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The Battalion
Vol. 90 No. 105 GSPS 045360 10 Pages College Station, Texas Friday, March 1,1991
Local bank fails
First American
buys United
Citizen Bank
5y J*ym
Battalion
Texas A&M students and local
residents that normally do their
banking at United Citizens Bank will
find themselves customers of First
American Bank today.
United Citizens Bank was de-
dared insolvent Thursday and ac
quired at 4 p.m. by First American
Bank from the Federal Deposit In
surance Corporation.
Don Adam, chairman of the
board of First American, said he was
pleased to be able to work with
United Citizens' former customers.
First American also has acquired
several other failed banks in the local
area over the past several years.
“We think we’ve done an excellent
job of providing banking services to
former First Bank and Trust cus
tomers and University National
Bank customers,” Adam said. “We
want to make certain it is clear the
United Citizens locations will reopen
tomorrow uninterrupted.”
He said all operations will be man-.
aged by First American Bank and all
United Citizens checks written will
be honored until they are changed
over to First American.
Other financial institutions placed
bids with the FDIC for United Citi
zens, he said.
Despite the acquisition of three
failed financial institutions since
1989, Adam said First American
Bank is not losing its solvency.
“We have grown in net deposits
since February 1989 in excess of $60
million,” he said. “Obviously the
people of Bryan-College Station ap
preciate the services to customers (of
failed banks).”
John Willingham, president of
First American Bank, said opera
tions will be business as usual.
“One thing we’re trying to do is
minimize the effect this has on the
customers,” Willingham said.
He said the bank also was trying to
keep the insolvency from affecting
United Citizens employees. Most of
the employees will keep their jobs
under the new management.
Adams also announced plans for
First American to break ground for
anew location at the intersection of
FREDRICK D. JOEThe Battalion
Don A. Adam, chairman of the board of First American Bank,
speaks to reporters concerning Thursday’s First American take
over of United Citizens Bank. John Willingham, president of
First American, also spoke to reporters. The press conference
was held in Adam’s third floor office in the First American Bank
Building on Briarcrest.
Farm-to-Market Road 2818 and service bank,” Adams said.
Texas Avenue. He said it will be the premier
“The engineering and architectu- banking location in College Station
ral design is currently underway for because of the future extention of
the erection at that location of a full FM 2818 to the Highway 6 bypass.
Symposium promotes science
By Greg Mt. Joy
The Battalion
Several Texas A&M scientists
hope the fourth annual Science,
Technology and Youth Symposium
Saturday can help prevent a short
age of scientists predicted by the
year 2000.
Dr. Bob James, a professor of sci
ence education and director of the
symposium, says this year’s event will
bring about 1,400 high school teach
ers and students to A&M to experi
ence the latest advancements in sci
ence and engineering.
The symposium, from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. at Rudder Tower, is sponsored
Dy the Texas Alliance ana the col
leges of Agriculture and Life Sci
ences, Education, Engineering, Geo
sciences, Medicine, Science and
Veterinary Medicine.
“The symposium has been effecti
vely allowing students and teachers
to interface with scientists and engi
neers,” James says. “The students
certainly leave feeling positive and
excited about science and engi
neering, as well as A&M.
“We think we can avoid the pre
dicted shortage of scientists if we do
our best to get more people to con
sider careers in science,” he says.
About 40 science presentations in
the morning and a series of
workshops and tours in the af
ternoon will highlight the day’s
events.
Presentations range from veteri
nary anatomy professor Dr. Bill
Klemm’s display of computerized
techniques for mapping brain waves,
to the Chairman of the Texas Space
Grant Consortium Oran Nicks’ ses
sion on the opportunities for careers
in space.
“We have some marvelous tours
to follow the presentations,” James
says. “Some examples are Jorge
Martinez’ tour of the University’s
windtunnel and Bill Ward’s orienta
tion to the College of Medicine.”
James says attendance has in
creased by more than 50 percent
from the previous symposium and
this year’s event is full. No on-site
registration will be available.
