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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 1966)
THE BATTALION Thursday, August 18, 1966 College Station, Texas Page 7 Physical Plant Department Men Receive Unusual Requests Texas A&M janitors daily sweep an area equivalent to 41 football fields. That’s just one of numerous responsibilities of the Physical Plant Department. The department, directed by retired Army Col. Walter H. Par sons Jr., employs 600 persons to operate, maintain, expand, plan and construct physical facilities of the university. In addition, they are called on to fetch mon keys out of trees and control electrical current for complex equipment to within one-quarter cycle. Six-hundred buildings with floor space equivalent to 70 foot ball fields are maintained by the recently reorganized department. The figure will rise with several buildings under construction due occupancy within the year. The man responsible for A&M’s $100 million campus is kin of the difficult. While an active Army engineer officer, he organized and directed construc tion of an oil refinery and 1,000 miles of pipeline in Yukon, Can ada. Parsons emphasizes that orga nization is the key to mainten ance, repair and upkeep of build ings, streets, utilities systems, grounds equipment and furnish ings. Apparatus and equipment fabrication, improvements, reno vation and major repairs to exist ing structures are also depart ment responsibilities. Sections under five assistants to Parsons include landscape de sign, carpenter, electrical and plumbing shops, the modern A&M utilities plant, fire station and transportation and custodial services. The staff includes engineers, architects, technicians and a, large number of associates with skills in a wide band of activities. Deficiencies are phoned to a work order clerk, or reported by custodial personnel. Clerks noti fy the proper section, which schedules repairs. “We put out the fire, and find out why it started to stop it elsewhere,” the wiry structural architecture engineer remarked. Organizational lines drawn up in the department last fall and approved by President Earl Rud der in February lend to planning and management. Parsons’ military background shows in the chart, however. The 59-year-old director keep orga nization flexible to fit the job, rather than making a job fit into the system. “We get a lot of weird re quests,” the 1930 A&M gradu ate smiled. “We invariably get all requests, unusual or other wise, because people don’t know where else to take them.” A skunk under a building was removed by physical plant de partment personnel. A pet mon key escaped into a tree in south College Station. A&M’s fire de partment was called for assist ance. A new generator installed in the power plant was equipped with a frequency control gover nor. One-quarter cycle current regulation is required by Data Processing Center computers, Educational TV Center equip ment and the Electron Micro scope lab. “We’re investigating a new governor that will do a better job,” Parsons commented. Joining 43 air-conditioned build ings on campus will be one calling for unusual maintenance. The Space Research Center will have a dual air-conditioning sys tem, requiring maintenance and periodic operation of the standby. Department personnel don’t have to seek the unusual. Event ually, it comes to them. Most railroads and buses in the United States and Canada charge one fare for a blind per son traveling with a seeing at tendant. The price concession does not apply to a blind person traveling alone or witth a guide dog. 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K l a :, or . ,u., 89 ,49c MIXING BOWL SET.. 4 :X G ;“: 9 va,„e77c COFFEE FOLGER'S 1-Lb. Can LIMIT 1 WITH $2.50 PURCHASE OR MORE — Excluding Cigarettes. FROZEN FOOD SPECIALS CREAM PIES Moma 3 14 s S 89c ENCHILADA DINNERS^ 3 $1 FRITOS Crunchy 49^ Size 4 r ... Special xOC BARTLETT PEARS u,19c SANTA ROSA PLUMS 4 , ,. $1.00 TOMATOES Vine Ripe ■ b 23 A. F. BRAND ■ —COUPON— ■ 100 FREE S&H GREEN STAMPS With This Coupon And The Purchase Of $10.00 or More (LIMIT ONE PER PERSON) MUST BE ONE PURCHASE (Cigarettes Excluded) ^^Coupon Expires Aug. 20,1966. MELLORINE A F. Brand ICE MILK Gal. Ctns. PEAS CORN Del Monte Early Garden Del Monte — Golden Cream of W. Kernel Gal. Ctns. 303 Cans SHURFINE GRAPE JELLY 303 Cans 18-Oz. Jars $1oo 49 c $1oo $1oo $1oo ours We Give Green Stamns 2 CONVENIENT LOCATIONS Downtown Ridgecrest 200 E 24 Street 3516 Texas Ave