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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 1990)
2 r.lie Battalion STATE & LOCAL 3 845-331 Wednesday, August 15,1990 irter If voted into theci ent will produce ssidy’s committeei! ge, then the e placed before sti m the Corpus istin, the staternem produce a change when an abortion Texas. Using the II of the people, : Carlos Truancoi ors to restrict Tei jrtunately, :ing voters’ timebt )ot issue on thecin Exotic animal owner tries to sell baby Bengal tiger U- By ELIZABETH TISCH Of The Battalion Staff the petitioners for ts, I will notsuppoi rent. I cannot rent that violatestl li and state and ralization for hristi residentsm ;ndment, even if m is a senior give 3ke Other than having nine lives, Ruf- fus is not your ordinary cat. Ruffus is a 15-month-old Bengal tiger whose owner is selling him for $1,000. Betsy Henderson, an assistant in the College of Veterinary Medicine, is searching for an owner to take care of Ruf f us because her other two large cats require most of her time and energy. Along with Ruffus, she owns a jaguar named Beta and a leopard named Sultan. “I love these types of animals,” she said. “I have always had a desire to work with exotic animals.” Before coming to Texas A&M, Henderson was very involved with nurturing large animals that were malnourished due to owners’ igno rance of their customary diets, she said. As a result of the many cases of abuse to exotic animals, an owner is now required to have a permit be fore owning these native animals. “So many people who were misin formed about the proper care of large cats were allowed ownership even without a permit,” she said. The permits allow the Parks and Recreation Department and USDA to monitor the animals’ health. Henderson says her unusual pets leave neighbors and friends fas cinated. On several occasions, col lege fraternities have asked Hender son to let them “borrow” her large cats for parties with jungle themes. Moreover, Henderson takes Deta, Ruffus and Sultan to Girl scout and Boy scout meetings for educational purposes. Although all three cats are well mannered, Henderson said she must be aware of their every move. According to past observations by researchers, the Bengal tiger, which is the largest and most typical of ti gers, exhibits a large amount of fierce cunning. However, these great cats have always been success fully tamed for circus and animal shows. Henderson says she is famil iar with her cats’ moods and knows when they are angry, happy or hun gry- Betsy Henderson keeps Ruffus, a baby Bengal ti ger, on a leash while he looks at Deta, a 100 Photo by Eric H. Roalson pound jaguar who will eventually double in weight. Ruffus will eventually weigh 500 pounds. Police investigate burglary of College Station apartment Churches unite in anti-abortion program Colin Moss Columnist h shut. n are sexist,justas 3eled by many e not as likely to gt of a deal, women would jus: omes to Williams, anyone, itted he visited a =ge student here a: as apparently the ^ of the cadets at e should be »r that too. soliciting ag jokes. Whata Democratic or, has been gs, but you never ning about that. : should be ver hear anything not that bigofa ham’s joke: Nobi| ould restart on a using Williamsol i to keep his he mudslinging ve get to just sit it. g Williams should ad Tm not saying » be elected eithei »use I will belivia time of the t to stop worrvit; andidates and ae future of out •r journalism ani major. geman a,e.o o( Brazos County Crime Stoppers is seeking information about a July 26 burglary south of College Station. Someone broke out the rear win dow of an apartment on Cain Road, south of College Station, during the dayof Thursday, July 26. The person(s) then entered the apartment, ransacked all the rooms and stole electronic equipment and jewelry valued at more than $12,000. A Magnavox television and stereo, an Emerson videocassette recorder, a Samsung microwave, a Minolta X- 7000 camera and a Sears VHS cam corder were among the items stolen. Investigators report that the per- son(s) probably used a vehicle to haul all the items away and that the vehicle probably was parked in a conspicuous spot during the bur glary. Due to the prevalence of daytime burglaries and the nearly impossible task of having police units in every neighborhood around the clock, lo cal law enforcement agencies are K romoting and organizing Neigh- orhood Crime Watch Programs. For more information about these programs, contact the Bryan or Col lege Station police departments or the Brazos County Sheriffs Depart ment. This week, however, the sheriffs department and Crime Stoppers need your help in identifying the person(s) responsible for this bur- glary. If you have information that could be helpful, call Crime Stop pers at 775-TIPS. When you