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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 1997)
;M , »~ , M ^mS Hn fg| | Today Tomorrow See extended forecast, Page 2. me 103 • Issue 151 • 6 Pages College Station, TX iiW^^PP ■ ■ Thursday, June 19, 1997 2 csl EWS Briefs si country band members cuss Texas music and wd participation See Page 3. LIFESTYLES OPINION ons: Citizens cry out for ir ning labels, but should "'are of the outcome. See Page 5. ://bat-web,taiTm,edu *past Ties on lf thgate Nations. warn • pass construction begin this week j Kkwill begin later this month on tsurfacingof a 6.5-mile stretch of Bypass (Highway 6), the second ^ sofa plan to improve the surface (section of the road that passes gliBryan-College Station. ie$1.5 million project will involve (epairing, sealing and overlaying »ay6from FM 158 in Bryan to ks6 in College Station. Repairs ibe made to the entrance and mips at Harvey Road, teprojectwill begin the third week of m jidshould be completed by late fall. (diology programs accredited by APA leAmerican Psychological Asso- - im(APA) reaccredited Texas A&M 1 dsity’sdoctoral programs in coun- pd school psychology for sev- arseach. JileAPA reaccredited the programs J (dona self-study and a site visit. M snyears is the longest reaccredi- iterm possible. ^ Snce 1982, the counseling psy- ™ iftprogram has been continually sled by the APA. The school psy- ((yprogram has been continually [“fed since 1985. 10 positions for enrollment „..Jable in each program. , e " ran residents can :ree 1 la row garden tools 'lecityof Bryan and Lillian J. tan Community Development Won now are offering free gar- 'tools and equipment for resi- toborrow through the Bryan »®ityShed Program, fetal housing the tools was do- feltyPleasant Grove Missionary ^Church on W. Martin L. King & The tools are available at the A It is open on Tuesdays and %sfrom 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and todays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. taborrowing equipment must be feof Bryan, present valid IDs and ^equipment check-out/in form. idy: estrogen raises sast cancer risk DSTON (AP) — For older women, Icult question of whether to take gen for the rest of their lives has teven more complicated, i)Wednesday, researchers report- Rv evidence that estrogen supple- tsafter menopause may cut the risk feimer’s disease in half. Today, an- 'study is coming out suggesting bng-term use increases the risk of ifrom breast cancer by nearly half, hmen often take estrogen for a Se of years to ease the hot flashes other symptoms of menopause, tare is little doubt about the safe- : this limited use. fee controversial, however, is the hhatwomen should keep on taking 0s because of estrogen's other well- tewefWs. Holiday recognizes freedom, independence Photograph: Shannon Castle Jason Brewer sings "Wind Beneath My Wings" during the Juneteenth celebration in the MSC Flagroom Wednesday. By Michelle Newman The Battalion Black and white, young and old, stu dents and non-students alike gathered in the MSC Flagroom Wednesday to observe the anniversary of the freeing of Texas slaves nearly 132 years ago. The crowd discussed such issues as black awareness at Texas A&M Univer sity and in the lives of African-Ameri cans in the community on the eve of Juneteenth, a now nationally-recog nized holiday celebrating African- American independence. On January 1, 1863, President Abra ham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in Amer ica. TWo-and-a-halfyeais later, on June 19, 1865, the news reached Galveston Bay, and 182,921 slaves, almost 30 percent of Texas’ population, were released. Lasondra Carroll, chair of the MSC Black Awareness Committee and a ju nior journalism major, spoke to the audience about public education of black history. "In school, I was told I am the de scendant of slaves,” Carroll said. "When I read on my own, I found out I am the descendant of kings and queens. When my descendants look back, I want them to know they are the product of an en trepreneur, a woman who did not let anything get in her way.” The Shiloh Baptist Area Youth Choir performed several pieces ex pressing hope and confidence in the future for African-Americans. Thomas Rucker, a member of the choir, sang the song “I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly as the audience swayed to the music and sang along. Eric Durham, a sophomore speech communication major, is a member of the Black Awareness Committee and Brothers of the Round Table, a new group that mentors youths in Bryan. He said he has concerns about the Hopwood decision. “I look at the members of the Shiloh choir and I wonder how they will get here [Texas A&M],” Durham said. “I am here on a scholarship which will not be available to them.” The Hopwood decision abolished race-based scholarships at public uni versities in Texas. The audience at the program con sisted of those of African, Caucasian, Hispanic and Asian descent. Please see Juneteenth on Page 6. HUD overturns city’s settlement with Burger Boy By Robert Smith The Battalion College Station is now faced with two options for helping Burger Boy owner George Sopasakis move his business. A Housing and Urban Development (HUD) ruling on Monday overturned the city’s decision to give Sopasakis $10,000 to help him relocate. Now College Station must pay Sopasakis a “lump sum” up to $20,000, based on the average annual income of his business, or the cost of relocating and up to $10,000 for reestablishing costs. Ongoing Coverage iflTT7AWMT AaJmMMAJI IiVI«t* j Mary Madden, a HUD special assistant in Fort Worth, said HUD ruled that Sopasakis was entitled to