Carter, Reagan win
easily in Illinois
These barrels contain some of Texas A&M’s radioac
tive waste, which has been piling up by the Nuclear
Science Center close to Easterwood Airport since
early February. Todd Shipyards Co. of Galveston
had been collecting the waste until it closed its nuc
lear waste operations. The University is seeking a
new way to get rid of the low-level waste and is
considering buying and sharing a site with other
schools.
Staff photo by Steve Clark
United Press International
CHICAGO — President Carter defe
ated Sen. Edward Kennedy and Ronald
Reagan beat favorite son John Anderson in
balloting in the Illinois primary Tuesday.
Carter’s victory was seen a major rebuff
to Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne, leader of
Chicago’s once-powerful political machine.
Bryne had openly backed Kennedy in the
primary race.
With 92 percent of the precinct returns
in, Carter had 711, 545 votes or 65 percent
to Kennedy’s 327,502 or 30 percent. Jerry
Brown was a distant third with 37,685 votes
or 3 percent.
With 87 percent of the Republican re
turns in, Reagan had 482,434 votes or 49
percent. Anderson garnered 356,828 votes
36 percent and George Bush had
109,201 or 11 percent. Rep. Philip Crane
had 21,238 votes or 2 percent of the vote.
Carter was ahead for 153 delegates for an
indicated total of 528.5 toward the 1,666
needed for nomination. Kennedy was win
ning 17 for an indicated total of 200.5. The
projection for uncommitted delegates was
2, for an indicated total of 24.
Reagan was ahead for 42 delegates for an
indicated total of 209 toward the 998
needed for nomination. Anderson was
ahead for 22 delegates for an indicated total
of 35, Bush was ahead for 1 delegate for an
indicated total of 46. Rep. Philip Crane led
for 3 delegates. There were a projected 21
uncommitted delegates for an indicated
total of 38.
Despite his overwhelming defeat, Ken
nedy says his campaign for the Democratic
presidential nomination is “still viable” and
he expects to make a strong showing in the
New York primary next week.
“I intend over the period of these next
seven days to conduct a strong and vigorous
campaign” in New York, Kennedy said
Tuesday night in New York City.
“I believe that we can make a very strong
showing here in the state of New York. I
believe it is essential that we do. But I
believe we will.”
White House press secretary Jody
Powell said Kennedy “would have to win 60
percent of the delegates or better” in each
remaining primary to wrest the nomination
from Carter.
Republican presidential hopeful John
Anderson said his second-place showing
“firmly established” him as a major conten
der for the GOP nomination.
AScM to buy dump site
for radioactive waste
Home building at lowest
level in three years
ad or f juices 33 i
stures:
693-5046
Mon. 1-6
Tues.-Sat. II
By ANDY WILLIAMS
Staff Writer
Texas A&M University and several
other state universities are considering
buying a place to dispose of radioactive
waste materials, Dr. Richard Neff,
director of Texas A&M’s Radiological
Safety and Health Office, said Tuesday.
I Neffs office has been in contact with
the two companies in Texas that still
illect and dispose of radioactive waste.
JpXas A&M is required to consider bids
if it lets the contract for the job.
^K)n the other hand, Neff said, Texas
A&M and other schools may buy and
share a disposal site.
IpSeff said that idea is still strictly in its
ihijtial stages. The next step is to try to
get administration representatives to
discuss it, Neff said.
specific site is being considered,
asggs
Neff said.
Low-level radioactive waste has been
piling up at Texas A&M since early Feb
ruary, when Galveston’s Todd Shipyard
Co., the firm with the contract to haul it,
got out of the business.
The materials are presently being
stored in 55-gallon drums which have
been deposited in an outdoor area near
the Nuclear Science Center near Eas
terwood Airport.
“We can last for a few more weeks,”
Neff said. “If it goes past that, we’ll have
to get a building. He said the Universi
ty may provide a shell of a building for
the purpose.
Waste comes from about 200 labs on
the campus which use radioactive mate
rials. It consists of the paper, glass, and
gloves used in working with radiation;
organic scintillator fluid, which is used
as a tracer in chemical reactions and in
animal bodies; and the bodies of test
animals.
Todd Shipyard’s job was to pick up
the waste, haul it to a reprocessing cen
ter, let its radiation degrade to a lower
level, then take it to one of three perma
nent disposal sites.
The company closed its reprocessing
center after an accident in which 11
workers were exposed to radiation.
State health officials said Todd officials
failed to report the occurrence. License
holders of centers like Todd’s are re
quired to report major accidents within
24 hours.
Texas A&M buried its radioactive
waste in a landfill near Easterwood Air
port until 1978, when the state made
plans to regulate the site. Todd was
given the hauling contract shortly after
that.
