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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 1997)
I i Texas A&M University Today Tomorrow See extended forecast, Page 2. )lume 103 • Issue 170 • 6 Pages College Station, TX : Thursday, July 24, 1997 FEEX to begin terrorist attack training 'eremony held in conjunction vith Municipal Fire School By Robert Smith The Battalion Ihe Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) signed agreements with two corpora tions at Brayton Fire Field yesterday that will jveemergency response personnel access to tech- lology for handling nuclear, chemical and biolog- cal terrorism. Betchel Nevada, Science Applications Interna- ional Corporation (SAIC) and TEEX will worktocre- ite a training program for emergency response earns. Firefighters and other emergency responders rom across the country will use virtual reality sim- ilators at the fire field to train for the effects of chem- cal and biological weapons. The signing ceremony was held in conjunction JnonCilvith this week’s 68th annual Texas Municipal Fire ^ raining School, conducted at the field’s facilities. Tom Mack of Betchel Nevada said Texas A&M will ilay a major role in training with the technology pro- ided by Betchel. "Texas A&M has been a leader in firetraining and t iopefully as technology comes down we will be bet- erprepared,” Mack said. Dr. G. Kemble Bennett, director of TEEX, said the (jAaining program will prepare fire fighters for re- p f[ iponding to terrorist attacks on the United States. "The U.S. has been fortunate in that it has not had a InoinJiuccessful terrorist attack perpetrated against it using bi- Ir’schoi D ^ ca ' or chemical agents,” Bennett said. 'T lowever, ex- ^ perts agree that it is only a matter of time.” Bennett said the gassing of a Tokyo subway served as a "wake-up call” that fire fighters and other re sponse personnel must be trained in counter-ter rorist technologies. "When Tokyo was hit by the sarin gas attack, all of the emergency personnel who responded — some 135 individuals — became victims too,” Ben nett said. “In the future, that might not be the case if our first responders are not thoroughly trained in arvel ie Lars Bedv illution let Dm hers hovev- lome bless 7 " , /. ■ ii . f ' Photograph: Tim Moog Robert McDonald of McLean volunteer fire department is lowered on a jib arm from a second story window as part of a drill at the fire training site following the ceremony. this area.” Mack said U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon of Pennsylva nia will introduce a bill in Congress in August proposing the Brayton Fire Field and its facilities be named “The National Training Center for Urban Search and Rescue.” Bennett said Weldon has been instrumental in work ing on forming a counter-terrorism training center. “With the new threat we have, he (Weldon) has been adamant that we need to get the technology to reign our first line of defense,” Bennett said. Weldon has been head of the National Front Fire Service for 11 years and formed the Congress Fire Institute. Bennett said the training program will help save future lost lives. v “The potential for mass casualties, both civilian and emergency personnel, is great,” Bennett said. “We must continue to develop counter-terrorism technologies and train our emergency response community in these technologies. Many lives could depend on it.” Body resembling Cunanan’s found in houseboat MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) —A body resembling sus pected serial killer Andrew Cunanan was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound Wednesday night after SWAT teams stormed a houseboat just 21/2 miles from the spot where Gianni Versace was gunned down. “There is a similarity in the description of the victim that was found,” Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Barreto said at a hastily called news con ference. “Beyond that, there is nothing else to indi cate at this time it is him.” CNN reported early Thursday that it had confirmed through two law enforcement sources that the body was Cunanan’s. Barreto said S' S wmmmmmmmmmmmammmmmammmi late Wednesday ^ « night that offl- 1 tie general cials were r f • t t • awaiting foren- reeling IS that tlllS sic tests to con- - f t firm the body VCiy Well may DC was that °f * * cunanan, Cunanan, but the whom residents # had reported official WOrd hasnt seeing in the area since Ver- come down yet. sace was slain J July 15. Barreto came out again at 1 a.m. Thurs day to say inves tigators in the houseboat were still processing the scene with the body inside. “The general feeling is that this very well may be Cunanan, but the official word hasn’t come down yet,” said Miami Beach Mayor Seymour Gelber. FBI spokeswoman Coleen Rowley said agents were still awaiting confirmation but added, “I think every one is breathing a collective sigh of relief, and I think probably the public is as well.” Please see Body on Page 6. Seymour Gelber Miami Beach mayor Police try to arrest robbery suspect (luring standoff at Kensington Place Students catch glimpse of med school 1 Reed! 1 ' smayi By John LeBas The Battalion College Station Police were trying last totn««iight to coax an armed robbery suspect ^ ram a College Station apartment unit in ifoich they thought he was hiding. It. Larry Johnson said police believed \ L _ et! | :remiah Sims, 22, of College Station was idingin Kensington Place No. 107 last They were seeking him in con- ection with an armed robbery Sunday tViking Apartments in College Station. Officials at the scene reported that an fficer had seen Sims in the unit earlier ist night, but received no response 'hen they knocked at the door. SWAT officers were dispatched to tescene and a search warrant for the 'remises was obtained. Police tried to communicate with itns through a bullhorn before break- |>g ndow of the unit and throwing in a negotiation telephone. As of about midnight, Sims had not emerged from the apartment. Police said that it was a “wait and see” situation. Sims, who police say lives in the apartment but is whose name is not on the lease, was possibly armed. Police said he lived there with his girlfriend, and neighbors reported that two women . and one man lived in the apartment. Po lice said Sims previously has been ar rested by CSPD. Police could not verify whether Sims or the tenants were Texas A&M students. Sims’ name is not listed in the Universi ty directory. Michael Barksdale, a resident