Daily Egyptian

Daily Egyptian WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2017

DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM

SINCE 1916

VOL. 101 ISSUE 5

If proposed cuts are implemented, SIU's wildlife research lab will close, director says LUKE NOZICKA | @lukenozicka

SIU’s Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory could close after 67 years of supporting undergraduate and graduate projects if Illinois does not pass a budget by July.

Under a set of proposals outlined by the university's nonacademic prioritization committee, the research laboratory could lose $507,388 from its budget. Matt Whiles, who has worked as the laboratory’s interim director for about three years, said their budget totals $509,672 in state appropriations, nearly all of which pays salaries.

If those cuts were implemented, the laboratory that has existed at SIU since 1950 would shut down, Whiles said. This Please see WILDLIFE | 6

Jacob Wiegand | @jawiegandphoto John O'Connell, a doctoral student in zoology from Miami, traverses wetlands Sunday off Illinois Route 3 near Gale. The Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, through which O'Connell conducts his wetland research, could be at risk of losing $507,388 in funding if the university doesn't receive state appropriations by July 1. "I imagine if funding is cut that that's going to impact the number of students and maybe the number of faculty that we have," he said. "We lost quite a few students last year because their projects were funded and their assistantships were funded through federal money that was blocked because of the failure of the state to pass a budget that authorized the spending of that money." He said the different academic departments that use the lab overlap and mingle, and that the sharing of information in the lab is a way to collaborate and further their research.

Jacob Wiegand | @jawiegandphoto John O'Connell instructs Hannah Judge and Alex Bell on mapping wetland availability Sunday off Illinois Route 3 near Gale. O'Connell said there's a map of wetlands across the United States, but it doesn't give a very good idea of what wetlands are available in a given period. He said the research group selects points at random from the map and then goes to as many of the points as possible to conduct the surveys.

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Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Mother of SIU student found dead 3 years ago: ‘I feel like I’m walking forward, not back’ OLIVIA SPIERS | @_spierso

Lovely Varughese crossed over thickets and climbed barbed wire fences Saturday alongside her mournful husband and daughters to kneel at the place where police say her son froze to death three years ago.

Pravin Varughese was a 19-year-old criminal justice student at SIUC when he was found dead in a wooded area on the east part of Carbondale. The case has been mired in controversy the last three years as the Varughese family sought answers to questions they had about the details of his disappearance.

“Walking through the woods this year is so different,” Lovely said. “I feel like I’m walking forward, not back.”

Lovely Varughese said the special prosecutor in the case has provided new evidence that suggests suspicions about her son’s death are warranted.

Monica Zukas, former podcast host of Reality Check and close friend of the Varughese family, said coming back to the site was “bittersweet” for her this year.

“It’s nice to see someone is handling this case like the porcelain egg it is,” Zukas said.

At the place where the body was

Luke Nozicka | @lukenozicka Pravin Varughese's older sister Priya, his mother Lovely, and his father Mathew kneel during a memorial ceremony on Saturday in the woods bordering Illinois Route 13, where police say he died of hypothermia about three years ago.

discovered, Rev. Liju Paul led a memorial where about 50 family members and friends gathered to sing some of Pravin Varughese’s favorite hymns followed by a prayer for the family members to remain hopeful during the ongoing investigation.

In February 2014, the college student was found dead in a wooded area beside Illinois Route 13 after he had been reported missing for five

days. The Jackson County coroner ruled Pravin Varughese’s death an accident caused by hypothermia following an investigation by Carbondale Police Department.

Investigating officers learned that Pravin Varughese accepted a ride home with a man named Gaege Bethune after leaving a party in the 400 block of West College Street. Bethune later told police he was attempting to drive

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Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Page 3

“I wish all the success for you that Pravin wanted. He had big dreams, and I see that in you, too.”

- Lovely Varughese to Keshawn Lacy Pravin Action Committee scholarship recipient

an intoxicated Pravin Varughese home when a fight broke out between them.

Bethune told police he hit Varughese multiple times in selfdefense before police arrived and he fled into the woods where he was found dead five days later, according to court records and police reports.

