The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 29, Ed. 1, Friday, January 19, 2007 Page: 1 of 10
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the Optimist
FRIDAY
Vol. 95 No. 29
1 section 10 pages
January 19 2006
www.acuoptlmist.com
IN THIS ISSUE
CAMPUS
A new pal
Mike Spell former
director of judicial affairs
left during break to
manage the Grove
Apartment complex
which can house students
beginning In August
page 4
Winter come
More than 250
graduate and
undergraduate students
participated in January
shortcourses Jan 8-12
page 4
NwMinn mnvay
Students from the
Journalism and Mass
Communication Depart-
ment and the College of
Business Administration
traveled to Honduras to
do mission work for a
non-profit organization
page 8
SPORTS
Fading short
The Wildcat men's
basketball team lost its
first conference game
against Eastern New
Mexico University on
Thursday 86-82 page 10
ONLINE
Current construction
Physical resources and
other construction crews
have been working dunng
the break on residence
halls. Rnd out what
they've been working on
online af
wwwacuoptimist com
SPEED READS
Faux food?
The FDA announced ear-
lier this week that cloned
animals will be safe to
eat once introduced into
the food industry. The
organization that test
foods for safety before
public consumption said
it could not find a differ-
ence between cloned
and non-cloned animals.
While some doubt the
FDA's opinion and wonder
if the meat and milk will
truly taste different cloned
animal meat is expected
to hit the markets in the
next five years.
UWIRE
Sleet icy weather
create traveling
problems delays
DtspHjstHjMrr warmer
weather Thursday the
fcrtJenaiVlreatner Service
forecasts aeewmritUM of
rain sleet and snow this
WOOKOHSf
ByMALLORYSCHLABACH
EniTon is Cinrr
Students continue to ar-
rive In Abilene three das
after classes officially be-
Kan as winter weather
moved across the nation
During the past week
weather delated travelers
and often made driving
unsafe.
Man) students were
stranded In airports or at
their homes as a mixture of
rain sleet and snow moved
east across New Mexico
into Texas Oklahoma
Louisiana Missouri and Ar-
kansas Others attempted
to drive in to Abilene on
Wednesda) despite snow
interstatcs between Dallas
and Abilene.
Tara McKee sopho-
more education major
from Atlanta had to delav
her trip back to Abilene
until Tuesda) because of
weather conditions In her
'We have no regrets'
Friends and family recall the funny times shared
memories of freshman Tyler Sheets who was killed Dec. 21
ByMALLORYSCHLABACH
Editor in Chilf
To many T)ler Sheets was
a piece of heaven on earth To
others he was a super hero
brother son and friend
At age 10 friends sa) he
was one of the wisest people
the) knew and the kindest.
T)ler's older brother Land-
on remembers his brother and
best friend as
thoughtful
honest and
hilarious.
"He was
alwa)s think-
ing of others
and a selfless
person 1 al-
wa)s thought
of him as
absolutely hilarious" said
Landon junior pre med ma-
jor smiling.
"He was one of those peo-
ple who could tell a 'funn)
joke with a straight face but
he was also one that could
laugh at other people's jokes
too and he was sincere that
they were funn) to him."
T)ler a freshman exercise
Smoking
i
EMILY SMITH CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
Homer Winkles owner of Royal Inn Lounge's Bar My Place be-
gan a petition to halt the ordinance He needs 26000 signatures
On the Web
www acuoptimst com
hometown.
"I was glad when the) de-
la) ed classes until cdnes-
da) because I couldn't be
here until Wednesda) any
wa). So it was nice that I
wouldn't miss classes" she
said.
Unfortunalel). the
snow storm that struck
Abilene and most of Texas
on Tuesday night created
treacherous driving condi-
tions b) the time she began
to driv c to Abilene at 5 a m
Wednesda) from the Dallas
airport.
"1 probabl) didn't drive
more than 40 mph to get
here toda)" she said.
McKee didn't make It
Into Abilene until 2 pm
because of all the car acci-
dents on Interstate 20 and
because part ol the Inter-
state was closed because
tractor trailers couldn't
make it up or down a hill
called Ranger Hill
"It was scar) because I
would lose control of the
SeeVmntfl page 9
science major from Muleshoe
was killed on Dec. 21 outside
of Farwell when the truck he
was driving struck a tree. The
truck careened into the me-
dian hen T)ler attempted to
corrected It he over corrected
and the passenger side struck
the tree shortl) before 4pm
according to police reports
published in the Clots News-
Journal His mother Bcrnita said
she felt God had put special
blessings in their life as a
way of preparing them for his
death.
