state
Gramm remains unsure
about special tax break
United Press International
HOUSTON — Rep. Phil
Gramm, D-College Station, is
one of the Texas congressmen
who are still unsure of the poli
tical consequences of a $75-a-
day tax deduction allowed only
for lawmakers, a Houston news
paper reported Thursday.
A new law which passed Con
gress last year allows members
of Congress to deduct $75 for
each “congressional day” as an
unitemized tax deduction. Cur
rently, legislators are split over
whether to write off more than
$19,000 each from their 1981
income tax returns.
A survey of Texas lawmakers
conducted by the Houston Post
revealed mixed attitudes toward
the tax deduction, which has
triggered mounting criticism
across the country and within
the Congress as well.
In a voice vote in the House
and a 46-44 vote in the Senate,
Congress gave itself the unique
tax advantage over ordinary
citizens, which would allow
House members to deduct
$19,650 for their 262 congres
sional days. Senators could take
a $19,200 deduction for their
256 days.
The bill could help some con
gressmen to reduce their
$60,662.50 salaries to almost
zero for tax purposes when cou
pled with other tax deductions.
Republican Sen. John Tower
supported the tax measure, but
has not yet decided if he will take
the deduction, the Post re
ported. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, a
Democrat who opposed the hill,
was not available for comment.
Gramm has not decided if he
will take the deduction.
Rep. Ron Paul, a conservative
Republican from Lake Jackson,
and Rep. Mickey Leland, a liber
al Democrat from Houston, said
they both plan to take full $75-a-
day deductions.
“I’m broke,” said Leland,
who added he thinks the deduc
tion is legal.
Rep. Bill Archer, R-Houston,
said he has compromised and is
taking $50-a-day for the time he
spent working in Washington
last year.
7:30 p.m.
WOMEN
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April 19, 1982
Sharon Smith
to speak on
Women and World War I
Rep. Jack Field, R-Humble,
would not say what his plans
were for the deduction, but in
the past has backed efforts to
repeal the bill. Rep. Charles Wil
son, D-Lufkin, does not plan to
take any of the deduction, but
will deduct items for which he
has receipts.
Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-
Stamford, said he has no inten
tions of taking any of the deduc
tion, saying the passage of the
bill “did not meet the minimum
standards of equity and fairness
that the public has a right to ex
pect from its elected officials.”
Reps. Thomas Loeffler, R-
Hunt, and Jack Hightower, D-
Vernon, have each decided
against taking the deduction.
Rep. J.J. Pickle, D-Austin, has
not decided how much of the
deduction he will take.
Texas volunteer
get awards from
United Press International
For the last 10 years, inde
pendent oil geologist Bobby
Trimble has run a “Christmas
in April” program for elderly
and underprivileged Midland
County residents. But Thurs
day he was on the receiving
end.
His program and two
others in Texas — a Houston
convict halfway house and a
Tenneco volunteer system —
were honored by President
Reagan for outstanding
volunteer achievement.
The three Texas programs
given the President’s Volun
teer Action Awards are
among 18 chosen for the first
time awards sponsored by the
national volunteer agency
ACTION and Volunteer, the
National Center for Citizen
Involvement. The winners
were chosen from 2,300
nominees from all over the
country.
Trimble, 57, has for the
past 10 years organized volun
teers to repair the homes of
older, disabled or low income
residents.
“It started out with a group
from the YMCA,” Trimble
said. “We thought of cleaning
up certain areas, then started
kicking around the idea of
working on elderly people’s
homes.”
Since 1973 the program has
repaired roofs, windows and
plumbing and painted houses
as well as building such things
as wheelchair ramps on 600 to
700 homes. The group raised
$84,000 in donations last year
for its work.
Trimble expects 3,000
volunteers to turn out April
24 for this year’s installment.
They are aiming to repair 144
homes.
“It's worked out real good,"
he said. “We’re real proud of
it.”
Also honored by the presi
dent was New Directions, the
Houston halfway house run
by ex-convicts which tries to
give ex-offenders jobs and a
family style atmosphere to
smooth their return to the
“free world.”
