Western Front - 2003 January 9

              BASEMENT HARDCORE
ISSUE 1
VOLUME 128
Venue attracts bands from
New York.
Accent, Page 8
MEDIA MADNESS
Excessive coverage of mad-cow disease
overwhelms public.
Opinions, Page 14
MEN'S HOOPS
BCS is a load of BS.
Sports Page 10
Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington The Western Front FRIDAY
JAN. 9, 2004
Left out in the cold Homeless try to
find shelter from
the cold, often
unsuccessfully
By Wolfgang Deerkop
The Western Front
As winter skies darken and
those fortunate enough to be
among the legions of sledders
retreate to their homes to Warm
their bodies with Jiot chocolate
and dry dothing, Bellingham res­idents
without permanent hous­ing
struggle to escape frigid tem­peratures^
Ken Dunlap, 28, was one of the
homeless forced to isurvive put-
~side:as approximately six inches
of snow and freezing rain, fell on
Bellingham/ ft
"It was a long stretch of weath­er,"
said Dunlap; who stayed in a _.
tent withhistwo tlogs, Buddy
and Mucha. "I have been really
Vvorried about waking up and
finding them (his dogs) dead."
Although Dunlap was forced
to stay outside, the majority of
those without a place to stay dur­ing
the recent snpwfall found
housing in shelters such as the
Lighthouse Mission and
Rainbow Center. Others stayed
in motel rooms rented through
the contributions of community
groups such as Saltan the Street
"They put us up in a motel
room for the whole week to get
us out of this mess," John
Williams, 44, said. "They are all
right."
Some individuals chose to
remain outside even in the worst
Crews work overtime to
provide safe conditions
By Bryan Sharick
_.., The Western Front
Despite snow, icl?^ and freezing temperatures, Western remained
open. The onlyeffect was Western opening at noon on Wednesday.
"(Wedtiescfa^j$ras perhaps the most difficult day to deal with,"
Director' of Facilities Managrhent Tim v^i^nn said, "The walkways
and parking lots were yery difficult, (the facilities crews are) work-mgreaUy
hard, and they're:starting toSet really tired."
The primary problem me "fa6ih^esMgws faced was keeping walk­ways
clear so people were able, to mo^fethroughout campus, he said.
"The critical stairs andiprinppal ^S||s is where people should use
their best judgment," Wj^-^gtji;, ^r^'f:
Problem areas around^jea^pUiS?were Oak Street on north campus,
the stairs in and leading^u^ ja^^e Rjldgeway Complex, East College
Way, which goes behind Ql^Siaihy and the stairs from the Viking
Union toward GardertStfe^Wynn said. ^J0i~
"We're trying to^ncentrate onkhown-^feas where people have
had problems in* theT*past," Wyrm 'said. "People need to wear
footwear with good* traction aftd use good judgment when riding
their bike or driving.": 0 ^ 3 ^ :^
?|fe0;^:";-'7: - • ;••y:''-. - - :<- j , • SEEstorm, PAGE6
Ben Arnold/The West^mjFront
Transients Iva, left, Joe, right, and an unidentified friend,
taking a beer break just off Lakeway. Iva said she dealt
with the cold with mere blankets and cardboard.
weather said the Rev. Al Archer, who will stay outside regardless
executive director of the of the weather ... but snow, rain
Lighthouse Mission. and cold weather brings addi-
"There are always some people tional people in," Archer said.
SEE Shelters, PAGE 3
\ Ben Arnold/The Western Front
Bellingham Public Works employee Tom Yorkston clears the
storm drains on Iowa Street.
Friends recall student
killed on Mount Baker
BY PAUL NICHOLAS CARLSON
The Western Front
When Mary Kay Morgan reflects
upon the life of
her niece, Western
senior J.P.
Eckstrom, she
remembers a little
girl whose life
aspirations, even
as a child, were to
make a difference in people's
lives. '-K;~
"I remember a conversation
with (J.P.) when she was little and
she said I'm not intere^fed-irij
making lots of money. People are
much too interesting to be con­cerned
just with money/ "
Morgan said.
Before she had the chance to
realize her childhood ambitions,
21-year-old Jacqueline Paulette
Eckstrom, commonly known as
"J.P," died in an avalanche on
Dec. 12 while showshoeing with
friends to Artist's Point on Mount
Baker.
- Her companions, Western
•juniors Greg Bachmeier and
Laurie Ballew, were injured in the
accident. Ballew said Bachmeier
had frostbite on both his hands
and.she had frostbite on both feet
arid nerve damage tg-her left leg.
SEE Memorial, PAGE 6
Police still seek peeping Tom
Investigators have thusfar failed to establish any solid leads
BYERICBERTO
The Western Front
Bellingham police still are on the lookout for the
sneak-and-peak prowler/but looking is about all
they have done so far.
Investigators have not found any solid leads to
locate the suspect who is linked to more than four
break-ins into the homes of females near campus,
Bellingham Police Department Detective Sgt. Flo
Simon said. No new incidences have been reported
to police in the last few weeks, she said.
BPD officer Keith Johnson described the investiga­tion's
progress as "tough."
"We're kind of at a dead end right now," he" said.
"We have exhausted all of our leads." .
Since the first victim reported the incident to
police on Sept. 7, they have released a composite
sketch of the suspect.
^'The drawing was really vague and generic," said
Western junior Brita Lund, who also said she was
attacked while sleeping on Halloween. "You could
mold it into anybody."
Lund said she has yet to sleep through a whole
night in her home since the break-in because the sus­pect
has not been caught.
"It still makes me. kind of cringe," she said. "I
don't have any hope because they haven't caught
anybody. That's the thing that makes me unable to
sleep at night."
Johnson said mat the police, department has clas­sified
four separate incidences as being committed
by the same person, although it is difficult to be sure
because the person did not leave any physical evi­dence
behind. '«•.'•-'
•••,•; SEE Assault, PAGE 5