The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 73, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 20, 1979 Page: 1 of 6
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The North Texas Daily
62ND YEAR NO. 73
NORTH TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY, DENTON, TEXAS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY ?0, 1979
Garcia's platform
suggests lessening
marijuana penalty
By CHERYL TAYLOR
Daily Reporter
Lessening the penalties for marijuana
possession and getting Denton out of the
Texas Municipal Power Agency are
among the changes recommended by
Dallas junior Domingo Garcia, who
filed last week for candidacy in the April
7 Denton City Council election.
“As far as penalties go, for possession
of one ounce of marijuana, the city can
reduce the penalty to the equivalence of
a traffic violation,” Garcia said. “It
would be just like
getting a ticket for
speeding.”
Garcia said
ticketing for pos-
session of one
ounce is the
procedure in
Austin.
“We cannot
completely
decriminalize
marijuana at the
city level,” Garcia
said. “That has to be done by changing
stale law.”
Another part of Garcia’s platform
concerns Denton's alliance with the
Texas Municipal Power Agency, a cor-
poration that generates utilities. Garcia
said Denton residents are losing money
through the present system and urges the
city to get out of the agency.
“Instead of generating our own
energy through TMPA, we should con-
tract with a private company for the dis-
tribution of wholesale power," he said.
Garcia contends that contracting
utilities would keep energy costs to a
minimum. “The average home pays 9
percent of its take-home pay for
utilities,” he said. ‘‘According to
TMPA, this will be I8 percent by I984.
The cost increase would be a lot less if
Denton got out."
A major problem facing, the campaign
Garcia
is voter apathy, Garcia said. “My No. I
stress is going to be getting people to
vote,” he said. “Everyone over the age
of 18 has the right, and I hope they will
get out and vote in April.”
Only 200-300 students vote in city
council elections, according to Garcia’s
figures. He said he believes he can get
the students to vote by addressing issues
they can identify with. “It’s time they
(the students) had some input into the is-
sues that affect their lives," he said.
In an effort to increase the number of
student voters, Garcia said he will have a
voter registration table set up near the
Syndicate in the University Union Tues-
day.
Garcia, a political science major, will
be running opposite NT police Chief
Robby Robinson for the Place 2 council
seat.
“Mr. Robinson seems to be the law
and order-type candidate," Garcia said.
"He wants to increase the police force in
Denton. To me, this seems to be a con-
flict of interests, since he is the chief of
the NT police force.
"I think we have enough police in
Denton, and they are doing a good job,”
he added. “I think a pay raise, in the
order of the recent Dallas police force
raise, would be better It would be an ef
fort to increase quality instead of quan-
tity.”
Establishing single-member city coun-
cil district is another goal of Garcia. “I
propose to expand the council to seven
members, each representing a specified
district,” he said.
"There are now five at-large places in
the council. Changing this would give
representation to a broader range of
people."
Garcia said if elected, he plans to set
up a review commission to investigate
complaints made against landlords by
the tenants of houses or apartments. The
commission would hear complaints al-
leging violations of city health or-
dinances or city building codes, he said.
SA to consider
student discounts
A student discount program involving
about 20 Denton merchants will be dis-
cussed at the Student Association
meeting at 6:30 tonight in University
Union 411.
The program, a major goal of the cur-
rent assembly, would provide students
with discount prices at many area
clothing stores, restaurants and
specialized shops, SA President Jud
Moore said. The External Affairs Com-
mittee contacted the merchants recently,
and about 20 agreed to join the
program.
The assembly will vote on the ap-
proval of the program and the allocation
of $77 toward the printing of 7,000 stu-
dent discount cards to be distributed
throughout campus. The cards will be
presented to all participating merchants
in the program.
SA Vice President Mark Shear sub-
mitted a rewritten English departmental
resolution for discussion at tonight’s
meeting. The resolution requests the for-
mation of a five-person committee
which would investigate the importance
of the exam and the feasibility of
eliminating it.
