Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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CAROLINA © BRIEF Habitat, volunteers build ‘Dream Home’ Nearly 1,000 people, many USC students, have been building a Habitat for Humanity “Dream Home” this week on Greene Street in front of Preston Residential College. The effort is the result of a partnership among Coldwell Banker, United Realtors, Columbia Metropolitan magazine, Robert Haas Construction, USC’s Office of Student Involvement and Leadership, and USC’s Habitat for Humanity chapter. The build began Sunday, and the home will be moved at 5 a.m. Friday to the City of Columbia’s Rockgate Community. The partners plan to dedicate the house in December. Since 1999, five Dream Homes, ranging in size from 3,400 to 6,000 square feet, have been built. Habitat for Humanity reached its goal of $30,000 to build a home and expanded the partnership to include USC. West Quad receives environmental award West Quad, the world’s largest “green dorm," has earned a “Silver”. LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council as the nation’s largest healthy and energy efficient college residence hall. “We’re pleased to have achieved the goal we set at the beginning of this project — to obtain Silver LEED certification without spending more for the buildings," said Gene Luna, associate vice president and director of Student Development and University Housing. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, represents some of the nations most stringent standards for sustainable building design and construction. Criteria for certification encompass water and energy conservation, smart land use and transportation, access to daylight and views, high indoor air quality and recycled materials. Luna said West Quad’s LEED certification affirms USC’s goal of becoming a leader in building green. USC’s new Arnold School of Public Health, scheduled to open in 2006, is adhering to sustainable principles, with the goal of earning LEED certification. West Quad is among five LEED buildings in South Carolina and is the second to earn Silver status. THIS WEEK O USC SUNDAY Cornelia Freeman September Concert Series, Program No. 3 — Slavic/Russian: School of Music 206. Ryan Lewis doctoral percussion recitaL 7:30 p.ra. School of Music 206. TUESDAY Andrea Price-Baxley doctoral voice recital: 7:30 p.m. School of Music 206. THURSDAY USC Symphony Orchestra — “Mark O’Connor”: 7:30 p.ra. Koger Center. Statistics colloquium — Shingo Goto, “The Application of Time Series Analysis in Finance”: 2 p.m. LeConte 2 MIA. I ON THE WEB ® wWW.DAILYGAMECOCK.COM Read online five days a week. Far out. Weather Forecast TODAY High 96 Lout 12 sun. High 91 Loui 66 High 90 Loui 61 CAMP CASEY IN COLUMBIA _ Jessica Munday /Till'] < iAM K( lot; l\ A makeshift shrine honoring soldiers in Iraq is displayed in Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Columbia. Cindy Sheehan and the “Bring Them Home Now" tour stopped in the park Wednesday night as part of an anti-war rally making its way to Washington, D.C. ————==-■ — ■ —a=-ag== - ■ ■■.— —— ■ B-I —^ POLICE REPORT I WlMMIEi MONDAY, SEPT. 12 Grand larceny of laptop, 8 a.m. Blatt P.E. Center, 1300 Wheat St. The Department of Exercise Science said someone removed a Dell laptop and its charger from a possibly unsecured room. Reporting officer: L. Welch Larceny of DVD player, 9 a. m. Sumwalt, 1212 Devine St. Someone forcibly opened a metal cabinet and removed a silver Pioneer DVD player. Estimated value: $200. Reporting officer: J. M. Simmons TUESDAY, SEPT. 13 Suspicious activity, 11:55 p.m. 800 block of Pickens St. The victim said someone dropped a rock on his car from the Pickens Street bridge. Reporting officer: M. A. Winnington WEDNESDAY, SEPT.14 Indecent exposure, 12:20 p. m. Russell House, 1400 Greene St. Student Government Vice President Ryan Holt Said an 18- to 20-year-old white male with a slim build who stood approximately 5 feet 10 inches ran through the Grand Market Place. The man was wearing only a white USC-style football helmet, white tennis shoes and carrying a football. Reporting officer: L. Welch Assistance rendered, 6p.m. Thomas Cooper Library, 1322 Greene St. I he victim was complaining or chest pains. He said he had three prior heart attacks. First Responders and Richland County EMS responded. The man was conscious enough to give EMS his information. He was transported to Providence Hospital. THURSDAY, SEPT.15 Simple possession of marijuana, 1:10 a.m. Snowden, 600 Main St. Reporting officer S. Wilcox responded to a call that someone was smoking marijuana in a room. Wilcox arrived at the room and made contact with Charles Mayers, 18, who produced a bag of a leafy substance believed to be marijuana. He was arrested and transported to Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. -- --r I World U.S., North Korea nuclear talks stalled BEIJING — Talks aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear program stalled Thursday amid a dispute between Pyongyang and Washington over the Norths demand for a nuclear reactor. Delegates to the talks, which include South Korea, Russia, Japan and China, have been discussing a proposal that would offer North Korea economic aid, security guarantees from Washington and free electricity from South Korea in exchange for dismantling its nuclear weapons program. North Korea has also asked for a light-water nuclear reactor to generate electricity, a type that is more difficult to divert to weapons use. “Providing a light-water reactor is a matter of principle for building trust,” said North Korean spokesman Hyun Hak-bong. “The United States says it cannot give us a light-water reactor no matter what. It is telling us to give up the nuclear (program) first without doing its part.” The U.S. side had no immediate comment