THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
da
Wednesday July 11, 2012
Volume 125, Issue 156
www.THEDAONLINE.com
Thousands still without power in W.Va. by Carlee lammers staff writer
Eleven days after a violent storm hit the eastern United States and cut off power to millions, thousands of West Virginians still remain in the dark. The storm brought winds more than 75 miles per hour and heavy rainfall, destroying infrastructure that left 688,000 W. Va. customers without power. With a population
of approximately 1.9 million people, W.Va. was the state hit the hardest by the storm. “Friday (June 29) night’s storm was part of a massive straight line wind storm that traveled close to 700 miles in 10 hours, devastating 10 states and leaving more than 4.3 million customers without electric service throughout the United States,” according to the Appalachian Power Company’s
website. “Company and state officials are characterizing the storm as similar to or even greater than a hurricane, but without advance warning.” As of Tuesday July 10, approximately 14,927 Appalachian Power customers are still without power, as well as 9,188 MonPower customers – totalling to approximately 24,115 customers across the state still in the dark. After the first storm
and several other smaller storms in the days following, Kanawha County faced some of the largest outages. More than 7,000 customers are still without electricity. “We didn’t have power for almost a full week,” said sophomore interior design student and Charleston resident Katie Lofflin. “We had a tree fall into our kitchen and many more fell just down the street from us. It was
just absolutely crazy.” Restoration crews are diligently working 16-hour shifts to restore power across the state. “We greatly appreciate our customers patience as our crews continue repairing the worst storm damage I have seen in more than 30 years with the company,” said Jim Haney, president of West Virginia Operations with the power company FirstEnergy. “Because the remaining work
hydration station
staff writer
Mel Moraes/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
by zak voreh
NEWS correspondent
Volunteers from the West Virginia University Center for Civic Engagement braved the heat Friday to collect water donations for West Virginians still affected by power outages. On June 30 a powerful storm known as a “derecho” ravaged the eastern United States, causing 688,000 West Virginians to lose power. WVUCCE ran donation centers in front of the Mountainlair and the WVU Coliseum. The collection began at 8 a.m. and lasted until 6 p.m. Workers collected donations of jugs, bottled and gallon drums of water and monetary donations. Program coordinator Alexis McMillen met with the Red Cross after the disaster to discover what affected West Virginians needed most. “We immediately talked with the Red Cross to find out what was needed. They let us know water was still needed,” McMillen said. “I don’t think a lot of people realize that, of course, a lot of rural residents use well water, and if you don’t have power you can get your well water.” By 11 a.m. the Coliseum donation center had partially filled one U-Haul truck with water donations and raised more than $500. By 3 p.m., volunteer Miranda Talkington reported a large amount of donations at the station by the Mountainlair. “We are looking at already 1,300 dollars, and they already filled a 14 foot U-Haul so we have to get another one,” she said. At the end of the day volunteers had raised $2,000 and 5.89 tons of donated water, equaling more than 1000 cases. There was a wide array of volunteers at the donation centers, including CCE staff and WVU students. McMillen also commented on the University’s response to the disaster.
Mel Moraes/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
see power on PAGE 2
WVU student named Miss West Virginia by Lacey Palmer
Brett White and other employees of WVU’s Center for Civic Engagement help carry the donated water supplies into a U-Haul truck.
