Newspapers / University of North Carolina … / Oct. 2, 2003, edition 1 / Page 1
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The Blue Banner tL /j®' ,w Mountain Jam Goodbye to the Man in Black ■ see page 8 Features ‘Jimmy Dean’ links UNCA to 1950s Texas ■ see page 3 Sports Pardon the interruption, UNCA ■ see page 4 Campus luest profei 'ith the Ban see page 6 gume38Issue4 Suzanne Aubel News Reporter UNCA I'NC Asheville will host a talk on rhe Recently Discovered Archaic ■emple of Apollo in Thessaly” by lliaeologist Manolis Korres Oct. The talk will be held in the Owen linference Center. October marks Hispanic Heritage ■onth. UNCA will kick off a [onth of programming with a per- Iraiance by comedian Adrian liilcgas Oct. 3 in the Humanities Kture Hall. iheatreUNCA’s production of Lome Back to the Five & Dime, Inimy Dean, Jimmy Dean" con- |iiie« through Oct. 5. CAMPUS CRIME IjNCA campus police charged a lident with underage possession [alcohol Sept. 26. Another stu- Lnt from Founders Hall was ■arged with possession of mari- Isnaand drug paraphernalia Sept. |Two students from Governors ge were charged with under- Itpossession of alcohol and disor- [rly conduct Sept. 29. A student i given a student conduct cita- [n Sept. 30 for underage posses- fii of alcohol. ASHEVILLE [sheville’s Manna FoodBank has |fn designated by Gov. Mike I'ley’s office as a collection point Jr food drives to aid coastal coun ts impacted by Hurricane Isabel, pe center, located at 627 I'mnnanoa River Road, will be |cn from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 6 Pough Oct. 11. Needs include pfood goods, canned foods, pea- it butter, powdered drink mixes |rl paper products. north CAROLINA ■Commercial fishermen on the Jonh Carolina coast headed back I work this week after Hurricane pel forced them to take a week P Over 100,000 people in the |rdest-hit coastal areas were still Jibout power Sunday. UNITED STATES [300-pound gorilla escaped from J enclosure at Boston’s Franklin f'bZoo Sunday, injuring a tod- I'f and a teenage girl before being IPtured. a be one-year anniversary of the ashington-area sniper is this Fri- h vvith suspect John Allen ' ammed awaiting his Oct. 14 pi date in Virginia, w recent Gallup poll of registered [‘ers in California indicated that 'majority of them support Re- [blican candidate Arnold b'varzenegger as the current fa- f'lte to replace Gov. Gray Davis pbe recall elections. WORLD balteration in the United States' Security Council resolution I’ts a greater role to the U.N. for rPuposes of constructing a demo P"c Iraq. The changes also urge '^rU.N. countries to contribute fyey and servicemen to help with f dization efforts throughout the [untry. The University of North Carolina at Asheville Guest professor Paola Pascual talks with the Banner October 2, 2003 Freshman student succumbs to heart disease Suzanne Aubel News Reporter The UNCA family lost one of its newest members Sept. 15 when freshman Russell Thomas passed away at the age of 18. “He got to do a lot of things in his 18 years,” said Russell’s father, Tom Thomas. “Russell lived each day to the fullest. He always stayed busy.” Russell worked hard in his classes and had a strong interest in studying chemistry, ac cording to Thomas. Russell earned a scholar ship for students interested in science and math, and his dream was to go to medical school and become an oral surgeon. ‘He was determined to be a doctor, and he could usually do pretty much whatever he set out to do,” said Thomas. “His grades weren’t the best, but he did well.” Russell applied the same determination in all as pects of hisiife, and many of the people he met never knew that he had a serious heart condition called car diomyopathy. “He did not tell people that he had a problem,” said Thomas. “He didn’t want to be treated any dif ferently and we didn’t keep him in a bubble. We let him do the things that he wanted to do. He just had to be self-limiting. It was just an unfortunate disease.” Cardiomyopathy is a congenital defect that runs in the Thomas family. It causes the heart to become tough and resilient to the “We will al ways con sider Russell a Bulldog alumnus.” Tom Thomas father of Russell Thomas point that it becomes overworked and wears out. Diagnosed at the age of three, Russell had been receiving treatments at the Sanger Heart Clinic in Charlotte ever year and was fitted with a pacemaker as part of an experi mental treatment for his disease. “Russell was one of the youngest people in the state to ever have a pacemaker. It didn’t make his heart beat. It enhanced the beat ing,” said Thomas. “With him, the pace maker helped his heart. The tests he had every year showed that his heart was getting better. (His death) was totally a surprise because we did so much to prevent it.” Campus police received a 911 call Sept. 15, which reported that a student had collapsed in the South Ridge dormi tory parking deck. Upon arrival, campus police checked Russell’s vital signs and immediately initiated CPR and phoned EMS. EMS took Russell to Mis sion Emergency Room, but were unable to revive him. A memorial service was held at the Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville Sept. 21 in Russell’s honor. “It was a very nice service in an older chapel, kind of out in the woods as Russell would have liked,” said Thomas. “It holds 300 people and I was worried that, it would be kind of empty, (but) the bottom line was there were 500 people in that place.” Born and raised in Hendersonville, Russell adopted an extremely active lifestyle and spent the majority of his time pursuing out door activities. He spent seven years in the school band at Hendersonville High School, Freshman Russell Boyd Thomas died after suf fering from cardiomy opathy, a disease of the heart muscles. The Hendersonville native took part in several stu dent organizations in cluding the UNCA Outdoor program. Cardiomyopathy causes the heart to lose its ability to pump blood. Heart rhythms are often disturbed as the condition causes arrhythmis (irregular heartbeat). The disease affects roughly 50,000 Americans. PHOTO COURTESY OF TOM THOMAS which was voted the number one small school band in the country, according to his Tho mas. Russell played percussion. “Russell was really into the outdoors,” said Thomas. “Mountain biking, hunting, fish ing, wakeboarding, snow skiing, he never met an activity he didn’t like.” Through his involvement in the band, Russell enjoyed the privilege of playing in both the Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl, accord ing to his Thomas. The Rotary Club offered Russell a chance to spend a month in Ger many last summer