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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 1987)
Friday, July 17, 1987/The Battalion/Page 3 <e You’ rf nieontt 'line [.i r, agine ; State and Local Graduate student spends time 1 ■ helping handicapped people use is executive director of non-profit garden center ties takeofi ial By Kathryn McMinn )m 1 jl Reporter Wan !; Wheelchairs, ramps, widened estarte. doorways — all are a part of life for ca the handicapped. Each must adjust hi a wo, 'ld ill-equipped to handle .f 3 ea ^eir wants and needs. " e P>!-1 Although a familiar sight in our rningtr everyday world, not everybody can mem.: i accept these people and their imper- ve be; fections. ; Who, then, are the people who peach, encourage and love the hand- lv S 00 - icapped? itratk: ‘ Richard Muse, with sweat drip ping from his brow and an ever-pre sent grin across his face, charges j oso through the parking lot like an elec- , Iron orbiting its nucleus, cursing the sides Texas sun all the while. The tall, heavy-set executive di- ector of Geranium Junction — a non-profit garden center run by the isabled — hails from Washington State, with a bit of a northern accent Itill on his tongue. I Muse began working with the dis- allynot abled during his junior year in high pchool. ’ ,1| “I chose to become a member of Pf, fsthe Student Council for Exceptional ildnil: Children, a high-school affiliate of ithersii $he national Council for Exceptional Some Children,” Muse says. “I suppose 1 0uld[V c ou ld have tried out for the glee club j"M>r science club, but this seemed cesai milir. ilion, much more interesting. I “We spent time with disabled chil dren, learning to care for them and jjPvork with them,” he says. “I never Bhad a problem working with the dis abled. We all have disanilities of one Rype or another. When 1 take off my felasses, it is difficult for me to see, so that counts as a disability.” Muse leaned forward in his seat, Hiis voice rising in his determination to make a point. j “Please let me stand on my soap box for a moment,” he says. “Disabi- Ipities do not mean that you cannot function or have an intelligent thought. Having a disability simply means just that — you have a disabil ity. When your disability prevents ou from completing day-to-day asks, then it becomes a handicap.” After graduating from high school, Muse moved to Flagstaff, ‘ riz. and received an undergrad uate degree in vocational education. Although he spent several years caching secondary special educa tion classes to people with devel opmental disabilities, Muse also en- ed in other forms of work, including driving nails for a con struction company and working at a sawmill. “I basically bounced around doing a lot of different things,” he says. “Working for the construction com pany paid well, but I just didn’t en joy it. “We all have a variety ol interests and I think for me, it would be diffi- ; to kilj' :gard: runkf; ainlyt' Agaif outer' iarsli f e P tte- i lik el itenft dll ecasf otbe il oref ases’ Iarg r; Jisfi'* !/# Men accused of gun-running denied bail HOUSTON (AP) — Two Loui siana men indicted on weapons and conspiracy charges were or dered held without bail after prosecutors showed videotapes of the men discussing plans to com mit crimes, including weapons sales to Iran. Martin David Johnson, 31, and James Charles Smith, 51, are each charged with seven weapons vio lations and one charge each of conspiring to rob and assault a state-registered weapons dealer. The indictment was returned Wednesday by a federal grand jury. During a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Karen Brown, pros ecutors said investigators had made about 100 clandestine vi deotapes of the men discussing E lans to sell gunboats to Iran, tunder drug money, steal gre nades from a national armory and distribute drugs. The men were arrested July 10 following a six-month investiga tion by the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, during which agents bought five machine guns from the pair, au thorities said. During one videotape played Wednesday, Smith was shown bragging about three contract murders he performed and of his expertise with explosives and poi sons. Johnson was identified as pres ident and chief executive officer of Allied Offshore Marine Corp., based in Morgan City, La. which provides equipment vessels for offshore drilling rigs. Smith is an employee of Johnson. Photo by Carolyn Garca Richard Muse, right, executive