The Oklahoma Daily

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THURSDAY FEBRUARY 11, 2010

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Chase ends in Cale Gundy’s front yard Suspects flee from officers in Moore with stolen vehicle, say police CASEY WILSON Daily Staff Writer

A police chase in Moore that turned into a manhunt in Norman ended near the residence of OU football coach Cale Gundy. The incident began around 9 a.m. Wednesday when one suspect, Jill Trent, entered the Tinker Federal Credit Union in Moore and attempted to pass a forged check,

said Jeremy Lewis, Moore Police Department spokesman. Lewis said an off-duty Moore police officer who was working at the credit union became suspicious of the woman. The off-duty officer requested for a Moore Police officer to come and investigate the vehicle in which Trent had arrived. Officers discovered the vehicle had been reported as stolen, Lewis said. Lewis said when officers attempted to make contact with vehicle driver Dustin Vanderpool, he and two passengers,

Christina Mabrey and Jeremiah Fisher, fled from the scene in the vehicle. Lewis said officers chased the vehicle south to Norman. The suspects abandoned the vehicle near the Brookhaven Edition in Norman and then fled on foot. One suspect, Mabrey, was found in the vehicle. The other suspects were arrested 20 minutes later in the front yard of Gundy’s home. The suspects had attempted to enter Gundy’s home through the back door, Lewis said. Gundy did not have a statement regarding

the incident, said Kenny Mossman, OU athletic communications director. Truman Elementary School was placed on lockdown due to the manhunt’s proximity to the school, said Jennifer Newell, Norman Police Department spokeswoman. Norman Police provided additional officers and a canine to assist with the manhunt, Newell said. Moore Police, Norman Police, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department and the District 21 Task Force participated in the chase, Lewis said.

AVIATION COURSE FEES SOAR

Republicans date while Dems debate Republican, Democrat student organizations make effort to become more active TROY WEATHERFORD Daily Staff Writer

Aviation sophomore Tom Bishop logs his flight Tuesday. Bishop said he was disappointed about the increase in tuition fees.

Students not discouraged by fee increases ranging from $57 to $611 AUDREY HARRIS Daily Staff Writer

The OU Board of Regents approved increases for nine course fees for aviation students during their last meeting in January. The increases range from $57 to $611 per course. The majority of the courses will increase by about $300, and the fees will go into effect fall 2010, Aviation Department Director Ken Carson said by e-mail. The fees will address increases in the cost of fuel and parts occurring in the aviation industry as well as salaries for OU’s certified flight instructors, Carson said. In addition to an increase in the costs of parts, petroleum costs spiked in early 2009. Petroleum costs have now stabilized, but averages of the

stabilized costs were still higher than the course fees in place, Carson said. “A number of college aviation programs nationwide have increased their flight fees significantly during the last two years as fuel and parts costs have increased,” Carson said. “We deliberately decided not to immediately pass increased fuel/parts costs on to students through increased fees in hopes that these increases were temporary spikes.” Carson said the department’s approach is “no longer sustainable” given the current aviation environment. The increase in fees will help to better account for current fuel prices in the cost per flight hour. The department briefed the fee increases to the Aviation Student Advisory Board, a 12-member board that meets several times a year to provide input on department curriculum and regulations, Carson said. In compliance with university and UOSA policies, the aviation department

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also held an open all-student session early in the fall semester to go over the increases and why they are occurring, Carson said. Andrew Steinle, vice president of the Sooner Aviation Club and an aviation professional pilot sophomore, said the increases have been a long time coming. “They’ve been considering raising the fees for several years now,” Steinle said. “It’s kind of something that’s expected with the cost of fuel and inflation. It’s just bound to go up at some point.” Tom Bishop, aviation professional pilot sophomore, is also an (officer) in the Sooner Aviation Club. Despite the fee increases, Bishop said he’s not going anywhere. “It’s not going to make me go anywhere, because the program is so good,” Bishop said. “I’m in it for the long run.” Both Bishop and Steinle said they understand the need for the fee increases. AVIATION CONTINUES ON PAGE 2

Area residents get sneak peak of Porter Avenue future Proposals include making street three lanes to accommodate bike traffic CASEY PARVIN Daily Staff Writer

Possible plans for the future of the Porter Avenue corridor were showcased Wednesday. The presentation focused on the options for possible streetscape designs of Porter Avenue. Streetscape is the public right of way and includes sidewalks, curbs, bike racks and lights, said Susan Atkinson, project manager for the Porter Corridor

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Project. Atkinson asked the attendees if they thought Porter Avenue should have a distinct identity or if the design should tie into other Norman streets. “We like getting input from the community about design issues,” Atkinson said. “If we were to create the public’s living room, what would it look like?” The presentation included nine material boards with information stretching from widths of sidewalks to the types of pavement. Striped bike lanes are not an option for the Porter Corridor because the street isn’t wide enough, Atkinson said. PORTER CONTINUES ON PAGE 2

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Susan Atkinson, product manager for the Porter corridor project, talks about possible city street scape for Porter Avenue. © 2009 OU PUBLICATIONS BOARD

OU students volunteered themselves to be auctioned at the College Republicans Date Auction to raise money for the student organization. Participants traded in their U.S. currency for “stimulus dollars” to purchase dates with OU students. “[Stimulus Dollars] are like tokens at the arcade except you can change them back in for real money at the end of the night,” said James Braid, College Republicans member and University College freshman. Following the auction, winning bidders had their date at an ice cream social in the Regents Room of the Union. In addition to the auction, a table was set up to register voters, sign people up for College Republicans, give out stickers and sell College Republicans T-shirts. Shirts were sold for $10 apiece or $20 for two shirts and free membership into College Republicans. The dates were not all Republicans. Bethany Gerber, industrial engineering junior, is not politically active and doesn’t associate herself with either party but she donated herself to the auction because she’s friends with College Republicans members. The money raised will help the organization hold events on campus as well as helping pay for some members to attend the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. “We’ll learn new and different methods on conservative political action [at the conference],” said Daniel Swanson, chairman of the College Republicans. The money also will go toward “Global Cooling Day” when College Republicans will hand out free sno-cones from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 13 on the South Oval, Swanson said. Swanson called the “Global Cooling Day” a “tongue in cheek event” with no real political message. Trey Wylie is a histor y sophomore, and a Republican. He said that because of the event, he would ACTIVISM CONTINUES ON PAGE 2

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