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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.