University of Central Oklahoma
THURSDAY July 25, 1996
The Student Voice Since 1903
Motel explosion sends UCO police scrambling By Judy Simpson Staff Writer A chemical explosion July 12, at an Edmond hotel led UCO police officer Christy Collins, on a chase driving against traffic down Broadway Extenion. UCO police officers were dispatched to help apprehend a suspect who allegedly caused a chemical explosion while making pipe bombs in his room at the Red Carpet Motel, 1205 S. Broadway. Collins was traveling south bound on Broadway when the dispatch came over the radio. She whipped the patrol car into the north bound lane and started traveling south against traffic to create a barricade. The suspect was apprehended at approximately the 1300 block of Broadway, near the Sonic Drive In. UCO police assisted Edmond fire fighters and police at the scene of the explosion to evacuate area business and manage traffic and crowd
control. Several campus police remained on scene until 6 a.m. The Edmond Sun reported the suspect claimed the bombs were intended for a former girlfriend. Bee Bower, resident manager of the hotel said she didn't get the impression that anything at the hotel out of the ordinary was going on. "He (the suspect) would come into the office to get a drink from the machine and would occasionally say hello." Bower said many of the hotel occupants are working on temporary construction jobs in the area or visiting patients at the hospital. The explosion sounded like a loud thump and sent smoke bellowing out of his room, said Bowker. "My son thought someone had fell through the roof. Several fire fighters and a student police officer suffered head aches and mild side effects from the chemicals that exploded and diesel fumes from the fire trucks.
Mapping the master plan... Scott Howard (left) of Howard Design discusses the master landscaping plan for UCO with Larry Rankin, director of the Physical Plant. The plan calls for a simplified sidewalk system that eliminates the need for short cuts across the grass. (Staff photo by Gayleen Langthorn)
Officials bring education building up to code By Gayleen Langthorn Staff Writer Eight fire code violations in the new Education Building have been corrected or are scheduled for correction. None of the violations were considered a "life safety hazard to the public," said
Ed Chappell of the State Fire Marshall's Office following the May 3 inspection. If the violations had been hazardous, then the certificate of occupancy would never have been issued for the building, he said. The cost of the corrections will be paid for by the contractor (Lambrecht
Construction) rather than the university, said Nick Widener, who oversees construction at UCO. Widener said there could be several explanations for the code violations. One possibility could be that the contractor interpreted the building code differently than the fire inspector. A human error
could cause the problem. Or someone could have tried to save money and take short-cuts. In inspections by university staff, architects and consultants no examples of the latter have been found, Widener said. ',See Codes, Page 5
INSIDE TODAY INDEX Editorial 2 Around Campus 4 Sports 7 Entertainment 8,9 Classifieds 12
SPORTS Jalal Daneshfar is one of those with UCO ties to comment on the new pro soccer league.
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ENTERTAINMENT The Vista's John Clanton and Richard Tortorelli reveiw new movies. See pages 8 and 9.
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A NEW LOOK UCO
1 0 PomPon Squad tries out for AllAmerica Team. See page 10 .