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The regular gas pump of Southside Gulf Station
in College Station indicates a price of 69.9 cents
* Battalion photo by Bill Wilson
per gallon, while the maximum permissible price
is displayed as 68.9 cents per gallon.
Gas station overcharges,
but it’s not alone in U.S-
By RICHARD OLIVER
BattaUon Staff
Southside Gulf Station, located at 300
Jersey St., was charging 60.9 cents per
gallon for regular gas as of Thursday
morning.
However, the maximum ceiling price
shown on the pump was 68.9 cents a gal
lon.
Federal law states gas stations must
display a maximum price for thefr gas on
a sticker on each pump. It is illegal to
charge more than the maximum price
shown. The stations can charge any price
up to the ceiling price set by the federal
government.
Charles Broach, owner of the station,
said Tuesday, “The new ceiling prices
came in, but I have just neglected to
change the price on the pump. "
The price stickers on Southside Gulfs
pumps were taken off Thursday after
noon.
Bill Webb, media advisor for the U.S.
Departmant of Energy, said many Texas
gas stations are violating the law and
could be faced with a $2,500-a-day fine.
Webb said the main reason some sta
tions don’t keep up with the changes in
the federal ceiling price is "forgetful
ness.”
Although it’s not a very good reason,”
he said, “njost stations claim they have
neglected to change the sticker on their
pumps when the ceiling price changes.
They, too, however, are liable for pen
alty.”
Webb said the changing gas prices are
the blame for the wave of “forgetfulness"
among gas station owners.
"Most stations can’t keep up with the
constantly fluctuating gas prices,’ he
said. “The maximum ceiling price for gas
has been increasing steadily, but some
stations have not kept up with the*
change."
Webb said a letter would be sent to
Southside Gulf Station inmediately, and
the owner would be given a chance to*
change the price.
“We first send a notice to our auditors,
who then review the complaint and send
a letter to the station," he said. "If after
this first letter no action is taken by the
owner, we will send some auditors to
look at their lxx>ks and determine if they
have violated the law. If so, the station
will be given a notice of probable viola-
tU Webb said the U.S. Department of
Energy has received several comp
from the Texas area, but not many are
determined to lie violations. » » u,
Texas has had several violations lately
which have caused gasoline staUons
raise their prices over the limit, he sai •
“One big violation hot spot was the
Wichita Falls area. After the tornado
there, we had several stations taking ad
vantage of the situation and charging up,
to 23 cents a gallon above the federal
ceiling price.”, .
The leading violator in the state, sara
Webb, is San Antonio, which has had 23
audits since Feb. 15.
Webb said the main reason stations
are usually not fined is they usually
lower their prices after the first warning.^
“We re not out to put anybody in tail,
he said. “If it appears that the mistake i*
totally honest on the part of the station
owner, well let it go.”
Webb said persons who find a station
in violation of federal laws concerning
gas prices should call the toll-free U.S.
Department of Energy Hot Line at
1-800-424-9246.
Vol. 72 No. 149
14 Pages
Friday, May 4, 1979
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
Only
one Bait next week
Coirimunications students, like
all others, are stuck with their
share of final exams. Because
newspaper staffers need to study,
too, Wednesday’s Battalion will be
the only one during finals week.
The Battalion will publish one edi
tion each week, on Wednesday,
until summer classes begin. Dur
ing summer school. The Battalion
will appear or Tuesday, Wednes
day ana Thursday,
- j ■ ’
» 4
Storms cause damage,
few injuries in Texas
United Press Interna bone]
Air raid sirens reminiscent of World
War II bombing scenes wailed, the mayor
of Dallas ordered the glassily futuristic
City Hall evacuated and most of his city
employees spent the afternoon in a bomb
shelter taking an extra long lunch break.
Three waves of violent thunderrstorms,
none of which reached as far south as the
Bryan-College Station area, struck norths
central Texas Thursday. They wqere so
thick they blocked out the sun and caused
10-inch-an-hour rain, hail and high'winds.
Today’s weather is expected to stay
cloudy and much cooler, throughout cen
tral Texas.
Downtown Dallas was nearly deserted
Thursday as the sirens wailed and many
businesses were left open — with no <yie
inside as employees fled into base
ments.
Despite extensive damage from tor
nadoes and flash floods, however, all re
ported injuries were minor.
One large tornado whipped through a
four-mile area in DeSoto, just south of
Dallas, at 2:20 p.m. Less than an hour
later a smaller tornado hit almost precisely
(he same spot.
, Police said the twisters damaged 40 re*-
sidences, 12 businesses and two churches
and the city's mayor said the total amount
pf damage was estimated to be $1 million.
