Summary+Writing+Exercise

A University freshman remains in critical condition at a local hospital suffering from alcohol poisoning after a weekend party at the Alpha Beta Zeta fraternity house. Al Amalek, a freshman in liberal arts from Nashville, Tenn., was hospitalized this weekend along with two other members of the ABZ fraternity and diagnosed with alcohol poisoning. The University has investigated the incident and is suspending the fraternity, according to Jan Mize, a University spokeswoman. Mize said the University’s investigation found witnesses who saw the three fraternity members drinking during a party at the house. Such actions are a direct violation of the University’s no-alcohol policy for fraternities, she said. “Based on that, we are suspending the fraternity and all its activities on campus,” she said. The University has not decided how long the suspension will last, she said, but normally such suspensions are for a year. The two students besides Amalek who were hospitalized were Press Martin, a junior in engineering from Shethar, N.H., and Rob Smith, a sophomore in business from Tuscaloosa. They were released from the hospital on Monday morning. Bart Addison, president of the Inter-fraternity Council, said he would be appealing the decision of the University to suspend the fraternity. “I do not believe that the entire fraternity should be held responsible for the actions of a few,” he said. Because of deaths from alcohol poisoning at other campuses, University president Harvey Smithville reiterated the University’s no-alcohol policy just two weeks ago.
 * YOU ARE LIMITED TO 350 CHARACTERS. **
 * Story 1- Frat House **

An early morning blaze gutted the second oldest building in downtown Tuscaloosa, causing nearly $900,000 in damages. Two firefighters were slightly injured early Monday morning as they battled the fire that destroyed most of the Kress Building at 201 Water Street. They suffered some smoke inhalation but were not hospitalized, according to Vern Johnson, assistant fire chief. Two businesses operated out of the 100-year-old structure. John Grant, president of the Lindoln Independent Insurance Agency, said his company lost about $50,000 in records and property. Marsha Golden, director of Eon Graphics Arts Co., said that firm sustained $75,000 in damages. The three floors of the building were gutted by the fire, but the outside was apparently not seriously damaged, according to Josh Whitfield, the president of the County Preservation Society. Whitfield estimated that renovating the building would take a minimum of $750,000 and added he hoped such a renovation would take place. “The Kress Building has an architecture that is worth preserving,” he said. Johnson said the first call on the fire came in at 12:35 a.m., and three firetrucks were on the scene within five minutes. “We had a tough time with this one,” he said. “All that wood in the interior didn’t give us much of a chance to do anything but contain it.” The Kress Building was built in 1892. The only building older is the First Commerce Bank building, erected in 1877. The owner of the Kress Building is First Industrial Bank, and a spokesman there said the bank has not decided about renovating it.
 * Story 2- Fire **

** Story 3- Storm ** A violent thunderstorm Sunday night caused flooding, power outages, and at least one traffic accident that injured a local accountant. Sarah Leigh, an accountant with the Winken, Blinken and Nod accounting firm, was hospitalized with several broken bones after an accident at Main Street and 10th Avenue. She is listed in fair condition at City Memorial Hospital. Mike O’Dell, a paramedic who worked at the accident scene, said it took 30 minutes to get Leigh out of the car. “She was lucky she wasn’t hurt more seriously than she was,” he said. Following the accident, police charged Maxwell House, a local attorney, with drunken driving. But the police also blamed the accident on the storm, which dumped two inches of rain on the area in about six hours. The storm caused a number of power outages, including the traffic light where the accident occurred. An Alabama Power Company spokesperson said that as many as 20,000 customers were without power at some point during Sunday night or Monday morning. She said that all customers had their power back by 5 a.m. Monday “Our power crews worked all night to get power turned back on,” Amy Winston, Alabama Power Company spokesperson, said. The storm also caused some minor flooding in the Blackfriar’s Creek area along Delaney Road. Jamie Tarrant, an official with the Tuscaloosa Fire Department, said the flooding got into a few houses, but no one had to be evacuated. “A few yard items might have gotten washed away, and it made a mess of a few houses, but most folks did a good job of protecting their stuff,” he said.

** Story 4- Libel ** A local jury awarded a $2 million libel judgment against the Daily Tribune Monday in a suit filed by a local businessman. The jury award $500,000 in damages and $1.5 million in punitive damages to Harvey Segovia, owner of Segovia Lumber Co. Segovia had charged that the newspaper had damaged his reputation in a story, written by police reporter Mitch Sawyer, about a construction accident two years ago. Banks Brookwood, a lawyer for the Tribune, said the newspaper will appeal the verdict, which he termed “outrageous.” “We believe that the jury did not understand the real issues here,” he said. “They seemed to have it in for the newspaper.” Segovia had the opposite reaction. “The jury got it exactly right,” he said, standing on the courthouse steps with his family after the verdict was announced. He blasted the newspaper’s “slovenly reporting methods.” Segovia’s company was named two years ago in a story about a fatal construction accident in in the downtown area. Two workers fell from a 40-foot scaffolding; one was killed, and the other paralyzed. The story quoted the city building inspector as saying the accident had been caused by rotting wood and that whoever supplied the wood was responsible for the accident. The newspaper story then quoted a construction company official as saying the Segovia Lumber Co. was the supplier of wood for the project. During the trial, Segovia argued that his company was not the only one that supplied wood for the construction project and that the newspaper never called him to ask about the story. When he asked for a retraction, the editor of the paper, Abe Streeter, refused. In one of the paper’s defenses, Tribune lawyers said that Segovia’s company had not suffered any damages. In fact, they said, the company’s business had increased during the past two years.