JAZZ CONCERT COMES TO SCHULER First concert of semester full of surprises | Page 12
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theSentinel
THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF NORTH IDAHO COLLEGE MONDAY | FEBRUARY 9, 2015
W W W. N IC S EN TIN EL . C O M
Volume 68 | Issue 6
CAMPUS
Nursing program on top Students scores ranked number 1 in Idaho Tyson Juarez Managing editor
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Cardinals coming around Men’s and women’s EDVNHWEDOO ORRN WR ¿QLVK season strong Sports Page 9
Construction workers examine the debrees being removed all around the dike road. The crew has been cutting down trees and removing stumps for about two weeks. Thomas Hansen/Sentinel
Dike road undergoes renovations Rosenberry shut down as wrokers clear trees from both sides of road Sally Balcaen Staff Writer After a few years of planning and difficulty, the new dike project has finally begun on Rosenberry Drive. The project started three years ago when the city of Coeur d’Alene received a directive from the US Army Corps of Engineers stating that the dike running along Rosenberry Drive was considered invalid. The city had two simple choices: requiring NIC and surrounding property owners along Rosenberry Drive to buy flood insurance or
building a levee that would follow Corps’ standards. The dike in place now was built in 1940 by the Corps to protect North Idaho College and the nearby area from floods. It also prevented the college from having to pay pricey flood insurance. However, the new regulations set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency requiring all levees be certified following the Hurricane Katrina disaster no longer applied to the old dike. While both options were expensive, building a new levee was deemed important due to new regulations. A levee now rated as
“unacceptable” is not eligible for federal funding for post-flood reconstruction. In other words, if Lake Pend Oreille were to flood over Rosenberry Drive right now and cause damage to the college and surrounding neighborhood, the city would not be able to receive federal funding for repairs. Coeur d’Alene city engineer Gordon Dobler set up a new levee system and began assessment of the 0.9 mile-long dike to decide what would have to be done to meet the new standards. However, the project ran into some conflict with the Kootenai
Environmental Alliance (KEA), a non-profit conservation organization. The Corps’ directive required that all vegetation on both sides of the dike be removed. This would have meant the destruction of more than 1,000 trees along Rosenberry Drive. KEA collected more than 5,000 signatures on a petition and filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the Corps’ clear-cutting mandate. KEA’s argued that the Corps had not carried out an environmental analysis and that there was no scientific basis for their restriction of vegetation in flood control levees.
See Renovations | Page 3
Add the words bill rejected .H` :[YHPNO[ (SSPHUJL ÄNO[Z IHJR HM[LY SVZZ H[ Z[H[L JHWP[VS Rachel Anderson Staff Writer Taylor Nadauld Lead Reporter After 21 hours of testimony over a three-day span, a bill promoting human rights for Idaho’s LGBT+ community was rejected in Boise on January 29th. The bill, called “Add the Words,” would have inserted the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” into the Idaho Human Rights Bill, making it illegal for businesses to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity in terms of housing, employment and education. Thursday marked the first time the “Add the Words” movement had been granted a hearing, where citizens are allowed to share testimonies and experiences to prompt further
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IC nursing program students were ranked with the highest scores in the state of Idaho among schools that of fer nursing programs in Idaho. Ranked among 12 other colleges in the state, the RN program students had a 98.56 percent pass rate on the National Council of State Boards of nursing from December 2013 to November 2014. LPN program had a 100% pass rate. Students who participate in the program get their moneys worth as they are given a challenge that prepares them for real life situations in the medical field. “Nursing faculty are dedicated to student success and encourage students,” Gina Prindle, Ph. D., NIC director of nursing said, “During the clinical experiences, faculty assist the student in “putting together” what they learned in class to real life situations.” According to Prindle, most of the RN program graduates move on to get the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and some continue on to become Nurse Practitioners as well. She also said many of the LPN graduates return to get their RN. The program is popular on campus and Prindle said that there are usually more applicants than space available, making the program competitive to get in to. The difficulty is also what challenges students. “I definitely was terrified and excited at the same time,” Adrian Myers, 24, nursing said. “As a student, it definitely changes you life to be in the program.” Myers is one among the estimated 154 students currently in the nursing program. The students get the chance to work along side people who work professionally in the field. “It is so real to work along side of a nurse or your nursing instructor and see the true ins and outs of nursing and working with patients,” Myers said. Eleven out of the past 12 years, the program has had a 94-100 percent passing rate. In that time, NIC was either ranked number 1 or 2 in the state. For more information and a list of admission requirements for the nursing program can be found at www.nic.edu/nursing.
discussion and debate. Of course, with over 8,000 people supporting the movement on Facebook, and even more on YouTube and outside of the social media realm, the rejection did not come without a fight. LGBT+ supporters gathered at the Town Hall in Post Falls the weekend following the bill’s hearing where they stood silently with their hands over their mouths. According to the event’s page on Facebook, “[Protestors] will stand together silently and respectfully. We need to have our legislators see us and know that we are not going anywhere.” PFLAG, the national organization formerly known as “Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays,” and the United States’ largest organization for LGBTQ+ members and their allies, has been offering community and support to parents, families, friends and allies
“I believe it is a great time to do a major change in higher education and give others the option of success....”
Perspectives Page 4
Community and GSA members gather in the Post Falls city hall in hopes that legislation is approved to add the words to Idaho law. Photo courtesy Gary Winterholler
of those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. CDA chapter of the organization recently teamed up with “Add the Words” and made strides to make an impact on the local community.
The chapter met for brunch at the CDA library the weekend prior to the bill’s hearing to discuss ways the LGBTQ+ community and their allies could fight back, encouraging
WHERE TO START News...........................2
Sports.........................9
Perspectives............4
Games................. 11
See PFLAG | Page 3
class days left
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UNTIL SUMM
Features..............6
Jazz Concert................12
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