Page 6 • The Battalion • Tuesday, July 30, 1996 Bees Continued from Page 1 honey, John Pick, Texas A&M assistant chief apiary inspector (bee colony inspector) said their main importance is pollination. ♦- It is untrue that fewer bees simply result in less honey and fewer bee stings. Pick said. “You’d be surprised how much produce wouldn’t be in su permarkets without bee pollina tion, like cantaloupe, squash, cucumbers and watermelons,” he said. “Somehow the cost will be passed on to the consumer.” Pick said the parasite even affects the cattle business. "A lot of cattle feeds on alfal fa, which is produced by pollina tion,” he said. Pick said the Varroa mite presents a serious problem for consumers and many other busi nesses besides beekeepers. “If you’re not a good, con scious beekeeper, this parasite can put you out of the business,” Pick said. Morris Weaver, a Navasota beekeeper, said the bee para sites are killing off his bee colonies and hurting his busi ness. Weaver said the problem has recently grown because of the widespread development of the mites. "It's hurting my business be cause I’m losing bee colonies, and that hurts honey produc tion,” Weaver said. “It’s expen- . sive to treat this problem, and there is only one known kind of treatment.” Pick said beekeepers can op erate up to 8,000 bee colonies, so the treatment — which costs $5 a colony — can be expensive. He said if used correctly, how ever, the treatment is effective. Weaver said the bee parasite was spread to the United States nearly eight years ago from an Asian bee brought into the coun try illegally and first discovered in Texas. Weaver said honeybees play a major role in the production and sale of fruits and vegetables all the way from farm fields to su permarket stands. “A lot of people are saying ‘We need bees to pollinate,’” Pick said. “For example, a gentlemen called and said the bees weren’t pollinating his gardens. He was wondering where he could get bees. We even have beekeepers going all the way out to Califor nia to pollinate almond crops.” Deborah Gotten, a senior wildlife and fisheries major, said her grandfather’s East Texas bee farm has faced problems be cause of this summer’s drought. Gotten said her grandfather is also concerned with the possibili ty of killer bees inhabiting his colonies, and the Varroa mite could be an additional problem to her grandfather’s bee farm. Pick said A&M students should not worry about catching the parasite. Although the mite eventually affects the producers' and consumers’ pocketbooks, it is of no physical harm to humans and cannot be passed on through honey, fruits or vegetables. “Strictly the only danger (of the mite) is to honeybees,” he said. Combs widow left with $500,000 debts Technology Continued from Page 2 Kelly Hester, associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Medicine, agreed with Poole. “We (physicians) can ex change and utilize expertise not available in one part of the world that is available in this part of the world,” Hester said. “I could get a quick referral if I don’t have the expertise to iden tify a treatment. It makes infor mation easily accessible.” On a larger scale, Poole said, videoconferencing is one of the many technological advance ments that will change the world. “A lot of people are arguing that over the last 20 and next 30 years there will be more change than there ever has been in the history of all humankind.” Mauren said the technology will help A&M continue its growth. “Texas A&M has had a con tinued mission to be an interna tional university,” Mauren said. “This technology has provided wide implications in that area.” John-John falls back on Monroe’s birthday serenade CINCINNATI (AP) — TV game show host Ray Combs left his family with at least $500,000 in debts, his widow said. "I don't have anything," Debbie Combs told The Cincinnati Enquirer in a story published Monday. Between 1988 and 1994, Combs was the host of The New Family Feud. The 40-year-old hanged him self June 2 in a suburban Los Ange les hospital, where he was under ob servation for mental problems. Lawyers found an $82,000 debt from Combs' Cincinnati comedy club that closed 18 months ago, as sorted credit card and telephone bills, Debbie Combs said. Their house has been foreclosed on and the family is relying on a food pantry for meals, she said. ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — John F. Kennedy Jr. doesn't get the fuss over his using Marilyn Monroe to sell his magazine. On the cover of the September issue of George magazine, Drew Barrymore ap pears dressed and coiffed to look like Monroe in her famous "Hap py Birthday, Mr. President," sere nade to John- John's father. Various books have alleged the pres ident had an affair with Monroe, who serenaded the president during a party at Madison Square Garden. "Just because people have clucked for decades, why does this make it strange we would use that bit of iconog raphy?" JFK Jr. said. "I don't see what possible taste questions could be in volved. If I don't find it tasteless, I don't know why anyone would." is like a fish out of water in the Unit ed States. "We're having to reshoot because we messed it up a bit," Cleese said Monday. Fierce Creatures brings Cleese back together with Michael Palin, Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis in a comedy set