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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1988)
Monday, February 1, 1988/The Battalion/Page 9 ifth-graders raise funds to save Battleship Texas ~~ The D J SI mor eoS] other fflcla| s Sa ,J officers i'] 8 efforts, ’pie wer e eek . but ny ted. 1 :ha PPel| e 'artment’s’J five of ||j] on to drop. I lcer John I nvn Jan. jjl t. andjaj * r shot to I a pair ( ;j “fruiter fJ >ast, recruiiJ s tions aboj alias, the (I ably spend f •stions peiJ and what d las now," □ departmerjj retirenteiiij eaths of]#! aid that kJ te since jJ remain on I ds outweijil feel like J fiing," saidl led the del >u want to kJ S. Just goirl monev d< J :e t to end tin ^ about tht 1 their ecou not happ . Ali AJim f about 50' ested outsid “Itvered te . should® at the Epi g out thef ■ HOUSTON (AP) — A nickel cam paign 40 years ago to bring the bat tleship USS Texas home has ir|spired 26 inflation-conscious f ifth- gjaders who hope to help restore the rusting ship. ■ Struck by the Battleship Texas' boor condition during a field trip Kt fall, the pupils at Millsap El- einentary School in the Cvprus- Fairbanks school system began brainstorming. ■ Teacher Cassie Johnson said her Bass of gif ted and talented pupils in the school’s Horizons program ' turned to the history books. I Johnson said her pupils learned that 5-cent contributions from ‘youngsters were responsible for the decommissioned battleship's post- par berth at San Jacinto State Park in 1948. I Her class came up with a “Give Two-Bits for Texas” fund-raiser in which pupils in public sc hools across Texas will be asked to chip in 25 cents apiece. “Naturally, the grandchildren of those children in 1948 came up with the idea of starting a campaign to help the battleship,” Johnson said. “Only inflation has made it a quarter today.” Ten-year-old Mark Simon said the ship “had lots of rust and a bunch of places were closed off” when the class toured it Oct. 24. “We all started talking about it and then we voted for this idea — mostly because our grandparents paid to bring it here,” he said. “We want to help keep it here.” Chris Moore, 10, said he was opti mistic about the ship’s fate. “Even if our idea doesn’t work, it was a good try," he said. “Somehow we’ll get it restored.” First sighting of rare bird draws crowds PHARR (AP) — Birdwatchers from across the United States are flocking to a tiny wildlife refuge in South Texas because of the first confirmed sighting in the United States of the crane hawk, a long-legged Mexican bird with a sharp beak. Nita Fuller, manager of the ! Santa Ana National Wildlife Ref uge, said the bird first showed up at the refuge along the Rio Grande on Dec. 19. Since then, she said, the orange-legged bird with sharp talons has found a re ady supply of frogs, its favorite food. The bird is common in the Mexican states of Sonora and Ta- maulipas, across the border from Texas. The 2,000-acre refuge near Pharr, winter home to about two dozen rare species, was already a popular spot for birding. Last year, about 110,000 visitors from across North America came to the refuge. Since the crane hawk arrived, the refuge has drawn up to 900 visitors a day. “People are Hying in here from all over. The bird has created quite a stir,” Fuller said. Residents argue over building park in embattled town CRYSTAL BEACH, Texas (AP) — Some residents of this town, still locked in a court battle over incorpo ration, don’t want the community to build a $640,000 park. More than 100 people jammed a hearing Saturday and about 30 spoke out in opposition to the pro posed 15.7 acre park. “This park is a fiasco from a pre vious administration,” Leon Gas- pard of Crystal Beach told City Council members presiding at the public hearing. “You’re caught up in it, but that doesn’t mean you have to continue it. When you make a mis take you should get out of it. That’s why divorces were made. It’s time to divorce ourselves from this park.” In 1985, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department awarded Crys tal Beach a matching $322,200 grant to build the park. City officials purchased 4.4 acres of land for $120,000 from Sand piper Development Inc., owned by developer Gregory Cobb. Cobb do nated the remaining 11 acres. The wildlife department has given the city a credit of $158,600 for remaining park construction, but state officials suspended the project following a vote to disincorporate the town this past April. When a visiting judge overturned the election in August, state officials asked the city to consider completing the park, even though an appeal of the decision voiding the dismeorpo- ration election is still pending before the Texas Court of Civil Appeals. Mayor Bill Kelsey said Crystal Beach could acquire the park cost- free because its portion of the matching grant is offset by the value of the land the state would use. He estimated maintenance costs at $10,000 per year. Resident Hank Marsh said,“With this park you get nothing for noth ing,” adding that the city could not maintain the park for $10,000. “If government would stop spending money we don’t have, we could get back to Fixing roads and things that are essential,” he said. Crystal Beach resident Dottie Wells was the only citizen who ad dressed the council to speak in favor of the new park. “I was involved in Little League, and Noble Park had holes and rocks in the grass that put the kids in dan ger,” Wells said. “They need a de cent place to play.” tion-and-®! i speech,! to resohtl iddle Haiti i ration lospital’s charity under scrutiny work infl HOUSTON (AP) — The last of us truil the 10 defendants in the Hermann Hospital Trust scandal was sen- |tenced last week, but problems for the hospital’s estate may not be over. ■ “We suspect they may not be liv- Hig up