The Oklahoma Daily

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MONDAY OCTOBER 12, 20 2009 009

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Sam Bradford made his long-awaited long-awai return Saturday against aga Baylor. Find the recap reca inside. PAGE 6

news

Read what one student thought about the Oklahoma Repertory Theater’s production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” PAGE 10

com

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure took place Saturday morning in Oklahoma City. PAGE 3

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Tuesday’s Weather

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‘LITTLE RASCALS’ STAR ON CAMPUS 50% Student reminisces about his childhood role as ‘Porky’ in film

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CAMPUS BRIEFS GRANT FROM EXXONMOBIL CONTRIBUTES TO PROGRAMS OU has received $54,800 in departmental grants from ExxonMobil Corporation in support of academic areas in the Michael F. Price College of Business, the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy and the College of Engineering, as well as support for OU’s Career Services. The ExxonMobil grants allow selected academic departments to allocate funds for various educational purposes, including scholarships, field trips, visiting speakers, equipment purchases, student and faculty travel to academic-related activities and other educational projects. ExxonMobil has contributed $2 million in departmental grants this year to 87 colleges and universities throughout the country to support various academic programs.

JORDYN GIDDENS AND KAITLYN BIVIN Daily Staff Writers

Not everyone has the opportunity to turn on the television and get paid for it. Finance sophomore Zac Mabry does. At the age of three, Mabry had a brush with Hollywood fame with his role as Porky in the 1994 film “The Little Rascals.” Every time the movie is played on television, Mabry said he receives a small kick-back. Mabry said he landed the role during a family trip to Dallas. “My parents heard about the audition from my grandma,” Mabry said. “They thought [having me try out] would be a fun thing to do while we were there.” Little did his family know that three-year-old Mabry would land the role as the youngest cast member of the “Rascals.” “I was a loud, obnoxious kid,” Mabry said. “I wasn’t shy. I was just a kid from Oklahoma in a crowd of kids with professional headshots. It had

to be luck.” After securing his role, Mabry said he was flown to Los Angeles where he and the other cast members lived during the four-month shoot. During filming, Mabry established friendships with several of the cast members. “I haven’t spoken to many of them in awhile,” Mabry said, “but Courtland Mead [Uh-huh] and Juliette Brewer [Marianne] and I have stayed the closest.” Mabry said he learned his lines after hearing his mother read them through once. “There would be times when the writers would make small changes to the script, and I would be the first to correct them when the changes occurred,” Mabry said. After “The Little Rascals,” Mabry said he did eight commercials, but hasn’t acted since. “‘Rascals’ has always been a good conversation piece for me, and I’ve always looked at it as something to top in my life,” Mabry said. “I’d like to think that the coolest thing that will happen to me didn’t occur when I was three years old.” Nowadays, Mabry said he finds life fairly STAR CONTINUES ON PAGE 2

Tickets still available for U2 360° concert

TRAFFIC, PEDESTRIAN FLOW CHANGES FOR U2 CONCERT

CHARLES WARD Assistant Managing Editor

OU Athletics Department officials announced traffic and pedestrian flow changes will be implemented today to allow for preparation for the U2 concert at The Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Sunday. Beginning Monday morning, northbound Asp Avenue, north of Lindsey Street, will be closed. All traffic bound for the Asp Avenue Parking facility can access the garage by turning north on Van Vleet Oval, which is one block west of Asp. The southbound lane of Asp will remain open for drivers exiting the parking facility. During this time period only, no vehicle parking is allowed on Asp Avenue from Lindsey north to Brooks. In addition, pedestrian traffic through the south end zone of the stadium will be prohibited. Individuals are encouraged to use sidewalks along the south edge of the stadium along Lindsey Avenue or the Brooks Mall north of the stadium. The U2 concert will take place Sunday and regular routes will reopen Thursday, Oct. 22. —Daily staff reports

Tickets have not sold out for Sunday’s upcoming U2 concert at the Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, according to U2’s official tour Web site. A quick look around the Internet, combined with a discussion with a Norman ticket re-seller, revealed a pair of tickets for sale for as low as $49. Red Zone seats can be found for more than $1,500 for two seats when ticket broker fees are factored in. Red Zone seats are reserved spots close to the stage with complementary refreshments and other goodies, said John Keele, manager of Norman’s Tickets Unlimited and its companion Web site, oklahomatickets.com. For a look at a range of prices, as well as how Norman ticket sales are stacking up with other cities and reasons for reduced demand, read on:

