Wednesday, Februaiy 5, 1986/The Battalion/Page 3
State and Local
looms sprouting at A&M
intenance
vorkers help
)ut spring in air
Ify CARLA CRAWFORD
Reporter
Punxatawney Phil, the
1 eather-forecasting groundhog,
J H’t see liis shadow Sunday, so
» xording to legend, spring is just
I -oiind the corner,
r But at Texas A&M, you don't
| Ha groundhog to know that
^is near.
just ask any one of the 60 land-
capt maintenance construction
w workers.
Eugene Kay, director of
rounds maintenance, says the
iroimds Maintenance liepart-
f B has been preparing for
Bg long before Groundhog
jly.
“f e glow about 125,000 plants
ndilowers a year,” he said.
Bnong the spring flowers to
Blanted around campus this
ear are 8,000 red, white and
I H petunias in honor of the
I Bs Sesquicentennial, he said.
IIBty said the petunias, which
H Bhil their blooming peak in
Bl and will flower in June, will
^^M^Banted in early March.
^IlfBie Sesquicentennial petunias
/ Be planted at the campus en-
Be in front of the System Ad-
r linlstration Building, around
le Albritton Tower, -and at the
aglpole in the Quadrangle, Ray
ices liH
k-"' s <- v
^ k *" . iK.
whl i
Icasting
e’s no i
tdonna
;>r autoi
Horse
problerr
arx, no
Oil. Mo
il.
you s® I
?re happ'
Plenty oh
r musket
: strap t* 1
nanyofid [
; with hi 1 |
Too bad
don’t tittt
politic 1
fOtlier spring flowers to look
rrare daffodils, Ray said.
About 2,000 to 3,000 daffodil
ulbs will be planted around the
H ow er, he said.
iBre abundant pansies, pop-
ies, calundula, and dianthus in
loom now at the bell tower and
■south gate of campus are
nfld winter annuals and will dis-
ppear with the arrival of warmer
imperatures, he said.
But as the winter plants disa-
ear, the spring blooms will fol-
ifl
And Ray says that may be
»ner than usual.
“\i think we’ll have an early
Photo by RANDY MERRILL
Two Texas A&M students walk past Ornamental Pyrus outside
Hart Hall. The trees blossom in early spring, but the blossoms
don’t remain for too long.
spring,” Ray said. “Trees are get
ting ready to leaf out.”
Dr. William C. Welch, exten
sion landscape horticulturist,
agreed and said the campus
should also soon have an abun
dance of wildflowers.
The trees with the white blos
soms presently found all over
campus are called Ornamental
Pyrus, Welch said.
The trees blossom in early
spring, but unfortunately they
aren’t around too long, he said.
PRESENTS
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LOVE
in
th,
FEBRUARY 5,1986
8:00 RM.
RUDDER AUD.
$1.00 ADM.
Wagon train allowed
to circle Texas Capitol
Associated Press
AUSTIN — The wagons circled
the Capitol on Tuesday, a tribute to
the negotiating talents of Sesquicen
tennial Wagon Train leaders and lo
cal traffic officials.
Last week, it looked like the horse-
powered entourage might not be
welcomed in downtown Austin be
cause of the potential traffic mess.
But Austin police eventually decided
the whole thing would be managea
ble.
“Things have worked out beauti
fully,” Wagon Train Association
President Charles Oliver of Dallas
said as he watched about 50 wagons
roll past the Capitol.
Austin police said the event went
smoothly, marred only by the death
of a horse who just “pooped out,”
according to Capt. R.G. Wilson.
The horse died after being un-
hitched from a wagon on a busy
street in South Austin.
The long trip began Jan. 2 in Sul
phur Springs and is scheduled to
end July 3 in Fort Worth.
“It’s not the most direct route be
tween Sulphur Springs and Fort
Worth, but it may be the fun route,”
Gov. Mark White pointed out as he
welcomed the wagon train to Austin.
Hundreds of schoolchildren rang
the Capitol to watch the wagons..
They cheered and whooped as the
modern pioneers rolled by.
“I think it’s very important that all
of them get a taste of the flavor of
the history of this state — to learn to
love it as all of us do,” White said of
the children.
Will Howard, chairman of the
Travis County Sesquicentennial
Committee, told the spectators they
were seeing living history, an almost-
exact replay of the wagon trains that
brought settlers west.
“This is literally and exactly how
they did it. They didn’t have Velcro
though,” he said, referring to some
of the fittings on the wagons.
The history of the Capitol and the
wagon trains cross, according to
Howard.
“This Capitol was put here and 80
percent of the justification for it w as
purely to draw the population west
ward,” he said. “We wanted to pop
ulate this gieat land that we had.”
After a brief ceremony, Howard
said the Capitol roll-by was proof
that the wagon train can co-exist
with modern traffic.
“And now at this point I wush to
challenge San Antonio,” he said. “If
the wagon train can come here to the
Capitol it can go to the Alamo on
March 2.”
Audit report finds errors
in contractors’ payment
Associated Press
GRAPEVINE, Texas — A Dallas-
Fort Worth International Airport
contractor was paid twice for
$100,000 worth of work while an
other was paid $41,000 for work
never performed, according to an
independent audit of the airport.
The 35-page audit released Mon
day alleges funds were diverted
from one contract to another with
out airport board approval, while
management falsified records and
circumvented state contract bidding
laws.
The investigation began in July
after officials discovered irregulari
ties in a contract between Ryan Con
struction Co. and American Airlines.
In September Airport Executive
Director Ernest Dean retired and a
criminal investigation began into
management procedures.
The audit findings have been
turned over to a task force investi
gating allegations of wrongdoing
and were to be reviewed by airport
board members.
The report showed consultants
were paid an average profit of 24
percent, while industry standards
call for about 8 percent.
On at least one occasion, the audit
found, staff members coached a po
tential bidder on how to violate state
bidding laws.
The report was issued by special
auditor John Loving, a certified
public accountant, and a team of au
ditors.
Twenty-three of 347 contracts en
tered into by the airport between
1980 and October 1985 were re
viewed. Those contracts represent
about 37 percent of the dollars spent
during that time.
Twenty-four pages address prob
lems in the planning and engi
neering department, which drew the
most criticism.
Loving recommended the depart
ment be totally reorganized and the
section responsible for administer
ing contracts be made independent.
After reading the report, Dean
said there obviously were problems
at the middle-management level of
which he was unaware but that there
never was an attempt to intentionally
deceive the board.
“One thing I really resent was, in
two or three places, the mention of
an apparent intent to deceive the
board,” Dean said. “There was never
an intent to deceive anybody.”
Other findings:
• Work sheets on contracts often
incorrectly identified the work to be
performed. Board members, there
fore, often did not know what they
were approving.
• Independent auditors were not
independent and therefore were
subject to pressure from other staff
members. Audits were done primar
ily on tenant airlines and concessio
naires, not on construction contrac
tors or the airport’s own operations.
.s soon as you get a jokvyou could
get the American-Express® Card.
If you’re a senior, all you need is
to accept a $10,000 career-oriented job.
That’s it. No strings. No gimmicks. (And
even if you don’t nave a job right now,
don’t worry. This offer is still good up to
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Well, simply stated, we be
lieve in your future. And as you
go up the ladder, we can help-r-
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The Card can help you begin to
establish your credit history. And, for
business, the Card is invaluable for
travel and restaurants. As well as shop
ping for yourself.
Of course, the American Express
Card is recognized around the world.
So you are too.
So call 1-800-THE-CARD and
ask to have a Special Student
Application sent to you. Or look
for one on campus.
The American Express Card.
Don’t leave school without it SM
) SSOOb ]l
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