MR
\RT/// i??
7
>ves:
?at
ule doubles,
ational Fire»
iy offered !l
conserve«
wood burnsr
>r less than S'
omatic sprint
imp during«
ling life oft
•ent, the ^
i years,
up a chin®, 1
uising amoiti
•an be con®
it the smot
until itcoob
coal, elecW
we
ic
editor oft 1
; has beenf‘
ie Schubr
We
■ a typogr#;
ir dorm’s li3
.•her in ^
e AggieW
Firefighting. . .
continued from page 1 . . .
county,” he said. “From that point
of view, we are concerned with the
level of fire protection in the county.
We feel it is not up to the level it
should be. The problem is mainly
with communication.”
In a College Station city council
meeting on Sept. 27, City Manager
North Bardell listed communica
tion between the area volunteer fire
departments as a major problem
which needs to be solved in the
new contract.
Bardell said there have been in
stances when more than one unit,
both volunteer and city, has shown
up to fight a fire outside of city limits.
Landua agrees this is a major
problem.
“Well, I really can’t speak for the
volunteer fire departments,” he
said. “We haven’t had much trouble
with them. I definitely think they
need a central dispatch to coordi
nate things, though.”
Philbin agrees.
“There is a big problem with
communication,” he said. “Right
now there is a problem with com
munication with the sheriffs de
partment. I think there is probably a
need for some A>rt of dispatching
unit. I’ve seen it work in other
places I’ve been.”
Philbin said there are pros and
cons to having a central unit.
“On the positive side, you have
quicker response in emergency
situations,” he said. “There are
problems, however. You must train
people in the dispatch unit, you
must decide on the type of system
you want and you have to build a
place to house it all. It takes
money.”
Adams listed a lack of water
facilities such as fire hydrants as
another problem to be considered.
“If you don’t have anything to
hook up to, it gets to be a real prob
lem fighting any grass fires or some
thing that could pose a threat to
homes or property,” he said. “Out
in the country, it’s difficult some
times to get to water. You must
keep grass fires and such from get
ting houses and barns.”
The fire departments have always
had problems with a lack of water,
Landua said.
“It used to be we didn’t have any
hydrants outside of the city limits,
he said, “so we always had problems
finding a water supply.”
Landua said the city often had to
resort to a “shuttle effect” way of re
solving the problem.
“If all else failed, we had to get
water from here in the city,” he
said. “We would go out and use the
water we had, then drive all the way
back here and get more water.
“It was easier if we had two units,
though. One would battle the blaze
while another would go get water,
and vice versa. ”
Landua said he pushed to get hy
drants installed, and now the situa
tion is better.
“I sold them on the idea of put
ting in hydrants in different towns
around the county,” he said. “It
saved the county money in the long
run. At the time, we were charging
them five dollars per engine mile, so
all that coming and going for water
was really adding up. It was costing
sometimes $50 just to make one
trip.
“We still have certain areas that
need water supplies, though.
Landua said the dispute between
the county and the city has been
going on for quite awhile. He listed
the 1977-78 College Station Fire
Department budget as an example.
During this fiscal year, Landua
said, the fire department had an
operating budget of $479,468. Fire
calls outside of College Station
amounted to $100,688 or 21 percent
of the budget.
However, Landua said, the
county only paid $28,168.91 for the
services — only six percent of the
total budget.
“We billed the county on a per-
run basis,” he said. “They don’t
have to pay for stand-by time or the
time we sit around waiting for the
fire. They pay for actual fire-fighting
time.”
The negotiations shouldn’t take
much time, Adams said.
“I don’t think there’s any prob
lem,” he said.
“Were not mad at the county
over this — we may be before it’s
over,” Adams said. “Our obligation
is to serve, and we will remain in
that capacity on the basis of the
present contract until something
happens.”
Sex facts, fiction discussed on campus
By ANGELIQUE COPELAND
Battalion Reporter
The belief that it is safe to engage
in sexual activity during a woman’s
menstrual period is just one of the
popular myths many people hold
about sex and contraception, said
Brenda Meddler, a member of Fam
ily Planning.
This and other myths about preg
nancy and birth control were aired
in an open discussion about sex by
some staff members of Family Plan
ning and Woman’s Referral Service
in the Lounge A outside Briggs Hall
Wednesday night.
