[he Battalion
Estate & local
3
/ednesday, June 14,1989
trustees nix name of Alamo hero
pry an board to name school for black educator, not slaveholder
BROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
rt
latt
1c Burnett
ilumnist
A hero who was good enough for the Alamo is
ot good enough to name a new elementary
Ichool after, Bryan school trustees decided Mon-
■ay.
■ Trustees voted against naming the school after
William Barret Travis when questions arose
|bout Travis’ morals and beliefs.
Instead, black educator Mary Branch will be-
ome the school’s namesake. Travis, an Alamo
lommander, was rejected after it was pointed out
hat he had abandoned his wife and child in Ala-
ama and owned slaves.
Bob Calvert of the Texas State Historical So-
iety told trustees that Travis was “a ne’er-do-well
ho in two weeks time happened to do some-
|hing wonderful.”
Calvert and Carey Cauley, president of the lo-
al chapter of the National Association for the
dvancement of Colored People, both said
Branch would be a better choice.
Branch, who was born in 1881 in Virginia,
rorked her way up from a job as a maid to give
erself an education, eventually becoming the
first woman college president in Texas, Walker
said. She served as head of Austin’s Huston-Till-
otson College from 1930-44.
The current Travis Elementary School will be
closed in 1990 and be replaced by the school
named for Branch.
irport plans ridiculed by environmentali sts
es of energy
ment, theyi
uclear plants
nry Waxmanj
Commerce Eitj
e listed a Ptj
mt as posing I
causing canal
I or petroleo
-Mb ihtougiiib KATY (AP) — Proponents of a
in the reporllivest Houston airport sang its praises
-in-1,000 caiiitKuring a public hearing, but envi-
he safety ofn.p onmenta hsts ridiculed the place-
nuclear rrirltP ient ihe facility at a wintering
i live. In fact, * rea f or waterfowl.
of is on ouiw }-| ouston Aviation Department,
hich plans to build the general avi-
clear accident I 1 ation facility in Waller County, and
mg uraniuraliipe Federal Aviation Administra-
d 'releases rail l' on > which must approve it, listened
Chernobyl. Tl 0 ^ l ^ tin T y d ° ZenS ° f
, . 1 ■ llpeakers Monday night,
i ced America I p-j ot Hanneman of Sugar
its nuclear pi® an d demonstrated his opposition
new technok'l by addressing the hearing from be-
isearch. Receli bind an airplane windshield that was
; safer, cheaptl
d ones. All oil
issive” safety (f-j
>n natural fot«
No power on earth can convince
me he’s not (a hero).... The name
of William Barret Travis must be
sustained. I’m going to vote for him,
even if everybody votes against me.”
— Travis Bryan Jr.
Travis, who, according to folklore, drew the
famous line in the dirt of the Alamo, received
staunch support from trustees Travis Bryan Jr.
and Herbert Wade.
But the vote went against Travis after trustee
Wendy Costa questioned Travis’ morals.
Bryan said he supported continuing the
namesake because Travis “is Texas’ greatest
hero, in my opinion.”
It was then that Costa asked Bryan, “What
about Travis’ life was exemplary, that we need to
honor him?”
“He was a commander of the Alamo,” Bryan
said. “He was selected to die for Texas. He wrote
the letter, he drew the line. He was the main man
at the Alamo.”
During the siege of the Alamo, Travis wrote a
letter describing his plight and appealing for
help.
Noting that the city’s population is 22 percent
black, Costa asked, “How can we even consider
naming a school after someone who was so
strongly in favor of slavery?”
“All of my life I’ve been told that William Bar
ret Travis is the greatest Texas hero,” Bryan said.
“Now Mrs. Costa tells me he left his wife and chil
dren.
“No power on earth can convince me he’s not
(a hero), not even Wendy Costa.” he said.
“The name of William Barret Travis must be
sustained,” he said. “I’m going to vote for him,
even if everybody votes against me.”
smashed by a bird.
“Everywhere I’ve been where
there’s birds, the airplanes make out
pretty bad,” Hanneman said.
Hanneman said the window was
from his small plane, which was
struck by a duck as he was flying
2,000 feet over the Katy area at
night in 1984. The incident knocked
him unconscious briefly, but he
landed safely at a private airport.
v The city says the site would have
minimal environmental impact, and
the FAA says the problem of birds
being harmed, or harming airplanes
in flight, is “manageable.”
Jacquelyne Bowman of the Cy-
Fair Chamber of Commerce said the
proposed Westside Airport “would
greatly enhance our economic devel
opment.” Her remarks were typical
of pro-airport presentations given at
the hearing at Katy High School.
Katy Councilman Paulette Nelson
said, “Don’t let the loudness of a few
disturb the future of our area.”
