jgust 22,
Wednesday, August 22,1990
The Battalion
Page 5
Im* Committee recommends
video textbooks to board
r suspec
Fexas (AP) — The
ry musician Isaac
the indictment
ather’s widow has
in the justice syt
he death wasn’t
■ Sweat, 38, re-
esday, a day after
n a murder indict-
husband’s dead)
D,000.
id a pending di-
e entertainer
notivated the slay
was known as the
>n-Eyed Joe,” was
tortly after he re-
i a nightclub per
s death was origi
suicide, investiga-
nagged by several
tl at the scene
; it as a homicide,
heriffs detective
w'as found
>1 of blood, his car
:1 a .25-caliber au-
r his left hand
ght-handed,
[unshot wound to
tiling the weapon
when it fired, in-
found no gun-
his hands,
old investigators
i the shootingoc-
e discovered her
mec said she has
any involvement
» said Mrs. Sweat
th papers but re-
t after her hus-
:e in April,
divorce had be-
eat would “defi-
efited financially
s estate, Nemec
son, Sean Sweat,
aid he believed
her’s death that
esponsible.
minutes after
student told the
. “It consumed
ove this."
from us,” Sean
’t quit.”
case, Sean Sweat
one-paragraph
bmitted by his
ger’s son alleges
ud.
*ofit
ike
unpanies. Some
tse their savings
vive on unem-
-a-week strike
under the pro
court, has told
ho walked out
over wages and
jobs don’t exist
.* company has
is usual” with
t hired,
federal racke-
29 against the
: Union, asking
rages.
eging that vio-
ke was orches-
mated Council
Unions and its
peatedly have
violence and
th it. ;
> list were planned
ER.
on
AUSTIN (AP) — Texas school districts could use
itate textbook money to teach science through “video
discs” — like compact discs with pictures — under a rec
ommendation Tuesday from a state committee.
The State Board of Education in November will con
sider the unanimous recommendation of the State
Textbook Committee, which endorsed the videodisc
science program for use beginning in the 1991-92
school year in elementary grades.
If “Windows on Science” wins final approval, Texas
would be the first state to adopt a videodisc-based cur
riculum as an alternative to recommended textbooks,
according to the Warren, N.J.-based Optical Data Corp.
“The state of Texas has made some history in educa
tion today,” said Ron Reed, a vice president of Optical
Data.
I think this will become a model
throughout the country for literally
redefining the textbook industry. ”
—William Clark,
company president
ie program is “a better mousetrap,” said William
k, the company’s president. “I think this will be-
The
Clark, me company s
come a model throughout the country for literally rede
fining the textbook industry.’
Rather than relying solely on a book to provide infor
mation, the program uses still and moving pictures to
illustrate scientific concepts and principles. It also out
lines “hands-on” activities for students to use.
For example, a videodisc program on weather and
air includes video of a Minneapolis tornado captured by
a television photographer.
It uses graphics to illustrate weather occurrences,
and shows how students can make a “differential tem
perature tester” with rulers and thermometers to mea
sure heat from various materials.
Reading and writing assignments also are included.
The program, available in English and Spanish,
stores more than 54,000 separate images on one side of
a single 12-inch videodisc. The company says a teacher
can move quickly from one subject or picture to an
other, operating the system on a television or video
monitor with a remote control.
Designed for use in grades 1-6, the program costs
$495 to $595. Schools also would have to purchase a
laser disc player to use it, at a cost of about $400.
About 400 Texas schools already are using “Win
dows on Science” as a pilot project, the company said.
More than 4,000 schools nationwide are using video
discs, it said.
Reed said he would expect a number of schools to
consider videodiscs as their only science resource, but
others to use textbooks for some students and video
discs for others.
“Change is a slow process,” he said.
Act Now
The Crime Prevention Unit of
the University Police Department
offers the following information
about how to keep thieves from
stealing things from your car.
Any luggage, packages, purses,
cameras or anytning of value sit
ting in your car are just “begging
to be stolen.”
Take the time to lock these
valuables in the car’s trunk, or
better yet, take them inside with
you.
Mount CB radios, stereo com
ponents, radar detectors and tele
phones out of sight. Whenever
possible, take these possessions
with you.
Use slide-in-and-out mounting
and a portable antenna for easy
removal.
If you own a truck, a lockbox
with a case-hardened padlock can
be installed in the truck’s bed and
valuables can be stored there.
Be smart and keep your pos
sessions safe by making it difficult
for a thief to take yofir belong
ings.
Immediately report any suspi
cious activity in or around auto
mobiles to the University Police at
845-2345.
For more information about
auto burglary prevention, contact
the Crime Prevention Unit at
845-8900.
Law firm hits jackpot
in antitrust case fees
HOUSTON (AP) — A law firm
that spent nearly six years and
200,000 hours on a railroad antitrust
case divvied up a $100 million jack
pot Tuesday among all its employees
— even those in the mail room.
The sum is the latest and largest
K ortion of more than $200 million in
:gal fees paid to the victorious attor
neys. It also is the largest amount
ever collected in a single case by Vin
son & Elkins, the city’s largest law
firm.
“This is the end of a long haul,”
said J. Evans Attwell, managing
partner of the 73-year-old firm. “We
went down a long road for this one.”
All of the estimated 1,600 employ
ees in the firm, which includes 201
partners, benefited from the wind
fall, Attwell said.
