State & Local Monday • June 13, 1994 — Bryan welcomes first city marshal Caddell to issue warrants for overdue traffic violation fines Darrin HIII/The Battalion Roger Caddell, Bryan’s first city marshal, bears his latest badge. By Amanda Fowle The Battalion The Bryan City Council hired a city marshal this month to help eliminate the backlog of more than 7,000 arrest war rants, many of which are for students of Texas A&M University. Roger Caddell was sworn in June 1 as Bryan’s first city marshal and will issue warrants for individuals who have not paid fines for Class C misdemeanors dating back to 1983. Class C misdemeanors are crimes such as traffic violations or city ordinance violations. When tickets for Class C misdemeanors are issued, people receiving tickets have until a certain date to pay the ticket or take some other form of action. If people do not take action by that date, warrants are issued for their arrests. “1 was hired to try to take care of these outstanding warrants,” Caddell said. “This many warrants is going to keep me really busy.” Caddell will notify people about their ar rest warrants and encourage them to pay the fines by a certain time. If the fine is not paid, he will arrest them. “Instead of putting people in jail, we prefer to arrange for them to pay their fines,” he said. “Arresting people is the fi nal thing we want to do.” Caddell said that most people don’t re member about the ticket or assume they had taken care of it. “Mostly, people have forgotten about the ticket or have forgotten to take defensive driving,” he said. “Occasionally, there are people who just will not pay the tickets, and those are the ones we have to arrest.” Mary Galloway, Bryan city secretary, said if people know that they have out standing tickets, they should take care of them soon. “If people have gotten a ticket in Bryan since 1983, they need to take care of it,” "If people have gotten a ticket in Bryan since 1983, they need to take care of it or Caddell will be coming to issue them a warrant." —Mary Galloway, Bryan city secretary she said, “or Caddell will be coming to is sue them a warrant.” Bryan Police Sergeant Christopher Jad- lowski, said Caddell’s work will give the police department more time to deal with other crimes. “Someone whose main job is to issue these warrants will ease our work load in that area and free us up to take care of more pressing issues,” he said. Galloway said that eliminating these outstanding warrants will make the city more efficient by clearing out a great deal of time- and space-consuming paperwork. Galloway said Caddell’s work will bring money into the city as well. A conservative estimate of the 11 year's worth of fines is $2 million, she said. “That’s a lot of money,” she said. “Cad dell will more than pay for his salary.” After the state receives its share of the fine money, the remainder will be put into the city’s general fund. Caddell said he will be working with ju veniles and plans to talk to driver’s educa tion classes about actions people need to take when they are issued a ticket. “We want to help the juve niles know the laws,” he said, “and let them know what they have to do with a viola tion.” Juveniles who are issued tickets have the option of do- ing community service in stead of paying a fine. Cad dell said he will be monitoring this commu nity service to make sure it is done. Caddell, 41, has been in law enforce ment for about 15 years. He started as a jailer for the Tarrant County Sheriff De partment. He received his peace officer training from the Texas A&M University Extension Service in Arlington and was a patrol officer in Lacy Lakeview, outside of Waco. He was also the deputy city marshal ir, North Richland Hills, northeast of Fort Worth. CS voices support for events center The College Station City Council approved Thursday the purchase of 18 lots of land to be used for a parking lot near Wolf Pen Creek. The $189,000 purchase for the land off of Colgate Avenue was ap proved to be financed by the Hotel/Motel tax fund. Ron Fulton, president of the Brazos Valley Hotel/Motel Association, argued that the fund should not be used. The Hotel/Motel tax fund states that revenue from the hotel/motel tax may be used only to promote tourism and allows it to be used for improve ments on “convention center facilities.” The fund allows civic centers, audi toriums, exhibition halls and coliseums to be considered “convention center facilities.” Fulton argued that the Wolf Pen Creek amphitheater is not a conven tion center and therefore the funds for the parking lot cannot legally be taken from the hotel/motel tax fund. Mary Margaret Sexton, junior city attorney, said an amphitheater is an outdoor auditorium and falls under the fund’s use for convention center im provements. The Council also unanimously ap proved a resolution supporting Texas A&M University’s Board of Regents’ efforts to request a special events center. College Station City Council has no financial obligation to assist the Board of Regents with the convention center, Ringer said. A&M senior wins $1 million in lottery - MMMMMMMMMMI A Texas A&M International Univer sity student won $1 million in the Texas Lottery Friday. Carmen Valdez, a senior account ing major from Laredo, picked up her check Friday after scratching off the winning ticket the week before. The ticket was bought at a Diamond Shamrock in Laredo by her father. She is the first instant millionaire in the state’s 2nd birthday instant game lottery. After taxes are deducted, she will receive the entire $720,000 at one time, not in installments. Campus water safe, free from pollution Texas A&M University’s water supply has officially been deemed safe from contaminants by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. The cppimission, the state agency responsible for regulating and protect ing public drinking water, conducts an nual inspections and supervises rou-» ’tine testing of water supplies. A new program also has been ini tiated to test the underground sources of drinking water to ensure that they are sufficiently protected from contaminates. The campus drinking water supply originates in a well field north of Texas A&M’s Riverside campus, which contains two well sites, each of which was tested for any potential harmful