North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 15, 2010 Page: 1 of 8
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NEWS:
Microsoft takes on i Phone
Page 2
ARTS & LIFE: Relay for Life event raises awareness for cancer
y y Tax day brings commercial perks to all
Untapped Potential
Freshman poised to break
school track record
See Page 5
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Volume 95 I Issue 47
Stormy
78° / 60°
North Texa ,& Daily
News 1,2
Arts & Life 3,4
Sports 5
Views 6
Classifieds 7
Games 7
O ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
Winners on Display
Photo by Rebekah Gomez/Photographer
A selection of 65 works from about 450 student entries can be viewed at the 50th Annual Voertman Student Art Competition. The exhibit will run
from April 13 to May 1 at the LINT Art Gallery.
"We hold the competition because it inspires young artists and acknowledges and rewards them for their hard work," said Tracee Robertson,
director of the UNT Art Gallery.
To read the full story,
visit ntdaily.com
O
Denton to receive
green funding
Drunken drivers may face restrictions
By Lisa Garza
Senior Staff Writer
The Senate Environment
and Public Works Committee
is considering legislation that
would require convicted drunken
drivers nationwide to have an
alcohol ignition lock installed in
their vehicles.
Ten states require ignition
interlocks for everyone convicted
of driving under the influence
as a condition of probation. The
locks are installed in Texas at the
discretion of a judge, according to
the Texas Transportation Code.
"The simple reason that
drunk drivers continue to drink
and drive is because they can,"
said Laura Dean-Mooney, the
Mother's Against Drunk Driving
national president, in a testimony
to the Senate. "Every American
should be protected under an
all-offender interlock law. It is the
right thing to do."
Dean-Mooney said the orga-
nization is calling for federal
highway money to be withheld
from states that do not require
interlocks for all convicted DUI
offenders. The group believes this
is a fair approach since Congress
took a similar stance when the
21 minimum drinking age was
introduced and the .08 national
Photo courtesy of Jalopnik.com
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is considering legislation
that would require convicted drunken drivers nationwide to have an alcohol ig-
nition lock installed in their vehicles.
legal limitwas set, Dean-Mooney
said.
An alcohol ignition lock is a
cell-phone sized electronic device
that is attached to the vehicle's
ignition switch.
When drivers blow into a tube
attached to the lock, the alcohol
level in their system is calculated.
If it's higher than a preset limit
— usually the legal limit — the
vehicle will not start.
Depending on the model of
the lock, the vehicle's horn may
honk or the lights may flash to
alert nearby law enforcement
officers, according to the National
Interlock Service Web site,
At the hearing, Sen. James
Inhofe, R-Okla., saidhe supports
reducing the number of drunken
driving accidents but not the
proposed ultimatum.
"What I oppose is a one-size-
ñts-allWashingtonsolutionto all
the states," Hope said. "Aperfect
example of this is the sanction
approach, favored by some in
this committee and some of the
witnesses here today, that seek
to withhold highway funds from
states that do not enact specific
laws."
Dean-Mooney cited statis-
tics to the Senate to illustrate
what she said was "a startling
portrait of what's happening on
our roads."
In Texas, 124,662 motorists are
driving with three or more DUI
convictions, according to the
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
In Denton, there have been 113
driving while intoxicated charges
this year and six driving under
the influence charges, said officer
Ryan Grelle of the Denton Police
Department.
Grelle said ignition locks
could be required for convicted
offenders based on the judge's
review of their records.
"If this is a ñrst DWI charge,
you probably wouldnot be subject
to that," Grelle said. "Most of the
time, if it's a second offense or
more, they're going to put [the
ignition lock] on there as part of
your bond."
Amy Hurd, an interdisci-
plinary studies senior and volun-
teer for Safe Ride at UNT, said
she supports the organization's
effort.
"If anything, I think [students]
might require us more," Hurd
said. "Those students who abso-
lutely can't drive don't have
another option but to call us."
By Alex Cheatham
StaffWriter
After a year of planning,
the City Council approved the
funding allocation for a $1.1
million grant to increase energy
conservation throughout
Denton at a meeting Tuesday.
City Councilman Jim
Engelbrecht said the grant is
important because it provides
added resources for energy
conservation efforts. The
projects are expected to save
Denton more than 9.6 million
kilowatt-hours each year —
the equivalent of 805 fewer
homes on the electrical grid.
The measures should also cut
greenhouse gas emissions by
more than 21,000 tons.
The grant is awarded by
the Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Block Grant
program, which was created
in 2009 as part of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment
Act.
A consultant had to be hired
to craft a conservation strategy
according to the program's
requirements before most ofthe
money could be approved.
Last month, the U.S.
Department of Energy endorsed
the city's projects.
