August 3rd 2009 The Battalion Print

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thebattalion ● monday,

august 3, 2009

● Serving

Texas A&M since 1893

● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2009 Student Media

Relief at Reed

Photos by Jeremy Northum — THE BATTALION

Fire forces evacuation, campus closing Reed Arena serves as a shelter for evacuees from Thursday’s fire at a chemical plant outside Bryan. Red Cross volunteers working on site estimated that 1,000 people came to Reed Arena. Corps of Cadets members assisted Dining Services with providing dinner to the evacuees.

By Meagan O’Toole-Pitts | The Battalion

A

t 11:40 a.m., Thursday, a warehouse at the El Dorado Chemical Co.’s fertilizer plant on Texas 21 near Texas 47 ignited in a chemical fire, and Bryan residents within a half-mile radius were required to evacuate due to chemical residue in the air. “There was a time [Thursday] everyone in the city was told not to go home but not everyone took that to heart and went home anyway,” said c-ity of Bryan director of communications April Saginor. More than 50,000 were asked to evacuate their homes at the start of the fire, said Bryan Fire Chief Mike Donoho, but by 10 p.m. 500 to 600 were asked to stay away from their homes. The fire must burn out on its own, Donoho said. Water would react with ammonium nitrate, the primary chemical in the warehouse, making the blaze worse. “Sparks from a welder working [started the fire],” he said.

Code Maroon Texas A&M University sent out two Code Maroon messages Thursday, one warning of the fire, and another informing students that the campus was closed. Effective Aug. 31, however, a new Code Maroon system will be implemented. All students must register for the new system if they wish to continue receiving updates. Visit codemaroon.tamu.edu for more information.

City of Bryan appoints Eric Buske as police chief Eric Buske of Omaha, Neb., was named the Bryan police chief, starting Sept. 14. “I thought our finalists were really high-caliber individuals,” City Manager David Watkins said Friday. “Eric Buske, however, really set himself apart. His community-oriented style is exactly what we want to continue at the Bryan Police Department. We are fortunate to have him on board.” Bobby Whitmire, the Bryan interim police chief, was the other finalist for the job. Buske was named Omaha’s chief of BUSKE police in 2008, and has worked for the police department in Omaha since 1984. He facilitated, established and commanded Omaha’s “Weed and Seed Neighborhood Policing Team,” which involved devising and implementing community policing and problem-solving strategies. He has commanded the Omaha Metro Drug Task Force, the Criminal Investigations Bureau, the Uniform Patrol Bureau and the Police Services Bureau. Buske’s starting salary is $122,000. As Bryan police chief, Buske will lead 103 officers, 20 sergeants, six lieutenants and 40 civilians. Kalee Bumguardner, editor in chief The city of Bryan contributed to this report

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After being asked by law enforcement, Texas A&M University officials opened Reed Arena to house evacuees, said Red Cross volunteer Theresa Morrison, business administrator at the Mays Business School. “[Texas A&M] has reacted wonderfully. This is not our responsibility. We’re simply reacting to the need,” said Interim President R. Bowen Loftin. “We’ve had a lot of practice doing this over the past several years.” Volunteers said they showed up at Reed Arena not knowing what to expect. “We got 835, that was a little more than we expected but the places they were evacuating were changing,” Morrison said at 6:30 p.m. “This is not a Red Cross shelter. A&M opened it up.” Reed Arena peaked at 1,100 evacuees, said Saginor. The arena’s capacity is 12,989.

June 15, 1969 — July 26, 2009 Michael Fountain

sports | 4

Aggie dies of heart failure Professors, classmates mourn loss of student and friend Meagan O’Toole-Pitts The Battalion Senior environmental design major and father of four, Michael Lynn Fountain, 40, died July 26 of heart failure at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston. He received a double-lung transplant in 2007 after being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. “If a big problem came up, instead of moaning about it, he sat right down and went to work to fix it,” said Lynette Fountain, his wife of five years. Originally from Lufkin, Texas, he spent the past three years in College Station attending Texas A&M. “I have heard from him and the family that he has had his sights set on attending A&M since he was very young. Even though the majority of his family are Longhorn fans, he never let that sway him,” Fountain said. “We were together a year

See Fire on page 2

when we found out he got accepted. We packed up our house and children and came down.” Michael was born June 15, 1969, in Brenham, Texas, and considered the Brazos Valley home. “It was his greatest dream to be accepted into and graduate from the, ‘No. 1 school in Texas,’ according to him,” she said. During the spring semester in an architecture-for-health studio, he FOUNTAIN and a team of students made plans for The Coves, a post traumatic stress recovery center for wounded veterans in Halifax, Va., and the National Taiwan University Cancer Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan. The team worked with

Media Days See how the Aggies spent their time in the spotlight in Irving with interviews from Coach Mike Sherman and the team.

coming tuesday

Dining Services See expansion plan for Poor Yorick’s and a reaction to dining options for the upcoming semester.

See Fountain on page 2

8/2/09 9:40 PM


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