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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1988)
Thursday, September 29, 1988/The Battalion/Page 5 Renaissance festival offers surprises By Fiona Soltes Staff Writer The 14th annual Texas Renais- ance Festival, opening this week end and running through Nov. J3, is offering many new sur prises this year, Betty Haring, fes- [val public relations director, pys. “The festival has a different lavor than in years past,” Haring jys. “We’ve got more street activity [nd added entertainment in the llage.” Haring says visitors are likely isee Nostradamus, Robin Hood, irates, tightrope walkers and a psy band. They also can visit Noble |ouse, a new Greco-Roman ructure displaying the treasures larco Polo brought back from ie Orient. Knights and horsemen all have ew costumes this year, Haring ys. But even with the new addi- i&M professor unlocks secret to violin tions to the festival, Haring says all of the old favorites will still be around also. She says that visitors’ favorite attractions include mud wrestlers, jousting matches, drama produc tions on five stages, games such as Jacob’s Ladder and a dart toss, and the food. “This year, we’ve got the tradi tional turkey legs, corn on the cob, steak-on-a-stake and apple dumplings,” Haring says. “But we’ve also added boudin, a Louisiana-type sausage, seafood gumbo and fish and chips. There’s also Italian and Chinese food, in a total of 42 shops.” Haring says she expects record attendance this year. “Last year, in seven weekends, we had 204,000 people come through the gate,” she says. “But this year, advance ticket sales have been phenomenal. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children 5 to 12 years old. Children under 5 are free. By Staci Finch Staff Writer The Stradivarius violin is con- iidered the greatest violin ever nade. The secret of the instru- nent’s exquisite construction has ang been thought to have died ith the creator, Antonio Stradi- ari, in the late 1700s. However, a biologfy professor Texas A&M is changing all hat. Dr. Joseph Nagyvary believes lehas unlocked the secret to cre- ting the beautiful sound the itradivarius violins are famous or. He will show the evidence in is presentation, “Decoding the itradivarius — The Scientific ioof’ tonight at 7:30 in 201 ISC. The presentation will be fol ded by a recital by Houston vio- nistYung Hui Tuan. “1 am going to give a popular tience account of what we have ound in the study of the cellos md violins made by Stradivari,” agyvary said. "1 am also going to show how ie methods Stradivari used can e reproduced and demonstrate ome of those models,” he said. Nagyvary said the secret of the iolins’ sound is not only in the tape, which has been copied many times over, but in several other aspects as well. “The differences in the Stradi varius violins and others is in the seasoning of the wood and in the varnish making,” he said. “Much of the discussion will focus on the making of the varnish.” Although many have tried to solve the mystery of the Stradiva rius violin construction, Nagy vary, by applying modern science methods, has come closer than anyone, and is confident he can reproduce the quality of the pre viously unequaled violin. This confidence has been translated into a $274,000 grant from the Texas Advanced Tech nology Program to produce new violins of concert hall quality. Nagyvary said, “The grant is the largest ever awarded for the study of a musical instrument. “Undergraduate students who want to work with me are getting the details thought out and we are progressing right along. “The production of these high- quality violins will bring a lot of prestige to Texas in music cir cles.” he said. “Also, this grant provides undergraduates in seve ral different disciplines the op portunity to learn about a method that has been a mystery for over a hundred years.” tegents will meet Friday, Saturday The Texas A&M University card of Regents will have its rst regular meetings of the fall smester Friday at 1:30 p.m. and aturday at 8:30 a.m. in the Re- ents Annex of the Memorial tudent Center. Items on the Board’s agenda 3r Friday include authorization auglMr the chartering of the Tech- ology Transfer Company by the exas Engineering Experiment tation, authorization to revise &M admission policies and a re- ort by the Committee for Aca demic Campuses relating to Food rvices. The Executive Committee also Seminar will discuss moral beliefs will meet on Friday and will hear a briefing on the Management Information System’s Project. The Telecommunications Pro ject also will be discussed. Other business on the Board’s agenda for Saturday includes the following: • A report on the Offshore Technology Center Award. • Consideration of the possi ble purchase of equipment for the College of Engineering at Prairie View A&M. • The installation of an auto mated library system at Prairie View A&M. • A report on the Transporta tion Research Center Award. The Department of Philosophy II sponsor a colloquium on The Fixation of Moral Belief’ today from 3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. b401 Rudder Tower. George Harris, a philosophy irofessor at William and Mary College, who is working on his Hoctorate at the University of Texas, will be the featured ipeaker. “We chose him because he is me of the brighter young philo sophers in America,” Dr. Jona than Kvanvig, philosophy profes sor and chairman of the colloquium series, said. “He has done much work in ethics.” This series is the third collo quium in a series of 14 sessions designed to have other philoso