Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • 1

Monday morning May 26, 1986 25 cents irtr Weather 50 percent chance of thunderstorms today. High, low 80s. Low, upper 60s. East wind to 10 mph. Details, A2.

Nation unites Ex-soldier held in sale of bombs Wife, 2nd man arrested at Round Rock home in handshake to elp needy 4. Americans reach out 4,152 miles to form human lifeline of support By Bob Dart Cox News Service Hands Across America E3 Austinites take part to help, join history Small farm community shows big spirit Homeless express doubts over newfound attention Page A 12 WASHINGTON Palm-to-palm, from sea to shining sea, millions of volunteers formed a human lifeline through cities and countryside Sunday as Hands Across America reached out to help the hungry and homeless. At the White House, President Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan clasped hands with children in commemorative T-shirts and joined a national chorus in singing We Are The World at 2 p.m. The human chain stretched across 16 states, including Texas, and the District of Columbia. It began near the Atlantic Ocean in New York City and ended by the Pacific in Long Beach, but there were also large gaps along its route.

Stretches of the Southwest were found to be too hot, too desolate and too sparsely populated to hold hands across. In some places, ropes, ribbons and strings of paper dolls took the place of people in the long line. "This is just the beginning," organizer Ken Kragen said in New York. "When today is over, roll up your sleeves and go out to work in your community. We have to move from the big event to the person on the street." Organizers had sought 5 million people to form the chain and to raise $50 million for the hungry and the homeless of America.

Based on estimates provided by regional organizers, at least 4.9 million people participated Sunday. "The important thing is there is a real consciousness being raised," said actress Shari Belafonte in Long By Joe Vargo American-Statesman Start Federal agents posing as Mexican terrorists arrested a retired Green Beret major living in Round Rock after he tried to sell them 18 explosive devices that one law officer said were each powerful enough to destroy a car. As the man was being arrested in San Antonio, officers raided his home in the Brushy Creek subdivision and arrested his wife and a former soldier who served under him. Those arrested were identified as James Albert Paxton, 43, who was arrested Saturday morning in a San Antonio shopping mall; Francis "Frankie" Paxton, 35; and Daniel Thomas Nicewander, 33, of Phoenix, Ariz. The Paxtons live at 602 Stoney Brook, said Robert Rowe, resident agent in charge of the San Antonio office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Rowe said the arrests culminated a monthlong investigation by federal agents. James Paxton was charged with 18 counts of possession, manufacture and sale of explosive devices. If convicted on ail charges, he faces 540 years in prison, Rowe said. Francis Paxton was charged with possession and sale of an explosive device. Her arrest stems from the sale of a pipe bomb May 6 to an undercover agent near the Paxton home, Rowe said.

Nicewander was charged with interstate transportation of explosives, Rowe said. Rowe said the investigation is continuing and that law officers have uncovered no ties between those arrested and any extremist organizations. James Paxton remained in the Bexar County Jail in San Antonio late Sunday. Francis Paxton and Nicewander were held in Austin City Jail. All three will be arraigned before a U.S.

Magistrate on Tuesday, Rowe said. Rowe said the devices in Paxton's possession "were more powerful than a hand grenade." "They were designed for use as car bombs. They had been made with a magnet to stick to gasoline tanks and such." Rowe said the devices, which he described as "very well-made," were easy to conceal and weighed about a pound. He said the devices consisted of a fuse, a fuse igniter and a blasting cap that was connected to a commercial explosive "just as powerful as dynamite." "Anytime you're dealing with explosives, you have to have a pretty good knowledge of how they work," Rowe said. "If you don't, you could See Explosives, A6 Beach, the western terminus.

"It's awesome. It's being a part of history." "I came to help the children who are hungry or need homes," said Raycela Lowery, 9, a fourth-grader at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in Washington, D.C. Wearing an oversized Hands Across America T-shirt that engulfed her tiny frame, Raycela said her class had been rehearsing the event's three songs for weeks. After the chain was formed, the participants all sang We Are the World, Hands Across America and America the Beautiful.

The event, which took months to coordi- See United, A12 Staff Photo by Mario Villafuerte The Dallas link in the nationwide chain of Hands Across America stretches along Main Street. Camaraderie pulses through as Texans join hands By Jim Phillips American-Statesman Staff ran down Main Street, past Tony Dorsett and Tony Bennett on its way to Arkansas. There were no reported problems, except keeping people out of streets. Corp. G.R.

Tate of the Dallas Police Department, after herding a group back across a yellow line in front of the Neiman-Marcus store, said, "They are a good bunch of people, but it seems like every-time one of them takes a step, they See Hands, A12 and tape, and organizers had acknowledged previously that they did not expect to cover every mile of the state. Ham radio operators estimated that 85 percent of the Texas route was filled, which would require about 700,000 people. Department of Public Safety troopers estimated there were more than 100,000 in the rural area between Fort Worth and Childress. There was no estimate of the numbers in Dallas, where the line week. "It was roaring success," said Patricia Dillingham, public relations director for the Texas office.

"It really has been a wonderful day. And in the last week we have an average of 5,000 calls just at this office, and we have five field offices" in Texas. "It kind of shows you what kind of people Americans are," she said. "I understand there were gaps, but they were minor gaps." The shorter gaps were filled with ribbon, rope and the last balloons wafted out of sight in downtown Dallas, volunteers and staff helpers began dancing, hugging each other and crying: "We did it, we did it. It's beautiful." After months in the making, the actual event took less than 15 minutes.

