Thursday, September 5, 2013

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Appalachian The

Appalachian State University's student newspaper since 1934

Thursday, September 05, 2013

www.TheAppalachianOnline.com

More voting changes in Boone

Vol. 88, No. 04

Photos by Maggie Cozens | The Appalachian

Watauga Board of Elections Chairman Luke Eggers, board member Kathleen Campbell and secretary Bill Aceto discuss the relocation of voting locations in Boone during the Board of Elections meeting Wednesday. The board voted 2-1 to move the voting space to the nightclub Legends.

Watauga board of elections moves on-campus voting to Legends

One-stop voting sustained by Stephanie Sansoucy News Editor

by MICHELLE PIERCE he Watauga County Board of Elections voted Wednesday to retract their earlier resolution made Aug.12 to combine all three Boone voting precincts. The board voted to move the previous polling site for Boone’s second precinct from Plemmons Student Union to Legends night club. The board voted unanimously to withdraw their Aug. 12 resolution concerning the combination that received negative media attention, keeping Boone’s three current precincts. The decision to then move the Boone 2 polling place was a 2-1 vote with Kathleen Campbell being the only member to vote against it. The move will cost the county more money because they must now send out flyers by mail to every voting citizen in order to inform them of the change, Watauga County BOE elections director Jane Ann Hodges said. Campbell defended keeping the site in the student union but mov-

The North Carolina Board of Elections voted on the appeal of Boone’s one-stop voting changes at their meeting Tuesday. Approximately 60 people were in the room at the time of the vote when the board voted 4 - 1 against the appeal, sustaining the Watauga County Board of Election’s majority one-stop voting plan. The majority plan, passed in a 2-1 vote by the Watauga County BOE on Aug. 12, allows for one early voting polling place, located in the Commissioner’s Board Room next to the Watauga County Courthouse. Kathleen Campbell, member of the Watauga County BOE and the appellate who voted against the majority one-stop voting plan, presented her alternative plan to the NCBOE. Campbell proposed a plan to the NCBOE in which the newly constructed Linville Falls room of Plemmons Student Union could be used as a polling place, and the recently finished parking lot used for voters and curbside voting. “If we are to conclude that only one early voting site is adequate, we must also conclude that it must also be located in the Linville Falls room of the student union, where there are more parking spaces, where voters

County | page 2

State | page 2

News Reporter

T

Appalachian eyes CO detector installations Gerrit Van Genderen Intern News Reporter

Gov. Pat McCrory signed the Regulatory Reform Act on Aug. 23, requiring carbon monoxide detectors to be installed in all hotels statewide. This section of the bill was established after three deaths occurred at Boone’s Best Western hotel caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. All lodging establishments must have carbon monoxide detectors installed by October 2013 in every enclosed space that has fuel-burning appliances, as well as any rooms sharing a wall, floor or ceiling with those spaces, according to the bill. Carbon monoxide is found in combustion fumes, according to the Center for Disease Control. Blood absorbs carbon monoxide quicker than oxygen, blocking oxygen from properly entering the body. Tom Kane, Appalachian State University’s Director of Housing, said that Appalachian is taking the necessary steps to be safe despite no requirements from the mandate. “We are aware of this and want to make sure we have a safe environment on campus,” Kane said. “The university has been investigating the idea to install CO detectors in residential halls with State Construction.” Kane said that Mountaineer Hall is currently the only residential building on campus with detectors. The university is looking to install detectors in laundry rooms, mechanical rooms and dorm rooms. “The plan is to install CO detectors in any room that is around where fossil fuels are burned,” Kane said. “Our goal is to have detectors installed in all residential buildings by the end of May [2014].”

ON THE WEB Social Media @theappalachian facebook.com/theappalachian

After delays, Cottages finish half of the bedrooms by Chelsey Fisher Senior News Reporter

The Cottages of Boone have made progress in construction after a delayed start displaced students at the beginning of the semester. Approximately half of the bedrooms have passed inspection, with 497 bedrooms occupied out of 894, said Joe Furman, director of Watauga County Inspections and Planning. This means there are 63 buildings that have passed county inspections as of Monday, Sept. 2. The Cottages anticipates that 534 residents will be in their units by Sept. 9, said Jen Cottages | page 2

Justin Perry | The Appalachian

The Cottages of Boone have completed approximately half of the 894 total bedrooms as of Monday, Sept. 2. The Cottages anticipates having 534 residents moved into their residences by Sept. 9.

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