THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
“Little good is accomplished without controversy, and no civic evil is ever defeated without publicity.”
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Wednesday January 29, 2014
www.THEDAONLINE.com
Volume 126, Issue 86
Pipe bursts a hazard for Lofts’ tenants by alexis randolph staff writer @dailyathenaeum
The forces of nature have brought trouble to many residents of the Morgantown area and residents at The Lofts apartment complex have seen some of the worst. Several units’ pipes froze and burst due to the below freezing temperatures. The Domain at Town Centre has also experienced some issues. Lenny Wright, a leasing manager at the apartments, said the pipes freezing affected one unit, but were fixed soon after. However, The Lofts have
experienced leaks that caused flooding and other hazards, and the residents have been displaced to hotels during repairs. Jason Smith, regional leasing manager for The Lofts, explained when and how the problems began. “The leaks occurred over the course of a short time during the polar vortex,” Smith said. “While our sprinkler pipes were generously insulated as designed in an effort to thwart cold temperatures from affecting the system, at times Mother Nature simply wins.” According to the complex, the pipes were not res-
idential water supplies, but part of the complex sprinkler system. Smith said the residents responded appropriately. “Our residents did exactly what they should do by reporting the incident,” he said. “Sprinkler repairs are ongoing, and with the blessing of the Star City Fire Department and the WV state authorities, we staffed around-the-clock to ensure the safety of our residents.” The complex is working to update its systems with the latest technology, according to Smith. “These measures are brand new to the market
and have been pioneered as a direct result of unfortunate situations just as we are encountering (them),” Smith said. “They first must gain the required approval. We are working diligently to ensure a speedy approval.” Residents who were affected by the leaks were given the option of staying in a hotel. The Lofts’ shuttle has also been running to the hotel to make commuting easier for residents. Chase Phillips, a sophomore music education student, talked about what happened in his building Saturday during what he described as the worst part of
the snow storm. According to Phillips he was sitting in his apartment when he heard the fire alarm start to go off. “We looked out our front door, and we just saw water spewing out of the apartment across from us,” Phillips said. “The pipe going in had completely burst, and all of the water was going into the apartment. There was probably about three inches of water flowing through the entire apartment.” It wasn’t long before the water began to pour into the unit below, he said. “All of the water, within a minute or two started go-
ing into the apartment below. The apartment below actually had the most damage,” he said. “Water was just coming out of everything, the lights, the sprinklers. It was even coming out of the fire alarm, which was a little ironic.” Phillips said the response time was longer than he expected. “It took probably 20 minutes before they turned the water off. It took a while for maintenance to get there,” Phillips said. As far as the damage caused, Phillips said all of
see LOFTS on PAGE 2
‘RECOGNIZE YOUR OWN POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS’ Hageboeck speaks to WVU students, emphasizes hard work, determination by daniel schatz correspondent @dailyathenaeum
WYTHE WOODS/THE DAILY ATHENAEUM
Charles Hageboeck speaks to WVU students Tuesday.
The president and CEO of City National Bank, Charles “Skip” Hageboeck, visited West Virginia University Tuesday to share wisdom and encourage students to pursue their dreams in finance. Hageboeck said the American dream is still alive, and students can still achieve their goals. “I’m happy to share with you my career path, and as I do so, one of my objectives is to encourage you to recognize your own potential for success,” Hageboeck said. “If I can do it, certainly you can do it.” Though he has become successful, Hageboeck doesn’t put his family on the back burner. “At home, my life is different,” Hageboeck said. “I mow my own grass, I do my own home repairs, I was a Cub Scout leader for seven years and I officiate for my kids’ swim meets.” Hageboeck said it is important to separate business from family, since both serve different purposes in a person’s life. “My goal at home is to be a normal guy and a normal dad,” he said. “Many of our social friends aren’t aware of who I am in the
corporate world, and I actually prefer it that way.” Hageboeck spoke of his travel up the financial career pyramid, which begin during his high school years. As a high school student, Hageboeck called himself a “shy and insecure introvert.” He said he saw himself as a nerdy guy, almost on par with Robert Carradine’s character in “Revenge of the Nerds.” “If that nerdy little kid from Indiana can be successful, then so can you,” Hageboeck said. He said his success is only due to his ambition, and climbing the career ladder is easy, if that is what students really want. Hageboeck himself started at the very bottom of that ladder and said the climb can look daunting. However, as a strategic thinker, Hageboeck always worked hard and mapped out how he could advance in his field. “There was always a vision of what might come next and how to achieve that next step,” Hageboeck said. “There was also hard work and a dedication to doing the job at hand as well as within my abilities.” Unlike most CEOs, Hageboeck was not promoted from a major managerial position. In fact, he
was a financial analyst who never managed a team of more than 10 people before his executive position. From a staff role, Hageboeck was able to display his intellect and plain logic at Indiana National Bank by detecting problems in the company’s assessment of rising interest rates risk potential to company assets. The company had anticipated rising interest rates as being good for the company, but Hageboeck saw ways that proved this false. After designing new ways for the company to be more effective in assessing rising interest rates risk potential, Hageboeck was promoted to head the bank’s assessment and liability management committee. He eventually rose to higher positions in different companies and was promoted to CEO of City National Bank after years of competency and smart decision-making. “I believe that success hinges on finding an opportunity that is a great fit for your strengths and talents, and one that you will really enjoy,” Hageboeck said. “If you do that, then you will be really successful.” danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
Second Amendment Sports & Area roads key topic at Defense owner talks gun control Morgantown City Council meeting by Kelsey Bartlett correspondent @dailyathenaeum
Morgantown’s Second Amendment Sports & Defense, LLC, is a no-frills shop that makes the best of its space. Polished handguns fill the glass cases, and an array of rifles hang on the peg walls, all neatly aligned in a row. As the sole owner of the store, Gregory Gutta Jr. is one of many passionate West Virginians fervently defending his right to bear arms. Sean Dill, a West Virginia Univeristy alumnus, is a friend of Gutta’s and board of directors member for the West Virginia Citizen’s Defense League. Dill’s knowledge of the law is extensive, and he has assisted Gutta with certain logistics, such as the fine line that exists between denying someone a firearm based on a single DUI versus someone with a substance abuse problem. “It was a weird interpretation of the clause that said, ‘addicted to substance abuse,’” Dill said. “We had one of our lawyers make that phone call and get that taken care of without legislation.”