director of Geranium Junction, of fers some pointers to employee Albert Glover as he gives the foliage a cool drink. The shop is located at 2510 Texas Ave. in Bryan. cult to stand at a copy machine eight hours a day. I have to be out doing, seeing and interacting with people to be happy.” Muse’s desire to further his career in the education field brought him to Texas A&M, where he is working on his master’s degree. “I finally decided to work on my master’s in vocational education at A&M when I was offered this posi tion at Geranium Junction,” he says. On top of his classes and research, Muse says he spends well over 40 hours a week at Geranium Junction. “Besides working at the center it self, I am required to attend board meetings and city council meetings — which is where I’m supposed to be now,” he says. “I’ve been referred to by people as a true workaholic,” he says. “I enjoy my work; it makes working easy. It’s vital to me — probably, in many ways, one of the most important things I have experienced. “I prefer my line of work,” he says. “I’m content with it. It’s inter esting. It’s fun.” Although seemingly invincible. Muse says there are times when he faces many frustrations. He partic ularly disagrees with many adminis trative tactics. “We’re all cowering under this back-to-basics thing,” Muse says. “If you take a person who is 18 years old and is reading at a third-grade level, we’re not going to remediate. Reme diate means something we can fix. Disabilities, handicaps and mental retardation are not fixable; they are things we must accept. “The school systems and state programs should concentrate on training these individuals toward something more appropriate to their needs and wants. Instead, they often use a system that places them ran domly in whatever training pro grams and jobs happen to be avail able and convenient in order to fill that slot. “With the money allotted to hand icapped programs, the dollars should go to the individuals them selves, to be placed in a position they enjoy. Instead, they go directly to the programs. What benefits do the handicapped receive if they aren’t training in an area they are capable of and happy working in? “I don’t mean to be cynical toward the school systems; I mean to be a support system for them. T here are many things 1 can think of within the system that could stand revitaliza tion, but then I guess that could be said for any organization.” In order for improvements to be made within the handicapped pro grams, Muse says, people must be open to change. “I look at myself more as a change agent than as a director, boss or su pervisor,” he says. “There is always need for constant change and it must start with those in charge.” Muse’s co-workers respect the changes he has brought to Gera nium Junction. “I can remember having a bunch of white petunias in stock, but need ing pink ones for my customer,” says Byron Utz, a senior at A&M and owner of Fairview Nursery. “I loaded the petunias in my truck and took them to Geranium Junction to see if they might trade with me. Muse switched flowers without any questions asked at all. I think that de picts a good businessman as well as a good person.” Change for the better results f rom those willing to lake a risk and to ac cept people for who they are, Muse says. “There are times when I don’t know how to respond to people with certain types of handicaps,” lie says. “We’re all human, and there are just certain things we are conditioned to accept and reject. “Because of our differences, our levels of acceptance range. We can not, however, close our minds to those who differ from us mentally or physically. It is not my place to con demn a person to a life of institu tions simply because he or she has limitations as to what he or she is ca pable of handling.” After receiving his master’s de gree from A&M, Muse hopes to move on in his field by working with staff development in local school dis tricts. V “A lot of us base how we view our lives on past experiences,” he says. “I have had many fine experiences working with the handicapped. What it all boils down to are personal and professional values.” Senate passes bill allowing nuclear waste site at El Paso AUST IN (AP) — State senators passed a bill Thurs day that would allow a low-level radioactive waste site to be located near El Paso — whether or not El Paso wants it. The bill, approved 28-2, goes next to the House. Sen. Judy Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said