THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
da
Wednesday February 2, 2011
VOLUME 124, ISSUE 91
www.THEDAONLINE.com
Power surges cause some PRT failures BY TRAVIS CRUM CITY EDITOR
Power surge failures are most likely to blame for recent PRT downtime at West Virginia University, said Hugh Kierig, director of WVU Transportation and Parking. Updates began being posted onto the PRT’s Twitter feed at 12:26 p.m. Tuesday about the system experiencing problems. It was posted that all of the vehicles were out of operation by 12:38 p.m.
The downtime happened twice again Tuesday, lasting more than 10 minutes, after all vehicles became operational at 1:15 p.m. There were also postings about PRT downtimes from around noon until 3 p.m on Monday. “There is a power system that supplies electricity to the guideway and there is a variety of safeguard measures to keep power surges from happening,” Kierig said. “What happened yesterday (Monday) was a big copper bar, called a ‘buss bar,’ failed. When
it failed, it shut the whole system down.” The buss bar is a connector arm that connects the power rail to a PRT vehicle. If the bar breaks, the whole system shuts down to prevent a complete power surge, he said. The buss bar can break because the equipment is more than 40 years old and its replacement can only be patched. Patched bars do not have protections against surges that cause power failures and custom rebuilding of a new bar takes more
than month, he said. Administration at the PRT are addressing the problems of the bars in the PRT Facilities Master Plan. The plan will use federal money provided by the Federal Transit Administration to upgrade the PRT vehicles, its guideway and technology used in its operation. Kierig said he hopes the money will be used to upgrade the PRT to operate by battery power. Currently, the buss bars
see surges on PAGE 2
A ROAD FULL OF HOLES
Students board the PRT Tuesday afternoon.
Council votes to expand area for firemen to live by devon unger staff writer
Students walk past a pile of snow that has been cleared from the roadways and sidewalks on Grant Street on Monday.
Kristen Basham/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
City has spent $20,000 on pothole repair in past; asphalt used for repairs not available in winter BY SARAH o’ROURKE STAFF WRITER
Terry Hough, director of Morgantown’s Public Works Department and the city engineer, said asphalt is the best material to repair areas condemned by potholes, but it is not available during winter. The PWD uses a material called “cold patch” instead of hot asphalt to repair potholes in the winter, Hough said. “The problem with the cold patch is that it doesn’t use heat, so it cannot bond the surrounding pavement or concrete together,” she said. “It’s just a type of temporary Band-Aid until we can fix it in the spring or summer.” The PWD is currently trying to get an “asphalt recycler,” which is a two-fold process that recycles and provides a better product to repair potholes instead of using cold patch, she said.
BY CHARLES YOUNG STAFF WRITER
Kristen Basham/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
A pothole off of University Avenue continues to grow throughout the winter season.
Davis dean finalist talks sustainability, outreach by erin fitzwilliams associate city editor
Jonathan Cumming, a finalist for the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design at West Virginia University participated in open forums Tuesday to discuss his plans for the college. Cumming, who is currently associate provost for graduate academic affairs at WVU, is the first candidate to participate and discussed aspects of the future of the college to an
audience of 60 to 70 Davis College faculty. He proposed a six-month development of a strategic plan for the college, in alignment with the University’s 2020 Strategic Plan. The plan would outline strengths and purposes for faculty and programs. He said although he graduated with a degree in biology, he was interested in natural resources since he grew carrots as a child. “Of all students, give me a natural resources student any
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INSIDE
Check out an interview with local rapper Huey Mack. A&E PAGE 3
RAIN, SNOW, WIND
News: 1, 2 Opinion: 4 A&E: 3, 5 Sports: 7, 10 Campus Calendar: 6 Puzzles: 6 Classifieds: 8, 9
The Morgantown City Council approved a request by the city manager to put a change in the residency requirement for firemen on the agenda. Currently, Morgantown firefighters must live within 10 air miles of the city. The change would allow firefighters to live within a 15-mile radius of the city. The 15-mile limit is already the standard for Morgantown police officers. “This came up as a discussion back when I was a captain, on crews and in the station,” said Morgantown Fire Chief Mark Caravasos. “This is a housekeeping issue to bring it equal to what they (the police) have in the rules and regulations.” Councilor Don Spencer raised concerns about this because the new radius extends as far as Fairmont. He questioned how a firefighter living
