The Battalion
EWS
Thursday ‘July3,
Town evacuated after train collision
ROSSVILLE, Kan. (AP) —A freight train
carrying hazardous materials couldn’t
stop at a crossing and smashed into an
other train early Wednesday, killing one
crew member and injuring the conductor.
Twenty cars from both trains derailed,
and more than 1,000 people were forced
from their homes for more than 6 hours.
We didn’t know
what we were dealing
with. It was very dark.
There was a lot of black
smoke.”
Wilbur F. Stum Jr.
Fire Chief
The Union Pacific train was like a
“ball of fire” when firefighters arrived
just after 3 a.m., igniting grass fires
along the tracks, Fire Chief Wilbur F.
Stum Jr. said.
“We didn’t know what we were dealing
with,” Stum said. “It was very dark. There
was a lot of black smoke.”
Mike E. Brown, 46, was killed, while
conductor Everett L. Starling, 48, suf
fered minor injuries. Both were aboard
a train traveling from Kansas City to
North Platte, Neb.
The train, traveling about 10 mph, was
unable to stop at a crossing and ran into
the side of a second United Pacific train,
traveling from Seattle to Memphis at
about 70 mph, company spokesman
Mark Davis said.
Davis said small amounts of hazardous
materials, including corrosive material,
air conditioning freon, bromine chloride
and household cleaning products in
aerosol cans were on both trains.
Some of the aerosol cans exploded,
sparking a fire that was eventually doused
with 1,500 gallons of water poured from
two National Guard helicopters.
Fearing the chemicals could endanger
residents, officials evacuated all of the
suburban Topeka town’s 1,050 citizens —
including 76 residents of Rossville’s only
nursing home — to a high school
after the 2:30 a.m. accident.
They were allowed to return about 9
a.m., but officials continued to cordon off
a one-mile area around the accident site
Wednesday evening.
Workers were expected to have one of
the tracks operating by Thursday morn
ing, and the second track, used by more
than 60 trains a day, by Thursday night,
company spokesman Mark Davis said.
The National Transportation Safety
Board and the Federal Railroad Adminis
tration were investigating.
Tanker
Continued from Page 1
“It's pretty well-known what parts of the bay are
shallow and what parts are deep, so it’s very hard to
imagine why something like this would happen,” said
Anguri Kamoshita, captain of a fishing boat in the bay.
The bay was crowded with fishing boats and
other vessels. Kamoshita speculated the Dia
mond Grace might have run aground as it was
moving out of the way of another ship.
Fifteen people living near the bay were sick
ened by the fumes and taken to nearby hospitals,
Tokyo Fire Department spokesman Kimiya Ishi-
da said. Their conditions were not serious.
The supertanker was carrying 75.5 million gallons
of crude to Kawasaki from the United Arab Emirates.
There were no reported injuries among its 25-mem
ber Filipino and Japanese crew.line 200 miles west of
Tokyo.
The tanker’s primary owner is Dignity
Shipholding S.A., a wholly-owned Panamanian
subsidiary of Nippon Yusen K.K., Japan’s top ship
ping company.
Yokohama port is heavily industrialized and
oil storage facilities dot the coastline. Towns that
depend on the bay’s fish stocks are nearby.
In January, a Russian tanker broke apart in stormy
seas, spilling at least 1.2 million gallons of fuel oil into
the Sea of Japan and contaminating the coast
Oil spill in
Tokyo Bay
The supertanker
Diamond Grace ran
aground in the Bay of
Tokyo spilling 3.9
million gallons of
crude oil. The oil leak
has stopped and the
ship has docked in
Kawasaki.
Diamond Grace (Panama)
• 147,012-ton supertanker
• Carrying 75.5 million gallons of crude oil
• 25-member Filipino and Japanese crew
Study
Continued from Page 1
He said that the spread of African
ized bees, which are more aggressive
but less venomous than their Euro
pean cousins, is “stagnant” in Texas.
No honey bee sting-related deaths in
the state have been linked positively to
Africanized bees, he said.
The approximately five or so bee
swarms in the Bryan-College Station
area this year were most likely com
mercial European bees, Holloway said.
Fear of Africanized bees ravaging
Texas has dwindled with their popula
tion in the wild, he said.
“There are probably no more wild
honey bees,” Holloway said. “One
thing that has contributed to the
demise of the Africanized bee is prob
ably the parasitic mite.”
The mite, which was first detected
in the United States about the same
time as the Africanized bee, preys on
all honey bees.
Commercial bee colonies are pro
tected from the parasite by pesti
cides, Holloway said, but vulnerable
wild colonies have been destroyed by
the mite.
However, Africanized honey bees
often intermingle with the commer
cial European variety, he said, and bee
keepers’ swarms sometimes show
some degree of Africanization.
