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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 27, 1979)
IT UlNfi Center Bjl. ar e almost P 'hes arems Bfr teily for this you may stone peat! to these tsl . ■1.72 No. 164 irst 12 Pages Fri. Battalion Wednesday, June 27, 1979 College Station, Texas News Dept. 845-2611 Business Dept. 845-2611 Weather Partly cloudy skies with a 20% chance of rain today and tonight. High near 90 and low near 70. Winds will be from the East- Northeast at 5-10 m.p.h. becoming light and variable tonight. und cuts by Clements hurt A&M projects ook By KEITH TAYLOR Battalion StafT jfcuts made by Gov. Bill Clements from ■ state appropriations bill June 15 may lirt some programs at Texas A&M Uni- Kity and possibly abolish one com- aely. > and jp!i llements’ vetoes took $1.7 million dol- (r| from special program funding at Texas I if! 3 fs KM plus $1.8 million from tbe school FI ChfOl Kg program most hurt by the budget cuts is the Institute of Comparative HBdicine, a College of Veterinary ii ■dicine program. ■he institute works in conjunction with ■lor College of Medicine and other medical organizations in the Texas Medi cal Center in Houston, said Dr. William F. McCulloch, director of the institute. The institute studies animals that have diseases similar to humans, and works for the improvement of animal as well as human health, he said. Howard L. Vestal, vice president for business affairs, said the institute had re quested $500,000 a year for the next two years. The request was vetoed by Cle ments. Vestal said the University would try to find money for the funding of the institute after he has completed the 1979-80 budget for the board of regents. It must be com pleted by August 27. However, Vestal 1 26-Au3| start tely. i ecord number of rabies tases reported; two iore have been found By LOUIE ARTHUR Battalion Staff ■Two cases of rabies were confirmed in |nim;ils in Brazos County this week while ■ results from tests on two other sus- bei ted cases were negative. ■A three-month-old colt and an eight- jfek-old kitten were tested for rabies with itive results, said Dr. Henry Presnal of Brazos Veterinary Clinic. A possibly ■id dog was brought into the clinic Tjjesday afternoon but it will be several (State rabies conference scheduled u :916 00 00 i p.m. NCE United Press International USTIN — State Health Commissioner Dr. Raymond T. Moore has called a Etewide conference on rabies Thursday tt) discuss recent outbreaks of the disease. ■Animal rabies cases in Texas this year an running about twice the rate of 1978, during which Texas recorded 563 labora tory confirmed cases, its highest total since 1961. ■Through June 16 of this year, the state had confirmed 553 rabies cases — a fourth of all the confirmed cases in the United States. ■Thursday’s conference will involve the •"^health department’s regional medical di lectors and veterinarians, representaties ■bm medical groups, state agencies, the legislature, governor’s office, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. ■ Moore said tbe goal of the conference is a&iew initiative to combat the rabies out break and protect the human population from the disease. days before the test results are in, Presnal said. The results from the two negative cases involving a cat and a skunk came in Tues day afternoon. About a dozen people have begun the anti-rabies shot series, most of these as a result of handling the rabid colt. One of the cases is a young boy who was bitten by the rabid kitten. Rabies is a virus that can be transferred to humans through the saliva of infected animals. People can get rabies not only through animal bites, but through the animal’s saliva getting into open wounds and scratches, Presnal said. Dr. Leon Russell of the Public Health Department of the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine said there have al ready been more cases reported for 1979 than there were for the entire year of 1978. Russell said that the total number of cases reported for 1978 state-wide was 556, while this year’s total from January 1 to June 20 had reached 559. Three cases of rabies were reported in 1978 for Brazos County and three have al ready been reported for the first six months of 1979. Dr. Henry Presnal of the Brazos Veteri nary Clinic said he does not know the rea son for the rise in the number of cases. “There has been an increase in rabies cases in the skunk population and this could spread to the domestic animals,” Presnal said, “but I’m not sure what the exact cause of this is.” Presnal said that the way to control rabies is to eliminate stray animals and vaccinate all others. “If you come into contact with a rabid animal, confine the animal and contact the vet immediately,’’ Presnal instructed. “All pets should be vaccinated against rabies once a year.” Presnal said his clinic will be staying open late this week in an effort to handle the influx of people requesting rabies vac cinations for their pets. said, Texas A&M will not be able to provide all of the money needed for the institute. McCulloch was not optimistic about the future of the institute. “I don’t know what will