The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, March 02, 1981, Image 1
Tom Phillips takes a fall during the third annual Little Aggieland bicycle race held Saturday on the streets around the main drill field. Phillips, a sophomore engineering major, got back up and helped his teammates temporarily regain second place in a field of 10, three-man teams. After taking a second spill on the last lap of the race, Phillips was taken to the A.P. Beutel Health Center, where he was treated for cuts and bruises and held for observation. For race results, see the story in today’s sports section. Photo by Jon Hi t approximateli ed in G, [lately followint The Battalion Serving the Texas A&M University community Vol. 74 No. 108 12 Pages Monday, March 2, 1981 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 The Weather Today Tomorrow High .. . 67 High ...68 Low. . . . .... 52 Low ...54 Chance of rain .. 20% Chance of rain . . 80% s Thursday nijti! tonio Spurs to i 11-plagued game t San Antonioii|[l rs never traild 61 personal foil isonandArmoiil hrough the tU by James 18-8 spurt to ti !1 points on ding. dsongcombinn! 105-102 victoii A&M, Eagle await A. G. list decision By BERNIE FETTE Battalion Staff The Texas Attorney General’s Opinion Committee has just )egun work on deciding whether or not the Texas A&M University System’s Board of Regents will be required to irovide a list of candidates for president of Texas A&M Uni- ersity to The Eagle. “Work has just started on that opinion,” Susan Garrison, :hairman of the attorney general’s opinion committee said. “It may be some time before a decision is reached.” The Bryan newspaper has thus far been denied access to the fTQin twenty persons being considered as successors to for- tldlll me,- Texas A&M President Dr. Jarvis Miller. The Board of Regents, through the University’s legal per- :onnel, has refused to give up the list. The question involved is whether or not the list is protected by the Texas Open Records Act. Information covered by the Kings run tlieii Ktis considered to be public information and can therefore be bsence of poll! Published. socket SunJf The Board oi Regents has requested an opinion trom Texas en more days. 3-20 first quarts ointsto helptls r as Kansas Cilf the game in Kea Attorney General Mark White on whether or not the names must be released. James Bond, System vice chancellor for legal affairs, said the list in this case is covered by an exception to the act and is therefore not protected. “The former opinions of the attorney general being relied upon to support the Eagle’s position did not address excep tions which apply to our fact situation,” Bond said. Bond said Section 11 of the act excludes inter-departmental and intra-departmental memoranda which concern advice and recommendations and that the list in question clearly comes under this exception. The candidate list is a recom mendation from the search committee to the regents. Bond equated the closed records to executive sessions closed under the Texas Open Meetings Law. “The legislature intended for these two acts (open records and open meetings) to be used in harmony,” Bond said. “Subjects that are proper for deliberation in executive session should have written material protected that bears on the subject of their deliberation. ” The Eagle, however, maintains previous attorney general decisions support its position. The position taken by the Eagle was explained in an edito rial opinion published recently: . “The regents said that many of those 20 may not hsfve known they were being considered and to reveal their names would have been embarrassing .... It certainly cannot be an embarrassment to anyone to be considered for this highly important position. If jt is, that person should have asked to have his or her name withdrawn.” The Eagle said it does not want to conduct lengthy inter views or discussions but only to publish the names and basic information about those persons being considered, such as ages and current positions. ‘‘Clearly., the pppple,of ffiis.state,, those thousapds associ ated with the university and with other institutions of higher learning, and the citizens of the Brazos Valley will be affected by that person,” the editorial said. “All of those and the former thousands of A&M former students have an unquenchable interest in knowing who those candidates are. “There can be no harm in making the public aware of those who are being considered for this highly important post,” it said. “There could, on the other hand, be considerable harm for the selection process to be held in total privacy.” One of the recent attorney general decisions The Eagle is relying upon is one handed down Oct. 29, which concerns whether or not the identity of persons who have applied for a position with a governmental agency constitutes public infor mation. The decision in part read: “A member of the public has a strong interest in being apprised of the names of persons being considered for imporr tant public positions, so that, prior to selection, he may attempt to influehce the choice, and, after selection, he may evaluate the wisdom of the choice. “We realize the importance of not deterring qualified per sons from seeking public employment. Nonetheless, we be lieve the weight of authority requires us to find this informa tion available to the public.” Foresters display brains, brawn enjoy w their •lighted calorie > in the Center Staff photo by Brian Tate Jim Frisch, president of the Forestry Club, reaches for the top of the 20- foot pole he climbed in 2.4 seconds at the Skidadoo competition. By KAREN KALEY Battalion Reporter The damp weather didn’t dam pen the spirit of competition and togetherness at Texas A&M Uni versity’s annual Skidadoo lumber jack competition of the Forestry Club on Saturday. Skidadoo is a preliminary com petition to the Associated South ern Forestry Club’s Regional Con clave. Beer, charred hotdogs and friends helped the foresters forget the weather as they displayed skills in both physical and technic al events. The physical events — archery, speed chop, men’s and women’s cross-cut, log rolling (land), log birling (water), knife throw, axe throw, pole climb, bow saw — re quire flexibility, mobility and cal culation more than brawn. Jim Frisch, forestry club presi dent, at 5’H” and 155 pounds, is far from the brawny lumberjack in the Paul Bunyan folk tales. Frisch will represent Texas A&M in six events at Conclave. “There’s a lot of technique and brains involved,” he said. Though the foresters