Sack Master
Peppers chases
L.T. See Page 11
She iailu ®ar Heel
www.dailytarheel.com
Bush's Edge in Florida Certified; Recount Keeps Going
The Associated Press
One week into America’s election
limbo, Florida’s Republican secretary of
state certified
George W.
Bush’s narrow
lead Tuesday
night, even as
dSfiJjl
thousands of disputed ballots were
counted into the night at A1 Gore’s
behest. “When is it going to end?” asked
Bush aide James Baker 111.
There is no answer in sight.
. . .Waste
Wars
By Lauren Ritter
Staff Writer
Twenty-two miles outside Raleigh, a bat
de rages about more nuclear waste coming
into the area, pitting Carolina
Power & Light Cos. against envi
ronmental activists and govern
ment officials.
CP&L, the main power
provider for Chapel Hill,
Durham and Raleigh, wants to
expand its Shearon Harris
Nuclear'Power Plant in New
Hill to store more nuclear waste
on-site.
But many people oppose the
expansion, believing it will
increase the risk of a nuclear
accident, which could threaten
residents living in a 50-mile
radius of the plant.
Opponents of this expansion plan do
not believe CP&L has considered the safe
ty of the public or let residents express
their concerns about this issue.
But CP&L officials contend they have had
a fair review process and have given the peo
ple an open forum to voice their reservations.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
which will make the decision of whether
the plant’s expansion will go forward, has
CP&L Supporters Defend Safety of Plant; Activists Cite Risks
By Sarah Brier
Staff Writer
Officials at Carolina Power &
Light Cos. say that while there are
some minor drawbacks to their plans
to expand their nuclear waste facility,
they believe it is the best solution to
their situation.
But environmental activists and
m May 12J 996 -'Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house fire kills five students
at UNC.
■ Nov. 11,1996 - Chapel Hill Town Council passes ordinance stating that all
new multi-family constructions greater than 6,000 square feet must install
automatic sprinklers. It also specifies a fall 2001 deadline for the
installation of sprinkler systems in all fraternity and sorority houses in town.
■ Feb. 22,1997 - Kingswood Apartment fire destroys four apartments.
■ Jan. 1998 - Pinegate Apartment fire injures three people, including a
firefighter.
■ Jan. 19,2000 - Seton Hall University dorm fire kills three students.
■ Feb. 2,2000 - Couch in ninth floor of Morrison Residence Hall catches fire
and causes nearly $5,000 worth of damage.
■ April 21,2000 - Timberlyne Apartment fire causes nearly $450,000 worth
of damage.
■ April 24,2000 - Foxcroft Apartment fire destroys eight apartments.
■ Oct. 31,2000 - Brookstone Apartment fire kills one man and injures two.
SOURCE: DTH ARCHIVES
When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before.
Mae West
Secretary of State Katherine Harris, a
Bush supporter, announced Tuesday
night that the Texas governor had a 300-
vote lead -with overseas absentee bal
lots and ongoing recount totals pending.
Her announcement came almost three
hours after a 5 p.m. vote-counting dead
line, upheld earlier by state Judge Terry
Lewis. He turned aside Gore’s arguments
to lift the deadline but gave Harris the
authority to accept or reject follow-up
manual recount totals afterward.
Lewis’ decision was a setback for the
vice president, who wanted a clear order
set Nov. 20 as the final date for all sides to
file their findings on the probability of an
accident from the expansion.
Until then, the battle continues.
No Other Choice?
CP&L wants to send the
extra nuclear waste from its
plants in North and South
Carolina to Shearon Harris
because the two other plants
are running out of room to
store their own waste.
“The Harris plant is a high
performing plant,” said Jeanne
Bonds, the corporate communi
cations manager for CP&L. “It’s
in the top tier of nuclear plants
with an excellent safety record.
The plant began operating in
1986 and was originally built
reacibn
A three-part series
probing the controversial
proposal to make Wake
County's Shearon Harris
Nuclear Power Plant the
largest nuclear waste
repository in the country.
