Western Front - 2003 October 21

              RESCUE ME
Humane Society finds
the right families.
Features, Page 7
UNDER GOD
Words in pledge do not
make it unconstitutional.
Opinions, Page 13
SONICS BOUNCE IN
Sonics are coming to prac­tice
in Carver Gym.
Sports, Page 10
Western Washington University, Beliingham, Washington
ISSUE 9
VOLUME 127
TUESDAY
OCT. 21,2003
Natural gas line
proposed for
Whatcom County
BY ANNA SOWA
The Western Front }
Williams Pipeline Co. said a pipeline disaster such as
Bellingham's 1999 Olympic Pipeline explosion will be
impossible with its new Georgia Strait Crossing Pipeline that
is proposed to run through Whatcom County.
"I have total confidence in the pipeline's safety," Williams
Pipeline Co. Principal Engineer Gern Exley said. "I feel very
comfortable with the amount of regulations that go into
making the pipeline safe."
The Washington State Department of Ecology issued a
= = ^ = 5 ^ = ^ s s = supplemental environmental
impact statement Sept. 24 for the
pipeline, which would cross the
U.S.-Canada border near Sumas
and runs south-west toward
Cherry Point near Ferndale.
Once all environmental issues
are addressed, the Williams
Pipeline Co. will start constructing
"" the pipeline.
Construction on the $209.5-million project is scheduled to
begin in summer 2004, and the pipeline is expected to be
operational by October 2005.
Whatcom County residents and state ecologists said they
want the company to ensure the pipeline meets public and
environmental safety regulations.
Project Leader Randy Nelson said a fireball explosion,
such as the Olympic explosion, could not happen because
the pipeline would carry a gas that has different chemical
properties than the gas that Olympic Pipeline carried.
"The key is that this is a natural gas pipeline, and natural
gas behaves differently than liquid gas," Nelson said.
SEE Gas, PAGE 5
New pipeline
Scheduled to be built
after permits are
granted to Williams
Pipeline Co. at the end
of November 2003.
New housing option
for offenders opens
BY PORMRIO S. PENA
The Western Front
At a Beliingham City Council meeting Monday, Marilyn
Freeman, a property owner in Bellingham> offered to allow
the state to rent a house she owns on W. Bakerview Road
for the purpose of housing released offenders.
Freeman offered her property as a housing option for con­victed
offenders, following news that offenders living on
Indian Street need to move to a new location because that
lease expires Oct. 31.
"I'd rather have them all in one spot under constant
supervision than in the woods around us," Freeman said.
In order to rent the house, Freeman would need to
SEE Rent, PAGE 4
UP-F
Arntzen Atrium
expansion upsets
Anthropology profs.
News, Page 3
New gambling rules
could raise stakes for
non-tribal casinos.
News, Page 6
For new^tips, call (360) 650-3162 or e-mail The
Rain seeps into buildings
BRAD JENSEN/THE WESTERN FRONT
A maintenance crew clears a drain near Buchanan Towers. Clogged drains and
leaky roofs created a difficult situation during last week's storm:
BY RACHEL FOMON
The Western Front
Twenty-two buildings on
Western's campus suffered
minor to moderate amounts of
water damage, which included
fallen ceiling tiles and wet car­pels
because of a storm that
passed through Beliingham last
week, bringing rain and high
winds, said Tim Wynn, director
of facilities management at
Western.
Miller Hall, the Performing
Arts Center, the Environmental
Studies Building, Viking Union,
Ridgeway Commons and
Ridgeway Omega suffered
water damage, Wynn said.
According to the National
Weather Service, the
Beliingham area received a
total of 3.45 inches of rain
Wednesday through Friday.
Outside Western, the
Nooksack River damaged up
to 50 homes when the flooding
reached the Acme and
Ferndale areas, said Neil
SEE Damage, PAGE 4
Victims of 9-11 receive more
federal aid than firefighters
BY JENNY ZUVELA
The Western Front
Families of Sept. 11 victims who died
or were injured in the terrorist attacks
receive, on average, approximately
three times more from the government
than families of firefighters who died in
Washington.
The Sept. 11 Victim Compensation
Fund awards money to victims and
family members who chose not to file
lawsuits against the airline industry,
Department of Justice spokesman
Charles Miller said.
Lake Stevens resident Susan
Sparacio said her sister Mary broke her
leg and suffered burns when the sec­ond
plane hit the World Trade Center
as she rushed to exit the building.
She watched several of her friends
jump from windows and has not recov­ered
from the trauma, she said.
Sparacio said her sister did not apply
for the Victim Compensation Fund
because others need the money more.
"If we started repaying everyone
who is injured or killed in a war or ter­rorist
attack, the country would go
bankrupt," Sparacio said. "The govern­ment
didn't go to this extent for
Oklahoma City."
Sparacio said her siblings would not
sue the airlines for the tragedy.
"They don't blame the airlines,"
Sparacio said. "They feel very strongly.
You can't blame someone for some­thing
that no one could ever imagine
happening."
Airlines faced bankruptcy from law­suits
filed against them after Sept. 11,
and the government stepped in to pre­vent
the industry from collapsing,
Miller said. The Department of Justice
set up the fund as part of the Airline
Stabilization Act that Congress passed
on Sept. 23,2001.
SEE Money, PAGE 4
First official cases of flu reported
JOE MACK/THE WESTERN FRONT
Fred Meyer pharmacist Cristie Jansen gives
a flu vaccination to Beliingham resident
Cheryl Kara.
BY LIANNA WINGFIELD
The Western Front
The staff at Western's Student Health Center usually identifies the
first cases of influenza after students return from Thanksgiving
break. This year though, doctors diagnosed two students with the flu
in the first and second weeks of the quarter, said Dr. Emily Gibson,
medical director for center.
"These were the first cases in the county and in the state," Gibson
said. "There happened to be another case reported in the -county, out
on (the) Lummi Reservation around the same time, but thankfully no
further cases in our population."
The most significant difference between influenza and other viruses
is that people suddenly develop the symptoms, Gibson said.
Symptoms include, shaking chills, a headache, body aches and a
fever. These conditions usually last seven to 10 days, and students
usually miss four, five or six days of classes while they are sick,
Gibson said.
SEE Sick, PAGE 4
\