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
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