as part of an exchange program. “He stayed with a family over there that had a son his age, and they just hit it off wonder fully,” said Thomas. “The son came back over here and they had a big time for a month. They spent a lot of time camping outdoors. (They) went to the beach and did a lot of wakeboarding.” After high school Russell looked into a few universities, but always knew that UNCA would be his first choice. Although his family lives only 25 miles away, Russell decided to live on campus so that he could get the full college experience, according to his Thomas. “He wanted to come to UNCA. It was the only school he seriously applied to,” said See THOMAS Page 14 Local residents to vote in upcoming city council elections The Oct. 7 primary will decide six finalist for a Nov. 4 vote Adam Pollock News Reporter Ryan Sniatecki News Reporter 13 candidates are running for three city council positions. The Blue Banner asked the applicants for their thoughts on the following subjects: the Asheville Civic Center, the Grove Park develop ment in Pack Square, a minimum housing code and the economy. Candidates William McKinley StameylllChrisPellyandAdamLeslieMcBroom could not be reached for comment. Terry Bellamy, West Asheville, 31 Civic Center “The Civic Center is going to be an issue until we can get the support of our legislators and get funding (for) necessary renovations and modifications that need to be made to the facility. We need the support of our legislature so we can potentially get a food and. beverage tax or room tax so tourists can help us pay for it.” Pack Square development “I approved the option of the development so we can see what they’re putting on the table and see if they 11 work with the commu nity. I have not made my mind up about the overall project. I required them to have a public input process so that people would have the opportunity to talk with the devel oper.” A minimum housing code “I think there are very few things that I can say I was ashamed of in my life, but I think I am ashamed of what was proposed and what passed. I think it does our community a Serving UNCA Since 1982 disservice. You have your property inspected once and it’s brought up to code, but never again. Most people aren’t electricians, so they need an inspector to come in every few years just to make sure the wiring is ok.” Economy “Asheville has a diversified economy. It’s three-legged. We have health care, manufac turing and tourism. I don’t think we should move away from tourism completely, be cause it’s a one billion dollar industry for our community (but) we need to invest more into small business manufacturing.” Jan Davis, North Asheville, 55 Civic Center “Asheville has to have a public gathering place, and it bothers me when I see ours lagging behind. I have friends that tell me about going to the Peace Center, or even to Spattanburg. Spartanburg should not be on the same cultural level as Asheville. One of the things I’d like to see change would be to foster a better relationship with our state legislators (so) that we can call on them for some advice.” Pack Square development “I would be in favor of (developing). The Grove Park is just doing what’s in that plan (the Pack Square Conservancy plan). I think it will add new life to that end of Pack Square. We’re talking about a very small amount of green space, and I think they’re willing to bring a lot to that.” A minimum housing code “Doing away with it in its entirety is not the right thing to do, but I think we’re on the right ttack with what he’s (city Director of Building Safety Terry Summey) recommend ing, and I think we need to strengthen that somewhat.” Economy “That is our greatest and most pressing issue. We need to atttact better-paying jobs and develop our tax base into a stronger, more viable tax base. We need to make the citing processes and permitting processes a little easier to deal with. I know it discourages a lot of small businesses and large businesses _ from locating hete. We need to look at in spections. We need to look at zoning.” Jim Ellis, North Asheville, 68 Civic Center “We should try to refurbish it in its current location. It would be my proposal that we ask the North Carolina General Assembly to allow Buncombe County to vote on imposing a one-penny prepared food and beverage tax. That would pay for it.” Pack Square development “I voted to allow them to proceed with design and bringing it back to council. Council gave them an option on that piece of property, and I voted for it for several reasons. Every study that’s been done says you should have people living around a park. And secondly, that exact site, when I was growing up in Asheville, had buildings on it. Those buildings were torn down in the early 1960s to put a new road through there. What we’re talking about is taking up that road and one tiny green space, and putting a building back.” A minimum housing code “We’ve had the present code in place for ten years, and I think looking at some changes has the possibility of assisting affordable housing. There are a lot of individuals who feel that the very restric tive code that we’ve had has limited developers in building affordable housing.” Economy “I think if we clean up our air, and make it even better than what it is, I think more businesses will want to move out of areas of the country where their environment is not nearly as attractive as ours. One (high tech) company made a commitment to move from San Francisco to Asheville. It’s a matter of elected officials from the city and the county working with the chamber of commerce.” Bryan Freeborn, West Asheville, 27 Civic Center “Everyone that I’ve spoken to likes having the Civic Center downtown. However, they don’t like the current Civic Center. The sound system is inadequate. No one really likes playing the Civic Center, so let’s all agree to do something different. Instead of rebuilding the Civic Center, let’s just build a new one out by the airport so that way it has more access regionally.” Pack Square development “If we’re going to sell public land, then it needs to be a public referendum, put to a vote, arid the citizens of Asheville should vote on it. If the Grove Park Inn wants to spend See ELECTION Page 14 For more information, visit http:l lwww.bcboe.orgfor instructions on registering and voting. Or call (828) 250-4200for assistance. City Council primary is Oct. 7. The general election is Nov. 4. I S'- WWW. unca. edulhanner
University of North Carolina at Asheville Student Newspaper
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Oct. 2, 2003, edition 1
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