Page 2/The Battalion/Friday, July 31, 1987
Opinion
Let any group adopt a highway
After being orphaned for more than a month, miles of the
state’s highways and the trash found on them are once again up
for adoption, thanks to an intelligent decision on the part of the
state highway commission. Included among the names seen on
the big olue signs dotting the road sides will be the Austin Les
bian-Gay Political Caucus, and rightly so.
The state’s successful and innovative Adopt-A-Highway pro
gram was reinstated Wednesday after a brief but tactless disap-
pearence that couldn’t help but look unfair. On June 12, the
program was abruptly suspended after the political caucus
sought to participate. The highway commission’s excuses for
doing so seemed legitimate, but its timing was discourteous to
the group in question as well as to the other 2,377 organizations
involved.
The commission apparently stopped the program to eval
uate its policy toward all political action group applicants, not
just the lesbian-gay political caucus. Also, it was said to be study
ing questions of participant liability and the overall cost-effec
tiveness of the cleanup program.
The result of the closing was a set of new rules, which say
groups trying to defeat or promote legislation or political candi
dates cannot participate. Leave it to bureaucrats to look for
problems, just when they seem to have found a nice solution to a
dirty situation.
Although its name indicated otherwise, the Austin Lesbian-
Gay Political Caucus fits into neither category and was allowed
to participate. But it shouldn’t make a difference who is walking
down our roads picking up unwanted trash. The point is that a
once serious litter problem is being solved in a unique and effec
tive way. Anyone interested in contributing should be wel
comed, regardless of political affiliation or sexual preference.
In terms of its success, the program has exceeded all the
state’s original expectations. Locally, 38 groups have pledged
their support. There are many areas around tne state in which
all eligible stretches of road have been taken. The program has
had an impact not only on those directly involved, but on the
public as a whole, which sees the names of the participating
groups almost anywhere they go in Texas.
The new rules are set and probably won’t change. So be it.
What’s important is that Adopt-A-Highway is back and should
continue until every Texas mile is litter-free.
— The Battalion Editorial Board
Mail Call
Rotarians help in training of Mexican
firemen " ° '
EDITOR:
Rotarians are known for their eagerness to lend a helping hand,
and thanks to the efforts of two such clubs in Killeen, the helping
hand might make the diff erence between life and death to someone
trapped in a burning building.
The Killeen and Killeen Heights Rotary clubs (District 587) and
the clubs in their sister district in Mexico (District 413) are taking part
in a new program in conjunction with the Brayton Firemen’s Training
School in College Station, which is conducted each year by the Texas
Engineering Extension Service.
This year, for the first time, the clubs co-sponored 11 firefighters
from Mexico who participated in the 21st Annual Spanish Firemen’s
Training School, which was held July 12-17.
The school teaches Spanish-speaking fire personnel involved in
industry and municipalities state-of-the-art fire prevention and
suppression techniques.
We couldn’t be more pleased that Rotary Clubs have gotten
involved. This program has provided a boost to our Spanish school,
and we know that in years to come it will be a real addition. Giving
firefighting training to those who need it most is what we’re all about,
and that’s precisely the kind of access that Rotary is providing.
The idea originated with Keith Langford, of the Killeen Heights
Rotary Club. Langford is the emergency medical coordinator with the
city of Killeen and a former associate training specialist with Fire
Protection Training.
Others involved in its establishment were Mike Pinson,
international training coordinator for District 587 and Ken Feight,
both of the Killeen Heights Club.
The Fire Protection Training Division was established in 1930 to
train municipal firefighters in the state of Texas and now includes a
60-acre firemen training field and several officers around the state.
Last year 438 fire protection classes were conducted with 23,495
students for a total of 411,300 student hours involving students from
around the world.
Thomas Foster
assistant division head
Fire Protection Training
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Member of
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The Battalion Editorial Board
Sondra Pickard, Editor
Jerry Oslin, Opinion Page Editor
Rodney Rather, City Editor
John Jarvis, Robbyn L. Lister, News Editors
Homer Jacobs, Sports Editor
Tracy Staton, Photo Editor
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Firemen have big boots to
Have you ever
noticed that at
every party there
is at least one joker
who thinks he or
she can run the
country better
than the
Carolyn
Garcia
Guest Columnist
President, has the secret to nuclear
disarmament, or a fool-proof plan for
ending world hunger?
