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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 1988)
State/Local The Battalion. Thursday, Oct. 27, 1988 Page 3 nimal shelter, veterinary association ncourage responsible pet ownership [The Brazos Animal Shelter, the Stu- fent Chapter of the American Veterinary Jedical Association and The Battalion combining their efforts to promote Isponsible pet ownership. Their goal is t|promote knowledgable pet care, kind- ^ss, public health and civic responsibi lities by publishing weekly articles, |Which will help A&M students and fac- Vty become more informed pet owners. iiV.:' ■ Brazos Ltiimal Shelter |Pet ownership brings great rewards Jch as a warm greeting in the morning, bquestioning devotion even when times bad, laughter and companionship, bese are but a few of the factors consid- pd as part of the human/animal bond. However, with this pleasure goes a tre mendous amount of responsibility. It is this aspect of the bond that should be carefully thought about before you be come a pet owner. Nothing is quite as irresistible as that cute little ball of fur called a puppy or kitten. They are so cute, in fact, that im pulse or spur-of-the-moment buying is most common. Then comes the reality. The enjoy ment of the physical and behavioral cute ness is still there, but the reality of the re sponsibility begins. The puppy is not completely house- trained yet, so there are messes on the floor to clean up. The furniture is no longer safe from puppy teeth or kitty claws. Litterboxes must be changed. The youngsters need fresh water all the time and good quality food two to three times a day. Many pets need occa sional to daily brushing to maintain a healthy haircoat. Obedience lessons teach the pet to obey. Then there is the routine health care such as proper vaccinations, worming, surgical ovariohysterectomies (“spays”) or castrations, and parasite control. Responsible pet ownership involves sharing. In return for health care and a home, the pet gives unconditional love, companionship and loyalty. But often there is a sad part to the story. Americans think of most things as disposable. Soft drink cans are thrown away. Clothes change with fads. Tele vision sets are replaced when they stop working. Puppies and kittens grow up and lose their cuteness, so often they are dumped out along the roadside to “fend for them selves” or surrendered to the animal shel ter to “go to another home.” The sad fact is that most domesticated animals cannot fend for themselves and die of starvation or a car accident — most that are surren dered to a shelter never leave. Euthanasia is a humane death for the animal, but it is a terrible result of the thoughtlessness of a pet owner who does not want to continue to accept responsi bility. For a few minor sacrifices of some time and money, the pet owner can have many years of a truly unique interaction — the mutual respect between two dif ferent species. The responsibility for a pet’s life and well-being is nothing com pared to the benefits received. aturalization service fines amily for employing alien ARLINGEN (AP) — A family that Is caught employing an undocumented al^n as a live-in maid will be fined for fviolating the immigration reform law, jjofficials said Wednesday. lesiiliBmmigration and Naturalization Serv- iho ice investigators on Oct. 13 visited the hotiyresidencc in the Lower Rio Grande Val- tley city of San Benito after receiving a telephone tip on the “Employer Sanc- poti' Hotline,” said Virginia Kice, a |spokewoman for the INS’ Harlingen Dis trict at the southern tip of the state. B‘This family conceded that they were in violation of the law, and agreed to pay (lie fine,” said Kice, adding that hiring lindocumented maids from Mexico is a long-standing, common practice along the border. ■INS officials on Tuesday mailed the ■Otice of intent to levy the violators $350 iifines, including $250 for hiring the il- [legal maid and $100 for not having a completed Employment Eligibility Veri fication Form, known as Form 1-9, for her. to hire people not authorized to work in the United States and does not differen tiate between the commercial sector and “If members of Congress had wanted to exclude do mestic workers from this law, they would have writ ten the legislation differently.” — Patrick B. Dale It is the minimum fine possible under the law, which provides for penalties in the thousands of dollars. The 24-year-old maid, who was earn ing $40 per week and had lived with the family since July, was returned to Mex ico on “voluntary departure,” Kice said. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which provides amnesty for certain illegal aliens, also makes it illegal domestic workers, such as maids and those performing yard work. Anyone employing someone regularly is required under the immigration law to ensure that the employee is authorized to work in the United States, and must have them complete an 1-9 Form if they were hired after Nov. 6, 1986. “The only time an individual is freed from the responsibility of filling out an 1- 9 on a domestic worker is if that worker only works on a sporadic or irregular ba sis,” Kice said. “If they live in your home, or if they come in every week, or every other week on a prescribed sched ule, you need to have an 1-9 on that indi vidual.” If a person does not have the docu ments needed to complete the form, the employer violates the law by hiring that individual. While this was the first employer sanctions case in the Valley involving an undocumented maid, INS officials pre dicted there will be others. “If members of Congress had wanted to exclude domestic workers from this law, they would have written the legis lation differently,” said INS Supervisory Special Agent Patrick B. Dale. “As it stands, maids do fall under the law and we intend to enforce it.” Hearing begins for consultant in tax theft case HOUSTON (AP) — A Harris County grand jury began hearing tes timony on a Fort Worth-area property tax consultant who officials say skimmed $90 million from the coun ty’s tax rolls for a national drug store chain over the last two years. Officials said Tuesday they plan to adjust the assessments for Walgreen’s Drug Stores, the first step in collect ing about $2 million in taxes owed to the county and other local govern ments. “We know of potentially six or seven unrelated tax agents,” said Eric Hagstette, an assistant Harris County district attorney. “Each of them may have a number of clients. ” A former employee of the Fort Worth-area firm, which represents property owners before the appraisal districts in Houston and elsewhere, told authorities that the consulting firm was understating the values of its clients’ inventories of business equip ment. Hagstette, appraisal district Deputy Chief Appraiser Jim Robinson and a Walgreen’s spokesman all said Wal green’s did not know that the tax con sultants were shaving values from the drug store chain’s tax assessment. “It is under-reporting of inventory, it is that simple,” Hagstette said. “They under-reported the original costs, which lowered current value and resulted in a lower tax assess ment.” In addition to taxes on real estate and improvements, businesses are re quired to pay taxes on the value of their inventory and other property. The businesses are required to submit annual statements to the appraisal dis trict concerning the value of the prop erty. Hagstette said a grand jury heard testimony from appraisal district offi cials Tuesday, and five employees of the tax consulting firm have been subpoenaed to testify Thursday. Hagstette said the Walgreen’s case could be the tip of an iceberg that may have deprived local governments across Texas of tens of millions of dollars in revenues from business per- “It is under-reporting of inventory. It is that sim ple. They under-reported the original costs, which lowered current value and resulted in a lower tax assessment.” — Eric Hagstette, assistant district attorney sonal property taxes. In 1987, Walgreen’s Harris County assessed values will be increased from $40.3 million to $82.8 million. For 1988, the value will be increased from $40.8 million to $87.8 million, Robinson said. Some businesses may have known about the tax agents’ methods, Hagstette said. “But we don’t feel there was any guilty knowledge on (Walgreen’s) behalf. We’re not say ing they looked the other way. They simply didn’t look. ’ ’ “They have cooperated down the line even with the knowledge they are going to be hit with some back taxes,” he said. Thomas Mammoser, director of corporate communications in Wal green’s Chicago headquarters, said the company is cooperating fully with the Harris County district attorney and the grand jury. The tax agents sign up clients by telling them they are paying too much in taxes and agree to handle it for a share of the money saved in lower taxes, usually 50 percent, Hagstette said. The investigation, which has been under way for about a year, is ex pected to continue for several months, but Hagstette said he may soon ask the grand jury to return as many as a dozen indictments. St; vasi' 1 spar (i y CO#!’ chon® lysed] Pay for one* take home two* Order one cheesy, delicious pizza from Little Caesars,® and 've automatically Sive you two. But the second one is on us. We call that Northgate Now Delivers to Campus, Delivery Charge $1.°° BUY ONE PIZZA... iET ONE FREE! [ Buy any stee pixxn at the regular price, get the i identical pizza FliEli! 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