[The Battalion
Serving the Texas A&M University community
Jol. 74 No. 170
|4 Pages
Serving the Texas A&M University community
Thursday, July 2, 1981
College Station, Texas
USPS 045 360
Phone 845-2611
The Weather
Today
Tomorrow
High 93
High
95
Low 75
Low
75
Chance of rain 40%
Chance of rain . . .
. . . 20%
Officer shortage attributed
b non-competitive wages
By KATHY O’CONNELL
Battalion Staff
wampus security may be threatened by a shortage of police
*:ers unless their salaries are raised to competitive local
dards.
)irector of Traffic and Security Col. Thomas Parsons, said
Texas A&M University Police are experiencing a shor-
of J1 patrol officers. The shortage in officers is because of
salaries, he said.
'arsons said they’ve lost several officers to the Bryan or
lege Station city police forces. “I can name seven or eight
[ers that have left us and gone to Bryan, because the pay is
ler.
In my opinion, most of them are leaving because of the
|ey, he said. “It’s not that they aren’t satisfied with their
tarting salaries for certified officers at the Bryan Police
Jjartment are about $16,2(X); College Station officers re-
|e $15,7(X) and University police officers, as of Sept. 1,
1 receive $12,7(X).
|\Ve ve always been a little behind them (Bryan/College
non), but it’s way out of line. A College Station police
Jeant makes more than a major in our department,” he
le said even an animal control officer in College Station
|es more than a campus patrol officer,
parsons said he has notified Vice President for Student
| ices Dr. John J. Koldus III of the problem and hopes that
lething can he done to make salaries comparable to the
city police forces.
Koldus said the University is in the process of having the
personnel department investigate restructuring the classi
fied employee system that sets a base salary for employees.
Koldus said when the state legislature approved the Uni
versity’s 1981-82 budget, there was a significant increase in
the appropriation for security. Thus, there is money avail
able to increase the salaries, but the process of upgrading the
classified system must be done first.
Parsons said if there isn’t an increase, some of the services
provided by the officers may be limited. He said the officers
often help students start a dead car battery and give aid when
they’ve run out of gasoline.
“Many people don’t realize we provide these services, and
these are just the ones we ll have to limit; we ll just have to
concentrate on security,” he said.
Parsons said the officers will probably have to work over
time to make up for the shortage. “We just can t keep doing
this because the officers will be overworked. Many of them
have families and you just can’t keep working them over
time.”
However, there are enough officers to handle traffic viola
tions, he said. In fact, the department has hired four students
to issue parking tickets. He said they only need to be autho
rized by the University Police department, because they
aren’t making arrests.
“There is nothing uncommon about having non
commissioned officers issuing tickets,” he said. “The meter
maids you see writing tickets aren’t officers. ”
University facilities change
schedules for July 4 holiday
Texas A&M faculty, staff and stu
dents will observe Independence
Day Friday with most University
facilities either closed or operating
on modified schedules.
All Memorial Student Center and
University Center facilities, with the
exception of the post office lobby
area, will be closed beginning at 5
p.m. today. The post office lobby
area may he entered at any time from
the MSC entrance across from G.
Rollie White Coliseum.
The MSC, including the guest
rooms and main desk, will reopen at
4 p.m. Sunday. Bowling and games
will reopen at 1 p.m. Sunday. All
MSC and University Center facili
ties will return to normal operating
hours on Monday.
The Evans Library will operate on
a modified schedule during the holi
day period. The library will be open
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and
from 1p.m. to5p.m. Saturday. Reg
ular hours will be in effect Sunday, 1
p.m. to 10 p.m.
The Medical Sciences Library
also will operate on an abbreviated
schedule, with hours from 9a.m. to 5
p.m. Friday, 1p.m. to 5 p.m. Satur
day. Regular hours will be in effect
again Sunday.
While University facilities are
closed this weekend, a variety of
fourth of July activities are sche
duled for the state and local com
munity. See today’s issue of Focus
for details.
4st of presidential candidates
xpected from regents today
Afghan rebels carry out raids
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By BERNIE FETTE
Battalion Staff
exas A&M officials are expected to
—Iqsp the names of some 500 initial
iiderations for the University pres-
icy today.
en working days have passed since
( rney General Mark White’s ruling
Texas A&M would be required to
the Bryan-College Station Eagle
list of candidates’ names.
/pegally, such information deemed a
/Jlic record must be released within
lays of the date of the attorney gen
’s decision.
taken out oil he Bryan-College Station Eagle in
iruary requested the list of candi-
:s’ names from the Texas A&M Uni-
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versity System Board of Regents. After
the board refused to release the list.
White was asked to determine whether
the list was a public record.
Glenn Dromgoole, Eagle editor, said
he wasn’t sure when the newspaper
would receive the information or
whether the list would include informa
tion such as the candidates’ ages and
occupations.
