Tuesday, March 6, 1984/The Battalion/Page 5
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Texas Ranger often mistaken for baseball player
)es
religion,
nativity case,
By KARI FLUEGEL
Reporter '
Bob Connell is a Texas
Ranger of the old-fashioned
type. He never has been mis
taken for the Lone Ranger, but
he has been asked if he’s a base-
ernmentamll jail player.
y fathers ai|
He wears a gray, felt Stetson
tmas is a "sti aushed back on his forehead
al,” and tk tnd behind his gray jacket he
s merely a k ias a small, silver badge on his
hirt pocket. The badge, about
he size of a silver dollar, has a
nVnii ilar an( ^ says “Texas Ranger.”
\S rJUm For almost half of his 28-year
areer in law enforcement,
jonnell has been one of the 94
exas Rangers who are the
riminal investigators for the
tate of Texas.
order on tl«|
Ixgan dd
Reagan's pro
kxjI prayer.
The Texas Rangers are the
oldest state investigative unit in
the United States. Every stale
has criminal investigators, but
only Texas has the Rangers.
“Anyone who is much of a
student of Texas history would
know that there are all kinds of
stories about old-time Texas
Rangers/ Connell says. “Pro
bably some of them are very col
orful. Most of them are based
on truth, but I think there have
been some things that have
been blown out of proportion
over the years.
“None of us are super men.
We all put our pants on like ev
erybody else does — one leg at a
time. That’s about the only way
to do it.”
The 94 Rangers are divided
into six regions with 12 to 14
Rangers stationed throughout
each region. Each Ranger has
several counties in his territory.
Connell covers Brazos, Burle
son, Leon, Madison and Rob
ertson counties.
Connell spends little time in
his office. Usually he is out trav
elling around his territory.
“I’m out a whole lot,” he says.
“I don’t like office duty. I meet
a lot of good people and work
with a lot of good people.”
With the exception of Brazos
County, the law enforcement
agencies in the area are small
departments. The Ranger Serv
ice exists to be an assistant orga-
nizationto the smaller depart
ments, Connell says.
Rangers attend school each
year to learn new investigative
techniques and innovations in
order to aid the smaller depart
ments with investigations.
“Besides being an extra body
on the scene, I’m one more man
to help,” Connell says. “Hope
fully I’ve got some expertise to
lend to the situation and try to
help out.”
To become a Texas Ranger,
one must first be 35 years old
and have at least eight years of
law enforcement experience.
The majority of the Rangers
come from the Department of
Public Safety troopers, but they
aren’t required to be troopers
before entering the Rangers.
Connell was a state trooper
before he entered the Ranger
Service.
“It is as different as daylight
and dark, because all the troop
er’s work is directed toward tra
ffic enforcement,” he says. “All
my work is directed toward
criminal enforcement.”
The most publicized case in
Connell’s career was a triple
murder in Hearne during early
1970.
A banker, his wife and
daughter were killed when
three men forced their way into
the the banker’s home with the
intention of forcing the banker
to open the vault at the bank.
The vault had a time-lock, so
the banker could not have
opened the safe anyway.
The men then killed the
banker and his family with a
souvenir Bowie knife which the
banker had purchased in Mex
ico.
“We got lucky on that one,”
Connell says.
Within two to three days,
Connell and the Robertson
County sheriff knew who the
murderers were, and within a
week the three men were in cus
tody.
“You know, sometimes with a
little luck, anything will do for
brains,” he says.
The knife used in the mur
der hangs on Connell’s office
wall. The sheriff gave the knife
to Connell after the trial as a
keepsake because he had spent
so much time on the case.
Though Connell deals with
murders, burglaries, thefts, as
saults and rapes, he says he
doesn’t feel his job is danger
ous.
“It’s probably not as danger
ous as walking across Texas
Avenue at certain times of the
dayi” he says.
Connell also says that it takes
no different qualities to become
a Ranger than to become any
other type of investigator, but it
does take a lot of patience.
“Every time you receive som
information, you’ve got to run|
that information down, and a
lot of limes it’s no good,” he
says. “Then you’ve just got to
back off and go another direci
tion, and try to keep at it till you
do gel the right answer. Some-!
limes you never do.”
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Architecture job market looks good
. Fisk said
having bette
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By ADA FAY WOOD
Re[X>rter
The College of Architecture
nd Environmental Design has
simple measure for the
length of the market for its
raduates: when firms in both
alias and Houston are hiring it
[means happy days are here
gain.
Last year activity in Dallas
Bwas slow, and even in Houston,
where there are nearly always
jobs, opportunity was off a bit.
But this year the excitement is
back, with both big cities in full
swing.
