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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 1988)
n I lie Battalion Friday, June 17, 1988 College Station, Texas Vol. 87 No.161 USPS 045360 6 Pages JU P- a Wau ' u store sail ,)e v ery we a | said slack J s good fort' '•dm the 4 ; ear lierthisi ( l ow ard risin;| • trade del; I -nt in Martfl rn 'hat pricj cult to ineeij isumers. rack relocation fundings orry mayors Tate, Ringer Infant mortality rate prompts research about prenatal care Monday ev papers n with two; of the head d the Nat; 'ch Institute- os as Cons!; the Unitedv jas, a 35-yes By Stephen Masters Staff Writer he mayors of' College Station Bryan expressed concern dnesday about where the funds relocating the railroad tracks hg Wellborn Road would come. In a June letter, Texas Secretary if State Jack Rains reported the de ns of an agreement for a relocation Bn from a May 25 meeting in Aus- :in to mayors Larry Ringer of Col- legr Station, Marvin Tate of Bryan and to County Judge Dick Holm- Hen. Bn the letter, Rains expressed his and Gov. Bill Clements’ “interest in bringing this project (relocating the mk ks) to fruition.” m memorandum accompanying the letter said the cost estimates on H project had increased to around million, to be divided 45 percent h for the federal and state gov ernments and 5 percent each for lo- Hgovernments and the railroad. ■This represents about $2.5 million to be split three ways between Col lege Station, Bryan and Brazos County — around $833,000 each. Ringer pointed out College Sta tion’s current indebtedness when talking about the project. “We (College Station) have a city debt of around $25 million as of Wednesday morning,” Ringer said. “This new debt would be one-tenth of this amount. “There’s no way we could handle this in one big hunk. What we’d most likely have to do is sell bonds, which requires voter approval. “What we have to find out is if (moving the tracks) is that high of a priority for the people in College Station or if other things are more important when they consider there will be a tax increase involved.” Tate echoed Ringer’s worries about where the money would come from. “We are in the midst of a tough budgeting process,” Tate said. “I don’t know where we’re going to find the approximately $800,000 this would require. “We want to work with the Uni versity and other government enti ties. We want to do what we can, but we have to look at the price tag.” Holmgreen was not available for comment Thursday. Ringer also was concerned with some citizens being taxed twice for the same project. “If one-third comes from College Station, one-third comes from Bryan and one-third comes from Brazos County, that means people within the College Station city limits are going to have to pay twice,” he said. “The way to solve that would be to carry the whole cost at the county level.” Tate added that the cities have not been a part of the decision so far. “From the standpoint of the city of Bryan, this issue has not yet been addressed,” Tate said. “At the meet ing I attended, there was an indica tion that there were some monies for this at the federal level. I thought then that the federal government was going to fund as much as 75 per cent of the project.” Ringer agreed with this assess ment. “At this point, the cities have had very little input in the decision,” he said. Ringer said that in addition to the debt his city has incurred, the $800,000 involved would represent about 6 percent of College Station’s annual general revenues fund, which is $13 million for 1987-88. Tate said the cost would represent about 8 percent of Bryan’s annual operating budget, which will be around $11 to 12 million after bud geting. Battalion file stories indicate problems and funding conflicts as far back as 1975 in moving the rail road tracks. could lessen poverty with jobs cied him to me to 5-1 infected who have \RC or AIDS ^taW ASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Hursday passed a far-reaching welfare bill de- .. Mned to help people break out of poverty Of lies through jobs, backing it almost unanimously af- dailv thi tei acce d*ng to White House demands for strin- uta( ^ gent work requirements. n j n (kf-THThe five-year, $2.8 billion Family Security Act i ii miliur- jpeciuires stepped-up child support collections and H a tion of a comprehensive education, training aresooutoM^-i 0 * 35 P r °g ram - Long-term welfare recipients . ( |n , or those likely to become long-term, such as teen- ico , L M mothers, would receive particular attention. ■ n ■Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., who >e e Hole the bill said it would make fundamental istory exair ■ . „ , . , , for studer jiP rovernents in a system that has not changed if sc hool, [(Hr m 53 years. “This is the most important legislation of its kind and the first legislation of its kind since the welfare system was established in the 1930s,” he said. Moynihan said that under the current system, “One child in four in this country will be on wel fare by age 18. That’s where we were headed yes terday.” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas called the Moynihan bill “an opportunity ... to set an entirely new direction for the outdated and ineffective system we have today.” And Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole, R- Kan., described it as “the best hope” for lifting people out of poverty and restoring their dignity. A bipartisan group of senators negotiated with White House officials throughout the week fol lowing word last Friday that Reagan would veto the Moynihan bill as it stood. The main obstacle as the bill neared passage late Thursday was a White House demand that some welfare recipients be required to participate for 16 hours a week in “workfare,” or community work projects, to work off their grants. Governors of both parties opposed the provi sion to phase in mandatory workfare partici pation by one adult in each two-parent welfare household. But Dole offered it as a floor amend ment and the Senate passed it. By Anita Arnold Reporter The probability that an infant will live to his first birthday is higher in Singapore than in the United States. This fact prompted a 10-state study conducted by Texas A&M which focused on identifying unmet needs for prenatal care. The study ended in a proposal to Congress to provide prenatal health care that could help reduce infant mortality to poor pregnant women. Dr. Charles Johnson, director of the Public Policy Resources Lab at A&M, was the principal investigator for the study that was funded by the Division of Maternal & Child Health. Johnson said he tried to find women who were having difficult pregnancies and deliveries caused by low income. The sample included about 13,000 women from 10 states: Ari zona, California, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Ore gon, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Texas. These states account for 38 percent of all births in the nation and a similar proportion of infant deaths. A cross section of all preg nant women was used. “This was the first study that really looked at the issue of how women paid for prenatal care,” Johnson said. “We were interested in identifying women who did not have insurance or were not eligible for Medicaid, the government spon sored health aid for low-income peo ple. “The women might have a mini- mum-wage job, but they would have to pay for their own prenatal care. “A consequence of this lack of funds is that the women do not get the care they need because they want to save money.” One of the strongest arguments for the proposal is its cost-effective ness, Johnson said. “If you have a low birth weight in fant, under 5.5 pounds, and he ends up in an intensive care unit, the typ ical cost is about $15,000 for that stay,” he said. “Some of these cases could be prevented with a good pre natal care package which would cost about $400.” However, Johnson said, this is not just a money issue. “Forty thousand families a year have an infant die at birth, and it is not just the infant that suffers,” Johnson said. “The family goes through many difficulties emotion ally as a consequence.” Congress has not passed the pro posal, but some changes already are taking place. Johnson said Texas is considering making more pregnant women eligi ble to get care under Medicaid. Johnson said that if people can be spared the agony of losing an infant, save money and have healthier ba bies, the proposal is worthwhile. fficials: Bank merger on’t affect patrons, &M payroll system IRA bomb claims 6 lives; Security lapse to blame ■Plans to merge First Bank 8c Trust into a statewide branch network won’t affect local customers or Texas A&M payroll services, bank and University officials said Thursday. ■Nancy Wilkinson, assistant vice ipfesident at the bank, said there will be no changes for University em ployees who cash their payroll checks at the bank. I “It’s going to be business as usual,” she said. KAlmost all University employees are paid through First Bank 8c Trust [accounts. Ed Janosky, manager of budget and payroll services for A&M, said he didn’t think the merger would cause any changes in the University’s relationship with the bank. He said direct deposits will continue to be sent out as usual. The plan to merge First Bank & Trust with five other Texas banks was announced Wednesday by its holding company, United Bankers Inc., of Waco. Other banks to become branches in the United Banks plan are in Aus tin, Commerce, Mesquite, Waco and Port Arthur. LISBURN, Northern Ireland (AP) — Officials ad mitted Thursday that a security lapse allowed an IRA guerrilla squad to kill six British soldiers by attaching a bomb to their van while they ran in a charity race. The outlawed Irish Republican Army claimed re sponsibility for the bombing Wednesday and vowed “unceasing war” against British forces in the province. A half-marathon for charity had just ended at the close of a warm, sunny day in this garrison town, head quarters for the British army in Northern Ireland. The exploding bomb turned the van into a fireball and scat tered torn, burning bodies onto the street. “I saw two bodies lying in the middle of