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psucollegian.com
Published independently by students at Penn State @dailycollegian
Former student found dead
Saulis Kvaraciejus
drowned after falling off
a raft in Philadelphia.
By Brendan McNally
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Police found the body of former
Penn State student Saulis
Kvaraciejus at about 3:30 p.m.
Thursday on the bank of
Pennypack Creek in Philadelphia
after he fell out of a raft into the
Courtesy Spikes
Outfielder White runs the bases.
Spikes player returns from
By Jake Kaplan
COLLEGIAN 51AI - 1 - RITER
Taldng a break after a normal
day of work in early June at Fort
Hood. Cole White received a puz
zling text message from an old
friend.
It was from Caleb Campbell. a
classmate from their days at
West Point. The message read:
"Congratulations.-
Moments later. White received
a phone call from the United
States Armys Human Resource
Command.
White soon understood
Campbell's message the
Army was going to let White pur-
Dave Martin/Associated Press
Workers discuss the berm system on the end of Chandeleur Islands, La.
BP caps oil leak
after long wait
By Harry R. Weber
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITERS
NEW ORLEANS Oil
stopped gushing into the Gulf of
Mexico from BP's busted well
Thursday for the first time since
the disastrous spill began. the oil
giant said. It was the most signif
icant milestone yet in BP's-effort
to control one of the worst envi
ronmental disasters in U.S. histo
ry.
Now begins a waiting period to
see if the cap can hold the oil
without blowing a new leak in the
well.
Engineers will monitor pres
sure readings incrementally for
up to 48 hours before reopening
the cap while they decide what to
do next. The cap is only planned
as a temporary fix until a final
plug is set from underground,
maybe next month.
The news elicited joy mixed
with skepticism from Gulf Coast
residents wearied by months of
false starts, setbacks and fail-
water Tuesday and drowned
A Police Marine Unit had been
searching for him since Tuesday.
the Philadelphia Police
Department said.
Penn State spokeswoman Lisa
Powers said Kvaraciejus. 20, was
in his third semester at Penn
State in the spring but was not
currently enrolled for fall classes.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday. Kvaraciejus
was riding in an inflatable raft
with friends over a waterfall on
Pennvpack Creek when he fell
LE OF DUTY
Courtesy of Jeff White
White smiles at West Point
sue his professional baseball
career.
Knowing his service time was
nearing the obligatory two-year
mark. White had applied for an
early release from the Army in
January. Five months later, the
25-year-old, whose unit was set
to deploy to Iraq in February,
finally found out which direction
his life would be going.
And it wouldn't be overseas
Instead, it would be in the New
York-Penn League with the
short-season Class A affiliate of
the Pittsburgh Pirates, the State
College Spikes the same team
he played 21 games with two
years ago.
ures. Alabama Gov. Bob Riley's
face lit up when he heard the oil
flow had stopped.
"That's great. I think a lot of
prayers were answered today,"
said Riley
The stoppage came 85 days, 16
hours and 25 minutes after the
first report April 20 of an explo
sion on the BP-leased Deepwater
Horizon oil rig that killed 11 work
ers and triggered the spill.
"Finally!" said Renee Brown, a
35-year-old middle school guid
ance counselor visiting
Pensacola Beach, Fla., from
London, Ky - Honestly, I'm sur
prised that they haven't been
able to do something sooner,
though."
Video images, which for
months had featured a billowing
brown cloud violently fouling the
Gulf, showed a remarkably differ
ent picture: A quiet, still well.
Shortly after it coughed its last bit
of oil and the last opening was
squeezed shut, it quieted, with
See OIL, Page 2.
into the water, the said.
He was swept underwater by
strong currents and drowned,
police said
Police could not say how many
of his friends were in the raft, but
said all of n . them escaped
unharmed, police said.
Police said a passerby noticed
the body on the bank of the creek
and called police, police said.
Police did not say if Kvaraciejus
suffered any injuries while falling
out of the raft that may have
White, left, stands with a fellow soldier during his Army service
On June 20 exactly two
years to the day after he debutd
in State College White was
back in town, having added about
10 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot
-2 frame.
He arrived at Medlar Field at
Lubrano Park the next day
and did something he hadn't
done since leaving State College
hit a baseball on an actual
field.
"It didn't really set in until I
was taking batting practice here
in State College," White said.