The committee would consist of three
assembly members, one student not on
the assembly and one faculty member.
Shear slated in the resolution that the
committee would attempt change
without affecting the high educational
level of the university.
Shear withdrew a resolution re-
questing the elimination of the exam at
the Feb. 6 meeting after deciding the
proposal needed further work and
research before submission to the as-
sembly.
Bylaws passed at the last meeting were
vetoed by Moore because “we didn’t
have any accountability at the meeting,"
he said. The SA Constitution calls for a
two-thirds vote of all assembly members
for the passing of legislation. The bylaws
were passed without the proper number.
"It was a technicality on our part,”
Moore said. By vetoing ilic bylaws, !
wanted to stress proper accountability in
all legislation."
Two student members will be recom-
mended for admission into the univer-
sity Supreme Court. With the gradua-
tion of former members, the assembly
will recommend Dirk Etheridge, Dallas
sophomore, as Supreme Court member
and Robin Shwarts, Dallas senior, as
student advocate.
Also on the agenda are resolutions to
improve submission of legislation to
committees and to appoint a new direc-
tor of rules and elections. Moore said
the legislation resolution would require
further investigation of bills before their
submission to the assembly.
"It would provide some kind of con-
trol." he said. “It takes us through steps
and checks on everything."
Michel Smyth resigned as director of
rules and elections on Feb. 6, leaving a
vacancy in office. The assembly will vote
on the appointment of Jay Feffer, Plano
sophomore, as the new director.
Health Center employee
becomes city candidate
Wilbur Dixon, physician assistant at
the NT Health Center, filed for can-
didacy last week for the April 7 Denton
City Council election in Place 3 against
Mary Claude Gay, who is running for
re-election.
Dixon said he filed for candidacy
primarily because Mrs. Gay was running
unopposed.
Dixon said he believes the people of
Denton should have more to say about
their government.
“The people should get a fair return
on the price they pay for government,”
he said
Dixon said he thinks all the informa-
tion received by the citizens concerning
the Texas Municipal Power Agency is
sketchy. The agency is a major issue in
the city council campaign. He said he
would like to see the people more in-
formed and given an opportunity to vote
on the issue.
Dixon said the agency seems to he
‘‘more cost to the people without
anything to show for it.”
Dixon opposes the present method of
electing a mayor. The mayor and mayor
pro-tem arc elected by the council
“The people don’t have anything to
say about it,” he said. Dixon said he will
work toward changing the policy so
mayor and mayor pro-tem will be
elected by the people.
Prisoners file suit
for alleged abuse
in county jail
By ( ARYL SHERMAN
and KAREN HORN
Daily Reporters
Denton County prisoners Lamar
Kemp and Charles Reed have filed suit
on behalf of prisoners at the Denton
County Jail against the county, alleging
abuse and inadequate facilities within
the jail.
The suit, filed Dec. 2I, I978, charges
county jail with overcrow ding, poor ven-
tilation, insufficient meal programs, in-
adequate medical care and pretrial
detention.
Defense Attorney Ed Stapleton said
the facilities at the jail will be in-
vestigated by experts and the defense
will base its trial on the expert’s
testimony.
Stapleton also said that if any of the al-
legations prove to be false, that par-
ticular charge will be excluded. “But we
do believe all the allegations we’ve made
are true," he said.
Denton County Sheriff Kenneth
George said the jail is equipped to sleep
52 people and at the present time is
housing 37 inmates.
Prisoner Eugene Porter said a recent
fight that took place in his cell resulted
in the suit
PORTER SAID five men were in a
four-man cell when one of the inmates
began beating another inmate, John W.
McC'rory, over the head with a bar of
soap in a sock while McCrorv was
asleep.
“If the jailer had been around or if the
cel! hadn’t been overcrowded that might
not have happened,” Porter said.
The only real problem the jail has,
George said, is that “it gets close to 90
degrees upstairs in the summer, but on
the average it’s about 80 degrees."