the road,” Nigel Sands, 19 said. “One of them had no legs, and one of them was burning. It was badly mutilated. It seems they were blown from the van. There was panic and people were running everywhere.” Ten civilians were wounded, including a 2-year-old boy and a man of 80, but authorities said none was hurt seriously. Political leaders in Britain and Ireland joined promi nent Protestants and Roman Catholics of Northern Ire land on Thursday in denouncing the attack. Towns people in Lisburn, seven miles from Belfast, gathered behind police barriers in small, silent groups to gaze at the gutted hulk of the van. Northern Ireland Secretary Tom King, the govern ment’s top official in the province, conferred with army commanders in Lisburn before flying to London to re port to Parliament. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said in the House of Commons the bombing was a “terrible atrocity” and reiterated the government’s determination “to defeat the terrorism of the IRA, which shoot and bomb to kill.” Donations for Burnett near goal A little more than $1,000 is needed to bring an injured Col lege Station woman hoifce from Germany. The donation total had risen to more than $5,000 Thurs day after six working days. Laura Burnett, the daughter of Texas A&M marketing professor Dr. John Burnett, has been in a coma since being struck by an au tomobile in Munich, Germany on May 30. Both Dr. Burnett and Laura were participating in a Study Abroad program touring businesses in Germany prior to the accident. A military airlift will cost $6,540, but the expense is not covered by the Burnett’s insur ance. Any donations should be sent to the Laura Burnett Fund in care of First RepublicBank A&M, P.O. Box 2860, College Station, Texas 77841. Donations should be marked to the attention of Lee Cargill. Donations also are being taken in the lobby of the Blocker Build ing, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., where more than $500 was collected Thursday. onstruction causes trees to lose limbs rd atures mate 00 /ery s at once a, py disk' Construction workers inspect scaffolding Thursday after trimming trees to clear the way for repair on the north side of Sterling C. Photo by Sam B. Myers Evans Library. Some of the trees that were cut are nearly 50 years old. By Stephen Masters Staff Writer Several limbs were cut off live oak trees north side of the Sterling C. Evans Library Thursday to make room for scaffolding needed for building repairs. Some of the trees are more than 50 years old. “I have been out there working with the contractors all morning and we’ve tried to work around it, but there’s just no other way to do it,” said Eugene Ray, director of Texas A&M Grounds Maintenance. “It’s a Catch-22 situation,” he said. “We have to put the scaffolding up to do the construction, but we sure don’t want to hurt the trees in the process. “These contractors have been working to adjust to this — more than any other contractor I’ve ever worked with. They are doing any thing they can. There’s just nothing else we can do,” he said. Charles McMullan, construction science assistant department head, said it is not unusual to have provi sions written into contracts where contractors must use all “prudent methods to preserve” the landscape where they work, but minor altera tions to the work area are sometimes unavoidable. “In working with this type of height, about 12 scaffolding units, there cannot be any type of interfe rence,” he said. David Kenyon, an A&M land scape architecture graduate student and registered landscape architect, said he thought the situation had been rushed and handled poorly. “I think the type of scaffolding se lected is completely inappropriate for this type of work,” he said. “Maybe it’s all they had available, but one tree has been almost completely delimbed. “It probably took 30 to 40 years for those limbs to grow and they were taken out to put up a scaffold that probably won’t stay up for six months. I just think it’s a lousy trade off,” Kenyon said. The repair of the of faulty brick work that fell last August has just be gun and Ray said more trees may be damaged before the project is com pleted. He said the trees on the north side of library will not be the worst prob lem area. “The problem will be on the southeast corner,” he said. “There will most likely be several major limbs that must be removed for the scaffolding to go up on that side, and we’re not looking forward to it.” In addition to the trees at the li brary, Ray said that future utility constructions on the southside of campus may reduce the number of trees on campus. Kenyon said he thinks there must be a way to complete the project without sacrificing more trees. “I’m not an expert on scaffolding, but I just came from Europe where it is amazing the way they go around corners and over obstacles (with scaffolding). At a great engineering school like A&M, why can’t we get something together and not shred these trees rather than take the fast est and cheapest route,” he said. Ray said the campus’ about 1,900 live oaks date back to between 1910 and 1930.