High Rise evacuated for second night due to smoke scare

Around 3:30 Friday morning, students living in High Rise awoke to another evacuation. The High Rise dormitory was evacuated for a second time, sparking disbelief and frustration among residents of the hall. Emergency vehicles were quick to respond to the scene. The possible cause for the evacuation lies once again in the dorm’s boiler room. Sophomore biology major Brennan McNeil was one of the first people to spot the hazard. “I was the first one down in the electrical room,” McNeil said. “There was smoke coming out of the main conduit in the back – white smoke. It smelled like a fire – a chemical. So, campus security came up, we met them in the lobby. They declared that we needed to be on alert. We called the fire department. At that point, we decided that it was best to evacuate everybody.” From Kim Chaudoin, Lipscomb’s director of corporate communication: Work to repair the line began at about 5 a.m. this morning. Emergency generators for affected areas are in transit to campus. At this point, it is not known if this is related to yesterday’s water line incident. The university is in the process of bringing in outside contractors to thoroughly review all utility issues that might be related.  During the evacuation, many students noticed the smell of smoke while they were exiting the dormitory. “It smelled like smoke in the stairwells,” RA Adam Sain said. “About 3:15 this morning, a breaker blew in a substation that we have here on campus,” Chaudoin said. “It kind of threw a surge through the line, and there’s a conduit that’s near the...

Recapping the severe weather from March 2, 2012 with your photos and videos

NASHVILLE, TENN – On Friday, Mar. 2, the National Weather Service, along with the local news stations, warned the mid-state of the potential for severe weather. The meteorologists’ predictions were nearly spot on as the storms produced several tornado warnings as well as numerous severe thunderstorm warnings. Many students and faculty were advised to seek shelter on on campus, waiting out the storms in basements, closets, interior hallways and the backs of parking garages. Once the threatening storms had passed and the university had given the all-clear, those same students and faculty documented what the storm left behind. The following is a slideshow compromised of TwitPics, Instagrams and Facebook photos that those folks posted throughout the afternoon and evening. The following video is from Lumination correspondents Caitlin Selle and Kelly Dean. Check back with Lumination throughout the weekend for more on the storm such as videos, more pictures and other content. Until then, feel free to work backwards through the storm by following what our updates looked like today. Lumination would like to thank those that contributed to this story. [From 12:30] National and local weather experts are predicting severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes for Nashville and much of the Southeastern United States today. [UPDATE: 4:36] Severe Thunderstorm Warning still in effect for Northern Davidson County until 5:15 p.m. NashSevereWx Downtown: it’s not over. More intense thunderstorms coming, hopefully not as bad. Williamson Co continues to elude the worst of it. 3/2/12 4:33 PM [UPDATE: 4:25] All clear for now in the Nashville area. Loving the tweets, everyone. Keep them coming. Find the link at the bottom of the...

With shortened bench, Bison motivated heading into A-Sun tournament

If Lipscomb coach Scott Sanderson is looking for a way to entertain his players on the way to Macon, Ga., he might want to screen the movie “Hoosiers”. The fictional Hickory High team, undersized and outmanned, won the Indiana State Championship in 1954. But it was more than movie magic. The Hickory team stood in for Milan High School which actually did win that championship in 1954, sparking the production of the movie. The Bison can certainly use the motivation. They enter the eight-team General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Tournament at the University Center on the campus of Mercer University as a No. 7 seed with an 8-10 conference record, 13-17 overall. Wednesday night at 7:30 central time they will face No. 2-seeded Mercer, the tournament host with a 13-5 A-Sun record, 21-01 overall. Video Broadcast: ESPN3 (Mike Morgan, play-by-play; Sonny Smith, color analyst) Radio: WPRT 102.5 The Game (Jonathan Seamon, play-by-play; Justin Seamon, color analyst) “We have had to shuffle some guys around,” Sanderson said. “Different guys have had to play different roles the last several games. Hopefully, we can maximize our ability. “We are going to have to manage how we play both offensively and defensively. We have to manage playing time. How you play defensively is very, very important.” It is the lowest seed ever for the Bison in the A-Sun Tournament. They have been the No. 1 seed twice (2006, 2010), No. 4 three times (2007, 2009, 2011) and No. 5 twice (2005, 2008). “Tournament play is a lot different,” Sanderson said. “We go into this tournament a lot different than we have the last couple...

Bison baseball bounces back after rough weekend with sweep of MTSU

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Behind record-setting pitching and timely hitting, the Lipscomb baseball team swept a doubleheader from Middle Tennessee 3-2 and 3-1 on Tuesday at Ken Dugan Field at Stephen L. Marsh Stadium in Nashville. Game one of the twinbill saw the Lipscomb (3-1) pitchers rack up a school record 16 strikeouts against Middle Tennessee (1-3) led by eight from junior starter Josh Cotham.  The righty went five solid innings allowing only one earned run, three hits and a pair of walks.  Cotham was joined in the strikeout parade by junior southpaw with a pair and fellow lefty Gil Rehwinkel (1-0), who earned the win on the bump. Rehwinkel tossed the final two and one-thirds innings and fanned six of the seven Blue Raiders he faced to pick up his first career. “When we play a doubleheader, it’s a lot of long baseball,” said Lipscomb head coach Jeff Forehand. “Nine-inning doubleheaders are long but we need a lot of people to get in and get their innings in.  We pitched it pretty good today. “Strikeouts come and we like them but it’s not necessarily how we want to pitch all the time. It just worked out in our favor. We don’t want to go for the strikeout every time. Ground balls are just as easy but the strikeout in the first game was a big part of why we got the victory.” MTSU got a run right out of the gate on a first inning homer by second baseman Jonny Thomas but Lipscomb countered right back in the third when junior centerfielder Ricky Coleman came home on a single...

Gaylord Chairman wants state to expand tourism industry to nation, world

While hospitality is one of the Volunteer State’s most notable traits, Colin Reed says Tennessee’s tourism industry has more opportunity than ever to grow. And his audience had a vested interest in increasing tourism. The Nashville Business Breakfast, which was held at Lipscomb University and co-sponsored by the Nashville Business Journal, was attended by professionals in fields from media to politics and everywhere in between. Reed, the CEO of Gaylord Entertainment, said that though Tennessee’s tourism industry is valued at over $14 billion, the state has never attracted international tourists. While Mayor Karl Dean highlighted the uniqueness of the city’s airport, with country music artists welcoming you to Nashville, Reed said that international travelers couldn’t get directly into the city. Currently, those traveling from abroad must have a very hectic itinerary. Reed compared the local airport, BNA, to the airport in Denver, where Gaylord is building a resort and convention center. On an average day, Denver has 15 international flights. Nashville only has two – Cancun during the spring and summer and year-round flights to Toronto Reed also announced to the crowd that the 2011 year was the most successful one in the Opryland Hotel’s history. The hotel made $291.8 million last year, just one year after the flood that destroyed much of the property around the hotel. Gaylord’s plan to “attract and expand leisure based business” began earlier this year when the company announced the construction of a new theme park. Reed says the park is expected to get 500,000 visitors annually. By the third year, it is expected to generate an output of $66 million. Reed also said...