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 [