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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1992)
Local Page 2 G. Rollie White gets renovation By BILLY MORAN Special to THE BATTALION Texas A&M's "Holler-House on the Brazos" will sport a new floor, brighter lights, and additional seats for the beginning of the 1992-93 basketball season opening Nov. 1. A $550,000 renovation of G. Rollie White Coliseum began this past summer with the installation of a new floor. The old floor had numerous "dead spots" where the ball wouldn't bounce well, said A&M Head Basketball Coach Tony Barone. "On the old floor you couldn't roll a ball down the court without it running into hills and valleys," Barone said. Joseph Sugg, director of the Texas A&M University Physical Plant, said the new court has been redesigned to allow for the addition of bleachers under the scoreboard. The old bleachers around the court have been replaced with individual-seat pullout bleachers which increases seating by about 400. Barone said the additional seats around the court will help increase student involvement by placing students closer to the action. "We touched all the people involved," said Barone, "The students, fans and the players." New court lights make the court brighter, providing the proper lighting needed for television cameras. The old lights only provided 100 foot candles of lignt, instead of the 200 foot candles required by television cameras. Sugg said the windows at the back of the coliseum near the ceiling will be filled-in with bricks because they are a distraction to players. He said that by filling in the windows will also save energy. Other renovations include installation of handrails in the aisles and replacing hall ceilings and lights. Barone said the home court improvements will help the basketball program gain respect. "We're trying to rebuild," said Barone. "Wmen you're doing that, you look for credibility anyway you can get it." El Paso man stands trial for 6 murders THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DALLAS — A convicted rapist charged with capital murder in the deaths of six girls and women, whose bodies were buried in shal low graves in northeast El Paso, went on trial Wednesday. Attorneys gave opening state ments in the trial of 35-year-old David Leonard Wood. The trial, which is expected to last six to eight weeks, was moved to Dallas because of extensive publicity in El Paso. Wood, who was described by defense attorneys as "borderline mentally retarded," is charged with killing Ivy Susanna Williams, 23; Desiree Wheatley, 15; Karen Baker, 20; Angelica Frausto, 17; Rosa Maria Casio, 24; and Dawn Marie Smith, 14. Authorities described most of the victims as either runaways or young women with troubled lives. Their bodies were un earthed from desert graves in 1987 and 1988. Attorneys are not sure whether Wood, who sat with his hands clasped and leaning slightly for ward throughout Wednesday's testimony, will take the stand. Prosecuting attorney Karen Shook said that evidence in the trial would show that a "serial killer was loose in the summer of 1987" and she identified that killer as Wood. She said testimo ny would show that Wood was acquainted with some of the vic tims through dance bars in north east El Paso. She also said testimony would show he used a motorcycle and beige pickup to transport the women to the grave sites in the desolate brush of the desert. Defense attorneys agreed that Wood may have known some of the victims, but they said it was not uncommon for bikers and dancers in the area to be acquaint ed. Defense attorney Dolph Qui- jano Jr., told the jury that a "me dia blitz" put pressure on El Paso law enforcement officials to quickly identify a suspect once the women began disappearing. He said law enforcement offi cials ignored evidence that ap peared to clear Wood, opting in stead to "get somebody and stick these cases on." "At the end of this, you're not going to know who killed those women, but you will know that David Wood didn't," Quijano said. Wood, who was raised in El Paso, has been in and out of prison several times on sex-relat ed crimes. His first parole came in 1980, after serving 31/2 years of a 5-year sentence for indecency with a child. Later that year, he was convict ed of raping a 19-year-old and a 13-year-old and sentenced to con current 20 year sentences. The Battalion ATLANTIS TILLMAN, Editor in Chief STEVE O’BRIEN, Managing Editor JASON LOUGHMAN, Opinion Editor GARY CARROLL, City Editor MEREDITH HARRISON, News Editor J. DOUGLAS FOSTER, Sports HEIDI SAUER, News Editor Editor TODD BLACKMON, Arts & Entertainment CHRIS WHITLEY, Sports Editor Editor RICHARD S. JAMES, Photo Editor Staff Members Reporters — Melody Dunne, Mark Evans, Todd Stone, Brandi Jordan, Cheryl Heller, Tanya Sasser, Robin Goodpaster, Juli Phillips, Tanya Williams, Julie Chelkowski, Mack Harrison and Will Healy. News desk — Kyle Burnett, Tracia Newbold, Jennifer Mentlik, David Thomas, Lance Holmes, Lauri Reysa and Jennifer Smith. Photographers — Darrin Hill, Randy Nichols, Sandra Alvarado, Billy Moran, Jennifer Lockard, Ricardo S. Garcia, Karl Stolleis and Robert Reed. Lifestyles writers — Susan Owen, Anas Ben-Musa, Tricia Martinez and Julie Polston. Sports writers— K. Lee Davis, Michael Plumer, Don Norwood and Ruly Medrano. Columnists — Anthony LoBaido, Stacy Feducia, Dwayne Purvis, Shawn Ralston, Matt Dickerson, Robert Vasquez and Toni Garrard. Cartoonists — William Harrison, Thomas Deeney, George Nasr and Clay Welch. Clerks — Darra Dees, Pejcharat Harvey, Shelley Rowton and Carrie Miura. The Battalion (USPS 045-360) is published daily, Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and Monday through Thursday during the summer session (except University holidays and exam periods), at Texas A&M University. Second class postage paid at College Station, TX 77840. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Battalion, 230 Reed McDonald Building, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. News: The Battalion news department is managed by students at Texas A&M University in the Division of Student Publications, a unit of the Department of Journalism. Editorial offices are in 013 Reed McDonald Building. Newsroom phone number is 845-3316. Fax: 845-2647. Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the Opinion Page staff or the contributor and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Texas A&M Battalion editors, student body, administration, faculty or staff. Advertising: For campus, local and national display advertising, call 845-2696. For classified advertising, call 845-0569. Advertising offices are in 015 Reed McDonald and office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Fax: 845-5408. Subscriptions: Mail subscriptions are $20 per semester, $40 per school year and $50 per full year. To charge by VISA or MasterCard, cSall 845-2611. * The Battalion Thursday, October22,l| Thurs Gorbachev's adviser to visit A&l q Interpreter for Soviet leader to discuss current events, Russia's fut By CHERYL HELLER Reporter of THE BATTALION Texas A&M University will host Dr. Pavel R. Palazchenko, personal adviser and English interpreter for Mikhail Gorbachev, from Oct. 22-24. Palazchenko, who will be the guest of the Mosher Institute for International Policy Stud ies, served as personal adviser for Gorbachev and Russian foreign minister Eduard Shevard nadze from 1985 until December 1991. Trained in English linguistics, Palazchenko was present during key meetings between Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan, Sec retary of States James Baker and George Schultz, and President George Bush and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during the crucial years of perestroika, the change from hard-line communism to a more humanistic form of government. Palazchenko continues to aid Gorbachev, who currently heads the International Founda tion for Socio-Economic and Political Studies in Moscow. During his visit to Texas A&M, Palazchenko will meet with members of the Mosher Institute and its Board of Advisers to discuss research and cooperation with the Gor bachev Foundation. "We're in an evolution of political climate to a new era of cooperation," said Dr. Ron Hatchett, director of the Mosher Institute. "We're embarking on unique insights and hopefully Palazchenko's visit will help us forge better relations between the Mosher In stitute and the Gorbachev Foundation." According to Hatchett, Palazchenko's visit will focus on the current world situation and Russia's place in the future. "The concerns of Russia and the United States will be discussed," Hatchett said. "We're going to talk about what happened to the Soviet Union and how those chai|i curred." Palazchenko will also meet with the leaders of several Memorial StudentCi committees interested in international;! such as Great Issues, Political Forum Jordan Institute. The meeting will be an informal rou.:;: discussion that will give studentleii chance to discuss changes in the inters political situation. Palazchenko will present a public entitled "Perestroika, The New World( and the Future of Russia," on Friday,Of 5:30 p.m. in Rudder Theater. The presentation, which isopentotl lie at no charge, will consist of a lecta question-and-answer period. Palazchenko will be working at the Hi Institute on Saturday, Oct. 24, inRooml" the Blocker Building. He maybereai 3-9900. questions at 845- Texas Lottery grapples problems shoi faced during million-dollar drawing Staff encounters, overcomes glitches, spokesman for comptroller's office; THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ZAPATA— The Texas Lottery's first round of million-dollar drawings may have seemed polished by the time the show hit the televi sion screen, but that's because few people knew about the time the wrestlers were late. Or about the sick emcee. Or the narrow bam doors that forced finalists to draw for the mil lion-dollar prize while being battered by a 30 mph Lubbock wind. "There are always glitches," Steve Levine, spokesman for the state comptroller's office said Wednesday as he sat in the Zapata Coun ty Fair Grounds Pavilion. "We try to make it so that only the staff knows there are glitches." All around Levine, workers hustled to erect the lottery set for Wednesday night's drawing, the first in a series of monthly grand prize giveaways to be held in small Texas communi ties. The workers moved with the efficiency of 'long familiarity with their tasks. They finished so quickly it