4i Behrend Beacon
April 9, 2010
I www.thebehrendbeacon.com
LOCAL NEWS
At least 16 workers from the
North East manufacturing
plant and one medic were hos
pitalized after a chemical spill
on Thursday.
The spill occurred when one
employee poured a mixture
into a container drum,causing a
chemical reaction.
A reactive substance may
have already been in the con
tainer. The mixture, which con
sisted of nitric acid, sulfuric
acid, sodium hydroxide and
potassium silver cyanide, were
used in a metal plating process.
Workers were taken to the
Saint Vincent Health Center
and the Hamot Medical Center
from exposure to both the
chemical mixture and the gas
vapor caused by the spill.
MEADVILLE
Philip Pandolph was
named Meadville Medical
Center’s new chief execu
tive officer on Wednesday.
Pandolph, who previously
held the position of chief op
erating officer, replaces An
thony DeFail, who will
remain the president of the
hospital. Meadville Medical
Center spokeswoman Eliza
beth Atwell stated that the
move was simply “a leader
ship change, and that it
doesn’t mean that anyone
retired or resigned.”
Pandolph, a registered
nurse, started his career as a
charge nurse at McKeesport
Hospital in McKeesport.
ERIE
Erie citizens will be able to
offer their viewpoints on
area code changes for
phones during a public
hearing on April 20.
The Pennsylvania Public
Utilities Commission must
make a decision on what
course of action should be
taken in response to the
shrinking number of avail
able area code 814 phone
numbers, which is predicted
to run out by Oct. 2012.
One solution is to split up
the area codes into different
geographic regions, which
means that residents in 32
counties could be assigned
new phone numbers. Four
other plans are also being
considered.
FAIRVIEW
A man was rescued from a
large bin used to store
shelled corn after he fell into
the bin on Wednesday. Res
cue crews responded to the
call of entrapment at 12:10
p.m. and arrived at a farm in
Gerard Township at 1:50
p.m. Rescue workers carried
the man out strapped to a
back board to an ambulance
which took him to the
Hamot Medical Center.
The man became en
trapped when he tried to
break up a clog in a machine
that was used to transport
the corn from the bin to a
truck.
The man was later re
leased from the Hamot Hos
pital at 4:00 p.m. later that
day.
POLICE REPORT
- A report was received that
an individual had vandalized
the ground floor of the Stair
Tower at 8:30 a.m. on March
30.
- The Behrend Police were no
tified that the COLLEGE
DRIVE/JORDAN ROAD street
sign post was down at 1:30
a.m. on April 1.
- A burglary was reported at
Ohio Hall at 8:30 p.m. on April
1. Earthquake
shrike* Indonesia
SUMATRA, Indonesia - A
7.7-magnitude earthquake hit
the islands and coastal cities
of Indonesia early on Wednes
day. The earthquake triggered
two tsunamis and injured six
people.
The people were injured on
the island of Simeulue, just off
the coast of Banda Aceh, a city
near the northern tip of In-
donesia’s Sumatra Island. The
tsunamis were reported to
have only been a foot high, re
sulting in no damage.
NATIONAL MILITARY
U.S. starts to reduce
After years of negotiations and debate,
world powers, including the United States,
have taken another step closer to a nuclear
free world.
The United States will no longer create
new-generation nuclear weapons and will
take a stance not to use existing nuclear
stockpile against countries that have
agreed to help stop the manufacturing and
distribution of nuclear weapons, according
to a statement given by the Obama admin
istration on Tuesday.
This comes in response to the govern
ment’s shifting viewpoints on nuclear
weapons during its Nuclear Posture Re
view, when the U.S. Department of De
fense reviews its strategy in the use of
nuclear weapons for national security.
It is believed that the new stance on nu
clear weapons will be an incentive for other
countries to follow the guidelines of the
1968 Nuclear Proliferation Treaty.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated
the new stance will “provide a road map to
help achieve Obama’s long-term goal of a
nuclear free world.”
