iattg (Har Ml
Police
Roundup
University
Monday, Aug. 27
■ A parking permit was stolen from
a vehicle parked in the Ramshead park
ing lot.
Reports state that the S-5 permit, val
ued at S3OO, was taken from the vehicle
without any signs of forced entry.
The owner of the permit said she
locked the vehicle during the night but
left her windows open slightly to allow
fresh air to circulate though the vehicle.
Saturday, Aug. 25
■ A South Campus construction
worker was arrested on charges of
assault after engaging in a fight with
another construction worker outside of
Chase Hall, reports state.
Reports state that the suspect claimed
he was provoked into fighting but was
arrested after witnesses identified him as
the assailant.
After being released on bail, the sus
pect filed a complaint against another
coworker for communicating threats.
Friday, Aug. 24
■ A five-disc CD player valued at
$l5O was stolen from the Belk Track
Press Box.
Reports state that the CD player was
left in the press box at 12:30 p.m. and
found missing at 2:15 p.m.
A University employee who report
ed the theft said the press box was
locked when he discovered the CD
player was missing.
■ A campus vending machine in
Gardner Hall was vandalized during the
night.
Reports state that the suspect entered
the building by sneaking through a
basement window and forced open the
machine with a cinder block.
Thursday, Aug. 23
■ A portable CD player was stolen
from a backpack left unattended in
Davis Library. The owner of the CD
player said she left her backpack in sit
ting area 35 for approximately an hour
while she used a computer in a differer it
area of the library.
Reports state that a search of the
building failed to locate the missing
property.
' ■ A license plate was stolen off a
yehicle parked in the Nash parking lot.
Reports state that the plate belonged to
a University employee and was stolen
while the vehicle was parked and uring
daytime office hours.
City
Sunday, Aug. 26
■ Chapel Hill police arrested
Ronald Lee Bynum of 309 Mitchell
Lane for assault with a deadly weapon
reported to police at 12:06 p.m.
; ■ Reports state that Bynum cut his
brother with a pocket knife, causing
minor injury.
* Bynum went to Orange Countyjail
on a $250 secured bond.
- He is scheduled to appear Oct 15 in
Grange County District Court in
Hillsborough.
I ■ Chapel Hill police arrested
Jeremy Stephen Tirpal.c, of 103 Akiry
Court in Cary, for public urination at
2:40 a.m.
; Reports state that Ti.rpak was arrest
gd for urinating on. a sidewalk at
Carolina Coffee Shop, 138 E. Franklin
f
Saturday/, Aug. 25
* ■ Chapel Hill 'police reported an
aggravated assault at 2:14 a.m. Reports
state that a suspect allegedly kicked and
?unched a victim behind a building at
50 E. Rosemary' St.
1 The case is pending further investi
gation.
Thursday, Aug. 23
<
' ■ Chapel Hill police arrested Jose
Luis Perez Rios at 2:20 a.m. for public
Urination.
; Reports state that Rios, of 306 Estes
Dr. in Carrt.oro, will appear Sept. 24 at
Grange C oointy District Court in
Hillsborough.
VWednesday, Aug. 22
• ■ Chapel Hill police reported a sim
ple assault at 9:08 a.m. on East
Rosemary Street.
Reports state that a victim was
assaulted by four assailants, causing
minor injury.
The case has been closed because
Beads are exhausted.
- ■ Chapel Hill police responded to a
Call ofa simple assault at a government
building at 100 E. Rosemary St. at 10:10
p.m.
• R eports state that a suspect punched
9 victim in the face.
I TTie case is pending further investi
gation.
Police Arrest 2 CDS Employees in 2 Weeks
Aramark's contract with the
University does not require
that background checks
are run on CDS employees.
By Brook Corwin
Staff Writer
In the past two waeks, two Carolina
Dining Services employees have been
taken out of the dining halls and into
police custody on felony charges.
