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Banter Board
Coffee shop provides a variety of modern bistro chow SCENE | Insert
Friday, April 13, 2012
News 1, 2 Sports 3 SCENE Insert Classifieds 4 Games 4
Volume 99 | Issue 48
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
ntTV prepares to debut new show J.P. LUGO Intern
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ASHLEY-CRYSTAL FIRSTLEY/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER & TYLER CLEVELAND/VISUALS EDITOR
Recycled Books juxtaposed with the Wright Opera House, built in 1899. The Boston Store, a men’s clothing store, was the last first-floor tenant prior to Recycled moving into the elite showcase of Denton. It was built from bricks of the 1870s courthouse and operated until 1910. Presently, there are seven luxury apartments on the second and third floors.
Denton pays homage to its roots BRITTNI BARNETT Senior Staff Writer
A large black train rumbles down the track. With a screech of its brakes, the train slowly comes to a stop. As passengers look around in confusion, a man dressed in a cowboy hat with a bandana covering half
of his face enters the train car pointing a gun. “Stay where you are, everybody,” Sam Bass said. The train robber Bass, featured on the Western show “Stories of the Century,” is one of the many notable figures that played a role in Denton County’s
166-year history. It’s a history that helped shape Denton into one of the top 10 most populous cities in Texas, with 113,000 people, according to 2010 U.S. Census data. “The railroads and then again the interstates, which more or less follow the railroads, those
kind of inf luenced why we were able to get and keep two universities for a town our size,” said Kim Cupit, curator of collections for Denton County Museums.
See HISTORY on Page 6 of the SCENE insert
North Texas Television will unveil its latest addition to the station’s lineup tonight at the University Union’s Syndicate – “North Texas Now at Night.” “Nor t h Tex a s Now,” t he s t a t i on’s m or n i n g s h o w, covers a range of news and topics of conversation in the North Texas area, from showcasing the works of art the area offers to covering events that happen on and around campus. The morning show, which debuted in February 2011, is trying to expand by bringing on a n ig ht show t hat ha s more of a laid-back talk show format. Students will be able to attend the pilot taping of the first episode at 8 p.m. The taping should last between 30 to 45 minutes. “It’s showcasing the talent around the North Texas area,” said radio, television and film junior Brandon Becvar, the show’s host. “On our first show we have Tim Yager, a comedian with Four Day Weekend which is an improv comedy group from Fort Worth, and then we have workers from the Dallas Zoo bringing zoo animals with them.” B e c v a r, w ho i s a l s o a s e g m e nt a n c h or f or t h e morning show, was chosen because the station felt he had what it takes to carry on his
o w n s h o w, s a i d converged broadcast media senior Matt hew T o r r e s , host of t he BRANDON m o r n i n g BECVAR show. “T he mor n i ng s how i s rea l ly just a mor n i ng ta l k show format. What you think of when you think of “Good Morning America” or “Today Show” is what we try to do,” Torres sa id. “But w it h t his show, we’re trying to take on a “Tonight Show” or a David Letterman show.” Junior Coralee Trigger, the producer of t he show, sa id the idea of a night show was tossed around during winter break as a joke, but it began to be taken more seriously when they realized its potential. “We’ve been off location a lot, and we really wanted to bring something back to the universit y. Somet hing t hat not only ntTV people could enjoy, but somet h i ng t he communit y cou ld embrace and call their own,” Trigger said. “We’ve been tr ying to push our boundaries and see what we can do. We have the resources, we have a funny host, we have guests, and we have the talent.”
See NTTV on Page 2
Mean Green leaves Lovelace for Louisiana Softball A LISON ELDRIDGE Senior Staff Writer
PHOTO BY ASHLEY-CRYSTAL FIRSTLEY/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Dallas resident Vincent Cornelison, 49, sits at the A-train station in Denton. Cornelison said he witnessed a train accident in California where a man was struck. As an ex-train worker, he said he believes train safety is of the upmost importance because an accident can happen before you know it, and trains can’t stop at the drop of a dime.
