he Battalion
Wednesday, October 19, 1988
College Station, Texas
Vol. 88 No. 38 USPS 04536010 Pages
Nation s,.|
anel advocates
niversal access
o prenatal care
ases
id Sal
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal
lel called Tuesday for universal access
iprenatal care by American women as a
py to reduce the number of babies bom
1 and handicapped — and save
payer dollars in the process.
“The most basic problem is that our
ion has failed to give adequate prior-
to the principle that all pregnant
men — not only the affluent —should
jeive prenatal, delivery and postpar
tum services,” said Joyce C. Lashof,
ihpiii- Biimian of the Institute of Medicine
Huilps Bdycommittee.
ions iW c P anc *’ s two-year survey started
out trying to determine what type of out-
^ch programs would be most effective
roviding pregnant woman with pre-
[alcare.
ut it soon concluded that the problem
ran deeper than women not being aware
iservices available to them.
B'Our central conclusion is that out-
,n gP c i' efforts are no match for the perva-
HP live barriers faced by low-income
swim: Kmcn in trying to secure adequate pre-
ireiE jahl an d maternity-care services,” La-
iBfsaid at a news conference where the
254-page report was issued.
SMWAs is so often the case, the principal
ier is money,” Lashof, who is dean
School of Public Health at the Uni-
ityofCalifomia-Berkeley, said,
he report said about 26 percent of
icn of child-bearing age have no in-
nce — public or private —to cover
^mity care and that two-thirds of
|e, or about 9.5 million women, have
ealth insurance at all.
prom:
ilips
hale:
d, u
fine Fist;
)11
|ln many ways, the panelists con-
ped, money itself is not as much of a
plem as lack of will to make a na-
Jal commitment to tackle the problem
i a comprehensive way.
Although there would be an initial in
vestment of new funds to expand Medi
caid to cover more pregnant women, for
example, the money would pay a three
fold dividend by producing more healthy
babies and thus fewer sick and hand
icapped ones to be cared for at public ex
pense.
“For every dollar spent on prenatal
care for low-income, poorly educated
women, about $3 are saved in medical
expenses for low-birthweight babies dur
ing the first year of life,” Lashof said,
citing figures from a 1985 Institute of
Medicine study.
Indeed, many of the fundamental find
ings in the new survey track two studies
released in recent months by the congres
sional Office of Technology Assessment
and the National Commission to Prevent
Infant Mortality.
Lashof said the major new conclusion
of the latest study is that trying to refine
outreach programs for women in need of
prenatal care is more or less wasted ef
fort until actual barriers to such care are
removed.
A majority of the six panelists at the
news conference expressed optimism
that the nation will provide proper prena
tal care in the near future — in part be
cause multiple studies seem to have dem
onstrated beyond doubt the sheer cost
effectiveness of such programs.
“If anything gets attention, it’s dollars
and cents,” panelist George M. Ryan
said. “I just don’t think this nation is
going to go on paying to take care of
handicapped infants when we can pre
vent the handicaps with proper prenatal
care.”
Ryan is an obstetrics and gynecology
professor at the University of Tennessee
medical school in Memphis.
Photo by James M. Love
College Station police officers take cover outside of Southwest Savings Tuesday while FBI investigators search the bank for a robbery suspect.
Gunman robs Southwest Savings,
takes unknown amount of money
By Fiona Soltes
Staff Writer
An armed man robbed Southwest Sav
ings, located on the northeast corner of
Texas Avenue and Southwest Parkway,
at about 8 a.m. Tuesday and escaped
with an unknown amount of money. It
was the second bank robbery in College
Station within a month.
aco no-
pass-no-play’ case
nds with teacher’s victory
adot.
its to
WACO (AP) — A Waco teacher who
ed last year to pass a star football
er who was failing her sociology
Is says she is relieved a jury ruled in
her favor in her legal battle with the
Ho Independent School District.
1; ‘jl think I’m most pleased with the
Hid,” Sue Collins said Tuesday. “I
■■"^knew that we were telling the truth. It
was just a feeling of relief more than
■ling.”
A federal jury on Friday awarded Col-
linsS77,000 in damages after it found vi-
iations of Collins’ First Amendment
rights and of the state “whistle-blowers”
act.
In the middle of the 1987 football
playoffs, the University Interscholastic
i52j League ruled that Waco High School star
ylijleteBshsive end Trell Payne was ineligible
Bothi Way because he had failed Collins’
(hj291 Ps. The football team, undefeated at
tonii. the time, forfeited six games, the last of
which was a playoff game that ended its
season as the team prepared for its next
playoff game.