On Wednesda) the da)
before the accident the
Sheets famll) awoke to a
snow-covered landscape in
Muleshoe. Bcrnita said she
didn't want Ginl and Shclle)
ages 17 and 14 respcctlvel)
to drive to school with the
weather lc) so most of the
famll) spent the da) at home
that Wednesda).
Although Bernita said
she had wanted to clean and
bake she said the seven kids
at home at the time: Sarah
Landon T)ler Ginl Shclle)
ban takes effect during winter break
Buekwesoe that allow smoking in a
pwMC aMeg wen no uwNiouait can
be cMsd end Heed for RghMng up now
that Ike smoking ordinance has been ki
effect for the pact few weeks
By KELSI PEACE
FrAiuRisI mi
Don't light up in a public place
In Abilene unless ol course
)ou'rc prepared for a citation
and a fine.
The new smoking ordinance
which went Into effect Jan. 3
prohibits smoking "in all en-
closed public places" and desig-
nated outdoor areas according
$ M-1.
sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssW UktSi&T'E
ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssSllf '
eeeaaaaaaaaaHHH E52EHMHe1HH
BRIAN SCHMIDT SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Ton Ahlers sophomore biology pre med major from Spring walks to the Brown Library through the intermittent rain
and 42 degree temperatures Thursday afternoon before another winter storm was expected to arnve in Abilene
Ben and Corl bundled up and
spent the morning pla)ing
outside and taking pictures
of each other.
Later that afternoon she
said Landon T)lcr and Hen
who is 12 wanted to go hunt-
ing Their father K)le a local
ph)sician in Muleshoe was
supposed to be on call that
evening but decided to have
someone else take his place
so he could go hunting with
thebo)s
"I know that the) didn't
get ver) far to go hunting be-
cause tlie) kept getting stuck
but the) just had a good time
together and enJo)ed each
other's compan). Ue feel re-
all) blessed for them to have
been able to spend that time
together" she said.
On Ihursda) the da) of
the accident man) of the kids
spent the da) pKuing games
together. The Sheets parents
were getting read) to go to a
Christmas part) and left the
house at J p m.
'I don't alwa)s do this to
See SHEETS page 5
Students 'shift' into
Sing Song mode
participants end members of the
Sing Song production team haw
begun preparations for the 50th
anniversary of Sing Song
By LAUREN SUTTON
OriMON Lpiidk
The late night gather-
ings ol various social clubs
and classes on campus and
the sound of light-hearted
funn) l)rics adapted to fa-
miliar tunes Indicate that
ACU's long lived tradition
is close at hand
As the spring semester
begins preparations "shift
into high gear" for the
universit)'s largest student
production of the par-
sing Song
"Shifting into high gear"
Is the theme lor this )car's
Sing Song and director of
student productions Ken-
dall Masse) said the 2007
production will focus on
the changes made at the
unlversit) throughout the
past 50) ears
"I'm excited to see how
the show comes together"
to the ordinance.
Voters supported the ban In the
Nov. 7 election passing the prop-
osition d() percent to 31 percent
According to the ordinance more
than 22000 residents voted
I he ordinance has spurred
man) concerned phone calls to
the clt) with local business own-
ers calling to ask how the) are af-
fected and how the) can avoid a
citation
"Lvcr) business is dilterent;
ever) one has his own set of cir-
cumstances" said Daniel Santee
interim city attorne).
Santee said all businesses be-
came smoke-free on Jan 3 when
said Masse).
Last weekend the Sing
Song production staff met
to discuss all that needs to
take place in the coming
month to get read) for the
production
The weekend retreat had
three objectives: to la) out
an effective production
plan to get to know every
one on staff and to find a
spiritual focus.
"We built on building re-
lationships with each other
and got to know each oth-
er" said Elizabeth Russell
a junior communications
major from College Station
"We did a lot of group work
together we did activities
centered around having to
rel) on each other."
Man) of the clubs and
classes participating in
Sing Song began practices
this week and Russell a
participant in Sigma Theta
Chi's act and downstage
manager said learning how
to balance her time will be
a challenge.
See SING SONG page 9
the Abilene Reporter-News pub-
lished notice of the ban. Business-
es that allow patrons to smoke
can receive a citation along with
the individual.
Smoking Is now prohibited In
public places including but not
limited to bars bingo facilities
places of meeting waiting rooms
and common areas open to the
public.
Apartment complexes are not
included in the ban because the)
are residences; however If the
apartment is open to the public
for any reason - for instance day
SeeWKWH page 9
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 29, Ed. 1, Friday, January 19, 2007, newspaper, January 19, 2007; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101918/m1/1/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.