Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / March 7, 2002, edition 1 / Page 3
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®ljr Satty Sar Hppl ■351 m Police Roundup Family Extends Reward For Capture of Killer The family of a man murdered three years ago today is offering a reward for the capture of his killer, a Carrboro Police Department press release states. The family of Wilbert Jones Sr., mur dered March 7,1999, is offering a reward of $11,200 in conjunction with the Governor’s Reward Program and Crime Stoppers for information leading to the capture of Jones’ killer, the release states. The 74-year-old was found dead in his Carrboro home with a single gunshot wound to the chest Officials have no sus pects in the case. According to a press release, the reward is capped at $11,200 unless the family decides to increase the amount later. Any person with informa tion on this case is asked to to call Carrboro Police Investigator Gary Blankenship at 918-7407 or Lt. Jim Phillips at 918-7408. Callers may also con tact Crime Stoppers at 942-7515. Electrical Fire Causes $20,000 in Damage At 7:25 a.m. Wednesday, the Chapel Hill Fire Department responded to a call at 320 McMasters St, a press release states. Upon arrival firefighters found smoke and flames coming from the res idence. The fire was located in the front bedroom area of the residence and was quickly controlled, the release states. The fire caused about $20,000 in damage to the structure and its contents. Officials have determined the fire to be electrical, and no one was reported injured. Foul play is not suspected. University Tuesday, March 5 ■ A UNC employee reported at 8:54 a.m. the theft of a pond pump and artistic copper tubing from the N.C. Botanical Gardens on Old Mason Farm Road, police reports state. The pump and tub ing were last known to be secure at 5 p.m. on March 1, reports state. The pond pump is valued at S9O, and the artistic copper tubing is valued at $25. There is no further information at this time. ■ A student found a suspicious letter at 9:30 p.m. in a men’s bathroom in Hamilton Hall, reports state. There is no further information at this time. City Tuesday, March 5 ■ Chapel Hill police responded to a breaking and entering call at 5:05 p.m. on Walnut Street. Reports state that an unknown subject entered the victim’s unlocked vehicle and stole various items. The 1996 Nissan Maxima was last known to be secure at 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 13, reports state. The total value of the stolen goods is SBOB, reports state. The case is closed as all leads are exhausted. ■ Chapel Hill police arrested James Thomas Kokkeler, 42, of 802 Cleveland St., Durham and Charles Phillip Mclnnis Jr., 42, of 803 Cleveland St., Durham for shoplifting. Reports state that Chapel Hill police responded to a shoplifting call at 11:33 a.m. at the Harris Teeter, located at 210 S. Estes Drive. Employees had seen two men conceal steaks in their coats. The six steaks that Kokkeler and Mclnnis attempted to steal were valued at $78.98, reports state. Kokkeler and Mclnnis were both arrested at 11:52 a.m. at 210 S. Estes Drive, reports state. Kokkeler was charged with one mis demeanor count of shoplifting and was released under a written promise to appear at the Orange County District Court in Hillsborough on April 27, reports state. Mclnnis was charged with one misdemeanor count of shoplifting and one misdemeanor count of posses sion of drug paraphernalia, reports state. Mclnnis was released under a written promise to appear at the Orange County District Court in Hillsborough on April 27, reports state. Monday, March 4 ■ Chapel Hill police arrested Torrey Wayne Perry, 24, of 1311 Starlings Road at 7:30 a.m. at 1716 Legion Road for fail ing to appear in court. Reports state that Perry was arrested after he called police to report that an acquaintance refused to give him his jacket back. Officers learned that Perry had outstanding warrants for failure to appear on a second-degree trespassing charge and a communicating threats charge. Perry had bonds on both warrants totaling S9OO, reports state. Perry is being charged with two misdemeanor counts of warrant for arrest. He was confined to the Orange County Jail on a S9OO secured bond and is scheduled to appear in the Orange County District Court in Hillsborough on Monday. DPS Investigates Validity of Bomb Threat By Meredith Nicholson Staff Writer Department of Public Safety officials doubt the validity of a threat found Tuesday night claiming that six bombs had been placed around campus but are still taking precautions. The anonymous, typed letter stated that the bombs - armed with remote detonators - had been placed in areas’ where large crowds gather and that they would be detonated sometime between Wednesday and Friday. DPS officials declined to disclose how DTH/KIMBERLY CRAVEN Sophomore Victor Ahdieh works out on the tricep pull-down machine in the Student Recreation Center on Wednesday night. Ahdieh, who said he enjoys working out with friends, was accompanied by his suitemate, sophomore Scott Gremillion. Gremillion was showing Ahdieh different upper body exercises. Local Tower Construction Halted By Jenny Huang Staff Writer The Orange County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a six month moratorium on telecommunication tow ers Wednesday, halting the development of new telecommunication structures until September. Planning officials called for the moratorium in an effort to update the county’s existing tower ordinance to comply with new wireless technologies. “It’s time to reevaluate the whole tower loca tion program and look at some of the new things coming online with telecommunication,” said Robert Davis, head of the current planning division, Wednesday morning. “By putting a moratorium (on telecommuni cations towers), we’re able to get with other jurisdictions and get input from the industry on what the plan is for the next 10 years.” Commission