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Show 3 \ ***. UTAH*«STATESMAN FRIDAY, JAN. 14,2005 Stored roof goes 10 feet under BY SARAH YOUNG Staff Writer After heavy snowfall, a portion of the ceiling was left sagging at Logan's Smith's Marketplace, prompting the Logan City Fire Department to respond to an emergency call at 7:30 a,m. Monday. The south end of the building, containing the grocery section, was evacuated while damage to the structure was evaluated. Smith's Marketplace is located at 750 N. Main Street. No injuries were reported. Christi Stevensen, acting store director, said by about 7 p.m., Monday, 80 percent of the damaged section had reopened. The next morning, the building was cleared and was "totally up and running," she said. "We had great cooperation with the fire department and all emergency crews that responded to it," Stevensen said. When the response team first arrived, firefighters reported hearing "snapping and popping sounds, indicating the cracking of the beam was continuing," according to a press release. Recommendations included removing the snow and water from the roof and putting up shoring to support the main glue-lam beam, according to the press release. An inspection was made of the attic and roof area that showed the glue-lam beam was cracking and pulling away from its connection point to the vertical support columns. There were other leaks reported by onscene personnel that were found to be caused by the snow and water in overflow drains above other parts of the store. The structural engineer found no other issues with the structural integrity of the roof of the building in other locations. According to the press release, 14 person- SI positions open for student applicants Supplemental Instruction positions are open for Chem 1210, Chem 1220, Art 2720 and USU 1340. Students must of achieved at least an A- in the course, be able to attend the class, attend seven trainings on Mondays at 4:30 p.m. and have faculty approval of their placements. Contact the ARC in the Taggart Student Center Room 305 or call 7971128. Scholarship through ROTC available John Zshay/jzsiray@cc.usu.edu HEAVY WINTER WEATHER, causing damage to the produce side of Smith's Marketplace, left the business semi-closed while Logan City Fire Department shoveled off accumulations of snow and rain from the roof. nel and four trucks that responded from Logan City Fire Department along with some personnel from the Cache County Fire District and the North Logan Fire Department. Smith's Marketplace also brought in two private construction contractors to set up temporary wooden supports until steel support supports could be obtained from Salt Lake City later in the afternoon. The supports were set up below the area of the beam deemed to have the largest crack. The Logan City Fire Department deployed its technical rescue team to help clear off the snow and water from the roof. The firefight- ers in the technical rescue team were attached to an aerial ladder basket with life lines to help ensure their safety if the roof collapsed. This team was trained to use specialized equipment and repelling skills to use water suction pumps and hoses. The personnel from the other Fire Departments and Districts provided additional portable pumps to help with the water removal. Other problems created by the snow include City Hall, Hunsaker, the fire marshal, said. However, the roof will be cleared of snow prior to any chance of damage, of -sarahjh@cc. usu. edu PARKING From Page 7 Michael Sharpfmichaelsharp@cc.usu.edu STUDENTS MAY HAVE TROUBLE parking around cars like this one that have been plowed in by snow. Apartment complexes have been struggling to keep up with snow removal amidst recent storms. eficial." He also said one big concern for those parking on campus is the ability to move in and out of parking spaces due to the amount of snow. "With improved snow removal, we wouldn't have such a difficult time getting around the parking lot when people are waiting to get in and out," he said. Apartment complexes have dealt with simi- lar concerns regarding snow removal in their parking lots. A manager at Old Farm student housing said, "We have cleared the majority of our parking lot twice in the past few days for plowing, and while it is very expensive, we will continue plowing as needed." Rhett Ferrin, a resident of Old Farm, said, "I can see why parking is such a problem this -lexiek@cc.usu.edu Student sued for spam PELL GRANTS From Page 7 dents it makes a big difference for textbooks and other expenditures. In the 2003-04 school year, 56,967 students in Utah received Pell Grants totaling around $136 million. Of these grant recipients, 7,500 were Utah State University students, Steve Sharp, financial aid associate director at USU, said. Individual Pell Grants range from $400 to $4,050. The average Pell Grant awarded at USU was $2,588, Sharp said. Many worry that the reduction in grants will result in more college drop-outs. Feitz said while he doesn't know if this will happen, he does worry that students will be forced to borrow more money and take on loans they can't manage. Others may be forced to work more or take less credit hours. But in a budget crisis year, Feitz said it's likely the federal government didn't know what else to do with such competing issues as health care, road projects and the war on terrorism. "It's a very difficult balancing act for legislators," Feitz said. "The money just doesn't go as far as we'd all like it to." Because the Pell Grant situation is essentially an issue of priorities, it is highly political. However, Feitz winter. I feel pretty bad for those people whose cars are completely buried in snowfromthe plows. That seems a little inconvenient" While dealing with the snow removal, managers of apartment complexes ask their tenants to maintain patience with parking inconveniences. "We are doing our best to clear out the snow for parking" Oakridge Apartments manager Dave Newman said. "We need our students to bear with us until then." Johnson said the office of parking and transportation recognizes student concerns, and would like students to rely more on alternatives to on-campus parking. "Parking atthe stadium lot is the best and most convenient option. There is always plenty of parking and the shuttles run regularly up to campus" she said. "Because of the snow, more people are driving as opposed to walking, which means I have to leave