The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, August 04, 1981, Image 1

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    KThe Battalion
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4 Serving the Texas A&M University community
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Vlow tk ^ ol - 74 No - 183
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Tuesday, August 4, 1981
College Station, Texas
USPS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
^Company hasn't lost a man in 40 years
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The Weather
Today
Tomorrow
High
97
High
.... 97
Low
77
Low
.... 77
Chance of rain.
. . . . 10%
Chance of rain. . .
. . 10%
: «5 pm
Adair: Teamwork major factor in firefighting
By JANE G. BRUST
Battalion Staff
Of the four men seated on the Rudder
iditorium stage Friday morning, it
js easy to identify the world famous
3SSlh' efi S hter Red” Adair: he was the
te wearing the red coat and tie.
Addressing 2,100 firemen and train-
. gpnstructors attending the 52nd
mual Texas Fireman’s Training
"** A Y || ViY;hool, Adair stressed the dire need for
ainwork and safety in fighting fires.
He boasted the 40-year safety record
' his own company, Red Adair Co.
BA H| We’ve never killed a man —
I R ,a *' s a ^ out best safety record of any
^0 Ul anpany in the world. ”
/ Adair said not only firefighters, but
so petroleum plant workers must be
ydl-trained.
!Once we had 18 men (firefighters)
'A
Os
down at one time, overcome by gas.
That gas hits you quick and you’ll never
know it.” Adair himself at one time was
overcome by a gas explosion in Libya.
He said his firefighters utilize the
buddy system whereby pairs of workers
are responsible for looking after each
other. He said that’s an important sys
tem for oilmen as well. “Safety is the
most important part — that’s what we
preach.
“There were a lot of men (oil rig work
ers) lost last year — there’s always room
for improvement (in safety).”
The firefighter said that although
each petroleum fire presents a similar
goal, the strategy is different each time
and each fire must be handled indi
vidually. Firefighting teams have to
work with Mother Nature, he said, bat
tling such elements as heavy, changing
winds and rough seas.
Adair said security against petroleum
sabotage is an increasing problem for oil
companies around the world. “This is
the type of thing we need to worry about
in the future: saboteurs. It can happen
to your refinery or any place you live in.
“The name of the game is saving the
well — that’s where our work comes
in.” Adair’s company saved over $300
million in drilling rigs in the last few
years.
The Houston multi-millionaire told
the audience not to believe all the tales
about the millions of dollars he makes
with each fire he battles. “There’s a
minimum fee of$4,500 a day and up. It’s
the oil you lose that’s really expensive. ”
Adair’s presentation included three
short movies of separate oil rig fires he
has taken on in his 43 years of firefight
ing. In such places as Iraq and Libya,
the fireman, clad in red overalls and red
cap, showed a human, and sometimes
humorous, side to his heroic career.
If one tactic doesn’t work well, the
narrator said, Adair takes his time to sit
and think about what to do next. Adair
was shown scratching his head in one
scene, and he offered the camera crew a
sandwich in another.
The narrator told how Adair was not
satisfied with the available firefighting
equipment at one site in Libya in 1965,
and so he flew in his own equipment
from Houston. “If the equipment’s not
good enough,” Adair said, “it’s not
worth risking men’s lives.”
While his company continues to
make its own firefighting equipment
and to run training programs, Adair says
he’s not a desk man. “I’m still out in the
field.”
Following the program in Rudder
Auditorium, Adair lauded the local
Firemen’s Training School. “It’s the
best and the biggest in the world, and
they put ‘em through a rough school.
People from all parts of the world come
here to Texas to improve their
training.”
Approximately 1,865 students and
269 instructors representing 29 nations
and 43 states attended last week’s train
ing session.
The third of three one-week sessions
is under way this week with 500 Span
ish-speaking firemen and instructors
from South and Central America, Mex
ico, the United States and Spain.
The Firemen’s Training School is
sponsored by the Texas Engineering
Extension Service, a branch of the
Texas A&M University System.
Paul “Red” Adair
Photo by Tracey Buchanan
Dismal view
Tutu Akingbala, age 3, watches a bulldozer
tear down College View Apartments. Tutu,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Olusola Akingba
la, lives in College View C19D, which is stated to
be destroyed in August. The Akingbalas will
move to other Married Student Housing.