DCTA launches new safety awareness campaign NICOLE BALDERAS Senior Staff Writer
T he Denton Cou nt y Transportation Authority has taken a more visual approach with this year’s safety awareness campaign. The campaign, “Consider the Impact,” uses slogans such as, “At 80 tons, a train hitting your car is like stomping on a soda can,” to inform riders of the need for precaution and safety. Since the A-train opened in June, there have been seven incidences of vehicle and pedestrian trespassing, two of which resulted in fatalities. Though most of the railway’s
43 rail crossings have medians and quad-gates to keep trespassers out, ultimately it is upon individuals to stay off and away from the tracks. “This is focused on incidents, not accidents, which could have clearly been preventable,” DCTA Marketing Manager Kristina Brevard said. “We’ve taken the ’80s ‘This is your brain on drugs’ approach and applied it to a train and a vehicle, making it less graphic with everyday objects like a flyswatter and a fly.” T he $ 3 0,0 0 0 r e g ion a l campaign is a collaboration between the DCTA, Trinity Railway Express, Operation
Lifesaver and Herzog Transit Services Inc. “We’ve done over 1,000 presentations since about 2009, so it’s not a new program,” DCTA Senior Transit Planner Cheri Soileau said. “I think it cycles, though, it’s one of those things you have to keep making people aware of. There are not only freight trains but also the commuter rail to be careful of.” The campaign w ill run during April, May and June, and updates can be found on the DCTA website and social media website Twitter.
See DCTA on Page 2
For the first time in two weeks, the Mean Green softball team (17-18-1, 8-6-1) will compete outside the familiar fences of Lovelace Stadium, as it will travel to Monroe, La., to play the LouisianaMonroe Warhawks (16-18, 3-9) this weekend. While the Mean Green is 1-11 in games on the road, it has won both series against ULM over t he past t wo seasons, including its lone series win last season. “When all the pieces of the puzzle are in place, we’re pretty tough to beat,” head coach T.J. Hubbard said. “But they’re [ULM] scrappy. You can’t give them anything, because they’ll jump right on top of you.” T he Wa r h a w k s le a d the Sun Belt Conference in stolen bases and steal attempts, with sophomore outfielder Miyuki Navarrete holding first place in both categories. UNT has the most recorded stolen bases and attempts against, but is third in the conference at catching base stealers. Hitting off the Mean Green won’t be an easy task for the Warhawks, as sophomore pitcher Ashley Kirk’s 103 strikeouts and junior pitcher Brittany Simmons’ 72 have them ranked seventh and ninth place, respectively.
PHOTO BY TYLER CLEVELAND/VISUALS EDITOR
Sophomore infielder Brooke Foster misses a tag on the Texas State Bobcats during a 6-0 loss in a doubleheader on Wednesday. The Mean Green will play on the road against the University of Louisiana Monroe at 2 p.m. Saturday.
“When all the pieces of the puzzle are in place, we’re pretty tough to beat.” —T.J. Hubbard Head coach, softball team
“Defense has been there. Offense has been there,” Kirk said. “Even though the strikeouts happen, if the defense isn’t there and the offense isn’t there, the strikeouts mean nothing.” UNT’s offense will be a force to be reckoned with as well, as the team closed out its longest home stand of the season with a 6-1-1 record. The Mean Green is second in the conference in home runs, with senior first basema n Maddely n Fra ley leading the way for UNT with
10. Fraley also sits in third place in the conference with a .658 slugging percentage and fourth with 37 RBI. “If one person gets a hit early in the game, we all just communicate,” Fraley said. “We keep going, and it’s like a domino effect.” The series will begin Saturday with a doubleheader at 2 p.m. and will conclude with a 1 p.m. game Sunday. Senior staf f writer Brett Medeiros contributed to this article.
Inside North Korea reportedly launches test rocket News | Page 2
Tennis team prepares for final regular season matches Sports | Page 3
Denton historian talks about the good old days SCENE | Insert