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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1987)
Page 4/ r The Battalion/Thursday, April 23, 1987 I cut here I Defensive Driving Course April 27, 28 and May 1,2 College Station Hilton Pre-register by phone: 693-8178 Ticket deferral and 10% insurance discount I cut here] OrMM« • AccMaortM a Tuxedo* Where you can buy a formal for as little as $49.°° come see our new semi-formal and formal collections Located in Post Oak Village 764-8289 New Spring Hours 10-8 Mon-Sat & 1-5 Sun New Arrivals Daily CHECKS WELCOME Here's the Scoop. Hand-dipped Blue-Bell® Ice Cream. 75<2 Buy one dip — get one free! Pavilion - Rumours - MSC Basement Snack Bar Now through April 30, 1987 Fresh from the Little Creamery in Brenham. Department of Food Services Texas A&M University "Quality First" Rural areas take extra care in summer Wan Local firefighters face busy season By Mark Beal Reporter For many people, summer means simply watermelon, swimming pools and the smell of suntan lotion. But for a handful of rural residents, summer means brittle old farm houses and parched, dry grass. It’s a time to listen for the crack ling of their scanners that will sum mon them away from dinner or work to the scene of a fire. They’re volunteer Firefighters, and this is their busiest time of year. The Precinct 1 Volunteer Fire De partment is one of four volunteer fire departments created nine years ago in Brazos County in a money saving move. Before that, rural communities had to rely on the College Station Fire Department, costing the county $1,000 each time a truck left the city limits. Now the county pays only $2,000 a year for each truck belonging to a volunteer Fire department in Brazos County. This covers about 25 per cent oF. the fire departments’ bud gets; the remainder is raised through membership dues and do nations. The five trucks belonging to Pre cinct 1 stand in the driveways of Fire fighters’ homes across Wellborn, Rock Prairie and Peach Creek. That way, they will be on hand when the volunteers are called to the 70 to 85 Fires that will spring up this year be tween Highway 60 and the Brazos River. Most of the firefighters say they were brought into the fire depart ment by a sense of responsibility. “I just Figured I should help out,” is the way several of them put it. Pre cinct 3 Assistant Fire Chief Rocky Ware says he joined after a nearby house caught on fire and only three firefighters showed up. But for three-year veteran Billy Junek, volunteer firefighting is a way of coming closer to a high- school goal. “I was with the (Boy Scout) Police Explorers in high school,” says Ju nek, an employee of Junek’s Grocery in Wellborn. “But I didn’t have the right background for the police, so I decided to go into the fire depart ment. Since the College Station Fire Department wasn’t taking any appli cations, I decided to apply for the Wellborn Fire Department.” But for Precinct 1 Fire Chief Mark Lenz, it’s a tradition. “It kind of runs in the family,” he says. “My dad was a FireFighter for Texas A&M when they provided protection for Bryan-College Sta tion. Then the county created the volunteer Fire department and I thought, ‘Hey, Daddy did it — why not me?’ ” Getting in isn’t hard. Junek says, “All you have to do is pay the $10 dues and show some in terest.” The 15 active FireFighters of Pre cinct 1 meet twice a month to discuss Finances and fundraising, and to make plans. Four times a year, they spend a day at A&M’s Brayton Field for practice and training. But when there’s a Fire, Precinct 1 treasurer Lynn Carnes says, it means dropping everything. “When we have a Fire alarm, these men have to leave their jobs to fight fires,” she says. University Policeman Robert Meyer, who is Precinct 1 Assistant Fire Chief, adds “And not too many will let them.” That makes daytime fires the most troublesome for the volun teers. Only a portion of the firefight ers are able to leave work, anil for the few who can leave, there may be a cost. Ware says he has had to use his vacation time to go fight Fires. Sometimes, more than one pre cinct must be called in to provide enough FireFighters.lt also takes longer to reach daytime Fires. Delays resulting from trying to get a boss’ permission to leave and then from fighting daytime trafFic to reach the trucks usually double the normal 10 minutes it takes to reach a fire. To speed things up, Carnes keeps a radio system in her home. From there, she dispatches the FireFighters and makes sure utilities to burning houses are cut off. “And when they’re going to be late, I make sure to call their wives,” she says. The FireFighters grin when she says' this; she’s called their wives a number of times. The C« luted belt W the Br rtment sed on insj X)RED Fire Chief Mark Lenz checks the pumps on one of the firetnicki 95: Sticky lor at 30 Calls usually reach her through office, which is the offi- the sherifFs cial channel to reach the volunteer . i’ ^ >.n a •.