The All State

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CULIACAN, Mexico — The drought in northern Mexico is so bad that it has hurt even illicit drug growers and their normally well-tended crops of marijuana and opium poppies, a Mexican army commander said Monday, Jan. 30 .

One effect of the lack of rains is that drug planting has “declined considerably,” said Gen. Pedro Gurrola, commander of army forces in the state of Sinaloa, the cradle of the drug cartel by the same name.

Gurrola said army surveillance flights have detected fewer plantations than in previous years.

“We can see a lot less than in other years,” Gurrola told reporters.

“It depends a lot on conditions. As you can see, everything is dry.”

He said planters were still trying to eke out crops.

“They try to adapt. Where there is a stream, a pit, they put pumps and hoses in there and try to produce as much as they can,” Gurrola said.

But an army spokesman, Gen. Ricardo Trevilla, stressed that didn’t mean a drop-off in the overall production of drug cartels.

Trevilla, who was interviewed separately, said cartels have been increasingly turning to the production of synthetic drugs like methamphetamine, because they are easier to produce and are more profitable.

He said synthetic drugs can be made faster, need less storage space and are harder to detect.

Mexican authorities have been seizing increasing amounts of chemicals used in the manufacture of methamphetamine as well as finding increasingly large and sophisticated meth labs.

Authorities seized 675 tons of a key precursor chemical in December alone, an amount that experts say was enough to produce an enormous amount of drugs. TAS

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KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii — A Hawaii-based Marine accused of hazing a fellow Marine who later killed himself in Afghanistan pleaded guilty Monday, Jan. 30, to assault as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

Lance Cpl. Jacob Jacoby admitted in a special court-martial that he punched and kicked Lance Cpl. Harry Lew. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors withdrew charges that Jacoby humiliated and threatened Lew.

Jacoby said he acted out of anger and frustration that his fellow Marine had repeatedly fallen asleep while on watch while looking for Taliban fighters. That put the lives of his squad members in danger, Jacoby said.

“Lew is falling asleep on post, and putting everybody’s lives in jeopardy, and I was wondering why he was angry at me,” Jacoby said.

Jacoby said Lew was speaking disrespectfully to him when Jacoby was trying to figure out how he could help.

Lew committed suicide April 3 at a patrol base in Helmand province, shortly after the abuse. The 21-year-old was a nephew of U.S. Rep. Judy Chu.

Two other Marines also are accused of hazing Lew before he shot himself with his machine gun in his foxhole. Sgt. Benjamin Johns, the leader of the squad the Marines belonged to, and Lance Cpl. Carlos Orozco III will have their own separate courts-martial later. Both Marines watched the court proceedings Monday.

Lew’s father, Allen Lew, said his family wants to see what sentence is given to Jacoby.

“We just couldn’t believe (his) own peers would do something like that to their own people. Very sad,” he told reporters. “It’s a tragedy for us. Never able to repair our broken heart.”

Chu, D-Calif., attended the hearing. “I want to make sure that there is justice for Harry. And I want to support these brave persons, his parents,” she said.

The attorney representing Johns said he was concerned the presence of a politician will taint the process and interfere with justice.

“How do I get a fair jury? What implicit message is she trying to send to those panel members?” said Tim Bilecki, a defense attorney who specializes in military clients.

Chu said that wouldn’t be the case. “I’m not going to be saying anything in the trial. All I’m doing is being here. I’m here for the family to support them,” she said.

The case involves the actions of Marines at an isolated patrol base the U.S. was establishing to disrupt Taliban drug and weapons trafficking in Helmand province.

At an Article 32 hearing — the equivalent of a grand jury hearing for civilians — Marines testified in September that Lew repeatedly fell asleep while he was on watch duty and patrol looking for attacking insurgents. Squad members and officers had tried different methods to get him to stay awake, including referring him up the chain of command for discipline and taking him off patrols so he could get more rest.

But on Lew’s last night, when he fell asleep again, those efforts escalated into alleged acts of violence and humiliation, according to charges outlined at the hearing. The Marines were accused of punching and kicking him, making him do pushups and pouring sand in his face.

A significant share of the questions raised at the Article 32 hearing focused on whether the accused intended to humiliate and harm Lew or discipline him so he would stop falling asleep while on watch duty.

Before Lew put the muzzle of his machine gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger, he scrawled a note on his arm: “May hate me now, but in the long run this was the right choice I’m sorry my mom deserves the truth.”

A Marine commander in retrospect speculated Lew may have been nodding off because he suffered from depression or some other medical condition.

