THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
da
Monday March 19, 2012
Volume 125, Issue 125
www.THEDAONLINE.com
PRT vandalism causes shutdown by lydia nuzum
associate city editor
The West Virginia University Personal Rapid Transit system was closed temporarily Friday due to vandalism to the track connecting the Beechurst and Engineering stations. Hugh Kierig, director of WVU Transportation and Parking, said the interruption was due to construction material present on the PRT tracks. The materials were apparently thrown from
the Beechview Place Apartment complex construction site on Beechurst Avenue, Kierig said. “They threw five-gallon buckets of adhesive material used for construction of a commercial roof, and when it hit the guideway, it splattered adhesive over the power rail,” Kierig said. “It basically had to be cleaned by hand using razor blades and solvent. They also threw construction tools on the guideway that pierced the metal screen between the guideway rails,
which will have to be replaced.” PRT service was suspended from 6:30 a.m. until 12:45 p.m. for repairs. The area shut down included service between Beechurst and Engineering and Walnut and Engineering, Kierig said, and other PRT stations not linked to the vandalized area were running on a normal schedule. Kierig said the construction site where the materials came from, Beechview Place Apartments, was not secured from in-
truders and was susceptible to vandalism. “There were some security issues with the construction site that need to be addressed,” Kierig said. “I believe the contractor or the owner of the project is taking efforts to deal with a potential security problem.” Kierig said the site poses a danger to intruders if it is allowed to remain accessible, and encourages those working on the project to consider alternatives to better secure the
zumba for life
construction site. “There were some safeguards put in place when this building was under design that we hope will alleviate this problem once the construction is complete,” he said. “Until then, it is our hope that the construction company building the complex will make some effort to more thoroughly secure the site.” University Police Chief Bob Roberts said the police department was unable to recover enough evidence on the scene
to determine a culprit in the vandalism. “We weren’t able to get any leads,” Roberts said. “There was no one in the area, and the site didn’t have any security or any cameras, so we have no leads to follow up on in that case. We ask that if anyone did see anything that they call our office.” Roberts said his department has not received any calls related to the incident. lydia.nuzum@mail.wvu.edu
‘Spirit Day’ remembers local police sergeant
Patrick Gorrell/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Chick-fil-A hosted a fundraiser in memory of fallen Monongalia County police sergeant Michael Todd May on Friday.
by joann snoderly correspondent
Matt Sunday/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Dawn Odell, center, demonstrates a workout during a Zumbathon held to raise money for Relay for Life in the Mountainlair Ballrooms Sunday afternoon.
Arnold Hall hosts Zumbathon to benefit WVU Relay for Life by carlee lammers staff writer
West Virginia University’s Arnold Hall has added some Latin flair to its efforts in the fight against cancer. Staff members of Arnold Hall hosted a Zumbathon Sunday as an opportunity to raise money for their Relay for Life team in a healthy and fun way. “This is a fundraiser that’s healthy, but, at the same time, it’s still raising money for a really good cause,” said Jessica Neely, senior secondary mathematics education student and event
participant. Participants were asked to give a $5 donation, with 100 percent of the proceeds going toward Relay for Life, said Molly Hott, Arnold Hall wellness coordinator and Zumbathon coordinator. Relay for Life is an overnight relay-style event designed to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember the loved ones lost and fight back against the disease. WVU currently has 92 teams of more than 1,200 participants for its relay
see zumba on PAGE 2
staff writer
The Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center at West Virginia University has received an $180,000 grant from the American Cancer Society that will be split between six junior faculty members over the next three years. The Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center was one of 16 institutions throughout the country and the only one in West Virginia warded the grant by the ACS. “The award will support six projects at $30,000 each primarily for early and junior cancer research faculty across
by mike atkinson staff writer
matt sunday/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Dawn Odell leads a workout in the Mountainlair Ballrooms Sunday afternoon. The Zumbathon helped raise money for WVU Relay for Life.
