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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 1986)
) k ■XCROriLHCFNTBR P.O. BOX 12188 DALLAS, TX 75225-0188 ■■MV Texas A&M ^ ^ .WMSk The Battalion Vol. 82 No. 167 USPS 045360 6 pages College Station. Texas Thursday, June 26, 1986 House OKs Reagan’s Contra aid measures WASHINGTON (AP) — The H0u«e heeded President Reagan's pleas Wednesday night and nar rowly approved $100 million of mostly military aid to rebels fighting to overthrow the government of Ni- tfagua The! Democratic-controlled cham ber approved the plan by a vpte of 221-209 for $70 million worth of military hardware and $30 million in non-lethal aid. That reversed the House’s narrow defeat of a similar package three months ago Under the plan, the U S. govern ment for the first time would openlv e military support to the rebels wn as “Contras” and permits the CIA and Pentagon to manage the Contra program The rebels had been covertly supported by the CIA from 1981 to 1984 During the debate, much was made of $27 million in non-lethal aid previously provided to the Con tras. Opponents of further asd said large amounts of that money ended up in the pockets of the Honduran military and in hank accounts in the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands Reagan's supporters said military aid was essential to curb communism and restore democracy in Nicaragua while opponents said the administra tion had failed to pursue a peaceful outcome through negotiations. In summing up the opposition, Rep. Thomas Foley, D-Wash , said that bv approving military aid the Uniteo States would be “embarking on what would be a virtually unprec edented action — the United States would be undertaking ... a proxy war (against) a government with which we technically are at peace and technically have diplomatic rela tions." Republican leader Bob Michel of Illinois urged his colleagues to aban don partisanship “Let's have the guts to nurture democracy and fight communism in our hemisphere to day, not tomorrow,” he saio The battle took on a personal S uality this week when House peaker Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. re jected a White House request to per mit Reagan to make a pitch fron the House rostrum for his plan O'Neill said such an action would be unprec edented and unorthodox, and of fered to give Reagan a forum if he would submit to questioning from House members or address ajomt congressmoal session instead Those terms were rejected and Reagan made a noontime speech Tuesday in the White House, which the three major television networks declined to carry. The House vote added the Rea gan plan to an unrelated bill provid ing money for military construction projects, to become law. that bill must pass the Republican-controlled Senate. Reagan lobbied until the last min ute to win support and reverse the earlier defeat. It was an uphill battle, as White House spokesman Larry Speakes said earlier in the week that Reagan was behind. Several congressmen who switched their votes said they sup ported Reagan this tune because they felt decisive action was needed to force the leftist Sandinista govern ment to negotiate in good faith with its opponents. Earlier Wednesday. O’Neill said Reagan's effort was picking up Dem ocratic votes. Some Democrats backed an alter native package of $100 million which would give the Contras $30 million now for non-lethal items like clothing but which would hold off the military items until after another House vote Oct 1. The delay was in tended to give peace talks a chance to work. That proposal, offered by Rep. Dave McCurdy. D-Okla, was mcopo- rated into a bill providing $8.1 bil lion for various Pentagon construc tion projects McCurdy's plan was superseded by the Reagan proposal. The House voted 2/9-148 appro val of the proposal to add McCurdy’s plan to the package before moving on to other items in the overall bill and then returning to Contra aid late in the afternoon College Station Fire Marshall Harry Davis says people caught within city limits with fireworks will have the fireworks confiscated and will be issued a citation At left. Larry Elkins displays some of his wares for sale on Highway 60 just outside the city limits. At nght, signs located at most entrances into College Station warn any would-be violators Davis says the signs will be removed after July 4. Hurricane Bonnie hits Texas coast with 85 mph winds GALVESTON (AP) — Hurri cane Bonnie, with 85 mph winds, hit the Texas coast about 8 a m Thurs day between Freeport and Port Ar thur becoming the first June hurri cane since 1957. Authorities in Port Arthur and Jefferson counties in Texas evac uated Sabine Pass late Wednesday after securing beachfront property during daylight hours ana ceasing travel on coastal roads. Galveston officials advised resi dents not protected by the city’s sea wall to evacuate, but unusually high waves tempted many surfers Wednesday afternoon and others were sunning themselves and walk ing along the wall. "We