Mary Riggsbee, a CDS cashier, was
arrested Aug. 26 a nd charged with ille
gal possession of ii firearm on campus.
According to police reports, coworkers
accused Riggsbee of making verbal
threats to another worker and keeping a
gun in her purse while she was at work
in Lenoir Dining Hall.
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Film Captures Spring Break Revelry
"Spring Break" was filmed by Zoom Culture,
a local media group, and is a part of the
company's ongoing "Digital Diaries" series.
By Russ Lane
Arts & Entertainment Editor
With classes just beginning, Spring Break seems to be a far
off prospect.
But only a short amount of time passes until throngs of
UNC students hit the islands, hedonistically revel and let
naughtiness run rampant in the Caribbean streets.
A week later, with fabulous tans and a few extra “What
have I done?” anecdotes, UNC students return to Chapel Hill
-and to normalcy. But all abide by the rule, “Whatever hap
pened at Spring Break stays there.”
But Zoom Culture, a Chapel Hill-based media company,
brought “whatever happened” back to Chapel Hill and put it
on film.
See ZOOM CULTURE, Page 6
Town Council Passes Flat Rents Resolution
By Kathleen Wirth
Assistant City Editor
The Chapel Hill Town Council unanimous
ly passed a resolution Monday that will estab
lish flat rents for families living in public hous
ing units.
But the move only will immediately benefit
five of the town’s 334 families residing in pub
lic housing.
In accordance with regulations set forth by
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, public housing agencies must
establish flat rents for their clients based on the
reasonable market value of similar private
housing units in the area.
Flat rents, as opposed to rents linked to
household income, aim to encourage econom
ic independence for families because the rate
Officials Take Action to Correct Silent Bells, Incorrect Time
After being informed the Bell
Tower wasn't working properly,
Jeffrey Fuchs said his first step
was to check the programming.
By Karey Wutkowski
Assistant University Editor
The Bell lower hasn’t been performing up to
par lately.
The UNC landmark, known for its four
faced clock and daily bell chimes, has been
speeding 20 minutes ahead of schedule and fail
ing to send out 15-minute reminder rings since
students returned to campus for the fall semes
ter last week.
“Today I was wondering what time it was,
and I’m used to hearing the bells,” said junior
Daniel Hicks. “Last year when I was going to
class everyday I would hear it at the crosswalk
by Wilson (Library) and know I was late.”
The arrest came 10 days after another
CDS employee, Michael Justice, was
taken into custody when a University
police background check - conducted
during a routine traffic stop - revealed that
there were three counts of outstanding
warrants for Justice’s arrest in New Jersey.
University police tumedjustice over to
the city of Newark, NJ., for extradition.
Although both individuals worked for
the University’s dining services, CDS
administrator Ira Simon directed ques
tions about the arrests to Aramark, the
University’s food service provider.
“All CDS employees are Aramark
employees,” Simon said. “It’s an
Aramark human resource policy to deal
with these situations on their own.”
Simon said Riggsbee worked as a
CDS cashier for only one day before
being charged, but he could not com
ment further because of Aramark’s legal
Li .—-s- —. '!,) >, :i \}
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ZOOM CULTURE
Zoom Culture, a Chapel-Hill based media company, filmed several
students, including Marcelino Alvarez (top) and Kevin "Kaze" Thomas,
for its new documentary called "Spring Break."
remains stable regardless of increases in
income. Under HUD regulations, public hous
ing families still retain the option of paying
rental rates based on income.
“I think (flat rents are) an important reform,"
said town council member Bill Strom. “It’s a
significant change, and it highlights the need
for, and the goals of, affordable housing.
The new flat rental rates, which will be effec
tive Sept. 1, will start at $389 per month for a
one-bedroom unit and will increase up to $736
per month for a five-bedroom unit.
But some members of the Chapel Hill-
Carrboro Residents’ Council say the rental fig
ures passed are not low enough to allow fami
lies to save money for future home ownership.
