The Battalion
a s P»rr l
01.71 No. 171
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my spce
lldi Wi;
fiood ■
Thursday, July 6, 1978
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
Inside Thursday:
• Bill of rights for handicapped chil
dren — p. 2.
• Butterflies’ in review — p. 3.
• pitcher Mark Ross in Alaska —
p. 6.
-
>n, he^
i right.’
; lt‘e|$k
ress drives
i
achers
away
United Press International
LAS — Stress resulting from class-
rscipline problems, fear of violence
| upational frustration is driving
I'i from the profession, the presi-
■ !he National Education Association
I Ryor, president of the 1.8
| member organization, said Wed-
|schools are now expected to serve a
||t families have abdicated, forcing
■ s to take on more responsibility.
• l-hers, this leads to tension.
jlss has become so widespread in
Lg that increasing numbers of
Jli, ©specially in urban areas in the
le years, are either dropping out or
I' early retirement,” Ryor said on
|'/of the NEA’s national convention.
I'hers are driven to the brink be-
;f transfer denials, the added frus-
J of no escape from an intolerable
I t — — ~ ......
h short of resignation and lack of
I,'treatment for their casualties and
ji mfrnber of teachers with 20 years
le experience has dropped by half
I i')6lL with most of the decline in the
r
years.
* I; said teachers also face more threats
|;nce from students and parents. He
quoted a Los Angeles psychiatrist who said
many instructors show symptoms similar
to combat neurosis.
The extent of violence, vandalism and
discipline problems is greater than re
ported, Ryor said, because of coverups by
administrators who do not want to mar
their records.
“What 10 years ago were scattered
schoolhouse pranks and disturbances
today have evolved into serious violent
crimes of crisis proportions,” he said.
Ryor cited a recent government study
that indicated more than 6,700 schools
have serious crime problems, more than
5,000 teachers are attacked monthly and
25 percent of all schools are subject to
vandalism each month.
"School vandalism diverts some $600
million annually from education budgets
— or enough to buy a year’s worth of
textbooks or hire 50,000 more teachers
without increasing taxes a nickel,” Ryor
said.
“Teachers can not teach when they must
police," he said. “The job of a teacher is
much tougher today.
“The same parents who cry over lack of
discipline in the schools are the first to
complain or slap a lawsuit on the schools if
it is their child who deserves the disci
pline. But many schools can not carry out
their primary function: education.”
Soviet writers
under review
ioachers like their
liiakes rare in Bend
Battalion photo by Pat O'Malley
Ride a crooked line
Newly painted bike lanes near West Gate seem to wiggle and swerve
along the street. Bicyclers may get dizzy, but they will be safer inside the
crooked lines than in automobile traffic.
WASHINGTON — Russian journalists
called to the White House Wednesday
were told that their press credentials are
now under review — a move the adminis
tration refused to link with the Soviet’s
prosecution of two Moscow-based Ameri
can reporters.
Walt Wurfel, assistant press secretary,
summoned the Soviet journalists to a
meeting at the Old Executive Office Build
ing and informed them of their “rights,
privileges and responsibilities,” according
to deputy press secretary Rex Granum.
Asked if that meant a credentials review
was under way, Granum said, “They are
under review.”
The White House refused specific
comment on the meeting, and the Rus
sians were equally circumspect.
“No comment,” said Melor Sturua of Iz-
vestia, the official Russian government
newspaper. “Journalists don’t give other
journalists scoops.”
Asked if the meeting was friendly, he
replied, “Oh yes.”
Gennardi Vassily of Pravda, the Com
munist Party newspaper, told reporters,
"It seems to me for correspondents to
interview each other is not the liest way to
make a story."
Asked what the session was about, Vas
sily said, “I myself am trying to under
stand. We were told what privileges we
have.”
Neither Granum nor Wurfel would ac
knowledge any link between today’s
White House meeting with the Soviet cor
respondents and the slander charges
lodged by officials in Moscow against New
York Times reporter Craig Whitney and
Baltimore Sun correspondent Harold
Piper.
“We thought it was an appropriate time
to review the privileges and respon
sibilities of those holding White House
credentials,” said Granum, who would not
elaborate.
He said the correspondents could draw
their own conclusions on why the creden
tials are being reviewed.
It was unclear how many Russians at
tended the meeting. The number ap
peared to be four or five out some 10
Soviet newsmen in Washington.
Granum said other meetings may be
held.
Soviet correspondents routinely cover
the White House and State Department
briefings and are free to roam about
Capitol Hill.
Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, Na
tional Security Affairs adviser Zbigniew
Brzezinski and Powell discussed the im
plications of the Whitney-Pi per trial at a
White House meeting Monday.
They also reviewed the arrest of Jay
Crawford, the International Harvester
representative in Moscow who was
charged with currency violations.
Last week. White House officials said
they had “conveyed to the Soviets our
very serious view of what this portends for
commercial and press relations."
There are about 10 Russian corre
spondents in Washington, but several
were out of town and not available for
comment.
