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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1985)
Local managers describe hotel industry as 'overbuilt 7 Page3 Mattox urges court to uphold videotaped testimony law — Page 4 Baseball players turn down owners' newest proposals — Page 6 i The Battalion Vol. 80 No. 183 USPS 045360 6 pages College Station, Texas Thursday August 1, 1985' ;ver wil 'mment i iigainsi 3 >ay “SMtil > make. Al| ?s couldrX WASHINGTON — Acting on in- ill teamsti e ll*g ence information supplied by NCAA im ^ n > tec l States, the Salvadoran ialtobeas lrmec l forces have successf ully retal- only thinj ‘ alec * t° r ^ ie J une ^ murders of reevearsis cans ’ D e f ense Secretary Caspar W Wi says Marines’ deaths avenged UI Jj Four Marines and two other Ameri- Defense Secretary Casj— einberger said Wednesday. A senior h'entagon official, who inv ® J S p 0 ke on condition that he not be 1 high in; i and nan eked isn'i: produce." t theprosji ayers coib| lind, ween ^school *i identified, later disclosed that the he said I Salvadorans had killed 21 guerrillas IH i IIid and captured nine others believed to 111 c 51 ! be members of the organization that killed the Americans. The government of El Salvador “with our assistance has taken care of — in one way or another, taken prisoner or killed ... a number of the people who participated in that killing,” Weinberger said during an interview with the Mutual Broad casting System. The secretary provided no fur ther elaboration. Fred S. Hoffman, the Pentagon’s acting chief spokes man, later explained that Wein berger “did not mean to suggest the actual triggermen had been cap tured or killed.” While declining to provide details, Hoffman Said the retaliation came in the form of successful attacks inside El Salvador on a particular guerrilla group. U.S. military personnel did not participate in the attacks, he added. “The situation is that the Salvado ran government forces recently in flicted a major defeat on the guer rilla organization which planned and carried out the murders of the Ma rines; a major defeat on the organi zation. The nature of our assistance to the Salvadorans was in the form of intelligence.” The senior Pentagon official dis closed, however, that the attacks by the Salvadorans had been mounted over a period of several weeks against a group known as the Cen tral American Revolutionary Work ers’ Party. “They were one of the groups that claimed credit for the attack and we believe they were the ones responsi ble,” the official said. He added the Salvadorans had reported to Wash ington that they had “killed 21 and captured nine members of the group, including two top leaders.” The first successful strike against the guerrilla organization was con ducted about two weeks alter the June 19 murders, the official said. The retaliatory efforts were not dis closed before now because the Salva dorans wanted to be sure they had done everything possible to catch the group’s members, he added. In San Salvador, U.S. Embassy spokesman Jim Williams said he had “no knowledge” of the action de scribed by Weinberger “but would check on it.” Maj. Carlos A. Aviles, spokesman for the Salvadoran military high command, said he also had no infor mation on the matter. But a Salvadoran army officer. who asked not to be identified for se curity reasons, said troops had re cently attacked a suspected encam- pent of the Central American Revolutionary Workers’ Party. Weinberger’s disclosure rep resented the first confirmation the United States had moved to retaliate the murders of the Americans. The New York Times reported last week the Reagan administration had con sidered mounting an air strike on a Nicaraguan base where some of the gunmen were believed to have trained, but decided instead to issue one final warning to the Nicaraguan government. TDC to build ■ new unit at Palestine I me care if maj .■ill be upsf. Associated Press DALLAS — The Texas Board of Corrections, scurrying to meet a :ourt order to ease inmate over crowding, decided Wednesday to build a $60 million maximum-secu rity prison at a site near Palestine. The Texas Department of Cor rections’ Ellis Unit in Huntsville was chosen as a secondary site, but board i need tod) chairman Robert Gunn said, “. . . un less there’s an earthquake, it’s going to be at Coffield.” Coffield is a TDC prison unit just outside Palestine, an East Texas city of about 16,000 that is southeast of Dallas. ome plat ,” said Tot i.” 5 will half & don't sink want to pit uld give Ik said, money-hut •ft careifw there wai even week average a 1 haves ecause I m will unfaid dll think d* e fans dot 1247 The new unit, to be built on 300 acres of donated land, will house 2,250 inmates, employ more than K le and have an annual pay out $14 million. Construc tion is to begin in December and be completed by September 1987. Gunn, speaking after the closed meeting Wednesday, said he voted against the Coffield site because he thought the one in Huntsville would cost less to maintain and be easier to staff. But Lindsley Waters said mem bers opted for Palestine because it would be