Members also are concerned because the cur
rent rates based on income are lower than the
proposed flat rates, limiting the number of
And officials who have been entrusted with
the Bell Tower’s care neglected to realize the icon
wasn’t properly ticking or chiming. “I didn’t real
ize it was silent,” said Jeffrey Fuchs on Monday,
whose job includes operating the Bell Tower.
Fuchs said the location of his Hill Hall office
prevents him from keeping tabs on the tower’s
performance, which is controlled by a comput
er system that tells the tower’s 14 bells to chime
every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to midnight. It
also randomly selects from a catalog of 34 tunes
to play at 8 a.m., 12 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Stanley Young, a plant maintenance supervi
sor who is in charge of maintaining the Bell
Tower machinery, said the tower requires little
upkeep. Young said the last time he remembers
it being out of commission was when lightning
struck the Bell Tower in the fall of 1999, silencing
the bells and stilling the clock for several weeks.
But Young said he also doesn’t make regular
checks of the tower’s operations. “I don’t even
go by there," Young said. “Someone called me
and told me it wasn’t working on Friday.”
News
policies to protect its employees.
Aramark is a service managing com
pany that provides food services for 400
colleges and universities nationwide and
abroad, including
Duke University.
UNC chose the
company as its
food services
provider in May to
replace its former
provider, Sodexho-
Marriott, whose
contract expired in
August.
“Typically we will work
with a university to find
a hiring policy that
works the best. ”
Doug Warner
Aramark Public Relations Representative
Doug Warner, a
public relations representative for
Aramark, said the company’s agreement
with the University does not require
background checks on CDS employees,
although some of the company’s con
tracts with other universities do stipulate
immediate qualifying families.
In March, town officials proposed a schedule
of flat rates for the public housing program based
on an analysis compiled by a private consultant
of rental rates for private developments such as
Estes Park Apartments and Abbey Court.
Joann Shirir, director of the residents’ council,
said the HUD formula used to establish these flat
rents could not fairly be applied to Chapel Hill
because the town’s private rates were higher as a
result of the University’s presence.
She also said the private rental rates the town
used to determine the schedule of flat, public
housing rates provided for amenities, such as
washers and dryers, that some public housing
units do not offer. “Because Chapel Hill is a uni
versity town, the rates are much higher than say,
See FLAT RATE, Page 6
Young said he then called Fuchs, who has the
keys to the tower. To get the Bell Tower back on
track, Fuchs said he will try to set the tower
clock on the computer and then check the bells’
programming. “It usually takes 24 hours for the
clocks to catch up,” Fuchs said.
But some students said they’ve gotten accus
tomed to what they believe is erratic behavior
on the Bell Tower’s part.
Junior Jennifer Wilson said she’s noticed that
the tower has been fickle since she came to
UNC. “Half the time it doesn’t ring and the
time is wrong,” she said. “It’s really hit or miss.”
Other students said they don’t mind the
inconsistency so much and just appreciate the
Bell Tower when it’s earning its keep. “As soon
as I came to Fall Fest I noticed the time wasn’t
right, and it hasn’t been right a lot the last couple
of years,” said senior Katy Dimmick. “But I like
hearing it. It makes me proud of my school.”
The University Editor can be reached at
udesk@unc.edu.
such checks. “It’s a decision that is made
on a case-to-case basis,” he said.
“I am aware that other universities do
have a different agreement and do run
background
checks, but I could
not tell you which
ones.”
Warner said the
company has no
corporate policy
regarding back
ground checks for
its employees and
that it varies its hir
ing procedures
based on different clients. “Background
checks are decided on a case-by-case
basis,” Warner said.
“Typically we will work with a uni
versity to find a hiring policy that works
the best.”
Aldermen to
Vote on Party
For Pine Street
Pine Street resident Megan Bahr says she
hopes the party will allow student tenants
and residents to put tensions behind them.