The family commissioned a second autopsy, which was performed by Dr. Ben Margolis of the Autopsy Center of Chicago. Margolis concluded that dark-colored areas around Pravin Varughese’s forehead initially classified as post-mortem discoloration were actually deep bruises, and determined blunt-force trauma was an underlying cause of death.

In July 2016, Pravin Varughese’s

case went to the special prosecutor after the Jackson County State’s Attorney Michael Carr filed a motion in circuit court to excuse himself from the case.

Carr told the judge he would recuse himself in part because of “an intense national media campaign” to prosecute Bethune, the last person to see Pravin Varughese alive.

After the memorial, the family and friends went to SIU’s engineering building to award the Pravin Action Committee’s scholarship.

Sheila Simon, former lieutenant governor and law professor, presented the scholarship to Keshawn Lacy, a sophomore at John A. Logan Community College studying

criminal justice.

“It’s really inspiring to see the family turn their tragedy into something like this,” Simon said. “It’s tear-jerking.”

Lovely Varughese held back tears as she read to Lacy a card that she gave her son on his first day of college. Lacy said she hopes to work for the FBI someday, just as Pravin aspired to do.

“I wish all the success for you that Pravin wanted,” Lovely Varughese said. “He had big dreams, and I see that in you, too.”

Lovely Varughese said making the trip back to Carbondale is difficult, but she will continue to come back every year to keep her son’s story alive.

“I feel him when I’m here,” she said.

“A piece of my heart will always be here.”

Luke Nozicka | @lukenozicka Pravin Varughese's mother Lovely folds her hands Saturday during a memorial ceremony in the woods bordering Illinois Route 13, where police say her son died of hypothermia about three years ago.

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Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Professor to present research project on first African-American man to attend SIUC DIAMOND JONES | @_dimewrites

It was in 2011 during a Black History Month exhibit at Morris Library where the hidden story of Alexander Lane piqued the interest of his biographer.

Lane, born into slavery in 1860, was raised on a farm as a freed slave and became the first African-American man to attend SIU in 1876, eight years after the university was chartered. He held careers as a physician, educator and an Illinois legislator.

Six years after she started to explore his life, Pamela Smoot said she continues to bring the discussion to university students because those research opportunities tell the untold stories of African Americans. “‘Here you have this former slave who

not only became a physician, but an Illinois state legislator,” Smoot said. “No financial aid or anything at the time, he took the advantage of the opportunities that he was afforded.”

Smoot, a historian and the university’s director of retribution, retention and outreach in the College of Liberal Arts, is composing a book about Lane’s life. Her findings about Lane stem from a project commissioned by the Paul Simon Public Policy to construct a research project on Lane’s legacy from slavery to freedom and his impact on higher education toward minority students today.

On Thursday, Smoot will host “Life of Alexander Lane” from 3 to 5 p.m. in Morris Library’s Guyon Auditorium for the fifth consecutive year. The discussion will present Smoot’s research and focus

on Lane’s legacy as a student at SIUC and beyond.

Immediately after graduating from SIUC around 1880, Lane was named the first principal of Carbondale’s East Side School for Negroes, which later became the now-shuttered Attucks High School. He moved to Chicago in the early 1890s to study medicine at Rush Medical College before later starting his own practice.

Lane was elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 1906. He won re-election in 1908 and died in 1911 while in office. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Carbondale.

Smoot’s research quickly led to Lane’s prominence. In response to her findings, the Illinois General Assembly in 2012 Please see LANE | NEXT PAGE

Jacob Wiegand | @jawiegnadphoto Pamela Smoot, a clinical assistant professor in Africana Studies, poses for a portrait Friday in her office in Faner Hall. Smoot conducted research on Alexander Lane, the first African American man to attend and graduate from the university, and will give a lecture about the former slave at 3 p.m. Friday in Guyon Auditorium.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

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Saluki Express could reduce service, cut routes OLIVIA SPIERS | @_spierso

Two bus routes that run through Carbondale and the university campus could cease operation as the service’s revenue decreases with student enrollment, according to university officials.

