Volkswagen
Beetle reborn with Cougar pride
WSU fight
song, Bob Robertson’s signature sign-off both grace a symbol of school spirit
made by Bob Paine
Bob Paine
restored the 1968 Volkswagen Beetle pictured here and turned it into a symbol
of Cougar pride. The bug appeared on the set of ESPN's College GameDay when it
came to Pullman on Oct. 20. (Photo from Bob Paine.)
By DYLAN
GREENE, Evergreen
Jan 8,
2019
Inside Bob
Paine’s warehouse in Wenatchee, Washington, sits three Volkswagen Beetles, one
Karmann Ghia and two vans.
The
Beetles aren’t like the ones that can be bought at a car dealer. They are
roughly 50 years old and each has its own unique story.
The most
meaningful one might just be the one born in 1968. With the WSU fight song on
the hood, Bob Robertson’s signature sign-off on the roof and Cougar paw prints
spread across the vehicle, this bug is special.
“I see
that car and it just makes me smile,” said Ben Paine, Bob’s youngest son. “It
conjures in me images of WSU, images of [Drew] Bledsoe to [Phillip] Bobo in the
Snow Bowl.”
Bob, who
graduated from WSU in 1969, designed this symbol of Cougar Pride that appeared
on the set of ESPN’s College GameDay in Pullman on Oct. 20.
Bob has
been purchasing run-down Beetles and renovating them with his own touch for
roughly 45 years. He has lost track of how many bugs he has brought back to
life over the years, but he estimates the total to be around 30.
“I’d
always just keep finding bugs,” Bob said. “Once I got one done, I just wanted
to do another one.”
The
71-year-old said all it takes is a little bit of cash and creativity. Bob
scours Craigslist and the internet constantly to find any Beetle from the 1960s
he can fix up.
He
typically spends anywhere between $400 and $700 to purchase a Beetle and around
$3,000 to update the wheels, tires, paint, interior or anything else he feels
needs to be changed.
The Cougar
Beetle featured on GameDay comes from humble beginnings. Bob found the car in
Tacoma where a man had a garage filled with three bugs. The one Bob bought and
decided to restore had roughly half of its paint sanded off when he purchased
it.
When he
towed it home, his wife Nita suggested he finish off the job and sand off what
little original paint remained. He did, but only after doing some research to
determine what was beneath the original paint.
Turns out
it was silver, and that’s how the vehicle got its shiny exterior. The time and
effort Bob pours into remaking the Beetles is hard to keep track of, but at the
end of the day he doesn’t do it for a profit, he said.
“I lose
money,” he said. “You’d have to rip someone off to make any money.”
Bob first
got interested in this hobby while teaching at an alternative school in Vermont
in the 1970s. He taught a three-week-long Volkswagen restoration class along
with Cutter Wyman during which students got hands-on experience building a car.
Bob has
renovated countless Beetles over the years all with their own unique design
including the Coca-Cola one pictured above.
When Bob
moved to Wenatchee five years later, he brought the program with him and taught
it at Eastmont High School for a limited time.
Bob said
he never took any classes growing up or at WSU that taught him how to rebuild
cars, but he credits Wyman and a book titled “How to Keep Your Volkswagen
Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot” with helping
him learn and spark his passion.
The car
featured on GameDay was the second Cougar Beetle Bob ever made. Bob sold his
first newly-designed car about 10 years ago to a man who gave it to his wife as
an anniversary gift.
This Beetle
was crimson instead of silver and Bob said he is thinking about resurrecting a
third one in that same color.
Lance
Paine, Bob’s oldest son and a 1992 WSU graduate, said the Cougar Beetle shows
how his father is willing to convey his spirit for WSU.
“He’s not
afraid to wear it on his sleeve and he’s not worried about what people think,”
Lance said. “I think the kids would say he gives zero f-cks.”
The
opportunity to get the Beetle on College GameDay originated from several
connections Ben had made over the years with people at ESPN.
Ben said
when GameDay made the announcement around 9 p.m. on Oct. 13 they were coming to
Pullman, he immediately began looking for airline tickets.
By 9:05
p.m., Ben was contacting every producer he knew at ESPN to see if they would
want to use the Cougar Beetle on the set.
It took
several days before Ben got a response, so he ended up flying into Seattle the
Friday morning before the game. He showed up without a ticket to the contest, a
place to stay in Pullman or any idea if ESPN wanted the car on the set.