Today: Pros and Cons
Thursday: Nuts and
Bolts
Friday: The People
with four temporary storage pools to keep
the radioactive waste. Today, only two of
the pools are in use because just one gener
ator, instead of the planned four, was built.
CP&L now wants to open these unused
pools to store the waste shipped in by the
other CP&L plants, which would make it the
largest nuclear waste repository in the nation.
The spent fuel - fuel that already has
See PLANT, Page 4
local officials disagree. They argue
that CP&L is unnecessarily putting
people in harm’s way.
CP&L wants to expand its existing
nuclear storage facility at the Shearon
Harris Nuclear Power Plant, but
opponents of the plan think this will
dramatically increase the risk of a
nuclear disaster.
Members of N.C. Waste
Make a Decision
New student-taught courses
offer one hour of credit.
See Page 5
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
lifting the Tuesday deadline, but his
lawyers found solace in ruling language
urging Harris to consider “all appropri
ate facts and circumstances” when
recount totals are filed.
Harris said she will require counties
filing late recount numbers to explain in
writing by 2 p.m. today why new vote
totals should be accepted. “Unless I
determine, in the exercise of my discre
tion, that these facts and circum
stances...justify an amendment to
today’s official returns” the totals will
stand, she said.
■RSone of the storage mtrnmammmttmm mmmmShmmmi
H at CP&L’s Shearon Harris H
| plant where bundles of I- ■■
BW tightly packed rods are
SJ cooled by water. The Ep Tk,
IHHI company wants to EL . —, > t £ jf- — — —— —i
iMg utilize two other similar [ |l> I
C placed in the jp|
WWBjßjp water to cool. I
mm • ss
| Spent uranium ||
fuel pellets are mm ‘
sealed in metal |gj
alloy rods.
Awareness and Reduction Network, a
grassroots organization that opposes
the expansion, are worried by
increased traffic of nuclear fuel across
the state and the high concentration
of dangerous waste in a densely pop
ulated area.
But CP&L officials say these con
cerns are unwarranted. They feel
their plant has been a model of safety
Owners Balk at Call for Sprinkler Systems
By Stephanie Gunter
Staff Writer
A recent fire, which claimed the fife
of one man, has brought attention to the
need for sprinkler systems in both old
and new buildings.
But owners of many buildings built
before a city ordinance required sprin
klers say they have no plans to install
them anytime soon.
On Oct. 31, Roger Vanden Dorpel
died in a fire at Brookstone Apartments
that destroyed eight units, none of which
had a sprinkler system in place.
Currently, the Chapel Hill Town
Council has an ordinance requiring all
multifamily structures to be equipped
with sprinklers.
The ordinance was passed in 1996,
Gore decided to hold off an appeal of
Lewis’ ruling and press forward with
recounts in four Democratic-leaning
counties. Gore’s advisers hope Harris will
approve the hand-counted ballots and
are prepared to appeal if she does not
“If the secretary of state arbitrarily
refuses to accept die amended returns
based on the recount and violates what
this court has ruled ... which is to accept
those results unless she has good reason
not to, then we will be back in court,”
said anew member of Gore’s massive
legal team, David Boies.
and responsiveness to the public.
They admit there are some risks, but
point to their past safety record and
strict procedures in answer to con
cerns about danger.
“The Same Safe Process’
From CP&L’s standpoint, the
expansion has no negative implica
tions. The Shearon Harris waste facil
when five UNC students were killed in
a fire at the Phi Gamma Delta fraterni
ty house. Chapel Hill Fire Chief Dan
Jones said he believes this tragedy could
have been prevented if the building had
been equipped with a sprinkler system.
“(Sprinklers are) the safest and most
effective fire protection known to mod
em man," Jones said.
Caprice Mellon, Chapel Hill fire mar
shal, said the sprinkler systems basical
ly provide 24-hour, seven-day-a-week
fire protection.
