
The SREC tally showed the issue
was defeated by GOP voters 74,281
to 69,638. Unofficial returns com
piled by the Texas Election Bureau
had indicated Republicans approved
the issue by a slight margin.
SDEC chairman Calvin Guest ,
said Tuesday there were more than
30 counties which still had not re
ported the outcome of the
parimutuel vote to the party head
quarters, and said the results will be
announced by a June 13 SDEC
meeting (see related story, this
page).
The vote canvass Tuesday showed
Hill received 51.43 percent of the
vote in the Democratic primary,
compiling 932,338 votes to 753,305
for Gov. Dolph Briscoe, 14,785 for
Donald R. Beagle, 20,274 for Ray
Allen Mayo and 92,088 for former
Gov. Preston Smith.
The tally also showed Rep. Bob
Krueger, D-Texas, the winner of
the Democratic nomination for the
U.S. Senate with 853,460 votes to
Christie’s 707,738; Warren G.
Harding won the Democratic nomi
nation for state treasurer with
816,334 votes to 491,615 for Harry
Ledbetter and 208,012 for Charles
R. Sanderson; and showed Jerry Sa
dler and John Poerner in a runoff for
the nomination to a Railroad Com
mission seat.
The final count gave Sadler
656,069 to Poerner’s 408,283, Jake
Johnson’s 213,051 and Ray Lem
mon’s 164,121. Reagan Brown was
officially declared the Democratic
nominee for agriculture commis
sioner, compiling 741,213 votes to
Joe Hubenak’s 414,161 and Don G.
Sewell’s 256,490.
Comptroller Bob Bullock, who
was unopposed in the primary, was
the top Democratic vote getter with
1,141,032.
The SREC certified Clements as
the easy winner over former legis
lator Ray Hutchison and Clarence
G. Thompson of Fort Worth in the
GOP governor’s race. Clements re
ceived 114,535 votes to 37,737 for
Hutchison and 4,707 for Thompson.
The 156,979 Republican turnout
was the second largest in GOP his
tory in Texas, and the largest ever in
a non presidential election year.
Backers of pari-mutuel gambling
want to delay referendum results
By United Press International
AUSTIN — Backers of a move to
legalize pari-mutuel horse race
gambling in Texas said Tuesday they
will take legal action to delay an
nouncement of the outcome of the
referendum in the Democratic pri
mary because of allegations of vote
irregularities.
Al Poujol of Houston, past chair
man of the Texas Horseracing As
sociation, and Tom Russell, execu
tive secretary of the Texas
Thoroughbred Breeders Associa
tion, said they have reason to be
lieve there were frequent transposi
tions in reporting of results on the
pari-mutuel referendum. He said
one concerned higher interest rates
on small loans and that ineligible
voters were allowed to vote in the
election in some counties.
The Texas Election Bureau re
ported the referendum had been
soundly defeated, but the State
Democratic Executive Committee
Tuesday did not consider the vote
because of incomplete; returns. The
State Republican Executive Com
mittee certified results showing
GOP voters had defeated the re
ferendum rather than approving it
as originally indicated by the TEB.
Poujol said backers of the pari
mutuel issue had attempted to in
dependently tabulate returns from
each of the state’s 254 counties.
“The last tally we had showed us
with a 20,000 vote majority, but
there are some counties we haven t
even counted,” he said. “Were in
the process of attempting to get a
temporary restraining order that
would allow us to go county by
county and box by box to find the
truth.
“I can tell you there s no 60-40
margin. We think we won it,”
Poujol said.
The referendum is nonbinding,
but was considered an indication to
the 1979 legislator of voters’ senti
ments concerning the gambling is
sue.
Poujol said his group has dicov-
ered errors in reporting of votes that
resulted in switching of more than
30,000 votes, but conceded there is
little chance for an accurate recount
of votes on a statewide b^sis.
“I don’t think the results will ever
be known, but it’ll be real close, he
said.
He said the pari-mutuel was
listed as proposition No. 1 on the
ballot in some areas, but as proposi
tion No. 2 in others. Compilation of
the votes often confused the horse
race issue with a vote on higher
interest rates for small loans, he
said.