"And then I was like 'Wow, I'm
back.' "
The West Point experience
White didn't know much about
Athletes cited for
disorderly conduct
By Megan Rogers
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Penn State basketball recruit
Taran Buie and football player
Curtis Drake were both cited for
disorderly conduct during Arts
Fest weekend.
Buie, 18, and Drake, 19, were
cited for disorderly conduct by
the State College Police
Department at 1:21 a.m. Sunday
outside of McDonald's, 400 E.
College Ave.
The pair was observed fight
ing, throwing punches at one
another and shoving each other,
police said. They were cited with
the intent to cause a "public
inconvenience," police said.
Buie and Drake were each
cited and fined $443.50.
Police could not say if alcohol
was involved.
`ldol' to perform downtown
By Kathleen Loughran
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Kris Allen showed he had "no
boundaries" when the "American
Idol" Season Eight winner trav
eled all around the United States
as part of the show's 2009 sum
mer tour.
This fall he will travel again
but this time he'll make a stop in
State College.
Allen will perform at 8 p.m. on
Sept. 2 at The State Theatre, 130
W College Ave.
State Theatre Executive
Director Mike Negra said he
thinks there will be a "real good
response" to ticket sales.
contributed to his drowning.
Kvaraciejus' family said he had
been enrolled at Penn State
Abington before dropping out last
semester.
Police did not say exactly where
his body was found or how far it
was from where he fell out of the
raft.
Kvaraeiejus' family lives in
Philadelphia and did not offer fur
ther comment.
To e-mail reporter: bwmsl47@psu.edu
service
until the tragic
West Point
events of 9, ii
kind of felt like a greater
purpose and I just felt like I need
ed to do something," White said.
"I talked to my dad and I said
that I wanted to join the Army."
His father. Jeff, suggested his
son, then a junior at Midland
High School in Midland, Texas,
take a look at the United States
Military Academy, a place where
he could join the Army and play
Division I baseball.
White, who helped his team
win the Texas 5A State
Championship as a sophomore,
committed to West Point around
See WHITE. Page 2.
Penn State
Assistant
Athletic Director
for Communica
tions Jeff Nelson
said the athletic
department and
both men's
coaches are Buie
aware of
Sunday's inci
dent
Currently, the
department is in
the process of
gathering infor
mation on the
details of the
event before Drake
any .decision is
made on either player's status,
he said.
Nelson said the current status
See ATHLETES. Page 2.
"He's well known," Negra said.
"He won American Idol' last year.
I think there will be an audience
for him."
Tickets for the show cost $25
and go on sale at 11 a.m. today.
They are available at the box
office or online.
Bianca Black said she want
ed Allen to win `American Idol"
because he's "relate-able"
she wants to see him perform
when he comes to State College.
"I like that it's at the State
Theatre," Black (senior-inter
national politics and history)
said. "It's a lot smaller than the
[Bryce Jordan Center]. It's
more low key, which is how I
Steph Witt/Collegian
A robbery took place at First
National Bank, 460 Westerly
Parkway.
Bank
thief
flees
scene
Police are still search
ing for a man who
walked out of a local
bank with an undis
closed amount of cash
of Jeff White
By Brendan McNally
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Police are searching for a
man who robbed the First
National Bank, 460 Westerly
Parkway, at about 9:10 a.m.
Thursday, after telling the bank
teller a note that said he had a
gun.
The man ran south from the
bank toward Waupelani Drive
with an undisclosed amount of
cash, the State College Police
Department said.
The man entered the bank
Thursday morning and handed
the teller a note that said he had
a gun, police said.
But witnesses did not report
seeing a gun at any point during
the robbery police said.
Police said witnesses
described the man's
appearence: about 5' 10", of
medium build, and with two to
three days' worth of facial hair
growth.
He was wearing a dark-col
ored hat, sunglasses, a polo
style shirt and shorts, police
said.
Police said video of the rob
bery was captured by surveil
lance cameras inside the bank
No bank employees or
patrons were harmed in the rob
bery, police said.
Police said no witnesses
reported seeing the man enter a
vehicle after he ran out of the
bank.
Penn State Police were called
to the scene to assist in identify
ing the man.
Representatives of First
National Bank could not be
reached for comment by press
time Thursday.
Information
Individuals with information
about this case are asked to
contact police at 234-7150.
To e-mail reporter:
bwmsl47@psu.edu