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She latlu ®ar Heel 9 Newsy p 9HK1106 years of editorial freedom Serving the students and the University community since 1893 Dennis' Bark Worse Than Bite By Cate Doty Assistant State & National Editor WILMINGTON - Hurricane Dennis merely brushed by Wilmington on Sunday night and Monday morning, bringing with it gusting winds and rain that residents and damage control officials said in no way stacked up to the past three years of storm strikes. By 11 p.m. Monday, Dennis had been reduced to a Categoiy One hurricane with winds at 90 miles per hour at a safe distance, 145 miles, off the N.C. coast, the National Hurricane Service reported. Despite the storm’s relative calm, Dennis was blamed for three deaths, including two from a head on collision in Onslow County at 7:30 a.m. Monday. The storm dumped nearly 8 inches of rain on the coast, disrupted power and caused minor damage to homes and the occasional tree. But by Monday after noon, the Wilmington streets were dry, and Carolina Power & Light Cos. trucks were scattered across the city, rectifying the lingering damage. At the storm’s height, nearly 33,000 coastal resi dents were without power, said Mike Hughes, CP&L spokesman. But as of 4 p.m. Monday, only 16,000 homes were still without electricity, he said. “The damage was nowhere near as bad as the last couple of years,” Hughes said. “We did have several hun dred separate outages, but we were quick to respond, and we had more than ample help.” Hughes said extra CP&L trucks and employees from the outlying counties had been called in antic ipation of potential damage. But the help, while appreciated, wasn’t actually needed, he said. “This was a very easy disaster,” he said. See STORM, Page 6 DTH/DAVID SANDLER The steeple atop Southport Baptist Church fell under the heavy hurricane force winds in Southport, N.C. Police Nab Suspect In Carrboro Blaze An early morning explosion ignited a blaze that took firefighters one hour and fifteen minutes to tame. By Rudy Kleysteuber Staff Writer __ Carrboro police arrested and charged a Chapel Hill man Monday in connec tion with a morning fire that gutted a building on North Merritt Mill Road in Carrboro. Thomas Edward Thurber, 53, of 302 Knolls Street in Chapel Hill was charged with malicious use of an explo sive or incendiary device. Carrboro Police Capt. J. G. Booker said a uni formed officer encountered Thurber at the scene and arrested him. “We believed we established proba ble cause based on the officer’s obser vations, and the magistrate found that to be so,” Booker said at a press confer ence. He would not disclose the nature of the incendiary device or the fire’s offi n - - H KB* _ % ■|BpWß|MjHg-, PI„J *S|j££ttL More Coverage of Hurricane Dennis' Coastal Impact See Pages 8 and 9 rial origin because the investigation was still open. The vacant building, located on the Carrboro side of the Chapel Hill- Carrboro border, was a former hotel under renovation after losing its roof in a storm. The structure was almost entire ly consumed in a fire so hot it melted blinds in the windows of nearby busi nesses, police officials said. Carrboro firefighters were called to 113 N. Merritt Mill Road around 5:42 a.m., and they arrived three minutes later with two pumper trucks and one aerial truck, Carrboro Fire Chief Rodney Murray said. The Chapel Hill Fire Department, which helped extinguish the fire, sent the same number of units. Together, the two departments bat tled for an hour and 15 minutes to con trol the blaze, Murray said. One fire fighter who was slightly injured after twisting his knee was treated at UNC Hospitals and released. Murray said rough weather made it more difficult to extinguish the fire. “We were hampered by the high winds from the hurricane,” Murray said. ■ They sicken of the calm that know the storm. Dorothy Parker DTH/DAVTD SANDLER Part of New Centre Drive in Wilmington flooded, stalling Hans Norland's car. Several other cars mistakenly drove into the flooded street, causing Wilmington police to blockade it until the waters subsided. Students Eye Families' Safety By Ashley Stephenson Senior Writer Jamie Sailing was not fazed by menacing weather forecasts reporting that Hurricane Dennis would pound the N.C. coast. “After (Hurricane) Bonnie, we were like, ‘Okay we know how to do this, it isn’t funny anymore,’” he said. Sailing, a senior, traveled home to Wilmington during the weekend to help his family prepare their home for the brunt of Hurricane Dennis. His house is located on the intracoastal waterway, one of the closest spots to the coast that was not evacuated, he said. “This was the weakest one of the four I’ve been through,” he said. “It could have hit bad, but it didn’t.” Like some students with families on the coast, he said that despite the hype surrounding the onset of Hurricane Dennis, he had seen much worse. Sailing helped his family anchor their dock with cin der blocks so it would not be damaged by high winds and rough waves. But because a southbound wind blew Dennis farther off the N.C. coast, destruction to homes along the coast was minimal. DTH/ERIN WYNIA Carrboro and