Western Front - 2003 December 2

              COME FOLLOW ME
Guide dogs lead the
blind to a life of sight.
Features, Page 9
GRAVE DIGGA
Ryan Diggs buries Concordia
with 25 points.
Sports, Page 14
TAP A VEIN
The best part of waking
up is caffeine in a cup.
Features, Page 8
Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington
ISSUE 20
VOLUME 127 The Western Front TUESDAY
DEC. 2. 2003
A day of remembrance
' . . . * . SHARA..B-SMITH/THE WESTERN FRONT
BeUingliam residents, led by a member of the Bellingham Pipe Band, march down Cornwall Avenue to the Courthouse.
World AIDS Day makes citizens aware of 40 million people's
struggle with a disease that affects victims and families
B Y KATE KOGH
The Western Front
Shopkeepers peered out of their storefront
windows and pedestrians stood in respectful
silence as approximately 30 supporters of the
fight against AIDS marched through down­town
Monday in honor of World AIDS Day.
They marched to raise awareness about
HIV and AIDS. According to Aware, the
Evergreen AIDS foundation's . newsletter,
more than 42 million people are infected with
the HIV virus worldwide, and five people
die of AIDS each minute.
As they marched through downtown,
most participants carried signs with various
phrases, such as "22 million dead, do you
care?" and "Hope is a moral obligation."
One marcher, Richard Feltcher, said he
came to the event to remember victims of the
virus.
"Over Lhe years, I've lost several friends
and acquaintances to AIDS," he said. "I
guess I'd just like to take a walk and
remember them."
Feltcher said he was primarily concerned
that drug costs for those suffering with the
disease are too high.
"The prices are just outrageous," he said.
"The profits are humongous, and there are
people who are dying because of it. It's a
case of how much is your life worth, and I
find that really disgusting."
Western freshman Tara Nichol and senior
Elisha Ishii said they came to the event to
promote AIDS awareness. Nichol is an
intern for the Evergreen AIDS Foundation,
one of the event's sponsors.
"The cure's not found yet, and we need
SEE Disease, PAGE 4
BPD keeps an open eye for the peeping guy
B Y RACHEL FOMON
The Western Front
The Bellingham Police Department's search continues for the
peeping Tom who has attacked, robbed and broken into females'
houses, Bellingham Police Lt. Craige Ambrose said.
"We had a couple leads and two detectives working, but we didn't
get anything," Bellingham Police Detective Sgt. David Richards said.
The police department looked through its database to find past
incidences that might fit the profile victims gave, but everyone was
ruled out, he said. '
Victims also looked through a lineup, but did not find any sus­pects,
and police released a rough, composite drawing with the
help of a victim, Richards said. But it is not as descriptive as hoped,
he said.
In two and a half weeks, four intruder incidents occurred that the
police considered to be linked, and another four or five prowler
calls that could be related, he said.
The police have received no new reports within the past three
weeks, he said.
"The good thing is that he stopped, at least for now," Richards
said.
Extensive media coverage in Bellingham could be the main reason
SEE Suspect, PAGE 3
City gives
go-ahead
to jail site
BY PORFIRIO PENA
The Western Front
Whatcom County took its first step
toward easing the overcrowding at
Whatcom County Jail Monday.
The Bellingham City Council voted 6-1 to
approve the rezone of city-owned property,
allowing Whatcom County to build a tem­porary
detention facility for low-risk, mini­mum-
security offenders in the Irongate
neighborhood in northern Bellingham.
The rezone gives Whatcom County and
Bellingham's Planning and Development
Department until July 2004 to come to an
agreement on the plan and begin con­struction.
If no agreement is reached by
then, the zoning of the property will
revert to its former status.
As a condition for approval, the city
council decided that language in the pro­posal
should include lease options to
ensure that the rezone does not continue
.beyond the-eight years the two councils
agreed upon.
"When I hear the word 'temporary/ I
want assurance that it be temporary,"
Councilman John Watts.said. "I would also
like to see lease language in the proposal."
According to an amendment to the
neighborhood plan submitted to the city
council, 1,750 warrants for arrest expired
because of the county's inability to house
sentenced offenders in the existing'jail.
Barbara Ryan, the only member of the
city council to vote against the proposal,
said the temporary solution did not pro­vide
the best use of the city's property.
"The city's responsibility is to the city
taxpayers," she said. "They are paying for
the site and expect some return."
Supporters of the jail and neighbors
opposing it stood in the aisles and sat on
the stairs in council chambers because all
of the seats were filled.
Approximately 20 Bellingham residents
addressed how the jail would affect safety,
traffic and property values.
Bellingham resident Frank Mana said
he moved to the area because it seemed
to be a safe area in which to retire, but
he said the jail site would pose a threat
to his security.
"They should put it in an area (where)
it's not going to bother people," he said.
SEE Rezone, PAGE 3
front
Bellingham residents Defective price
buy nothing, or do scanners cost retail-they?
ers and consumers.
News, Page 6 News, Page 7
For news tips, call (360) 650-3162 or e-mail The
Residents testify in D.C. sniper cases
B Y AMANDA WOOLLEY
The Western Front
John Muhammad received the death penalty this past
week after he was convicted of killing 13 people in the
Washington, D.C-area sniper attacks in October 2002.
Bellingham resident Al Archer, executive director of the
Lighthouse Mission, traveled to Virginia Beach, Va., to tes­tify
at the trial Muhammad lived at the mission for the
four-and-a-half months he lived in Bellingham.
"In spite of all the things that he has been convicted of, I
still consider him my friend," Archer said.
SEE Sniper trial, PAGE 4
AMANDA WOOLLEY/THE WESTERN FRONT
Al Archer, executive director of The Lighthouse
Mission, speaks to a mission resident.