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01jc Daily ®ar Bppl Volume 102, Issue 27 ■H Semng the students and the University community since 1593 IN THE NEWS Top stories from the state, nation and world Premier, 11 U.N. Soldiers Killed by Rwandan Troops NAIROBI, Kenya—Rampaging troops killed Rwanda’s acting premier and 11 U.N. soldiers Thursday during fierce fight ing in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, touched off by the deaths of the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi in a suspicious plane crash. Amid the violence, three Cabinet minis ters and two Rwandan human rights activ ists were reported abducted, and 17 Jesuit Rwandan priests were reported killed. Kigali “just fell apart, ” with widespread gunfire and looting on Thursday, Cana dian Maj. Brent Beardsley, a U.N. spokes man, said. He said U.N. peacekeepers had been shot at twice and had returned fire. Israel Blocks Palestinians 1 Entry After Two Attacks AFULA, Israel As thousands of an gry Israelis gathered Thursday to bury the victims of a car bombing, the army barred 1.8 million Palestinians from entering Is rael for a week in one of its strictest closures ever. The order follows two more attacks by Islamic fundamentalists Thursday, includ ing one in which an Israeli was killed and four were wounded when a Palestinian opened fire at a bus stop in southern Israel. The attacks, which undermined sup port for Israel-PLO peacemaking, spurred calls for a suspension of negotiations with the PLO on the withdrawal oflsraeli troops from the Gaza Strip and West Bank town of Jericho. Serbian Troops Continue Siege Despite Peace Talks SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina Serb troops kept pressure on the embattled Muslim enclave of Gorazde while the U.N. commander struggled Thursday to per suade generals from both sides to accept a general cease-fire. Truce talks scheduled for Sarajevo did not take place. Instead, Lt. Gen. Sir Michael Rose, who leads U.N. peacekeepers in Bosnia, shuttled between the commanders of Serb forces and the Muslim-led government’s army. Rose presented both sides with the draft of a proposed cease-fire for all of the former Yugoslav republic, U.N. officials said. Russia Backs Out of Plan For Military Base in Latvia MOSCOW Facing an uproar in the Baltics, Russia hastily retreated Thursday from a plan to establish a permanent mili tary base in Latvia, one of 30 new outposts to be created in former Soviet republics. President Boris Yeltsin had approved the plan in an executive order made public Wednesday that specifically mentioned Latvia. But a day later, the government blamed the flap on a “technical mistake.” The confusion over the base raised ques tions about how well the Kremlin was coordinating its military plans with top defense and foreign ministry officials. A similar misunderstanding has emerged over Russia’s plans to join NATO’s Partnership for Peace program. Government officials have issued a series of conflicting statements on whether and when Moscow would join. Judge Rules Police Need Warrant for Gun Searches CHICAGO Police must have war rants to conduct gun sweeps in public hous ing projects even if residents support war rantless searches, a federal judge decided Thursday. U.S. District Judge Wayne Andersen last month temporarily halted warrantless searches. Thursday’s ruling continued that injunction. The decision was the latest in a battle that has pitted city officials against the American Civil Liberties Union, which argues people don’t give up their constitu tional rights when they move into public housing. Violence last summer prompted the Chicago Housing Authority to ask police to conduct random, door-to-door gun searches. The ACLU responded with a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the esti mated 150,000 tenants. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Weather TODAY: Sunny; high 62. SATURDAY: Partly cloudy; high near 70. SUNDAY: Partly cloudy; high in the 70s. UNC Employee Claims Accident Case Not Handled Properly BY HOLLY STEPP UNIVERSITY EDITOR A UN C electrician said hehadnochoice but to make a settlement with the Univer sity on Thursday after almost two years of problems with UNC’s workers’ compen sation office. David Pruitt, 45, of Durham said the University agreed to pay him $30,000 to leave his job and release it of any obligation for a disabling back injury he sustained while working on the job. “At this point, I can’t do anything but get out of this job because I can’t take it anymore,’’Pruittsaid. “The problems with my back and what I’ve had to go through I just have to get out.” w jffl Rfetw ”'' - - * -' 1 Jean Nuzum, a Chapel Hill resident of 20 years, looks at an exhibit during the opening of Chapel Hill's Bicentennial display at the Horace Williams House on Thursday. Town residents donated memorabilia for the collection. Town Kicks Off 200th Birthday Party BY SARAH MCBRIDE STAFF WRITER Faded quilts, sagging trunks and old photographs are some of the artifacts that welcome visitors to the Horace Williams House this month. They are part of the Chapel Hill Historical Exhibit, which opened Thursday in honor of the town’s2ooth anniversary. It took exhibit curator Judy Kramer two years to assemble the bicentennial display, said facilitator Jane Gabin. “(Kramer) went into churches,” Gabin said. “She went into Kiwanis and the Rotary. She went into peoples’ homes... people were very generous.” Gabin said she hoped the tempo- rary historical exhibit might lead to a permanent museum of town memorabilia. “We’re hoping that a Chapel Hill museum can be established some time in the next couple of years,” she said. “We’re hoping that this exhibit will arouse a lot of interest.” Gabin said one ofher favorite items was