Bradley inspects samples sent to
her by keepers who think their bees
may be Africanized. She also exam
ines insects collected in bee traps
maintained by the Apiary Inspection
Service.
Using a technique called morpho
metries, Bradley measures the bees and
compares her findings to measurement
data on European bees to determine the
level of Africanization. A typical sample
analysis takes about three hours.
“It’s a tedious process,” she said.
But the testing is necessary to track
migration in bee populations, Hol
loway said. Ninety Texas counties in
which Africanized bees have been de
tected are quarantined to limit move
ment of commercial bee populations.
Celebration
Continued from Page 1
“It only cost $500 from the Lions Club
budget last year for the fireworks,” Bo-
hac said. Bohac said that in the past, fire
works were made by one of the Lions
Club members, but because of licensing
and other complications, a company
outside of Houston will provide the fire
works this year.
Jon Mies, fire marshal of the College
Station Fire Department, said the Lions
Club has to have the approval of the city
and state fire marshals to present the
public fireworks display.
Mies also said a city ordinance prohibits
private fireworks displays within the city
limits of College Station.
“You cannot possess, sell or discharge
fireworks within the College Station city
limits or within 5,000 feet of the city lim
its,” Mies said.
Penalties for violating the ordinance
include confiscation of the fireworks
and a possible fine.
Bryan has a similar ordinance and
penalties.
Mies said College Station prohibits the
use and sale of fireworks for safety reasons.
“The Icityl council and the fire depart
ment felt the use of them (fireworks) do not
outweigh the danger,” Mies said.
The College Station fire department ex-
Housing
Continued from Page 1
tinguished grass fires caused byfn
last year, Mies said.
James Rainer, safety coordinatorfoi
the Environmental Health and
Department at Texas A&M, saidarepre
sentative from his office will beatthf
celebration to monitor the display
will carry a radio and phone to contai
the fire department if needed.
Bohac said KKYS 104.7-FM radio ant
KBTX-TV will broadcast the celebration.
(iarl Orozco, general sales manageral^gl
KKYS, said the station will play patriotic
music on the radio and at the field dur|ol
ing the display.
Orozco said KKYS’s sister station, KTE\
106.1 - EM, also will do a live broadcast.
Wanda Pontz, promotions manageilcei
for KBTX-TV, said anchor and reporter jrica
Polly Bell and reporter jenni Lee
serve as mistresses of ceremonies for the
celebration. Mark Schnyder, weekend
anchor and reporter for the station, wiI|nsof|
do live shots from Olsen Field duringthe
6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts.
Pontz said KBTX-TV helps with the
program as part of the station’s commit
ment to the cities.
“We’re the only local TV station, am
we try' to be involved in the community,
Pontz said.
The Department of Parking, Transit and Traffic Services has made changes to the
A&M bus system to accommodate students living off campus.
Gary Jackson, PTTS manager of Bus Operations, said changes and improve
ments will begin in the fall.
“We are going back to the way it was before and cutting our bigger routes in half,” Jack-
son said. “The Cotton Bowl Route is one that will be divided. It will go past ’fraternity row
and will be shortened by five minutes.”
Three parking lots will be added next to off-campus bus stops in which stu
dents can park their cars.
The parking lots will be at The Texas Hall of Fame in Bryan, Blinn College and
First Baptist Church on Welsh Road.
Students with bus passes will be able to park in these lots at no cost.
Jackson said the parking lots will benefit students who do not live near bus stops,
“Students can park in these lots instead of fighting for a parking space on cam
pus,” Jackson said.
University bus passes cost $110 and are good through the fall and spring semesters.
Summer bus passes are available for $55.
College Station is preparing for increased traffic by planning several major
road improvements.
The city currently is widening Texas Avenue, from University Drive to Dominick Road
The city expects the project to be completed by the summer of 1998.
In 2000, the city plans to begin expanding Texas from Dominick to 2818.
Ed Hard, the city transportation planner for College Station, said the city plans
to begin working on several other major streets.
“We will soon begin working on Southwest Parkway from the East Bypass fHlgli-
way 6) to George Bush (Avenue),” Hard said. “We will also expand University from
the Hilton to the bypass, adding one lane in each direction.”
The city also plans to expand Anderson Street.
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Bees
Continued from Page 1
“We saw a man in a comer hitting himself.
He had bees all over,” Miss Trujillo said. “We
went to check what was wrong with him. But
it was buzz, buzz, buzz. They were big, huge.”
Daniel Esparza said he rushed outside
after hearing children yelling. He said 12-
year-old Denise Talamantez ran to him cry
ing for help. He immediately applied mud
to the sting on her forehead.
