Western Front - 2003 October 3

              ISSUE 4
VOLUME 127
BUMP, SET, SPIKE
Western slams Central to
continue winning streak.
Sports, Page 10
DRIVING DROWSY
Washington should
punish sleepy drivers.
Opinions, Page 14
JUMP ON IT
Sir Mix-A-Lot knows
what he likes.
Accent, Page 7
Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington
The Western Front FRIDAY
OCT. 3, 2003
Rec Center named for boy killed in pipeline blast
JUSTIN MCCAUGHAN/THE WESTERN FRONT
Frank King sets up for a shot in the gym.
B Y KADI ANDERSON
The Western Front
Western President Karen W. Morse
unveiled the sign naming Western's new
recreation center this morning. The sign hon­ors
the life of Wade King, a 10-year-old boy
who died in the June 1999 Olympic Pipeline
explosion in Bellingham.
The explosion took the lives of King, 10-
year-old Stephen Tsiorvas and 18-year-old
Liam Wood in Whatcom Falls Park.
Whatcom Creek filled with gasoline when the
pipeline ruptured and the fuel ignited. King and
Tsiorvas died from burns, while Wood inhaled
the fumes, fell into the creek and drowned.
Frank and Mary King, Wade's parents, are
actively involved with the athletic depart­ment,
Director of Campus Recreation Marie
Sather said.
The Kings will donate $125,000 to Western
each year, said Stephanie Bowers, vice president
for university advancement.
SEE Honored, PAGE 5
High rent sends students to food bank
B Y KAITLIN KING
The Western Front
For single mother and full-time student
Roxanna Momeni, paying for food, rent
and school is a constant struggle.
Because food stamps and her work study
job at Whatcom Community College do
not cover all of her. expenses, Momeni said
she is forced to rely on assistance from the
Bellingham Food Bank.
"If s really hard," Momeni said. "The food
bank is really useful; we take what we can."
Other Whatcom County residents also
are feeling the effects of the hunger prob­lem
affecting Washington state.
"It is especially hard for college stu­dents,"
said Cathy Dearman, Bellingham
Salvation Army social service director.
"Their top priority is to pay their rent,
which causes some of them to sacrifice
their money for food."
Awareness of Washington's hunger
problem began in 1999 when the U.S.
Department of Agriculture named
Washington as the state with the nation's
second-highest hunger problem.
"We could not understand how a state
above the national poverty level could
have the second-highest hunger problem in
the nation," said Linda Nageotte, president
and CEO of Food Lifeline, a non-profit
food distribution organization with agen­cies
throughout Washington, including
Bellingham.
"We just couldn't figure out why so
many of our residents were going hungry,"
Nageotte said.
Earlier this month, economists at
ECONorthwest provided an answer. They
determined mobility rates, unemployment
and housing costs are the most significant
causes of Washington's hunger problem.
"These three things are so closely tied
together, especially with our failing
SEE Poverty, PAGE 5
SARAH A. FREEMAN/THE WESTERN FRONT
Mayra Ventura reaches for a bundle of food in the hands of Salvation Army Food Bank vol­unteer
Jenna Hansen. Mayra's mother, Patricia, relies on the food bank to feed her family.
Intalco
employees
preparing
for layoffs
BY MICHELLE HIMPLE
The Western Front
Alcoa Intalco Works officials
said their plant has until Oct. 15
to decide whether to continue
production or shut down the.
Ferndale plant, which would
result in 600 layoffs.
The fate, of Intalco is hanging on
Bonneville Power Administration's
final decision on its 2004 power rates.
If BPA lowers its rates, Intalco can
continue with business, but if rates
increase, Intalco may have to curtail
production, Intalco spokeswoman
Melanie Hughes said.
"Our company strategy is to
secure long-term, low-cost power
supplies," Intalco spokesman
Kevin Lowery said. "All we need
is BPA's rates to go down. We just
need some final number. Give us
a number so we can get on with
our lives."
For the past few. months,
Intalco employees have been
unsure of how much longer they
may have jobs.
"Given uncertainty about the
rate increase, we must continue to
prepare for a shutdown," said
Bernt Reitan, President of Alcoa
Primary Metals, in a statement on
the company's official Web site.
"But in fairness to our employees
and the community, we wiR wait
another two weeks' so there is
more certainty about the costs
before making a decision."
The closure of the Ferndale
plant would have a dramatic
effect on the community, said Pat
Rowe, operations manager for the
Bellingham Chamber of
Commerce.
"It would be in the millions of
dollars," Rowe said. "Another
effect is on people's psyche
because it's a very negative type
of vibe about the direction we're
heading."
Tony Impagliazzo has worked
SEE Intalco, PAGE 5
Textbook-trading
Web site threatens
AS Bookstore.
News, Page 3
Western professor
addresses world com­munication
issues.
News, Page 6
Sex offenders face housing dilemmas
BJOINING
SOCIETY
BY TANYA ROZEBOOM AND ANNA SOWA
The Western Front
After they leave jail,. Level m sex offenders
living in Whatcom County must adjust to an
unsympathetic community and the lack of
resources available to help them.
Bellingham Level III sex offender Rory
Woodell repeatedly asked for help from the
Department of Corrections before police
arrested him Sept. 19 for first-degree child
molestation, said Thad Allen, risk manage­ment
specialist of the DOC.
"(Woodell) was in here nearly every day
asking for help," Allen said. "He asked 'can
you put me back in jail? Can you put me back
in the hospital?' "
Woodell asked the DOC for treatment long
before he faked re-offending to try to get him­self
back in prison on Aug. 25, Allen said.
Woodell lived in a makeshift home, made
from a tarp and sleeping bag the DOC gave
him after he was kicked out of 1000 Indian St.
SEE House, PAGE 4