Murder, blood & valentines Hot spots give students Valentine’s Day options See insert Friday, February 11, 2011
News 1, 2 Sports 4 Classifieds 3 Games 3 Scene see insert
Volume 97 | Issue 12
Sunny 48° / 24°
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
Frisco schools locked down after shooting BY TAYLOR JACKSON Staff Writer
NEWS: UNT administrator heads to College Station Page 2
PHOTO BY DREW GAINES/SENIOR STAFF WRITER
The skeleton of a new passenger platform nears completion at the Downtown Denton Transit Center on Hickory St. and Railroad Ave. Ticket vending machines similar to those used by DART are undergoing testing now for the station.
DCTA to use ticket machines
BY CANDICE LINDSEY Staff Writer
SPORTS: Mean Green hosts ranked opponents Page 4
ONLINE: Softball team wins in extra innings
Denton Count y Transit Authority’s A-train rail project, set to open in June, will use t he sa me t icket vend i ng machines as Dallas’ transportation system, officials said. Each of DCTA’s five-rail platforms will have two machines at each location, which will allow passengers to purchase their fare on the spot, in addition to its current options. “This gives a ll passengers, not just rail passengers, but bus passengers and those wishing to utilize both modes, the ability to purchase their fare in the field,” said Jarod Varner, DCTA’s v ice pre sident of oper at ion s. Currently, riders can buy fares online at DCTA.net and at
two Denton locations: Our Daily Bread and DCTA Operations. Riders can also purchase fares from bus drivers and supervisors during the first and last three days of the month, and at the Lewisville City Hall and Highland Village City Hall. Once the A-train is in operation, the new ticket vending machines will be in place for riders to buy bus or train fares. “Right now, we don’t have an adequate amount of ticket venues, so we want to make it as easy and convenient for the passenger as possible,” sa id K r ist i na Breva rd, DCTA’s marketing manager. A lthough the machines h ave be en approve d by DCTA, Varner said they are st i l l negot iat ing w it h t he vendor, GSI Genfare, for the
provision of the machines. DCTA has budgeted $677,575 for the machines. Varner said the budgeted amount includes spare parts and a back office support system in addition to t he u n it s t hemselves. “We’re negotiating w it h GSI now on pr ice, ter m s and conditions, that sort of t hing,” Varner said. “Once we get all that nailed down, we’ll be entered into t heir p r o d u c t i o n s c h e d u l e .” The machines are expected to be installed on the platforms around the end of April or early May, just in time for the start of rail service. A spare machine will remain at DCTA offices for training, software updates and testing.
Three Frisco schools were placed on lockdown Thursday morning after a man was shot and killed on a street in the surrounding neighborhood, police said. Frisco Police kept students and teachers in locked classrooms and secured the perimeter of Gunstream Elementary, Wester Middle and Centennial High schools at 10 a.m. after the suspected gunman was seen fleeing on foot nearby. “There might be a remote chance of anyone getting on campus and risking the safety of the students, so as a precaution, we always lock down the schools,” said Frisco police spokesman Sgt. Adam Henderson. The lockdown lasted about two hours as police canvassed the neighborhood, searching storm drains and barricading roads. Police said the suspect is still on the loose. Henderson said the lockdown prevented anyone from entering or leaving the school for any reason. “Parents can’t pick up students for doctor’s appointments or anything, because once we set up a perimeter, we don’t want them leaving,” he said. Three Texas universities recently had lockdown
incidents of their own. The University of Texas was placed on lockdown in September when a student carried a gun into the library and shot himself. Students at Texas A&M were temporarily held in classrooms and dorms when a man walked across campus with a fake gun in October. Baylor University was locked down for several hours Jan. 17 when a robbery suspect, who police believed to be armed, fled across campus. UNT officials said they are confident with the university’s emergency response system.
“We have Eagle Alert ... to alert students of things that could effect their safety.”
—Kelley Resse Assistant vice president of university relations
“We have Eagle Alerts for students. Like we’ve had for the past six snow days, we use them to alert students of things that could effect their safety,” said Kelley Reese, assistant vice president of university relations. Student safety is UNT’s top priority, she said.
