THE BATTALION
MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1979
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United Press International
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Rep.
Richard Cheney, R-Wyo., has ac
cused two Texas congressmen of
bowing to utility demands to intro
duce a bill severely limiting the abil
ity of Western states to tax federal
coal production.
Cheney said Friday the bill, in
troduced by Rep. J.J. Pickle,
D-Texas and Sen. Lloyd Rentsen,
D-Texas, would limit state taxes on
federal coal production to 13 per
cent. Wyoming currently taxes fed
eral coal production at 17 percent
and other Western states impose
even higher taxes, Cheney said.
“This is a very, very bad bill and
we’ve got to make sure it never sees
the light of day,” Cheney said. “It
has the potential to devastate the
economies of Wyoming and other
Western states by drying up one of
the main sources of revenue for es
sential citizen services by state and
local governments.”
Depending on how the bill is in
terpreted, it could cause the com
plete elimination of severance taxes
in Wyoming and Montana, he said.
Wyoming income from coal taxes
exceeded $49 million in 1978, he
said.
“We may ask why Sen. Rentsen
and Rep. Pickle, who themselves
represent an energy-producing
state, would do this,” Cheney said.
“The answer is that the utilities
wanted them to do it. Texas wants to
use Wyoming coal, but it doesn’t
want to pay a reasonable price.”
The Wyoming congressman, who
previously was President Gerald
Ford’s chief of staff, said transporta
tion costs, not state severance taxes,
are behind increasing coal costs.
“The delivered price of Powder
River coal to a Texas utility these
days is about $20-$23 per ton and
about half of that, or about $10-$11,
is transportation cost,” Cheney said.
“Of the total cost of the coal, only
about $1 per ton is Wyoming sever
ance tax.”
The Powder River Rasin is a
major coal-producing area in north
eastern Wyoming.
“At issue here is the right of the
State of Wyoming, or any other
state for that matter, to control
energy development and to deal
with the impact of that develop
ment,” Cheney said.
“Wyoming residents are the ones
who have to cope with the impact of
increasing strip mining of coal in
this state. There are going to be
schools and sewer systems and fire
stations to build, and there are
going to be more unit trains moving
through Wyoming communities,
causing problems for farmers and
local residents.
“The issue is a simple one: should
Texas consumers or Wyoming resi
dents bear the burden of increased
government expenditures for serv
ices and increased environmental
protection costs? The answer is, if
the Texans want the coal, let them
pay the costs.”
In a speech Friday night in
Lander, Cheney said he would ask
the Environmental Protection
Agency to relax air pollution regu
lations so the U.S. Steel Geneva
Works in Provo, Utah, will not have
to $178 million in pollution equip
ment.
Balloon crew buffeted by winds
United Press International
TOPEKA, Kan. —The DaVinci Transmerica bal
loon crew, attempting a record coast-to-coast flight,
had a dizzying encounter early Sunday with power
ful winds.
Low-level nocturnal winds gusting up to 80 mph
spun the gondola carrying the one woman and three
men. All four reported feeling dizzy as the gondola
rotated four revolutions per minute.
But both crew and balloon — having set a dis
tance record of 13,080 miles Friday — survived this
latest unexpected turn and headed northeastward
toward their destination of Norfolk, Va.
The balloonists, trying for the first non-stop bal
loon flight across the United States, took off Wed
nesday from Tillamook, Ore., hoping westerly
winds would carry their craft to Norfolk in 6V2 days.
Kansas is approximately the halfway point of the
journey.
The crew released enough helium and ballast
Sunday to lower its altitude from 8,000 feet to 5,000
feet to catch available eastward winds.
But the crew said the weather systems were
“complex,” and they could not be sure exactly
where they would end up at the end of the day.
“There’s a weather system coming down from the
North and merging with another system in the Cen
tral Plains region, so it’s difficult for them to be sure
of their exact heading, but it’s in a northeast direc
tion so far,” said Les Zuke at the balloon flight con
trol in St. Louis.
“We want to get them further north because the
westerlies are flowing better there. The winds over
Topeka have a southerly pull.
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Horses kill 1, hurt 16 at parade
United Press International
PENROSE, Colo. — A survivor
said Sunday there was no time to
react or run from two frightened
horses that pulled a covered wagon
over a crowd of parade spectators,
killing a woman and injuring at least
16 others.
Five persons remained hos
pitalized with injuries ranging from
a broken leg to head lacerations.
The horses bolted Saturday during a
parade for the Apple Day celebra
tion of the harvest in the Arkansas
River valley of southern Colorado.
Dick Stovall of Pueblo, Colo.,
whose wife Myrtle, 56, suffered a
broken leg and contusions and was
listed in satisfactory condition at St.
Mary Corwin Hospital in Pueblo,
said his wife told him most of the
victims were sitting on chairs at
curbside watching the parade.
“They didn’t see the horses com
ing,” said Stovall. “They didn’t have
any time to react. The horses just
turned into the crowd and ran right
over the top of them.”