on the outcome of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill — meeting with the chief North Korean delegate. A South Korean official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the two sides appeared not to • _ have bridged their differences when they emerged from the session. The talks reconvened Tuesday after a five-week recess. The last session failed to yield an agreement after 13 days of meetings, and no end date has been set for the current negotiations. Hill noted Wednesday that North Korea has pursued a nuclear program for 25 years and used it solely to make weapons-grade plutonium for atomic bombs. Army sergeant sentenced to 6 years in prison for role in plot to smuggle cocaine on planes flliciad. Caldwell THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FORT BUSS, TEXAS — A soldier stationed in Colombia as part of the U.S. war on drugs was sentenced to six years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty in a scheme to smuggle cocaine into the United States using military planes. Army Staff Sgt. Kelvin Irizarry-Melendez, 26, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, wrongful importation of cocaine and a charge related to taking money to Colombia. Lt. Col. Jeffery Nance sentenced Irizarry-Melendez to six years, reduced his rank to private and ordered a dishonorable discharge. Under a plea deal, Irizarry-Melendez could have been sentenced to no more than 9 1/2 years. Irizarry-Melendez apologized to his family, the court and the Army in a brief statement. He said he joined in the drug ring in part to help support his family and pay for costly medical treatments to help correct his daughters debilitating foot problem. “I felt I had to do something to help with my daughter’s condition,” a tearful Jrizarry-Melendez said. He and three other soldiers were accused of smuggling cocaine from a U.S. base in Colombia. All four have been jailed since their arrests earlier this year. Irizarry-Melendez also had been charged with making a false official statement, illegal use of cocaine and illegal use and transportation of weapons, according to post officials. Those charges were not pursued as part of the plea agreement. The accused ringleader, Staff Sgt. Daniel Rosas, who is scheduled to stand trial later this month, told investigators that he and Irizarry-Melendez were responsible for the drug smuggling, with the other two soldiers concentrating mostly on fronting money to buy the drugs. Irizarry-Melendez told the judge Thursday that he assisted the operation, and even helped another soldier steal cocaine from Rosas, but didn’t smuggle drugs or money. Spec. Francisco Rosa pleaded guilty last month to a serifs of charges and was sentenced to five years in prison, a reduction in rank to private and a bad-conduct discharge. Staff Sgt. Victor J. Portales is scheduled for trial in November. State Toyota developing fuel cell technology Toyota Motor Corp. will work with the Savannah River National Lab to develop hydrogen fuel storage systems for cars, lab officials said Thursday. The automaker is putting $2 million into the project during the next two years through its Toyota Technical Center USA subsidiary. The Savannah River Site had a key role in manufacturing nuclear weapons and remains the nations only site processing tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen. Five decades of storing the explosive gas has given the facility expertise, including storing hydrogen in a solid form using metal hydrides. One goal of the project is to develop lighter materials that cost less and store hydrogen more efficiently for vehicles, j , The other part of the project f ' will work on ways to reduce the effect air and moisture have on hydrogen storage materials. The work will be done just outside the Savannah River Site fence at the new, 60,000 square-fbot Center for Hydrogen Research. The joint development deal is seen as a boost for the state’s growing duster of automotive research and manufacturing. A coalition of South Carolina institutions-the University of South Carolina, Clemson University’s International f | Center for Automotive Research in Greenville, South Carolina State University’s Transportation Center and the Savannah River National Laboratory-are in the process of melding their hydrogen expertise into an effort they hope will produce huge economic development and job creation gains for the state. Nation Judge rules against Pledge of Allegiance ^ SAN FRANCISCO — An atheist seeking to strike the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools has won a major battle in his quest to force the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the issue again. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton sided with atheist Michael Newdow in ruling Wednesday that the pledges reference to God violates the rights of children in. three school districts to be “free from a coercive requirement to affirm God.” Karlton said he was bound by precedent of the 9th U.S. £ Circuit Court of Appeals, which in 2002 ruled in Newdow’s favor that the pledge is unconstitutional wnen recited in public schools. The latest decision could set up another church-state showdown at a time when the Supreme Court is in flux with John Roberts facing nomination and another nominee soon to be announced. The Supreme Court dismissed the case last year, saying Newdow lacked standing because he did not have custody of his elementary school daughter he sued on behalf of. Newdow, an attorney and a medical doctor, filed an identical case on behalf of three unnamed parents and their children. Karlton said those families have the right to sue. Newdow is hoping to get the high court to remove the pledge’s reference to God and restore its pre-1954 wording, “one nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."