Volume 29, Issue 18
February 26, 2004
wvm.elon.edu/pendulum
If It. mntters to vou. it malters to The Pendulum.
Countywide
drug bust nabs
*
49 high schoolers
Steve Earley
Copy Editor
Forty-nine Alamance County high school
students and nine others of high school age
were arrested on drug charges Feb. 4 as the
result of a six-month undercover operation by
local law enforcement.
The bust was the largest ever conducted in
Alamance County schools and the first to
involve all six high schools, said Randy Jones,
director of public information for the county’s
sheriff’s department.
Burlington and Graham police depart
ments also took part in the operation, in which
undercover officers enrolled at the high
schools and posed as students.
Charges included selling or intending to
sell marijuana, cocaine and various prescrip
tion drugs.
“Our hearts go out to the young people and
their families who have been caught in the
web of the drug culture,” Superintendent Jim
Merrill said in a statement released the day of
the bust. “We wish it were not so in our
schools and in our community, but we will
take whatever steps necessary to assure the
safety and well being of our students and
staff.”
Merrill requested the assistance of law
enforcement in combating the system’s drug
problem after administrative reports and par
ent and staiT surveys suggested drug and alco
hol use in schools was an increasing concern.
Students were arrested at every high school
except Western, where, Jones said, word got
passed around that there was an officer posing
as a student.
“That’s one of the risks you take,’ Jones
said, adding that all eight undercover officers
involved were accused of being an officer at
one time or another.
those arrested was Eastern
Among
See DRUGS p. 8
Award-winning newsman visits campus
Ashley Feibish
News Editor
Former war correspondent and ABC
“Good Morning America” anchorman Steve
Bell is on campus this week serving as the
Visiting Professor of Leadership.
Bell arrived Tuesday night and will be on
campus until Friday. His schedule allows him
to interact with students and faculty through
out the day during his stay. In addition to his
lectures. Bell will visit communications class
es, members of the Isabella Cannon
Leadership Program and meet with faculty
members.
Rex Waters, assistant dean of students, said
many people are responsible for bringing Bell
to campus. Students and faculty submitted
nominations and requests. Ultimately, Gerry
Francis, provost and vice president for aca
demic affairs, Nancy Midgette, associate
provost and President Leo Lambert chose to
bring Bell to campus.
“They (visiting professors) have to be able
to come and stay for an extended period.
That’s one of the key components because we
want them to have multiple interactions on
campus,” Waters said.
Senior Dan Hanson will be the liaison
between Bell and the school during his stay.
See BELL p. 8
Ashley Feibish I Photographer
Visiting Professor of Leadership Steve Bell spoke to Laura Roselle's Media at War class on
Wednesday. Bell will visit several classrooms during his time at Elon in addition to giving his
public lectures, the second of which will be tonight at 7:30 in Whitley Auditorium.
University prepares for bypass construction delay
jay Dome
Asst. News Editor
Construction plans in Alamance County
have changed, delaying completion of a new
highway bj^ass that will provide an altema-
tive entrance to the university
Elon officials had been planning for the
interchange to be completed in time move-in
day in the fall, according to Gerald
^Vhittington, vice president for business
fmance and technology. He said that the uni
versity is using the extra time to consider fur
ther transportation options.
The delays have been a result of inclement
weather and problems with contractors
throughout the past two years, according to
county transportation officials.
“Since last year it’s been considerably wet,
which is abnormal for the construction sea
sons,” said Donnie Huffines, resident engineer
for Alamance County. “We are behind sched
ule, but are making efforts to catch up and
progress.”
The interchange is part of the Western
Alamance loop, a state-funded constmction
project designed to connect the northern and
southern regions of the county. When com
pleted, there will be a four-lane bypass con
necting US 70 and Kirkpatrick Road.
A separate constmction project in the area
surrounding Cook Road will allow access to
Elon by way of University Drive. This proj
ect, which has been an estimated cost just
more than $24 million, has two major parts,
according to Mike Nunn, transportation man
ager for the city of Burlington.
US 70 will connect to Westbrook Avenue,
a section that Nunn said will be finished by
2005. The more complicated section will con
nect Westbrook and the existing University
Drive with a bypass over Haggard Avenue.
P14:
What are Elon students planning
to do over spring break?
P22:
See BYPASS p. 8
Men's basketball team takes on
UNC-Greensboro Saturday.