However, Gates also made it clear that
any country that produces or uses chemical
or biological weapons could be subjected
to a massive conventional response by the
U.S. “The purpose of the new strategy is to
prevent nuclear terrorism and the spread
ing of nuclear weapons,” according to a
NATIONAL POLITICS
Uprisings
MARCUS YEAGLEY
head copy editor
Opposition leaders in Kyrgyzstan
formed a new acting government Thurs
day after a day of anti-government
protests left at least 40 people dead.
Thousands of protesters clashed with
riot police over corruption and the rising
cost of gas utility bills. The police fired
tear gas, rubber bullets and flash
grenades into the crowds.
Many men from poor villages who
moved to the capital to live and work on
construction sites became outraged over
high energy costs.
Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the president,
was forced out of the capital. He has
been criticized for appointing key polit
ical positions to relatives. He has also
been accused of preparing his son, Mak
sim, for a leadership position.
Bakiyev came to power after the Tulip
Revolution in 2005, promising to tamp
down corruption and fight poverty.
Bakiyev agreed to reduce his presiden
tial power in 2006 after mass protests.
In July 2009, Bakiyev won a presidential
election that was widely criticized by in
ternational monitors.
Bakiyev maintains that he is still in
control of Kyrgyzstan.
“I declare that as president I have not
abdicated and am not abdicating re
sponsibility,” Bakiyev said.
Roza Otunbayeva, a former foreign
World News
Residents in coastal towns
fled to higher ground after
they were warned of tsunamis
by Indonesia’s Meteorological
and Geophysics Agency.
2. 115 miners res
cued In China
BEIJING, China - 115 miners
were rescued after being
trapped in a flooded coal mine
in northern China on Monday.
The miners were part of a
group of 261 workers who were
working in the Wangjialing
mine when it flooded on March
28. Rescuers managed to pull
ERIC PEIRCE
asst, news editor
senior U.S. administration official
This new stance comes along with Pres
ident Obama signing a nuclear arms treaty
with Russia that will result in a reduction
of both country’s nuclear stockpiles on
Thursday. The reduction would cut each
country’s stockpile by a third, limiting each
in Kyrgyzstan result
minister, has been named the interim
government leader.
“The security service and the interior
ministry, all of them are already under
Local/
108 miners immediately after
the flood occurred.
During the week,rescuers re
ported seeing swaying lights
and hearing tapping noises
from trapped miners. Two hun
dred rescue workers are still
working around-the-clock to
drain water and pull out min
ers.
3. Demonstrators
protest in Thailand
BANGKOK, Thailand -
Anti-government protestors
demanded that officials reopen
nuclear weapons
Nuclear weapons and transporters will be reduced in numbers.
Kyrgyzstan houses a U. S. military base that helps transport supplies to troops in Afghanistan.
National News
Thursday.
Red Shirt protestors were at
a standoff with government sol
diers after the TV station was
closed down after accusations
of misinformation.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejja
jiva said the station was shut
down “to restore peace and
order and to stop the spreading
of false information to the Thai
public.”
The emergency measures
ban the publishing, broadcast
ing, or spreading of informa
tion considered a threat to
national security.
country to 1,550 strategic nuclear war
heads, it would also limit the number of
strategic delivery vehicles.
One of Obama’s top priorities during his
presidency is to reduce the threat of nu
clear weapons for all nations.
in new government
the management of new people,” Otun
bayeva said. “The interim government
will remain in place for half a year, dur
ing which we will draft the constitution
television
station on
wikimedia | sports: sportsQi psu.edu
and create conditions for free and fair
elections.”
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QUOTE OF
THE WEEK
; \
; “I’m sick of following my j
! dreams. I’m just going to ask !
j them where they’re going’ |
| and hook up with them j
Mitch Hedberg
FACT OF THE WEEK
It would take nine ''i
! miles of walking to burn off !
| a Burger King Double |
! Whopper with Cheese. !
randomhistory.com
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