(». 11«ji■ *< <n«ni*ji fire department. Sometimes, though, people will contact individ ual FireFighters they know. Meyer warns that alarms shouldn’t be called to the city Fire de partments. “If you call them, they have to call the sheriff’s office," he says. “It slows things down by about 10 minutes." II you ask firefighters what the biggest rural Fire hazard is, they'll smile at each other as if they’re shar ing a private joke. Then they’ll blurt out — maybe in pnison — “Burning trash!" Davie Burning trash is the ' firefighters’ biggest headadni Buranf.s and over thes cchnihr"r .®id tacil i ,h <•( iil u hni wiu burntm gsaalh 1/ They would prefer peoples entirely, but concede dial! dies can h<>[>e for is caution "Watch trash when rou ing it." Meyer says. “Itm good idea to cover it with a keep sparks from flvingoiit Lenz even suggestsalliifj department before buminp leaves so they can be readv House approves measure to punish drinking motorists AUSTIN (AP) — House members voted Wednesday for a Senate-ap proved bill that would allow motor ists to be fined if a police officer catches them taking a drink while driving. The tentative approval came on voice vote and a final vote is ex pected today. Although the measure passed the Senate earlier, it will be sent back for consideration of House amend ments. “People who operate a motor ve hicle have a responsibility to operate it in a responsible manner,” Rep. Bill Blackwood, R-Mesquite said. “And when a driver drinks in public, it becomes a public matter,” he said. Rep. Paul Moreno, D-El Paso, said, “This is just another of those bills that confuse the public. You know very well that under present law if an officer sees a driver with a can of beer in one hand he is going to stop that driver and see if he is drunk.” Moreno said El Paso members of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers have told him the bill would just con fuse the issue of punishing drunken drivers. Rep. Ed Watson, D-Deer Park, asked, “What about these drivers who have deeply tinted windows on their cars?” “This bill says the officer must see the driver actu ally consume an alcoholic beverage. ” — Rep. Bill Blackwood, R- Mesquite The maximum fine that could be levied for the misdemeanor would be $200. One House amendment provides that it must be a “police officer” giv ing the ticket, not just an “officer. Another amendment removed language in the Senate bill that inad vertently referred to children stand ing in a school bus, Blackwood said. Blackwood said, “The officer will just have to look closer. This bill says the officer must see the driver actu ally consume an alcoholic beverage.” The House also tentatively ap proved a Senate-passed bill that would repeal a provision of the 1984 school reform act that would require teachers to be tested on their basic literacy and the subjects they teach. Amid much controversy, the basic literacy test was given to all certified teachers in 1986. Students entering teacher training programs must pass a basic skills test and then pass a test on their subject areas before being certified to teach. A violation would allow an officer to give the driver a written notice to appear in court and the driver would have to sign a written promise to appear. The House finally passed 131-9 and sent to the governor a bill allow ing employees and members of the Texas Railroad Commission to con duct informal meetings. Texas Court to hear cos on polygropi Score get the Sc [ mtions. fjipection. oint (nu Jeffei | is below t mequate istaurar The t son says a a four- o Section, Inspe AUS TIN (AP) -TlieTf* Supreme Court WeiMB, agreed to hear argumentsiEiw^^PL 1 . (lct< (toi i ,im' that the W ^° f 5 ' I 11><■ i tics l ninn iu- rlWung his against the T exas DepartnS 1 *; e ^ le Mental Health and Mental ™ sed 1 dation. p i here An Austin trial courtdt® 1 the MHMR polygraph reff tions invalid in 1984ande»j® their enforcement. How® 3rd Court of Appeals ath rejected the argument of® 1 ity, but said the case shof back to the trial courtto mine whether the regoha “are invalid on other ground’ The TCLU appealedtod* : preme Court on behalf d 1 Texas State EmployeesU* 11 The MHMR regulations? vided that departmenteropd* | may be required to submf polygraph examination ® fal inches should hav of Kings!: gabbed tl 'Let s go to I His dau. hno, 16, be toward sho the 5-foot-I through tf course of an agency invest#* of alleged employee mis® 1 * j It pi^ga -Hut AGGIE SURVIVAL KIT $6 99 DELIVERY Let Pizza Hut help you survive those final weeks of school! College Station 693-9393 Any medium 1 item Thin N Pizza and 2 16-oz soft drinks for only $6.99 (plus tax) Offer good from April 13-May'S Pizza Hut* Campus 260-9060 $9 99 Limited Delivery Area. NO COUPON REQUIRED. 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