Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Sept. 26, 1997, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
®atly ofetr News J§> a* 104 jtan of editorial freedom &m> rtf students and the Ummity community since 1893 District attorney creates 2 new positions ■ The jobs were funded by a grant from the Violence Against Women Act. BY CHRIS ANDREW STAFF WRITER Orange-Chatham County District Attorney Carl Fox announced at a press conference Thursday the addition of two individuals to his department. Douglas W. Hanna will serve as the assistant district attorney, and Kim S. Dixon will serve as the new court liaison for cases involving convictions on charges of domestic violence, sexual assault and rape. Fox said he added the new positions Keldorf tells middle schoolers advantages of higher education ■ A.L. Stanback Middle School received a SI,OOO grant for its students. BY BRADLEY HOWARD STAFF WRITER HILLSBOROUGH Trading in touchdowns for teachers, UNC quarter back Chris Keldorf was the guest speak er Thursday at an A.L. Stanback Middle School assembly, during which the school received a SI,OOO donation from Exxon Corp. Keldorf encouraged students to stay in school and work to get college degrees. “Success comes to those who persevere and have a positive attitude about school and their family,” he said. Keldorf told the students about his roommate and fellow teammate, Jeff Saturday, who has a learning disability but still plays football and takes a 12- hour course load. “Remember (Saturday) when you’re having a hard time,” Keldorf said. “He’s an important influence in my life.” Keldorf said the response from the students was incredible. “The enthusi asm here (at the assembly) reminds me of Kenan Stadium on a Saturday after noon,” Keldorf said to the gymnasium full of screaming students. The power of CHANGE BY LEIGH DAVIS STAFF WRITER Tom Geddes, Skip Matheny and Dave Twombly are making their Christmas wish list early this year. The gifts they are asking for will not be for them but for 34 children and an older British couple an ocean away in Mutoko, Zimbabwe. Geddes and Twombly got the Christmas gift idea when they traveled to Zimbabwe to conduct interviews for the Sally Mugabe National Scholarship. mim ' k n Ti 4 k vNVBui ’ f 3■ 'I DTO .'STEPHANIE SCHILLING Tom Geddes, Dave Twombly, and Skip Matheny (left to right) work with the charity Students for Students International. with some apprehension but that he now feels good about the selections. Hanna said Dixon’s responsibilities would include working with victims as a victim witness coordinator and prepar ing them for trial. Dixon said it was important to ease the tension sexual assault victims might face when going to trial. “We’re trying not to put the burden on the victim,” she said. Hanna said he and Dixon would not start any new initiatives but would spe cialize in cases involving sexual assault and domestic violence. “There’s going to be more emphasis placed on these cases,” Hanna said. The new positions were funded by a an approximately $150,000 grant from the Violence Against Women Act, In addition to emphasizing educa tion, Keldorf said there was more to life than just books. “It’s not worth living if you don’t have fun,” he said. And it was that same passion for life and education that Exxon’s donation represented. “Exxon does a lot for college football and stresses telling kids they’re special,” said John Lotz, UNC assistant athletic director. He said the school can use the money at its discretion but that most schools use it for academics. According to a press release, the donation to Stanback from the Exxon- ACC Kids and College Program aims to increase the awareness of the benefits and fun of college for middle school stu dents nationwide, as well as to motivate them to want to attend college. Principal Alisa McLean said she would do anything and have as many guest speakers as possible to get her stu dents preparing for the future. “My kids will probably never be the same again,” McLean said of Keldorf’s appearance. McLean asked Cole Woodside, a stu dent wearing a UNC football jersey with Keldorf’s number, 15, to come down from the bleachers to meet Keldorf. “(Keldorf’s speech) pushed me to try harder (in school),” Woodside said. Woody Durham, veteran UNC radio broadcaster, and A1 Wood, former UNC The journey continued the three year-old UNC project giving children from Zimbabwe the chance to continue their education after the eighth grade. During their trip, Geddes and Twombly visited a leper hospital and found The Mother of Peace AIDS Orphanage, which was located close by. The two stopped by the orphanage and found a British couple taking care of 34 children, several of them babies, I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde Friday, September 26,1997 Volume 105, Issue 78 k >• 'Wf which will cover costs of new posi tions for two years, Hanna said. The grant money will also contribute to a training program for county officials and support group leaders, which will be developed by the Orange- Durham Coalition for Battered Women and Orange County Rape Crisis Center. Orange-Chatham County District Attorney CARL FOX said he was pleased with his two new selections. Margaret Henderson of the Orange “Success comes to those who persevere and have a positive attitude about school and their family. ” CHRIS KELDORF UNC quarterback basketball player, also spoke to the stu dents. “Unless you get your schoolwork done, there is no athletics,” Durham said. Wood said a quality education was an important part of life. “It is absolutely critical to get an edu cation and start making the grades now,” he said. Part of the process of making better grades is studying early, Wood said, reflecting on a turning point in his life when he made a 105 on a test in middle school. Exxon Marketing Representative John Hagerty presented the check to McLean, and the students screamed when the Exxon tiger waved to them. Hagerty encouraged the students to stay motivated. “If you have half the enthusiasm as (the fans) do at Kenan Stadium and the (Smith Center) you will be on your way to success.” who