to all of the charitable t agreement,” Assistant Attorney ■fnt' ! General Mary Keller said. ■ The agreement was made to get the Texas attorney general to drop a lawsuit against the Hermann trust ies to force them to provide charity hospital care. The core of the greement calls for the Hermann Tust to create a $100 million en- owment for charity care at Her- ann Hospital. iy. m But Hermann has had problems ick theuT selling its real estate assets to get en- | )e piesidj dowment capital. Although it has Inly $2 million in the endowment fund, Hermann officials insist they re meeting their charitable obliga- ions. The scandal surrounding the JHermann Trust, formerly called the Hermann Hospital Estate, first came crs re-:; to light three years ago. _||f Not only were there specific alle- ations of theft from the estate and ospital, but there were revelations nn. (AP) lers Coi'P; ejected ai smart toK that the hospital, created to be a charity facility, was not being run as a charity. Attorney General Jim Mattox filed suit in 1985 to force the trust ees to provide some charity care, but the suit was dropped and Hermann trustees agreed to devote a portion of the hospital to charity. The agreement, however, has never been approved by a court, and Hermann officials are asking the state not to seek formal approval. Keller said if the trust isn’t meeting its charitable obligations, the state will likely seek judicial approval of the agreement, which was reached in October 1985. Tom Alexander, an attorney for the Hermann trustees, said he has suggested that the attorney general not seek court approval of the char ity agreement because the legal fees would be too costly. The agreement between the trust and the attorney general calls for the trustees to create a $100 million charity endowment by 1990 and dedicate the trust to the charitable goals of the hospital’s founder, George Hermann. But reaching the $100 million goal has proved difficult, according to E. Don Walker, president of the Hermann Trust. Houston’s poor real estate market has made selling the estate’s prop erties for a fair price impossible, he said. Walker said Hermann spent $16.1 million on charity care in 1986 and $17.6 million in 1987. Another $17 million is scheduled to be spent on charity in 1988. About $500,000 of the money is in annual grants to community health care projects. Former Gov. Mark White, the newest trustee on the Hermann board, said if all the trust’s assets were applied to charity, the trust would have no assets left and the hospital would be penniless. He said the major portion of Her mann’s charity work involves indi gent emergency patients brought to the hospital on Life Flight helicopt ers. Clyde Wilson, the private investi gator who worked on the estate in vestigation, said he doesn’t think the scandal forced the Hermann trust ees to change their approach to charity. rate © !!(£(© (HUB Contemporary Christian Concert featuring 3KBik 9 ^ The Heritage Singers Rudder Auditorium Monday, February 1, 1988 Tickets $2.00 at the door 7:30 PM fetal fatcti Florist 707 Texas Ave. 696-6713 All major cards accepted by telephone Johnson said her pupils are cop ing with paper cuts suffered din ing long hours of envelope stuffing. They're mailing nearly 1,100 letters to school officials asking them to send an “SOS" — Save Out Ship — to their estimated 6 million pupils. The collection date is March 2 — Texas Independence Day. “On a good day, we should be able to raise $1.5 million, but I’m not sure how many will participate,” Johnson said. “But it’s too good an idea not to (work).” Meanwhile, the 73-year-old battle ship, refloated in December after an 11-week draining operation, is ex pected to be towed to dry dock sometime this year for major struc tural repairs. The $10 million restoration pro ject already has received a boost front a Save the Battleship alumi num can recycling drive. The Battalion 845-2611 <9 Auto Service “Auto Repair At Its Best” Complete Auto Service, Domestic & Imports 111 Royal 846-5344 Bryan Jose’s 4004 Harvey Rd, 11-9:45 Closed Mondays across S. College from Tom's BBQ W/SE ' MOVE __r«rA Outo RESTJUMAHT 9:30-8:45 Closed Mondays Buy one entree and get the second at 1/2 price Buy one entree at regular price and get a second entree of equal or less value for 1/2 regular price Serving the Finest Mexican Food in Bryan-College Station Coupon good Tuesday thru Thursday Jose’s 5-9:30 p.m. Zarape’s 5-8:30 p.m. Expires 3/17 M ust present coupon when ordering JITTERBUG Please note the date changes Sunday Feb 28, March 6, 27, April 3, 17 6:00-7:15pm $ 14/student $16/nonsludent Sunday Feb 28, March 6, 27, April 3, 17 7:30-8:45pm $ 14/student $ 16/nonstudent Registration Begins February 1st For further information, phone 845-1631. What does it take to be a member of the MSC Wiley Lecture Series? □ A genius I.Q. □ The ability 40 trace American foreign policy from the 1800’s to the present and name every signer of The Declaration of Inde pendence. '& / A A desire to have fun while educating A&M and the surround ing community by bringing international foreign policy-makers to campus. Stop by 216 MSC and fill out an application now through February 10. Information Sessions February 2 at 7:30 pm in 305 Rudder February 4 at 7:30 pm in 507 Rudder Starring Placido Domingo Directed by Franco Zeffirelli Tuesday, February 2, 1988 7:30pm Rudder Theatre, $2.50 with ID Supported by MSC Jordan Institute for International Awareness MSC Visual Arts cordially invites you to attend a reception for the opening of an exhibit, "Going in Style," a collection of international travel posters from the 1920s and 1930's, immediately following Otello in the MSC Gallery. This exhibit will be on display February 1.-19, Monday through Friday, 9am to 8pm in the MSC Gallery.