Tom Paine,
Bob’s youngest brother who graduated from WSU in 1988, picked Ben up from the
airport and they immediately began their trip to Pullman. They met Bob at
Judy’s, a restaurant on Highway 26 in Royal City.
Bob drove
the Cougar Beetle from his home in Wenatchee to this spot and from there they
all rode together as Tom towed the bug the rest of the way.
Bob said
the Beetle probably could have made it to Pullman on its own but he didn’t want
to test it because a few weeks earlier it broke down on the way to another WSU
football game.
Eventually,
Ben was able to sort things out with ESPN. The night before GameDay aired he
and his dad slept on a couch in the Acacia Fraternity while Tom passed out in
the bug.
They woke
up around 4 a.m. the next morning and went backstage at GameDay with the Cougar
Beetle on the set.
Tom said
every time he rides in the Cougar bug, he feels like he is in a parade and it
helps him hold on to his school spirit.
“[The
spirit] is a hard thing to give up as you get older,” he said. “That’s why we
don’t.”
Bob, who
retired in 2012 after teaching for more than 43 years, said the Beetle has a
deeper meaning to him and represents how difficult it can be to support a team
that is typically on the losing end.
“It’s easy
to be a fan of a team like [University of] Alabama that’s always winning,” he
said, “but when you’re a Coug fan, you got to put up with a lot of stuff.”
::::::::::
Cougar
Football Coach Mike Leach named AFCA National Coach of the Year
It’s safe
to say that no reputable preseason poll picked the Washington State football
team to compete for a Rose Bowl berth this season.
And yet,
through their final regular-season game, the Cougars had a realistic shot at
the Granddaddy of Them All.
Because of
a season full of exceeded expectations — including the WSU football team’s
Alamo Bowl win over Iowa State in late December — coach Mike Leach took home a
little something for his efforts.
The
American Football Coaches Association recognized Leach as its National Coach of
the Year, the organization announced Tuesday.
“This is a
great team award and I am honored to accept this on behalf of our team,” said
Leach, who joins Mike Price as the only Cougar coach to earn the AFCA’s national
coach of the year honor (1997).
Leach
guided the Cougars to an 11-2 record and a No. 10 final ranking in both the
Associated Press and coaches polls while making history.
This
marked the Cougars’ first 11-win season, and Leach became the first WSU coach
to lead the school to four straight bowl games.
Leach’s
peers selected him for National Coach of the Year over fellow regional winners
Dino Babers of Syracuse, Nick Saban of Alabama, Brian Kelly of Notre Dame and
Iowa State’s Matt Campbell.
Leach has
an overall record of 49-40 in his seven seasons at WSU.
::::::::::::
Grant
funds completion of airport runway project
Contractors
used $7 million to construct safer take-off area
The
re-alignment of the Pullman-Moscow Airport runway was a necessary change to
meet Federal Aviation Administration guidelines and enable the airport to stay
open.
JAYCE
CARRAL, Evergreen
Jan 9,
2019
Pullman-Moscow
Regional Airport will complete its runway realignment program with the
financial help given to the airport by a supplementary grant.
The
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded the airport with a $7 million
supplementary grant. The money funded the payments to the contractors
completing the runway realignment, said Tony Bean, executive director of
Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport.
The
airport applied for the tier one grant by submitting a 500-word pitch written
by Bean and Mead & Hunt, a consultant service.
“[We had
to] be able to show [that we were], as the Obama administration termed, ‘shovel
ready,’ ” Bean said. “We were ready to spend the money. It’s why we were
awarded.”
The runway
realignment program was necessary, he said. Currently, the airport’s runway
does not meet the requirements set by the FAA, Bean said.
Though the
airport has permission from the FAA to continue service, the project must be
successfully completed to continue air service in Pullman and Moscow, Bean
said.
The grant
completed the financial requirements of the project, he said. The funding was
used to pay the contractors working on the project, Bean said.
In order
to be eligible for the grant, the runway realignment project had to fulfill a
checklist of requirements, he said. They included an environmental assessment,
project design, land acquisition and construction experience.
He said the
environmental assessment cost $3.2 million. A part of the assessment included
deciding how much land was necessary for the project. The land acquisition
assured enough space for the runway realignment to take place.
The
environmental assessment took two years before the land was cleared in December
2014, Bean said.
Some of
the land used by the airport’s project once belonged to WSU, he said. The
airport purchased the land on Terre View from WSU.
The land,
where WSU research facilities were once located, was important to acquire, Bean
said. The plans for the project dictated that the instrument landing system
would be going through the runway protection zone, which spanned across the
previously occupied space, he said.
