kids enjoy summer art program , 5A
College of Medicine| Search restarted for associate dean, 3A Former CMU pitcher signs with Toronto Blue Jays, 6A
Theatre| “Last Train to Nibroc” first in series of plays, 4A
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
[cm-life.com]
Brooks Hall damages still to be determined Cost unknown until July 1 By Amelia Eramya Staff Reporter
photos by amelia eramya/staff photographer
John Fisher, associate vice president of residences and auxiliary services, lands at the Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport. Fisher has been skydiving since 1971 and has more than 700 jumps. “This is my eighth summer now,” Fisher said. “I like to get 100 jumps a year.”
Falling down CMU associate vice president a regular skydiver By Joe Borlik | Senior Reporter
He has done it more than 700 times including free falls in Germany, France and Australia. “I like to get 100 jumps in a year,” Fisher said. “When I retire from CMU in two or three years, I want to make a jump in every state.” Pictures of Fisher can be
By Connor Sheridan News Editor
John Fisher, associate vice president of residences and auxiliary services, gives David Burdette, vice president of finance and administrative services, a gift certificate for one free tandem jump at the Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport.
He is a “D licensed” diver, a level which requires a minimum of 500 jumps including at least two at night, he said. Fisher began skydiving in 1971 and, after quitting for 29 years, said he became hooked again in 2003. He has taken both his daughters skydiving and al-
seen at Central Michigan Skydivers, 5354 E. Airport Road. He went skydiving twice in a row Thursday with three other divers. “It’s fun every time,” Fisher said. “The adrenaline rush hangs with you for about half an hour.”
most got his wife Jeannie Fisher to go also. “I think it’s wonderful that he does this,” Jeannie said. John’s daughter Jessica is also a thrill seeker – she makes a living performing in the circus. A sky | 2A
A brooks | 2A
Public Broadcasting pay rates frozen for a year Union accepts status quo in new contract
J
ohn Fisher lives for the thrill of skydiving. A passion you might not expect from the associate vice president of residences and auxiliary services. But outside the office, Fisher never hesitates to leap 11,000 feet out of a plane.
The extent of monetary damages from the recent water leak in Brooks Hall are not expected to be completed until July 1. “We have hired a second company to determine the extent of the damages to the mechanical and electrical systems, insulation within Brooks Hall,” said Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of Facilities Management. Pipes on the third floor of Brooks began to leak around 2 p.m. on June 4. Insurance agents from Mid-State Plumbing and Heating, Victaulic, a manufacturer of the pipes used in Brooks, EFI Global, an investigative and consulting firm, and a technical consultant from LWG Consulting inspected the building the following week. Janice Trionfi, director of risk management, environ-
mental health and safety said investigating and assessing a claim takes time. “I think (Central Michigan University) is getting closer but it’s still too soon to say,” Trionfi said. “It typically takes time to compile the information, especially with larger property claims.” Trionfi said Belfor USA Group, a restoration company, is on site to inspect equipment in each room of the building to determine the degree of damage and whether it is reparable or a complete loss. “CMU placed its property insurer on notice of the claim the same day of the incident,” Trionfi said. “CMU’s insurer then assigned an adjuster, forensic engineers and other experts to inspect the site, not only to assist CMU in the recovery process but also to determine the origin and cause of the incident.” Although an estimate of damages done has yet to be compiled, CMU’s property insurer will provide cover-
Central Michigan University Public Broadcasting employees will go without a pay increase for the next year. The 26 employees represented by the National Association of Broadcasting Employees and Technicians Local 54-412 ratified a contract with CMU May 20 that will keep current levels of pay and other benefits constant. CMU ratified the contract June 1. “Everybody, of course, wants to get a raise,” said Linda Dielman, programming and outreach manager and president of
NABET Local 54-412. “I thought negotiations went well, they were amicable, these are tough times economically.” She said rates have been set at their current levels for the next year, although what will occur for the rest of the contract which expires June 30, 2013 is uncertain. Dielman said the uncertain state of CMU’s budget for the next academic year made deliberations a more difficult matter than they otherwise might have been. “Everybody did the best they could do, given the information they had at the time,” she said. Negotiations were held with a modified expedited bargaining process over a week between Dielman, a representative of NABET’s national office, and Kevin Smart, director of
A PBS | 2A
From ballot to discussion, the fluoride debate continues by Ryan Taljonick Staff Reporter
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series about fluoride in the water of Mount Pleasant. The Mount Pleasant City Commission’s decision to temporarily reduce the amount of sodium fluoride added to the municipal water supply has not gone without controversy. Some of the commissioners themselves disagree with the decision.
“I think when the people voted to put fluoride in the water, they wanted it in a proportion that will reduce tooth decay,” Vice Mayor Bruce Kilmer said. “I think we should take it back to a vote of the people and not (reduce fluoride levels) on our own.” However, Commissioner Kathleen Ling, head of the Fluoride Task Force that made the recommendation to the commission, emphasized the commission’s decision was within the boundaries of the 2005 fluoride ballot language.
The 2005 ballot language regarding fluoride levels states, “the Commission by resolution shall have the authority, from time to time, to change the proportions thereof.” Ling said she assumes the amount of fluoride added to the water supply will be temporarily reduced from 0.7 parts per million, or milligrams per liter, to somewhere between 0.4 and 0.5 ppm. Mount Pleasant’s natural occurrence of fluoride in the water is 0.4 ppm. Water fluoridation has been
a hotly contested issue for the city commission and Mount Pleasant voters for years, Ling said. The history In 1997, voters decided to continue adding sodium fluoride to the water supply. In 2003, a petition circulated requesting the city commission change the way the water plant operates. However, the commission refused to include the proposal on the 2003 ballot because the petitioned language, if voted
in, would have violated state and federal regulations by preventing the addition of required compounds used to render water safe and clean. The petitioners took the City to Circuit Court, where the judge ruled the ballot language could be revised and placed on the ballot in 2004. Fluoride supporters felt the ballot language was not precise on the 2004 ballot, but ballot passed though, stating any substances added to municipal water must first be approved by the Federal Food
and Drug Administration, which has not approved sodium fluoride for ingestion. “The people who supported fluoride felt the 2004 ballot proposal did not make it clear that people were banning fluoride,” Ling said. As a result, another petition was formed in 2005 forcing the fluoride issue back to the ballot, this time to put fluoride back in the water. The 2005 fluoride vote passed, requiring the total
A fluoride | 2A
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Kathy Wilbur wins an award from the American Counsel on Education Network.
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