lectures on 1930s Russian massacre NEWS: Speaker Page 2 Fashion Collection unveils 1920s gowns ARTS & LIFE: Texas Page 3 remains for City Council regarding gas wells VIEWS: Work Page 4
SPORTS
Sophomore cornerback stands out on defense Page 5
Thursday, October 8, 2009
News 1, 2 Arts & Life 3 Sports 5 Views 4 Classifieds 6 Games 6
Volume 94 | Issue 25
Stormy 82° / 63°
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
City Council allows drilling in Denton BY SCOTT MCBRIDE Contributing Writer
Construction workers toil with rebar and morning traffic during the final stages of Loop 288’s reconstruction.
PHOTO BY DREW GAINES / INTERN
Loop 288 deadline pushed back BY CHRIS SPEIGHT Senior Staff Writer
Although most of the lanes on Loop 288 are clear of construction crews and bulldozers, the Texas Department of Transportation announced two weeks ago that the street’s completion date will be delayed. Department officials said they missed the Sept. 23 deadline because of bad weather and utility delays, such as a gas line in conflict with a city utility line causing construction hang-ups. Although the deadline was pushed back, the majority of Loop 288 is open to the public. However, there is still work to be done on landscaping, sidewalks and drainage. “There were some change orders associated with the project as well as some weather related issues with the recent weather,” said Cynthia Northrop White, spokeswoman for the department. White said the most significant changes in the contract are intersection improvements needed for several future developments on the loop. Negotiations regarding the final completion date continue between the department and the Austin-based contractor, JD Abrams, L.P. “Negotiations are still underway with the contractor,” she said. “Essentially, the project is open to traffic. There will be some lane closures associated with some of the finishing touches on the project, landscaping, sidewalks,
drainage. Those will be taking place over the next week.” Construction on the loop started in April 2006 and the original contract was for 40 months, White said. The original cost for Loop 288 was nearly $39 million. White said that additional costs amounted to about $1 million. Fifty-eight days were added to the original deadline because of utility delays, making it Sept. 23. Two weeks ago, the department announced it needed an extension to finish, White said. “It’s been a priority project for over 20 years,” said Denton Mayor Mark Burroughs, laughing. Burroughs said there have been several times when the general contractor pulled construction workers off Loop 288 and put them to work on another job. “Even when whatever the problem was would clear up, there was a delay getting the crews back,” he said. “The status now is they do have the attention shifted back to get on the schedule again.” Delays have come in various forms during the project, such as materials not being available or access to certain right-of-way streets, Burroughs said. Representatives from JD Abrams, L.P. declined to give an interview. The new completion deadline has not yet been set, but the department, JD Abrams, L.P., and the city of Denton are negotiating a new one, White said. So far, there has been no penalty for the
Hours of opposition from Denton residents and UNT students failed to prevent the Denton City Council from approving gas drilling near residential areas Tuesday. The council voted 6-1 in favor of a special permit to allow Range Resources Co. to build as many as five gas wells on the 400-acre Rayzor Ranch development near McKenna Park. The council tried to persuade the company to build the wells elsewhere, but state law mandates access to oil and natural gas for mineral owners. The permit does include 21 conditions designed to alleviate residents’ concerns over pollution, traffic and noise. “We can be, and we are, a good neighbor,” said David Poole, general counsel for Range Resources. The permit’s conditions include walls to shield the community from noise and a processing system that would reduce pollution. Poole said the proposed wells would bring money to Denton through taxes on the property. “We’ve explained the safety measures we’ve taken,” Poole said. “The environmental protection measures we take to protect the ground water and the minimal impact we have on air emissions.” But many residents remained unconvinced. “I don’t want to see the pollution and noise and deterioration of the property values that well will bring, across the street from a beautiful city park,” said Ron Watson, a Denton resident.
Students protest The UNT chapter of the International Socialist Organization protested the meeting in front of City Hall.
