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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 1981)
: 'IT- I fj he Battalion |Vol. 74 No. 162 Pages Serving the Texas A&M University community Tuesday, June 16, 1981 College Station, Texas USPS 045 360 Phone 845-2611 The Weather Today Tomorrow High 82 High 87 Low 65 Low 70 Chance of rain 50% Chance of rain. . . . . . . 30% eather service redicts more exas flooding United Press International With a 50 percent chance for more ain in the forecast, officials in central Texas spent another uneasy night fear- |i! heavy rain could push rain-engorged faterways over their banks and bring pore death and devastation. Since the Memorial Day weekend, |ooding has taken 22 lives in the Austin ad central Texas area, and caused mil ls of dollars worth of damage. Wide areas of south central Texas and be Hill Country have been inundated intermittent, heavy thunderstorms the past seven days and the area was i saturated, any further heavy rainfall las sure to cause flooding. The National Weather Service con- inued. to issue flash flood watches for be area, warning it could he threatened By thunderstorms for another three lays. Federal officials were in Austin Mon- ry to resurvey flood damage after resi- jfdents were denied federal assistance om the Memorial Day weekend flood ing that took 13 lives in Austin and one in a neighboring county. At least eight people died last jekend in the high waters that chased 2,2(X) people from their homes. The worst of the flooding was in San Marcos and Austin. Four of the weekend victims were visitors to Pedernales Falls State Park, near Johnson City, southwest of Austin, who were swept away when they ven tured onto rocks protruding from the river. Blanco County Sheriffs Department officials on Monday recovered the bodies of George Cooper, 54, academic dean of the Hutchinson, Kan., Com munity College; his wife, Wilma, about 50; their son, Eliot Cooper, 26, of Au stin; and Leslie Lehman, 21, of South Hutchinson, Kan. Two other drowning victims were lo cated Monday. Mario Zamora, 13, was found at Six Mile Creek in San Antonio about a mile from where he pulled his brother to safety Sunday, then slipped and fell in, The body of Rosalee Haw kins, 4, was found in Nolan Creek, ab out 100 yards from where the car in which she was riding stalled. Antonia Flores Jimenes of Muldoon and Billy McFerrin of Houston, died in separate accidents Saturday when their vehicles were swept into floodwaters. iss A&M pageant in financial trouble rs By KATHY O’CONNELL Battalion Sta*f ■ A proposal by the MSC Hospitality J Committee to change the format of the 1981-82 Miss Texas A&M University Pageant was tabled by MSC Council members until furthur information can f be found. aplayingw* B ecause ti lt , scholarship pageant has ZftnlfeWperated in the red for the past two d oyer MiMgars, th e committee has proposed sev- ght, 12-3. ]|ral changes in the pageant format. The ing to cot 1981 pageant resulted in a $3021 loss to toinom 1 ’ the committee. ame won®* With the intention to make the 1981- the pi'! f!82 pageant financially successful, the iayStrike“■ommittee i ias suggested “a double- h- w KfB -own ing, switching to a one-night for- ith relieftlniat an( l revising the budget to better <, agre™ Bianage finances.” E Shortening the length of the pageant a bad li» f to one evening would cut hack on audi torium costs and other expenses, said Holly Day, Hospitality Committee chairman. §. The double-crowning would include a second title, Miss Bryan-College Sta tion, in addition to that of Miss Texas A&M University. This would mean a dual pageant with expenses shared by the committee and the two cities. I To have a Miss Bryan-College Sta tion, both cities would have to become a impledot 1 '?’ member of the Miss America franchise, singledisf-® Faculty representative Ward Wells a two-rucT questioned the idea of a dual pageant. ;ohertscln i ®Tve been hearing a lot of things that is 5-4, bf include outside organizations and two Shhisttef 15-0 lead | we repiw aying t<®| ” Medicisj powers Wj Wcdnesij ell broujllj single and*! ise his s®! , toolad-dl ning. Wl city councils that haven’t been able to decide on anything for years,” he said. Questions were also raised concern ing who would be liable for debts if the 1982 pageant again suffered financial losses. Council President Doug Dedeker suggested the pageant might be refer red to the Program Study Committee if the pageant continues to operate at a loss. The Program Study Committee was established to review the effective ness of MSC committees. It was suggested the Hospitality Committee investigate all questions concerning the proposal before the council makes a final decision. This year’s pageant deficit will be made up through MSC reserve funds. In other business, MSC Director Jim Reynolds mentioned plans to install a $30,000 data processing system for the Memorial Student Center. He said this system will be used mainly for account ing purposes. “We plan to move very slowly and very carefully (in initial use of the system). ” He said a good part of the money will come from the MSC reserve fund. There are also two other major projects under way; one is the rennovation of the Basement Coffeehouse, which is ex pected to be completed by the fall. The other plan is to expand Rudder Box Office by adding another ticket win dow and building more space for a dis play area to announce upcoming events. ifll m 0 rge By DENISE RICHTER Battalion Staff The City of College Station has been awarded a $343,000 community de- Hfelopment block grant from the U.S. epartment of Housing and Urban De- elopment. The grant program was established by the Housing and Community De velopment Act of 