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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 19, 1994)
[jr|Ju[ylM994 Cardinale Modem times Julia Stavenhagen: Technological breakthroughs turn previously feleased gadgets into attractive, very expensive doorstops. gffP Hold the chile relleno Center offers tips on avoiding fat and sodium in Mexican restaurant food Page 2 Oilers camp Houston starts training in calm contrast to last season Page 3 TUESDAY July 19,1994 Vol. 93, No. 175 (6 pages) “Serving Texas A&M since 1893” Memo defends A&M employees On Soup Ground ByJD It worn rot Ml Long-standing University practice disguised purchases of alcohol, administrators say cubic meters of 22,800 pounds of effluents, 144,400 tnd 1,558,000 kilo- electricity by us- ts, he said, rsity also saves it doesn’t dispose mdfill. jh these statistics pressive, it really ;es 65 percent of recyclable paper," ; numbers aren’t as they could be.” utto, assistant A&M Custodial i more could be is to help the re- 'ecycling contain- ipus,” he said. “If d just put their i the containers wing it away, we see an increased materials.” 1 the A&M recy- recycles several and aluminum 50 pounds of alu- lonth,” he said, i also lower than leed to get in- dize the impor- ding,” he said, n learning to be but if we don’t ow it may never held up their j gh, to an ova- labriel Moun- minute of ex- rom Cafu off I lirrel to get to at could have ro Silva that the goalpost, id and patted urning to the :nee surgery, re, stymying I idly in the fi- tout. 1970. Its fail- jssure on the fly Jan Higginbotham [he Battalion Texas A&M administrators spoke out last reek in defense of the 10 A&M employees iarged for tampering with government words. In a memo signed by A&M System chan- llor Dr. William Mobley, A&M president Or, Ray Bowen and 12 college deans, the University accepted responsibility for its practice of describing alcohol purchases as id and beverages on state vouchers. “Our purpose in sending this memo to all members of Texas A&M faculty and staff is to state, in a public way, our unwavering sup port for all these employees,” the memo said. The memo came in response to the indict ments of four A&M employees, including ’s athletic director, who were charged Warning Americans in Haiti U.S. ready to evacuate 3,500 if invasion begins WASHINGTON (AP) — The word could come any moment for 3,500 Americans still living in Haiti. If they are threatened or an invasion begins, the State Department would activate its “warden system” to get them out. U.S. warships stand guard off the coast of Haiti, with instructions to evacuate Americans if needed. If the order is given - and there’s no indication yet on when or whether that might happen — the U.S. Embassy would call its 60 “wardens” and have them direct Americans to preset loca tions to be removed from the country. The system is standard for U.S. em bassies worldwide, although trouble spots such as Haiti and Rwanda require height ened precautions. Gary Scheaffer, spokesman for the State Department’s Bu reau of Consular Affairs, said the system was critical to getting Americans out of Rwanda after ethnic violence flared into a bloodbath in April. In Rwanda, the embassy contacted all 258 Americans, and most traveled by con voy to neighboring Burundi. “When you have a situation like Haiti, where there is the potential for real prob lems that could affect Americans, the war den system becomes more important, more refined,” said Scheaffer. Embassies designate contact individuals, each responsible for contacting a specific group of Americans. The contact could be through a “telephone tree” system or through radio contact, which may be more appropriate in rural Haiti, officials said. Because of growing tension, Ambassador William Swing has held periodic meetings with the American wardens in Haiti, most recently on Friday. According to embassy spokesman Stan ley Schrager, Swing discussed the recent expulsion of international human rights monitors by Haiti’s ruling military, and the upcoming suspension of flights by Air Prance, the last airline serving the impov erished nation. last month with misdemeanor counts of tam pering with government records. Similar misdemeanor charges were filed against four other employees who opted not to go through the grand jury process. Among those individuals were A&M’s vice president of student affairs and an assistant to the president. Two A&M System Board of Regents secre taries were also indicted in February on felony charges of disguising alcohol purchas es with an intent to deceive A&M’s fiscal de partment. The memo explained how a wide-spread institutional practice had developed over the years in which vouchers listing alcohol pur chases would not be paid by the fiscal office. A common practice evolved, in which alco hol purchases were listed as soft drinks, food, beverages, catering, cups and ice on vouchers to ensure payment. “Both practices were the result of our fail ure to conduct a long needed review of the institution’s policy on how we vouchered and paid for appropriate purchases of alcohol,” the memo said. “The University’s "business as usual’ approach resulted in a failure to address this issue in a proper manner.” Dr. Don Hellriegel, a professor of manage ment and one of the employees charged with tampering, said he was pleased with the let ter from the administration. “I was delighted at two levels,” he said. “First, I was delighted at a personal level. But maybe I was more delighted for all those people working hard within the University. “This is a tragic set of circumstances that never should have occurred. I’m not sure (the district attorney) understood that there was a long-standing informal practice within the University.” Hellriegel said because the memo was signed by all of the top administrators, it Please see Memo, Page 6 A&M alumnus Halbouty continues life of contributions to geosciences Stew Milne/ Thf Battai ion Cup of joe Velia Smith-Munyon, a graduate student in kinesiology from Cypress, throws pot tery in the MSG craft center on Monday. She is making an oversized coffee mug. Halbouty By Sara israwi The Battalion Michel T. Halbouty has earned respect and prestige at A&M and elsewhere for his contributions to geosciences. Halbouty, Class of ‘30, grad uated from A&M with bache lor’s degrees in geology and pe troleum engineering. The Geo science/Geophysics Building was named in honor of him. Halbouty