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THE BG NEWS ESTABLISHED 1920A daily independent student press serving the campus and surrounding community

WednesdayJanuary 14, 2009Volume 103, Issue 80

WWW.BGNEWS.COM

CAMP

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No thanks, keep itPresident of Miami University turned down $68,000 in order to help the school| Page 3

SPOR

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Working on a new diplomacyHillary Clinton, prepar-ing for her upcoming position as secretary of state, has plans to revitalize American diplomacy | Page 6

PEOP

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N TH

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JESSICA BRINCKSophomore, Applied Health Science

What is your New Year’s resolution, and have you broken it yet?

“No, and it’s to find a sexy man.” | Page 4

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The end of the road for BushWith President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration coming up, columnist Levi Joseph Wonder looks back at the Bush administration and Its legacy | Page 4

Falcon forward flying on iceForward Dan Sexton has been a major asset to the hockey team with his lighting fast speed | Page 7

Suspect on the runA suspect for the deaths of a woman and her four children is on the run in Oklahoma | Page 9

NATI

ON

VISIT BGNEWS.COM: NEWS, SPORTS, UPDATES, MULTIMEDIA AND FORUMS FOR YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE

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Source of salmonella foundThe outbreak of salmonella that has sickened over 400 people has been sourced to bacteria-laced peanut butter | Page 5

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By Andrew HarnerSports Editor

Curt Miller’s basketball team is on a 13 game winning streak, but you would never know it

talking to him or his team.“We have not talked about it one time in the

locker room,” Miller said. “Urban [Meyer] may have won 13 games and won a national championship, but 13 games does nothing for us.”

“When we got to MAC play, we started over and told ourselves we were 0-0,” sophomore guard Lauren Prochaska said.

What you might find out from a conversation with the coach or his players is the team has won its first two Mid-American Conference games, defeating MAC power Kent State and Ohio.

But unlike Michael Jackson’s famous line “A, B, C. It’s easy as one, two, three” going one, two, three won’t be as easy as the ABCs for the Falcons.

Miller and his squad (13-2, 2-0 MAC) definitely are not taking the MAC winning streak lightly going into tonight’s game versus a tough, defend-

ing MAC champion Miami (10-5, 2-0 MAC) team.

“We look at them as one of the clear cut favorites,” Miller said. “[They are] someone

you have to go through if you think you are going to win a championship.”

By Andrew HarnerSports Editor

The men’s basketball team (8-6, 1-0 MAC) will face another challenging early season Mid-American Conference foe when they travel to Kent State (7-7, 0-1 MAC) tonight.

In the MAC opener, BG defeated Buffalo, a team that has the best overall record in the MAC East division.

Now, the Falcons will take a trip east to face a test from Kent State at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.

“Every game on the road, all year long, now that we’re in MAC season, is always a huge test,” BG coach Louis Orr said. “Nobody is going to give you anything.”

Not only is Kent State not going to give up much despite a mediocre .500 record, there are several other factors that will give the Falcons some chal-lenges.

The Flashes won the MAC championship last season and played in the NCAA tournament, but most importantly, return three starters from that title run.

The big game experience the Flashes bring is something Orr addressed as one of the biggest challenges in the game in a very simple sentence.

“Tradition doesn’t graduate,” Orr

Falcons on the ball

See WOMEN | Page 2 See MEN | Page 2

ETHAN MAGOC | THE BG NEWS

ENOCH WU | THE BG NEWS

By Ella FowlerReporter

A group of 10 to 15 students are hoping to change what they believe to be a glorified student cafeteria space into a place pro-moting diversity and unity.

The Ethnic Student Center Committee is trying to imple-ment an Ethnic Student Center on the second floor of the Union in what is now the Multicultural Lounge.

“If approved, we would change the lounge into the Ethnic Student Center,” said Leo Almeida, a coordinator for the Center. “The Multicultural Lounge was put there for multicultural organiza-tions and students, but right now it is glorified cafeteria space.”

The group hopes the Center will promote a sense of diversity on campus and allow students a

space of their own to discuss dif-ferent cultures and ethnicities.

“The values behind [the Ethnic Student Center are] unity, pro-moting diversity, being open minded and welcoming every-one,” Almeida said.

Almeida went on to stress the overall goal of the Center: pro-moting unity between multicul-tural and ethnic organizations.

“I was supportive of the con-cept that upper class students did need to meet more regularly in terms of being able to work collectively with [each other],” said Bettina Shuford, former

director of Multicultural Affairs and Initiatives at the University. “[That means] having a structure that would give [ethnic organiza-tions and groups] the opportu-nity to collaborate more and be more effective on campus.”

If the Ethnic Student Center was approved by the University, Almeida and Higginbotham hope smaller organizations would have a home.

“There are smaller organiza-tions that don’t get a lot of rec-ognition [on campus], like the Caribbean organization,” Almeida said. “We want them to have a home on campus and a place to go.”

Almeida added he wants the Center to be a place where orga-nizations can come together and ensure they aren’t doing multi-cultural events on the same day through a calendar posted in the

Center. “The whole idea [with the cal-

endar] is we are already minori-ties, we are already small in num-bers, so why would you [keep] another minority group from supporting your events?” he said. “We are hoping to put smaller groups together to create bigger events.”

Karina Higginbotham, a soph-omore co-committee member, emphasized the importance of other schools, like Ohio State, Michigan State, Western Michigan and Ball State’s ethnic centers.

“There are so many other schools who have ethnic student centers,” Higginbotham, a nurs-ing major, said. “We have a wom-en’s center, a lesbian/gay research center and I think it is necessary

Home for ethnic organizationsBy Kristen Vasas

City Editor

The cause of a fire that destroyed two units at a 21-unit apartment building last Monday has been declared undetermined accord-ing to the Bowling Green Fire Division.

Bowling Green firefighters were called to Foxwood Manor Apartments on 7th Street and South College Avenue after a resi-dent who smelled smoke alerted them to the blaze.

Because a majority of the resi-dents living in the three-story, wooden-framed complex were students, many of the units were uninhabitated at the time of the fire due to winter break, Bowling Green Fire Capt. Tom Sanderson

Blaze burns two apartments during break

See FIRE | Page 2See CENTER | Page 2

LeoAlmeidaEthnic Student Center Committee coordinator

Both men and women roll into MAC play

Residents must clear sidewalks or get covered in finesBy Craig Vanderkam

Web Editor

For Bowling Green residents, failure to remove snow and ice from their sidewalks could result in the city plowing them with fines.

Under Section 98.03 of the City’s Codified Ordinances, Bowling Green citizens have certain requirements related to snow and ice removal.

According to Public Works Director Brian Craft, these guidelines are in place to protect the public, specifically pedes-trians needing to use the side-walks.

“The purpose is to allow peo-ple the ability to go down the sidewalks without risk of falling and injury,” Craft said. “If you don’t get [the sidewalks] clear, it becomes hard to walk down the sidewalks.”

The ordinance requires hom-eowners to clear snow and ice from sidewalks bordering their property within 24 hours of the conclusion of any snow or ice storms.

Failure to adhere to the ordi-nance may result in a civil infrac-tion citation, or even a criminal citation for a minor misdemean-or, with a maximum penalty of $100 per violation.

The city has taken many mea-sures to ensure people know these policies.

A flyer was sent out with util-ity bills in November explain-ing snow removal guidelines and consequences for failing to remove accumulated snow on sidewalks. A public notice had also been placed in both The Sentinel Tribune and The BG News explaining the ordinance.

“I think in the last winter and this winter more people are becoming aware of this policy,” Craft said.

Junior Daniel Persons says

See FINES | Page 2

RACHEL RADWANSKI | THE BG NEWS

SNOW ARMY: The University complies with the city guidelines by keeping trucks with ploughs attached at the ready for any snow removal.

Open HouseWhere: 2055 Napoleon Rd

When: Thursday, January 15 Time: 3:00pm - 7:00pm

We will be running a shuttle van from campus to Copper Beech every 30 min-utes between 3pm and 7pm for anyone interested in touring a 1, 2, 3, or 4 bed-room townhome. Pick-ups and drop-offs will be at the Centrex Building. Free snacks and beverages will be provided. Everyone is welcome to attend!

Copper Beech Townhomes419-353-3300 • www.cbeech.com

Newlove Rentals332 S. Main (our only offi ce)

419-352-5620www.newloverentals.com

• Large House - allows more than 3 unrelated occupants• Close to campus

210 N. Enterprise (zoned 6 unrelated)

233 W. Merry (zoned 5 unrelated)

1002 E. Wooster (zoned 5 unrelated)

BW73

2 Wednesday, January 14, 2009 WWW.BGNEWS.COM

to cater to all the students and an Ethnic Student Center is a way to do that. Plus it is an asset to the school.”

Shuford agrees an Ethnic Student Center can be beneficial to the student body.

“I have done research in this area and a lot of research says [an Ethnic Student Center] is effec-tive,” she said.

Higginbotham also feels a Center is beneficial because it will bring attention to the University’s stress on diversity.

“In the BGSU mission state-ment, they say something about diversity, this diversity that,” Higginbotham said. “To me, all these other schools have an eth-nic student center or a multicul-tural center welcoming different people [to campus], but yet we don’t have anything welcoming students here.”

Although the campus does have a Center for Multicultural Affairs and Initiatives, Almedia states both can exist together.

“People realize we already have a center for multicultural initia-tives, but what people don’t realize

is that when we did research, if an ethnic studies center would work on our campus, students were for it,” he said. “We also looked at other campuses and found that a lot of those campuses had a cen-ter for multicultural initiatives as well as an ethnic student center.”

Despite having a Center for Multicultural Affairs and Initiatives, when Higginbotham first came to campus as a fresh-men she felt the student body was divided and separated, but she hopes the Ethnic Student Center can make the campus more connected.

To ensure the student body is still behind them on the initiative, they have continued to promote the Center through presenta-tions, petitions and pamphlets. The group already has over 400 student signatures in support of the Ethnic Student Center.

“I hope this center will bridge some common ground and just show that we are all human beings no matter where we come from, who we are or what we look like,” Higginbotham said.

The group holds meeting at 8 p.m. every Thursday in the Multicultural Lounge in the Student Union.

said. However, the 12 people who

were in the building at the time of the fire were able to escape unharmed, Sanderson said.

Although the monetary value of the damage has not been dis-closed, Mecca Management Leasing Agent Carrie Williams said estimations are being considered.

Williams said insurance com-panies are working on reaching totals, and repair work should be started as soon as possible.

