New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung from New Braunfels, Texas • Page 1

Candidates raise fuMs governor's election AUSTEN (AP) Statewide candidates have decried the cost of campaigning, but in the meantime the political money has been flowing, according to reports filed with the secretary of state's office, See Page 5A Strong nucleus, bench should propel Rangers After being denied a playoff berth for the first time in three seasons last year, the 1990 Smithson Valley soccer teams hopes to get back into the fray with six returning starters and a strong bench. See Page 9A Stir-fry dishes add authenticity to fun It's easy to join in on the Chinese New Year celebration by planning a feast for friends and family in honor of the Year of the Morse. La Choy home economists recommend a trio of stir-fry dishes for the menu. See Page 1B New Braunfels 410 M009 SO-WEST MICROPUBLI SHI NG 2627 YAMDELL PR EL PASO, TX 79903 Wednesday Vol. 138, No.

48 707 Landa New Braunfels, Texas 78130 (USPS 377- ieituna 377-880) 512-625-9144 January 17, 1990 25 Cents Two Sections, 20 Pages icials -ing students Program arms young students to make wiser choices ByDANAOVERSTREET City Editor School, city and law enforcement officials are banking on a new program to help them take a pro-active approach to fighting drug and alcohol abuse in the community. Armed With information about the growing drug and alcohol abuse problem in New Braunfels and Comal County, fifth-grade students soon 'will become better educated about the substances and be able to make wiser choices regarding their use. Pooling resources to help youngsters gather knowledge are the Comal and New Braunfels school, districts, New Braunfels Police Department, City of New Braunfels and Safe City Commission. To goal, the DARE Abuse Austin, Houston and San Antonio. "This doesn't just teach the kids to 'say no," Fitsko'said, "it gives diem some ways to say no." DARE is a education designed to elementary school children with 'skills to resist peer pressure to experiment, with tobacco 1 drugs and alcohol.

DARE lessons Focus on four areas providing accurate information about tobacco, alcohol 'and drugs; teaching students decision-making skills; showing' students how to resist peer pressure; and, giving students ideas for alternatives to drug use. DARE offers a highly: structured, intensive cumculiirrf dev'e-' loped by health'education specialists. A basic precept of the program is that elementary school children lack sufficient social Resistance Education)' will be skills peeir pressure'arid i em ented me schools for the say no to instructors' do not use scare tactics, with the children to raise their self-' esteem, teach 'them-how to make their, own decisions, 'Kelp td', i 1990-91 school year. The DARE program was founded in Los Angeles in' 1983 by the police department and school dis- trict said Mike Fitsko, decided drug-and is 1 not it's a munity problem;" he said. term no'tat The program has spread quickly quick cure-all." and Texas cities involved include see DARE, Page 2A- lighting Board Presi- r-denf'Ga'rter Cristeel and New Braunfels Doug Millen (Photo Desmond Bostick) Dlice arrest rape suspect New Braunfels Police detectives and officers charged a suspect Tuesday in the weekend kidnapping and rape of a local woman.

Kirk Wayne McBride, 28, of Lori Lane in New Braunfels, was arrested for aggravated sexual assault 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at a local fast food restaurant by New Braunfels police. New Braunfels Police report that McBridc was arrested in connection with a kidnapping and sexual assault which occurred Sunday approximately 1:30 a.m. According to police reports, the victim, a 37-year-old New Braunfels resident, was at a party with a group of friends. When she announced she was leaving, McBride allegedly asked for a ride home, stating that he lived nearby.

The victim followed the directions provided by the assailant until she realized she was going in circles. She was then instructed to pull into a driveway where McBride reportedly then pulled a knife. In a struggle, the victim was cut on the left hand. The victim was forced to undress and McBride allegedly tried, but failed, to assault her in the front yard of an unknown residence. The victim was then told to get dressed and get into the car.

As she was getting back See ARREST, Page 2A Agency Good Day approves refunds scores NBISD trustees approve plan to bring students up to level Eleventh-grade TEAMS tests show a 2-percent drop in English langauge mastery at New Braunfels schools and a 9-percent drop in math since last year. The information was presented to New Braunfels 1SD trustees during a regular meeting Tuesday night. Trustees also heard a report on scholastic aptitude tests, agreed on land aquisition, reviewed a lengthy policy update and reviewed an even more lengthy agreement to purchase a copy machine. Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Mike Fitsko, Secondary Education Director Anita Stipneiks and Superintendent Charles Bradberry said immediate changes will be (implemented to increase the Texas Education Assessment of Minimum Skills scores. Last year, New Braunfels students were placed in TEAMS preparation classes which maintained TEAMS levels of the previous year.

Stipneiks said those classes will be re- implemented. "We thought we could do without them and we found out otherwise," Stipneiks said. Mike Fitsko said, "We were disappointed in the math scores so have taken every one of those (students) who didn't master the skills and put them in remediation." He said the students either will be in TEAMS preparation classes or in math tutorial classes. The school board authorized implementation of tutorials at the beginning of this year to give students and teachers a chance to work one-on-one and to "catch up" on unmastered skills. House Bill 72 requires tutorials for every student who is failing but New Braunfels High School has the program available for everybody, Fitsko said.

