❖ Know the code. MSC OPAS introduces the student season ticket fee option. For $140 you will receive six vouchers to any of the MSC OPAS Season 26 performances of your choice. Hey, it’s on your parents. During registration, simply add code *23 to your optional fees. This summer, we’ll send you a form to select your performances. oS* It’s that easy. ^ C,^ Always.... Patsy Cline big, the musical Bully Fiddler on the Roof House of Blues Les Miserables Madame Butterfly Nigel Kennedy Russian National Ballet Smokey Joe’s Cafe St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra Tango Buenos Aires MSC OPAS enlighten • entertain • inspir 26 MSC OPAS (409)845-1661 1. Limit 2 vouchers redeemed per performance. 2- Seating is best available in limited areas including: orchestra, mezzanine, and balcony levels. 3. No refunds or exchanges after you have selected your performances. 4. Vouchers must be redemeemed prior to 5 business days before the performance. 5. Additional tickets may be purchased, subject to availability, at the time of voucher redemption. The Battalion EWS Tuesday • May' Child death rate declines WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of children dying in car wrecks, bike crashes and other acci dents has fallen 26 percent in the past decade, with the increased use of seat belts and bike helmets get ting a lot of the credit. Injury rates for sports-related activ ities such as basketball, football and in line skating are up, the National Safe Kids Campaign reported as it marked its 10th anniversary. “We know that prevention works,” said Dr. C. Everett Koop, the former surgeon general and current chairman of the campaign. “We can make our world a safer place for future genera tions to grow up unharmed by the dangers that surround us." The report coincided with the ap pearance on Capitol Hill of 21 children who have been designated “safety stars.” One, 13-year-old Drew Bartlett of Valley Falls, Kan., took himself and his sister out of their home when he heard a basement smoke alarm. Drew also called 911, although the fire even tually burned down the house. In 1987, the overall death rate from accidental injuries was 15.56 per 100,000 children 14 and under. By 1995, that figure had fallen to 11.45 per 100,000, a decrease of 26.4 percent, the campaign reported. It based its study on data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the Consumer Prod uct Safety Council, the Transportation Department and other government and private groups. Despite the overall decline, acci dents remain the No. 1 threat to chil dren, killing at four times the rate of either cancer, birth defects or homi cide. In 1995, accidents claimed 6,600 children ages 14 and under. Motor vehicle deaths account for the greatest accidental loss of life, killing about 1,800 children a year and injuring 290,000. In 1987, the death rate for motor vehicle occupants 14 and under was 3.37 per 100,000. By 1995, it had fall en to 3.06 per 100,000, a drop of 9.06 percent. Deaths from bicycle acci dents showed the greatest decline in the study, falling from 0.75 per 100,000 to 0.44 per 100,000 — a drop of 41 percent. Safe Kids said seat belts and bicy cle helmets accounted for most of the saved lives. In New Jersey, for example, 41 children ages 13 and younger died in bicycle accidents between 1987 and 1991. The state passed a bicycle hel met law in 1992 and over the next three years, a total of 16 children were killed in bicycle crashes. Fourteen states now have mandatory bicycle helmet laws for children. The study also found a sharp in crease in sports-related injuries. An alysts attributed the growth to the number of children, particularly girls, playing sports. Childhood deal Increased use of seatbelts bike helmets and other sals measures has contributed] decrease in the number of | childhood deaths. A look at unintentional injui related deaths from 1987to j (per 100,000 children 14 andji |C Su Moto 2.47 11.66 >ut;j \h I Judge posts rulings on Web pal CONROE (AP) — Justice can now be found online, thanks to state District Judge Mike Mayes. Mayes has constructed his own Internet page and is now operating it daily in his 410th District Court in Con roe. The site includes his latest rulings and allows lawyers to e-mail their requests for court appearances to the judge’s court coordinator. “It just speeds up things, and it helps me better con trol my docket,” Mayes said. The judge began tinkering with the idea of setting up a Web page before he took the bench in January 1997. Working with the county data processing department and the county judge’s office, Mayes was able to get the project up and running. Now, instead of attorneys making repeated phone calls to the court to find out if Mayes has ruled on a cer tain matter or what that ruling is, they can simply log xas, pagev nd zero in ( onto the Montgomery Count ternet, click onto the courts pj 410th District Court. With a mere click, the attorneys w on the judge’s page and can easily t mation they seek. He fs the only judgi district that has an individual Web si “The goal of the Web site is to mal user-friendly, not just for attorneys, and for our jurors,” Mayes said. The page includes an introductic from his coordinator and bailiff to h reporter, and detailed maps directing a [ Mayes’ court. And as soon as Mayes rules or of motions from discovery to summary judgr placed on the page under the style and caiw so that anyone can see a)most 'mslanriyhow nine SPEWING THE SUMMER ON THE COAST? 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On top of that, the dollars spent with FIRSTCARE stay right here in Central Texas. To top it all off, FIRSTCARE has no claim forms lo fill out, no annual deductibles to meet and minimal out-of-pocket expenses. If this all looks good to you, call 254-202-5300 or 1- 888-817-2273 for more information. With so many choices, FIRSTCARE is a whole new flavor of HM0. igl2 itchell fat he [ FIRSTCARE Southwest Health Alliances ■ • The HMO of Choice. J 3115 Pine Avenue, Suite 10 • Waco, Texas 76708-3201 • (254) 202-5300 • (888) 817-2273 A service of Hillcrest. , . ouaL.I' FIRSTCARE is a service mart ot sha ^ Ftp://