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Vol. 87, No. 53 Thursday, April 21, 2011
Sunny n 75°/ 52° chance of precipitation: 20%
damage
Sewage water floods two Copper Beech townhomes By Georgina Buckley The Breeze
On Sunday night, junior Megan McCusker and her roommate sophomore Sarah Rourke found their bedrooms in the basement of their Copper Beech townhouse were flooded with foul smelling sewage water. A similar situation was happening in the neighbors’ basement as well. Senior Ellen Koner, an interdisciplinary liberal studies major, called the emergency maintenance pager for Copper Beech as soon as the basement starting flooding, but received no response. Her roommate Emily Irvin, a senior health sciences major, was equally concerned. She and Stephanie Manioudis, a senior education major, both live in the basement rooms of the house. “I then called Harrisonburg Water and they sent the fire department over around 9 p.m. and they were trying to figure out what to do,” Koner said. “We were waiting to hear anything from Copper Beech so the water people called the city to see if it was a city issue, but they said it was a Copper Beech issue.” That night the houses, located in the 2300 block of Bayberry lane, both stood empty as all the residents voluntarily went to stay at friends houses or the Jameson Inn in Harrisonburg. “They offered us, as a courtesy, a room
at a hotel for one night,” McCusker said. Rourke, a political science and history double major, and McCusker, an interdisciplinary liberal studies major, said they had trouble communicating with Copper Beech management throughout the week, and that up until Tuesday, the property manager was adamant the carpet would only be cleaned — not replaced. Danielle Smith, Copper Beech regional manager, said they were notified of the problem Monday and determined the sewage pump’s impeller was blocked by sanitary napkins, and that maintenance removed the blockage and returned the system to service. In the basements of both houses, furniture and belongings were crammed into bathrooms. “On Monday it reeked of sewage, and the maintenance guys had come by and I found all of my belonging carelessly thrown into the bathroom,” Rourke said. “My hard drive was in the sink and they had left the window in my room open for anyone to walk in.” Koner and Irvin said they experienced similar communication problems with Copper Beech, but said that on Tuesday night they were told by their property manager that everything was fine and they could move back in. The carpet was still only to be cleaned and not replaced. Maintenance had come over and
tried to move all of her furniture back into her sewage soaked room, according to Rourke. “I think they did that to basically make it look nicer than it was,” Rourke said. Rourke and McCusker resorted to wearing rainboots to walk through their rooms. “When you walked on the floor sewage water would splash up on you and Copper Beech expected us to sleep there,” Rourke said. Irvin said she couldn’t stand being in her room. “My shower still had like four inches of standing sewage water in it when I came by Monday morning,” Irvin said. McCusker, Irvin, Koner and Rourke also said that Copper Beech said management never received any emergency maintenance pages. “They kept saying we were lying about calling emergency maintenance,” Rourke said. “They’re still saying we didn’t attempt to call but we have records on our phones of calling.” It wasn’t until Wednesday, when a health inspector came to look at both houses’ basements around 10 a.m. that maintenance had torn the carpets out of the basement by 1 p.m., according to Rourke. “The health inspector basically said that if the carpet needed to go and if Copper Beech refused to do that they
“ Spiritualism
courtesy of sarah Rourke
The basements of two Copper Beech townhomes were flooded with sewage water on Sunday night. Residents said it was several days before carpets were treated.