Owning the
land allows the airport to safely control the departure and landing of
aircrafts, Bean said.
The
first-tier grant was targeted toward small airports with high priority projects
that needed funding, Bean said. Pullman Airport’s runway realignment project is
funded by nine different grants, seven of which are currently being used, he
said.
The entire
project cost $142.5 million, Bean said. A portion of the funds, $11.5 million,
were raised by local residents, companies and businesses in Pullman and Moscow.
Whitman
County contributed $250,000 to the project, he said. Along with a $500,000
donation from University of Idaho, WSU donated $1 million to the airport.
“WSU has
been heavily involved in the entire process,” Bean said. “[WSU] is a funding
partner and [has been] affected [by the project.]”
:::::::::::::::::::::
Pullman City
Council to reform parking restrictions
New 2-hour
stall times could help patrons park in designated spots
By NAJMA
SHECK, Evergreen
Jan 9,
2019
Councilmembers
discussed parking issues on Spring Street during the City Council meeting
Tuesday night.
Resolution
No. 121-80 is intends to establish parking restrictions for municipally-owned
parking lots.
The Spring
Street public-parking lot is typically full by 9 a.m. and stays full throughout
the day, according to a document from Public Works Director Kevin Gardes. Based
on an observation from Aug. to Sept. last year, patrons of the 12-hour stall
are primarily used by WSU student or staff.
Twelve-hour
stalls were initially intended for patrons and staff of downtown businesses,
according to the document. WSU students and staff impacted patrons in downtown
by making the lots unavailable to use during work days.
The
proposal suggests switching the 12-hour parking stalls on Spring Street and
turn a majority of the stalls to two-hour parking stalls. If patrons in
downtown businesses need access to longer times, 12-hour stalls are still
available on this lot, but are limited.
“I hereby
repeal and replace established parking limits by updating the resolution with
this motion,” City Attorney Laura McAloon said.
The
council unanimously voted for this motion and adopted the plan.
:::::::::::::::::::
A crane
from Rhodes Crane & Rigging of Spokane Vallely removes a hot tub from a
third-floor patio on Tuesday at Evolve On Main in Pullman. The hot tub was
removed because it didn’t meet Washington State Department of Health standards,
according to city officials. (Based on info in a photo cutline in 1/9/2019
Moscow Pullman Daily News.)
::::
From WSU
Sports Info about
WSU TRACK
& FIELD
COUGARS
SPLIT SQUADS TO OPEN 2019 INDOOR SEASON
>>
Washington State will begin the new indoor season on the road at two different
meets which include the Bronco Invite, and the UW Indoor Preview. WSU will be
sending athletes to Nampa, Idaho to compete at the Bronco Invite which will see
events begin at 7 a.m. (PT). The Cougars will be also send athletes to the UW
Indoor Preview as well, and will look to get that meet started around 9 a.m.
(PT) as well.
>>
WSU will compete in the (Boise State University) Bronco Invite which will host
the meet inside Jacksons Indoor Track Facility,in Boise area’s Nampa.
>>
The Cougars will also be competing in the UW Indoor Preview, hosted by the
University of Washington inside the Dempsey Indoor facility, on UW campus in
Seattle
::::::::::::;
WSU MEN’S
BASKETBALL COUGARS REMAIN ON ROAD FOR FIFTH-STRAIGHT GAME
INITIALLY
THEY WILL BE IN BOULDER PLAYING THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO. AFTER THAT THE
COUGS WILL BE IN SALT LAKE CITY AND PLAY UTAH
Washington
State men's basketball (7-7, 0-1) looks to snap its four-game losing streak and
notch its first Pac-12 win of the season as it heads to Boulder, Colo., to take
on Colorado (9-5, 0-2) also looking for its first Pac-12 win, Thursday, Jan. 10
at 6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT at CU Events Center.
• The game
will be televised on Pac-12 Network as JB Long (play-by-play) and Matt
Muehlebach (analyst) have the call.
• All
season long, Cougar basketball can be heard on the Cougar IMG Sports Radio
Network with the Voice of the Cougars, Matt Chazanow on the call.
• Please
see page one of today's notes for the list of affiliates.
• Live
stats are also available at www.wsucougars.com.
THURSDAY COUGARS
VERSUS BUFFALOES 6PM PACIFIC TIME IN BOULDER
• Amongst Pac-12 foes, WSU has the fewest
meetings with Colorado, as Thursday marks just the 17th all-time meeting
between Washington State and Colorado.
