f» vtmi =1:1 1«J k 1 1 k’J =< I i July 24, 2001 me 107 ~ Issue 176 6 pages c /s in Brief \ m- State Hher, stepfather iicted for abuse )A!.LAS (AP) — A Dallas mi grand jury has in- ,:ed the mother and tor i'stepfather of an 8-year- Igii I locked in a closet and lerely malnourished. Jarbara and Kenneth inlon were indicted Mon- ^ 4n felony charges of in- / to a child. They were ar- Bi last month after police cut d the girl, who igned only 25 pounds and ween locked in a feces- ■jrine-covered closet in a tchins mobile home. The! girl was released from 5 hospital last week. Authorities say the girl was le for at least $1 70 million ■damages to Houston-area ■ools, including prelimi- kdenary estimates of $138 mil- ion at the University of Hous- i „ rmtt lK state and federal disaster ia J Icials said Monday, c-to-bac ijThe overall total will likely make a m j s k as sc y,ool districts and col ei with ^ejes continue to assess dam- oroupat- 1 J gies from the storm six weeks igb, Federal Emergency Man agement Agency and Texas j^Oivision of Emergency Man- aMpement officials said. JA/Tmmm s ts fe skid he Ci^oi Wolf Pea of games me. he took New buses arrive in CS, will be used on-campus BERNARDO GARZA/7h£ Battalion Stuart Hutson The Battalion From a lab in Roswell, N. M. two sleek crafts quietly glide through the A&M campus with the ultimate purpose of car rying students away to a place where they will be subjected to cruel testing — their classrooms. The first two in a fleet of 22 new shut tle buses arrived in College Station Sat urday from New Mexico’s Nova Buses, Inc. production plant where they were custom made for A&M’s campus. “It was time for a change,” said Gary Jackson, manager of Bus Operations. “These buses are going to make a real dif ference in the way that students get around on campus.” The fleet will first replace old buses running on-campus routes. As additional buses are purchased, they will be also used for off-campus routes. The change will be noticeable. The new buses have a dramatically different appearance than their 20-year-old coun terparts. T he seats face the interior of the bus leaving a standing space that is several feet wide for passengers who cannot find a seat or are too busy to sit down, Jackson said. “We lost space for two seats by arrang ing them this way,” he said. “But the bus es can carry a substantially higher num ber of standing passengers while at the same time making getting on and off the bus a lot easier.” The buses can seat 34, but can carry 7 5 or more. A door is located on each end of the bus, one equipped with a lifting ramp for wheelchair-bound patrons. For those who find the first step up to the bus a little too far, the buses can lower their base more than a foot to provide easier access. “What people are going to enjoy most, though, is the air conditioning,” said Sam Teuton, a bus driver of three years and a senior history major. “With the old buses, you had to keep the win-, dows down until the A/C finally got cold — if it ever did. These buses cool down almost immediately.” Jackson said the interior of the buses were meant to hold up against wear and tear. The cloth seats can be cut without showing signs of damage, and the floors are a granite mixture that gets sticky as it gets wet to prevent accidents. “We looked at other buses like these which have been in use since the ’70s,” Jackson said. “The buses that were built in 1977 look like they were built in 1997. “If we can make, the old buses last 18 years, we can make these last at least 25.” The buses are equipped with a “stop request” line that passengers may pull when their stop is reached; however, Jackson said the function is probably only going to be functional on future off-cam pus buses to shorten route times. Trey Cellmer, a driver of more than three years and junior geology major, said the new fleet also carries an additional bonus for students outside the buses. Along with cleaner burning and more fuel-efficient engines, the exhaust pipes are located on the top-left side of the bus, so the exhaust will not spray directly onto those nearby. “This way, people waiting for their bus See Buses on Page 2. BERNARDO GARZA/Th£ Battalion Above: Bus drivers will receive a train ing session on han dling the new buses which are scheduled to begin arriving in College Station Saturday. The 22 new buses cost $6 million. They were pur chased from University adminis trative funds. The new $50 bus fee will be used for maintenance and * purchasing more buses in the future. The buses seat 34 people but can carry up to 75 pas sengers. They also have a lifting ramp for wheelchairs. Left: Bus Operations Manager Gary Jackson stands in front of a new bus. Jackson said the first few new buses will be used for on- campus routes. CSPD offers tips to prevent fraud Robin Lewis The Battalion After the recent arrests of two College Station residents accused of credit card fraud and check forgery, College Station Police Department (CSPD) of ficials warn residents of the Bryan-College Station area to be more cautious and protect their accounts. James Michael Ellison, a 20- year-old College Station resi dent, was arrested July 13 at First American Bank in College Station, after officers found him in possession of crack cocaine while attempting to cash a stolen check at the bank. Officers said Ellison and his 30-year-old roommate, Dawn Marie Bugge, could be respon sible for as many as 250 inci dents of fraudulent activity. Bugge was arrested July 18. CSPD Public Information Officer Dan Jones said people who knew the suspects or have experienced recent burglaries to their car or home should be concerned. The* suspects stole 4 whole books of checks + from the bottom of the^l^ victim’s check boxes to keep them from noticing i any immediate disap pearance. Ellison, Bugge and I possibly a third suspect! were stealing these — checkbooks and credit! cards to use them at local convenience stores and gro cery stores. Although the suspects said most of the cash was used to buy crack cocaine, they also bought cartons of cigarettes and lottery tickets. The two suspects could be charged with forgery, credit card fraud and the redemption of il- Don’t leave purses,^ checkbooks, or wallets ^ with credit cards in car • Limit the amount of personal information on checks Instead of signing the back of a credit card, print ’’Check I.D.” RUBEN DELUNA/7h£ Battalion legally obtained lottery tickets — a third degree felony, depending on the value of the tickets. “We are working with the state lottery commission to see if we can determine the to tal amount of lottery tickets that were cashed,” Jones said. “Wearepret- ty sure we can document over $200 worth, which k will allow us to classify it as a third-degree felony.” Jones said College Station, just like any 'other city, experiences _ its fair share of forgery fcases. w Jones said valuable items such as checkbooks, purses, wallets with credit cards or anything else of value should not be placed where they can easily be stolen, such as in an unattended vehicle. Jones also said there are sev eral other steps people can take to protect their bank accounts and credit cards. “On checks, people should limit the amount of information they put on the front. If you just put your name and a RO. Box number, then it might encour age merchants to ask for ID.” Jones said clerks commonly will only ask the customer if the information on the check is the right information instead of verifying the information with an ID. This allows the customer to purchase items without offi cially proving their identity. “I also don’t sign the back of my credit cards,” he said Instead, he prints “check ID” and then said he thanks the merchants if they actually do.