more money from College Station. “When a business is relocated by the government or by federal funds,” Madden said, "they are required to provide relocation assistance.” HUD’s ruling negated the $10,000 package for Sopasakis, which was approved by the city last Thursday, and put construction on a Northgate parking lot on hold. Sopasakis said he filed an appeal with HUD be cause the city would not assist him fairly. “When you have your own business and you are depending on the income,” Sopasakis said, “it’s very wrong for the city to come and tell you you are out of business. I’m just glad that HUD stood behind us 100 percent.” Sopasakis also filed for a temporary restraining or der in Houston that nullified a notice from the city that required him to leave the building. Before beginning work in Northgate, the city re quested guidance from HUD to stay in compliance with Uniform Relocation Assistance (URA) regulations. URA requires all federal projects to provide reloca tion assistance to businesses or homeowners who are forced to move. After reviewing the regulations, the city deter mined that URA did not apply to the Patricia Street re development project. College Station Mayor Lynn Mcllhaney said the city believed they were complying with HUD regulations because no federal money is being used for Patricia Street construction. “We have kept in contact with HUD in Fort Worth and they have been monitoring the project,” Mcll haney said. “We’ve contended all along that no feder al funds have been used on the project.” At issue is whether individual capital projects in the Northgate area are, by definition, a single federal pro ject. The city’s stance is that because no federal funds have been used in either acquisition of property or construction of the Patricia Street project, it is a sep arate and independent project. In 1992, the city began a utility project at College Main to improve water and sewer lines. HUD ruled the project did not fall under URA regulations because it was a utility project and did not require relocation of businesses. Please see HUD on Page 6. Cmdr. John lasquez, a Bryan residehf^l and commander of Veterans; of Foreign Wars Post 4692, said he feels Korean War veterans have been forgotten. The Bryan-College Static] area lacks memorials and monu ments honoring veterans of anyV wars, he said. But a bill passed by the Texas Legis- . lature may help change that. L-A “The renaming of Highway 6 as the \ Korean War Veteran Memorial Highway'^ ^ long overdue,” Velasquez said. A bill to rename part of State Highway 6^ the Texas Korean War Veterans Memorial / v ^ Highway in honor of the 287,000 who served and the 1,719 Texans who died in the war was approved by the Texas Legislature and signed by Gov. George W. Bush. The renamed highway, which stretches from the Red River in Hardeman County to its intersection with Interstate Highway 45 in Galveston County, bypasses Bryan-College Station to the east. Fifty-eight Aggies died while serving in the Korean War. Sen. J.E. “Buster” Brown, a member of the Subcommittee ofVeteran Affairs, proposed the bill in the 75th Texas legislative session. The purpose of the renaming, Brown said, is to commemorate the state’s veterans who served and fought in the Korean War. “Many call the Korean War the ‘Forgotten War,”’ Brown said, “but now Texas has shown these brave men and women that they are in deed heroes of our state and of our nation. This highway will serve as a reminder to us all of the supreme sacrifices these veterans offered in the true spirit of patriotism.” Wendy Taylor, Sen. Brown’s press secretary, said Brown is interested in the highway be cause it runs through his county. “Senator Brown is from Brazoria County, and Highway 6 is a part of that,” Taylor said. “Buster thought it was important that these veterans are recognized.” The Korean War (1950- 1953) was a re- ^ suit of North Korea’s crossing of the 38th parallel into South Korea. When North Korea at tacked South Korea, United States troops were brought in to fight as mem bers of the United Nations. More than 33,640American soldiers were officially declared dead by hostile means in the war. Velasquez, who serves on the state legislative VFW committee, said he feels the Legislature’s passing of the bill is an accom plishment. Please see Highway on Page 6. Mexico residents converge in border city to protest execution MATAMOROS, Mexico (AP) — Hundreds of Mexicans blocked an international bridge on the U.S. border in protest of their coun tryman’s Texas execution Wednesday and sobbed and screamed upon hearing their “compatriot” was gone. Several demonstrators threw plastic water jugs and glass bottles, yelling to U.S. journal ists, “Gringos, get the hell out of here.” Others threatened Texas Gov. George W. Bush and called him “an assassin.” The situation turned tense when several loud booms sounded, causing some protest ers to hit the ground. At least two protesters fainted, but no one was hurt. The demonstration, which swelled to about 300 people, dispersed about an hour af ter Irineo Tristan Montoya was pronounced dead at 6:16 p.m. CDT in Huntsville. Despite the reaction of some protesters, group spokesman German Torres said Mexican citizens would not take retribution on the United States. “The people are going to say harsh things today, but there will be no vengeance from Mexico,” said Torres. “We are peaceful people. This is a country that is full of love.” Montoya, a 30-year-old native of Tampico, Tamaulipas, had been on Texas’ death row for the 1985 robbery and stabbing death of a mo torist just across the border in Brownsville. Please see Protest on Page 2.
