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The K-State football Spring Game kicks off on Saturday. Turn to page 3 for the Collegian Spring Game Guide and a look at what’s in store.
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friday, april 23, 2010
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Vol. 115 | No. 144
Environmental Advancement
Police Reports
Sodomy, rape reported Wed. Tyler Sharp | Collegian An aggravated sodomy and rape was reported to the Riley County Police Department, according to Lt. Herbert Crosby Jr. The act was allegedly committed on April 21 between 1:30-1:45 p.m. in north central Manhattan. The victim is in their early 20s and knows the suspect, Crosby said.
Two Wrecks Occurred
Tommy Theis | Collegian
Matt Decapo, senior in architectural engineering, takes time to write his name in a different language on the Earth Day banner, which was signed by K-State students to give to President Kirk Schulz.
Earth Day event promotes sustainability Lauren Gocken | Collegian “Happy Earth Day.” said Zack Pistora, senior in political science and vice president of Students for Environmental Action, loudly into the microphone. In response, “Happy Earth Day.” came shouting back to him from all corners of the Union Courtyard, which was packed with people and clubs as part of the celebration of the 40th annual Earth Day yesterday afternoon. “We’re here to promote sustainability,” said Stuart Watts, junior in agronomy. “The importance of the one home we live on — planet Earth.” One booth in the courtyard was for the Association of Resident Halls, which has helped spur projects in the residence halls to be energy aware. One such program was an energy-saving contest in which all the residence halls competed against each other to see who could cut their energy intake most. The Strong Complex won the contest with a 17 percent energy reduction in one month. “The residence halls normally spend about $100,000 a month on utilities and we reduced that by 17 percent,” said Ryan Felber, programming committee coordinator for ARH and senior in humanities. “With the halls making less of an impact, less money is spent, so there is more money to give back to the campus.”
Felber said the residence halls hosted a green fashion show earlier in the year. He said they also collect pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House and they are constantly improving their recycling programs. “Students are responding really well,” Felber said. “Some of the halls really went all out for the energy-saving contest. We’re really moving toward a more sustainable lifestyle.” The Union itself was also represented in the jumble of booths, displaying all that’s been improved in the last couple of years towards sustainability. Chartwells, the Union food provider, uses only socially- and ecologically-certified coffee, milk free of artificial growth hormones and cage-free eggs. It recently made the switch from Styrofoam to biodegradable containers and plastic ware. Also in the process is the switch to all LED light bulbs, once the old bulbs died. At noon, the stage was occupied by singers and speakers, one of which was Ben Champion, K-State’s director of sustainability. “I was on the selection committee for the Udall scholarships, which go to people who are interested in environmental policies,” Champion said. “I read 95 of these essays and I had this amazing epiphany — how similar today is to the 1970s when Udall first started making speeches.” Morris K. Udall was a representative in
the House of Representatives in the 70s who was very environmentally-aware. Udall was responsible for creating the Alaska Lands Act which doubled the size of the national parks system and tripled the size of the national wilderness system. Champion also talked about the amount of money spent on utilities each year at the university. “There’s $16 million in utilities each year for the university,” Champion said. “That’s $700 per student, per year.” The event was originally going to be held in Bosco Plaza but was relocated to the Union courtyard due to rain. “Unfortunately the weather didn’t hold out for us,” Watts said. “But we’ve had a real strong turn out, a lot of people coming by on their way through the Union for lunch.” A T-shirt swap took place at the bottom of the stairs, where people could bring by an old shirt and trade it for a different one. There was also a tie-dye booth for those looking to enhance their old shirts. Other booths at the event were for Big Poppi’s Bikes, Students for Environmental Action, Sierra Club, Student Farm Club, Flint Hills Area Bike Club and Fair Trade Advocates. The Big Poppi Bicycle Co. station featured two bikes set up where students could race each other to see who could pedal the fastest and make the most energy.
Public Library hosts children’s event Thurs. Vestoria Simmons | Collegian The Manhattan Public Library played host to the Children’s Earth Day Celebration yesterday afternoon in its auditorium. The celebration featured stories and activities for all ages to learn the importance of taking care of the planet. “It’s kind of cool that it rained on Earth Day; it’s important for the earth, it helps things grow,” said Jennifer Adams, children’s department manager at the library, to begin the celebration. Adams also told parents about upcoming events at the library for children, like story times and “Library Card Day,” which will be held Saturday. During the day Saturday, children can come to the library and show their library card to be given a free book. The children then listened to two stories, “Dinosaur Woods” and “Happy Dog Sizzles,” and both stories had important and fun facts about the earth. Rachel Carnes, story time reader and children’s librarian,
Tommy Theis | Collegian
A local Manhattan family decorates leaf cutouts with different colored beans. The Manhattan Public Library held a number of activities for kids to promote Earth Day. said the librarians look through been holding Earth Day parties their collection to see what for several years and there is albooks they have about recycling ways some type of story time for or taking care of natural resourc- it. es and pick a few for the chilThe kids also participatdren to hear. ed in two activities, the first of Carnes said the library has which was a game where Carnes
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showed the children items that could be considered trash and the kids named other things the items could be used for instead of being thrown away. When Carnes showed a tin can that had food in it, the children suggested that it could be used for music, it could be played with or it could be used as a pencil holder. “There’s a lot of things you can do with stuff, after you use it and before you recycle it, it can be used for something else,” Carne said. She showed the children other items too, including an old T-shirt that she said could be stuffed and made into a pillow for a cat and a flip-flop that could be a boat with the addition of a sail. For the second activity and to finish off the celebration, the children worked with paper leaves and glued vegetables on them as decoration. The children could then take their
See EARTH DAY, Page 10
The first occurred at 4th and Osage on April 21 at 1:53 p.m. Caroline Dees, 38, of 512 Stone Drive was driving a 2000 Ford 4-door passenger vehicle when she rearended a 1981 Toyota Tercel driven by Jean Stonebraker, 34, of 4440 Tuttle Creek Blvd Apt 3. Stonebraker was transported to Mercy Regional Hospital by Riley County EMS after complaining of chest pains. Dees was cited for inattentive driving. The second accident involved a truck rolling over a local man. Kenneth Neilson, 32, of 2004 Walnut, was working under his 2002 Ford F350 when the truck came out of gear and rolled over him. The truck proceeded to hit a stone wall and stop in the roadway. Neilson was transported to Mercy with back, chest and neck pain, according to Crosby.
Theft reported at school
A laptop was stolen from a local elementary school. The laptop was taken from Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School, 1401 Houston Street, between April 15 at 1 a.m. and April 20 at 2 a.m. The laptop was owned by USD 383, 2130 Poyntz Avenue, and was valued at $980 according to Crosby.
Fraud case settled collegian Staff Report
Attorney General Steve Six announced yesterday that an Emporia, Kan., woman who was convicted of six counts of Medicaid fraud and obstruction was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 24 months probation and ordered to pay $103,000, according to a press release from the Kansas Attorney General’s Office. Vivian Mundy was a provider of “cognitive therapy to individuals suffering from traumatic brain injuries,” operating a business called Cognitive Care Connection, which had offices in Emporia and Topeka, according to the press release. This past March, an Emporia jury found Mundy guilty of six counts of making a false claim to Medicaid and obstructing a Medicaid fraud investigation, according to the report. Cognitive Care Connection billing concerns led to an 18-month investigation by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, the report said. According to the findings, there were initially 21 cases in which Mundy was paid twice for services, but 74 documents were changed. There were more than 500 cases where Medicaid was billed for overlapping services and nearly 600 cases where Medicaid was billed without allowing for travel time, according to the release.
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