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I
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Hair Styling Salon for Men and Woman
$27.50
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1H€^US 4417 Texas Ave. South
(next to Fajita Rita’s)
846-7614
Page 6/The Battalion/Wednesday, February 4, 1987
Errors may lead to insufficient funds
Hot checks stirring sparks at A&M
By Sondra McCarty
Reporter
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While thumbing through the daily
mail, Mary, a Texas A&M student,
comes across a check returned from
her bank and quickly corrects this er
ror.
Although Mary is fictitious, she
represents 50 percent of the Bryan-
College Station bad-check writers
who find this situation embarrassing
and immediately pay the debt, Bra
zos County Attorney James D. Ku-
boviak says.
The majority of these people
write bad checks because they have
insufficient funds because of ac
counting errors, Kuboviak says.
The remaining 50 percent of the
people who write bad checks are di
vided into two other groups, he says.
“Twenty-five percent of the pop
ulation writes a check knowing it is
going to be bad, but plans on depos
iting the money before the check is
processed,” he says.
He says the remaining 25 percent
of offenders write checks knowing
they will never pay it.
“This type (tne latter 25 percent)
is no different than any other form
of theft,” the Brazos County attor
ney says. “I am looking for the chro
nic person who is trying to beat the
system.
in the number of bad checks in the
past five months.
“But there is no stereotype; this is
one offense that gets every age, race
and sex.”
Glenn Schroeder, College Station
deputy finance director, believes
some bad checks are a result of the
Switzer Deason, president of
Check Worthy, says the company, lo
cated in 28 states, came to College
Station in 1983 when many busi
nesses in the area had a lot of re
turned checks.
Check Worthy has a
rate of 85 percent, she says.H||
maining 15 percent is sem
the merchants so they may prut
with the county attorney.
poor economy.
“Historically, it has always been
the student,” Schroeder says. “Ho
wever, in the past two years the
number of home owners and busi
nesses writing bad checks have in
creased.
“People are accustomed to living
at a certain standard and try to con
tinue, even if they do not have the
means.”
Kuboviak says a poor economy
also forces people to write bad
checks to purchase food.
“This is more for survival, and I
can tolerate that,” Kuboviak says.
Dorinda Arden, Check Worthy
sales representative, says the com
pany has seen only a slight increase
Houston car chase
winds up in kitchen
HOUSTON (AP) — A stolen car
carrying robbery suspects crashed
into the kitchen of a house and
touched off a flash fire that de
stroyed the one-story residence, po
lice said.
Nobel Williams, 56, was the only
person in the house at the time Mon
day, and was able to escape by run
ning barefoot outside.
The crash ended a chase between
the suspects and an off-duty Hous
ton police officer who had spotted a
MFC. LIST
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846-1741
“Basically, what we (Check
Worthy) do is everything the mer
chants would have done themsel
ves,” Deason says.
The merchant first mustftj
affidavit, he says, and thendJ
whether or not to continuepij
tion.
/A!
Hot-check writers are eivtl
chance to pay the debt, KmJ
says, but if they don’t, awaml
arrest is issued.
Merchants have all their checks
collected by Check Worthy, he says.
Then, Check Worthy sends all
checks to the banks for processing,
and it has a 42-day cycle in which to
collect on the bad checks.
“We average $25,000 a meJ|L c
restitution, maybe a little moiiBr U | S<
says. "In 1986, we rect* is,at
|0 mi
Arden says Check Worthy helps
A&M, College Station and more
than 200 local merchants to collect
on bad checks.
“We process an average of 100
checks per day,” Arden says, "and
16,351 bad checks went through
Check Worthy between March 1 and
Dec. 31, 1986.”
In 1986,
$340,632.60 in restitution td “ ll
the merchants.”
k put
“We will allow them anopJTony 1
nity to make restitution,”he® was u
they go to jail, I do not wamjwould,
tion, 1 want a hunk of their bec ausi
ter the
Bob Piwonka, manager olBr i h,
Student Financial Services later tc
clear-cut prevention policy. sa i ( i. “
“If you write a check,have:
in the bank to cover it,” he®
Groups say bars taking pefe
in designated driver plan (
stolen car racing across the parking
lot of a shopping center.
A restaurant manager was robbed
and knocked down across the street
moments before the officer saw the
car, investigators said.
AUSTIN (AP) — Hundreds of
establishments serving liquor in
Texas will participate in a pro-
bev-
After a 12-mile chase, the suspects
turned off an Interstate 10 exit, hit a
truck and then spun out of control
for a block before slamming into the
house, said the off-duty officer, Jack
Harris. The car barreled over a stove
and ruptured a gas line, police said.
gram serving non-alcoholic
erages to a person claiming to be
a designatea driver, a coalition of
organizations said Tuesday.
Charles Haynes, presiaent of
the Texas Head Injury Founda
tion, said his foundation, Texas
Hotel and Motel Association, Alli
ance of American Insurers and
Southwestern Insurance Infor
mation Service had solicited the
cooperation of more than 300 es
tablishments "to encouraK
sponsible consumption of ak!
holic beverages."
The coalition said it would:!
tribute over 500 poster! to a
hospitality industry, encounp
people to designate a drivert:
announcing to patrons that a
coalition would provide freerA
alcoholic beverages to thedtff
nated driver.
Don Hansen, president of?
Hotel and Motel Association.4
the non-alcoholic drink prop
was started during the recentk
idav
_
price
profi
ling.
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