happen to it. We may go down the drain. “We are in the middle of not knowing where we are going. It (the veto) elimi nates the institute as an organization. A large number of people will have to be let go ;< “We hope part of the program will be picked up by the University. We hope we can continue working, but with the veto by the governor, we can’t hope the Uni versity will pick up $500,000. “Essentially the institute will no longer exist after Sept. 1.” The University administration has been helpful, McCulloch said, and he hopes some of the employees of the institute will be absorbed into the University. The institute is also trying to place workers in jobs at the Texas Medical Cen ter, he said. Funds totalling $840,000 over two years requested for the veterinary teaching hos pital were also vetoed by Clements, Vestal said. The hospital is a practical teaching clinic for senior students, said Dr. George C. Shelton, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. The hospital will not be immediately af fected by the loss of funds, he said. “We receive federal funding, $20,000 to $30,000 a year, and some from the Univer sity. We also receive revenue from people who bring their pets in for treatment. The money we requested was needed mainly for new equipment and technical support help. “The loss of the money won’t hurt the students this year, but if we are forced to continue without it, it will eventually hurt us,” Shelton said. mm m .4* ®J a wm * Coolin off A hard workout in G. Rollie White Coliseum on these hot, summer days is best followed by a cool down period standing in the mist of the Rudder fountain. Battalion photo by Clay Cockrill Half-gallon gas prices $l-a-gallon transition planned United Press International AUSTIN — Agriculture Commissioner Reagan Brown announced Tuesday gasoline stations in Texas can begin pricing gasoline by the half-gallon on July 3 if their pumps are incapable of registering prices of $1 a gallon or higher. Brown’s actions, taken at the request of the gasoline industry and service station operators, paves the way for transition to $1 a gallon prices, which Brown said al ready are in effect in isolated stations. The commissioner said if prices exceed 99.9 cents per gallon, station operators after July 3 can set the pumps to show the price for one-half gallon, then double the total cost amount shown on the pump for each purchase. Any pump in which the half gallon pric ing method is used must be clearly marked, he said, and the full price per galon must be displayed nearby. “This is the second time this has been done. Back in the other fuel crisis (in 1973) we had to make adjustments in pumps when they wouldn’t go over 50 cents a gal lon,” Brown said. He said only two firms in Texas can re calibrate the pumps to show prices of $1 or higher, and both are swamped with busi ness. “Now we have over 90,000 pumps that cannot register over $1 a gallon. If we wake up some morning and the price is over $1, there would be absolute chaos. We’re trying to protect consumers in the state if we get into a situation like this,” Brown said. Only about 10 percent of the gasoline pumps in the state, primarily electronic pumps, can register gasoline prices ex ceeding $1 a gallon, he said. Asked if his action would not encourage stations to raise gas prices to $1 per gallon. Brown replied, “I hope it would not, but it could. “We felt, and the industry felt, that it was necessary to have some lead time to get ready. The industry has asked us to come up with rules and regulations so they can cope with the situation (of $1 per gal lon prices) if it occurs.” Brown said the new regulations con cerning half gallon pricing will be in effect for four months, and by the end of that period gasoline dealers will be expected to have their pumps modified to be able to register the $1 per gallon prices. “This action was taken to ease the grow ing problem of dispensing fuel costing $1 or more a gallon through pumps which can register only 99.9 cents,” Brown said. He said diesel fuel already is selling for prices in excess of $1 per gallon in many areas. First official uses alcohol fuel United Press International BRASILIA, Brazil — Setting an exam ple for using alternative energy sources. President Joao Figueiredo became the first chief of state to use an official car that runs on alcohol. Brazil has launched a program aimed at producing more than 1 million alcohol- powered cars by 1985. Students try out photography Jeff Rhoads’ photographic subjects rage over a broad spectrum. Five year-old Emily Barrett didn’t seem to mind a few pictures as she climbed among the branches of the old oak tree in front of Bol ton Hall. In the picture at left, it’s difficult to tell just what is on his subject’s mind. Rhoads, 12, from Katy, Texas, is participat ing with over 300 students in the High School Communications Workshop being held on campus until Thursday. Advanced and beginner courses are offered in three main areas: newspaper, yearbook, and photography publication. Along with shooting pictures, the students gain practi cal experience in printing and developing. Battalion photo by Clay Cockrill