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The year's top 10 newsmakers
For my last 600 Words, as my time as News Desk Editor draws to a close, it is my pleasure to leave you with a list of the top ten “newsmakers” that have in some way affected the students at Appalachian State University this year.
10. Singer and songwriter Willie Nelson performed at Holmes Convocation Center Feb. 19. Tickets started at $22, providing students with a cheap opportunity to see a country music legend.
9. Student
Government Association elections this year resulted in Jonathan H.
Meisner and Michele D. Armstrong as president and vice president for
the 2009-10 school year. The Meisner-Armstrong ticket was not
previously part of SGA, and the two are now completing training before
they are sworn into office April 30.
8. After
a fuel shortage hit the High Country in the fall, gasoline became
almost impossible to find. The supply of gas was limited after
Hurricane Ike hit the Gulf Coast Sept. 13, shutting down several oil
refineries and wells in the Gulf of Mexico. N.C. Gov. Mike Easley urged
consumers to use “common sense” and “reasonable conservation measures”
at the time of the crisis.
7.
University and Town of Boone officials spent October discussing the
relationship between the two entities as well as their expected growth
during master plan sessions. Utility infrastructure, transportation,
zoning regulations and student housing were among the issues discussed
during the meetings. The final Master Plan will be published this year,
and will be in place from 2010 until 2020.
6. Head
basketball coach Houston Fancher resigned in March, ending his
nine-year time period with the Mountaineers. The announcement came as a
surprise to his team and many Mountaineer supporters. The university is
still searching for a replacement as of Wednesday.
5. The
murder of a local businessman over holiday break marked the first
murder of a Boone resident in over three years. Jimmy D. Roberts, 40,
was an employee of the Gold Closeout Connection pawnshop at 499 E. King
St. Police were sent to the pawnshop after Roberts did not return home
from work Dec. 22, and discovered Roberts dead from a single gunshot
wound. John R. Gray of Virginia Beach, Va. was arrested by Boone Police
soon after the incident.
4. The
Central Dining Facility opened this year to the Appalachian community,
providing students, faculty and staff with a new, up-to-date eatery.
The new dining hall replaced Welborn Cafeteria, whose east wing was
constructed in 1925. The demolition of Welborn will make way for
additional seating in the new dining facility, and will also expand
Sanford Mall’s green space.
3.
Students returning to town last fall were met with a
surprise—restaurant and bar owners were preparing to acquire mixed
beverage permits after liquor by the drink was made legal in Boone.
Voters overwhelmingly approved the referendum in August with 1,106
votes cast in favor.
2.
Everything from the bailouts to the budget cuts. We heard it over and
over again—our economy continues to spiral downward. With Appalachian
and other universities within the University of North Carolina system
facing cuts across the board, students will have to deal with a
decrease in class sections and the possibility that student services
funded by the state could suffer.
1. And
lastly, the election of our current president, Barack Obama. The
November 2008 election was, for many Appalachian students, the first
presidential election we were able to vote in—and many became actively
involved in the campaign process. Those who participated in the
post-election night madness will forever remember tearing down the
goalpost and marching to Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock’s house.
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