“The money came in and we paid
it out,” he said. “I believe this is a
red-letter day. I don’t think there
has ever been a day here quite like
this.”
The settlement would amount to
more than $900,000 for each of the
firm’s 201 partners if the total sum
were divided evenly, lawyers said.
But senior partners will collect more
than the junior members of the firm,
possibly creating several instant mil
lionaires.
The fees were generated in a case
filed by the ETSI Pipeline Project, a
group of companies that tried to
build a coal slurry pipeline from
Wyoming to Texas and Arkansas.
The pipeline, which would have
carried powdered coal and water,
was abandoned in 1984. ETSI then
sued five railroad companies, charg
ing them with illegally trying to
block the pipeline by refusing to al
low it to cross railroad rights of way.
Lawyers for ETSI also alleged
that the railroads used “judicial and
administrative processes to disrupt,
delay and ultimately destroy the pro
ject.”
Later, four of the railroad compa
nies — the Union Pacific, Chicago
and Northwestern, Burlington
Northern and the Kansas City
Southern — settled out of court.
The Santa Fe Railway Co. fought
the case, but lost a judgment that
would have cost the railroad $750
million. Santa Fe, rather than ap
peal, opted to settle out of court and
pay ETSI $350 million.
The five railroads, in total, agreed
to pay more than $650 million, with
one third going to Vincent Sc Elkins.
Man pleads guilty to killing wife
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — An Air
Force sergeant formerly stationed
here pleaded guilty to killing his
wife, who had threatened to reveal
her husband’s role in a military test
cheating scandal.
Master Sgt. William Lipscomb, 34,
entered the plea Monday at court-
martial proceedings at Langley Air
Force Base in Hampton, Va. He now
faces a mandatory life sentence.
Lipscomb also pleaded guilty ter
an obstruction of justice charge.
He was arrested in July 1989 at his
home near Langley and later was
charged with the murder of his wife,
Kathleen, whose nude body was
found in June 1986 in a San Antonio
ditch. She had been strangled with a
cord.
Kathleen Lipscomb had filed for
divorce and threatened to reveal her
husband’s role in a test-cheating
scam, officials said. William Lips
comb had threatened to disclose an
alleged affair between his wife and a
doctor.
Her body was found three days
after she moved out of the couple’s
San Antonio home. The body had
Former teacher receives
10 years for molestation
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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A for
mer elementary school teacher has
been sentenced to 10 years in prison
for molesting a 9-year-old boy found
in a bathtub at the man’s home.
State District Judge Susan Reed
denied a request for probation by
John Charles Howard, 44, and sen
tenced him to prison.
He had pleaded no contest two
months ago to an indictment stem
ming from an April 1989 incident in
which police said they found a sec
ond-grader in Howard’s bathtub.
Authorities said Howard had been
taking photographs of the boy.
Howard accepted a plea bargain
for a 10-year term.
In exchange for the no-contest
plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss
an aggravated sexual assault indict
ment against the defendant.
been stuffed in a burlap bag and
placed inside a military footlocker.
“He told the military judge of two
motives,” said Capt. Bruce S. Am
brose, an Air Force prosecutor.
“One was to keep custody of his chil
dren, to prevent her from getting
custody through the divorce they
were going through, and two that
she was having an affair. We believe
there were other motives.”
Ambrose said Lipscomb had
threatened to kill his wife if she ex
posed his test-cheating operation.
Teens charged
with murder imi
face lawsuit
The following incidents were
reported to the Texas A&M Uni
versity Police Department be
tween Aug.9 and 13:
BURGLARY OF A BUILD
ING:
• A resident of Wofford Cain
Hall reported someone stole his
General Electric VCR, Sony por
table radio, an unknown brand of
CD player and two Sanyo stereo
speakers.
BURGLARY OF A VEHI
CLE:
• A man reported someone
entered the custodial depart-
ttienfs Daihatsu Hi-Jet vehicle lo
cated in Parking Area 28 and re
moved the knobs on the air
conditioner and the gear shift.
CRIMINAL MISCHIEF:
• A female A&M student re
ported someone used a sharp
metal object to scratch the paint
on the hood of her 1990 Chevro
let while it was in Parking Area
30.
• During checks of campus
property, a security officer dis
covered that a Sega Afterburner
videogame and two pool tables lo
cated in the MSC Bowling and
Games area had been damaged.
MISDEMEANOR THEFT:
• A College Station man re
ported the theft of his wallet and
$60 from a room in the Aero
space Engineering Building.
HOUSTON (AP) — The father of
a slain Vietnamese youth has sued
the two alleged skinheads charged
with killing him and may later add
the paramedics who treated the boy
as defendants, an attorney said.
Hung Truong, 15, died this
month after allegedly being chased
and beaten by Derek Hilla and Ke
vin Allison, both 18. Police have said p
the attack was racially motivated.
Fire Department paramedics
called to the scene of the attack ex
amined Truong and released him
after he declined treatment. Hours
later they were called to the home of
one of Truong’s friends and trans
ported the boy to Ben Taub hospital,
where he died.
Peter Segelke, an attorney rep
resenting Truong’s parents, said
Monday that future defendants
likely will include the paramedics.
Paramedics and police officers
have been criticized by residents in
the west Houston area where the at
tack occurred, and an attorney rep
resenting Hilla for failing to imme
diately hospitalize Truong or notify
his parents.
Houston Fire Chief Robert Clay
ton has called for an investigation
into the paramedics’ handling of the
situation.
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