Saluki Express, a mass transit system used primarily by students, offers seven weekday routes and three weekend routes during school sessions. University administrators are considering combining the east and west routes, but the service’s break route and south route are “on the chopping block,” said Bill Bruns, deputy director of the student center.

Bruns said the removal of the two routes would be a last-resort measure, but it is still under consideration.

The south route is the only public transportation offered for students who live in Evergreen Terrace and The Reserve at Saluki Pointe. The break route is used by students who stay on campus when school out of session.

“We could potentially see combining the routes if we see more funding,” Bruns said. “But that’s a decision for the chancellor.”

The City of Carbondale currently gives $14,000 to the service. Bruns said that is

enough to cover the break route, but most of the public transportation service's $1.2 million budget comes from student fees.

Students pay $50.50 annually to use Saluki Express. This fee is expected to stay the same next year, Bruns said, even after the cuts and declining student use.

Bruns said 95 percent of riders are students. He also said the service has seen a decrease of 150,704 total riders since 2007.

Since 2013, when the routes were created, the break route has seen a usage decrease of 6,935 rides and the south route a decrease of 33,427.

“The problem we are seeing here is that a lot of students are taking online classes off campus, so we don’t have the revenue we used to,” Bruns said.

During the most recent USG meeting Feb. 7, Senator Kevin Lindsay highlighted the impacts of cutting the break route primarily used by the university’s international students.

Lindsay said while many students go home during breaks, international students are left on campus by themselves. Without the break route, he said, there would be no student public transportation from campus around town.

“We need to watch out for our international students now more than ever,” Lindsay said.

“Taking their transportation away doesn’t do that.”

Glenn Poshard named president of Morthland College in West Frankfort DAILY EGYTIAN NEWS DESK

Former SIU President Glenn Poshard on Tuesday morning was named president of Morthland College, a private Christian college in West Frankfort.

Tim Morthland, the college's previous president who will now serve as chairman of its Board of Trustees, made the announcement on Facebook.

"Dr. Poshard is not only qualified for the task at hand, but, most importantly, he is a man whose heart is grounded in the Vision Statement, those few hundred

words that keep all of us who are here coming to work everyday," Morthland wrote on Facebook.

The college was created in 2009.

Poshard, a former state senator and U.S. congressman, worked as SIU's president from 2006 to 2014.

During his time at SIU, Poshard was accused of plagiarizing a doctoral dissertation, which was first reported by the Daily Egyptian in 2007. He was later cleared of any intentional wrongdoing.

The Daily Egyptian’s news desk can be reached at 618-536-3397 or editor@dailyegyptian.com.

SALUKI EXPRESS RIDE STATISTICS

$

Number of rides per route 60,000

July 2016-Jan. 2017

50,000 40,000

THE MASS TRANSIT STUDENT FEE IS $50.50 ANNUALLY THE SERVICE HAS SEEN A DECREASE OF 112,584 RIDERS BETWEEN 2015 AND 2016

30,000 20,000 10,000

$

Airport Break Crosstown Late Grand East Mall South West Crosstown weekday weekend Ave. Night

Number of rides per year

Based on fiscal year 2007-2016

700,000

Carbondale covers $14,000 for the Break Route.

95%

601,325 600,000

OF RIDERS ARE STUDENTS

559,233 497,664

488,768

500,000

488,741

474,269 415,235 400,000

‘07

448,803

456,505 ‘08

‘09

‘10

‘11

‘12

‘13

‘14

‘15

‘16

Reagan Gavin | @RGavin_DE A map of the Saluki Express routes can be found at dailyegyptian.com.

LANE

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

passed legislation to officially name Feb. 27 a day honoring lane.

The story begins within the historical records kept within printed sources such as census and government agency reports, said Pam Hackbart-Dean, Morris Library’s director of special collections.

“What really stood out is that a young man born into slavery was able to attend college and become a medical physician,”HackbartDean said. “It’s amazing how much he overcame and how much he accomplished.

