Metzgers dream Paramedic class of white X-mas put to test
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Instructor helps fix lighthouse
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The Telesco Palomar College, San Marcos, CA
Tuesday, December 13, 1988
Volume 42 No. 11
Fire prompts library evacuation Fire in the co-generator next to the library on Nov. 23, forced officials to evacuate the library, putting the building's fir eevacuation system to a real-life test for the first time. Library staff members first smelled smoke at 4:49 p.m., and a thorough search of the facilities revealed no fue within the building, according to a report by Library Technician Tom Meccia. Campus Patrol officer Patrick Mationg said the fire was started by a leak in the head gasket to the motor of the cogenerator. "The oil started leaking out and the heat of the motor caused the fire." The cost of the unit is estimated at $1,000,000, according to a report filed by the San Marcos fire department. Electricity generated by the plant is used to heat the swimming pools and locker room showers. "The smoke smell was being drawn into the air-conditioning vents and was filling the lower floors (of the library)," explained Brian Merrick, Campus Patrol officer. "There was a definite haze down by the computers," commented Merrick. "It was like walking into the Twilight Zone." No apparent danger was noted until 6:00 p.m. when Gene Jackson, Dean of Humanities who was called to the scene, reported that there was a fire in the unit. Campus Patrol was then asked by Jackson to evacuate the library. Access to the co-generator room was delayed because keys to the area could not be located. At approximately 6:12p.m., after gaining access to the room, Carmine Mancuso, Mechanical Service supervisor, used a fue extinguisher to put out the fire. According to Mancuso, the fire was small and only took "ten seconds" to extinguish. "I got the fire extinguisher from the library," said Mancuso. He noted, "there should be an extinguisher in the plant." "We have about eight fire extinguishers inside the Library building that are readily available, and charged and checked," said Dan Arnsan, Library Director. At 6:35p.m., about 20 minutes after they were called, the San Marcos Fire Depart-
Department liable for broken piano By Fred Tracey Managing Editor
( Photos by Mark Hopkins)
Heat from the co-generator (top) ignited a fire in the facility, causing an evacuation of the library. Pipes and other equipment were damaged in the fire. ment indicated that the fue was out, having been brought under control by Mancuso's fire extinguisher. The fue department made further safety checks and reported that the unit had been "electrically isolated" to prevent further ignition. Merrick noted that no smoke alarms had sounded and that all notifications of the fire came from staff members. According to Library Assistant Don Sanders, the evacuation went smoothly and without incident. "Everyone was cooperative. It could have been a lot worse." Arnsan commented, "I was very proud of the staff the way they handed it ...very efficient." He added that this was the first real-life test of the fue evacuation system and they are prepared for any future fires.
Music Department faculty members are hoping that fundraisers over a two-year period will pay for a Falcone Concert Grand Piano that was damaged last year in a mishap that no one wants to discuss. The Falcone is worth $53,000 and was on loan from the Professional Keyboard Instruments Company in Vista. Following a music concert last year, the piano was being moved when the front wheel struck a rut in the floor of the college theatre. The leg of the piano broke and the instrument crashed to the stage floor, according to a source who asked that their name not be used. Out of the many people interviewed about the story, only Dr. George Boggs, superintendent/ president, and the president of the Professional Keyboard Instruments Company, would speak on record about the accident. According to Boggs, the Governing Board decided against sending the matter to its insurance carrier. Instead the board allowed the Music Department to keep the Falcone piano on the condition they raise the funds to pay it off, and that they sell another concert piano the department already owns. The damage has been repaired and the Falcone is playable and has been used in a number of concerts given by the Music Department. The Falcone piano emerged on the music scene recently as one (see FALCONE- page 2)
Campus artwork in disrepair By Ruth Jensen Staff Writer Due to lack of funding, much of the artwork displayed around campus lies in a state of disrepair. Time and lack of care are contributing factors to the destruction of much of Palomar's abstract artwork. Much of the art was donated to the campus by artists in the 1960s. Michael Todd, whose work has earned a place in the Oakland Art Museum's permanent collection, has a sculpture on display that has been spray painted with graffiti. Nine feet lightning bolts, titled "Razzamatazz," by artist Harry Bliss, are no longer yellow, but grey with primer. "Work was started but funds ran out after sanding and priming, leaving Palomar with Bliss' unfinished sculpture," commented Val Sanders, associate professor and chairman of the Art
Crumbling Campus
This is the second in a series about campus deterioration .
Department. The two faded welded metal sculptures occupy prominent spots near the Boehm Gallery. The disrepaired artwork is visible to motorists driving into the visitor parking lot. "Cans," named by students because of its shape, is nestled in overgrown shubbery, hardly visible to the public eye. The creation of cylindrical flowers growing on
steel stems was created by John Barlow, former Palomar instructor. "Barlow was the Art Department," said Max Cregar, an associate professor for the department. A tiled plaque decorating a music building depicts horns, a guitar and piano keys. The work, also created by Barlow, is in need of cleaning. Another artwork, titled "Snakes," was once a tall ceramic sculpture with curving stripes on its thick stems. The 6 foot pottery creation was knocked from its base while being moved. Neither time nor money was available to repair the damage done to the piece. "Kenneth Capps, nationally recognized, world-famous sculpturer lives in Carlsbad and displays his art in Los Angeles and New York," said Russ Baldwin, (see ART - page 2)
ENROLLMENT REPORT 1988 Fall
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