University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 16, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 6, 1985 Page: 1 of 4
four pages : ill. ; page 23 x 14 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
- Highlighting
- Highlighting On/Off
- Color:
- Adjust Image
- Rotate Left
- Rotate Right
- Brightness, Contrast, etc. (Experimental)
- Cropping Tool
- Download Sizes
- Preview all sizes/dimensions or...
- Download Thumbnail
- Download Small
- Download Medium
- Download Large
- High Resolution Files
- IIIF Image JSON
- IIIF Image URL
- Accessibility
- View Extracted Text
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
4 m
Aft
i
/- 7'
U \
Good
Morning!
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Serving the Lamar community for 62 years
It’s Wednesday
November 6, 1985
Vol. 62, No. 16
1 Flames engulf van—
H.E. Clemens, of 2270 Harrison, battles—with a garden hose—the
flames that engulf his van as firemen approach to help extinguish
the blaze. The 1974 Ford van caught fire Tuesday morning at 1019
Vermont. Clemens said he heard a pop, his van died and then he
saw flames. Capt. Joe Tumbleson of the Beaumont Fire Depart-
ment said the firefighters received the call for the burning vehicle
at 9:31 a.m. No injuries were reported.
Photo by MICHAEL MORRISON
Oil refinery blast leaves two missing
MONT BELVIEU, Texas
I (UPI)—Two refinery workers are
reported missing after three explo-
sions rocked an oil refinery Tues-
day.
The explosions created a tower of
thick black smoke and flames shot
400 feet into the air, prompting city
officials to evacuate 2,000 residents.
There were no confirmed reports
of deaths or injuries but 15 to 20
workers were believed to have been
in the area of the first explosion at
l the Warren Petroleum refinery.
The identity of the two missing
workers had not been determined,'
said Culton Ingram, a spokesman
for Chevron USA, which owns the
refinery.
Chambers County Sheriff’s
spokesmen ordered residents to take
any direction out of town—as long as
it was away from the burning plant.
The first blast rocked the city,
’»Insurance
From staff and wire reports
The state insurance board has
voted to reduce private automobile
insurance rates 5.1 percent.
The board voted Thursday to im-
plement the reduced rates effective
Feb. 1.
The board approved the reduction
based on their belief that the man-
datory seat belt law will be obeyed
* by two-thirds of Texas’ motorists.
“I think what we’ve seen today is
that not only can we save lives (with
the seat belt law), but we can save
money,” Gov. Mark White said.
White was present when the board
voted to reduce rates.
The 5.1 percent decrease was ap-
proved after a plan by board
member Carol Rylander was voted
down. Rylander wanted to reduce
rates by 8.4 percent.
I Rylander’s figure is based on her
estimate that 70 percent of Texas
drivers will buckle up.
located about 30 miles east of
Houston, at 8:30 a.m., and was
followed by more explosions at 8:45
a.m. and 9 a.m.
The blasts apparently occurred
when a pipeline ruptured, Ingram
said. The pipeline contained a com-
bination of gases, including ethanol,
propane, butane and gasoline.
A plant worker who declined to
give his name said employees scat-
tered in all directions when sirens
were set off, apparently after a gas
leak was reported.
“Some of them went north, I went
south,” said Leon Durham. “I ended
up in a ditch and I felt it ignite on my
back. I felt the heat.”
Workers, who said the explosions
engulfed their cars in the plant park-
ing lot, stood in lines at nearby con-
venience stores to telephone their
families that they were not hurt.
Residents leaving town stopped
along Interstate 10 to watch the bur-
White said he favored Rylander’s
proposal, but he called the board’s
final plan “a very significant reduc-
tion.”
“I think it (rate reduction) is great
as far as reducing claims,” said Ken
Hollingsworth, a Beaumont Allstate
Insurance Agency agent.
“If safety belts will save lives and
reduce injuries that’s all tied into in-
surance premium rates and will help
us control cost and rates will go
down,” Hollingsworth said.
“There is no doubt it will save
lives and reduce injuries,” he added.
Rate decreases around the state
will vary, depending on the county
or region. The largest decrease will
be in Tow Green County, where
rates on an average policy will drop
$63 a year or 12.2 percent.
The smallest decrease will be in
Tarrant and Grayson counties.
The insurance industry has asked
for a 10.6 percent hike, based on
estimates that only 40 percent of
ning facility, and many others con-
cerned about the fate of relatives at
the refinery packed convenience
store and gasoline station parking
lots.
Officials closed Highway 146 from
Interstate 10 into the city.
The blasts rocked houses up to
eight miles away.
“I was down the highway when I
heard the explosion,” said Bill
Wallace, who runs a trailer part in
Mont Belvieu.
“We heard a big boom and I turn-
ed around and we saw a big ball of
fire and smoke go up into the air.
This is the largest fire I’ve seen. I’ve
been here practically all my life.”
Heat from the burning fuel iff
preventing rescue workers and
firefighters from getting close to the
scene.
Two life-flight helicopters are
standing by to evacuate possible vic-
tims, but cannot get into the refinery
Texas drivers will wear safety belts.
