The Battalion
Vol. 71 No. 7
8 Pages
Friday, September 9, 1977
College Station, Texas
News Dept. 845-2611
Business Dept. 845-2611
IsSSS
Shuttle system increases
buses, blocks and bucks
per class, off-campus dwellers have a common
bought in mind — getting on that bus and getting
Some quickly. Therefore, five new buses have
been added and new routes have been devised to
accommodate the increasing number of off-
campus students. Battalion photo hy Ken Herrera
BY MARGIE KOVAR
Increase is the word for the campus
shuttle bus system this fall — increases in
the number of buses, the number of route
divisions and the number of dollars a rider
must pay to get a bus pass.
The first two increases were made to
improve service to the riders, said E. C.
Oates, chairman of the Shuttle Bus Opera
tions Committee.
Last spring the system consisted of 17
buses running a total of 170 hours per day.
This fall there are 22 buses at 216 bus
hours daily. Buses have been added to the
routes serving Willowick Apartments and
Southwest Parkway to accommodate the
passenger increase in those areas, Oates
explained.
The three routes are basically the same
as last spring but have been divided into
sub-routes, Oates said. The north route,
which was only one route last spring, is
now split into two. The other routes, south
and east into more heavily populated
areas, are each broken up into three, he
said.
Buses are scheduled every 15 to 20
minutes. However traffic congestion
sometimes makes it difficult to always be
exact, Oates said.
“But we do try to guarantee everyone a
[onset huts, meal tickets, Shisa lines
On-campus problems explained
nel,
ion.
ICharles Powell, Director of Student
clarified the original purposes ot
[ing the university-owned quonset
the members of the 1977-78 Resi-
jHall Association (RHA) at their first
pg of the semester Thursday night.
|dl said that at no time did his stall
|e building was to be used strictly as
facility. He added that, “The huts
|more possibilities than just RHA
We feel they have potential as a
for the entire university commu-
He said the only money used for im
provements of the two buildings was rent
paid by the various groups that use the
facilities.
The huts are located off Highway 60
about two miles west of the College Vet-
erinary Medicine.
Other business before the group in
cluded the introduction of the new execu
tive committee members of the RHA. Joe
Nixon, president, introduced the' other of
ficers who will serve the end of the Spring
semester: Lynne Andrus, vice-president;
Kay Davis, secretary, Julie Rion, trea-
Canada agree
2,700-mile pipeline
United Press International
1SHINGTON — President Carter
Canadian Prime Minister Pierre
pu Thursday announced agreement
multibillion dollar trans-Canada
fne — “the largest single private
project in history — to transport
an and surplus Canadian natural gas
: United States.
cials of the Alcan Pipeline Co. stud
inject would cost about $7.7 billion,
] Canadian official said the total cost
: close to $10 billion, making it more
hsive than the $9 billion Alyeska oil
line.
bis joint undertaking will be the
I single private energy project in his-
Carter and Trudeau said in a joint
Inent. The project, they said, will
pit both nations by giving American
fmers badly needed natural gas and
innexed land,
\aised hotel tax
\oted by Council
fer much haggling, raised voices and
psion, the College Station City Coun-
nursday night decided to annex about
acres bounded by Harvey Road,
|er’s Creek, Bird Pond Road, Rock
Jie Road and the east bypass of High-
|6.
council considered numerous
bdments to the ordinance annexing
|and, finally voting to annex the prop-
Mayo, city planner, said the action
|necessary to control development in
irea
ty Engineer Elrey Ash said difficulties
the flood plain will be encountered
the annexation.
e council also voted 6 to 1 in favor of
asing the hotel-motel tax by one per
making the tax 4 per cent. Gary Hal-
oted against the increase.
|ne local motel operator said he was for
tax if it was going to serve a useful
ise, but said he would be against it il
n’t going to be used,
ost of the council members agreed
the money will be spent for the pro-
d civic center and a possible tourist
ation center in the building.
|ity Manager North Bardell said the
level is at $209,318. The money has
[accumulated over the last four years,
ith the increase, one per cent instead
[ne-half of one percent of the tax money
he used for direct tourist promotions.
other three per cent will go to the
t center.
enabling Canada to develop additional
natural gas reserves.
“We re proud of this, said Carter with
Trudeau at his side. “There has never
been a larger project in the history of the
world.”
Carter said he chose the Alcan Pipeline
Co. proposal over a competing “all-
American" route because the trans-
Canada pipeline is cheaper, less
environmentally damaging and provides
more direct access to places needing
natural gas.
The 2,700-mile line will start at Alaska’s
North Slope, run to Fairbanks and then
travel through Canada roughly parallel to
the Alcan Highway.
Plans called for the line to split in Al
berta, with one leg entering Montana and
heading toward the U.S. Midwest. A sec
ond leg is to enter near the Montana-Idaho
border and head west.
The eastern leg will terminate at
Dwight, Ill., southwest of Chicago, and
the western leg at Antioch, Calif. Both
pipelines will then tie up with existing sys
tems.
The pipeline will have a capacity of
about 3.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas
per day in full operation.