Local officials said a third major
airport for Houston would enrich
the tax base of the expanding west
side and improve the Katy Indepen
dent School District’s financial situa
tion as it grapples with growing en
rollment.
But environmental groups and
others say the bird hazard problem
in the area has been purposely un
derstated, and they are calling for a
full Environmental Impact
Statement that would be conducted
with input from federal agencies.
Fred LeBlanc, a biologist with the
state Parks and Wildlife Depart
ment, delivered a statement indicat
ing the agency has serious doubts
about the site.
Because the city’s “environmental
assessment” does not include
enough details about environmental
impact, the agency cannot now sup
port the plan, the statement said.
State balances budget
without increasing taxes
AUSTIN (AP) — State Comp
troller Bob Bullock certified the
$47.4 billion state budget as bal
anced Tuesday and sent it to Gov.
Bill Clements with a note: “No
new taxes Governor!”
Even with a 12 percent in
crease in spending, state lawmak
ers were able to balance the bud
get without a general tax increase
because of projected revenue
growth tied to the improving
economy, and a series of tax ad
justments and bookkeeping mea
sures.
After signing a record $5.7 bil
lion tax increase in 1987, Clem
ents told lawmakers this year he
would reject any new taxes.
Bullock had proposed an in
crease in the cigarette tax that
would have also attracted federal
funds for health care programs
for the poor, but legislators
backed off the plan under the
threat of a Clements veto.
Clements has until midnight
Sunday to sign the appropria
tions bill, or it automatically be
comes law. The governor has the
authority to veto specific items
from the budget.
“The staff is currently review
ing the appropriations bill and
discussing various issues with the
governor,” Jay Rosser, Clements’
deputy press secretary, said. “The
governor takes his constitutional
power regarding the appropria
tions bill very, very seriously.”
In 1987, after an special ses
sion on the budget, Clements, a
Republican, vetoed $167.4 mil
lion from the budget, including
funds for several Democratic offi
ceholders’ aircraft budgets.
The budget before him now
represents a 12 percent increase
from overall current spending
and is 14.7 percent, or $3.6 bil-
Bob Bullock
lion, more in general revenue
spending, which are tax funds.
Under the two-year budget,
criminal justice spending would
increase 21 percent, or $1.8 bil
lion, for prison expansion and re
forms to divert inmates from the
state prison system, which is un
der a federal court order prohib
iting overcrowding.
In health and human services,
the budget would expand Medi
caid programs for the poor and
would allocate about $18.4 mil
lion for AIDS services, a $15 mil
lion increase from the last two-
year budget appropriation.
The budget also calls for in
creasing public school spending
by 6.4 percent, or $655 million,
with $450 million of that going
toward equalizing funding to
poor school districts. Poor schools
have sued the state, saying Texas’
school financing method is dis
criminatory. The case is pending
before the Texas Supreme Court.
State employees would receive
a 5 percent pay raise.
fficials say global warming will cause more frequent droughts
in design p« i AUS TIN (AP) — More frequent and
se and Gena
ivity as a re]
let work ofdiu
pumps in cast
/ould be r
longer droughts are the future weather
Iforecast for the state if global warming
trends continue unabated, the Texas De
partment of Agriculture said Tuesday.
I * “We are fouling our nest,” Agriculture
immissioner Jim Hightower said.
“We know that a warmer globe means
at human, animal and plant life will
ange,” he said. “As our ecosystems
ange, so must we. The dinosaurs couldn’t
im that lesson, but we must.”
Hightower released his department’s
idy at a briefing on the impacts of
, the fuel
warmer temperatures on the climate, water
and agriculture.
The study said that atmospheric changes
from industrialization are causing an over
all warming trend on the planet. In Texas,
this could result in an average increase in
temperature of as much as 7 degrees over
the next 100 years, the study said.
While the study said it is impossible to ac
curately predict regional changes in rain
fall, higher rates of evaporation and other
effects likely will reduce the availability of
water in much of Texas.
“In inland areas this could be exacer
bated by an increase in the frequency and
severity of droughts as a result of an overall
reduction in rainfall,” the study said.
“In contrast, coastal regions are expected
to experience more severe and more fre
quent storms during summer months. This
would heighten the risk of flooding that will
result from sea level rise,” the report said.
Hightower said the impact of the world
wide “greenhouse effect” is pervasive and
will have “some very sobering consequences
for Texas water resources, agriculture, for
ests, grasslands, wetlands, economic activity
and recreation.”
Among the effects, he said, could be in
creased risks in farming caused by an in
crease in the frequency of extreme weather
events; reduced rainfall and reduced
groundwater levels; increased plant de
mand for water due to heat stress; lower
rates of weight gain in captle, and increased
pest control problems.
Hightower and the study said there are
actions that can be taken now to help offset
the warming trend.
“Reversing or slowing the rate of global
warming will entail a serious commitment
to change our patterns of energy consump
tion, to use our cleanest burning fuels and
to increase energy efficiency,” Hightower
said.
