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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 1989)
i 1 mA6 touris ciphei n fello h othe Senat Tes Vol. 89 No.3 USPS 045360 12 Pages College Station, Texas Tuesday, Septembers, 1989 ; Man opens fire in Colombian airport / A A rri'j n •aT'iri I f I 'jit \yf cj T"C r~^* i n rl in cVmritmit nn rWld SfllfilPFS Si fl f H Stl, sai; t Wei BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A man with an automatic rifle fired on airport passengers Monday in Medellin, a drug traf ficking cen ter, and police shot back. Officials said two people were killed, including the attacker, and 12 wounded. Shipments of $65 million in emergency military aid continued to arrive in the U.S. ef fort to help the anti-narcotics campaign that President Virgilio Barco’s government began Aug. 18. Civil aviation officials in Monteria, a north western city, said a C-123 transport plane of the State Department’s international narcot ics division was firebombed early Sunday. The U.S. Embassy said Monday it could not confirm the bombing but acknowledged the plane had been badly damaged by some . kind of lire. An embassy spokesman said the I C-123 was bound for the United States from I Peru two weeks ago when it had engine trou ble and landed at Monteria. Medellin, 215 miles north of Bogota, is home to the world’s largest cocaine cartel and has been subjected to bombings and other vi olence by narcotics traffickers since the crack down began. A young man in army camouflage fatigues drove up to the airport terminal at 7:15 a.m. Monday, stepped out and opened fire on pas sengers being checked as they entered for a flight to Bogota, police reported. Col. Luis Camejo, commander of national police for Antioquia province, said the gun man “began to fire indiscriminately with a G- 3 rifle,” an automatic weapon manufactured by Israel. One passenger was killed before police shot the attacker to death, a national police spokesman in Medellin told the Associated Press by telephone. She said nine other civilians and three po lice officers were wounded in the shootout on the sidewalk just outside the terminal. Caracol, a national radio chain, identified the dead passenger as a 27-year-old adminis trator for Pintuco, the country’s largest paint company, which is based in Medellin. The Pintuco factory was bombed Thursday in an attack blamed on drug dealers. The identity of the attacker was not imme diately known. A business executive who escaped injury said, “Everybody panicked and just threw themselves on the floor, including me.” He said the attacker appeared to be between 18 and 20 years old. Police said the gunman’s car was towed away in case it contained a bomb, but a search found no explosives. Caracol said some mari juana was found in the vehicle. Airporrt security was increased through out Colombia. At El Dorado in Bogota, police and soldiers searched passengers and checked bags outside the terminal. Barco’s government ordered the crack down on drug traffickers after a string of as sassinations that culminated in the killing Aug. 18 of Sen. Luis Carlos Galan, the lead ing presidential candidate and an outspoken foe of the cocaine barons. Using emergency powers, police and the army have seized more than 500 estates, of fice buildings and other property, including cars, aircraft, yachts, cattle, and racehorses. Some middle-level traffickers have been arrested, but the Medellin cartel leaders re main at large. Barco revived the extradition process so traffickers wanted in the United States could be sent there for trial. The drug lords responded by declaring their own war and launched a terror cam paign that has escalated in recent days. luire- Wed- pm in i Sri- )rma- 'orak ience (housi 00/se :h ant| -ridaf j.Cof Coming up for air Frederick Williams, a physical plant employee in the plumbing shop, pops out of the steam Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack tunnels for a “cool” breather. Williams was re moving sludge from the tunnels Monday. Power outage leaves two-thirds of campus without electricity Two-thirds of the campus was without power for several hours Monday as a result of a high voltage switch burning out underground. Joe Estill, director of A&M’s phys ical plant, said electricity and power in many buildings all over campus, including the MSC and the Pavilion, failed at approximately 10:15 a.m. after a high voltage feeder went out. The outage in turn caused the failure of a high voltage vacuum switch. A protective breaker failed to open the circuit and caused the elec tric generators at the power plant to go off on overload, Estill said. Inconveniences for students and faculty ranged from inability to pick up loan checks to nonfunctional vending machines. Most of the buildings had re stored power by 12:30 p.m., but as marry as five campus buildings were expected to be in the dark as late as midnight. Estill said the need for replacing the failed switch was the reason the power wasn’t returned earlier to Neely Hall, Hobby Hall, Hotard Hall, Facilities Planning and Con struction and the Northside Parking Garage. Lt. Cabrina Scott of the University Police Department said the parking garage did have some lights out early in the evening and that security was doing extra “walk-throughs” be cause of the power outage. Monitors in the garage were func tional, Scott said, while the gate arms were not. Security personnel in the garage said the gate arms should be fixed by morning. Monday’s power outage was unre lated to last Tuesday’s breakdown. Estill said the earlier outage occured when they los;t a boiler in the physi cal plant and “we were forced to cut the power, but this time the problem caught us off guard, too.” Silver Taps ceremony to honor 2 The solemn sound of buglers playing “Taps” and the sharp ring of gunfire will be heard on campus tonight as two Texas A&M students who died during the summer months are honored in a Silver Taps ceremony at 10:30 in front of the Academic Build ing. The deceased students being hon- ored are: • Martin Donald Co- rera, 23, a chemistry graduate student from Portland, Ore., who died June 15. • William Michael Hutchinson, 22, a junior physical education ma jor from Gilmer, who died July 31. Dating back almost a century, the stately tra dition of Silver Taps is practiced on the first Tuesday of each month from September through April, when necessary. The names of the deceased students are posted at the base of the flag