At least twice, emergency crews
tried to control the bees by spraying insec
ticide, but it didn’t work. Swarms remained
in the area an hour later, and officials
warned residents to stay inside for at least
another hour.
Kevorkian’s lawyer announces deaths of two MS patients
OUTHFIELD, Mich. (AP) — Two women
with multiple sclerosis were found dead in De-
troit-area motels Wednesday and Dr. Jack
Kevorkian’s lawyer all but confirmed that the
assisted-suicide advocate was involved in
both deaths.
One woman said on a videotape that she had
tried to commit suicide four times.
Lawyer Geoffrey Fieger refused to definitive
ly link Kevorkian to the deaths of the women,
who he said were his clients, but added: “There’s
no question about what happened here. Every
one understands that Dr. Kevorkian provides as
sistance to end suffering.”
Kevorkian appeared at a news conference at
Fieger’s office but did not answer questions.
Fieger identified the women as Dorinda
Scheipsmeier, 51, of Oceanside, Calif., and Lynne
Dawn Lennox, 54, of Lakewood, N.J.
Police found one body at a motel in Roseville,
on Detroit’s northeast side, following an anony
mous tip, said Police ChiefWilliam Lucas. A note
identified her as Scheipsmeier and “everything
points” to suicide, he said.
An hour later, a motel maid in Romulus,
southwest of Detroit, found a body that police
identified only as a 55-year-old Lakewood, N.J.,
woman. A wheelchair and note to call Fieger
were in the room, police said.
They also said autopsies would be conducted.
Lennox had discussed her intention to com
mit suicide with her parents, her sister and her
brother, and they all approved, said her mother,
Shirley Colvin.
Lennox had suffered from multiple sclerosis for
17 years and was a bookkeeper until her illness
forced her to quit working, her mother said.
“She couldn’t do anything for herself,” Colvin
said tearfully in Lakewood.
Fieger showed reporters a videotape dated Oct.
18, 1993, in which a woman who identified herself
as Lennox described how the disease left her unable
to walk and forced her to wear diapers.
“I’ve been getting worse every day, and I’ve al
ready tried to commit suicide four times myself,
very unsuccessfully,” she said.
She said she wrote to Kevorkian for help after
seeing him on Phil Donahue’s talk show. “I knew
that maybe this was something that I could get
him to do,” she said.
Fieger said Scheipsmeier was a registered
nurse. There was no telephone listing in Ocean-
side, Calif., under the name Scheipsmeier.
Fieger announced the deaths after
Kevorkian told reporters that a non-medical
group led by Janet Good, an assisted suicide
advocate and Kevorkian associate, will set up
“reasonable and sensible” guidelines for the
use of assisted suicide because the medical
profession has failed to do so.
Kevorkian in 1995 established a similar
group he called Physicians for Mercy that also
set up guidelines. It was unclear why he felt a
new group was necessary.
Kevorkian has acknowledged attending 45
deaths since 1990, but hasn’t directly said he
was involved in six other deaths reported
since March. Authorities have said they also
suspect he may have been involved in two
deaths in February.
Last Friday, Fieger said he represents the fam
ily of a woman whose body was found the day
before in a suburban motel, hours after the U.S.
Supreme Court found there is no constitutional
right to assisted suicide.
Blind Federation takes aim at
Disney for reviving Mr. Magoo
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The National Federation of the Blind asked
Disney on Wednesday to stop making a new Magoo movie, com
plaining that reviving the hapless, nearsighted cartoon character is
an insult to the blind.
The resolution, which was passed unanimously by 3,000 delegates
to the group’s convention, urges Disney to abandon production of the
live-action comedy, set for Christmas release with Leslie Nielsen in
the title role.
It says the stereotype of Magoo is as offensive to the blind as Little
Black Sambo and Amos ’n’ Andy are to blacks.
“The Disney people have dragged Magoo back from richly de
served obscurity in the hope that Americans will think it’s funny to
watch an ill-tempered and incompetent blind man stumble into
things and misunderstand his surroundings,” said Marc Maurer, pres
ident of the organization.
While the measure stops short of boycotting Disney products, it called
on the 50,000 members of the nation’s largest blind group to take “what
ever action appropriate” to protest the return of Magoo.
Disney officials did not return phone calls.
The federation is the second national organization to target Disney.
toing I
Coun|
Happy 4th of July
Come Celebrate With Us!
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Post Oak Mall
764-4444
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Now Open!
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Mexican Restaurant
located at the Preference Inn Hotel
08
Specializing in Beef, Chicken,
or Shrimp Fajitas and Grilled Quail.
° FREE ORDER OF NACHOS
(with the purchase of an entree).
1601S. Texas Ave., Bryan*
7754684
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Expires 7-31-97.
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