the bill was needed to help end the long controversy over location of a place to dispose of low-level wastes produced as by products of medical, industrial and research activitis. Currently such wastes produced in Texas are shipped to Washington state, Nevada and South Caro lina. But Texas faces a 1991 deadline to provide its own site. “The reason you want the site in Hudspeth County (near El Paso) is so they won’t put it in your district,” said Sen. Tati Santiesteban, D-El Paso. Zaffirini said, “If the site is not put in Hudspeth County, we will have to spend another $10 million to find another site and it could be located in anybody’s district.” In 1981, the Legislature created the Texas Low- Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority and gave it money to look for the “best” disposal site. The authority made several possible site selections, but before a final decision was made the 1985 Legis lature said the site must be on state-owned land. Zaffirini said the authority was about to name a site at Fort Hancock, in Hudspeth County, 13 miles from El Paso, but El Paso County obtained a court order halting the selection process. The lawsuit said the authority had not located the “best” site and should not be limited to only state-owned land. Her bill would direct the authority only to name a “suitable” site and provides additional safeguards in op eration of the site. Santiesteban offered an amendment that would pre vent the waste disposal site from being located closer than 25 miles from any county that has over 450,000 population. The amendment was defeated, 21-8. Close vote by Dallas City Council places 7 judges on paid leave DALLAS (AP) — The city’s chief administrative judge and six other municipal judges have until Monday to respond to the Dallas City Coun cil’s decision placing them on paid leave. A divided council voted 6-5 Wednesday in favor of the move, which proponents called the first step in revamping the court and fir ing the judges. The sweep of the bench was nec essary because Administrative Judge Richard Sacks has been unable to control other judges and because of petty charges made by the associate judges in a so-called mutiny against Sacks, council members said. Only twojudges remain on the bench. “Right now, the system isn’t work ing, partly because of the personali ties involved,” said Councilman Craig Holcomb, who voted in favor of placing the judges on paid leave. “We’re going to try to see if a new system will work.” Dallas Mayor Annette Strauss, who cast a favorable vote, said the council will meet Wednesday to de cide whether the judges should be removed. She said a task force would be appointed to study the municipal court system and suggest immprove- ments. EASTGATE IYE presents BRYAN COLLEGE STATIONS £PE E I u A E L sts ^ ^ X, the x Footnotes IN THE WM7 SCHULMAN THEATRES 2.50 ADMISSION 1. Any Show Before 3 PM 2. Tuesday - All Seats 3. Mon-Wed - Local Students With Current ID s 4. 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LOUPOT’S BOOKSTORE Northgate - Across from the Post Office Sarah Watts Pianist'T eacher Degree, piano, and two years’ Piano Faculty, Baylor Unk’ersity “Serious Students of all Ages'” <822-6856 A HB M mHb ^ ■" CLINICS AM/PM Clinics Minor Emergencies 10% Student Discount with ID card 3820 Texas Ave. Bryan, Texas 846-4756 401 S. Texas Ave. Bryan, Texas 779-4756 8a.m.-11 p.m. 7 days a week Walk-In Family Practice THEATRE GUIDE A secretary said Sacks was on va cation and the other judges were in court when calls for comment were made Thursday by the Associated Press. The judges also declined com ment after the council meeting. Bradley Lollar, president of the Dallas Criminal Bar Association, said, “We feel that in firing the judges and then appointing a study committee, the council has put the cart before the horse.” In May, the six municipal judges gave the council a report asking for the removal of Sacks. They claimed he had mismanaged the office and misappropriated funds. Jaws: The Revenge (PG-13) Sat & Sun 2:10 4:10 7:10 9:10 Post Oak Mall Beverly Hills Cop <r> Sat & Sun 2:15 4:45 7:15 9:30. No SZ 50 Tubs. j Cinema III Robo Cop < R > Sat-Sun 2:05 4:15 7:10 9:20 Post Oak Mall Spaceballs (PG) Sat & Sun 2:05 4:15 7:15 9:25 - Cinema III ! Dragnet (pgi3) Sat-Sun 2:00 4:30 7:15 9:20 Post Oak Mall Predator ,r) Sat & Sun 2:00 4:30 7:00 9:25 Cinema III Summer Kids Show: Yogi Bear lues. 7/21 & Wed. 7/22 10:00 am Post Oak Mall