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Racers win decisive victory over Auburn
The Murray State News TheNews.org
November 16, 2012
Vol. 88, No. 14
President selects search committee Chris Wilcox || News Editor cwilcox2@murraystate.edu
With the resignation of University Provost Bonnie Higginson, President Randy Dunn has selected individuals to serve on a search committee – charged with doing a national search for a new University provost. Higginson said applications for the position were likely to be due in early February after the University advertised the position in publications like The Chronicle of Higher Education. Dunn said in prior searches of the same magnitude, the University hired a firm with an in-house search committee serving in tandem. He said this time, due to cost and time restraints, the
University has opted to use its own search committee. He said the cost incurred for the benefit received was a determining factor, because he said the University could save m o n e y while still Higginson getting the best candidates. “We think we can get the same end results by using the talent we have here at the University,” he said. “I have asked Jack Rose to chair the committee.” The provost selection com-
HIDING GUNS
see PROVOST, 3A
Photo illustration by Kylie Townsend/The News
Murray State Police Chief David DeVoss recommends students faculty and staff keep weapons stored in their vehicles stored away so as to prevent the likelihood of a break-in. This comes after a spring Kentucky Supreme Court ruling on guns in cars on university campuses.
Chief suggests concealed weapons for campus vehicles after ruling File Photo
This 1998 photo of Hester Hall shows cordoned-off police zones and a fire truck after an early-morning arson blaze destroyed most of the fourth floor, killing one student and injuring another. Jerry Wayne Walker Jr. pleaded guilty Tuesday to tampering charges that made the 14-year-old case difficult for authorities.
Meghann Anderson || Assistant News Editor manderson22@murraystate.edu
ollowing a Kentucky Supreme Court ruling that took place last spring, students, faculty and staff are allowed to keep concealed weapons in their vehicles, but are being advised to keep them hidden. The ruling states that education institutions in Kentucky are in violation of the law if they do not allow students, faculty and staff to keep concealed weapons in the glove compartments of their vehicles. To prevent licensed weapons from being stored in private vehicles is contrary to the fundamental Constitutional right to bear arms, the opinion states. Murray State Police Chief David DeVoss said some students and staff were under the impression that it was a requirement to keep a weapon in plain sight when it was left in a vehicle in University parking lots. “With a weapon in plain sight, one runs the risk that the vehicle will be entered to steal both
F
Walker pleads guilty Chris Wilcox || News Editor cwilcox2@murraystate.edu
Jerry Wayne Walker Jr. pleaded guilty to six counts of tampering with physical evidence Tuesday morning in the Calloway County Circuit Court, marking the end to an almost 14-year-old battle over the Paducah man’s innocence in connection to the fatal Hester Hall fire of 1998. Walker was indicted twice
for setting the early-morning blaze on the fourth floor of Hester, but both times he walked free – most recently in July, when a jury found him innocent. Michael Minger, a sophomore music student who lived on the far end of the fourth floor, lost his life in the Hester Residential College, formerly known as Hester Hall.
the weapon and other personal property,” DeVoss said. “It is most prudent to keep a weapon out of sight when parking a vehicle in University parking lots.” For hunters, DeVoss recommended storing the weapon in a safe place off campus. “If one must keep a weapon in his vehicle when parking on campus, it should be stored out of sight to prevent an unlawful entry,” DeVoss said. Murray State Police officers will respond to any calls regarding a weapon on campus. The Supreme Court ruling does give universities the right to prohibit weapons on all other entities of campus – a policy Murray State enacted years ago. DeVoss indicated that there had been some
ONLINE: Murray State gun policy for students and faculty.
see GUNS, 3A
see WALKER, 3A
Campus facility maintenance work underway Edward Marlowe || Staff writer emarlowe@murraystate.edu
Even universities have to do a little house cleaning every now and then. While much of the work the University tries to schedule during the less crowded and warmer summer months, some projects do come up while regular classes are in session – not unlike the maintenance roof work on Wells Hall this month. Lined out through specific stipulations in the University 2012-13 Operating Budget, Facilities Management has a calculated budget of nearly $13 million for this year, which goes to support funding for projects such as building and equipment maintenance, building services, facility design and construction and utilities. Of the $12.9 million for this year’s budget, Chief Facilities Officer Kim Oatman said the University spends an average $1.7 million per year on main-
tenance across the University. For every project visible to the general public, such as the new basketball facility, however, there exists almost hidden cosmetic improvements to buildings like Wilson Hall and the eventual demolition of Ordway Hall, Oatman said there are even more projects organized unbeknownst to students and faculty alike. “These maintenance tasks do Oatman often go unnoticed since they take place on top of the roofs, in mechanical rooms of buildings and even sometimes underground,” Oatman said. “However, they are essential to the operations of the University.” While the crew at Facilities Man-
agement can handle many of the daily tasks required to maintain the general upkeep of the University, some tasks, Oatman said, are just too big for the Management staff. One such project is the repair and re-tarring of the Wells Hall roof. Despite the best efforts of the employees of Facilities Management, large renovations and improvements are best completed with the help of outside assistance and the budget supports these contractors. “It is essential to keep water from infiltrating our buildings, so due to age and deterioration all of our roofs get replaced periodically,” Oatman said. “Our crews do routine maintenance such as cleaning out roof drains and making minor repairs, but due to the equipment and expertise required to re-roof a building, it is typically much more efficient to have done by
see WORK, 3A
WHAT’S
FOOD TRUCK
INSIDE
Mobile kitchen set to hit streets Student argues for increased during spring semester, 6A women’s rights awareness, 5A
CAMPUS VOICE
Photos by Beamer Barron/The News
A Swift Roofing Inc. employee prepares to begin apply hot tart to the roof of Wells Hall.
WALTER WATCH
GAME REVIEW
Walter Powell continues to break football records, 1B
Online editor reviews newest Call of Duty edition, 7B