Chu discussed her nephew’s death during a House Armed Services hearing on suicide prevention in September, held at the same time as the Article 32 hearing. She told military witnesses that Lew was “a very popular and outgoing young man known for joking and smiling and break dancing.”

Chu also issued a statement saying no one deserves being “hazed and tortured” like her nephew was, and that the military justice system must hold “any wrongdoers accountable.” TAS

» ASSOCIATED PRESS

NASHVILLE — The more than $330 million Gov. Bill Haslam has appropriated for capital projects and maintenance at the state’s colleges and universities is a good start considering they haven’t received sufficient funding in nearly four years, state officials said Monday, Jan. 30.

The Republican governor stressed the importance of adequately funding higher education’s capital plans in his State of the State address on Monday, Jan. 30, evening, saying “access is critical to a successful education program.”

“Let me speak plainly, for the last several years we have not been funding higher education’s capital plans to the degrees necessary to meet growing student demand,” Haslam said. “We need more space to train students in science, technology, engineering, and math – critical subjects in which we must provide more trained graduates.”

Higher education officials had discussed a $2 billion bond issue to cover the costs, but some lawmakers felt the move would jeopardize the state’s strong credit rating.

The proposed funding does contain some usage of bonds, but not nearly as much as was being considered by higher education officials.

“We have to really be cautious about what we do,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner of Nashville. “Two billion dollars at this time might not be the right time to do it. We don’t have a clue what Congress is going to do.”

Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey said a bond for that amount would cost the state millions of dollars a year.

“I think they’ll be happy with what we’re doing,” said the Blountville Republican. “And if more money shows up before the end of the year, maybe we can do a little more.”

The last time the state’s colleges and universities received a substantial amount of money for capital projects was in 2008. Haslam’s proposal would fund the top three projects in higher education:

— $127 million for a science building at Middle Tennessee State University.

— $94 million for a science lab at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

— $24 million for a multidisciplinary simulation center at the UT Health Science Center in Memphis.

Haslam said his proposal also includes planning money for new buildings at Nashville State Community College and Northeast State Community College, the University of Memphis, and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Finance and Administration commissioner Mark Emkes said the governor’s plan is a “step in the right direction.”

“It’s not exactly what higher education officials had wished for, but at the same time I think they’re going to recognize that it’s a significant amount of money compared to previous years,” he said.

David Gregory, vice chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents, said Haslam’s proposal allows higher education officials to start working on a list of projects and repairs that had “become sluggish, to say the least.”

“It allows the list to get going again,” he said. “It allows us to be able to make significant progress on our aging buildings.” TAS

» By CHRIS COPPEDGE – ccoppedge@my.apsu.edu

For some students, the HOPE Scholarship is something of a beacon, lighting the way towards funding classes, but that might change with the current proposal to slice the funding in half for students who don’t quite measure up.

“The HOPE Lottery Scholarship funding program is being reviewed,” said Financial Aid Supervisor Jennifer Ellis. Evidently, the expenditures of the program have been outpacing the annual net proceeds.

As such, a “Lottery Stabilization Task Force” has been assembled in order to create a better policy and help maintain expenses.

They have proposed a “recommendation package” that is expected to pass into law and be fully established by the 2015-16 academic year. The first recommendation would make certain only students attending a four-year institution who meet both the GPA and ACT criteria for the HOPE would get the full award.

Students who only meet one of the criteria will receive half of the award. The current amount offered per academic year for students at a four-year institution can be up to $4,000.

Other recommendations in the “package” include providing $10 million in funding to the Tennessee Student Assistance Award program when the scholarship changes are implemented, increasing the General Shortfall required reserve from $50 million to $100 million and requiring the Comptroller to study the effectiveness of the HOPE Scholarship changes.

Currently, the HOPE Scholarship’s traditional component requires an entering freshman to have a minimum 21 ACT or overall weighted GPA of 3.0. This extends to home school graduates as well as GED applicants.

Nontraditional students must be Tennessee residents, be enrolled at an eligible postsecondary institution and need to have completed a FAFSA form.

Students who received the full award for their first two years with only one criteria will continue to receive the full award in their third year.

The on-the-ground reactions seem surprisingly fair-minded. “I could see how it’s fair, because a lot of people only do one portion, yet get the whole reward,” said former student Joseph Sabinske.

Freshman Zach Scouten is of a similar mindset. “I did the bare minimum throughout high school, but I still put my best foot forward for the ACT,” Scouten said. “So how can you really judge who gets the full reward and who doesn’t?”

There is also a “HOPE Access Grant” for students at two-year institutions, according to the Tennessee State Board of Education’s website.