pole in front of the Academic Building, and the flag is flown at half-staff the day of the cere mony. Lights will be extinguished and the campus hushed as Aggies pay final tribute to fellow Aggies. The Ross Volunteer Firing Squad begins the ceremony, marching in slow cadence toward the statue of Lawrence Sullivan Ross. Shortly after, three volleys are fired in a 21-gun salute and six buglers play a special arrange ment of “Taps” three times — to the north, south and west. Singing Cadets plan European tour By Bob Krenek Of The Battalion Staff The Singing Cadets is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and has accepted an invitation to tour Ger many and Hungary, in addition to a full schedule of regular concerts and tours. The German-American Friendship Organization extended the invitation and is finalizing the iti nerary this week, said Robert L. Boone, vocal music director and leader of the Singing Cadets. The group is scheduled to depart May 14 and to return 12 days later. While in Germany, the group will give concerts in a variety of locations for both the public and government officials. Boone said the tentative schedule calls for 10 concerts during the 12-day tour. “It will be a goodwill-type tour,” Be one said. “We want to take the Aggie spirit overseas and make sure they know the Aggies have been there.” Boone said another highlight of the upcoming year will be the com missioning of a piece of music com posed especially for the Cadets. The song, based on the poem “It Couldn’t be Done,” by Edgar A. Guest, was composed by Dr. Peter Lieuwen of the Texas A&M Depart ment of Music. The poem, Boone said, has always been a favorite of his and was chosen because it “exemplifies the Aggie spirit.” In addition to those special activ ities, the Singing Cadets has a full slate of regular concerts, including performances during Parents’ Weekend and Muster and a 10-day tour of Texas in January. The Singing Cadets is a perform ing choir consisting of about 70 male students, of which only a portion is from the Corps of Cadets. The group has been under Boone’s di rection for 30 years and now per forms in 50-60 shows each year around the state, as well as occa sional out-of-state shows. Correction In the Sept. 1 issue of The Bat talion, Oran W. Nicks was incor rectly identified in a story about Texas A&M receiving Space Grant status. His correct job title is director of the Texas A&M Space Research Center. The Bat talion regrets the error. j exe’ Waif Reg; bef" will: ; Aggie band under new guidance Lt. Col. Toler bleeds maroon and white, sees A&M as home By Michael Kelley Of The Battalion Staff As the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band steps off to the 1989-90 school year, Lt. Col. Ray E. Toler marks his de but as the fourth director in the 95- year history of the nationally famous I “pulse of Aggieland.” “Directing the Aggie Band is a great way to cap off a career,” said Toler, who retired little more than a year ago from his assignment at the Pentagon as chief of bands and mu sic for the United States Air Force. While assigned to the nation’s cap ital, Toler was responsible musically and administratively for the man agement of 20 Air Force bands worldwide, including more than 1,100 professional musicians. Toler served last year at Texas A&M as associate band director un der Col. Joe T. Haney. Toler, a native of Marlin, did not attend Texas A&M, but said he feels at home here. “Growing up only 60 miles away | (from A&M), I have been close to the Aggies all of my life,” Toler said. T probably would have come to I school here if A&M had had a school of music at the time, but I had a strong zeal to be a band director and I be a professional musician, so I ended up going some place where I could get that kind of education. “If I could have done that here, I'm sure I would have come here be cause I’d always loved the Aggies and Marlin is a hotbed for Aggies,” he added. at the core of this University with the Aggie Band and not have that kind of zeal. If (anybody could), they shouldn’t be here.” Toler’s 25 years as a music educa tor, professional musician and con ductor of the USAF Band led to his “I ■ “mean that truly about bleeding maroon,” Toler emphasized. “You can’t be part of this great tradition, at the core of this University with the Aggie Band and not have that kind of zeal. If (anybody could), they shouldn’t be here.” — Ray Toler, band director Toler is a 1964 graduate of Texas Christian University, where he re ceived a bachelor of music education degree. In 1975, he was awarded a master of arts degree in music from Trenton State L’niversity in New Jersey. Despite not having graduated from Texas A&M, Toler said he tells his friends, “If (you) cut me now, I bleed Aggie Maroon. “I mean that truly about bleeding maroon,” Toler emphasized. “You can’t be part of this great tradition, selection as director of the Aggie Band. After teaching school in Weather ford for two years, Toler decided to enter the Air Force. As a profes sional trombonist, he has performed with the Dallas Symphony Orches tra, the Fort Worth Symphony and Opera Company, the Miss Texas Pageants, and the Stan Kenton Or chestra. Toler began his 23-year active duty career with the Air Force as a trombonist in the Air Force Band of the West at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, which he later commanded and conducted. He was commissioned in 1968 from Officer Training School and went on to serve seven assignments as commander/conductor, including an overseas tour in the Philippines. “I was commander and conductor of the band stationed in the Phil ippines during the Vietnam War,” he said. “Most of the time that I was over there I went through Thailand and Vietnam (performing) troop morale concerts.” While stationed in Washington, D.C., Toler played for many ambas sadors and heads of states from other countries. He said his last official act in the Air Force before retirement — play ing for 4,000 people on the steps of the Washington Monument — was one of his most exciting. Toler also has played for seven United States presidents. In 1963, as ajunior in the TCU band, he played for President Kennedy in Fort Worth, Kennedy was assassinated later that day in Dallas. Toler only played once for Presi dent Carter, but said it was a unique experience because Carter did not like the trappings of the presidency. See Toler/Page 12 Lt. Col. Ray Toler Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack