State & Local
Page 2
The Battalion
Tuesday, April 11
' U esday, js
Richards fights for
Texas at Pentagon
Governor lobbies for planes, bases
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Texas Gov.
Ann Richards on Monday faulted
the State Department for having
denied Lockheed Corp. permis
sion to display its Texas-ouilt F-
1 6 fighter at an air show in
Chile.
“I think it is very shortsight
ed,” the governor told reporters
before discussing the decision
with Defense Secretary William
Perry and other high-ranking
Pentagon officials.
‘‘There seems to be some re
luctance on the part of the State
Department to have us fully par
ticipate as we should in opportu
nities to sell the F-1 6 in foreign
countries — Chile to be specif
ic,” the governor said outside
the Pentagon.
Some of the F-16’s foreign
competitors were on display in
Santiago at the FIDAE ’94 air
show three weeks ago, including
Russia’s Mig-29 and Su-27;
France’s Mirage 2000; and a
mockup of Sweden’s experimen
tal Gripen, said Lockheed
spokesman Joe Stout in Fort
Worth.
‘‘It placed us at a disadvan
tage,” he said.
Echoed Richards: “My con
cern is whether or not the State
Department is going to allow
American firms to be competi
tive with other foreign firms that
are selling aircraft that are some
what similar.”
Lockheed and other U.S. de
fense contractors are required to
obtain government permission
to show their wares overseas.
The F-16, which is built in
Fort Worth, was displayed at the
last air show in Chile two years
ago. Stout said. In fact, this
marks the first time the U.S. gov
ernment has refused permission
to show the F-16 at a major for
eign air show, he added.
State Department spokesman
Mike McCurry said at a depart
ment briefing he didn’t know
why permission had been de
nied.
Relations between the two
countries are amicable. Just last
week, administration officials
suggested Chile leads the list of
Latin American countries that
could be eligible for free trade
agreements with the United
States.
The State Department denial
comes at a time when Lockheed
is seeking to aggressively branch
out in for
eign sales be
cause U.S.
military F-16
sales are
dwindling.
W e v e
sold the air
plane down
there previ
ously to
Venezuela,”
Stout said.
‘‘There are
other markets
Richards
down there we know we could
sell to if we had government ap
proval.”
Richards also made a case for
strong funding of the V-22 Os
prey tilt-rotor aircraft during
separate meetings Monday with
Perry, Deputy Defense Secretary
John Deutch and Navy Secretary
John Dalton, a Texan.
She also touted the merits of
Texas military installations —
which like all defense facilities
nationwide will come under
scrutiny next year during die lat
est round of base closings.
The 1995 round is expected
to be the harshest, as govern
ment and defense leaders seek to
trim the military’s excess facili
ties to meet tne needs of a
pared-down force.
“I think we are in good
shape,” Richards said.
She has invited government
and civic officials from Texas
communities with military
bases to convene Friday in
Austin. Three members of the
1993 independent Base Closure
and Realignment Commission
also have been invited.
“We want to make sure we
are fully prepared ip this next
round to answer any question,”
Richards said. “Last time, we
kind of came into it in a rush at
the last minute. I want to be
able to give local communities
every opportunity to do their
own preparation.”
Baby
infant girl dead in a garbage chute
one floor below the woman’s
Continued from Page 1
district attorney,” he said. “The
district attorney has indicated he
will probably give it to the grand
jury to determine what might be
charged.”
Depending on the autopsy re
sults, the woman could be charged
with murder or lesser homicide
charges.
The child apparently was born
shortly before 2 a.m. Emergency
Medical Service personnel later re
sponded to a call from a woman
claiming to be sick.
After an examination revealed
she had given birth, UPD searched
the residence hall and found the
room.
The woman, whose name has
not been released, was treated at
A.P. Beutel Health Center and St.
Joseph’s Hospital in Bryan.
Wiatt said the woman has since
returned to her home in Rockwall,
Texas and has sought legal counsel.
UPD has located a man they be
lieve to be the baby’s father, and
blood tests are being conducted on
the body of the baby to determine
this.
Charney Putney, assistant di
rector of Residence Life, said the
hall staff is working closely with
Putney’s department and the stu
dent counseling center to provide
help to students affected by the
tragedy.
MSC Black AWARENESS Committee and
MSC Committee for the AWARENESS
of Mexican American Culture’s
A taste of Culture
Friday, April 15,1994
Hensel Park Area 3
5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
$4.00 Students $5.00 Non-Student
For more information, please contact MSC BAC or MSC CAM AC at 845-1515. Persons with
disabilities please call us at 845-1515 to inform us of your special needs. We request notification
three (3) working days prior to the event to enable us to assist you to the best of out ability.
Encouraging diversity in colleges
NAACP state chapter
fought for harmony
among races since 1912
By Juli Rhoden
The Battalion
The National Association for the Advance
ment of Colored Peoples has always had a com
mon goal, said Dr. David Williams, founder of
the Texas African American Heritage Organiza
tion, at a speech Monday night in Rudder Audi
torium.
Williams, a retired school teacher, said the
NAACP has strived for equality between the
races since the Texas chapter was founded in
19 12 in Houston.
“Although everything was segregated at the
time in the state, the NAACP fought to teach the
races how to live together in harmony," he
said.
Williams said the efforts of the NAACP can
be seen almost anywhere.
“Even 25 years ago students of all races
wouldn’t and couldn’t sit in the same room like
tonight,” he said.
Williams said the NAACP has always believed
in non-violent protests and does not condone
acts outside the bounds of the law.
“The NAACP has advocated a belief system in
change," he said. “And that does not include vi
olence.”
College campuses and the strength of their
students were ignored in the early battles to
fight segregation, Williams said.
Felicia Starks, president of the Texas A&M
chapter of the NAACP, said in the four years the
chapter has been on campus, more people are
es.
Vamell Hopkins/TTwBc;
At a Monday night speech. Dr. David
Williams, founder of the Texas African Ameri
can Heritage Organization discusses die™
tory of the NAACP state chapter.
joining than before.
“There are about 30 or 40 members now,
and that’s more than we’ve ever had,” she said.
“People really want to make a difference, and
that’s what we’re looking for.”
The NAACP, which has members of all races,
has paved the way for modern civil rights,
Williams said.
“Before the marches and protests of the
1960s came about, the NAACP in Texas fought
to give people of all races an equal chance,” he
said. “We escorted the First blaclc student admit
ted to the University of Texas Medical k!
before the Civil Rights movement began
Williams said this year will be atm
point for race relations when the histo
marker commemorating blacks who long:
the Texas Revolutionary War is dedicate
Austin June 1 6 across from the capitol.
"It’s going to be a beautiful thing tosee
said.
"Because good folk who worked and:!)
hard will get recognized for their ach:
mems. ”
Rare outbreak of toxin sends 14 to hosp
The Associated Press
EL PASO — Health authorities on Monday
confirmed the detection of 14 cases of botu
lism in what officials say is the first Texas out
break of the potentially fatal illness in more
than a decade.
Medical officials investigating the outbreak
were also trying to track down other people
who ate at a restaurant where the illness may
have originated.
“Nobody needs to panic. There is no need
to panic in this community,” said Dr. Laurance
N. Nickey, director of the El Paso City-County
Health District, noting the disease cannot be
passed from person to person.
But he urged people to seek immediate
medical attention if they begin feeling botulism
symptoms, which include headaches, vertigo,
double vision, weakness, difficulty swallowing
and speaking, and progressive respiratory paral
ysis.
The food-borne illness can kill by paralyzing
the respiratory system. Even a person who re
covers can have residual effects for as long as a
year, Nickey said.
“The botulism toxin is one of the most dan
gerous toxins that can be admitted by any bac
teria,” said Nickey.
Health officials learned of the outbreak Sun-
“The botulism toxin is one of
the most dangerous toxins
that can be admitted by any
bacteria.’’
— Dr. Laurayice N. Nickey,
director of the El Paso
City-County Health District
day morning, when a 59-year-old man and his
17-year-old son were admitted to Sierra Med
ical Center with botulism symptoms.
The two and at least two others, who were
admitted to other area hospitals, were report
ed in critical condition Monday and were be
ing kept on ventilators to assist their breath
ing, Nickey said.
The others were also hospitalized through
out the city with varying degrees of infec
tion, which can range from mild to severe,
said Nickey.
Authorities have declined to identify any of
the patients.
Nickey said up to 30 people may have
been exposed to botulism at Tassos Greek
restaurant, where all 14 victims reportedly
ate during the weekend before fallin
Symptoms develop from four hours to a
after exposure, said Nickey.
Botulism usually surfaces in food th;
been improperly cooked or processed a
often associated with potatoes, saidNid
In this case, the common denomi
may have been a potato-based dip callediij
rdalia, Nickey saia.
Nickey said restaurant workers told invc
gators that more than 30 people ate skori
last weekend.
Officials are still investigating the rest
rant and analyzing food samples, howt'
and have confirmed the dip was the cause
outbreak.
Maria and Tassos Rammos, the owners
the restaurant, said in a statementthuk
will close the restaurant while authorities it
vestigate the outbreak.
“The Rammos’ hearts and prayers goo
to those customers who have become ill
The Rammos’ will do whatever is intk
power to assist them in their recovery"!
statement said.
Officials from the Texas Department
Health arrived in El Paso Monday to assist
the probe. The U.S. Centers for Disease0
trol in Atlanta will also send at least oneo
cial to assist.
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Harris County major factor in Senate runo!
The Associated Press
HOUSTON — Democratic Sen
ate candidates Jim Mattox and
Richard Fisher say Harris County,
with its many potential voters,
could be pivotal in Tuesday’s runoff
election.
As Fisher and Mattox make their
last-ditch appeals for votes, they
have made sure to include Harris
County, home to Houston, in their
campaign plans.
Mattox said the vote in Harris
County “could very well spell the
margin of victory in this campaign.”
Fisher agreed.
“Harris County is the battle
ground,” Fisher said Sunday while
campaigning in South Texas, anoth
er of his geographic targets.
The runoff election Tuesday will
decide which candidate will face
Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchi
son in the November election.
U.S. Rep. Mike Andrews, D-
Houston, came in third in the De
mocratic primary, and both Mattox
and Fisher are hoping to pick up
those votes in the runoff.
Harris County always is impor
tant to state wide candidates because
of the large number of potential
voters.
But it is especially true in this
year’s runoff for the Democratic
Senate nomination because of the
5 1,000 Houston-area votes that
went to Andrews in the March 8
primary.
Statewide candidates like Mattox
and Fisher also are looking to Harris
County to turn out more voters
than many other parts of the state
because of some hotly contested lo
cal races.
Those include the only c
sional runoff, the Republican coc
ty judge nomination and some ob
tested state legislative races.
In the March 8 primary, Ma®
beat Fisher by a 2-to-l margin
Harris County — 34,750 votes
1 7,320.
But perhaps the biggest quest
here and elsewhere in Texas is f
many voters will bother to show
for the runoff.
Election officials predict a disc
turnout.
//as Your Life Been Influenced By
Cancer?
If so, you are not alone
The Texas A&M Cancer Society and American
Cancer Society have started up a support group for Aggies.
It is free of charge, and if you wish to participate and get
involved with the support group, then join us at the
following place and time.
Where: Taco Cabana (Across from Texas A&M).
When: Sunday April 17th at 8:30 p.m.
For further information, please contact:
J.P. Patel
Bridget Luna
Steve Thompson
696-6023
764-0619
696-5208
The Battalion
JULI PHILLIPS, Editor in chief
MICHAEL PLUMER, Managing editor KYLE BURNETT, Agg/eWeeditor
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HEATHER WINCH, Night News editor SEAN FRERKING, Sports editor
TONI GARRARD CLAY, Opinion editor WILLIAM HARRISON, Photoedilor
JENNIFER SMITH, City editor ANAS BEN-MUSA, Special Sections edit#
Staff Members
City desk — Lisa Llliott, Juli Rhcxlen, Kim McGuire, Eloise Flint, Jan Higginbotham, Geneen Pipher, James Berts'
Angela Neaves, Mary Kujawa, Melissa Jacobs, Stephanie Dube and Joseph Greenslade
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Photographers — Mary Macmanus, Stewart Milne, Tim Moog, Blake Griggs, David Birch, Amy Browning, Roger
Hsieh, Jennie Mayer, Raun Nohavitza, Nick Rodnicki and Amanda Sonley
Aggielife — Margaret Claughton, Jennifer Gressett, Paul Neale, Traci Travis and Claudia Zavaleta
Sports writers — Mark Smith, Drew Diener, Nick Georgandis, Jose De Jesus Ortiz and Kristine Ramirez
Opinion desk — Jay Roblzins, Lynn Booher, Roy Clay, Erin Hill, Michael Landauer, Jenny Magee, Melissa Meg! 1
Frank Stanford, Jackie Stokes, Rolrert Vasquez and Dave Winder
Graphic Artist - Pey Wan Choong
Cartoonists — Boomer Cardinale, Chau Hoang, George Nasr, Kalvin Nguyen and Gerardo Quezada
Clerks- Eleanor Colvin, Wren Eversberg, Jennifer Kerber, Tomiko Miller and Brooke Perkins
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