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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 2004)
Ducks almost get nine W's Page 7 Wednesday, January 7,2004 Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon Volume 105, Issue 73 EUGENE FREEZES OVER Tim Bobosky Photographer University graduates Ryan Lingard and Mariah Morrow scrape ice off their Volvo. Weather made getting to the University a tough task for many students Tuesday. Snow not enough for closure University officials say the majority of students and staff made it to class despite dangerous weather conditions By Jared Paben Senior News Reporter Indement weather has only dosed or de layed opening of the University twice in its 127-year history — once in 1969 and once in 1985, according to a release from the University Media Relations office. And unless things change for the worse, this snowstorm won't necessarily bring about a third closure, Vice President for Ad ministration Dan Williams said. Winter storms forced the closure of most universities in the state Tuesday, including Oregon State University, Portland State University and Western Oregon University. Locally, Lane Community College closed all campuses as well. Williams, who holds the authority to au thorize a school closure, said he had many reasons for keeping classes going, pointing out that "closing the University creates a whole new set of problems." "What it boils down to is the advantages to staying open outweigh the disadvan tages," he said. Williams said closing campus would present problems as far as heating rooms and feeding the more than 3,000 students living in the residence halls, adding that closing campus would also hurt the Uni versity's "24-hour-per-day, seven-days-per week" research. He pointed out that the University Turn to CLOSURE, page 3 City hires permanent police chief Two years after the position opened, the city of Eugene hired Arizona’s Robert Lehner as new police chief By Nika Carlson News Reporter The city of Eugene has hired a new police chief after a two-year period without a permanent de partment head. Robert M. Lehner — formerly the Assistant Chief of Police for the Tucson, Ariz., police department — began work Monday. Lehner replaces interim chief I'had Buchanan, who returned to his position as captain. Lehner, who bases his work on a philosophy of community policing, said he looks forward to speaking with University groups about die priorities they want the Eugene Police Department to address. Turn to LEHNER, page 4 NEWS BRIEF Trial date set for ASUO vice president A trial date has been set for Feb. 24 at 1:15 p.m. for ASUO Vice President Eduardo Morales on charges of assault and criminal mischief in the second degree. Morales pleaded innocent to the charges at his Oct. 22 arraignment at Eugene Municipal Court. According to Eugene Police Department reports, the charges stem from an incident in which Morales allegedly assaulted University senior Erica Hass between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Sept. 12 outside Taylor's Bar and Grill. If found guilty of assault, Morales faces a maxi mum penalty of a $500 fine and/or 100 days in jail. If found guilty of criminal mischief in the second degree, Morales faces a maximum penalty of a $2,500 fine and/or 100 days in jail. Morales is a senior at the University majoring in Spanish and planning, public policy and man agement. — Jennifer Bear Mad cow disease scare leaves lingering apprehension Despite the recall of all at-risk beef and no other reported cases, mad cow disease still remains a concern for some By Lisa Catto News Reporter Two things may be on everyone's mind lately: the weather and cow disease. On Dec. 23 the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a pre sumptive diagnosis of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as BSE or mad cow disease, in an adult Holstein cow from Wash ington state. Although the discovery of mad cow disease in the United States, has rattled some cages, official sources say that beef does not pose a health threat to the population. "The federal investigating author ities have concluded that human ^ food supplies have not been threat ened in any way," Washington Gov. * Gary Locke said in a press release. "Beef remains safe for consumption in our state and across the country." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the infected cow didn't come from the United States. Hie CDC Web site stated that, based on the cow's ear tag identifica tion number, it was most likely im ported from Canada in August 2001. Although the infected cow was processed for human consumption, the USDA recalled all beef from cat tle slaughtered on Dec. 9 at the in volved plant. As a result of the mad cow disease scare, some Eugeneans are having second thoughts about consuming or purchasing beef. Bonnie Forrester, a public health nurse for the Lane County Public Health Department, said she has re ceived many calls from concerned citizens in Lane County. "People ask if the beef that they have in their fridge is OK," Forrester said. But she said the panic over mad cow disease has tapered off and Lane County residents have a new worry on their minds. "We haven't been receiving calls," Forrester said. "People are concerned with the weather." According to the CDC Web site, mad cow disease is a progressive neurological disorder that results from infection by an unconventional transmissible agent. It may stem from feeding cattle food that con tains nerve tissue from the brain and spinal column of other cows. Mad cow disease is most common in the United Kingdom, with more than one million cattle that may have been infected there. When humans eat meat from an infected cow, they can contract a vari ant of the disease called Creutzfeldt Jakob disease and commonly referred to as vCJD. Turn to MAD COW, page 5 WEATH6R LOW 35 HIGH 45 INSIDE Campus buzz.5 Classifieds.11 Commentary.2 Crossword.11 Nation & World.3 Sports.7 NEXT ISSUE Steven Neuman sees Israel firsthand