GEORGE SAID the jail has 11 ex-
haust fans on the roof for ventilation;
Porter said the ventilation needs
improvement.
“The heating isn’t what it needs to be
for the weather we’ve been having," he
said. "In the summer you could bring a
thermometer up here, and I’d bet it
would read 110 degrees."
Cell-mates should be separated ac-
cording to age, he said, not according to
the crime charged with.
“In my cell, there are two guys who
are 18, one who is 27 and I’m 36," Porter
said. “If seems like they could arrange
something more suitable.”
Denton County women’s jailer
Gloria Steinkamp said meal plans at the
jail include three meais a ua> scivcu ac-
cording to four different weekly menus.
Special diets are served to some
prisoners for medical reasons.
“The meals have improved in the last
several weeks since we’ve changed
cooks,” Porter said. "They still need to
improve the sandwiches for the evening
meal if that’s all we’re going to get.
“LAST NIGHT all the bologna
sandwiches were dumped in the trash
because the bologna was stale."
Porter said prisoners are served two
sandwiches a night for dinner.
"The food is usually fairly good for
lunch," he said, "but boiled eggs, two
biscuits and coffee for breakfast just
ain’t enough.
“They've made some improvements
since I’ve been here It wouldn’t take
that much to do the things they need to
do around here."
The jail has a nurse who comes in
Monday through Fridas George said
and a doctor on call at all times.
“IF PRISONERS need to see a doctor
after office hours or on the weekend, we
take them to the emergency room at
Flow Memorial hospital," George said.
"I believe they receive better medical
treatment than 99 percent of the people
outside."
Jailer Vernon Hutson said. “Prisoners
are allowed two calls when they come in
and then there is one day a week they
can make a call.” Thereafter, if a
prisoner wants to get in touch with his
attorney, Hutson said, “we handle each
case separately, and sometimes we will
allow exceptions if necessary."
George said the prisoners are assigned
court-appointed attorneys on the
Wednesday following their arrest
Stapleton said no court date has been
set for the trial, but a request for a date
would be made after more evidence was
in.
Photo by STEPHEN CROTHERS
FALLEN LIGHT—A student passes by a light post which fell near the
Union Monday. Officials at the Physical Plant said the post apparently fell
during the weekend, but they were not certain how It was brought down.
The post will be replaced in about two weeks, they said.
Council considers agency funding
Denton seeks new sewer line
The Denton City Council will con-
sider at 7 p.m. today in the Municipal
Building an application asking the En-
vironmental Protection Agency for
money to design a sewer iine.
An application has been prepared for
agency money to design an interceptor
sewer line along Hickory Creek, between
U.S. Highway 380 and the Alton Com-
munity, Bob Nelson, city utilities direc-
tor, said in material prepared for the
council.
Installation of the interceptor line,
along with expansion of the city waste
treatment plant, were listed as priorities
under a 1976 Facility Plan lor Sewerage
System Improvements, he said.
Nelson said if the council submits the
application to the Texas Department of
Water Resources, the agency that
oversees the funds, it may receive an
answer by this summer.
Approval of the application would
mean the agency would pay 75 percent
of the $126,000 line design costs. The
line construction, which costs an es-
timated $7.5 million, could be completed
as early as 1982 if design money is
available soon, Nelson said.
The council will consider whether it
will pay Denton County 50 or 25 percent
of the $22,651 received from the sale of a
Civil Defense airplane
The plane was purchased for $200 in
1971 by the city of Denton-Denton
County Civil Defense Department,
which is funded by the federal govern-
ment, city and county
County commissioners requested part
of the money after the city sold the plane
in December. Council members feared
legal liability from owning an aircraft.
The Federal Government Surplus
Property Division has released the city
from any obligation to return part of the
sale proceeds to them. Assistant City
Manager King Cole said in a memo to
the council.