The Avenue C College View barracks-style
apartments used for married student housing
are being razed because they are a hazard to
health and safety, said Ken Nicolas, manager of
the married student housing complex.
Nicolas said University officials decided in
1976 to raze the buildings. All demolition should
be completed by December, he said.
Twelve to 14 families were permitted to stay
in the apartments until August because one or
two parents in each family will be graduating,
Nicolas said. It wouldn’t be feasible to ask these
families to find housing for one month, he said.
The apartments were built after World War
H.
DNiv:
Striking controllers face legal reprimands
:ei
United Press International
WASHINGTON —The government
•day turned the screws on 13,000 air
hpfai ;:affic controllers conducting an illegal
1 rike, while the nation’s busiest air-
j S compel Drts permitted only half the normal
t rnowf umper of commercial flights.
-J 0 ' 1 ^ The strikers felt the pressure from all
des as the administration systematical-
jhgqyj' followed through on President
1 re r ,eagan s pledge to bring the “full force”
f a SNAPrl the law down on them. Unpre-
;dented criminal charges were filed in
l cities.
l/lOK | Reagan, likening the strike to “deser-
on in the line of duty,” vowed to fire
iy strikers who failed to return to work
y 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday, and
ransportation Secretary Drew Lewis
said he was going through 9,000 job
applications.
The strike disrupted vacations and
honeymoons and caused long lines at
bus and train stations as hundreds of
flights were canceled or delayed. A
blood shortage in Texas went unre
lieved and thousands of Boy Scouts
were stuck in Virginia after a national
jamboree.
Supervisory personnel took over air
traffic control duties as picket lines
formed outside airports and Federal
Aviation Administration facilities from
New York to San Francisco.
There were no reports of violence.
But pickets were heckled in Miami,
where one woman yelled, “I hope you
all lose your jobs!”
Two jet airliners that took off from
LaGuardia Airport nearly collided over
New Jersey Monday, but federal offi
cials blamed the “near miss” on pilot
error. Union officials claimed at least
two other “near misses” over the United
States, and blamed a lack of experience
among those running the show.
The embattled Professional Air Traf
fic Controllers Organization was under
a federal court order to end its walkout
by 8 p.m. EDT tonight, or face $4.75
million in fines by the weekend. Union
President Robert Poli said, “We can’t
pay.”
One federal judge held Poli in con
tempt of court and another put a hold on
the union’s $3.5 million strike fund. The
FAA moved to decertify the union as
the bargaining agency for the nation’s
17,000 controllers so that in eyes of the
government it would cease to exist.
Across the country, judges issued
temporary restraining orders against
the work stoppage and FBI agents com
plied list of strikers for possible prosecu
tion.
In Houston, KTRH news director
Garvin Berry said U. S. Marshal George
Graham arrived at the station while Jim
McDonald of the union local in Houston
was on The Jim Tate Show. “The federal
marshal came in and served him the
papers right on the air,” Berry said.
U.S. attorneys late Monday began
filing criminal complaints in federal
courts in 11 cities charging 22 union
leaders with violating a federal law
against strikes by federal employees.
The Justice Department threatened to
arrest those who failed to appear at
court hearings.
This is the first time in 26 years that
criminal prosecutions have been
brought against federal workers for
striking. Penalties are up to a year and
day in prison and $1,000 in fines.
“I believe that they are trying to
break the union,” said Poli. “I think
they are trying to use every intimidation
factor they can to get the controllers to
go back to work. ”
“We dont want to be lawbreakers,”
Poli told ABC’s Nightline. “We just
want a realistic livelihood for the contri
butions that we make to the American
economy and the flying public.
Economist says tax cuts will benefit poor
The largest tax cuts in the nation’s
itory won’t keep the government
>m eventually collecting more money
personal income taxes, says a Texas
xM economist.
“Certainly we will be taking home
pre money after taxes,” said Dr. Mor-
Reynolds, “and as the economic
nation improves, Americans can ex-
*ct real increases in their salaries.”
