The
FRIDAY
April 23, 1999
Volume 105 • Issue 135 • 12 Pages
College Station, Texas
105 YEARS AT TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
• Timeless classics of
Shakespeare take
Hollywood by storm,
become top box office hits
PAGE 11
Battalion Radio
Find out about Hoof and Woof
Polo for Puppies Exhibition on
90.9 KAMU-FM at 1:57p.m.
e in Us
rash kills 11 -year old
Student attributes accident to recent car troubles
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B'kn accident involving a black
199S GMC Jimmy driven by a
Tex. < A&M student that crashed
into a duplex on Southwest
Parkway late Wednesday, fatal
ly injuring an 11-year-old girl is
still under investigation by Col
lege Station police.
Mpaime Drewyor, a fifth-grade
student at Oakwood Intermedi
ate School vrv College Station,
was asleep when the Jimmy
crashed through her bedroom
wall pinning her beneath the ve
hicle.
■She was taken to College Sta
tion Medical Center and later
pronounced dead.
■Raul Gonzalez, a neighbor,
tried to rescue Jaime.
■“The mother was running
around outside, and she was
hysterical and looked desper
ate,” he said. “1 tried to help
[Jaime] out of there. I jumped
ovei the truck and was throwing
things around looking for her. I
couldn’t find her because she
was under the [Jimmy].”
■Preliminary investigation
showed that the eastbound Jim
my, driven by junior kinesiolo
gy major Stephen Maris, struck
a westbound 1972 Volkswagen
Beetle.
■ The Jimmy crossed the on
coming lanes and entered the
front yard of the duplex. The
vechicle scraped a tree and
crashed through the wall, police
said in a news release.
K Police Sgt. Gary Bishop said
Maris passed a sobriety test at
the scene and a breathalyzer test
at the police station. No charges
have been filed against Maris.
■ Eric Domagalski, driver of
the Beetle and a sophomore
business administration major,
declined to comment.
■ Maris said he experienced
car trouble Wednesday and said
he believes it may have caused
the accident.
I “I had had a problem with
the car earlier that day where I
felt like I had a flat tire, but I
checked a couple of times, and
I [didn’t have a flat tire,” he said,
“j talked to my dad about it and
some other people, and they
MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion
A College Station police officer investigates the GMC Jimmy that crashed through a house and killed an 11-year-old girl Wednesday night.
thought it could be something,
maybe faulty steering. I may
have veered into the [turning
lane] and had a hard time com
pensating.
“I think the initial impact
may have knocked me out, and
my weight pushed onto the ac-
“It's something
that I am going
to think about for
a long time. The
only thing that
keeps my mind
straight is that i
was not under
the influence/'
— Stephen Maris
Junior kinesiology major
celerator, and my car picked up
speed.”
Maris said he feels like the
accident was out of his hands
because it happened so fast and
he could not control the vehicle.
“I actually saw the para
medics carrying [Jaime] on the
stretcher,” he said. “It’s some
thing that I am going to think
about for a long time. The only
thing that keeps my mind
straight is that I was not under
the influence. It’s just a terrible
thing.”
Maris said people often find
lessons in accidents, but he does
not feel like he could have acted
much differently.
“I wish I could say, ‘I wish I
was a more defensive driver,’
but I don’t feel like I was negli
gent in that. I feel like I am a
pretty defensive driver,” he said.
Kelly Webber, a neighbor,
said Jaime was an energetic,
sweet girl.
“She was really high-spirited,
and nothing got her down,” she
said. “My kids loved to play
II
The accident occured at
1609 Southwest Parkway.
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st Pkwy.
with her when they got home
from school.”
Oakwood Intermediate
School officials said counselors
I
GRAPHIC BY ROBERT HYNECEK
in the area spent yesterday vis
iting with students and teachers.
The Drewyor family declined
to comment.
Council
debates
garbage
BY CARRIE BENNETT
The Battalion
The College Station City Council postponed a
vote on a proposed agreement last night with the
Northgate Merchants Association for litter control
and event coordination in the Northgate area.
Kelley Chapman, public relations and market
ing manager for College Station, said the proposed
agreement would make the Northgate Merchants
Association responsible for removing garbage and
would require them to sponsor a minimum of 12
events per year for two years in the promenade
area behind the Dixie Chicken and other North-
gate businesses.
The garbage clean-up and event coordination
were linked in the proposal because they both in
volved an agreement between College Station and
the Northgate Merchants Association.
Steve Esmond, city council member, expressed
concern over the fact that the service work was
not put up for public bid so that private businesses
in the area would be able to compete for the job.
“It is awkward not bidding out work like this
because we bid out janitorial work, which is also
considered service work,” Esmond said.