Among the study’s recommendations:
• Encourage use of conventional fuels
such as natural gas.
• Improve efficiency of electric power
production.
• Improve the energy " efficiency of
buildings and appliances.
• Phase in the use of renewable energy
sources.
• Reduce amounts of waste generated
and increase recycling.
• Reduce the energy intensity of agricul
ture and the use of nitrogen fertilizers.
• Reduce the impact of direct sunlight
and wind on crops.
than 2,(1
>\v the 3,1
meltdown. Ik
>e no Chinas) 1
1 situation wk
job and burns
uminist Asia!
:ar energy tosa
dng populalit
te brink ofsoa
our nuclear' 1
can master
on, the possli
my of this to
ive public. In
/, though, an
ally a support
junior ekcin 1 '
1 a columnist 1
l,
P!
WW:
286 Performance at XT's Price
5 Times Faster Than IBM PC!
4.77/15 MHz XT
640K Bytes RAM
Mono/Color Adaptor
Hi-Res Amber Monitor
AT Style Keyboard
360K Floppy Drive
Parallel, Serial
Clock, Game Port
MS-DOS & Basic Included!
1L=Ji
$699
INNOVATIVE computer systems
404 University East Ph.(409)693-7115
"Registered trademarks of their respective companies. |
\aCGIe\u/^CINEMA/
Presents
ImmmA
f I?
l/X. -V*
Wednesday. June 14
9:00 PM at The Grove
Admission 50 cents w/TAMU ID
One dollar without TAMU ID
Bring your friends and enjoy a great movie,
popcorn, soft drinks, snow cones, or fresh
Texas A & M Creamery Ice Cream!
State law prohibits alcoholic beverages at the Grove.
• We Deliver • 846-5273 • We Deliver • 846-5273 •
flOM Steakhousc
108 College Main
across from KJnko's
Wednesday Special
Chicken Fried Steak
Dinner includes Baked Potato or Fries,
Salad, Texas Toast and Iced Tea
$2.99
£
^ Best Cheeseburger In Town
5 Call about delivery ! bring this coupon
• We veuver • 846-5273 • We Deliver • 846-5273 •
SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE g
Is% 3 Contact Lenses
eP 0 Only Quality Name Brands 0ff er
(Bausch & Lomb, Ciba, Barnes-Hinds-Hydrocurve)
$ ygoo pr. *-STD. DAILY WEAR SOFT LENSES
$ 99 00
$ 99 00
pr. *-STD. EXTENDED WEAR SOFT LENSES
pr. *-STD. TINTED SOFT LENSES
DAILY WEAR OR EXTENDED WEAR
SPARE PAIR ONLY $1 00
Applies only to Baush & Lomb soft lenses
with purchase of 1 st pr. at reg. price
Call 696-3754 for Appointment
>
i-
m
c/)
>
r*
m
(/)
>
i—
m
(/)
>
r~
m
<n
>
r -
m
co
>
y CHARLES C. SCHROPPEL,O.D., P.C.
DOCTOR OF OPTOMETRY
707 South Texas Ave., Suite 101D
College Station, Texas 77840
uj 1 block South of Texas & University
-i
<
co
UJ
<
* Eye exam not included
Free care kit with exam and pair ot lenses
m
co 3~lVS 3TVS 3~lVS 3TVS 3~lVS 3~lVS 31VS 3~lVS 3~IVS
adVANCE
! R O P
i u.
-CLINIC-
3743 S. Texas Avenue
Bryan, Texas 77802
409-846-0525
Dr. Richard Vance
CHIROPRACTOR
Lunch Buffet
(11-2 Daily)
Dinner Buffet
(5-8pm Daily)
Gourmet Chinese Food, More than 15 items
All you can eat • Free Iced Tea
Pacific Garden Chinese
Restaurant
Between Chimney Hill Bowl & The Hilton
Dine in only, with coupon Salads & Desserts
One coupon per person per visit New , tems Added ; V ar j e s Daily |
Not qood with any other coupon ... _ , 71
Offer Expires 06-22-89 Chinese Fajitas on Sunday
$50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50
IIS PAINFUL MUSCULAR INJURIES ||o
$50 Individual with recent lower back or neck pain, sprain, strains, $50
$50 muscle spasms, or painful muscular sport injury to participate 550
$50 in a one week research study. $50 incentive for those chosen $50
$50 to participate. • $50
$50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50 $50
$200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200
ASTHMA STUDY
$200 Wanted: Individuals ages 12-70 with asthma to partic- 5200
$200 ipate in a research study to evaluate asthma medica- ^oo
$200 tiofiS- $200 incentive for those chosen to participate. $200
$200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200 $200
CALL PAULL RESEARCH
INTERNATIONAL
776-0400