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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1997)
News Wednesday Page 5 April 9, 1997 % Rony Angkriwan, The Battaijon , . £ . Ericka O'Malley, a senior finance lOlt 101 major, tees off at the beginning of ' golf class at Penberthy Field. Sandbags pile higher as towns wait for more water MONTEVIDEO, Minn. (AP) —Towns along the lower Minnesota River stacked sandbags and measured the rising flood Tuesday while Montevideo residents watched to see if they would get hit a second time. “People are worried ... but we’re tak ing it as it comes,” said Myrtle Sherod, who was helping her daughter run Valentino’s Restaurant on Main Street, protected by the levees. Sherod turns 80 in two weeks. “The wa ter had better go down by then,” she said. Schools reopened Tuesday for the first time since last week, and many businesses on high ground also opened their doors in this town 130 miles west of Minneapolis. But 80 miles downstream, high school students in New Ulm were hard at work piling sandbags along the Minnesota. The river rose 1.6 feet Tuesday at New Ulm and is expected to crest there on Wednesday. The National Weather Ser vice said it does not have an official flood stage for the city. Farther downstream, below the point where the Minnesota joins the Missis sippi, a crest nearly 10 feet above flood stage is expected Sunday at St. Paul, most of which is on higher ground. Although the Minnesota was receding at Montevideo on Tliesday, a day after cresting nearly 10 feet above flood stage, experts warned that temperatures warm enough to melt snow on Wednesday, with a chance of more precipitation at week’s end, mean the river could rise again. “Multiple crests can occur, especially with snow melt runoff,” said Mark Seeley, a climatologist at the University of Min nesota. “We could have another surge.” The timing of the snow melt was com plicated by record cold covering the re gion since the weekend blizzard that dumped the snow. Bismarck, N.D., dropped to a record low of just 3 above zero, while that state’s western town of Dickinson fell to a record 8 below. Watertown, S.D., where many residents had returned home after flooding eased along the Big Sioux River, had a record low of 4, and Minneapolis- St. Paul chilled to a record 11. . Another problem was ice jams that formed temporary corks, threatening to rupture and release new flood crests. Along the Minnesota-North Dakota state line, a huge ice jam was lodged about four miles south of Breckenridge at the con fluence of the Bois de Sioux and Red rivers. “I haven’t seen it, but from what I un derstand, it’s about as far as the eye can see,” said Jewel Jones, Richland County emergency management director. “It’s inaccessible,” she said. “The Army Corps of Engineers came in and checked it and said they couldn’t do any thing with it.” Floating ice on the Pomme de Terre River tore a hole overnight in a levee pro tecting the town of Appleton, about 25 miles from Montevideo, but volunteers poured in from miles around and closed the breach by morning. iearch continues for Air Force bomber PHOENIX (AP) — Capt. Craig Button took off i$9 million Air Force attack jet last week for a ictice run. Within minutes, the plane and its enal of four 500-pound bombs were gone. that is known for sure is that the A-10 underbolt was last spotted on radar over the I r :i lorado Rockies — nearly 800 miles off course, at was last Wednesday. Did it crash? Was it sabotaged? Or did the pilot steal it, like something out of |ec "• e movie Broken Arrow? "Anything you can think of has probably been okedat," said Staff Sgt. Rian Clawson at Davis- ionthanAir Force Base in Tucson. “But the evi- ence so far doesn’t indicate any of these wild ypotheses, like he was trying to steal it, or he ^ went off to.TeWunde to go skiing.” Die Air force rebuffs the idea that Button pur ely veered the plane off course. But officials owledged Tuesday that investigators are king into Button’s background. “The investigation... includes all aspects of the ^ me and pilot, anything to do with the situation,” ot “ d Staff Sgt. Bret Zieman at Davis-Monthan. People who live near the base consider anti- COOtyernment or even cult activity possible. It sounds fishy,” said Bob Jones, a customer ; amous Sam’s Restaurant and Bar. “He could be part of a militia, for all anyone knows.” Officials had theorized the pilot could have become incapacitated and may have put the sin gle-seat plane on autopilot. But radar and wit ness accounts suggest the plane