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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 8, 1982)
I ialion/Page 6S J_ April 8,1» f features Battalion/Page 7B April 8, 1982 . Wiping tarnish Ufi Id amusement from states wW off park rnnents are not the Congress Pas ;h accused of a ias and an $ stance during fice as prime miiiis 6-77, Gandhi it s real position lectrum is inthet ming non-a United Press International OKLAHOMA CITY — In- tead of starting from scratch, Jack Linn this time is starting with a lot of scratches. Linn’s last task was trans forming an Iowa cornfield nto an amusement park. Within a half-dozen years, the Adventureland park in Des Moines was annually attract ing nearly 600,000 children of are going to be said in a recentiti a g es ' Americans wills Hls current j ob piesents a lon’t think the Uni different problem. I he park Idlikeafirmrelai: country thatwam way." ndo-U.S. poll e been at an : returned topoi een a strongsurji mile involvemem n private investm United States lind Britain, arms aid to Pats refusal to openf Soviet invasion n have soured p ns in recent mot: end of March, fc scored heavij ■ctions to the It upper houseofli t still was unablt ra-thirds majorii r, opposition iv that with g and support s, Gandhi could two-thirds ith houses to ical system idhi really intentl ip as president4 lowers than she: is already there, but it requires m image change and a major revitalization. Frontier City has been an Oklahoma City tradition since 1958. Its gunfights and west ern attractions have always been popular, especially in a community often regarded by outsiders as a grown-up cow- town. But it has slipped to a run down condition over the years and now receives stiff com petition from White Water, a water theme park that drew 300,000 guests during its first year of operation in 1981. Frontier City’s wood build ings are worn and tired- iooking. Weeds poke out from the mock Old West storef ronts. A section in the middle of the park that burned in 11976 is an eyesore, as is a trash |dunip within eye distance of the attractions. “I can’t say the property was deteriorating to the point it wasn’t functional,” Linn Isaid. “It’s just the age started Jto tell on a lot of the struc- I tures.” Cynthia Griffey, who has worked at the park since 1973, said its previous owner never had the financial resources to make adequate improve- Frontier City has been an Oklahoma City tra dition since 1958. Its gunfights and western attractions have al ways been popular, especially in a com munity often re garded by outsiders as a grown-up cowtown. ments. Roads and parking areas were patched instead of resurfaced and other repairs were delayed. “It was never done right,” she said. “It needs new sewer lines — there is only one set of bathrooms,” she said. “It’s easier to build than it is to re build.” The man who operated the park until this winter bought it at a bankruptcy auction in 1969, but never invested enough to maintain the facil ity, she said. “You’ve got to have money to do anything,” Griffey said. “And this new company is putting the bucks into it. There was one man running it before. Now there’s a com pany.” The new owner is Tierco Group Inc., which purchased the facility for about $1.2 mil lion and is pumping hundreds of thousands of additional dollars into its renovation. A map in Linn’s office de tails some of the myriad of im provements expected before the season begins in late April. Notations remind Linn ol landscaping required or bricks falling or visual prob lem areas. Lumber is scattered throughout the park, while carpenters repair the weath ered saloons, novelty shops and crafts stores located in the shadow of a hangman’s noose. Bulldozers and work vehicles crisscross the 40-acre site. “Cinema 180,” a dome shaped structure featuring ac tion and scenic films on a screen extending across half the building, will be added. New rides will complement a roller coaster and other ex isting attractions. Linn also plans to build a one-acre lake on the site of the 1976 fire, to make the center of the park aesthetically and physically refreshing. A foun tain will recirculate the water, and visitors will be able to op erate remote control boats on the lake. The park’s traditional gun fights and saloon shows will not be lost amidst the changes, Linn said. “We definitely don’t want to lose site of the fact Frontier City has been here since 1958 and that it’s part of the history of Oklahoma City,” Linn said. “The identity of Frontier City is here. The image