are com peting to go to the regional Con clave in Tennessee this month, they also compete for something just as important — a pair of red suspenders. The suspenders signify that a forester is a first-place winner and is on his way to Conclave in one of the physical or technical events. Though the physical events are exciting, they are also dangerous. John Morrissey, a forest scien ce major working on his master’s, chopped his foot rather than the log practicing for the speed chop on February 22. The foot is stitched up and Mor rissey competed in some events Saturday; however, the speed chop was not one of them. Morrissey has not lost his spirit for competition in that event. “I was going to do it today, but I can’t wear shoes yet,” he said. Since the accident, steel toe guards are used to protect the chopper’s feet. Although the competition is a main ingredient in Skidadoo, it’s not all that the foresters were there for. “I’m out here for the spirit of competition and the beer drink ing,” Jimmy Crawford, a junior forest science major, said. The competition is individual effort, excluding the team events — cross-cut sawing and log rolling. But each contestant had a 50- member team cheering him on. “One thing good about Skida doo is that you compete amongst friends,” Murray said. The forestry graduate students and faculty also join the fun of competing. They are not eligible to go to Conclave but the competitive spirit is instilled in them as well. “We’re one of the few depart ments where the grads and faculty really get involved,” Price said. The grads did win the five- person greased pole climb. They weren’t given much competition. The non-point events — tobac co spit, Jack and Jill cross-cut and the greased pole climb — added a bit of comic relief to an otherwise physically and mentally exhaust ing day of competition. The foresters practice months in advance for this competition. “You have to get out there and work your butt off,” Murray said. “You have to build up to it,” Price said. “But, it’s a lot of fun.” Texas A&M’s Forestry Club will send 17 competitors to the Tennessee Conclave. The winners of Saturday’s events: Stan Williams, dendrology (tree identification); Mike (Gus) Cunningham, pole felling; Dot Miller, wood technology (wood block identification); Dave Dig- num, archery; Barry Watkins, DBH estimation (judging the dia meter of a tree); Jim Frisch, speed chop, knife throw, pole climb, bow saw and Jack and Jill cross cut; Mike Boriack and Dan McKenney, log roll; Mike Boriack, chain throw; Jim Frisch and Gary Beacher, men’s cross cut; Nes Bilir and Glenda Erp, women’s cross-cut; Nes Bilir, Jack and Jill cross-cut; Willy Sounnen- feld, log birling; Bobby Click, photogrammetry (distinguishing features in infra-red aerial photo graphs); and Gary Beacher, tobac co spit. Judge rules Texas can impose fruit ban United Press International Many Texas produce wholesalers say they have been unable so far to gauge the effects of a Dallas federal judge’s quarantine on unfumigated California fruits and vegetables. U.S. District Judge Patrick E. Hig ginbotham late Saturday ruled Texas could stop the unfumigated produce to protect its own crops. California grow ers have said the decision could cost them $100 million. Most suppliers said they expected to talk to their West Coast suppliers today to get a clearer picture on the local re percussions of the ban. But Morris Rutchik, vice president of Standard Fruit and Vegetable in Dallas, believes the ban imposed Sunday to combat a fruitfly infestation, will wreak havoc on his supplies. Rutchik, whose company is one of Dallas’ largest produce distributors, has filed a motion supporting the California growers and packers fighting the quarantine. He said some of the fruits and vegetables under the ban are only available from California and the quarantine will make it impossible for his company to honor its commitments. Meanwhile, a California farm leader called Sunday’s quarantine “a political situation” and said he was not surprised a Texas judge approved of the ban on unfumigated West Coast produce. “We feel we are the victims of a poli tical situation in Texas,” said Clark Biggs, of the 96,000-member California Farm Bureau. “If they make their embargoes stick, it could have a domino effect in other states and other nations, like Japan.” “This is a decision you would expect from a judge in Texas. That’s why states are supposed to sue states in the Sup reme Court.” The nation’s high court was asked to rule in the case but Friday declined to enter the dispute. Instead, it has asked for a U. S. Solicitor General’s opinion on the dispute by March 4. California argued against the ban, saying its fruit fly infestation was limited to two counties, Alameda and Santa Clara, and the Texas action would force all California fruit and vegetables to be fumigated. Texas contended the fruit fly had been found in 12 California counties and that any untreated fruit shipped into the state could carry the fruit fly larvae. Texas officials worried about a threat to crops in the fertile Lower Rio Grand Valley. Higginbotham’s ruling allowed the Texas Department of Agriculture’s quarantine order to go into effect Sunday. California said if it was required to treat all the fruit it shipped from the state it would cost growers up to $535 million a year, but Texas said that its quarantine would only affect the 2 per cent of California’s commercial fruit and vegetable output that is shipped to Texas. Deadline for parent nominees today Applications for nominating Aggie Parents of the Year must be turned in to the Student Government Office (216C MSC) by 5 p.m. today. Winners wall be chosen by the 18 student members of the Parents’ Day Committee. The parent(s) chosen will receive an $80 portrait-etched and inscribed pla que on Parents’ Day, April 26, said Mike Bonin, the Parents’ Day Commit tee Chairman. Although only 30 applications were submitted last year, Bonin said there should be many more turned in this year due to increased student enthusiasm. Other awards to be presented on Paeents’ Day will be the Thomas Gathright scholastic excellence awards, given to the student with the highest grade point ratio in his classification in his college; and several Corps outfit and individual awards. Activities include performances by various Corps units and a military re view. e 1 !S i, ts k st r- le m ed V. up he' he of ee )ut ted ‘all ap es, tor 1 or r or ban t of . It mal any nk. 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