See TICKET on Page 2
Women’s golf starts spring season Mean Green to tee off Sunday BY CONRAD MEYER Intern
Stay connected to your campus and watch Campus Connection every Friday on NTDaily. com Follow the North Texas Daily
Facebook.com/ntdaily
@ntdaily
PHOTO BY MEGAN SAINT-JOHN/DESIGN ASSISTANT
The Renewable Fuels Station, located close to the city landfill, provides city equipment with alternative fuels. It’s another way for Denton to be more resource efficient and environmentally friendly.
One man’s garbage is another’s electricity BY MEGAN R ADKE Staff Writer
The city of Denton and a partnering engineering firm recently received a statewide environmental award for an innovative system that turns trash into energ y at the city dump. T h e Te x a s C ou n c i l of Engineering Companies will present the city and Dallasbased env ironmental engineering company CP&Y Inc. with gold medal honors April 8 for the Landfill Enhanced Leachate Reci rcu lat ion system, a unit t hat speeds up the production of landfill gas, which is later used as an alternative energ y source. CP&Y Inc., on beha l f of the city, submitted an application to the Council to be considered for t he awa rd. The project is now up for a national level CEC award. The City of Denton Landfill is a Type One Landfill that
r e c ei v e s mu n ic ipa l s ol id waste. Once collected, t he waste is compacted and then covered with dirt. The decomposition of waste produces landfill gas, a combination of carbon dioxide and methane. T he col lected met ha ne — a g re en hou se ga s — c a n then be turned into useable energ y. The collection system was installed in 2008 and helps to accelerate t his process, allowing for more gas to be collected and used as green energ y. The gas is directed to an on-site electric generator that is connected to the Denton Mu n ic ipa l Ut i l it ie s ele ct r ic g r id, sa id Mi ke Fogel, an employee at the landfill. The generator powers approximately 1,300 to 1,600 homes a year.
To read the full story visit ntdaily.com
The UNT women’s golf tea m open s t he spr i ng season this weekend when it competes at the Claud Jacobs Challenge in Victoria, Texas. The team will play a practice round on Saturday and compete at 8:15 a.m. on Sunday and Monday. “Our main focus is to keep playing the game like we did in the fall and hope that we can have some successes like we did,” senior Chandra Alexander said. It has been three months since the Mean Green last competed. The team took first place in its last competition at the Pat Bradley Invitational in October while breaking the school record for the most victories in the fall season. UNT played in four tournaments last fall, winning three and breaking school records thanks to strong play from juniors Kelsey Kipp and Addison Long. Both w ill compete this weekend with Alexander, who secured a second-place finish at the Pat Bradley Invitational. This will be UNT’s first show ing at t his tournament, a lt houg h severa l players have experience on the course. Seven teams will compete, including Top 50 ranked Tulsa and Top 100 ranked teams Toledo and Kansas.
PHOTO BY CONRAD MEYER/INTERN
Women’s golf head coach Jeff Mitchell uses video to instruct freshman Katie Paxton on proper swing mechanics. Kansas got a preview of what UNT can offer last October, when it placed behind the Mean Green at the Price’s New Mexico State Collegiate tournament. “I’m feeling prett y good about competing against the vast majority of these teams,” said head coach Jeff Mitchell.
giate golf tournament for the Mean Green. She has played in amateur tournaments and tried to qualify for the Ladies’ Professional Golf Association before coming to UNT. T he tea m w i l l stop i n Waco at the Twin Rivers golf course for a practice round on Saturday. UNT will play at the
“Our main focus is to keep playing the game like we did in the fall and hope that we can have some successes like we did.”
—Chandra Alexander Golf senior
“You work hard, you practice to get ready for a tournament, and you just get out and do what you can.” The program has a new addition to its arsenal for the tournament. Seoul, South Korea native sophomore Jacey Chun will compete in her first colle-
same course in April during the Baylor Invitational. “The team has a really good attitude and we’re coming off the best ball [rounds] in school history,” said Mitchell. “I think we will go into this tournament with a lot of confidence.”