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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1984)
Thursday, November 1, 1984AThe Battalion/Page 19 posal •lain- yted fie a e ra the that ateri- •I an with i was when ictive lump m familiti er to tin tat the charge, ed offidai nsive idon Murder Parents to remain in jail United Press International HOUS TON — A couple jailed since Sept. 12 for refusing to testify before a grand jury in their son’s murder hearing may spend an addi tional three months behind bars. Bernard and Odette Port could have been released from the Harris County Jail when the grand jury’s term expired this week, but a slate district judge Tuesday granted a re quest by the jurors to extend their term until Jan. 31. Their son, David Port, is free on 520,000 bond. He has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a 23-year-old letter carrier. De bora Sue Schatz. His parents are be ing held in contempt of grand jury for refusing to testif y in the investi gation. Although their son already has been indicted for murder, prosecu tors believe the Ports have informa tion that might upgrade the charge to capital murder, which carries a possible death sentence. The Ports’s lawyer, Randy Schaf fer, said they were not surprised by the ruling. “They figured that’s exactly what would happen,” Schaffer said after visiting the Ports. “Under the cir cumstances, they’re doing fine, ft’s a ridiculous waste of their time and life to do this. The question they keep asking is what is the point of punishing them? “They haven’t done anything wrong. They’re not doing anything other parents wouldn’t do in the same situation.” The Ports contend they have a parent-child privilege not to testify against their son. T he Ports have not seen their son since they were jailed, Schaffer said. Jim Lavine, a Harris County assis- Decision delayed on desegregation United Press International HOUSTON - A federal judge de layed until at least Thursday a deci sion on whether to dismiss a 28-year- old school desegregation lawsuit. “My concern, if 1 do have a con cern, centers on the makeup of the monitoring committee and the pro visions for the monitoring commit tee,” U.S. District Judge John Sin gleton said. Two black leaders Tuesday asked Singleton, who is reviewing an out- of-court settlement of the desegre gation case, to place minority rep resentatives on a committee to mon itor student achievement. Frank Burns, Houston NAACP president, and the Rev. J. Don Bo- ney Jr., spokesman for Save the Children Campaign, asked Sin gleton to add representatives of the NAACP and the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund. The request angered an attorney for the Houston Independent School District, who accused the two of trying to “renegotiate” the set tlement before the court. Patrice Johnson, volunteer attor ney for the NAACP, said while Burns and Boney were consulted during the negotiations, they were not part of the team that worked be hind dosed doors in reaching the agreement. Attorneys for HfSD, the NAACP, MALDEF and the U.S. Justice De partment reached the agreement last month after around-the-clock negotiations. One provision of the settlement calls for a committee of seven to monitor student achievement for five years. The committee is to in clude representatives of the gover nor, mayor and presidents of the five universities in Houston. Johnson said the committee was “hotly debated” during negotiations. Wastes not regulated, consumer group says United Press International AUSTIN — An Austin-based con sumer group said Wednesday that of 471 toxic waste sites in Texas, only 1 percent have been fully licensed and are properly regulated by the Envi ronmental Protection Agency. “What this means is that no family with a hazardous waste facility nearby can assume it is safe or that qualified officials have even come to see whether it poses a threat to their health,” said Michael Twombly, Texas director of Public Citizen. Twombly said the EPA has ig nored its duty to inform the public about the hazards of toxic chemicals. “A prime example of the EPA’s information gaps is the agency’s fail ure to let the public know exactly where hazardous waste facilities are located in Texas and what specific dangers they pose to Texas commu nities,” he said. Of the 471 hazardous waste sites in Texas that have applied for in terim EPA permits to operate, Twombly said six had been granted final permits as of Aug. 31. They are Rohm 8c Haas, La Porte; Eastman Kodak, Longview; Oil Tanking of TX, Houston; Exxon Houston Chemical, Houston; De- trex Chemical, Arlington, and Ash land Chemical Co., Garland. The waste sites without perma nent permits were primarily concen trated in the Houston-Dallas area, but included sites in smaller cities across the state. They included chemical compa nies, breweries, oil and gas plants, aviation firms, newspapers, steel and ' rubber manufacturers, shipyards, utility companies, high-technology firms and military installations. tant district attorney, said a trial date for the teenager will be set Nov. 15 when a state district judge hears a defense motion to change the venue of the murder trial. Lavine denied Schaffer’s accusa tion that the Ports had been made a “political football” in the race for dis trict attorney. Candidate David Jones last week called for the Ports’s release. Incumbent candidate John Holmes said that grand jurors asked for the extension and that he had or dered his assistants not to push for the extra three months. “I think Randy had to make some thing up just to say,” Lavine said. “I think it’s absurd. “The issue here is the criminal case and their refusal to testify. It started well before politics and it will probably keep on going well beyond politics.” Oilman shot to death United Press International BRECKEN RIDGE — The op erator of one of the largest inde pendent oil companies in Stevens County was shot and killed in front of his home Wednesday morning by a ski-masked gun man. Sammy Rogers pf the Caddo community east of Breckenridge was shot once in the chest about 7:25 a.m., said Rusty Frazier of the Stevens County Sheriffs De partment. The gunman, who re portedly was wearing a ski mask and camouflage clothing, fled on foot and remained at large Wednesday night. Rogers owned Delta Oil and Gas Co., one of the largest inde pendent oil companies in the county, and was a member of the Breckenridge school board. Investigators said Rogers, who was in his 40s, had left his house and was walking to an adjoining three-car garage when the gun man stepped from behind one of the cars. Rogers attempted to flee and was shot with a handgun. His body fell inside his house. County and state officers set up roadblocks in Stevens, Palo Pinto and Young counties until 2:30 p.m. A Department of Pub lic Safety helicopter also searched the wooded area where the gun man is believed to have fled. Two men were stopped for questioning later in the morning and then were released. Frazier said investigators have no motive in Rogers’s death. He described the victim as a rags-to- riches man, “an old country boy (who) built himself up to fine standing.” Deputies were called to the house by Rogers’s wife, who was at home with her two teen-age children at the time of the shoot ing. ATTENTION ALL OFF CAMPUS STUDENTS: The corps is out of town, so it’s time to finish what we started - BUILD NON-REG BONFIRE! The Off Campus Hogs meet at 8:30 a.m. on Duncan field November 3 & 4. Cut cards available at site - organizations welcome. Bring your own pig rations (lunch) & wear boots. Somebody has to carry the load -because the children over on Northside won’t! REPUBLICAN STUDENTS SPEAK OUT Fellow Republican Aggies: Here at Texas A&M University many of us are Republicans. We strongly support President Reagan, Phil Gramm, as well as other Republican candidates; however some of us feel support of a candidate should not be based on party affiliation alone. It is for this reason that we looked at the individual candidates and their qualifications and have chosen to support Neeley Lewis for State Representative. Often times voters are tempted to cast their ballots strictly on party affiliation. This does not always elect the best candidate. If students want the best representation possible in the Texas Legislature, they should cast their vote for Neeley Lewis on November 6th. Common sense dictates that a tight-fisted Texas CONSERVATIVE Democrat like Neeley Lewis will best serve this district. Neeley Lewis has worked with Aggies, Republican and Democrat alike, and has effectively fought for us in the Texas House. He therefore deserves the support of Republicans as well as Democrats. We urge you to support Neeley Lewis on November 6th. Republican Aggies for Lewis, Pat Wood David Klosterboer Denis Davis Eric Thode Martha Bellens RE neel£y Lewis STATE REPRESENTATIVE Paid for by the Neeley Lewis Campaign, Stuart F. Lewis. 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