Vol. 94, No. 31 1 section, 10 pages
FRIDAY
January 27, 2006
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Starting strong
Wrong end of the spear
Faster, farther, higher
Ben Maynard earned preseason LSC South pitcher of the year, page 10
The religiously themed End of the Spear doesn’t deliver as a feature film, page 5
ACU’s decorated track team began another season this month, page 10
Former student awaits bond hearing
Sifting through the numbers Where does the students’ money go? As part of the $45 fee every student who takes at least nine hours pays, $25 went to the Students’ Association this year, which entirely funds SA for the semester.
n Brandon Woodruff, who remains in jail on two counts of capital murder, likely will not go on trial until at least 2007, a district attorney said this week.
Total budget:
$116,500 Congress allocates that money to three main areas:
By MALLORY SHERWOOD Managing Editor
Brandon Woodruff, former ACU student, awaits a bond hearing Monday in hopes that the judge will lower his bond that was set at $2 million in October, when Hunt County Police charged him with two counts of capital murder in connection with the death of his parents in their home. Assistant District Attorney Noble Walker said investigators are collecting evidence for Woodruff’s trial, a trial Walker said that might not begin until 2007. “Hunt County is dealing with umpteen million m u r d e r s right now, so a trial date hasn’t even been set,” Walker said. Woodruff, a freshman Woodruff agribusiness major from Rockwall, was a part-time student at the time of his arrest in Texarkana, Ark., where relatives lived, and his parents’ funeral took place. His parents, Dennis, 43, and Norma Woodruff, 42, were found two days after they were murdered in their home near Royse City, northeast of Dallas. They died of multiple gun and knife wounds. No signs of a forced entry were found at the home, which made Brandon Woodruff a suspect early in the investigation, said Chief Deputy Robert White of the Hunt County’s Sheriff Department, in October. Woodruff, the youngest of two children, has a sister named Charla, who was attending college in Arkansas last fall. He began attending ACU last fall after graduating from Rockwall High School in 2005. While at ACU he lived in Mabee Hall with best friend and roommate, Eric Gentry, freshman biblical text major from DeSoto. Gentry said he would be unable to attend the bond hearing but said many people from his community and friends would be attendSee
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1) Funds that go to and are directly accessible to student groups.
Directly to student groups: Brian Schmidt/Chief Photographer
Adams Hall representative Brittany Thomasson, sophomore interdisciplinary major from Allen, studies the Students’ Association budget proposal as it is presented to Congress during Wednesday’s meeting. Members of Congress unanimously approved the budget by a vote of 40-0 with no abstentions.
Congress unanimously approves budget n SA executive treasurer Tyler Cosgrove said serving two years as treasurer has allowed him to improve the budgeting process for student groups. By JONATHAN SMITH Editor in Chief
The Students’ Association on Wednesday unanimously approved a semester budget of $116,500, which includes more than $40,000 for 33 student groups and organizations. As has become custom, student groups requested much more than Congress had available; this semester, groups asked for $100,000 when they submitted budgets to treasurer Tyler Cos-
grove by noon Jan. 19. Cosgrove met with each group Jan. 19 and 20 to help him understand the group’s needs and priorities. “The meetings make it easier to determine what can be cut and what should be accepted,” Cosgrove said. He also said the meetings give him an opportunity to explain how funding works to students new to the process. Using guidelines he devised last year, Cosgrove reviewed each budget, cutting out or reducing requests made by groups. The guidelines set limits
Gathering in the Den
on how much SA will fund for certain items, and they detail what items SA will not fund. For example, SA will pay up to $150 for airplane tickets, $55 per night at hotels and 50 percent of conference and registration fees. SA will not fund internal social club functions or personal items for students such as T-shirts. After applying those guidelines to each group, Cosgrove said he had to cut very few other items from groups’ budgets. A few groups received full funding, and one had 86 perSee
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By MITCH HOLT Staff Writer
Brian Schmidt/Chief Photographer
SA officer scholarships:
$18,080 3) Toward SA expenses, such as office supplies, the endowment, which will fund future budgets, and the student leader event Invision.
SA expenses:
$39,524 Brian Schmidt/Chief Photographer
Tyler Cosgrove, executive treasurer of SA, explains this semester’s budget to Congress during SA’s first meeting Wednesday. SA had about $116,500 at its disposal this semester.
By JONATHAN SMITH Editor in Chief
Moving forward with the
idea of living and learning communities, Residence Life Education and Housing will expand that idea next fall to incorporate Barret Hall. Next year, sophomore men and women will have the opportunity to create 22 of their own living and learning community groups — one group for
Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
each of Barret’s living spaces. Dr. Mimi Barnard, director of Residence Life Education and Housing, said because learning can take place in any setting on campus, creating these smaller groups of students with common interests in the residence halls allows for even more focused learning.
Congress also sets aside a small portion of the budget to use as the need arises.
Available as need arises:
$3,750
Late December and early January brought devastating wildfires to Texas, fires that didn’t actually reach Abilene. Because of the favorable fire conditions, Abilene and area officials have placed burn bans and emergency plans into effect for all of Taylor County. Greg Goettsch, lieutenant of the Abilene Fire Department, said the winter has been unseasonably warm and windy, greatly increasing fire danger for the entire state. Immediately following the fires throughout the state,
“People need to refrain from engaging in any activity that could create a spark or flame outdoors.” Greg Goettsch, lieutenant of the Abilene Fire Department
the governor declared all 254 counties in Texas disaster areas because of favorable fire conditions and extreme drought. As he made this declaration, he empowered local judges across the state to take necessary steps to protect citizens within their jurisdiction. This also allowed those losing money from the spreading fires to receive federal aid through low-interest loans. Goettsch said the Abilene Fire Department, Texas Forest Service and the surrounding area fire departments are working together to create the quickest, most effective fire response possible. He
Barret Hall becomes newest living community n Groups of eight students will apply to live together in Barret Hall in create-your-own living and learning communities for sophomore men and women.
2) Toward scholarships that each of the seven SA officers receive each semester.
County under fire bans n After a dry and unseasonably warm winter, fires broke out across Texas during December and January prompting the governor to declare all counties as disaster areas.
A line forms in The Den, the new Java City coffee shop in Barret Hall, which had its grand opening Wednesday morning.
$55,146
“Because people are together, they’re energized by each other,” Barnard said. “They can come together and be really good friends early in their development and have a common language.” Barnard said Barret’s unique construction makes it the optimal place to try this concept.
Although it’s considered one residence hall, Barret essentially is four separate buildings with about six living spaces in each building. Each living space has a common room with four bedrooms attached. Eight students live in each living space,
Abilene Christian University
See
said this coalition has been effective in preventing largescale fire in the area. Helicopters, air tankers, bulldozers and ground crews have all been involved in preventing and extinguishing fires. Abilene Fire Department and city officials have compiled a list of certain precautions that must be taken by individuals living in the atrisk area, including the Taylor County Order Prohibiting Outdoor Burning. The order states that someone who intentionally burns any combustible mateSee
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Fall housing changes Residence halls that will include living and learning communities in the fall: • One floor of McDonald Hall for freshman women business and biblical studies majors • One floor of McKinzie Hall for freshman men business and biblical studies majors • Barret Hall for sophomore men and women to create their own community groups
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