Hackbart-Dean said the only major challenge was getting Lane’s life perspective. He left no diaries or family letters historians could find to convey his life experiences. Although those records are unavailable, SIUC’s

University Museum possesses some keepsakes, such as the quilt given to Alexander Lane by his grandmother.

It was donated by Lane’s greatgrandson, Winston Lane.

Four sentences written on a wall in the 2011 exhibit were all that was left of Lane’s story when Smoot began a yearlong investigation of who he was and how he lived. Smoot started her process by hiring two research assistants.

Smoot sent Andrew Barbero, a graduate student in the history department, to Springfield to search through legislative records. Michara Canty, the second researcher, was put on a train to Chicago where she searched the Woodson Regional Library and found a documented file on the biggest question of the research: how Lane got from Durant, Mississippi to southern Illinois.

With the newfound evidence,

Mississippi was the next stop.

There, Smoot uncovered more information about Lane’s family in cities such as Durant, Lane’s birthplace, Lexington and Hommes County. During their travels, they discovered Lane’s obituary and were able to track down his granddaughter in Chicago.

Smoot still stays in contact with Lane’s family, and they seemed to appreciate what she did. When Lane’s granddaughter, Geraldine Lane-Mardis, died 4 years ago, Smoot was invited by her son to speak at her funeral, which she honorably accepted.

“It’s a really good thing to know people, but also keep in touch,” Smoot said.

Campus reporter Diamond Jones can be reached at 618-536-3325 or djones@dailyegyptian.com.

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Wednesday, February 15, 2017

WILDLIFE

CONTINUED FROM

1

would dramatically strip students of collaborative, hands-on research experience, he said.

“In years past, SIU has marketed itself as a university where students can come and get hands-on research experience,” said Whiles, a professor at SIU since 2000. “If we cut these centers, we’re cutting what we’re telling the students we’re good at.”

As the university seeks to make budget adjustments that align with a lower level of state support amid Illinois’ historic budget impasse, the wildlife research laboratory is one of 15 institutions or centers the prioritization committee has identified for cutbacks and suggested as becoming self-sustaining.

The Daily Egyptian is publishing a series of stories to examine the effect those proposed cuts would have on the university community if a budget is not passed by July 1. This is the fourth in the series.

By eliminating the laboratory, Whiles said SIU would lose what sets it apart from other institutions in the region.

“I find it hard to believe that SIU could cut research centers that have … really helped define this university,” he said. “Everything we would lose with such a cut would be devastating.”

That kind of reduction in state funding would also likely result in layoffs, Whiles said. Laying off tenured faculty, however, would only occur if the university declared a state of financial exigency, and there have been no indications of such a move.

The laboratory, which houses its main offices on the second floor of Life Science II, consists of Whiles and six faculty members, 23 graduate assistants and 12 student workers.

The lab also employs two clerical workers who are shared with the Center for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences.

Like directors of other SIU centers that could lose funding, Whiles said the committee's categorization of

Jacob Wiegand | @jawiegandphoto From left: Alex Bell, a junior from Columbia, Illinois, studying zoology with a specialization in wildlife biology; Hannah Judge, a junior from Burbank majoring in university studies; and John O'Connell, a doctoral student in zoology from Miami, research wetland availability Sunday off Illinois Route 3 near Gale. O'Connell said the research is done in an effort to see how much of what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service define as wetlands is actually available to different migratory bird species such as waterfowl, shore birds, wading birds and water birds.

the laboratory as non-academic is laughable. He described academics and research as being “intimately intertwined,” saying students learn from and work with professors who produce a majority of the information they learn about in class.

John O'Connell, a doctoral student researching wetland availability throughout Illinois, agreed, saying the field or lab experiences is what will get students employed upon graduation.

one another, especially the group of graduate students studying zoology, fisheries, forestry and other fields, O’Connell said.

“When we go to national conferences, you run into alumni and everybody’s commenting on how cooperative it was when they were here and how that was vital,” he said. “[The Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory is] where we’re really sharing ideas and working together to further our research.”

“I find it hard to believe that SIU could cut research centers that have ... really helped define this university.”

