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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 26, 1981)
age 8 THE BATTALION I! MONDAY, JANUARY 26, 1981 State /National Soft drink price war fizzes United Press international for supremacy in the local market. LITTLE ROCK — For two But the Great Cola War is over now, months, Coca-Cola and Pepsi have and both sides say the casualties skirmished in a soft-drink showdown were heavy. lAMIMTLVG-, ANY SIZE UP TO SVaXll AND PHOTO ID CARDS Now Available At KINKO’S COPIES 201 College Main OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK However, one clear winner emerged: the consumer. Coke and Pepsi slashed prices almost simultaneously in late November on their biggest-selling item, the six-pack of liter bottles. One day the six-packs were selling for about $2.25. Then prices began to slip. In a matter of days, they plummeted to a low of 69 cents — a little more than a dime a liter. Incredulous shoppers grabbed up shopping carts full of sixpacks at the near-giveaway price. Regular two- liter bottles of Coke and Pepsi lan guished on the shelves at $1.25 each. 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Jim Robbins, president of the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Arkansas, and Richard J. Blajsczak, vice presi dent and general manager of Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. of Little Rock, point fingers at each other for start ing the price war. Exactly who touched off the battle still is not clear. Neither will say how much the companies lost in the skirmish. And because soft-drink manufacturers do not release sales figures outside the industry, the effect on the market is unclear. Pepsi, which trails Coke in Arkan sas, had the most to gain, Blajsczak said. “Coca-Cola, before the pricing competition, did outsell Pepsi. But not by a tremendous amount,” he said. With the lower prices, he thinks regular Coke drinkers ex perimented with Pepsi and perhaps changed their cola preference. Jury picks bulls creator Gilley’s bucked ’em first! ip< United Press International HOUSTON—The lawyer for Gilley’s Enterprises Inc. says he wasn’t surprised at a federal court jury’s decision to uphold a patent owned by his client and award his client $300,000 in damages. “We were not surprised at all on the holding as to patent validity,” said plaintiffs lawyer Wayne Hard ing, Friday. “In our view, that’s the way the evi dence went in and it’s been our view all along that the patent was obtained according to legal processes.” A six-member panel, acting after seven days of testimony and argument and deliberations that span ned two days, Friday said Joe D. Turner of Corrales, N.M., validly claimed to be inventor of the mecha nical bull made famous in the movie “Urban Cowboy.” The jury also ruled that Buck’N Broncos Inc. owed Gilley’s $200,000 damages and that Southwest Rodeo Enterprises Inc. and Texas Rodeo Bulls Inc. owed $50,000 damages each, for a total of $300,000. The verdict is not ofticial until U. S. District Judge Woodrow Seals takes the jury’s answers to his ques tions and writes a final order, but the defendants said they will ask him to overturn the jury verdict and, if he refoses, to take the case to the 5th U.S. Court of Appeals at New Orleans. “I think I have a good chance of prevailing on an appeal,” defendants’ lawyer Ned Conley said I “Judges are usually reluctant to reverse their own! juries, and I don’t know what Judge Seals will do (oi l the motion for judgment notwithstanding the ver-; [ diet).” In final arguments, plaintiffs’ lawyer Wayne Hard ing told the jury Turner invented the machine acta | John Travolta rode in the movie, had patented it legally and sold the rights to Gilley’s for $35,000 plus a $35 royalty on each bull. More than 1,000 have | been sold. Gilley’s charges $7,500 each. Conley countered Turner’s invention was not new | — that it was merely the obvious combination of old ideas — and that his patent was not valid because he misled the U.S. Patent Office about mechanical! broncs and bulls made before by others. Harding argued the way to make a machine tl would buck and spin at the same time was not ( vious before Turner did it. He said no one solved the | problem even though rodeo trainers had been seel ing such a device for years. “If it had been so obvious, why didn’t anybody do it?” Harding asked the jury. “It (the machine) is likea | combination lock with four numbers. You have to put the numbers together. This is what Mr. Turner did That’s the way most patents are obtained, acombina- j tion of old elements." POMMSm.'V 105 College Main at Northgate CORPS SENIORS ’82 Prices on SENIOR BOOT PANTS will go up Feb. 15... Order yours NOW and save! 846-6019 Three choose private school despite desegregation order United Press Internationa! ALEXANDRIA, La. — Three white girls trade defiance for avoi dance Monday, joining 700 other students who fled the public school system for all-white private acade mies after a federal judge issued de segregation orders. The 13-year-old girls, caught in a bitter battle between federal and state courts to keep them at rural Buckeye High School, enrolled last week at Hickory Grove Academy. They did so despite U.S. District Judge Nauman Scott’s threat to with hold their Buckeye credits unless they attended the racially mixed school assigned in his desegregation plan. Ramona Carbo, Michelle Laborde and Lynda McNeal start the new semester at a private school formed last fall to help students avoid being bused 21 miles to Jones Street Junior