THE
Clarion pp
www.hrpvarH.prl[j/rlarinn ■ ® -■* I
Volume 76, Issue 15
www.brevard.edu/clarion
SERVING BREVARD COLLEGE SINCE 1935
BC honors MLK,
see page 2
Jan. 21, 2011
Brevard police charge local man with bomb threat
By Park Baker / Scott McCormick
Staff Writers
Brevard is said to be the busiest small town
around, with sirens going nearly constantly,
making it seem like there is a lot going on in this
mountain retreat. However, tradition continues
to drive this value laden mix of recreational
enthusiasts, retirees and locals. Yet some insist
on living on the fringes of what is acceptable
and what is not.
It started when David Joseph Gearing walked
into the Brevard Police Department around 10
a.m. Monday morning and requested to speak
to a supervisor Being told no one was available
immediately, he became visibly agitated and
began pacing the lobby of the Brevard police
department while waiting. After a few minutes
went by he decided to leave without saying
anything to the receptionist he had just spoken
with.
In this issue...
Campus News:
Climate Change 2
Snow Hinders Travel 2
Students Honor MLK 2
News:
Synthetic IVIarijuana Under Scrutiny... 3
Solar Panel Fundraising Campaign.... 3
New Cardio Machines 3
Tucson Worries College Campuses... 3
Sports:
Softball Team Adopts a Family 5
SAC Player of the Week 5
Women's Basketball 5
Opinion:
MLK Day Photos 6
Devil's Advocate 6
Arts & Life
Gallery Opening 7
Chef Boy-ar-Dave 7
Odds and Ends:
Cartoon by Karam Boeshaar 8
Sign of the Times 8
m: '
Arousing suspicion,
an officer was alerted
to his anxious
demeanor and
followed Mr. Gearing
out of the parking lot
in his patrol car After
witnessing erratic
driving, the officer
pulled him over in
front of the College
Plaza shopping center
The officer conducted
routme questionmg, ^ grgvard firefighter blocks traffic from turning onto Soutli Broad Street from
asking Mr. Gearing if tp,e r^ain college entrance on Monday.
there was anything in
the car he should be aware of, and Gearing told
him he had a bomb in his white Buick.
With this tidbit, the Brevard police department
arrested Gearing and called in the Henderson
County bomb squad and a hazardous materials
team from Asheville. It took the authorities five
hours to determine that Mr. Gearing did not
have explosives of any kind in his possession.
The team used a robot to handle the bag said
to contain the bomb and a dog trained to pick
up on the scent of materials used to construct
explosives.
Brevard police shut down almost everything
within the immediate vicinity, including the
Broad Street entrances to Brevard College. The
College Plaza shopping center was evacuated,
as well the Creekside Condominiums behind
the Food Lion.
Scott Hoffner, a Brevard freshman from
Michigan has lived in the condominiums since
August. “I couldn't get back into my house until
8 p.m., but as much as an inconvenience as it
was for the day. I'm glad they took the proper
precautions. I'm glad they kept us safe.”
Students are not the only occupants of
Creekside Condominiums, Dr Emily Mace
and her husband Dr Benjamin Zeller, both
Humanities Professors at Brevard, live in
the complex. Dr Mace was home with their
daughter Laurel on Monday morning.
“It was about 12:15 and I was about to feed
Laurel lunch when I heard the sound of diesel
engine running, and thinking it was the mail
truck I paid it no mind. Then I looked out the
window and saw a big van with emergency
lights flashing and decided to investigate. When
I opened the door, there was a man standing
there in a full fireman's uniform, with an almost
incredulous look on his face, he told me we all
had to leave, but couldn't tell me why. At this I
almost asked to see some identification, given
the smirk he was wearing.”
Her daughter could sense something was awry
and began to cry as Dr Mace had to quickly pack
clothes for class, all her material, a diaper bag
for the baby and all her effects. “We had to eat
dinner out because we weren't allowed home
until 7:30 that night.”
The MLK Challenge on Monday was seriously
affected by the bomb threat. It wasn’t until
representatives from the First United Methodist
Church across the street from Brevard College
notified Jessica Blanford of the potential threat
and evacuation, that she was aware of the
situation.
“They called us right at the time we were
supposed to start the Challenge. It’s howl found
about it,” said Blanford. An announcement was
made to the 55 student and faculty participants
about the threat and the changes that would need
to be made to the program.
Luckily, with the help of the students and
their creativity, alternatives were found for the
activities that were supposed to take place.
“Unfortunately, students weren’t able to do
a lot of the activities as roads were blocked off
and we couldn’t get to Ingles or Lowes or any
places near the scene.”
However, when asked how the Challenge went
looking back over it, Blanford calls it a success
and Megan Walters, who was also in charge,
adds, “It made the day more exciting. Everyone
in Jones was interested in what the helicopters
were doing.”
Gearing is now in police custody on a $50,000
bond.