the collection of Cathy Weisbecker photographs of town murals for instance, the sea turtles on the wall of the parking lot at Centura Bank. “I hadn’t noticed the details (of the murals) until they were frozen in these large photographs,” Gabin said. “It’ll certainly make me look more closely the next time I take a walk through Chapel Hill.” Please See CELEBRATION, Page 9 Almost 50 Years Later, Holocaust Survivor Finally Shares Story Editor's note: Today is Holocaust Remem brance Day. BY ROCHELLE KLASKIN ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR 57574. My grandmother has worn those num bers on her forearm for more than 50 years. The Nazis tattooed that identity onto her arm while she was held captive at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the notorious con centration-extermination camp. “I was not my own person,” she said in her thick Eastern European accent. “I was an animal with a number. ” That number is the only clue to unraveling the horror my grandmother lived through during World WarE from 193945. But Jean Powell, a retiree living in Skokie, 111., —a suburb of Chicago where more Holocaust survivors reside than any where else in the United States besides New York City hasn’t ever wanted to The holocaust is a metaphor for our century. Aharon Appelfeld Pruitt said Donald Willhoit, director of the UNC Health and Safety Office, and Workers' Compensation Coordinator Mary Crabtree had first offered Pruitt a settlement of $20,000 Thursday morning but later agreed to increase the amount. However, Willhoit said Thursday night that the University had not agreed to any settlement and that University lawyers were looking into the case. “We accept our responsibility in Mr. Pruitt’s case, and we are not trying to get out of our obligation to him,” Willhoit said, adding that he could not comment on the specifics of Pruitt’s case. The case began in September 1992 when Pruitt was installing lights on Manning Hall with what he called “faulty equip Books Unveiled at Town Bicentennial Opening BY SARAH MCBRIDE STAFF WRITER The Chapel Hill bicentennial celebration began Thursday with the unveiling of two town history books during an opening reception at the Horace Williams House. About 100 people gathered for the event, which included readings from each book, on the lawn of the downtown home at 610 E. Rosemary St. “We had thought all along that we ought to have a history of Chapel Hill, something we could pass on to the next generation,” said Nancy Preston of the town’s bicentennial office. “Chapel Hill 1793-1993: Close to Magic, ” compiled by the publications committee of the Chapel Hill Bicentennial Committee and edited by Margaret Taylor, is not a history per se, Preston said. “It is an anthology of writings that give you a feel for the place and why everybody loves it so much and is drawn to it, ” Please See BOOKS, Page 9 V 7 9 5 * ! j).t share her story. Since I have been old enough to ask questions, I’ve been told I’m too young to know. But I recently realized I belonged to the last generation that will personally know a Holocaust survivor. Both my grandpar ents survived Auschwitz, but my grandfa ther passed away before all my questions could be answered. So I pressed my grand mother to tell her courageous tale of sur vival. This is the story of my hero. Sena Podchlebnik Jean Powell was bom Gena Podchlebnik in 1921 inKolo, Poland, “where the streets are Polish, but the houses are Jewish,” she said, explaining the Polish words that rolled off her tongue. Her life revolved around her family. She was one of 10 children, and all ofher parents’ brothers and sisters also lived in Kolo. Every Saturday, the entire family got Chapel Hill. North CaroBaa FRIDAY, APRIL 8,1994 ment.” “An assistant and I were working on a ladder that was too small for the job,” said Pruitt, who has been a University em ployee for six years. He said he had sent his assistant back to the Physical Plant to get a bigger ladder and the assistant had returned with a roof ers’ ladder, which Pruitt said was “impos sible and too big for two men to handle alone.” But Pruitt said his supervisor had in sisted they use the larger ladder because nothing else was available. “What basically happened was that af ter struggling with the ladder, I fell into the bushes on my back,” Pruitt said. “There were painters working on Carroll together to pray with their own Torah, eat and celebrate the Sabbath. Gena’s father was a cattleman. Although he had to pro vide for his large family, they managed. “We had a very nice house by the river,” Gena said. “We caught fish and kayaked in the summer, and in the wintertime I was on ice. But it was not America. It was a small city. It was hard to make a living, but we did all right. We would kill a calf and have meat for a whole week.” But in 1939, Jews were to be the calves that Hitler and his SS men would slaugh ter. When the Nazis stormed through Po land in September 1939, Gena sensed that things were going to get worse. Three of her brothers, Max, Shimon and Fred members of the Polish army escaped to Russia for the duration of the war. Gena, two brothers, two sisters and their mother also tried to escape to Russia. But halfway through theirjoumey, their mother Hall, and they saw us struggling with the ladder and came over and tried to help us, but I had already lost my balance, "he said. Since then, Pruitt said, he had struggled with back pains, the result of a ruptured disc. He added that he also had had prob lemswiththePhysical Plant and the health and safety office because they had not found him a job appropriate for his physi cal condition. Pruitt said he was in pain after he fell, but he returned to work the following day. He said he had filed a claim for an investi gation of the accident, but