The Battalion
|STATE & LOCAL
3
Thursday, June 14,1990
Ulgfiinericaii pen pals facilitate
uropean grasp of democracy
in their it.
ttelyandlij,
from their By ELIZABETH TISCH
imk thatififj Qf The Battalion Staff
dthathaiM ~ “
loraland B E ven Texas A&:M college students and faculty can
beliefs I|J»P Eastern European citizens adjust to the many
Tianges taking place there through letters.
I A program called World Contacts Network is a U.S.-
based international correspondence exchange organi
zation.
iad that tlit.
perverted l
ewspaperw
r, J The idea for the “pen pal-type” service was inspired
thatbv »ter nights of watching on the news the democracy
2minorituB ()vement s P rea ding through the Eastern Bloc,
ih' a Walsten, program creator, thought the people
’ lls ‘ in(l ' ol Eastern European countries have an incredible task
ay not warn 0 ) catching up with the economy and social life that
heir unbdfy goes with a sell-ruling government.
atantlyobiTT Walsten said he believes correspondence will help
that has$!;e$ ren g t h en communication between countries and the
)V (Hl democratic movement in the East.
. T,I Walsten said he gets many letters from students and
tat gTOUptilBjults in the East asking questions about starting busi-
at aretakuj nesses, running political campaigns, and implementing
ill chancett educational programs.
encediffetff A professor of thermodynamics at Budapest Techni-
[e. I* 1 * University wrote to Walsten.
narecreatflB ^ should like to go ahead with such a correspon-
. , . , . /Hence, mainly because of my Firm belief that people liv-
1 tninKindMjg j n f ree vvorld simply cannot understand the
disgusting;
his pampli;
led uponas;
phenomenon that has taken place in Central and East
ern Europe in the last half century,” he said in the let
ter.
Boris, a 23-year-old medical student from Czechoslo
vakia, also wrote.
“I wish to have a pen friend in the United States very
much,” he said in the letter. “The communists affirmed
that the United States is the seat of rotten imperialism,
but I never have believed it. I always looked to the
United States as the advocate of freedom.”
Walsten said World Contacts Network, a non-profit
organization, operates by matching an American stu
dent by age, interests, and vocational or career goals to
a European student.
Some of the “duties” of serving as a pen pal are to an
swer questions about democracy and market economies
and share knowledge about life as a U.S. citizen.
Approximately 8,000 people in Czechoslovakia, Po
land, Hungary, and East Germany have requested pen
pals in the United States. An average of 1,000 letters ar
rive weekly.
Students wishing to correspond should write a letter
describing themselves and their desired pen friend(s).
The letter should be addressed to World Contacts
Network, 14370 Fairway Drive, Eden Prairie, Minn.,
55344.
Correspondents need to include $4 per contact for
handling costs.
Oil continues to seep into Gulf
Firefighters work to quench
remaining flames of tanker
GALVESTON (AP) — Oil
from the burning Norwegian su
pertanker Mega Borg continued
to spread in the Gulf of Mexico
Wednesday as firefighters
worked to put out the remaining
flames on the crippled ship.
“A minimum of 3 million gal
lons has left the cargo tanks and
I’m presuming that most of that
has gone into the water,” Coast
Guard Capt. Thomas Greene said
Wednesday.
But he sard only between
12,000 and 40,000 gallons re
mained in the waters of the Gulf
of Mexico because most of the oil
had burned off or evaporated.
‘T don’t see any risk of losing
cargo from the other tanks,” he
said.
Greene said investigators had
found a hole in a center tank in
the vessel, which was carrying 38
million gallons of oil when its
pump room exploded Saturday.
A board of inquiry was con
vened Wednesday by the govern
ment of Norway to interview
crewmen to find out the cause of
the explosion and fire on the
tanker. Two of the 41 crewmen
died, two were missing and pre
sumed dead and 17 were injured,
none seriously.
The captain of the 886-foot
tanker, C. M. Mahidhara, told the
panel Wednesday everything
seemed normal before the explo
sion and he didn’t know what
sparked it.
Six fireboats aimed a dozen
streams of water on the rear of
the ship Wednesday, leaving the
back of the ship shrouded in a
cloud of steam and gray smoke.
Unlike previous days, however,
the smoke hovered close to the
surface of the Gulf and was not
billowing into the sky, although
an occasional puff of brown
smoke gusted from the ship.
“There is still fire under the
deck,” Greene said. “It’s not com
pletely out.”
The fire was declared under
control Tuesday.