However, this Miami team has been through quite a few highs and lows this season.

Most notably, the RedHawks single handedly beat the same Kent State team the Falcons squeaked by 77-71 in the MAC opener 71-60. Miami also easily beat Akron 83-63.

But they’ve been forced to do that with a unique rotation.

Injuries have really hurt the program this year as just seven of their 13 players have been healthy enough to play in all 15 games. Coach Maria Fantanarosa has used at least 11 different players in 10 games this year and at least 10 in 13 games.

Jenna Schone is the only player on the RedHawks who has averaged over 27 minutes a

game. By comparison, BG has three players with more than 27 minutes per game.

But while they have had those troubles, Schone has still enjoyed a good season and has paced the RedHawks.

Schone combines with fellow guard Courtney Reed to score 27.8 points per game and both shoot more than 80 percent from the free throw line.

Miller is well aware of the Miami backcourt and has tre-mendous respect for it.

“They have outstanding guard play that are going to take a lot

of their shots,” Miller said. “You just have to try and get them out of rhythm and that’s easier said than done.”

Tracy Pontius will get the start against Schone and, according to Miller, will find herself with quite a challenge.

“She’s the Reggie Miller of MAC women’s basketball,” Miller said. “She is in constant movement with and without the ball.”

Reggie Miller of course was a future Hall of Fame guard for the Indiana Pacers from 1987-2005 who created match up

problems for teams throughout his entire career.

Miami and BG also both are towards the top of the MAC standings in several categories including scoring and scoring defense.

“We have to match our speed with their speed and try to keep up with their tempo because they’re always going at 100 per-cent pace,” Prochaska said. “We just have to match that.”

In Miller’s time as coach, he has seen highs and lows against Miami as he lost his first five games against the RedHawks from 2001 to the middle of 2004.

However, since then, Miller has won eight of nine, only los-ing a home contest last season by a mere three points.

Miller is hopeful his team will be able to make the recent record nine of 10 after tonight.

said.Specifically, one of those

players returning for Kent State is 2007-08 MAC Player of the Year Al Fisher.

Fisher is averaging 15.3 points per game this season and is shooting 41.3 percent from the field, which is not a big improvement from last sea-son when he averaged 13.9 ppg and shot 40.3 percent from the field.

Prior to the MAC season, Kent State coach Geno Ford said the small increase in production may be coming from the fact teams are more focused on Fisher this season.

Chris Singletary makes up the other half of the Flashes backcourt, and he is having a season nearly identical to

Fisher’s.On the year, Singletary has

scored 14.3 points per game and has shot 45.3 percent from the field.

Additionally, the Falcons will travel to Kent State, known for being one of the toughest plac-es to play in the conference.

So far this season, BG has struggled on the road, not win-ning a single game away from Anderson Arena. Meanwhile,

Kent State has gone 5-2 at home with one of the two losses com-ing in overtime.

Orr is well aware of these facts and knows the Falcons need to play a close game throughout to have a chance to win.

“You know you’re going to have close games on the road,” Orr said when asked about road losses. “To me that’s the start.”

But while the road environ-ment may be a problem for the

team, the Falcons are evenly matched with Kent State on the stat sheet.

Both teams come into the game as the top two teams in shooting percentage and shoot-ing percentage defense in the conference. Kent State is also the top in points scored per game (71.3) while BG is third (69.3).

But Ford isn’t really sure how his team is so far up the stat charts.

“There were games ... where we shot 30 percent from the field so I'm kind of confused as to how we can be leading the league in that,” Ford said last week. “And at other times, it looks like we couldn't guard a seventh grade girls team.”

However, those stats for Kent State include games they played against bigger teams like Kansas, Texas A&M and Illinois, important experience for a mid-major school.

he is aware of the city’s snow removal guidelines.

“I have been out multiple times since this past weekend in order to maintain a clear driveway and sidewalks,” he said.

On the other hand, Jeff Nisius, a graduate student at the University, says he does not worry about constantly clearing his walks.

“We let the snow melt

instead of clearing the side-walks,” Nisius said. “I’ve never heard of anyone being warned or fined for not shoveling their snow.” Even though the ordi-nance has been well publi-cized, violators remain.

“Last winter season, we went out on five occasions and created a list of sidewalks that were in violation,” Craft said.

With more snow in the fore-cast, the policy will be put to the test once again, and it will be up to the residents to maintain the safety of their sidewalks.

BLOTTERFRIDAY, JAN. 91:02 A.M.Darla Sonnenberg, 20, of Holgate, Ohio, was arrested for underage drinking after being witnessed sway-ing and stumbling outside Uptown/Downtown Bar.

1:23 A.M.Chelsey Maushund, 21, of Bowling Green, was cited for operating a vehicle under the inlfuence and possession of drug parapharnalia after a small brown device used to seperate seeds and stems from marijuana was found in a zip up purse located near the center con-sole of her vehicle.

SATURDAY, JAN. 1012:22 A.M.Mark Gilmer, 21, of Bowling Green, was cited for failure to maintain rea-sonable control.

1:39 A.M.Keith Leon Garnes, 33, of Bowling Green, was arrested for aggravated menacing after pulling out a silver .25 calibur Raven Arms semi-auto-matic pistol and pointing it at a victim’s head outside of Uptown/ Downtown Bar.

2:36 A.M.Preston White, 32, of Bowling Green, was arrested for disorderly conduct after he attempted to reen-ter Howard’s Club H after it was closed. He was heavily intoxicated,

fell to his feet on different occas-sions and was unable to complete sentences.

SUNDAY, JAN. 111:43 A.M.Brady Tea, 20, of Bowling Green, was cited for underage drinking.

3:10 A.M.Complainant reported that an unknown person entered an apart-ment on High Street and stole three laptop computers.

MONDAY, JAN. 125:20 P.M.Complainant reported his apart-ment on North Enterprise Street was broken into over break and numerous items were taken.

9:40 P.M.Barney’s employee reported a blue minivan drove off without paying for $15 worth of gas.

TUESDAY, JAN. 133:03 A.M.Robert Ankney, 23, of Bowling Green, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia after he was observed with a multicolored glass pipe containing suspected mari-juana residue.

ONLINE: Go to bgnews.com for the complete blotter list.

CENTER From Page 2

WOMEN From Page 2

Men’s Basketball Starters

G-Brian Moten-13.1ppgG- Darryl Clements- 11.0ppgG- Joe Jakubowski- 10.5ppgC- Otis Polk- 5.2ppgF- Marc Lawson- 3.4ppg

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Women’s Basketball Starters

F-Lauren Prochaska- 16.5ppgF- Niki McCoy- 13.5ppgC- Tara Breske- 6.1ppgG- Tracy Pontius- 12.6ppgG- Lindsey Goldsberry- 5.4ppg

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Men’s Basketball last five games against Kent State

3-1-08 vs. KSU-W89-831-12-08 at KSU-L63-493-1-07 vs. KSU-L77-641-20-07 at KSU-L62-612-21-06 vs. KSU-L82-66

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Women’s Basketball last five games against Miami

2-23-08 at Miami-W81-661-22-08 vs. Miami-L63-602-28-07 vs. Miami-W92-621-16-07 at Miami-W64-562-28-06 at Miami-W71-59

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MEN From Page 2

FINES From Page 2

ENOCH WU | THE BG NEWS

CHARRED: The blaze at Foxwood Manor only burned two apartment units, leaving the other units unharmed.

FIRE From Page 2

www.bgnews.comCheck us out online at:

CAMPUSWWW.BGNEWS.COM Wednesday, January 14, 2009 3

BBecome a BGSUOrientation Leader!

Interest SessionsThursday, Jan. 15 at 2pm, 314 BTSUWednesday, Jan. 21 at 1pm, 315 BTSU

Applications are available at www.bgsu.edu/orientationQuestions? Contact Adriana Lincoln at aefrikk@bgsu.edu or 419 372 9558

Orientation and First YearPrograms is looking forenergetic student leaderswho want to help newstudents learn what it meansto be a FALCON at BGSU!These individuals know theimportance of team work andpride in a job well done.

If this sounds like YOU, pleaseapply to be a part of the 2009Orientation Team!

TimelineApplications due: Jan. 27Group Interviews: Feb 1 & 4Individual Interviews: Jan. 10 20

Students pay for Univ. lawsuit from own pockets

By Chelsea KeenanU-Wire

The chant “am Israel chi” filled the air as about 100 people marched down University Avenue on Monday.

Their chant, which means, “The nation of Israel lives,” rang out as the rally continued down University Avenue, start-ing at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and ending at the Bo Diddley Community Plaza.

Participants waved signs while they walked, which read “We Stand with Israel” and “Israel wants Peace,” only to encoun-ter another protest demanding peace on both sides.

Sandy Baum, a University of Florida English senior, helped organize the march alongside the Lubavitch–Chabad Jewish Student and Community Center.

“I thought, we need to do something now,” she said. “We wanted Gainesville to stand up for Israel.”

Baum said they marched in support for Israel and to stand up for those who were affected by the attacks by Hamas.

UF biological engineering senior Lee Ravid said the attacks hit close to home.

Ravid was born in Israel but has attended UF for the past three years.

“(Israel) is my home,” she said. “This is where my family lives.”

Ravid also said she has friends on the front lines fighting.

“I pray for my friends who are soldiers,” she said. “They are fighting for Israel’s future and the future of this world.”

As the protesters worked their way down University, they received cheers and honks from people driving by.

By Caitlin Varley U-Wire

To help ease Miami University’s budget deficit, President David Hodge declined a $68,000 bonus offered to him by the board of trustees.

At the Sept. 19, 2008 board of trustees meeting, the members reviewed Hodge’s performance.

Hodge said he gives the board a set of goals and they do an evaluation to determine if he gets a bonus.

He said the board gave him high marks for his performance and decided to give him the full bonus, an amount totaling to 20 percent of his annual salary for last year, which was $340,000.

“At that point I informed them that given the difficult budget sit-uation that we face this year, that I thought it best that I decline to accept that,” Hodge said.

Hodge’s decision was announced at the Dec. 12, 2008 board of trustees meeting.

“We understand Dr. Hodge’s decision and applaud his lead-ership in these challenging and financial times,” Richard Smucker, chair of the board of trustees, said at the meeting.

Hodge said the money will go toward the central budget.

“It’s just going to try to help reduce the deficit that we face this year,” Hodge said.

