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Emeralds face defeat Page 5
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Since 1900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Volume 106, Issue 15
GO WITH THE FLOW
Photos by Tim Bobosky Interim Photo Editor
Above: Pete Limbaugh, a senior business major, enjoys the water on Orchard Street near PC Market of Choice on Monday afternoon. The flood resulted from a broken water
main. Below: Travis Reeder kayaks on fioodwaters generated by the ruptured 16-inch water main.
Nice day
fora
Floodwaters caused by a broken water main
poured down city streets near campus Monday
STEVEN R. NEUMAN
FREELANCE REPORTER
Eugene residents experienced both a soothing
break from the 95- degree heat and tin unwel
come traffic obstruction when a 16-inch Eu
gene Water and Electric Board water main broke,
pushing up dirt and rocks and flooding parts of
several east campus blocks Monday afternoon.
The break occurred next to the sidewalk on the
north side of East 15th Avenue between Walnut
and Orchard streets. Water had flooded the street
as far down the hill as Moss Street, two blocks away,
and into the Williams' Bakery loading dock.
EWEB Water Construction Supervisor Todd
Simmons said the break would not disrupt
water service to area customers; instead of shut
ting off the water, utility workers would throttle
down the water pressure.
Mike Pigeon — who works at Fettucini and Co.,
a catering kitchen on Villard Street — said he first
saw water pouring down Villard Street toward
Franklin Boulevard at approximately 2:45 p.m.
"At first it was just coming down the one side
of the street," Pigeon said, as cars drove through
more than a foot of standing water in front of the
building, sending waves crashing onto the side
walk. Pigeon said that soon after, the water began
flooding through the block and down the
kitchen's driveway into the street.
Some saw the water as a break from the
summer heat and brought out inner tubes,
swimsuits and kayaks.
Willow Norton saw the burst water main with
her friend Kara Maltz while the two were already
on their way to go swimming. Norton was home
from college, visiting her family members, who
live in the area, and decided to take advantage of
the fast-flowing water flooding down the street.
"This ended up being kind of a detour, and
now we're going to tube it down hopefully," Nor
ton said. "Only in Eugene this would happen.
The water seemed clean, it wasn't, like, sewer.
(The water) was cold. It's a hot day. Why not? We
met some guys who are going to go tubing with
Please see WATER, page 4
University increases parking near LLC
East 15th Avenue will he
redesigned and widened to
make room for more parking
BEN BROWN
NEWS REPORTER
This past week the University began work on
the Living Learning Center, its new residence hall.
With construction and parking already causing
congestion problems on campus, the question is:
How will this new building affect the Universi
ty's already suained parking situation?
This past week the University closed East 15th
Avenue from Suaub Hall to Agate Sueet, but Uni
versity Housing Director Mike Eyster said the
PART 3 OF 4
August 3: University Housing prepares to break ground on LLC
August 5: University removes outdoor tennis courts to make
room for LLC
Today: Parking added to East 15th Avenue to accommodate LLC
August 12: Feedback about LLC’s combined academics and living
University is making every effort to reduce the
impact of construction on the parking situation.
Eyster said only five parking spaces will be closed
during the school year resulting from the Living
Learning Center construction. Most of the project's
construction vehicles will be parked in the alley be
tween Walton Hall and the construction site.
Eyster said those five spaces would sometimes
be useable, but students should generally
consider them unavailable.
The rest of the parking on East 15th Avenue
has been temporarily closed so the street can be
redesigned to offer more parking spaces, said
Rand Stamm, Department of Public Safety park
ing and transportation manager.
The plan is to widen the street and make all
of the parking head-in, adding more than 30
parking spaces, said Stamm. Also, all of the
parking meters will be removed and replaced
with pay-on-foot meters.
"It's going to make it an attractive boulevard
type street," Stamm said.
Planning director Fred Tepfer said that al
though the city did not ask for more parking on
Please see LLC, page 3
OUS budget
funds five
projects
on campus
Repairs and expansion efforts
at various sites are slated
for the 2005-07 biennium
OMIE DRAWHORN
NEWS REPORTER
The Oregon University System board
Friday approved a $1.156-billion capital
construction budget request that includes
plans to fund five University projects dur
ing the 2005-07 biennium.
OUS spokeswomanLisa Zavala said the
figure has increased slightly, from the last
biennium's $1.07 billion allocation.
The five projects were on OUS's 35-proj
ect capital repairs priorities list, ranked from
most to least important. Other construction
projects priorities on the University campus
include Gilbert Hall remodeling, a new In
tegrative Science Complex, expansion and
alterations to Condon Hall, and an addi
tion to the theater complex.
"The budget allows us to meet our top
priorities," said Chris Ramey, director and
architect for University Planning.
In addition to the priorities submitted
by University President Dave Frohnmayer
and his staff, the University needs repairs
and construction at 20 other sites, he said.
Approximately $128 million of the con
struction budget is allotted for projects at
the University, including the construction
of a new education building and changes to
the existing education complex. The new
education building will be 84,000 square
Please see FUTURE, page 3
NEWS BRIEF
University ranks as ‘best
deal' on West Coast
Fiske Guide to Colleges, 21st edition.,
has rated the University as "the best deal
in public education on the West Coast."
The University has held that rating for sev
en consecutive years; less than two percent
of surveyed colleges and universities
earned a best-deal rating.
The publication surveyed 2,200 institu
tions, ranking 20 public and 23 private col
leges as "best buys." According to the guide,
the "UO is a university of manageable size
in a great location. The liberal arts are more
than just a slogan, and the programs in busi
ness and communication are strong."
The guide praises the College of Arts and
Sciences and notes the University's green
chemistry laboratory and instrumentation
center as the first in the nation to use non
toxic materials in experiments. The guide
also praises the schools of journalism and
communication, architecture and allied arts,
education, law, business and music.
"This is a great reflection of the quality
of our faculty, staff and students," Univer
sity President Dave Frohnmayer said. "Our
consistency and our high ranking in the
Fiske Guide underscore how well we use
our resources, especially in these financial
ly challenging times."
— Omie Drawhom