The Paris News from Paris, Texas • Page 1

Friday Kids send New Ranger president- Pg, 9A Update on war Pg. 14A Serving Northeast Texas Southeast Oklahoma Texans likely to see tax increase By Peggy Fikac Associated Press AUSTIN Texans are likely to face a "rather large" tax increase to pay for state services over the two years, Lt. Gov. Bob said. Gov.

Ann Richards refused to 'Speculate on the matter Thursday, iand House Speaker Gib Lewis the discussion premature. I "I don't see any way around possibility of not having a tax is very, very remote if Texas is going to move ahead in the future," jBullock said. Asked if the state can get by a tax increase, Richards "I have no idea, and I'm not to pre-guess it." Bullock's prediction came de- jspite a bill passed by the Legislature and signed by Richards to carve $139.5 million state spending and to audit jstate agencies to see if more money be saved. It was the first bill passed this session, and the first signed by the new governor. The state faces a projected budget shortfall billion through fiscal year 1993.

There is an estimated deficit this fiscal year of about $265 million, mostly in welfare that the budget-cutting bill will help cover. The rest of the immediate deficit could be made up through funds expected to be left in state coffers when the current fiscal year ends Aug. 31, lawmakers said. The bill includes about a 1 percent budget state agencies, with some exceptions, and the transfer of unspent funds from several accounts. It replaces a previous-proposal to freeze state spending.

Please see Tax, Pg. 5A FINISHING TOUCHES: Anthony Thomas, left, PHS sophomore, Mark Lindsey, PHS sophomore, and Phyllis Brumley, right, general construction trades aid, put the finishing touches on Photo by Shawn R. Johnson schoolhouses to be used as centerpieces for the second annual "I Love Paris" student talent showcase. I love Paris 5 showcase Feb. 11 Event will be Sn honor of Judge Braswell By Shawn R.

Johnson The Paris News Plans are coming together for the second annual "I Love Paris" student talent showcase, a fundraiser sponsored by the Paris Education Foundation. The event will honor Judge Henry Braswell of the Sixth District Court and will feature talent from the Paris Independent School District. "I Love Paris" will be held on Monday, Feb. 11, in the Thomas S. Justiss cafeteria.

"I think the event is coming together very well, largely be- cause of the hard work of lots of folks who give of their time unselfishly," said Sandra Strom, PEF executive director. "Ticket sales have obviously gone very well; we only have a few left and I feel certain that those will be sold by the day of the event. "I'm very enthusiastic about this program because it showcases the students, and that's who we're trying to serve in the Paris Education Foundation; the students. I can't say enough about the impressive nature of the program the Paris ISD offers our community. I think it's Love an opportunity for the entire community to see what the district offers." Ms.

Strom commended chairman Jim Bell for the hard work he's done for the event and Don McLaughlin for getting together the initial contribu- tion to the Henry Braswell endowment to be presented by the Lamar County Bar Association. Ms. Strom, said that 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. student displays, similar to those of last year's program, will be set up in the gym.

In addition, pre- dinner music will be provided by the PHS Blue Flame Jazz ensemble. Displays will include programs from special services, Ch. 1, vocational education, Pool and athletics. A new display this year is the Ch. 1 Outreach Library which supports the "I have a parent who reads to me" program.

Demonstrations of the TLTG (Texas Learning Technology Group) and Optical data programs will also be included. Please see Showcase, Pg. 5A Grand Ju indicts tri for burglary By Robert Slider The Paris News Two area men and a have been indicted by a Lamar County Grand Jury in connection with a December burglary of Belew's Hallmark in Paris. Though Public Information Officer Todd Varner, of the Paris Police Department, had previously said a warrant had been issued for a fourth person in connection with the burglary, only three people were indicted by the newly em- paneled grand jury. Benny Allen Fields, 17, Lincoln Ray Floyd, 19, and his wife, Victoria Gail Floyd, 18, were each indicted on a charge of burglary of a building stemming from the Dec.

8 break-in at Belew's Hallmark in Mirabeau Square Shopping Center. The total value of the items taken during the burglary was about $7,000. Varner, who also coordinates the Crime Stoppers program, said the trio were arrested and indicted following an anonymous call to the Lamar County Crime Stoppers hot line. The caller, whose information led to the arrests and indictments, will net $500 cash for the effort from Crime Stoppers and might get another $5,000 from the U.S. Postal Service.

The Postal Service became involved in the case when burglars stole about $3,000 in stamps and pre-stamped envelopes from the card shop, which happens to be a contracted postal substation. The Postal Service reward will Please see Indicted, Pg. 5A Patterson appointed to head ag committee AUSTIN Texas House Speaker Gib Lewis, D-Fort Worth, has announced that he has appointed Rep. Pete Patterson, D-Paris, to chair the House Committee on Agriculture and Livestock. Patterson has also been appointed to serve as a member of the Financial Institutions Committee.

"Rep. Patterson has the background and knowledge to play an important role in crafting the legis- Patterson lation that will be considered in these committees," Lewis said. "The committee system is the real backbone of the legislative process in the House. And the system works because of the dedication and hard work that Rep. Patterson and all the other members devote to their committee assignments," the Speaker said.

