The Galveston Daily News from Galveston, Texas • Page 1

A i 6 2 7 3 1 SPORTS: The Astros complete sweep of Expos with 15-0 blowout. Page Bl Scientists fitted Weddeii seals with a buoyant foot- long camera during a three month study of their hunting habits. (Photo by Shane Collier, Texas University at Galveston) SURVIVING IN A CHEMICAL WORLD: The story of a true environmental hero. Page A3 APRIL 27,1998 Vol. 156, No.

17 NATION: Warnings were ignored before a 14-year-old boy killed a teacher and wounded three others. Page A7 Seal's-eye view: Camera provides unusual perspective By STEVE MAYO The Daily News GALVESTON Imagine a lion hunting its prey while holding its breath. As far fetched as that may sound, that's exactly what the Weddell seal in the South Pole does, said Randall Davis, a professor of marine biology at Texas University at Galveston. Davis was part of a team of scientists that spent 10 weeks in the South Pole studying the seal's swimming performance and hunting habits. The team studied the seal by mounting a buoyant, foot-long camera and recorder with a self- contained LED (light emitting diodes) source on the seal's back to Children get a lesson in archaeology at Ashton Villa from Texas Anderson, who spent about three months digging in the lawn of the historic mansion in 1980 and 1981.

TEXAS: Amnesia may have been prompted by family stress Some experts say Kirk Walter's memory loss could be traced to his tangled family history: he married his stepmother. Walter left his wife and well-paying job Texas and turned up months later in Florida suffering from amnesia. Walter said he woke up a year ago in a train station fl in Connecticut not knowing jNspt? who he was. EXTRAS Employees wHS work for food CONCORD, N.H. About 500 sheep from Montana have been brought in by New Hampshire's largest electric utility to chow down on overgrown vegetation on a power line right-of-way.

The idea is to avoid using herbicides and cut down on the use of work crews to clear the way for Public Service Company of New Hampshire. "it's not a silver bullet, but we have hopes it could be a successful tool in our overall approach," said Dick Henry, a former sheep farmer and Audubon Society president. The flock arrived last week. The animals are staying at a University of New Hampshire farm until they take to the fields in late May or June. They will have a 13-mile stretch to handle when they do.

"The sheep are naturally selective," utility spokesman martin Murray said. "They go first to what they like to eat, and fortunately for us, much of what they like to eat are the problem species that we're trying to get rid of." Tne Associated Press We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information we report, and it is our policy to correct errors promptly. Readers may bring mistakes to our attention by telephone at (409) 744-3611 or (800) 561-3611 or by fax at (409) 740-3421. The Galveston County Daily News Looking for answers Terry Singeltary Sr. holds a picture of his mother, Barbara Poulter, who died on Dec.

14 at the age of 63. After her death, Pouiter was diagnosed with Heidenhain variant Creutzfeldt- Jakob disease. (Photo by David Doernland) Man says mother died of mad cow disease Barbara Poulter died Dec. 14 at her home in Crystal Beach. As stated in the report of her autopsy, the cause of death was Creutzfeldt- Jakob Disease, Heidenhain variant, a rare fatal brain disease.

By CAROL CHRISTIAN The Daily News BACLIFF After seeing his mother's tortured death in December, Terry Singeltary became convinced his mother died of the human form of mad cow disease. Since then, Singeltary, 44, has been trying to persuade health officials that bovine spongiform encephalopathy the mad cow disease that hit England in 1986 also exists in the United States. mother, Barbara Poulter, died Dec. 14 at her home in Crystal Beach. As stated in the report of her autopsy performed at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, the cause of death was Creutzfeldt- Jakob Disease, Heidenhain variant.

is a rare, fatal brain disease that can be diagnosed officially only after examination of the brain tissue. Its symptoms can include progressive dementia, severe jerking (called myoclonus in medical terminology) and gradual loss of function to the point of No proven link between mad cow disease and CJD Between November 1986 and November 1997 in Great Britain, nearly 170,000 cases of mad cow disease were confirmed among more than 34,000 herds, according to information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. So far, the disease has not been detected in U.S. cattle.