In order to receive this, students attending a four-year institution need an 18-20 score on the ACT and a 2.75 weighted GPA.

Supplements to the HOPE include the $1,500 Aspire Award, which students with a household income less than $36,000 can earn, or the General Assembly Merit of $1,000, which only students with a 3.75 GPA or 29 score on the ACT can receive.

For technical students, there is also the $2,000 Wilder-Naifeh Technical Skills Grant, which can go to any student who has enrolled in a TTC (Tennessee Technology Center), and can lead to eligibility for the HOPE within three years of completing a TTC program. TAS

» By MADELYN FOX- mfox9@my.apsu.edu

Papa John’s relationship with APSU just keeps getting better.

Not only did Papa John’s Pizza open a store in the APSU food court in the fall of 2010, but the pizzeria, also a corporate sponsor for APSU Athletics, is now offering APSU students, alumni, faculty and staff a 20 percent discount on all online orders.

Customers are merely required to enter the promo code APSU303 during their online checkout and will receive the discount on their order, 5 percent of which goes right back into the APSU Athletics department.

Steve Shaw, director of Corporate Relations at APSU, explained the 5 percent will go to a variety of different aspects of the athletics program at the discretion of Athletics Director David Loos.

This could take the form of anything from facilities upkeep and repair to academic resources for APSU athletes who are struggling with classes.

The inspiration for this discount reward program came from Papa John’s, who wanted to do something slightly different with their sponsorship this year.

As they entered into discussions with Shaw and the Office of University Advancement about continuing that sponsorship, they suggested the 20 percent discount as a more visible way of giving back to the students and 5 percent back to the Athletics program. The discount is intended to simultaneously strengthen their relationship with the general APSU community.

The 5 percent donation generated from the discounted sales is received as a monthly payback to APSU.

According to Sunny Restuccio, general manager at the Madison Street store, they have similar arrangements with several other Montgomery County Schools, all using the online ordering system to eliminate confusion and errors in computing.

Want a free pizza? Keep a lookout for Papa John’s representatives at upcoming athletic events where they will be handing out cards explaining their new points rewards program, which is already responsible for giving away around 400 free pizzas. Instituted in October, this particular deal lets customers earn points towards a free pizza while still receiving other student discounts on those orders.

Papa John’s has instituted several other programs designed to benefit APSU students, namely the $8 large 1-topping pizza deal, which is redeemable only at their Madison Street location with the online code APSU8.

Papa John’s is also one of the businesses featured on the StudyMasters discount card, offering a large 1-topping pizza for carryout at $6.99 and a large 1-topping pizza for delivery at $7.99.

The StudyMasters discount is redeemable at all four Clarksville locations.

More information on these and other daily specials can be found at www.facebook.com/papajohnspizzaMadisonSt.APSU. TAS

» By TRENT SINGER – tsinger@my.apsu.edu

After suffering a tough road loss in Cape Girardeau to Southeast Missouri, the Govs returned home to beat the UT Martin Skyhawks, 92-73. Senior guard TyShwan Edmondson ended the night with 22 points and eight rebounds, along with senior center John Fraley’s 23 points and 13 rebounds.

The Governors’ 6-4 record in the OVC kept them in the top tier of the conference standings.

Throughout much of the game, the Skyhawks played well, despite being ranked last in the OVC.

The Governors rallied from slim margins on multiple occasions but never gave up the lead after taking it early on in the first half.

Along with the stellar play from Edmondson and Fraley, seniors Josh Terry and Melvin Baker also scored in the double digits combining for a total of 28 points and 11 rebounds.

As a team, the Govs were sufficient from the field, shooting 54.5 percent throughout the game. The Govs finished the game with a 19-3 run to cap off a great performance against another conference opponent.

Perhaps the highlight of the game was Fraley’s presence in the paint, where the senior center shot 9-14. After the game, Fraley spoke about the significance of coming home to beat the Skyhawks and regain confidence in the team’s morale.

“We’re home. We can’t afford to lose any more games,” Fraley said. “It was exciting, and it feels exhilarating to get that win.”

Fraley’s emotion was evident on the court, and it seemed to carry over and motivate his teammates as well.

The team gets another important home game against Tennessee Tech on Thursday. The resiliency will need to remain strong if the Govs plan to continue their success.

“He’s been harping about playing hard and playing tough,” said Fraley. “We’ve been resilient. Even in the games we lost, we played really hard.”

Going forward, Coach Loos continues to prepare his players by focusing on the fundamental aspects of the game.
“He prepared us by doing the little things, and that adds up,” Fraley said. TAS