my house a lot earlier to find a spot because the parking lots on campus are so full," said DJ Brookter, a junior majoring in speech communications. Sampson said snow removal crews will continue working in the evenings to help clear the lots, and they are regularly moving the mounds of snow to prevent an overflow of water until more of the snow has melted. With the unpredictable weather Logan has encountered, there is no telling how much new snow will fall. According to the Parking and Transportation Office, a little patience and planning ahead to avoid parking problems are the best options. said he wishes everyone could see education as an investment not only for the individual but for society as well. Last year Congress prohibited such tightening in Pell Grant eligibility, Sharp said, but approved it this year due to the money it will save. The American Council on Education estimates the change will save $300 million. Questions of legality have also come up. In theory, Sharp said, the change should have been made last July before the start of the 2004-05 school year. Because of this, many believe the change shouldn't go into affect this year and that it's a possibility that students could sue if their grant amount is changed this year. Civic minded students concerned about Pell Grants should write their representatives in Congress, Sharp said, even though that would be a long-term solution and not an immediate one. Historically, Utah has had low tuition and low financial aid, Feitz said. But with the recent trend and need to increase tuition, Utah now has medium tuition and low financial aid. "It's a big issue and it hits people right in the pocket book that want to go to school," Feitz said. ~hilaryi@cc. usu. edu BY DAVE MICHAELS The Dallas Morning News AUSTIN, Texas - Ryan Pitylak is so annoying, it's illegal. So says Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who sued the 22-year-old University of Texas philosophy major for sending millions of spam e-mails offering mortgage refinancing, warranty expiration notices and debt counseling. Pitylak built a successful business by sending misleading e-mails that snaked through spam filters and clogged e-mail in-boxes, the attorney general alleged. "There have been reports that he made a minimum of hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions of dollars," Abbott said. "This is someone who is illegally using the system to make countless dollars." Pitylak was at a business meeting in Florida on Thursday and could not comment about the lawsuit, said' his attorney, Lin Hughes. She characterized him as a successful and law-abiding young entrepreuneur. Although only 22, Pitylak has been making money with Internet ads for much of his life. According to a Web search, Pitylak was 14 years old when he was sending e-mails to Web page operators that offered to advertise their site for $79. Pitylak, then a student in Michigan, advertised that his company, Gates Computer Systems, had a Web site that received 500 visits a day. In the years since, spamming has apparently provided a handsome income. Pitylak owns a renovated, olive-rcolored bungalow valued at $450,000 in an older but tony Austin neighborhood. He drives a blue Jaguar and also had a black BMW parked in his driveway Thursday. Although spammers thrive on anonymity, Pitylak is a wellknown distributor ofjunk email who has been identified by spam watchdog groups. His name appears on a register of known spam operators maintained by Spamhaus, a British group that tracks the biggest SPAM Engineering majors pursuing degrees in computer engineering, electrical engineering and environmental engineering may be eligible for the Air Force Express Scholarship Program. Scholarship length will be three to three and a half years, depending on the date Aerospace Studies coursework can be completed. Students who are interested should visit the Military Science Building, Room 107, or call 797-8723. Red Cross offers disaster classes The Cache County American Red Cross is offering free disaster classes to the public. Class will be held TYiesday from 6 to 9 p.m. at local Red Cross chapters. For more information, contact the Cache County American Red Cross at 752-1125 prior to the class date to reserve seats. USU awarded water contract A joint partnership between Utah State University and several university and private sector partners was recently awarded a contract for work with the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Integrated Water and Coastal Resources Management Program. The contract, called an indefinite quantity contract, is in place for five years and has a $2 billion ceiling. USU will lend technical expertise and training in various areas of water management todeveloping countries around the world. While most of the partnership activity delegated to USU will be in the core engineering disciplines related to water resources, USU expects to involve faculty from other disciplines who have an interest in water issues, including on-farm water management, rural development, political science, economics and sociology. USU will begin responding to USAID mission task orders related to the project as early as this spring. For more information, contact Fawson at (435) 797-1840 or chris.fawson@usu.edu. Micron donates $100,000 to USU Utah State University students studying in the electrical and computer engineering department in the College of Engineering will have a new lab, due to a $100,00 donation from the Micron Foundation. The Micron Digital Imaging Laboratory will be used for research and education in digital imaging processing, computer vision, signal processing and 3D color geo-positioned imagery. "This lab will significantly enhance Utah State's capabilities in digital imaging research " said Tamal Bose, electrical and computer engineering department head. The lab is a part of USU's Center for High-speed Information Processing (CHIP), directed by Bose, and Utah State's Center for Advanced Imaging LADAR (CAIL), directed by Utah State engineering faculty member Robert Pack. This is the second grant from Micron to the department. Last year, Micron donated $100,000 to establish the Micron Digital Design Laboratory. For more information about the Utah State electrical and computer engineering program, visit www.engineering.usu.edu. For more information on CHIP, visit www.engineering.usu.edu/ece/research See Page 4 COMPILED BY STATESMAN STAFF |