The State Department had a similar
meeting last Friday and only three of the
Soviet journalists attended.
United Press International
| .LINGUA — Country singer Char-
I J;le Sold all about it: “Oh, the snakes
|;t night, that’s what they say. When
"’I l!i goes down, then the snakes will
1 1
f ||song is true, at least in Texas re-
rig Bend, and the serpents’ propen-
? . ■' crawling at night is presenting a
' *n for the two game wardens who
9 ®pore than 6,000 square miles of the
llargest county.
19 |hers from as far away as Minnesota,
11 and Washington have been com-
sparsely populated Brewster County
j;t couple of years to carry away sev
” Jlecies of snakes so tLr» Shio
Mture has
lered list.
|iuse some of the reptiles can be sold
ilmuch as $500 apiece, the snake
A H' rs ar< * willing to risk fines and jail
' Jin their quest for grey-banded king
U J;, Trans-Pecos copperheads, rock
I, Texas lyre snakes, Trans-Pecos rat
9^1,and Big Bend milk snakes.
Jpetimes they come in here and
Socialize on them, haul them off and
| m and one thing or another,” said
£ J Parks and Wildlife warden David
yM'f Alpine. “They’re protected by
so rare
put them
the State
on the
l:he highways at night waiting for
I to cross, then use spotlights to cap-
|'em on the right-of-way. The war-
jiiy their heaviest patrols are during
I $ i|k of the moon when the snakes are
jlentiful.
^ Jl;y hunt mostly from the highways.
A l!sy to tell when they’re hunting.
I liiave extra lights on their vehicles.
| of them have spotlights. They’ll
| |real slow and stop real often. It
- has to be done at night because
that’s when most of the snakes crawl.
They’ll cross the highways and the hunters
just drive back and forth until they spot
one. ”
Cook said most of the snake poaching
takes place from north of tiny Study Butte
to the Big Bend National Park and along
the narrow highway which runs from the
ghost town of Terlingua along the
U.S.Mexico border to Presidio.
“It’s a pretty new thing, the warden
said. “The snakes haven’t been protected
very long so it’s pretty new to us, as well as
everybody else. We just file a charge on
them just like anybody else who has game
he isn t supposed to have."
Because the highways around Terlin
gua, located 100 miles south of Alpine, are
lightly traveled. Cook said the reptile
poachers so far have not presented a traffic
hazard, although every so often wardens
will find a drunk snake hunter.
“We’ve checked them from as far away
as Washington state, Minnesota, Florida,
Louisiana, California,” he said. “They just
come from all over the country — the ones
that want a certain kind of snake and can’t
find them anywhere but right here. And
around Langtry, there’s a lot going on.”
He said a minimum $100 fine accom
panied the first snake poaching conviction,
a second offense could result in a
maximum $500 fine and 180 days in jail,
and a third offense was punishable by up
to a $2,000 fine and one year in jail.
“It’s hard to spend all our time on that.
We have other things to do. We catch one
or two (snake poachers) now and then. It’s
just like anything else, you miss most of
them, I’m sure,” Cook said. “In fact a lot of
people who are poaching are the same
ones who’ve succeeded in getting them on
the endangered list. But they have to live
with it just like everybody else.”
Program for low-income youths
opens workshop on job opportunities
By SCOTT PENDLETON
Battalion Staff
Disadvantaged youths are visiting Texas
A&M University today to learn about job,
education, and financial aid opportunities.
The 115 youths, aged 14 to 21, are par
ticipating in the Comprehensive Em
ployment and Training Act (CETA) pro
gram administered by the Brazos Valley
Development Council.
CETA is designed to help young people
from low income backgrounds find a job or
receive further education or training. Al
though minority youths predominately
benefit from CETA, the program is open
to any applicant from a low income back
ground.
Representatives from the offices of ad
missions, financial aid, personnel and the
ROTC delivered lectures on the services
available to the high school students
through those campus offices.
City of Houston must pay
After the lectures the youths toured var
ious areas on campus ranging from the
floriculture greenhouses to the automotive
maintenance shops.
The campus tours are meant to
familiarize the high school students with
educational and related job opportunities
available at Texas A&M. The University
provides disadvantaged youths with a va
riety of jobs and apprenticeships on cam
pus in cooperation with the CETA pro
gram.
Each year a number of young people
with no training are accepted as appren
tices in sheet metal work and other trades.
They are paid while they learn.
The CETA program aims to reach
mainly high school students who are ready
to work or receive training. Applicants for
the program are screened according to the
low income background requirement.
Participants in the federally-funded
program receive group and individual
counseling that helps them identify their
goals and interests. The counseling also at
tempts to familiarize them with various
aspects of getting and holding a job, cover
ing such things as how to behave during an
interview and why some jobs are lost.
The Brazos Valley Development Coun
cil administers the CETA program in
Brazos County and six surrounding coun
ties. The council is a regional planning
commission concerned with the long-
range physical, human, and economic re
source development in the area.
