onsol kids in health study; TEA to evaluate soon
By KAREN ROGERS
Battalion Staff
Although physical examinations for ap-
■ ‘lie I( parently healthy children may not seem
ckits (/necessary, early detection of hidden
toPekirjfiealth problems can improve a child’s
®lave learning ability.
In5May the Texas Education Agency will
“ptd t(w wind up a a two-year pilot study designed
Imeetirio determine whether early detection can
etsApt/improve students’ achievement and atten-
Ifp (i ,(lance in school.
,Chines! About 900 children have been screened
iaiJtheyJit A&M Consolidated, one of the par-
tlithe . jPcipiting districts, since the project began
in jjjiuary 1978.
j Eleven school districts in counties with
pulations ranging from 14,000 to 2 mil-
onKwere chosen to participate in the
tudy.
Each year, with their parents’ permis-
^■students in kindergarten, first and
tirades are screened for medical, de
velopmental, dental, vision or hearing
oblems.
Heart irregularities, anemia, vision and
hearing problems have been detected, but
dental problems are by far the most com
mon, said Susie Feldman, the nurse in
charge of the project at Consolidated.
“The screening is not meant to take the
place of an examination by a doctor,” she
said. “If the child is found to have a prob
lem, we refer him to a doctor.
“When the child goes to a doctor follow
ing referral, we ask the doctor to fill out a
form detailing the diagnosis and treatment
and return it to us.”
At the end of each month, this informa
tion is sent to the University of Texas Med
ical Branch in Galveston, where consult
ants are compiling medical data for all the
districts for evaluation by TEA.
Definite statistical proof is not yet avail
able on whether attendance and achieve
ment levels of children who have been
treated have improved.
Dr. Ernest Roberts, one of the TEA'
project monitors, said TEA “can’t deter
mine overnight whether the problems de
tected and corrected had any efiect on the
children’s learning ability.”
In a preliminary report sent to the
Legislature last January, TEA recom
mended that the program be funded for
another two years “to better evaluate the
medical and educational impact.”
Follow-up studies will be made on per
formance of those students who have re
ceived medical attention. Should perform
ance levels prove to be increased, the
project could become a permanent pro
gram and would be be required in all
Texas schools.
The biggest problem with the study,
Roberts said, is poor follow-up on refer
rals.
“A lot of families don’t have the money
to pay for medical or dental care. The
nurses do the best they can to find local
organizations to help with the funding,” he
said. “But then there are those families
who just don’t feel their child needs to go
to a doctor.”
Based on the first five months of the
study, about 55 percent of those Consoli
dated students referred were taken to a
doctor as compared to 39 percent of the
total number of students in the 11 dis
tricts.
Roberts said TEA would also like to de
termine if the screening program is cost-
effective.
The total cost for screening 3,216 stu
dents in the 11 districts last year was
$221,770, making the average cost $69.78
per student.
Roberts said he expects the cost will
drop this year to about $20-30 per student.
He explained that during the first year of
the program, the districts had capital out
lays for equipment that will not have to be
purchased this year.
He added that districts should be able to
screen twice as many students in the
1978-79 school year since the nurses
started in September.
The program had to be delayed until
January last year while equipment was
bought and nurses received special train
ing at UTMB.
Betty Janke, a licensed vocational nurse
who aided Feldman in the screenings,
said, “It’s hard for me to put a monetary
value on the program when you find one
child who had a problem and has been
helped.”
Both women said they feel the program
should be continued, although not neces
sarily in its present form.
“I have mixed feelings on the program,”
Feldman said. “We are concerned that
parents may utilize this instead of a regular
physical. We tell parents this is not meant
to take the place of a physical. We are very
will aware of our limitations; we don’t have
all the resources a doctor has.
“However, few parents take their child
in for an examination past the age of 5 or 6.
The parent consultation after the screen
gives me a real non-stress opportunity to
visit with them. It also gives the parents an
opportunity to visit with a health profes
sional about some concerns they may
have.”
The parent response has been very
enthusiastic at Consolidated, Feldman
said.
“We re going to need time to evaluate
the program beyond the two years allotted
by the legislature. We re definitely finding
enough children with a variety of prob
lems, but I don’t think any of us can say at
this time whether the things we’ve found
are keeping them in school.”
Janke said, “We try to use the program
to break down fears the children may have
about doctors and nurses by playing games
with them during the screening process.
“The project has definitely established a
need for a health program in the school
system, but exactly how it should be done
in the future, I can’t say.”
he Battalion
J72 No. 115
Pages
Monday, March 19, 1979
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
Mr. YUK wants you
Who is Mr. YUK and why
does he want you? Here’s a hint:
National Poison Prevention
Week began Sunday. See page 5
for more details.
ntencing set for today
Burnett murder trial
United Press International
JEAUMONT — The circumstantial
idence seemed overwhelming, but it
^Hiinda May Burnett’s own words that
nsured a guilty verdict Saturday and
uld send her to death row for the slaying
rfas&mily in a secluded forest a year ago.