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INSIDE News: 1, 2 Opinion: 4 A&E: 3, 6 Sports: 7, 8, 10 Campus Calendar: 5 Puzzles: 5 Classifieds: 9
Gutta, a West Virginia native, grew up hunting in the Mountain State and spent time in the military, where he honed his skills as a firearms instructor. Though his gun collection began as a hobby, it quickly led to the opening of his shop in 2011 at its Van Voorhis location. Background checks are rigorous, and Gutta takes each cautionary step before selling someone a firearm. Although his livelihood depends on the amount of firearms sold, Gutta isn’t willing to sell to just anyone. However, he believes certain government policies hinder his ability to judge whether or not someone is mentally stable. “Primarily what comes to mind is the mental health issue,” Gutta said. “Congress passed this law at one point that said a person who is mentally defective cannot have a firearm. The only problem is there is no database. HIPPA prevents the sharing of this information.” West Virginia University wildlife professor, John Edwards, teaches The Tradition of Hunting, a class comprised of roughly 75 percent hunters. Like Gutta, Edwards
THE MACK IS BACK Hip hop artist Huey Mack returns to Morgantown for the first time in three years. A&E PAGE 6
recognizes the mental health system is lacking. “You have to be committed against your will,” Edwards said. “Or you could still go out and buy a firearm.” Events such as gun shows allow private citizen transactions with no background checks, making it easy for almost anyone to gain access to a firearm. Though the system can be faulty, Edwards said almost anyone can benefit from learning to shoot. It doesn’t necessarily have to be about hunting or self-protection, but just getting out and having fun while learning a new skill. Caroline Dill did not grow up with guns, and that all changed after meeting her husband Sean. She is also a member of West Virginia Citizens’ Defense League and is nearly as passionate about the cause as Sean. She brings a female perspective to meetings and helps empower the women of the group. “I’m in the women’s group,” she said. “It’s the same group, but it’s where the women can come together and talk about issues
see GUNS on PAGE 2
BY ALEXIS RANDOLPH STAFF WRITER @DAILYATHENAEUM
Tuesday’s regular Morgantown City Council meeting focused primarily on the roads in and around the local community. City manager Jeff Mikorski discussed the work the city has been doing to the roads in lieu of the extreme winter weather Morgantown has received over the past few weeks. “January has been a pretty rough winter weather month,” Mikorski said. “Just to give you an idea how much manpower and how much effect the weather has had on the city, throughout the month we have put in 2,802 man hours working with either plowing, salting and treating.” According to Mikorski, this amount of work is far above that of a typical January. “There have been over 1,000 hours of overtime hours when the full staff wasn’t at work for a normal work week,” he said. “A lot of people may say the roads (and think they) haven’t been treated or plowed, but
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STAFF EDITORIAL Helping out a stranger can actually be good for your health. OPINION PAGE 4
we have put in a lot of man hours and a lot of overtime.” However, there have been complications for the workers. With snow continuing to accumulate in Morgantown, Mikorski said it is hard for the roads to be cleared efficiently. If there was one snow storm, it would be easier, but there have been several cases of continuous snow fall on Morgantown in January. The city runs into even more problems when it snows at night, and they have to call in workers. Another issue Mikorski drew attention to was the excess amount of miles being put on the city’s vehicles because of the increased amount of road work. “Of the 11 trucks, 5,686 miles have been traveled over the last month,” Mikorski said. “Those are only city streets that we have treated.” Priority has been given to each street in Morgantown, with primary streets receiving the most attention. When the city has continued snowfall these main roads are repeatedly tended to, with secondary streets being cleared after all main roadways are managed.
On top of the man hours and miles put in, Mikorski explained the city also used several tons of salt throughout January. However, he assured residents the city is not in danger of running out before the end of winter. New business at the meeting included the Walnut Street streetscape engineering and design contract. The city will be contracting with the AECOM engineering company to work on the streetscape. The motion passed with a 6-0 vote. The second new item during the meeting also concerned the streets of Morgantown. The FY 2014 street paving list was presented to members of the council for its approval. The project has a $275,000 budget. Councilor Nancy Ganz had several issues with the list of streets scheduled to be paved. “I feel this list need(s) to be relooked at. I will vote against it asking that other consideration be used for the list,” Ganz said. Despite Ganz’s objections, the motion passed with a 5-1 vote by the council. danewsroom@mail.wvu.edu
TIME TO BOUNCE BACK No. 20 West Virginia looks to rebound from loss, faces Iowa State tonight. SPORTS PAGE 7