Battalion
Serving the University community
V0I8O No.23 GSPS 045360 12 pages
College Station, Texas
Monday, October 1, 1984
'Bad break 7 for the Ags
Photo by PETER ROCHA
Texas A&M quarterback Kevin Murray breaks his ankle after Saturday’s 22-21 win over Arkansas State. Murray will wear a
diving for a first down on the last play of the third quarter in cast and be out of the Ags’ lineup for seven to nine weeks.
Four students
indicted by jury
in cadet case
By DAINAH BULLARD
Staff Writer
A Brazos County grand jury in
dicted four Texas A&M students
Friday in connection with the Aug.
30 death of a cadet.
Three junior cadets, Anthony
D’Alessandro and Jason Miles, of
Houston, and Louis Fancher III of
San Antonio, were indicted on
charges of criminally negligent hom
icide and hazing. Criminally neg
ligent homicide — causing a death
through negligence — is a class A
misdemeanor, with punishment of
up to one year in prison and a fine of
up to $2,000. Hazing, also a misde
meanor, carries a jail term of 10 days
to three months, and a Fine of $25 to
$200.
Gabriel Caudra, a former senior
cadet from Houston, was indicted on
charges of hazing and tampering
with evidence, also a class A misde
meanor. Caudra, former personnel
officer of Company F-l, is accused
of destroying an exercise roster
which recorded the 2:30 a.m. exer
cise session conducted Aug. 30.
Caudra resigned from the Corps
after the death of Cadet Bruce Dean
Goodrich, 20, a transfer student
from Webster, N.Y.
The four were indicted following
a two-day grand jury hearing into
the circumstances surrounding the
death of Goodrich.
According to police reports,
Goodrich collapsed while participat
ing in a 2:30 a.m. exercise session
conducted by three junior members
of his outfit, Company F-l. Good
rich reportedly was urged to con
tinue the exercises after he col
lapsed.
After returning to his dorm,
Goodrich reportedly collapsed
again. When attempts to revive
Goodrich failed, University Police
were summoned. One responding
officer administered cardiopulmo
nary resuscitation on the scene, and
Goodrich was transported to St. Jo
seph Hospital in Bryan, where he
died after about 12 hours on life-
support equipment.
The grand jury deliberated for al
most four hours before announcing
its decision at 10:10 p.m. Friday.
The grand jury based the decision
on testimony from 17 witnesses and
information from a University Police
investigation.
Among the witnesses appearing
before the grand jury were four
A&M officials: Col. Donald L. Bur
ton, Corps commander; Bob Wiatt,
director of security and traffic at
A&M; Will Scott, assistant special in
vestigator at A&M and Bill Kibler,
assistant director of student affairs.
Two area physicians also testified
before the grand jury. Dr. J.C. Lee,
who performed an autopsy on
See CADET, page 5
Regents discuss solutions for railroad intersection problem
Board suggests moving tracks by airport
By ROBIN BLACK
Senior Staff Writer
Something must be done about
the railroad situation around the
Texas A&M campus, Regent Wil
liam McKenzie said Friday at an
emergency meeting of the Board of
Regents’ railroad committee.
McKenzie, who is chairman of the
committee, led what he called a pre
liminary discussion of what has be
come a serious threat to the A&M
campus.
The meeting was called one week
after the death of two A&M students
and the injury of another in two sep
arate car-train accidents at the same
intersection.
The accidents happened where
the railroad tracks crossed Luther
Street just south of Jersey Street and
the A&M campus.
McKenzie’s main concern is with
the stretch of tracks that runs paral
lel with Wellborn Road and inter
sects the A&M campus.
The regents have discussed the
railroad’s threat to the campus in the
past, but have not been able to im
prove any of the conditions since the
University alone cannot make deci
sions concerning the railroad and its
course through the area.
McKenzie said the cooperation of
the University, both cities, the
county and the railroad is needed to
change the current situation.
Dangers other than car-train colli
sions were discussed at the meeting.
The possibility of a train derailment
was brought up, and McKenzie
pointed out such an incident that
had happened.
Two years ago a train derailed
near the north corner of the A&M
campus. Luckily, the cars were car
rying nothing more dangerous than
a shipment of beer.
But, McKenzie pointed out, al
though the incident was considered
humorous, the consequences could
have been considerably more se
rious.
If the train had been carrying any
kind of toxic or explosive materials.
not only the people on the Univer-
sisty campus but also area residents
would had to have been evacuated.
Another concern expressed at the
meeting was how fast trains travel
through the city limits.
If it takes a train half a mile to
brake to a stop going as fast as they
See REGENT, page 5
Second
By ROBIN BLACK
Senior Staff Writer
Cornfields and toilet repairs are
about the only things that won’t be
affected by the new Texas sales and
use taxes that take effect Tuesday.
The new taxes are the second half
of a tax package passed by the State
Legislature last July. The revenue
from the comprehensive tax pack
age — which should bring the state
about $4.6 billion during the next
three years — will be used to fund
state education reforms and high
way repairs.