By DONALD H. MAY
United Press International
The housing industry already is in a “ma
jor recession,” an industry official says,
with home building at its lowest level in
more than three years. The outlook for
home buyers is expected to get worse.
The Commerce Department said Tues
day the number of new housing units
started dropped 6 percent in February to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of
1,334,000, the lowest since December
1975.
Issuance of building permits, which indi
cate future construction, dropped 8 per
cent to an annual rate of 1,163,000, the
lowest level since April of 1976.
The biggest declines were among single
family homes, reflecting the fact mortgage
rates of 15 percent and more, plus rising
house prices and building costs, mean few
er and fewer Americans can afford to buy a
new home.
Robert Sheehan, an economist with the
National Association of Home Builders,
said only about 5 percent of American fami
lies can afford the median-priced home.
Two decades ago, nearly half could. The
current median is $64,000.
While most of the economy still is show
ing strong resistance to predictions of re
cession, housing already is in “a major re
cession,” Sheehan said.
Sheehan expects the number of housing
units started to dip below 1 million for 1980
as a whole, making it the worst housing
year since 1976.
Other developments on the economic
front:
— Chase Manhattan Bank, Continental
Illinois, First National Bank of Chicago,
Marie Midland of Buffalo, N.Y., and First
National Bank of Boston hike their lending
rate for prime business customers to 19
percent. Most banks maintained their
prime at ISVz percent.
— Stocks rebounded from their worst
loss in five months with a sharp gain pro
duced by bargain hunters and speculators
who believe the United States is headed
into an inflation-cooling recession.
— For the first time in recent months,
the personal consumption of Americans
rose only 0.5 percent in February com
pared to more than 1 percent-a-month for
most of the past year. If that becomes a
trend, it could help ease inflation.
TSTA endorses Caperton
onor society answers upcoming election
By NANCY ANDERSEN due process bill. rontroversial nnir
income tax questions
I By ANGELIQUE COPELAND
Campus Staff
They’re not H&R Block, but they can
:lp you get your income tax form filled out
^it and answer almost any question you
ight come up with about forms, filing or
funds.
Beta Alpha Psi, the accounting honor
ciety, will have a help desk set up in the
ainhall of the Memorial Student Center
onj 11-2 p.m. this week and next to
tswer questions students or staff may have
tout their income tax. In addition to
iswering questions, almost every kind of
tax form is available at the desk.
Cindy Rogers, a junior accounting ma
jor, said that most form requests are from
students asking for the short form, 1040A.
“They ususally have only summer jobs
and just want to get their refund.”
But itemized long forms as well as spe
cialized forms for things such as energy
deductions are available at the desk as well.
The students who work at the desk have
completed an accounting course dealing
with tax laws, Rogers said. In addition, the
students went through an all-day workshop
before spring break put on by tbe Houston
office of the IRS. Rogers said that they
provided an overview of the new tax laws
and any other changes in the laws that may
have been made in the past year.
But even if the students can’t answer a
question the person won’t be out of luck.
“Most of the questions people ask are
pretty basic, but if they ask something we
can’t answer, we have a toll-free number
for the Internal Revenue Service and we
can call to get the answer to questions right
away,” Rogers said.
The help desk is sponsored every year by
the society, Rogers said.
By NANCY ANDERSEN
City Staff
The Texas State Teachers Association en
dorsed Kent Caperton for state senator
Tuesday, calling him “an advocate for
teachers” at a press conference at the
Ramada Inn.
Navasota fifth-grade teacher Glen Maxey
announced the endorsement Tuesday, and
said Caperton’s opponent, incumbent Bill
Moore, D-Bryan, could not find the time
to talk to local TSTA members.
The endorsement is based on Caperton’s
pledge to lead the fight for teachers in the
legislature, Maxey said. He criticized
Moore’s legislative record on educational
issues and “vindictive comments” about
teachers.
TSTA has a four-point legislative prog
ram, and Maxey said Caperton promised to
fight for three of the points. They are salary
due process bill.
Currently, the average wage for a Texas
teacher is $12,000-$13,000 a year com
pared to the national average of $16,000,
Maxey said. Caperton promises to raise the
Texas average to the national level within
the next three sessions, Maxey said.
State employees receive group health in
surance benefits, but Maxey said teachers
have no coverage. Caperton promises to
lead the fight for benefits, Maxey said.
A due process bill would deal with demo
tions and dismissals, Maxey said. TSTA
wants a bill requiring teachers to be in
formed of a possible action and given a
chance to answer any charges, he ex
plained.