Rick Gentry, spokesperson for the
Texas Automobile Insurance Ser-
vice office, said the board’s action
was “an obvious setback for us.”
Gentry criticized the board’s use
of a 65 percent usage estimate, say-
ing there was no “hard data present
to support it.
“As an industry, we hope that (65
percent usage) happens, but for
rate-making purposes we have to be
more than hopeful,” he said.
The seat belt law took effect Sept.
1 but penalties will not be assessed
until Dec. 1.
White said if seat belt usage turns
out to be higher than the estimated
65 percent he will urge the board for
another rate reduction in 1987.
Lyndon Olson, chairman of the in-
surance board, said if the seatbelt
law is not obeyed rates would pro-
bably be increased next year.
Olson made the motion for the 5.1
area, Mike Cox, Department of
Public Safety spokesman, said.
Mont Belvieu sits atop a massive
salt dome used to store petroleum
products, is surrounded by about 120
oil wells and is home to a large
number of refineries.
City officials said they have fought
for four years to get the petroleum
companies to buy out homeowners in
the area who must be evacuated
every time an explosion occurs.
“We have near misses like this
quite often,” said City Councilman
Harold Roach. “Sooner or later it’s
not going to be confined. It’s going to
kill a bunch of people.”
There was no concern the fire
Would spread to the underground
salt dome, but reports indicated
underground storage tanks at War-
ren may be feeding the blaze.
Shelters for Mont Belvieu
residents have been set up in nearby
Baytown.
percent decrease. Olson said he
believes seat belt usage is higher
than the 40 percent estimated by the
industry and 50 percent forecast by
the board staff.
“I think the people of Texas are
entitled to the benefits of the seat
belt law,” he said.
Olson said insurance industry
costs will be lowered by the reduc-
tion in highway deaths and injuries.
Rylander said she was convinced
that two-thirds of Texas drivers are
already using seat belts and the
number will increase because of
educational programs and Texans’
willingness to be law abiding.
“We are not New York. We are not
New Jersey. We are Texans, and
Texans will prove us proud, and we
are going to be in compliance,” she
said.
“I believe Texans ought to be pro-
vided a significant economic incen-
tive for buckling up,” she said.
board reduces automobile rates
Survey shows hotlines assist traffic
Gulf States Utilities’ trucks carry hotline numbers.Photo by michael morrison
From staff and Wire reports
Trucks with bumper stickers
providing a telephone number to
'1 report discourteous driving
violate traffic laws less than
trucks without stickers, according
to a survey.
The survey, conducted by the
Southwestern Insurance Informa-
tion Service, revealed that trucks
with hotline numbers adhered to
the speed.limit more frequently.
The survey was recently con-
ducted along a stretch of a major
Texas highway.
Survey spokesman Jerry Johns
* said the survey found that ‘ ‘almost
100 percent of those trucks which
had hotline numbers on the back
adhered to the speed limit more
frequently.”
Gulf States Utilities has stickers
on their service vans and trucks.
“Gulf States has been using this
method for a year-and-a-half,”
said Mike Durham of the safety
department for GSU.
GSU has had calls about abusive
* driving. The sticker gives the
public a chance to call a toll free
number and report a violation.
Durham said that when they im-
plimented the program a lot of
employees complained that the
company did not trust them.
The policy does contribute to
lower insurance rates and insures
the public that employees are
safety-minded, Durham said.
“It is kind of like having your
identification number posted for
the public to see and is easier for
the public to remember than a
license number,” Durham said.
“It is an excellent idea,” said
Tommy May, public information
officer for the Beaumont Fire
Department.
“Trucks that carry hazardous
materials should consider this
type of program,” May said.
May said it is benificial for the
welfare of the companies’ trucks,
employees and the public.
Reckless driving may influence
the consumer’s attitude toward
the product or service.
Another study in the Dallas
area, Johns said, showed trucks
were involved in 39 percent of
highway deaths, but made up only
4 percent of the traffic.
The same study showed trucks
were involved in three times as
many traffic fatalities as cars.
“Trucks with the name of their
product on the side reflects on
their company as well as the
employees,” May said.
May said he encourages truck-
ing companies in the Triplex to
follow the lead of other motor car-
riers and list telephone numbers
on the back of their vehicles to
report discourteous or dangerous
driving.
Franklin says
loss in tuition
budget issue
By LINDA ECKOLS
UP editor
President Bill Franklin explained
Friday ways that the Lamar-
Beaumont campus will deal with the
financial impact of the fall enroll-
ment decrease.
During the mid-year budget ad-
justments meeting, Franklin told
faculty and staff that the projected
budget for September 1985 through
August 1986 was $43,851,000.
This was to be divided into
$31,978,000 for education and general
budget, $8,684,000 for the auxiliary
budget, and $2,981,000 for the
designated budget.
For the education and general
budget, 72.5 percent was to come out
of the state’s treasury, and 5.9 per-
cent was to come from the education
assistance fund (Proposition 2).
Local income in the form of tuition
was to provide 18.5 percent of the
education and general budget and
other funds were to provide the final
3.1 percent.