What these buffoons don’t realize is
that the joke is on them. Everyone
listening, those who aren’t drunk
anyway, know the second string
quarterback is always the most popular
guy in town when the team is losing.
But, if these characters spend some time
in someone else’s shoes, they may find
that they don’t have all the answers after
all.
Well, with all the firefighters in town
the last three weeks, 1 must have heard
every one of “those damn firemen”
complaints — everything from lack of
parking to an inadequate supply of
places to get drunk. So, I decided to
take a walk in a firefighter’s shoes, or
boots actually, to see what it is they
really have to do. I figured there has to
be more to being a firefighter than
drinking the town dry, taking up all the
good seats in restaurants, and
overflowing the already full parking
lots.
And believe me there is.
First, to drive a fire truck you have to
be related to Dorothy of The Wizard of
Oz fame. She was an experienced house
flyer. Driving one of those big, red
Tonka trucks is like driving a house.
Although, unlike Dorothy’s house,
many of them are air conditioned and
have power steering.
So, since 1 didn’t have to shift, I
settled behind the wheel and took the
“house” for a spin. It was easy to figure
out why the windshields of fire trucks
are so big. You have to see where you’re
going the first time — there can be no
backing up. Rear view mirrors are
useless because, for as far as the eye can
see in one of them, you can’t find the
end of the truck. It seems to go on
forever. The reason firefighters always
park in the street is because there can be
no parallel parking.
Then, they have to get dressed for
work. That photogenic suit that Joe
Firefighter wears, the one that looks so
good on television, is called bunker
gear. And, if you think fire’s hot, just try
on one of those get-ups.
The rubber boots go up to the top of
your legs, the coat goes down past your
knees (at least mine did), and the helmet
is a complicated contraption in itself .
Then, you have gloves, ski-mask type
things, and straps and buckles of every
sort. The whole outfit is hot, itchy and it
stinks.
How they manage to dress themselves
is a mystery. But, how they manage to
dress themselves before the fire they’re
going to gets totally out of control is one
for Agatha Christie.
But, the fires are exciting. There is
something about being so close to that
much potential danger that is
envigorating — once you get past the
feeling that your face is melting off that
I couldn’t see two inches in front oft
face. Then if you find door number
you win. The prize is escape.
To complicate matters, when I
entered door number one, I had to
crawl with my right hand on thewal
and my left one checking for obstacle
in front of my face. It got pretty trid
about this time. Oh, I almost forgot,,
while 1 was getting myself blocked it
closets in the dark — I had to
concentrate on my breathing. Yous«
was told that if I didn’t breath in
through my nose and out through®
mouth I’d hyperventilate.
Down on the floor, in the darknes
and heat, with sore knees and a hear
contraption on my back I started tolt
WASf
jills aim
Jational
iast Te?
the subje
committe
The B
sure intr
imar S
very light headed as my frustrationr lupon the
On one of the project fires, the
instructor put me on the nozzle of the
hose. This is one of, if not the most
important position on the line. I felt so
important.
Of course, I knew full well by the way
the hose was making circular motions as
I gripped on to it for dear life, that the
real firefighters were in control, not me.
It was an enormously comforting
thought.
After I tried my hand at a gas fire,
then an oil fire, I was ready to move up
the fire ladder of success in
participatory journalism. It was then
that I tried something that made the
thought of staying forever tied to my
computer in the safe newsroom very
appealing — the smoke house.
To experience (as that’s the only
thing I can call it) this project, I had to
add an air tank and a breathing
apparatus thing to my already heavy,
hot, itchy, smelly, and yes, now wet
bunker gear. The smoke house is
designed to resemble a house fire. It’s
dark, smokey, hot and full of obstacles.
The objective of the game was to
enter door number one and make your
way through the maze, which included
going up and down stairs, around fallen
ceiling beams and various other things,
but I have no idea what they were since
trying to get out of the closet began
build. It occured to me that I had
forgotten about my carefully pradti
breathing technique. In fact, I had
forgotten to breathe at all. Nowthai
time has passed it seems so silly thail
could forget to breathe.