The grants are a small part
of the $787 billion American
Recovery and Reinvestment
Act, which was passed lastyear
by Congress to stimulate the
diminishing economy.
The grant will create 15
new jobs in Denton and will
be responsible for providing the
money for five energy conser-
vation projects throughout the
city.
The money will also provide
for a full-time employee to focus
on energy saving measures.
RenitLebowitz, a psychology
senior, said she likes the
Council's plan to increase
sustainability.
"Going green is such a
typical term these days, but
people need to realize that it's
really important," Lebowitz
said. "If everyone put in just
a little effort, we could add to
whatthe grant is already going
to do and make Denton an even
more sustainable place."
To meet the program's goals,
the projects had to focus on
re ducing energy use and cutting
greenhouse emissions.
"In the long run, this small
amount of money will save
residents so much more," said
Arianna Jezari, an anthro-
pologysenior. "If you increase
the city's sustainability by
making things more efficient,
everyone will see success."
The five projects range from
planning for environmental
improvements to installing effi-
cient upgrades, and each aims
to increase Denton's sustain-
ability, Engelbrecht said.
An initial amount of $65,000
was allocated for the city to
pay for the development of a
conservation strategy required
by Congress.
More than half a million
dollars will be spent creating
energy-efficient upgrades in
Denton's city buildings. Most
of the upgrades will provide
lighting retrofits for the munic-
ipal buildings by replacing older
and less-efficient lighting with
new technology that will use
half as much energy.
"The retrofits are estimated
to pay themselves off in three
to five years and save energy,"
Engelbrecht said.
A quarter of a million dollars
will provide three years of pay
for a full-time city worker to
head up energy saving efforts.
An additional $138,000 will
hire a team of consultants to
develop the second phase of a
comprehensive sustainability
plan.
The city plans to develop
two electricity-generating
plants by using existing facili-
ties and generator. The more
than $123,400 project will trap
methane at Denton's landfill
and wastewater treatment
plant and convert it into elec-
tricity.
" [The City Council] wants to
continue to capture methane
and improve systems,"
Engelbrecht Said. "By doing
this, it's creating an alternate
energy source that we can use
in the place of natural gas. It's
already there, we just need to
use it."
Denton Municipal Electric's
energy audit program, a
program designed to increase
efficiency awareness, will
purchase new equipment with
$27,000 of grant money.
Engelbrecht said that the
equipment purchased for the
audit program would allow
Denton Municipal Electric to
conduct more accurate energy
audits in homes and businesses,
making it easier for owners to
make improvements and save
energy in the long run.
"This is just one step
in a continuing process,"
Engelbrecht said. "There is
money allocated for the devel-
opment of a second phase,
and we will be continuing
this process and furthering
our efforts for efficiency [for a
long time]."
Company repairs General Academic Building s leaky walls
By Drew Gaines
Contributing Writer
Mortar and chiseled brick
have been raining down from
the General Academic Building's
fourth floor for two months.
On the ground, Jose Antonio
chases the falling pieces and
throws them away. It's all part
of repairing a leaky building, he
says.
Jose works for WS
Weatherproofing Services, a
company from the town of Cross
Roads that is in charge of patching
up the building. The company's
hydraulic lift and three-man-crew
will orbit the fourth floor of the
building for weeks to come as
they replace aging brick and leaky
weather flashing.
A heavy rainstorm last spring
hadNanetteBehningin the Jewish
Studies Program offices rushing
for a trashcan to collect water
leaking from the windows.
"It was a steady stream," she
said.
According to Gary Place, a
spokesman for the company,
the building needed repair after
unwanted moisture developed
around the building's fourth story
windows.
Jose and his squad arrive at
about 7:30 every morning. Two
of the men climb into the lift with
a pressure washer, mortar, brick,
newflashing and windowwashing
material. They then winch them-
selves toward the desired destina-
tion: waist level to the professors
working inside their fourth-floor
window offices.
Once settled, they began chis-
eling away at the old wall, creating
a flurry of litter that plummets to
the ground.
"This is a permanent fix," Place
said.
The project is expected to
take 45 working days, said
Sharon Kirkpatrick, a Facility
Maintenance projectplanner, but
workhas been delayed because of
rain and cold temperatures. With
that in mind, the work is expected
to take another three weeks.
The cost for the work on the
General Academic Building has
not been released and is pending
completion of the work and
contract, Kirkpatrick said.
Photo by Drew Gaines/Photographer
Jaime Parela (left) and Avel Dalaviz of WS Weatherproofing Construction repair leaky flashing and mortar outside of
professor Richard Golden's office on the fourth floor ofthe General Academic Building.
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North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 15, 2010, newspaper, April 15, 2010; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth164907/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.