at a zoo. Some of the black humor of the film — including the death of one of four characters played by Kline — was accept able to British audiences, but didn't go over well at previews in the United States. Cleese said the cast would regroup in two weeks to reshoot scenes and he hoped for a Christmas release. Country crooner gives . T . . , vocal chords a break It's a girl for Brooks, Allie Colleen makes #3 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The man who wished "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose" is taking a breather. A manager for country star Little Jimmy Dickens said Monday the singer is resting his voice for two months. The 75-year-old is under doc tor's orders to rest his vocal chords completely. Dickens, a member of the Coun try Music Hall of Fame, has per formed on the Opry almost continu ously since 1948. Downey, 31, pleaded innocent lo felony charges of cocaine and heroin possession and misdemeanor charges of carrying a concealed weapon, dri ving under the influence and being under the influence of drugs. The Oscar- nominated star of Chaplin was arrested June 23 after deputies al legedly found crack cocaine, heroin and an unloaded .357 Magnum revolver in his truck during a Malibu traffic stop. Hours before he was to be ar raigned on those charges, sheriff's deputies arrested him July 17 for al legedly breaking into a neighbor's home, where he was found sleeping in a child's bed. Downey had been in jail since July 20, when he walked out of a court-ordered rehabilitation center. Deputy District Attorney Ellen Aragon had argued to keep Downey behind bars. "The people still feel the more Mr. Downey stays in jail the less likely he is to want to visit us again." Famed bird watcher Peterson dies at 87 Fish foliow-up paddles to Christmas release LONDON (AP) — The follow-up film to A Fish Called Wanda has flopped with American audiences. John Cleese's 1988 movie was a smash, but the new Fierce Creatures NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Garth Brooks is singing for three. The country music star and his wife, Sandy, had their third child Sunday at a Nashville hospital. Allie Colleen Brooks weighed 8 pounds and was 21 1/2 inches long at birth. Downey ordered to rehab — again BROOKS The baby is named for Sandy's pa ternal grandfather, Allie, and Garth's mother, Colleen. MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — Actor Robert Downey Jr., arrested three times in the past month, pleaded innocent to drug and weapons charges Monday and was ordered held under supervision in a drug rehabilitation center. Municipal Court Judge Lawrence Mira warned Downey that he will be jailed without bail if he leaves the rehab center before an Aug. 23 hear ing. Bail was set at $25,000. Downey "is pleased and very, very happy that the court felt that the program that we presented to the court is acceptable," said defense lawyer Charles English. OLD LYME, Conn. (AP) — Roger Tory Peterson, the man Audubon magazine credits with turning mil lions of us into bird watchers, mainly through his easy-to-use field guide? and striking illustrations, died Sun day. He was 87. Peterson wrote, illustrated and edited 15 books that sold millions of copies and were translated into al least 12 languages. He also helped create more than 40 guides covering a wide range of natural subjects. In 1934 he produced a guide fea turing the birds of the Eastern United States. Peterson used a unique iden tification system with arrows high lighting distinctive markings and characteristics. "I consider myself to have been the bridge between the shotgun and the binoculars in bird watching," Pe terson said. "Before I came along, the primary way to observe birds was to shoot them and stuff them." 3 1. 102, > ASHI awsuit ra ;ht mixing ;h( gover charged th with imprc jjan candid Bdes and | The groi dollars to ;ies of fig Besident Helms, Sei Brth and ■ngrich, Clmmissic Bt filed in I Any actii ly will come feet this y some coali Tenneco Continued from Page 1 which suggested the University halt the project and conduct fur ther research. Harris also said the plausibility of the project was in question. “They wanted to step back and look at the feasibility of the project,” Harris said. “They decided to dis continue it until they could do a comprehensive study.” The project, estimated at $120 million, included two phases. Phase I was completed before ne gotiations were stopped. Harris said the project would have been a huge undertaking. “This was going to be the largest capital construction project the A&M System had ever under taken,” Harris said. “Because of the size of the project and ques tions about whether Phase II was necessary, the Board started to step back.” The settlement process with Tenneco will begin on October 1. Harris said that when she asked Deputy Chancellor Dick Lindsay about the settlement, Lindsay said he could not discuss any terms of the settlement right now. as e uick! 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THE NAIL for tH© ultimate in ac:ryTited and only Many studi actions becai ill not mattei Dr. Gary H; al science, s ©tribute to 1< There are < •r elections t iese dates ar a said. “May nals, Augus' ie second sun inning of the ary elections fen in school. Halter ^als( hink it is im] key feel they tie system. Students 11 npacted (by