Page 4/The Battalion/Tuesday, March 25, 1986
Midwest hit harder than Texas
Farming income still falling
Associated Press
AUSTIN — Times are tough for
Texas farmers, but not as bad as in
the Midwest, Comptroller Bob Bul
lock says.
“While Texas agricultural income
has dropped severely over the past
five years, the state’s diversity and
firm land prices have kept Texas
farmers’ financial distress lower than
in most other farm states,” a special
report says.
“Statewide, Texas farmers are
better off financially than farmers in
the Midwest,” says the monthly bul
letin “Fiscal Notes,” put out by the
comptroller’s office.
The report, gathered largely from
state and federal agriculture re
cords, shows that Texas farmers
brought in $10.3 billion in cash rec
eipts in 1984, making Texas third in
agricultural cash receipts, behind
California and Iowa.
Texas agriculture directly and in
directly accounts for about 19 per
cent of the gross state product, 20
percent of the state’s business estab
lishments and 21 percent of employ
ment.
Unlike most large agricultural
states, Texas has a uniquely diversi
fied agriculture industry producing
more than 60 marketable commodi
ties. The report says the state’s diver
sified agriculture industry is a result
of the state’s diversity.
“Variety allows Texas farmers to
grow cotton, wheat, grain sorghum,
onions, carrots, grapefruit, oranges
and to raise beef and mohair,” the
report says. “Texas agriculture also
earns income from hunting leases
and oil royalties.”
Texas farmers and ranchers have
seen their net income fall from $2
billion in 1979 to $1.3 billion in
1985, a decline that stems largely
from crop surpluses that collapsed
the prices farmers were paid for
their crops.
“While Texas agriculture shares
the Midwest’s income problems, it
bucks the trend when it comes to
farm debt,” the comptroller says.
In 1985, the Texas farm debt
amounted to $13.6 billion, an aver
age of $74,000 per farm.
In Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Ne
braska, North Dakota and South Da
kota the average debt ranges from
$85,000 to $268,000 per farm.
Texas is also different because
studies show 24 percent of its full
time farmers have a debt-to-assets
ratio larger than 40 percent — which
means they would have trouble pay
ing their debts.
Jurors in Autumn Hills case
deadlocked for third time
3 plead guilty
in probe of
building loans
DALLAS — A suburban Dallas
developer and one of his former,
business partners pleaded guilty
Monday after a two and one-half
year probe of questionable con
struction loans tied to the failure
of five savings associations.
Mesquite developer Clifford
Ray Sinclair and Robert Lueben
entered the guilty pleas the same
day they and Sinclair’s wife, Kath
ryn, were to be tried on charges
stemming from $750 million in
loans made between early 1982
and 1984.
The three were indicted in De
cember on federal charges of
conspiring to defraud lenders in
connection with the construction
of thousands of condominiums
along Interstate 30 east of Dallas.
FBI spokesman Don Baxter
said the pleas leave only two of
about 70 cases still awaiting trial
in the wide-ranging probe of the
1-30 development.
All the other defendants have
been convicted or pleaded guilty
to charges arising from their in
volvement in the scheme, Baxter
said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack
Williamson said, “The investiga
tion is continuing and I anticipate
more indictments in the future. I
think Mr. Sinclair could provide
some modest help.”
Williamson said U.S. District
Judge Robert Porter has yet to
approve the agreement that led
to the guilty pleas by Sinclair and
Leuben.
The judge also took under ad
visement a motion to dismiss
charges against Mrs. Sinclair.
Associated Press
SAN ANTONIO — After a judge
ordered jurors back into deliber
ations for the third time, they de
cided to recess for the night Monday
in the murder-by-neglect trial of a
nursing home chain and four of its
current and former employees.
The eight-man, four-woman
panel was to resume deliberations
Tuesday over the fate of Autumn
Hills Convalescent Centers Inc.
Assistant Attorney General David
Marks said, “The likelihood of a de
cision is growing dimmer.
“I have worked for an answer that
is black and white as opposed to
gray. I’m disappointed because I
had higher expectations as to where
we would be at this point,” he said.
After getting a note saying the
panel could not reach a unanimous
verdict in the first trial to charge a
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Warnings of
hazardous weather for airline pilots
are inadequate and the problem
could cause a crash similar to the one
in Texas last summer that left 137
dead, a congressman said Monday.
Rep. Dan Glickman, D-Kan.,
said,“We must take action ... to ad
dress this lack of hazardous weather
information and resulting threat to
air safety.”
“Otherwise,” he said,“we will face
another air catastrophe very soon.”
At a news conference, Glickman
released preliminary findings of a
General Accounting Office investi
gation that found Federal Aviation
nursing home corporation and its
administrators with murder in the
death of a patient, state District
Judge Don Morgan sent the jurors
to dinner.
They came back, went into cham
bers and decided to recess for the
night.
