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2 Tuesday, April 6, 1999 Officials to Restrict Parking at Pasture By Jenny Beaver Staff Writer The Chapel Hill town manager’s office is looking at options to bring before the Town Council at the end of April on how to deal with parking prob lems at the town-owned Merritt Pasture Officials said Monday they were planning on enforcing ticketing on the N.C. 54 Bypass exit ramp, which is the only spot to park near popular meadow. By the end of the month or during the beginning of May, the Chapel Hill Department of Transportation will post “No Parking” signs along the ramp, said Assistant Town Manager Sonna Loewenthal. During the warm weather, the pas ture, with grass as green as a golf course, is often full of people playing with their children and dogs. She said parking on the shoulder of highways was banned because of the danger associated with pulling off a highway into heavy traffic. “If you have kids or pets that could run out in the street, then parking there is extremely dangerous,” she said. 1 Guilty Plea in Shepard Case Associated Press LARAMIE, Wyo. - One of two men charged in the killing of gay college stu dent Matthew Shepard pleaded guilty Monday to murder, admitting he tied the bleeding young man to a wooden fence and left him for dead. Russell Henderson, a 21-year-old high school dropout and roofer, avoid ed a trial and a possible death sentence with his plea. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms and will not be eli gible for parole. His only hope for release is a pardon. Judy Shepard cried at the courtroom podium while talking about her son, then turned to Henderson: “I hope you never experience another day or night without experiencing the terror, humil iation, the hopelessness and helplessness that my son felt that night.” Sjjorts min < ||| | Chapel Hill police Capt. Tony Oakley also emphasized the danger with the parking situation at the park. “If cars are lined up along the ramp, then a car driving off the shoulder back onto the highway can’t see around the curve to see if another car is coming,” he said. Oakley said a parking ticket at Merritt Pasture would depend on the specific violation. “If it’s a state viola tion, the ticket can cost between $75 and SBO. If it’s a town violation, it can cost around $25.” The town has not yet decided what kind of violation it would be, he said. Council member Joyce Brown said the council first looked at the parking area at the request of residents who complained the parking was dangerous. “When citizens asked that we look into the problem, we had some staff to do it, and they agreed the parking was a problem,” she said. Brown also said access to the pasture had been an issue since the town bought the land about 10 years ago and desig nated it an open field. “The problem is we have no direct access to the land.” Authorities said Henderson and Aaron McKinney, 21, posed as homo sexuals and lured the 5-foot-2, 105- pound Shepard out of a bar last October, kidnapped and pistol-whipped him and left him tied to a fence in the cold. The 21-year-old University of Wyoming student died five days later at a hospital. The crime led to demands for stronger hate-crime laws around the country. Although he pleaded guilty to felony murder and kidnapping, Henderson said his friend and co-defen dant delivered the fatal blows. He matter-of-factly recounted the grisly beating and his attempts to cover up his role, then asked forgiveness from his and Shepard’s families. “There is not a moment that goes by that I don’t see what happened that night,” he said. “I hope one day you will DTH/KATY FORTIER Florence Mernier and her mother-in-law, Nadine, bring her dog Simba to Merritt Pasture to play. Mernier says she comes to the field every few days. Those who visit the pasture said the said they did not approve of the parking prohibition. UNC graduate student Robert Miller was at the pasture Monday with his two Weimaraners. “The field is such a nice area to take be able to find it in your heart to forgive me.” Henderson said he tried to stop the beating, but McKinney struck him with a gun when he spoke up. “Matthew looked really bad, so I told (McKinney) to stop, he’s had enough,” he said. Judge Jeffrey Donnell told Henderson he did not believe he was remorseful. “The pain you have caused here, Mr. Henderson, will never go away. Never,” Donnell said. McKinney will be tried in August on first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery charges. He could be sentenced to death. There had been speculation that if Henderson pleaded guilty, he would end up testifying against his friend and co-defendant, but officials would not confirm that will happen. News dogs to play and run around,” he said. “I guess I’U just have to find a way to sneak in.” Chapel Hill resident Frankjones said it was ridiculous to keep people away. He was at the pasture Monday with his Campus Calendar Tuesday 1:30 p.m. -“Networking and Cultural Heritage,” a talk by Daniel Green, executive director, National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage, in the Pleasants Family Room, Wilson Library'. 