Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Jan. 28, 1997, edition 1 / Page 1
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©hr lailu ©ar lUrrl INSIDE TUESDAY JANUARY 28,1997 Arrest made following elevator accident BY BALKEES JARRAH ASSISTANT UNIVERSITY EDITOR Chapel Hill police arrested a UNC freshman at 4:15 p.m. Monday in con nection with the Sunday morning fall of another freshman down an elevator shaft in Granville Towers East. Following an investigation, Thomas Henry Suddarth HI of Wilmington was taken into custody, then released on SSOO unsecured bond. Suddarth was charged with giving malt beverage to an underage person, aiding and abetting underage possession of alcohol and assault inflicting serious injury. The arrest followed the incident at Granville Towers East on Sunday, when Evelyn Bankov, a freshman from Wilmington, fell down an elevator shaft Questioning safety Elevators no danger, officials say ■ Department of Labor officials say elevator doors cannot open by themselves. BY ROBIN SMITH STAFF WRITER Although some students questioned the safety of Granville Towers’ elevators after a resident fell down the East build ing’s elevator shaft early Sunday morn ing, officials said it is unlikely that mechanical problems caused the acci dent. “There had to have been external force applied to the hoist way doors for them to open without the elevator car being there,” said Marge Howell, com munications director for the N.C. Department of Labor, which is in charge of elevator inspections. The hoist way doors, the outer doors found on a hallway, are not motorized and therefore have no power to open by themselves. “The elevator car has ‘fingers’ that slide into a ‘glove’ on the back of the hoist way doors,” she said. “Once into place, the motorized elevator doors pull See ELEVATOR, Page 7 Club bouncer orchestrates security show ■ Gotham’s co-owner uses his experience to ensure safety and a good time. BY DAVID SILVERSTEIN ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR Calling Danny Markscheit a bounc er is like calling Michelangelo a painter. He’s more than that; maybe the king of bouncers. A look at his experience and success suggests he is most certain ly a professional, elevating club hi s£? Cp f • security to an art. “I’m not the stereotype of a bounc er,” Markscheit said. “I don’t know too Learning on the job Student teachers at high schools will get extra training. Page 2 UNC freshman THOMAS SUDDARTH was arrested Monday on charges including assault inflicting serious injury. at approximately 2 a.m. Bankov fell from the eighth floor, landing on the elevator car on the third floor. According to a statement from Chapel Hill police, Suddarth and Bankov were drinking alcohol at the time of the incident. The police also stated that Suddarth had pushed Bankov against the eleva tor doors. The doors then opened, and Bankov fell down the shaft, the police LsTH (jfcARfM BfUNV Residents of Granville Towers West wait outside as fire fighters, called to the complex for the second time in two days, inspect an elevator fire. A MrL jemmsF :S DTH/AMYCAPPIELLO Bouncer Danny Markscheit, coowner of Chapel Hill nightclubs Gotham and Alley Oops Treehouse, checks IDs and chats with customers Thursday night. many people who are.” In September 1995, Markscheit and his two partners struck gold with their first Chapel Hill club: Gotham. "We’ve done very well,” he said. “I’m not tooting my own horn. I’m happy with the way Gotham is going.” Since its opening a few weeks ago, Alley Oop’s Treehouse the partners’ new place has people standing in line for as many as two hours on some nights. And die three plan to open a club in Charlotte soon. Luck is a word used to describe the success of people you don’t like. Charles Jarvis Simpson sites for sore eyes O.J.'s saga isn't coming close to winding down on the Internet. Page 4 Site Seeing *wicaßnav stated. The police department would not comment on what specifically led to the arrest, stating only that it resulted from their investigation. “It’s still a pending court case,’’said Jane Cousins, Chapel Hill police spokes woman. Cousins was unable to provide a the ory explaining the sudden opening of the elevator doors. Representatives from the state Department of Labor are investigating a possible malfunction, she said. UNC graduate student Bill Mark, who was an undergraduate maintenance worker at Rice University, said he had first-line responsibility for elevators in his residence hall and was familiar with elevator operation. Mark said the cir cumstances surrounding the accident at There is nothing typical about the way the three partners run their clubs. For them, it is a circus. And though he calls himself a clown, Markscheit is more the showman. “It’s a show," he said. “People want to leave their normal lives.” Markscheit said effective security allowed his clientele and his staff to enjoy themselves. “Security is an insurance policy,” said See BOUNCER, Page 4 Cavscavein The UNC women’s basketball team topped Virginia 76-71 Monday. Page 5 Granville Towers seemed strange. “(Bankov) would have had to be pushed extremely hard or else repeated ly banged into the door for the elevator doors to give way, unless there was already some mechanical problem,” he said. “The other possibility... was that one or both of them had been deliber ately playing around with the elevator.” Bankov remains at UNC Hospitals in good condition. “Her vital signs are stable and her prognosis is excellent,” said Pamela Pearce, a public relations representative for UNC Hospitals. Even though Suddarth has been arrested in association with the incident, students said they were still concerned that elevator safety could be a problem. “We generally feel unsafe,” said Jennifer Bunting, a freshman from Vandal sets fire in elevator light BY FORREST ANDERSON STAFF WRITER Three fire engines responded to an elevator fire at 11:52 p.m. Sunday night at Granville Towers West. The fire burned a one-foot circle into the grill covering the elevator’s light. Sunday night’s fire and Freshman Evelyn Bankov’s fall down an elevator shaft in Granville Towers East on Saturday night have raised questions about the safety of Granville’s ele vators. But Steve Crawford, assistant general manager of Granville Towers, said the elevators were safe. See FIRE, Page 7 Deliveryman hurt in elevator mishap STAFF REPORT A Federal Express employee was injured Monday at Bolin Creek Center in this week’s third elevator accident. Robert Haire, 31, of Cary was taking the elevator to the third floor of the center when the elevator began to fell, police reports