1974. Cities receive the grant if they are classified as entitled cities, fill out the proper forms and have properly spent noney received in the past, said Jane lees, a College Station zoning official. Cities qualified for grants are those ith a population of at least 50,000 or hat are in a Standard Metropolitan Sta- istical Area (SMSA). Both College Station and Bryan are qualified cities, Kees said. Money received through the block yant program is to be used for streets and drainage, housing rehabilitation, learance, street lighting, water sys- iems and park improvement. College Station Mayor Gary Halter aid, “The grant is given, not for a speci- ic project but for broad projects. The 3ity decides how to spend the money.” The community development grant rogram is not competitive, Halter said, he city applies for the money and, with [he exception of 1978, has received the funds each year since 1975 when the rogram was started. Kees said, “Every year, if we fill out the application properly and have been pending the money we’ve received in the past properly, we’ll get the grant. ” College Station received its first block grant in 1975. The $75,000 grant was spent on street improvements, as were the grants that were received in 1976 and 1977. However, to remain eligible for a block grant, some of the money re ceived has to he used to provide hous ing, Kees said. Since all of the money College Station had received in the past had been used for street improvements, the city did not receive a grant in 1978, she said. To have the grant reinstated, the money left over from the 1977 grant was used for a housing rehabilitation prog ram, park improvements, the installa tion of water lines and fire hydrants, and the installation of street lights in low- and moderate-income target areas, Kees said. The grant was reinstated in 1979. Cities apply for the block grant in January, Kees said, and in the applica tion tell the Department of Housing and Urban Development exactly how the money is going to be spent. The $343,000 grant will be divided in the following manner: — $144,000 for housing rehabilita tion. — $105,000 for street construction. — $24,000 for parks improvement. — $20,000 for demolition. The rest of the money will be used for contingency and administrative funds, Kees said. Dog on Wheels Stuff photo by Greg Gammon Caesar, a shepherd mix dog, gets a little appreciation for his work as man’s best friend in the form of a free ride. Mike Evans’ dog seemed to enjoy the motorcycle trip, which beat walking on the hot pave ment. The ride was good for a few stares from passing students. A&M regents sell bonds, refuse state attorney general’s legal bill Permanent University Fund bonds totaling $20 million were sold Thursday hy the Texas A&M Board of Regents to finance future construction and related projects at System locations around the state. Bache, Halsey, Stuart and Shields, Inc. of New York City, the low bidder, purchased the bonds at an effective in terest rate of 9.4 percent. System officials noted the proceeds from the bond sale primarily will be used to provide additional facilities to accomodate enrollment increases and expanded programs at several locations. Texas A&M University, which has been the nation’s fastest growing university in the past decade, is expected to have a 1,500 enrollment increase this fall for a total of approximately 35,000 students. After considerable discussion the re gents declined Attorney General Mark White’s request to pay $117,080 for leg al fees incurred when a Washington, D C. law firm was retained to provide counsel to the state regarding Depart ment of Education rules on desegrega tion in higher education. A decision on the matter had been deferred from the Board’s May meeting pending additional information and pre cedents. The attorney general had proposed that the University of Texas System Board of Regents also pay $117,080 to cover expenses noted in a final billing by the firm of Verner, Liipfert, Berhard and McPherson. The attorney general’s office paid an earlier bill of $78,846. The regents also named two new modular dormitories scheduled to open in the fall in honor of Rita Crocker Cle ments, wife of Gov. Bill Clements, and Ammon Underwood of Houston, Class of 07, who has made substantial finan cial contributions to the University. In the special meeting held in Dallas, the regents also named Dr. Svetozar Pejovich, acting president of the Uni versity of Dallas, the new director of Texas A&M’s Center for Education and Research in Free Enterprise. Pejovich s appointment is effective July 1. He succeeds Dr. Gene Uselton who continues to serve as professor of finance. Pejovich, who earned a law degree at the University of Belgrade in 1955 and a doctorate degree in economics at Georgetown University in 1963, served on Texas A&M’s economics faculty from 1967 to 1970 and was a visiting profes sor from 1977 to 1980. The regents also appointed Dr. Carl F. Raba Jr. of San Antonio to the Board of Consultants of the Center for Educa tion and Research in Free Enterprise. Raba, who holds three Texas A&M de grees in civil engineering, is president of Raba and Associates Engineering Inc. He succeeds James Galloway of Hous ton, a retired Exxon executive. Cities' public transportation future dim College Station awarded $343,000 federal grant By RACHEL BOSTWICK Battalion Reporter The chances that a public transit system in the Bryan-College Station area will be started are slim, and the chances that it will be successful are even slimmer. In 1979 the Texas Transportation Institute drew up a transit improvement plan for Bryan-College Station considering the need for public transportation, the existing services, alternative services, cost, financial