was being ma neuvered and was not simply gliding. The mystery began last Wednesday morning about 90 minutes after Button’s plane took off in formation with two other A-10s bound for the “It sounds fishy. He could be part of a militia, for all anyone knows.” Bob Jones Customer, Famous Sam’s Restaurant and Bar Barry M. Goldwater bombing range in south western Arizona. The plane was carrying con ventional, not nuclear, weapons. One of the jets reported seeing Button’s plane flying in the rear, but a minute later the lead pi lot radioed Button and got no response. When the other pilots realized the plane was missing, they broke formation and began the search. Initially, the search focused in Arizona, but it shifted to Colorado three days later after author ities checked radar records and witnesses there reported seeing a low-flying plane. Pentagon officials were looking into the time Button spent at Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas, where he was a flight instructor until he arrived in Tucson in February to train on the A-10, an ungainly anti-tank plane commonly known as the Warthog. Button’s relatives said they knew of nothing suspicious involving the 32-year-old Massape- qua, N.Y., native. “He was A-OK, stable, didn’t seem to be under any stress. But he was having to study hard,” said the captain’s father, Richard Button, who had trained pilots during World War II. “We’re hoping he bailed out. There’s no evi dence that he bailed out, but there’s no evidence that he didn’t,” he said. The last radar track showed the jet near the 12,467-foot New York Mountain near Edwards, Colo. Button’s plane was fully fueled when it took off, but it would have been nearly empty by then. Tuesday’s search in the area was cut off in the early afternoon by low and threatening clouds. “In some instances, if a plane crashes it’s easy to see, but not always,” LaMarca said. “If it crashed and is now covered with snow, that makes it more challenging. And no one saw it go down.” ewly assertive Gingrich back on offensive Washington — After weeks the political defensive, House eaker Newt Gingrich is reassert- himself, hying to cement the iport of conservatives, sketching ind themes of “freedom and th" to guide his party and envi- ®ing huge Republican gains in d998 elections. The Georgia Republican’s at- ttpted comeback remains cloud- by his as-yet-unpaid $300,000 Action imposed by the House last Ater for ethics violations. But with characteristic bravado, Agrich looked beyond his current ■ttles when he spoke recently of RA' Wing a follow-up to the “Contract ith America” — in the year 2000. Ad I believe we’re on the way,” he id in a well-received speech to BPAC, the political organization it helped fuel his rise to power. In a series of appearances over past two days, Gingrich has spo il out sharply against a string of ''orite conservative targets: the Union administration, organized labor, liberal Democrats and the news media among them. “It does not occur to me that a few months of planning is a cause for pan- ic,” he chided his GOPAC audience. Democrats dis count talk of a Gin grich comeback, and a recent USA Today/CNN poll put his approval rat ing at an abysmal 25 percent 7 Gingrich “I hope the speaker stays out there in public view,” said Rep. Martin Frost, the Texas lawmaker who chairs the Democratic cam paign committee. “Every day he’s on television our direct mail fund- raising receipts go up.... He’s help ing us recruit candidates.” But Gingrich, according to press secretary Christina Martin, remains “committed to fulfilling his role as speaker, and staking out the vision for the party and for the (conservative) movement.” Gingrich’s re-emergence in pub lic comes after months of criticism from fellow Republicans and per sistent speculation in conservative publications about his possible forced departure as speaker. He has largely stayed out of pub lic view since he admitted violating House rules last winter. He was re elected speaker, but nine fellow Re publicans refused to support him. And his recent suggestion that Re publicans defer tax cuts until after voting on a balanced budget plan touched off widespread criticism. Rank-and-file Republicans com plained about the slow start-up to the congressional session, and in one memorable phrase, GOP Rep. Peter King of New York wrote that Gingrich had become political “road kill.” Even before embarking on his recent trip to China — a journey that aides believe was a public rela tions success — Gingrich reaf firmed his support for tax