- Matt Whiles, interim director of the research laboratory

“That field learning or learning in the computer lab — that's what's going to get you a job in the future, not that memorized something out of a textbook or a lecture,” O'Connell said.

As its name implies, students involved with the laboratory collaborate and work closely with

For example, O’Connell, along with two undergraduate SIU students and researchers from the University of Illinois, collected data Sunday morning east of Cape Girardeau on wetlands available for migratory birds. It was part of O'Connell’s statewide project, and it's the type of research that drew

Wednesday, February 15, 2017 Alex Bell to SIU. “If we lost the lab, we would be a lot poorer as an institution,” said Bell, a junior from Columbia studying wildlife biology.

The cut would also extend to the community, Whiles said, because the laboratory conducts research on local, national and international wildlife issues.

Whiles said one faculty member is researching chronic wasting disease, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes as a contagious neurological disease that can lead to the death of deer, elk and moose.

The laboratory brings in about $1 million a year in grants, Whiles said, but researchers have been unable to access them for the last year and a half because of the state budget stalemate.

O'Connell said many grants come from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but must first pass through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which the state

has not authorized.

“If we’re looking at cutting other funding in addition to that other problem we are already facing, that’s going to be really impactful,” he said.

In a previous interview, Judy Marshall, co-chair of the committee that created the report, said the recommended cuts were still being considered. The Chancellor’s Planning and Budget Advisory Council reviewed and prioritized the suggestions before delivering the report to interim Chancellor Brad Colwell on Feb. 1, said university spokeswoman Rae Goldsmith, the committee’s other co-chair.

The committee is scheduled to meet Thursday with Colwell, she said.

Since July 2015, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democrats who control the state Legislature, including House Speaker Michael Madigan, have failed to come to an agreement on a state spending plan. In light of the state’s historic

Page 7 budget impasse, public universities are considering ways to continue operations with the assumption some funding could be cut permanently.

Two stopgap measures passed through the Legislature in 2016 totaled $83 million in financial support for the SIU system. Those funds, for the most part, were used to pay the bills from the 2016 fiscal year. The university started the 2017 fiscal year “basically back at zero” and is dipping into the reserves once again, SIU President Randy Dunn has said.

These cuts would not be the first implemented in recent years. The 15 institutions or centers suffered a permanent 10 percent reduction in state funding in fiscal year 2016, according to the committee's report. Others saw additional cuts in fiscal year 2017.

Staff writer Luke Nozicka can be reached at 618-536-3325 or lnozicka@dailyegyptian.com.

Jacob Wiegand | @jawiegandphoto John O'Connell and Alex Bell navigate wetlands while researching the lands' availability to different migratory bird species Sunday off Illinois Route 3 near Gale. "If an area is called a wetland, but it's dry ... then it's not available to those species," O'Connell said. "A duck isn't going to feed on this dry area. They need water to be there."

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Wednesday, February 15, 2017

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Wednesday, February 15, 2017

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Wednesday, February 15, 2017

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Love at first dance ALEX HOWELL | @ahowellde

When Will Major, 72, was discharged from Barnes-Jewish hospital, he said he was charged $6 for a pillowcase he defaced.

Will still has the pillowcase on which he drew the face and name of his wife of two years, Donna Major, 70, when he was away from her at the hospital.

The couple of two years lives at Prairie Living at Chautauqua, an assisted living community in Carbondale where they were married in October 2014.

A few years ago, Will, a retired SIU professor, and Donna, a retired nurse, met at the community where they said they instantly knew they were meant to be together, but it was dancing that first brought them together.

“I was sitting there with my legs crossed and my skirt was a little [high],” Donna said. “He’s lounging there on the couch and I look over and I think ‘he just looks so sad.’

So she walked over and asked him to dance.

“He put his arm around me and I said ‘you don’t know how good that feels, to feel someone comfort me and touch me and you know, hold me again,’” she recalled telling Will.

“So I hugged her tighter, and that was about it,” Will said. “That was the first time we danced.”

Donna had only been at the assisted living home for a short time at this point.

Not too long after, Will proposed.

