Western Front - 2003 September 30

              ISSUE 3
VOLUME 127
pNE SWEET WIN
{Football team earns over­time
victory at home.
Sports, Page 8
SPEAKING
PEACE
Women inspire.
Features, Page 5
BIKE CRAZY
Local BMX-er makes
trails to get big air.
Features, Page 6
SCORES
Gaels
Vikings
Football
35
42
Western Washington University, Beliingham, Washington
The Western Front TUESDAY
SEPT. 30,2003
Non-profits furnish fresh digs
B Y CHRISTINA TWU
The Western Front
With 40 to 60 Whatcom
County families consistently on
the waiting list for emergency
housing, The Interfaith Coalition
decided to open a third emer­gency
housing unit on N.
Garden Street to accommodate
families in need.
Because of the collective
efforts of the coalition, Garden
Street United Methodist Church
and the Whatcom County
Opportunity Council, the home
welcomes its first family today.
The church owns the.property
adjacent to its parking lot,
which, in former years, was
rented out to college students.
"Basically, they are letting us
use this home," Interfaith
Coalition Director Laura DeRose
said. "The church is getting less
than half rent. It was a big finan­cial
commitment for the church."
Whatcom County has the sec­ond
highest wage and income
discrepancy in the state, said Jim
Cozad, chairman of the Housing
Committee. Cozad said he is not
surprised at the number of fami­lies
seeking emergency shelter at
any given time.
"Of the rental households,
more than half now are paying
more than one-third of their
income for rent," he said.
Last year, the Opportunity
Council provided 8,053 nights of
emergency housing for families,
but it also had to turn away 358
families.
CHRISTINA TWU/THE WESTERN FRONT
Beliingham resident Shirley Engels looks out the window of the bedroom from her childhood home.
The home recently was remodeled and will serve as an emergency shelter for homeless families.
"By small.leaps and bounds of
steps, Interfaith Coalition is
offering additional alternative
ways to help deal with that,"
Cozad said.
The refurbishing of the house
involved six months of planning,
DeRose said. The last two
months were dedicated to
intense cleaning, tearing out old,
dirty carpets, repainting, mainte­nance
work, refinishing the
floors and replacing bathroom
parts, program coordinator Lori
Polevoi said.
Volunteers transformed the
home's dining room into a mas­ter
bedroom to house the family
of six. Forty-six different church
congregations and nonprofit
organizations, in alliance with
Interfaith, donated all furnish­ings
and appliances.-
"This house is much nicer than
the motels we've used," said
Christina Waite, the Opportunity
Council case manager who will be
working with the first residents.
Garden Street United Methodist
congregation member Marge Diger
said she spent hours fixing the house
SEE Home, PAGE 4
Police cite students in 'kidnapping'
B Y JACK CARR
The Western Front
Late-night Sehome Village
Haggen shoppers never expect­ed
to see a kidnapping in the
grocery store parking lot. But on
the night of Sept. 22, two cus­tomers
and a Haggen employee
witnessed a woman being
grabbed from behind and taken
away in a van.
When they dialed 911 to report
what they had?seen, they did not
know the abduction was fake.
"Two detectives and a detective
seargent were called out to inves­tigate/'
Beliingham Police -Lt.
Craige Ambrose said.
Police cited four Western stu­dents
and two Beliingham resi­dents
with gross misdemeanors
for the alleged kidnapping in the
Sehome Village parking lot,
Ambrose said.
After investigating the hoax,
police mailed citations to
Western sophomores Timothy
Tucker, Benjamin Shank and
Victoria Shadduck and
Beliingham residents
Christopher Whiddon and
Andrew Nault for obstructing a
law enforcement officer and sus­picion
of criminal conspiracy.
Western junior Ellen Rutledge,
who was "abducted," received a
citation for false reporting and
obstructing a police officer
because she screamed in a man­ner
that conveyed great alarm
while being "abducted," accord­ing
to a press release.
At approximately 11 p.m., the
witnesses observed Rutledge
screaming as an unidentified man
and woman forced her into the
back of a van, Ambrose said.
Witnesses said the male driving
the van yelled at the others, "Hurry
up, let's get out of here." The van
then sped out of the parking lot,
Ambrose said.
Police cited the individuals for
obstruction because two 911 calls
SEE Hoax, PAGE 4
Gov. Locke
speaks to
scholarship
recipients
BY IAN ALEXANDER
The Western Front
Western senior Brie Wentzel,
recipient of a Washington
Promise Scholarship in 2000 and
2001, said the scholarship
money allowed her to focus on
her studies. She also said the
scholarship reminded her to
value her college education.
"I don't think I realized how
much it helped 'til my junior
year," Wentzel said. "It made it
so I didn't have to work my
freshman year."
Gov. Gary LockeA recognized
Western's scholarship recipients
in a ceremony in the Performing
Arts Center on Monday. The
Washington Promise Scholarship
awarded $6:3 million to more
than 7,000 students this year,
approximately 700 of whom were
Western students.
Wentzel said the scholarship
encourages her to get up for early
morning classes.
"A lot of people grumble about
class," she said. "I have to remind
myself (that) a lot of people can't
afford to go to school and be
grateful I'm here and not take
advantage of it."
Gov. Locke discussed his plans
to increase employment in
Washington state through
increased college enrollment.
"I believe a college education
is part of the American dream,"
Locke said. "We need to have a
program to tell parents and chil­dren,
'If you do well, there will
be a scholarship waiting for you
— that's a promise from the state
of Washington.' "
The Washington Promise
Scholarship began in 1999 and
since then, 27,300 students have
received scholarships. Students
are evaluated based on academic
performance and family income.
SEE Money, PAGE 4
Football players' bur­glary
trial postponed
Prior arrests weigh on
prosecutor's decision.
News, Page 3
$5 million sought for
new scholarships
Athletics and other
departments to benefit.
News, Page 3
MEGAN LEWIS/
THE WESTERN
FRONT
Philips
Application
Specialist Jo
Ballain
describes a
digital imag­ing
system to
a visitor at
St. Joseph
Hospital.
St. Joseph Hospital
to open new wing
B Y MEGAN LEWIS
The Western Front
A few small changes in an individual's life can have pro­found
effects in the long run. St. Joseph Hospital chose the
theme "What if?" for the open house of its new cardiovas­cular
facility located on the hospital's main campus.
Expected to open Oct. 1, the $10 million facility was just
a part of the first phase of an $85 million hospital expan­sion
project, said Judy Smith, Community Relations and
SEE Heart, PAGE 4