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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 11, 1986)
Texas A&M gg m V • The Battalion 32 No. 175 USPS 045360 6 pages College Station, Texas Friday, July 11, 1986 "'Oni; view 0. Ba, 1 diplJ iter aij '■d frorl • Afitil ipaceo; ides rt abilizing PDF ay cause A&M hit bond limits ge ■orge owd, uben said, r re- Bov tele- ;t the her- Bov Ger- igain fited iders ‘bar- harp ek. mar ts of 1-set- gon ght igme 'ager eana peri- -foot |y Olivier Uyttebrouck H Stull Writer Hause the Permanant Univer- ;Fi nd is no longer swelling with wil and gas revenues, Texas ;M faces the prospect of reach- tie limit ol its bonding capacity, [tiiiing the school to cut back irlly the number of bond issues Himd construction and ec|iiip- ht jnrjects. fesas A&M funds most of its isti action projects and much of Hiding renovation and equip- nt purchases with bond issues ked by the Available University K which is made up of reve- {■generated by the PUF invest in'- \c(ording to f igures provided by ■ Valigura, director of finance 1 the Texas A&M system, A&M sued SI96 million in bonds totes against the Available rsity Fund since 1980, mak- ijpossible A&M’s recent construc- loom. He Texas constitution allows ■ to issue bonds equaling 10 (tent of the value of the Perma- irt University Fund, which at the IPs present value amounts to jghly $250 million, Valigura ’S. ■ the University has consumed Jlfifths of its bonding capacity linst the Available University nd Hce bonding capacity has been ffied. A&M only will be able to re bonds equaling 10 percent of PUF’s growth for that year, says chiel Patrick, executive vice chancellor of Asset Management at the University of Texas. But because of falling oil and gas revenues, and because the founda tion of the PUF is extensive oil and gas-bearing lands in west Texas, the growth of the PUF' has been de creasing year by year since the PUF’s peak growth year of 1981, Patrick says. In 1981, the book value of the PUF grew by $260 million, Patrick says. He estimates that the PUF will grow by only $85 million or $90 million in fiscal year 1987. That would allow A&M to issue about $9 million in bonds for that fiscal year. A&M has not issued such a low amount in nearly 10 years. If A&M sells the additional $50 million in bonds backed by the Available University P'und, the im pact of lower oil and gas prices would become more important be cause A&M’s bonding capacity would be limited by the PUF’s an nual growth, Patrick says. During the 1987 fiscal year, A&M plans to issue between $25 million and $30 million in new bonds, Vilagura says. Bonds also may be issued during the remainder of the 1986 fiscal year, although no bonds have been issued so far this year. In December of 1985 — when the federal government was consid- See PUF, related story Page 4 Cyanide left in building hallway Rules Violated' by researcher By Scott Sutherland City Editor A&M safety investigators say a university researcher violated University Policy when he left two boxes of hazardous chemicals in the hall of the Chemistry Annex. The boxes, one containing a bottle of cyanide, contained about thirty bottles tagged for chemical waste disposal. The A&M Policy and Proce dures Manual says hazardous chemicals are to be stored in the lab or in a storeroom until physi cal plant employees pick them up. Dr. Kurt Irgolic, associate di rector of the Energy Resources Public Service Program, said he told students to place the boxes in a storeroom Wednesday. But, he said, the students dis covered a bottle of leaking deter gent in the storeroom and de cided not to place the boxes there. He said it was Thursday af ternoon before he noticed the bottles were still in the hall and told students to put them away. University Safety and Health Officer Harry Stiller said storing bottles in the corridor is a viola tion of University Policy. He said normally physical plant employ ees pick up such waste and trans port it to a chemical storage site, where it is packaged and re moved by a professional disposal company. The incident is not the first in volving handling of chemicals on campus. In May a fire caused by drop ping of a flammable chemical near the chemistry department’s central storeroom, was called a Hi u ■ Bottle of cyanide that was found in the hall of the Chemistry Annex Thursday. Photo by Anthony S. Casper potential disaster by one p'roles sor. Department Head Ron Sa wyer said then that the depart ment’s safety board was looking into policies. A Battalion article Monday quoted a chemistry professor who said many toxic chemicals are available almost without restric tions to graduate students. Ron Taylor, Physical Depart ment safety investigator, said in vestigators would look into the latest incident but was unsure how it would be handled. Taylor said he could not locate records of a Chemistry Building safety investigation that had taken place in the last