North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 69, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 13, 2007 Page: 1 of 10
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NORTH TEXAS DAILY
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Paniy cloudy
43°/28°
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF TIIE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
(6 MfltnfSl Overtime
Volume 91 Issue 69
ntdaily.com
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Sons of Thunder will continue to provide or homeless
By Stephanie Butts
Contributing Writer
The Sons of Thunder home-
less shelter will not be closing,
said Ben Carswell, the minis-
try's president.
Through donations from
Denton residents, churches and
businesses, Sons of Thunder
has raised $30,000 to help bring
the warehouse up to code, said
Carswell.
Denton has also been
supportive.
"The city said they will work
with us any way they can,"
Carswell said.
Last Friday, Sara Carey,
spokeswoman for Sons of
Thunder, gathered local
church leaders and community
members to form "an unofficial
ad-hoc advisory committee"
for the ministry.
Carey is an active member
in the Denton community and
has a background in running
non-profit organizations. She
said that she is trying to get
Sons of Thunder financially
organized.
"They need a little help with
the nuts and bolts," Carey
said.
The committee assigned
Henry Rice, a volunteer
contractor, to oversee the reno-
vations to the warehouse.
Construction on the building
will cost $25,000 and will begin
next week and last up to one
month. Contractors will add
two showers, repair the existing
plumbing and update the elec-
tricity, Carswell said.
He said that hallways,
bedrooms and a fire sprinkler
system will be added.
The ministry still doesn't
have enough money, said
Glenda Hacker, Sons of
Thunder treasurer. She said
that the ministry is trying
to purchase the warehouse
and are in a "lease-to-buy"
contract. Hacker said that it
will cost $250,000.
According to the Denton
Central Appraisal District,
Rodney and Emily Haire own
the warehouse. They were
unavailable for comment.
Carswell found out in late
January that the building
would need to be repaired.
"We knew it would come
sooner or later," Carswell said.
"We just didn't expect it to
come down on us this quick."
The building provides a
Efi
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Justin Tennison / NT Daily
About 20 people seek refuge from the cold Monday in the Sons of Thunder Ministries homeless
shelter, located at 217 E. Hickory St.
meeting place for Seeds of
Change ministries to come and
provide tutoring for children.
Alcoholics Anonymous meets
in the building several times
a week and Sons of Thunder
provides Bible studies and
youth activities.
Carey said that Sons of
Thunder is still trying to calcu-
late the exact cost to run the
shelter. She said that because of
the cold weather, the ministry
has had "unnatural expenses"
that make it difficult to deter-
mine the cost per month.
"They've been doing it on
a shoestring, but there have
been many success stories,"
Carey said.
Carswell said that three
people were able to get jobs
and move into their own apart-
ments last week.
"Officially we're closed down,
unofficially we're still helping
people," Carswell said.
City council approves $1.34
million :or new airport terminal
By Aaron Bracamontes
Staff Writer
A $1.34 million bid was
approved by the Denton City
Council last Tuesday for a new
terminal and parking lot at the
Denton Municipal Airport.
Mark Nelson, chief tran spor-
tation officer with the City of
Denton, said that three compa-
nies bid on the construction job
with Alshall Construction Co.
of Carrolton, receiving the bid
at $1,344,934.
The Texas Departmnet
of Transportation Aviation
Commission is contributing
$450,000, while the project has
also received $150,000 from a
federal fund. The City of Denton
will pay the remaining $740,000,
Nelson said.
According to the minutes
from the city council meeting,
the budget was not to be more
than $1,689,142.
"We will have a new terminal
building, that will be roughly
4,600 square feet," Nelson said.
"It will include many adminis-
trative offices, a public lobby
area and a large multi-purpose
room for the community."
Along with the new terminal
will be a new parking lot that is
designed for the future growth
of the airport and Denton,
Nelson said.
Parwaiz Alam, vice president
for Alshall, said that the terminal
will be four times bigger than the
current terminal and it will have
a first-class design by architect
Brian Glass from GRW Inc.
"The whole bid was divided
into two sections," Alam said.
"The first section was just for
the building and the sidewalk
around the building. And the
second section was to do the
parking lot."
Alam said he is not sure when
construction willbegin, but that
it should take no more than six
months to be completed.
The airport had over 86,000
operations for the calendar year
of 2006, with anticipation of
that number increasing for 2007,
Nelson said.
"It is designed to provide
a point of entry to our city,"
Nelson said. "As well as provide
a meeting and greeting place
and departure location for folks
using our airfield."
Nelson said that city offi-
cials are looking forward to the
finished product.
"It's a doorstep to our commu-
nity, and we want to be sure
that we have a nice facility to
welcome travelers," Nelson
said.
The airport is located off of
Interstate Highway 35W, south
of NT. It serves for both business
and recreational users.
MUNl£TAIRPORT
5000 airport road
rvl
office worn
LOCATED AT
5011 SABRE LANE
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2
Justin Tennison / NT Daily
The control tower sits at the entrance of the Denton Municipal Airport, located at 5000 Airport Rd.
Learning Center teaches
students study habits
Academic program
aims to raise CPAs
Alex Podwalny
Contributing Writer
A difficult first semester at
NT can place freshmen on
Academic Alert, a red flag
before Academic Probation,
if they do not raise their grade
point average.
This warning comes with
possible consequences of
suspension from the univer-
sity.
Unlike other classifications,
freshmen are given an extra
semester if they do not main-
tain a minimum 2.0 GPA. This
semester, the Learning Center
is offering a pilot program to
help freshmen. The Academic
Alert Assistance Program is
funded by student fees and
encourages the use of inter-
campus resources, said
Program Coordinator Lisa
Allison.
