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EDNESDAYFEBRUARY 27. 2002
VOLUME 108 • ISSUE 103
THE BATTALION
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TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
tudents rescue five from drowning
Man drives his van into Offatts Bayou. Two
women, two children and an infant are inside
1 minute later: Man surfaces and comes to shore
Students talk in Spanish to the man. He tells
them more people are still inside
Students form an assembly line to move victims
the 87 feet from the van to the shore
6-8 minutes later: Students pull the last victim,
an infant, from the submerged van
CHAD MALLAM • THE BATTALION
By Sarah Darr
THE BATTALION
Five victims, including one
infant, remained hospitalized
Tuesday after 26-year-old Jose
Rodriguez intentionally drove
his family van 87 feet into the
Offatts Bayou on Saturday,
Galveston police said.
The driver’s wife, 21-year-old
Maria Rodriguez, and her
cousin, 26-year-old Rosalinda
Martinez were upgraded from
critical to serious condition
Tuesday. Martinez’s two chil
dren, Melvin, 4, and Linda, 6,
were also in the van, alongside
infant Brenda, Jose and Maria
Rodriguez’s daughter. Melvin
was upgraded Tuesday to serious
condition, and Linda and Brenda
remain in critical condition.
The van sank 10 feet into the
murky water, and Rodriguez
surfaced about a minute later
against a strong current, wit
nesses said. A group of students
from varsity sailing teams at
local universities, including
Texas A&M and the University
of Texas, were standing nearby,
preparing to begin a race.
Students began to speak with
Rodriguez in Spanish and he
told them there were two chil
dren still inside the van.
It only took a second for
their instincts to kick in, and
students began diving in the
water from the boats and the
shore, said Jake Scott, the cap
tain of the A&M Varsity
Sailing Team. Scott said every-
See Rescue on page 8A
eral
trad
xDOT recognizes
A&M innovation
My Brittany Hooten
the battalion
he Texas Department of
^Bisportation (TxDOT) named
l^lexas A&M innovation in
ispl alt testing — designed to
udke the durabilty of asphalt
aefpre it is put on the road and
axpayers pay for its repair —
arte >f the top research findings
Df 2001.
■’xDOI recognized Chemical
^^^^^^■ineering Professor Dr.
Charles Glover’s Stirred Air-
s we coulila Fwk Test. Glover submitted a
hat the\ wer desfcn proposal in March 1999 to
iti.ict'' iloi TxD< M after it requested propos-
’ als of an apparatus that would
contluct an aging process on
asMalt, to determine if the
:tnber.
h 22 pw<
f Mirant.
re than S-W
mer group
w have ca
:rs.
te contrail
.•als it coulc
ft power se
r.
to Davis.
asphalt would be strong enough
to bear the wear and tear of Texas
roadways.
“We wanted something that
was easy to operate, easy to
maintain, safer, cheaper and
faster,” said Gerald Peterson,
TxDOT asphalt laboratory
engineer. “It is exactly what we
were looking for.”
Peterson said TxDOT spon
sors universities to do research
for them. Glover was awarded
the project, funded by TxDOT.
When exposed to the ele
ments, asphalt becomes brittle
and cracks, Glover said. The
asphalt cannot continue to take
stresses and becomes suscepti
ble to even more damage over
time, he said.
The Stirred Air-Flow Test
solves that problem by aging
asphalt in a controlled manner.
Glover said the test bums asphalt
at a slow rate, exposing certain
components of the asphalt to the
elements. Testing it this way
allows roadway specialists to
predict the behavior of asphalt
before it is laid, he added.
This new system can also tell
specialists the stability of the
asphalt.
“It’s a matter of long-term
aging in roads costing money,”
Glover said. “You want to know
as much about the aging
process as possible and how to
slow it down.”
See Asphalt on page 2A
xas schools to strengthen
ealth education programs
By Marianne Hudson
THE BATTALION
■exas children do not participate in enough
vigorous physical activity, according to a
^MDassed in the state legislature last year that
^■ires all school districts to examine their
?ahh education programs.
Allhough many schools have physical education
[rams, some activities, such as dodgeball, leave
any students idle once they are out, said Carl
abbada, professor of kinesiology and director of
iotor development studies.
^■he legislature will require all school districts
adopt a state-approved health program by 2007
at will increase the time and quality spent on
;alth education in elementary schools.