Morgan Timms | @Morgan_Timms Will and Donna Major share a dance Tuesday during Prairie Living's Valentine's Day Dance at Prairie Living at Chautauqua in Carbondale. The couple met and married in the assisted living community and celebrate their third anniversary in October. "We're one of the few people left who can still dance," Donna said. "So we always dance. As long as we can, we do."

About 100 people attended the she would go with him, and she did. wedding and a reception afterward.

Now, they enjoy taking naps together, The Majors spent their honeymoon watching TV and playing a game called at a bed and breakfast in Anna.

“Hay Day” on their tablets.

But Donna said the two weren’t Will and Donna say that they didn’t expect to ever fall in love with anyone at their age, but they are glad that they did.

“So I hugged her tighter and that was “I was alone for 15 years after my about it. That was the first time we husband died and I never thought I’d marry again,” Donna said in an earlier danced.”

Daily Egyptian interview. “But here we are.”

- Will Major Husband of Donna Major

“He gets down on one knee in the middle of the dining room with the room full, and asked me to marry him,” Donna said. “I said yes. There was no question in my mind.”

looking for love when they met.

The couple’s first date was at an anniversary celebration to honor Will’s friend, who was one of the first graduates of Attucks School. He asked Donna if

Morgan Timms contributed to this report.

Staff writer Alex Howell can be reached at 618-536-3326 or ahowell@dailyegyptian.com.

Morgan Timms | @Morgan_Timms Will and Donna Major laugh together as they recall memories shared in the assisted living community Monday in their living room at Prairie Living at Chautauqua.

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Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Answers for Wednesday >>

Brought to you by:

Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit, 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit www. sudoku.org.uk

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Today's Birthday (02/15/17). Learn new ideas, tricks and skills this year. Travel, study and explore. Get ahead by participating with your communities. Relationship changes this month come before a lucrative phase sparks. Take a new tack with a personal matter in September, before love takes you by surprise.

To get the advantage, check the day's rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

Aries (March 21-April 19) -- Today is an 8 -Review resources together.

A windfall could hit your shared accounts over the next two days. Avoid risky business or breakage. Find what you need nearby.

Taurus (April 20May 20) -- Today is

an 8 -- You're especially attractive, and attracted. A collaboration gets exciting.

Handle immediate needs, focusing on the present.

Share results and invent new possibilities together.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) -- Today is an 8 -- Focus on immediate priorities, one step at a time. Breathe deep, get comfortable and stand tall. Check tasks off your list. Dance with surprises.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- Today is an 8 -Love gives you strength.

You're developing a new perspective. Emotion and logic align. Enjoy domestic comforts. Sweetness comes when least expected today and tomorrow. Empower your team.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Today is a 7 -- Focus on home and family, and solutions for here and now.

The gentle approach works best. Budget and prioritize purchases. Friends provide the perfect connection.

Virgo (Aug. 23Sept. 22) -- Today is a 9 -- Source and operate locally. Connect with your networks over the next few days, and participate in the conversation. A startling revelation offers unconsidered opportunities.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- Today is a 9 -- Step lively!

There's plenty of lucrative action today and tomorrow.

Shut out distractions and gossip. Juggle deadlines and

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surprising circumstances.

Stay in communication.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- Today is a 9 -- Put in the extra effort. Quick action draws praise. You're especially powerful over the next two days. With a negative response, move on.

No more procrastination.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22Dec. 21) -- Today is a 7 -Concentrate on clean-up today and tomorrow. Stay sensitive to a loved one's wishes, and to shifting circumstances. Slow down and let events take their own course.

Capricorn (Dec. 22Jan. 19) -- Today is an 8 -Confer with allies through tomorrow.

Participate with groups and on committees. Your friends are your inspiration. Let your feelings show. Follow through on your promises.

Aquarius (Jan. 20Feb. 18) -- Today is an 8 -- Consider new career opportunities for the next few days. Begin a testing period. Compete for more responsibilities.

Focus and winning is a distinct possibility.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Today is a 7 -Get into a two-day adventurous phase.

Study, explore and discover new terrain.