stated. Haire told University Police that after it fell about 5 feet to 10 feet, the elevator came to a sudden stop and went back up to the third floor, where he got off. After making his deliveries, he returned to the elevator and took it back down to the first floor, at which point he began to See BOLIN CREEK, Page 7 Housekeepers try to sway Legislature BY ANTOINETTE KERR STAFF WRITER When N.C. House members elect a speaker at Wednesday’s opening ses sion, at least one University group will be watching the results closely. The UNC Housekeepers Association released a letter Monday that they had mailed to 119 N.C. House Representatives asking them to not re elect Speaker Howard Brubaker, R- Randolph, because of his office’s toler ance of racism. “Surely there is another member who can better represent all the people of North Carolina,” the Jan. 1 letter stated. Last spring Brubaker’s spokesman, Don Follmer, admitted to calling UNC Housekeepers “niggers and wormy kids” in an April 10 conversation. Follmer was not fired immediately, and Brubaker was reported as telling him: “That means forget it and drive on.” Dana Simpson, special assistant to Brubaker, said the speaker was not wor ried about the letters. “I can assure you Speaker Brubaker is confident he will remain speaker,” Simpson said. “The speaker regrets how Today's Weather Showers; mid 50s. Wednesday Mostly cloudy; low 40s. Kemersville. She said she used the steps more now than she has before. Another Granville Towers resident, David Baldwin, a freshman from Greenville, said he was more nervous than usual. “It shows that there is some thing wrong (with the elevators) and that something could go wrong.” Granville Towers officials would not comment. For the Record Quotes attributed to Allison Lipe in the Jan. 27 article ‘Freshman falls down empty elevator shaft* should have been attributed to Allison Banks, a freshman from West Jefferson. The Daily Tar Heel regrets the error. the housekeepers feel, but anyone who knows him knows that he will not toler ate racism.” Follmer eventually was fired because of the racial slur, Simpson said. A legislative source said the UNC Housekeepers had other motives for denouncing Brubaker. “The housekeepers announced earli er that they are afraid that Republican control of the legislature will result in privatization,” the source said. "They are just trying to save their jobs.” Marsha Tinnen, spokeswoman for the UNC Housekeepers, said the associ ation was not afraid of having a Republican speaker. “I don’t care if he’s a Republican, Democrat or whatever he has to give the housekeepers respect,” she said. Brubaker will be contested by Democratic nominee, Jim Black, D- Mecklenbuig. Rep. Robert Brawley, R-Iredell, had announced last week that he would vote for Black, leading to a tie if others voted solely along party lines. The Republicans have 61 members to the Democrats’ 59. But Brawley said Monday he 103 yean of editorial freedom Serving the Umveraty News/Features/Ajsj/Spods: 9620245 Busrocw Advtrturtg. 9621163 Volume 104, tone 139 d^ej^^lorth^Qmlina Town votes for nearby McDade site ■ The McDade House will be moved down Franklin Street to Parking Lot #5. BY JULIA WOOD STAFF WRITER After months of debate, the Chapel Hill Town Council finally made a deci sion on the future location of the McDade House. The council voted unanimously Monday to approve a resolution which would move the historic house to Lot #5 between Franklin, Church and Rosemary streets. The house, which is currently located on University Baptist Church property across from Lot #5 on West Franklin Street, must be moved to avoid destruc tion as a result of the church’s plans for expansion. Council member Julie Andresen said she thought the Lot #5 location would be an asset to the downtown area. “The central location between the two ends of Franklin Street will be a tremendous draw for the downtown area,” she said. “The house will set the tone for future development.” Council member Edith Wiggins, who had originally supported relocation of the house to Lot #3 between Yates Motor Company and 411 West, said she was prepared to support the Lot #5 location. “I have been convinced by talk ing with people who are motivated to do what is best for this very special building,” she said. Council member Lee Pavao said although he originally supported the Lot #3 option, he would not stand in the way of Lot #5. “I’m not concerned that it will inhibit future development on Lot #5,” he said. “University Baptist Church could have (incorporated the house) if they so desired.” In other matters, the council voted 8- 1 to remand an application for a Special Use Permit for the proposed Estates of Chapel Hill development back to the staff for further consideration on Feb. 24. Council member Richard Franck voted against the proposal because he said remanding the plan would not address its problems with the roadways. Residents of the neighboring Timberlyne community have voiced concerns about how the Estates would negatively affect property valuesand traffic safety. However, attorneys for the developers said they have met all guide lines for a permit and will sue if one is denied. Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos said returning the application for building the apartments and single family homes near Timberlyne Shopping Center would allow the staff and applicant to further consider making any changes. received pressure from his party that changed his mind. “My constituents want me to stick with the Republican party, at least for this first vote,” Brawley said. “I will vote for Mr. Brubaker and I am looking for ward to working with him.” Brawley said he had received the UNC Housekeepers’ letter this week. “I agree with the housekeepers the man should have been fired immediate ly,” Brawley said. “But that has nothing to do with my vote.” Democratic representatives said the housekeepers’ letter did not affect their votes as they were already supporting Black. Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Orange, said, “I intend to support Jim Black because our caucus nominated him.” Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, said she also would vote for Black. “I will support Jim Black because it will make a big difference in Democrats being appointed to important commit tees,” Insko said. She said she wanted to serve on the education committee. Hackney said others might not toe the party line. “There should be attempts at bipartisanship.”
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Jan. 28, 1997, edition 1
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