Post (Athens, Ohio) May 30 2000

              City Four people were hurt yesterday when a car hit a tree. Page 8 In-depth Court reaffirms cable companies' rights on a national scale. Page 5 THE POST Athens, Ohio • Tuesday, May 30, 2000 Fewer vote in election by Caitlin McGrail THE POST Only 8 percent of Oil students cast ballot in Student Senate race Despite the efforts of a pink goril- la and a caped crusader, the number of Ohio University students who voted in Student Senate elections decreased from last year. In the 1999 election, 2,534 students voted for president. But this year, only 1,577 helped choose a new senate leader. About 8 percent of the student body voted, said Brad Mantel, chairman of senate's Board of Elections. Candidates used various campaigning methods to attract voters' attention. Vision candidates passed out promotional items, such as stickers and CAMPUS  pins, to promote student awareness, President-elect Jim Hintz said. A pink gorilla also walked around with the candidates to promote the party on election day, he said. ONE Man, a caped mascot, roamed the campus to urge students to vote for ONE candidates, treasurer candidate Eric Morgan said. Senate's Board of Elections also encouraged students to vote. A televised debate should have caught students' attention before the election, Vice President Todd Grandominico said. Board members also hung banners at voting sites reminding students to vote. The board's advertising would have been more "in your face" if they had more money, Grandominico said. "The board doesn't have the money to push the elections any more than they do," he said. "So it's up to the candidates, and the parties Former NFL star speaks in Athens BY ANTHONY CASTROVINCE THE POST In his ten-year NFL career, Chris Spielman had 985 tackles, no doubt sending many opponents to the training room. The impact he made hurtling himself at other athletes, however, pales in comparison to the effect he has had on people during the past nine months when he has made motivational speeches across the country. On Sunday, 80 Athens High School students heard Spielman's message of commitment, dedication and generosity at the school's Senior Athletic Awards Banquet. "As you go out into the next phase of your life, I hope you learn to serve by leading," Spielman said to the crowd of student-athletes, administrators and parents. "I chal- lenge every one of you to set your foundation on stone." Spielman's strong inner foundation has helped him cope with, the past few years of his life. In 1997, a serious neck injury forced him to miss the last half of the NFL season. In July 1998, Spielman's wife, Stefanie, was diagnosed with breast cancer, one week after having a miscarriage. The events forced the Buffalo Bills linebacker to make some diffi- Spielman PIT STOP DAN KIM/THE POST Stanley Johnson, left, Tony Houston, and Jeff Elson make quick repairs to their demolition derby car between rounds of competition. The team made their way from St. Paris to participate in the event featured at the Memorial Day Bash, held at the Athens County Fairgrounds. Storm leaves OU, city in dark BY JEN ZALETEL FOR THE POST A severe thunderstorm caused local businesses and houses to lose power Sunday for almost eight hours in some areas. Parts of Court and North Lancaster streets, as well as Richland and Stimson avenues were without power, said Lt. David Heineking of the Ohio University Police Department. Some traffic signals in these areas also did not work. The storm knocked several tree limbs to the ground. One large limb fell on a few cars on South Green, causing minimal damage. Parts of Palmer Street and Stimson Avenue had more than one foot of standing water, making driving difficult for motorists. High winds caused limbs to break off from several trees around campus, said Mark Whitney, assistant director of OU Facilities Management for grounds and garage. "We had to call in extra help (yesterday) on a holiday for the cleanup," he said. Workers will continue picking up tree branches and other debris today, he said. Bob's Supermarket, 8978 United Lane, lost power at noon and did not regain it until approximately 8 p.m., evening manager Howard Lyon said. "We lost probably six (thousand) or seven thousand dollars in business, not including food that went bad," Lyon said. He said some food in the freezers spoiled, but he did not have an estimate on the damages. Lyon said the store did not reopen after it regained power because it was too late. Bernard Dixon, an employee of Shop Mart, 1 E. Stimson Ave., said the store was without electricity from 4 to 8 p.m. The convenience store and gas station closed until power was restored. Dixon said he did not think the store lost a significant amount of business. Representatives from WXTQ 105.5 FM, 300 Columbus Road, and Good Laundromat, 12 W. Stimson Ave., said they lost power ROB LAHOOA/FOR THE POST Sophomore Josh Corso runs through a puddle in the intramural fields on South Green. Corso said he decided he didn't feel like studying for finals Sunday and played in the rain for more than an hour before he went indoors. Severe weather left standing water throughout Athens. Web scheduling has few bugs BY JENNY WILKINS THE POST BY JENNY WILKINS THE POST A new online registration system is simplifying the process of scheduling classes, and Ohio University officials say the system is holding up well. This quarter OU students can register for classes online at the Office of the University Registrar's Web site, www.ohio.edu/registrar. "We opened online registering to the students on May 15, letting in small groups at a time," said University Registrar Bill Jones. The online system is similar to the Touch-tone Registration and Information Processing System, said Tom Perry, assistant director of administrative systems at the Computer Services Center. "TRIPS and the Web go through the same database and system. There is not really a difference between the two," he said. The Web site includes a list of course offerings for the quarter, class descriptions, instructors and number of class spots available. The Office of the University Registrar and Communication Network Services developed a plan for online registration six months ago, Perry said. OU is one of only a few colleges who have both Web and phone sys- Boy had gun 3 days before shooting THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LAKE WORTH, Fla. - Two youths claim Nathaniel Brazill was brandishing a small handgun three days before a school shooting that left a popular English teacher dead, police said yesterday.Police also released recordings of the 911 call made Friday when Lake Worth Middle School teacher Barry Grunow was fatally shot on the last day of classes. Brazill, a seventh-grade honor student, was sent home from school for throwing water balloons in a hallway. The 13-year-old student later returned and allegedly fired one shot from a small gun, killing the 35-yearold teacher. Brazill is being held while a grand jury considers the case. The youths, who were not identified by police, told investigators Brazill showed them the gun near his home on May 23, but they did not tell anyone about it, Police Chief William Smith said in a statement yesterday. The first officer arrived at the school within 90 seconds after the call was made, according to the 911 tapes. Recordings between emergency units show police had Brazill and a .25-caliber Raven semi-automatic handgun in custody 4 1/2 minutes from the time the call was made, said Lt. Raychel Houston, a police spokeswoman.A lawyer for Grunow's family called security at the school ineffective and said his clients haven't ruled out suing Phoenix Arms, the manu- POSTSCRIPT The TRIPS man needs a new job THE POST ON THE WEB ittpy/thepost.baker.ohiou.edu CALENDAR ■ 9 p.m. The Post, meeting for all 2000-01 staff members, 111 Scripps Hall MlO p.m. Superamericans, The Front Room, Baker Center TODAY IN HISTORY ■ In 1431, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen, France. ■ In 1883, 12 people were trampled to death in a stampede triggered by a rumor that the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge was in imminent danger of collapsing. ■ In 1911, Indianapolis saw its first long-distance auto race; Ray Harroun was the winner. INSIDE COLUMN 2 SPORTS 61 CROSSWORD PUZZLE 7 COMICS IRSflit' 71 CLASSIFIEDS 7 TODAY High: 80 Low: 59 TOMORROW Mostly ■ Mostly sunny. sunny- For weather updates, call 593-1717 SEE VOTE, PAGE 4 SEE NFL, PAGE 4 SEE STORM, PAGE 4 SEE WEB, PAGE 4 SEE GUN, PAGE 4