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Homecoming Loss: Racers fall one touchdown short of UT Martin
The Murray State News TheNews.org
October 19, 2012
Vol. 88, No. 10
Jackson pleads guilty Jonathan Ferris || Sports Editor jferris2@murraystate.edu
t r a m S
see WALKER, 3A
see JACKSON, 3A
Photo illustration by Evan Watson/The News
strong enough to convict Walker, who allegedly forged letters at the start of the first investigation that mislead police. Of course, Blankenship said, the jury would have to ignore Walker’s standing in the community and rely on evidence alone. “Walker injected himself into the investigation,” Blankenship said. “He intentionally deceived the police and permanently damaged the case.” Those letters were what led the prosecution to believe Walker was behind the ‘98 fire. He said when the po-
Murray State men’s basketball guard Zay Jackson pleaded guilty to two counts of wanton endangerment after striking a couple with his car last month, following a verbal altercation in the Walmart parking lot in Murray. Lessened from the original two counts of second-degree assault, a plea deal was reached and Jackson was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He will serve his time on weekends so he can keep up with his classes. In addition to the jail sentence, Jackson, sophomore from Hammond, La., will serve 30 days of community service, attend Jackson anger management classes, pay restitution and submit a letter of apology to the two victims, Jason and Alia Clemont, of Paducah, Ky. He will also surrender his driving privileges for 30 days with exceptions to attend classes, anger management sessions, travel to and from jail and participate in community service obligations. Both victims and Commonwealth Attorney Mark Blankenship approved the plea agreement. “He’s a first-time offender, and I think we treated him like we would any other Murray State student who was a first-time offender,” Blankenship said. “He’d fail if he missed too many (classes), so he’ll serve his jail time on weekends. Also, with his community service, we’re hoping we can get him to use a video of the incident and say, ‘Hey, look what I did – you can’t act like this.’” The up-and-coming basketball star has been suspended from all men’s basketball team activities for more than a month. After averaging 4.9 points per game as a freshman during last year’s 31-2 season for the Racers, Jackson was expected to play a larger role this season, including starting alongside fellow guard Isaiah Canaan. There is no official word on further punishments from the athletic department, however Athletic Director Allen Ward confirmed Jackson would remain on the team this season,
Not a good fit Dunn withdraws from Missouri State race for new president Austin Ramsey || Editor-in-Chief aramsey5@murraystate.edu
President Randy Dunn withdrew his candidacy for president at Missouri State University Monday. In a media statement he released that afternoon, Dunn said he made his decision with his wife Ronda after last weekend’s Homecoming activities, where he was met with what he called “ongoing statements of support and encouragement” from alumni, donors, friends and community members. Dunn’s move came only hours before a Missouri State Board of Governors meeting Monday evening
Prosecution says Walker case likely to stay cold
in which the nine-member board was expected to deliberate over Dunn and Clifton Smart III. Smart, the interim Missouri State president and second finalist for the university’s 11th president spot, was instead immediately instated Tuesday morning. Smart was a strong internal candidate from the start – something Dunn alluded to in Monday’s release. He had been serving as Missouri State’s interim president for more than a year after the university’s 10th president, James Cofer Sr., stepped down to return to the faculty in 2011. Dunn said he had looked forward to taking on the
Chris Wilcox || News Editor manderson22@murraystate.edu
Circuit Judge Dennis Foust issued a ruling on Oct. 12, refusing the motion to dismiss six tampering charges against Jerry Wayne Walker Jr. Walker, a Paducah man who was tried twice for the fatal Hester College dorm fire in 1998, has been charged with all six felony counts of tampering in that same investigation. Commonwealth Attorney Mark Blankenship filed the new charges. Blankenship said he attempted to merge the tampering charges with
Dunn
challenges of heightening the Missouri State profile to an expanded audience, but the overwhelming support he and his wife received at Homecoming, coupled with a perceived lack of support in Missouri, led him to the decision to step out of the running. He mentioned statements, reports and editorial commentary that gave him the impression
see DUNN, 3A
the allegations brought against the defendant earlier in the year, but the defense did not want the cases to conflict. Blankenship brought the tampering charges against Walker following a Marshall County jury acquittal over the summer on charges related to the death of Michael Minger in Hester College. “Guilty or not guilty, the trial for the death of the student is over,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s innocent, it just means we can’t try him again.” Blankenship said the evidence was
Candidates struggle for undecided voters Staff Report
Austin Ramsey/The News
HOMECOMING FUN AND FOOD: Associate Professor of German Reika Ebert pulls a traditional German bratwurst from a cooker at the department of modern languages and International Cultures and Languages Association shared tent at the annual Homecoming Tent City last weekend.
The president and his Republican challenger battled over domestic and foreign policy Tuesday night in an attempt to sway undecided voters. President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney challenged each other on a variety of topics in the second presidential debate. Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., hosted the contest, which gave undecided voters the opportunity to ask questions in a traditional town hall format. Candy Crowley, CNN chief political correspondent, moderated the sometimes heated Tuesday night debate. From the start, Obama accused Romney of favoring the rich and challenged him on his economic and energy policies. The governor presented a different plan every time he spoke, he said. Romney countered, saying the president’s policies had failed to fix the economy and his energy policy had only
Election 2012 worsened the nation’s ever-rising debt. The candidates disagreed on taxes, immigration, deficit reduction measures, energy production and women’s equality. Romney told the audience if they voted for Obama they knew what would happen. “You’ll get a repeat of the last four years,” he said. “Obama is a great speaker, but, in effect, is a failure as a president in delivering prosperity for the middle class.” He said the president’s No. 1 issue – an economy in fast decline – was present when he entered the White House and the Democratic president had only made things worse. The two briefly discussed Obama’s immediate response to the terrorist attack on a U.S. ambassador and three American diplomats in Libya. Romney said Obama had confused Americans about the na-
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INSIDE
University surpasses goal by more than $10 million, 6A
Non-student urges end to costly Runners ready for anticipated Afghan war, 5A OVC Championship meet, 4B
CROSS COUNTRY
ture of the attack. Obama said there was no confusion in what he said the day after the attack. “The suggestion that anybody on my team, the secretary of State, our U.N. ambassador, anybody on my team, would play politics or mislead when we’ve lost four of our own is offensive, governor,” Obama said. “The day after the attack, governor, I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American people in the world that we are going to find out exactly what happened. That this was an act of terror, and I also said that we’re going to hunt down those who committed this crime.” Crowley said transcripts proved Obama’s response was accurate. The candidate’s final question challenged them to clear their names and explain to the American people who they really are. Romney said much of Obama’s campaign had focused on attacking his per-
see DEBATE, 3A
BLACK & GOLD Alpha Phi Alpha names annual pageant winner, 5B