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The Blue
Banner
Sports
“Bulldogs finish top 10 in Big South meet”
■ see page 6
Also inside:
Features
Goodson s Dinner Time’ reveals family
values”
■ see page 4
Opinions
“Make your Earth Day resolutions”
by Mike Lagasse
■ see page 2
Volume 35 Issue 11
The University Of North Carolina At Asheville
April25, 2002
UNCA hosts ‘Operation
O with assault, resisting
UNCA donates Highsmith Center for a terrorism, structural collapse exercise arrest and DWI
Stuart Gaines
News Reporter
UNCA will host the largest terrorism and structural
collapse exercise ever held in North Carolina. The univer
sity will donate the Highsmith Center for use in the
multiple-agency testing exercises, which will take place
May 20 thorugh 24.
“It’s altogether too rare for most emergency services to be
able to practice their skills in an unfamiliar environment,”
wrote Stephen Baxley, director of facilities management
and planning, in an e-mail. “We are proud to be able to
support this effort, and the people that may benefit from
it could be anywhere in North Carolina or the nation.”
Response teams from a number of state and local agen
cies, including the State Bureau of Investigation, North
Carolina Office of Emergency Services and local fire and
police departments, will be on campus conducting a
variety of skill-testing exercises, according to Reggie Goble,
a safety officer with facilities management.
The exercises will take place before the massive Highsmith
renovation project begins this summer, according to
Merianne Epstein, public information director.
The part I enjoy the most is seeing professionals from
different agencies work together towards a common goal
and develop a sense of teamwork,” wrote Baxley.
“If these folks can work as a team and think their way
through problems, then they can handle whatever is thrown
at them,” said Baxley.
Goble said the concrete, brick and steel structure of the
35,000 square foot Highsmith Center provides an ideal
and rare setting for various skill and equipment testing
exercises.
Exercises will take place in two 10-hour shifts each day.
Each participating agency hones special skills by practic
ing multiple emergency response scenarios.
Some walls arid ceilings may be destroyed as a part of
certain exercises, including practices in floor-to-floor re
pelling, bomb threats, hostage situations and collapsed
building scenarios.
“The building just won’t implode on itself, by any means,
but there will be lots of holes, and things falling and being
knocked over,” said Goble.
The week’s exercises will not include the use of any live
ammunition or explosives, but smoke machines will be
used.
There will also be a viewing area set up for students,
media representatives and the general public to observe the
exercises, according to Goble.
“Obviously, there are some concerns,” said Baxley. “But,
we’re convinced we can overcome them and that the benefits
of this exercise more than offset the inconvenience.”
Goble, along with the N.C. State Fire Marshal and Lou
Caliendo, director of public safety, will monitor and control
the week’s activity.
They have the authority to stop any exercise at any time
if any problems were to arise.
“These are people who will test their skills, their equip
ment and their stamina,” said Goble. “It’s a good time to
determine if your teams are at the right mix of persons.”
,WS!
COMPOSITE BY ED FICKLE/ PHOTO EDITOR
The training group will use the Highsmith Center to practice structural collapse, bomb threats and repelling.
The university expects approximately 1,000 people
from participating agencies to make the campus their
home for the week, as all participants will eat and sleep on
campus as part of the exercises.
In true emergency scenarios, response teams could work
for as long as 48 hours before they would be released on
break, and planned exercises will attempt to reflect those
and other realities, according to Goble.
“Before (UNCA) even decided this was something that
we could go forward with, UNCA, along with the fire
marshal, the facilities management branch and other
faculty, looked closely at the building to see if this was
something we wanted to do,” said Goble. “We looked at
the scenarios described to us and felt it was within our
See HIGHSMITH Page 8
:."UNCA’s 15-passenger vans may be dangerous
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Lana Coffey
News Reporter
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ED FICKLE/ PHOTO EDITOR
'JCA uses 15-passenger vans to take athletes to their games.
The National Transportation
Safety Boafd (NHTSA) issued a
'cautionary warning, which stated
that fully loaded 15-passenger vans
may have an increased rollover risk
under certain conditions, accord
ing to injuryboard.com.
These vans are commonly used at
many universities, including UNCA.
“To date, we have not had the first
problem with any of our 15-pas-
senger vans during the eight years I
have been here,” said Connie
Schaller, customer service supervi
sor for facilities management.
NHTSA’s analysis of the vans re
vealed that vans with 10 or more
occupants had nearly three times
the rollover rate of vehicles with
fewer occupants and a lighter load.
The NHTSA study said 15-pas
senger vans roll over more often if
they are weighted down with pas
sengers, because the center of grav
ity moves higher and farther back.
NHTSA identified some of the
vans at that may pose a risk, includ
ing the following:
■ Ford Econoline E350
Whitney Setser
News Reporter
A UNCA student was charged
with three misdemeanors for driv
ing while impaired (DWI) under
the age of 21, resisting arrest and
assaulting an officer outside
Founders Hall dormitory April 5.
“He chose not to cooperate,” said
Jerry Adams, public safety investi
gator and shift supervisor. “If he
had cooperated, half these charges
wouldn’t have been necessary.”
Public safety officer Steve Metcalf
found Kevin Scott Simpson, an
undeclared sophomore, sitting in
the driver’s seat of a car in the
Founders Hall parking lot, accord
ing to the public safety report.
“It was actually good timing on
(Metcalfs) part,” said Adams.
“From what I understand,
(Simpson) was brought to campus
in a vehicle by someone else, and he
grabbed the keys out of this person’s
hand.”
The car was sitting in the middle
of the parking lot outside Founders
Hall, according to
Adams.
The engine of the
car was running,
and the headlights
were off.
“The motor was
running, and he
was sitting in the
road,” said Adams.
“He had control
of the vehicle.”
Kevin
Scott
Simpson
■ Ford Club Wagon E350
■ Dodge Ram Van/Wagon B3500
■ Dodge Ram Wagon B350
While federal laws prohibit the
sale of these vans for high school-
aged and younger students, no pro
hibition exists on the transporta
tion of college students.
UNCA has several 15-passenger
vans, according to Schaller. The
vans are part of the fleet of Motor
Fleet Management, who supplies
all state vehicles to state agencies.
The university follows the recom-
Metcalf asked
Simpson for iden
tification and to
perform two so
briety tests. Simpson refiised to take
the tests, so Metcalf said he was
under arrest for suspicion of DWI,
according to public records.
Simpson also refused to place his
hands behind his back.
As Metcalf was placing handcuffs
on him, Simpson twisted away and
shoved him in the chest, according
to the public safety report.
Simpson ran through the shrubs
in front of Founders Hall. Metcalf
caught up with him, but Simpson
continued to resist arrest, even as
Metcalf told him to stop resisting.
“This is the second incident we’ve
had this semester of officers getting
assaulted, and it’s rare,” said Adams.
“Both were alcohol related, and both
were in, or close to, residence halls. ”
During the struggle, Metcalfs
pants were torn, and his whistle
chain was broken.
Metcalf also scraped his knees,
according to public records.
“If Officer Metcalf had been in
jured, it would have been much
more serious,” said Adams. “But,
(the charges) are just misdemean
ors at this point.”
Metcalf was able to call his dis
patcher by radio and ask for assis
tance from the Asheville Police
Department, since he was working
alone that night, according to the
public safety record.
“The best thing to do (for a stu-
See VANS Page 8
See SIMPSON Page 8
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