Western Front - 2004 October 26

              GHOST BUSTER
BOOO searches historic
sites for spirits.
Features, Page 10
BELLINGHAM EMS
Should Whatcom County voters pass
the EMS levy?
Opinions, Page 17
NOW PLAYING
A Western student mixes
class and snowboarding.
Sports, Page 16
ISSUE 11
Volume 131
Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington The Western Front Tuesday
Oct. 26, 2004
Candidates for
U.S. Congress
debate issues
By Marissa Harsh man
The Western Front
Candidates for the Second Congressional
District of Washington discussed the Iraq war,
homeland security, the economy, environmental
issues and education at an Associated Students
debate Oct. 25 in Fraser Hall.
The debate began with prewritten questions for
the three candidates: U.S. Rep. Democrat Rick
Larsen, Republican candidate Suzanne Sinclair
and Libertarian candidate Bruce Guthrie. The
debate ended with questions from the audience.
All three candidates were against reinstating the
draft. Several congressmen proposed the Reinstate
Draft Bill, but Larsen said he does not support it
because he thinks the draft is unnecessary. Guthrie
agreed, calling it a form of slavery.
"We need a defensive military, not an offensive
military," Guthrie said.
Guthrie said that by voting for the USA Patriot
Act, Larsen supported an unconstitutional act.
Guthrie said Larsen did not fulfill his oath to
preserve the constitutional rights of citizens.
Larsen said that if he had broken his oath, he
would be a traitor, according to Guthrie.
"I do my job every damn day," Larsen said.
Audience members noticed the back-and-forth
blaming between Larsen and Guthrie.
"There were a lot of accusations made," said
Western junior Aaron Speer, who attended the
debate.
Western junior Kathleen Barger said those
accusations were inappropriate in such a setting.
"I didn't like the fighting between Rick Larsen
EMS levy sparks debate
Chris Taylor/The Western Front
Shawn Linville, a first-year paramedic, loads a gurney into a Whatcom Medic One ambulance before going out for
the day serving the north end of Whatcom County. Medic One ends services in 2006.
Western students would benefit if levy passes, mayor says
By Laura McVicker
The Western Front
The emergency-medical-services levy
I proposes a tax on Bellingham property
SEE Debate, PAGE 4 j owners, but it would ensure capable
medical services for Western students
as well after Whatcom Medic One ends
services in 2006.
"One of the locations that we provide
regular service with our Medic One
program is the university," Bellingham
Mayor Mark Asmundson said. "People
are injured more in athletic pursuits than
perhaps any other single activity."
But Lynn Carpenter, former finance
director for the city of Bellingham, a
member of the political action Committee
of Public Safety, said the city already has
enough money from its general fund to
pay for an ambulance service.
"Revenues in the general fund are
close to $55 million, and EMS services
cost approximately $2 million," she said.
"There is money for ambulance services.
The city is using EMS as a means to raise
SEE EMS, PAGE 8
Club informs about firearm safety
By Porfirio Pena
The Western Front
Members of a new Western club,
Western Students for the Second
Amendment, said they plan to
educate students and community
members about firearm safety and
responsibility, club vice president
Rachael Alyea said.
Western senior and club president
Matt Haver said he founded the
club to help clarify misconceptions
about the Second Amendment and
stereotypes people have about
gun owners. The club also teaches
students strategies for the future in
order to teach their children, from
a young age, to have a respect for
the power of firearms. Members
also visit gun ranges.
State congressman
promotes energy plan
Chris Taylor/TThe Western Front
Rachael Alyea, vice president of Western Students for the Sec­ond
Amendment club, takes aim at the Plantation Rifle Range.
"(The misconceptions) stem from
the mainstream media highlighting
gun-related crimes," Haver
said. "They only dwell on the
negative."
The club attempts to explain
that gun owners do not fit into
a stereotype that people often
SEE Club, PAGE 5
By Tanya Rozeboom
The Western Front
Solar panels and windmills will
replace current energy sources
in the United States if Jay Inslee,
state Democratic representative of
the first district, is able to put his
energy plan into action.
Inslee spoke to approximately
35 Bellingham residents Monday
at the Garden Street Family Center
regarding his plan, the New Apollo
Energy Project.
The project is a new energy
policy that Inslee developed to
solve several problems, including
the American dependence on
foreign oil and global warming,
and to create millions of jobs
by expanding the economy,
Inslee said.
"We need to realize there
is no silver bullet to solve our
challenges," he said.
The United States consumes 25
percent of the world's oil supply and
owns only 3 percent of the world's
known oil reserves, including the
Arctic National Wildlife. Refuge,
Inslee said.
"To break this dependency on
Middle East oil we can't drill our
way out, there's nowhere to go,"
he said.
Inslee said the United States
needs to focus less on oil and more
on increasing the efficiency of U.S.
automobiles.
"The easiest way to generate
energy is to save it and use it
efficiently," he said.
Another goal of the project is
to create millions of new jobs by
focusing on technology for new
energy sources, Inslee said.
SEE Project, PAGE 5
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