Smucker said the board is very confident and grateful for

Hodge’s leadership.“Although Dr. Hodge’s per-

formance was certainly worth a bonus and the board wanted to pay him that much, Dr. Hodge indicated that he would not accept that bonus because of the significant need of the univer-sity,” Smucker said.

Hodge said that when he was offered the bonus, he knew Miami would have to have some budget cuts.

“I felt it was inappropriate for me to take a bonus when we were in this situation so that’s what I did,” Hodge said.

Hodge said it is important to understand that everyone at the university can help during this difficult financial time.

“Not everybody is going to do what I do,” Hodge said. “Nobody should necessarily do what I do. That’s not the point, but the point is that each of us can do what we can to contribute to what the university does.”

“We appreciate that leader-ship,” Hodge said. “That is not easy to do, but it certainly sets an example.”

Hodge said he was not partic-ularly interested in publicizing his action, but as the situation continued to get more difficult, the chair of the board thought it was important so that people would understand that everyone is trying to do the right thing.

“We need to feel that we’re working together,” Hodge said.

Some events taken from events.bgsu.edu

GET A LIFECALENDAR OF EVENTS

8 a.m. - 9 p.m.Exhibit #7: Nuestra CulturaUnion Gallery Space

8 a.m. - 11 p.m. Muslim Student Association Prayer RoomOlscamp 204

5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Coming Out Support GroupHanna Hall 107

8 p.m.Faculty Artist/Scholar Series: David Bixler, jazz saxophonistBryan Recital Hall, Moore Musical Arts Center

9 - 11 p.m. Wednesdays in the Pub: KarokeBlack Swamp Pub

MEGHAN MCMULLEN| U-WIRE PHOTO

PROTEST: Protesters gather along University Avenue across from University Lutheran Church in a demonstration of solidarity with Israel on yesterday afternoon.

By Julienne LaulerU-Wire

Thousands of former UC students were reimbursed last month by the University of California, marking the finale of a class-action lawsuit filed against the UC Board of Regents in 2003.

But current students are pay-ing for this lawsuit with a $60 temporary surcharge that was approved by the UC Regents in May of last year to cover the losses, which are more than $33 million.

This surcharge was added to the educational fee for all stu-dents currently enrolled in the University of California, UC spokesman Ricardo Vazquez said.

The charge will continue until all the costs associated with the lawsuit have been fully recovered.

However, at least 33 percent of the revenue from the undergrad-uate student surcharge and 50 percent of the graduate students fees are set aside for financial

aid, Vazquez added.It is anticipated that the rev-

enue generated from the sur-charge will cover the costs of the trial within five to six years, Vazquez said.

According to the UC Regents Web site, this fee is necessary because the final court ruling prohibited the university from collecting professional student fees from students affected by the lawsuit. As a result, the uni-versity has lost approximately $20 million in uncollected pro-fessional school fee revenue.

In November 2007, a state appeals court ruled that the uni-versity had breached a contract with the students by increasing professional degree fees, despite brochures and catalogues stat-ing that the fees would not be increased, according to a court release.

The court also ruled that the educational fee, which was increased for undergraduate stu-dents in the spring and summer of 2003 without prior notification to the students, was a violation of

the students’ rights.More than $33 million in dam-

ages and interest were granted to the plaintiffs in order to cover the money that they would have accumulated had the fees not been raised, said UC Students Association spokeswoman Liz Hall. She added that affected stu-dents are already receiving the reimbursements.

“This verdict means that the regents can no longer take advantage of students. This is a lesson for them that students will fight for affordable education,” Hall said.

The lawsuit was initially prompted by the regents’ deci-sion to raise graduate school fees in December 2002 , along with other UC fees, by 25 percent start-ing in the following fall, accord-ing to Daily Bruin archives.

Since 2003, the case has seen multiple courtrooms as the university appealed the court’s decision in March 2006 and then tried to appeal to the California Supreme Court in November 2007.

Israel peace rally fills university streets University president gives bonus to school

ENOCH WU | THE BG NEWS

TO LIGHT THE WAY: A waning moon lit up the University last night as it took its place in the cloudless sky.

BRIGHT NIGHT SKY

SPEAK YOUR MINDGot something you want to say about an opinion column or news story?

Here’s how to get in touch with us for letters to the editor:

E-mail us at thenews@bgnews.com.Drop a note into our new comment box at the Union Information Center.Call us at 419-372-6966.Come to our newsroom in 210 West Hall.

Be sure to read the submission guidelines at the bottom of this page.

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As Obama takes over, a look at Bush’s popularity decline

CALLING ALL COLUMNISTS AND CARTOONISTS!!!!Need a place to voice your opinions? The Forum

section is looking for more people like you to write columns and illustrate for us.

Contact us at thenews@bgnews.com,call us at 419-372-6966,

or just swing by our newsroom in 210 West Hall.

LEVI JOSEPHWONDERCOLUMNIST

MICHAEL WEIGMAN | THE BG NEWS

In exactly one week, the United States of America will have a new head of state.

Incoming President-elect Barack Obama will supersede President George W. Bush, our current national leader, on Jan. 20. Ever since his recent victo-ry in the national presidential election, Obama has occupied the national political limelight, functioning as the topic of much debate and widespread atten-tion as his inauguration date draws near.

With his frequent political statements and speeches to the press, his notably charismatic demeanor and his drastic plans to reform our nation and mend the ailing national economy, Obama is currently the hot topic of many a heated political debate or casual conversation.

But what about ol’ George? He’s not getting any attention at all.

Well, not any good attention, that is.

Ever since entering his “lame duck” year as U.S. president, the hype surrounding Obama (and previously John McCain, Sarah Palin, and Hillary Clinton) has all but caused Mr. Bush to gradually slink into obscurity alongside the rest of our nation’s former leaders.

His tenure as head of state of our nation is at a close, and Mr. Bush will soon enter the annals of history as the retired 43rd president of the United States.

… with a permanently tar-nished reputation, that is.

Since mainstream politi-cal attention is being directed toward Obama and the prom-ised “change,” which he and his cabinet will bring to this nation, George Bush is left nothing more than the dregs of national media coverage: widespread criticism and a marred legacy.

Whatever one’s political views or opinions on George Bush’s leadership and time as president may be, it cannot be denied that Bush will almost assuredly go

down in history as one of our nation’s worst and most unpop-ular leaders.

I’m not saying these things merely to be harsh on Mr. Bush. I’m saying them because based on his polarizing and controver-sial actions during his tenure as president, history will not look kindly upon Bush’s legacy.

And yes, I do understand that the president is historically a surpassingly unpopular or pop-ular figure, but recent surveys indicate that Bush may indeed retain his unpopularity through-out history.

In a recent survey of 111 his-torian scholars to estimate the lasting appeal of Bush’s legacy, the vast majority (109) gave Bush the title of “worst president ever.” Only two described his time in office as a success.

Additionally, a question asked in December by The Wall Street Journal and NBC requested peo-ple to compare our current pres-ident with those of the recent past in terms of post-presidency approval.

Compared with our two previ-ous national leaders, 48 percent claimed George W. Bush was “definitely worse than most.” 18 percent responded the same way about Clinton, and six per-cent about George H.W. Bush.

Furthermore, 18 percent stated they would miss Bush as president, while 79 percent indi-cated they were glad to see his presidency come to an end.

Similar to the ways in which the reputations of former Presidents Warren Harding and Richard Nixon are sul-lied because of their corrupt actions while holding office, Bush’s legacy will most likely be remembered for the infamous oversea wars he engendered (one of them arguably on false pretenses), astoundingly low approval ratings, tax cuts which predominantly benefit the rich and a dismal and bleak national economy.

These events and happenings will make sure that historical accounts of Bush’s presidency are defined by large amounts of political and social controversy.

Heaped on top of this mess are other questionable acts on the part of Bush, such as his

religious-based reasons for jus-tifying the U.S. invasions of both Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as his slipshod policies on envi-ronmentalism, his opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion for purely religious reasons and his refusal to effectively address the growing problem of world-wide climate change.

And let’s not forget the whole “moon base in 20 years” fiasco. That did not go over very well with the public, as I recall.

Despite his continued support from the conservative Christian sect of Americans, Bush’s approv-al ratings have still plummeted downhill for the past seven years straight.

Ever since peaking at around 90 percent immediately after the attacks on Sept. 11, Bush’s approval rating now hovers around roughly 25 percent, according to The Wall Street Journal.

This puts Bush on par with Harry Truman and Richard Nixon in terms of public approv-al, as they are three presidents who have had profoundly low approval ratings upon exiting office. Bush’s mean approval rating for his second term in office falls between those of Truman and Nixon, which clock in at 36 percent and 38 percent, respectively.

History looks kindly upon Mr. Truman, while Nixon’s Watergate scandal overshadows his work done to improve U.S. relations with China.

But things don’t look good for Bush’s legacy.

For Mr. Bush, his more popu-lar policies and actions — taking extensive measures to combat terrorism, for example — are too few and far between to overcome the fact that he is currently, and has been for the past four-and-a-half years, an overwhelmingly unpopular president.

And although approval rat-ing has little to do with one’s effectiveness as president, Bush’s rampant unpopularity and con-troversial actions will do little to ensure that he goes down in his-tory as a “good” president.

— Respond to Levi at thenews@bgnews.com

Ripping off consumers newest way to save manufacturers’ money

By Natalie HeinU-Wire

You wouldn’t pay the same amount for half a sandwich as you would for a full one. You wouldn’t pay for a “supersized” meal and be content with the regular size. So why are you paying for full-sized groceries and receiving minis?

Perhaps you’ve heard of downsiz-ing in reference to layoffs — a practice that, as students, does not necessarily affect us. But our sinking economy is causing downsizing in areas beyond the job market. Downsizing, in terms of selling less product in a standard package for the same or higher price, is becoming more popular. This means fewer potato chips in a bag, less cereal in a box while you’re still paying as high a price as ever. And you thought the recession wasn’t affecting you.

As our country’s economic activity continues to diminish, the cost of raw materials continues to climb. Over the past few years, manufacturers

have made budget cuts everywhere they could, due to the rise in cost of raw materials.

Yet manufacturers have reached the point where there’s not much fat left to trim, and so their financial bur-den has been passed down to us, the consumers. But because of our competitive market, manufacturers and retailers are reluctant to raise the price of their product outright. They fear breaking a popularly accepted price point because doing so would give their competition the upper hand. Surely, the last time you bought paper towels, you scanned the aisle for the lowest price for the most rolls. Knowing this consumer trend, man-ufacturers and retailers often opt for a sneakier price-increase tactic: down-sizing their product.