Plans to Promote Business By Michael Chen Staff Writer At a town budget work session Wednesday afternoon, the Chapel Hill Downtown Commission presented its annual report for 2001 and delineated goals for the upcoming year to the Chapel Hill Town Council. Margaret Skinner, chairwoman of the commission’s board of directors, spoke on behalf of the Downtown Commission at the meeting. Skinner said she applauded the Town Council for its support of the Downtown Commission in 2001, thanking them for supplying $45,000 of its total $56,000 budget. “We are looking to develop and encourage the vitality and growth of the downtown business district of Chapel Hill as an economic, cultural, recre ational, entertainment and historic cen ter,” Skinner said, echoing the commis sion’s mission statement. She announced that the commission will be divided into four committees in 2002 to promote the downtown busi ness scene. Those committees are Services to Businesses, Membership and Networking, Community Service and Events and Promotions. In addition to the committees, booths will be set up at the Streets at Southpoint or where the letter was found but said they did not think there was a danger to the University community. The one-page letter stated that “the next three days will be by far the worst days in UNC’s history” if Chancellor James Moeser does not stand on the steps of South Building and “fully endorse the war on Afghanistan ... and denounce homosexuality.” Glenn Grossman, co-chairman of the Carolina Alternative Meeting of Professional and Graduate Students, said he was upset by the letter but not surprised because the lesbian, gay, I'M GOING TO PUMP ... YOU UP Before approving the moratorium, board members made the stipulation that collocations would still be allowed. Collocation is the process of installing an antenna or equipment on existing telecommu nications structures. “The reason for the moratorium is that there have been concerns about the heights of (telecommunication) poles, placements of poles,” said Craig Benedict, county planning director. “(But) we recommend that the collo cation of towers be permitted to occur during the six-month time period.” Although the the moratorium officially went into effect Wednesday, the board denied an application for anew telecommunications tower submitted earlier that day because the applicant company did not comply with a pre application meeting required by the existing ordinance. Robert Eckstrand, representative of Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, said his client, the mall to encourage shoppers to visit Chapel Hill. The commission plans to combat the town’s parking problem by educating customers on available parking. “We will improve signage to make it easier for visitors to know where to park,” Skinner said. “We will also con tinue to promote the free bus system.” Board of directors member Dana McMahan, also at the meeting, said diversification of the stores on Franklin Street will help bring different popula tions to Chapel Hill. “There are three distinct groups in our community: students, visitors and residents," McMahan said. “We want to meet the needs of all them.” The commission will try to increase information sharing between the busi ness owners in downtown Chapel Hill. A solution already in place involves weekly Wednesday business lunches for the shop owners, where ideas are exchanged. Another topic Skinner touched on was the beautification of downtown Chapel Hill. The commission will attempt to maintain all the beautification services from the previous year but doubted the longevity of its Adopt-a- Planter program. This program, which See SESSION, Page 13 News bisexual and transgender community faces violent threats at least once a semester. “My fear is superceded by my frustration that we don’t have an infra structure available to help with the unique burdens shouldered by the LGBT population on our campus.” The letter was written in a casual tone and hinted about possible locations of the bombs, listing campus map coordinates. After the letter was found, a team of 17 officers conducted searches around campus, said Police Chief Derek Poarch. “Our searches resulted in nothing being found that would be in any way a threat Verizon Wireless company, was unable to sub mit its application until Wednesday because it did not finalize its site plans until Tuesday. “The reality of the situation is Verizon has been working on this for over a year now,” Eckstrand said. “We did meet requirements of the ordinance, but we did not have a pre-application meeting. The moratorium is being imposed early in the cycle - site plans (were not) finalized.” The Verizon company planned to construct anew telecommunications tower on the inter section of N.C. 54 and Gold Mine Road. Eckstrand said he was disappointed with the board’s decision to deny Verizon’s application for a telecommunications tower. “(But) we look forward to proceeding after the new ordinance is written and active," he said. Planning officials say the next step is to begin drafting amendments to the existing tower ordi nance. See COMMISSIONERS, Page 13 Justice Speaks With Law Students By Jamie Dougher Staff Writer Some students who attended the speech given by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at the George Watts Hill Alumni Center on Wednesday said Thomas avoided sensitive issues raised by a group of faculty and students from the School of Law. But Gene Nichol, dean of the law school, said the event provided students and faculty with a unique opportunity. Thomas’ scheduled speech encountered opposition when five black faculty members decided to boycott the event and drafted a letter Feb. 28 stating that Thomas has “set back the quest for racial equality and social justice in this country.” Wednesday’s event was not open to the public or the media, and law students who bought tickets to it were required to e mail questions for Thomas to Nichol prior to the event. “Justice