of Kensington No. 106 and a senior archi tecture major, said he does not know the tenants of No. 107 but that they never bothered him. “They seem like real nice people,” he said. ByJenaraKocks The Battalion Eighty-eight high school students from the United States, Mexico and Canada got a be hind-the-scenes look at the Texas A&M College of Medicine yesterday. The students visited the University as a part of the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine. Celia Olson, Houston coordinator of the Na tional Youth Leadership Forum, said the pro gram gives high school students a chance to meet others interested in the medical field. “Students who have the same desires, same ambitions and who face the same challenges are all put together,” Olson said. Students toured the College of Medicine’s fa cilities and talked to a medical student panel. Chris Saenz, student coordinator for the event and a second-year - medical student, said the students asked the panel howto prepare for medical school. The students also attended a medical ethics lecture, an anatomy lab presentation and a physical exam demonstration. Students learned how to take a person’s blood pressure, examine ears and eyes and check reflex points with a reflex hammer. Juniors and seniors in high school who have a 3.3 grade point average or higher and have an interest in medical careers are selected for the Forum. The students choose a session in Boston, the Houston- Galveston area, San Francisco or Washing ton D.C., and pay a fee to attend. ^ ^ Some of the things we did were hands on, and that’s what I like.” Brad Strom Foothill High School senior Brad Strom, a senior at Foothill High School in Santa Anna, Ca., said he enjoyed the A&M tom - , but he wishes they could have spent more time at the College of Medicine. “They covered topics I’m interested in,” Strom said. “Some of the things we did were hands on, and that’s what I like.” Saenz said the Forum is an opportunity to recruit top high school students for the A&M medical school. Saenz said that during the 11-day Forum, the students could choose to visit one of the four medical schools in Texas: the A&M Col lege of Medicine, the University of Texas at Houston Medical School, the Baylor College of Medicine or the University of Texas Medical School at Galveston. “My goal was to make students go home and say they had the time of their lives at A&M,” Saenz said. “I want them to make the other students who did not choose to visit A&M jealous.” Students write an evaluation of the tour af ter visiting A&M. Saenz said students who vis ited A&M in June had great things to say about their tour of A&M medical facilities. Shannon Sterner, a senior at Dan River High School in Ringgold, Va., said she was interest ed in the A&M biochemistry program. “I’m thinking about applying [to Texas A&M] because of the Forum,” she said. at$) LIFESTYLES mp - not ju$t for hippies lymore? Marijuana plant akes move to mainstream. See Page 3. OPINION anklin: New hotel-convention anter should not inflict 'necessary taxes. See Page 5. ONLINE http://bat-web.tamu.edu sten to he Battalion )dio online. Aggies set sights on lieutenant governor’s seat Excellence, personal beliefs guide Perry By Robert Smith The Battalion Agriculture Commissioner and former Texas A&M student Rick Perry has become a key figure in Texas government in recent years and says his per sonal beliefs are a part of his success. “My philosophy is I believe in empowering individu als,” Perry said. “I believe in excellence. I believe that it is very important that people have personal freedoms.” Perry, a Republican, said an educated mind may be his most important value. “I highly admire and respect an educated mind,” Perry said. Perry said he knew he wanted to be an Aggie when he attended his first A&M football game. “My Scout Master took us to an A&M-Southern Methodist University football game in the fall of 1958,” Perry said. “We spent the night that Friday night in the old Animal Science Pavilion. We went to the ball game, and the whole Aggie experience — I was sold.” Having grown up on a ranch, Perry decided he wanted to be a veterinarian. Perry came to A&M in the summer of 1968. “In the fall, I was put in Squadron 6 because I wanted to be in the Air Force ROTC,” Perry said. “We had I think 58 freshman in Squadron 6 and one, in terestingly, by the name of John Sharp.” Please see Perry on Page 6. An Aggie will fill Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock's shoes if no other primary oppo nents announce a bid for the lieutenant governor's seat. Comptroller John Sharp and Agricultural Commissioner Rick Perry have said they will pursue the lieutenant governor's seat in 1998. The lieutenant governor is the presiding officer of the Texas Senate and is traditionally one of the most powerful positions in state government. Both Sharp and Perry graduated from Texas A&M, where they first met 25 years ago. Perry, a former yell leader and Class of ’72, graduated with a dc ' ' ' ' '• bachelor of science and became a pilot in the Air Force. Sharp, a former student body president and Class of '72, graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in po litical science and served as a second lieutenant in the Army Reserve. wm Graphic: Ed Goodwin Sharp traces success to time at University By Joey Jeanette Schlueter The Battalion If Texas Comptroller John Sharp is elected to the lieutenant governor’s seat in the 1998 elec tion, supporters may hear a “Whoop!” in his ac ceptance speech. Sharp, a Democrat, has ties with Texas A&M dating back to his days in the Corps of Cadets in the early ‘70s. He served as student body presi dent his senior year in 1972, and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in political science. Sharp said his experiences at A&M have bene- fitted his political career and life. “I look back at any amount of success in my life,” Sharp said, “and I can find a lesson I learned from A&M. I owe everything to this school.” Sharp said leadership is the most valuable skill he learned at A&M. “I advise all Aggies to participate in extracurric ular activities because of the leadership you learn,” he said. “I’m a firm believer of putting academics first, but you should also get that second degree at A&M - leadership training.” His campaign against friend and former A&M student Rick Perry will be eventful, he said, but not as difficult as his campaign at A&M for student body president. Please see Sharp on Page 6.