DEPRESSED DEMAND Demand is down for this show when compared to the 1997 Rolling Stones concert, which has also at the Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Keele said. He offered several reasons for this, including: - The U2 concert is the day after OU-Texas. “A lot of people, economically, needed to pick one or the other ... and the Texas game is ingrained in our culture.” - Despite OU’s two losses on the season, OU is still much better now (3-2) than it was on Oct. 28, 1997 (3-5, en route to 4-7) when the Rolling Stones played at the Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, making football a larger economic and time priority today. - The field seating is general admission, while stadium shows typiPHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MARCIN RUTKOWSKI/THE DAILY

Gymnastics teams await remodeled facility Until completion of renovations, gymnasts adjust to small warehouse

practicing in a warehouse located north of the Max Westheimer Airport at 2601 Venture Drive. The warehouse is an old gym formerly used for competitive cheerleading training, said Daniel Furney, OU RICKY MARANON Daily Staff Writer men’s gymnastics assistant coach. Kindler said the warehouse, at 12,000 The OU men’s and women’s gymnastics square feet, is half the size of what the newly teams are enduring the use of a small ware- expanded Viersen Center will be. When house as a temporary practice facility while open, the $3 million gymnastics center will they wait for construction and remodeling be 23,000 square feet. “This is a renovation fully funded by priof their on-campus home to finish. The Sam Viersen Gymnastics Center, vate funds,” said Phillip Rogers, OU womlocated north of the Lloyd Noble Center, is en’s gymnastics team spokesman. “We under construction to expand the square made the move up to the temporary facility in the summer.” footage of the building and also The coaches and the athletes add soft foam pits and other amehave had to adjust to the changes a nities that will help gymnasts better new building brings. train for competitions. “Anytime you’re forced to move, “When this building is complete, it’s tough at first,” Furney said. “We it will be the premiere collegiate had some trouble adjusting to the gymnastics facility in the nation,” new building at first, and occasionsaid K.J. Kindler, OU women’s gymally we have some difficulties with nastics head coach. the building.” Kindler said the renovations K.J. While the teams were practicing being made to the Viersen Center KINDLER Thursday, they spent the first 20 were more of a necessity than a minutes of practice in the dark and without project to advance OU athletics. “We only had one soft foam pit in the old air conditioning. Electricity was restored to building, and in the new building we will the warehouse after the teams completed warm ups. have 18,” Kindler said. “We’re really excited for what the new She said gymnasts use soft foam pits to practice learning new techniques, and building will give us,” Furney said. “We because the old building only had one, it are only here [in the warehouse] for a little limited both the men’s and women’s teams while, and we are making the best out of it. We’ve actually become used to the building, training abilities. While the Viersen Center is under construction, both gymnastics teams are FACILITY CONTINUES ON PAGE 2

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JEREMY DICKIE/THE DAILY

Zac Mabry, finance sophomore, enjoys his time at OU as much as he can. Mabry played the character “Porky” as a child in the movie “Little Rascals.”

TICKETS CONTINUES ON PAGE 2

OU students help with project to clean up Tar Creek area Area deemed ‘irretrievably damaged’ now able to support life HAILEY R. BRANSON Projects Editor

COMMERCE — The water here is toxic. This was discovered in 1979. George Mayer, a rancher who lives just outside this northeastern Oklahoma town of about 2,500,

noticed that his horses’ hooves, tails and bellies were becoming stained a sickly orange. In his pasture, water filled with heavy metals welled from the ground, bursting from century-old mining bore holes that had finally filled to the top. Thirty years later, OU researchers are cleaning up the contaminated water on Mayer’s ranch with an organic water TAR CREEK CONTINUES ON PAGE 3

PHOTO PROVIDED

In the passive water treatment system near Commerce, shown shortly after completion, contaminated water flows between 10 man-made ponds that remove metal and contamination. Water enters the system orange and exits clear. Plants and grass now surround the once-barren area.

© 2009 OU PUBLICATIONS BOARD

VOL. 95, NO. 38


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