“Recent advances in science, from
the bedroom to the kitchen to the
A n A ll-Night Affair
MSC event offers games, contests Saturday
By Jay
The
ayme Blaschke
e Battalion
Although the All-Night Fair will not actually last all
night Saturday, Texas A&M students still can have
fun with dozens of games and contests in the MSC..
Committee chairman Robert Graham, a senior pre-
med major from Brownsville, says All-Night Fair —
from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday — serves many pur
poses.
Some people look at it as a fund-raising activity for
different campus organizations, while others see it as a
form of cheap entertainment, he says.
No matter how a person views it, All-Night Fair of
fers something for everyone, Graham says.
“This is a small carnival,” he says. “There are no
rides, but there are lots of games. It makes for a cheap
date.”
More than 60 organizations are taking part in this
year’s fair. Graham says there is much more interest in
the event this year than last year.
He says because of construction, All-Night Fair was
in Duncan Dining Hall last year, and the move hurt
the annual event’s attendence.
“A lot of people thought that because it was held in
Duncan last year, it was strictly a Corps event,” he
says. “Also, many students didn’t know where Duncan
even is, where the MSC is much more accessible.”
Denis Koch, adviser for All-Night Fair, says plan
ning for the event is going better than expected.
“Everything is moving along right on schedule,”
Koch says. “In fact, it’s moving so smoothly that we’re
starting to get worried that we’re leaving something
out.”
He says this year’s All-Night Fair will be successful.
“This is a great group of officers running things
this year,” he says. “They have taken care of every
thing and kept the group’s morale high.
MSC All Night Fail
“All-Night Fair is probably one of the hardest com
mittees to work on because they have only one event
all year,” Koch says. “Focusing that much can burn
people out.”
Graham says a wide variety of events will keep the
more than 4,000 expected attendees entertained.
“There are going to be groups selling cotton candy,
popcorn and snow cones,” Graham says. “Recreation
is holding a giant twister game, and some members of
the Corps are going to be putting people in jail.”
Stacy Feducia, a sophomore English major from
Shreveport, La., says the MSC Literary Arts program
is holding a date auction.
“We are going to auction off a number of campus
celebrities to go out on a date,” she says. “We have
some football players, Reveille and a lot of others.
“Fajita Rita’s, Cenari’s, and many more restau-
raunts have donated free dinners for the dates,” she
says. “That’s one of the incentives for bidding on a da
te.”
Lee Snaples, chairman of MSC NOVA, says his
committee is sponsoring a “cat toss.”
“We have a hole in a wall where people throw
stuffed cats,” Snaples said. “If they throw it through
the hole, everyone hears blender sounds and other
gross stuff.
“It was popular last year,” he says.
Official recommends mulching
workplace, have caused a renewed
interest in science,” he says. “People
realize they need the knowledge to
understand and make use of these
advances.”
James says there also is a great
deal of pressure on educators to mo
tivate students to do their best in
math and science.
“We realize the citizen of the fu
ture will have to make decisions in
the voting booth deciding the future
of our science and technology,” he
says. “We need to make certain they
all make informed decisions, and we
believe the symposium goes a long
way toward pointing students in the
right direction.”
James says the symposium has
drawn students from as far as Dallas
and San Antonio.
“We actually had to turn groups
away this year, the response was so
great,” James says. “We definitely
will have to enlarge the program
next year.”
James says the Texas Alliance has
been trying to encourage other uni
versities to sponsor programs and
expansion could begin next fall.
By Mack Harrison
The Battalion
Bryan-College Station residents
can immediately cut down on the
amount of solid waste they produce
by recycling grass clippings, a Bryan
city official says.
Ed Ilschner, director of public
works for the city of Bryan, says
homeowners should mulch their
lawn clippings — return them to the
yard as fertilizer — instead of bag
ging them for pickup by the city.
“The greatest contribution within
our grasp is in yard waste,” he says.
Ilschner says people often over
look the consequences of bagging
grass clippings. He says yard waste
uses 30 to 45 percent of all landfill
space.
Recycling lawn clippings saves
money as well as space, Ilschner says.
Cities do not have to pay as much in
landfill dumping fees if yard waste is
recycled.
Bryan-College Station officials
created the Brazos Valley Solid
Waste Management Agency in May
to consolidate trash pickup for the
two cities.
