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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1980)
THE BATTALION MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1980 Page 9 nation ' Congressman says better U.S. civil defense needed I- United Press International WASHINGTON — Ike Skelton is in his second term as a congressman and one of the unsolved Washington mysteries to him is exactly what hap pens at 11 a.m. the first Wednesday of each month. “A siren goes off on Capitol Hill and it is supposed to be for civil de fense. The missiles are coming or some such thing,” he said. He took a drink from his glass of iced tea in the Democratic Club. "I wish someone would explain what the siren means,” the man from Missouri said. Skelton has a Missou rian’s show-me attitude, of couse. But he is also a member of the post-Watergate class of congressmen who are not overly obedient to party discipline, who startle and some times sadden party leaders and who regard the fellow titled a “whip” as something out of political S&M. He is six-feet-four and even seated in a Democratic Club chair he has height over his luncheon compan ions. Skelton smiles; not for nothing, he is kin to comedian Red Skelton. “There are definite plans on what to do with the President and the cabinet and the higher reaches of the Pentagon if the missiles come flying,” he said. “But as far as I can find out there’s no plan on what to do with congress men if Doomsday threatens. “Oh, I understand the Capitol hallways are marked as fallout shel ters and there are the tunnels under the House and Senate. They don’t seem to blast shelters though. ” He finished the iced tea and began working on the glass of water. “Sure, I know about that monthly siren. But what does it mean? What should one do when one hears it? Ah, the mysteries of Washington.” His wife Susie — she is a coffee drinker — sets down her cup. “Maybe it just means you’re expend able,” she said. Skelton smiles again. “Maybe so,” he said. “But what really worries me is what happens back home in Mis souri.” He noticed something among his district’s 16 counties — a bit of Kan sas City and Independence Harry Truman’s town of course and 15 farm counties to the east — when winning his first Congressional election four years ago. “I kept noticing these fenced-in gravel yards out in the middle of fields. I found that near Knob Noster, near Whiteman Air Force Base, there were 150 of the little gravel plots. “In the middle of each was a ce ment cover. Each of the 150 was a launching site for American’s inter continental balistic missiles. When I got here I asked the Pentagon if this meant that my district would be a target for some enemy attacking the United States. “Well, yes they told me. In fact the Fourth District of Missouri ranks 39 on the Pentagon’s list of Amer- ican’ss 40 most likely targets. “So I began to try to find out what would happen to my constituents if worst came to missile worst. The answer was: not very much in the way of safety. Now, I don’t want you to think my folks are unpatriotic. The opposite is true. “I have never heard anyone com plain about us housing the missile silos. But a little real civil defense might be nice.” Skelton found $24 million was being spent last year just to make the Knob Noster silos thicker and thus safer from enemy missiles. “And only $101 million was being spent to provide civil defense for all the American people. Nixon supports boycott United Press International PASADENA, Calif. — When Richard Nixon was president, he advanced detente with the Soviet Union. But now the former chief executive supports a U. S. boycott of the Olympics in Moscow in re sponse to the Russian invansion of Afghanistan. “The Soviet Union is engaging in activities that are in violation of the precepts of international con duct,” Nixon said. He also said registering men for a possible draft should be con sidered because of recent Soviet military actions, but he dismissed the drafting of Women. “I think the suggestion that women be registered and be drafted is ridiculous,” Nixon said in the interview with the Pasade na Star News. Defense school for executives 5 United Press International COLUMBIA, Mo. — Dick Tho mas takes time from his law practice in this university town — hardly con sidered a world hot spot of terrorist activity — to teach anxious execu tives how to protect themselves from terrorists. For a part-time job, business is good. Since Thomas and three associates began the school last year, 55 execu tives have undergone intensive training at the rural Ray Chapman Academy. “The reason the terrorist business Playboy pays Somers fee and diamond United Press International CHICAGO — Playboy Magazine will pay actress Suzanne Somers $10,000 — and publisher Hugh M. Hefner will give her a diamond — for a nude layout of the actress that appeared in the magazine’s Febru ary issue, a spokesman says. The pictures were shot in Mexico several years ago as a test and re mained in Playboy’s photo files'until they were discovered recently — af ter the actress had become a televi sion star. “Technically, we don’t owe her a fee for the original test, ” Gary Cole, photographic director for Playboy, said Friday. “But we were so pleased with the way the thing turned out we felt she deserved the same fee Play mates are usually paid.” A spokesman said Hefner already has, selected a “large” "diamond as added compensation for Somers. ‘There are no longer any hard feel ings,’’ he said. About a million extra copies of the February issue were sold — prob ably because of the photos of Somers, the spokesman said. is getting to be such a popular thing is that it is successful,” said Thomas. Thomas became interested in self- defense after he was threatened by a disgruntled husband while working on a divorce case. He believes that fear of terrorists has become a fact of life and will remain so. The lawyer said today’s will- protected executive shopld have a .38-caliber revolver strapped to his calf and a submachine gun under the front seat of his car. Ideally, there should be a body guard to handle the submachine gun he said. If the executive wishes, they will train the bodyguard. Since the school opened in 1978 students have come from Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Germany. A three- day course costs from $700 to $850. Students must shell out $1,250 for a six-day version. Thomas said they teach students when to shoot and how to shoot properly. Thomas, 37, operates the school with Ray Chapman of Columbia, a world pistol champion. James Ciril- lo, a customs department firearms instructor in New York City, and Ken Hackathorn, who teaches law enforcement in Marietta, Ohio, commute for special classes. The school operates on a 35-acre site using odd-looking structures that provide a variety of experience. Final tests are given in old house in the country. One of the case studies at the academy is the kidnapping of Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro in 1978. Thomas said he believes the Moro kidnapping and murder probably could have been prevented if his protectors had learned their lessons at the Chapman school. The first graduate to report using his training — as executive from Puerto Rico — said he “avoided se rious problems” because of what he learned. Thomas said several women have taken the course and were easier to teach than men. “Because few of them have used a gun before, they don’t have bad habits, “Thomas said. One graduate, a Kentucky execu tive, said he carries a . 45-caliber automatic for protection against un stable people he comes across in his business. He asked that his name not be used. “I don’t go around telling people I , learned how to use a gun,” he said. “They think you’re paranoid. “If I don’t have a gun and I’m accosted, assaulted, someone molests me — I have to do what they say,” he said. “With a gun in my possession, I have a choice. In that sense, the school paid off.” Although other schools teach shooting, Thomas said the Chapman Academy is one of a kind in that it teaches both executives and security Ready to start going places? Join MSC Cepheid Variable Wed., Feb. 6, 8 p.m. 308 Rudder Tower MISS TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP PAGEANT RUDOCR flUDITORIUm FEBRURRY 15 ot 7:00 FEBRUARY 16 ot 7:00 Tickets ovolloble ot the mSC BOX OFFICE Students $1.75 per night flon-students $3.50 per night SPORSORED BY mSC HOSPITALITY COAimiTTEE guards. 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RAAM SOMAYAJULU TUESDAY FEB. 5th '4 ROOM 302 RUDDER I 7:30 PM NON-MEMBERS 500 4 SPONSORED BY | THE METAPHYSICAL SOCIETY $ INTRAMURAL SLOW PITCH SOFTBALL € r ENTRIES OPEN: MONDAY, JANUARY 28 DEWARE FIELDHOUSE ENTRIES CLOSE: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5 5:00 P.M. TEAM CAPTAINS' MEETING: THURSDAY, FEB. 7, 5:15 P.M. IN RUDDER THEATRE. SCHEDULES WILL BE HANDED OUT AT THE MEETING. PLAY BEGINS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11 Corps, Fish, Men’s and Women's Dorms and Indepen dent, and Co-Rec Divisions. Round Robin League Play in classes A, B and C with all teams qualifying for single elimination playoffs. ENTRIES ARE LIMITED SO ENTER EARLY TO GET A GOOD SPOT. OTHER SPORTS ALSO AVAILABLE SPORT FEES ENTRIES CLOSE FAST PITCH $5 per team February 26 HORSESHOE DOUBLES FREE February 5 WRESTLING FREE February 19 TENNIS DOUBLES FREE February 19 SOCCER $5 per team February 26 FRISBEE FREE February 26 RACQUETBALL SINGLES FREE February 26