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Central Michigan Life
Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
[cm-life.com]
Events Center needs $2.5 million more to finish expansion Flooding, adjunct contract on board of trustees agenda By Carisa Seltz Senior Reporter
About $2.5 million will be added to funding for the Events Center project if approved by the CMU Board of Trustees Thursday. The board meets at 9:30 a.m. in the Presidential Conference Room of the Bovee
University Center. A total of $1.5 million will focus on a proposal dealing with “unforeseen conditions, design errors and omissions associated with the project,” whereas $500,000 will focus on June 3 flooding issues and $500,000 will focus on rubberized floors taken from the Events Center as a result of flood damage. Out of the $1.5 million, $750,000 is needed to cover the conditions, design errors and omissions. Another $100,000 is needed for inter-
nal signage enhancement and $650,000 is being requested for a 30-foot-by-10foot video board and related video equipment. The request said the “addition of the video and graphics package will provide expanded sponsorship opportunities and the cost will be repaid by athletics from future revenues.” University reserves would finance $850,000 of the additional funds requested and future athletic revenue would finance the rest.
The total cost of the Events Center will rise to $22.5 million if the request is approved. Athletic department officials were unavailable for comment. Flood damage Three requests totaling $4 million pertain to flood damage caused by heavy rainfall that dumped water in the Events Center and other campus buildings. A BOARD OF Trustees | 2A
Ashley Miller/staff photographer
Events Center construction is scheduled for completion in November before the start of basketball season. The expansion to date has amounted to $21.5 million and includes a main entrance, a practice gym and new Rose Arena seating.
Four liquor stores busted in alcohol sting 23 businesses pass police carding effort By Joe Borlik Staff Reporter
unsung heroes By Anthony Fenech | Senior Reporter
Redshirt freshman running back Zirlon Tipton runs past Eastern Michigan defenders to score a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to record his first touchdown of the 2010 season at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti. “That’s my role this year,” he said. “I’m just out there to get the team a win.”
They know their roles. Armond Staten is just a backup linebacker. Mike Petrucci is just a backup linebacker. And Zurlon Tipton, he’s just a “punk freshman.” “That’s my role this year,” Tipton said. “I’m just out there to get the team a win. Wherever they need me, whenever they tell me to go in, I do what I can to get the job done.” And it’s going to take whatever these three can give for the Chippewas to get the job done this season. The trio made their presence felt loud and clear in Saturday afternoon’s 52-14 victory against Eastern Michigan. “The more guys that can play in games like that, the better off your football team is going to be,” said CMU head coach Dan Enos. Against Hampton, Staten recovered a fumble. Against Temple, Petrucci filled in for an injured Nick Bellore. And against EMU, Tipton scored in his first game back in over a year, after an injury ended his season last year and a suspension began his season this year.
They ran, they tackled, they scored and unfortunately for head coach Dan Enos, put together a nice little highlight tape of plays to show the rest of Central Michigan’s opponents that if and when the next Chippewas starter gets injured, there is an army of backups ready to step in and perform. “For any position on your football team, the more guys that can play in games like that, the better
off your football team is going to be,” Enos said. “You need to have capable backups, and we’re very fortunate.” And it didn’t take Enos very long to see just how fortunate the team was. Petrucci “It’s my job to stay consistent and ready to back up,” said Petrucci, a junior linebacker that put a defen-
sive exclamation point on Saturday’s win with a 43-yard fumble recovery touchdown earlier in the fourth quarter. “It’s been good to be able to contribute.” On the play, Petrucci trailed sophomore linebacker Alex Smith on a strong side blitz. After Smith clobbered Eagles quarterback Devontae Payne in the backfield, the
Four cashiers from Mount Pleasant businesses were cited for selling alcohol to minors in a police sting Saturday. Cashiers at Border’s Corner Store, 7024 E. Pickard St., Old Mission Party Store, 5030 S. Mission Road, the Cracker Barrel, 20 E. Remus Road and the 7-Eleven at 302 W. Broomfield St. were all issued citations. The sting targeted 27 businesses, said Jeff Browne, Mount Pleasant Police public information officer. He said the results are about what he expected. “I would say (four) is the norm,” Browne said. “I’d like it best if nobody was cited.” The 23 businesses that passed include Liquor 1, 1707 S. Mission St., Empty Keg Party Store, 122 E. Pickard St. and Todbld’s Party Store, 104 E. May St. Employees at Todbld’s will card anyone who looks under 60 years old, said Jason Bock, a cashier at Todbld’s. “We stress that nobody slacks when it comes to alcohol and tobacco,” Bock said. He said he was surprised four of the businesses were issued citations, but in a college town some cashiers can forget. The police conduct one or two stings a year, Brown said. The stings are conducted by the Youth Services Unit of Isabella County. Browne said an underage individual would go to each business attempting to buy alcohol. If it was purchased, a police officer would come in and issue a citation after the buyer left. Browne said if a person is caught selling to a minor in a sting operation, it is a civil infraction. If it had not been during a sting, it would have been a misdemeanor. The Liquor Control Commission also does alcohol stings, Browne said. metro@cm-life.com
LIVE CHAT Keep up with what happens at the board of trustees meeting Thursday morning
VIDEO Check out the video from CMU’s football game Saturday at EMU
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Program Board president keeps busy this semester Loss of On the Fly means more work for Steve Lewis By Chelsea Hohn Staff Reporter
victoria zegler/staff photographer
Allegan junior Steve Lewis, president of Program Board, left, goes over an attendance sheet Tuesday night on the third floor of the Bovee University Center with Madison Heights sophomore Emily Panone, cultural events chairwoman, to reward those who participate in events.
Steve Lewis is under a lot of pressure these days. The Allegan junior is president of Program Board, the organization responsible for bringing much of the entertainment featured at CMU. His duties include booking events, ensuring all shows are confirmed, staying in close contact with his adviser Damon Brown, coor-
dinator of student activities and going over contracts. But since On The Fly Productions was cut at the end of last semester, Program Board has been pushed farther into the spotlight. “I met with (the president and vice president of On The Fly) and saw what they thought was good for the campus,” Lewis said. Program Board is now pushed even harder to bring entertainment to CMU while staying within budget limits, Program Board vice president and Pinconning senior Crysta Heckman said. “We don’t have On The Fly as co-sponsor anymore,
it makes it harder to do bigger shows,” Heckman said. “We don’t have the funding to do shows as much as we used to, but it’s brought new members to our organization.” Teamwork Lewis doesn’t do it alone. Heckman shares the same stresses and responsibilities. “It can get really stressful balancing everything, but it’s always worth it just to see students having a good time,” Heckman said. Balance is a large part of Program Board, Heckman said. Satisfying the masses
with various artists is another job Lewis has to accomplish, “We just try to get everyone’s opinions,” Heckman said. Surveys and student input is the most accurate way to gauge what performers to bring, she said. In 2008, Heckman sent out a large amount of surveys asking students what comedian they would prefer. Demetri Martin ended up triumphant in those surveys and Program Board brought him to Rose Arena after Bob Saget canceled.
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