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VOLUME 114 ISSUE 49
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2020 Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida
Not officially associated with the University of Florida
Tim Tebow gets hitched HE MARRIED MISS UNIVERSE 2017 IN SOUTH AFRICA By AJ Bafer Alligator Contributing Writer
Former UF quarterback Tim Tebow may have led the Gators to a championship in 2008, but he earned a different kind of ring. Tebow and Miss Universe 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters are now married, and the wedding showcased a mixture of American and South African traditions.
The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner married the model in her home city of Cape Town, South Africa. Nel-Peters and Tebow walked down the aisle together in their venue La Paris Estate while white petals were thrown onto them in celebration, as shown in Nel-Peters’ Instagram post. She wore a wedding dress from David’s Bridal while Tebow wore a suit tailored by South African fashion designer Gert-Johan Coetzee. Dara Durosomo, a 21-yearold UF public health and international studies senior and
SEE TEBOW, PAGE 4
Repairs to campus manholes are past due THE MANHOLES WERE BUILT IN THE ‘60S By Hannah Phillips Alligator Staff Writer
David Hall, a 26-year-old UF agricultural economics masters student, sat downwind from a billowing manhole on the Plaza of the Americas during Tuesday. He’s eaten Krishna lunch there almost every day since he began at UF in 2011. “It wasn’t always like this,” Hall said as a pocket of hot steam enveloped him. The words “Danger, hot, keep off” were painted on UF manhole covers in 2014. The covers can reach temperatures around 150 degrees Fahrenheit, and UF Facilities Services added barricades to keep students away. This was a temporary solution until a better, more permanent one could be implemented. Six years later, the barricades are still up. There are more than 200 manholes on campus, said Douglas “Bubba” Boyd, an employee of the UF utilities and energy department. All were built in the ‘60s and it’s likely that a majority have fallen into a state of disrepair in the decades since, he said. “It’s way past time for them to do some rehabilitative work,” Boyd said.
Manholes are access points in the ground that let facility workers maintain the network of underground piping below, he said. Those pipes contain hot water and steam, and they control the temperature and humidity in surrounding buildings. Rain and groundwater can seep through leaks in pipes to strike the water, causing hot steam to billow up and out of the manholes, Boyd said. The steam isn’t toxic, he said, but its heat poses a safety risk to students and staff. When the steam spews out, the manhole covers can reach temperatures hot enough to fry an egg. If someone touches it with their bare hands or feet, they’ll be scalded, Boyd said. He recalled an incident three years ago when a couple and their toddler were jogging around Ben Hill Griffin stadium. The toddler tripped and put a hand out to catch himself – directly on a steaming cover, where his hand was burned. It’s rare that accidents like that happen, Boyd said, but they are serious, and need a solution. The current plan is to repair all 200 manholes on campus, he said. This has been the plan since 2014, but they only secured suficient funds in 2019.
SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT UF comes up short at the buzzer
Story description finish with comma, pg# Florida lost 84-82 on the road at LSU Tuesday night, pg. 11
SEE MANHOLE, PAGE 4
Lauren Witte // Staff Photographer
Participants march in downtown Gainesville during the annual march on Martin Luther King, Jr. day. The holiday, observed on King’s birthday, celebrates his life and achivements as a civil rights leader.
Lucky’s Market to close Gainesville store THERE WILL ONLY BE ONE STORE LEFT IN FLORIDA STARTING FEB. 12 By Alex De Luca Alligator Staff Writer
When Eric Cheek left his shift at Lucky’s Market late Monday night, he didn’t think it would be one of his final times doing so. As front end supervisor of the Gainesville store, he’d recently celebrated his five-year anniversary there. But now, Cheek is just one of thousands of Lucky’s Market employees laid off as the chain prepares to close nearly all of its Flori-
Gainesville is ranked 51st But in cases of STDs, pg. 5
da stores in the next few weeks, as first reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Jason Rief, the store’s regional director, told the Sentinel that the 20 stores will be closed as of Feb. 12, and the only remaining location will be in West Melbourne, Florida. “I feel really betrayed, like I’m sure all the other team members there,” Cheek, 43, said. While the news came as a shock to almost everyone, Cheek said speculation was “running rampant through the employee grapevine” after a sign was hung in the store informing employees of an important meeting Tuesday morning.
It was during that 7 a.m. meeting that the store informed its employees of the abrupt closure, he said. Kroger invested in Lucky’s Market in 2016, back when the chain only had 17 stores. It later pulled out of the agreement in early December. Cheek said ever since Kroger pulled out of the partnership, there’s been a lot of uncertainty about the store’s future. He thinks by divesting its stake in the company, Kroger was aware of the impact its decision would have on Lucky’s fate.
SEE LUCKY’S, PAGE 5
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Torey Lanez to perform next month
The rapper will perform for Black History Month, pg. 8
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