Thomas said that he would like to come and speak to students, and he did so in a very open and accessible way,” Nichol said. “I think it’s a pretty remarkable experience to be able to have a candid discussion with a Supreme Court justice about his work, and clearly this was an opportunity to do that” Thomas also attended several classes at the law school throughout the day. But first-year law student Jennifer Grossman said that when questions asked at the speech hit on controversial issues, Thomas simply urged the audience to read his opinion on the subject Grossman said she attended the speech because she was curious to hear what Thomas would speak about but left dis satisfied. “I’m a little disappointed,” she said. “He likes to skirt issues, especially the most controversial ones.” Students in attendance said some of the issues Thomas did not directly address included affirmative action, age discrim ination and women’s issues. “He didn’t propose any solu tions," Grossman said. “1 wanted to witness him speak and hear his views, but I didn’t really get to hear them much." Jeremy Smith, a first-year law student, also said Thomas could have been more specific in his responses to the ques tions. “He hedged on some of the issues,” he said. But Nichol said Thomas certainly responded adequately to to students, faculty or staff,” he said. Poarch said police will keep looking into leads but have no suspects at this time. Poarch said the University usually receives one or two bomb threats each year, often near the time of break or midterms, although most threats come via phone rather than letter. “We take any and all threats seriously whether they are specific or not," he said. In August, a pipe bomb was found on Cameron Avenue by Davie Hall. The bomb was detonated by State Bureau of Investigations officials. The incident caused no injuries, but Cameron Avenue Student Activity Fee Hike to Go To Referendum In addition to making plans for a special election, Student Congress members called for closer oversight of certain groups. By Meredith Nicholson Staff Writer Student Congress passed two pieces of legislation related to student fees on Tuesday -one that allows a referendum to raise the student activities fee and one that holds certain orga nizations more accountable to Congress. The referendum that Congress members voted to place on the ballot would raise the activities fee to $16.50 per semes ter for all students The student activities fee is currently $11.50 per semester for undergraduate students and $9.50 per semester for grad uate and professional students. The rate was set in 1984. The referendum will appear on the ballot during a special election that will take place April 2, Student Body President Justin Young announced Tuesday night. The primary purpose of the special election is to fill vacant seats in Congress. Finance Committee Chairman Tony Larson said Tuesday night that raising the student activities fee would prevent Congress from having to make value judgements about orga nizations because of financial constraints. Gregory Wahl, student affairs committee chairman, said students who think their organizations did not receive suffi cient funding during last weekend’s budget process should vote for the referendum. “There is no reason why students at UNC-CH should not pay SSO in student fees,” Wahl said. “There is no reason not to raise the fee S3O, S2O or even $lO to make all activities on campus free and open to everyone.” Originally, the referendum would have called for a $6 increase in the student activities fee. But Wahl proposed an amendment making the fees for graduate, professional and undergraduate students $16.50 per semester. Wahl said he proposed the amendment because he thinks graduate and professional students do not always receive equal opportunities for funding because they pay less in student fees. Congress also passed a bill requiring groups that receive a set percentage of the student activities fee directly - like WXYC and Student Television - to submit an annual report to Congress each March. Congress has the power to set these groups’ fees, but the groups are not required to reapply for funding each year, Larson said. “We need to hear from them so we know what their needs are and whether these fees are appropriate,” he said. Speaker Mark Townsend said Congress appoints represen tatives to the boards of directors of many of these groups but that the members do not serve as liaisons. “In the past, no person has ever come back and talked to us,” he said. “The purpose of having someone on the board of directors is not as a liaison.” But some officials say they do not think one meeting with Congress is going to accomplish what Congress members are seeking. They say the responsibility should be placed on the congressionally appointed representatives to the groups’ See CONGRESS, Page 13 mm Sm 1 iwbj s , : jpll IBBBBi I J DTH/REBECCA O’DOHERTY Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas tries to avoid the media before his speech at UNC on Wednesday. the questions students submitted. “If they didn’t like the answers, well, that’s part of a discourse,” he said. “I think he did a very strong job.” While Grossman said she was disappointed overall, she said she was impressed with the maturity her fellow law stu- See THOMAS, Page 13 Thursday, March 7, 2002 was shut down for almost four hours. In February, Christopher Scott McMillan, a UNC alumnus, pled guilty to placing the bomb on campus. The August event was the only time a bomb has been found on campus, Poarch said. Poarch said members of the University community should continue to be aware of their surroundings, but he said he does not think there is any cause for concern. “I don’t see, at this moment, any imminent threat to the University community." The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu. 3
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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