• The
Buffaloes hold a 12-4 advantage in the series...WSU won the last meeting,
73-69, Feb. 15, 2018 at Pullman, but CU has won three of the last four,
including the first meeting last year, an 82-73 victory in Boulder.
• WSU has
never beat Colorado at Boulder, but has won three of the last four games at
Pullman...the two teams will meet in Pullman Feb. 20.
• In four
of each of the last five seasons, at least one game between WSU and Colorado
has been decided in overtime (record is 2-2).
SATURDAY IN
SALT LAKE CITY, COUGARS VERSUS UTES at 5pm PACIFIC:
•
Saturday's matchup marks the 28th all-time meeting between Washington State and
Utah, as the Utes hold a 23-4 advantage.
• Utah has
won the last nine meetings in the series, scoring 81 or more points in six of
the nine games, as each of the nine losses were decided by an average of 15.9
points.
• Last
season the Utes swept the Cougars with an 82-69 win in Salt Lake City and a
77-70 victory in Pullman.
• WSU's last
win in the series came at Pullman, Jan. 12, 2014, a 49-46 Cougar victory.
•The
Cougars' only win at Utah came in the very first meeting between the two teams,
a 45-44 win.
::::::::::::
WSU WOMEN'S
BASKETBALL RETURNS HOME TO FACE UTAH
The
Cougars are back in Beasley for the first time in nearly six weeks.
Based on
info from WSU Sports Information
WASHINGTON
STATE (6-8, 1-2) vs Utah (12-1, 2-1) | Fri., Jan. 11 | 7 p.m.
Live Stats | WSUCougars.com
Watch | Pac-12 Network (Kate Scott &
Layshia Clarendon)
Listen | WSU IMG Radio Network
OPENING
FIVE
> The
Cougars return home to Beasley for the first time in nearly six weeks having
not played in Pullman since a 95-71 win over Boise State on Dec. 1.
> WSU
started Pac-12 play with three road contests, beating Washington before falling
at #11 Oregon State and #5 Oregon last week.
> Senior
Alexys Swedlund, WSU's all-time three-point queen, became the 19th player in
program history to hit 1,000 career points after scoring nine at Oregon Sunday.
She is 18th all-time with 1,002 points.
>
Borislava Hristova, a Cheryl Miller Watch List nominee, enters the week scoring
22.5 ppg, 2nd in the Pac-12 and 7th in the nation.
> The
Cougars are 37th in the nation in shooting (6th in the Pac-12), at 44.5%.
Behind the arc, WSU hits at a 36.3% clip, also 37th in the nation.
GAME
INFORMATION - VS UTAH
The
Cougars return home to Beasley for the first time in nearly six weeks having
not played in Pullman since a 95-71 win over Boise State on Dec. 1. WSU has
played six-straight away from home, going 2-4 in those games. Playing their
first Pac-12 home games, the Cougars welcome the Mountain Schools, taking on
Utah Thursday. The Utes enters the weekend at 13-1 overall and 2-1 in Pac-12
play after suffering their first loss of the year last week, 65-63, to Arizona
State. The Cougars have struggled against the Utes, going 6-16 all-time while
dropping five of the last six. However, nearly every game has been tight, going
down to the last possession or minute to decide a winner.
The Utes
are led by their freshmen who have taken six of nine Pac-12 Freshman of the
Week awards.
LAST TIME
OUT
WSU
dropped a pair of games in Oregon, falling in a close one at #11 Oregon State
Friday night before succumbing to #5 Oregon Sunday. The Ducks used a pair o
fbig runs in the second quarter to break open a tight game, leading by 20 at
the break before finishing with a 98-58 win in Eugene. Ruthy Hebard scored a
career best 34 points to lead the Ducks while Sabrina Ionescu added her 15th
career triple-double. Chanelle Molina led the way for the Cougars with 14
points while Borislava Hristova was held in check to the tune of 13 points.
SWEDLUND'S HITS 1,000
After four
solid years firing away from deep, Coug senior sniper Alexys Swedlund etched
her name among the best scorers in program history as she became the 19th
member of WSU's 1,000-point club Sunday, Jan. 6 at Oregon. Swedlund fittingly
hit a three in the third quarter to push her way over the century mark.
She now
sits 18th overall in scoring at 1,002 career points.
With
Swedlund over 1,000, the Cougars have two players with 1,000 career points
(Borislava Hristova as well) marking just the 6th season in program history two
1,000 point scorers have taken the court together for the Cougars (the last
being 2015, Tia Presley and Lia Galderia).
#
