Monday, August 31, 1987/The Battalion/Page 5A
IcC
\oys pricked by needle advised to get AIDS test
IRING (AP) — The mother of a
j.year-old boy said a doctor has ad-
hepatitis and AIDS tests for
anc * severa ^ ot h er children
™were pricked by a 10-year-old
late with a hypodermic needle
&iart of a initiation rite to a secret
“My son came in screaming,
imy, Mommy, they stuck me
Sith a needle,’ ” said the boy’s
iother, who asked that she not be
lentified.
I|y “I was sewing at the time, and I
lought he meant a sewing needle of
some sort,” the woman told the Con
roe Courier.
“I didn’t think anything about it
until the next day,” she said.
“You don’t think of a 10-year-old
running around with a hypodermic
needle,” she said.
That was Wednesday.
By Thursday evening, the child’s
arm was red and swollen, according
to a report by detective Mickey Wor
ley of the Montgomery County sher
iffs department.
Upon further questioning, the
woman learned from her son that
the needle was not a sewing needle,
but a hypodermic needle.
Authorities investigating the
woman’s complaint said the 10-year-
old boy at first denied pricking the
woman’s child in the arm, but later
confessed.
He said he found the hypodermic
needle in a vacant home next door,
Worley’s report said.
The 10-year-old gave an account
of an initiation rite to some type of
secret club and said his 14-year-old
brother pricked his arm with the
needle.
The 10-year-old said he in turn
then pricked the arms of six other
boys, according to the detective’s re
port.
However, the 10-year-old’s ac
count differed from the version of
another child, who said the needle
came from the 10-year-old’s house,
from his brother’s drawer, the
mother of the 6-year-old said Satur
day.
Montgomery County sheriffs of
ficers tried to find the needle, but
the children said they had dumped it
down a sewer line.
Spring is 25 miles north of Hous
ton on Interstate 45.
The woman took her child to the
Woodlands Community Hospital, 10
miles north of Spring.
There a doctor said the redness
around the puncture wound and the
swelling indicated bacteria under the
skin.
The bacteria could enter the
bloodstream, the doctor said, advis
ing her to have her son tested for he
patitis in two weeks and for AIDS in
six months, she said.
Six of the seven children pricked
with the hypodermic needle have
had a reaction and must be tested
for hepatitis and for AIDS, the
woman said.
“They tell me it was a needle like
one used by drug users,” she said.
A woman supervisor in the Wood
lands Community Hospital said Sun
day that no one was available to com
ment on the incident.
The spokesman said she did not
know which doctor might have
treated any of the youths and that no
one would be available to comment
on the matter until today.
A LOO 15
LLY DOft
fficials: Vacationers saw attractions
Texas, but tourism fell by 4 percent
— The oil-busted Texas
;onbmy didn’t keep vacationers
VYvay from major state attractions
lis year, but overall visitation
M^rtelvide was down an estimated 4
ercent from 1986, industry officials
lid.
Q' Last week, heading toward the
osq of the summer tourist season,
tions such as Six Flags Over
u ; iexas and Wef N Wild in Arlington
nd | Astroworld in Houston re-
orted sizable increases in atten
dee.
But many families took shorter
^Rions than in years past, fre-
uented only big attractions and
jayed within easy driving distance
fnome to hold down costs with the
Hrtain economy, officials said.
“Most of the attractions I’ve talked
'ilare having a good summer, but
. eople are staying closer to home,
) png shorter trips and staying with
2'^Bas and relatives,” says Murrell
ogte r > director of visitor devel-
ppent for the Dallas Convention &
Hors Bureau. “People are still be-
Hvery, very cautious with the
^■Hding.”
Statewide, a letdown from the
LJ| 986 Sesquicentennial celebration,
He attacks along the Gulf Coast
B“negative publicity” of the state’s
^ Hal economy were blamed for a
\ Infliglu decline in overall visitation.
f I T oc *cl’ director of the Texas
Iburist Development Agency in
. lustin, says, “When the Dallas Cow-
few I
boys don’t win, you can’t get a
crowd. When Texas is perceived as
being a bust, then people won’t want
to come down here. People want a
winner.”
Also, while some major theme
parks benefited from visitors travel
ing short distances, other smaller at
tractions across the state were hurt
by the combination of early rains
up from about $16 billion in 1985,
Todd said. No cash totals for 1987
are available, but Todd suspects fig
ures may be down.
A tourist agency survey of se
lected private attractions showed Six
Flags and Astroworld with 6 percent
increases over last year through July.
Six Flags attendance totaled 1.77
million, up from 1.66 million, and
“People are staying closer to home, taking shorter trips
and staying with friends and relatives. ”
— Murrell Foster, director of visitor development for
the Dallas Convention 8c Visitors Bureau
and reduced travel from some oil-
depressed regions, Todd told the
Dallas Morning News.
The tourism agency, based on
surveys of private attractions and
public parks and museums, esti
mated total visitation through July
this year of 29.6 million tourists,
compared with 30.8 million for the
first seven months of 1986.
The number of out-of-state trav
elers passing through Texas’ 12 visi
tor information centers declined 9.1
percent to just more than 2 million
through July, from more than 2.2
million in 1986, the Texas Depart
ment of Highways and Public Trans
portation reported.
Tourist expenditures in 1986 pro
duced revenue of about $17 billion,
Astroworld had attracted almost 1.1
million visitors, up from 1.04 mil
lion.