the spectrum of basic science, clinical and translation science, and cancer prevention and control research projects,” said Dr. Scot Remick, the director of the Cancer Center and a professor at the WVU School of Medicine. “All the projects must be cancer focused and one of them must be a cancer prevention and control project.” Remick said it is especially important to provide the grant money to junior researchers so they can gain experience and work on their project ideas. “This is essential support that the ACS is providing us to grow our research portfolio and funding base so we can
work toward a National Cancer Institute designation,” he said. “It is a huge opportunity for the cancer center to support new and junior faculty at WVU in cancer research with the expectation that this support will provide the springboard for federal research.” The money from the ACS grant will help junior researchers begin their research, Remick said, which will hopefully lead to further funding through various other grants. “The advantages are huge for junior investigators to have this sort of funding to jump-start their research laboratories and careers,” he said. “It capitalizes on our local institutional ex-
pertise to closely mentor these junior faculty investigators and provide them opportunities to derive significant data that is required for successful federal or other peer-reviewed grants.” Remick said the Cancer Center faculty is currently reviewing projects to decide who will receive the first round of funding from the ACS grant. Grant money has been provided in the past to researchers studying breast cancer, the relationship between obesity and cancer and bone marrow transplants, all of which led to further funding through other grants.
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Tips and tricks for getting ready to travel for spring break. A&E PAGE 8
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see officer on PAGE 2
Unique fungi collection gains national attention
American Cancer Society awards grant to WVU by jessica lear
Chick-fil-A on Patteson Drive welcomed hundreds of customers Friday for “Spirit Day” in honor of fallen Monongalia County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Michael Todd May. May was killed Feb. 18 when his stationary patrol SUV was struck by a hit-and-run suspect fleeing police on Interstate 79 near the Pennsylvania state line. The event was sponsored by Chick-fil-A to raise money for the Monongalia County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.
Ten percent of Chick-fil-A’s total sales from Friday will be donated to the association, and the Sheriff’s Department sold T-shirts commemorating May’s service with the police department. “The support was unbelievable,” said Shalane Koon, restaurant marketing director for the Patteson Drive Chick-fil-A. “We did not expect a line across the dining room for lunch.” The money raised at the event will be used to set up a scholarship fund in May’s name for students wishing to
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see grant on PAGE 2
ON THE INSIDE The West Virginia football team finished its fourth day if spring practice Sunday afternoon. SPORTS PAGE 9
There is fungus among us. West Virginia University is home to more than 1,200 cultures of fungi used to help defend plants throughout the world and perform research to learn more about how fungi and plants function together. “There is nothing else like it in the world. Most plants can’t live without these fungi. In areas like the tropics, it is absolutely necessary to have these fungi for plants to grow,” said Joseph Morton, professor of plant and soil sciences in WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources & Design. Morton is the owner and caretaker of the world’s largest collection of arbuscular endomycorrhizal fungi, characterized by the formation of unique structures such as arbuscules and vesicles, which aid plants in capturing nutrients such as phosphorus, sulfur, nitrogen and micronutrients from the soil. Morton said the collection is sponsored and funded by the National Science Foun-
dation, and WVU maintains the funding and collection for academic and research purposes. “The collection belongs to the public. We develop it and maintain it,” he said. He said WVU houses the fungi because of the extensive process of growing it. “This fungi is very difficult to grow. You have to take it out of the soil and go through a very specific procedure. It takes about four months to get a culture you can use. There aren’t many people who have the facilities or people to maintain a collection like this, so they come to us for the materials they can use to do experiments or study,” Morton said. He said WVU provides the fungi to researchers, start-up companies and high school students and teachers for learning purposes. “This is a very unique resource. It makes these resources available to researchers, students and lay-persons – really anyone who wants to know more about it,” Morton
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BRING ON STANFORD The WVU women’s basketball team beat Texas in the first round of the NCAA tournament and will play Stanford tonight. SPORTS PAGE 9