Chapel Hill firefighters battled a building fire at 113 N. Merritt Mill Road for an hour and a half Monday. Police charged a suspect with malicious use of an explosive or incendiary. Leroy King, a resident who watched the effort from his apartment across the street, said he noticed the department having trouble controlling the blaze. “They looked like they were going at it real serious, then the fire got away from them,” King said. “With a fire that Tuesday, August 31, 1999 Volume 107, Issue 64 big, it didn’t look like they had enough water going to put the thing out.” But Murray said the department was up to the task and that water levels never posed a problem to firefighters. Officials with the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation said they were helping After living at the beach for 14 years, the Sailings have become pros at guarding their home against the ele ments. “We get better at it each year,” he said. “We’re much more prepared now. “Everybody knows what to do.” Although some students went to the coast to help their families batten down the hatches, some stayed in Chapel Hill and kept in contact by phone. UNC alumnus Brett Harrison called his parents in Wilmington to make sure they were OK, but said he was not overly concerned about Dennis. “You worry about a tree falling on your house, but other than that, a hurricane can’t do too much damage if you prepare enough,” Harrison said. He said he had lived at the beach along the intra coastal waterway for 15 years. Normal protocol includes tying down loose objects outside, putting boards on the windows and stocking up on necessities like bottled water, candles and beer, he said. “This was a kinda mild hurricane,” he said. See FAMILY, Page 6 with the investigation into the fire and that a SBI K-9 unit was at the site Monday. The actual investigation into Thurber and the possible arson is being conducted by the Carrboro police and See EXPLOSION, Page 6 News/Features/Arts/Sports 962-0245 Business/Advertising 962-1163 Chapel Hill, North Carolina © 1999 DTH Publishing Corp. All rights reserved. UNC, NCAA Agree on Morehead Fifteen UNC athletes are also Morehead Scholars, but the ruling will only affect outfielder Tyrell Godwin. By Brian Murphy Sports Editor After five months of give-and-take, the NCAA and North Carolina have reached an agreement on the fate of ath letes receiving the prestigious Morehead award. Fifteen Tar Heel athletes are recipi ents of the Morehead, UNC’s top aca demic honor. But only baseball player Tyrell Godwin will be affected by the settlement. Godwin will be forced to donate $3,854 to the charity of his choice. The amount equates to the “cost of atten dance” he received during his first two years at UNC. He will have an extend ed period of time to donate the money. “My family and I will work with the (Morehead) Foundation and the athlet ic director to come up with a schedule to donate the money,” Godwin said in a press release Monday. Morehead Scholars receive money for room, board, books, fees and tuition. In addition, the recipients receive money for personal expenses up to the cost of attendance at the University. NCAA rules do not allow recruited stu dent-athletes to receive cost of atten dance, which covers incidental items. The resolution came as a relief to Godwin, who just one week ago opted to end his Tar Heel football career to focus on baseball. “I’m glad this does not affect my eligibility. Despite the NCAA’s ruling that 1 have to donate the cost of attendance money to charity, I appreciate the University and Foundation’s efforts on behalf of all the students who received the Morehead.” Godwin, who turned down a $1.7 million signing bonus from the New York Yankees in 1996 to attend UNC, has two years of eligibility remaining in baseball. He is expected to be a high selection after this season in June’s ama teur baseball draft. UNC Director of Athletics Dick Baddour said the two sides reached an agreement late last week. “There was a lot of explanation back and forth about the program,” he said Monday. “It was an exchange of information coming between us and the NCAA." Asa result of the settlement, future recruited athletes will not be able to accept the full amount of the Morehead. See FOUNDATION, Page 6 INSIDS Look Both Ways Chapel Hill reported a 58 percent increase in accidents involving pedestrians last year. Town officials are implementing safety programs to solve the problem. See Page 5. Qualifying Time The standards for NCAA eligibility are oft-changing. With the current sliding scale, some student-athletes meet one but not both academic requirements. These partial qualifiers must sit out one season before beginning their collegiate careers. See Page 13. The Ties That Bind The deadline is approaching to reserve a spot on one of The Daily Tar Heel’s feedback boards. All students, campus leaders, faculty and staff members are invited to provide their opinions in an open dialogue setting. See Page 3. Today’s Weather Sunny; Low 80s. Wednesday Sunny, Low 80s.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Aug. 31, 1999, edition 1
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