in Fairmont could possibly respond quickly enough to a fire in Morgantown. “We take justifiable pride in the response times that we have during fires, yet we’re being asked to consider a map, which includes the city of Fairmont. It may be 15 air miles, but the road miles are much further,” Spencer said. “Someone driving from the city of Fairmont to a fire in north Morgantown, there is no way that kind of response can be considered timely.” This change would not impact response times because he relies on the fireman onduty in the fire station to handle calls, Caravasos said. Any firefighter called to the station from their home would be utilized in a backup capacity to provide additional coverage for the city or to aid others on a call. Caravasos said his stations
see city on PAGE 2
Student Health officials to present after-hour emergency line option
A patching crew with the PWD makes a list of streets that have potholes so they can be fixed during the warmer months, she said. The PWD spends approximately $20,000 every year on materials, asphalt and “cold patch.” Byron Smith, assistant director for West Virginia University’s Facilities Management, said WVU has fixed a “handful” of potholes across campus this winter. Smith said West Virginia University’s Facilities Management uses the cold patch system during the winter months, also, to substitute for hot asphalt. During the late fall, Smith said they try to repair any cracks to prevent potholes from forming on campus in the winter. Harsh winter weather is the main reason for the formation of potholes on the streets and Mor-
see potholes on PAGE 2
Chelsi Baker/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
time,” he said. “They have a broad view of life. They are the students, given the opportunity, to excel.” Cumming said he wanted to give students a “vibrant and engaging” educational development, to gain career knowledge and impact the environment through areas such as conservation and sustainability. Brooke Cassidy/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM For faculty members, Davis College Dean finalist Jonathan Cumming speaks to a crowd about his future plans in the see finalist on PAGE 2 position Tuesday afternoon.
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INSIDE THIS EDITION The West Virginia women’s basketball team tried to end a two-game losing streak against Providence last night. SPORTS PAGE 10
Jan Palmer, director of Student Health Services, will give a presentation at tonight’s Student Government Association meeting about plans to purchase a new after-hours calling system for students who need medical assistance. The calling system would give West Virginia University students, with medical problems after Student Health hours a number to call to be instantly connected with a registered nurse who could provide them with medical assistance or advice. “We are trying to improve the services that we offer to students,” Palmer said. “What we want to do is to bring this idea to the students, and see if it is something that they would be interested in paying for.” According to the proposed plan, the calling system would be purchased from SironaHealth, a company that specializes in medical calling centers. The system would cost a base fee of $34,000 per year. The money breaks down to a cost of $1.19 per student or approximately $25 per phone call, he said. However, after 120 students call the line, the fee would increase to $42,000. During the presentation, Palmer will share the details of the program with the members of the Board of Governors and
get feedback from other students present. “We just need to know if this is a service that students would utilize,” Palmer said. “We need to know if this something that is valuable to students.” Gov. Omar Wazir, whose platform is health and wellness, said he helped to develop the plan. “I’m really pleased with this, and I think it’s a great idea,” Wazir said. “We just want to get the opinion of students and see if they think it’s the smartest way we could spend our money.” Although the BOG will not be voting on the proposed system, Wazir said he felt it was necessary SGA be kept up-todate with an issues that effects mostly students. “It’s important that the student government have the ability to voice their concerns on the decision,” Wazir said. “After all, it’s their health, right?” Wazir said the proposed system would not result in any increase in student fees. The calling system will be purchased with funds from the Student Health budget. “It’s important that students have someone to call after the medical center has closed,” Wazir said. “The only other option you have right now is to go to the emergency room and that’s too expensive for students. This will give students an affordable option.” danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
WVU MEN FACE PIRATES The West Virginia men’s basketball team faces Seton Hall tonight at the WVU Coliseum. Can the Mountaineers win twostraight games? SPORTS PAGE 10