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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1980)
I I THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 1980 Page 3 CS towing fees unrestricted By TIM JASEK City Reporter ^Although Bryan wrecker oper ators cannot charge more than $25 for towing vehicles from private iroperty, College Station fees will main unregulated. I Sparky Hardee, owner of Coyote Wrecker Service, spoke at the March 13 city council meeting and [stressed free enterprise and no fee [jrestrictions. After Hardee spoke, the .council made its decision in his favor, t “I provided the facts. I didn’t in fluence the council, the facts pre sented did,” Hardee said. The fact is that he has towed 70 percent fewer cars this year than last year, Hardee said. The reason for the sharp decline in business, he said, is that “word got around that it’ll cost you $50 (Har dee’s fee) if you parked where you shouldn’t.” Hardee, who will not tow in Bryan because of the set fee, said he also told the council his insurance on his land, drivers and truck is high and that he is occasionally faced with law suits to defend. “I believe the deciding factor was the decline in the number of cars towed since last year,” he said. Hardee, a 1962 Texas A&M Uni versity graduate, has been in the towing business for five years. The $40 towing fee recommended by Councilman Jim Dozier — who later voted not to regulate fees — would “put me out of business, ” Har dee said. “We should let free enterprise solve the problem,” he said. Dozier said, “I wanted the $40 fee. It was proper.” But because he and former Mayor Lorence Bravenec were the only ones voting for the set fee, Dozier said he then moved that wrecker fees be unregulated. "I’m well aware that if operators abuse the ordinance it can be changed,” Dozier said. “I believe in as little government interference as possible,” he said. Even wrecker operators who handle only accident calls felt towing ng the i f Connectl es plans Israel anl| !e case I lop aide, H {otiatediecj Iran to i'Hite Hocsl idling aim iccordofl? tudents expanding museum o include nature center fees from private property should not be regulated, he said. “It had nothing to do with Har dee’s talk, ” the councilman said. The matter had been under considera tion for “quite some time.” An unidentified Bryan wrecker operator from A-l Wrecker Service, which tows anywhere in Texas, said the Bryan ordinance does not affect his business. “We charged $35 in College Sta tion and $25 plus a $10 service charge in Bryan,” he said. The $10 service charge is for the additional paper work the city of Bryan requires, he said. .^^VXDNESDA^W ^ NIGHT SPECIAL^ IS 1 i i Enchilada Dinner *2.65 Just come by El Chico any Wednesday night after 5 pm! CDf course there can be no substitutions. And take-out orders remain at our regular price of $3.95.) Not the same old Enchilada 3109 Texas Ave. at Manor East S.C., Bryan 1 Gl i i ol By CATHY SAATHOFF Campus Reporter group of wildlife students at and win (Tqxas A&M University is working on Carterti-f x P an< ^* n 8 the Brazos Valley XHere' Museum to include a nature center, hoping to increase community in- tefest in the museum, and Now, it consists of five or six ex- Houseirhihits and a tract of undeveloped rter siguBd. iggest ddnpjWildlife and Fisheries Science ; for the' 401 taught by Robert Dowler, is cal- itiffnewsrjed “Nature Centers for Learning.” report "tflfae 16 students, who are in the e situate miseum science option ofWFS, are mself goes (developing a hypothetical plan for ive step, development of a nature center, Another 'hoping to put their plan into practice I news da) at the museum, ton Post Cl I “A nature center is pretty hard to define,” Dowler said. The general idea is that it’s a place for learning about the outdoors which includes an area of undeveloped land for hik ing trails and a building to house re lated exhibits. | “The course is designed to give the student an overview of nature center operation,” Dowler said. “This is the first semester I’ve made a major effort to utilize the museum as a working laboratory.” ' 'The museum is in the Brazos Cen ter at 3232 Briarcrest Drive on a 37 acre tract of land that could be de veloped with hiking trails. The museum is in a tranisition ;V|fl stage now — it is moving from its old home at the municipal golf course to the new center. “We re trying to renovate our ex hibits so that they’ll fit in there,” Dowler said. Work is slow, however, because the museum relies on volunteer help. The only paid position is that of director, which has not been filled. Dowler’s students have formed committees to deal with trail design, public relations, educational prog rams and plant and animal surveys for the museum. “What we’re trying to do is come up with a master plan for how it might be carried out,” Dowler said. “The biggest problem is the lack of funding for the development. “We can plan all we want, but without any money to put it into effect, it’s kind of a theoretical exer cise,” Dowler said. Funding for the museum comes in the form of membership. A member ship includes discount on programs offered by the museum and copies of its newsletter. The programs offered include a summer day camp, Audubon films, tours and classes on topics such as preparation of specimens, animal habitats and edible plants. Other money comes from the Un ited Way and grants form local orga nizations such as the Astin Founda tion and the Arts Council of Brazos Valley, which has given money for an ecology exhibit. A live animal exhibit is also in the planning stages. “My students help with part of the exhibits,” Dowler