State & Local Page 2 The Battalion Wednesday, July 3,1991 Wedr The Battalion (USPS 045 360) Member of: Associated Press Texas Press Association Southwest Journalism Congress Texas Daily Newspaper Association Texas Intercollegiate Press Association The Battalion Editorial Board Editor Timm Doolen Managing Editor aging Todd Stone City Editor Sean Frerking News Editors Jennifer Jeffus Callie Wilcher Art Director Richard James Lifestyles Editor ityl dN Rob Newberry Sports Editor Jayme Blaschke Opinion Editor Keil teith Sartin Editorial Policy The Battalion is published da ily except Saturday, Sunday, holi days, exam periods and when school is not in session during fall and spring semesters. Publication is Tuesday through Friday dur ing the summer sessions. The newsroom phone number is 845- 3316. The Battalion is a non-profit, self-supporting newspaper oper ated as a community service to Texas A&M University and Bryan-College Station. The Battalion news depart ment is managed by students at Texas A&M University and is a division of Student Publications, a unit of the Department of Jour nalism. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the edito rial board or the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Texas A&M stu dent body, administrators, faculty or the A&M Board of Regents. Comments, questions or com plaints about any of the editorial content of the newspaper should be directed to the managing edi tor at 845-3313. Subscriptions Mail subscriptions are $20 per semester, $40 per school year and $50 per full year: 845-2611. * ‘ - POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station TX 77843-1111. Second class postage paid at Col lege Station, TX 77843. Location: The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-1111. Campus mail stop: 1111. Advertising Advertising information can be obtained from the advertising de partment at 845-2696 Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by visiting the office at the En glish Annex. Advertising Manager Patricia Heck Battalion Adviser Robert Wegener Production Manager Paige Force BATTIPS The Battalion encourages its readers to contribute story ideas and suggestions by call ing BATTIPS, The Battal ion's phone line designed to improve communication be tween the newspaper and its readers. The BATTIPS number is 845-3315. Ideas can include news sto ries, feature ideas and person ality profiles of interesting people. Readers also are en couraged to offer any other suggestions that could im prove the newspaper. Officials offer tips for safe use of fireworks By Jeff M. Brown The Battalion You can have a blast during the July 4th holiday while not getting burned if you take a few simple precautions and follow your common sense, local offi cials say. George Spain, College Sta tion's nre inspector, said fire works can cause more than just physical damage. According to College Station ordinances, the transportation or firing of fireworks within the city limits is prohibited. Spain said anyone pulled over carrying fireworks will be fined from $10 to $1,000 and the fire works will be confiscated. Spain said the fines are so high because of the potential for de struction by fires started by fire works. Spain said he encouraged peo ple to attend local fireworks shows instead of endangering themselves with a home fire works show. Post Oak Mall will blast off the holiday with a fireworks display at 9 p.m. Wednesday. College Station and Texas A&M, along with several other sponsors, will shoot off their own fireworks show Thursday at Olsen Field. Spain said the only other loca tion to shoot fireworks is outside city limits. He suggested going to a friend's house but warned against shooting fireworks on a roadway because it is illegal. Rockets’ red glare Betty Curti^ works at Discount Fireworks off of Highway 60 on the way to Summerville. Firework sales will continue until midnight on Thursday. Lt. Bert Kretzschmar with UPD's Crime Prevention Unit said that under University regu lations, the unauthorized use, possession or storage of any weapon, fireworks or explosive on University premises or at a University-sponsored activity is prohibited. Approximately 12,400 people were treated for fireworks-re- lated injuries in 1990, according to a release by Consumer Prod uct Safety Commission (CPSC) and the National Council on Fireworks Safety (NCFS). In Brazos County, however, that trend seems to be decreas ing, said Millie Patterson, head nurse at Humana Hospital. "After looking back at our re cords, we have noticed a de crease of incidents at our emer gency room," Patterson said. "We just don't see as many tra gic injuries like we use to." The CPSC and the NCFS have developed the following safety tips for shooting fireworks: □ Always read and follow la bel directions. H Have water readily avail able. I~1 Buy from reliable fireworks sellers. □ Never experiment or at tempt to make your own fire works. □ Light one at a time. □ Never reignite malfunction ing fireworks. n Never throw fireworks at another person. H Never shoot them in metal or glass containers. □ Ignite the fireworks out doors. H Store in a cool, dry place. rlcs [~1 Dispose of fireworks prop- erly. □ Never carry fireworks in your pocket. Austin works to own closing air force base Suspects sought in burglary AUSTIN (AP) — City officials have begun working to gain out right ownership of Bergstrom Air Force Base, which a presidential commission has recommended for closure. Austin Mayor Bruce Todd met with U.S. Rep. J.J. "Jake" Pickle, D-Texas, on Monday to discuss ways of speeding the govern ment's transfer of the base to the city when it closes. "That's the first issue we have to resolve and, hopefully, it can be done quickly because the ownership will determine to a great extent who's in charge of the decision-making process," Todd said. The city contends it can establish ownership if challenged le gally because it purchased the land for the base in 1942 for $600,000. Todd said the city would apply immediately for up to $100,000 available from the Defense Department's Office of Economic Ad justment to study converting Bergstrom to other uses. One possible use for the soon-to-be-abandoned airbase is as a new city airport. Sometime during the night of June 2, thieves pried open the door to the vehicle maintenance shop of Young Brothers Con struction Co. on Highway 21, west of Bryan. Once inside, the thieves searched through the shop and then loaded up several mechan ics' tool boxes, power tools and a hydraulic jack into the bed of a Young Brothers pickup truck that was parked in the shop. The thieves opened the ga rage, cut open the front gate and drove off in the truck. The value of the items stolen was assessed at more than $12,000. The pickup was recovered three days later under the Little Brazos River Bridge on Highway 21, where evidence indicated that another vehicle was used to haul the stolen tools away. The mechanics report that most of the stolen tool sets were MAC and SNAP-ON brands. In vestigators believe that the sus pects might be from the sur rounding area and that they will attempt to sell or trade these goods. this burglary. If you have informa tion that could be helpful, call Crime Stoppers at 775-TIPS. When you call. Crime Stoppers will assign you a special coded number that will protect your identity. If your call leads to an arrest and grand jury indictment, Crime Stoppers will pay you up to $1,000 in cash. This week the Brazos County Sheriff's Department and Crime Stoppers need your help in iden tifying the people responsible for Crime Stoppers also pays for information on any felony crime or the location of a wanted fugi tive. BACK PAIN STUDIES Patients needed with acute (recent) onset of muscle spasms (back pain, etc.) to participate in a consumer use research study with an FDA approved drug. Medical evaluation at no cost to patient. Eligible volunteers will be compensated. G & S STUDIES, INC. 846-5933 Dallas police 'give the boot' to motorists with unpaid tickets DALLAS (AP) — Motorists with delin- 2 uent parking tickets are getting the boot in >allas. City Transportation Department officials this week began placing a lock on the wheels of cars whose owners have three or more overdue parking tickets. Officials hope that by hobbling cars, they can claim most of the $6 million in overdue parking fines owed by the owners of 28,000 cars. The $350 device, called the "Denver boot," locks onto a car's wheel, rendering the vehicle undrivable. City officials say the boot is cheaper and safer than towing, and they hope its visi bility on streets will persuade people with overdue tickets to come forward voluntarily to pay what they owe. The device is named for the city where it was invented in the 1950s. Stickers on the car windows direct drivers to the Parking Violations Office at Dallas City Hall. July 4th I(>()() Texas Aw. S. 693-2627 Collei’C Station Coke, Diet Coke and Sprite Savings! 1219 l e\as Aw. 822-1042 Br>an 2 Liter 24 Pack 12 oz. Cans Bud Light $J139 Miller Lite Coors Light 12 Pack $C99 12 oz. Cans ^ J 24 Pack $1A99 12 oz. Cans M Skol Vodka $«79 1.75 Liter V-F Sebastiani Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon 750 ml 3 f „ $ 19 47 We accept Cash. Checks. Debit Cards on sale items. Specials through Saturday. July 6. IVDl. Nickel Nite Nickel Bar Drinks Nickel Draft Beer Wed 9-11 p.m. Thirsty Thursday Penny Bar Drinks Penny Draft Beer Thu 9-11 p.m. Open Wed-Sun 846-EDGE Skaggs Center College Station Drink Specials until 11 Nightly -j! YES! WE HA VE STUDENT AIRFARES! LONDON $375 PARIS $369 FRANKFURT $405 MADRID $445 HONG KONG $559 COSTA RICA $229 ONE WAY FROM HOUSTON ALSO TEACHER and BUDGET FARES! 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