cheaper to build there and because labor and utilities would be less expensive than in the Houston area. “In the Dallas area, construction costs are 4 to 6 percent lower than in the Houston area,” he said, which makes a difference of about $2.4 and $3.6 million in the project. “After considering all recommen- dations, we were fully satisfied that our decision for the number one lo cation would be Coffield,” he said af ter the 7-1 vote. Officials are hoping the unit, whose funding was approved in the 1985 Legislature, will ease the over crowding that the TDC is under court order to reduce. Palestine beat out Odessa, Nava- sota, Gatesville and Huntsville in the site selection process. Officials from the five cities came to Huntsville in July with slide shows and brochures to try to lure the TDC into their communities. House, Senate pass bill to aid Contra rebels Duck! One member of this couple seems to be con templating flying off to find a cooler spot. Photo by GREG BAILEY The pair are temporary residents of Central Park in College Station. Change may stop jams Streets to go one way By BRIAN PEARSON Staff Writer People accustomed to driving on the south side of the Texas A&M campus might experience some con fusion Aug. 12 when three two-way streets will be made into one-way streets. Bob Wiatt, director of the Univer sity Police Department, said Asbury and Spence streets will become one way streets for people coming onto campus while Ireland Street will be come a one-way street for those going off the campus. Wiatt said the new traffic flow should relieve the “bottlenecks” that occur when drivers attempt to turn left onto University Drive from these streets. “They’re trying to turn left and it becomes a humungusjam,” he said. Wiatt said the changes have been discussed for years now but that University officials finally decided “to bite the bullet to find out if it works.” Wiatt said motorists should see the “readable” and “impressive” signs, but he says he still expects some traffic problems to occur. “There’s always a possiblility that if people don’t look at the signs and if they go by habit, they could smash right into each other,” tie said. “We expect some people to have their heads in the clouds,” he said. Wiatt said although the streets will be monitored by University police officers, motorists who take a wrong turn will not be given a ticket at this time. “We’re not going to ticket the first guy who makes a wrong turn,” he said. Wiatt said it’s uncertain when the University police will begin to ticket drivers making wrong turns onto the streets. Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Con gress gave final approval Wednes day to a foreign aid bill, drafted sanctions against South Africa, and worked on still another 1986 budget compromise in a flurry of activity as the House and Senate rushed to ward an August vacation. Both the House and Senate worked into the evening on money matters, with the House voting to ef fectively abolish the Synthetic Fuels Corn, and snarling consideration of a bill that would start $27 million in aid to the Contra rebels in Nicara- £ ua - The rush of activity is designed to clear the way for both houses to ad journ for their month-long break starting at the end of the week. On the budget, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Pete Do- menici, R-N.M., reported “substan tial headway” in private bargaining as negotiators tried to salvage a defi cit-reduction package of spending cuts for Congress to consider this week. The House passed a supplemental money bill to provide nearly $14 bil lion for this fiscal year, including funds for controversial water pro jects and for aid to the Contra rebels fighting the Sandinista regime in Ni caragua. The controversy over the bill was not, ironically, over renewing direct U.S. aid to the Contras, which had been the topic of a major Hill fight earlier this year. The bill would start the flow of $27 million in aid with the Central Intelligence Agency and the Penta gon barred from a role in handing out the money. Instead, several proposed water projects sparked the fight, which led the House to amend the conference report. That change stalled Senate con sideration of the measure on Wednesday night, but leaders said they hoped to bring it up on Thurs day. If the Senate does not agree with the House changes, the measure will go back to the conference commit tee. Before taking up the supplemen tal, the House approved 262-161 a two-year, $25.4 billion foreign aid authorization bill. It was the first time in four years Congress has managed to pass such a bill and get it to President Reagan for his signature. The bill authorizes $12.7 billion for each of the next two years in aid to other countries, including $3 bil lion for Israel for each year and a one-time $1.5 billion shot of emer gency economic aid. Egypt would get $2.1 billion in each year, plus $500 million in emer gency aid. The bill also included the contin uation of the $27 million in Contra aid past the Sept. 30 closing date in the supplemental bill. Congress also worked on what to do about South Africa, as