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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 1987)
Friday, February 27, 1987/The Battalion/Page 3 ’wwirrmr inwm i '±x*ssmeoc~mr<. State and Local ! I d Minors, juveniles get hit with citations Alcohol commission cracks down By Melanie Perkins Staff Writer It could happen to you or to someone you know. It happened to 2,167 minors and 569 juveniles in Texas last month, 64 of the minors and 10 of the juveniles in the Bryan-Col- lege Station district, says Joe Dar- nall, legal counsel for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. “It” is a citation for minors, or in some cases juveniles (those 17 and under), possessing and con suming alcoholic beverages. A first-time offender could pay $25-$200, while a second offense could bring a $ 100-$500 fine. Darnall says the suspects usually are not taken into cus tody. “Whenever it is possible, which is most of the time, we issue a cita tion to appear at a certain time or date in a justice court, just like a traffic ticket,” he says. “We issue a ticket, he signs for it and goes on about his business,” he says. Possibly even worse than the humiliation and potential mone tary setback a citation entails is a statute that requires the justice court to notify at least one parent of the minor who has been cited. “This wasn’t so bad when the legal drinking age was 18 or even when it was 19,” Darnall says. “But now that the legal drinking age is 21 and you’ve got a 20- year-old who is cited to appear before a justice of the peace, it gets a little awkward sometimes to notify the parents of this person who is an adult for all other pur poses.” Darnall says the TABC, to a large extent, works on complaints but also makes inspections at ran dom. “We will, in effect, stake them (stores) out just like on television, where we will park maybe half a block away and observe the prem ises — the comings and goings — with binoculars,” he says. If an underage person is caught buying alcohol, he can be issued a citation along with the person who sold him the alcohol. But the employee does have a defense. “If it really is fake, but it is an apparently valid driver’s license or DPS identification card, that is an absolute defense for the sel ler,” Darnall says. He says there are two types of fake ID cards — counterfeit and look-alike IDs. The counterfeit of an official document is a felony, Darnall says. It is illegal to manufacture, possess or use this type of ID. The look-alike IDs sold in flea markets or magazines are not counterfeit — they are docu ments that mimic the real thing but don’t say they are the real thing. They might, for example, be from the Texas Department of Public “Safely” or Texas Depart ment of Identification — neither of which are real departments. “At the moment, the manufac ture and mere possession of these — what we call flea market IDs — is legal,” Darnall says, “but the use of them in an attempt to pur chase alcoholic beverages by a mi nor is illegal.” He says there has been a sharp increase in both types of false IDs since the drinking age went up Sept. 1, and those collected are the tip of the iceberg. Most local liquor stores have the same policy when faced with handling fake IDs: Take the ID and ask the individual to leave. “I collect the ID and try to em barrass the person trying to pass it off,” says Mike Martensen, owner of Mike’s Discount Liquor. Rupert Jones, manager of JJ’s Package Store in College Station, says he really hasn’t seen any fake IDs, but would refuse to sell to anyone using one. Besides stores, the TABC also periodically patrols bars and nightclubs. If a problem is suspected, agents may go undercover, Dar nall says. Ron Stone, TABC assistant dis trict supervisor, says it is the re sponsibility of the store or club to make sure no one who is under age purchases, possesses or con sumes alcoholic beverages on their premises. Of the 250 TABC agents in Texas, 10 are assigned to patrol the 1,831 establishments licensed to sell alcohol in the 14 counties of which Brazos County is a part. Clements' decision due on parole eligibility tenik ■egafD i into e prt' led i bylei' n Cot .Tte Act- rogff west AUSTIN (AP) — Gov. Bill Clements will de cide today whether to authorize speedier parole ; eligibility for 185 prison inmates necause of the (prison overcrowding emergency, a spokesman | said Thursday. Jay Rosser, the governor’s deputy press secre- Itary, said Clements ordered his staff to review the cases of all 185 inmates for whom the Board I of Pardons and Paroles recommended authoriz ing 60 days additional “good time.” “The governor has asked the staff to review 1 each of these affected inmates to make sure each I qualifies under provisions of the Prison Manage- jjjment Act,” Rosser said. “He wants that report on I his desk first thing in the morning.” I Rosser said the 185 inmates would have been scheduled for prison release within 30 days any way. He said they most likely would be moved from prison units to halfway houses and kept un der intensive supervision. Clements returned Thursday night from Washington, D.C., to a state prison system that has been closed to new inmates since Wednesday, when inmate population exceeded the 95 per cent of capacity limit. The midnight Wednesday head count showed 38,644 inmates — 95.63 percent of capacity, 254 inmates over the 95 percent cap. About 55 con victs were scheduled for parole