phy professors examine the Texas A&M philosophy depart ment. “These (programs) are aimed at the development of the depart ment,” Kvanvig said. Handicapped receive riding lessons The Horsemen’s Association will teach handicapped children fcuk aduWs about balance and coordination by giving free riding lessons this weekend. The rides will last from 8 a.m. until noon Saturday at the Free man Arena on FM 2818. Another session will be held Oct. 15. Fifteen people, ages 3 to 24, can participate in each session. They will learn about caring for horses and practice balance by riding through a course marked with cones. Each year the Horsemen’s As sociation contacts the special edu cation coordinators in College Station and Bryan. The coordina tors distribute permission slips to special education teachers. Any student who returns the slip can join the class. lements sends help to Girl informs police of attack before death HOUSTON (AP) — A dying 15- year-old girl was able to tell police the name of the man who attacked her and fatally wounded her 3-year- old cousin, police said. Houston Police Detective Dennis Gafford said of Sandra Charles, “she could speak very little, (but) she managed to give us her first name and the suspect’s first name . . . We were able to develop a suspect through that.” Charles, an eighth-grader at Paul Revere Middle School, and her cousin, Marcell Taylor, were found about 11:40 p.m. Monday lying near a wooded pathway behind a restau rant in west Houston. The boy was dead at the scene from two stab wounds to the chest and a stab wound to the back of the head, Gafford said. Charles, suffering from stab wounds to the neck and chest, was rushed to West Houston Medical Center and then taken to Ben Taub Hospital, where she died a short time later. Preston Hughes III, 22, a con victed sex offender, has admitted killing the two, but he claims the kill ings were the result of a mistaken identity, investigators said. Hughes told police he was walking through a wooded lot behind his apartment when he fealt as though someone was following him, Gafford said. “He’s just saying that it was a mistaken identity and they ended up getting stabbed.” “He’s putting up a defense that it was an accidental thing. He thought somebody had come up behind him, and he decided to attack first instead of being attacked,” Detective Ted Bloyd said. Hughes told police he had been drinking earlier Monday and was in toxicated at the time of the attack, investigators said. Hughes was charged Tuesday with capital murder and is being held without bail. Juvenile goes to trial as adult in murder case RICHMOND, Texas (AP) — A 16-year-old youth who defense at torneys described as shy, sensitive and willing to please was certified to stand trial as an adult on a capital murder charge in the slaying of a popular high school football star. As with all juveniles certified to stand trial as adults in capital mur der cases, James Garcia faces a life sentence if convicted of the July 14 slaying of Paul Brandon Elledge, 17. Investigators said Elledge was killed in a plot to steal his truck ste reo. Garcia, a former football player at Clements High School in Sugar Land, and Timothy Acklen, 16, are accused of slaying Elledge. Acklen was certified as an adult earlier this month and is in the Fort Bend County Jail awaiting a bond hearing. Assistant District Attorney Alan Small said the district attorney’s of fice probably would request a bond of $200,000 for Garcia. In a tense Fort Bend County courtroom packed with the families of both Garcia and the victim, de fense witnesses Tuesday portrayed Garcia as a loving, responsible child who often baby-sat younger children and held several part-time jobs. “I think James should not be certi fied,” testified LaVerne Turner, a preschool coordinator for Sugar Creek Baptist Church, where Gar cia’s mother works. “I think it would be a crime if he were. I think he has a lot to offer.” Sophomore English teacher Jane Gregory said Garcia was outgoing, friendly and very cooperative in school. “James was what I consider a real good kid,” she said. A defense-hired psychologist tes tified that during her interviews with Garcia, he displayed remorse and sadness about Elledge’s death. Prosecutors depicted Garcia as a mature and sophisticated person who knew right from wrong and was an accomplice in a premeditated murder. “This is the same loving child that was carrying a gun on July 14 and was with Timothy Acklen when Brandon Elledge was murdered,” Small said. “This is a premeditated murder.” Monterrey AUSTIN (AP) — Gov. Bill Clem- ts said Wednesday his office is rshaling state assistance to Mon- tey, Mexico, which still is strug- ng to cope with damage caused by irricane Gilbert. 'We’re doing all that we can to see it Monterrey recovers quickly m this terrible tragedy,” Clem- tssaid. “I’m pleased that state gov- iment has responded so effecti- Hy and swiftly to the needs of the |ople affected by Hurricane Gil- ’jn.” jClements authorized Department IPublic Safety transportation for a team of volunteers who were dis patched to Monterrey to help in search efforts for people believed trapped in the rubble of a collapsed condominium. Authorization was made late Tuesday night, according to the governor’s office. The five-man, three-dog search team was provided by a non-profit association based in North Richland Hills known as Children, Education Search and Rescue, the governor’s office said. The condominium’s foundation apparently was weakened by high winds and heavy rains spawned by the hurricane. DPS flew the team to Laredo, where they were picked up and flown to Monterrey in the jet of Jorge Trevino, governor of the Mex ican state of Nuevo Leon, the gover nor’s office said. The team began work about 2 a.m. Wednesday. Earlier this week, the Texas De partment of Highways and Public Transportation stationed six trucks in Monterrey to help deliver drink ing water to sections of the city, Clements’ office said. B Prices Do Not Include Sales Tsx- Not combinsblc with any other coupon offer. PRICE SLICER SPECIAL ONE LARGE 7-TOPPING COMBO PIZZA $ 6 99 Price* Do N<jt tewltMie S»Je*T«*. 