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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 1979)
e Battalion pi. 72 No. 102 !4 Pages 2 Sections Thursday, February 22, 1979 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 inside This man watches the late show for his research project — the movies of the 1950s. Those films reveal America, he says. See page 5. New Orleans police ignore state order to end strike United Press International NEW ORLEANS — A state judge Wednesday issued a preliminary injunc tion ordering an end to the 5-day-old policemen’s strike that canceled Mardi Gras parades, but there was no immediate indication the men would obey the order. Two temporary restrainting orders by the same judge, Civil District Court Judge Richard Garvey, went unheeded by the more than 1,000 striking policemen. Garvey declined to issue a contempt ci tation on his own if the men refused to obey the order, but he said the city could seek to file a contempt proceeding if it wanted. Such action could lead to the ar rest of strikers, a development that union leaders said would trigger walkouts in the fire and sanitation departments. “The court understands that the filing of a contempt citation might upset the deli cate balance of negotiations,” Garvey said in explaining his reason for not issuing a contempt citation. The city and the Police Association of New Orleans were meeting for the third consecutive day with federal mediators trying to resolve the labor dispute when Garvey’s ruling was handed down. A mediator reported progress after the pre vious session but offered no prediction about how soon the walkout would end. “That’s one question I sure would like to give yoti an answer to,” said mediator Ansel Garrett. Outside a police station, strikers walked their picket lines in silence as French Quarter shoplifters became more brazen and hotels scurried to salvage Mardi Gras business by arranging to bus tourists to carnival parades in the suburbs. More than 1,300 of the city’s 1,460 police voted last Friday night to strike after Mayor Ernest Morial refused to submit to binding arbitration to reach a contract. The city also rejected union de mands to include ranking officers in the bargaining unit. Members of the Chamber of Commerce filed suit Tuesday to block any possible binding arbitration, saying it would hurt the city. A state judge refused to issue a temporary restraining order, but a hearing on the suit was scheduled Thursday. The police talks have been deadlocked since last Friday, despite the presence of Garrett at marathon bargaining sessions Monday and Tuesday. The wear and tear of the negotiations showed briefly Tuesday on union leader Vincent Bruno. “If the talks break down, cave ’em in, wreck the city,” said Bruno, president of the Police Association of Louisiana. Bruno later apologized to “all the citi zens of New Orleans” for his statement, but said he would call for other city work ers to join the strike unless progress was made soon. The lack of progress also had an impact outside the bargaining sessions. Leaders of the 18 major carnival organi zations that make up the heart of Mardi Gras Tuesday announced unexpectedly they had canceled their parades because of the strike. “It is wrong to use Mardi Gras as blackmail in this dispute,” leaders of the 18 parade groups said in a joint statement. “The same procedure can be used each year and we re not going to let our organi zations be used as puppets in such a plan.” The mayor, serving his first term, had canceled 10 parades on a day-by-day basis after the strike began last Friday, but leaders of the remaining 18 organizations said they made their move in unison for the sake of the Mardi Gras tradition. “Nothing but harm can come to the spirit of New Orleans Mardi Gras through the day-by-day suspense of these cancella tions,” the groups said. At least one of the organizations, known locally as “krewes,” vowed to parade in the suburbs and others were expected to fol low. The first of the New Orleans parades — The Krewe of Pegasus — got a permit to march in suburban Kenner, La., Wed nesday night. And there were indications Rex, the King of Carnival, would be asked to parade in the suburbs. “It is regretful that events of the past several days have caused the cancellation of this year’s Mardi Gras,” Mayor Morial said in a statement Tuesday night. “I am sure that the action taken by the various carnival krewes was done after much de liberation and thought. “It is obvious that despite the substan tial investment of private resources in the activities of the several krewes, they took their action in the interest of the public safety and security of the citizens.” One of the krewes that canceled its parade was Bacchus, a lavish group featur ing top-name entertainers as its king each year. Bacchus officials said they would stay off the streets next Sunday, but would parade their floats — with television actor Ron Howard as king — inside the Louisiana Superdome while thousands at tended a dance that traditionally kicks off the festivities. Library move Date changes again Israelis seeking oil from peace talks United Press International WASHINGTON — The foreign ministers of Egypt and Israel, once again in the seclusion of Camp David, Wednesday began the latest attempt to break the deadlock in the Middle East peace negotiations. Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Khalil, also named foreign minister by his government, and Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan arrived separately in Washington Tuesday and immediately were flown by helicopter to the snow- covered mountains of western Maryland where they were in total isolation from newsmen. They arrived just over five months after the end of the Camp David summit brought hopes for early agreement on an Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. Those hopes disappeared in fundamental disagreement over “linkage” — how the treaty should be tied to a wider settlement involving Palestinian self- government on the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin said Tuesday the Camp David talks will include discussions about the supply of oil and increasing U.S. aid. Begin did not give further details, but a State Department spokesman con firmed the Israelis are seeking a firm agreement from Egypt to sell them oil from the Sinai fields at commercial prices. The issue has taken on new importance since the new Moslem regime in Iran announced it would no longer sell oil to Israel. The Israelis got an estimated 60 percent of their daily supply, about 40,000 barrels, from Iran. The Israeli Knesset’s Foreign Affairs Committee also said Dayan should make every effort to insure the U.S. aid to support the Israeli pullout from the Sinai should be in the form of a grant, and not a loan. That reverses the earlier Israeli position in which the money — estimated to be $1.4 billion — would be in the form of a long-term, low-interest loan. hack to March 10 All ‘hands’ on deck Roy Wood and Larry Myers stand ready at the “helm” as U.S.N. Lt. DanThigpenn, a Naval Science instructor, checks out the “boiler room.” Naval Science 302 students drew attention Wednesday as they sailed the Seas of Ruder Fountain. Battalion photo by Colin Crombie By STEVE LEE Battalion Staff The first move-in date for the new li brary addition has been changed from May back to March 10. Dr. Irene Hoadley, director of libraries for Texas A&M University, said the fear of a labor shortage in May caused the latest change. Beard Transfer and Storage Com pany of Bryan, which has the contract for the move, told the University there could be a shortage of manpower for a May move-in. Hoadley and other school offi cials met with representatives of Beard Transfer and Storage Company of Bryan, which has the contract for the move, and agreed to achieve the move in phases, be ginning in March and ending in early fall of this year. Original plans had called for the move to begin in March. The change to the May move-in date was made two weeks ago when it was discovered that the new shelves for the addition would not arrive in few state bill would merge ax assessing in Brazos County 0 ® So®o 8 CD 2> ® 5'S S® 35b ° °Uc 3 2 s'£9 0) 0 0 —■< "'f 1 ? (9 X C U X t 0 (U ffl-0 5 c/> 5) ® ^ 0 3 0 ='0 hist ~<d ri-c® v rfrot XT ® fl (U ' % o -5« a ® 9 (D ;•£ £ |S s ’il 3 C 3® 0?? 52 c time for the spring break move, she ex plained. Now just “work areas,” such as adminis trative offices, and processing and acquisi tion departments, will be moved, along with most of the library furniture, Hoadley said. Hoadley could not say when the move into the new addition would be complete. “My best guess is that all books and ev erything will be moved by the first sum mer session, ” she said. “I bope it is before that.” The library will be open during the first phase of the move, although the two pres ent main entrances to the library will be closed for good. The new main entrance to the library complex will open on the east side of the addition. Dr. Haskell M. Monroe, dean of facul ties and associate vice-president for academic affairs, explained the moving company’s busiest season begins in May. He said the company’s veteran employees could be available for the March move-in, but not for a May move-in assignment. Monroe was one of the administrators who met with Hoadley and the company, along with Dr. John M. Prescott, vice- president for academic affairs, and Dr. Howard L. Vestal, vice-president for business affairs. Logan Council and Leroy Johnson, of the Texas A&M physical plant. were also in on the decision. The Library Council, made ffp of faculty and student representatives, was not involved. “We were changing the rules in the middle of the game,” Hoadley said of the prior decision to change the move-in to May. She said the bid had been made for a March move-in. The books in the present Sterling C. Evans Library building will remain, unless the new shelves arrive in time for the move. Hoadley is not optimis tic that the shelves will be on time because of a steel hauler’s strike that began in November and lasted through mid- January. The library will receive the shelves from Estey Co., based in New Jer sey, a large manufacturer of library shelv ing. Hoadley said the number of phases it takes to complete the move will depend on when the shelves are received. The first phase of the move is planned to end March 19, when students return from spring break. Books will be moved as soon as the shelves come in. While the books will still be in the pres ent building, the main study areas will be in the addition where, she said, conditions should be more quiet for study. With student use and moving going on at the same time, Hoadley is concerned about possible confusion and distractions to those using the library over the break. “There’s apt to be some confusion,” she said. “There are a number of people that we will have to accommodate. She indicated that the possible inconve niences would be better than closing the library during the break, which she said would not be feasible. Special assistance would need to be given to those students conducting research over the break, she said. Also, Hoadley anticipates that a number of signs will need to be posted, telling students where certain services or offices have been moved. Monroe said the movers are also con cerned. “They hope to disrupt student and fac ulty as little as possible,” he said. “If this proves to be too disruptive, then they will stop.” Hoadley said that library use in January and February have been heavier than usual, indicating, she said, that a lot of students have anticipated the spring break move by doing prior research. She said that the remodeling of the present Evans building will take from three to six months, with a final move-iri planned for early fall. Hoadley said originally, contractors predicted the move-in could take place last November, and a Christmas break move was speculated. By DOUG GRAHAM Battalion Staff What occurs when five different agen- s perform within a single area? Duplication of effort, say most of the Tax sessor-Collectors in the Brazos Conty, five entities that have separate tax of- K in Brazos County: the county itself, cities of Bryan and College Station, the 'an Independent School District, and M Consolidated Independent School strict. Each of these offices not only ps records, levies taxes, and issues var- u permits, but