clarion
Brevard College^ Brevard, N. C.
Volume 56 No. 5
Tuesday; November 22, 1988
by Heather Conrad
Assisiaiii Htiitor
A sudden gust of winter wind knocks
loose a window of a West Beam dorm
room. Inside, a student, shivering and
sleepless, becomes frustrated. She makes
a phone call.
Shortly, a man in blue-complete with
tools and an earnest gaze, enters the room,
quickly replaces the window, and is gone.
A BC activity bus breaks down in
Georgia and is towed back to Brevard. The
problem is unknown — until a man in blue
looks under the hood.
A few hours and 79 cents later, the bus is
off and running.
Who are these men in blue?
With Brevard College’s 130 acres,
Christmas tree farm, fleet of cars, 13
buildings, and the needs of the entire stu
dent body, faculty and staff to look after, it
would appear a whole army would be re
quired to keep everything in working
order.
But BC looks to a skilled and humble
troop of eight men, one secretary, and a
tough little canine mascot to keep the
school functioning.
BC’s Maintenance Director Reid Plem-
mons, along with secretary Patricia
Allison, coordinate the efforts of seven
other men, each one a professional in his
own right.
Reid’s “Muses of Manual Labor” in
clude carpenter Danny Corn, plumbing
and electrical expert Mike Dodson,
carpentry fix-it man Jack Hamlin, welder
Crawford Lowe (who Pat calls the
“McGyver of mechanics”), mechanic
Ricky Owens, boiler and heat specialist
V.C. Stiles, and groundsman Mark
Walker.
Last but not least comes the important
canine element of the maintenance crew:
“Cujo” — or what Crawford calls “Our
six-pound Bulgarian weasel-hound.”
The workload is constant, according to
Reid, and besides the obvious jobs such as
what Reid calls “the unnoticeables” such
as cracked baseboarding, bathroom tiling
and other small things that affect a
¥
Brevard College’s answer to Mr. Goodwrench: the maintenance crew is
as friendly as they are efficient. They include, left to right, V.C. Stiles,
Mark Walker, Danny Corn, Maintenance Director Reid Plemmons,
Secretary Pat Allison, Jack Hamlin (kneeling), Crawford Lowe holding
their mascot, “Cujo,” and Mike Dodson. Absent at time of picture was
Ricky Owens. (BC News Bureau photo)
the Men in Blue
BCsMaintenance Crew
building’s appearance.
Reid says the job begins with the incom
ing work orders, which come to Pat, who
prioritizes them according to date, size
and importance of the job.
Older work orders take precedence.
Heating and plumbing problems carry
even more weight. Pat says, “Weighing
the importance of each job becomes dif
ficult, but we try to be as fair as possible.”
At the beginning of each day, Reid
decides what needs to be done first and by
whom. He assigns a handful of work orders
(WO’s) to each of the men, who by now
have gathered in Pat’s office. If a job is
particularly large, several men are
assigned. And a few WO’s are held, in case
extra time is found at day’s end.
Reid says, “I think people are unaware
of the magnitude of a certain day’s work,
of all the jobs that are asked of us. People
tend to see only their own problems. So we
look to our jobs as a challenge, to try and
please everyone.”
Fortunately, the addition of Pat as
secretary to the maintenance department
has helpied vastly, and has met with rave
reviews. Says Crawford with an infectious
grin, “Pat’s our coffee-maker,
housekeeper, mom and boss.”
Reid echoes, with good humor, “Yeah,
she takes our cigarettes away!” Then
growing serious, he adds, “She has been a
tremendous help to us. With three or four
meetings a day, plus the regular work and
now the new plans for the art building and
SU switch-over, I can’t be on the phone all
day.”
Pat grins. “Since my first day,” she
says, ’’there’s never been a dull moment.
The guys have brought in snakes, a mouse
and once they brought me a bat in a two-
liter Coke container. After that, 1 was just
about to make my own backdoor through
that back room!”
Reid chuckles in response, allowing that
the BC maintenance crew never knows
what to expect each day. “We must bend to
the school, not our schedule. We’re to be
ready 24 hours a day. I remember once
Mike and I worked 36 and a half hours
without going home. The job is just that
way,” he says, matter-of-factly.
Despite the long hours, rigorous duties
and continuous mending, the BC
maintenance crew finds their job wor
thwhile for a particular reason: the
students.
Says Reid, “We love to help the students
— it’s what we’re all about. Whenever a
student needs help, we don’t consider it an
annoyance — we just want to help. In all
cases, it’s important.”
Reid believes college students face some
rough times when they have to strike out
on their own. “The last thing a student
needs, for instance, is to have to pay $35 or
more for a locksmith to undo a car lock.
We try to help kids enough, so they don’t
have to look for outside help,” Reid says.
By now, as lunchtime approaches, a few
of the men have completed their rounds
and have returned to Pat’s office. Reid
waves to them confidently. “Ask anyone
here — we love to work at Brevard College
— and we love the kids. Kids are what
we’re all about.“
“Without them,” Mike adds, “we
wouldn’t be here.”
Brevard College makes plans for Christmas season
by Lisa Matkins
('■laritm Reporter
Well, folks, Christmas is right around
the corner. Just how do you plan to
celebrate the season? I think you college
kids should consider the entertainment
planned by the music department.
No, it’s not a big party in Green. It’s the
annual candlelight service in Dunham
Auditorium on Dec. 4 and 5. There will be
Christmas hymns and carols.
The BC Collegiate Singers, Chamber
Chorale, and Brass Ensemble all play a
part in this Yuletide celebration.
And I know you just can’t wait to see
President Greer light the campus
Christmas tree. So, at 7:30 p.m. either Sun
day or Monday, get yourself and your
friends to Dunham Auditorium for a night
full of Christmas spirit.
Be sure to get there in plenty of time to
find a good seat, or else you might end up
in the lobby.
Although the Christmas concert is free,
tickets are required due to the limiting
seating in Dunham. Tickets must be pick
ed up from the receptionist at Beam Ad
ministration Building.
And for those of you really caught up in
Christmas, there will also be a series of
Advent concerts at Fletcher United
Methodist Church on Dec. 4,11, and 18.
Suspect apprehended and warned
from BC News Bureau
Authorities apprehended a man
suspected of involvement in the re
cent nighttime incidents on the
Brevard College campus. But the
suspect had to be released due to
lack of identification, Dean of Stu
dent Affairs Norm Witek said.
However, the suspect, who is not a
student at BC, was warned to stay
off the Brevard College campus, ac
cording to Witek.
Witek cautions students not to
form vigilante groups becuase
“even with the best of intentions, so
meone’s going to get hurt,” but to
report any suspicious people seen on
campus to RAs, RDs, campus
security or the Dean’s office.