pollution. As a result of the water supply’s safety, the water system will not have to pay for testing for the 1993-96 peri od, saving thousands of dollars in un necessary sampling costs, commis sion officials note. However, campus authorities say they will continue to conduct monthly tests to further en^ sure safety. / \\T i*v } v ' •- -ft A&M chemistry prof joins Royal Society wmmmmmmmmmm Dr. F. Albert Cotton received his second major honor within two weeks on Thursday, when he was voted inti membership in the Royal Societyo' London. Cotton, distinguished professoro : chemistry, was named recipient of i prestigious Robert H. Welch awardr Chemistry on June 1. He shares this award with Dr. Jack Halpern of the University of Chicago. The Royal Society, founded in 166C is dedicated to the promotion ofthenat-j ural sciences. Its membership include-! internationally recognized scholars. He is known for his research o r multiple bonds between molecules. Branch Davidians to be sentenced Prosecutors seeking 30 years Cancer rates rise near nuclear plant WACO (AP) — Prosecutors say they’ll seek min imum 30-year prison terms for seven Branch Da vidians scheduled to be sentenced this week for their roles in the 1993 shooting deaths of four fed eral agents. In a brief submitted Friday to U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. of Waco, prosecutors claim that weapons charges reinstated against the Davidians should bring stiff sentences. Eight Davidians return to court Thursday and Friday in San Antonio, where 11 followers of doomsday preacher David Koresh were tried earli er this year. The Davidians were accused of murder-con spiracy in the shooting deaths of four Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents on Feb. 28, 1993. The agents were attempting to arrest Koresh on weapons charges. Six members of the religious group were killed in the gunbattle. Five of the 11 defendants were convicted of vol untary manslaughter and three others were con victed of various weapons charges. Three defen dants were acquitted of all charges. Smith initially said he would throw out the ju ry’s conviction of Renos Avraam, Brad Branch, Jaime Castillo, Livingston Fagan, Kevin White- cliff, Graeme Craddock and Ruth Riddle for carry ing a firearm during the commission of a crime. The convictions were invalid because the jury had found the Davidians innocent of the superseding murder conspiracy charge, Smith said. But Smith reversed himself after prosecutors provided case law showing that inconsistent ver dicts are legally valid. Those seven now face a minimum of 30 years in prison. FORT WORTH (AP) — Cancer rates in coun ties surrounding the Pantex plant have risen, leading residents to suspect a link between the disease and the nuclear weapons facility, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in Sunday’s editions. In Carson County, just a few miles east of the Pantex plant, the leukemia death rate among 6,800 residents was twice the statewide rate be tween 1981 to 1991, the Star-Telegram reported, citing Texas Department of Health statistics. “If they are valid, they are clearly alarming,” Dr. Steven Galson said. “Elevated cancer rates of that order of magnitude warrant further investi gation as to the cause.” Galson is the chief medical officer in the U.S. Department of Energy environmental, safety and health office. The department oversees the 16,000-acre Pantex Weapons Plant, the nation’s primary assembly and disassembly plant for nu clear weapons located 17 miles northeast ol Amarillo. To the west, in Potter County, thyroid cancer death rates among women were the highest in the state, the Star-Telegram said. Tom Walton, a DOE spokesman at the plant, said he doubts the plant is responsible for the cancer rates. But nearby residents aren’t so sure. They are marking maps with colored pins to note neigh bors who have died of cancer. Jeri Osborne’s Carson County map has 235 pins. To the south, retired schoolteacher Dorothy Bell has used Armstrong County death certifi cates to plot 71 cancer deaths she found in the county of 2,100 residents. Federal studies are under way at the national atomic laboratories in Los Alamos, N.M.; Rock}’ Flats, Colo.; and Hanford, Wash. AGGIE RING ORDERS THE ASSOCIATION OF FORMER STUDENTS CLAYTON W. WILLIAMS, JR. ALUMNI CENTER DEADLINE: JUNE 15, 1994 Undergraduate Student Requirements: 1. You must be a degree seeking student and have a total of 95 credit hours reflected on the Texas A&M University Student Information Management System. (A passed course, which is repeated, cannot count twice as credit hours.) 2. 30 credit hours must have been completed in residence at Texas A&M University. If you did not successfully complete one semester at Texas A&M University prior toJanuary 1,1994,you will need to complete a minimum of 60 credit hours in residence. (This requirement will be waived if your degree is conferred and posted with less than 60 A&M hours.) 3. You must have a 2*Q cumulative GPR at Texas A&M University. 4. You must be in good standing with the University, including no registration or transcript blocks for past due fees, loans, parking tickets, returned checks, etc. Graduate Student Requirements: If you are a August 1994 degree candidate and have never purchased an Aggie ring from a prior degree year, you may place an order for a '94 ring after you meet the following requirements: 1. Your degree is conferred and posted on the Texas A&M University Student Information Management System; and 2. You are in good standing with the University, including no registration or transcript blocks for past due fees, loans, parking tickets, returned checks, etc. If you have completed all of your degree requirements prior to June 10,1994, you may request a “Letter of Completion” from the Office of Graduate Studies and present it to the Ring Office in lieu of your degree being posted. Procedure To Order A Ring 1. If you meet the above requirements, you must visit the Ring Office no later than Wednesday, June 15,1994, to complete the application for eligibility verification (requires several days to process). 2. If your application is approved and you wish to receive your ring by September 7,1994, you must return and pay in full by cash, check, money order, Visa or Mastercard n