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THE BATTALION
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1980
Page 5
No mirage— an oasis of parking
By JERRY MAZE
Campus Reporter
An Aggie dream has material
ized at Texas A&M University —
more parking spaces.
This oasis in a desert of over
crowded parking lots shimmers
for half a mile along the west side
of Wellborn Road, between
Jersey Street and West Main
Street.
The approximately 50-foot
wide strip between the pavement
and the railroad tracks was leased
from Missouri Pacific Railroad by
Texas A&M at a minimal cost to
handle overflow parking at foot
ball games, Assistant Police Chief
Morris Maddox said Wednesday.
Because of student parking
taken over by work on Kyle Field,
Maddox said, railroad officials
have agreed to let students con
tinue to park on the leased area.
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The only restriction to park
ing on the railroad property is to
stay at least 10 feet from the
track, Maddox said.
“Any vehicles parked too close,
that interfere with the work of
railroad vehicles, will be towed
A temporary solution to the student parking
squeeze — Texas A&M University is leasing
the 50 ft. strip off Wellborn Road from Mis
souri Pacific Railroad. Photo by Cindy Colvin
away,” he said.
An added delight to anyone
who has ever circled the campus
looking for a space in their desig
nated parking lot, Maddox said, a
parking permit is not required to
park in the area and parking tick
ets will not be issued by Universi
ty Police.
Summer may have melted ‘snow’
on University ’s artificial ski slope
“Tka
By USCHI MICHEL-HOWELL
Campus Reporter
The boiling heat over Aggieland
may have been so strong last semes
ter that it even “melted” the black
Durasnow on the “Mount Aggie” ski
slope.
But nobody knows if it was the
sun, faulty material or misuse that
caused the artificial snow to deterio
rate after only two months of use.
The $17,(XX) surface was put on
the small hill next to G. Rollie White
Coliseum last September, said Dr.
George T. Jessup, associate profes
sor of health and physical education,
who also helped select it. The Ski
Club and the health and physical
education department supplied the
labor and any additional material
needed to install the surface, said
Robert L. Seibert, a member of the
Ski Club at Texas A&M University.
After two months instructions on
the two-inch thick, bristle-like sur
face, the pointed bristles broke off
the black carpet, Seibert said.
“The sun in the summer is tough
on that material,” said Dr. Leonard
D. Ponder, head of the health and
physical education department.
“The thing simply disintegrated,” he
said.
He said that as soon as the molded
12-inch squares showed signs of de
terioration the department called
the company in California which
manufactured the material. The
company then sent replacements.
“We tried to patch up the surface,
but it did not help,” Ponder said.
Durasnow is the second surface on
“Mount Aggie,” which was built by
the department and Ski Club mem
bers in 1977.
“Durasnow had not previously
been used in the South, Ponder
said.
At the end of the last fall semester
Durasnow had deteriorated so much
that the department purchased
material called Snowmat to test it on
the slope, Ponder said.
“Right now we are testing the new’
surface,” Ponder said. “If this new’
material does not work we don’t have
another alternative,” he said.
He said that the expenses have
been high for “Mount Aggie” and
that the skiing lessons might have to
be cancelled if Snowmat does not
work.
“I believe it (skiing) is liked by
youngsters and it provides a service
to the University,” Ponder said.
Ponder said that he did not know if
the material was faulty or if a group of
peole that walked on Durasnow with
regular shoes caused the deteriora
tion.
Snowmat is more abrasive than
Durasnow and requires skiers to
wear gloves and padding.
It cost the department $2,736,
Ponder said.
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‘Beeferendum’ vote Feb. 19-22
By PETE HALE
Campus Reporter
All cattlemen are urged to reg
ister and vote on a proposed Beef
Research and Information prog
ram Feb. 19-22, said Dr. Ed
Uvacek, economist and market
ing specialist with the Texas Agri
cultural Extension Service.
people register, five voters can
carry the proposal.
The rules also allow only one
vote per production entity, be it
an individual, family or corpora
tion.
'Deliver
Limited to
Service Area
.( m alimu) <li aird Inn
846-7785
Cattlemen across the nation
may register at their local Agri
cultural Stabilization and Conser-
vation Service office by
Wednesday.
For the referendum to be
valid, 50 percent or more of those
who register must vote, and only
a simple majority of those voting
is needed to pass the order.
Uvacek explained that if only ten
The “Beeferendum,” as the
proposal is known, would allow
cattle marketing research to be
done under the jurisdiction of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Passage of the proposal would in
stigate a self-help program in
which cattlemen would invest 20
cents per $100 valuation of their
cattle in a research and marketing
education program.
The results would allow cattle
raisers to predict more closely the
up-and-down cycles of the cattle
market and provide better mar
keting information. This would
help aid not only the beef produc
er, but also the consumer.
While the proposal has con
tinually gained support, many
ranchers still oppose the issue,
saying there is no need for gov
ernment intervention in their
business. One association of cat
tlemen, the Independent Cattle
man’s Association of Texas, feels
the proposal would give the
USDA too much power and in
fringe on rights of free enterprise.
Uvacek said he feels opposition
and support are about evenly di
vided. He added that regardless
of their opinion, it is important
that all cattlemen register and
vote.
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