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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 1997)
The Battalion Monday • August 4, Dallas diocese will not check volunteers’ background DALLAS (AP) —The Catholic Diocese of Dallas has no plans to begin requiring back ground checks on volunteers despite the case of a convicted child molester who un til recently supervised altar boys in a Dallas parish, The Dallas Morning News reported in a copyright story in Sunday’s editions. Convicted felon Dennis lost volun teered with altar boys last year at St. Bernard of Clairvaux parish, where offi cials acknowledged they did not investi gate his past. lost was removed after a few months because of what diocesan Vicar General Glenn Gardner called a “miracle” — a parishioner deemed some behavior sus picious, found evidence of a federal con viction and alerted the pastor. Dallas diocese officials do not require criminal background checks of all prospective volunteers and have no plans to do so, Gardner said. “I don’t know if we can ever do it. It’s very costly,” he said shortly before jurors in the Rudolph “Rudy” Kos case hit the diocese with the largest clergy-abuse judgment in history. Days after the $119.6 million verdict, Gardner said he stood by his position. Bish op Charles V Grahmann continued his practice of not taking reporters’ questions. Mike Daniel, the parent who helped expose lost at St. Bernard, told the news paper that one incident in particular stuck in his mind: At a Friday fish fry in early 1996, Jost “came up behind a boy and put one arm on his shoulder and the other around his stomach,” then pulled him close in “a very inappropriate type of hug.” ^ ^ I don’t know if we can ever do it. It s very COJ Glenn Gardner Dallas diocese vicar general Daniel, a Dallas lawyer, investigated and learned that a Los Angeles federal judge had sentenced Jost in 1993 to six months’ confinement and two years’ probation for transporting a teen-age boy across state lines for sexual purpos es. Jost had been allowed to serve his probation in Dallas, under orders that he not participate in youth programs. The Rev. Gus Melito, pastor of St. Bernard, said he acted immediately when shown evidence of the conviction. He removed Jost and notified police, Child Protective Services and diocese of ficials, he said. “I was naive, perhaps,” said Melito, adding that he’d not known Jost previ ously. “It’s an embarrassment.” His parish now investigates all prospec tive volunteers and employees for possible criminal records, he said. Church officials said only one other parish in the Dallas dio cese — St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Plano — does the same. fhe diocese education office: criminal-background checks time employees and recommends each Catholic school do thesamefi volunteers. Many, but notall.havec plied, said the Rev. Leonard Calle d school superintendent. Some other school systems, inclu the I Dallas Independent School Distrir they investigate all volunteers. So do s youth organizations such assportsleaj s ' : “More and more leagues are j it, and they’re Finding out it works commissioner of Garland Amateur: ball, Billy Goodgame, toldlhel Morning News in June. "We’veha tential coaches drop out just becausi do the searches.” Ritz-Carlton cancels contract with Houston hotel Company says owners failed to pay management fees, make capital improvements HOUSTON (AP) —They checked into the posh Ritz-Carlton. They checked out of a nameless hotel. Hotel guests found out Saturday morning that Houston’s Ritz-Carlton no longer was a Ritz-Carlton from notes slipped under their doors overnight. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. terminated its management contract with the owners of four of its hotels in Houston, New York, Wash ington, D.C., and Aspen, Colo., saying the owners failed to pay $4 million in manage ment fees for the four and refused to make capital improvements. Early Saturday morning, the Houston hotel was stripped of ashtrays, stationery, flags and other items with the Ritz-Carlton logo, said Judy Rowcliffe, spokeswoman for the Atlanta-based company. It also dismantled its software reser vations systems. The hotel is continuing to run widiout a name. “We still have rooms and we still are operat ing but we just do not have a name,” an em ployee in reservations who did not want to give her name said Sunday. Rowcliffe said a transition staff would help with the change. The hotel is owned by Los Angeles-based New Remington Partners, a partnership con trolled by Saudi Sheik Abdul Aziz Bin Ibrahim A1 Ibrahim. The four hotels are owned by separate partnerships, all represented by A1 Anwa USA. A telephone call to Al Anwa