three years and said he wouldn’t characterize the building’s record as either good or bad. “I think you may see higher in stances of problems over there because they handle a greater number of chemicals than most departments,” he said. The Battalion became aware of the situation when an anonymous caller said he had seen the material untended in the hall of the Chemistry Building. Battalion Photo Editor Tony Casper went to the building and photographed the boxes in the hall. When he returned a second time, he took a picture of a stu dent moving the boxes into a lab. Casper said the student con fronted him and demanded that he turn over the film. Casper said when he refused, the student grabbed him and attempted to take the camera from his neck and an altercation ensued. Casper filed a complaint with University Police against Carlo Kos, a student worker in the building. Escaped convict, hostage remain at large ■LMER (AP) — Hundreds of irJliers, some on horseback and ne in helicopters, scoured eastern xas on Thursday for an armed inlet known as “Animal” who took leputy hostage when he escaped | jail where he was awaiting trial murder. A dragnet involving more than 200 state, local and federal officials searched Wood County for Jerry Walter McFadden, a convicted sex offender who attacked a sheriffs deputy at the Upshur County Jail, forced another into a cell and ab ducted a third officer on Tuesday. McFadden, 38, was being taken to the lobby of the jail to make a tele phone call when he struck Sgt. Ken neth Mayfield between the eyes with a sharp piece of metal believed torn from a jail cell window, said Sheriff Dale Jewkes. He then forced another deputy, Stacey Mullinix, into a cell and ab ducted Rosalie Williams, 24. The es capee took Mayfield’s gun from a locked box outside the jail area, as well as an undetermined amount of cash, Jewkes said. Mike Cox, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said, “We think he’s headed west, at least we believe he was last night.” Williams’ husband, Eddie, is a DPS trooper and the couple has a 4- year-old son, Jewkes said. Her hus band was working at the manhunt’s command center in Quitman. McFadden, who calls himself “An imal,” faced a July 28 trial on charges of aggravated assault and robbery. He also is charged with cap ital murder in the slaying of Suzanne Harrison, 18. Harrison was one of three youths slain after they went on an outing at Fake Hawkins in May. Abbas receives life sentence for hijacking of Achilla Laura hy bab)' it expl 2 ’ is ire- ii infai 11 as SIDS lommon Iren be- irst vea r ; Bass, a ate f 111 ' Photo by Anthony S. Casper Paul Stirling, a senior building construction major, pauses dur ing a candlelight vigil that marked the second anniversary of the bombing of the Greenpeace ship “Rainbow Warrior.” The Thursday night vigil was held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church and was coordinated by the Texas A&M Greenpeace Coalition. GENOA, Italy (AP) — Fugitive Palestinian guerrilla leader Moham med Abbas and five followers were convicted Thursday of hijacking the Achille Uauro cruise ship and killing a wheelchair-bound American pas senger. Abbas and two fellow fugitives were given life sentences, but the hi jacker accused of actually killing 69- year-old Leon Klinghoffer received a lesser sentence — 30 years in prison. Five defendants were convicted of lesser charges in the hijacking, and four others, all fugitives, were ac quitted. Italian authorities acknowledged there was little chance that Abbas, said to have masterminded the hi jacking, would ever serve his term. Three of the hijackers, who were among the five defendants in cus tody, received prison terms ranging from 15 to 30 years. Prosecutor Luigi Francesco Meloni said he probably would appeal for stiffer sentences. Klinghoffer’s daughters and seve ral Americans who were held hos tage during the Oct. 7-9 hijacking criticized the hijackers’ sentences as too lenient. “We had every hope that the Ital ian judicial system would impose the maximum penalty possible,” Lisa and Usa Klinghoffer said in a joint statement issued in New York. “Sadly, we are greatly disillusioned and disappointed,” they said. The hijacking’s aftermath se verely strained U.S.-Italian relations and caused the government to fall briefly when Italian authorities re fused to detain Abbas after a U.S. warplane forced an Egyptian jet car rying him and the hijackers to and in Sicily. Despite a U.S. warrant for Abbas, leader of the Palestine Liberation Front faction of the PLO, Italian of ficials at first said they lacked evi dence he had any role in the hijack ing other than helping negotiate its end. They later issued a warrant for him but he had gone underground. In Washington, State Department spokesman Bernard Kalb said, “The United States is pleased that persons responsible for the death of an American citizen and injury and damages to others have been con victed.” But he added, “We regret that the murder of Leon Klinghoffer was not treated more severely.” Kalb also said the U.S. govern ment “reserved its legal right to seek extradition of the hijackers once all Italian legal proceedings, including appeals, are ended.” Youssef Magied al-Molqi, 23, was the hijacker accused of Klinghoffer’s killing. Investigators said he con fessed, but al-Molqi retracted the statement during the trial. Hijackers Ibrahim Fatyer Abdela- tif, 20, and Ahmad Marrouf al As- sadi, 24, were sentenced respectively to 24 years and two months and 15 years and two months. Assadi coop erated with authorities and was not present when the verdict was read. Another hijacker will be tried later in juvenile court. The other convicted fugitives sen tenced to life in prison were Ozzud- din Badrakkam, described as the Palestine Liberation Front’s military chief, and Ziad el Omar, who bought the hijackers’ cruise tickets. Virginia inmates bum 13 buildings in riot L()R FON.Va. (AP) — Inmates set e|o an overcrowded prison oper- ‘<1 by the District of Columbia in >Ui ban Virginia on Thursday in iat the mayor termed an ill-con- vld attempt at freedom. After more than 12 hours of rag- (Ifires and fighting among in- ites — and between inmates and aids — more than 40 people had en injured and 13 buildings set ab- •e. including three dormitories of- ils said were damaged beyond re- Anthorities said all the facility’s 10() prisoners had been accounted ■The prison, which has no air conditioning, was designed to house about 3,500 inmates. District Mayor Marion Barry Jr. said there were 1,295 prisoners housed in the area where the trouble broke — about 200 over-capacity. Barry said there had been indica tions of unrest the night before, which he said may have been height ened by news accounts Wednesday of a prison consultant’s report on overcrowding at the Lorton Reform atory. A newspaper account of the report had been tacked up for pris oners to read. “It wasn’t spontaneous,” Barry said. “It was planned. We think the report and the way it was reported added to the prophecy of guys want ing to be free and burning their homes down.” City administrator Thomas Downs said some prisoners had put their belongings in garbage bags in anticipation of being let out of the dorms after the fires were set in a medium security section of the 2,970-acre prison complex. “Nobody even approached the fence,” said Downs. “It was an as sumption that if they burned the prison down and there was nowhere else to go. they would be freed.” He insisted that that would not happen. About 120 firefighters battled the blazes until about 7 a.m. when all fires were brought under control. Hundreds of prisoners were dis placed and corrections officials were taking at least 800 inmates to the city jail. Other felons were being placed in other parts of the minimum-max- ium prison complex. No dollar amount on the exten sive damage was immediately avail able, but corrections spokesman Leo Civs said only 1U oi uie uuildmgs could be repaired. Fighting broke out after prisoners were led away from the fires to a prison recreation field. Two prison ers were stabbed by other inmates and guards with birdshot and tear gas moved in to break up the fight. In all. Civs said, 29 inmates and nine guards suffered minor injuries — from gunshots and tear gas and from wounds inflicted by other in mates, and one inmate was in serious condition with stabbing and gunshot wounds. Cuadra will re-appeal conviction, lawyer says By Mary Frances Scott Staff Writer A former Texas A&M Corps of Cadet member will re-appeal his conviction for tampering with ev idence in the hazing death of a fellow cadet, his attorney says. Gabriel Cuadra appealed his probated sentence but was re jected Tuesday by the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston. Cuadra was found guilty in January 1985 of destroying a list of early morning exercises sched uled for cadet Bruce Goodrich. Goodrich collapsed while par ticipating in exercises supervised by three junior cadets. He later died of heatstroke. The three junior cadets, An thony D’Allessandro, Jason Miles and Louis Fancher, pleaded guilty to hazing charges and were fined $250 and given 90-day ad judicated probation. “I don’t feel I can share in the wisdom of the decision,” defense attorney Luis Juarez said. He said the appeal rested on three points of error in the origi nal trial. Juarez argued that the docu ment was testimonial and there fore protected by the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. He also had contended that the statute governing tampering with evidence was unconstitutional. Juarez said that a re-hearing is usually heard by the same panel of three judges who originally heard the case. He said that if the re-hearing is unsuccessful, he might petition for a discretionary review from the highest appellate court in Texas, the Texas Court of Crimi nal Appeals.