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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 16, 2001)
TUESDAY January 16, 2001 Volume 107 ~ Issue 73 12 pages ii (DAT -T AI HJv'U'J ^ kiT Remembering a Dream Aggies join in celebration of the life of Dr. King By Elizabeth Raines The Battalion The spirits of Martin Luther King Jr. and Texas A&M were alive Mon day at the fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Walk in Bryan. A&M students and professors were among the participants in the three-mile walk, which began on Martin Luther King Street at Sadie Thomas Park and ended at Camp Elementary School. ‘I think it is important for all of us to be here because today does not just symbolize equality for African-Americans, but equality for all Americans,” said Dr. Chris tine Stanley, an A&M education professor. The A&M chapter of Delta Sig ma Theta sorority co-sponsored the vent. Agnes Gray, Delta Sigma Theta chairwoman, helped found he walk five years ago. “This is a type of program that i'ou want because it doesn't happen hrough talking about it,” she said. ‘It happens through action.” Participants in the walk said \&M has come a long way In pro noting and celebrating King's >irthday. Breena Bush, a senior biomed- cal science major, along with John iampson, a senior English major, ind Roshawn Bowers, a junior icrospace engineering major. Aggie dies in wreck By Sommer Bunce - The Battalion Shannon Trae Alston, a 29-year- old graduate student, was killed in an automobile accident over the winter break when an 18-wheeler hydroplaned and struck his car. On Dec. 26, Alston left his wife and 2-year-old daughter in their home in Rockdale, bound for Col lege Station to research drought-re sistant cotton genes in A&M’s greenhouses. Alston was going to meet with Dr. Wayne Smith, his doctoral ad viser, so he could get the keys to the greenhouse. He was making the 45-minute drive between Rockdale and College Station when the accident occured. Alston’s widow Tracy recalled the details of that day, she described the details of how she and her hus band met. When Tracy Alston, A&M Class of ’86, saw her future husband, Shannon, walk by in a country bar in Phoenix, the first thing that caught her eye was his Aggie, ring. She started a conversation with him, and nine months later the two Aggies were married. The 1993 A&M graduate was a former member of the now-dis banded Corps of Cadets Savage 6 Flying Tigers and a doctorate stu dent in the Department of Soil and Crop Growth. He “bled maroon,” his widow said. “He was just a good 6T boy, and he loved the lay of the land,” Alston said of her husband. “He was a great dad and a great husband. He could make anything live.” Alston was pursuing his doctor ate part-time under Smith. Alston’s research, though in its beginning brought elementary school children from the Bryan-College Station area to participate in the walk. “I think that this is a very im portant day to remember,” Bush said. “Five years ago, A&M didn't even get this day off as a holiday, and I feel that this is something that needs to be celebrated annually, at the very least.” “1 think that it is important to cel ebrate Martin Luther King Jr. be cause he wanted to make everybody equal, and 1 am here today because I want to make everybody equal,” said B.J. Marshall, a fifth grader from Cypress Grove Elementary . Dr. Linda Parrish, an education al psychology professor, and her husband Dr. Paul Parrish, an Eng lish professor, have participated in all five of the freedom walks. “I think it is important to be here today because MLK was a great American, and this is not a black holiday but an American holiday,” Linda Parrish said. “My husband and I were very in tune in the '60s and we attended a memorial ser vice for MLK when he died. Ever since then, we have celebrated his life together.” Today, the Memorial Student Center will begin a two-week cele bration honoring Martin Luther BERNARDO GARZA/Tui': Battai.ujn See MLK on Page 2. Left: Craig Anderson Jr., 8, of Bryan and Pastor Charles Jefferson attended the Martin Luther King March from Sadie Thomas Park. Top right: Members of Delta Sigma Theta march in the parade in Bryan Monday morning. Bottom right: Dora Shirley, a resident of Bryan for 53 years, shows her support from her porch along the parade route. ALSTON See Student on Page 2. Garcia Halprin Mugs and ■Mr irrzra sxetc online at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice: Rewara 01 $440,000 for Information leading to the arrest and conviction of seven escaped convicts wanted for kiliing Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins. Local authorities remain on lookout for 7 inmates By Amanda Smith ' The Battalion Local law enforcement offi cials are proceeding with cau tion as the search continues for seven inmates who escaped from a maximum security prison in south Texas Dec. 13. Local authorities say they have no reason to believe any of the inmates will flee to the Bryan-College Station area, but police across the Southwest are on the lookout for the fugitives. The inmates are believed to be armed and dangerous after the alleged slaying of Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins at an Oshman’s sporting goods store. Police say the inmates es caped with ammunition, winter clothes and more than $70,000 in cash and checks. The inmates overpowered guards at a Connally prison, took