cuts. He also had lunch with mem bers of the GOP freshman class in an effort to satisfy them of his com mitment to lower taxes. “My sense of the freshman class is that the speaker enjoys strong support from our group,” said Rep. Kenny Hulshof of Missouri. Since returning from overseas last week, Gingrich has scheduled his first sit-down television inter view in months, an appearance Fri day night on Larry King. He telephoned radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh twice in two days, once to criticize his conserva tive critic, William Kristol. As for the ethics sanction, Martin said no decision had been made on how to pay the $300,000 that Gingrich was assessed as part of his agreement with the ethics committee last winter. Gingrich must decide whether to pay out of personal funds, a step his wife, Marianne, is said to oppose, or out of some sort of political or legal defense fund, a step that risks incurring the wrath of fellow lawmakers. A combi nation of the two also is possible. Fish BEACH Ball Open to the entire campus f*'*# April 11, 8 p.m. to midnight REC Center III $5 per person. TVATSON & TAYLOR MINI STORAGE BRING IN AD OR SPECIAL (409) 822-6618 CARSON -S VILLA MA*>\ 2206 Pinfeather Rd Restaurant Management Like Any Good Neighbor, We'd Like To Have You Over For A While. We’re Applebee's international, America's favorite neighbor and we invite you to spend a little more time with us. if you're a restaurant management professional, share with us your experience and discover first-hand how we can begin to build a long-term, and mutually rewarding relationship. General Managers Assistant Managers Kitchen Managers When you join us, you'll enjoy ongoing training, progressive pay and incentives, decision making authority and the chance to move as fast, as far as your talents permit. If you're ready to join our family, please forward your resume to: Laurie Zeleny, APPLEBEE'S INTERNATIONAL, INC., 2925 LB) Freeway, Suite 242, Dallas, TX 75234 or fax (972)243-3252. EOE. Neighborhood Grill & Bar America’s Favorite Neighbor® Class of 4 00 Class of‘99 Room 808 Room 801 Rudder Tower Rudder Tower General Class Meetings IhIi® W,1 ~i ItaraA / JL \ JWlHl Wednesday, April 9, 1997 7:00 P.M. All students are welcome to attend!!!! Class of 4 98 Class of ‘97 Room 504 Room 802 Rudder Tower Rudder Tower CHAT & CHEW Discuss questions and concerns with your Vice President for Student Affairs DR. MALON SOUTHERLAND ' Light refreshments available. APRIL 9 in the MSC 10:30 • 12:30 313 S. COLLEGE 846-3343 SWIMSUIT SHOWDOWN , WEDNESDAY NIGHT APRIL 9-30,1997 $2500.00 IN CASH & PRIZES 75C BAR DRINKS 75C DRAFT DRINKS 75C LONGNECKS e>M° 3 WEEKLY PRELIMINARIES APRIL 9, 16, 23 FINALS TO BE HELD APRIL 30, 1997 FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 846-1724 OR CHECK ON OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.BCSCLUBS.COM r. Lone Star Overnight PART-TIME COURIER "X Lone Star Overnight is a premium quality, overnight air express ship ping company serving the 25 largest metropolitan areas in Texas. LSO needs highly motivated, courteous, dependable, prompt and professional women and men with great communications skills who desire a long term career opportunity. This part-time courier posi tion offers approximately 15-20 hours per week with a flexible schedule. You must be available to begin work on April 28th. LSO offers starting pay of $8.20 per hour, medical coverage, paid vaca tion, profit sharing, and 401k retirement benefits to full-time employees. A LSO courier's primary duty is courteous, efficient and professional pick-up and delivery of high priority packages driving a company owned vehicle while adhering to strict safety procedures*. Essential job requirements include the ability to operate a standard delivery van, to life and maneuver 75 pounds without assistance and maneuver 150 pounds with appropriate equipment. You must be able to communicate well in English, both verbal and written. In order to meet vehicle insurance requirements, you must be at least 25 years old and a clear motor vehicle report for the last three years is highly preferred. LSO is committed to a drug-free workplace and requires a pre-employment drug screen. A background check and physical examination may be required. If you have the energy and desire to contribute your talents to this fast growing and successful company, please come to the Pavilion, Rm 219 or the Career Center located on campus April 8-10 to fill out ^an application. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. EOE.