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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 1998)
Weather Today I N I n C see Page 3 11 ^ I L/ C Opinion ...see Page 3 .HIGH low Tomorrow an high low Qrj] 104™ YEAR • ISSUE 173 • 6 PAGES TEXAS ASM UNIVERSITY ■ COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS conts |Onesati yet tci its of 1% 1 murden -‘cidel ' stand [Ians to ' ham 'cause fra elpco(i| icra pi was murdetl Tomorrow Opinion: Contrary to a recent study’s findings, women are not smarter than men. TUESDAY • JULY 21 • 1998 A&M cross country coach leaves, accepts position at Sam Houston By Robert Hollier Staff Writer Texas A&M cross country coach and track and field assistant, Greg Hinze re signed his position to become the track and field and cross coun- ue^tiai [i tiboutj fc Photo By Jake Schrickling/The Battalion i ther' ll burn ban in Brazos County continues because of the drought situation. A more cerup stringent fire ban was established in Late June when 150 acres burned outside of Col lege Station on Highway 60. n need of rain 1 to tkj ham’' nmonv fleged meter:. ice, Lightning is the primary cause of fires in the Texas - Panhandle that exas,: 1 S have burned hmince May. pen AS LUBBOCK (AP) — Thunderstorms con- lemf® nue to more a curse than a blessing to uirefighters battling wildfires that have al ready turned 283,856 acres of farms, ranch es and forest into fields of charred stumps Ians Jtlnd blackened dirt. ■ Lightning has been the No. 1 cause of the more than 6,230 fires that have burned [ince May 1. But the storms that brought the light- I mng have brought firefighters little help- [ul rain, said Texas Forest Service spokesperson Lou Sloat. |Wa yU| "The problem with the storms is that JdiltW 3nl y percent of them bring rain,” Sloat iracM ia ' c *' "They end up being dry storms or pro- feconi ^Ung heavy concentrations of rain in a 5ma U area.” The storms, which forecasters predict will continue in some parts of the state, also ,101 contribute to fires by producing wind gusts aftero! wd lower humidity levels. David Roth, a National Weather Service meteorologist who is investigating how weather conditions are affecting fires hroughout Texas, said firefighters in Nought-stricken West and North Texas rave been unlucky. "Any thunderstorms in the dry atmos phere could easily start fires across that part of the state,” Roth said. Brad McBratney, a fire behavior analyst studying fires near Lufkin, said that Tex ans need slow, consistent rain — not spot thunderstorms. "With high intensity rain, most of the rain will run off the surface of the ground instead of soaking in,” McBratney said. Firefighters extinguished two major fires this weekend, one at Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo and another at Spade Ranch in Throckmorton County. A tally of acres destroyed was not available for the Palo Duro fire, but officials say the Spade Ranch blaze destroyed almost 700 acres. Sloat said that faster responses by vol unteer fire departments has kept this year from becoming a "total disaster" like 1996. That year, 25,000 fires burned nearly 1.5 million acres. The five largest fires this year were the Camp Wood Hill fire in Edwards County, which burned 5,000 acres; the Cibolo Creek wildfire in Presidio County, 63,875 acres; the Puducah wildfire complex in Cottle County, 14,485 acres; the Brewster County wildfire, 29,000 acres; and the Cash John- son-Palo Duro Run wildfire, 14,000 acres. All have been extinguished. Officials estimate that the state has spent $9,229,000 battling the fires. Billy Fowler, a volunteer firefighter who helped put out the Spade Ranch fire, said especially sweltering weather makes firefighting even more of a challenge than usual. "It's a little hotter, a little dustier, a little more smoky," Fowler said. "That makes it tough to get out there and fight." Sloat said he has heard those complaints echoed by firefighters around the state. "Just standing outside you may be in 106-degree weather and you're nowhere near the fire," Sloat said. "Once you get to the front of the fire line it could be 120 de grees. There's really no way to escape the heat for the firefighters out there." try coach at Sam Houston State Uni versity, A&M athletic director Wally Groff announced Monday. "Greg has been a solid member of the Texas A&M athletic department family for many years, and we hate to see him leave," Groff said. "At the same time, we're excited for Greg and we wish him well as he takes on this new challenge." Hinze, Class of '90, served as an assis tant coach at Stephen F. Austin State Uni versity and Louisiana Tech before return ing to A&M in 1992 as a track and field assistant and went on to become A&M's first full-time cross country coach. He has been cross country coach for two Hinze years and was an assistant to track and field head coach, Ted Nelson for five years. "Tm sorry that Greg Hinze will be leav ing the Texas A&M program, but I know he'll do a great job at Sam Houston State," Nelson said. "We're going to miss his abil ity to do all the things he did that made our program better. I'm sure he'll do the same great job for them that he did for us all these years." During his two-year tenure as cross country coach, Hinze was named the Southwest Conference cross country men's Coach of the Year in 1995 after he guided the men to a second-place finish behind Southern Methodist University at the final SWC Championships. In the tournament, the men were led by senior Matt Priest, who became the first Ag gie since 1966 to claim the individual cham pionship at the conference meet. The women were led by Shannon Etchberger who qualified for the NCAA Cross Coun try Championships with Priest, marking the first time in school history A&M had a male and female