High. All 25 of Hickory Grove’s students attended Buckeye last year, princip al Jessie Welch said. Of the 109 Buckeye students affected by Scott’s desegregation order, all but 22 en rolled in private schools. Rapides Parish Superintendent of Schools Allen Nichols said the public system lost about 700 students dur ing the year. Hickory Grove board president Arlene Nugent said the school, which holds classes in Holloway Bap tist Church, received state accredita tion last week. This meant the facility and its teachers fulfilled require ments outlined by the Department of Education, she said. Nugent said the girls would be given placement tests to determine their level of achievement. She said the girls would receive credit for their Buckeye work even though Scott seized their records. Scott ruled the credits were never really earned because the girls attended Buckeye illegally. State Judge Richard Lee hasspj red with Scott throughout the t» troversy, joining the girls’ remain at Buckeye and risliiij thousands of dollars in fines fort* tempt of court. Lee argued the girls’ educalii was a domestic matter and therel the business of his court. Si however, viewed custody transfe to keep the girls in the Buckeye z« as shams to circumvent his lar desegregation order. Finally, however, Scott vailed. The girls were dropped frot Buckeye’s rolls and faced the eta of Jones Street or a private acadent They stayed away from all classes la e week, the final one of the fil semester. But Lee has yet to surrender, attorney, Chris Roy, during lk weekend asked the 5th U.S. Cirai Court of Appeals in New Orleanst settle the judges’ jurisdictional I pute. ei« \ • 2\cil( ipop j BANCLUB is for everyone who knows the value of a dollar. Whether you’re managing millions or the family budget, successful peo ple know it’s important to get the most out of every dollar, especially in these inflationary times. Successful people know the wisdom of budgeting money. Whether you’re managing a huge corporation, a small farm, orthe family finances, it’s just good sense to protect good dollars. And BANCLUB is one of the best ways to get the most from your banking relations. Among the money-saving features of BANCLUB: • Free personalized checks & deposits slips • Travelers checks issued without a fee • Discounts on travel tours • Cash your check nationwide with CHECASH • $10,000.00 Accidental Death Insurance • Discount movie tickets to Plitt Cinema I & II • Six Flags Over Texas and Astro- world discount tickets CollegeJStation National Association 1501 S. Taxis Avenue MEMBER FDIC College SUtion, Texas 693-1414 Sec. of Commerce Baldridge says he will stand by businessmen, stimulate work United Pn <EW 0RLE. Oakland R; this round inimous ven dreams of J vy of Al Da\ It increases tl md of one i ■ras to ever j Davis stood i to) Sunday ni ferdome and to faced NFL A—the it nerv United Press International HOUSTON — Secretary of Com merce Malcolm Baldridge told a Construction Equipment Exposition audience Sunday the Reagan admi nistration’s top priority is putting Americans back to work. Baldridge — the first member of the Reagan cabinet to make a public appearance — stood by the presi dent’s inaugural promise that the government will be beside American businessmen and not on their backs. “I’m happy to be heading up the Department of Commerce when our principle mission will be to assist business, not to regulate it,” he said. Baldridge said the new adminis tration has been forming a plan for stimulating work, and he highlighted a few of his plans. “Among those actions are tax re ductions, a more favorable deprecia tion schedule to encourage growth and investment, deregulation and ... reductions in export disincentives. ” Baldridge’s remarks came at rib bon-cutting ceremonies at the Hous ton Astrodome for the world’s largest private trade fair. The audience in cluded Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby and Houston Mayor Jim McConn. The exposition, nicknamed “Con- expo”, continues at the Astrodome complex through Friday. It features more than $500 million worth of equipment sprawled over an area the size of 18 football fields. About Sun Theatres 333 University 846-! The only movie in town Double-Feature Every Week 846-9808 100,000 people — including 25,01 from overseas — will attend the fail the first since the Chicago trade fc of 1975. Baldridge, a curious blend of Cot necticut businessman and for rodeo rider in Nebraska, said administration will specifically wol on eradicating regulation that across manufacturing and services “Getting our hands on those spt cifics is a tremendous organizationil job,” he said. “Mainly it will be question of reaching out to snia! business people as well as large bus ness people to find out what roai locks they have in their growl! paths. “As President Reagan said k Tuesday in that wonderful inaugur; address, the business of our nati® goes forward, our objective must I* a healthy vigorous, growing nomy and putting Americans backtf work,” said Baldridge. “And ‘Amen’, to that.” 10 a.m.-2 a.m. Sun.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Fri.-Sat. No one under 18 BOOK STORE & 25c PEEP SHOWS TtocM Office o# Traffic Safety Texas A& fourth plac Saturday i University tis aric df :ii “ l *trki MSC HOSPITALITY ( Interviews for Membership to i JAN. 27, 28, 29 FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN: Tours Fashion Hosting Pageant Receptions Special Projects Applications available room 216 MSC Anyone wishing to join the modeling group must interview also. 5 *4H AT Proi >ceec