are advising people who own boats to go check their moorings, and people in mobile homes to check “ their tie-down*,*', said Jndsr Holland with Galveston's Office of Emer- genev Preparedness “We’re asking everyone that if they do not have the materials to board up their homes, to purchase the materials and be sure their survival kits are in place.” Traffic leaving the island Wednesday evening on Interstate 45 toward Houston was slowed because of an automobile accident, officials said. About 7,000 people in lower Cam eron Parish. La. headed for higher ground late Wednesday as Hurri cane Bonnie picked up speed and churned closer to the bayous and marshes of western Louisiana. Everybody was ordered out bv nightfall and the coastal highway was. La. 82. was closed off said Haves Picou Jr., civil defense direc tor in the parish that remembers when Hurricane Audrey killed 526 people there in 1957. La. 27, a narrow, low road along a ridge between the Gulf of Mexico and C^alcasieu Lake, was the only re maining land route out of Cameron, and it's subject to flooding by storm- blown tidal surges. Advance thunderstorms were al ready crackling into the area ahead of the storm, according to the Na tional Weather Service. Cameron, Holly Beach and John son's Bayou are Louisiana's closest exposed points to Bonnie's pre dicted landfall in Texas. Gale-force winds extended about 75 miles from the center of the hur ricane. and thunderstorms lashed the western Louisiana coastline Wednesday afternoon. When a hurricane does threaten. Breaux said, things start moving fast. With television, radio, and the bullhorns atop the deputies' squad cars all working to let people know if danger threatens, he said, everyone in lowlving areas can be warned and on their way to higher ground within 90 minutes. The weather service said Bonnie could pile tides 10 feet higher than normal. B-CS may be site for aircraft plant By Sondra Pickard Senior Stiff Writer -; Bryan-College Station is one of eight proposed sites defense con- tyactor McDonnell Douglas Corp. has chosen for a possible aircraft manufacturing plant that might also ihctude a research facility involving Texas AAM personnel James Douglas, manager of long- range plans at the Long Beach. Cam McDonnell Douglas aircraft division, said the corporation is looking at a number of possibilities, including a plant which would as- semble U.S. Navy T-45A Goshawk training jets But Douglas stressed that a num ber of factors will determine if the plant becomes a reality, most impor tantly government funding “Assuming you get funding." he said, “it still depends on both the level and uming of those funds. “We are in the planning stages and this is an ongoing process, hut we have made no decisions on this whatsoever. This plan could literally change overnight, and a lot depends on a certain economist from Texas AAM (Sen. Phil Gramm).” A Goshawk plant is one possibility McDonnell Douglas has studied, he said, hut other options include utiliz ing the site for a maintenance over haul modification center or a panel assembly plant Douglas said AlcM is the factor that gives Bryan-College Station an advantage over other areas, both be cause it has exceptional engineering capabilities and because it s one of the company's principal areas of re cruitment. Most aircraft manufacturing plants are accompanied by a re search facility for continued modifi cation studies, he said, and there is a distinct possibility that A&M faculty could participate in such research “If we were to kicate in Bryan- College Station, he said, “we would naturally want to look at A&M be cause it is one of the nation's leading engineering schools." The three other prospective Texas sites for the plant are San An gelo. Corpus Chnsti and San Anto nio. Dr. Mark L. Money, system vice- chancellor in charge of the A&M Re search Park, accompanied David El ler, Board of Regents chairman, to Long Beat h in March to make a pre sentation to McDonnell Douglas and answer their questions about the city and A&M. Money said if the plant were con- , strutted here, Easterwood Airport would be the only airport that fits the qualifications in tne area, be cause of the extended runway and limited air traffic He said research personnel could use A&M engineering facilities, pos sibly including the A&M Research Park, which is only a short distance from the airport "We're going to hold our breath and hope that we're in the running hut we just don't know that at this time." Ed Brady, executive vice-presi dent of the Brvan-College Station Chamber of Commerce, said that a plant of this sort could initially em ploy about 600 people But Douglas said exactly how many people could be employed will depend on factors sucti as the amount of production expected, an estimate which cannot accurately be made at this point. Tax bill compromises to aid middle class WASHINGTON (AP) — Three weeks before congressio- . nal negotiators begin writing a compromise tax-overhaul plan, the top item on their agenda has been