He said he would seek federal aid today.
Jesse Collier, manager of a gas ststaion
almost destroyed, said he saw the vague
outline of the funnel and stepped outside.
“It was a straight force, grey and black,
swirling with debris." he said. “I ran back
inside and threw myself on the floor. I
looked outside and 1 saw one of my tires
from the station going through the church
across the street. I thought I was a goner.
“The second one was more like driving
rain, but when it hit I looked out the win
dow and a Mustang parked in my lot was
hovering above the ground."
Authorities said there would be hun
dreds of thousands of dollars damage in
the Dallas suburb of Terrell, and in all lo
cations of the sprawling Dallas-Forth
Worth metropolitan area, from small twis
ters, floodwaters, golfball-sized hail and
high winds.
More than a dozen tornadoes were
sighted all over the north central area, in
cluding in Tarrant County west of Fort
Worth. Others were sighted in Ellis
County south of Dallas and near Weather
ford, Cedar Hall, Stephenville, Terrell
Lake, Palestine and Dekalb.
All did varying amounts of minor dam
age. Another tornado struck east of Terrell
causing scattered damage to residneces.
At Cedar Hill a tornado passed over a
high school damaging the building but
harming no one. In Fort Worth some
stranded motorists were rescued by boat
First ygasohol station
opens; more to come
TOPEKA. Kan — The first retail
flaanhnl station has opened in Kansas
and is offering 2,000 gallons of the
fuel mix at 14.5 cents per gallon on a
first-come, first-serve basis.
However, the price offered Thurs
day at the Workingman's Friend sta
tion on the west side of the capital
last only until the 2,000 gal-
pumped into vehicle
low price is part of a
hefian Dumoinv vasohol
of 90 percent unleaded
ry, vice president of
Co. which owns the
i s Friend stations, said afl
[1 outlets in Topeka and
will carry the fuel when
•apply oad delivery are
two weeks we should have
tng your customers so wc will use no
thing but the best. It's super-
expensive and does add to our cost
significantly. But we will sell it for the
same price as our unleaded fuel and *
replace our unleaded fuel with it.
We’re just happy to be the first com
pany on the street with it.”
Gaffney said any car with an inter
nal combustion engine, regardless of
age, can use the Fuel, without car
buretor modifications. He said the
fuel has about three points higher oc
tane than regular unleaded gasoline,
is cleaner bunting, gives off 30 per
cent less carbon monoxide and in-
csenses mfies per gallon.
this is owe case where alcohol and
gMoltne do mix," he joked. "By the
wsty, the con that is used to make
this gasohol is American corn, not
Arabian corn or Iranian corn."
The official of the Topeka-based oil
company said the oompoay eventually
plans to replace all Its unleaded
gasoline pumps with unloaded
said Highway Oil Cff op-
cnPes stations in 28 states under the
names Highway Oil, Workingman’s
Friend, Fairway Oil, Cook Oil and
Hi-Lo Off.
The enthoriastic Gaffney was at the
asan
as a helicopter whirred noisily overhead
"Three or four dozen or maybe more”
minor injuries were reported in VVilmer,
southeast of Dallas, at the Wintergreen
Mobile Home Park — which was flattened
by twisters.
Two people were injured in Dallas
when excessive water caused the collapse
of a Le Baron Coffee Shop roof. Roofs also
collapsed at several other Dallas and Fort
Worth businesses, and monumental traffic-
jams occurred in flooded streets.
Particularly severe flash floods caused
operate in 26
*r to return to ' 1
the evacuation of 150 homes in low-lying
areas of Cleburne, located about 30 miles
south of Fort Worth, and in Grand Prairie
and Arlington, two cities between Dallas
and Fort Worth.
The three thunderstorm systems were
generated over the flatlands west of Fort
Worth by the collision of a Rocky
Mountain cold front and warm, moist Gulf
of Mexico air. Each drifted to the north
east toward Dallas-Fort W’orth and the
weather service said they rose to 45,000
feet high, turning day into night in Dallas.
’79 grads to. be
record breakers
By CATHY KIRKHAM
Battalion Reporter
Records are meant to be broken and
the 1979 graduating class at Texas A&M
University will break a few more. ’
A record 2,400 students will graduate
this weekend, the admissions and rec
ords department said. However, the rec
ord is made and broken every year.
Gov. William P. Clements will address
two out of the three commencement
services this, weekend.
He will speak to graduates from the
colleges of architecture, engineering and
science at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and to
graduates from the colleges of business,
education, geosciences, liberal arts and
Moody College in Galveston at 9 a m.
