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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1988)
Page 8/The Battalion/Thursday, January 21,1988 Villa Maria Bank Post Oak Bank The Bryan-College Station Branches of the First State Bank in Caldwell Welcomes Aggies We offer convenience. With all the banking services you want and need... From regular check ing and savings accounts to Certificates of Deposit and Money Market Checking...We’ve got your account. So, save time and avoid the long lines. Our Maroon & White Account Offers You £7] No per check charge {7} Unlimited checking privileges No average or minimum balance 0 Only $7.00 per month [7] Free mdass card 1001 Villa Maria Road Bryan, Texas 77805 (409) 779-1001 0 Free cash advances for Mastercard & Visa \VeYe\bur Kind of Bank. 701 Harvey Road College Station, Texas 77840 (409) 696-5483 Member FDIC CHI PHI Spring Rush u 1988 Just Slightly Ahead of its Time // THUR JAN 21 SAT THUR SAT SUN JAN 23 JAN 28 JAN 30 JAN 31 Follow the Spotlight Party with Sneaky Pete Into the Night Party That Was Then This Is Now Wine-Cheese Party Invitation Only Super Bowl Party come watch with us For More Information Call: —Scott Lardie - Rush Chairman 764-7882 —Kyle Buchanan - President 846-3462 HOUSE# 846-3462 TAMU Researcher: Future rests on technology By Ashley Bailey Reporter The future of the United States rests with the application of ad vanced technology and the competi tion that exists in the open market place on a worldwide basis, a U.S. Army researcher said Wednesday night at the College Station Hilton. Dr. Jay Sculley, the assistant secre tary of Army research development and acquisition, told Construction Executive Program members that because of its ties to technology, the Army both depends on and helps the construction industry. The Army has 300,000 physical plant buildings in need of repair, he said. It also owns 155,000 houses; 500 million square miles of paved surfaces; 48,000 miles of storm sewer, electrical or sanitary lines and over 3,000 miles of railroads — all of which would cost about $170 billion to replace, Sculley said. Sculley said the statistics provide stark evidence that the U.S. armed services must find a new way to re place or restore their constructions at a cost that taxpayers can afford. In the past fiscal year the Army corps of engineers awarded ton- tracts in excess of $4 billion for its military construction program and another $2 billion to civilian compa nies, he said. About 98 percent of the military contracts and about 97 percent of the civilian contracts were awarded on a competitive basis, with about 57 percent of those contracts given to small businesses, he said. “I would say that the corps of en gineers, even within the Army, is a leader in competitive contracts and in paying attention to the socio-eco nomic goals instilled by the small- business administration," Sculley said. “It’s my job to beat those sot io- economic goals, but it’s also my job to insure that competition is fair and open and that we get the most for the taxpayer’s dollar.” The requirement lor efficient and cost-effective construction provides a focus for the Army laboratory re search development program, he said. Army research is directed to ward exploiting technology in order to stretch the miliiarv construction dollar, he said. The Army’s program involves! dividual-paced learning, comp: aided instruction, video hr- discs, work simulations and learning aids, he said. These help the construction industryi fessiouai become aware of te logical advancements in the place, he said. The federal government more money on research thanj other organizations combined,n has supported six Nobel Prize; mug efforts, he said. “The expertise found in search and development labsist a national resource — notjusti tense hut also in health and! resources,” Scullev said. “We are standing on the vergeS let hnologic .il breakthroughs is® nifuant as any we’ve seen uioutagH lization," he said. "The federal; ?; eminent must take full advania;<j§l each technological opportunitywi presents itself and be sure lha; results of eac h are transferredkM; diistts because technology and; petition is c»ui future.’’ WWII veteran kills man in front of wife, police say KERRVILLE (AP) — A World War II veteran angry about his med ical claim shot and killed his claims counselor as the victim’s wife and other workers watched in horror Wednesday, police said. Rufus William Smith, 63, of Fred ericksburg, was charged with mur der in the shooting death of John Walker Pettit, 54, a veterans affairs counselor with the Texas Veterans Commission. Justice of the Peace Pat Knox set a $300,000 bond, and Smith was being held in the Kerr County Jail Wednesday night. The suspect had walked into Pet tit’s office, adjacent to the Veterans Administration Medical about 9:20 a.m., police Detective Joe Fanning said. “There was an argument in refer ence to some benefits that he felt he was entitled to and he produced a weapon and shot (Pettit),” Fanning said. Pettit’s wife, Linda, a clerk at the hospital, was in her husband’s office when the shooting occurred. Othei workers witnessed the shooting as well, officials said. Fanning declined to describe the weapon or the number of shots fired. He said the suspect surren dered peacefully to hospital security officers. Pettit’s body w'as taken to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s of fice for an autopsy, Fanrimgsi: Hospital spokesman Bob Fair si? Pettit had worked as the sole 'f • ans’ affairs counselor in Ken', since August 1979. Pettit helped veterans bv trad dow n medical and bank records^ military files to assist theminfil claims. "John had plenty of friends here. He was deeply involved v all veterans organizations," Fairs “He was not one of these fa«- people. He would get out among veterans groups and help their, well as he could." Fair said the suspec t was a W War 11 veteran who had beenrecc ing medical treatment. Discrimination files of federal agency missing in backlog DALLAS — Two dozen people who filed age discrimination com plaints have waited two years for ac tion, but their cases were lost in a huge backlog in the district office of a federal agency, officials said. The Dallas office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commis sion has the largest caseload of the agency’s 23 district offices, District Director Lorenzo Ramirez said. Its 37 investigators resolve about 3,200 cases a year but this year have 5,800 complaints pending, he said. The 24 age discrimination cases, on which the two-year statute of lim itations has expired, had priority but were lost in the shuffle of the heavy caseload, which includes increasing numbers of equal pay, sex and race discrimination complaints, Ramirez said. “The problem is just getting to the complaints, and the impact is on the people who have to wait for the re sults,” he said. A 32-year-old Dallas truck driver, who asked that his name not be used, filed a race discrimination complaint two years ago. He said he’s still waiting tor an Ef-LH inling that could allow him to recover dam ages from his former employer. “It’s lousy to be poor, broke and waiting for the federal government to act on your behalf,” he said. “You go to the federal government for re lief because they are the only source of help for those without money. But they take their time, and you wait and wait.” Ramirez said he doesn’t have enough workers for the caseload the Dallas office handles, and the work ers he does have are frustrated by red tape. The office has a six-, 12- and 18- month warning system on age dis crimination cases to avoid losing complaints because of the two-year deadline, he said. “The EEOC is the best there is,” Ramirez said, “ft is about the only thing there is to Help people discrim inated against. In these field offices, we are the most active and available source to protect the civil rights of the common man.” But the 24 people whose com plaints have expired have lost their chances for legal redress. PUC grants extension in GSU casf AUSTIN (AP) — The Pub! j Utility Commission on W’ednt j dav approved a two-week delayi’l the Cult States Utilities ratecasti after the company said it coni'a not meet today’s deadline forII | ing further information. The deadline for deciding tbfI case, which had been set for Mon If day, is now Feb. 1. Commissioners have asked fa| further information, including documents about CSU’S federal tax payments and the moneytbtj company is spending on theraltl case. The three-member panel oJ Tuesday had approved a 90-da ! | delay in the case in order tohea'l more testimony about GST River Bend nuclear plant in Si| Francisville, La. But that plan was scrappl when company President E.Lin: Draper said GSU would need at* interim rate hike in order ic| avoid running out of mone while the case was pending. It is the longest case in Plf| history and includes the commit sion’s first-ever review of nudearl plant expenses. FisliCamp FISH CAMP ’88 CO-CHAIRMAN APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE NOV. 16-25 PAVILION 213 AT SECRETARY’S DESK