The source of the budgetary pro-
blems this fall lies within a shortfall
of tuition revenue, Franklin said.
The drop ii. enrollment slightly ex-
ceeded 10 percent in head count and
9 percent in credit hours.
Of the 18.5 percent of the education
and general fund to be drawn from
tuition, the enrollment decrease
caused a 2.4 percent shortfall of the
total income picture or in monetary
terms a loss of $781,882.
“Under the appropriations bill
rights, provision was made for in-
stitutions that failed to realize fully
their projected local income—a pool
of money that we could call upon.
“Total available, though, for the
state for both years of the biennium
combined was only $6.5 million,”
Franklin said.
Each university must absorb 5
percent of the shortfall before it is
allowed to compete with the other
universities for state reimburse-
ment.
That means Lamar will be com-
peting to replace the shortfall eligi-
ble for reimbursement of $486,053.
“Unfortunately, current estimates
are that the shortfall across the state
has been so significant that the very
best we could hope for from that pool
will be about 20 to 22 cents on the
dollar,” he said.
Lamar could then possibly get
$100,000.
Franklin said he does not think
Lamar will be able to get that much.
That utilizes the whole pool in the
first year of the biennium, he said.
The state pool will be distributed
in two halves: one in March and the
other in October.
Shortfall expected in the auxiliary
budget—student service fee income,
not Setzer Student Center or Health
Center fees income—is expected to
be $326,982. Shortfall for designated
funds is expected to be in the vicinity
of $37,672.
Because Lamar will not realize
any compensation from the state in
the near future, Franklin has pro-
posed five ways to cutback in the
education and general budget.
“The first thing we will look at is
our budgeted positions,” Franklin
said.
When an employee position
Dr. Bill Franklin
becomes vacant, it must be
reauthorized before it is filled.
Franklin said the goal was to leave
one-half of these positions open to
save about $200,000.
Another way the Beaumont cam-
pus will strive to save funds is to
keep monies where they belong.
That is to say that savings in
salary made from open positions
cannot be transferred to other areas.
The reverse will also be true—non-
salary funds cannot be transferred
to salary areas.
“We are going to make every ef-
fort possible to maintain the
budgeted levels on maintenance and
operations and travel,” Franklin
said.
Savings in utility expenses will
produce about $200,000, Franklin
said.
He said a memo is being cir-
culated that suggests ways to cut
utility costs.
The memo includes turning lights
off when leaving a room, adjusting
thermostats about two 'degrees in
buildings and outlawing portable
heating units. ,
As for an increase in utility rates,
Franklin said he hopes any raise will
be postponed long enough for Lamar
to realize some savings.
Telephone usage is the final
targeted area for savings mentioned
by Franklin.
The goal is saving at least $25,000
by watching telephone usage more
closely.
Through these savings and a
$200,000 to $225,000 cushion that has
been built into the budget, Lamar
will come close to covering the ap-
proximate $680,000 shortfall.
“It’s ‘do-able’—not comfortably
necessarily. But, comparatively,
we’re better off than many of our
colleagues around the state,”
Franklin said.
“Our real challenge is not the rest
of this year. The real challenge is the
next fiscal year because we already
know how much money we have.
And basically we’ve got the same
money we hi ve this year, plus, out of
the treasury, we will be provided
2.25 percent of wages paid out of the
general revenue.
Franklin told members of the au-
dience that Lamar will not require
too much on their parts except to
give assistance in energy conserva-
tion and vacant positions.
Fraudulent loans
being investigated
By DAVID LUSK
UP staff writer
A “very separate and ongoing in-
vestigation” of fraudulent loan and
grant applications is being con-
ducted, James Rush, director of stu-
dent financial aid, said.
The investigation “involves at
least three agencies,” Rush said, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, the
Immigration and Naturalization
Service and the U.S. Inspector
General’s office.
Currently, four Lamar students
have been indicted. “Numerous
students have been investigated and
interviewed,” Rush said.
“It started with, I think, an im-
migration problem,” he said.
Foreign students were coming into
the country on a temporary basis
and finding ways to stay in the coun-
try permanently.
“One of the things they (in-
vestigators) were looking at were
fraud marriages and marriages for
hire,” Rush said.
The difficulty in prosecuting those
cases is making the determination
whether a marriage was for hire or a
failing relationship, he said.
In some cases the “wife” is a pro-
stitute who agrees to the marriage
for a fee. In other cases, an
American citizen is “hood-winked”
into a bogus union, Rush said.
The four indictments were in-
itiated by the investigating agen-
cies. Lamar University did not start
the investigations by filing a com-
plaint, Rush said.
Lamar has prosecuted two cases
of students making false applica-
tions.
In both cases the students pleaded
guilty to the charges and received
minimal punishment, Rush said.
The majority of students making
application for student aid have no
problems. Less than 50 percent (of
the applicants) have any problem,
Rush said.
I I v I
i
4
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View four places within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Eckols, Linda. University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 16, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 6, 1985, newspaper, November 6, 1985; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth499574/m1/1/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lamar University.