The Committee on Agriculture and Livestock has jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to agriculture, horticulture, farm husbandry and the livestock" industry. The Committee on Financial Institutions has jurisdiction over banking, savings and loan associations, credit union and the lending of money in Texas. Allies take 500 POWs at Khafji By The Associated Press RIYADH, Saudi than 500 Iraqis were taken prisoner in the allied recapture of the border town of Khafji, and some of the POWs are cooperating with U.S. and Saudi officials, the U.S. Army said today.

In a tense, sometimes hostile military briefing with reporters, Army Brig. Gen. Pat Stevens IV said he had little information on a report that a convoy of thousands of Iraqi forces was moving south toward the Saudi-Kuwait border. He said allied forces have de- stroyed 33 Iraqi tanks and 28 armored personnel carriers in the al-Wafra area west of Khafji in what he described only as "previous Iraqi probing attacks." Stevens also had no information on whether 11 Marines who died Tuesday night were accidentally killed in allied fire. "They died in action, under fire, and that's about all I can give you at this point," Stevens Marines are investigating the possibility that some of the 11 Marines may have been killed by a missile fired by a U.S.

warplane that struck a U.S. light armored vehicle. Stevens confirmed reports that an AC130-H gunship crashed behind Iraqi lines on Thursday and that all 14 aboard were reported missing. He interrupted his briefing to announce the new POW total in the fighting for Khafji, which fell into Iraqi hands late Tuesday and was recaptured by the allies Thursday. "At least in some cases these enemy prisoners of war have in cases been very willing to share in- 1RAQ 50km Iraqis cross frontier, met by U.S.

Marines formation with us," Stevens said without elaborating. Please see Allies, Pg. 5A By The Associated Press IN NORTHERN SAUDI ARABIA Iraqi armored units crossed the frontier north of Khafji again today and fought allied forces in tank and artillery duels. Iraqi tanks, meanwhile, crossed into Saudi Arabia about 50 miles west of Khafji overnight and were engaged by U.S. Marines.

At the Pentagon, a military source said coalition air forces were attacking "a significant enemy force that is attempting to mass itself north of the (Kuwait- Saudi) border." The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, provided no figures for the size of the Iraqi force. He said allied troops were firing at "armored vehicles from a significant enemy force." "They have kind of done what we were hoping they would even- Please see Iraqis, Pg. 5A New insect repellent helps U.S. military in Persian Gulf Lifestyle 3A Comics 8A 9A Classified 11A 4A Deaths 4A 6A 1 Weather i Tonight, fair with a low in the upper Saturday, partly cloudy with a high in 2- -i j- 1 4 -f ,1 By Kathleen Davis Trie Paris News COLLEGE STATION The U.S. military is squashing bug problems in the Persian Gulf war with double dose of insect control.

A lotion repellent and chemically treated uniforms are coupled for the first time in a war effort to protect soldiers in the campaign, according to Lt. Col. Tony Bosworth, medical entomology staff officer for the U.S. Army Health Services Command (HSC) in San Antonio. HSC, one of the Army's major commands, operates perhaps the largest military medical care system in the world.

"We were able to brief people before they went over there," Bosworth said. "Everyone deployable in the field gets some training against insects." Bosworth said insect control is vital in any military operation. "Aside from the biting and annoyance factors, insects and related pests can cause injury in many ways and these injuries can be lethal," he said. "One of the neatest things that has been developed is the new insect repellent," Bosworth said. The old repellent was 75 percent DEET, but the new is only 30 percent DEET, he explained.

DEET, the active ingredient used in many popular repellents used by U.S. consumers, could be used in smaller quantities because the lotion I'emains on the body longer than the liquid formula. The uniforms are sprayed on the outside with an approved in- sect repellent that will last through several washings. Insects that land on the treated uniforms die, the Army entomologist said. Providing information about likely desert insects and updating reservists for active duty was the responsibility of HSC, Bosworth noted.

"We are making sure that we are teaching things of relative importance for the how to live once there. That is an extremely important role," said Bosworth, who has been an Army entomologist since the late 1960s. Dr. Jimmy Olson, a medical entomologist at Texas University, agreed that infestations of bugs can hinder military operations. "From the military standpoint, the goal is to protect the troops from the direct and indirect effects of insects of medical importance," said Olson, a former Army entomologist.

"The medical personnel have to have the insecticides, repellents, vaccines and antibiotics needed to either prevent or treat such a situation," Olson noted. The Army calls on its 70 medical entomologists worldwide for data on protecting troops from insects, which can vary greatly in different regions, Bosworth explained. Sand flies, for example, have been a problem for troops in the Middle East, Bosworth said. "They are a biting insect, very small and inconspicuous. They frequently occur in arid conditions in rodent burrows and dwellings and they carry some diseases," the Army entomologist said.

"Al- though they bite more frequently in the evenings, they also will bite at other times under the right bunkers and such. "It's like telling a dog that its meal is at night when putting hamburger in front of it," Bosworth said. "You know what the dog will do." Olson added that in addition to sand flies, which carry microbes that cause fevers and leishmania- sis (skin-rottng disease), the troops are having to monitor other insects that carry diseases such as malaria as well as for "a plethora of other things such as fleas, lice and ticks." Flies can become a major problem in the desert, Olson said, in part because waste disposal is Please see Repellent, Pg. 5A.