2004 - 12 (Dec)

              [IMAGE (PHOTOGRAPH) Students creating a poster for their fundraising, Montooth family photo]  Western Courier Volume 105, Issue 41 Friday, December 3, 2004 http://www.westerncourier.com  Sports Westerwind basketball defeats Bradley University on road Wednesday night, 72-56 Back page. Sports University of Illinois victory opens eyes of college basketball fans nationwide. Page 7. OP/ED Medical marijuana has a public relations problem. Page 4. EDGE Rappers do battle for �Braggin� Rights� in University Grand Ballroom. Edge Page 2.  Weather Partly cloudy 39/30. Still no capital budget action Several Western projects still lacking state funding By Andrew Walters assistant news editor Western Illinois University will continue to feel the pressure from lack of state funding into the next calendar year as the Illinois General Assembly did not take any action on fiscal year 2005 capital budgets for state institutions. According to Western President Al Goldfarb, this inaction was due to a lack of funding for university projects, not just at Western but across the state. ""The budget situation is still difficult in the state of Illinois,"" Goldfarb said. A number of significant projects were on the FY2005 capital budget, including a $4 million funding request for the new Performing Arts Center to be built on the Macomb campus. Another $1.5 million was requested for design and planning of the new Quad Cities Riverfront campus. Both of these are projects Goldfarb is confident will hold strong priority to the governor and state legislatures, even if the money is not available to fund them at this time. ""I think we have done a good job of bringing the issue to the attention of the Board of Higher Education,"" Goldfarb said. ""But there are many competing priorities in the state at this time."" Still, further delaying funding these projects is regrettable according to Goldfarb, because Western has not received state funding for a new facility since 1978 for the Leslie F. Malpass Library. Also under consideration was $1.58 million for capital renewal infrastructure repair and maintenance issues. Because the general assembly did not vote on these requests, some projects may go undone despite growing in importance, said Jackie Thompson, vice president for administrative services. According to Thompson, maintenance on elevators, cooling and heating projects and roofing repairs on several buildings may be set back. She added the most pressing concerns will be addressed, but not having this funding will cause maintenance issues she would like to have done to be pushed back. The other problem Thompson faces is that once money is not granted it is hard to get it back at a later date. ""You never can make it back, that is the challenge,"" Thompson said. According to Goldfarb, the obstacle that stands in the way of Western receiving money for the capital budget is strictly financially motivated, not a lack of interest in supporting them. ""The economy just needs to turn around in the state,"" Goldfarb said. ""Capital budgets are a high priority (in Springfield); in general there has been support for rehabilitation projects."" Goldfarb said the administration's job remains at this point to continue to lobby to state legislatures and keep Western's capital projects at a high priority. Students fight Sudan crisis By Chris Moss courier staff From left, Raja Bachra, sophomore finance and French double major, Osato Omofonmwan, African Student Association president, Melba Mombo, therapeutic recreation graduate student, and Fidelis Mironko, international relations graduate student create a poster for their fundraising. Now that the guns have stopped firing and the war is over in Sudan, the new battle will be to keep peace. One group of Western Illinois University students intend to help fight for that peace. ""We need to get the word out there to give assistance,"" said Osato Omofonmwan, senior international student marketing major and African Student Association president. The ASA has combined with World Vision to try and bring relief to the 1.2 million who have been driven from their homes. ""They are looking for their families and they need help,"" Omofonmwan said. ""That's what we're here to help them do, help."" The money made through the effort will go toward the World Vision program, which aids in providing food, water sanitation systems, shelter, emergency supplies and other necessities. ""Recently we provided mosquito nets due to a rise (of mosquitoes that carry) malaria,"" said Amy Parodi, Media Relations Officer at World Vision. ""We are eternally grateful to those who have made donations to the program,"" Parodi added. The conflict in Sudan was recently rekindled when the Sudan Liberation Army attacked refugee camps in south Darfur on Monday and 25 people were killed � 22 policemen, a medical worker and two civilians. This attack during a time of ceasefire may break down peace talks between the SLA and the current Sudan government. Throughout the conflict in Darfur, see Sudan page 2 Area children struggle with immune system disease By Rebecca Jania courier staff Peg and Bob Montooth pose with their three sons, from left, Tyler, 13 months old, Dylan, nine, and Brandon, six. Nine-year-old Dylan Montooth from Little York, about 35 miles northwest of Macomb, said he refuses to believe that he was ever sick. However, when he was five months old, he was deathly ill with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Syndrome, a disease that will follow him for life. According to Dylan's mother, Peg, her son was constantly sick from birth. ""I kept telling the doctors something was wrong. They Said, 'No. Babies have low immune systems and can get ill often.' One Saturday I called my husband because (Dylan) was breathing weird. We took him to the emergency room (in Burlington, Iowa) to find out that he had pneumonia,"" she said. Dylan was transferred from the hospital in Burlington to Iowa City, where physicians diagnosed him as having SCIDS and Pneumocystis pneumonia, which can be fatal in individuals with lowered immune systems. �(My husband and I) were both very young, and it was so overwhelming and scary. We were told six times that (Dylan) would die. Many weekends we called the family up to be there if he did, �Dylan�s mother said. According to the Aurora Health Care Web site, SCIDS is a congenital disorder where immune cells do not develop. Once referred to as the �bubble boy� disease, SCIDS will most likely kill individuals born with the disease before they are two years old. The common cold can be fatal to infants born with SCIDS. Bob Montooth, Dylan�s father, said he and his wife reacted differently to their son�s disease. �I denied (it) a lot and had a hard time going in and seeing Dylan like he was,� he said. �On the other hand, my wife was in there every day reading to him, sometimes 14 to 16 hours straight. (She was) often getting ordered by the nurses to take a break,� he said. �She was always at the front line and gave up her dreams, job and life to make sure Dylan was taken care of.� When Dylan was diagnosed with SCIDS, physicians told the family that a bone-marrow transplant would be Dylan�s only option for survival, according to his mother. The Montooth family was tested for compatibility. DNA compatibility is measured on a scale of six. Dylan�s father had the closest match with a three out of six. With no other options, the couple decided to use hi bone marrow. Dylan�s father said what the experience was like donating to his son. �The day of harvesting, all (of) the family was there. I would not let them go (into surgery) with me,� Dylan�s father said. �I remember the walk (to surgery). Coming off (of) the elevator into surgery, it was very quiet and the lights were still dimmed. It�s just an incredible feeling, see Donation page 2