The Vista Feb. 12, 2009

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www. thevistaonline. corn

What you need to know Point/Counterpoint: The Obama Stimulus Plan

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Food Review: Garden Pizza and Mediterranean Cuisine

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Signing Day brings impact football players

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Feb. 12, 2009

Tornado Tuesday Storms send students scampering

Senate group rejects gun bill

Rhiannon Winkelman ,Via1111 ricer

As Edmond residents returned to their homes after Tuesday's outbreak of tornadic weather, many faced mounting traffic backups and spotty cell phone reception. The outbreak of tornadoes that left all of Edmond seeking cover resulted in damage to a broad path of homes and businesses north and west of the city. One tornado touched down in north Edmond at about 3:4o p.m. Tuesday, and the skies remained threatening until after dark. "There were no injuries, no deaths," said Glynda Chu, Edmond city spokesperson. "It was a miracle." However, damage to property and houses was estimated in the millions, Chu said. Though the tornado—didn't reach the UCO campus, students i•several buildings were shuffled out of classrooms and into basements or storm shelters. In all, about 120 to 130 houses were damaged in the Oak Tree area, and another 4o to 5o houses were damaged in the Homestead Estates. In the Oak Tree addition, at Sorghum Mill and Kelley Roads, some homes suffered no damage, while many others lost windows, roofs and fences. In that area, the storm ripped trees from the ground and deposited them in large piles that filled yards and blocked residential streets. Emergency crews were on the See STORM, page 4

Joseph Lopez ('orresporidenl

The controversial proposed campus gun law failed to draw a second motion Wednesday in the Oklahoma Senate. With solid opposition, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Education did not vote on Senate Bill iloi. State Sen. Randy Bass, D-Lawton, proposed permitting some people to carry handguns on • campus, regardless if they owned a concealed handgun license. Committee Chair Sen. Jim Halligan, R-Stillwater, called for the vote with Sen. Jay Paul G-umrn, D-Durant-, motioning in support of the bill. The motion did not draw a second. Senate Bill nor would have allowed people who are CLEET certified or employed by an Oklahoma law enforcement agency to carry a firearm on cam-

UCO leader named top city citizen

Eight die in Oklahoma outbreak; governor declares emergency OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Gov. Brad Henry declared a state of emergency in Oklahoma County and 16 other counties Wednesday after tornadoes ravaged parts of the state and killed at least eight people Tuesday. Henry said the declaration will speed up efforts to help those areas and is a first step toward asking for federal assistance. President Barack Obama spoke to Henry and Sens. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn and "passed along his condolences and best wishes to the victims,"

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. A tornado Tuesday night killed eight people and injured dozens in Lone Grove while Edmond, Oklahoma City, Pawnee, Wilson and Springer also sustained damage from twisters. The counties included in the declaration are: Canadian, Carter, Cleveland, Garvin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Logan,. Love, Murray, Oklahoma, Pawnee, Payne, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, see DAMAGE, page 4

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hotos by Rhiannon inkelman an aura Ho rert

Top: A rotation looms above Fretz and Second Streets around 3 p.m. Tuesday. Bottom: A house in Oak Tree Addition on Kelly Road sustained damage.

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Politics and public perception of higher education contribute to increased tuition costs, said Steve Kreidler, executive vice president for administration and finance. Kreidler said within the past 25 years, the percentage of state budgets that go to higher education has decreased. "There are two big reasons why the state budgets have less money for higher education," Kreidler said. They include unfunded mandates

from the federal government, such as the current Medicaid system, and "a gradual shift of opinion" in how the average citizen felt towards public higher education. Kreidler also said that over the past couple of decades, people have gradually thought of public higher education as a benefit to the student, rather than as a benefit to the community. As a result, the public feels that students should shoulder more of the cost of their education, rather than with taxpayer dollars.

see WEBB, page 4

Times reporter outlines how American intelligence failed

Politics, perception lead to increased tuition rates Caleb McWilliams

University of Central Oklahoma President Roger Webb was named the 2009 Citizen of the Year by the Edmond Chamber of Commerce at their recent awards banquet. The chamber selected Webb because his leadership encourages ROGER WEBB growth and advancement at UCO, which in turn positively impacts the City of Edmond. Chamber leadership cited the UCO Forensic Science Institute,

Nelson Solomon

Photo by Rhiannon Winkelman

New York Times writer Thom Shanker speaks at Pegasus Theatre on Feb. 11.

After Saddam Hussein kicked United Nations weapons inspectors out of Iraq, United States intelligence was left to guess how close the dictator was to developing weapons of mass destruction. The American intelligence community guessed wrong, said Thom Shanker, the Pentagon correspondent for the New York Times yesterday during a session with students in Pegasus Theater. "The U.S. and the world had good visibility into Iraq's weapons of mass destruction during the time the [United Nations] inspectors were there," Shanker said. "When the inspectors were kicked out, they had no visibility at all, so they logically just continued the dotted line in that upward spiral without anysee INTEL, page 5


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