BEHREND BEACON
Local - National News September 17, 2010
www.thebehrendbeacon.com
LOCAL NEWS
FAIRVIEW
Tornado sightings were re
ported in Fairview Township
after thunderstorms passed
through Erie County on
Thursday night, according to
the Erie Times-News. There
were no reports of injury or
damage, and the National
Weather Service could not
confirm a tornado touchdown.
The Erie Times-News also
talked with a 911 emergency
dispatcher, who said a Tor
nado sighting near Route 99
and Crate Road, just north of
Edinboro in Washington
Township, was reported.
The Fairview tornado sight
ing was reported just after 7
p.m. Many lightning strikes
and heavy rain were present
throughout Thursday night.
Lightning postponed the
North East-Fairview High
School football game, which
has been rescheduled for Sat
urday at 7 p.m.
ERIE
Erie-native Jill Behm, a
contestant on Survivor:
Nicaragua, survived the
first elimination on the
show Wednesday night.
Behm, a physician in Mill
creek Township, is a mem
ber of the Espada tribe of
players older than 40. Rival
group La Flor defeated Es
pada in the immunity chal
lenge, meaning Espada
had to eliminate a competi
tor. A goat rancher from
Montana was voted off.
Behm did not appear to be
in any danger of elimina
tion during the first
episode, though she was
only shown in a limited ca
pacity. Others on her team
include former Miami Hur
ricanes and Dallas Cow
boys coach Jimniy
Johnson.
If Behm wins Survivor:
Nicaragua, she will win $1
million. To watch Behm in
her quest, tune into CBS
on Wednesdays at 8 p.m.
FACT OF THE WEEK
r" Did You Know?
Nutmeg is extremely
poisonous if injected
intravenously.
1.. I
Gannon University
Gannon partners with Jordinian school
BRENNA PETERS
managing / news editor,
Cannon Knight
Gannon University is
preparing for a partnership
with the currently under con
struction University of Mad
aba, in Jordan.
University of Madaba Pres
ident Dr. Victor Billeh visited
Gannon on Sept. 7 to talk to
students and faculty about
creating a relationship be
tween the two schools.
The University of Madaba
is located four miles outside
of Madaba, Jordan. Billeh
said the school should be
ready for classes by October
2011.
Billeh said that Pope John
Paul II talked with the church
about setting up the school
with King Hussein bin Talal
of Jordan. Actual construc
tion on the school began
when Pope Benedict XVI vis
ited Jordan in May 2009 and
laid the foundation stone.
The University of Madaba
will be the first Catholic col
lege in Jordan, as well as the
first nonprofit institution.
The classes at the univer
sity will be taught only in
English, making the univer
sity the first school of higher
1. France, Germany
disagree over Roma
German Chancellor Angela
Merkel publically declared
that she does not plan to fol
low France's plan of deporta
tion of Roma, according to the
BBC.
French President Nicholas
Sarkozy had told reporters
that Merkel had expressed
support and solidarity for the
country's deportation pro -
gram: however, Merkel's
statement denying this has led
to some tension between the
two leaders.
US Census Bureau reports 1 in 7 in poverty
EVAN KOSER
1 'I
The US government has re
ported that the poverty rate
has risen to its highest level in
15 years. One in seven Ameri
cans now reportedly live in
poverty. This marks the high
est rate seen since the 19605.
The information was released
last Thursday by the US Cen
sus Bureau and was a product
of the 2010 census taken last
spring. According to the
study. the poverty rate went
from the 2008 statistic of 13.2
percent to 14.3 percent,
roughly 43.6 million people. m
2009.
The report on the economic
well-being of US citizens dur
ing 2009, which was President
Barack Obama's first year, fol
lowed a recession that left
millions of people jobless.
The poverty line is defined by
the US government as a fam
ily of four living on less than
s22k a year. This figure shows
that the rate of poverty this
last year was the highest since
Dr. Victor Billeh, President of the University of Madaba in Jordan,
visited Gannon on Sept. 7to foster a relationship at Gannon.
education to have all English
classes in Jordan.
The university plans to
have seven departments:
business and finance; sci
ence; engineering; informa
tion technology; language
and communications; art and
design; and health sciences.