the University never had investigated his case. Willhoit said it was University policy to investigate all claims. “I didn’t personally investigate his case, but there is no reason UNC Wrestling Coach Charged With DWI BYPHUONGLY ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR UNC wrestling head coach Bill Lam is recovering from a collapsed lung, a cracked sternum and broken ribs this week after his car overturned while he was driving back from a party last Friday. Lam, who has been with the University for 21 seasons, was charged with driving while impaired and exceeding a safe speed, said Line Sgt. W.B. Rose of the N.C. Highway Patrol. He was listed in good condition Thurs day afternoon, said a UNC Hospitals spokeswoman. The UNC athletic department has not taken any action against Lam. “While I am disturbed at the charges against Coach Lam, I am first and fore most thankful that his recovery should be a complete one,” said athletic director John Swofford, who is out of town this week, in a statement released Thursday night. “Ourfirst concern is his well-being. Any need to evaluate legal ramifications result ing from the accident will come later, ” the statement read. “Our major concern right now is his health.” Supreme Court Hears Recall Election Case BY HOLLY RAMER STAFF WRITER The Student Supreme Court heard ar guments Thursday night in the case to judge the validity of petitions to recall Student Congress member Thad Woody. The court will reconvene at 6 p.m. on Tuesday to announce its decision. Freshman Steve Sciame submitted a petition to former Student Body President Jim Copland on March 23 calling for a recall election to remove Woody from con gress. On Monday, Copland filed a case with the court to determine if he was au thorized to order the recall election. The Student Code contains a recall pro vision for elected officers, but does not make any provisions for officers-elect. Woody was sworn into his Dist. 11 office on the 76th Student Congress Tuesday evening. F our justices of the supreme court heard arguments from three defendants: Sciame, Woody and former congress Speaker Wendy Sarratt. Nick Johnston spoke on behalf of Copland, the plaintiff. Woody said the petitions were invalid because he was not a member of the 76th Student Congress at the time of the petition drive. fell ill and died after coming down with a high fever. With nowhere to turn for help, Gena and her siblings returned to Kolo to their father. They never would have the chance to escape Kolo again. Anti-Semitism had been sweeping through Poland even before the war began. When Hitler invaded Poland, he did not have to look hard to find the Jews. Poland already required Jews to be marked with Hitler’s form of the scarlet letter—yellow Editor's Note The Daily Tar Heel is starting to build its team for 1994-95 and is looking for recruit ment team members, weekly columnists and editorial board writers. The graphics and cartoon editor positions are still open. All interested students must fill out an appli cation. Some positions require interviews, de- News/Fotures/Am/Sports 962-0245 Busmres/Advertising 962-1163 O 1994 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. why it would not have been investigated,” he said. Pruitt said since his accident he had been placed in jobs, such as housekeeping, that required work that was not allowed according to his doctors’ orders —includ- ing climbing, standing for prolonged peri ods, squatting and lifting heavy objects. “I was told I would have an assistant to do the climbing, but I had to do that myself. I simply told my supervisor that I could not do that anymore.” Willhoit said it was against University policy for a supervisor to place an em ployee in a job that violated doctors’ or ders. Please See PRUITT, Page 5 BILL lAM has coached the UNC wrestling team for 20 years. The accident happened at about 12:30 a.m. Friday when Lam was heading home Please See LAM, Page 5 “One cannot be an officer until one has taken an oath,” said Woody, who also served in the 75th congress. Applying the recall provision to offic ers-elect could lead to “an abuse of the recall provision,” Woody said. “Anyone who is unhappy with election results could then attempt to recall the same candidate time and time again,” he said. Sciame said the petitions did not specify whetherhe was seeking the recall ofWoody as a member of the 75th or 76 th congress, but he had intended the recall to apply to Woody’s term on the 76th congress. “When we asked for signatures, we spe cifically said it would be for his next term, ” said Sciame, adding that he began the petition drive because he thought Woody’s campaign and past congress record were objectionable. But Sarratt said his campaigning tech niques were not grounds for recall, saying many candidates had run on .platforms “completely irrelevant” to the duties of a congress member. The petition could not be applied to Woody’s term in the 76th Congress be cause his actions in this session of congress did not begin until after the petitions were presented, Sarratt said. stars worn on their clothing to signify their faith. “We didn’t break any laws, only that we were Jews, ’’ Gena said. “If not the war, the Jews still would have had a very hard time in Poland.” To this day, the petite, blond-haired and ruby-lipped woman does not like to speak her mother tongue because of the shame Please See HOLOCAUST, Page 10 pending on the particular position. Applications are available in the DTH office. Union Suite 104. Please make note of the deadlines printed on each application. Contact Kelly Ryan, DTH editor-select at 962-0245 for more information or with any questions.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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