Well, silly or not, I’m just glad 1
remembered in time and didn’t bait
be carried out in front of all those
firefighters. Although the Fire
Protection Training instructor helpi:
me through my the whole experienct
ept a (:
Texas h
ent to B
The w
quisition
of 690 a
cent to
East Tex
The b
eral gov<
by eithe
land swa
ful after i
I The tl
[Turkey
a junior firefighter, Tim Pfannstiel j.‘
called me a “real trooper," andwoii Crockett
have been most sympathetic, therai The P
them, after they were sure I wasn’tk poses tin
would have loved it. ; in & dial
These men and women musthaif f lie . le< ! ei
“be buyinj
“Our i
been given something more from for
than I was, because there is no way,i
having gotten a small taste ofit,woui:
risk my life daily for people whoml
didn’t know. Firefighters don’tjust
rescue cats from trees and washtk
always-clean fire trucks, they risktlif.
lives. You know — dicing. And to
this for everyone, even the people*l|
vote down pay raises for them. And
many of these firefighters do thisfc
free.
With all the expensive training,
caref ully practiced and reviewed
techniques, dare-devil spirit and
teamwork, it’s ironic that the lead®;
cause of death among flrefightersii
Texas is f alling off the truck.
Sing the t
[ertson, c
[Service.
“We s
; dated p
[erties,” li
He sa
[ment try
[can,spec
[land wou
Rober l
between
purchase
The r
Reps. Ci
John Bn
lett, R-D
Ennis.
Carolyn Garcia is assistant citytts
for The Battalion.
The
land
ney
; ii r;
governm
worth eh
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Texas
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“The Po
| • A&M
have par
like to se
Mary
who wen
mountai
I olive tree
“It’s a
The wall around the Russians
President Reagan
was standing at the
Berlin Wall a couple
of months ago when
he said, “Mr.
Gorbachev, tear
down this wall.”
On that wall are
wreaths in
remembrance of
people who tried to
get over it and were
killed as a result of
their attempts to
I couldn’t get into my hotel unless I
showed a guard my pass. Citizens of the
Soviet Union are not allowed inside hotels
where tourists are staying.
I was warned not to smile when my
picture was taken for my visa. I asked why
not.
• The Soviet people are patriotic, ft 1
centuries they have had to guard agato
invasions of countless hordes of armifi
There remain the markings of German
shells on buildings in Leningrad where 1
Soviets held on against the Nazi siege®
World War II.
“The Soviets,” I was told, “are suspicious
of smiles.”
• There is a legacy of oneness and sal 1
in numbers that binds the Soviet masse)
Lewis
Grizzard
But all that gave me only a brief hint of
life from behind a wall, a barbed wire fence,
a curtain of iron.
embrace the sweet arms of freedom.
A couple of years ago, I spent two weeks
in the Soviet Union. I thought that
experience would enlighten me as to what it
is like to be locked out of the rest of the
world.
In some ways, it did.
The only news I could get had been
tampered with by the government. Guards
went through my luggage and took away a
football media guide I was carrying as
reading material. They thought it had to do
with politics, and I wasn’t allowed to bring it
into the country.
All the time I was in the Soviet Union, I
knew I would be leaving soon.
Those millions of other poor souls would
have to stay.
Something I tried to get answered during
those two weeks is why there aren’t more
protests by Soviet citizens against the
tyranny of the government.
Americans wouldn’t stand for such a
thing, of course. We would march, riot, and
die to remove our shackles. We have done it
many times before.
I did manage to come away with a few
reasons why people of the Soviet Union
continue to take whatever the government
wants to dish out for them.
• The Soviet people don’t compareik
lives to others who live in freedombeO 1
they know little of what else is beyondtk
guarded boundaries, and the govern#
wants to keep it that way. How are you?
to keep ’em down on the farm, etc.?
We constantly tell ourselves howp#
our freedom is, but most of us still takt>
granted, and I am as guilty as any.
But there is one thing:
I can tell you when the Lufthansaffif
from Moscow to Frankfort lifted its wW
off Soviet turf, the group of AmericaiU'
whom I was travelling broke outintoa
spontaneous cheer.
Some even cried.
Copyright 1987, Cowles Syndicate