The ship’s superstructure and
stack are collapsed and waves
from the Gulf wash over the deck
in front of the bridge. The rear of
the Mega Borg has dropped
more than 60 feet since the
tanker caught fire while transfer
ring cargo to a smaller vessel.
At least 25 boats, many of them
equipped with skimmers, also
worked the area around the
tanker 57 miles southeast of Gal
veston on Wednesday, collecting
spilled oil from a slick that ex
tended for 10 to 15 miles from
the ship.
Richards berates Republican opponent
Candidate accuses rival of eluding joint events
ommit ran«.
it and agar AUSTIN (AP) — Democrat Ann Richards
ntities. Biarged Wednesday that her Republican guber
natorial rival, Clayton Williams, is dodging public
e\ents where the two candidates would appear
side by side.
I She charged that Williams cancelled three
■ine and July appearances that he previously
iEad agreed upon after learning that Richards
there.
ie rights of
teir rightsc
mire than
mericamtisl
n morallyn B so would be
md
“He’s ducking her,” said Richards spokesman
IKlonte Williams, adding that the Democrat’s
t mpaign staff thinks it sees a trend.
“It became apparent when Richards won the
■rimary that Clayton didn’t really want to have
■iyjoint appearances because he can’t match her
Bcpertise, her knowledge on the issues, her abil
ity to solve problems,” Mopte Williams said.
B He said the closest theifwo came to a joint ap-
arance was giving ,separate speeches on the
me day in the Panhandle town of Floydada.
A spokesman for the Republican candidate,
I
Gordon Hensley, said the Richards rhetoric was
designed to cover up weaknesses in her own cam-
P ai 8 n -
“If Ann Richards wants to continue whining
about not having adequate campaign funds and
our schedules not coinciding to meet hers, that’s
her problem not ours,” Hensley said.
Clayton Williams and Richards are scheduled
to make back-to-back speeches to an association
of elementary school principals in Austin on
Thursday, he said.
“We’re not particularly concerned about Ann
Richards’ personal viewpoints about Clayton Wil
liams,” Hensley said. “We are interested in why
Ms. Richards is being so evasive in saying
whether she would support strong anti-flag bur
ning measures.”
days of not taking a position, Richards said
Wednesday she favors a constitutional amend
ment to outlaw Hag burning.
“I would support a constitutional amendment
to prohibit flag desecration, and I want to in
clude politicians who wrap themselves in the flag
for political gain,” she said.
Richards charged that Williams cancelled a
joint appearance with her before the Texas Asso
ciation of Secondary School Principals in Austin
on Friday.
She said he also declined to appear with her at
a July 19 gubernatorial forum planned by the
American Association of Retired Persons, which
then was scrapped. And Richards said Williams
refused to appear with her before the Texas As
sociation of Mexican-American Chambers of
Commerce.
Williams gregariously made dozens of appear
ances and freely granted news interviews before
winning the GOP nomination on March 13.
But since then, his campaign has been dogged
by a series of blunders, and as those piled up,
Democrats have charged that he has become less
accessible.
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NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS: will have a general discussion at 8:30 p.m. Call
the C.D.P.E at 845-0280 for more information.
ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS: will have a general discussion at 6 p.m.
Call the C.D.P.E. at 845-0280 for more information.
A&M CYCLING TEAM: will have a bicycle training time trial at 7 p.m. on Greens
Prairie Road near Greenleaf Hospital. Helmets are required. For more in
formation, call Larry Boyd at 845-6924.
Friday
STUDENTS OVER TRADITIONAL AGE: will have a supper club at Mama’s
Pizza at 6 p.m. Call Donielle at 845-1741 for more information.
Items for What's Up should be submitted to The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald,
no later than three business days before the desired run date. We only publish
the name and phone number of the contact if you ask us to do so. What’s Up is
a Battalion service that lists non-profit events and activities. Submissions are run
on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no guarantee an entry will run. If you
have questions, call the newsroom at 845-3315.
Super collider survives
second round of funding
WASHINGTON (AP) — The su
perconducting super collider passed
the second funding stop in the
House Wednesday, hanging on to all
$318 million recommended by Presi
dent Bush.
House Speaker Tom Foley said
leaders plan to bring the appropria
tion measure to the House floor next
week.
The House Appropriations com
mittee approved the $318 million in
a $20.9 billion package of federal en
ergy and water projects.
The measure passed the commit
tee on a voice vote with little dis
cussion. The subcommittee on en
ergy and water development gave it
unanimous approval last week.