Carter and Trudeau called the agree
ment an example of “good neighborship
and said it would pave the way for agree
ments in other troublesome areas, includ
ing fishing and Canadian participation in
an international uranium cartel.
Congress has 60 days to approve or re
ject the President’s recommendations.
Hearings are set for late September. Alcan
said construction could begin as soon as
November 1978 with delivery' of gas about
three years later.
Carter noted the agreement will allow
the southern Canadian portion of the
pipeline to go up first. This would bring
recently discovered natural gas resources
to the United Stares.
Following a meeting with Trudeau, Car
ter said the agreement would save Ameri
can consumers $6 billion over 20 years in
comparison with the proposed “all-
American El Paso Pipeline Co. plan. But
a spokesman for the Environmental Policy
Center said marketing provisions sought
by pipeline builders could “cost consum
ers their shirts.
The El Paso proposal would ship natural
gas through Canada alongside the Alyeska
oil pipeline route. It would be liquified in
Alaska and sent by ship to California.
The trans-Canada agreements indicated
the Canadians have dropped demands for
a $400 million, 120-mile addition to the
Alcan pipeline. The addition would have
connected the pipeline with northern
Canadian reserves in the Mackenzie Delta
surer and Richard Tocquigny, public rela
tions chairman.
Tocquigny presented plans for an open
door policy at all future RHA meetings.
He also said there would be an effort on
the part of his committee to improve rela
tions between the RHA and the Corps.
Lloyd Smith, Food Services representa
tive, indicated that any complaints about
the food in any of the campus dining halls
should be directed to the appropiate menu
advisory board.
“We, like everyone else on campus,
have had trouble getting going at the first
of the semester. This is the reason for
some of the long lines you have seen in the
dining halls, ”he said.
He apologized for the' situation and in
dicated that it was a result of the low rate
in Brazos County.
Smith added that a new type of identifi
cation system is being used in the dining
halls in an effort to eliminate people not on
board plan from eating there. This new
Trading Trigonfor traffic:
Colonel stays at A&M
By BEVERLY MANJEOT
Former Corps Commandant,
Col. Thomas R. Parsons, traded his
Army uniform and shiny brass
eagles for leisure suits and cowboy
boots when he became director of
security and traffic for the Texas
A&M University police depart
ment.
The slot was created by Dr. John
Koldus, vice president of student
services. “I needed more than just a
day operations police chief, said
Koldus. “I didn’t feel an over
emphasis on a police-type back
ground was necessary for the job
because that part could be learned.
Even though Parsons enjoyed
being a colonel and working with a
lot of highly qualified people, he
said he retired to do more detailed
work because he wanted to work for
Dr. Koldus.
“I like the way Koldus operates,
he said. “Besides, I have three
people in my family enrolled at
A&M and I preferred to remain in
the area. I knew in two years this
job wouldn t be available.
Parsons new job responsibilities
range from planning for new parking
areas to teaching the police officers
how to be pleasant while doing a
distasteful job.
Parsons said he does miss his job
as the Corps Commandant. “I had
more positive-type contacts with
people over there. Not very many
people come into the police station
to thank you for giving them a tic
ket.”
“I don’t like the bad feeling I get
when someone comes in yelling and
screaming about a ticket, he said.
Its not the kind of contact I prefer.
The biggest problem confronting
Parsons is parking and its long-range
solution.
“The parking problem is appalling
right now,” he said. “It’s a mass of
utter confusion. There is adequate
parking on this campus, but it isn't
always convenient.
Parsons said he was going to get
grayer much faster if new students
didn’t learn the correct places to
park and if old students didn’t start
obeying rules.
Texas A&M is considering the
purchase of a five-floor parking facil
ity from Love Field in Dallas as a
long-range plan to help eliminate
the parking problem.
“A high-rise parking complex
would be the answer, said Parsons,
“but it would be very expensive and
750 spaces wouldn’t help that
much.
It would cost approximately $2
million to purchase the building,
disassemble it, transport it to A&M
and reassemble it. The money
would have to come from registra
tion of vehicles and collection of the
reinstatement fees.
Parsons said he hadn t been in the
police department long enough to
see if what has been done is light or
wrong, but he intends to recom
mend a change in current vehicle
registration procedures that would
help eliminate waiting in long lines
next year.
This year staff and students regis
tered together, but Parsons believes
it would be more efficient if the staff
registration, which is more compli
cated and timeconsuming, be done
one month after the students or be
done entirely by mail.
Parsons
seat on the buses especially before the 8
o’clock classes,” Oates added.
Bus fees have also increased from $15 in
the spring to $20 this fall. Oates pointed
out that this is the first fee hike since the
system began operation on this campus.
“A number of things caused the price
increase such as the higher minimum
wage plus higher repair and fuel costs,
Oates explained. “It’s just plain old infla
tion,” he added.
In trying to bring about the best service
possible the committee has run into some
problems.
“There is still the driver problem,
Oates pointed out. “Never are all 22 buses
in operation because we just don t have
enough drivers,” he said.
He went on to say that every year
people living in new areas ask to be added
to the routes. There are no buses running
into Bryan because they could not com
plete the route more than once between
the 7 a.m. starting time and the beginning
of 8 o’clock classes.