participant. "Being a graduate of Texas A&M, this was an especially difficult decision for me, but also one I thought I needed to make professionally," Hinze said. "Tm excited about the challenge of overseeing the track and field and cross country pro grams at Sam Houston State. I look for ward to continuing the tradition of ex cellence established by by John Lumley (the longtime SHSU track and field coach) and hopefully building on it, too. "I have tremendous respect for the job Lumley has done in building the Bearkat program and look forward to the oppor tunity to continue building on that foun dation. The opportunity to become a head track and field coach is exciting and it's great to have the opportunity at an outstanding university like Sam Hous ton. I can't wait to get started." Hinze will begin his duties at Sam Houston August 3 and is looking for ward to running the whole show. "I chose to take the job because they offered it to me," Hinze said. "The best part about the new position is that I get to run the whole program and not just one aspect of track and field. see Hinze on Page 2. Quiet please for the feature MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion Angela Kennedy threads a movie reel for one of the big summer blockbusters at a local movie theater. Kennedy is visiting relatives for the summer from New Jersey. Many options available to students buying textbooks By Sarah Goldston Staff Writer Despite growing bookstore options, high costs, lack of books in stock and low buyback rates remain problems students ace when buying textbooks. Debbie Kelley, manager of Rother's Bookstore on George Bush Drive, said the spending habits of students vary when it comes to buying books. The average freshman engineering student can end up spending anywhere from $350 to $425 dollars on books be- Ca use they may be taking chemistry, bi- ^ °gy or other engineering courses," Kel- e y said. "The amount that students s Pend on books really depends on their ’ttajor and the number of classes they ma y be taking." Koenig said bookstores understand students get frustrated when the books e y need are not in stock. Professors are required to fill out a ra quisition form to order books for the c a ss, Kelley said. "The requisition in- ^udes the identification number of the °a au thior, title, edition, publisher g e stimated enrollment for the class. 0rr ietimes professors will decide to °Pen up another section of the class, but time, we have already ordered e hooks, and that's why there are may CT P nou 8^ hooks for students." Lnristy Koenig, textbook coordinator ° r the Texas A&M Bookstore, said the arn Pus bookstore gets more business uJI 'K. A,,. jVwn...;%. ah ^Mi »7i.. « *> £ * £L News Briefs Photo By Jake Schricki.ing/The Battalion Ronald Riske, a junior computer science major, retrieves a book for a student at a local bookstore. than the other stores in town. "We get more business because we are on campus, and with the new stu dent conferences being on campus, the majority of those new students come to our store," Koenig said. Koenig said the MSC normally does not order 100 percent of the books for en rollment of the class. "We expect other stores to order," she said, "but it may occur that no one orders so we would put in a rush order to get books for students." Some students feel they do not get back enough money when they sell back their books. see Bookstores on Page 2. Arts Committee hosts historic homes trip The Memorial Student Center Visual Arts Committee is hosting a trip to tour the his toric homes and art galleries of Galveston on Saturday, July 25. Lalaine Little, advisor to the VAC, said field trips offer a break from class and work. "This trip will offer an opportunity to stu dents to leave town for awhile and enjoy some art," she said. During the trip, the group will visit the 103- year-old Moody Mansion and Museum and the Ashton Villa. The group will also tour art gal leries along the Strand in Galveston. Space is limited to 24 people, and there are only two people on the list now. "We need at least 12 people to go on the trip," she said. "If students want to come, they need to sign up at the MSC Forsyth Cen ter Galleries between 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. by Thursday, July 23. If not enough students sign up, I have to cancel the trip." There is a fee of $10 for students and $20 for non-students to cover transportation and museum admission costs, she said. Participants are required to meet at 8 a.m. Saturday by the main desk of the MSC Hotel. The VAC has sponsored trips to Houston, San Antonio, Austin and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The VAC is planning to visit a corporate art collection in Houston at the end of July. from staff and wire reports For more information about the trips con tact Lalaine Little at 845-9251. Founding medical dean dies at age 79 Texas A&M University's first dean of med icine, Dr. James A. Knight, died at the age of 79 in New Orleans Friday. In 1974, Knight was appointed the found ing dean of the College of Medicine. He remained dean until 1977 when he ac cepted a position at the Louisiana State Uni versity Medical Center in New Orleans. Previous to his stint at Texas A&M, Knight was associated with Tulane Medical School. Knight retired from LSU in 1991 and re turned to the University in a part-time ca pacity until June of 1997. Knight is survived by his wife, the former Sally Ann Templeman, and a son, Steven Allen Knight. His funeral will be held at Lakelawn Fu neral Home in Metairie, La. Today last day to withdraw from A&M Today is the last day for students to officially withdraw from courses for the 10-week semes ter. Today is also the deadline for students to drop 10-week courses without penalty (Q-drop).