The subcommittee chairman,
Rep. Tom Bevill, D-Ala., said, “We
have no problem recommending
$318 million.”
But Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., said
he was concerned the collider’s $8
billion cost would rise unreasonably.
He said the Department of Energy’s
previous cost estimates for the pro
ject have been “outrageously and
atrociously” low.
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Houstonian endures mounting family losses
after alleged drunken driver sparks collision
Father struggles to hold
children’s lives together
HOUSTON (AP) — Larry
Reibenstein worked hard to hold his
family together after his wife and
newborn son died last spring. But
tragedy struck again when he took
his three remaining children on a
long-awaited trip to Disney World.
His aunt, cousin and 7-year-old
son, Ryan, were killed Sunday when
an alleged drunken driver sparked a
three-vehicle collision on a Missis
sippi highway. Reibenstein, bis two
other children and his sister were in
jured in the accident.
“It’s a lifetime of grief compressed
into one y'ear',” the Reibensteins’ pas
tor, the Rev. Godfrey Hubert at
Foundry United Methodist Church,
told the Houston Chronicle.
Reibenstein, 33, already had faced
the sudden loss of his wife and son
last year when complications with a
strep infection prompted the prema
ture delivery of his fourth child. The
DOE is expected to make another
estimate of the collider’s cost later
this summer. The report that accom
panies the bill expresses concern
about the “continued viability” of the
project because of cost increases.
“I think this project is an absolute
budget-buster,” Obey said.
He said he’d prepared an amend
ment imposing certain milestones
the collider must reach during con
struction to maintain its funding.
But Obey did not formally offer the
amendment, indicating he may sup
port changes during floor debate.
Rep. Jim Chapman, D-Sulphur
Springs, said amendments offered
on the House floor would likely be to
reduce funding.
“We’ll be braced,” Chapman said.
“I really don’t know what to expect.”
Last month, the House by a 3-to-l
margin authorized a five-year, $5
billion plan to build the super col
lider south of Dallas.
Appropriations are done sepa
rately from authorization bills. But
the authorization bill’s passage was
widely viewed as an expression of
support for the super collider.
Larry seemed to want
to do everything for the
kids. He fixed their
lunches, he laid their
clothes out. He might get
to bed at 2 o’clock in the
morning, but everything
was taken care of for his
family.”
—Norma Ault,
principal
baby, who was two weeks premature,
died soon after his birth. Peggy
Reibenstein then slipped into a coma
and later died.
Reibenstein, described as a de
voted parent, took on the duties of
both mother and father to his re
maining children: Ryan, Matthew, 6,
and Ashley, 3. He dressed them for
school each morning, made sure his
little girl’s hair was curled for church
on Sunday and rushed home after
work to take Ryan to Little League
practice or all the children to church
choir practice.
“Larry seemed to want to do ev
erything for the kids,” Norma Ault,
principal at Emmott Elementary
where Ryan and Matthew attended
school, said. “He fixed their lunches,
he laid their clothes out. He might
get to bed at 2 o’clock in the morn
ing, but everything was taken care of
for his family.”
Hubert said, “He did everything
he possibly could to keep life normal
for his kids.”
The young father started a new
job as senior vice president for Ster
ling Bank two months ago. His boss,
Chairman of the Board George Mar
tinez, said Reibenstein’s devotion to
his family was one of the first things
that stood out about the man.
Martinez and Hubert flew to Ala
bama to be with Reibenstein after
Sunday’s accident.
“He’s a very gracious, strong indi
vidual,” Hubert said. “Needless to
say, there were a number of times
when he wept bitterly, as any father
would. But his faith is strong. He
holds together. He knows that he
has two other children depending
on him.”
Averil Quackenbush, 35, of Ala
bama, was charged Tuesday with
two counts of manslaughter in Jack-
son County, Miss. A third charge
was expected to be added for Ryan’s
death.
Quackenbush is accused of driv
ing drunk westbound on Interstate
10 outside Pascagoula, Miss., about 2
a.m. Sunday. He lost control of his
car, hit a ditch and soared across the
highway median to crash on top of
the Reibensteins’ station wagon.
Within seconds, an 18-wheeler
crested a hill behind the
Reibensteins and plowed into their
car, ripping away the entire right
side of the vehicle.
Reibenstein’s aunt, Virginia
Wohlwend, 66, of Houston, and his
cousin, Carol Davis, 43, of Pfluger-
ville, were killed instantly. Ryan
lived on a life support system in Mo
bile until Tuesday.
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