Page 10 THE BATTALION MONDAY. SEPTEMBER 25. 1978 ‘Old Sparky’ gone, but more may die HUNTSVILLE — Changes in Texas’ death penalty law have brought changes at the place of execution. Death row is growing again, but “Old Sparky” has quietly retired to be replaced by a lethal syringe. Texas has not executed anyone since a 1964 Supreme Court ruling voided most capital punishment laws. For a while, the death row population was relatively stable. But under new law, it’s growing again. And appeals are running out. “We originally had the one cellbloek. Texas Department of Corrections spokesman Ron Taylor said. “We’ve had to expand to another cellbloek and when we reach 120, we will have to expand to a third cellbloek.” Tbe Texas inmate-built electric chair, in which 361 capital criminals died between 1924 and 1964, has been crated and stored without fan fare somewhere at TDC’s Huntsville headquarters. Mary Lou Anderson, 35, of Lake Charles, La., currently is the only woman in Texas on death row. She is being housed in a special section of the Goree Women’s unit five miles south of Huntsville. Taylor said currently 98 men are on death row at Ellis, but at least 11 more have been sentenced to die and are in county jails around Texas waiting to be sent to Huntsville. “The officials are trying to keep track of the announced death sen tences, which we have not re ceived,” he said. “We originally had the one cellbloek. We’ve had to ex pand to another cellbloek and when we reach 120, we will have to ex pand to a third cellbloek.’’ All inmates on death row are in dividually housed. Taylor said the state’s first death by injection could come “some time in 1979. “It will be the consequence of timing, rather than a shift in philosophy,” he predicted. “It's simply a matter of the inmates on death row. They are getting to the point where their appeal oppor tunities are severely curtailed. “There’s a fairly high probability that in 1979, there could very well be an execution in Texas.” Keeping his eye on the ball? Student Scott McKercher isn’t being hit by a tennis ball, as it appears here. The camera just happened to catch the ball at the moment passed in front of his face after his serve. He was playing tennis Sunday morning at the Bryan High School tennis courts. Entire town celebrates end of 8-year battle 11-year-old boy survives, conquers leukemia United Press International SHEEP RANCH, Calif. — The whole town sipped champagne Saturday as it watched the ceremo nial burning of 40 left-over syringes to commemorate the victory of an 11-year-old boy over the leukemia he has battled for eight years. seen in a century of existence. The hero was Stephen Kenning, a towhead whose lymphoblastic leukemia was discovered just in the knick of time. It was a celebration of life unlike any party this Mother Lode com munity in the Siera foothills has "The doctor told us that if we had waited much longer, it would have been too late,” said the boy’s mother, Nancy Kizer. “One cell, if untreated, can kill a rat in 60 days and a human being in six weeks." Ever since then, until three months ago, Steve has undergone chemotherapy. From now on, the treatment will only be occasional bone marrow tests to determine if his remission is holding. I think lies got a better than 50 percent chance, and maybe as high as 80 percent, of being in perma nent remission,” Dr. William Thayer said. Except for nine arm and leg frac tures, caused by drugs that weakened the bones, Steve has led a near-normal life. He earns money to buy photographic supplies with a parttime job feeding horses. “He deserves the biggest party 1 can think of, Mrs. Kizer said. “I decided that if he made it, I was going to throw one heck of a party for h im because he’s just a super kid." For the occasion, the population of Sheep Ranch was swelled from 50 to 250 by guests milling around the 100-year-old Pioneer Hotel playing horseshoes and nibbling homemade ice cream, apples, cheese and tur key cassarole in flower pots they can take home. For Steve, there was only one slight disappointment. Because the big event was coming, he didn’t get his normal birthday party in July. 8 ATTENTION JUNIORS! Hr YEARBOOK PICTURES TIP T0P A-Z and MAKEUPS MUST BE TAKEN THIS WEEK (SEPT. 25-27) RECORDS AND TAPES 1000 S. COULTER — BRYAN — 823-5745 barker photography TAPES • STEREOS • NEEDLES &TDK BI