Hay the same jury that declared the
mother of three a murderess began
'-drop today-
tomorrow
today is the last day to Q-drop a
[rse.
Students who wish to drop a
Irse with a grade of “Q” and no
palty must see their academic ad-
vis( r by 5 p.m. to secure an add-
drop request form which must then
| betaken to the dean of their college,
grade of “F” will be recorded
fo| courses dropped after today.
deliberation on a sentence — either a le
thal injection of a chemical or life in
prison.
An appeal is automatic under the state’s
death penalty statute.
Throughout the trial, Burnett had in
sisted her lover, Ovide Joseph Dugas, 32,
was the real murderer of his in-laws —
including a 2-year-old child — and that
she was an innocent pawn.
But a mysterious taped conversation,
reportedly made by defense attorneys
while Burnett was hypnotized, indicated
she pulled the trigger in four of the slay
ings. Despite defense objections, the tape
was offered into evidence and it was left up
to the jury to decide if the voice on the
tape was actually that of Burnett.
At about 4:30 p.m. Saturday, the jury
asked that the so-called “hypnotist” tape
be replayed. The judge ordered everyone
from the court except the jury and attor
neys, the doors were locked and the tape
was replayed for the panel. It was the sec
ond time the tape was heard by the jurors
— the first time was during the trial.
Burnett and Dugas were accused of kill
ing Bishop and Esther Phillips of Winnie,
their son, Elmer, his wife, Martha, and
their son, Jason, 2, who were visiting from
Woodward, Okla. Dugas currently is
awaiting trial in Corpus Christi.
Burnett was tried first in the shooting of
the baby, but the voice on tape said Dugas
— who allegedly masterminded the crime
out of anger about his divorce from Bishop
Phillips’ daughter, Mary — actually pulled
the trigger and killed the boy.
“I think I killed the four people and he
killed the baby,” the voice said. “I told
him no way. He’d have to do it. I turned
my back when he shot the baby. I did not
let myself look at the baby. That was too
much.”
The female voice on tape said she
wished she had killed Dugas instead of the
Phillips, who were found in a mass grave
on a deer preserve west of Beaumont on
July 10.
“I really wanted to let these people live
and to kill him,” the voice said. “I really
wanted that and I feel like kicking my own
tail because I didn’t do it like that. I really
am guilty about that. ”
Dugas, a refinery worker, allegedly was
driven to murder by his divorce. Tes
timony suggested Burnett and Dugas also
discussed killing her ex-husband.
The tape told of the five murders in gory
detail and discussed Burnett’s sex life in
explicit detail.
Prosecutors told the jury in closing ar
guments that Burnett was a masochistic
woman who preferred “sex before vio
lence” and thrived on a succession of
“mean men.”
District Attorney James McGrath
pointed at a sobbing Burnett and
screamed: “They had sex before they
killed my people. That’s the woman we re
trying here today.”
Following the emotional plea by
McGrath, Burnett toppled to the floor in a
faint while being led back to her cell.
Defense lawyers never admitted to the
jury that the voice was hers, but did tell
reporters the tape was made with Burnett.
Burnett refused to give prosecutors a
voice sample for technical comparison to
link her with the recording.
ideast peace
Arabs, hard-line Israelis rebuff treaty efforts
United Press International
National Security Advisor Zbigniew
zinski ended an apparently unsuc-
isstnl Middle East mission today without
IfSaudi Arabian and Jordanian support
le had sought for the proposed Egyptian-
jsraeli peace treaty.
Though Brzezinski described his talks
•vith the leaders of Jordan and Saudi
Arabia as “useful and constructive,” re-
/lijirts from Amman and Riyadh suggested
lis mission was not successful.
In Israel, Prime Minister Menachem
Begin called his Cabinet into session today
H^Bprove the full text of the draft peace
treaty amid signs of dissent by three minis
ters pressing for a tough stance on what
autonomy will mean for the 1.1 million
Arabs on the West Bank of the Jordan and
Gaza Strip.
Political sources said the ministers,
members of Begin s coalition partner, the
National Religous Party, want the gov
ernment to commit itself to no Palestinian
state in the territories, claim control of
public land and water sources there, de
clare continued Jewish settlement and
make Jewish settlers subject to Israeli law.
Despite the dissension, the Cabinet was
expected to approve the draft treaty.
which then goes to the frill Israeli Knesset,
or parliament, for a two day debate to
begin Tuesday.
The Israeli Armed Forces radio Sunday
said most Cabinet ministers agreed with
Begin that to publicize the Cabinet’s
viewpoint on autonomy before signing the
treaty with Egypt could be damaging. In
stead, Begin would prefer “to cross that
bridge when they come to it.”
