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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 1998)
1 WEHTHER Today INSIDE Sports . Opinion see Page 3 .see Page 5 lrt SlGH Tomorrow 5ti0W 'We ha, and th in arch eloped ii fferentgj niquesitt las been , courth around | presc fction f I mom ,TH YEAR • ISSUE 15$ * 8 PAGES TEXAS ASM UNIVERSITY ■ COLLEGE STATION. TEXAS TOMORROW Front Page: Juneteenth celebrates African Americans’ freedom from slavery. WEDNESDAY • JUNE 17 • 1998 angerous dry spell local officials request citizens conserve water in wake of Texas drought Rv A IVTRPI7 Rcmc/^ivt 0:1 —: j // /n i 1 t i t ^ ... ... prop;! would By Amber Benson City Editor jents ir;Wesidents of the Brazos Valley may soon feel the andfurjieit from drought conditions ravaging the state, would Ml he cities of Bryan and College Station released I Mint request to their citizens liiesdaN urging Iprojec ;h4m to exercise conservation measures regarding |is desiM use of local water. :t pnvaMfill Riley, division manager of water and waste- ■ter for College Station, said although neither fmit Bfyan nor College Station is in a severe situation frtanttMh its water supply at this time, the use of water Hie mboth cities has already reached levels usually imes aiS seen until later in the summer. ■MMonday was our highest water usage yet," ar M e y sa 'd- "If our water usage continues to climb, we will have to resort to mandatory con- | servation measures." lenevaMrhe measures, which include water rationing fines for overuse of water, can be avoided if inegledMzens save water now, Riley said. nteM'The situation may seem insignificant to college c students," he said, "but everyone needs to con serve water." oiMRiley said college students can help the city and a; themselves by practicing simple conservation Id air tfthniques like turning off the water when brush- land laM* their teeth or by taking a quick shower instead mi of a bath. ire, abiM"Not only do you help out the water supply of the city," Riley said, "you'll probably help your water bill as well." The water supply of the city is something to be protected, Riley said, considering the Brazos Val ley, along with 206 other counties in the state, is in danger of wildfire. Texas Governor George W. Bush petitioned Palmer Index -4 or less, Extreme Drought -4 to -3, Severe Drought -3 to -2, Moderate Drought -2 to - l, Mild Drought -l to -0.5, Incipient Dry Spell -0.5 to 0.5, Near Normal 0.5 to l, Incipient Wet Spell 1 to 2, Slightly Wet 2 to 3, Moderately Wet 3 to 4, Very Wet 4 or more, Extremely Wet President Clinton for federal disaster aid for the af fected counties on June 8. No relief has been of fered from the federal government. "We've seen these decisions take from two hours to three and four months," Jo Schweikhard Moss, a spokesperson for the division of emer gency management for the Texas Department of FT . LX Palmer Drought Severity Index As ofJune 1998 Data Courtesy of Climate Prediction Center Public Safety, said. "All we can do is wait.' In the meantime, the state is working closely with local officials to battle the worsening situa tion. In addition to pre-deploying firefighting re sources to counties in danger, the state is pro cessing requests for 25 counties needing agricultural assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Texas cotton farms, which make up 42 percent of the nation's cotton acreage, are among the hardest hit Carl Anderson, an agricultural econ omist specializing in cotton marketing with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, said. Although Texans may not see a direct effect between the drought and food prices, commu nities relying on Texas' No.l cash crop will see an effect on the sales of durable goods such as clothing and cars. "When the cotton farmers have a poor year, the entire economy of those communities feel the im pact," Anderson said. "Any purchase that can be postponed will be." Beyond the sweltering heat and economic concerns, Anderson said he hopes people will come away from the drought with a better un derstanding of the complexities of the business of agriculture. "Agriculture is fundamentally different from other businesses," Anderson said. "It's depen dent on the weather, and the situation is critical because you have to wait an entire biological cy cle to start again. It's risky." Icouit 1 Inten It,] if; Ku KIux Klan obtains permit to march in Jasper ■ JASPER, Texas (AP) — The Ku ■ux Klan has been granted a per- I'SIT mit to march a week from Satur day in this town rocked by the suspected hate crime killing of a black man dragged to his death behind a pickup. NSheriff Billy Rowles confirmed ■at two factions of the Klan have [ems ! ® en granted a permit for a single Ijipu! parade from noon to 2 p.m. on ln,DB ne 27 - He did not immediately ni2l mment ^ ur * : b ier - The news comes after a vigil to Remember James Byrd Jr. and pray Rr unity. It was expected to be the ptin a series of public gatherings priming from Byrd's death on |ne 7. More than 500 people attended londay's vigil. Several shook l ei r heads in frustration when Iproached by reporters. I I just wish it would all go il va y/' said Lucy Luetkemeyer, ■ Byrd, 49, was killed when he ■as chained to a pickup truck by ■ s ankles and dragged along a ^ountry road for 2 1/2 miles. He jTarently was targeted because p was black. Byrd was buried Saturday af ter a funeral that attracted na tional activists including Jesse Jackson and NAACP President Kweisi Mfume. The vigil was led by local ministers who say they're striv ing to bring Jasper — a town of 8,000 deep in the piney woods — together. "We just pray that... unity will come about in this community," said Walter Glenn. "We pray that ... all wounds can be healed." "We ask thee to bind us togeth er as one," said the Rev. Kenneth Lyons, pastor at the Byrd family's church. Greater New Bethel Bap tist. "Only thee can make us whole again." Byrd's family released a state ment thanking Jackson, President Clinton, Mfume and concerned citizens from around the world for their support. "Our hope now is that the death of James serve as a wake up call to all of us to re-examine our stand on racism," the letter said. "Hate crimes must not be tolerat ed and we hope that justice will be done speedily." Sick as a dog JAKE SCHRICKMNG/77/E Battalion Rob Franklin and Tim THsten, fourth year veterinary students, check Ringo’s vital signs at the Texas A&M Small Animal Clinic. Marooned says goodbye to Northgate By Rod Machen Assistant City Editor Marooned is closing its doors. [ en d of next week the com- 1 ^' sc store on College Main e Northgate area, will go out of business. The store's owner, Dave Rish- er, said there are many reasons for the closure. Risher said there is a lack of business when students are gone. He has not been able to Coroofleof n® Jio col® stum; --— Photo By Jake Schrickling/ The Battalion Ironed, a compact disc store that has been on Northgate for years, will be closing its doors next week. make up for these slow times during the rest of the year. "Last summer was the first summer we didn't increase our business," he said. The future of Northgate's re development worries Risher es pecially the possibility that on- street parking will be eliminated. In addition to Marooned, Risher owns Hogwild, a com pact disc store in San Antonio, next to San Antonio College. "My San Antonio store, which has grown considerably, is taking more of my time," he said. For the past eight years. Ma rooned has filled a niche with College Station music lovers, specializing in Texas artists, im ports and electronica. "We've always done real well with music that people want that they can't get anywhere else," Risher said. Several times each year. Ma rooned hosts in-store appear ances by musicians. This year crowds gathered to see acts such as Sixteen Deluxe, Ruthie Foster and Centromatic. Risher said this has become harder to do in recent years as the number of acts coming to the Bryan-College Station area has declined. "The live music scene is not as adventurous as it was when we opened," he said. Risher has noticed changes in music-buying trends in the last few years. He said while elec tronica has done well recently, al ternative and punk-rock titles have done poorly. Ken Hutchinson, a junior business analysis major, was dis appointed with the news about Marooned. "It sucks," he said. "They've got all the good stuff. It might be more expensive, but at least they have it." Risher's choice does not come easily. "I'm going to miss this store," he said. "I've had a great eight years." Deadline to Q-drop nears By Sarah Goldston Staff Writer Students wishing to Q-drop classes or change a kinesiology class's pass/fail status must do so by Friday. Mike Balog, undergraduate adviser for political science, said students should consider the consequences tied to the number of hours they are taking before dropping their classes. "Athlete status and involvement in student activities can change," he said. "Many times insurance companies have policies that require students to be enrolled for certain hours. The best thing to do about that would be to con sult your insurance company policy." Filing a Q-drop depends on the col lege the student is enrolled in. "Each college handles its Q-drops differently," Balog said. He said students should visit or call their advisers to find out how the col lege does paperwork for the Q-drop. "In some colleges students would have to go to their advisers and get a form, while other colleges take care of Q-drops in the main office of the spe cific college," Balog said. The last day to change to pass/fail will be Friday. Balog said the records depart ment in Heaton Hall processes pass/fail requests. "A 'D' is not a passing grade in pass/fail," he said. "To pass a class stu dents changed to pass/fail they must receive credit for an A, B or C. Howev er, a D received in grading is consid ered passing." Dr. Daniel T. Hanson, adviser and assistant department head of chemical engineering, said students are often overly pessimistic about the outcome of a class. "Students usually Q-drop a class they could have done better in," Han son said. "Students should also try to choose classes they think they can make a good grade in." He said students should talk to up perclassmen, consult their adviser and consider the weight of their course load. Students can also check statistics about courses in the Student Coun seling Center at Henderson Hall.
