Immediately entering Peter Sandberg's office one is confronted by a three foot high, limestone lion with a hardhat cocked on its head. Sandberg, Director of St. Olaf Facilities, is the man in charge of on-campus construction. Curious about those enormous holes just above the powerplant, the stakes and construction tape outside Ytterboe, the renovation of the old student center, even the new sculpture in front of the Science center? Mr. Sandberg will be glad to inform you.

The excavation behind the power plant, that can be seen as one walks down to the football field, was to replace two oil tanks that supplement the natural gas heating system. St. Olaf College is one of the thirty largest customers of the natural gas utility company NSP. During the darkest, coldest hours of the winter months these tanks keep students warm. However with almost thirty cavernous dorms and buildings it can be expensive to heat the college.

In order to obtain affordable gas rates St. Olaf has become a "large volume interruptable customer." That may sound incomprehensible but it simply means that when NSP becomes stressed due to extremely cold temperatures they can cut off gas to the college in order to continue servicing other customers without a glitch. The reserve oil tanks are used as backup when NSP interrupts its service to the college.

This fall a monitoring system within the double-walled oil tanks warned that there was danger of leakage due to corrosion. No oil escaped from the tanks but replacements were overdue. The new oil will be installed and ready long before there is any necessity to use them this winter.

Want a change from the innumerable and unending games of ultimate frisbee? A sand volleyball court has been installed in front of the Ytterboe residence hall. The court was built to meet to official requirements for beach volleyball with a sand depth of 18 inches and an adjustable net for men's and women's heights. To use the court students should check out the net and ball from Skoglund athletic center.