“It’s been proven that they save
lives,” Mellon said. “If a sprinkler sys
tem can put out a fire before it gets too
big, it gives people more time to
escape.”
The ordinance requires that all build
ings with more than 6,000 square feet of
rf j'i
I
With Harris’ announcement, the bat
de lines were clearly drawn: Bush’s team
says the manual recounts are conducted
with no set standards in Democratic
leaning counties with the sole purpose of
pushing Gore ahead. The vice presi
dent’s team argues that the painstaking
process is the only way to ensure that
every Florida voter is heard.
The next pivot points will be when
overseas ballots are counted, with results
due by midnight Friday, and when
Harris is confronted with the recount
totals that could threaten Bush’s lead.
DTH/JASON COOPER AND SALEE.M RESHAMWAU
ity, located in New Hill, consists of
four wet-storage pools, only two of
which are in use. CP&L wants to
begin filling the remaining two pools.
The plumbing and equipment are
already in place. The expansion of
Shearon Harris would involve no
new construction or employees.
See ARGUMENTS, Page 4
floor space must be equipped with a
sprinkler system. It also includes a sec
tion stating that sprinkler systems must
be in place in all sorority and fraternity
houses by the fall of 2001.
“The upshot is 22 of those 33 houses
have installed operable (sprinkler) sys
tems,” said Aaron Nelson, interim direc
tor of Greek Affairs. “And there are four
houses that are currendy under renova
tion.
“We’re clear that on September 12,
2001, if there’s no operable sprinkler sys
tem in a fraternity or sorority house,
then the residents will not be permitted
to five there.”
Nelson also said exceptions would be
made for houses under renovation at the
time of the deadline. But once renova
tions are-complete, a sprinkler system
Cloudy Skies
Today: Cloudy, 53
Thursday: Cloudy, 60
Friday: Showers, 54
Wednesday, November 15, 2000
w\
The political futures of GOP candidate
George W. Bush and Democratic
candidate Al Gore remain in limbo.
Gov.-Elect
To Push
For Lottery
Governor-Elect Mike Easley
wants a state lottery to
fund education, but other
state leaders oppose it.
By Rachel Cottone
Staff Writer
Although Governor-elect Mike Easley
is a vocal lottery supporter, some N.C.
legislators harbor reservations about using
the lottery to supplement state revenue.
During his campaign, a major plank
in Easley’s platform was using a
statewide lottery to fund education.
In an interview minutes after his Nov.
7 victory, Easley said he will continue
pushing for a lottery when he takes the
governor’s office in January.
But he added
that the likelihood
of establishing a
statewide lottery in
North Carolina
would depend on
the passage of a lot
tery referendum in
South Carolina. “I
feel like what hap
pens in South
Carolina will
determine what
the (N.C.) legisla
ture feels it has to
do.”
Later on elec
tion night, an S.C.
Governor-elect
Mike Easley
vows to continue his
efforts for a lottery
within the state,
but he faces a fight.
referendum liftfed the lottery ban by 54
percent of the vote.
But Easley admitted it would still
take some effort on his part to convince
the legislature to pass the lottery.
“To get a lot of things passed, you
need to go out and sell it to (the legisla
ture).”
And some state legislators - such as
See LOTTERY, Page 4
must be installed and the members of
the house will have to apply for anoth
er Certificate of Occupancy from the
town.
The ordinance is not retroactive, so it
does not apply to buildings other than
fraternity and sorority houses that were
built before the fall of 1996, Mellon said.
But Jones said he believes the ordi
nance should apply to all buildings,
regardless of when they were built
“I don’t think you’ll find a fire pro
fessional anywhere who is against (sprin
kler systems), but you’d get a counterar
gument from builders and developers,"
Jones said.
The only way the ordinance could be
applied to buildings built before 1996 is
See SPRINKLERS, Page 4