could declare the house condemned or that we could sue Copper Beech because it’s just not healthy,” Irvin said. Smith confirmed the inspector was called in at the request of the residents, not Copper Beech. Rourke and McCusker said the health inspector came to their home and also inspected their basement. “The health inspector basically said that this is disgusting and needs to be replaced,” Rourke said. All the tenants are relieved that the
3 Appeals committee releases
news Setting students straight
is a fascination,
”
Former spiritualist Ben Alexander shares his surreal encounters of the supernatural world with students By Neal Hollowell contributing writer
Ben Alexander has spent almost 70 years of his life thinking about death. From using Ouija boards to seeing demonic possessions, he said he has had many encounters with spirits and the afterlife. Alexander, 90, shared his occult activities with about 40 JMU students and Harrisonburg residents over the course of two lectures in rooms 2301 and 1301 of the Health and Human Services building on Monday and Tuesday. Invited by the Harrisonburg church assembly, Ekklesia of Christ, and co-sponsored by Sigma Alpha Omega, Alexander divulged his experiences with the occult, chronicled his deep involvement in spiritualism and recounted witness of supernatural phenomena. Alexander said he grew up in the slums of London. He said he was the adopted son of a drunk and a prostitute; both parents died when he was a young man. He added that he left school at 14 and was unable to hold a steady job. He attributes his insatiable need for knowledge of death and the afterlife to his childhood traumas, including watching his
Ryan Freeland / the breeze
father die. Alexander searched for answers to his questions, which eventually lead him to Spiritualism, a religion emphasizing the existence of spirits and stresses communication with them. “I became obsessed,” he said. “Spiritualism is a fascination, but an unholy fascination.” Alexander became involved in séances, spiritualist gatherings that attempt to contact the dead through the leader, the medium. To do this, he tried several methods, including Ouija boards and table tipping, an old form of séances that involved rotating tables. He now rejects these occult activities and explained that such gatherings do not actually allow conversation with the dead, but rather invite demons to our world. These practices also allow demons into the body of the mediums, and can be very harmful, Alexander said. “There is no power in the board, there is power in the person,” Alexander said. “The moment you put your hands on the board, you are asking for a spirit to take over.” He recalled several instances of the supernatural within these séances. During some, he saw levitating and teleporting objects, demon possession and ectoplasm, a slimy residue left behind by spirits. He has pictures of the events. see Spirits, page 2
crime
Preacher arrested for destroying ‘green’ calendar Matthew Bourgault, a 51-yearold preacher from Neosito, Mo., was arrested for allegedly ripping a calendar apart on Tuesday afternoon, according to Lee Shifflett, JMU chief of police. Two JMU police officers led Bourgault away from the EARTH Club’s table on the Commons after he destroyed one of the club’s “Green is Sexy” calendars that are for sale during Earth Week. Senior Wes McGrew, an EARTH Club member and geography major, said Bourgault was sitting next to the club’s table, preaching in response to what he believed were inappropriate images in the calendars. McGrew described the calendar images as “tastefully nude” with models covered by items associated with gardening and recycling.
“I told him, ‘You owe me $7 for this,’ McGrew said. He said that Bourgault refused to pay because Bourgault found the material offensive. JMU police officers were on standby when the incident occurred, and people started yelling for them to arrest Bourgault, according to McGrew. McGrew said two JMU police officers escorted Bourgault away from the scene, but didn’t handcuff him. He said Bourgault came back later that afternoon to purchase another calendar for evidence that the material was offensive. Shifflett said Bourgault was released but has been charged with destruction of personal property. — staff report
Contact Georgina Buckley at breezenews@gmail.com.
4/21 Inside
I became obsessed.
but an unholy fascination.
smell is finally gone, but none of them have slept in their rooms since Saturday. “They may have been voted Best of the ’Burg, but they should think before treating their tenants like this,” McCusker said. Smith said that Copper Beech would replace flooring and padding on the basement and the first floor of the two townhomes.
Ryan Freeland / the breeze
EARTH Club is selling “Green is Sexy” calendars on the Commons for Earth Week. The calendars display images of “tastefully nude” models, covered with environmentally friendly materials, according to a club member.
list of top 10 myths about parking regulations.
7 Females have too much opinion Body image
pressure to look good.
9 Downtown production of life Seasons of sweat
“Rent” goes from basement to stage in just three weeks.
11 Tennis and golf teams prep sports We are the champions
for the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.
crime
Jones absent, trial continues Defendant ordered to return to court in May
Andrew Lewis Jones, who was accused of allegedly infiltrating JMU’s College Republicans, had his trial rescheduled when he failed to appear in Rockingham County Circuit Court Monday. He is scheduled to appear in court May 3 to set his trial date. Jones, 19, of Broadway, is being tried for five felony counts of credit card theft, five counts of credit card fraud, and one felony count of credit fraud of more than $200 in a six month period. The circuit court’s grand jury found enough evidence for a full trial in Jones’ absence. Jones is represented by defense attorney Tracy Evans from Harrisonburg, who was present at the proceedings Monday. Writs of capias, court orders that demand someone appear in court on a certain date, were issued in response to Jones’s absence, requiring him to appear in court May 5, and were delivered to the Rockingham Sheriff’s Office, according to Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Louis Nagy, who is prosecuting the case. Jones was arrested Nov. 10 after allegedly charging more than $3,000 to the stolen cards. JMU Police Chief Lee Shifflett said in November that Jones pretended to be a JMU student and was elected as the club’s second vice-chairman. He used this position to gather the credit card information from JMU students, several of whom were club members. Shortly after his arrest, Jones emailed local media, defending his innocence. He alleged that he had been framed for the crimes because of his sexual orientation and knowledge of voter fraud within Harrisonburg. The College Republicans denied the charges in November; Jones has yet to further comment on the alleged voter fraud. Tracy Evans, Jones’ defense attorney from Harrisonburg, said Tuesday he was unable to discuss why Jones couldn’t appear in court Monday because the information was confidential. – staff report