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Community, students take the plunge, raise money for Special Olympics, 3A
Central Michigan Life
Monday, Feb. 21, 2011
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
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Proposed cuts to revenue sharing yet to irk officials By Emily Grove Senior Reporter
Paige Calamari/staff photographer
The crowd stands up to cheer as junior heavyweight Jarod Trice celebrates after winning his match against Kent State senior Brendan Barlow Sunday afternoon at McGuirk Arena, clinching a shared Mid-American Conference regular season title. Trice won in a 3-1 decision. CMU won 20-14. The wrestling team won the MAC championship in 12 of the last 13 seasons.
BACK ON TOP
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espite losing six starters from the 2009-10 season and a .500 dual-meet record, the Central Michigan wrestling team locked up a share of the Mid-American Conference title Sunday with a 4-1 conference record. The team opened the season with three straight losses to Cornell, North Dakota State and Minnesota in November, but flipped the table in February, winning three
cm-life.com Photo gallery of Sunday’s MAC title meet
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straight dual meets to close out the season. Sophomore Ben Bennett and juniors Scotti Sentes and Jarod Trice were often referred to as the big three for CMU, combining for a 74-14 record and an even more impressive 14-1 MAC record.
New advancements fuel space program’s future By Odille Parker Staff Reporter
Humans may orbit Mars by the time many current CMU students are in their 40s or even sooner, thanks to advancements in rocket technology. Engineers are working on an improved version of VASIMR, a plasma rocket that passed a 200 kilowatt power test in late 2009. The rocket would use an electric power source to ionize hydrogen or helium into superheated plasma, creating a launching thrust. The space-
[inside] NEWS w State blacks Consumers from raising gas rates, 5A
SPORTS w Heeke has no concern over football coaching changes, 2B w Basketball continues to struggle on road, 3B
cm-life.com w Check out our slideshow for photos from last week! w Chinua Hawk performs as a part of Black History Month
craft would be able to make pit stops on Mars to pick up more hydrogen and extend its extraterrestrial expedition. The hydrogen in the flightcapable rocket could also double as a radiation shield for human crews on long missions. However, Kathleen Benison, a geology and meteorology professor, does not see the space program prioritizing human arrival on Mars. “At this time, it seems to me that the Mars research community is far more focused on returning rock and sediment samples from Mars to Earth
than it is on sending astronauts there,” she said. President Barack Obama recently announced a $6-billion budget increase to the space program as well as his intent to have astronauts on Mars within the next 30 years in April 2010. Benison has served on a NASA research panel and was a co-author of a National Academies book on Mars. She said that if and when the U.S. sends astronauts to Mars, they will most likely be geologists of varying nationalities who will be there to do field work.
Obama may have high hopes in making history with a human visit to Mars, but the scientific community wants to obtain as much information as it can about Mars before sending astronauts there, Benison said. Earth-like planets discovered Aside from heightened hopes for Mars, scientists have discovered several new Earth-like planets. The Kepler telescope, A space | 2A
When Rick Snyder proposed the state budget last week, local ears perked up at the sound of possible cuts in their municipalities. The governor proposed the elimination of state revenue sharing in cities, villages and townships. County revenue sharing could take a 34-percent cut. Administrator Tim Dolehanty said Isabella County doesn’t have a clear picture yet. “We know to expect some sort of local government funding restructuring,” he said. “Cutting a third of revenue sharing could be quite significant for us.” John Barker, Union Township supervisor, is more concerned with incoming census figures. The township is the third-fastest-growing mu-
nicipality in the state, Barker said. “We are anticipating 11,000 people when the results come back, and in 2000 we had about 7,000,” he said. “The impact of additional numbers could dramatically affect our revenue sharing.” Unlike Isabella County and Mount Pleasant, Union Township receives constitutional revenue sharing. This type of revenue sharing is expected to increase by 4 percent. “It’s not a huge amount, but it beats being cut,” Barker said. The elimination of statutory revenue sharing could possibly have a large impact on Mount Pleasant. The city was expecting a loss, but not a major one that would affect the 2012 budget, said City Manager Kathie Grinzinger. “In the very worst case,
A budget | 2A
Solar panels, other green efforts save money, environment Efforts led by Great Lakes Institute By Ariel Black Senior Reporter
The installation of 64 solar panels onto the Education and Human Services Building could save CMU money while reducing its negative environmental impact. Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of Facilities Management, said the solar panels will save the university $15,000 a year in heating and cooling costs during the Feb. 17 CMU Board of Trustees meeting. He told board members the panels will reduce CMU’s carbon footprint by 45 metric tons. Tom Rohrer, director of the Great Lakes Institute of
Sustainable Systems, said the EHS building is the model for the rest of campus to ultimately emulate. The panels are tentatively scheduled to be installed by the end of the week. Another environmentally-minded change on campus is demand-driven ventilation. Carbon dioxide sensors have been fully installed in Moore and Pearce halls, the Student Activity Center, and the Engineering and Technology Building. Rose Arena is 99 percent complete, and the North Arts Studio and University Art Gallery are nearing completion, Rohrer said. “When carbon dioxide gets to a certain level in building, fresh air needs to be let in,” he said. “We don’t want to exchange air when we don’t have to (heat in
A green | 2A
Union Township’s Ken Schaeffer Mount Pleasant Citizen of the Year By Rachel Mater Staff Reporter
Cheers and laughter erupted from the Bucks Run Golf Club banquet hall Saturday night when Ken Schaeffer was selected as Mount Pleasant Citizen of the Year. The Union Township resident and former supervisor received his award at the Mount Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Awards Banquet at the club, 1559 S. Chippewa Road.
“I’m humbled, almost speechless,” Schaeffer said. “(The Citizen of the Year award) is one of the highest honors you can receive.” Schaeffer served on the Union Township Public Board of Works and the township planning committee and is an active member of Faith Lutheran Church, 1402 E. Preston Road. He is also involved with the township’s recycling program. He said community involvement is important because it helps residents
know what is going on, and it helps keep retired people active. “If you’re involved, you have your finger on the pulse and you know where (the community) is going,” he said. Caring for others Several other awards were also given out to notable citizens. Ruth Anne Sowle was one of several people to receive A citizen | 2A
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Bethany Walter/staff photographer
Mount Pleasant resident Ken Schaeffer pats his wife Bonnie Schaeffer on the back following his speech after winning the 2010 Citizen of the Year award during the 53rd annual Chamber of Commerce awards on Saturday at Bucks Run Golf Club, 1559 S. Chippewa Road.
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