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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 9, 1976)
Page 4 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1976 Warning, given Engine room steams A study by Texas A&M Univer sity researchers shows that a device warning truckers that their loads are, too high to go under the upcoming bridge is sometimes heeded and sometimes not. The object of the study was to see if the warnings affected normal traf fic flow and if it was heeded by those with oversized loads. Gene Ritch, systems analysis for 1 the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), said this was not generally a problem in Texas except for the Houston area. Sevei'al of the bridges truckers pass under to exit Central Houston are lower than 14 feet. Two bridges were damaged so badly by trucks smashing into them that both had to be replaced within a one-month period. Bridge tournament set Friday The Sixth Annual Aggieland Sec tional Bridge Tournament is plan ned for Friday, Saturday and Sun day in the Ramada Inn. The tournament will be con ducted by Unit 174 of the American Contract Bridge League under the direction of John “Spider” Harris of Houston. Over 400 people are expected to, play during the three day event with the majority of entries being from East Texas and several entries from other Texas areas and other states. Play will begin with the Madison- ville Pairs Win-an-Entry competi tion Friday at 3 p.m. Winners in this event will receive free entries to other events in the tournament. At 8:30 p.m. Friday, the Masters Pairs which is open to players with at least 20 master points, and Spe cial Pairs which is open to all entries will be held. Two sessions on Saturday will be given to Open Pairs competition. The qualifying round will begin at 1:30 p.m., with the finals and conso lation round being at 7:30 p.m. The consolation round will be open to new entries. A special Pajama Game for the night owls will be held both Friday and Saturday at midnight. Swiss Team competition, first session, will be at noon Sunday fol lowed by a second session at 5 p.m. A buffet will be served between sessions on Saturday and Sunday af ternoon. The local Brazos Duplicate Bridge Club is part of,the American Contract Bridge League which ex pects to make over $300,000 in charitable contributions this year. Included in these contributions are $130,000 to the Arthritis Founda tion under the slogan “the cure for Arthritis just might be in the cards’ and $40,000 ot the Kidney Founda tion. The ACBL is donating $10,000 in academic scholarships for the win ners of the bridge events in the ACUI tournaments. Since the char ity fund was established in 1964, the ACBL has donated over $1,500,000 to major national charities and over one million dollars to local charity efforts across the nation. Partnership chairman is Nick Pace. Players needing a partner mav contact Nick or Sheryl Pace at 779-2030. All local arrangements are under the direction of Jim Sea- bolf (846-9696). Eddie Dominguez ’66 Joe Arciniega ’74 Greg Price “Just about any oversized loadj generated in the central area will have to pass these lower bridges lo-, cated in IH-10, IH-45 and U.S. 59,” said Ritch. “The warning device is essentially a light beam that when broken turns on amber warning lights giving the trucker enough time to take an exit ramp and go around the bridge. “The study showed that normal traffic will brake momentarily but it didn’t change the overall speed of the traffic,” he added. “It also showed a tendency to overcount at night and during rain. “A steel deflection plate was also attached under the bridge and painted silver to show any marks where truckers with oversized loads ignored the warning and struck the bridges,’’Ritch continued. “It showed that some still did.’’ The study is sponsored by the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation and the Fed eral Highway Administration. It is also the subject of a report entitled “Evaluation of the High Load De tection and Warning System on IH 45 in Houston.” Double up, America. Two can ride cheaper Pff than one. If you have claustrophobia and can’t stand the heat, forget it. The engine room of the “Texas Clipper” is not for you. There are three students who shipped out with the training vessel last Sunday, however, who love it. In fact, they spend eight hours a day down there all summer tinkering with knobs, steam boilers and all the other mechanics that make the 15,000-ton ship run. Michael Baker of Houston and Rusty Rippetoe of Dallas are seniors, making their last cruise on the ship that is part of the program at Texas A&M’s Moody College of Marine Sciences and Maritime Re sources in Galveston. They, like Diana Cravey of Galveston, a sophomore, are marine engineering majors. Cravey is one of two female engineers aboard. The heat generated from the im mense steam boilers that run the ship is tremendous. Railings that follow the steps down into the depths of the hull are almost too hot to handle. Everyone sweats pro fusely, but they all smile even though it’s on a flushed face. “I fatten up during the regular school year, preparing for my usual 20-pound weight loss during the summer down here, ” Rippetoe said. “Michael, there, loses two belt loops.” “Actually we have it better off than the others on board, because when we come up after eight hours in that heat, we feel real comforta ble,” Rippetoe said. “We sleep real well, better than those who work on deck.” Another advantage of being an engineer, as the boys see it, is al ways wearing dungarees since their work is pretty dirty. Cravey says she is used to the heat and it never bothers her. Evi dently the heat is relaxing, because Cravey also mentioned sleeping — that’s what she does in her spaxe time. The boilers,' piston casings and other paraphernalia that make up the engine room aren’t as dull as they sound. Most of them are dis guised behind super graphics of popular brand name logos for beer and soft drinks. Art is another spare-time hobby of the engineers. “We change the scenes every now and then, ” Rippetoe said. According to these students, the engine room is the place to be. That’s where they are learning all the practical skills they will need upon graduation, and that’s where they all have fun. “Right now jobs ax e good, ” Baker commented and Rippetoe nodded. Neither are worried about a place to work come fall. “We can sail under any flag, with American ships or get shore jobs as engineers,” Baker said. “Sailing under another flag would mean less pay, generally, and your time doesn’t go toward advancing your license,” Baker said. “But some of the foreign ships let you bring your girlfriend aboard,” he added. Baker explained that he got into engineering by accident. “I thought a marine engineer re paired docks and harbors, but I like what I’m doing a lot better.” “Yeah,” Rippetoe interjected, “it’s real peaceful here; you don’t have to fight txaffic.” McLaughlin’s of corpus christi THE BEST HAIRCUT OF YOUR LIFE . . . OR YOUR MONEY BACK We truly believe that no other men’s or hair stylist in College Station is so dedicated to the art of beautiful hair sculpture as McLaughlin's We cost a little more (Artists don’t come cheap) But we are very good. For proof we make this offer: Let us cut you hair. Wear it for 10 days. If you’re not showered with compliments we’ll happily refund your money 1403 UNIVERSITY DRIVE COLLEGE STATION Call 846-5764 for appointments Serve* o(Th« «