y$y-: :
, 'A; .v w v .V.'.’,— . • * •
IWENTY-ONE INMATES OF THE ELLIS PRISON unit near Huntsville are enrolled in
ihe heavy equipment school here at A&M. They are currently building- a 13 mile levee
m the unit under the direction of A&M and planning- by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Pictured are, A1 Jones, chief instructor of the school, and (from left) James Koonce,
Hickey McCook and Thomas Oliver, inmates.
Heavy equipment school
leaching convicts a trade
A select group of inmates at
the Texas Department of Cor
rections’ maximum security Ellis
Unit are using heavy equipment
(o build a free world future.
Four days each week they leave
Ihe double fence prison complex,
iravel through sprawling farm
land and climb aboard powerful
earth moving machines to attack
nature.
The inmates, under TDC super
vision, are constructing a 13-mile
levee to protect thousands of
acres of Ellis Unit farm land,
threatened by flooding from the
Trinity River when Lake Livings
ton fills.
Two crews are currently work
ing the levee.
One has 21 men enrolled in a
training program conducted by
the Heavy Equipment Operators
Training School at A&M through
a Texas Criminal Justice Council
grant made available to TDC.
The other crew has inmates
who either came to the prison
system with a heavy equipment
skill or were trained during a
similar school at A&M last year.
A1 Jones, chief instructor for
the A&M program, said the 19
inmates and two TDC guards in
his school will complete 9,500 feet
of levee by the time the program
tnds next Friday.
Jones estimated the men will
move 90,000 yards of dirt. The
average fill is 6% feet with three-
to-one slopes.
The students also dug four
oulverts, assisted in the laying
of culvert pipe and built the exca
vation ditch along side the levee.
“We’ve done exceptional
ly well,” Jones declared.
He noted the inmates work
four 10-hour days a week, from
la.m. until 5:30 p.m.
A&M instructors Bill Lofgren,
George Berry, J. C. Humphries
and Jesse Ladd travel to Hunts
ville every Monday and stay un
till Thursday afternoon, giving
the inmates on-the-job training.
Robert Gilliam, TDC director of
vocational education, said the
program is an attempt to train
a prison market.
He said most of the inmates
had no skills. All are trustees
with a number of years to serve
before being considered for pa
role.
The unexpected happened, how
ever, when one class member was
released last week.
Gilliam, at 29 one of the young
est corrections vocational direc
tors in the nation, explained the
inmates “are receiving an excel
lent opportunity to learn a trade.”
Although two guards are in
cluded in the class, there is no
armed supervision and the guards
are often separated from the in
mates during the work process.
Gilliam disclosed 356 inmates
from throughout the system ap
plied for the training and the
19 were selected after careful
screening.
The students range in age from
25 to 55 years old. Gilliam said
they draw trusty time, getting
two days credit for each day as
trustees.
“They receive no special privi
leges,” he added.
When training is completed,
most of the class will be assigned
to heavy equipment jobs through
out the TDC system. Several will
stay at the 1,500-man Ellis unit
to work on the levee job, expected
to take at least another year to
complete.
Gilliam said he anticipates two
more heavy equipment training
programs for short-term inmates
and conducted by A&M.
Last October 15 inmates and
two guards completed the course
at A&M and six of the class have
been released.
“We have very high morale
from the men who take this
vocational course,” Gilliam ob
served. “It is one of the main
conversation topics in the cell
blocks.”
Jones predicted future classes
will follow the current training
with A&M bringing the equip
ment school to the inmates.
He said the main advantage
is the men see their work and
take pride in building something
constructive.
Six weeks of the 15-week pro
gram were spent at the Heavy
Equipment Training School on
the A&M campus.
The group moved to Ellis, 12
miles east of Huntsville on the
Old Riverside Road, on July 17.
A&M transported its equipment
to the site, along with the five
instructors.
Jones explained the river pre
sents no danger except at flood
level, when a major portion of
the cultivated farm land is
threatened.
The levee will protect the cot
ton, sugar cane, grain and garden
crops, and cattle will be grazed
outside under normal conditions.
Plans were drawn under U. S.
Army Corps of Engineers super
vision and initial construction
began in January, 1970.
Inmates and TDC staff are the
labor force, with inmates also
involved in engineering and field
survey.
TDC received federal grants
for its equipment used on the
levee project. A&M is paid
through Texas Criminal Justice
Council money received by the
state from federal Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act
funding.
The Criminal Justice Council
funds are made available through
the office of the governor.
Oilers cut Naponic
HOUSTON <A>) — Rookie quar
terback Bob Naponic of Illinois
was among four men cut Tues
day as the Houston Oilers re
duced their roster to 40 players.
Also cut were defensive end
Charles Blossom from Texas
Southern and running back Bill
Dusenbery from J. C. Smith Col
lege, both rookies, and second
year wide receiver Paul Zaeske
from North Park College.
1970
TOYOTA
$1830.00
GROUP FLIGHT
LSU-TEXAS A&M
FOOTBALL GAME
ONLY 34.70
ROUND TRIP FROM HOUSTON
• Leave Houston September 19
at 2:00 p. m.
• Leave Baton Rouge September 20
at 8:30 a. m.
• Arrive Houston September 20
at 9:08 a. m.
Special hotel reservations and transportation available
Bonded ASTA Agent
MAKE RESERVATIONS AT
MSC LOBBY — 846-3773
BRAZOS
VALLEY
TOYOTA
INC.
We Service All Foreign
Make Cars
Cavitt at Coulter
Phone 822-2828
ATTEND FREE
*rPTll
You’ll Increase Your
Reading Speed
On The Spot!
For The 1st Time Ever...
♦ ♦
World Famous Evelyn Wood
Reading Dynamics offers you
a free glimpse of what it’s like
to be able to read and study
much faster .
• You’ll actually be taught how
to read and study faster during
the exciting Speed- Reading
Lesson.
We want you to decide for your
self the value of becoming a
Speed-Reader, Evelyn Wood
style.
For the first time we are offering
a Special Speed- Reading Les
son to provide you with a
glimpse of what it’s like to be
able to read and study -almost
as fast as you can turn pages
and you’ll actually
participate in the techniques
that will improve your reading
and study speed on the spot!
• You’ll see why President
Kennedy invited Evelyn Wood
to the White House to teach
his advisors and the Joint
Chiefs of Staff how to read
faster.
You’ll hear what the faculty
members of one of America’s
foremost colleges says about
Evelyn Wood, and watch them
read-fast!
You’ll find this Special Free of
fer of increased reading speed
to be an exciting and unusual
experience.
I
f LAST DAY 1
1 TODAY 1
L
RAM AD A INN
ADJOINING THE A&M CAMPUS
1
J
3:00 PM. 5:30 PM
8:00 PM
SvetytTVood READING DYNAMICS
.1