Conditions are better for travel, or investigate your own backyard.

Both learn and teach.

FOR RELEASE FEBRUARY 15, 2017

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 See 1-Down 5 Risk taker 10 Minimally 14 He sang about Alice 15 Ooze with 16 Bond’s first movie foe 17 Word with interest or service 18 Lavin of “Alice” 19 Water retainer 20 *More than is wise 22 River racers 24 Rose of Guns N’ Roses 25 Poetic pair 26 *Luxury resort chain 31 “__ to leap tall buildings ... ” 32 “David Copperfield” villain 33 Cain, to Abel, informally 36 *Dominated the election 41 Teachers’ org.

42 Sufficient, to Shakespeare 43 Working hard 44 *Complete with ease 48 Descends, as a rock wall 52 Fluke-to-be 53 Worried 54 Farewells ... or, homophonically and read top to bottom, what the first words of the answers to starred clues represent?

59 Fly in the ointment 60 Fly-fishing catch 62 Tennis score 63 Floor piece 64 “Maybe, just maybe” 65 Big name in furniture 66 Clairvoyant 67 Got by 68 See 58-Down DOWN 1 With 1-Across, Whoppers and McRibs, e.g.

By Ed Sessa

2 Embossed cookie 3 Southwestern clay pot 4 Remove respectfully 5 First-class 6 Armpit 7 Squirt 8 Teacher’s deg.

9 Thought (out) 10 Make sense 11 Composer’s embellishment 12 Bracelet spot 13 Biblical verb 21 Toy inserts usually not included 23 Crescent points 25 Either “The Man Who Wasn’t There” director 26 Doe’s dear 27 Wind in a pit 28 Arm bone 29 Bull Run soldier 30 Over-theshoulder garb 33 In __: as placed 34 “Understood,” in hippie-speak 35 “Little Women” sister 37 Verbal nods

02/15/17 2/15/17 Wednesday’s Answers

Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved

©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

38 Kind of geometry 39 “The Giver” novelist Lowry 40 Thai language 45 Entertainers on the road 46 Partner of hollered 47 Wine choice 48 Reddish-brown colors 49 Singer Lennox

2/15/17 02/15/17

50 “Positive thinking” advocate 51 “Your table’s ready” signaler 54 Sticky stuff 55 Radar dot 56 Team connection 57 All tied up 58 With 68-Across, “Milk” Oscar winner 61 Letter after pi

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Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Jacob Wiegand | @jawiegandphoto Walt Frazier signs autographs following the Salukis’ 75-70 loss to Evansville on Saturday at SIU Arena. Frazier attended the game to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Salukis' 1967 National Invitation Tournament championship.

On 50th anniversary, athletic department welcomes back 1967 men's NIT champions JONATHAN THOMPSON @TheReal_Jt3

The 1967 team was honored at halftime of the men's basketball home game against Evansville on Saturday and received a standing ovation from 5,490 spectators.

"I told [the 1967 team] that

they had set the standard for Saluki basketball and the word Saluki being known nationwide because of what they did and their contribution," coach Barry Hinson said.

Back in March 1967 the SIU men's basketball team beat Marquette 71-56 after trailing earlier in the game to give the

Wednesday, February 15, 2017 program its first championship.

The Salukis were ranked No.1 in the College Division but turned down a spot in the NCAA tournament to compete in what was at the time more prestigious — the National Invitational Tournament.

They finished with a record of 20-2 that season.

"They came to us and told us the scenario: The NIT had never invited a small college before," former player Walt Frazier said.

"The option was we could go to a small tournament or we wait and see if the NIT would accept us.

So collectively we all voted that we'll take a gamble to see what happens with NIT. We wanted that challenge."

This game contributed to what would be the success of Frazier's career. He was named Most Valuable player of the tournament.

He also went on to be drafted by the New York Knicks where he won two NBA championships. Frazier has also been called one of the 50 greatest players in basketball.

"I've had the fortunate ability at Kansas to be around some superstars ... people of superstar status," Hinson said. "I watched a group of guys last night at the banquet ... all they did is talk about

Walt Frazier.