Mouse Bill 72 states that any student
who fails a class is to be declared ineli-
ire tlW'H fr om extracurricular activities for
.rereqwfF 116 ’ 11 six-week grading period.
jci^fcfGollins, 34, said Payne also had failed
akeoff^H Durse during the first six-week grad-
inspectiiiH^dod, but that principal Wilbur
u . Luce and football coach Johnny Tusa
Hured her to pass Payne. She said
ll,i *®almer show
relocated
to Rudder
they suggested she use a method called
“point-borrowing:” She could raise his
score 15 points for the grading period,
then subtract it from the next one when
the student’s performance had improved.
It was after Payne failed the class in
the second grading period that Collins
approached the UIL.
“I believe teachers are most con
cerned with fairness for all students,”
Collins said, adding that passing a failing
student only penalized those students
who had achieved passing marks.
A teacher at Waco High School for 12
years, Collins said she was removed
from the classroom. She said she was
told to continue working at home —plan
ning assignments and grading papers —
as other teachers substituted in the class-
Maj. Ed Feldman of the College Sta
tion Police Department said he is not rul
ing out the possibility of a connection be
tween the two robberies.
“We are definitely looking at that pos
sibility,” Feldman said. “Two bank rob
beries within a 30-day period in a town
this size makes us think it’s the same in
dividual, but we can’t be sure.”
Feldman said he did not think there
had been a bank robbery in College Sta
tion for at least 20 years prior to the Sept.
24 robbery of United Citizens Bank on
Longmire Drive.
The most significant similarity be
tween the robberies was the time they oc
curred, Feldman said. Both took place at
about 8 a.m., before the bank was open
and when only one teller was present.
Feldman said that College Station dis
patchers received a call at 7:52 a.m.
Tuesday from a teller in the drive-in part
of the bank. Police arrived at the scene
within a few minutes. Sections of Texas
Avenue and Southwest Parkway then
were closed to traffic.
The teller was opening the bank when
a dark-complected man, possibly tanned
or Hispanic, wearing a rubber mask over
his head and plastic bags over his hands
and feet, pointed a blue-steel pistol at her
and asked her in a high falsetto voice to
put money into bank bags, Feldman said.
The robber probably was in the bank
when the teller arrived, he said.
The teller described the robber as be
tween 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 8 inches
tall and about 175 pounds. He was wear
ing a cream-colored long-sleeved shirt,
faded blue jeans and blue canvas tennis
shoes.
The robber made the teller lie down
while he escaped with the money. Feld
man said. When teller though the robber
had left the building, she hid in an office
and called the drive-in teller, Feldman
said. The teller’s identity is being with
held for safety reasons, Feldman said.
Several members of the Department’s
Special Operations Response Team en
tered the bank and found the teller un
harmed but visibly disturbed, Feldman
said. She was taken to Commerce Na
tional Bank on Texas Avenue for ques
tioning. Special Operations then secured
the building.
At about 10:30 a.m., police officers
still were not sure if the robber remained
in the bank. Members of the team found
a closet locked from the inside that
usually was not locked, and they thought
the suspect might be inside. But by the
time the entire area was checked, it was
evident that the robber had escaped,
Feldman said.
Feldman said he is urging banks in the
area to tighten their security.
“We notified area banks to be more
careful after the first robbery,” Feldman
said. “But people around here are caught
up in the attitude that nothing like this
could ever happens around here. The sad
thing is, it does.”
People who were in the area of South
west Parkway and Texas Avenue inter
section at the time of the robbery who
think they might have seen something
suspicious should contact the College
Station Police Department, he said.
It is not known whether the suspect es
caped by car or by foot.
The amount of money stolen will be
disclosed after an audit by the bank,
Feldman said.
Bank officials would not comment on
the robbery.
Dukakis, Bush downplay large Republican lead
ctions o
ha iirf
I COHdlk' 1
Associated Press
Democrat Michael Dukakis lashed front-running
George Bush as a man with “no convictions, no
ideas and no plans” Tuesday and blamed Republi
can policies for last year’s stock market plunge.
Bush tried to contain supporters’ enthusiasm over
polls showing him building a large lead.
“We’re not going to lighten up,” the Republi
can presidential nominee said while campaigning
in Missouri. “No votes can be taken for granted
and I’m not taking any votes for granted. I will
continue to campaign as an underdog. ”
There was no question who was the real under
dog — Dukakis. But he drew enthusiastic crowds
as he campaigned through Michigan with aides
battling the growing perception that Bush had
taken an insurmountable lead with just three weeks
until the election.
Dukakis’ running mate Lloyd Bentsen delivered
a strongly worded response to the Republicans, ac
cusing Bush of running one of the “most outra
geous displays of negative campaigning” ever
seen in the history of national politics.
The Massachusetts governor sharpened his lan
guage as he focused on economic issues and por
trayed Bush as the candidate of the wealthy.
“George Bush cares about the people on Easy
Street,” Dukakis said. “I care about the people on
Main Street. He’s on their side. I’m on your side.”
“Duke, Duke, Duke,” the crowds chanted.
Dukakis also brought up the huge stock-market
drop that occurred one year ago Wednesday.