call, Crime Stoppers will assign you a coded number to protect your identity. If your call leads to an arrest and grand jury indictment, Crime Stop pers will pay you up to $1,000 in cash. Crime Stoppers also pays cash for information on any felony crime or the location of a wanted fugitive. CORPUS CHRISTI (AP) Churches hoping to prevent abor tions announced a project Tuesday in which they will pay living and medical expenses for pregnant women who opt not to have an abor tion. “We believe that no mother in Corpus Christi should even consider abortion because of a financial situa tion,” said the Rev. Dennis SchiefeT bein, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Corpus Christi. Schiefelbein joined Bishop Rene Gracida of the Corpus Christi Cath olic Diocese to announce the inter denominational “Gabriel Project.” So far, 16 Catholic and 16 other Christian churches have signed on to take part in the project, Schiefelbein said. They had no estimate of the pro ject’s expected cost, but Schiefelbein said, “We believe the Lord will pro vide all the resources necessary to provide for that life which he has created in the womb of every Family , friends organize party for ‘Old Army Lou’s’ birthday J.E. Loupot greets Jerry and Carole Cooper at his 80th birthday party at the Clayton W. Wil- By KATHY COX Of The Battalion Staff J.E. “Old Army Lou” Loupot, Class of ’32, cele brated his 80th birthday Sunday at the Clayton W. Williams Jr. Alumni Center. Loupot’s family and friends, organized a birthday party for him, complete with a maroon-and-white cake and Aggie balloons. Judson Loupot Jr. said the party was organized to celebrate the piilestone and show appreciation for his father. “We wanted to honor him for all he’s done,” Jud son said. “He’s the best example of one Aggie help ing another. That’s been his life.” Another part of Loupot’s life is his business. He owns three bookstores in College Station. But Judson said his father always puts business af ter family and friends. An arch covered by maroon-and-white balloons with the A&M logo on them hung over a maroon- Photo by . liams Jr. Alumni Center. The former students’ as sociation put on party. and-white decorated table laden with food and drinks. Loupot circulated during the party, shaking hands and hugging people who came to take part in the birthday festivities. “I love this,” Loupot said. “Most of the people here are family, and there’s a lot of people here who have helped me make my living. “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for some of these people.” Some of Loupot’s A&M classmates were there, in cluding his partner in a business venture selling uni forms during their freshman year. B.H. Dewey Jr., another classmate of Loupot’s, said he was glad to be at the party. “I’ve known him all his life,” he said. Clayton Williams Jr., Republican candidate for governor, dropped by Loupot’s store Friday to wish him a happy birthday, and Loupot also received a letter signed by President Bush, congratulating him on his 80th birthday. mother.” He said he expected more churches to join in the effort, which will be limited to the city of Corpus Christi. Gracida said the project is similar to one in progress for the past year in the Diocese of New York. Individual churches, as well as the Corpus Christi diocese will help pay expenses for the women and for the children after they are born, if nec essary, Gracida said. The project also will offer coun seling and help the women obtain any public assistance for which they may be eligible, Gracida said. The bishop said he thinks the pro ject will help ease the division in his diocese over the abortion issue. “Some Catholics over the past few years have expressed concern about the church’s strong stand opposing abortion, have asked the question, ‘Why aren’t we doing more for a woman who is in a situation where she feels it necessary to terminate Parking garage opens Friday The parking garage on the south side of campus will open Friday in preparation for the start of classes Aug. 27. The southside garage will pro vide parking space for nearly 2,00t students and ease parking congestion in other parts of the campus. Visitor parking is available in the northside parking garage on University Drive and in Parking Area 48 on Houston Street off George Bush Drive for 50 cents per hour up to a maximum of $4 per day. Deferred plan available for parking permits . F University faculty and staff are avail able on campus and can be pur chased on a deferred payment plan. For the first time, faculty and staff can purchase permits on a deferred payment plan that stretches the price of the permits from September through December. The deferred payment plan is be ing offered as a one-year experi mental program, said Tom Williams, director of the Department of Park ing, Transit and Traffic Services. The program will be evaluated during the middle of the year to see if it will be continued, Williams said. Faculty members can purchase permits through the mail. The permits, which range in price from $100 to $225, plus a $6 hand ling charge on the deferred plan, are available on a limited basis for space in various parking lots and in the northside parking garage. For additional information con tact parking, transit and traffic at 845-9700. the life of her child?’ “This will give those Catholics who have been concerned about what they thought was a lopsided or one-sided approach of the church condemning abortion, but not doing enough for the unborn child and the child’s mother.” About 3,000 abortions were per formed in Corpus Christi last year, most of them at two large clinics. Anti-abortion activists regularly picket the clinics, and sometimes stage “rescues,” in which they at tempt to block access to the clinics. Gracida this year has sent decrees formally excommunicating at least two abortion clinic employees from the Catholic church, in what were believed to be the nation’s first for mal excommunications over the abortion issue. Rachel Vargas, one of the abor tion clinic employees Gracida ex communicated, said Tuesday she thought the Gabriel Project was a good idea, and would consider mak ing its literature available at her Re productive Services clinic. “I think that if they are able to help these women, it would be won derful,” Vargas said. “I don’t think it will prevent abortions, but I think that if they are going to help those women who opt to parent, then it is a good thing.” Each church taking part will dis play a sign identifying it as a partici pant in the Gabriel Project. The project is named for the ac count in the biblical book of Luke, in which the angel Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary and tells her she will bear a child through immaculate conception. Schiefelbein said he did not know how many women would seek help from the Gabriel Project, but “I would say that the number of women that could use our service would be equal to the number of women in Corpus Christi who feel compelled to kill their babies.” Anyone with story suggestions can call BATTIPS, The Battal ion’s phone line designed to im prove communication between the newspaper and its readers. BATTIPS’ number is 845- 3315. Ideas can include news stories, feature ideas and personality pro files of interesting people. Wednesday ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: will have a general meeting at noon. For more information, call the C.D.P.E. at 845-0280. NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS: will have a general meeting at 8:30 p.m. For more information, call the C.D.P.E. at 845-0280. Thursday ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: will have a general meeting at noon. For more information, call the C.D.P.E. at 845-0280. NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS: will have a general meeting at 8:30 p.m. For more information, call the C.D.P.E. at 845-0280. ADULT CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS: will have a general meeting at 8:30 p.m. For more information, call the C.D.P.E. at 845-0280. Friday ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: will have a general meeting at noon. For more information, call the C.D.P.E. at 845-0280. Saturday BRYAN PARKS AND RECREATION DEPT.: will present a free concert at Has- well Park at 8 p.m. The local jazz group Don Pope & Friends will be fea tured. For more information, call 361-3658. Monday ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: will have a general meeting at noon. For more information, call the C.D.P.E. at 845-0280. Tuesday ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: will have a general meeting at noon. For more information, call the C.D.P.E. at 845-0280. NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS: will have a general meeting at 8:30 p.m. For more information, call the C.D.P.E. at 845-0280. 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 publish the name and phone number of the contact only 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. CLINICS iUVI/PM Clinics • Minor Emergencies • General Medical Care • Weight Reduction Program 10% Student Discount with I.D. Card (Except for Weight Program) 846-4756 693-0202 779-4756 3820 Texas 2305 Texas Ave S. 401 S. Texas (next to Randy Sims) (next to U Rent M) College Station (29th & Texas) cut here COPIES 846-3755 113 COLLEGE MAIN • COPYING • TYPING • LAMINATING • Wed., Sat., Sun. • Self-serve machines only • RESUMES • FAX SERVICE • PASSPORT PHOTOS Defensive Driving Course August 18, August 28 & 29 College Station Hilton For more information or to pre-register phone 693-8178 24 hours a day. cut here i