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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 4, 1997)
Texas A & M University wjuamBmamamam W\ pi* 189 | CI - ' I 65 Today Tomorrow See extended forecast, Page 2. 1 me 103 • Issue 143 • 6 Pages College Station, TX Wednesday, June 4, 1997 favs Briefs ■■■■■■■■■Ml ■M prof named Plsearch director fcLee Blank, a Texas A&M Uni- Ityprofessor of industrial engi- pfe,has been named A&M’s irv [ 2 |iexecutive director of the Office Honing, Evaluation and Institu- l 4 ^ Research. •ok, who also serves as the Uni- »sassistant provost for contin- • improvement, will head a study %s planning and evaluations l )art ltoisas part of his new job. lank has been a member of the IsA&M faculty since 1978. Irvey Road to idergo repairs Jil.2 million reconstruction pro- •jiaseven-mile section of State •ay 30 (Harvey Road) and 13 State Highway 21 will begin ldr< resection of Harvey Road from pteiueto Bird Pond Road will un- jj-wement repairs and resurfacing. "otmixoverlay will be completed '[Tesection of Harvey Road stretch- me Texas Avenue to the east ta 4geroad of State Highway 6. 21, spot repairs will be f jltothe pavement and shoul- Tie section of SH 21 from Wal- liadtotheNavasota River will re- (asurface treatment. rom eAb- a Hproved Wellborn A to open today ’ijiiiened section of Wellborn Road w l»ed shoulders and protected ra ltoswill be open to traffic today. T^'separtment of Transportation n .'T»id the project will be com- e Twerthe next few weeks. Work liteoi 1 0n The project includes paint- wmanent traffic stripes, putting 3n _^side signs and landscaping. ujM$3.7 million project, which be ll J’September 1995, reconstructed pur miles of Wellborn Road, from lt |3l8to the Wellborn community. rjbazz remains in liv'd t )4cal condition llianf P/YORK (AP) — Malcolm X’s m »*layin a hospital Tuesday, her ijjjed body covered with cream lauze, with experts giving her Llcliance of survival. 1% Shabazz, 61, was in ex- I X [ C critical condition with burns ■80 percent of her body from a |iher apartment Sunday that llegedly set by her 12-year-old feon, Malcolm Shabazz. itients her age have less than percent chance of surviving severe burns, according to Dr. sySaffle, secretary of the Amer- Association. 'eliningof Mrs. Shabazz’s lungs also seared. Saffle said that typi- xorsens the odds. ./ULIUjN Fantastic: local band ases impressive debut, serfo The End See Page 3. ENTERTAINMENT OPINION Icis: American society feys conflicting views c erning world troubles. See Page 5. bat-web.tamti.edu The Wire, ; 24-hour 6 news ^ce, Bar awaits | Legislators crack down on underage drinkers ruling in TABC case By Joey Jeanette Schlueter The Battalion Wh ile bills cracking down on underage drinking await approval or veto by the governor in Austin, a local case of possible liquor license misuse remains unresolved. Joseph Cotton, 24, died in November 1995 in an al cohol-related automobile accident. The driver of the car, Doug Sparks, was a minor and intoxicated. Both men had just left Hurricane Harry’s, where the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission says Sparks was served alcohol after he was drunk. In February, the TABC brought charges of liquor li cense misconduct against Gary Seaback, owner of Hur ricane Harry’s, after filing an investigation of the incident. Please see Case on Page 4. Graphic.- Tim Moog By Jenara Kocks The Battalion As the 1997 legislative session comes to a close, Texas law makers are making a strong statement to minors about underage drinking: “Don’t do it.” The Legislature sent SB 35, dubbed the “zero tolerance” bill, to Gov. George W. Bush Sunday. The bill calls for stiff penalties for drivers un der 21 who are found to be under the influence of alcohol. Penalties would include a 60-day suspension of a first-time offender’s driver’s license, with jail time and fines for fourth-time offenders. James Lampley, legislative aide to Rep. Adam Place, who spon sored the bill in the House, said current law allows drivers under the age of 21 to have an blood al cohol level of up to 0.07 percent and not be considered intoxicated. Lampley said the bill would en force penalties on drivers under the age of 21 who have any level of alcohol in their systems. These penalties do not apply only to underage drivers under the influence, but also to any minor who is caught in possession of or under the influence of alcohol even if he or she is not driving. Lampley said the bill is, in part, response to a federal mandate. If Texas does not pass a zero toler ance bill by 1999, it could lose $38 million in highway funding. Please see Bill on Page 4. Artifacts arrive at Bush Library /m ■ gJISr Photograph: Robert McKay Marcel Machler tests an edge on the presidential seal he crafted for the George Bush Presiden tial Library and Museum. The seal took three weeks to complete, and he is now working on a quote for an exterior wall. By Joey Jeanette Schlueter The Battalion Treasures ranging from gold and diamonds to tributes from around the world have found a new home in the George Bush Presidential Li brary and Museum. The Bush complex, the nation’s tenth presidential library, is receiving gifts and artifacts from former Presi dent George Bush’s political career. Don Wilson, executive director for the complex, said all artifacts should be housed in the museum by August. A TBM Avenger aircraft resembling the one Bush flew in World War II already has made its way to the museum. ^ ^ The complex is coming along as planned. Visitors will have a lot of interesting things to look at.” Don Wilson Executive director for the complex “The complex is coming along as planned,” Wilson said. “Visitors will have a lot of interesting things to look at.” Wilson said papers and memora bilia from Bush’s career also will be available for public viewing on the 90- acre complex. Scholars will be able to access over 38 million pages of docu ments from Bush’s