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.