estimates the value of ^estate in its jurisdiction. This causes a certain amount of duplica- n since the property in each city is as- sed by a school district and by the “nty. This situation is typical of all Texas unties. Because of this, state Representative ayne Peveto, D-Orange, will be intro- ingabill to consolidate the appraising ices of most taxing districts within a unty. He will do this either today or Monday, according to an aide. The collection function would not be com- ied. Dov. Bill Clements supports this ap- >ach to property appraisal. In his Wed- s day address to the Legislature, Cle ats said he wanted several things ssed this year including, “Creation of a gle appraisal office within each county aded by an elected official, feveto’s bill, a staffer said, would set up nty-wide tax appraisal offices. The funds for the appraisal office would be supplied by the school boards and city governments it served. They would pay in proportion to the amount of money they receive from property taxes. If, for instance, College Station, Consol and BISD each recieved $25,000 from property taxes while Bryan received $75,000, Bryan would pay one-half the ap praisal office’s budget while the others would pay one-sixth each. Peveto’s plan differs from Clements’ in that Clements wants the office to be headed by an elected official, while Peveto envisions the office electing a chairman from its own members. A companion bill has already been in troduced in the Texas Senate by Sen. Grant Jones, D-Abilene, as Senate Bill 621. “We re going to run this thing through the Senate first,” Rick Fine, Peveto’s legis lative aide, said. “It has always done well and passed the House in the past. This way we hope to avoid a useless fight.” Peveto has submitted the bill unsuc cessfully to three previous legislatures. The Legislative Budget Board estimated the consolidation of appraisal functions could save up to $5 million a year, he said. Tax bills to consolidate the apprais ers’ offices were defeated. Fine said, be cause they specified the formation of a state board of evaluation to serve as a higher court for the local boards. Boards of evaluation are a recourse for a homeowner or businessman who thinks his property has been overvalued. They exist in some form in all taxing districts; Brazos County’s is the County Commis sioners Court. Boards exist for the other tax offices as well. The state-wide board would have of fered taxpayers something other than legal recourse. Fine said, but opposition came from senators who feared it would become a new state bureaucracy. The present bill omits the state-wide board. Fine is confident that the bill with this change and Clements’ backing, will pass. The bill does propose creation of a county-wide equalization board, com posed of anywhere from three to nine members, depending on the population and workload in a county. The members of the board would be elected by the tax districts. Each district will have a number of votes depending on the amount they receive from property taxes. Fine explained. Though local tax assessors agree in prin ciple on the program, they disagree on the management of the combined office. “The way Peveto had the bill set up,” said Buddy Winn, tax assessor for Brazos County, “he didn’t want it under the county assessor — I think it ought to be under the county tax assessor-collector under the state constitution.” “I don’t say it because I’m a county as sessor, but because that’s what the book says.” (Please turn to page 10.) Former governor hits the home trail ^ - , ■ ...mil ..n ..."nr Connally confident’ of carrying Texas United Press International AUSTIN — John B. Connally, casual and comfortable with suppor ters who three times elected him Texas’ governor, shook hands and greeted friends Wednesday at the opening of his week-long tour of the state to build support for the Repub lican nomination for president. Connally said the overflow crowd was evidence of his potential strength as a candidate. More than 1,000 supporters packed the Driskill Hotel to hear the former Nixon cabinet member campaign in Texas for the first time in 13 years. “I am confident that we can carry Texas,” Connally told reporters, in reference to a question about his strength in the primaries. Connally said it is not necessary to win the New Hampshire primary to be a strong contender in the pres idential race but said the Florida race was crucial. Connally would make no com mitment favoring a controversial bill in the Texas Legislature that allows for a Texas presidential primary in March, although he did say he would prefer it in April. “I don’t care what kind of primary they have,” Connally said. “All I want to do is to have an opportunity for Texans to express their will.” The former Democrat is hoping a coalition of Republicans, indepen dents and friendly Democrats can boost him to the GOP nomvion. Connally made numerous refer ences to President Carter’s prob lems with foreign policy. Connally John Connally made numerous references to President Carters problems with foreign policy. He said the recent problems in Iran began long ago and that United States support began much too late. “If we were going to be an effective ally to the shah we should have begun 18 months or two years ago." said the recent problems in Iran began long ago and that United States support began much too late. “If we were going to be an effec tive ally to the shah we should have begun 18 months or two years ago,” Connally said. He added that the world now de tects the United States as weak be cause of what he labeled retrench ment approaches to foreign prob lems. "Obviously, we have run into problems because the world per ceives us as weak and vacillating,” Connally said. Connally said his plans for con trolling run-away inflation would be to reduce federal spending and to stop the large deficits in U.S. trade accounts. He said Carter may face difficulty in winning the Democratic nomina tion for a second term as president. “Since June of 1977 I’ve said I thought he would be a one-term president, and I still think that to day,” Connally answered. From Austin, Connally left for Waco, the second stop on his seven-day tour that will include 17 other Texas cities.