October 8, 2012
Morgantown mayor wants WVU students to pay for riots
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Mayor Jim Manilla said Morgantown needs more police officers and firefighters to deal with street fires and other incidents following West Virginia University sports events and that the students should help pay the cost of hiring them.

Manilla told media outlets he is considering asking the university to assess a $20 student-impact fee for each WVU student each semester. The fee would generate about $1.2 million in revenue for the city annually.

"This is public safety," he said. "They [WVU] need to pay their fair share."

About 40 street and trash container fires were set Saturday night and Sunday morning following WVU's 48-45 win over Texas. Five people were charged with malicious burning, the Morgantown Fire Department said.

University spokesman John Bolt said four of those charged are students who will face disciplinary procedures.

Police officers wearing riot gear used pepper spray and CS gas to disperse an unruly crowd of about 1,000 people who gathered in the streets in the student-dominated Sunnyside area. Several officers suffered minor injuries when they were hit with bottles, rocks or other objects thrown by revelers, the Morgantown Police Department said.

Ten people were arrested on charges ranging from battery on an officer to alcohol-related offenses.

In his annual State of the University address Monday afternoon, President Jim Clements vowed to take "a very hard line" on what he called "disgraceful and shameful behavior."

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Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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