The only point Maxey said Caperton
won’t support is collective bargaining for
teachers. Maxey called this issue the most
[ran elections
ruled to be fair
United Press International
The Interior Ministry has ruled the first
Hinds of voting in Iran’s parliamentary
ections were fair, bolstering chances of an
ection victory by the hard-line Moslem
arty that opposes any compromise on
eeing the American hostages until the
listed shah is returned for trial.
The ruling Tuesday night, stating the
alloting for the 270-member Majlis, or
arliament, was conducted in “a satisfac-
)ry manner,” was a setback for Iranian
■resident Abolhassan Bani-Sadr who said
lere were irregularities in the voting.
Bani-Sadr also favors a quick end to the
ostage crisis Ayatollah Ruhollah
Ibomeini says the parliament will decide
it convenes in May after a second
|id of voting — a run-off election for
idates who did not receive a majority.
But the returns so far, from the balloting
fiday, favor the hard-line Islamic Re-
lican Party which opposes any deal un-
Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi is re-
d to Iran.
Since the fate of the 50 hostages, now in
ir 137th day of captivity in the U.S.
ipassy in Tehran, has seesawed in a pow-
struggle between Islamic fundamental-
tjs and moderates supporting Bani-Sadr,
Interior Ministry’s ruling appeared to
ng the balance back to the hardliners.
The Interior Ministry ruling said the first
base of the elections was conducted “in a
Jtisfactory manner despite pressure and
violation of regulations by some political
groups,” Tehran Radio reported in a broad
cast monitored in London.
In connection with “complaints about
shortcomings in some constituencies and
voting stations, these should be submitted
to the local central supervision committee
for consideration of possible legal proceed
ings,” the ruling said.
The Ministry assured Iranians that if any
irregularities were proved, the results
would be “invalidated.”
It also called on the public to “strictly
avoid all forms of marches, demonstrations
and sit-ins, so that investigators could pro
ceed with their work. ”
Khomeini issued a general amnesty
order Tuesday, broadcast by Tehran Radio,
to mark the Iranian new year on Friday.
The order would free all prisoners except
torturers and murderers, but he made no
mention of the American captives in the
decree.
In a related development, the United
States pressed its case against Iran at the
International Court of Justice in the Dutch
capital. The Hague.
Iran, however, boycotted the session at
which the U.S. representative accused the
Islamic government of striking “at the jugu
lar” of world peace by officially condoning
the imprisonment of the hostages in
Tehran.
The court’s ruling is expected to take
several weeks.
What’s the angle?
Staff photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr.
These Texas A&M student anglers aren’t trying to
snag lunker bass on the lawn of Wofford Cain Hall.
They’re part of a physical education class in angling,
which includes outdoor casting practice.
controversial point, and said it arose from
the failure of the legislature to face the
problems teachers are facing.
“Traditionally,” he said, “the Legislature
has placed school finances and teachers’
salaries as the last priority and is budgeted
on the last day of the legislative term.”
TSTA wants a candidate who will bring
up teacher-oriented legislation “before all
the money is spent,” Maxey said.
Maxey said TSTA, the largest teacher
organization in Texas, feels Caperton can
defeat the 31-year incumbant in the May 3
democratic primary. “This is not a paper
endorsement, he said. “Teachers are ac
tively involved in the Caperton campaign.
We are mailing 50,000 postcards throught-
out the (fifth) district with the message
“Kent Caperton is backing education and
educational issues.’
Rencurrel,
Cross named
cadet leaders
Kenneth B. Cross and David W. Rencur-
rel have been named leaders for the 1980-
81 Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M Univer
sity.
Cross, a pre-medicine major from Dal
las, will serve as commander for of the na
tion’s largest corps outside the service
academies. Rencurrel, a mechanical en
gineering junior from Arlington, will be
Deputy Corps Commander.
The two were recommended to Texas
A&M President Jarvis Miller by Ormond
R. Simpson, assistant vice president for
student services, and Col. James R.
Woodall, commandant of cadets.
Cross is a Distinguished Student and a
Ross Volunteer, and has been a student
senator in addition to his involvement in
the Corps. The Air Force contract junior
served this year on Corps Staff as Corps
sergeant major.
Rencurrel is currently the Corps supply
sergeant, and is on a Naval ROTC scholar
ship. He, too, has earned Distinguished
Student status, is a member of the Ross
Volunteers, and has served on several Uni
versity committees related to his supply
job.
Cross will hold the rank of cadet colonel
of the corps, and Rencurrel will be a cadet
colonel.
The two cadets w ill replace Corps Com
mander Bill Dugat of Weslaco and Deputy
Corps Commander Dillard Stone of Bra-
zosport.