Meddler explained researchers
now believe that sperm released
into the uterus are capable of fer-
Brenda Meddler, education
coordinator for Family Plan
ning, says some people believe
conception cannot occur the
first time a woman has sex.
tilizing an egg up to 10 days later. In
this way, sperm still present after
the end of the cycle and at the time
of ovulation can achieve fertiliza
tion.
Family Planning is a service or
ganization for health and pregnancy
counseling in Bryan. The center has
just begun to include students in a
program that provides free or low
cost examinations and various
methods of birth control.
Meddler, the education coor
dinator for Family Planning, said
many people have wrong ideas
about what the effective methods of
birth control are. For example, she
said some people believe concep
tion can not occur the first time a
woman has sex.
Any time a woman engages in sex
without using some reliable form of
birth control, she runs the risk of
becoming pregnant, Meddler said.
People also do not realize that
penetration need not occur for a
woman to become pregnant. Med
dler said.
During foreplay, the male organ
secretes seminal fluid just as lubri
cation is excreted by the vagina.
Contact of this fluid with the outer
edges of the vagina is enough to
transfer sperm capable of traveling
up the uterus and fertilizing an egg,
she said.
Other myths Meddler brought up
were rinsing the vagina immediately
after sex to prevent pregnancy and
the belief that conception will not
occur unless orgasm is achieved.
Meddler and Casey Ray, of the
Women’s Referral Service, then
discussed more reliable methods of
birth control.
Methods available without seeing
a doctor are condoms, spermicides,
rhythm, and withdrawal.
The most effective of these forms
are condoms used in conjunction
with a spermicide. Meddler said.
Used together, these forms of birth
control are 94-96 percent effective.
The condom is also the only form of
birth control that offers protection
from venereal disease.
When used separately, the effec
tiveness of these devices decreases,
with condoms being more reliable
than foam.
Meddler cautioned against using
Vaseline to lubricate during inter
course, especially when using con-
People also do not realize that
penetration need not occur for a
woman to become pregnant,
Meddler said.
doms. She explained that Vaseline is
an oil-base substance that is irritat
ing to the lining of the uterus and
can cause infections. It is also corro
sive to the latex used in condoms
and causes them to rupture.
The rhythm method, when used
correctly, requires discipline and
complicated planning, Meddler
said. There are two types of rhythm.
In one type, the woman records her
temperature every morning for
eight months to a year and then
plots the days near ovulation when
conception is most likely and abs
tains during that time.
The other type uses the length of
menstrual cycles over a year to de
termine the time of ovulation. Even
when followed closely, this method
is only 80-86 percent effective.
Meddler said.
Another popular, but less effec
tive method of birth control is with
drawal, Meddler said. It has only a
80-84 percent success rate.
Ray then described several
methods of contraception available
from doctors or trained medical per
sonnel.
Use of the diaphragm, a barrier
method of birth control, has re-
Other myths Meddler brought
up were rinsing the vagina im
mediately after sex to prevent
pregnancy, and the belief that
conception will not occur unless
orgasm is achieved.
gained popularity in recent years,
Ray said. Used in conjunction with a
spermicidal jell, this device must be
fitted to the woman by a doctor.
Weight gain or loss of more than 5
pounds requires refitting and the
diaphram must remain in place for
six hours after intercourse.
The two most common methods
available through dqcfqrs are the
Intra Uterine Device, (IUD) and
the birth control pill, Ray said.
The IUD must be inserted by a
doctor and has the highest success
rate of all methods of birth control
except for sterilization and the pill.
Disadvantages of an IUD
encountered by some women in
clude longer and heavier menstrual
periods and cramping. Ray said,
however, that medication is now
available to relieve the cramping in
most women.
Probably the best known method
of birth control is the pill, Ray said.
The pill contains the two female
hormones estrogen and proges
terone. By maintaining high levels
of these hormones, the pill “fools”
the body into believing pregnancy
has occurred and eggs are not re
leased.
With the exception of steriliza
tion, the pill has the highest reli-
ablity rate of all other methods of
birth control at 96-98 percent effec
tive.