George K. Noe, city manager, said based on past
experience, letting the Northgate Merchants As
sociation clean up the trash is more cost effective.
Esmond disagreed.
“This is private property, so why is it cost ef
fective to pay someone to clean up their own
property?” he said.
Benito Flores-Meath said the student-run or
ganization, Bottoms Up Clean Up, has been clean
ing the Northgate area voluntarily for two years.
“The students start cleaning at 1 a.m. on Sun
day and collect at least one bag of bottles, two
bags of cans and two bags of trash each time,”
Flores-Meath said. “Some of the trash has been
faded by the sun, which makes it appear that the
Northgate Merchants Association is not doing an
adequate job of cleaning the area.”
Northgate merchants have been responsible
for cleaning up their respective areas from Sept.
1, 1998 until this past December.
John Raney, president of the Northgate Mer
chants Association, said he would like to assess
members for the cost of trash pick-up, which in
volves charging the Northgate business owners a
price to pick up the garbage. However, he said he
thinks the theory is unrealistic.
“Most of the area is city property, which in
cludes the promenade,” Raney said. “We wanted
to be good neighbors and include the area church
es.”
Raney said he thought the association was be
ing generous by offering to clean up the trash for
a small amount.
Lynn Mcllhaney, College Station mayor, said
the staff will get more background and legal in
formation concerning the issue, and the event co
ordination agreement will be deferred to the Texas
A&M Student Senate to review.
Special Olympics draws 500
BY SALLIE TURNER
The Battalion
A show of strength, courage and sports-
manship will highlight Special Olympics:
T|xas Area Six games Friday and Saturday at
the A&M Consolidated High School Tiger
Stadium.
I Diedre Smith, special events director and
public relations for Special Olympics, said
more than 500 athletes will participate in
tfack and field games, cycling, gymnastics
and golf.
■ Special Olympics athletes are mentally
handicapped and range in age from 8 to 18.
■any of the athletes train all year for the com
petition and the event in College Station is a
qualifying event for the state tournament.
I “Special Olympics is a time for athletes to
develop physical fitness, demonstrate
courage, experience joy and participate in a
ist of gifts and skills,” she said. “[Partici
pants] also develop friendships with their
Imilies, other athletes and the community
through participating in Special Olympics.”
Volunteers for this weekend’s games in
clude Texas A&M sororities and fraternities,
service organizations and other student or
ganizations. Over 100 participants are ex
pected and Alpha Phi Omega is working to
recruit volunteers.
Jefferson Rogers, volunteer coordinator of
Special Olympics and a junior speech com
munication major, said volunteers perform
jobs including aiding the athletes in getting
to their events and congratulating them at
the end.
“We always have had enough people to do
the track events, but not enough people to be
buddies with the athletes throughout the
day,” he said.
Rogers contacted student organizations to
recruit other volunteers and has had more
than 150 people sign up to help.
“It is hard to get volunteers because of
Derby Days and finals coming up,” he said.
“Even with finals and everything else that I
have going on, being a volunteer is worth it
A - N
y \
TERRY ROBERSON/The Battalion
Marilyn Zaelac practices at Research park
for her Special Olympics 5K and 10K cycling
event this weekend.
when you see the smile on an athlete’s face.”
Rogers said his experience as a volunteer
last year was a rewarding part of the event.
“[The athletes] really do love having the
volunteers being there, and it means so much
to the athletes to know that all the people are
cheering just for them,” he said.
Whoopstock
7th annual festival promotes diverse
culture appreciation, features bands
BY EMILY R. SNOOKS
The Battalion
Everyone is welcome to test their
cricket spitting skills at Whoopstock
from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at O.R.
Simpson Drill Field.
The 7th annual Whoopstock festival
will be presented by the Multicultural
Services Department.
Ryan Searight, a director of activities
for the Multicultural Services Depart
ment and a sophomore agricultural
journalism major, said Whoopstock
promotes appreciation for the diverse
cultures at A&M.
“Whoopstock is an event that fo
cuses on the importance and value of
an inclusive campus environment,”
he said.
Holly Doughty, director of multicul
tural services and a senior agricultural
development and entomology major,
said international student organizations
will participate in six performances and
prepare international cuisine.
Performers will include the Aggie
Wranglers; D.R.U.M., a reggae band;
Invisible Cindy, a 1960s-type of band;
DDK, a rap group; children from ’Mag-
ination Station; and youth members of
the Bahai faith.
Contests will include a jalapeno eat
ing contest, a water balloon toss, a suit
case relay and a cricket spitting contest
using frozen crickets donated by the en
tomology club.
see Whoopstock on Pape 12.