The program is a series of
three workshops covering
issues such as test anxiety,
time management, learning
styles, goal setting, motiva-
tion and combating stress,
Allison said.
At the first week of the work-
shop, students are introduced
to resources in the Learning
Center such as classes for
speed-reading and study skills,
Allison said. They are shown
where to find assistance in
counseling services for finan-
cial or career guidance, as well
as campus resources like the
computer labs and math labs,
Allison said.
"I think it's innovative in
that not all colleges have
Academic Alert programs for
students," Allison said. "It
gives students the opportu-
nity to figure out their study
skills and stay motivated."
Josh Adams, coordinator for
learning success programs,
said the biggest obstacle is
letting students know the
program is available.
"Students seemed to be very
engaged and happy that this
resource is available to them,"
Adams said. "It gives them a
space and outlet to go to for
different resources."
The students use the
Learning and Study Strategies
Inventory Test to determine
their specific learning style,
and throughout the program
they are taught study skills
specific to their learning style,
Allison said. The setting is
laid-back and encourages
discussion among students,
Allison said.
More than 300 students were
contacted to join the pilot
program and about 50 have
signed up, Allison said. Upon
completion of the three work-
shops, Allison, along with grad-
uate assistant Anne Nosewicz,
hold a one-on-one session with
each student to follow up on
students' progress and answer
any remaining questions. At
the end of the program, they
are recognized with certifi-
cates of completion.
"Right now, we are figuring
things out as we go," Allison
said. "It will really help
[students], but the hard part
is getting them signed up."
Surveys and assessments
of the student's improve-
ments will determine if the
program will continue for
future freshmen, Allison
said. Currently, funding
continues through the month
of August.
Mathews
Hall forced to
increase security
By A a ron Bracamontes
StaffWriter
An NT police officer stood
guard at the Child Development
Lab in Matthews Hall Friday
because of a possible terrorist
threat.
Brief
According to police reports,
at 1:07 p.m. Carol Hagan, lab
manager, notified police that
Anibal Prestan, 35, Dallas senior
and former customer of the lab,
was upset that his academic
transcript was being blocked
because of a $65 fee that was
owed to the lab.
The report said Prestan left
a voicemail saying that he was
coming to the lab because the
staff was avoiding him and that
it would not "be pretty."
Sgt. Leonard Logan had an
officer remain at the lab until
it closed for the day because of
the classrooms of children and
"the level of fear that Prestan
aroused in the lab staff," the
report said.
Kim Leach, executive director
of news and media relations,
said Prestan was not ticketed
or fined.
"When he showed up he was
fine," Leach said. "He was able
to pay his fee and receive his
transcript."
Alcohol truck
spill closes 1-35
By Abel Prado
StaffWriter
Lane closures on Interstate
Highway 35E near the Main
Street exit in Lewisville are
expected to remain in effect
late Monday night after a
tractor-trailer hauling flam-
mable alcohol overturned,
according to the Lewisville
Fire Department.
The accident occurred
at about 10 a.m. Monday
morning when a car and a
tractor-trailer hauling dena-
tured alcohol collided, causing
the trailer to spill, said Sandy
Wallis of the Lewisville Police
Department.
"They got ethanol and
Hazmat out there, so clean up
is expected to take a few more
hours," Wallis said.
Surrounding buildings
and businesses were imme-
diately evacuated because
of fumes and potential fire
hazards. Northbound traffic
was rerouted for about a mile
onto the access road before
being allowed back onto 1-35.
Southbound lanes remained
at a standstill, forcing traffic
onto local roads.
Commuters were stalled in
traffic for up to two hours.
"It really sucked," said Jack
Cravy, Winnie freshman. "We
were stuck in traffic for about
two or three hours and they
kept telling us to keep our
windows up. What should've
been a 20-minute drive ended
up taking way longer."
Besides flared tempers on
the road, no injuries were
reported.
old weather stops trappings or cat rescue group
By Michael Hernandez
Contributing Writer
Hay is not just for horses
anymore - cats like it too.
The Feral Cat Rescue Group
has stuffed its shelters with
hay to help protect the furry
felines against the harsh
winter weather, said Nancy
Kelly, director of the group.
The recent bout against
sleet, freezing rain and snow
has stopped the rescue group's
feral cat trappings and posed a
series of problems for the cats,
Kelly said.
"I think they're OK," she said.
"It's their survival nature."
The shelters have food,
water and hay for insulation.
However, some shelters have
sprung leaks that the group
will have to fix in time, she
said.
The freezing temperatures
have forced the group to cease
its trappings, she said. The
group practices a trap, neuter
and release method of popu-
lation control. She said the
group prefers to set traps when
the temperature is more than
45 or 50 degrees Fahrenheit
at night.
The rescue group has not
set traps since December, she
said.
The cats are put under too
much stress when they must
remain in the traps overnight
in weather below the preferred
trapping temperature, she said.
Traps are set at 10:30 p.m. and
group members come back in
the morning to retrieve the
cats, she said.
"As soon as we get back to
normalcy, we'll barrage the
campus [with traps]," Kelly
said.
Controlling the cat popu-
lation is important, said
Waco senior Jenna Ledford,
president of the Campus Cat
Coalition.
"People created the problem
and they need to take responsi-
bility to fix it," Ledford said.
The weather has also raised
concerns among Denton
animal control and rescue
groups.
"There's nothing sadder
than seeing a dog outside on a
See Cats on page 8
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North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 69, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 13, 2007, newspaper, February 13, 2007; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145424/m1/1/: accessed June 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.