prompted drawing supervisor Scott Murphy to joke: "You're getting so fast we're going to have to start doing it twice." The 30-minute drawings are meticulously planned by staffers such as drawing assistant Laura Wallace, who makes up detailed sched ules to keep the show, the finalists and the sur rounding events running on time. But it is a traveling show and that's where the fun starts. "You have the pattern down and you know what to do but each one is different," said Wallace. "It just depends on what you have to work with." For the drawing in Laredo that meant using professional wrestlers to escort the finalists onto the stage. Levine said they had contacted the grap- plers weeks before the event only to lose touch with them until just five minutes before the drawing, when they arrived. In Lubbock, the drawing was to be held in a bam, which had been measured to make sure it would hold the set. Workers arrived the day before the drawing to find the barn's doors were too narrow to get the set inside, said Levine. "We moved outside in a 30 mph hour wind," he said. But besides such unexpected events, the show has usually moved smoothly,® said. Advance crews select suitablesitekl drawings. Necessary equipment is tele:: fore and after each sf>ow. Security is always present. Event; also videotaped in case a disputeoifi ever arises, said Wallace. Levine estimated that thecostof: halls, providing travel for the staff,pair; moving company that hauls thesetanl overhead comes out to an averageofii $4,000 to $5,000 per show. That's not counting the really bigexf® the cash awards for the seven finalists.: past, the lottery also spent roughly S5I the statewide satellite feeds. Levine said the lottery will dispens the feeds for the monthly drawings been ficials expect million-dollar drawings! come more routine when the lottogameb next month. The cost of the show will still van ing on the city. The Zapata drawing was inexpenshi,^ because of the cheap lodging andte some staff flew into the area on the stated » rather than on a commercial carrier. JKF conspiracy theorist, prosecutor dies at71 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW ORLEANS - Jim Garri son, the pistol-packing prosecutor whose conspiracy theories about President Kennedy's assassination were scoffed at by many but in spired the director of the movie "JFK," died Wednesday. He was 70. Garrison, who served 12 years as New Orleans district attorney and 12 as a judge on the state's 4th Cir cuit Court of Appeal, never stopped believing that CIA hardliners had Kennedy killed to keep the United States in Vietnam. The cause of death wasn't listed, but heart trouble forced Garrison to leave the appeals court on Nov. 1, 1991, three weeks before his 70th birthday and mandatory retirement age. His theories formed the basis for the widely publicized trial of busi nessman Clay Shaw and for three books, including "On the Trail of the Assassins," a major source for Oliver Stone's 1991 movie. Shaw was acquitted in 1969 on charges that he conspired to kill Kennedy. Jurors heard 34 days of testimony, then deliberated less than an hour. "It was a very sad day, I think, when he focused on Clay Shaw be cause that indictment and prosecu tion was totally unfounded," said District Attorney Harry Connick, who unseated Garrison in 1973. But Frank Mankiewicz, a spokesman for Stone and a political aide to Robert Kennedy, said Garri son's investigation was important. "Every American owes him a debt of gratitude. He kicked open a door that had been closed too long," said Mankiewicz, of the Hill & Knowlton public relations firm. Stone was in Thailand, he said, and unavailable for comment. "Anybody who knows anything about this story realizes Jim Garri son was the only public official to try to bring legal action in the case of the assassination of President Kennedy," said Jim Marrs, author of the book "Crossfire: The W 1 Killed Kennedy." There was a strong resent between the way Stone and tj son looked at the assassinate' Connick. "Stone was either unawait? details and particulars Shaw investigation and trialtt was aware, that didn't gel way of what he perceived to way the case should havefe Connick said. "That was-sort of the a© 8 Garrison — 'We don't care^ there's any evidence or not, a good story.' That's a sad(1^ A funeral service was self Friday. Bienvenue! Welcome! Wilkommen! Benvenuti Watching Religious People' 313 S. COLLEGE 846-3343 i tee Dr. Dale Meyer Speaker, The Lutheran Hour with Don Wharton £ a In Concert 'O u <s Thursday, October 22,1992 Rudder Forum 7 p.m. pr o 3 3 o p o G r £ & If you are curious about the Christian faith - please come. Dr. Meyer will respond to your questions and concerns. £ FRIDAY NIGHT *2500 CASH AND PRIZES ROCKY MOUNTAIN JEANS C0NTES1 CONTEST AT 10:00 ENTRIES (N BEFORE 10:00 Sponsored By: ! • J.D. Huntley Jewelers • Cavenders Sponsored by Lutheran Student Fellowship For more information, call 846-6687. P- Welcome! Hoan nghenh! Irasshai Witamy! OPTION WEEKEND... THURS.. FRI.. & SAT. 25t WELL 75C LONCNECK 5C BAR DRINKS AND DRAFT f$3.00 COUERJ yy ...IT S yOUR CHOICE The dents and si tend £ cert O um. Abi grade tend i Homs The Orche know shoulc Th sounc comm trump Pie< "Sheej Bach, Chick and sils" b The BVSO Fc Frank Hastin 1