administration. David Alsobrook, director of Bush Presidential Material Projects for Texas A&M University, said valuable gifts will highlight the exhibits. One of the more valued artifacts to be housed in the museum is a sol id silver and gold urn presented to Bush during his administration by Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The urn will be on display with a plaque explaining Bush’s significance in foreign affairs. Another valuable gift to be dis played is a model of a Saudi desert fortress made of solid gold. The approximate 3-foot by 5-foot model was given to Bush by other world leaders. Please see Library on Page 4. Gov. Bush Gov. Bush ponders re-election AUSTIN (AP) — Gov. George W. Bush said Tuesday if he runs for re-election, it will be for two “compelling reasons:” continuing work on education and welfare reform. Turning aside questions about whether he also has his eye on the presidency, the Republi can governor said he does n’t think his failed effort for an ambitious school tax overhaul will work against him with voters. He said Texans want a governor with a strong agenda and will appreci ate the tax cut plan that was approved by lawmak ers with his support. “I think people are go ing to say this is a man who set a very bold agenda and acted boldly. That’s what Texans want in their leaders,” he said. “We delivered the largest tax cut in the state’s history.” Bill White, head of the Texas Democratic Party, disagreed, portraying Bush as an inef fectual leader. “He started too late on tax reform and failed to deliver the votes,” said White. “I think that Tex ans would prefer a governor who’s effective.” While Republicans had a majority in one legislative chamber for the first time in more than a century, the GOP-dominated Senate failed to back a Bush-backed tax plan to cut local school property taxes by about $4 bil lion over the next two years. The money would have been replaced with new state taxes, budget cuts and savings. While acknowledging he didn’t get all he wanted, Bush said the state made progress in addressing education funding. The state share of funding is increasing compared with local property taxes, he said. In addition, voters later this year will decide on a plan to spend $1 billion left over from the last two-year budget to increase home stead exemptions, cutting taxes for home- owners roughly $140 annually. For real change to be made, Bush said, “I think it’s important for people to understand that the voice of the people must resonate loudly to overcome the voices of the people who are hired to maintain the status quo. “I can’t tell you how many members (of the Legislature) came into my office and said, ‘Property taxes are not an issue in my dis trict.’ Some of them came into my office say ing that, and I knew full well it wasn’t true. They just didn’t want to listen.” Texas executes 18th inmate Air Force One, UPS plane get close over Irish waters HUNTSVILLE (AP) —A serial rapist linked to more than a half dozen attacks wqs executed Tuesday for rap ing and then strangling and drowning a Houston woman in her bathtub 11 years ago this week. Kenneth Bernard Harris, 34, was pronounced dead six minutes after an executioner started a flow of lethal drugs into his outstretched arms. Harris was contrite in a final statement, asking for forgiveness and thanking witnesses who showed up in the death chamber. “I am sorry for all the pain I’ve caused both families — my family and your family, too,” he said, nodding to his victim’s sister and brother-in-law standing behind glass a few feet away. As the drugs began taking effect, Hanis gasped loud ly twice. A doctor pronounced Harris dead at 6:17 p.m. Harris was convicted of killing legal secretary Lisa Stonestreet, 28, who lived next door to him at a Hous ton apartment complex. “I hope he saw no bitterness or hate in our hearts,” said Vicki Haack, whose sister was killed and who watched Harris die. Harris was the second of four inmates scheduled for lethal injection this week in Texas. A convicted cop killer was executed on Monday. Harris’ execution also was the 18th this year in Texas, nearing the record 20 in the state in 1935 when the electric chair was used. Since Texas resumed carrying out capital pun ishment in 1982 with lethal injection as the method, it has been the nation’s most active capi tal punishment state. Executions this year have ac celerated as longtime inmates exhaust their ap peals and new laws designed to speed the appeals process take effect. Stonestreet, who worked for Houston’s Vinson and Elkins law firm, was found June 9,1986, slumped over the side of the bathtub with her head sub merged in water. Authorities determined she had been killed two days earlier. WASHINGTON (AP) — Air Force One came within 1,000 feet above and three miles left of a 747 cargo plane near the Irish coast last week but the planes were no way involved in a near collision, Air Force officials said Tuesday. The presidential jet, with Presi dent and Hillary Clinton aboard, was flying eastbound May 26 when air traffic controllers told its pilots to turn left and climb 2,000 feet be cause of a descending plane below it. The second plane was flown by United Parcel Service pilots. Clinton was on the first leg of a Eu ropean tour at the time of the incident. “According to the pilots, the presi dent was never in any danger,” said Maj. Jim Stratford of Andrews Air Force Base. “This is no way a near miss.” A UPS spokesman backed up the statement. “The two aircraft were never on a collision course,” said Ken Shapero. The union that represents UPS pi lots, however, said there may have been a technical violation of mini mum separation standards between the planes. The Independent Pilots Associa tion said it reported the incident to help convince the Federal Aviation Administration to require that freight aircraft be equipped with collision- avoidance systems similar to the one aboard Air Force One.