Possible side effects of the pill in
clude weight gain, nausea,
headaches and growth and tender
ness of the breasts. Ray also said
that women with a history of hyper
tension, clotting disorders or mi-
grain headaches should consider al
ternate methods.
While no method of birth control
is 100 percent effective (there is a
one in 300 chance pregnancy will
occur after sterilization), there are
methods available that provide a
high degree of protection, Meddler
said.
Pregnancy counseling is offered
through both Family Planning and
the Women’s Referral Service.
Next time you're in Mexico, stop by and visit the Cik’vvo fabrica in Tl'quila.
Since 1795weVe welcomed
our guests with our best.
A traditional taste of
Cuervo Gold.
Visitors to Cuervo have always been
greeted in a special way.
They're met at the gates and invited inside to experi
ence the unique taste of Cuervo Gold.
This is the way we've said rr welcome"for more than 180
years. And it is as traditional as Cuervo Gold itself.
For this dedication to tradition is what makes Cuervo
Gold truly special. Neat, on the rocks, with a splash of soda,
in a perfect Sunrise or Margarita, Cuervo Gold will bring
you back to a time when quality ruled the world.
Cuervo. The Gold standard since 1795.
CUERVO ESPECIAL® TEQUILA. 80 PROOF. IMPORTED AND BOTTLED BY ©1978 HEUBLEIN, INC., HARTFORD, CONN
mm
THE BATTALION
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1979
Page 3
Follow-up test to be held for flu study
By MARJORIE McLAUGHLIN
Battalion Reporter
This year, the flu season may be
easier for some 2,100 people who
participated in a Russian flu im
munization experiment at Texas
A&M University last year.
Dr. John Quarles, a mi
crobiologist with the College of
Medicine, said he is trying to locate
at least 1,200 to 1,400 of the partici
pants for a follow-up test to be held
next Wednesday through Friday.
The test will determine if people
vaccinated last year are still im
mune.
According to Quarles, this test
may also reveal whether vaccines for
one type of flu offer any protection
from other types of flu.
Flu viruses run in cycles of three
to five years, Quarles said. When
enough people become immune to
the strain, a virus either dies out or
mutates into a new strain.
Quarles said researchers are al
ways trying to find vaccines to com
bat these new strains.
Vaccines which imitate the actual
virus attack give the best protection
against the disease, Quarles said.
The participants in last year’s test
were administered the vaccine in
the form of nose drops, which
mimics the infection process.
The immunity follow-up tests will
be from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the
Commons lounge and at Beutel
Health Center.
granb
STEREO SUPER SALE
Super Savings this Friday and Saturday Only!
Save $500
Purchased Separately $1375
Sanyo 2600 AM/FM Stereo Receiver
with 85 Watts per Channel. Philips
777 Belt Drive Turntable. Cerwin-
Vega XR-9 Three-Way
Loudspeakers.
$875
Grand Opening Only
%
Save $500
Purchased Separately $1089
Marantz SR-4000 AM/FM Stereo
Receiver with 63 Watts per Channel
RMS. Sanyo 1012 Direct Drive
Turntable. Omega Z-5000
Loudspeakers with 25 Year Limited
Warranty.
$589
Grand Opening Only
Purchase this System and Get a
Marantz 800 Cassette Deck for only
$179
Save $150
Purchased Separately $309
Pioneer/Centrex AM/FM Receiver
with 8 Track Player, BSR Turntable,
and Omega Bookshelf Speakers.
$159
Grand Opening Only
Sanyo 5250 Cassette Deck. Front
Load with Dolby, Full Auto Stop,
Dual VU Meters. Regularly $199.
$155
Grand Opening Only
Audio Reflex 10 Band Stereo
Graphic Equalizer. Regularly $240.
$187
Grand Opening Only
HMV
TDK SA-C90
Recording Cassettes
$3.29
Register for
FREE PRIZES!
Marantz SR 1000 AM/FM Stereo
Receiver with 25 Watts Per Channel
RMS. Sanyo 1010 Turntable.
Omega XR-222 Three-Way
Loudspeaker System. $900 Value!
92 W-FM Will Be Broadcasting Live on
Saturday!
See Local Radio Personalitites Live!
Free Soft Drinks!
913 Harvey
693-4423
■