About 15 members displayed a sign reading “No Gas Wells At Our Park.” During the proceedings, there were occasional outbursts from the crowd. When Poole said he was unaware of any known health risks associated with gas wells, a member of the crowd shouted “cancer,” prompting Mayor Mark Burroughs to admonish the audience. Andrew Teeter, a member of the organization and Panhandle Street resident, said gas wells would pollute the air. “That’s considered reckless endangerment of public health and safety,” Teeter said. “That’s the lawsuit that people will file later on when they have leukemia from living on Bonnie Brae Street.” Charles Wahlert, a Denton resident and practicing physician, produced a petition from health care providers opposing the wells. “It looks like a done deal that you’re going to approve a heavy industrial project right across the street,” Wahlert said.
A rock and a hard place Mayor Burroughs, attempting to placate those in opposition, pointed out that Range Resources voluntarily agreed to one site for drilling, although the original zoning would have permitted more. He said the council added conditions to the permit during the negotiation process to address public concerns. Burroughs also said a fear of lawsuits didn’t influence the council’s decision. “It’s not a fear of lawsuits that defines what we have,” Burroughs said. “We don’t operate with unlimited power. The history of the state of Texas prefers mineral owners over surface owners. It’s just a fact of Texas.”
PHOTO BY DREW GAINES / INTERN
With construction nearing completion on Loop 288, some residents may find their commutes to be less of a hassle. missed deadline. The final deadline has yet to be determined. Burroughs said there would not be a penalty as long as the waits were “excused delays,” such as not being able to work because of a lack of materials. Dalton Gregory, council representative for District 2, said he heard complaints about the
missed deadline not only from people in his district, but also from residents across Denton. “That group [Texas Department of Transportation] is a bureaucracy within the state that is several steps removed from any accountability to voters. I think it has just been an ongoing frustration for all the members of the community.”
Drill Site
MAP COURTESY OF GOOGLE
The gas wells will be constructed across the street from McKenna Park.
UNT experiencing a higher demand for on-campus jobs BY A MBER A RNOLD Senior Staff Writer
With the economy declining and the job market shrinking, students are turning to jobs on campus for relief. A lthough employment at UNT is not on the rise, Student E mploy ment Coord i nator Shau n Stoeh r s a id more students are looking for work in genera l because of t he economic downturn. “Because of the economy, the amount of money coming i n f rom pa rents cou ld be lower for some people, so t hey’re hav ing to look for other sources of income,” he said. More than 3,800 students are employed on the campus, according to the UNT Career Services Web site. Chad Skelton, a business entrepreneurship senior, said
he doesn’t feel the pinch of the economy as a personal trainer for the UNT recreational center. “I was just at a workshop here while I was getting my personal training certificate, and I was offered a job on the spot,” he said. “With the job market so down, it’s hard to find work, so I feel really lucky to have a job I know is steady.” Students that have had jobs in the private sector who have experienced lay-offs or cut hours a re a lso look ing for jobs, which is only adding to t he dema nd, sa id Terr y Clower, director of the Center for Economic Development and Research. He sa id U N T is not a s a f f e c t e d b e c au s e pu bl ic universit ies a re statesupported.
“The money for the university and work-study programs have kept coming, and when that’s the case we don’t see a decline in the number of jobs available,” Clower said. Departments make judgment ca l ls based on t heir budgets regarding how many new positions than can fill, Stoehr said. Although no new positions have opened up, no jobs have been taken away either, he said. One of t he few t y pes of on-campus employment that may be indirectly affected is student employment through research, Clower said. If grant money provided for these projects is taken away, student employment is taken away as well. Every student on campus is eligible to apply for jobs,
PHOTO BY INGRID LAUBACH / INTERN
(From left) Student Eagle Ambassdors Shannon Jones, sophomore in hospitality management and business economics, works with Miranda Cresson, a communications junior, behind the information desk inside the Student Eagle Services building. and departments are usually w illing to organize a work schedule around the student’s class schedule. Students are
required to submit a resume and cover letter along with their job applications. For more information about
on-campus employment, visit http://careercenter.unt.edu/ st udents/oc _employ ment/ index.html.