Battalion/Page 8
February 16,1983
state / national
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Auto deal merits disputed
United Press International
DETROIT — General Motors
Corp. and Toyota Motor Co.,
the world’s No. 1 and No. 3 auto
makers, say their $300 million
deal to build subcompact cars is
a landmark in industrial cooper
ation, but autoworkers are cau
tiously optimistic.
The two automakers
announced simultaneously in
Detroit and Tokyo Monday an
agreement in principle to pro
duce autos at GM’s vacant 411-
acre Fremont, Calif., plant
under joint management.
Chrysler Corp. Chairman
Lee laccoca blasted the arrange
ment as “fundamentally bad,”
saying it creates “the world’s
most powerful automotive com
bine” and raises questions about
the future of the American in
dustry.
Details of the agreement still
must be negotiated, but CM
Chairman Roger Smith said the
two companies vyould sign a
memorandum of understand
ing Thursday in Fremont. The
announcement capped nearly a
year of negotiations.
Each of the automakers will
put up $150 million for the ven
ture. GM’s share will amount to
$20 million cash and $130 mil
lion in the form of the Fremont
plant.
The deal was greeted with un
easy optimism by workers at the
Fremont plant, who have been
on layoff since the plant closed
last March, the same month CM
and Toyota began negotiating.
“When I see that parking lot
full of cars, then I’ll believe it,”
said Clinton McCrary, nodding
his head toward the towering
assembly plant across the street
from United Auto Workers Loc
al 1364.
On-again, off-again rumors
about the pending deal were
“killing us,” said Willie Mays,
president of Local 1364.
“Our people kept wandering
Water supply
OK’d for cities
United Press International
HUNTSVILLE — Trinity
River Authority officials, follow
ing a week of testing for possible
poison in Lake Livingston,
Tuesday declared the lake water
safe to drink and restored lake
water systems for three cities.
“We’re back in operation at
Lake Livingston,” said John Jad-
rosich, a spokesman for the
Trinity River Authority.
“Based on 180 samples taken
during the period through Sun
day, we didn’t find any indica
tion of water quality problems
whatsoever,” Jadrosich said.
The I RA received an anony
mous threat Feb. 8 to poison the
lake. Lake water supplies were
immediately shut off and about
31,000 residents of Huntsville,
Livingston and Westwood
Shores were ordered to drink
water from backup well systems.
The residents remained on
the water well systems for seven
days, while officials tested sam
ples of the lake water for any
possible contaminants.
Jadrosich said all of the sam
ples, collected daily from 12
places in the lake, were negative
and revealed standard Lake
Livingston water.
“We believe firmly the entire
situation was a hoax at this
time,” Jadrosich said.
The extensive testing was
ordered after a man called the
TRA office in Huntsville and
warned he would dump waste
material and poison into the lake
to draw attention to alleged in
dustrial pollution.
Although officials said they
considered the call a hoax —
similar to the series of threaten
ing calls warning of cyanide
poisoning in Louisiana last
month — they agreed to treat
the situation with caution.
Jadrosich said the IRA
wanted to take ample time and
thoroughly test the water before
reopening the lake's water sup
plies. The cities had ample sup
plies of well water during the
week-long shutdown of the sys
tems from Lake Livingston.
Man confesses
theft too early
United Press International
HOUSTON — It finally hap
pened in State District Judge
Michael McSpadden’s court just
like Perry Mason led us to be
lieve it would.
McSpadden had just sent
enced Emmit Ashworth, 33,
Monday when Ashworth’s bud
dy, Rudy Suarez, 18, stood up in
the gallery and admitted he had
stolen the car.
What Suarez did not know
when he made the admission
was that Ashworth had pleaded
guilty to a lesser charge of unau
thorized use of a vehicle.
Suarez’ admission did
Ashworth no good, the convic
tion and 10-year sentence stood,
and Suarez’ action prompted
auto theft charges to be filed
against him. He was released on
Frat members
called in probe
United Press International
AUSTIN — Ten members of
a University of Texas fraternity
have been subpoenaed by a
county grand jury investigating
the theft of a test from a UT
professor’s office.
