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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 1987)
Friday, June 19, 1987AThe Battalion/Page 5 Airport uses old materials for new runway HOUSTON (AP) — Engineers putting the finishing touches on a new runway at Houston Intercon tinental Airport are using ancient roadbuilding materials to upgrade Texas’ second-busiest airport. The $65 million project, to be in augurated Friday when top Houston city officials make a ceremonial land ing in a jetliner, is a variation of the same technique the Romans used about 2,000 years ago to build roads still in use today, said Alan Jefts, de sign manager for the new Runway 9- 27. “As an engineer, this is an old technology being applied to a new system,” Jefts said. The 10,000-foot runway is unlike conventional airport runways in that contractors shunned the use of con crete and instead used natural materials found in the area. “The unique feature is it is ex tremely cost effective,” Jefts said. Savings of up to $10 million in runway expenses allowed the city to build a highway interchange and a new airport fire station essentially for free. And they still had money left over. The local materials included gravel from the nearby San Jacinto River, sand from land just north of the airport, lime that is readily avail able in the Houston area and flyash produced from a Houston Lighting & Power Co. generating plant. The Romans used gravel, sand, lime and volcanic ash. “It’s probably one of the oldest processes,” Jefts said. “We use the example of the Romans and the Ap- pian Way. They were using natural materials they found and built roads out of it.” Houston engineers added a small amount of cement to the mixture, known as LCF (lime-concrete-flyash) but only so it could be hard enough initially to carry construction equip ment. “It’s going to get stronger and stronger and stronger,” he said. “In reality, this thing will last as long as the airport is here.” Only two other airports — New ark, N.J. and Portland, Ore. — have used LCF. Sample cores pulled by engineers from the Newark runway, now in use for more than 15 years, show it is continuing to gain strength. ; excitinj the mim! in the in ;)d has go; : six-monllj e," Phare juries tbj aggressitf reraartf and this 1 ig is eoid )ntrioutia:« id that isi|| lhe heav y rains Texas with Hoods pert: Rain will increase population disease-carrying Asian mosquitoes By Teresa Fostere Reporter that already have and humidity deluged also are ex- I happen to increase the population of Asian mos- enfilni ( l u ’ los > which are carriers of the dengue virus. professor of entomology at wh t)r. Jim Olson, n the said dengue is a flu-like virus that is prop«B^ nate< ^ ' n t ^ e colonial era. A resur- vs ” Bee of the virus is occuring in Mexico, Central j he w ouldi" mer ‘ ca > South America and the Caribbean area. ler by wBMthough the virus hasn’t been reported in the Departiw lUhited States, public health concern centers lentali around the possibility of dengue establishing it- seli in the this country through the Asian mosqui toes, Olson said. ■put Olson said the local area won’t be affected makettifjis much as other parts of the state. Houston and empt,”tit.Bstal areas will be the hardest hit, he said, by thestf|rhe dengue virus, also known as “break-bone fever,” is like a severe case of the flu, said David Jefferson, a sanitarian at the Brazos County Health Department. “It hurts deep down in your bones,” he said. The virus causes a fever that lasts five to seven days and often occurs in separate periods of three- or four-day durations, he said. Recovery from the virus is associated with prolonged fa tigue and depression, he said. Olson said tourists and immigrants who are in fected with dengue while in the United States may expose themselves to the mosquitoes, which pick up and spread the virus. Asian mosquitoes lay their eggs out of water in places such as old tires, he said. When rain floods the tires, the mosquitoes hatch. The mosquitoes probably were brought to Texas in imported Asian tires, he said, and these tires, which may be transported throughout the country, potentially carry eggs. Since the Asian mosquito was first discovered in the United States two years ago in Harris County, the species has spread to more than 11 states. The insect has been found as far north as Tennessee and has the ability to spread farther and live in colder temperatures than most mos quitoes, Olson said. This trait strengthens the po tential for dengue in the United States, he said. Other types of mosquitoes, such as Aedes mos quitoes, also may carry the virus, Jefferson said, but they can’t survive in cold areas. Olson said the best protection against the Asian mosquito is to dispose of or empty any thing that holds water when it rains. “Since they breed in refuse, get rid of the refu se,” he said. The Center for Disease Control is the lead agency researching the mosquito’s activity, along with several universities and mosquito control districts. Currently, little is known about the survival or the activities of the mosquito, Olson said. 18th in haris said [teat 1.” ieen atteinj p an ads minimi a; Defense rests case for officer in murder trial I SAN ANTONIO (AR) — At torneys for a patrolman charged with slaying a fellow officer rested their case Thursday with- pit calling the defendant to the Stand, saying the state did not ust proif f P rove ^se. ver inosT F arre H I ucker, 36, is charged i witli killing his best, friend Ste- 'ted offti® 1611 Stnitb 1 ’ 31, last Aug. 18. 