Last week the Cabinet approved with
out dissent Carter’s compromise proposals
that broke the deadlock threatening the
treaty after six days of intensive shuttle
diplomacy by the president.
move one
over
and south doors closed
By DIANE BLAKE
Battalion Staff
For the next two to three weeks,
I students will need hook marks not
i their place in a book — but to
[find the book’s place in the library.
The library move, begun March
[9, is one-third finished. So far the
icard catalogs, technical services,
land much of the furniture have been
I moved from the Sterling C. Evans
j Building to the new library annex.
Most of the books have yet to be
‘ ansferred.
One change has been completed;
[the north and south entrances are
[closed, leaving only the new east
[doors open for library patrons.
All floors of both buildings are
[open, but that may not help much,
[Dr. Irene Hoadley, director of lib-
[raries, said Sunday night.
‘Students may have difficulty
[finding some books during the
[move.’ Library assistants will help
_
locate books and solve other prob-
The move should be completed in
about two to three weeks, Hoadley
said. Library hours have been
shortened for the move. Closing
time is 10 p.m. instead of 1 a.m.
New weekend hours are 9 a.m. to 5
>.m. Saturdays and 1-10 p.m. Sun-
to
can now
room.
Most social science l
moved to the third floor of the new
building (divisions K-
fourth floor
The archives entrance is un-
The circulation department, card
catalogs, reference division and pro
cessing department are on the first
floor of the annex. The second floor
will house microtexts, current
periodicals, administrative offices,
technical divisions and the map
science nooks ,
General materials and the rest of
social sciences (divisions A-H) will
be transferred to the fifth floor. The
documents collection and the
70,000-80,000 books classified by
the Dewey decimal system will be
on the sixth floor of the annex.
When the move is complete, the
old part of the building will be re
modeled. After the renovation some
of the books and departments will
be moved back, including current
periodicals, the reserve reading
room and the documents division.
“We’re going to spread out and
give ourselves room to grow,’’
Hoadley said. “Now we’re so packed
in there's not much space for more
books. “
mmm
■
In an interview with the CBS program
“60 Minutes” Sunday, Palestine Libera
tion Organization chairman Yasser Arafat
said he would call for an embargo of Arab
oil against both the United States and
Egypt for betraying the Palestinians.
Arafat, interviewed at the PLO head
quarters in Beirut Friday, accused the
United States of pursuing a policy of neo
colonialism in the Middle East.
Upon landing in Cairo Sunday,
Brzezinski described his talks with King
Hussein and King Khalid at “useful and
constructive” —- diplomatic jargon mean
ing there had been no change in the Jor
danian or Saudi positions.
Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al
Faisal said only the discussions Saturday
with Khalid had produced agreement to
“remain in close contact in connection
with the evolving issues in the Middle
East.”
Brzezinski said he would fly back to
Washington today, quashing reports
Damascus might be a last-minute addition
to his trip.
A Ruff Rider
“He’s our guard dog,” says Sandy Moreau. Pepper, a two-year-old mini
ature Schnauzer, goes everywhere with Moreau and her husband, who
own and operate a trucking company. The Moreaus, from Leviston,
Maine, were in College Station last week delivering bookshelves for the
Sterling C. Evans Library addition. Battalion photo by clay CockriH
Tentatively approved tax relief
sees final House action today
United Press International
AUSTIN — A legislator’s wedding
ceremony in the Capitol today threatened
to overshadow a final House vote on a $450
million tax relief bill designed to reduce
the taxes Texans pay on their homes, cars,
agricultural and timber lands.
The House scheduled a 2:30 p.m. ses
sion to take final action on the tax relief bill
which was tentatively approved last week,
and Rep. Ralph Wallace, D-Houston,
planned his wedding to Jo Ann Jensen, 27,
at 4 p.m. in the House Chamber.
An aide to Wallace said 1,500 persons
had been invited to the wedding, although
the gallery also will incude timber indus
try lobbyists who watched anxiously last
week as the House narrowly turned back
an effort by Rep. John Bryant, D-Dallas,
to deny to large corporations the tax break
on timber land guaranteed to family
timber farmers.
The tax relief bill implements provisions
of the so-called Tax Relief Amendment,
adopted by voters last November, to the
state Constitution. It provides a system for
taxing agricultural and timber land based
on its productive value rather than market
value, gives a $5,000 homestead exemp
tion from property taxes for all homeow
ners and an additional $10,000 exemption
to senior citizens, exempts two cars per
family from property taxes and sets a limit
on the growth of state spending.
In addition, lawmakers unofficially will
be discussing Gov. Bill Clements’ offer to
consider a one-year state budget this year
rather than the traditional two-year spend
ing plan.
Clements told a news conference Friday
the one-year budget plan has significant
benefits because of unstable economic
conditions which make revenue estimates
for the next two years difficult.
The governor said he opposes regular
annual sessions of the Legislature, but
said, “Under these circumstances and un
certain economy and with the inflationary
factors we have, we might well make an
exception this year and have a one-year
budget and have a mandatory special ses
sion limited to budgetary matters next
year.”