The Tar Heel Thursday, May 29, 19863
StoieMeg feeds ffoff wailteff9 rates may have to rise
By SCOTT GREIG
City editor
If the Orange Water & Sewer
Authority does not receive $70,000
in sales tax proceeds from the town
of Carrboro, water rates may be
higher for Chapel Hill and
Carrboro.
The town of Carrboro wants the
funds for street repair and mainte
nance. OWASA wants the money
to go toward improvements in their
system, but said it would not oppose
Carrboro's request to the N.C. Local
Government Commission to allow
the money to be spent for things
other than water and sewer needs.
In a meeting held by OWASA's
board of directors Thursday, the
decision was reaffirmed by board
members who voted on a resolution
that stated they would abide by the
decision of the commission regard
ing Carrboro's budget for the fiscal
years 1987-1988.
OWASA officials plan to float a
Acquaintance rape topic off rape prevention month
By SHIRLEY NESBITT
Staff Writer
Gov. James G. Martin signed a
proclamation on April 14, 1986,
declaring the month of June as
"Rape Prevention Month" in North
Carolina, and the Orange County
Rape Crisis Center is working
toward that goal.
The purpose of the full month of
rape prevention is to "urge all our
citizens to recognize the threat of
acquaintance rape, and join in
preventing the incidence of forcible
rape in our society," said Mary Ann
Chap of the center.
The center reports, after a four
year compilation of statistics, that
reported rapes have increased in
North Carolina faster than any other
violent crime.
The number of reported sexual
assaults has more than doubled
between the years of 1981 and 1985.
These statistics alone indicate the
need for further awareness of the
educational programs available
which teach self-protection against
sexual assault, safety and how to
survive an assault, should one occur,
according to the center.
"Too often the burden of rape
prevention is placed on females,"
Martin said in his proclamation.
The month of June is dedicated
to expanding that burden to a
collective responsibility belonging to
all in the community.
The center has been providing
canvas and wood
folding chairs
SALE $19.99
natural home
312 w. franklin st. chapel hill, n.c.
9199332222
multi-million dollar bond issue
before fall. If Carrboro is granted
the waiver by the commission when '
it decides the issue in about two
weeks, OWASA officials said they
may have to raise water and sewer
rates for the service area that
includes both Chapel Hill and
Carrboro.
The money in question is gener
ated from the half-cent sales tax
increase that took effect in 1983.
Legislation accompanying that,
increase requires towns to spend 40
percent of those proceeds on water
and sewer. Since neither Chapel Hill
or Carrboro has their own water
system, the money usually goes to
OWASA. This 40 percent amounts
to $70,000 in Carrboro and $220,000
in Chapel Hill.
Carrboro was granted a two-year
exemption by the commission for
the fiscal years 1985-1986 and town
manager Bob Morgan said Car
rboro wants to have the exemption
services to Orange County for the
past 12 years. It was founded to
provide aid to rape victims and was
soon expanded to include commun
ity education and outreach
programs.
The center has constant goals of
recruiting and training volunteers,
providing ongoing programming
related to sexual assault, continuing
to have productive inter-agency
relationships with other service
providers and to contribute to art
and literature on sexual assault.
The center achieves these goals
through providing community edu
cation programs, twenty-four hour
crisis intervention services to sexual
assault victims and their families and
friends, providing support groups
for victims and maintaining consul
tations and referrals with other
service providers in the area.
During 1985, over 4,000 people
were reached in community educa
tional outreach programs. The
center reports that 48 percent of
these were associated with UNC
either as staff or students. Of the
assaults reported to the center, 14
Featuring: 26 nautilus machines
Wolff tanning beds, sauna, whirlpool, life cycle
aerobic classes, free weights
Open 7 Days a Week
FITNESS
Straw Valley
Chapel Hill
granted for the next two years also.
Carrboro Mayor Jim Porto told
the board earlier in the week that
another 3.5 cents would have to be
added to the present property tax
rate if the money could not be used
for street repairs and equipment
replacement. He said the town
already has tax increases planned for
the next three years.
Porto said Carrboro has no
annexation plans, so no new areas
need water and sewer services.
While just down the road, town
manager David Taylor said "the
aggressive annexation plan" of
Chapel Hill will probably result in
the town asking for its $220,000 to
be used to extend OWASA lines into
annexed areas.
J.D. Foust, secretary of the state
Local Government Commission,
said every town that has requested
a waiver has been granted one. Foust
added that the commission grants
the requests only after the N.C.
percent of the rapes and sexual
assaults had occurred on the UNC
campus.
"During Rape Prevention Month,
the Orange County community, as
well as the campus community, is
going to strive for a collective
preventitive awareness of the mea
sures we all can take against sexual
assault," Chap said.
The Orange County Rape Crisis
Center joins Martin in focusing on
two major issues for community
education during June. The first is
the frequency of acquaintance rape.
Most think of a rapist as a violent
stranger when in actuality over 50
percent of rapes are committed by
an acquaintance of the victim. Chap
explained.
"Acquaintance rape is the most
difficult for the victim to acknowl
edge it was a rape, to say it was a
crime," Chap said. "The women
have more self doubt, because they
knew the person.
"In fact, 39 percent of assaults on
UNC's campus reported to the
center over four years were acquain
tance rapes."
Student
Summer
Shape-Up Special
6 weeks $49
3 months $78
6 months $130
EKffiHS
CENTER,
'lv 489-2668 I
J I
Environmental Management Com
mission and the N.C. Division of
Health Services agree that the water
and sewer needs of the town seeking
the waiver can be adequately met
without the money in question.
Since 1983, when the half-cent
increase went into effect, 10 towns
have been granted waivers.
The 10 towns that have received
exemptions are, Kajah Mountain,
Carrboro, Mint Hill, Whispering
Pines, Winston-Salem, Greensboro,
Pinehurst, Southern Shores, Char
lotte and Roanoke Rapids.
Foust said the larger towns like
Charlotte are able to meet the water
and sewer needs of their residents
through utility rates.
"We can't have everything we
need or want so we have to make
allowances," Morgan said to the
board.
"We urge and encourage you to
let us use the funds for another two
years," said Carrboro Mayor Pro
Martin stated that acquaintance
rape is the most difficult crime to
combat, since many men are taught
extreme aggressiveness from
infancy.
The programs being offered dur
ing the month include, No Should
Be Enough, All Men Are Not
ATTENTION
Bring in this
jT V. Have you thought
f I need of donating
V money! plasma? J
On your first donation (new donors oily) , ,
ibgEfem. nsiu-ncetocKAis .942-0251
Monday-Friday 8:30-3:30
No appointment necessary
Tern John Boone. "We're small and
our tax base is small, but we're
growing," Boone said.
Boone ended his address to the
board by pointing out that while
OWASA has been good to the town
of Carrboro, the town of Carrboro
has been good to OWASA.
OWASA Chairman Edward N,
Mann, Jr. replied by agreeing with
Boone, but he also said Carrboro
has to realize what kind of position
this puts OWASA in. Mann stated
that the resolution was a comprom
ise and that the first priority of
OWASA was to provide adequate
water and sewer service to Chapel
Hill and Carrboro. He said this
might not be possible without a rate
increase if the waiver is granted.
"Local government has also given
us some problems," Mann said. "It's
not always clear what we should do
in a situation like this, it's hard to
please everyone involved."
Rapists, Rape Is Everybody's Prob
lem, Help Children And .Teenagers
Protect Themselves and Self
Protection Against Sexual Assault.
"Rape is not a crime of passion
or frustrated desire; it is one of
See RAPE page 6
NEW DONORS
coupon and receive