f
Wednesday 21, 1988/The Battalion/Page 7
| Warped
••con't; nofcJ froiw 4.^
by Scott McCuiiar Garage owner
wonders who
pinched sub
fnlFP
SWIFF,
Waldo
by Kevin Thomas
AND >50 WALDO 5 TARTS
HEADING FOR THE METEOR
IN THE GRAVEYARD...
IF HE CAN SURVIVE THE
ATTACKING ZOMBIES AND
PUT THE CURTAIN ROD IN
THE METEOR...
LIGHTNING FROM THE
APPROACHING STORM CAN
THEN STRIKE, THUS DESTROYING
THE METEOR AND PREVENTING
ITS ENERGY FIELD FROM
REJUVENATING THE LIVING
DEAD...
SUDDENLY, WALDO RUNS
INTO ELVIS...
OH,FOR CRYING
OUT LOUD/
AUSTIN (AP) — Garage owner
Ray Ritchie is trying to figure out
why anyone would have stolen his
yellow submarine.
“It was very heavy and very ugly,”
he says.
Ritchie purchased the one-man
sub cheap at an Internal Revenue
Service auction last month, then dis
played it in front of his shop, Bry-
kerwood Garage.
“That sucker weighs over 600
pounds. I would have given the sub
to anyone — if they would have al
lowed me to watch them load it,” he
said.
His story began in August, when
Ritchie went to the IRS auction after
hearing that the submarine was
available. He was the only person in
terested in th^sub.
“It went down but it would not go
up. It was for ex-wives,” Ritchie said.
Late last week, somebody stole the
sub. Since it was so heavy, Ritchie
said he’s wondering how the thieves
made off with it, and why.
“That’s why I haven’t reported it
stolen, because I’m afraid if the po
lice find it, they’re going to make me
come get it,” Ritchie said.
ome Abilene citizens worry
alcohol sales ruin community
ABILENE (AP) — Liquor is here
to stay, 10 years after the city went
wet following a long election battle
and prolonged court fight, and resi
dents said alcohol sales are a part of
their economy and lives.
The Texas Supreme Court al
lowed non-membership sales and
beer sales at liquor outlets on Sept.
20, 1978, after legal haranguing
lover the slim 122-vote wet victory.
Some consider that the day Abilene
was ruined.
“We had a real great place where
people wanted to raise their kids,”
said Neil Fry, a leader of the dry
proponents and now a Taylor
County commissioner. “And when it
was decided that Abilene could sell
alcohol we lost something special.”
“We used to be known as the best
city in Texas to raise kids. Now we
can’t say that,” he told the Abilene
Reporter-News. “This is the worst
problem in this town, and we openly
agreed to allow it.”
Officials said liquor has been avail
able in Taylor County since 1962.
Even before the 1978 election, resi
dents could buy drinks simply by
purchasing memberships from any
of 30 private Abilene clubs.
Or they could drive north to Im
pact or south to Buffalo Gap, where
drinks were available without mem
berships.
The ruling prompted a few cele
brations, including reports of people
dancing on cars outside convenience
stores newly stocked with beer.
I Honeymooners
trapped by Gilbert
Mark Beebe, then owner of the
downtown Sound Barrier club,
raced to Austin when the court’s rul
ing was known to get his license for
liquor sales to non-members. Then
he raced back to become the first
non-member to purchase a mixed
drink.
“Having the first drink didn’t feel
any different,” he said last week.
“But there was a feeling of cele
bration. Abilene was gonna get pro
gressive.”
He said many businesses were ex
cited about the idea of selling alcohol
because they thought making Abi
lene wet would improve the econ
omy by getting fine restaurants, ho
tels and other businesses to come to
Abilene.
The city can claim to have earned
at least $1.2 million in mixed drink
tax revenues that it didn’t have ac
cess to before.
Residents also have more restau
rants and entertainment options
from which to choose. They can buy
liquor in 210 locations, 83 of which
are clubs or restaurants.
Opponents of more liberal alcohol
laws said at the time that Abilene
would lose its reputation for clean
living, and would be struck by in
creased crime and drunkenness.
Several local ministers now say
they have encountered many more
families with alcohol-related prob
lems.
Arrests for driving while intoxi
cated went from 517 in 1977 to 710
in 1987, an increase of almost 200
arrests, law enforcement officials
said.
Asked if open liquor sales had
made crime a bigger problem, Police
Chief Dwain Pyburn said, “I couldn’t
tell, and as far as I know there’s no
way to make a real assessment.”
HOUSTON (AP) — A Seattle
couple whose dream honeymoon
turned to a fight for survival blames
Mexican hotel operators and offi
cials for their problems more than
the winds and rains of Hurricane
Gilbert.
Brent and Carol Cady were
trapped by the hurricane, spending
three days without food, water or
electricity, and had to spend $6,800
for a flight to a Houston hospital to
treat the injuries that left Mrs. Ca
dy’s right leg partially paralyzed and
her back possibly sprained.
“I kept wondering if cameras
were rolling,” Mrs. Cady, 23, said
Monday in her room at Houston’s
Methodist Hospital. “I felt like this
should be a television movie.”
Doctors said the woman was im
proving after being treated for a
back sprain, internal contusion in
the pelvic area and kidney, and leg
numbness and problems more se
vere than usually seen with back in
juries.
“I was so scared,” she said of the
ordeal. “I kept thinking, this is going
to end someday.”
The couple were returning from a
boat tour the evening of Sept. 13
when they were told their hotel, the
Beachclub Cancun, had begun to
evacuate because of the approaching
storm.
They were among about 300
guests who were bused to a power
plant that served as a refugee center.