a confer ence committee took up the differ ing Senate and House versions of bills aiming economic sanctions at the country because of its policy of racial segregation. House and Senate conferees agreed on an immediate ban on the U.S. sale of South African gold coins as part of a package of economic sanctions aimed at pressuring Preto ria to end its policy of racial segrega tion. The compromise also would pro hibit the export of U.S. nuclear tech nology to South Africa, as well as the sale of computer materials used to enforce the racial policy of apart heid. New bank loans also would be bar red, but American firms would be permitted to make new investments in South Africa. Leaders in both houses said they would press for a final vote on the compromise before Congress begins a month-long recess on Friday, al though conservatives, including Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., have raised the possibility of a filibuster in the Sen ate. White-winged dove season cancelled Associated Press AUSTIN — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission on Wednesday cancelled the white winged dove hunting season this year, meaning the loss of millions of dollars to Rio Grande Valley businesses. In the past, the two weekends in September have been a festive and social outing as well as sport for up to 45,000 hunters from throughout Texas and beyond. Frequently, the hunting sched ule called for shooting in the day time and celebrating at night in the Mexican border towns. Ron George, the state agency’s white-winged dove program leader, recommended the cancellation, saying poor nesting conditions have caused the lowest bird population in more than 20 years. “The 1985 breeding census in dicates 361,000 white-wings are nesting in the valley this year,” George said. “This represents the lowest count since 1953, the last year the season was closed.” George said citrus orchards, which provide about 50 percent of the white-wing nesting habitat in the Valley during a normal year, have suffered a 54 percent decline since the record Decem ber 1983 freeze. George said many birds tried to nest in surrounding brush. Heavy rains and winds in June and early July washed away the nests and the eggs. Seat belt law beneficial, official says By CINDY IRVING Reporter Beginning Sept. 1, Texas citizens will be re quired to wear a seat belt at all times under the new seat belt law. Sgt; Fred C. Forsthoff of the Department of Public Safety says the new law will require only front-seat passengers in cars or trucks weighing up to 1,500 lbs. to wear a seat belt. He says after the law goes into effect, there will be a 90-day period without penalties. During this time police may issue a verbal or written warning to people not wearing seat belts. “We’re hoping that a voluntary compliance will be received by citizens,” Forsthoff says. “We hope citizens will wear the seat belts because they are good for you, not just because it is a law.” Forstoff says for passengers 15 years or older, the responsiblity for buckling up does not lie with the driver. The passengers themselves will be ticketed. The driver will be ticketed in cases where front-seat passengers from the ages of four to 15 are not riding with a seat belt. All children under the age of four must ride in a car seat. The penalty for not wearing a seat belt will be a fine of $25-$50 plus court costs, Forstoff says. Since conditions can vary with the fine de pending on the situation, Forsthoff says it will be up to the judge’s discretion to set a fine reasona ble to each case. Forsthoff says people may be exempt from the seat belt law if they have a physician’s statement giving medical reasons they are unable to wear a seat belt. And he says they are also exempt if they can present a physician’s statement within 10 days after they received a ticket. Forsthoff also says employees of the United States Postal Service are exempt while perform ing their duties. Nancy Hatfield, a traffic accident manager with the Texas Transportation Institute, says she is very much in favor of the seat belt law. “I think wearing safety belts will become more of a habit and people will realize the benefits from them,” she says. However, Hatfield says that some people will be bitterly opposed to the law because wearing seat belts is a matter of personal preference. Forsthoff says he believes the new law will be an advantage. “I believe our fatality rate in Brazos County will be reduced,” he says. Elmer E. Schneider Jr., chief of police of the University Police Department, says enforcement of the seat belt law on campus w ill be no different from the state enforcement. He says there are a lot of misconceptions about many laws on campus. “The campus is no different than the city,” Schneider says. “The law applies statewide and it applies to everyone.” Hatfield says, “I see the only major drawback of the seat belt law will be the enforcement.” She predicts fatal and serious injuries will be reduced by 60 percent or more with the enforce ment of the new law. Forsthoff says, “There is nothing to lose by wearing a seat belt, you can only gain.”