On the other hand, Hinson said, Frazier just spoke about his teammates.

"I told him that I had never been more impressed with his humility, his ability to be humble, to speak so well and so kindly about Carbondale and SIU and his teammates," Hinson said.

Frazier was most well-known from the team, but he wasn't the only player to go on to professional ball. 6'3" guard Dick Garrett was rated by the Los Angeles Lakers and played five seasons. During a season with the Milwaukee Bucks he faced off against Frazier in the NBA finals.

"I still remember the last game," Garrett said. "As a rookie I figured I know Walt cause we played a lot together. I held my own for the first six games and the seventh game I couldn't do anything with him."

Frazier scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the NIT championship game.

"My time here at SIU groomed me for the person I am," Frazier said. "What would've been my junior year I was ineligible to play because of poor grades. That was the making of Walt Frazier, because nobody helped me. The

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Jacob Wiegand | @jawiegandphoto Saluki freshman guard Aaron Cook puts up a shot over Evansville junior guard Duane Gibson (25) and freshman guard Dru Smith (12) during SIU’s 75-70 loss to Evansville on Saturday at SIU Arena.

coaches didn't help me. I had to do everything myself. I registered my classes. I had to find my housing. I had to do everything. That's when I

grew up as a person. I started to take as a really positive experience." on my responsibilities. I developed discipline. I always look back on Staff writer Jonathan Thompson that one year of adversity in my life can be reached at 618-536-3333.

players make eye contact with the swimmers and divers, "that's when you know it's working."

"You are a little bit uncomfortable being in your swimsuit at a basketball game with 5,000 other people around," Ross said. "But as soon as we did it the first time, I think we just got comfortable and kind of forgot about anything else around us."

The swimmers and divers plan to have different themes at upcoming games.

They could be seen in their pajamas as the Salukis took on Evansville.

"The pajama thing was kind of last

minute," Hillard said. "At first we were going with a 1960's theme because of the NIT 1967 team was there."

While this is the first year the team has shown up to basketball games, it is a tradition they've long held for SIU's volleyball program.

"We do one volleyball game a year," Ross said. "Usually a rival, or a big opponent they want a lot of people to show up for. We're kind of used to putting 25 articles of clothing on, and then take them off every time they scored. By the end, if they got all 25, we were in our suits."

Saluki swim and dive making its own unique contributions for men's basketball JONATHAN THOMPSON @TheReal_Jt3

The SIU swimming and diving team can be distracting.

At recent SIU men's basketball home games, the team has shown its support for Coach Barry Hinson and his squad by shouting, dancing and making ridiculous faces in their swimsuits at the opposing team while they shoot free throws.

Andy Ross, a senior captain of the swim team, said the idea was inspired by Arizona State's "curtain of distraction,"

where students and guests come out of a curtain in costumes in an attempt to distracted the opposing team.

Hinson said he is very pleased with the team's help, crediting the victory against Bradley to the swim team. The Braves shot 48.4 percent from the free throw line that game.

"The first time we did it, [Hinson] was so happy with us he got us pizza," senior captain Nolan Hillard said. "He got us so much pizza I basically had a whole pizza to myself and I couldn't even finish it."

Hillard said when the opponent's

They call it the "strip game," something volleyball Coach Justin Ingram is a big fan of, Ross said. It has gained more popularity each year, he said.

"The first year we did it a lot of people left because they felt ridiculous," he said. "The second year we did it, everyone stayed and we even got some recruits involved that year. ...

We honestly didn't think it was going to get big on the first place."

You can catch the swimmers and divers back in action as the men's basketball team takes on Wichita State at 6 p.m. Wednesday at SIU Arena.

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SPortS

WedneSday, February 15, 2017

Fifty years later, SIU welcomes home NIT champions Page 14 Jacob Wiegand | @jawiegandphoto Walt Frazier is announced during halftime of the Salukis’ 75-70 loss to Evansville on Saturday at SIU Arena. Frazier attended the game to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Salukis' 1967 National Invitation Tournament championship.