The first phase of the tax package
half of sales tax package to take effect
was an increase in gasoline taxes and
license plate fees that took effect
Aug. 1.
Almost any service or product
imaginable will be touched in some
way by the various new or higher
taxes.
The all-encompassing tax in the
package is an increase in the state
sales tax — it’ll go up Vs of a cent for
every dollar spent. The tax now is 4
cents for every dollar, but almost ev
ery city ups that tax by one 1 cent
per dollar.
Many products and services that
were tax exempt before will be sub
ject to a two-sided increase because
not only will the items lose their tax
exemption, but they also will be
taxed under the higher rates.
Repair services such as appliance
or furniture repairs will be taxed be
ginning Tuesday.
A handful of repair services in
cluding eyeglass, hearing aid, motor
vehicle, aircraft and plumbing will
remain tax-exempt, but parts used
for those repairs will be taxed.
Some products will get a double
tax-whammy, too. Tobacco and li
quor taxes are increasing, so the
goods are subject not only to the reg
ular sales tax but also to sin taxes.
One cent per dollar will be added
to the tax on cigarettes and other to
bacco goods which are also subject
for the first time to the regular sales
tax.
This increase is a boon for ciga
rette vending machine owners, be
cause many will have to install con
version kits on the machines to
handle the increase in coins. The
renovations on the machines that
can handle only so much pocket
change right now will cost the vend
ing machine companies tens of thou
sands of dollars.
Cigarette vending machines aren’t
the only places consumers will feel
the tax increase. Food sold in vend
ing machines also will lose its tax-
exempt status Tuesday.
A report by the state comptroller’s
office says that “sales of food which
costs more than 17 cents per article
are subject to state and local taxes
beginning Oct. 2.”
The tax on alcohol — beer, wine
and liquor — will increase 20 percent
and the gross receipts tax on mixed
drinks in bars and restaurants will go
from 10 percent to 12 percent.
One other item that remains com
pletely tax-exempt is plants used for
agricultural purposes (food) or an
nuals (plants that live for one year
and then die and don’t come back
up).
Fertilizer, however will be subject
to taxes unless it too is used for agri
cultural purposes.
Since almost every facet of every
body’s life will be subject to state
taxes beginning Tuesday, some now-
taxable items that might not occur to
the consumer as being taxable are:
• Fur cleaning and storage.
See TAXES, page 5
Iran, Syria, Libya control terror group
United Press International
TEL AVIV, Israel — Iran, Syria
and Libya secretly control the Is
lamic Jihad terror organization that
claimed responsibility for the recent
suicide bombing of the U.S. Embassy
annex in Beirut, an Israeli newspa
per reported Sunday.
In a report attributed to unidenti
fied intelligence sources in London,
the Ha’aretz newspaper said two
close advisers of Iran’s leader, Aya
tollah Ruhollah Khomeini, head Is
lamic Jihad.
Iranian, Syrian and Libyan offi
cials meet in the Iranian embassy in
Damascus as a “secret council” of the
organization to plan terror attacks,
the report said.
Islamic Jihad, or Holy War,
claimed responsibility for the suicide
bombing or the U.S. Embassy annex
in East Beirut Sept. 20, the blasts
that destroyed the headquarters of
the U.S. Marine and French peace
keepers in the Lebanese capital last
October and the April 1983 bomb
ing of the U.S. Embassy in West Bei
rut.
The four suicide attacks killed a
total of 387 people, including 260
Americans.
The report also claimed that the
Islamic Jihad council ordered the
October 1981 assassination in Cairo
of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat,
the only Arab leader to sign a peace
treaty with Israel.
The Ha’aretz report identified the
two Islamic Jihad chiefs as Ayatollah
Hussein Ali Montazari — considered
the likely successor to Khomeini as
leader of Iran — and Ayatollah Mu-
sawi Khomeini, who could be a rela
tive of the Iranian leader.
Members of the secret council re
portedly include Mohsen Rafiqdust,
the Iranian Cabinet minister respon
sible for Iran's Revolutionary
Guards; Khomeini’s military adviser
Mohamed Salim; and Zaba Zankana,
Tehran station chief of Libyan Intel
ligence.
Rafiqdust most recently visited
Damascus Sept. 9. The newspaper
said his talks with Syrian officials
“touched upon the activities of ter
rorist groups — and the bombing of
the American embassy should be
seen against this backdrop.”
The sources quoted by Ha’aretz
warned of future terror attacks in
the United States and Europe.
In a related development, the pri
vate Central News Agency in Beirut
reported Saturday police had issued
warrants for the arrest of four peo
ple, including a Palestinian and an
Egyptian, in connection with the
April 1983 suicide bombing of the
U.S. embassy in the city.
In Today’s Battalion
Local
• Bonfire cutting classes begin tonight at the Grove at 6
p.m. and 7:30 p.m. See story page 3.
• Get friendly because this week is Howdy Week. See story
page 3.
National
• Jimmy Carter turns 60 today. See story page 8.