seeking comment Sunday was not immediately returned to The Associated Press. Rowcliffe said the sheik refused to pay for wa ter damage repairs to 40 guest rooms in the Houston hotel after a leak occurred last year. The rooms have been closed since then. “This action is intended to preserve the in tegrity and reputation of Ritz-Carlton, as well as the value of our image and name throughout the world for our owners and investors,” said Horst Schulze, Ritz-Carlton’s president and chief operating officer. The 12-story hotel has 232 rooms, two restaurants, a fitness center and 11,000 square feet of meeting space. Room prices range from $125 to $800 per night. The hotel has 321 employees, 42 of them in management positions. Rowcliffe said man agers have the option to be transferred to an other Ritz-Carlton hotel. Negotiations with the owners regarding the transferal of hourly-wage employees and op erations of the hotel will begin on Monday, Rowcliffe said. Firefighters work to contaii blazes in Southern Califorr LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefight ers began to gain the upper hand on wildfires across Southern Cali fornia on Sunday despite swelter ing heat that topped 100 degrees. Two San Diego County fires should be fully contained by Mon day, said Audrey Hagen, a Califor nia Department of Forestry spokeswoman. Downed power lines on Friday started the largest fire, a 720-acre blaze in San Diego County. Arson started another that burned 450 acres and caused $1.75 million in damage. Eleven homes, 15 out buildings and 30 vehicles were destroyed. Another fire north of Santa Bar bara burned 100 acres. Farther north in Los Padres Na- tional Forest, 260 firefiglii fought to surround a blaze burned more than 100! about 12 miles northwest of ta Barbara. Water-dropping helicopter tankers helped stint the progress overnight, while fires ers contended with heavy bre poison oak, rattlesnakes and degree temperatures. The should be under control by Tub! officials said. One firefighter suffered ai eye injury Saturday and anoi sprained an ankle, while twoci men were recovering from injic suffered on Friday when thein ter-dropping plane crashed attempting to scoop water!: the San Vicente Reservoir, Tax Continued from Page 1 Health economists estimate that for every 10 percent increase in price, the number of teen smokers will drop by about 7 percent, and teens who keep smoking will smoke 6 percent less. That means a 15-cent tax translates to a barely perceptible 5 percent fewer teen smokers. “You would need a very sensitive seismo graph to pick up any ripples from this,” said Richard Daynard, a Northeastern University School of Law professor who studies tobacco. Teen smoking will not drop signifi cantly unless price increases are paired with tougher rules and other changes, says Health and Human Services Secre tary Donna Shalala. Looking for models, many point to Cali fornia and Massachusetts, where smoking rates dropped after tax hikes combined with big anti-smoking efforts. Both states saw overall smoking rates drop, and teen rates stayed even as they climbed nationally. In California, a 35-cent-a-pack tax in crease was combined with a media cam paign, restrictions on vending machines and CC 7 leen-agers are teen agers. They’re going to do what they’re going to do.” Jupiter Dockery 19-year-old laws prohibiting smoking in public places. One TV ad shows a woman smoking through a hole in her neck. Billboards parody the Marlboro cowboy, with one rancher telling the other: “Bob, I’ve got emphysema.” Cigarette prices vary widely because of differing state taxes, which range from 2.5 cents a pack in Virginia to $ 1 in Alas ka come this fall. Nationally, prices may soon spike up by 50 cents to 75 cents if a proposed to bacco settlement is approved by Con gress. Backers hope the increased prices — combined with restrictions on sales and ads — would help cut teen smoking by 60 percent in 10 years. But teen-agers interviewed over the last week said they smoke because older friends and siblings do, and because it makes them feel sophisticated. “Teen-agers are teen-agers. The) going to do what they’re going tod said Jupiter Dockery, 19, whotucksaq arette behind his ear as he tosses hacky-sack ball around with friends. Like most smokers, Jupiterbegansimt ingyoung, when he was 12yearsold, “Smoking’s a big bonding thing," assi] teen-ager who didn't want hernmd Munching pizza with friends on a resta® patio, she mentions actress Julia Rote! who smoked through the recentWMyBe Friend’s Wedding.” The actress, shesii looked “really good” with a cigarette. Texas Continued from Page 1 Unlike DFW, the metropolitan Houston area had a net gain made up of mostly foreign