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CARRY OUT ONLY 11 - 3 MONDAY - FRIDAY ONLY DELIVERY S 900 HARVEY RD. ! 764-6666 5 Available in original or Texas pan crust Please mention coupon when ordering PUBLIC NOTICE BRIEF EXPLANATORY STATEMENTS OF PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS _ GENERAL ELECTION NOVEMBER 8, 1988 i ' 4 ' * ' PROPOSITION NO. 1 ON THE BALLOT Senate Joint Resolution 8 pro poses a constitutional amendment providing that when the federal government reimburses the state for expenditures of state funds dedicat ed to acquiring rights-of-way and for constructing, maintaining, and policing public roadways, such fed eral funds must also be used for those purposes. The proposed amendment will ap pear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment and/or clarification providing that federal reimbursement of state highway dedicated funds are themselves dedicated for the pur pose of acquiring rights-of-way and constructing, maintaining, and policing public roadways.” PROPOSITION NO. 2 ON THE BALLOT House Joint Resolution 2 proposes a constitutional amendment to estab lish an economic stabilization fund in the state treasury. The fund would consist of one half of the un encumbered balance of general rev enues at the end of a biennium and three fourths of the difference between the net oil and gas produc tion taxes received in a fiscal year and the net oil and gas production taxes received in the 1987 fiscal year. During any fiscal biennium, the amount in the economic stabili zation fund could not exceed 10% of the total deposited in general reve nue in the preceding biennium. The state comptroller and the state treasurer could decide to trans fer monies from the fund into the general revenue fund to alleviate a temporary cash shortage in general revenue. The legislature could make appropriations from the fund on ap proval by a three fifths vote of each house to make up the difference between anticipated general revenue and appropriations. On approval of two thirds of the members of each house of the legislature, the legisla ture could appropriate monies from the fund for any purpose. The proposed amendment will ap pear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment establishing an economic stabili zation fund in the state treasury to be used to offset unforeseen shortfalls in revenue.” PROPOSITION NO. 3 ON THE BALLOT House Joint Resolution 5 pro poses a constitutional amendment that establishes the Texas growth fund. All investments of the Texas growth fund must be directly re lated to furthering economic growth and employment opportunities in Texas. At least 50 percent of the fund must be invested in equity and/or debt security for the initial construction, expansion, or moderni zation of business or industrial fa cilities in Texas. Not more than ten percent of the fund may be invested in venture capital investments. Of the funds available for venture cap ital investments, not more than 25 percent may be invested unilateral ly, and the remaining investments must be matched at least equally by funds from other sources. The Texas growth fund will be managed by a board of trustees consisting of four members appointed by the Governor and one member from and elected by the membership of each of the fol lowing: The Board of Regents of the University of Texas System; The Board of Regents of the Texas A&M System; The Board of Trustees of the Teacher’s Retirement System of Texas; The Board of Trustees of the Employee’s Retirement System of Texas; and the State Board of Edu cation. The trustees may set the in vestment policy of the fund, enter into investment contracts, and take any action necessary for the crea tion, administration, and protection of the fund. The amendment autho rizes the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System and the State Board of Education, in man aging the permanent university fund and the permanent school fund, to acquire, exchange , sell, supervise, manage, or retain any kind of in vestment, including investments in the Texas growth fund. The fund will be phased out after the tenth anniversary of its creation, but the Legislature may create a second growth fund by a two thirds vote of each house. The proposed amendment will ap pear on the ballot as follows: “The constitutional amendment to provide for the investment of the permanent university fund, the permanent school fund, and public employee retirement sys tems in the Texas growth fund created by the amendment, which will directly create, retain, and expand job opportunity and eco nomic growth in Texas.” Estos son los informes explano- torios sobre las enmiendas propu~ estas a la constitucidn que aparau- cerdn en la boleta el dta 8 de noviembre de 1988. Si listed no ha recibido una copia de los informes en espanol, podrd obtener una gratis por llamar al 1/800/252/8688 o por escribir al Secretario de Estado, P.O. Box 12060, Austin, Texas 78711. Paid Advertisement The Power Hitter. 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