Larry Priesmeyer, associate
professor, says salaries for bach
elor’s degrees this year are
ranging from $15,000 to
$18,000. If students stay an
other year and get a master’s
degree in Architecture or par
ticipate in the new Pre-Profes
sional Experience Program they
can expect to start at about
$20,000.
The most lucrative offers
that come to the college right
now are those for interior de
signers, Priesmeyer said. That
specialization requires a grad
uate degree.
Graduates with a Bachelor of
Environmental Design usually
start as draftsmen under a pro
ject architect, working on mod
els and designs.
The Pre-Professional Experi
ence Program gives the stu
dents the chance to co-op with a
firm for six months and be
treated as a normal employee —
receiving a regular salary. Stu
dents must have completed all
of their sophomore design
classes to participate.
The experience that students
get from wprking in this pro
gram goes toward the eight
years of school and work that is
required to qualify for the test to
become a professional architect.
At Northgate
846-3824
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° •
| The conversation is casual
ind spontaneous as students
ind faculty sit in a circle ex-
:hanging opinions and asking
questions of each other — learn-
gand communicating.
Such is the setting for each of
the talks in the discussion series
of Memorial Student Center In-
ght.
Insight is the brainchild of
[ill Thrash, the coordinator of
te series. She developed it a
tear ago, and it is now sup-
pried by four MSC commix
es.
Thrash says the primary goal
of Insight is to provide a “grass
es” type of discussion to fac-
Ity and students about subjects
ither than academics. The sec-
nd goal is to provide under
standing and to promote mem
ber interaction among the
committees that are sponsoring
the program.
The committees involved in
Insight are: MSC Great Issues,
MSC Political Forum, the En
dowed Lecture Series and the
Student Conference on Na
tional Affairs.
■ The adviser for Great Issues
said, “I personally think that’s
one of the neatest things about
the program because we’re
drawing the four committees
that may not do a program on
whatever the Insight topic is.
“It adds an extra dimension
to all the programs,” Sue Lie-
bet t said.
Insight has been averaging
10-20 people a session. There
fore, in terms of numbers she
says that it has not been a suc
cess, but she believes it has been
successful because many stu
dents are now able to form edu
cated opinions on subjects they
formerly knew little about.
Thrash says that students of
ten don’t know enough to start
arguing, so basically the dis
cussions are learning sessions.
“SCONA has been criticized
for this,” she says. “People
gather around a speaker and
say, ‘where did you get your de
gree?”’
Thrash says students must
work to learn because without
knowledge a person isn’t able to
form an educated opinion.
They invite people who don’t
know about the subject and
want to learn, and those who do
know about it and either want
to participate in the conversa
tion or just listen.
There will be an Insight dis
cussion Thursday entitled “Stu
dent Input; Is There Any?” It
will be held in the 146B MSC at
12:30 p.m.
As for plans for the future,
Thrash says, “I’m interested in
making it an every other week
or once a week thing. I’m inter
ested in it staying informal —an
informal atmosphere with mod
erate attendance.”
If it becomes too large she
says it will become a lecture and
people will not want to partici
pate.
Shoot for the Top!
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mechanical, or computer-science
discipline, it's time to shoot for the top
by building your career with a company
that's going places. The company is LTV
Aerospace and Defense Company, and
we'll he on hand to talk with you
Thursday, March 8, at Texas A&M
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ambitious people who can help us
maintain our momentum—and
accelerate our pace—in these fields:
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• RF Systems
• Electro-Optic Systems
• Flight Mechanics
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If you are unable to get on the sign-up
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pick up.
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Last Day To Vote Absentee
The Choice Is Clear.
In the Texas House of Representatives,
Conservative Leadership and Experience Count.
* ■ r 1 :
■ A 4
Experience in
Elected Public
Office
Occupation
College Education
Presidential
Candidate
Supported
1983 Special
Congressional
Election
RICHARD SMITH
Mayor-5 years
City Councilman-3 years
Member of Governor’s
Advisory Committee-4 yrs.
Independent Businessman
Engineer
Texas A&M
Ronald Reagan-1980
Ronald Reagan-1984
Phil Gramm
NEELY LEWIS
None
Trial Lawyer
University of Virginia
Jimmy Carter-1980
Democratic Nominee-1984
Dan Kubiak
(Bryan/CS Eagle-Jan. 16,1983)
The Record is Clear.
Richard Smith thinks like us,
He will vote like us
in the Texas Legislature.
." • ■■ ' : .' :
Vote for proven, conservative leadership
March lO
Vote Absentee before 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 6
at the College Station City Hall across from campus,
or at the Brazos County Courthouse in Bryan.
ELECT
Richard_ _
For
State
Representative
Pol. fldv. paid by Citizens for Richard smith, Robt R. wood, Treas . P 0 box 3743, Bryan, TX 77805.