Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1981)
State / National THE BATTALION Page 7* TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1981 Attorney wants public: told about herbicides Kyle Field letters dedicated Staff photo by Brian Tate n >. L- ta n rs \I.tr% Vlico iind Boh hrymirc. Class of 45, were present Saturday for the dedication of the illuminated letters on Kile I ield for uhich they gave $50,000. A plaque was placed hy the stadium s west entrance in appreciation of their generosity. Frymire’s contributions to the University include Presidents’ Endowed Scholarships and a perma nently endowed athletic scholarship. He is an Association of Former Students and Diamond Century Club member. United Press International WHARTON — Clearing weeds along 71,500 miles of Texas high ways is a big job, but roadway maintenance workers have an equal responsibility to keep the public informed about the herbi cides used to kill brush, an attor ney says. John Gilmartin, a lawyer with the Texas A&M University Agri culture Extension Service, re cently told a conference of Gulf Coast county officials their best re course was to be open with the public about weed and brush con trol programs. “People are suspicious of what they do not understand," Gilmar tin said. “ If you know w'hat you’re doing, I think they will be Suppor tive of your program.” “We keep our landowners and the new's media informed about when and where w'e are going to spray,” added Wharton County Commissioner John Drozd. “This is particularly important in the spring when dewberries are-ready to pick. The more the public knows about our program, the better they will accept it. ” Control of unsightly and poten- tially dangerous roadside brush is an especially important task along the Gulf Coast, where the warm, moist climate permits plants to grow in profusion. Not only are the w'eeds un attractive and prone to catch blow ing trash, they also can interfere with road safety, said Craig Stef fens of the Texas Department of Highways and Transportation. The department s continuing program employs both herbicides and mow ing to protect paved sur faces, Steffens said, although at a cost of some $35 million a year to the state, alternatives to mowing are in demand. Studies conducted by the ex tension service have shown use of chemicals offers a potential sav ings of $100 to $150 per mile of roadway over the cost of mowing. > In 11 Gulf Coast counties with / 7,000 miles of brttsh-infested J roadways, the extension senice J estimated annual costs could be i cut more than $1 million. { Jack Bowmer of the Texas De- 2 partment of Agriculture pointed I out that the state’s herbicide and t pesticide laws strictly control w’hat £ chemicals may be used| allowing £ none to get on the market without * extensive research, testing, and \ certification by the Environment tal Protection Agency. Noting the TDA last year hamlet led almost 900 complaints regard^; ing pesticide damage, Bowmej* challenged county officials to de* their utmost to reduce public coni cerns. “If we take care of our businesq^ on a moral basis, t then the leg^ issues will take selves,” he said. take care of thenvy BUY, sea, TWADC OB BENT THftOUGH THE I d L=l Gas dealers fight surcharge lnilr<l I’l'css Inlrtiuliatwd HOt SION — Texaco service ption dealers protested Monday Be company's proposal to charge Iralers a 3 percent service charge pr credit card sales, which the ralers say they must juss on to all pnsunurs. I Ihe salesmen, in large adver- Bcmentx in Houston ncwsjMp- k called tlu ■ surcharge nothing pore than a con game to iklss their Tt'Wcol costs ol processing credit krds to the small independent talers.” Glenn Nilsson, executive dire ctor of the Lone Star Service Sta tion Association, said all retail ser vice station dealers are concerned about Texaco’s proposal "because it won’t lx* long until the others start doing it. too, if Texaco suc ceeds.’’ Nilsson said if the company must have processing fees, they should be passed on to the credit card consumers by billing them directly for the services. "By charging the dealer the 3 percent, we’ve got to charge all :J f Retarded person eeking election customers — even the cash cus tomers — because we can’t put service charges on the credit card receipt,” Nilsson said. Texaco has agreed to meet later this week with representatives of the Texaco Dealers Association. The proposed surcharge is sche duled to begin Nov. 1. In its ad, the Lone Star Service Station Association blasted Tex aco’s proposal: "It seems Texaco does not have the integrity or courage to pass their $100 million plus credit card costs directly to their millions of credit card holders who enjoy the eonvenince of using the card. In stead, Texaco has decided to dis guise its surcharge as an added cost of the Healer who sells your gasoline.” I^ast year, Texaco first announced it was going to charge dealers for credit card purchases, but a Department of Energy guideline which prohibited changes in normal business prac tices stopped any charges. That guideline is no longer in existence, Nilsson said, whose organization represents 600 sta tions surrounding Houston. “There’s just moral law now,” he said. “I’m sure Texaco has a lot of bad credit that it can’t absorb,” he said. “But the credit agreement was between the company and the consumer only. The dealer should not be made to pay for that agree ment.” MOSCOW, WE HAVE A PROBLEM: CAN POLAND EMERGE FROM THE SOVIET SHADOW? FORMER AMBASSADOR TO POLAND WILLIAM SCHAUFELE 8 p.m. Rudder Theater Tues. Sept. 29 FREE TT l nilcrl PrCM International BOULDER, Colo. A 31- yar-old man seeking election lo t.it\ Council is the firs! re- nlnl person to run for political in the nation. Charlie Dicterle, who has ■tended numerous city council peelings tnd was an oliscrver at I960 Democratic National fonveution, says he hopes his ft'htl.u . and possible election ill prose that liumlk-apped pco- r are real people. I don t know who my real folks ami where I came from, but "here I got this ambition.” Dicterle, who is an orphan "I I polities means a lot to me. Dicterle admits he has trouble fading, hut says he can still be an ivtivi- member of the Council. 1 can participate in a mect- ju. he said. "1 can listen and I d talk." Max Addison, head of program I m ices for the Association of Ro- a.m. ^‘d Citizens Research and De- n( ]l} ’.lustration Institute in Arlmg- nns" '-dd he believed Dietcrle’s mdidacy was the first for a men* fhev ’■ liand upped person. To mv knowledge, no identi- * id mentally retarded person has tr run for olliCC, he said. j Dicterle. who has sjH iit most of ulife in institutions for the men- ilv retarded, has lived alone in i effic apartment for the t re- end, . but hair, here Iwst year. He said he fought hard to get out of institutions. On the campaign trail, Dieterle said he has begun visiting street- improvement sites, with construc tion maps in hand, to talk to work men about what they are doing. Dieterle, one of 14 announced candidates for fis'e at-large council seats in the Nov. 3 city election, said one of his pet projects has been trying to get an access ramp for the physically disabled instal led at the post office. He is the Colorado president of People First, a group advocat ing equal rights for the hand- icapped Dieterle also said he keeps up with the national and local news by listening to the radio several times a day. "I listen to the new’s very strongly,” Dieterle said. "Once I sink it in, I know what’s going on.” Engineering Graduates AUTO INSCIRATSCt FOR AGGIES: Call: George Webb Farmers Insurance Group 3400 S. College 823-8051 Ken’s Automotive 421 S. Main — Bryan 822-2823 "A Complete Automotive Service Center" • Tune-Ups • Brakes • Clutches • McPherson Struts • Front End Pam Replacement • Standard Transmission Repairs All American Cars VW-Datsun-Honda Toyota (Master Card It VISA Accepted) lair, .hair itiun ■ trip llllllli PRE-LAW SOCIETY Reception for Law School Deans From Boston College Law School Loyola Law School (New Orleans) New York Law School Washington Univ. Law School (St. Louis, Mo.) WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 30 ROOM #145 MSC 7:30 - 9 p.m. The ' New" LSAT will be discussed Join Valero in San Antonio Valero Energy Corporation is involved in refining, chemical processing, pipeline operation, exploration and production and related energy programs. Valero will be on campus recruiting Engineering Graduates on September30,1981. For more information see your placement office. Equal Opportunity Employer M/F JU \ALERO IK ENERGY CORPORATION I ■i