The program, which claims
a 72 percent success rate, was
founded in 1970 by ex-convict
Sonny Wells upon release
from prison after serving 13
years of a life sentence. He
died in 1975, but the program
has grown under Pat McCoy,
also an ex-con.
New Directions this year
moved into a new specially
built campus in north Hous
ton and now serves more than
100 ex-convicts at a time. It
has served 3,000 since
founded.
“He (Wells) never had a
family life until he worked for
the warden while in prison,”
said secretary Georgia Jones,
an ex-con herself. “He got the
idea when he got out that it he
started a house like this with a
family atmosphere it would
help ex-cons turn their lives
around.”
Also cited was Tenneco 1 nc.
of Houston, recognized for its
Volunteers in Assistance sys
tem in which 1,200 Tenneco
volunteers and a total of
$75,000 in corporate money,
was spent supporting various
programs, including a center
for the retarded.
Tenneco, the energy-based
conglomerate, also was recog
nized lor sponsoringit ^
si.newideconfercnceoii
effective corporate
teerism.
Some 1,200 Tennett
ployees worked in i
40 community progfo |
1981. The prognir.
founded in May
works as a clearinghoj
company employeesn
volunteer skills with app,
ate programs.
“We recognize then
help in the various
organizations. Bv actia
clearinghouse we
solidated the strength
the individuals alrei
voic ed and recruited a
who perhaps hadthouj
out it and never knew
to go,” Tenneco spol
I onv DeHaas said.
"It’s a way to help the
where we work and live
a corporation hopeilt
putting our emphasislu
this program that it w!
late people to become
involved in volunteer
rains and it has. Wert
liappv with it."
FRESH BAGELS
\
1 El Paso-Juarez event
starts with torch run
Hillel Club
Orders taken
April 14-16
at the MSC
come Parent
Parents Weekend '82
S/
United Press International
EL PAS()— When Margie
Ranc booked a one-way flight
last week to Austin the clerk was
aghast to learn she would not
need a return ticket. She plan
ned to run back.
Ranc, manager of media rela
tions for the city of El Paso’s
Convention and Visitor Bureau,
was one of 15 runners between
the ages of 15 and 52 participat
ing this week in a 78-hour, 583-
mile torch relay from the state
capitol back to El Paso.
The purpose of the run was
to open the 1982 edition of the
El Paso-Juarez games, pitting
the best athletes of the United
States, Mexico and either nations
in Olympic-style competition.
Highlighting the run across
West Texas was the exchanging
of torches Thursday Mexican
runners who made a 210-mile
trek from the capitol of the bor
der state of Chihuahua.
On the U.S. side, this year’s
activities began Monday morn
ing in Austin with a torch
lighting ceremony attended by
emissaries from the governor’s
office.
Scheduled opening activities
at the border were a soccer game
between teams from West Ger
many, as well as a nighttime in
ternational halfmarathon
through the streets of El Paso
and Juarez, sister cities with a
joint population of more than 1
million people. During the next
few months there will he 26
events featuring everything
from weight-lifting to 4-by-4
w heel drive rodeo.
El Paso Parks and Recreation
Department Executive Director
Rob Azar, who founded the
games, says he would like to see
the fledgling competition grow
into a world class event, a kind of
Pan American games along the
Rio Grande.
“I see it as a chance to improve
communications between our
two countries, to help bridge
cultural gaps that exist,” Ranc
said. ' Real differences(fc
which promote frustiali
infighting, vet the
make a difference.’’
Most participamsin:
chi tin can view it as an
lifetime challenge -i
opportunity to brat
mountain winds, destr
rattlesnakes and otheri
ties.
John Knox, 30, a
analyst and marathon
from Austin, admits ni
down the highway with
has its unique hazards
Holding the replica
Olympic flame in from
lace to block the gktt
Texas sun, Knox dw
upon reaching El Pasok
that he had an unusiialsi
emblazened on his l.iu-
outline of a torch.
Now You Know
United Press International
The world’s largest stadium
— the Strahov Stadium in Pra
gue, Czechoslavakia -
readily hold up to 240,1
tators lor some events.
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