Saturday.
Dr. Charles A. LeMaistre will address
undergraduates from the colleges of ag
riculture and veterinary medicine and all
advanced-degree candidates at cere
monies beginning 2 p.m. Friday.
“It’s weird to come from one graduat
ing ceremony in high school of about 200
and then go to a thing that has to be
broken into three parts," said Bob Reed,
/t
a graduating senior. “And you know, that
isn’t even- including all my friends that
graduated in December, or that will this
summer.” -f
.All three ceremonies will take place in
G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The placement office also broke rec
ords this year. Ron Winn, assistant direc
tor of the placement office, said the final
tally is not in yet. but an estimated 2.600
signed up for interviews this year.
“We don’t know yet how many ex
pected jobs from interviews yet, how
ever," he said.
Area businesses have, also benefitted
from graduation.
’T’ve got a lot of time on my hands,”
Robin Smith, another graduating senior,
said. T’ve been packed up since I got
out of my last class on Monday. I guess
we will ail go over and shoot some pool a
few more times. "
Dead week is the busiest time of the
year for the Dixie Chicken, said Don
Canter, one of its owners. “Seniors swell
the place up," he said. -•
He said 20 seniors opened the place
up Wednesday, and the same ones
closed it down.
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Graduating seniors anxiously check the list of seniors cleared for
graduation today and Saturday. The list, posted at Heaton Hall,
brought both squeals of delight and groans of despair from more than
one senior. B.ttmlion photo by Lee Ro> I««chprr Jr.
■ j ; | , a . > .
Outstanding faculty honored
By MARK HANCOCK
Battalion Reporter
The faculty and administrative staff of
Texas A&M University was honored
Thursday at the annual Faculty Convoca
tion and this year’s outstanding members
received Distinguished Service Awards.
Former Chancellor Jack K. Williams is
to be honored in a special ceremony
soon because of his many accom
plishments at Texas A&M, said Haskell
Monroe, associate vice president for
academic affairs and dean of faculties.
President Jarivs E. Miller congratu
lated the entire faculty for a superior
performance this year, but added that
many problems need attention.
Miller said that a main problem facing
the University is the legislative action
occuring now that may hinder Texas
A&M’s growth.
“Under the guise of equity, the in
stitutions are being pulled down. State
and federal funding processes are
th
string
harder to work with and we will have
lean appropriations this year," he said.
“This is happening now. All in all it
has been a difficult year. The challenges
have been great, but we have been
strong. We will continue to build and
emphasize quality in the coming year."
Miller discussed programs for students
as well as faculty recruitment in order to
keep the educational quality of Texas
A&M high.
Scholarship programs such as the Sul
Ross Scholarship Fund will be used to
attract exceptionally qualified students.
Dr. J.M. Prescott, vice president for
academic affairs, introduced similar pro
grams pertaining to faculty improvement
which will deal with centers for teaching
and counciling.
The Association of Former Students,
which is responsible for the awards every
year, recently donated $250,000 for
scholarships to attract students to Texas
A&M, keeping in step with next year’s
plans.
AFS president Robert Smith III said
the association presently has 80,000
members and is...the “best association in
the country."
"This is our highlight to honor you,
the faculty," Smith said.
The Amoco Foundation also gave three
awards for teaching and one for research.
The award winners are listed in the
order they received their honors.
Distinguished Teaching Awards were
given to Dr Rod O’Connor, professor of
chemistry. Dr. Herbert G. Thompson,
E rofessor of marketing, Merrill D. Whit-
um, professor of English. Dr. Bryan R.
Cole, professor of education, Dr. Joseph
Donaldson Jr., professor of enviromental
design and Dr. Donald R. Herring, pro
fessor of agricultural education.
Research awards were given to Dr.
\\ illiam R. Klemm, professor of biology,
Dr. Worth Nowlin Jr., professor of
oceanography and Dr. Joe B. Dickson. "
professor of soil and crop sciences.
Awards for individual student relations
were given to Dr, Leon Russell, profes
sor of veterinars public health and Dr.
Warren A. Dickson. '
Awards for extension and continuing
education to Dr. Donald F. Seaman,
studies and training specialist and Dr.
Raymond Frisbie, professor »of
entomology.
R. Clark Diebel received his service
award for his job as fiscal manager.
The Amoco Foundation Awards, which
gave the winners $1,000, a watch and a
plaque, were given for outstanding serv
ice to Dr. Homer C. Jenkins, professor
of business and science. Dr. Fred
Smeins, professor of range science. Dr.
William L Perry, professor of mathemat
ics and Dr. Milton Nance, professor of
history.