Winona State University OpenRiver The inonW an - 1980s The inonW an – Student Newspaper 12-17-1980 The inonW an Winona State University Follow this and additional works at: https://openriver.winona.edu/thewinonan1980s Recommended Citation Winona State University, "The inonW an" (1980). The Winonan - 1980s. 23. https://openriver.winona.edu/thewinonan1980s/23 This Newspaper is brought to you for free and open access by the The inonW an – Student Newspaper at OpenRiver. It has been accepted for inclusion in The inonW an - 1980s by an authorized administrator of OpenRiver. For more information, please contact [email protected]. I-- Winona State University December 17, 1980 WINONAN Vol. LVT4 Number 8 Fire destroys Prentiss room; forces many to abandon dorm by Kim Skorlinski room was occupied by Deloyd will be doing the damage repair Johnson, Scott Grade and Richard work. Room 326 of Prentiss Hall was Cook. "They all feel pretty bad the scene of a December 9 fire about it, and it was purely acciden- Winona State's insurance policy, resulting from candle burning dur- tal," said Ferden, not wishing to with St. Paul Fire and Marine, does ing a Jewish holiday celebration. comment on who was involved. not cover the residents' personal propery, only damage to state No one was injured in the fire, The fire department arrived on property, such as the beds, desks, which accounted for an excess of the scene at 5:27 p.m. and re- and the dorm itself. A student's $20,000 in fire, smoke and water mained for two hours and five own insurance policy, or his par- damage to the dormitory and minutes, according to Kohner. ent's policy, will have to cover the personal belongings, said Winona There were not any problems loss of personal belongings, said Fire Chief Edward Kohner. encountered when extinguishing Ferden. the fire. "We weren't held up at Over $830 has been given to the all," said the fire chief, "but it was As for law suits being filed Winona State Fire Fund by more uncomfortable using the air packs against WSU, Ferden said some than 400 students which will go to for breathing." residents might file suit, but most those residents of Prentiss whose parents have a "home owners" personal belongings were either Approximately 75 of the 108 policy which should cover damage damaged or destroyed in the fire. male residents that had spent the to these belongings. "The univer- The Student Senate has organized night of December 9 in Loretto sity will not be involved in any law the fire fund, of which the money Hall at the College of St. Teresa suits," remarked Kane. He said raised will be going to the 12 will remain there until the dorm is that will be left up to the insurance Flames reaching 10 feet high shot out of 326 of Prentiss Hall last hardest-hit fire victims, said Diane ready, according to Dr. John Kane, company in St. Paul. Tuesday night. The Winona Fire Department had the fire Smith, Student Senate president. vice president of Student Affairs at extinguished in two hours, and kept it contained to the one room. WSU. The other 33 that were Besides the $830 collected by (Photo by Terri Poehls) The fire chief stated that the evacuated are staying with friends, the Student Senate, the Winona cause of the fire was accidental, other rooms in town, or in Morey- State University Foundation do- resulting from birthday candles Shepard Hall. nated $600 to the fire victims, said Students' frozen fun burning in upside down paper cups Kane. Also the Winona Red Cross which were place on top of a table. Kohner said there was extensive donated $45, and the, K-Mart store turns to hot issue One of the occupants left the room smoke damage to the second, third offered a 50 percent discount on thinking the candles were out. and fourth floors, and water dam- clothes for the victims. by John W. Jaszewski Had the Winona police taken age to the third floor. Because of action against the 30 students who In his 21 years at WSU, Kane John Ferden, WSU houing dir- this damage, the 108 residents of After a snowball fight that took turned themselves in, the students said he has never seen a fire "of ector said seven or eight candles third and fourth floors of Prentiss place on December 9, breaking could have been charged with were used in a Jewish ceremony of will not be able to move back in this magnitude." He said there seven windows in the Morey-Shep- misdemeanors under three differ- Hanukkah in which at least one of until January 4, said Ferden. The have been a few small ones, but ard and Prentiss-Lucas dormitor- ent laws. Captain J.A. Kryzer of the roommates was involved. The