/ Bryan ISD will enact the Coordinated
Approach to Child Health (CATCH) program
with a kick-off in March, said Patty Wei lams,
learning facilitator for Bryan ISD.
The Austin-based program focuses on a series
of lessons from third to Fifth grade, said Peter
Cribb, CATCH program director for the University
of Texas Health Science Center. The program uses
a variety of facilities to teach students the impor
tance of a healthy lifestyle. The objectives of
CATCH are to coordinate classroom teachers,
physical education teachers, food services and
families in the education process.
“It is important to deliver these healthy mes
sages from multiple directions,” Cribb said.
Physical education training extends beyond
See Education on page 8A
Wind blown
Justin Mickey and Mindy O'Chery weather
the strong winds near the Zachary engi
neering Center as temperature lows
JOHN LIVAS • THE BATTALION
reached the 30's. The cold front blew in
Monday night and is expected to last until
the end of the week.
2002 ELECTION
7 candidates vie for District 31 seat
Seven Republican candidates are vying for the newly created District 31, which stretches from West Houston to Round Rock and includes the Bryan-College
Station area. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the March 12 primary, the top two finishers will compete in an April 9 runoff. The winner will face
iDemocrat David Bagley in November. As a service to our readers, each candidate will be profiled this week. The Battalion will also select a candidate to endorse.
Event O'
McT'T.
Maf
Mart’
TTotiay ^Flynn Adcock
oelilively
>y March m Cutting taxes and reforming
>rs for morel Social Security are at the top of
Flynn Adock’s agenda.
Adcock, a 37-year-old trade
h Wth-Mard economist at A&M, said he wants
h 13th-Mard to accelerate President Bush’s tax
cuts by implementing them over
five or six years instead of 10. The
ADCOCK estate tax should be permanently
( eliminated and the capital gains tax
fR should be reduced, Adcocjk said.
pR I In addition to stimulating the economy, he said,
jloyver taxes will actually increase government rev-
nue by strengthening the economy.
H Adcock said the government should close special
_ il I st! Costs interest tax loopholes and eventually move to a single
* 24. income tax rate of approximately 18 percent.
» an experief ■“That will do away with all the games and gim-
canment. Refmjcks in the tax code,” Adcock said,
at $25 for' With the Social Security program currently running
contact Ch* 1 a small surplus. Congress should begin to gradually
reform the system before it goes bankrupt in 30 years.
By Rolando Garcia
THE BATTALION
Brad Barton
Students may be forgiven for
thinking Brad Barton is running
for yell leader — his sales pitch
to students has been light on
political substance but heavy on
Aggie credentials.
Barton, a businessman who
moved to College Station from the
Dallas area to run for Congress,
has sent campaign literature to
students promoting his “pro-Bonfire” stance and
urging students not to vote for his “t-sip” opponent,
Peter Wareing. Barton, 31, a 1993 A&M graduate,
said he is hoping to get more students involved in
the political process.
“A lot of candidates ignore students because of
the assumption that they don’t care and don’t vote. I
steadfastly refuse to believe that,” Barton said. “If
you provide a compelling reason, they will vote.”
Barton said his top priority is tax cuts.
Accelerating President Bush’s tax cuts will help
stimulate an economy slipping into recession.
BARTON
CARTER
See Adcock on page 7A
See Barton on page 2A
John Carter
Wisdom, experience and
maturity are what separate John
Carter from a field of political
novices, the candidate said, and
at a time of crisis, America needs
proven leaders.
Carter, 60, retired last year after
serving 20 years as a state district
judge in Williamson County and
said he is the only candidate with
an extensive public track record. Carter touts his
court’s reputation as a stern dispenser of justice to
violent criminals.
“I promised to give them (Williamson County
residents) a safe place to raise their kids,” Carter
said. “We worked with law enforcement to get tough
on crime and now we have the lowest crime rate of
the top 50 counties in Texas,” Carter said.
Carter criticized two other candidates, Peter
Wareing and Brad Barton, for moving into the district
to run for Congress. With his deep roots in central
Texas, Carter said he shares the conservative values
See Carter on page 7A
Sports Pg. 1B
Buffaloes too much
for Ags to handle
| Four Colorado players
| score in double digits as
men’s basketball falls,
92-77
■ i # i * * *»
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