Friday, July 17, 1987/The Battalion/Page 3
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State and Local
Graduate student spends time
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helping handicapped people
use is executive director of non-profit garden center
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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-
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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
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RAISING ARIZONA
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701 University Drive East ZOU-ylo^f-
WE BUYBOOKS
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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