Each week during the 2010-11 school year, The Merciad selects three stories about the college’s history. These story excerpts from our archives are posted to http://merciad.mercyhurst.edu on Thursday afternoons.

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Faulty dryer costs college $10,000
Thursday, Sept. 12, 1985

By Betsy Lantz

The fire department doused a blaze Tuesday night, August 20, in the Mercyhurst College Campus Center laundry room.

The blaze was triggered in a clothes dryer by a malfunctioning gas valve which failed to close. Subsequently, the temperature in the dryer escalated from 500 to approximately 1300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Head football coach Tony DeMeo and assistant coach Joe Buffalino were in the gym area when the fire sounded around 9 p.m.

“I thought it was a false alarm,” DeMeo said, “but when I went down to investigate it, smoke was coming from the laundry room. When I opened the door, I was met with flames and smoke.”

DeMeo then went upstairs for a fire extinguisher. By that time, however, the fire had spread to the drop ceiling and was out of control. The fire department, summoned by Buffalino, arrived and extinguished the blaze.

According to Director of Finance John J. Maus, the primary damage was from smoke which rose to the offices and gym area.

Clean-up costs, which include repainting and deodorization, are estimated at $10-12,000, Maus concluded.

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Hockey rink winning parking battle
Thursday, Sept. 12, 1991

By Angela M. Camp

Merciad file photo: Construction of the hockey rink is underway in the parking lot behind Baldwin Hall.

Construction of the new hockey rink on the parking lot behind Baldwin Hall and the Mercy apartments commenced in June, after a Board of Trustees meeting on June 20.

“The original plan was to build the rink as an addition to the rec center,” said Dave Murphy, president of Mercyhurst Student Government (MSG). According to Murphy, the change was made because the ground behind the rec center is fresh fill and needs time to settle.

An average of 50 to 75 parking spots have been lost with the construction of the hockey rink. However, 15 new parking spots were added behind Baldwin Hall; and with the removal of the work trucks, 35 spots will open up by the rink.

“The rink is going to make a dramatic difference for the hockey players,” said Garvey. “They will have a place to practice every day, they’ll be able to lead a normal life in terms of studying and they won’t be on the road 27 games a year.”

The rink will be open for recreational ice skating by the Mercyhurst community, intramural hockey and a possible girls’ hockey team.

“The only thing we won’t have will be a swimming pool,” said Garvey. “And someday, somebody will do that.”

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New Recreation Center: Better late than never
Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2000

By David Hermenau

Merciad file photo: A construction worker from Building Systems Inc. works on the new Recreation Center’s west wall Tuesday afternoon. After taking the plans back to the drawing board in July, the new center is scheduled to open in November.
According to plans released this spring, students should already be “feeling the burn” in the ‘Hurst’s new recreation center. The area adjacent to the Mercy Apartments, however, still looks like a construction zone and the new center is not expected to open until later this fall.

Completion of the center is delayed because construction plans were revised after students left campus this summer.

According to Thomas Billingsley, executive vice president, the choice to delay the opening to get the job done right was an easy choice.

The project evolved from student concern last year, that the current fitness facilities were inadequate.

The first plan had a price tag of $1,625,000 for 8,000 square feet of space. The new plan, however, will run the school $962,000 for 11,422 square feet of space.

“You get a lot more bang for the buck here … we actually got more for our dollar by doing this,” said Billingsley.