Mrs. Stovall was one of four
women who traveled the 40 miles
from Pueblo to watch the parade.
Two of her companions — Minnie
Andrews, 80, and Romella Mar
tinez, 64 — were listed in serious
condition at Parkview Hospital in
Pueblo. The fourth woman was
treated for minor cuts and released.
Mrs. Stovall said the dead wo
man, identified as Sharon Louise
Gillette, 32, of Colorado Springs,
was seated in the same area when
the horses careened into the crowd.
The horses were stopped about
200 yards away by John Evans, a
guard at the Colorado State Pen-
titentiary in Canon City, and
William Cox, a Florence, Colo.,
minister.
Evans jumped on the back of one
of the horses and worked his way
between the horses to grab both
animals by their manes. Cox
jumped aboard the wagon a few sec
onds later and secured a hold on the
reins.
A hospital spokeswoman said An
drews and Martinez were awake and
alert but were listed in serious con
dition because they remained in a
special neurological unit with head
injuries.
Another 50-year-old woman was
listed in satisfactory condition at the
Ft. Carson Army Base Hospital.
Texas A&M University
College of Medicine
OPEN HOUSE
for prospective medical students and all others interested in the
medical program
7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 2, 1979
200 Heldenfels Hall
Tritium leak
Radioactive gas escapes container at plant
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United Press International
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A small
amount of radioactive tritium gas
escaped from a 7.5-ton nuclear ma
terials container convoyed by the
National Guard Saturday and the
leak was traced to a drum packed by
employees of an atomic plant seized
by the state.
Darrell Warren of the Arizona
Atomic Energy Commission re
ported the leak after the convoy
ended its 270-mile trip from Tuc
son, Ariz., to the Navajo Ordnance
Depot, about 20 miles west of
Flagstaff. Jostling over rough roads
might have caused a crack or dent in
the special Super Tiger container,
which has 1-foot thick walls, he said.
The leaking drum had been
packed by American Atomics Corp.
workers, Warren said.
“About 10 to 30 micro-curies
were vented into the atmosphere.
That’s just a rough guestimation. It’s
just a minute amount,” Warren
said. He said a monitor could not
detect radiation more than 3 inches
from the container.
The container was leased by the
state from the Nuclear Engineering
Co. of Louisville, Ky., to haul the
tritium from the American Atomics
plant.
The firm used tritium to make
glow-in-the-dark signs and luminous
watch faces, but leakage of tritium
last spring forced the state’s largest
school district to close a central
kitchen that served 40,000 students
at 99 schools.
The company closed its Tucson
plant in July after the state launched
a hearing into charges the firm
leaked excessive amounts of radia
tion.
Warren said officials knew one of
the 38 drums inside the container
had a small leak before the convoy
left Tucson at 2 a.m., but he said the
outside leak must have started after
a final inspection at McGuireville,
about 40 miles south of Flagstaff.
He added officials were inspected
the 8x8x20-foot steel container in an
attempt to find the crack or bent
place. The extent of the leak will not
be known until the Super Tiger is
opened Sunday and the tritium is
placed in a bunker guarded 24 hours
a day, Warren said.
Warren said the container is
shielded by an outer steel wall
three-eighths of an inch thick and a
one-third inch inner steel wall.
Lynn Fitzrandolph, supervisor of
radioactive materials for the AAEC,
said it was plausible for a leak from a
drum to be detected at the doors of
the container. He said since the
MONDAY NITE
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HAPPY HOUR
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Woodstone Commerce Center
913 Harvey Rd.
radiation could not be monitored
from beyond 3 inches, he was
“gratified” that the leak was minor.
As the convoy moved through the
gates of the Army installation, about
50 protesters chanted: “We don’t
want it here. We don’t want it
here.”
A spokesman for the protesters,
who lost an llth-hour legal battle to
prevent the move of the tritium,
said they would go to federal court
this week asking that the radioactive
gas be moved from the Flagstaff
area.
LANGE MUSIC CO.
10% OFF ALL ACCESSORIES
WITH A&M I.D.
Monday, Oct. 1 to Friday, Oct. 6
Ask us. If we don't have it,
we'll order it.
Authorized dealer of:
Yamaha, Rickenbacker, Ovation, Guild and Gretsch.
1410 Texas Ave.
822-2334
Across from
Halsell Dodge
in Bryan.
Our new College Station office
is now open for your convenience.
THE BATT DOES IT DAILY
Monday through Friday
Petal Patch
“A FULL SERVICE FLORIST”
WE NOW HAVE A
COMPLETE HALLMARK
STORE — DOUBLED IN
SIZE TO SERVE
YOU BETTER!
FRIDAY FLOWERS — $2/BUNCH
/ Petal Patch
3
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Brazos Savings' newest branch office is now open to serve
College Station savers. There's plenty of parking and 2 drive-
in lanes for extra convenience.
Come by today to open an account, add to an existing ac
count or to discuss Moneystore —the account that pays bills
and pays you interest on everyday money until you need it.
Savings
College Station Branch: Texas Ave. at Southwest Parkway • 696-2800