“The trade deficit had soared,” he said. “Re
publican policies of borrow and spend and borrow
and spend had done the damage. ’ ’
ienext
The Texas A&M MSC Town Hall Ex-
Hve Committee decided Tuesday
light lo move the Oct. 25 Robert Palmer
lonert from G. Rollie White Coliseum
•o Rudder Auditorium following slug-
gishjicket sales, said Keith Spera, chair-
|anofMSC Town Hall.
Bound 2,100 tickets were sold, but
toe Coliseum has a capacity of about
POO. so the committee decided to move
i concert to the auditorium, he said.
I The auditorium has a capacity of 2,500.
fSpera said the decision was made
jointly by the committee, Palmer’s agent
• if tod Town Hall’s adviser, Laura Crotau.
Tickets will be transferred to equiva-
A: btlseats at the show, Spera said, and in
Host cases ticketholders will end up with
better seats.
ISpera said there are around 400 tickets
bat$14each.
J SPalmcr has been playing small arenas
, this tour, Spera said, and more tickets
77(C "'ere sold for the A&M concert than in
^ J Huston.
Clubs share DWI concerns with patrons
fflRBW l - * mi rrnnntntnninmr •to#*,. -w-fc. • -m rnr't • • •
Photo by Jay Janner
Sophomore Craig Hannah examines a wrecked car being displayed by Off
Campus Aggies near Rudder fountain. The display is part of Alcohol Aware
ness Week and is intended to show the results of drinking and driving.
By Richard Tijerina
Staff Writer
Patrons who have had too much to
drink at local clubs, bars and restau
rants often are not alone in worrying
about how to get home or when to
stop drinking. The owners of local es
tablishments often take it upon them
selves to make sure their customers
get home safely.
Several owners of local clubs and
restaurants said they often take the
customer’s safety into their own
hands when the customers have had
too much to drink. Many times, that
includes refusing to serve alcohol to
an intoxicated patron and finding a
means of transportation to get him or
her home safely.
Don Ganter, owner of the Dixie
Chicken, said that his first priority in
trying to help an intoxicated person is
to make him or her feel comfortable
and start looking for a way to get
them home.
“We’re extremely nice to them,”
he said. “We don’t want them to be
come irate. We first search to see if
they have friends around in the
crowd. Then we make the determin
ation to see if their friends have the
ability to negotiate with an auto
mobile. We'll find a friend 95 percent
of the time.”
Ganter said the Dixie Chicken will
call a cab for anyone who has no way
to get home, and that depending on
the situation, either the local hangout
or the customer would pay for cab
fare.
Paul Emola, owner of the Texas
Hall of Fame, said that his two main
priorities also are to see that the in
toxicated customer no longer has any
thing to drink for the night and to get
him or her home safely.
“We immediately cut him off from
drinking,” Emola said. “If he has a
friend, we’ll get his friend to drive
him home. If he doesn’t have trans
portation, we’ll call a cab. We’ll even
pay for the cab if it ? s necessary.
“However, we have a unique situa
tion in that we have bartenders, but
not waitresses, so they have to go to
the bar to order drinks. Then it’s eas
ier to determine if they’re drunk or
not.”
Ganter also said that the Dixie
Chicken will post employees at the
entrance to be able to spot intoxicated
persons and minors more easily.
“We’ll post people at the door on
busy nights,” he said. “If all else
fails, we’ll turn them all over to the
College Station Police Department.
Their policy is very good. They come
and try to get them to call a friend or a
roommate or whatever.”
Most owners of local clubs, bars
and restaurants are not responsible for
any deaths or accidents that arise
from a person drinking too much at
their establishment, because their
bartenders have gone through a spe
cial Alcohol Services Course given
by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage
Commission.
According to TABC assistant su
pervisor Ron Stone, the program is
directed more toward employees than
toward retailers, and that the program
teaches the employees to detect intox
icated persons, how to prevent them
from drinking any more alcoholic
beverages, how to detect minors and
how to detect false identification.
However, Stone said that even
though the owner may not be liable if
the employee has gone through this
course, the employee may still be
held responsible and be brought in for
criminal charges.
Ganter said all his bartenders and
door people have gone through the
TABC program, and that successful
completion of the program is a pre
requisite before he hires.
Ganter said he often calls the Yel
low Cab company to pick up intoxi
cated customers and take them home.
Paul Freeman, supervisor of Yellow
Cab, said he has an agreement with a
few local establishments to take peo
ple home for a fixed rate.
The agreements that Yellow Cab
has with establishments, including
Graffiti’s, the Edge and Graham’s
Central Station, are longstanding,
and Freeman said they are very suc
cessful.
Flat rates for taxi service vary.
Freeman said the flat rate for Graffi
ti’s and the Edge is $5 fare per cab,
no matter how many people are riding
in the car. Yellow Cab’s policy with
Graffiti’s is to take the customer
home and then return to the club to
collect the fare.