migrants — about 148,000 in the past six years, compared to about 51,000 domestic migrants. New Houstonians go there to find work in the oil, health-care and construction industries, said Bill Gilmer, senior economist with the Federal Re serve Bank. « The Austin and San Antonio metropolitan areas both had mosdy domestic newcomers. The Austin area had a net gain of about 112,000 domestic migrants, lured mainly by computer com pany headquarters, state government and the Uni versity of Texas. There was a net gain of about 16,000 foreign immigrants. San Antonio attracted a net gain of 41,031 do mestic migrants and 23,323 foreign immigrants in the past six years. Weinstein said the domestic migration can be at tributed to senior citizens looking for refuge near the Hill Country. San Antonio also does not have much to offer for eigners in terms of jobs, except in the tourism in dustry, he said. “Mexican or Central American migrants who are looking for jobs are going to go to Houston,” he said. “They may go through San Antonio, but there are a lot more jobs available in Houston, Dallas, Austin than San Antonio.” Texas border towns are also growing due to in creased manufacturing and trade with Mexico. “You drive along the border and all you see are retail stores and banks,” said Keith Phillips, senior economist with the Federal Reserve in San Antonio. In the South Texas counties of Webb and Hidal go, foreign migrants outnumber domestic migrants two-to-one. Significant numbers of domestic mi grants are also moving to the Lower Rio Grande Val ley. A lot of them are manufacturing plant managers and retirees, Phillips said. In El Paso County, although residents have ben efited from increased Mexican trade, it has not stemmed the outflow of domestic migrants, said Federal Reserve economist Lucinda Vargas. In the past six years, El Paso lost 36,000 residents and gained about 46,000 foreigners. That’s typical since the city has always had rel atively few white collar jobs to keep well-educated workers, Vargas said. El Paso’s economy is depen dent on the military, the maquiladora industry and related transportation and construction jobs. El Paso, however, does attract many skilled im migrants from Juarez, which is just across the bor der. After becoming affluent in Juarez, many go to El Paso for new opportunities, Vargas said. Weather Outlook WEDNESDAY ■ THURSDAY FRIDAY Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy | Alt Thunderstorms j High: 94° F x * I High: 94° High: 94° Low: 74° I Jm , Xl Low: 71 ° Low: 68 Sksteh By Quatrt OGK’T GET GS W£ONG, MARGARET. ..XT'S TUST THAT HE'S we ADORE. TOUR UTTUE 60Y... so NAUGHTY Y / , / il HOW PARE YOU CALI SON KNOTTY! \ /" £3 Now on The Battalion’s web page A 24-hour, multimedia news service for the Internet from The Associated Press ■ A comprehensive, up-to-tlre-minute news report combining the latest AP stories with photos, graphics, sound and video. http://bat-vieb.tam.eiu WHAT’S IT LIKE AT THE PLASMA CENTER? To the staff of the Plasma Center, I would like to start by saying thank you to each and every employee for making the past three years enjoyable in a professional, efficient and courteous environment. As a donor since 1993, I have been more than satis fied with every aspect of your operation, which allows myself and others to contribute what we can to community service, all the while being serviced by diligent, but relaxed, workers. Everyone at the Plasma Center, from those behind the front counter to the phlebotomists to the supervisors, have made great efforts to insure that each donor feels hygienically safe, as well as keeping the atmosphere light. Like most, I started coming to the Plasma Center for monetary reasons, but I soon developed acquaintances that appealed to me almost as much as the original need for money, enabling me to look forward to each donation, not only for my wallet’s sake but also to see my friends. Like I commented to some one recently, talking to people at the Plasma Center was like getting mail from a far-off friend that you don’t get to do much with, but who you can talk to as often as you write. For those acquaintances and for your continual services. I would like to thank all of those I’ve come to know and appreciate over the past three years - Emily, and Tracy, Heath, and Marty, Ada and Josie, etc... more I can’t remember or those who have gone on to better things. So, as I graduate from this great University, I bid you all a fond farewell and strong commendations on such a successful blend of quality medical practice and friendly service. Thank you all and have a great sum mer. Thanks, C.E BiologicalS THE PLASMA CENTER 700 E. 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