The university will be small
in size, but the campus is
planned to accommodate
6,000 to 7,000 students.
According to Billeh, the
university will be the only in-
World News
~°De
/--
2. Muhammad
cartoonist in
hiding, on FBI tip
The creator of the Facebook
group "Everyone Draw
Muhammad" day has moved
from her home and changed
her name, heeding FBI advice
that she was in danger, ac
cording to the Seattle Weelzlv
Times.
The Seattle Weekly wrote in
a column on Wednesday that
Molly Norris, who works for
the newspaper, will he going
into a type of "witness protec -
tion," and "going ghost" for an
indefinite period of time.
Flickr Creative Commons / ccomaha
Increased use of food banks has become common across the country as poverty has risen.
its been in 1994, but is lower
than the first year poverty es
timates were taken in 1959 re
ports the Census Bureau.
President Obama said that
2009 would he a tough year
for families but that things
could have been worse.
"Because of the Recovery
Act and many other programs
providing tax relief and in
come support to a majority of
working families - and espe-
Campus Connection
A brief look at what's u
stitution in the Middle East to
be run on renewable energy.
A geothermal system, which
uses heat from the ground,
will be used to power the
school.
There is one more way in
which the University of Mad
aba will stand apart from
other Middle Eastern univer
sities. Billeh said he wants to
promote diversity among stu
dents - he doesn't want the
school to be made up of just
Jordanians.
3. Afghanistan pre
pares for vote
Over 2500 candidates will
run for 249 seats in the
Afghan Parliament's lower
house Sunday. However, skep
tics point to the large amount
of invalid votes thrown out
from last election, and claim
that in less populated areas,
the same problem will occur.
More than 650 candidates
are running for only 33 seats
in Kabul. It is the more remote
areas of the country, though,
that have observers worried.
Many suspect that vote buy
ing will spread due to lack of
financial campaign legisla-
cially those most in need - mil
lions of Americans were kept
out of poverty last year," said
Obama.
Pail of the strain that many
of these families faced were
the short-lived unemployment
benefits. Many workers still
found themselves jobless even
after their benefits ceased.
However, workers are now el
igible for extensions that were
earlier this month passed by
campuses of Erie's other colleges
on the
College students now have a greater op
portunity to save money by comparing prices
online before purchasing their textbooks at
Mercyhurst College.
Mercyhurst releases online book list
As part of the Higher Education Opportu
nity Act, all colleges are required to post a
list of the books required for every class.
This law took effect on July 1.
The information on the list includes the
title of the book, the author, edition, ISBN,
new price and used price.
The new law was created as a way to help
students with cost, according to General
Manager of the Mercyhurst College Book
store Dan Cullen.
"Book prices were getting out of control,"
Cullen said. "What we try to do, the teachers
try to do and congress was trying to do is
make things cheaper for the students."
Junior Amanda Kocent was not aware that
there was a book list online that could help
save her money.
"I usually buy my books from the book
store," she said.
However now that she knows the book list
is available, she said she plans to compare
book prices online before deciding where to
purchase her textbooks.
Cullen said he thinks adding a checkout
button online will steer students to buy their
books from Mercyhurst College if they can't
find them somewhere else. An online check
out button will allow students to add the
4. French nationals
kidnapped in Niger
Five French workers and
two Africans working for
French construction company
Vinci have been kidnapped in
Niger, according to a state
ment by the company Thurs
day.
The French government has
requested that the Niger gov
ernment track down the cap
tors.
The statement by Vinci
went on to say that the men
were working on an earth
moving operation by two ura
nium mines.
Congress.
In conjunction with a rising
poverty level, the number of
Americans without health in
surance also rose to 16.7 per
cent from 15.4 percent. After
the debacle over the extension
of unemployment benefits,
voters will decide in Novem
ber. whether they will commit
to the Democrats or if they
will look to Republicans for
new leadership.
KELLY LUOMA
managing / news editor,
A„fercyliurst Merciad
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Tyler Stauffer / The Merciad
Students hear the new speaker system as they
walk to class
books they want to purchase from the book
store to an online shopping cart, and then
they will be able to pick up the books they
ordered at the bookstore.
"We are trying to keep the prices down as
best we can," Cullen said. "We're all about
helping out the students."
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