Changes in product sizes are virtu-ally unnoticeable to the undiscerning eye. A box of Apple Jacks now holds 15 ounces where it once held 17. Fruit Loops now hold 17 ounces where they once held 19.7. A Hershey’s bar that was previously eight ounces is now

6.8 ounces and parades around as a “Giant bar.” Frankly, with so many weight-loss-centered New Year’s resolutions, a cut in portion sizes isn’t really the worst thing for the American consumer. It is the deceptive nature of these down-sizes that is really the key issue.

A sneaky case of Cottonelle bath tissue downsizing was recently unrolled by an online source, mouseprint.org, that works to expose fine print in advertising. They visually compared two packages that both claimed to hold 304 sheet rolls with each sheet measuring 4.2 by 4.0 inches. Yet, one package was noticeably taller than the other. After con-tacting the company and learning of the company’s downsize from 4.5 inch sheets of bath tissue to 4.2, the site deduced that some of the older 4.5 width rolls were put into a newer wrapper that had the new lowered sheet count and narrower width on the label. They speculated that the packaging mistake was perhaps “an interim step in the downsizing process to hide the change for anyone comparing the older label to the newer one.”

FORUM “Every game on the road, all year long, now that we’re in MAC season, is always a huge test. Nobody is going to give you anything.”— Louis Orr, men’s basketball coach [see story, pg. 1]

The BG News Submission PolicyLETTERS TO THE EDITOR are generally to be fewer than 300 words. These are usually in response to a current issue on the University’s campus or the Bowling Green area.

GUEST COLUMNS are generally longer pieces between 400 and 700 words. These are usually also in response to a current issue on the University’s campus or the Bowling Green area. Two submissions per month maximum.

POLICIES: Letters to the Editor and Guest Columns are printed as space on the Opinion Page permits. Additional Letters to the Editor or Guest Columns may be published online. Name, year and phone number should be included for verification purposes. Personal attacks, unverified information or anonymous submissions will not be printed.

E-MAIL SUBMISSIONS as an attachment to thenews@bgnews.com with the subject line marked “Letter to the Editor” or “Guest Column.” All submissions are sub-ject to review and editing for length and clarity before printing. The editor may change the headlines to submitted columns and letters at his or her discretion.

Opinion columns do not necessarily reflect the view of The BG News.

PEOPLE ON THE STREET What is your New Year’s resolution and have you broken it yet?

ROBERT GIFFORD, Senior, Telecommunications

“To look at life through different eyes and I broke it already.”

ZACH BRUGGER, Junior, Digital Arts

“I didn’t make one.”

JOSHUA BROWN, Sophomore, Journalism

“No, and I want to get a higher GPA.”

SARA WEINANDY, Junior, Biology

“No, and I want to be more committed to my boyfriend.”

VISIT US ATBGNEWS.COM

Have your own take on today’s People On The Street? Or a suggestion for a question? Give us your feedback at bgnews.com.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 4

THE BG NEWSFREDDY HUNT, EDITOR IN CHIEF

210 West HallBowling Green State University

Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 | Phone: (419) 372-6966E-mail: thenews@bgnews.com

Web site: http://www.bgnews.comAdvertising: 204 West Hall | Phone: (419) 372-2606

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By Elizabeth Dunbar The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — The salmo-nella bacteria that has sickened more than 400 people in Ohio and 42 other states has been conclusively linked to pea-nut butter, Minnesota health officials announced Monday. Federal officials said the out-break may have contributed to three deaths.

State health and agriculture officials said last week they had found salmonella bacteria in a 5-pound package of King Nut peanut butter at a nursing facility in Minnesota. Officials tested the bacteria over the weekend and found a genetic match with the bacterial strain that has led to 30 illnesses in Minnesota and others across the country.

“The commonality among all of our patients was that they

ate peanut butter,” said Doug Schultz, a spokesman with the Minnesota Department of Health. While the brand of peanut butter couldn’t be con-firmed in every case, the major-ity of patients consumed the same brand, he said Monday.

“This certainly is one pretty definitive piece of evidence in this case,” Heidi Kassenborg of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture said Monday.

The peanut butter was dis-tributed only through food ser-vice providers and was not sold directly to consumers. Officials are concerned the peanut butter is still being used, and Kassenborg urged institutions to toss it out.

A woman in her 70s at a northern Minnesota nursing home died after contracting salmonella, although epidemi-ologist Stephanie Meyer of the state Health Department said it

wasn’t clear whether the illness or underlying health problems caused the death. The woman was not at the facility where the bacteria was initially found.

The Centers for Disease Control, in a release later Monday, said the salmonella poisonings may have con-tributed to three deaths. The CDC didn’t detail the deaths or where they occurred, and spokesman Dave Daigle said the agency would have no other details Monday.

Minnesota officials took the lead because foodborne investigations typically start at the state level. Minnesota officials were coordinating their investigation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other states.

King Nut Companies of Solon, Ohio, on Sunday asked

its customers to stop using peanut butter under its King Nut and Parnell’s Pride brands with a lot code that begins with the numeral “8.” Company president and chief executive Martin Kanan said Monday that Minnesota’s findings validated that decision.

“We did not want to wait around for the results,” he said.

However, Kanan argued that King Nut could not be the source of the nationwide salmonella outbreak because the company distributes only to seven states — Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, North Dakota, Arizona, Idaho and New Hampshire.

The peanut butter King Nut distributed was manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America, a Virginia company. In an e-mail earlier Monday, President Stewart Parnell said the company was working with federal authorities.

Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter

PROVIDED BY THE MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

SOURCE OF AN OUTBREAK: Shown above is a container of King Nut peanut butter . Lab tests found salmonella in the open 5-pound container of peanut butter from a Minnesota nurs-ing home. The state Public Health Laboratory completed testing Monday that showed a genetic match with the bacterial strain tied to 30 illnesses in Minnesota and others across the country.

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — Trucking industry officials say drivers will avoid the Ohio Turnpike if the state charges higher tolls, sending big rigs onto smaller, parallel roads and increasing traffic congestion.

Tolls on the 241-mile high-way that runs across northern Ohio are expected to climb at the end of 2009 when the new E-ZPass electronic toll-pay-ment system is launched.

The Ohio Turnpike Commission maintains that tractor-trailer operators with E-ZPass will pay less in 2009. The current toll for a basic 18-wheeler tractor-trailer, which weighs about 80,000 pounds loaded, is $33.50 to drive across the state. The new rate is $32.

But trucking industry offi-cials dispute the notion they will save money.

Many companies now receive a 15 percent toll discount each month after they spend $1,000 on tolls. The program, offered since 1997, would be eliminated under E-ZPass because it would be too hard to coordinate with electronic tolling.

That will push tractor-trailer drivers onto secondary roads, said regional manager of Con-way Freight in Cleveland.

“A diversion to secondary roads will have unintended negative consequences, such as increased congestion, wear and tear on highways and acci-dents,” Bott said.

Commercial vehicles make up 20 percent of all turnpike traffic and provide 55 percent of toll revenues, turnpike officials said.

Turnpike commissioners plant to vote on toll increase in March.

Truck drivers may become more resourceful if toll roads

increase price

Coughlin resolves to run against Strickland in 2010COLUMBUS (AP) — The state senator who attempted a coup last year against one of Ohio’s most powerful GOP bosses says he intends to run for governor.

State Sen. Kevin Coughlin, a Cuyahoga Falls Republican,

said yesterday he has shared his plans with the Ohio Republican Party and will begin organizing and rais-ing money for a run against incumbent Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland in 2010.

The announcement sets

up a possible showdown with former Congressman John Kasich, also exploring a run, for the Republican nomination.

Coughlin, who joined the Senate in 2001, led an ugly fight last year to unseat long-time

Summit County Republican Chairman Alex Arshinkoff, whom the senator accused of consolidating power for per-sonal gain. The effort was ulti-mately unsuccessful.

Coughlin must leave the Senate at the end of next year.

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By Robert Burns and Anne FlahertyThe Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton said yester-day that she intends to revital-ize the mission of diplomacy in American foreign policy, calling for a “smart power” strategy in the Middle East and implicitly criticizing the Bush administra-tion for having downgraded the role of arms control.

At a confirmation hear-ing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for secretary of state sailed smoothly through an array of non-conten-tious questions, signaling the like-lihood that she will be confirmed swiftly. By the end of a morning session that lasted a little over three hours, Clinton appeared to have made no stumbles and encountered no challenges to her basic vision for foreign policy.

Clinton, who will relinquish her seat in the Senate when

confirmed, spoke confidently of Obama’s intentions to renew American leadership in the world and to strengthen U.S. diplomacy.

“America cannot solve the most pressing problems on our own, and the world cannot solve them without America,” she said, her daughter Chelsea seated behind her in the audience. “The best way to advance America’s inter-est in reducing global threats and seizing global opportunities is to design and implement global solutions. This isn’t a philosophi-cal point. This is our reality.”

The panel’s ranking Republican, Sen. Richard Lugar, praised Clinton, calling her “the

epitome of a big leaguer” whose presence could open new oppor-tunities for American diplomacy.

But Lugar also raised ques-tions about the issue of former President Bill Clinton’s fundrais-ing work and its relation to her wife’s new post. Lugar said that the only way for Clinton to avoid a potential conflict of interest due to her husband’s charity is to forswear any new foreign con-tributions. The Indiana senator said the situation poses a “unique complication” that requires “great care and transparency.”

The Senate also was holding confirmation hearings for four other Obama choices for Cabinet and top White House positions. Appearing were Peter Orszag, to head the Office of Management and Budget, and Robert Nabors II, for deputy director of OMB; New York housing official Shaun Donovan, to be secretary of housing and urban development; Steven Chu, to head the Energy Department; and Arne Duncan, as education secretary.

By Lolita C. BaldorThe Associated Press

WASHINGTON — As the Bush administration works in its final days to cement its legacy, one of the leading architects of the Iraq war acknowledged yester-day that he would change some of the military advice he gave at the time, if he could.

Retired Gen. Peter Pace, who was President Bush’s top military adviser from 2005-07, served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the most volatile and deadly years of the war.

Speaking at the unveiling of his official portrait in the Pentagon, he said he’s had 15 months since he left the job to think about what went right and what went wrong.

“I certainly made some wrong estimates. And I certainly made some recommendations that, if I could take them back and change them, I would,” Pace told the small crowd, which includ-ed former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

But, adding a caveat of 20-20 hindsight, he said, “I also know, given the exact same data, at the exact same time in history, that I would give the exact same advice.”