White ruled June 17 that the list of
500 initial considerations for the post
must he released but that the list of 20
finalists could be kept confidential.
At that time Dromgoole said the
Eagle would publish all 500 names upon
receipt of the list.
A presidential search committee be
gan its screening process of th nomina
tions and applications for th presidency
following the dismissal of Dr. Jarvis Mil
ler by the regents a year ago. The 22-
member committee in January recom
mended a list of 20 candidates to the
board. Since that time, a committee in
cluding Board Chairman H.R. “Bum”
Bright, Vice Chairman John Blocker,
Regent Clyde Wells and system Chan
cellor Frank W.R. Hubert have inter
viewed candidates for the position.
Bright said in May the presidential
search is running slightly behind sche
dule but he still anticipates the selection
of a new president by Sept. 1.
United Press International
NEW DELHI, India — Islamic insurgents gunned down
several Soviet and Afghan communist officials in daring day
light raids in Kabul during the last week, diplomatic sources
reported.
The diplomats quoted reliable sources Wednesday, who
also described widespread death and devastation in Kanda
har and Herat, Afghanistan’s second and third largest cities.
Soviet troops tossed grenades into irrigation tunnels near
a village outside Herat recently, killing about 60 people
hiding from a bomb attack, they said. Relatives then lured
the Soviet personnel into an ambush and killed many in
revenge, the sources said.
Four rebels shot four Russian soldiers in central Kabul
June 22, before fleeing on motorcycles, two diplomats re
ported, quoting eyewitnesses who fled before learning if the
soldiers died.
In another incident the same evening, two Afghans shot
and killed two Russian soldiers in front of the Soviet Embas
sy, the diplomats said. Soviet troops captured one gunman.
Another Afghan officer was shot in front of the Interior
Ministry building in downtown Kabul and rebels also mur
dered several Afghan leaders who attended the meeting two
weeks ago of the National Fatherland.
Attacks on those who attended the assembly, organized by
Soviet-backed President Babrak Karmal in an attempt to
muster popular support, were seen by Afghan sources in
India as a rebel warning to avoid contact with government
activities.
In other violence in the Afghan capital, heavily armed
Soviet troops moved into positions around the residence and
offices of Karmal following a gun battle June 26, one of the
diplomats said. Karmal is in Czechoslovakia.
A witness reported “long bursts of shooting” in the area
around the presidential palace, followed by cries of what
sounded “like wounded or frightened people,” the diplomat
reported.
The same evening troops ready for combat arrived to
guard the Bulgarian and Indonesian embassies and both
entrances to the residence of Prime Minister Sultan Ali
Keshtmand, he said.
The diplomat did not know the reason for the troop
movement and gun battle.
ifter-death arrangements can be costly
Pre-planning may be the answer
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CO. decisions facing family and friends after death can be very com-
icated and very expensive. One group the Memorial Society of Bryan-
-^aw^^ollege Station Inc., work to pre-plan their own after-death arrange-
ents.
By SANDRA K. GARY
Battalion Reporter
While people often trouble them
selves with the minute-by-minute
organization of their everyday lives,
many overlook the need to make
arrangements in the event of their
deaths.
“In order to spare their survivors
the added grief of deciding what
should be done with a loved one who
has died, more people are coming in
ahead of time and, at least, finding out
what their options are, ’said Bill
Zieren, owner of Memorial Funeral
Chapel in Bryan.
“A funeral director is a business
man,” said Ann Bury, former presi
dent of the Memorial Society of
Bryan-College Station Inc., “an orga
nization of people who wish to pre
plan their after-death arrangements.”
Bury likened the funeral director to
the car dealer who tries to get his cus
tomer to buy the car with “all of the
extra gadgets.
“The problem with funeral dire
ctors,” she said, “is you don’t have
time to shop around.”
Inevitably, however, someone has
to make the often costly decisions, the
most consequential of which is what
should be done with the body.
There are three basic types of dis
position — ground burial, cremation
and the donation of a body to scientific
and medical research, said Ray Jones,
funeral director at Callaway-Jones
Funeral Home in Bryan.
If ground burial is decided upon,
costs will initially include the grave
space, fees for opening and closing the
grave, some type of burial container
and basic service fees. In the Bryan-
College Station area this initial costs
stems upward from $300, Jones said.
A grave space in the city cemeteries
costs $100, Jones said, “and it costs
$100 to open a grave and $100 to close
one.”
The Bryan City Cemetery also re
quires that at least a wooden grave
liner, which costs $90, be used in addi
tion to the casket. Other types of liners
range from a $250 concrete liner to a
$4,495 steel vault, Jones said. He ex
plained that they are supposed to keep
the ground from sinking as the coffin
settles.
Grave spaces in Restever Memorial
Park, however, cost “on the average
$275,” said Zee Murphy, a represen
tative for the privately-owned, cemet
ery. This fee does not include the $200
charge for opening and closing the
grave, Murphy said. Although no
grave liner is required, she added that
a flat bronze marker “running aroung
$1,000” is required.