was a little tarnished.” Politicians pledge support United Press International OKLAHOMA GITY — A Se quoyah County delegation seek ing construction of a long- promised Sallisaw port on the Arkansas River navigation sys tem has received pledges of sup port from several congressmen, a Sallisaw legislator said Wednesday. House Majority Leader Jim Wright, Rep. John Paul Ham- merschmidt, R-Ark., and mem bers of the Oklahoma congres sional delegation endorsed the project in meetings in Washing ton last week. Rep. Don Ment- zer, D-Sallisaw, said. “The hangup is in the White Flouse,” he said. “If we can get any funding at all (for water pro jects), we feel ours will be in the bunch.” About 53,000 acres of farm land were taken for the naviga tion system with the govern ment’s assurance that a port would be built at Sallisaw, he said. Congress approved the port in 1976, but it was never funded. The loss of the farmland rep resents a substantial cut in the area’s tax base, Mentzer said. A port would bring the tax base back up and attract indus try to provide jobs in the area, Mentzer said. Unemployment in Sequoyah County is about 10 percent and in nearby Fort Smith, Ark., it is closer to 13 percent, he said. The Reagan administration wants promises that the local government would match feder al funds for any such project, hut he feels the area has made a large sacrifice already, Mentzer said. An industrial park already has been built at the site, com plete with city utilities and a sew er system to handle industrial have cost less than $1 million, “We just feel like we’ve done waste, he said. but the estimate now is $6 mil- our part. We were told we would The port originally would lion, he said. have a port,” Mentzer said. PH M-F 9-5:30 Sat. 9-5 Fine Jewelry at a Fine Price NE1F MANAGEMENT CELEBRATION Mr, Kay Has Done It! He Has Taken Over Cowart’s Jewelry! His Gift To You! 40%-50% OFF All Rings, Watches, Earrings, Pendants and Chains 25% OFF All Add-A-Beads & Chains ttUU888& These are genuine savings; prices are not altered. TWO WEEKS ONLY Through AprH 15,1982 (Sale will noGbe extended) (30%-40% savings on 60 day layaways) 1 Basu of West that “she is omj amentary democj ’ He accuses he establish a Gas plunged inn ep mourning,! y recovered an(ll| ig her eldesisi f protege. 1 Pilot says ‘drowning’ was faked to collect Ife insurance money United Press International ■SEATTLE — A Navy mecha nic and his wife have pleaded ! Bilty in federal court to faking his drowning in a plot to collect $|13,000 worth of life insur- I ance. vaa |r B U.S. District Court Judge 1\ John Coughehour accepted the ittee in DecemjP^ Tue , sda y Dann >' Bl , sho ^ 1 book be remo'^wire, Linda, and ordered riculum k° l11 to appear for sentencing ammittee reffjN a y .. . . HuckleberryK, f Under . federal law, the cou assigned to r ft ™ w in J ai11,1 heu of H ’? 1 aloud mtheF b f . face a maX \ mi i™ on r hool y ears 111 P nson and a ^ ‘* ine , ' for their convictions on mail to the flagranlj fraud uggei, andthtWgjshop,■ 26, reportedly dis- 1 111 " 11(1 appeared on Nov. 1, 1979, while pottiayed m ona fishing trip near stormy De man relation, ce ptj on p ass i n Puget Sound, tal complain' g ul j n CO urt, the mechanic low self-esteeii admitted he told his mother n, which tend-' p r j 01 . t0 hj s departure that he feel inferior < Was going on a “secret mission in hildren to ha® Germany.” ect nor esteem' vy; - ■ - ,. . , omplaint said to is chains' 1 lations com® te complaint it rat “black ’ ) to 45 years > to schools it America sasi Dad for ourd :>ody has lisle? 2 going to lisid According to prosecutors, he instead moved to Minnesota and later Texas, using the name of his deceased cousin. Bishop was arrested in Austin when a county sheriff’s deputy stopped him for an expirea license plate tag and conducted a routine identification check. The check revealed Bishop was wanted on a federal warrant. Linda Bishop, 37, admitted she tried to claim about $113,000 in life insurance while knowing her husband was still alive. In her efforts, she man aged to collect several of her husband’s Navy paychecks, worth $3,282, and billed the government for her subsequent move to Bellevue, Iowa. Tom Hillier, a federal public defender representing the wife, said the couple apparently con cocted the scheme after falling behind on their household pay ments while living on his Navy paycheck. Popcorn and peanut butter? Sweet , s potatoes \ and honey?^j» Homebaked bread? Even wine? Yes, Yes! 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