The painting of Pace was done by Maryland artist Peter E. Egeli, also a former Marine. It will hang in the Pentagon.

Both Pace and Rumsfeld were political casualties of the war,

losing their jobs as the public became increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in Iraq and the escalating troop deaths — now numbering more than 4,200.

Pace, who retired in Oct. 2007 after serving two years as chair-man and four as vice chairman, has said that he overestimated the ability of the Iraqi army to hold together after the invasion, and as a result underestimated the number of U.S. troops that would eventually be needed to fight the war.

Rumsfeld stepped down a day after the 2006 elections, as Democrats swept into control on a wave of anti-war sentiment.

Pace’s comments yesterday come a day after Bush vigorously defended his own decisions on the war but admitted that things did not always go as planned, including not finding weapons of mass destruction, and declar-ing mission accomplished a few months into a war that has now dragged on for six years.

“History will be written at the right time,” said Pace, a Vietnam veteran who became the first Marine to serve as chairman. While Pace finished his first two-year term as chairman, Defense Secretary Robert Gates reluctant-ly decided not to have him stay on for an expected second term. Officials feared that increas-ingly heated opposition to the war, particularly on Capitol Hill, would have led to a bitter and distracting nomination hearing.

Clinton hopes to revive mission of American foreign policy

GERALD HERBERT | AP PHOTO

NOMINATED: Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., hugs Secretary of State-designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., on Capitol Hill in Washington yesterday, as he introduced her to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee which was holding a hearing on her nomination.

Retired general regrets advice he gave about Iraq War

MANUEL BALCE CENETA | AP PHOTO

STRATEGIZING: In this Dec. 1, 2005 photo, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace delivers remarks on the national strategy for victory in Iraq at the National Defense University, in Washington. Pace, who was President Bush’s top military adviser from 2005-07, served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the most volatile and deadly years of the war, acknowledged that he’d change some of the military advice he gave at the time, if he could.

On Tuesday Pace spoke wist-fully of his love for the job and the service. Behind him, the paint-ing showed him standing in his military uniform, complete with

a chest full of medals.“I miss it,” said Pace. “If I could

find a way to serve this nation again, I would.”

By Deb RiechmannThe Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Senior officials in the Bush admin-istration and members of President-elect Barack Obama’s team were at the White House yesterday teaming up for a rehearsal of how to handle a hypo-thetical terrorist attack on American cities.

During the drill, they will respond to a scenario in which transportation facili-ties and other targets are hit with explosive devices. The exercise is part of an effort to smooth the transition from the Bush to Obama admin-istrations without jeopardiz-ing the nation’s prepared-ness in the event of a terrorist attack, pandemic or natural disaster.

“Whether we’re Democrats or Republicans, we will have our policy differences,” Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s incom-ing chief of staff, told report-ers outside the White House. “There is no policy difference when it comes to protecting the American people.”

Current White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten said the

Bush administration began consulting with both the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns last summer on a number of tran-sition issues, and started close consultation with the Obama team after the election.

“We’ve certified nearly 1,000 members of the Obama transition team for access to information and briefings at nearly 100 agencies around the government, and we’ve expedited clearances for key members of the national security team so that they’re in a position to hit the ground running,” Bolten said. “In the post-9/11 world, this isn’t just good mannered, good gov-ernment, it’s a national secu-rity responsibility.”

Similar exercises are held throughout the year to allow government officials to practice how they would respond to emergencies, said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel. In the current exercise, dozens of officials, including some members of the Bush Cabinet, were being briefed in the Situation Room, then later will move to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building for the exercise.

Bush, Obama officials participate in hypothetical terrorist attack drill

“America cannot solve the most

pressing problems on our own...”

Hillary Rodham Clinton | Senator

SPORTSWednesday, January 14, 2009 7

FOOTBALLBall State’s Nate Davis to enter NFL Draft following stand out seasonOhio native Nate Davis has decided to leave college after three seasons to pursue a career in the National Football League. Davis threw for 26 touchdowns and nearly 3,600 passing yards this past season while leading the Cardinals to a 12-2 record.Page 8

ONLINEThe BG News Sports BlogBe sure to log on to The BG News sports blog for all news and updates on your Falcons sports teams. Tonight we’ll be bringing you coverage of both the men’s and women’s bas-ketball games. Also, we’ll have a video recap of the women’s game.www.bgnewssports.com

TODAYWomen’s Basketballvs. Miami; 7 p.m.Men’s Basketballat Kent State; 7 p.m.

Today in Sports History1987—Catfish Hunter and Billy Williams are elected to Baseball Hall of Fame.1974—World Football League Founded.1954—Joe DiMaggio mar-ries actress Marilyn Monroe.1943—Alex Smart (Montreal) is first NHLer to score hat trick in his first game.

The ListIt’s been a big start to the season for each Falcons bas-ketball team. Today, we’re listing the five biggest wins yet:

1. Kent State: The women opened up confer-ence play with a big come- from- behind win over the Golden Flashes.

2. Buffalo: The men also opened conference play with an upset victory over the Bulls.

3. Detroit-Mercy: The men dominated the Titans, holding them to only 38 points.

4. Youngstown State: The women were firing on all cylinders as they lit up the scoreboard for 94 points.

5. Ohio: The women started conference play with two straight wins, beating the team that knocked them out of the MAC tournament last season.

SIDELINES

SCHEDULE

OUR CALL

Dan Sexton’s speed is paying dividends in his sophomore seasonBy Ethan Magoc

Reporter

Because of his speed, Dan Sexton has become one of the most noticeable play-ers on the ice during each BG hockey game.Growing up, that wasn’t the case for Sexton.

“I wasn’t always like that,” said Sexton, who leads the Falcons with 25 points in 22 games this season. “In high school, towards the end of my senior year I really started working on it a lot.

“I really wasn’t very fast in my sopho-more or junior years, and even in bantam or peewee youth hockey.”

Sexton recalled the first time he donned skates. He was four years old when his father, John, took him and his twin broth-

er, Joey, to a local pond in Minnesota.Both brothers have stayed close to win-

ter sports since that day, even if it’s not hockey. Joey Sexton is a professional snow-boarder on the StepChild Snowboards’ Am Development Team.Deep hockey bloodlines: While he is the first member of his family to play hockey at the college level, Sexton said passion for the ice sport is deeply rooted in his relatives.

“They all really love hockey. They all know a great deal about it,” the Apple Valley, Minn., native said. “I was lucky enough to keep playing, so they support me all the way, but hockey is definitely nothing new for my family.”

Sexton, a sophomore forward, graduat-ed from Apple Valley Senior High School in 2005, and signed on a year later to

play with the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League.

There, he met current BG line mate David Solway, and the pair became fast friends.

They had a distant acquaintanceship while playing against each other in the North American Hockey League in 2005-06. Sexton said Solway was the first per-son to approach him at the Sioux Falls banquet when they became teammates in 2006.

“Ever since then we’ve been best buds,” said Sexton, who has developed a chem-istry playing on the “Axe Line” with Solway and senior Brandon Svendsen this season.Nearly never came to be: Through 2006-07, Sexton did not plan to attend BG. It wasn’t even among his top choices, with

schools like Denver, St. Cloud State and Alaska leading the way.

Coach Scott Paluch said he had already recruited Solway and Patrick Tiesling, who played for the Stampede from 2005 to 2007, to play for the Falcons in fall 2007.

But Sexton, who did not commit to BG until July 2007, was more difficult to nail down.

As Solway told The BG News in Nov. 2007, “Sexton committed here real late, but Tiesling kind of got him to come here eventually.”

Why the delay?“That’s because I actually was com-

mitted to another school out east, and I decommited from there because I felt like I

Basketball notes: Falcon basketball teams busy at start of MAC schedule

Braves sign Kawakami, Lowe to replace Smoltz

KATHY WILLENS | AP PHOTO

IMPORT: Kenshin Kawakami signed a deal with the Atlanta Braves yesterday.

By Andrew HarnerSports Editor

With both the men’s and wom-en’s basketball teams slated to play tonight, Louis Orr and Curt Miller talked about the big issues with their respective teams.

The men will play at Kent State at 7 p.m. and the women will tip off at home against Miami also at 7 p.m.Winning ways: The women’s team is getting very close to two milestones when it comes to win-ning.

Senior Lindsey Goldsberry has won 98 games in her career and getting to 100 is something rarely

seen except from elite programs in the NCAA.

Miller is close to his own mile-stone as his career record now stands at 163-70, seven games away from going 100 games over .500.

He went 100 games over .500 since 2003 earlier this season. Reaching both of these mile-stones is unprecedented in the Mid-American Conference. National recognition: Many

fans had been grumbling that the Falcons needed to be getting votes in the national polls.

On Monday, the fans’ wishes came true as the Falcons received one vote in the AP poll and four votes in the coaches poll.

Even though it seems like it has been a long time coming, Miller said it wasn’t a big deal to him or

By Paul NewberryThe Associated Press

ATLANTA — The Braves bounced right back from the disappointment of losing John Smoltz.

Determined to rebuild a once-proud pitching staff that fell into disarray, Atlanta reached a pre-liminary agreement yesterday on a $60 million, four-year con-tract with Derek Lowe and final-ized a deal with Japanese all-star pitcher Kenshin Kawakami.

Just like that, the Braves’ rota-tion — once the most dominant in baseball — suddenly looks a whole lot stronger with spring training just a month away.

“You’ve got to have pitching,” manager Bobby Cox said. “You could have the best hitting team in the history of baseball and you still may not get it done. We will feel confident now that who-ever toes the mound on any par-ticular night, we’ve got a good chance of winning.”

The Braves would not com-ment on the preliminary agree-ment with Lowe, which was subject to the pitcher passing a physical, according a person familiar with the negotiations. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the con-tract had not been completed.

General manager Frank Wren did say Lowe would be a wel-

come addition to a rotation dev-astated by injuries last year. As an added bonus, Atlanta would be landing a pitcher who also was being sought by the rival New York Mets.

“We wanted get back to being a pitching team,” Wren said. “If we can do another couple of moves, we can get back to that point.”

Last season, Smoltz, Tim Hudson and Tom Glavine all

See SEXTON | Page 8

See NOTES | Page 8 See BRAVES | Page 8

Sexton picking up speed

WE HAVE ISSUES: Despite having winning records, both basketball teams have room for improvement.ETHAN MAGOC | THE BG NEWS ENOCH WU | THE BG NEWS

“We know we have a long way to go to make the postseason this season.”