However, in assessing Preliminary and non- preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Tests, New Braunfels students "performed at significantly higher levels than their Texas and national counterparts," said Stipneiks. Since 1988 and 1989 school years, New Braunfels students show increases of up to 3.0 percent over state levels in both years. Prior to those years, New Braunfels students varied from 1 to 1.1 percent above and 1.8 percent below state averages. See NBISD, Page 2A From staff and wire reports AUSTIN The Texas Public Utility Commission on Tuesday approved a proposal by the Lower Colorado River Authority to refund about 10 percent of December's electric power bill to its 44 wholesale customers. The $2.9 million refund was proposed in response to unanticipated excess revenue earned during the prc- Chrisimas cold snap.

The PUC could look at the issue again if the LCRA files a rate case this year. LCRA's wholesale customers, including 33 cities and 11 electric cooperatives, will decide how the refunds will be passed on to their 310,000 residential and 42,000 commercial users in a 41-county area of central Texas. New Braunfels Utilities and Pedernales Electric Cooperative are among the wholesale customers of LCRA which will be receiving the Earlier, NBU General Manager Bob Sohn said LCRA will be refunding the excess revenues on a pro-rata See REFUNDS, Page 2A Luce lists state priorities in bid for GOP nomination ByJOEKINCHELOE Steff Writer Dallas lawyer Tom Luce said education, drugs and jobs are at. the top of his list in his quest for the Republican nomination for governor. He, said he doesn't agree with the theory that cuts in vocational spending are responsible for an increase in high school dropouts.

"I don't buy that," Luce said in New Braunfels this morning, "What we are doing by warehousing kids in the sixth- and seventkgrade vocational programs is preparing them for unemployment. We need to teach kids how to think. "Many of the kids today can't write a letter to someone asking for a job," Luce said. He said the state needs to spend more in elementary education and revamp the school finance system. "I think simply throwing more money at the same old system will end up with the same old results," Luce said, "I want to scrap the old school finance system." Luce wants to implement what he calls the ABC education plan for Texas which recommends: Adoption of 10-year plan to create a first-class Texas Public Education system.

"Texas is teetering on being the Mississippi of the 21st LUCE, Page 2A Trade deficit hits $10.5 billion WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. trade deficit widened in November to $10.5 billion, its worst showing in 11 months, the government reported today. lie Commerce Peparsneni said that wnile imports declined by $593 maiion to $40,69 billion, U.S. exports dropped a larger $843 million to $3049 biUipn. The trade deficit is the difference between imports and exports.

government blamed much of the setback on the Boeing aircraft strike, which severely cut into exports of expensive commercial airliners. But private analysts were still disheartened by the deficit figure. Many had been lopking for a slight improvement Mowing a sharp deterioriation in October. The October trade deficit totaled $10.25 billion. Both October and November represfntsd the worst performance since a $10.8 billion deficit in December 1988.

Fosr jhe first 11 monihs of 1989, trade deficit ran at an annual rate of $111 billion, compared with a deficit of $118.53 billion wall of 1988. Many economists believe that America's trade deficit will increase in 1990, reversing a two-year trend of improvements. This is an unsettling forecast for the Bush administration, which is counting on continued growth in exports to bolster the U.S. economy and dampen demands in Congress for protectionist trade legislation. The 2.7 percent drop in U.S.

exports left ihem at their lowest level since last March. DEFICIT, 2A delivered by freed victim accept victory leaders of cartels 19 and end drug A chance for showers and thun- dcrshowcrs continues today and Thursday. The high temperature today will be 76 degrees with the low of 59 degrees. Thursday's high will be 73 and the low will be 52. Temperatures will cool down Friday as a cool front moves through the area.

Highs for the weekend will be in the 50s and 60s and lows will be in the 30s and 40s. Inside: CLASSIFIED 5-7B COMICS 48 CROSSWORD DEAR ABBY 3B EDUCATION 12A ENTERTAINMENT 3B HOROSCOPE 4B KALEIDOSCOPE 1-5B OPINIONS 4A SPORTS 9-11A TV LISTINGS 4B WEATHER 2A Stammtisch Fasten your seat belts, if you plan to attend this year's Dinner with the Arts. The Greater New Braunfels Arts Council plans to take all its patrons on an international tour Sunday at the Civic Center. The theme for its 10th annual celebration, of the arts is Around the World in 80 Minutes. Taking dinner guests with him will be Bob Byxbee, portraying a Jackie Gleason-Poor Soul type who wins a world vacation through a sweepstakes.

He meets Rosy Los Muchachos and the Ballet Folklorico Infamil in Mexico; Shawn Hardce tenor-ing and David Owens playing an Irish jig in Ireland; A Cockney cleaning lady in the person of Cathy Houde and Toby Skroder's Renaissance Dancers in England; and Carisa Miller playing a cabaret singer and Joan Slocum's Can-Can Dancers in France. After taking a breath, the Poor Soul heads for Germany where he's entertained by the German Folkdancers, then off to Russia where Mary Beth Smith sings about her "Meilinki Meilchick." In China, he meet Laurel Hanz playing her Gu Zheng, then he tries to keep up with a belly dancer in Greece (behind the veil is Pam McConnell). Next, in Italy he runs into Mary Beth Smith again, this time begging him to "Come Back to Sorrento." Instead, he hurries home to the USA in time to meet The Inner Circle as high school students on their first day back to school in Chinese Firedrill. Catering is being done by Clear Springs Catering, serving between 5:45 and 6:45 p.m. Accompanying dessert will be the Community Chorale, under the direction of See STAMMTISCH, 2B.