alternatives, ownership and management. The plan goes into operation when approval is given by the two city councils and requires a minimum of three years for the financing, federal reviews and grants, selection of facility sites and completion of buildings and delivery of the buses. Recently, the Bryan City Council voted to turn down the federal funds available for an investigation into the need for public transportation. The transit improvement plan would call for capital costs of around $2 million, and operating deficits of $425,000. The federal government would pay 80 per cent of the capital costs, the state government would pay 13 percent and the local government would pay seven percent. The problem is the payment of the operating de ficit. At the time of the report, the federal government was planning to pay for one-half the deficit, with the other half being shared between Bryan and College Station, depending on the number of vehicle-miles of service to each citv. The need for public transportation is as great as it was at the time of the report and is getting greater, said G.S. Bridges, head of the Economics and Planning Division of TTI. However, there are several problem with public tansportation in the area. One of these proljlems is that neither city has a business district center. Another is the wide disperse- ment of jobs other than Texas A&M University, which is the largest central employment agency. These sort of things work against a system. Bridges said. “Ideally we d like demand to be concentrated, fairly Proposed tax cuts may not steady jumping inflation rate a tax adjustment to inflation would from one period to another. high density of living, and for places of employment to be fairly well concentrated. ” Bridges said the bus system proposed in the transit improvement plan will not replace the shuttle bus system at Texas A&M. Major traffic problems are growing more serious each year during the morning and afternoon peak hours, Bridges said. Right now, he said, it is only about 15 minutes in the morning and 15 to 20 minutes in the afternoon. Bridges said these few minutes are going to start spreading out to 30, 45, and 60 minutes. He said more vehicles have already been measured on Wellborn Road than were being forecast in 1985. “Let me emphasize that whether we put in a public transportation system or not in the Bryan-College Sta tion area, it will not have any kind of large impact on traffic congestion,” Bridges warned. He said the ma jority of people who will ride the public transportation are those from the low-income families who don’t have access to an automobile in the first place. Nothing would ease America’s eco nomic woes like a tax adjustment to in flation, not even the tax cuts being offered by the government today, sug gests a Texas A&M economist. “Once you could predict an annual rate of inflation at about 2 to 3 percent a year,” said Dr. Thomas Saving, “but since the rate has started jumping from zero to 18 percent on a month-to-month basis, hardly anyone is willing to predict what it will be.” Saving and doctoral student Gregory Hoelscher suggest that until investors feel more secure about being able to predict what the inflation rate will be, the amount of money poured into busi ness investments and savings accounts will continue to drop. “The uncertainty of inflation in creases the risk and costs of savings and investments, hampering economic growth,” Saving said. A tax adjustment to inflation would help to reduce the size of government, as opposed to current tax-cut proposals that only help reduce the rate it is grow ing, Saving said. It would also help Americans retain more income by pre venting “bracket creep,” which has acted to reduce purchasing power. “The present tax system is outdated as it doesn’t account for the kind of infla tion that we have experienced sine 1965, Saving said. “Other countries such as England and Brazil have already adopted tax adjustments to inflation to reduce the size of government and en hance their economies. It’s time we do it, too. " While currrent economic thought suggests tax cuts and a strict monetary policy would spur the economy along, Saving predicts the inflation rate will continue its “roller coaster” fluctuation Saving said the government could ad just taxes for inflation by taking the cur rent tax structure and multiplying it by, say, the increase in the consumer price index, which would increase the amount of deductions people could take as inflation increases the amount of ex penses they incur. Such a move would also keep people in the same income bracket unless their income rose faster than prices. “Right now. Congress likes inflation because it increases revenue in a more subtle way than tax increases,” Saving said. “Perhaps we should overcompensate for inflation in our tax structure to make inflation hit government where it hurts — in the pocketbook,” he said. “That’s how it’s been working for consumers.” Evacuation caused by false alarm A false alarm sounding at 12:59 p.m. Friday summoned two College Station fire trucks and one ambu lance to the System Administration Building on the Texas A&M Univer sity campus. Charles Yeager, assistant chief of the College Station Fire Depart ment, said the alarm was probably the result of a malfunction in the building’s alarm system. “I’m pretty sure it was the smoke detector, he said. Yeager said there were no injuries or damages resulting from the inci dent. The building was evacuated while fire station officals made their investigtion. The Administration Building houses the offices of the System chancellor as well as the University s College of Agriculture and the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.