said he is pleased that A&M has a building named after him. “It is the most beauti ful building on campus, and I am proud,” he said. “The building was named after me, and it is going to be there for ever. I have done a lot for A&M over the years, and I feel this is a payback.” In 1931 Halbouty returned for his master’s degree in pe- troleuny'geological engineering. Halbouty said he has tried to show his support by endow ing scholarships for Texas A&M students, which he has done for almost 50 years. His loyalty to Texas A&M has remained strong since he graduated. He presently serves on the Geosciences and Earth Resources Advisory Council at A&M. Halbouty said it is impor tant that all students are aware of A&M’s camaraderie. “Texas A&M University is still the greatest university in the world,” he said. “Students graduating from Texas A&M have a better attitude and a better feeling for themselves, and they do better.” George Mitchell, Class of ’40 and a close friend of Halbouty, said Halbouty is dynamic in his ways and a wonderful person. “He has made contributions to Texas A&M for a number of years,” he said. “He is an out standing alumnus. He is pa tient with people, and he knows how to make things happen.” Halbouty has been head of several U.S. government pro jects and has been instrumen tal in oil and gas exploration. A&M System Regent Bill Clayton said Halbouty is prop erly recognized for his contri butions to Texas A&M. “He always contributed and is very helpful in the Petrole um Engineering department,” he said. “Not only with a large amount of money, but with time and talent.” Clayton said Halbouty is ac tive with Texas A&M and is around the university fre quently. “He has always been a very active, feisty type - not hesi tant about saying what he thinks,” he said. “He has been an energetic oil and gas opera tor for many years because of his dedication to that particu lar area and contribution.” Halbouty was appointed to the A&M Board of Regents by Gov. Bill Clements but was re moved when Gov. Mark White decided to bring in a new Board. He is currently CEO of Michel T. Halbouty Energy Co in Houston. ' : Biggest fragments yet streak toward Jupiter GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — The comet train struck Jupiter Mon day with an explosion several times more powerful than all of the world’s nuclear weapons, leaving black scars the size of Earth. A Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet fragment called G slammed into the gas bag-like planet and set off a fireball that was briefly brighter in some wavelengths than the whole planet. Some observing instru ments watching from Earth 480 million miles away were momen tarily blinded. Fragment G was followed by an equally large fragment H, and at least two more of the 21 fragments of Shoemaker-Levy 9 are of similar size. By Monday afternoon, nine fragments had smashed into Jupiter since the bombardment started on Saturday. The last fragment, W, is expected to hit the planet Friday. Upcoming is a triple whammy. Beginning Wednesday, three fragments will slam into the planet’s upper atmosphere at about the same spot over a 20-hour period. “You’ll have three — boom, boom, boom,” Heidi Hammel of the Space Telescope Science Institute said Monday. ‘You are going to have one heck of a mess.” The first of the three fragments, Q, is expected to hit just before 4 a.m. EDT on Wednesday. R follows 10 hours later and S will be 10 hours after that. The Jovian rotation is 10 hours, which means the fragments will hit at nearly the same spot on the planet. Comet fragment G, the largest in the comet train, hit the planet early Monday with the biggest explosion yet - estimated at the ener gy equivalent of 6 million megatons. iggled early, ded Baggio’s decided on any- the advisory not meet until ‘ fall,” he said, igly agree that e need for this and sixth grade ;et the children about highway on will be the ement and es- am, Kline said, • it to become a ducation Pro- pioneered the :t, a successful 'ogram for sec- graders. The ct is now used ools statewide. Bringing the country club to the country Pebble Creek expands, builds clubhouse, swimming pool By Christ! Erwin I The Battalion Few people realize that a new country club and subdivision are opening in College Station off Greens Prairie Road. Pebble Creek offers 1500 home- sites, an 18-hole golf course, and will soon feature a 40,000-square-foot clubhouse. Pebble Creek, said the clubhouse will open in late December 1994 or early Today's Baxi 8888888 SBBaflgasSBaBS Classifieds 4 Comics 6 State & Local 2 Opinion 5 Sports 3 “ — January 1995. She said the two-story building will provide casual and formal dining facilities, conference rooms, a golf pro shop, an exercise room, locker rooms and cart storage to members. The backside of the clubhouse will be constructed entirely of windows to offer a view of the tee box of the 1st hole and the green of the 18th hole, she said. An intercollegiate swimming pool with a diving well and wading pool, seven tennis courts and a tennis pro shop will be adjacent to the club house. Young said Pebble Creek will ap peal to a wide variety of people be cause it offers a little for everybody and has a casual atmosphere. “Pebble Creek will not be the typi cal country club where everyone has to be dressed just so,” she said. “It will be comfortable, casual and wel coming to different age groups.” Although the clubhouse is not yet open, the golf course has been open since July of 1992. Bobby Lane, head golf professional at Pebble Creek, said the course is currently open to the public, but will become private when it reaches its cap level of 550 members. Now Pebble Creek has 410 to 420 members, he said. “We have a cap level because that is the maximum number of golfers an 18-hole golf course can accommo date,” he said. Lane said the course attracts peo ple within a one hundred mile radius. “In addition to College Station we get a lot of people from Houston and Austin and the surrounding small towns,” he said. People enjoy playing at Pebble Creek because it has a natural, wood ed setting and is challenging for every level of golfer, he said. “We have four sets of tees on every hole.” he said. “We can accomodate six or seven levels of golfers.” Lane said Pebble Creek is differ- Please see Pebble Creek, Page 2 Stew Milne/ The Battalion The Pebble Creek clubhouse and pool are under construction off Greens Prairie Road.