Monday, September 8, 1986AThe Battalion/Page 3
State and Local
nd special session starts today
egislators colled bock to tockle $3.5 billion budget deficit
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Al ST1N (AP) — State legislators
10 didn't succeed at balancing the
et in a month-long special ses-
ire headed back to the Capitol
try again.
the first time since 1969, the
nor has called back-to-back
sessions in a bid to balance a
state budget showing a $3.5 billion
deficit.
In their first try, lawmakers failed
to agree on much.
The House passed a bill to cut
spending by $740 million. The Sen
ate voted to cut only $418 million.
The conference committee ap
pointed to resolve those differences
never did.
The two chambers were even fur
ther apart on the need to raise taxes.
While senators and Gov. Mark
White said yes, House members said
no.
The Texas Constitution says tax
S77?A/*/N^
DCCfMS
«5o WN£tr rime victims want lawmakers
*«L S f a y OU f Q f compensation fund
AUSTIN (AP) — Crime victims want state legis-
UjlLLltyf, T f * alors t0 ^ ee P c heir hands off a special fund collected
' convicted criminals as compensation for vio-
1 say ‘Shame on you* to any elected official who
ts to take that money and further victimize peo-
whose lives have been shattered,” Donya With-
Jpoon of Fort Worth said Saturday at a gathering
if representatives of crime victim organizations at
■ ijthe Capitol.
^ I^IMEhe and representatives of groups in Fort Worth,
v ,4 Li Dallas, Austin, Harlingen, Waco. Marker Heights, F.l
^^'Boand Lubbock met Saturday to plan demands on
■ B^1987 Legislature.
y Participants were outspoken against tentative
Hves to cut S2 million in state money for adminis-
B Htion of the attorney general's fund that compen-
Hes crime victims for expenses and lost wages
carded by violent crimes.
I U kh Crime Victims Compensation fund is fi
ll isk hictvt pinced from fines paid by convicted felons,
my shirt alter B it is even more shameful and more horrible that
1 maniacs flew; the people elected to represent and protect you take
could feel theiB “
the money that is set up to help you go on living your
lives and bury the loved ones,” Witherspoon told
about 50 people gathered at the Capitol, most of
them carrying black balloons.
“I say that fund was set up and solely supported
by fines imposed on convicted criminals and there
are no tax monies involved,” she said. “It is strictly
money from criminals.”
Bob Stearns of Austin, chairman of People
Against Violent Crimes, said the compensation fund
had paid $8.9 million to crime victims the past year.
“It has helped a lot of victims through a lot of
very, very tough times,” Stearns said.
Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle told
the approximately 50 representatives of crime vic
tims groups that “it is our responsibility to change
government and make it do its job.”
“We are here to bring back the concept of shame
to crime,” Earle said. “Most of all, we want a society
where we can go to the store late at night, where our
wives and female relatives can walk the streets with
out the fear that now affects us.”
legislation must start in the House,
so no tax bill ever surfaced.
Within 30 minutes of the Legis
lature’s adjournment last Thursday,
White called them back. In doing so,
he repeated his recommendation for
a 1.125-cent, one-year sales tax in
crease combined with spending cuts.
That thorny tax issue, made even
touchier by the closeness of the No
vember elections, still hasn’t been re
solved. But White and legislative
leaders sound optimistic.
“Things are moving in the right
direction,” White said. “We’re closer
to a solution now than we were 30
days ago.”
Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, who unsuc
cessfully pushed for a permanent
tax increase to balance the budget,
said he remains hopeful.
“Although it did not produce the
desired results all in one session,
substantial progress was made,”
Hobby said. “And I have high hopes
for the session beginning Monday.”
House Speaker Gib Lewis, D-Fort
Worth, said he will support a tax in
crease if the Senate approves budget
cuts and money-saving cash manage
ment programs he believes would
keep state checks from bouncing.
At that point, if a tax still is
needed, Lewis said he would vote for
“You get your bottom line, you
make your cuts where you can make
them, you try to pass whatever pro
posals you can to infuse monies into
the state treasury,” he said. “Once
you’ve done that, if that leaves a
shortage, then you go to taxes.”
Ferntastic
Photo by John Makely
Prospective plant owners look through the selection al a plant sale
sponsored by the Floriculture Ornamental Horticulture Club Satur
day. A time exposure was used to create the blurred effect.
spokes. Fora
occurred sofas
o realize hows
A&M vocal group gives more than opportunity to sing
bought about | By Heidi Kemp
nd totally limtl * Reporter
i wise cheerful' Being a member of the Singing
v bikers right i:B ts means more than the chance
hem tumblitii: Ipg; it means the opportunity to
, , ( avel, meet new people and estab-
, Ha fellowship with other mem-
tmalisuc betwH Jeff c„x, the organization’s
te influenceol Hjdent.says.
distances, bea Kirk White, public relations offi-
tappens whet) erffor the Singing Cadets, says the
ale group, established in 1894
as the Glee Club, performs for A3yM
Mothers’ clubs, private organizations
and the Association of Former Sing
ing Cadets.
White says the group performs lo
cally in the fall and travels in the
spring.
In addition to doing major tours
and national telecasts, he says, the
Singing Cadets also have recorded
nine albums in the past 27 years.
In the last 20 years, the Singing
>retty sight. SI
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rMATIOfMAL
□ RGAIMIZ ATlOfSJ
FOR WOrVlEM
NEW STUDENTS
UNDERGRADS
GRAD STUDENTS
FACULTY
Join us in our 1st meeting Tues., Sept. 9
at 7pm in Rudder Room 501
a senior join
nnist for The
'no IL
»Be a Part of Promoting Awareness
of Women’s Issues on Campus and
Beyond.
IMPROVE: EDUCATION, CAREERS,
HEALTH CARE
COMBAT: SEXUAL ASSAULT &
HARASSMENT, RACISM
are more than |
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STUDENT
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THURSDAY
SEPTEMBER 11
Rumjer fountain
STUDENT Y: A GREAT WAY
TO GET INVOLVED ! \ \
Cadets have been invited to the
White House and performed on the
Ed Sullivan and Mike Douglas tele
vision shows, he says.
Earlier this year the Singing Ca
dets performed in various Texas
Sesquicentennial celebrations, Cox
says.
The performances included a
March 2 concert at Washington-on-
the-Brazos and an April 21 produc
tion at the San Jacinto battleground.
Last year the group had 41 per
formances. Of these performances,
18 were local, 21 were throughout
the state and two were in Louisiana,
Cox says.
This fall the Singing Cadets will
perform with the Symphonic Band
and Miss Texas A&M in a special
show, “Texas A&M Celebrates the
Sesquicentennial,” Cox says.
The Singing Cadets also will have
a Christmas concert Dec. 7 with the
Women’s Chorus, the Century Sing
ers and the Reveliers.
This year the two-hour perfor
mance will be divided into two parts.
The first will concentrate on upbeat
religious songs and folk songs and
the second will be a tribute to
George and Ira Gershwin, Gox says.
The Singing Cadets will begin the
spring semester with a 10-day tour
in West Texas with stops in Brown-
wood, Abilene, Midland and several
other cities.
The director of the Singing Ca
dets, Robert L. Boone, says the
group travels to a different area of
Texas each year. Last year the group
traveled to south-central Texas.
White says the group has only 35
members returning because most of
last year’s members graduated.
The group is recruiting 40 new
members.
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