Curt Miller | Coach

PHOTOS BY ETHAN MAGOC | THE BG NEWS

SPORTS8 Wednesday, January 14, 2009 WWW.BGNEWS.COM

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wanted to go someplace better,” Sexton said. He declined to name the college he was origi-nally going to attend.

He said, “I had to [decommit] on a whim, hoping that other schools would be interested, and lucky enough, there were.”Small, speedy, sensible: Speed didn’t come naturally to Sexton, but when it did, it came fast.

No pun intended.As his current 5-foot-10, 166-

pound body developed and matured, that’s when he really found his stride.

“Once I got the technique down and my body developed, I started to see it pay dividends,” said Sexton.

Playing in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, he routinely matches up with forwards and defenseman who are anywhere from one to seven inches larger than he is.

After Michigan this weekend,

BG’s next two opponents, Lake Superior and Miami, each fea-ture at least one player who is 6 feet 5 inches or taller.

That might cause other for-wards to become intimidated, but not Sexton, who says he is accustomed to a size differ-ential.

“I was even smaller [in high school] in retrospect to the kids I’m playing against now

… I just try to use skating and quickness to get around them and they’re not allowed to hook and hold, or else they get penal-ized,” Sexton said.

Though he’s often seen jaw-ing at referees during games, he said he prefers not to blame officiating for the team’s prob-lems this year, including its 7-12-3 overall record.

“We don’t have any excuses,” Sexton said. “It does get a little heated during the game, but after, when you look back, it’s your fault whether you win or lose.”Continuing to progress: He may or may not grow any bigger physically, but Sexton’s

on-ice prowess has increased greatly since his late commit-ment to BG.

As a freshman in 2007-08, he was fifth on the team in scoring with 21 points. Having already surpassed that total this season with 10 goals and 15 assists, Sexton is emerg-ing as one of the CCHA’s best offensive threats.

“He’s clearly one of the top

offensive players in our league,” Paluch said, “and he’s been able to do it in different ways. Speed is his number one asset, but he has a great set of hands to go with it.”

Paluch also mentioned the forward’s creativity, vision and two shorthanded goals as essential to Sexton’s recent success.

“He’s a dangerous player.”

Davis to enter draft

MELANIE MAXWELL | AP PHOTO

EARLY DEPARTURE: Nate Davis will forgo his senior season and enter the draft.

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — Ball State quarterback and Ohio native Nate Davis has decided to give up his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

Ball State spokesman Joe Hernandez says Davis made the decision after returning to his hometown of Bellaire, Ohio, to talk with his family over the weekend.

The junior led the Cardinals to a 12-0 start this year during a season that saw them ranked as high as 12th.

They lost to Buffalo in the Mid-American Conference champi-onship game and then lost to Tulsa in the GMAC Bowl.

Davis completed 258 of 401 passes for nearly 3,600 yards this season. He had 26 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. His quarterback efficiency rating of 156.97 was 13th in the nation.

Ohio State dominates depleted Indiana teamBy Rusty Miller

The Associated Press

COLUMBUS — William Buford scored 19 points and Ohio State caught fire behind the arc to beat Indiana 77-53 on last night.

Jon Diebler added 17 points, B.J. Mullens 14, Evan Turner 13 and Jeremie Simmons 12 for Ohio State (12-3, 2-2 Big Ten), which has split six games since starting 9-0. Simmons added eight assists, while Turner and Diebler each had five.

The Buckeyes took control by hitting 11 of 16 3-pointers in the first half. They made four consecutive shots behind the arc to start an 18-0 run that pushed the lead into dou-ble figures.

Tom Pritchard had 16 points and 11 rebounds, with Verdell Jones III adding 12 for the Hoosiers (5-11, 0-4), who lost their seventh in a row.

Indiana came into the game last in the Big Ten in defense against 3-pointers. Ohio State finished 13 of 24.

Ohio State has hit more 3-pointers in a half only once before — 12 at Michigan three years ago.

Down by 16 at the break, the Hoosiers got as close as 47-34 by scoring six of the first eight points, but got no closer the rest of the way.

One of the biggest cheers of the second half came when ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews, who was working the game, was pictured on the arena monitors.

The Buckeyes broke out to a 44-28 halftime lead, with

three-quarters of their points coming from behind the arc. They hit eight of their first nine 3-pointers.

Undermanned Indiana trailed just 15-10 after Malik Story’s short jumper at the 13:35 mark. But the Buckeyes reeled off the next 18 points to take control. The first four bas-kets in the run were 3-pointers

— two by Buford and one each for Diebler and Simmons.

The Hoosiers were 0 for 6 with two turnovers while drawing a blank for almost 6? minutes.

The game pitted two of the youngest teams in the coun-try. The Buckeyes don’t have a senior on the roster and do not have a current player who saw action as recently as two sea-sons ago. Meanwhile, Indiana, scarred by NCAA violations under the regime of the fired Kelvin Sampson, started four true freshman and a junior.

Indiana’s leading scorer, Devan Dumes, was listed as doubtful for the game after spraining an ankle late in Saturday’s 76-45 loss at Illinois, when the Illini hit 13 of 25 3-pointers. But he was able to start the game, wear-ing a protective brace on the ankle. He had eight points in 32 minutes.

Before the game, Ohio State disclosed that Nikola Kecman would miss the remainder of the season after sustaining a torn ligament in his left knee during Monday’s practice. Kecman, a 6-foot-8 transfer from Eastern Arizona College, played well in his only game before the injury.

JAY LAPRETE | AP PHOTO

SLAM DUNK: Jon Diebler scored 17 points in Ohio State’s blowout of Indiana.

SEXTON From Page 7

ETHAN MAGOC | THE BG NEWS

DANGER AHEAD: BG coach Scott Paluch said Dan Sexton is “a dangerous player.”

his team, saying he didn’t know about “until about five minutes ago.”

Knowing the MAC is generally a one bid league for the NCAA Tournament, Miller wishes some of the non-conference teams they played would do better to increase BG’s RPI and strength of schedule.

But knowing that may or may not happen, Miller is more focused on the task at hand than votes in polls.

“It’s flatter-ing,” Miller said.

“But we know we have a long way to go to make the post season this season.”Over-achiev-ers: Miller admit-ted the Falcons are over-achieving.

“I take pride when teams over-achieve,” Miller said. “We’re win-ning games that maybe on paper we weren’t sup-posed to win.”

Not only that, the Falcons lost their star point guard in Kate Achter and weren’t really sure who was going to start in the position early in the sea-son.New point: However, through the season, the Falcons have found their new point guard in Tracy Pontius.

“She gives us a different type of look out there,” Miller said.

That is because both Achter and her predecessor Lindsey Austin were more penetrative rather than perimeter and willing to shoot the three.Our star: Starting point guard Joe Jakubowski was a person of interest throughout Orr’s press conference.

The sophomore point guard leads the MAC in assists per game with 4.4 and that, combined with speed, really help the Falcons open up for scoring.

“Joe is one of the fastest guys from foul line to foul line with the ball,” Orr said.

Jakubowski has also scored 10.5 points per game and is shooting 48.6 percent from the field.Starting 10?: In light of Chris Knight winning the Player of the Week honor despite coming off the bench, Orr explained how the term “starter” is just simply a label and shouldn’t be the determinant of whether a player plays hard or not.

“We have 10 starters,” Orr said. “Just because you don’t start doesn’t mean you can’t achieve and aren’t one of our best players.”

Despite that, only six players have started this season, with four players starting all games, Marc Lawson starting 11 and Erik Marschall starting three.

Nevertheless, the depth of the team is one of its strengths and has really allowed the Falcons to stay fresh and continue winning.The old grow young: Even though there are several upper-classmen on the team, Orr consid-ers his team youthful, albeit just to his coaching system. The MAC game experience the older players — Darryl Clements, Marc Lawson, Nate Miller, Brian Moten and Otis Polk — is a plus for Orr, but in the end, most players are just as veteran as Orr’s system.

“We have veteran guys when it comes to MAC experience,” Orr said. “In terms of playing under the system I brought in, there’s only a year and a half.”

The fact that Orr’s system is dif-ferent from every other coach’s, the veterans still have things they can learn as the first couple years have “trial and error” periods.

However, one plus for this week at least is this group of veterans has won at Kent State before.

NOTES From Page 7

TracyPontiusHas taken over at point guard for the women’s team

Louis OrrSaid bench players aren’t always worse than the starters

went down with season-end-ing surgeries, and the Braves slumped to fourth in the NL East with a 72-90 record — their worst since 1990. Glavine has yet to resume throwing off a mound, while Hudson isn’t expected back until August.

The 35-year-old Lowe becomes the new ace of the staff.

He was a 21-game winner for the Red Sox in 2002 and spent the last four seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He went 54-48, never had an ERA higher than 3.88 and averaged more than 200 innings a season. Last year, the right-hander was 14-11 with a 3.24 ERA in 211 innings.

“Derek is a guy we would love to have,” Wren said coyly. “We visit-ed with him last week and would love to see that come true.”

The Braves had hoped to re-sign Smoltz for a 22nd season in Atlanta, but he took a $5 million, one-year deal from the Red Sox.

“It different, it’s hard, but the game goes on,” Cox said.

In an interesting twist, Smoltz was introduced in Boston on the same day the Braves wrapped up negotiations with Lowe and held a news conference of their own at Turner Field to announce the three-year contract with Kawakami.

The 33-year-old right-hander becomes the first Japanese-born player in the franchise’s history.

He held up a picture he drew with the symbol for “soul” in his native language.

“My pitching style is all about putting my soul into my pitch-es,” Kawakami said through a translator. “I hope to show that in America as well.”

The 2004 Central League MVP won 112 games in 11 seasons in Japan and was regarded as one of the top free-agent pitchers from Japan available this offsea-son. He was 9-5 for the Chunichi Dragons last year, though he missed several weeks with a strained back.

The Braves were confident about his health after the 5-foot-10 right-hander passed a physi-cal on Monday, and they spoke with numerous Japanese people in the community to make sure

he would feel comfortable in his new home.

“One of the things we found at dinner last night was Kenshin speaks a little more English than we originally thought,” Wren said.

Though many Atlanta fans were outraged over the loss of Smoltz, Wren and his staff moved quickly to shore up the beleaguered rotation.