Visitors to the state’s museums
slipped to 4.29 million, down 7 per
cent from 4.61 million, while state
parks registered 13.17 million visi
tors, down 5 percent from 13.83 mil
lion. Attendance at national parks
and seashores was 3.17 million, up 3
percent from 3.06 million; and at
national forests, 1.05 million, up 14
percent from 920,337.
Tourist agency spokesman O.C.
Garza says, “Last year was a record
year for most private attractions be
cause of the Sesquicentennial, espe
cially during the first four months of
the year. It’s a pretty normal year,
other than the fact the economy has
been in a downturn.”
The hotel economy generally
across the state ranged from soft in
the West Texas Permian Basin re
gion to excellent in the Brownsville-
South Padre Island area, said Don
Hansen, executive vice president of
the Texas Hotel & Motel Associa
tion. In fact, South Padre Island per
haps has been the brightest spot for
Texas tourism in 1987.
The South Padre Island Tourist
Bureau this year introduced an ag
gressive advertising campaign tar
geting major Texas urban centers
and positioning South Padre against
the “Texas Riviera” theme used suc
cessfully by competitors at the north
ern end of the island and Corpus
Christi.
Up the coast in Galveston, tourists
generally followed the statewide
trend, staying fewer nights and
spending less, said Jack Bushong,
executive director of the Galveston
Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Hotel room-nights were down about
1 percent from last year, and shop
pers at the Strand’s row of 62 shops
and boutiques did more looking than
buying, he said.
Astroworld regained tourist busi
ness from Southern Louisiana that it
lost last year with the severe oil-in
dustry decline, accounting in large
part for gains in attendance, said De
bra Ford, the park’s public relations
director.
landmark' sign sends
conflicting messages
to Carrollton citizens
CARROLLTON (AP) — A
rainbow-colored sign that for six
years has been atop a grain eleva
tor near Interstate 35 in a north
Dallas suburb is considered by
some to be a landmark.
But others hate the sign, which
advertises the World of Faith
Outreach Center in Farmers
Branch, and think it ought to be
changed to something that pro
motes the community.
The elevator, owned by Lee
and Dorothy Groves, owners of
Groves Electrical Services, bears
the message “Jesus is Lord,”
along with a Word of Faith tele
phone number. Another side of
the tower urges passers-by to
“Visit Word of Faith This Sun
day.”
Consultant Dennis Wilson
asked 80 local merchants for their
opinions about good and bad as-
{ oects of Old Downtown Carrol-
ton and said the sign was high on
both lists.
“I think a lot of people were
concerned about the sign in gen
eral, but a lot of people associate
it with Carrollton,” said Wilson,
whose company, Wilson Killinger
Inc., was hired by the city to de
vise a revitalization plan for the
Old Downtown area.
Mayor Pro Tern John Heath
said city officials hope to lease the
tower and replace the sign with a
painted message telling motorists
they have entered Carrollton.
“We wanted to see if we could
use any of the hotel-motel tax
money to put up a sign or logo
that would be supportive of our
city,” Heath said. Heath said
some City Council members dis
cussed a leasing arrangement sev
eral months ago with Mrs. Groves
and that she appeared interested
in the offer.
But Mrs. Groves said no one
from the city has spoken to her
about leasing the grain elevator
since that meeting.
“Nothing has been decided on
that sign at all,” Mrs. Groves said.
Council member David Old
field said, “We just haven’t gotten
back with them to figure out the
dollars and just what we’re going
to do.”
Mary Groner, president of the
Old Downtown Carrollton Asso
ciation said, “I think that a Car
rollton logo would be real nice.”
Oldfield said he and other
members of the Old Downtown
Carrollton Association would like
to paint a sign on the grain eleva
tor that would urge motorists to
“Visit Charming Old Downtown
Carrollton.”
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Look what
will buy for the
campus-bound crowd!
Presto Corn Popper, reg. 15.00, sale 13.00,
your cost: 10.00 after 3.00 manufacturer’s
rebate. Cure the midnight munchies with our hot
air unit that pops up to 4 quarts in 3 minutes. But
ter melter doubles as a handy measuring cup.
Conair Hair Dryer, everyday value price 15.00,
your cost: 10.00 after 5.00 manufacturer’s
rebate. Compact, lightweight 1250 watt blow
dryer is a perfect portable for dormitory use. It
has dual voltage and a one year warranty.
Remington Fuzz-Away Clothes Shaver,
reg. 12.00, sale 10.00. A clever way to get
high marks in personal appearance. Whisk away
unsightly pills, threads and fuzzies from any gar
ment with our cordless, battery operated shaver.
Uses C batteries (not included).
Clip on fan, everyday value price 10.00. Beat
the heat, be it weather or study-related, with our
great little two-speed personal fan. In an array of
popular colors with coordinating cords and clips.
Ideal for office, dorm, home or workshop.
Clip on light, everyday value price 10.00. A
versatile gooseneck metal lamp that clips easily on
to desk, headboard, bookcase.. .wherever you need
it. It features a sturdy metal clip and standard size
socket. In lavendar, turquoise, red, peach or white.
Book light, everyday value price 10.00.
Whether you are hitting the books or immersed in
a whodunnit, your roomie will not be disturbed
when you use our handy light. It clips onto your
book, and is battery or adaptor-powered.
Dillards
SHOP DILLARD’S MONDAY THRU SATURDAY 10-9, SUNDAY 12-6; POST OAK MALL, HARVEY ROAD AT HIGHWAY 6 BYPASS. COLLEGE STATION 764-00M. AMERICAN EXPRESS CARD WELCOME.