By Amanda Wilson
Staff Writer
The Carrboro Board of Aldermen will vote tonight on
whether to allow a Carrboro street to close for a block party
proposed by the Pine Street Homeowner’s Committee.
The Pine Street block party, which is expected to be held
from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 7, is aimed at rebuilding rela-
tionships among long-term homeowners,
renters and landlords, said Megan Bahr,
a resident and coordinator of the party.
Bahr said residents began to consider
a block party as a community-building
event after a neighborhood dispute this
summer.
But landlord Armin Leith voiced
speculation Monday about the motives
behind the party.
“I own property on Pine Street and do
not know about the Pine Street
Homeowner’s Committee,” Leith said.
“I think the Pine Street people need to
start at their houses with building com
munity. I don’t think the interest in hav
ing a block party where everyone comes
together is genuine.”
Residents complained to the aldermen in July because
some claimed an influx of student tenants was disrupting the
atmosphere of the neighborhood. Consequendy, the aldermen
agreed to examine ways to keep the neighborhood quiet
After tensions mounted this summer, Bahr said she hopes
residents can put the past behind them and use the block party
as a chance to build neighborhood relations.
“Our dispute has never been with the tenants, it’s been with
the landlord or property owner,” Bahr said.
But Leith said the party seems contradictory because resi
dents’ previous complaints included claims that his student
tenants had a tendency to party.
“If they have a party and it gets out of hand, who’s going to
be blamed?” Leith asked. “I guarantee you it’s the students.”
But Bahr said she called each of the landowners personal
ly to invite them to the get-together. “This is a wonderful com
munity here on Pine Street,” she said. “It is a good place to
raise kids.”
Bahr said the homeowner’s committee plans to host a
poduck dinner and invite musicians to come and play during
the party. Bahr said committee members even plan to rent an
inflatable “moonwalk” for children.
But Leith said he doesn’t think Pine Street is the place for
a block party. “I am not opposed to block parties, but a place
where people cannot speak amicably on the street is not a
place to have a block party,” Leith said. “It’s a no-win situa
tion, in my opinion.”
But Alderman Joal Broun said she would be surprised if
anyone objected to the issue.
But Leith expressed skepticism about the purpose of the
party. “All I know is a date, a time and that I’m invited, but it’s
a pretty long street to have a party on.” Leith said.
“This is an issue for the aldermen to decide.”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
A Timeless Landmark
Ik UNC Befl Tower, a well-known emblem of the University, has had
a troubled past, with almost annual interruptions m service.
4 September 2000: An electrical problem silences
the tower's 14 bells for a month, and officials have
to all in University electricians to get foe chimes
back on track.
1| September 1999: Bells stop chiming and dock
Bill stops ticking for a couple weeks, and officials
|||K suspect a lightning strike is foe cuforit
April 1 999: Beil Tower dock slips 2 1/2
SliifliS minutes fast with no explanation.
M t 111 Jun€ 1998 Beii Tower 9 ets 3 toonfolong
-f ®. rflAli'Wuw ac mairttonanrc mil
idMTUVti do itfCßiltnid. vc WUlnvlj pUI
1 the bells on a computerized schedule
■y WKK with hopes of getting foe icon
to ran like dockwork.
SOURCE DTH ARCHIVES AND UNC NEWS SERVICES OTH/MAKY STOWELI
Tuesday, August 28, 2001
Evan Klingman, Aramark’s food ser
vice director for UNC, did not comment
on the arrests and directed questions to
the corporation’s public relations depart
ment.
Warner said none of the CDS
employees hired by Aramark are given
access to students’ personal records.
He also said the choice of whether to
run background checks in the future or
rehire the arrested employees rests with
Aramark’s local human resources
department, which is not governed by
corporate policy.
“It just comes down to a mutual
agreement between the employer and
the client,” he said.
“It’s a decision that’s made on an
individual basis.”
The University Editor can be reached
at udesk@unc.edu.
Carrboro Alderman
Joal Broun
says she will be
surprised if anyone
objects to the
block party
3