Jacqueline Strashun, assis
tant Travis County district attor
ney, said the members of the
Acacia fraternity were sub
poenaed Monday because they
refused to voluntarily provide
information on the theft and
office burglary.
in and out hoping for some solid
word,” he said.
Mays said the reopening of
the plant would mean a good
majority of the members who
were laid off last year will be
going back to work.
UAW Vice President Owen
Bieber, who heads the union’s
CM department, said the agree
ment was good news for laid-off
UAW members.
Toyota, in a statement said
the agreement will help improve
such political problems as
Japan-U.S. trade relations as
well as the acute unemployment
situation in the United States. In
such a sense, this venture can be
a new example of industrial
cooperation between the two na
tions.
Governor
receives
mental bill
United Press International
AUSTIN — The House Lues-
day approved and sent to the
governor a bill to correct consti
tutional flaws in the state’s men
tal commitment law.
Under existing law, people
believed to be mentally incom
petent can be held for as long as
two weeks without a hearing. A
state district judge earlier this
year declared the 14-day detain
ment unconstitutional.
Gov. Mark White
emergency status to a id
approved last month by theSti
ate that would change then;
hearing detainment pef
no more than three daysandit
quire written notice ofheame
to the patient and his attomi
The House unanimous
approved the measure, wliij
will become law with Wl
signature.
The cars produced by CM
and Toyota amount to 25 per
cent of the world’s auto produc
tion. The deal fills GM’s need
for an economical subcompact
and provides Toyota with a rela
tively low-cost entry into the Un
ited States market.
The two companies will joint
ly build 200,000 cars a year for
up to 12 years to be marketed by
Chevrolet dealers, replacing the
Chevette. The price of the so-
called T-cars would be around
$6,000.
Smith said the venture will
produce 3,000jobs immediately
in Fremont, while an estimated
9,000 more could be dedicated
later to the operation. A stamp
ing plant will be built, starting
immediately, next to the assem
bly plant.
A fast start team has been
assembled to ready the plant for
production, which Smith said
could begin by October 1984.
The cars then would go on sale
in 1985. It will take about 12
months to build the stamping
plant.
BEGINNER OR ADVANCED ■ Cost Is a>out the same as a semester in a
U.S. college: $3,189 Price includes |a round trip to Seville from New
York, room, board, and tuition complett Government grants and loans
available for eligible students.
Live with a Spanish family, attend classes lour hours a day. lour days a
week, four months. Earn 16 hrs. of credi (equivalent to 4 semesters-
taught in U.S. colleges over a two yeai time span) Your Spanish
studies will be enhanced by opportunities rot available in a U.S class
room Standardized tests show our students' language skills supeicr
to students completing two year programs in U.S Advanced com
also
Hurry, it takes a lot of time to make all arrangements.
SPRING SEMESTER — Feb 1 • June 1 f FALL SEMESTER-Sopp
Dec 22 each year
FULLY ACCREDITED • A program of Trinity Christian College
SEMESTER IN SPAIN
For full Information—write to:
2442 E. Colier S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
(A Projram of Trinity Christian College)
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According to court records,
Suarez was driving a stolen car
Nov. 14 when Ashworth jumped
in carrying a bag from a mini
grocery store. The pair tried to
escape police but wrecked the
stolen car.
McSpadden, who usually
briefs potential jurors that trials
do not happen as they did in the
television series Perry Mason,
said he would now have to re
view that set of instructions.
“I’ve never seen it before. It’s
just like Perry Mason,” he said.
Suarez had been charged ear
lier with misdemeanor theft and
was in court Monday as a de
fense witness in Ashworth’s trial.
“Mr. Suarez just opened his
mouth at the wrong time,”
McSpadden said.
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“Normally, people are far
more responsive to requests for
information,” Strashun said.
cooperation from the fraternity
community.”
She predicted members of
other UT fraternities and soror
ities would be subpoenaed be
fore the grand jury investigation
was completed.
Two former Acacia members
were arrested in December by
UT police who had staked out
the professor’s office in the uni
versity’s marketing department.
The fraternity members —
neither of whom were enrolled
as students at UT — were
charged with burglary.
The UT Interfraternity
Council investigated the burg
lary and ruled it was not a
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