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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 1999)
1 he Battalion Page 5 • November 19, 1999 tu de Aggie community offers support m 5 ver 300people swer call r blood donations BY ERIC DICKENS The Battalion here is always a need for more blood dona- ions, but in a time of crisis and tragedy the need ecomes even greater. The tragic fall of Bonfire ■erday is an example of when donors are need- d most. iltwenty-eight students were brought to The St. oseph Regional Health Center in Bryan and the )q|ege Station Medical Center as a result of the Ollapse of Bonfire yesterday. To maintain blood applies in these hospitals an increase in new do tations will be required. a fortunate coincidence, two blood donation jeilers were already on campus yesterday as part ^■week-long blood drive. Red Cross and Carter Held Care have had several blood donation sites ^■ip across campus since Monday and had been Bp?iving an average student turnout of 60 people ^■donation site everyday. ■hit as the pieces of the fallen stack were ^■ig sifted through yesterday morning, the :all went out on local radio, television and by vcfrd of mouth that more donations were to keep up supplies in Bryan-College codywaget' tatl0n area hospitals. , . /Mn response to these calls, over 300 people e e><asA timed out yesterday to donate blood. *^ Jlpavid Gray, an employee of Carter Blood Care, it Contact die donation sites have seen a boom in do- urildCI la | ors anc j h ave had to take measures to accom- nodate the eager participants. The busses that terve as on-campus donation centers were opened our ahead of schedule at 9 a.m., and the set- ipjcrew had to work swiftly as there was already iline of students waiting to donate blood. HCray said that by noon yesterday, the blood do- onal 24-flOlihation site at Rudder Plaza had seen as many Stu rt a ’I hi -kf 118 38 saw t ^ ie ent * re day before. •ft availaDieJ fcmily Potter, a blood donor volunteer and a ju- Placr D m [do1 biomedical sciences major, said the increase flag KOOm was no t surprising in the wake of a tragic event such as Bonfire collapsing. ■“Donating blood is always a good cause,” "she said, “but [this larger turnout) is obvi- ie: 88-777" lings. They n 3tions.” so important /c.V in their normal l f ey can, Birch sak ■nts shouid get oip he said. “Theyif sure they eat prof] exas DepartmentB y sent additionaB Bonfire site toafl n Austin crtsil ; arrived last no case the SCSstal nice counseling] lies. TTENTIOI medStude Dur GPAff CODY WAGES/The Battalion Kellye Stone, an American Red Cross worker, handles the large amounts of donated blood as a result of the Bonfire tragedy yesterday. ously in response to the tragedy.” Juan Olivo, a blood donor volunteer and a senior economics major, agreed, saying “Aggies always help Aggies, especially in a situation like this.” The influx of new donators created some prob lems and delays for volunteers working at on-cam pus blood centers. By noon, when the larger crowds waiting to give blood had not decreased, the Carter Blood Care donation bus in front of Sbisa Dining Hall was forced to schedule ap pointments for future donators. Even with the appointments, students still had to wait over thirty minutes before they could do nate, but no one seemed to mind. Blood donation will continue for the rest of this week with an increased effort. Red Cross pro grams from Dallas, Waco and TUlsa will be send ing blood to St. Joseph’s tomorrow along with the Gulf Coast Blood Bank of Houston. The Red Cross will also station a mobile unit off campus outside of The Callaway House with extended hours.of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Parents, local businesses rush to aid of students BY JEFF WEBB AND DIANE XAVIER The Battalion Aggie students were not the only ones feeling the need to drop everything because Bonfire collapsed. Concerned parents began to flood College Station early Thursday in show of sup port for their sons and daughters. Garry Bunkley, Class of ’71, raced from Abilene after his son, junior redpot and construction science major Brent Bunkley, called at 3:30 a.m. with the tragic news. “He helped load some of the bodies, so he is really upset,” Bunkley said. “He said he needed our moral support, so he asked us to come down.” He said his son was one of the junior redpots on Bonfire site Thursday morning helping emergency personnel with the vic tims before contacting his parents for moral support. “He had just come down from the top of the stack to call for the next shift,” Bunkley said about his son. “He said he heard a crack and turned around.” Whitney Turner, Krueger Hall Bonfire chair and a sophomore business administration major, ended her shift at about 1:30 a.m. but raced back to the scene around 3 a.m. after she heard the news. She then called her parents upon returning to her res idence hall. Her father John TUrner, Class of ’70, said he left their home in Round Rock at 4 a.m. Thursday and arrived in College Sta tion a couple of hours later. Thrner said his daughter was injured at Bonfire last year, but continued to support it and participate. “Last year she got hurt out here,” he said. “A log kicked out and cut her leg really bad. But she was still determined to get more involved.” College Station hotels opened their doors to parents of in jured students. Area hotels such as the Hilton, La Quinta Inn, Hampton Inn and Vineyard Court Executive Suites are providing free rooms for the victim’s families. Jim Dunlap, general manager of Vineyard Court Executive Suites and vice president of the Brazos Valley Logging Associ ation, said the numbers of rooms available vary from property to property and are limited. “We are doing all that we can to help,” Dunlap said. “This service will be provided as long as it is needed, and we are hap py to offer it.” Dunlap said anyone needing logging should contact the Con vention of Business Bureaus at (409) 260-9999. Ross Smith, a Hilton guest services representative, said the Hilton was holding eight reservations as of 6 p.m. “Everybody who has somebody injured or has a son or daughter deceased has been given a free room,” he said. “Not all of them have checked in yet because a lot of them are still at the hospital waiting for news.” BRADLEY ATCHINSON/Tiii: Battalion A volunteer brings workers clean jackets during the rescue efforts at Bonfire site Thursday morning. As of 6 p.m. yesterday, the Hampton Inn had two of five reserved rooms claimed. Best Western had four of six claimed, and Days Inn had over a dozen parents check in and only had six rooms vacant. Other help in the A&M community came in the form of free food and donations for the victims’ families. Scott Blackwell, a volunteer with the Association of Former Students, said the organization has a Bonfire fund set up for anyone wanting to make a donation to the family members whose children were injured or killed in this incident. “We’ve had a great outpouring of help and many donated items for the workers of this search effort,” Blackwell said. “We also provide counseling services and walk-in appointments at Henderson Hall.” Free food was provided by many local businesses such as Subway, Shipley’s Donuts, Double Dave’s Pizzaworks and International House of Pancakes to students, families and workers. fPET PARADISE | 1104 C Harvey Rd. 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