Councilmen indicated a willingness to
pay the county a share of the money dur-
ing a meeting with commissioners last
Tuesday.
The council will consider calling a
election April 7 to fill positions held by
Mayor Joe Mitchell, and council
members Elinor Hughes and Mary
Claude Gay.
Mitchell and Mrs Hughes said
publicly they will not run for re-election.
Mrs Gav and five others had filed for
election by late Monday.
The council dsn will consider a con-
tract with Forrest and Cotton, Inc.,
engineering consultants for the construc-
tion of a railroad bridge and a two-lane
street at intersection of Robertson Street
and the Missouri-Pacific Railroad.
The contract divides the engineering
work into four phases and obligates the
city to one phase at a time
Council members also will consider
authorizing the cits manager to apply
for funds distributed through the
Intergovernmental Personnel Act to
improve training of city employees.
Hazing incident claim
prompts investigation
An investigation into alleged hazing in
the Omega Psi Phi fraternity is being in-
vestigated by the Dean of Students Of-
fice, Dr. Joe Stewart, dean of students,
said Friday.
Dr Stewart said the alleged hazing
was reported at the end of the fall
semester. “We received a phone call
from a person who said we should look
into the incident.” he said.
The investigation was initiated under
the code of student conduct regarding
hazing listed in the student handbook,
L)r. Stewart said.
The student handbook defines hazing
as a willful act of one or more students
against another student that humiliates
or physically hurts that student. Dr.
Stewart said hazing is usually associated
with organizations.
Dr Stewart said everyone involved in
the alleged incident is being given every
opportunity to give his side of the story.
"We have spoken with the officers in the
fraternity and the young man involved
in the possible hazing," he said.
The student who was possibly hazed
withdrew from school the end of
January, according to the Registrar’s
Office. Dr. Stewart said his office is hav-
ing difficulty contacting the student for
more questioning.
If the fraternity is found guilty of haz-
ing, there are many possible repercus-
sions, ranging from a warning to suspen-
sion of the organization. Dr. Stewart
said. “There are still a lot of unanswered
questions regarding this matter, so I am
reluctant to say much about it at this
point," he said
“When we have gotten to the point
where we have done everything possible
with the investigation, we will make a
decision about the matter.”
The investigation was halted because
of the Christmas break, he said. “1 think
we should have this about w rapped up in
a couple of weeks and will be able to see
what needs to be done then.”
Financial problems
continue for Iranians
Despite the ouster of Iranian Prime
Minister Shahpour Bhaktiar and the
takeover of Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini, NT’s Iranian students still
face financial problems and a mail
embargo.
"I think the majority of the Iranian
students are elated that the govern-
ment has changed," Dr. Edward
Rice-Maximin, foreign student ad-
viser, said Thursday
“But it’s been very difficult getting
into contact with Iran Our telephone
connections have been sporadic, mail
still is not coming through and
telegrams get through only oc-
casionally."
Dr. Rice-Maximin said there is no
money coming out of Iran, but he is
not sure how the money shortage is
affecting NT’s Iranian students
"We don’t know; we want to find
out," he said. "We think it’s hurting
them I know it is hurting some peo-
ple pretty badly, but we don’t know
how many." He said some of the stu-
dents have savings they could live on
Dr Rice-Maximin said he expects
the new Iranian government to
stabilize soon, but he conceded his
hopes may be premature. "We’ll have
to wait a couple of weeks to see about
that." he said
In any event, he said, the Iranian
economic situation probably will not
stabilize before the summer.
"Realistically speaking," he said. “I
don’t think we could expect the
economic situation of our students to
improve until summer "
Dr. Rice-Maximin said most
Denton residents do not know how
much money the average Iranian stu-
dent spends each year while at
school, and estimated that the
average Iranian student puts about
$10,000 each school vear into the
Denton economy.
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Morrison, Sue. The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 73, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 20, 1979, newspaper, February 20, 1979; Denton, TX. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1003342/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.