But because the place was crowded
and uncomfortable, they left for a
rundown hotel about six miles away.
After a night of lizards, insects
and lack of food or water, they
headed back to the Beachclub Can
cun.
At the hotel, the windows of 27
rooms had been shattered and
nearby buildings had collapsed. Ho
tel management said they could re
trieve their luggage from their
room.
While in the room, Mrs. Cady was
pinned to the floor by a 6-by-4-foot
wood entertainment center knocked
over by a gust of wind. A few hours
later, her right leg was numb. That
night, they slept on the floor of the
hotel lobby.
She was in pain and could move
only her arms and hands. Brent
Cady had a fever and virus.
The next day she was moved into
a back room — on a stretcher.
“They said we would be on the
first plane out of here,” she said. “I
heard the planes flying over me, and
I just laid there and cried.”
On Friday, the couple found a
taxi to take them to the airport. The
drive that cost $2 days earlier cost
them $50 that day, plus another $50
to let Mrs. Cady keep her stretcher.
At the airport, the couple met a
pilot, travel agent and Mexico City
consulate official who helped them
get on a plane back to the United
States.
$8.5 million unpaid
as health plan fails
AUSTIN (AP) — The attorney
general’s office and the State Board
of Insurance are investigating the
recent financial collapse of a
statewide health insurance program
that left nearly 7,000 teachers and
school employees facing about $8.5
million in medical bills.
Officials said the bills were sup
posed to have been covered by the
insurance plan.
While the two state agencies look
at the program, the Texas State Tea
chers Association said it may file a
lawsuit in the case.
“People got taken for their money
and have been left hanging out there
on the line, swinging in the breeze,
so to speak,” said Charles Beard,
TSTA president.
Any legal action will be aimed at
the individuals and entities that the
teachers’ organization believes are
also liable for those unpaid medical
bills, said lawyer David Richards,
representing the TSTA.
“Conceivably, the school districts
themselves are liable to the extent
they were promoters of the health
trust,” Richards said.
The Educators Group Health
Trust, a 5-year-old self-insurance
TRAVEL
LONDON $569.00
PARIS $608.00
MADRID $678.00
ROME $718.00
DELHI $1199.00
HONG KONG $829.00
TOKYO $759.00
BANGKOK $969.00
SINGAPORE $885.00
KUALA LUMPUR $885.00
CARACAS $290.00
PANAMMA CITY $290.00
SANJOSE $290.00
RIO $599.00
ST. CROIX $220.00
SYDNEY $954.00
KATHMANDS $1209.00
THE TRAVEI. DIVISION OF CIEE
EXPERTS IN STUDENT TRAVEL SINCE 1947
3300 W. MOCKINGBIRD #101
DALLAS. TX 75235
• ALL FARES ROUND-TRIP
FROM HOUSTON •
WE ISSUE EURAILPASSES,
HOSTEL PASSES AND INTER-
N ATI ON AL STUDENTS ID
CARDS.
CALL OR WRITE FOR A FREE
COPY OF OUR STUDENT
TRAVEL CATALOG.
* A&M
Steakhousel
Delivers
846-5273
SERVICE
For a resume that can do the
job, depend on Kinko’s.
kinko's
the copy center
201 College Main
846-8721
The
Battalion
Since 1878
XII3IM31l?SIOIMSl IX
PARTH ENON
T«*Ji > f Tart a TOT MAOT MM MAMA I OTf
TONITE
Free Beer 9-10
No Cover All Nite
Woodstone Center 764-8575
eu
program serving the Texas Associa
tion of Community Schools, was de
clared insolvent by its trustees on
Sept. 2.The following week, the
health trust filed for liquidation un
der federal bankruptcy laws, listing
assets of $363,663 and liabilities —
essentially the unpaid medical claims
— of $8.48 million.
Unlike instances where state-reg
ulated insurance companies fail,
non-regulated self-insurance pro
grams such as Educators Group
have no industry-financed assistance
to payoff claims.
Ron Dusek, spokesman for Attor
ney General Jim Mattox, declined to
give details of that office’s investiga
tion. But he said the direction was
generally under the Texas Deceptive
Trade Practices Act or under the in
surance code.
“The attorney general is very con
cerned because there are people
who have insurance claims that have
not been paid,” Dusek said.
Although the Texas Board of In
surance doesn’t have jurisdiction
over Educators Croup, the agency
said it is looking at complaints
against the trust’s administrators.
£*1UvniIHI
AUL
SPECIAL GUEST
GENE WATSON
Friday October 14,1988
8:00 p.m.
G. Rollie White Coliseum
GOOD SEATS STILL AVAILABLE
TICKETS ON SAL£ NOW
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE MSC BOX OFFICE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 845-1234
Large
16” One Topping
Thin Crust Pizza
Eat In or Take Out
Free Delivery
846-0379
Best Pizza in Town
Northgate
99
+ tax
expires 9-27-88
Eat In or Take Out
Free Delivery
846-0379
Best Pizza in Town
Small
12” One Topping
Thin Crust Pizza
M-F 1 lam-12am Sat lpm-2am Sun lpm-12am
Northgate
99
-I- tax
expires 9-27-88
Did You Forget
To pick up your 1987 (Fall ’86, Spring ’87) Aggie-
land? You can still pick up your copy by coming to
the English Annex between 8:30 and 4:30. Bring
your I.D.
The 1988 (Fall ’87, Spring ’88) Aggieland will be
available in October. Look for announcements in
The Battalion.
Ti*r
Interested in the Visual Arts?
Tired of a mediocre existence?
Well then,
w y | <— (this is not art)
MSC Visual Arts Annual 1st Meeting
Wednesday, September 21,1988
7pm, MSC 145
and remember: be happy