contractor, Keith Schwab, Winona, nothing exceeding $500 in damage. ies, 30 students came forward and the Winona police department said admitted their guilt, according to that persons involved in snow ball Dr. John Kane, vice president for throwing incidents can be charged Student Affairs at WSU. with a traffic violation if a moving motor vehicle is struck, or can be Kane said that according to charged with criminal damage to police reports, between 75 and 100 property under state law, or can be students were involved in that charged with assault if a pedes- snow ball fight, and the university trian is struck. If injury or damages is still trying to track down those are serious enough, the perpetra- students who were involved, and tors can even be charged with a who have not yet been identified. felony. Kane said that he is pleased with These were the concerns ex- the attitude of the 30 students that pressed by Kane earlier this week. came forward. He added that the "We were concerned about the $125 in damages to the seven safety of motorists who were windows has already been re- driving by at the time of the snow ceived by WSU from those in- ball fight," Kane said, "And the volved. Those 30 students have students whose windows were been placed on disciplinary proba- broken had snow and ice on their tion, according to Kane, which stereo equipment when they re- means if they are involved in turned from classes." another such incident, they could face suspension for up to two Kane went on to say that he is quarters of the academic year. pleased that the 30 students rea- Those suspensions would be the lize the seriousness of this kind of result of action by the WSU offense, and does not anticipate Judiciary Board. that they will do it again. Few things were recognizable due to the fire that completely gutted the room. Damage resulting from the fire, smoke, and water to Prentiss Hall and personal belongings has been estimated at an excess of $20,000. (Photo by Terri Poehls) Inside WSU phone-a-thon raises $12,000 by Leigh Davis different kind of fund raiser, called alumni in Minnesota to ask them WINONAN looks back, Page 6 a phone-a-thon. for pledges to the university's 1980 Let it be...., Page 9 Last year only two percent of Alumni Annual Fund, according to Want a date? You got it! Page 11 Phone-A-Thon '80 as it was Linda Wood, University Relations. Winona State University's 14,000 The walking wounded, Page 15 alumni gave money to the-univer- refered to, was a unique person-to- sity, so this year the University person telephone program in which "The phone-a-thon was held De- Relations Office decided to try a student volunteers called WSU Continued on page 3 Page 2 December 17, 1980 Sonnek heads handicap program offering 'head start on life' by John W. Jaszewski take courses in this field. timers," Sonnek said. "And all of them are involved in teaching pre- Federal Law 94-42 probably The program in Minnesota is for school handicapped children in does not mean much to the aver- four and five-year olds, according some way, shape, or form." age student, but to 169 handi- to Sonnek, but in Wisconsin, where capped students in Southeastern license requirements have already Sonnek said that there are Minnesota last year, it meant a currently 10 programs in south- chance to get a head start on life. eastern Minnesota serving the 169 pre-school handicapped children. Ida Mae Sonnek heads a pro- gram at Winona State University Describing the program at WSU, that will help train the teachers Sonnek said, "What makes the that "will help to minimize the program unique is the dual empha- effects of the handicapping condi- sis of learning how the handi- tion and maximize the child's capped and non-handicapped child potential for functioning within the develops in order to learn how the mainstream of public school set- handicapped child's growth and tings and society as a whole." development is affected by his or her handicap." Sonnek, a graduate of the College of St. Teresa in 1970, holds There are currently 15 courses a masters degree in early child- offered at WSU that are a part of hood education from Georgia State the Pre-Service Teacher Training University in Atlanta, and is work- Program for the Early Childhood/ ing on her Ph.D. in education from Special Education program. Ac- Indiana University in Bloomington, cording to Sonnek these courses Ind. Ida Mae Sonnek (Photo courtesy of will hopefully be approved for University Relations) license requirements in Minnesota According to Sonnek, the pro- when those requirements are gram at WSU is in its second year.