www.elvaq.com
Friday, March 30, 2007 5
NEWS
Construction Site Suffers Tolls of Accidental Fires By Olga Ramaz
EL VAQUERO EDITOR IN CHIEF
I
n less than two months, the new construction site has seen two fire incidents, both of which have been attributed to human error. The fire incidents of March 12 and February 16 did not bring forth any monetary loses, but did however raise some concern and a call to action. According to Director of Business Services, Bill Taylor, there is currently a “movement” to clean up any extra brush that can be potentially hazardous. This action comes directly after the dry brush led to a small fire on February 16, which was contained within 10 minutes by the Glendale Fire Department (GFD), fire station 24, located on Cañada Blvd. However, Geology professor John Leland said that completely removing all of the brush from the area can increase the chances of erosion. “The positive aspect of having any kind of brush cover our slope, especially such a small slope that
Campus Events • Blood Drive- The ASGCC and the American Red Cross will sponsor a blood drive on Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the J.W. Smith Student Center, room 212. For more information call (818) 2401000, ext. • Performance- The band Dirty Diamond will perform at Plaza Vaquero on Thursday, starting at noon. • “Sabbatical Report”- Professor of Latin American Studies, Carlos Ugalde, will present a slide show of his year-long travels to Europe and Latin America. The presentation will take place in Kreider Hall starting at noon. Admission is free and open to the public.
is so steep above the parking lot, it helps keep the ground a little bit more stable,” said Leland. “So those roots uphold the rock and soil in place. If it’s a bare slope, it’s going to erode very quickly.” Four engines and two ladder trucks came onto the scene after they were dispatched at approximately 8:42 a.m. “There was obvious smoke and there was lots of people who were making phone call,” said Public Information Officer, Capt. Jim Frawley. At approximately 8:52 a.m., the fire units called “knock down,” which indicated that the fire was completely down. Reports indicate that the fire was started by sparks that flew from a blow torch that a construction worker was operating. The most recent fire took place behind the Advanced Technology building at approximately 4 p.m., outside of a welding class. The origin of the fire is unknown, but Taylor assumes that it could have been started by a student who flicked a cigarette butt near the construction site. According to Frawley, a wood-
en shed used by the construction company to store tools and other equipment, caught on fire, creating a dark cloud of smoke. Commuters and people around the campus reported the incident to the GFD. Taylor said that the danger of this particular fire would have been if the diesel fuel that was being stored in the shed, would have been ignited by the flame. Frawley said that this fire was also contained in a matter of 10 minutes and required one engine to arrive at the scene. He also added that incidents like these are common in construction sites and that the way they can be prevented from happening again is if one takes the proper steps to secure the areas. The Bhupesh Parikh Allied Health and Science building is scheduled to open in the fall and with so much time in between until the opening, there is still more room for fire incidents. Photo by Ismael Reyes
Olga Ramaz can be reached at Olga_Ramaz@elvaq.com
Geology professor John Leland points out the area where a small brush fire broke out on February 16. The small fire was started by a spark released by a construction worker’s torch.
Senator of Campus Organizations Resigns By Kara Aranas
EL VAQUERO STAFF WRITER
A
S president David Arakelyan announced that the Senator of Campus Organizations, Mitzi Mendoza, resigned from her position, due to an accident she was recently in which required surgery. Arakelyan said that it will not change anything in the ASGCC legislature since they are planning to appoint someone to that position next week. The student government is also organizing a Campus Beautification committee that will help maintain the campus and makes changes to the way the campus looks. They are currently working on putting up signs and maps around the campus to help those who do not know their way around the college campus. They are also working on providing the campus with maps that reflect the new building, which is currently under construction. An Adviser Appreciation Day was held in the JW Smith Student
Center on March 27 at noon. The student government does this every semester as a way of thanking those who take the position of advisor for a club. Food was served for those who attended. An upcoming project that the student government is preparing to be a part of is a documentary. Eric Stern who is a part of a company called Doc Workers that that uses documentaries to make aware of national issues, is working on a documentary titled, “In Debt We Trust.” What Stern is trying to do is explore the world of debt, such as national debt, consumer debt and of course college debt, and relating it to the government. Glendale Community College was selected to be a part of this project along with other schools such as UCLA. AS is currently trying to set up a team for this project and will provide more information when everything is set up. As a part of the discussion, Arakelyan just wanted to remind his staff to do the best job that they can,“You would want to use
Classifieds
Student jobs
Mitzi Mendoza
your time wisely here [in student government],don’t try to get away from responsibility” said AS president David Arakelyan, “It will be better for the community and for everybody.”
Kara Aranas can be reached at Kara_Aranas@elvaq.com
AT&T hired us. We want you. 21 registration agents PT/FT $400-$800/wk. Resume experience. Will train. Bilingual Armenian a plus. Call now. Mr. Sebastian. (866) 676-6161
* To place an ad in El Vaquero, contact our ad representative at (818) 2401000, ext. 5128.