the guards’ clothes and sped away in a prison vehicle. Dan Jones, public informa tion officer for the College Sta tion Police Department (CSPD), said Brazos County law en forcement agencies, including CSPD, the Bryan Police De partment (BPD), the Texas A&M University Police De partment (UPD) and the Brazos County Sheriff’s Department, are keeping their eyes open. “All officers across the state and country have practiced heightened alertness and aware ness,” Jones said. “Every day that they remain uncaptured is a day closer to their being cap tured. But there’s not a whole lot we can say or do.” The Texas Department of Criminal Justice reported that calls continue to come into the hotline established for citizens to report sightings of the es capees, and officials continue to investigate the fugitives’ report ed whereabouts. Reward for convicts’ capture rises again RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion IRVING, Texas (AP) — Authorities on Monday increased the reward to $440,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of seven escaped convicts wanted for killing Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins on Christmas Eve. The FBI added an additional $ 140,000 to the ex isting $300,000 reward, Irving Police Department officials said. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation has a his tory of cooperation working with the Irving Po lice Department and we greatly appreciate this demonstration of their commitment to the de partment in bringing this tragic and dangerous sit uation to a close,” Irving Chief of Police Lowell Cannaday said in a statement. The seven men escaped from the Connally Unit near Kenedy, Texas, on Dec. 13th. Police suspect they are responsible for Hawkins’ mur der during a Christmas Eve robbery of an Osh man’s Super Sports USA in Irving, a Dallas suburb. Irving police spokesman David Tull said au thorities hope the additional money entices some one who may be hiding or otherwise helping the fugitives to come forward. Sightings have been reported in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Louisiana. No specific in formation on their presumed whereabouts has been released. Bob Wiatt, director of UPD, said the media coverage the case has received has increased awareness among the public. “We are all aware, and of course we have to be ready to respond,” Wiatt said. “Nobody has an idea of where they are. All local agencies have pictures of the guys and anyone who be lieves they saw them may call 911 or their local law enforce ment agency.” As A&M students move back into the residence halls and more cars and pedestrians return to the campus for the first day of class, Wiatt encourages mem bers of the A&M community to report suspicious incidents or individuals to the police. Sue Foster, assistant director Residence Life, said the escaped fugitives have not been ad dressed specifically in move-in schedules for the 29 occupied residence halls on campus, but safety is always a concern. See Inmates on Page 2. Shooting investigation continues By Elizabeth Raines The Battalion Bryan police are still investigat ing the Jan. 8 shooting at Sander son Farms in Bryan, where a gun man shot two employees before killing himself. The victims were Kevin B. Crook, a division manager for Sanderson Farms’ production fa cility in Bryan, and Larry Ryals, a hatchery manager. Crook was killed in the shooting, and Ryals was shot in the arm. Ryals was taken to St. Joseph Hospital and has since been re leased. The shooter, Barry Townsend, was an independent contractor from Walker County who grew chickens for Sanderson Farms. Although Townsend is dead, police are still in vestigating why Townsend went on the deadly rampage Although Townsend is dead, the police are still investigating why Townsend went on the dead ly rampage. Sgt. Ernie Montoya of the Bryan Police Department (BPD) said Townsend had a dispute with the two men and called to meet with them. They met at the pro duction facility at 7G1 Capital Parkway in a conference room. “Townsend demanded the tw men call his wife and apologize for something,” said BPD Lt. Chris Ferris. “Crook tried to make the call but, due to nervousness, could not complete it. At that point, Townsend shot Crook in the chest and Ryals in the arm. Ryals then crawled from the office and alert ed the other employees to call the police.” Ferris said it remains unclear why Townsend was demanding an apology, though there is some speculation of a financial problem. It was reported in The Bryan- College Station Eagle that Townsend had been arrested twice in Walker County. He was arrested in 1996 for indecency with a child. He received deferred adjudication and six years probation after plead ing guilty. He was arrested a sec ond time in December 1999 and was awaiting a jury for the trial when the shooting took place. Townsend’s attorney, Hal R. Rid ley, did not believe the trial had a connection to the shooting. Sanderson Farms is based in Laurel, Miss., and produces and dis tributes fresh and frozen chickens. Inauguration WASHINGTON (AP) Ashcroft will soon be mingling' his friends back in the Senate, som of whom are ready to pounce. It is not personal, Democrats Said Sunday, while making clearj they will not give him a pass toj : become the next attorney gener- \ al just because they think he is a| I fine individual. See Ashcroft on Page 2. j [