set: protect the middle class “How we treat middle-income families is going to be probably the most important" issue for the Senate-House conference. Rep Dan Rostenkowski. D-IU.. chair man of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said Wednesday Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole. R-Kaa.. said. "I think the House bil is a bu better in that • area." Appealing with Rostenkowski on ABC-Tv's “Good Morning America" program. Dole stooped short of saying he would like to see negotiators depan from the tax-rate structure in the Senate bill to oay for greater relief for the middle class “Obviously, all of us want to keep the rates as low as we can,” Dole said Rostenkowski agreed but added: “There are areas that we're going to have to negotiate in order to keep those rates that low" The tax plan that the Senate approved Tuesday on a 97-3 vote would cut individual taxes by an average of 6.4 percent. Several lawmakers, including some of the most vocal supporters of the bill, said thev were counting on nego tiators to come up with a final plan that would be fairer to the middle class Senior tax-writers from the House and Senate will begin working on a compromise bill around July 15. Leaders hope to E i the final measure to President agan for his signature about Labor Day Irradiation ups shelf life, kills parasites on fruit, vegetables By Olivier Uyttebrouck StaH Writer Within the year, irradiated fruit and vegetables could begin appear ing on supermarket shelves due to the easing of Food and Drug Ad ministration regulations on irra diated produce in April The Federal government, hailing the process as an economical means of ridding foods of pests and dis ease-causing parasites without the use of chemical pesticides, hopes to see the food-irradiation industry prosper. Officials also cite irradia tion's ability to extend shelf life a* another valid reason for supporting its acceptance Food irradiation is a preservation technique that involves exposing the food to a radioactive source, usually cobalt-60, by moving the food along a conveyer belt through a thick- walled concrete chamber where the radiation is contained. According to an April article in the New York Times, spices are the only food items irradiated commer cially in the United States today and only one-half of one percent of ap proved spices undergo irradiation. But on April 15. the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of irradiation on fresh fruits and vegetables, the latest in a senes of initiatives that have allowed the irra diation of pork, wheat, potatoes, on ions and spices One Texas A&M researcher, how ever, doubts there is enough of a need to make the process attractive to industry A&M horuculturaJ sciences pro fessor Dr E. E Burns, a 35-year vet eran of food-irradiation research, says there are many reasons he doesn’t think the process will be come commercially viable soon The irradiation of white potatoes for example, which prevents the po tatoes from sprouting and extends their shelf life to a year-and-a-haif, was approved by the FDA in 1964 In fact, 30 years ago a potato grower in Michigan experimented with a portable, cobalt-60 irradiator encasea in lead which was used in the field during harvest. Burns says. The newly picked potatoes were run along a conveyer nek. through the irradiator and into the hopper. Bums says although the process is umple and effective, it didn’t catch on oecause an 18-month shelf ufe for potatoes is unnecessary. The shelf life of irradiated potatoes equals three crop cycles for the po tato — with a crop harvested every six months, there is little need to store potatoes for IW years. The same holds true for onions and gar lic. Irradiation of fruits and certain 2nd session registration will begin on June 30 By Sondra Pickard Senior Staff Writer Beginning June 30, any stu dent who does not require aca demic advising will he able to pre register for the second summer term on the first floor of the Pa vilion, but those who do require advising will register July 9 through 11. In all. registration will he open from June 30 to July 14, and classes for the second summer session begin July 15. Students who need atademic advising should use the following registration schedule: • Last name A through G should reguter July 9. • Last name H through O should register July 10. • Last name P through Z should register July 11. Don Carter, A&M associate registrar, said students who regis ter for the second summer term during any of these periods must pay their fees by 5 p m on July 14. or their classes will be cancelled. Carter said students are en couraged to pay their fees at the time tnev register in the Pavilion, although payments will also he ac cepted in the Coke Building. vegetables such as tomatoes "cripples up." or slows down, the ri pening process and gives produce a longer shelf life. Burns says But he savs U S apple and citrus growers already are having a hard time competing with imported fruit See Irradiation, page 3