The deals brightened what had been a disappointing off-season. The Braves failed to work out a trade for San Diego ace Jake Peavy and was rebuffed by free agents A.J. Burnett and Rafael Furcal. Injury plagued left-hander Mike Hampton also turned down a chance to return to the team, signing instead with Houston.

BRAVES From Page 7

Wrestling match breaks out at coaching convention

NASHVILLE (AP) — Two assistant coaches appar-ently wrestling with each other fell through a hotel window yesterday morning and fell four stories to a con-crete sidewalk, leaving one in serious condition.

The American Football Coaches Association is holding its annual conven-tion at the Opryland Hotel, and hotel security had been called around 4:10 a.m. with a noise complaint. Officers found a broken window and Scott Coy of Pennsylvania and Darren DeMeio of Ohio outside on the ground below.

“They wrestled each other too close to the window going through it and down to the ground floor,” Nashville police spokeswoman Kris Mumford said. “That’s four floors.”

Coy, 29, is 6-foot-2 and 300 pounds from Newcastle, Pa. He was in critical condition and having surgery yester-day afternoon at Vanderbilt University. DeMeio, 24, is 6-4, 225 pounds and from Clinton, Ohio. Police said he was in fair condition but remained in the hospital as of yesterday afternoon.

Coy is co-offensive coor-dinator at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa., and DeMeio is the run-ning backs coach, accord-ing to the college’s Web site. A telephone message left with the sports information office was not immediately returned yesterday after-noon.

Hotel spokeswoman Kim Keelor said the window the men fell through was double-paned with a strong wooden sash in the middle.

“It’s very sad. I definitely want to express our sympa-thy to their families. It’s just a very strange and unfortu-nate occurrence,” she said.

“They wrestled each other too close to the window going

through it and down to the

ground floor. That’s four floors.”Kris Mumford | Spokesperson

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NATIONWWW.BGNEWS.COM Wednesday, January 14, 2009 9

VILLAGE GREEN APARTMENTS

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319 E. Wooster Street, Bowling Green, OH (Located Across From Taco Bell)RENTAL OFFICE: 419-354-2260

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JOHN NEWLOVE REAL ESTATE, INC.

EFFICIENCIES451 THURSTIN AVENUEAcross the street from Offenhauer.Furnished effi ciency apartments with full bathAssigned parking and laundry in the buildingOne Person Occupancy Only. One Year - $370.00 per monthSchool Year - $395.00 per month

`PETS ALLOWEDwith a $300.00 nonrefundable pet deposit at these buildings:

517 E.Reed403 High Street825 Third Street802 Sixth Street831 Seventh Street640 Eighth Street841 Eighth Street725 Ninth Street733, 755, 777 Manville

Available for 2009-2010

517 E. REED STREET- At Thurstin.Furn. Or Unfurn. One Bdrm, One Bath.One Year - One Person - $400.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $395.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $465.00 per month.School Year - Two People - $540.00 per month.

707-727 THIRD STREETFurn. Or Unfurn. One Bdrm, One Bath.One Year - One Person - $355.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $395.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $400.00 per month. School Year - Two People - $455.00 per month

825 THIRD STREET- Pets Allowed!Furn. Or Unfurn. One Bdrm, One Bath.One Year - One Person - $410.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $440.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $465.00 per month.School Year - Two People - $495.00 per month.

449-455 S. ENTERPRISEFurn. Or Unfurn. One Bdrm, One Bath.One Year - One Person - $355.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $405.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $390.00 per month.School Year - Two People - $470.00 per month.

720 SECOND STREETFurn. Or Unfurn. One Bdrm, One Bath.One Year - One Person - $365.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $415.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $415.00 per month. School Year - Two People - $485.00 per month.

810-815 FOURTH STREETFurn. Or Unfurn. One Bdrm, One Bath.One Year - One Person - $370.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $410.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $435.00 per month. School Year - Two People - $485.00 per month.

505 CLOUGH STREET-Behind Kinko’s.Furn. Or Unfurn. One Bath & Extra Vanity.One Year - One Person - $430.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $530.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $500.00 per month. School Year - Two People - $630.00 per month.

402 HIGH STREETFurn. Or Unfurn. Two Bdrm, One Bath.One Year - One Person - $410.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $490.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $460.00 per month.School Year - Two People - $590.00 per month.

701 FOURTH STREETFurn. Or Unfurn. One Bath W/ Vanity in Bdrms.One Year - One Person - $420.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $520.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $490.00 per month. School Year - Two People - $620.00 per month.

810 FIFTH, 649 SIXTH, 707 SIXTH or 818 SEVENTH STREETFurn. Or Unfurn. One Bath & Hall Vanity.One Year - One Person - $415.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $475.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $465.00 per month. School Year - Two People - $565.00 per month.

724 S. COLLEGE DRIVEUnfurnished. 1.5 baths, dishwasher.One Year - One Person - $430.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $530.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $495.00 per month. School Year - Two People - $630.00 per month.

521 E. MERRY- Near Offenhauer.Furn. Or Unfurn. Two Bdrm, One Bath.One Year - One Person - $455.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $565.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $545.00 per month.School Year - Two People - $665.00 per month.

835 FOURTH STREETFurn. Or Unfurn. Two bedrooms, 1.5 BathOne Year - One Person - $440.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $490.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $500.00 per month. School Year - Two People - $590.00 per month.

840-850 SIXTH STREETFurn. Or Unfurn. Two full baths.One Year - One Person - $490.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $540.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $550.00 per month.School Year - Two People - $650.00 per month.

831 SEVENTH STREET-Pets AllowedFurn. Or Unfurn. One Bath & Hall Vanity.One Year - One Person - $430.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $490.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $480.00 per month. School Year - Two People - $565.00 per month.

FOREST APARTMENT- NapoleonFurn. Or Unfurn. One Bath, hall vanity.One Year - One Person - $415.00 per month.One Year - Two People - $475.00 per month.School Year - One Person - $465.00 per month. School Year - Two People - $555.00 per month.

WE STILL HAVE A SELECTION OF HOUSES AVAILABLE FOR 2009-2010Families with children welcome to apply for any rental unit.

SUMMER RENTALS AVAILABLEMay 16, 2009 to August 8, 2009.

ONE BEDROOM APARTMENTS

TWO BEDROOM APARTMENTS

By Amy ForlitiThe Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — Temperatures crashed to Arctic levels yester-day as a severe cold wave rolled across the upper Midwest on the heels of yet another snowstorm, closing schools and making most people think twice before going outside.

Thermometers read single digits early in the day as far south as Kansas and Missouri, where some areas warmed only into the teens by midday.

The ice and snow that glazed pavement was blamed for numerous traffic accidents from Minnesota to Indiana, where police said a truck overturned and spilled 43,000 pounds of cheese, closing a busy highway ramp during the night in the Gary area.

Still, some Minnesotans took it as just another winter day, even in the state’s extreme northwest corner where ther-mometers bottomed out at 38

degrees below zero at the town of Hallock and the National Weather Service said the wind chill was a shocking 58 below.

“It’s really not so bad,” Robert Cameron, 75, said as he and sev-eral friends gathered for morn-ing coffee at the Cenex service station in Hallock. “We’ve got clothing that goes with the weather. ... We’re ready and roll-ing, no matter what.”

“It’s so beautiful. There’s not a cloud in the sky,” said Keith Anderson, 66. But he said that’s not stopping him from skipping town at the end of the week to spend a couple of months in Nevada and Arizona.

Outside, one of the station’s gas pumps froze up at least once, and assistant manager

Terrie Franks had to go out to apply deicer spray.

“You definitely have to have gloves on because touching the cold metal — your hands are fro-zen,” Franks said by telephone.

The weather service warned that exposed flesh can freeze in 10 minutes when the wind chill is 40 degrees below zero or colder.

At about 8 a.m., tem-peratures were minus 40 in International Falls and minus 35 in Roseau. Farther south, Minneapolis hit 18 below zero with a wind chill of 32 below and black ice was blamed for numerous accidents.

In neighboring North Dakota, Grand Forks dropped to a record low of 37 below zero yesterday morning, lopping six degrees off the old record set in 1979, the National Weather Service said.

Schools were closed because of the cold as far south as Iowa, and authorities in Grand Rapids, Mich., went out urging the homeless to seek shelter.

By Jessie L. BonnerThe Associated Press

JEROME, Idaho — On a bone-chilling Christmas Day, a single father set out to drive his two young children to their moth-er’s home, but the trip came to an abrupt halt when his car got stuck in a snowdrift.

Then, prosecutors say, the man did the unthinkable: He sent the pair to walk the remain-ing 10 miles to their mother’s alone, leaving them to trudge through the desolate country-side in frigid temperatures.

Hours later, his 11-year-old daughter was dead from hypothermia. And the man’s 12-year-old son narrowly sur-vived after growing delirious from the bitter cold.

Now Robert Aragon, a 55-year-old laborer, is jailed on charges of second-degree mur-der and felony injury to a child. And many of the 8,000 people who live in this small dairy community are questioning who should be held account-able.

Some are reluctant to believe a parent could knowingly send his children into such danger-ous conditions.

By Tim TalleyThe Associated Press

EL RENO, Okla. — A woman and her four young children were killed in their central Oklahoma apartment, and authorities were looking to arrest the mother’s 25-year-old boyfriend yesterday.

An officer went to the apart-ment to check on the welfare of the occupants and found the five bodies shortly after 4 p.m. Monday, said Jessica Brown, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. The children ranged in age from 3 to 7.

Brown said in an afternoon news conference that the vic-tims were not shot or stabbed, but declined to say how they were killed pending work by the state Medical Examiner’s office. Cherokee Ballard, a spokes-woman for the medical exam-iner, would confirm only that the deaths were homicides.

Joshua Steven Durcho of El

Reno, the slain woman’s boy-friend, was being sought as a suspect, Brown said. Officers also were looking for the wom-an’s missing vehicle, a 1989 white Ford Thunderbird.

His image was captured on surveillance video at a truck stop in Clinton, about 60 miles west of the crime scene, where he purchased a soft drink about 9:30 p.m. Monday, Brown said.

“We have many sightings of him so far all across the state,” she said.

Brown said a warrant for Durcho’s arrest was being drawn up. She said no motive is known for the killings but added, “I know they had their ups and downs in their relationship.”

Prison records show Durcho was convicted of car theft as a juvenile and was sentenced to four years in prison in 2003 for unlawful possession of marijua-na. He was released in February 2007, records show.