were abandoned after their parents died from AIDS-related illnesses. The couple had set up a home for the children, many of whom have HIV. The couple provides medical care, live-in nurses and high-pro tein meals. “Many of these children were bom into shacks, and this couple gives them so many more things than they had," said Geddes, a sopho more from Windsor, England. “But, this is their retirement project, and it is funded by their money and any dona tions they receive.” Upon returning to the United States, Geddes and Twombly set a goal to raise $2,000 for the AIDS orphanage and send it to Zimbabwe for Christmas Day. The money will be worth about $20,000 in Zimbabwe, and the couple has no knowledge of their fund-raising effort. "We understand that students are here to get an education and take class and that no one has the ability to sacri fice everything for these children,” said Twombly, a sophomore from Hillsborough. “Helping doesn't have to be hard. It’s really very simple. If everyone helps just one person or if everyone on this cam pus gives one dollar, that’s about $20,000. We just want a tenth of that.” To raise money, Skip Matheny, a sophomore from Wilkesboro and room mate of Geddes and Twombly, has been playing his guitar in the Pit after football games and on Franklin Street. See AIDS, Page 2 County Rape Crisis Center said she was active in the decision to create the new positions. “We needed a more focused staff from the DA’s office,” she said. “We worked together to build this grant and now we’re working together to make the process better.” Finding out why victims might be reluctant to tell about their experiences is also an important mission for Hanna and Dixon, Henderson said. When asked in an interview about recent sexual assault cases, Chapel Hill police spokeswoman Jane Cousins said the issue of reluctancy was extremely important because only a very small per centage of first- and second-degree assaults are reported to law enforcement officials. ■fßL.'c,.• '*%•%# j ... HK : • DTH/MATT KOHUT Chris Keldorf addresses a group at A.L. Stanback Middle School Thursday. He spoke about learning disabilities and the importance of having fun in school. Up ■ * J. j-# -7. u> ir%-> *v, mm lUj, DTH ID AVID SANDLER Skip Matheny sings for donations on Franklin Street. He hopes to raise $2,000 for an orphanage in Zimbabwe. “We worked together to build this grant, and now we’re working together to make the process better. ” MARfiARET HENDERSON Orange County Rape Crisis Center director She said that roughly 25 percent of the cases were reported, according to FBI reports. Fox said he felt the county was lucky to find the new team and that he hoped “these cases will move efficiently through the system” because they were very labor intensive. News/Features/Aro/Spora: Business/Advertising: Chapel HiE, North Carolina C 1997 DTH Publishing Coip. All righc reserved. Emergency call boxes seldom used ■ Pressing the button on the call box immediately contacts a 911 dispatcher. BY KERRY OSSI STAFF WRITER Despite the 94 emergency call boxes located across campus and in parking decks, students seldom turn to the boxes as a way to reach police. “Honestly, they’re used very infre quently to report crime,” said University Police Chief Don Gold. “Some people feel they should only use one in a dire emergency.” In an armed robbery that occurred on campus Wednesday night, the vic tims never activated the neaiby call box, Gold said. After the robber fled, the vic tims three female students gained access to a residence hall before calling police. “Everyone responds to being a crime victim differently,” Gold said. “Even though a box is in close proximity, the reaction might be to seek shelter before making the call.” Gold said he wanted to encourage students to use the boxes to inform police of suspicious or dangerous con ditions, even if they are not involved. “The sooner you get information to us, the sooner we can get involved,” he said. “Even if you just see a power line down.” Leslie Jacobson, a junior from Durham, said she would not use the call boxes if she were in trouble. “If somebody’s after you, you’re not going to think to press a button,” she said. “You’re going to run.” Regina Willis, a freshman from Gilbertsville, Ky., said she would hesi tate to use a call box. “I wouldn’t want to hilit until I was sure because I’d feet dumb if it turned out to be a false alarm,” she said. Rob Reese, assistant Safety and Security coordinator for student gov ernment, said students should not hesi tate to use the boxes. “People look to them for emergen cies, but that doesn’t mean wait until something happens,” he said. “If it turns out to be nothing, that’s okay." When the button on a call box is pushed, it immediately contacts a 911 dispatcher, Gold said. A computer iden tifies the location of the box, so even ii dispatchers get no response, they can send an officer to the scene. Pushing the button also activates a blue light on the box, which Gold said would draw attention to the situation. Over the past few years, Gold said, the Physical Plant has not only added more call boxes but also has replaced the old, yellow versions with anew design that make the boxes easier to use “You used to have to open a door or the box and pick up the receiver,” he said. “Now you just push a button, and it automatically opens two-way com munication.” INSIDE Decisions, decisions... PTH SportSaturdßy gpripyj Having two top QBs isn't tough, UNC coaches say. It’s their best hope for a title. See tomorrow's Sport Saturday. —* — Today's weather Sunny; low 80s Weekend: Cloudy, chance of rain: high 70s Go deep Interested in pursuing a long-term project for The Daily Tar Heel? Apply to become this fall s recipient of the Joanna Howell Fund award. The award-winning project will be pub lished in the DTH. Please submit a detailed project proposal by Oct. 3. Contact Editor Erica Beshears at 962-0245 or drop by the DTH office for furthei details or questions. 962-0245 962-1163
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 26, 1997, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75