Economic development patterns
around Millican still uncertain
THE BATTALION Page 5
WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 1975
The location of the proposed M il-
lican Reservoir near a fast-growing
metropolitan area is bound to give
quick rise to residential, commer
cial and industrial development.
However, any clues as to the
types of prospective developments
are clouded by the uncertainty of
the project itself.
R. P. Trant and his son, Harold,
own 3,000 acres of land which, if the
reservoir were built, would be con
tained on a large peninsula of land
jutting into the reservoir, south of
Highway 30 and east of the Navasota
River.
It would be a choice development
site.
A year ago, the Trants placed the
acreage on the market. The asking
price—$3.5 million. Trants recalls
that a few people who called them
selves “investors ’ came by to look it
over. H. L. Hunt even fooled with it
awhile, Trant said, “like a fish nibbl
ing on bait. ”
But no one took the bait, not
wishing to risk their money on a
project “in the works.”
One or two others have been purr
chasing large tracts along the vari
ous peninsulas which would be
above the lake’s flood level. They
are holding onto these lands as in
vestments, using them as ranches or
deer leases, hopefully waiting for
the day when they can turn those
acres into a “Whispering Oaks ’ or a
“Lakeview Estates.”
W. L. Churchwell owns several
thousand acres in the same region as
the Trants. He says he would rather
remain a rancher and landowner of
deer leases. “But you can’t stand in
the way of progress. There’s laws
against it.
“If they build it I’ll live with it,’
he said, musing on the possibilities
of hiring a real estate agent to
handle his land holdings when that
time comes.
When the Army Corps of En
gineers builds a reservoir they also
buy up land around the shoreline as
a “buffer zone” against develop
ment.
In the case of Millican, a
minimum of 300 feet will be purch
ased back from the flood control
water level (234 feet above sea
level.)
The Chambers of Commerce of
Bryan-College Station and Navasota
have strongly supported the Milli
can project because of the estimated
economic benefits for their com
munities.
Interviews conducted for a Re
servoir Impact Study published by
the Texas Water Resources Insti
tute indicated that the “Chamber
was the most important organiza
tional influence in maintaining and
showing local support’ for dam pro
jects. In each case, the Chamber
was the organ through which de
termined leadership acted,” the
study pointed out.
The study also indicated that
drive-in groceries, gas stations, re
staurants and motels would be
among the commercial develop
ments springing up around the re
servoirs. Most of these would be
recreational-related.
Increased law enforcement, sani
tation, school facilities, and im-
More than 2,000 graduate
in weekend ceremonies
More than 2,000 students will re
ceive degrees at Texas A&M Uni
versity in dual commencement
ceremonies Friday evening and
Saturday morning.
Registrar Robert A. Lacey said
the list of degree candidates is still
tentative but could total nearly
2,100. It will mark the first time
Texas A&M has had a graduating
class exceed 2,000. The current re
cord of 1,961 was set last spring.
Approximately 130 of the
graduating seniors will receive
military commissions, with all four
branches of the service rep
resented.
Dallas banker and businessman
James W. Aston and Dr. J. Boyd
Page, president of the Council of
Graduate Schools in the United
States, will share commencement
speaker honors, and Lt. Gen.
Samuel Jaskilka, the Marine Corps’
deputy chief of staff for manpower,
will be the commissioning speaker.
Page, a former graduate dean at
TAMU, will address doctoral and
master’s degree recipients and a
portion of the undergraduate de
gree recipients at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Aston, a 1933 TAMU graduate and
recipient of its Distinguished
Alumni Award, will speak at the
university’s traditional exercises for
the majority of the undergraduate
degree recipients at 9 a.m. Satur
day. Both ceremonies will be in G.
Rollie White Coliseum.
The commissioning ceremonies
will be at 1:30 p.m., also in the col
iseum, followed by the Corps of
Cadets' Final Review at 3:30 p.m.,
on the main drill field.
In addition to graduate degree
recipients, the Friday ceremonies
will be for recipients of under
graduate degrees earned through
the Colleges of Architecture and
Environmental Design, Education,
Liberal Arts, Science and Veteri
nary Medicine. The Saturday cere
monies will include the Colleges of
Agriculture, Engineering, Business
Administration, Geosciences and
Moody College of Marine Sciences
and Maritime Resources.
Aston is chairman of the board
and chief executive officer of the
Republic of Texas Coiporation and
vice chairman of the board of Re
public National Bank of Dallas. He
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has been associated with the bank
30 years and served as its president
from 1957 until 1965 and chief ex
ecutive officer from 1961 until 1974.
He is a member of several other
boards, including the board of gov
ernors for Southern Methodist Uni
versity.
In addition to receiving “Disting
uished Alumni” designation, Aston
was inducted into the Texas A&M
Athletic Hall of Fame in 1968 and
had previously been named to
Sports Illustrated’s Silver Anniver
sary All-American Football Team.
He was captain and fullback of the
A&M football team his senior year.
He served as president of TAMU’s
Association of Former Students in
1961 and will have one of the
university’s new dormitories named
in his honor.
Dr. Page, who directs activities
for the Council of Graduate Schools
from his Washington offices, was
dean of TAMU’s graduate School
from 1956 until 1960. He had addi
tional responsibilities the last three
years as dean of the college, a posi
tion similar to vice president for
academic affairs. He served as
graduate dean and vice president
for research at Iowa State before ac
cepting the Council of Graduate
Schools position in 1970. He earned
his B.S. degree at Brigham Young,
master’s at the University of Mis
souri and Ph.D. at Ohio State.
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proved roads are among the needs
brought about by the increased de
velopment. These costs in the case
of Millican would be borne by
county taxpayers.
Many of the residents living miles
away from the proposed Millican
Reservoir said they thought their
local communities would benefit
from the increased development ac
companying the lake.
“Land prices have escalated from
$100 to $750 an acre around here
the past few years, one longtime
resident of the Millican community
said.
If the reservoir were built, he
said, the economy of the area might
pick up.
As for the pressures from en
croaching development and conse
quently, increasing population, he
said: “This is a knit and tight com
munity and we re not going to let
those problems happen. It’d (Milli
can) be six or seven miles down the
road and won’t bother us a whole
lot.
The reservoir’s large water sup
ply could attract industries to the
area, members of the Chamber of
Commerce say. While there will be
no hydroelectric power generating
facilities connected to the dam,
there is the possibility of a power
plant located along the southern
portion of the reservoir, fueled by
lignite.
Lignite deposits found in Millican Dam area
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