The cost of the burial container is
often the most expensive. The least
expensive casket that can be purch
ased in this area is, in most cases, a
cloth-covered wooden box which
based on the average is $295.
“In most cases, however, we find
that most people spend about $1,300
to $1,400 on a casket,” Zieren said.
Other costs are incurred from the
services provided by the funeral home
that handles the body after death. “A
licensed funeral director is required
by law to offer the consumer an itemi
zation of the costs and services pro
vided by him so that the consumer has
the opportunity to refuse any of the
services,” Jones said.
Before this law was adopted, Jones
said, some directors were quoting a
single service charge fee. “Some peo
ple were paying for items they weren’t
getting,” he said. “And by the same
token, some directors were giving
away things that hadn’t been paid for. ”
The services which are itemized by
a funeral home, generally, include
professional staff services, embalm
ing, cosmetology and restorative
treatment of remains, general use of
the home’s facilities, use of facilities
for visitation and for funeral services,
initial transfer of the deceased plus use
of other vehicles including a family
limousine and a flower coach. The cost
of the death certificate and a few other
miscellaneous charges are also added.
“All of these services are not re
quired,” Jones said. “If we pick up a
body at the hospital or rest home, fill
out the necessary forms and take the
body immediately to the cemetery for
burial, many of the costs will be sub
tracted,” he explained. If all services
are desired, the average fee is close to
$920.
Families can bury their own dead if
they wish, according to a pamphlet
published by the Texas Funeral Dire
ctors Association Inc. Jones said,
“right now at this moment, there is no
law requiring embalming in the State
of Texas. ”
Most funeral homes, however, will
not perform a public funeral service
for bodies which are not embalmed
and have been dead for over 24 to 48
hours, Zieren said. He said this is be
cause after that length of time, human
flesh is like any other dead animal — it
starts decomposing and the stench can
become unbearable.
With the coffin purchased, services
selected and place of burial decided,
consumers consider other, sometimes
less expensive, details such as flowers
or other types of memorials.
Flowers, if desired, again add to the
cost. A simple casket spray begins, on
the average, at $20. This cost can sky
rocket to $7,000 for a blanket of roses
and orchids. On the average, most loc
al florists said families spend between
$75 and $100 for an arrangement of
flowers to place on the casket.
All things considered, the least ex
pensive burial without a funeral will
be near $650. Many people think that
cremation is more economical.
“Really, in dollar bills, you’re not
going to save a bundle,” Jones said.
He pointed out that the Bryan-
College Station area has no crematory.
Transportation expenses push crema
tion costs up into the same bracket as
an inexpensive burial, he said.
A simple cremation, including trans
portation to Houston, where the near
est crematory is located, was $577 in
1980, Bury said. This price has in
creased, however, she said.
The least expensive and most useful
means of disposal, she said, is to don
ate a body to science or medical re
search.
We have had some requests (by
members of the local memorial socie
ty) that their bodies be left to the Texas
A&M Medical School, Bury said.
“In most cases the medical institu
tion will pay for all expenses,” she
said. “If requested, they may also re
turn the cremated remains to the fami
ly after research is complete. ”
Council says
more federal
help needed
A national organization of universi
ties involved in transportation research
has agreed to take action to increase
federal support for its efforts at finding
answers to transportation problems.
Tbe federal government is consider
ing “substantial reductions” in funding
for transportation research and de
velopment programs, said Dr. C. V.
Wootan, a member of the board of dire
ctors for the Council of University
Transportation Centers.
Meeting at Texas A&M University,
the board of directors for the council
agreed to develop a set of position pap
ers pointing out the need for transporta
tion studies.
Wootan said the federal Department
of Transportation currently devotes
only 2 percent of its overall budget to
research programs. Because funding
has remained at a constant level during
the 1970s, transportation research cen
ters and other research groups can con
duct only about 40 percent of the work
now with federal dollars that they could
10 years ago.
Wootan, director of the Texas Trans
portation Institute, a research agency
headquartered at Texas A&M, said the
cuts would hit programs when research
is needed most.
“We are facing a choking of our eco
nomic system,” he said. Wootan ex
plained that 21 percent of the gross na
tional product is linked directly to trans
portation.
The council also elected three new
officers for one-year terms and voted to
accept seven new members, bringing
total participation on the council to 22
institutions.
CUTC was established two years ago
to help pinpoint areas where research
funding is needed and to pass the find
ings along to the various agencies re
sponsible, Wootan said.
Wootan said CUTC representatives
also discussed the declining enrollment
in graduate engineering programs
nationwide.
Engineering students, lured by
$20,000-plus salaries immediately upon
graduation, are deserting further study
for financial benefits. Wootan said the
situation is seriously affecting the type
of research programs that provide en
gineers with innovative breakthroughs.
CUTC will hold its next national
meeting in Washington during January,