Cows that come down with bovine. spongiform encephalopathy the disease that leaves their brains fuli death. New variant A new variant of the disease has killed more than 20 people in England i See All record its behavior. The team included scientists from Texas University at Galveston. University of Texas and University of California.

Davis has been working on a camera pack since 1986. By studying the seal, scientists See SEAL A12 GALVESTON A TAMUG marine biologist was part of a team of scientists that studied seals in the South Pole. Leak forces 50,000 to head indoors Chemical release at Amoco produces cloud, irritates eyes By STEVE MAYO The Daily News TEXAS CITY About 50,000 residents of Texas City and Dickinson were urged to remain indoors for more than an hour Sunday morning after an accidental chemical release from an Amoco gasoline plant. Residents of both cities were asked to close their windows, turn off air conditioners and keep phone lines open during the alert, which went out around 11 a.m._and__ lasted nearly an hour. No serious injuries were reported from the cloud that resulted from tib.e release.

Some residents complained of irritated eyes. Company spokesman Andrew Van Chau said a mixture of a catalyst and gas oil was released for about 15 minutes after the No. 3 catalytic cracking unit had a malfunction. The cracking unit turns heavy crude oil into a multitude of products, including gasoline and kerosene. Van Chau said investigators would be take a closer look today at what happened.

"Basically, a lot of what took place was taking precautionary measures," he said. "If people come in contact with the chemical, they can wash it off with soap and water." Van Chau said an industrial hygienist at Amoco Oil Co. said the release was a short one, which meant people had a small amount of exposure to the chemical. The Texas City Fire Department sounded an alarm around 10:45 a.m. notifying the city of the re- A mixture of a catalyst and gas oil was released for about 15 minutes after the No.

3 catalytic cracking unit had a "The cracking unit turns heavy crude oil into a multitude of products which include gasoline and kerosene. See A12 Am wants to make sure all grou Joe Ard Jr. owns the Joe Ard Entertainment Center on 53rd Street. By MARTY SCHLADEN The Daily News GALVESTON To Joe Ard winning the election for mayor Saturday is not his prime object in running. Rather, it is to make sure that all points of view are represented in the race.

"I feel that there's great imbalance here," Ard, 42, said last week. There must be proper representation." As he sat in his business, Joe The Daily News this week offers profiles of Galveston's four mayoral candidates: Today: Joe Ard Jr. 9 Tuesday: Henry Freudenburg Wednesday: Roger Quiroga Thursday: Fred Wichlep Ard Entertainment Center at the north end of 53rd Street, Ard talked last week about what he thought was lacking in city government. He said it was exempli- fied in the way- Beach Party Weekend was handled. Starting on Friday night, DPS officers lined the Gulf Freeway between Houston and Galveston.

They said their increased visibility made the Beach Party crowd, mostly young, African-American adults, more Ard manageable. To Ard, it was the wrong approach. This is not Johannesburg," he said. "If you have a tourist town, you can't make people feel unwanted." City officials who made traffic and security plans for the event also said visitors were not interested in attending events; they just wanted to cruise the seawall. That assertion was demon- See A12 Weather Mostly cloudy with a 20-percent chance of showers.

Highs near 80. Tonight, mostly cloudy with a 30-percent chance of showers. Lows in the mid-60s. GALVESTON BAY Southeast wind near 15 knots and gusty. Bay waters slightly choppy to choppy.

Widely scattered showers. Beach water 70 degrees. See Weather, Page A2. Pick of the Day Texas Lottery On the Web. index "Ally McBeal" i 8 p.m.

KRIV. Ally McBeai seeks counsel from "The Practice's" Bobby, Eugene, Lindsay and Ellenor on a complex criminal case. No tickets correctly matched Saturday's Lotto Texas drawing: 2-6-7-17-3346. Wednesday's drawing will be for a jackpot worth an estimated $17 million. Read The Daily News on the 3 World Wide Web at Get the latest headlines and scores, or chat with your neighbors on the Internet! Classified 85-12 Comics B4 Crossword A9 Movies B3 Obituaries A4 Opinion A10 Sports Bl-3 Television AS.