Reynolds said higher after-tax salaries
II spur higher productivity, which
»uld also have a positive effect on the
ttnomy. As salaries increase, so will
vemment revenues, he said.
“Even the poor will benefit from
these cuts and reforms because they will
be existing in a more prosperous socie
ty,” he added.
Wednesday the House agreed to re
duce personal income taxes by 25 per
cent over a 33-month period beginning
Oct. 1. It will be the biggest tax cut ever
for the United States. Such a cut, for
example, would reduce a 30 percent
marginal income tax rate to 22.5 per
cent, Reynolds said.
“The cuts are steps in the right direc
tion for promoting economic growth,”
he said, “and one of the most exciting
aspects of the bill are the tax adjust
ments for inflation.” The House bill in
cludes a provision to index personal
taxes beginning in 1985. This means in
dividuals will have to pay additional
taxes on higher incomes only after the
effects of inflation have been dis
counted.
Reynolds said the administration’s
control over federal spending and its
ability to create policies that would gen
erate growth are major ingredients for
keeping inflation down and government
revenues up.
The budget is supposed to balance in
1984, but if the government doesn’t
generate the kind of revenue it expects
through the new economic program,
then problems will arise, the economist
said.
“I’m optimistic this won’t happen,”
Reynolds said. “Americans will respond
favorably to the president’s tax cuts by
increasing savings and and investments
in the market.”
Reynolds explained that a shortfall in
government revenue would either
cause higher inflation or higher interest
rates, depending on action by the Fed
eral Reserve.
“If the reserve keeps the money
growth small, then inflation will con
tinue to come down,” he said, “but in
terest rates will be higher because the
government will be providing competi
tion for loans in the market, crowding
out some private borrowing.”
If government deficits increase and
the Federal Reserve prints more
money, then higher inflation will result,
rȣx ooiri
Consulate
overrun
by students
United Press International
BERLIN — Demonstrators invaded
the Iranian Consulate in West Berlin
early today and took a number of hos
tages, a police spokesman said.
A phone call to the West German
news agency DBA said the Iranian con
sul was among those held.
About 30 people, described as Ira
nian students, invaded the consulate in
the American sector in the district of
Dahlem, the spokesman said.
They threw furniture out of windows
while other demonstrators stoned the
building.
“A number of hostages were taken, ”
the police spokesman said.
About 140 police rushed to the build
ing and the spokesman said they were
preparing to storm it.
The Berlin protest demonstration
against the Iranian regime followed a
similar action in Bonn Monday in the
Iranian Embassy.
Bonn police using batons and tear gas
arrested 110 demonstrators in battles in
which four policemen, four demonstra
tors and two Iranian diplomats were in
jured.
Congressman
explains new
tax legislation
By BERNIE FETTE
Battalion Staff
U.S. Representative Phil Gramm
Monday told members of the Bryan-
College Station Chamber of Commerce
that the current budget and tax cut
legislation in Washington is designed to
put more money in the pockets of those
who earn it.
Gramm explained that one intention
of the plan is to equalize government tax
revenue and inflation rates.
“When inflation rises 10 percent,
government revenue should rise only
10 percent,” he said. “But now when
inflation rises 10 percent, government
revenue rises 13 percent. The new
legislation should remedy that
problem.”
Speaking at a Chamber of Commerce
breakfast at the Aggieland Inn, Gramm
said the legislation would lower taxes 25
percent across the board and lower in
terest rates, providing increased incen
tive for investments. The plan, which
will save some $142 billion, is the
largest tax cut in United States history.
“I’m very proud to have played even a
small part in one of the most important
acts of legislation in history,” he said.
“Now comes the hard part of making the
program work.”
Gramm also fielded questions from
the audience concerning such subjects
as the Internal Revenue Service, redis
tricting, defense spending and interest
rates.
Looking at the coming year, Gramm
said that developing an effective de
fense spending program would be a ma
jor goal.
Asked about the pending air traffic
controllers’ strike, Gramm said he
thought it was important not to allow
public employees to strike.
“If they strike, they’re breaking the
law and I think they ought to go to jail,”
he said.
Gramm also told the group that he
was not in favor of judges being elected
to their positions. Instead, he favors a
six-year term for federal judges without
eligibility for reappointment.