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. - Pet visit with resi dents of Carolina House Retirement Home as part of Senior Service Week. For more information, e-mail Lauren at lthrower@email.unc.edu. 4 p.m., 8 p.m. - Lab! Theatre pre sents “War of the Worlds” by Howard Koch at Playmaker’s Theatre. Free. Wednesday noon - The Sonja H. Stone Black Cultural Center presents an Around the Circle discussion: “Millions for Mumia: Get on the Bus!” Come find out why and how you can attend a rally in Philadelphia on April 24 for Mumia Abujamal. In the BCC. 12:15 p.m. - The Department of Environmental Sciences and |2 Months^ i Unlimited Tanning | ! ONLY SB3 i | 942-7177 | | s | j O7fode j iVhWfHdmtisH \ <AmvfWTos \ |W’ A Q u EE R | A r il WeVkisi- .( • ■ . • "C • 933-8226 Mon sat ! him !t“tv • c losed Sunday New l Additional Parking at Love Overboard Kennels www.carrbumtos com Vot*J “Bst DlivrJ ifll j\ MoTl* DTH <rS We accept MC, X irjLmtJmdW VISA, DISC, AMX & Personal Checks Apjfc a— JHk A V on Deliveries i 1(3278/ ”“ h p,ope, ID! " j large! | iSSfci iSuS^Ei 1 ITEM PIZZA 10 Pokey 5tyx...52.99 j j g I tIPQQ | 12" Cheese Pizza.... 2.99 j j 1 j 4 Pepperoni R 0115... 2.99 SjC|99 L ___ _ ± i 9 J L^L'O^SfwepONLYj WWWTGUiyn3VSPIZZA.COM • EMAIL: GUIVIBYSIii.fIOL.COM " 5-year-old daughter and their dog. “I’ll just drive inside the park or in a nearby residential neighborhood.” The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu. Engineering will present the next install ment in its Environmental Engineering Teleconference Seminar Series. Dr. Carl F. Cerco of the U.S. Army Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, Md., will discuss “Ecosystem Modeling in the Chesapeake Bay.” The presenta tion will be broadcast from the G. Fred Mayes Telecommunications Center on the second floor of Rosenau Hall. 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. - Morrison Residence Hall will be hosting the South Campus Majors Fair for all res idents on South Campus. Department representatives will be available to pro vide information and answer questions in the lobby of Morrison. 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Dr. Joel Schwartz, associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health’s envi ronmental epidemiology program, will discuss “The Distributed Lag Between Air Pollution, Mortality and Morbidity” in the Ibrahim Seminar Room, 1301 McGavran- Greenberg Building. 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. - Games with resi dents of Carolina House Retirement Home as part of Senior Service Week. For more information, e- mail Lauren at lthrower@email.unc.edu. Items of Interest ■ International student and scholar orientation counselor appli cations are available at the International Center in Student Union. Help the International Center welcome newly arrived international students and scholars to UNC before classes begin in August. For the Record Wednesday’s article "Rough-Housing: Women's PCbgby Club” should have stated that competitors in the UNC women’s rugby club’s league are club teams. The Daily Tar Heel regrets the error. Gllir lailg Uar Hppl Elevator Phones Installed Twenty-three elevators in 15 buildings got telephones to allow access to police in emergencies. By Shannon Snypp Staff Writer Answering student safety concerns from the fall, campus officials have * recently added 23 emergency tele- • phones to elevators in 15 campus build ings. The Facilities Services Division undertook the project last semester after a series of elevator jams left students and employees trapped on various ele vators, often for several hours at a time and without a phone to reach officials. “This was the event that really trig gered the need for phones, but safety is . a major concern for the University, and ' this was one way to help ensure the safety of students and employees,” said Jim McFarquhar, associate director of . buildings and grounds at the Facilities ‘ Services Division. Following the problems with the var ious elevators, administrators compiled a list of elevators that lacked emergency ( phones. The Facilities Services Division over saw the completion of the project, which cost about $55,000. “There are over 100 elevators on campus, and these were the last 23 that needed the emergency phones,” said Bruce Runberg, associate vice chancel lor for facilities services. ' Buildings that needed revamped ele vators included the Undergraduate; Library, where an employee found her self trapped in an elevator for four hours. The Student Union and Hanes Art Center were also among the build ings with elevators that needed phones. McFarqhar said the only building not included on the list that should have ' been was Carroll Hall, the new site of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication as of next semester. An elevator with an emergency phone would be installed once construction ended, McFarquhar said. The phones will be used to help pre- * vent incidents such as the ones that hap pened last October, McFarquhar said At that time, UNC employee Evelyn Stubbs was trapped in the Undergrad elevator for four hours while she called for help. She repeatedly rang the emer gency bell, pounded on the walls and -< yelled for help. One employee who came to see . whether Stubbs was OK left because she thought Stubbs was a maintenance worker. Greg Bartholemew, a freshman who often studies at the Undergrad, said the new elevators were a relief. “I feel a little safer knowing that the ■ phones are installed, especially because of the problems earlier this year." The University Editors can be reached . at udesk@unc.edu.'
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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April 6, 1999, edition 1
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