Special tours and briefings for groups of
minority students through programs like
CETA are only one way in which Texas
A&M trys to attract minority students to
the University.
The Office of Admissions and Records
Court upholds couple’s suit
United Press International
AUSTIN — A Houston couple injured
in an auto accident caused by the negli
gence of a city police officer can collect
$101,307.46 in damages from the city of
Houston, the Texas Supreme Court ruled
Wednesday.
Arnold and Mary LeBlanc also
paid $9,992.54 by the insurance company
of officer Ronald G. Hickman.
A trial jury originally awarded the
couple a total of $124,864, but the Court of
Civil Appeals ruled that judgment ex
ceeded a Texas Tort Claims Law provision
limiting awards to $100,000 per person.
The city appealed, contending the jury
\ * Now just a minute...
lie train crossing’s protective arms are a safety feature well-
Jjpreciated and respected when they drop, except when there is no
j;in coming. Wednesday afternoon the arms were dropping every few
Battalion photo by Pat O’Malley
minutes, raising up, then dropping back down again all with no train in
sight. A few persons were delayed on their way to classes or work
perhaps, but the episode lasted only ten minutes.
failed to consider the payments already
made by Hickman’s insurance company to
the LeBlancs, and that the city was re
leased from liability at the time the LeB
lancs signed a statement releasing
Hickman.
The Supreme Court rejected those ar
guments and upheld the $101,307.46
judgment against the city.
Records in the case show the police car
driven by Hickman hit the rear of a pickup
truck on Interstate 10 on Sept. 2, 1972,
triggering a multi-car accident. The pic
kup was spun around, and hit by a van
driven by LeBlanc.
Witnesses said Hickman was driving 70
to 80 miles an hour when he hit the pic
kup. The investigating officer estimated
Hickman’s speed at 65 to 70, but did not
give him a ticket.
The trial jury ruled Hickman was negli
gent in his speed and in failing to keep a
proper lookout.
In other cases Wednesday, the court:
—Ruled the city of Mesquite improp
erly denied Aladdin’s Castle Inc. a license
to operate a coin-operated amusement
business, and ordered the license issued.
The Supreme Court declined to rule,
however, on the constitutionality of a city
ordinance permitting licenses to be re
jected if applicants have “connections with
criminal elements.” A lower court had de
clared that provision unconstitutionally
vague.
—Ruled three passengers injured in a
North Texas auto accident are entitled to
collect damages from the insurance com
pany of the driver’s father.
—Ruled the Public Utility Commission
has authority to set interim rates pending
appeal of rate cases it considers. The city
of Corpus Christi had challenged an
interim rate set by the commission before
the PUC granted a $23 million permanent
rate inrease to Central Power and Light
Co.
—Rejected the appeal of Webb County
in a suit by 97 taxpayers seeking to block
relocation of the county courthouse.
works with other federal programs such as
Project Stay, Talent Search and LULAC in
an attempt to recruit minority students
and promotional literature routinely is
sent to Black National Achievement Stu
dents and outstanding two-year college
graduates.
The Office of Admissions and Records
also conducts seminars to aid the Black
Awareness Committee and the Committee
for the Awareness of Mexican-American
Culture in their recruitment efforts.
Black and Mexican-American Texas
A&M graduates cooperate with the Ad
missions and Records office to work with
prospective minority students.
Despite these efforts minority enroll
ment at Texas A&M remains low with
minority students making up about two
percent of the student population, accord
ing to figures released by the Registrar’s
Office.
Oldest man
boozes to 136
years July 4
United Press International
BARTOW, Fla. — Charlie Smith
celebrated his 136th birthday Tues
day and said he still drinks as much
booze as he can get and likes to
smoke cigarettes, too.
And on special occasions a piece
of cake is a nice change of pace for
Charlie, who may well be the oldest
man in the world as well as the
United States.
Getting booze at the Bartow Con
valescent Center, Charlie’s home
since 1972, can be a problem, of
course. He solved it by refusing to
take his vitamins until the staff
agreed to provide a shot of rum to
wash them down.
However, Charlie prefers to cel
ebrate with rye.
“I like to drink rye whiskey,” said
Smith, perched in his wheelchair. “I
drink it neat and I smokes ciga
rettes. Nothing wrong with that.”
At the Fourth of July party mark
ing Charlie’s record birthday, other
residents of the nursing home sang
and presented him with a birthday
cake without candles.
Missonia Stephens, the center’s
activities director, said America’s
oldest man, who nods off frequently
and whose memory fades in and out,
“was really sharp” for his birthday.
“I’m still growing” was Charlie
only comment — an apparent pre
diction that he expects to be around
for the next Fourth of July.
Dr. Frederick Charatan, a geriat
ric psychiatrist who interviewed the
bald, wizened man every day for a
week, said he was astonished by
Charlie’s condition.
Charatan, of the Long Island
Jewish-Hillside Medical Center, in
New Hyde Park, N.Y., said “It can
be demonstrated that he is defi
nitely 120 and, in all probability, it
appears that he is close to 136.”