said. Students from WFS 421, Museums and Their Functions, which he taught last fall, came up with the idea of a live animal exhibit. In class, Dowler instructs the stu dent on exhibit preparation, which includes materials and techniques to be used, as well as placement, light ing and color of the components. Dowler said the ideal situation would be to plan an exhibit and then obtain the materials needed. Unfor tunately, this usually works in re verse. The exhibit must be planned to utilize what is available. The class is planning an exhibit at Manor East Mall Saturday to prom ote the museum. Katrina Jez, a class member, said, “It started as a way of finding out what people think of the museum.” The class will set up tables to in form shoppers about the volunteer program, day camp, classes and the photography contest sponsored by the museum. A pocket gopher and king snake will be on display. “We think there’s a real need for the museum in this area,” Dowler said. It is the only natural history museum in the county, and he hopes to increase public interest in the pro ject and possibly get more support from the county. Dowler said his students’ work is “about as real-life a situation as you can get” working on maximum de velopment with minimum money “which in this case is zero.” Student are using their own money for class projects, but Dowler has them saving their receipts for possible reimbursement from the museum. Dowler, who is on the board of trustees of the museum, is studying the development of a recycling prog ram for the museum in connection with Earth Day ’80, which the Wild life Society is handling on campus. The society is collecting aluminum cans until April 22, and Dowler wants to extend the collection to help the museum. However, the Amer ican Association of University Women is thinking about communi ty-wide recycling project. Ironical ly, the AAUW founded the museum 15 years ago. However, Dowler is more con cerned about the project getting started then about where the money goes; he has a box in his office that is already filled with cans for the drive. Charles E. Thomas, CLU Thomas Associates P.O. Drawer CQ 520 University Drive East College Station, Texas 77840 has completed all the requirements to be certified as a Qualifying & Life Member of the 1980 MILLION DOLLAR ROUND TABLE an independent, international association of life insurance agents. Membership reflects a commitment to continuing advanced education to better serve the financial security needs of families, individuals and businesses. 'll PROTECTIVE LIFE jfci INSURANCE COMPANY CJ MOIV1E OFFICE - BIRIVUNGMAM, ALABAMA olicewoman resigns Kent Caperton. A new kind of senator for a new decade. Dear Friends, as head of division Sgt. Linda. Andrews, head of the traffic division of the College Station Police Department, recently res igned her position. Andrews, the first woman police officer to head a traffic division in Texas, could not be reached for com ment, but said in an interview with The Eagle that she resigned last week because she “has other things to do. ” She said she left on good terms and there were no hard feelings. She also said the College Station Police Depatrment is hard to work for. Members of the police depart ment will not comment on the res ignation. Andrews, who was the only female officer in the police department, told The Eagle her future plans possibly include working for the Department of Public Safety or for a police de partment in a smaller city. The 27-year-old officer headed the traffic division since October. Before that, she was a patrol officer for about three years. During the past year, she was in charge of the selective traffic en forcement program for College Sta tion, and supervised five policemen. Andrews’ resignation was one of three which reportedly took place at the department last week — another police officer and a jailer also res igned. ■nee can" i ozen^l henvf | iow M C iatsteeP s ' © S caldisfM World / \ ' v. ahd get . • THE REGULAR PRICE OF CERWIN VEG ETR, PRO and OUR OMEGA Z5000, Z60(l0, and Z70q» SPEAKERS wifrch has a 25 y^ar warranty! / / I We have everything you need in a speaker from 5 watts i to 250 watts and LL FOR V2 THE PRICE! Sale good through Sat., April 12 ■ O o % o s I am running for the Texas Senate because I want to represent all of the people of the 5th District. My family has lived in this area for generations. I know the kind of people that make this district strong. I have the experience to be an effective state senator—having ser ved as Assistant Attorney General, former Judge of the Bryan Municipal Court, Student Body President at Texas A&M University and Assistant to the President of that university. As your state senator, I will work hard to meet the challenges of th'' 1980’s. I am dedicated to serving the people of this district. I want to be a senator you can be proud of, a senator you can trust. I hope I can earn your vote. As our state senator, Kent Caperton will work hard to: • Stop spiraling inflation that is fed by higher and higher interest rates. • Protect our free enterprise system by cutting government red tape and regulation of our daily lives • Protect the Texas A&M Permanent University Fund while working for all our colleges and junior colleges • Break the special interests’ hold on our Senate seat • Work to give all the people a voice in Austin, especially older citizens, small businessmen and farm families who are always the first to sacrifice. V J Vote Saturday, May 3, Democratic Primary perton for Texas Senator. Pd. Pol. Adv. by Kent Caperton Campaign Committee, Tony Jones, Treasurer. 3508 E. 29th, Bryan, Texas 77801. /