"It is not economically feasible to have
buses on the route if they can’t make at
least three rounds in that first hour,
Oates explained.
There are also apartments going up
across the tracks that the system will not
be able to serve.
“We can t run buses there because of
the frequency in stalled trains blocking the
intersections,” Oates said. “Even if the
crew can uncouple and split the cars in
three to five minutes that is three to five
minutes lost. And lost time accumulates
and causes you to fall way behind
schedule, he said.
Oates is keeping a daily record of the
number of passengers each bus is carrying
on each round in order to determine times
which buses have the heaviest loads. Once
this is determined, more buses can be as
signed in those “peak periods.
T il continue to keep these daily records
for as long as is necessary and until every
thing is running smoothly, Oates said.
procedure should help stabilize the cost of
the five and seven-day board plans.
Joe Nixon before the meeting indi
cated that the RHA has doubled in size of
voting members from each dorm. These
members include the dorm presidents and
one delegate from each residence hall.
Nixon said that he did not foresee any
problems in the reorganization.
“We have taken some of the load off the
dorm presidents and have placed it on the
Residence Hall Association Aides. This
will give everyone an advantage in that
they will be able to expand in several
areas.
“This includes civilian Corps relations
and a new educational program that will
emphasize responsible drinking.
He said that it is very important that the
RHA continues to increase our responsible
advice and also to improve and develop
the quonset huts. “We’ve done our best
with what has been available to us, but we
want to make them even better.
Dinner at Duncan
University president Jarvis Miller talks to Corps commander Mike
Gentry before yesterday’s dinner in Duncan Hall. Miller observed
the Corps march into Duncan, then joined Corps staff for their
family-style evening meal. Battalion photo by Bernard Gor
Comptroller questions
Lance s banking ability
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Currency comptrol
ler John Heimann told Congress Wednes
day the banking ability of federal budget
director Bert Lance “clearly leaves some
thing to be desired.
Heimann also testified that a federal
order possibly damaging to President Car
ter’s appointment of Lance was lifted
hours after Lance himself met with federal
banking regulators late last year.
But he told the Senate Government Af
fairs Committee he did not believe
Lance’s visit to the comptroller’s Atlanta
regional office on Nov. 22 had any impact
on lifting a cease and desist agreement on
checking overdrafts with the Calhoun,
Ga., First National Bank.
Asked to characterize Lance’s banking
expertise, Heimann responded:
“In reality, his attention to detail clearly
leaves something to be desired. He also
said the comptroller’s office “found his
bank management to be faulty.”
Heimann told the Senate Governmental
Operations Committee the comptroller’s
office imposed the cease and desist order
on the Calhoun bank in December, 1975,
because directors and large stockholders
were making frequent and large overdrafts
of their personal checking accounts.
Heimann said Lance paid a personal
visit to the Atlanta office of regional admin
istrator Donald Tarleton about 12:30 p.m.,
Nov. 22, 1976. He said Lance explained
that he would soon be joining the adminis
tration of president-elect Carter and that
he planned to sell his Calhoun bank stock.
About 5 p.m. that day, Tarleton in
structed the regional general counsel to
“lift the cease and desist agreement,
Heimann said.
Within two weeks after the cease and
desist order was removed from Calhoun,
Carter announced Lance’s appointment as
budget director.
The cease and desist order, which is one
step short of prosecution in a public court,
is a secret agreement between a bank and
the comptroller when a banking problem
arises. The agreements are kept secret in
order to protect a problem bank from los
ing customer deposits which could have
the effect of forcing an otherwise sound
bank out of business.
Sen. Charles Percy, R-Ill., said the
committee, which confirmed Lance with
high praise in January, is reviewing facts
about Lance s private banking practices to
determine whether he should be asked to
resign.
“The central issue ... is whether Mr.
Lance was qualified and is qualified to
hold high public office, Percy said.
He said bankers are “simply outraged
that Lance’s practice of large overdrafts
and questionable loans are being held up
as usual banking procedure.
Funding sought for
meals for elderly,
juvenile officer
The Brazos County Development
Council Thursday decided to apply for
$246,222 in federal funding for the con
tinuation of the hot meals for the elderly
program.
The total cost for the 1978 program is
$306,189, the remainder paid out of local
funding.
About 496 meals are provided each day
five times a week to persons 60 years of
age and older. Approximately 124,000
meals are served each year.
The food is prepared at a kitchen in
Bryan and then delivered to persons in
Brazos, Burleson, Robertson and Leon
counties.
The BVDC also applied to the Criminal
Justice Division for a $13,100 grant to
keep a specially trained juvenile officer to
help children in trouble.
The council also forwarded an applica
tion requesting $43,827 for a three-year
sewing project at the Dyer Vocational
Center at Leona, in Leon County. The
center would set up a sewing school for
retarded persons. The students should be
self-sufficient by the fourth year, a
spokesman said.
In other action, the council appointed
Jim King, drug course counselor for the
Bluebonnet Psychiatric Center, to the Re
gional Drug Abuse Advisory Committee.
Council members also appointed Toni
Nowlin director of the Alcohol and Drug
Abuse Center.