But sponsors of the fund-raising effort were confident they would reach their goal of at least $50 million to fight hunger and homelessness in America. Organizers said about $30 million had been raised or pledged by early last DALLAS An estimated 700,000 Texans formed a line through the state Sunday and sang to the world about hunger, homelessness and hope. Hands Across America did not cover all parts of the 650 miles it stretched through Texas, but participants were too enthusiastic to worry about a few gaps. As soon as the singing stopped Inside torm panic Leaders hope to unlock protected state funds Injured Cedar Park bowler recalls roof collapse in Tarrant By Mike Hailey American-Statesman Staff By Joe Vargo American-Statesman Staff Texas lawmakers, facing the prospect of a multibillion-dollar budget deficit in 1987, will consider a dramatic change in state financing a proposal to crack the protective coatings on some of the state's most sacred funds. The movement to free up "dedicated funds" is expected to evolve Coming Tuesday Rain delays Indy 500 The Indianapolis 500 will try again today after being delayed by rain.

Sports, D1 Denim and linen It's days of black denim and nights of black linen this summer. And Donatella Girombelli at Genny and James Galanos do it in style. Lifestyle, C1 Rockets, Celtics collide The Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics take the court today in an NBA championship series that promises plenty of surprises. Sports, D1 Bl Death of Big Spring baby raises storm toll to 3, Page B1 "We didn't think there would be anything left of our cars," Stepp said. "There was no warning whatsoever that the roof would come off, no creaking or swaying.

When it did, it looked like somebody punched an enormous hole in it." People dived to escape the falling roof. Smith said her husband grabbed her and they both jumped under a table. Her right hand was pinned between the roof and the table, she said. "The roof starting rolling toward us like a wave," Michelle Stepp said. "I didn't even have time to think.

The next thought I had was that my hand hurt." Stepp said she was trapped under the table for 90 minutes. To keep her calm, her husband told her over and over "that everything was going to be all right," Stepp said. She finally was freed when rescue workers removed a beam from the table. Stepp said she fainted en route to the hospital. Smith, who underwent a 90-minute operation Saturday and faces additional surgery, said she feels lucky.

"With all the people inside, I don't know how anyone wasn't killed. I can't think of any other word but miracle." Smith said she suffered damage to the tendons, muscles and arteries of her hand. She said she expects to be discharged from the hospital today. Smith, who bowls with her right hand, said her bowling average before she was injured was 138. She said she plans to continue bowling.

into one of the most volatile issues of the 70th Legislature, as forces led by education and highway lobbies throw up a wall of opposition. For lawmakers who consider higher taxes political heresy and want to balance the budget through cuts, there is a problem: $22.7 billion of the current $37.2 billion budget is dedicated by the Texas Constitution or state law, is "formula-driven," or is influenced by federal law. Leading the fight to "undedicate" funds is Houston state Rep. Mike Toomey, a freshman Republican who gained a reputation as a budget mastermind during the 1985 session. Toomey is chairman of a subcommittee of the House Approria-tions Committee, and Toomey's panel will focus on dedicated funds Thursday.

The next day, the House will convene for a briefing on state budget ills caused by low oil prices and the subsequent loss of tax revenue. With the drop in oil prices from $27 a barrel in late January to as low as $10 a barrel last month, state Comptroller Bob Bullock has warned that the state faces a $1.3 billion revenue shortfall for the current 1986 and 1987 budget cycle. He said the state could be more than $6 billion short of revenue needed to adopt a 1988-89 budget that grows at current rates. "There has to be a change made so that the Legislature's hands are free in times of economic crisis," 7 See Funds, A3 f- As Michelle Stepp lay trapped under debris from a demolished Fort Worth bowling alley, she knew the fingers of her right hand were seriously injured and there was nothing she could do but wait until rescue workers freed her. Panic began to set in.

"I could see my fingers and I could feel them," the 27-year-old Cedar Park resident said from her Fort Worth hospital bed Sunday. "I knew they were hurt pretty bad. I thought I was going to lose them. I was just asking people to please hurry, to please get me out." Stepp and her husband, Jerry Stepp, were among more than 300 persons in Don Carter's All-Star Bowling Lanes when hail, heavy rain and winds of 100 mph caused the roof to collapse Saturday night. Authorities said 14 persons including Stepp and two other Austin area residents were among the injured.

The other local victims, Harold Fosque of Austin and Tom Gebert of Pflugerville, were treated and discharged from Fort Worth hospitals. Stepp, a secretary for the Texas Medical Foundation, said she went to Fort Worth with her husband, who was participating in the Texas State Bowling Association tournament. Both she and her husband bowl in leagues in Austin. "When we got to the alley, it was cloudy and gray," Stepp said. "Then it started getting blacker and blacker.

Rain was coming down in sheets, and the wind was so strong the rain started coming through the doors." Before long, marble-size hail began falling, she said. 1 aV; Ann Landers C4 Entertainment Business F1-6 Horoscope C6 Classified E9-34 Jumble C6 Comics F7 Lifestyle C1-8 Crossword C6 Newsmakers A2 Dear Abby C3 Scholar and Scribe F8 Deaths B5 Sports D1-8 Editorials A10.11 TV Log C7 Combined editions Because of the Memorial Day holiday, the American-Statesman will combine the morning and afternoon editions. Regular publication will resume Tuesday. V-riWit'iniiirT-7- m.iig -iV Ready for battle Every year at the Chisholm Trail Roundup in Lockhart, more than 100 people dress up like cowboys, Indians, soldiers and farmers to recreate the 1840 Battle of Plum Creek. Onward "I'll do it left-handed," she said.

"I'll have a 10 average;".