is especially labor-intensive, with smaller numbers of customers being restored with each repair, we have revised the estimated restoration times for the remaining customers to better reflect the severe damage our crews continue to discover as they work out in the field.” Due to high temperatures, gasoline shortages and poor communication
A West Virginia University student received an honor recently unlike many others. Exercise physiology major Kaitlin Gates was crowned Miss West Virginia 2012 in a ceremony Friday July 6 and will participate in the Miss America pageant in 2013. Gates, a Bridgeport WV native, has been involved with pageants for about 13 years. She was West Virginia’s Outstanding Teen of 2006, and this was the second time she has participated in the Miss West Virginia pageant. She recently had a conversation with The Daily Athenaeum’s Lacey Palmer about her experiences in the pageant and her future plans. LP: First of all, how does it feel to be able to say that you’re Miss West Virginia 2012? KG: It feels awesome to be able to say that because it’s something that I’ve been working towards for a long time, so it feels great to have finally reached my goal. LP: What was your reaction when they an-
nounced your name as the winner of the pageant? KG: I couldn’t believe that it was actually me being called, and I still can’t believe it. I keep flipping through newspapers and pictures, and it’s crazy to think I’m the person that was chosen. I’m so grateful. LP: That’s awesome! Did it take a lot of preparation to get to this point in your pageant career? KG: It did. I have been working since this time last year. Right after Miss West Virginia 2011, I started preparations based on what I wanted to change from my performance at that pageant, so it never stopped. It’s something I’ve been working towards for a long time, and it’s definitely time consuming, but really worth it. LP: Was that the hardest part about preparing for the pageant – the amount of time needed? KG: Yeah, it’s so time consuming. I tried to tell myself when times got rough, that the greater the sacrifice, the greater the reward. Anytime I
see pageant on PAGE 2
The University collected more than 1,000 cases of water that weighed nearly 5.9 tons after Friday’s emergency water collection in front of both the “The University is really great at pulling things together really quickly when it’s needed,” she said. “They were kind of waiting to see where some of the holes were in the stats and see what was still needed towards the latter end of this relief effort.” “We pull together at a moment’s notice when we need to,” she said.. McMillen was happy to report the CCE has helped with disaster reliefs in the past. “We’ve had similar efforts for Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Haiti as well as other natural disasters especially when it affects our local residents,” she said. To learn more about the Center for Civic Engagement, visit the website at http://cce.wvu.edu/. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
City Council restricts drilling within city limits zak voreh and terri parlett
news correspondent and staff writer
The Morgantown City Council has voted to limit natural gas drilling within city limits to an area near the Morgantown Municipal Airport. City Council met July 3 to vote on several ordinances that better define limitations on drilling within city limits. All of these ordinances were voted in with a unanimous 7-0 vote. These new ordinances will change the definitions of terms to better fit new technologies used in the
drilling industries and to adapt zoning regulations of the city. “We’re talking about zoning within the specific corporate limits of Morgantown,” said City Manager Terrence Moore. “It also provides assurances to everyone else that the zoning would not allowing drilling in one’s backyard,” he said. The new legislation, drilling is limited to industrial zones and research sites. However, certain safety requirements must be met to approve a location for drilling. Sites approved for drilling must be 625 feet from residential buildings,
schools, parks and other public buildings. Drills must also be 100 feet from floodplain and 1,000 feet from public water sources. With these taken into account, the only eligible areas are near the airport or several lots owned by West Virginia University. The city council also voted Morgantown mayor Jim Manilla as mayor of city council. Manilla came ahead of his opponent council member Jenny Selin with a 4-3 vote. Wes Nugent received the office of deputy mayor with a 4-3 vote against councilman Marti Shamberger. Both Manilla and Nugent were sworn in and accepted the
oath. “I would like to thank my colleagues for this appointment,” Manilla said. He also acknowledged the effort put forth during the energy crisis during the past week. “I would like to thank all of the people for the great job they did.” Councilman Ron Bane spoke about goals he had for the future year. “The first thing I would like to see happen is, since the new health care law has been upheld, I would like to see if there is going to be any effects to the current insurance for employees and if there is any adjustment we
see council on PAGE 2
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Submitted
WVU exercise physiology major Kaitlin Gates was named Miss West Virginia 2012 Friday.
ON THE INSIDE Geno Smith and Tavon Austin were both named to the Maxwell Award watch list this week. SPORTS PAGE 3
‘CLASSIC’ Ted Potter Jr. earned his first PGA Tour victory in the Greenbrier Classic this weekend. SPORTS PAGE 6