'tiontcfBucker claims Smith was holding |( nv , a .45-caliber pistol on him and that he had to shoot Smith in self- defense with a .357-caliber Mag num revolver. H After a noon recess, prosecu tors and defense attorneys gath- Red for a conference in the chambers of State District Judge Phil Chavarria Jr. Tucker’s attor ney, Terry McDonald, rested the defense’s case shortly afterwards. H“I just don’t believe a jury’s going to believe beyond a rea sonable doubt that Farrell Tucker Went out there and intentionally murdered Stephen Smith,” he said. K Special prosecutor Sid Harle, however, disagreed, *‘Tm satisfied with the case,” he said. “As far as showing an inten tional killing, there’s no question about it.” P The jury will return at 9 a.m. Friday for closing arguments, p lf convicted, Tucker could be sentenced to up to life in prison Ihd a $10,000 fine. ets the af and la* dinglegf judicial fi : judges' power a 1 ' iscaltroa i the pul i the eh* and tot funds w nits saiA is that' 1 ' ne time.* 1 nain out' secretai)' ashursi Meter readers fight dogs, insects as part of normal work conditions ODESSA (AP) — Cathy Wallace swiftly moved from house to house through fields of weeds and swarm ing hordes of insects. The TU Electric meter reader calmly stopped at one south-side res idence to console Butch, an un chained dog that was barking and snarling. For Wallace, it’s all in a day’s work that involves more than recording electricity meter readings. Sometimes “you gotta tough it out,” she says. Wallace carries a small computer terminal used to record the read ings, and her only defense against vi cious animals, rough customers and locked gates is a telescope. With the scope, Wallace can read hard-to- reach meters from long distances. She said the job took some getting used to at first but now she feels lucky to have it. Wallace, with the 10 other readers who work for TU Electric, begins work at 7 each morning to beat the heat of the day. She has been at her job for two years, she said, and finds the exten sive miles of walking most difficult when it is too hot or too cold. “Other than that, it keeps you in shape,” she said. Wallace also likes the idea that the company provides her work pants — the dog bites and trudging through mazes of mud and weeds can take their toll on clothes. “T here was one time it was rain ing all day long,” she said. On one occasion, a meter had to be read at a house with a large Ger man shepard that was bent on get ting out of the yard. The dog ran over Wallace in its at tempt to escape. “It was like a mud wrestling con test,” she said, “but I finally got him back in the yard. “Then you have all the dogs in the neighborhood barking at you at once. That can be a real headache.” Wallace says human beings can be just as dangerous as any animal. “My feet will tell you. We read all the meters. We have to pay our bill, too. We want our meter read right.. .” — Cathy Wallace, meter reader “I had a gun pulled on me once,” she said, adding that such things hardly ever happen. She said the gun-toting customer had been robbed three times and ad vised her to identify herself next time she needed to read the meter. Wallace also wants to set the re cord straight on whether meters are read every month. “My feet will tell you,” she said. “We read all the meters. We have to pay our bill, too. We want our meter read right. . .” She said another hazard on the job is getting to meters even after the reader has access to the yard. Point ing to a meter with a wasp nest hang ing from the bottom, Wallace talked about a co-worker who was stung several times by a group of hornets. “He was reaching in there to move the bushes to read the meter,” she said, when the hornets attacked. The reader was allergic to the stings and had to be taken to the hos pital, she said. The handheld terminals used by meter readers replace the older way of writing the readings on computer cards, Justin Johnson, customer service manager, said. TU Electric was the first in the state to use the computer system and other companies soon followed. The handheld terminals also pro vide other features. As the reader walks on the route, the computer in dicates which house or business is next and where the meter is located. The computer also can give spe cial messages to the reader, such as a warning that a vicious dog may be known to live at the residence. Johnson said that if a reading is not consistent with past readings, the computer will emit a beep indicating a recheck is necessary. He said the readers have an error rate of about two in every 1,000. A ■ M p m m CLINICS AM/PM Clinics Minor 10% Student 3820 Texas Ave. Bryan, Texas 846-4756 iencies sc .it with ID card 401 S. Texas Ave. Bryan, Texas 779-4756 8a.m.-11 p.m. 7 days a week Walk-in Family Practice SALE LLI < V) SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE SALE Contact Lenses SALE in > LLi UJ Only Quality Name Brands (Bausch & Lomb, Ciba, Barnes-Hinds-Hydrocurve) $79, 00 -STD. DAILY WEAR SOFT LENSES Spare pr. Only $1 0 with purchase of 1st pr. at reg. price $99. 00 -STD. EXTENDED WEAR SOFT LENSES <£QQ 00 -STD. TINTED SOFT LENSES ipaa. DAILY WEAR OR EXTENDED WEAR W SALE ENDS JUNE 30, 1987 AND APPLIES TO CLEAR STANDARD UJ _i < in m m UJ DAILY WEAR STOCK LENSES ONLY Call 696-3754 For Appointment * Eye exam and care kit not included CHARLES C. SCHROEPPEL, O.D., P.C. 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