The Rock Prarie Road landfill, in
use since 1981, and the unopened
Pleasant Hills Road landfill each
should last another 10 years,
Ilschner says.
Recylin^ will help extend the
landfills’ lives. For example, if resi
dents reduce solid waste generation
by 25 percent, it will add five years
of use to BVSWMA landfills, he
says.
Mulching also directly benefits the
yard. Ilschner says nutrients go to
the tips of grass blades. When the
grass is cut and falls to the ground,
the nutrients go back into the yard.
Ilschner says he practices what he
preaches. He did not bag his dip
pings last year.
“My yard looked better than any
in the neighborhood,” he says. “I
don’t plan to bag this year.”
B-CS officials started the “Don’t
Bag It” campaign last year to edu
cate residents about the conse
quences of dumping yard waste.
The program, however, was not a
huge success. Ilschner says about 40
households, including his, partici
pated in the project.
Ilschner says “Don’t Bag It” did
not get the support it needed. He
says one problem was the equipment
requirement.
Mulching requires either special
mowers or adaptors for regular
mowers. Local hardware stores did
not carry much of the special equip
ment, Ilschner says.
Residents also were unaware of
the extra effort involved, he says.
Mulching requires mowing every
four to five days, rather than once a
week, so grass clippings are small
enough to decay into fertilizer.
Ilschner says one way to decrease
yard waste is for customers to
change the policies of lawn service
companies. Customers should re
quest yard workers to mulch the clip
pings instead of bag them, he says.
Inside
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Education finance plan shifts local property tax dollars from rich to poor
House approves ‘Robin Hood’ reform bill
From Staff and Wire Reports
The Texas House approved an
education finance plan Thursday
that would shift local property tax
money from wealthier to poorer
school districts to meet a state Su
preme Court order for reform.
The bill was approved on a 103-35
vote after 4'A hours of debate.
i State Rep. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan,
voted against the bill.
“The bill that was passed today is
unconstitutional and fiscally irre
sponsible,” Ogden said in a phone
| interview Thursday.
The house bill likely is headed for
I a conference committee to work out
i differences with a similar “Robin
Hood” measure passed by the Sen
ate, legislative leaders said.
“This is probably as good a bill as
you could get out of the legislative
process,” House Speaker Gib Lewis,
D-Fort Worth, said.
House Public Education Commit
tee Chairwoman Ernestine Glos-
sbrenner has objected to the term
“Robin Hood,” calling her bill the
“family plan” because it shares local
wealth to benefit all the state’s school
children.
However, Ogden said the new ed
ucational reform bill does not ad
dress the Supreme Court’s orders
for a balanced tax base for public ed
ucation.
“We need to tax property in
Texas at substantially similiar rates if
we’re going to use property taxes to
fund public education,” Ogden said.
“This bill does not require that.”
The present system includes wide
swings in education funding among
school districts because of disparities
in property wealth.
Lewis and Glossbrenner said they
expect the Legislature to meet the
Supreme Court’s April 1 deadline to
pass a reform plan. The court
threatened to halt state education
spending if the deadline is not met.
Justices unanimously ruled that
the present $14 billion-a-year school
finance system, which relies on state
aid, local property taxes and some
federal money, is unconstitutional.
The bill sponsored by Glossbren
ner would address funding dispari
ties by creating about 200 education
taxing regions, drawn largely along
county lines.
Some local tax money would be
redistributed among school districts
within those regions.
Ogden said the new bill would
have little impact on school districts
in Brazos County.
He said if the bill was signed into
law in its present form, the College
Station Independent School District
would lose a small amount of funds,
while Bryan Independent School
District would be granted a small in-
The bill would set a minimum lo
cal property tax rate of 60 cents per
$100 valuation, climbing to 80 cents
in four years. Every school district
would be guaranteed about $3,400
per student at the minimum rate.
RICHARD S. JAMES/The Battalion
Sign of the times
Ed Rochen, a freshman political science major, tears down a
peace sign from the Sul Ross statue Thursday as Hugh Stearns
looks on. Stearns, who was speaking at a peace rally, put the sign
up earlier after a University Police officer took down the first one.