Thursday, offi cials said. Attorney General Jim Mattox'said that under the state’s prison management law, Clements must certify that an emergency overcrowding condition exists and order Texas Department of Corrections officials to credit eligible inmates with up to 90 days of additional good conduct time. “I’m very hopeful the people they will have to award the good time to will be those individuals that are least likely to cause injury to the public,” Mattox said. In other developments Thursday, Rep. Dan Morales, D-San Antonio, sent a letter to newspa per editors saying he believes the public is upset over passage last week of legislation to speed up parole eligibility to ease prison crowding. Fund-raising failure in ’86 A&M pageant left $12,000 shortfall By Carolyn Garcia Staff Writer Beauty pageants usually create the image of scantily-clad, long- legged lovelies. However, they also can create an unattractive eyesore — a $12,000 debt. Although it has been rated first in university-level pageants, the Miss Texas A&M Scholarship Pageant fell a “little short” of breaking even in last year’s budget. Bonne Bejarano, executive direc tor of the pageant, said the shortfall from the 1986 pageant was not a matter of overspending, but one of inadequate fund raising. “We didn’t spend over our bud get,” Bejarano said. “We just didn’t raise enough money for the budget. Seldom do we go over the line.” Bejarano said the problem was that the pageant staff didn’t have ac cess to the books. “There was not access to the books until after the fact,” she said. “Some how in the shuffle between changing advisers, the book was lost.” Susan Bender, program adviser, said she had to go into the Memorial Student Center’s accounting office and reconstruct the records. Bejarano said she just recently learned of the debt from the 1986 pageant. The problem of lack of money stems from the fact that some people E ledge donations and then don’t fol- )w through with the cash, Bejarano said. “The economy in Texas is tight and people just don’t have the money to give,” she said. “Unfortu nately, those who are very talented in fund raising aren’t drawn to things like (the MSC) Hospitality (committee).” Bejarano said the pageant does not receive student service fees, and that the budget is made up entirely of donations and fund-raising reve nues. Therefore, the MSC and Hos pitality, which do receive money from student service fees, absorbed the debt. “The expenses come in incre ments,” Bejarano said. “We have the expenses for the pageant and then Miss Texas.” Those expenses include a $1,000 wardrobe allowance for Miss Texas A&M and travel to the Miss Texas pageant. The Miss Texas organization cov ers the contestants’ expenses while at the state pageant. But expenses for the staff to attend the week-long pageant preparations are covered by the A&M pageant organization, Be jarano said. “We are there for moral support for our representative,” she said. “There are a lot of franchise meet ings, helpful hint sessions and dis cussions on pageant rules and regu lations.” The pageant also raises money from ticket and program sales, but the bulk of the money raised is spent in Rudder Tower on the show, Beja rano said. Bejarano said the chairman of the board of the Miss Texas pageant has rated A&M’s pageant as the best among college pageants, and noted that three Aggies excelled at the Miss Texas pageant. “Sheri Ryman won the Miss Texas pageant and was fourth at Miss America,” Bejarano said, “and Cindy Green was a first runner-up at Miss Texas. Catherine (Vincent) re ceived a Judges Award. This is an award for someone who doesn’t make the top 20, but who the judges feel has great potential and talent.” Bejarano said steps are being taken to safeguard against another huge pageant deficit. “I would love to have the books myself so I could see where we stand all the time, but the MSC and the University don’t work that way,” she said. “We have monthly meetings with our adviser to discuss our bud get situation.” A new Miss Texas A&M will be crowned Saturday at 7 p.m. in Rud der Tower. ct- 1 lycart toqto al# ce# dons. don. :hil drow ren. ndetf ren. onmtf vital fa THE PERFECT GIFT. FOR YOURSELF!! Whether you are looking for yourself, a friend, your parents or a special alumn, this is the perfect gift. The hand crafted wreaths incorporate the school’s most common symbol, the state in which the school is located and a hand crafted ribbon all done in the school’s colors. Not only are these wreaths available for most schools, but also for most sororities or fraternities. Order your special gift today. dthe “Aggie Wreath” This product is made of non-edible dough. ORDER TODAY! Call Toll Free (for credit card orders only) 1-800-442-4799, ext. 804 (in Texas); 1-800-752-0001, ext. 804 (out of Texas), or mail in the order form below. Date: □ Payment enclosed (check or money order) We accept: □ MasterCard □ VISA Acct. No.: Ex. Date — Signature: Name 1 Address City/State Zip to# -t" $9.95 12" $2-4.95 Subtotal x Sales tax 6.25% x Ship.. Hdlg. & Insur. $2.50 per item * TOTAL x L Mail to: Homemade Originals • P.O. Box 624 • Euless, Texas 76039 Allow -t to 6 weeks for deliver. THE 1986-87 AGGIELAND WILL BETAKING YOUR PICTURE... AGAIN! MARCH 2 UNTIL MARCH 6 AJAR PHOTOGRAPHY 707 TEXAS AVE. SUITE 1200 8:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M. AND 1:00 P.M.-5:00 P.M. MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY