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Texas A&M
The Battalion
WEATHER
'/VS/zva
FORECAST for SATURDAY:
Mostly cloudy and warmer with a
30 percent chance of lingering
morning rain.
HIGH.-76
LOW:58
Vol.88 No. 133 USPS 045360 10 pages
College Station, Texas
Friday, April 14,1989
Schools rush to cash in on fusion breakthrough
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NEW YORK (AP) — Universities are rac
ing to cash in on cold nuclear fusion with a
haste that shows how scholarly research of
ten is tinged by big business.
A broad patent on cold nuclear fusion
could be worth billions of dollars if the in
vention turns out to provide a new way of
producing cheap, clean and abundant en-
ergy.
But the lure of money inhibits explora
tion of cold fusion claims as leading re
searchers withhold information in order to
protect their patent positions, lawyers and
scholars said Thursday.
“There is absolutely no doubt in my
mind that once you dangle out that pot of
gold called a patent, it causes people to pub
lish less and disclose less,” Donald Chisum,
a patent expert at the University of Wash
ington, said this week.
Scientists trying to test the cold fusion
claims announced at a news conference last
month have been stymied because the two
researchers have withheld important details
of their work.
The University of Utah applied for three
patents even before the March 23 news con
ference featuring its own B. Stanley Pons
and his co-investigator, Martin Fleisch-
mann of the University of Southampton in
England.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
said this week it has applied for patents on
work done by a researcherj Peter
Hagelstein.
Brigham Young University plans to ap
ply for patents as well, although mainly to
establish the credibility of its researcher,
Steven Jones, rather than to make money,
spokesman Paul Richards said.
Pons and Fleischmann announced last
month they had achieved fusion using ordi
nary laboratory equipment at room temper
ature — the so-called cold fusion. They said
their device produced four watts of energy
for every watt it used.
Widespread skepticism about their find
ings has continued despite partial confir
mation by other researchers. Still, the stakes
are so high that virtually every major chem
ical research laboratory is believed to be
looking into it.
Fusion is especially attractive as an en
ergy source because it would produce far
less radioactive waste than conventional nu
clear reactors, which capture the energy re
leased by splitting atoms in fission.
“It’s almost unknowable, unthinkable,
how much it would be worth,” John Bock-
ris, a chemistry professor at Texas A&M
said.
Bockris also said he was upset by the way
the focus on patents had disrupted the nor
mal scientific disclosure process.
Patent lawyers usually advise clients to
file for patents before they disclose any
thing publicly. Secrecy helps even after a
patent application is filed because it gives
the inventors time to modify their applica
tion with new findings or to file for more
patents.
“The more information you give out, the
more can be used against you,” Chisum
said. “From a patent law perspective, publi
cation is bad.”
Richards, the Brigham Young spokes
man, said the school applied for patents
mainly so that the Patent and Trademark
Office has a chance to sort out what he
called false allegations that Jones stole
Fleischmann’s and Pons’ work. Richards
said Brigham Young did not believe cold
fusion was likely to be very valuable com
mercially.
Richards claimed University of Utah offi
cials held their March 23 news conference
despite an agreement with Brigham Young
officials that the schools would keep quiet
about their work until March 24, the day
they had agreed to ship back-to-back pa
pers on cold fusion to the British journal
Nature.
Richards and several patent lawyers Said
the University of Utah’s unusual news con
ference appeared to be more of a grab for
publicity than anything.
“I think they just naively thought they
could pull this off and go down in history as
the first ones to have done this,” Richards
said.
April showers
A student shields himself from the light rain
Thursday while walking down the sidewalk
Photo by Kathy Haveman
bordering Simpson Drill Field. Drizzle domi
nated the day. More rain is expected today.
Police say students invented
story to cover up shooting
By Juliette Rizzo
STAFF WRITER
Two Texas A&M students who told police they were
shot at by a “stranded motorist” about 1 a.m. Wednes
day morning approximately 10 miles east of College
Station, allegedly fabricated the shooting to cover up an
argument that took place in Houston concerning nar
cotics.
Bob Wiatt, director of security and University Police,
said the students, both 20 years of age, will be charged
by the Brazos County Sheriffs Office and the UPD with
furnishing a false report to a peace officer, a charge
which carries a punishment of six months or more in
jail and/or a $ 1,000 fine.
Wiatt said police determined Wednesday afternoon
that the students’ original report was false.
He said the students recanted their original story af
ter they realized they had contradicted themselves dur
ing questioning at the A.P. Beutel Health Center.
He said that the reports of both students did not
seem factual from the beginning because of an unex
plained lapse of time between the time they allegedly
were shot and the time they arrived at the health center.
They arrived at the health center at 5 a.m.
Wiatt said the students originally told officers that
they stopped near Millican to help a stranded driver. As
they got out of the car, the students said the driver
pulled a gun and demanded their money, Wiatt said. As
they started running away, they said the driver fired at
them.
Wiatt said the students actually drove to an area near
Houston to purchase narcotics. After doing so, he said,
they partied with a group of individuals after which an
argument ensued about the narcotics.
He said one of the partygoers then shot both with a
shotgun.
Wiatt said the students then got into their vehicle and
fled the area to return to A&M.
The two had superficial wounds from birdshot, Wiatt
said, but realized they needed medical attention for
wounds in their arms and legs, so they checked into the
health center.
Wiatt said the students concocted the story to explain
the wounds to medical staff and University Police offi
cers who were called.
Sheriff Ronnie Miller of the College Station Police
Department said a complaint of giving a false report to
police officers would be filed with the county attorney’s
office. Miller said warrants for the students’ arrest may
be obtained as early as today.
Local officials warn that parents
must learn to recognize Satanism
PART2 OF A 2 PART SERIES
By Richard Tijerina
STAFF WRITER
Bryan-College Station parents
must learn how to recognize and
deal with the harmful effects of Sata
nism because it is a problem in the
Brazos Valley, local officials say.
Local church and police officials
say Satanism, a religion that pro
motes devil worship, is a subject
which many parents in the commu
nity aren’t concerned about se
riously.
However, they say it is a problem
that is beginning to surface in the
community and parents must know
the possible warning signals their
children may be showing.
Susan Dow, associate director for
community and government for
Brazos County Juvenile Services,
says Satanism and the occult, which
is the general term for the study of
the supernatural, are more than
“hobbies.”
“It’s not just games that kids are
playing,” Dow says. “It’s a real way of
life if and when they do become in
volved in the occult. There are signs
of smoke, and when there’s smoke,
there’s fire.”
The Juvenile Services Depart
ment sponsored an in-service train
ing March 28 to help inform local
professionals who deal with young
people on a regular basis of the dan
gers and warning signs of occult ac
tivity.
These local professionals included
police, church, counseling and high
school officials.
Dow says the most important
thing poeple who attended the pro
gram learned was to consider the
subject a serious one. She says it’s im
portant for parents in the commu
nity to talk to their children about
Satanism and not to ignore the sensi
tive subject.
Yvonne Patterson, a guest speaker
at the program, founded a commu
nity outreach group in San Antonio
called Exodus. Exodus serves as a
safe haven for young people trying
to escape the effects of Satanism as
well as providing counseling for chil
dren who are victims of child abuse.
The possible danger signs a par
ent should watch for in a child that
may be involved in Satanism or the
occult include rebellion, moving
away from the family unit, sinister
behavior, having suspicious friends,
talking about subjects such as death
See Satanism/Page 8
Tax deadline extended
until Monday, April 17
By Juliette Rizzo
STAFF WRITER
Although the traditional dead
line for filing income taxes re
turns is April 15, this year the
deadline will be extended
through Monday.
Paul C. Hughes, district man
ager for H&R Block, said that be
cause the traditional April 15
deadline falls on Saturday this
year, the law gives taxpayers an
extra two days to file their tax re
turns. All returns must be post
marked by Monday.
Taxpayers unable to file by this
date are allowed a four-month
extension of time to file, he said.
This, however, does not include
an extension of time to pay. Ev
eryone is guaranteed an auto
matic extension, he said, as long
as they file extension Form 4868
and remember to include a check
for any back taxes owed.
Having more than 10 percent
of your tax liability unpaid at the
time of filing will negate the ex
tension application and result in a
late filing penalty, along with in
terest.
The late filing penalty is 5 per
cent of the unpaid balance per
month (or part of a month), up to
a 25 percent maximum.
Hughes suggested some help
ful tips for taxpayers to help
avoid last-minute problems.
He said taxpayers should check
their standard and itemized de
ductions carefully. He said un
reimbursed medical expenses
cannot be used as itemized de
ductions unless they exceed 7.5
percent of adjusted gross income.
Sales taxes also are no longer
deductible. He said interest from
car loans, personal loans or
credit-card purchases is 40 per
cent deductible.
Hughes said it’s never too late
to get help with taxes. He recom
mends that anyone needing assis
tance, before or after the dead
line, refer to the January 1989
issue of Money Magazine. A spe
cial informative report on page
91 rates the most commonly used
forms from the easiest to use to
the most confusing, which people
should avoid.
Hughes said that when taxpay
ers have completed returns, two
options are available for sending
the return to the Internal Reve
nue Service: The return can be
mailed or sent electronically
through the Electronic Filing Sys
tem (EES).
Hughes said filing electroni
cally greatly reduces the amount
of paper used and lowers the
margin of error for returns. He
said returns sent by this method
are processed faster and thus tax
payers may receive refund checks
sooner.
Fire school may face
sanctions for violations
By Dean Sueltenfuss
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Texas A&M’s Brayton Fireman’s
Training School faces possible en
forcement action by the Texas Wa
ter Commission for violating its
wastewater discharge permit,
according to commission docu
ments.
But officials with the fire school
said the matter was resolved in an in
formal meeting with water commis
sion officials.
Wastewater generated by the
school, which is located near Eas-
terwood Airport and is among the
largest fire-training schools in the
country, results from training exer
cises in which water is used to extin
guish fuel fires. Oil is separated
from the water before the water is
discharged.
In a letter dated Feb. 14 from Ra
mon E. Dasch, chief of the wastewa
ter enforcement section of the water
commission, to Charles Page, head
of A&M’s Fire Protection and Train
ing Division, Dasch said that for each
month from May to October 1988,
the fire school violated its permit by
discharging excessive amounts of
wastewater.
The Texas Water Code directs the
commission to initiate enforcement
proceedings against permit holders
who violate their permit for four
consecutive months.
Water from the fire school nor
mally is reused, but sometimes is dis
charged into White Creek, a trib
utary of the Brazos River. The
permit held by the school allows a
maximum daily outflow of 250,000
gallons and requires reporting of ex
cess water discharges.
The letter requested that Page at
tend a conference concerning the vi
olations March 7 at the commission’s
Austin office.
Page was out of town and unavail
able for comment.
John Donovan, manager of the
fire field at A&M, said he attended
the conference and that the water
commission is not taking action
against the fire school. Donovan said
officials at the commission have de
cided a hearing is not necessary.
“The reason we were exceeding
our permit is because we were proc
essing rainwater, which is environ
mentally more sound than just
dumping the rainwater from the
projects into the creek,” Donovan
said.
Donovan said the fire school is
seeking to increase the discharge
limitations of its permit to 500,000
gallons of water per day.
Previously, rainwater at the fire
field was allowed to run into White
Creek untreated, he said.
Bill Colbert, director of public in
formation for the water commission,
declined to comment on possible en
forcement action against the school.
Colbert said a hearing “might or
might not” occur concerning the vio
lations.
Colbert said Page will send a letter
to the commission by today outlining
his plans to correct the violations.
President Bush
scheduled to speak
at A&M graduation
By Stephen Masters
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
President George Bush will
speak at Texas A&M commence
ment exercises May 12, Texas
A&M officials confirmed Thurs
day.
Lane Stephenson, director of
A&M’s office of public informa
tion, said Sen. Phil Gramm, R-
Texas, announced in Washington
Thursday that Bush had accepted
A&M’s invitation to speak.
Bush is scheduled to speak at
the 2 p.m. ceremony for master’s
and doctoral degree candidates,
and the colleges of liberal arts, ge
osciences and sciences.
Gary Englegau, executive di
rector of admissions and records,
said no decision has been made as
to whether the number of guests
at the ceremony will be limited.
“It may be some time before
we’re clear whether changes (in
the ceremonies) are going to be
necessary,” Englegau said.
“There are three ceremonies, but
obviously there is going to be
greater interest in the president.”
Englegau said it likely would be
one to two weeks before any an
nouncement is made regarding
an attendance limit for the cere
mony.
University President William
Mobley and A&M Board of Re
gents Chairman William McKen
zie issued a joint statement say
ing, “We are obviously delighted
that President Bush has agreed to
Battalion file photo
George Bush
honor Texas A&M, its students
and former students in this man
ner.”
The ceremony will be the sec
ond time Bush has spoken at
A&M commencement exercises.
Bush gave a commencement ad
dress in 1984 while he was vice
president.
Two other commencement
speakers will be announced later
this month, the A&M’a Office of
Public Information said.
Tom Foster, assistant head of
A&M’s Fire Protection and Training
Division, said processing rainwater is
safer than letting it run off the field
untreated, even if it results in excess
water discharge.
“According to our permit, we can
let that rainwater run off and run
right down into the creek,” Foster
said. “But if it’s coming off the pro
jects out there, we want it to go
through our filtering process.”
The Feb. 14 letter to the fire
school was based on a water commis
sion report dated Feb. 9 that stated
the fire school exceeded its dis
charge volume limit by 68 percent
during May 1988. This percentage
increased during the following five
months, and in October the dis
charge from the fire school was 480
percent above the permitted limit,
the report stated.
A Dec. 12, 1988 letter to the water
commission from Donovan indi
cated the school also violated its per
mit in November by discharging
more than 2.5 million gallons of
wastewater beyond the permitted
amount.
In 1986 the commission consid
ered a cleanup of the fire school un
der the state superfund program.
The water commission investigated
the school and decided it did not
qualify as a state superfund site, a
water commission report stated.