Jury forewoman Pamela Duran
told Morgan the panel was dead
locked over the charge against the
corporation, which is charged in the
death of an 87-year-old patient who
prosecutors contend died of starva
tion and infection brought on by un
treated bed sores.
The defense contends Elnora
Breed’s November 1978 death was
due to cancer for which she under
went three operations. She died 47
days after entering an Autumn Hills
home in Texas City.
But Dutan said the jurors were
Administration air controllers are
instructed to provide weather infor
mation to pilots “to the extent possi
ble” contingent on other duties.
The GAO said controllers “feel
that they do not have the time, train
ing or expertise to discern, interpret
and communicate present hazard
ous-weather messages.”
Pilots may miss weather alerts
from controllers because of fre
quency changes in the terminal area,
the GAO said. It said FAA proce
dures call for supervisors to deter
mine which messages will be trans
mitted by the controllers.
A wind shear — an abrupt, pow
erful gust of wind — has been cited
not necessarily deadlocked on the
charges against the four current or
former employees.
Autumn Hills president Robert
Gay said,“A mistrial to us is tanta
mount to dismissal.
“It doesn’t give me the satisfac
tion. It’s a hollow victory.”
He added that he is confident that
in the event of mistrial, the state
would not try the case again.
Trial in the case began with jury
selection in September, and testi
mony concluded earlier this month.
Final arguments, which spanned two
days, concluded Wednesday and the
jury was sequestered for deliber
ations.
The jury Friday sent two notes to
Morgan insisting they were dead
locked, but the judge ordered them
to continue deliberating.
as a factor in the crash of a Delta Air
Lines plane at Dallas-Fort Worth last
Aug. 2.
FAA spokesman Fred Farrar said
the agency would withhold comment
on the GAO findings until it can
study the report.
Glickman released a preliminary
GAO briefing document on which
he based his remarks. He said the
full report would be' available next
month.
“It was devastating to learn from
the study that by FAA procedures,
providing weather information to
pilots is not a high priority for con
trollers,” Glickman said.
Congressman questions air safety
Teachers urge ban on proposed second test
Associated Press
AUSTIN — President John Cole of the Texas
Federation of Teachers said Monday the feder
ation is proposing legislation to strike from the
Texas Education Code a provision to test teach
ers on whether they really know their subjects.
About 200,000 Texas teachers recently were
tested on basic skills, such as reading and writing,
and Cole said rumors of yet a second test is de
stroying teacher morale.
The Education Code as amended by the Legis
lature provides for testing teachers in “subject
areas,” but legislators last year decided not to ap
propriate money to pay for that test.
Cole told a press conference that Rep. Bill Ha
ley, chairman of the House Committee on Public
Education, had said he is considering a proposal
to repeal the second test when the Legislature
meets in 1987.
Cole said, “We think it’s time to put an end to
the rumors of the subject area test and remove
from teachers’ heads this sword of Damocles.
“It’s time for us to say enough is enough. Tea
chers have taken the TEC AT (Texas Examina
tion of Current Administrators and Teachers).
We need now take positive steps to rebuild tea
cher morale, and with this proposed piece of leg
islation we hope we can begin to allay some of the
fears that teachers have in this area.”
Cole was asked if the proposed legislation had
been discussed with Gov. Mark White, a sup
porter of 1984 public education reforms that in
cluded subject area testing.
“We have not discussed this with the governor
although we have discussed with him previously
the concept of the subject area test, and he told
us he will support” the State Board of Educa
tion’s position, “which was that the subject area
test need not be conducted,” Cole said,
He said while he did not believe the second test
would be given anyway, the proposed legislation
was designed as “gesture to reassure” teachers
not to worry about it.
“At this time, we have to give thoughts to peo
ple’s feelings,” he said. “Teachers had a pretty
nerve-wracking experience with the first test,
and you have to consider who’s going to teach
kids if we chase all the people that we have now
off because we so impair the morale that they
won’t come back and work for us anymore.”
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DATE RAP
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206 MSC 7:00 P.M.
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Organizational Meeting March 25,5:30p^ P c f
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• • •
jazzy.
snazzy
playing
and
outright
virtuosity"
— Seattle Times
"These duo-pianists put Brahms
next to Ragtime wrote the Hew
York Times of Katia and Marielle
Labeque. MSC OPAS will present the
Labeque Sisters March 27 at Texas
A&M Rudder Auditorium.
Sisters Katia and Marielle have per
formed together since their
childhood on the southwest coast of
France. Both won first prize in the
annual competitive examinations at
the Paris Conservatoire in 1968.
They have delighted audiences and
critics all over the world with their
music.
Their extraordinary music radiates
freshness and excitement with in
sightful renditions of Mozart,
Brahms, Stravinsky, Gershwin and
many Ragtime composers.
The MSC Opera and Performing Arts
Society brings great performers from
all over the world. Don't miss the
magic! Tickets are $8.75 for non
students and $7.25 for students at
the MSC Box Office, 845-1234. VISA
and MasterCard accepted.
Sponsored by the Dept, of Student Affairs and NOW