“He has been in and out of jail

most of his adult life,” Brown said.The victims were identified as

Summer Garas, 25, her daugh-ters Kirsten Rust, 7; Autumn Rust, 6; and Evynn Garas, 3; and a son, Teagin Rust, 4.

Summer Garas was a student at nearby Redlands Community College, where she was studying to be a legal assistant, school officials confirmed.

“I’m just numb, just not know-ing what to think,” said Crystal Franklin, the children’s grand-mother and Garas’ former mother-in-law. “The kids were just wonderful.”

Court records show that Summer Garas and her ex-hus-band Jason Garas were divorced on Dec. 10.

Franklin said Summer Garas rarely locked her door and helped neighbors when they were in need.

“Summer never met an enemy,” she said. “She didn’t have an enemy, just loved everybody.”

Officers unable to locate suspect after family found in apartment deceased

ALONZO ADAMS | AP PHOTO

UNSURE: Crystal Franklin, left, mother of Jason Garas, and husband James Franklin hold a photo of the victims of a murder outside the vic-tims apartment in El Reno, Okla. Tuesday. Summer Garas and her four young children were found dead in their central Oklahoma apartment Monday, and authorities Tuesday were searching for her 25-year-old boyfriend as a suspect.

Arctic blast hits Midwest causing single digit temperatures, accidents

“It’s so beautiful. There’s not a cloud in

the sky.”Keith Anderson | Minnesotan

ASHLEY SMITH | AP PHOTO

A MOTHER’S LOSS: JoLeta Jenks, whose 11-year-old daughter, Sage Jenks Aragon, likely died of hypothermia on Christmas Day after trying to walk 10 miles in the snow, sits next to some traditional American Indian items given to her after the death of her daughter, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008 in Jerome, Idaho. The girl’s father, Robert Aragon, of Jerome, has been charged with second-degree murder and felony injury to a child.

Father sends two children on walk to mothers home resulting in one death

WORLD10 Wednesday, January 14, 2009 WWW.BGNEWS.COM

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EHO

For Rent

Houses & Apartments12 month leases only

S. Smith Contracting, LLC419-352-8917 - 532 Manville Ave.

Office open 10 - 2 M - Fwww.bgapartments.com

Last apartment, 4 bedrooms, 2 bath.Small pets o.k. $1000 per month

(419)308-3525

One month free rent w/lease. 3bedrm., 2 bath condo. W/D, garage.$1,100 + utilities. email:judyjac@bgsu.edu

The Highlands/Jay-Mar1 & 2 bedrooms

Available May - August419-354-6036

www.bghighlandmgmt.com

The Ziggy House is looking for 1 or 2females for 08- 09. Great location,pets OK. 419-353-7374,

For Rent

426 E. Wooster, Lg 1 Bdrm. Apt.Avail Fall, $475/ mo, Util s Inc.

419-352-5882

Buckeye StudiosStudent housing available now.

Monthly/semester & yr. long leases.Fully furnished, includes all utilities& 25” TV. Free wireless internet.

Call 419-352-1520.www.buckeyeinnandstudios.com

Duplex, Large 1 Bdrm, Avail FallQuiet, Clean $425/mo.

Util s Inc. 352-5882

FOR RENT for the next school year2 -3 bedrm. houses. 2 efficiencies.1 lg. 3 bedrm. apt. Close to BGSU.

419-601-3225

Furn. rooms, 1 or 2 females in coun-try home, includes house privileges.2 full baths, pkg. avail. $225 mo. CallCharlene 419-575-6499.

Help Wanted

YOUNG ENTREPRENEURSACROSS AMERICA is now hiringstudents who are interested in an en-trepreneurial summer job experienceQualified candidates will learn all as-pects of what it is like to operate yourown business. Last summers aver-age earnings were $10,000. If youare an outgoing individual, looking togain experience in the real businessworld, please call 888-839-3385 formore information.

For Rent

**08-09 S.Y. Now RentingCARTYRENTALS.COM

419-353-0325 9 am -9 pm

1 rmte. needed for sublease. Nowuntil Aug. $360 mo. + util. Greathouse on Crim St! 419-929-4929.

227 N. Prospect. Triplex 1, 2 or 5bdrm. apts. avail. Parking inc. Avail-able Summer 08. 419-308-2676.

3-4 bedroom houses.Close to campus & downtown.

419-308-2456

3/4 bedrm. house, avail. mid May.$850 per month. Palmer Ave.

Ph. 419-934-0128.

311 Ridge- 3 Bdm.HouseAvail Fall, $1,200/mo.

419-352-5882

327 1/2 E. Merry. Recently remod-eled. Small, 1 bedrm, unfurn. apt.Sublease now thru Aug. 08. $450mo. plus elec. Porch & parking offEnterprise. Call 937-408-8802.

4 bdrm house for rent. 3 people. 2car garage, W/D, air condition. 138Williams. Available May 08, 1 yearlease, $1200 + util. 419-654-9512.

426 E Wooster, 3 Bdrm Apt.Avail Fall, $950/mo, Util s Inc.

419-352-5882.

Lost/Found

REWARD: Lost F. chocolate lab. 12yrs. old. Last seen Rudolph Rd., S.of BG, heading N, on Jan. 7. Purplecollar”Murphy” Call 419-686-8022.

Help Wanted

!BARTENDING! up to $300/day. Noexp. necessary. Training provided.

Call 800-965-6520 ext. 174.

Part time counter person needed.Must be avail. 3 to 6 Mon. thru Fri. &2 Sats./mo. Please apply at LongsCleaners. 1204 W. Wooster.

PLAY SPORTS! HAVE FUN! SAVEMONEY! Maine camp needs fun lov-ing counselors to teach all land, ad-venture & water sports. Great sum-mer! Call 888-844-8080, apply:campcedar.com

Uraku Japanese RestaurantNow hiring servers & cooks.

419-352-7070

Classified Ads419-372-6977The BG News will not knowingly accept advertisements that discriminate, or encourage discrimination against any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, creed, religion, national ori-gin, sexual orientation, disability, status as a veteran, or on the basis of any other legally protected status.

The BG News reserves the right to decline, discontinue or revise any advertisement such as those found to be defamatory, lacking in factual basis, misleading or false in nature. All advertisements are subject to editing and approval.

By Ibrahim Barzak and Christopher Torchia

The Associated Press

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Terrified residents ran for cover yesterday in a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City as Israeli troops backed by tanks thrust deeper into the city and sought Hamas fighters in alley-ways and cellars.

On the diplomatic front, Egyptian mediators pushed Hamas to accept a truce proposal and, in a hopeful sign, Israel sent its lead negotiator to Cairo for “decisive” talks on a cease-fire. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also headed for the region to join diplomatic efforts.

Israeli military officials say that depending on what hap-pens with what they described as “decisive” talks in Cairo, Israel will move closer to a cease-fire or widen its offensive. They spoke on condition of anonym-ity because they were discussing sensitive policy matters.

Asked if Israel’s war aims had been achieved, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said: “Most of them, probably not all of them.”

Israeli troops now have the coastal city of 400,000 virtu-ally surrounded as part of an offensive launched Dec. 27 to end years of Palestinian rocket attacks on its southern towns.

Palestinian medical officials reported at least 42 deaths from the conflict yesterday through-out Gaza.

The army said three soldiers were wounded, including an offi-cer who was searching a north-ern Gaza house when a bomb exploded.

Palestinian hospital officials say more than 940 Palestinians, half of them civilians, have been killed in the fighting. A total of 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers, have died.

Palestinian rocket fire has dropped significantly since the offensive was launched. Some 15 rockets and mortar shells were

fired toward Israel yesterday, causing no injuries, the army said.

Fireballs and smoke plumes from Israeli bombing have become a common sight in the territory of 1.4 million people, who are effectively trapped because of blockaded border crossings. Recent fighting has focused on Gaza City, where Israeli soldiers could be increas-ingly exposed to the treacherous conditions of urban warfare.

The operation in Tel Hawwa neighborhood, one mile (1.5 kilometers) southeast of down-town, matched fast-paced for-ays into other areas designed to avoid Israeli casualties. Residents said troops entered overnight, reconnoitered the area, and then pulled back to more secure posi-tions.

One Israeli military officer told The Associated Press that Hamas fighters often operate in small groups of up to four and have largely refrained from confront-ing Israeli troops at close range.

FADI ADWAN | AP PHOTO

RUNNING IN FEAR: Palestinians flee during an Israeli air strike in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip yesterday. Israeli troops advanced into Gaza suburbs for the first time early yesterday, residents said.

Israeli troops invade Gaza neighborhood

MIKHAIL METZEL | AP PHOTO

KEEPING WATCH: Russian gas monopoly Gazprom’s employee is seen in its main control room in Moscow, Russia, yesterday.

Ukraine-Russia gas war ensuesBy Jim Heintz

The Associated Press

MOSCOW — Hopes that Russia would get natural gas flowing again to shivering Europeans vanished like a winter’s breath yesterday when Moscow turned on the taps, then alleged hours later that Ukraine was blocking the shipments.

Ukraine in turn blamed Russia in the weeklong dispute, saying the Kremlin had demanded the Europe-bound gas go by a labo-rious route that would require Ukraine to cut off supplies to its own people.

European Union monitors brought in to keep tabs on gas flows in both countries weren’t saying who was at fault, but the EU was clearly angry at the cri-sis that has deprived millions of heat, light and even work.

“We are not entering a blame game here, but the commission reminds both parties of their responsibilities,” EU spokesman Johannes Leitenberger said. “The European consumer can-not, shall not, be held hostage to what is clearly a bilateral situ-ation.”

Europe gets about 20 percent of

its gas from Russia through pipe-lines that cross Ukraine. Russia stopped selling gas to Ukraine on Jan. 1 in a dispute over prices and debts, then stopped sending any gas into its vast pipeline sys-tem on Jan. 7, alleging Ukraine was siphoning off supplies des-tined for Europe.

The crisis raises high risks for both ex-Soviet countries. European countries that are already spooked by Russia’s increasing military assertive-ness — underlined by last sum-mer’s war with Georgia — could redouble their efforts to wean themselves from Russian gas. That would be a blow to Russia’s already-struggling economy.

Ukraine risks angering the EU, which leaders in Kiev want deeply to join. Its refusal to pay market prices for Russian gas — one of the roots of the dis-pute — would make it look like a beggar in the eyes of the West. And if Ukraine is forced to cut off gas shipments to its east-ern region in order to deliver gas to Europe, that could hit hard at its industrial heartland, which is also the power base for the opposition to Kiev’s pro-Western leadership.