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Police
Roundup
Local Man Arrested,
Charged With Rape
Chapel Hill police arrested Samuel
Barrington Roberts, 18, of 101 Bright Sun
Place on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. for rape.
Reports state that Roberts was arrested
and charged with one felony count of first
degree rape of a child and one misde
meanor count of child indecent liberties.
Reports also state that the forcible
rape of the 12-year-old girl was reported
Nov. 16,2001. Roberts was arrested and
given no bond. He was confined to the
Orange County Jail and was scheduled
to make his first appearance in the
Orange County District Court in
Hillsborough on Wednesday, reports
state. Police officials refused to comment
University
Tuesday, April 9
■ A resident of Winston Residence
Hall reported at 4:02 a.m. that someone
had thrown a tree branch through her
window and had broken it reports state.
A University police officer was riding
by on bike patrol when the resident
yelled to the officer from her second
floor window about the broken win
dow, reports state.
She reported that a man wearing a
long-sleeved, dark-colored shirt and
light-colored khaki pants threw a
branch through her window.
On the east side of Winston, the
police officer talked to two men who
were visiting from England and were
staying with one of their friends in
Winston, reports state. One of the men
matched the description of the suspect.
Investigation is continuing in the case.
The window is valued at SSO.
Monday, April 8
■ University police arrested Jerry
Allen Cochran, 33, of 1027 E. Webb Ave.
#B in Burlington at 12:56 p.m. for dri
ving with a revoked license and failure to
yield for a pedestrian, reports state.
Cochran was charged with both
offenses and taken to the Chapel Hill
Police Department, where he was
released on a written promise to appear
in court, reports state.
City
Tuesday, April 9
■ Carrboro police responded to a
breaking and entering of a motor vehi
cle call at 3:09 p.m. at 300 N.
Greensboro St.
Reports state that an unknown subject
entered the victim’s 1996 Nissan Altima
and removed various items. The total
value of the stolen goods was $2,310,
reports state. The case is inactive.
■ Chapel Hill police arrested
Theartris Deleon, 26, of 3510 Old
Greensboro Highway at 3:52 p.m. for
possession of a stolen vehicle.
Reports state that Deleon was arrested
and charged with one misdemeanor
count of possession of stolen goods and
one felony count of possession of a stolen
motor vehicle. Reports also state that nar
cotic investigators were patrolling
through the parking lot of the Red Roof
Inn, located at 5623 Chapel Hill
Boulevard, when they noticed Deleon
and another man acting suspicious.
Officers ran the plates and checked
the vehicle identification number,
reports state. The vehicle came back
as stolen from Burlington. Deleon was
arrested and held on a $3,000 unse
cured bond. Reports state that he was
scheduled to appear in the Orange
County District Court in Hillsborough
on Wednesday for his first appear
ance.
■ Chapel Hill police responded to
an embezzlement call at 1:43 p.m. at
1748 N. Fordham Boulevard.
Reports state that the McDonald’s
restaurant had three missing deposits
over a period of a month. The total
value of the stolen goods was $5,482.11,
reports state.
A warrant has been issued, but no
arrests have been made.
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Study: Drinking Kills 1,400 Students
By Lindsey Write
Staff Writer
A federal agency focused on fighting alco
holism released a report Tuesday stating that
alcohol is a factor in the deaths of 1,400 college
students per year and calling for preventative
measures.
The report on college drinking, prepared by
the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism, states that alcohol use yearly
results in 500,000 injuries and 70,000 cases of
sexual assault and date rape among college stu
dents between the ages of 18 and 24.
The institute task force has developed a
threefold framework of preventative strategies
to confront the problem. The three areas being
targeted are the student population, the college
and surrounding community and individuals
who are at-risk or alcoholic.
Members of the institute’s Task Force on
College Drinking are sending a copy of the
report to every college in the country, hoping
that administrators will adopt solutions to com-
-BET 1 Tauv 'imT
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DTH/BRENT CLARK
Hazel Cheek weaves a grapevine basket at her house off Dairyland Road. Cheek makes seasonal decorations, chair seating
and baskets for her business, Catbriar. Her crafts are available Wednesday afternoons at the Carrboro Farmers' Market
or at Maple View Farm Country Store on Dairyland Road.
Building Permit OK Pleases Club Nova, Aldermen
By Nate DeGraff
Staff Writer
Both sides walked away happy from
the Carrboro Board of Aldermen’s first
public hearing of Tuesday night.
Town officials wanted affordable
housing. The nonprofit group Club
Nova wanted more space for its mental
ly ill members. The board took a step to
Experts: Students Should Take Interest in Deciding on Loans
By J.E Scarbrough
Staff Writer
A bulletin board in the Financial
Aid Resource Center in Pettigrew Hall
displays the adage, “Money doesn’t
grow on trees.”
Many college students, struggling to
save cash for tuition, housing and
books, understand this sentiment first
hand.
To make up for the lack, the
University Office of Scholarships and .
Student Aid distributed more than $59
million in grants, scholarships, loans
and work study this year.
But Susan Burdick, assistant director
of scholarships and student aid at
UNC, warns students to think carefully
before applying for student loans.
“It is always best to look into grants
bat alcohol abuse.
Task force coordinator Fred Donodeo said
the agency collected information from several
credible databases that had already gathered
information on alcohol use among college stu
dents.
Donodeo said final figures pointed out that
the consequences of alcohol abuse are actually
higher than most researchers originally thought
He pointed to the increase in rapes, car acci
dents, overdoses and assaults prompted by irre
sponsible alcohol usage.
Donodeo said the task force is geared toward
ways to solve the problematic results rather
than trying to evaluate drinking habits.
“We are focused on the consequences rather
than amount of alcohol consumed,” he said.
The report calls for stricter enforcement of
minimum-age drinking laws, formation of cam
pus and community coalitions, facilitating long
term campus community research and altering
student expectations about the effects of alcohol.
He said UNC already has implemented sim
ilar programs to the solutions the task force is
A FANTASTIC BASKET
meet both concerns.
After a short review period, the board
approved Club Nova’s building permit
application, clearing the way for anew
three-story apartment building for the
organization at 103 W. Main St.
The new structure will replace the
organization’s soon-to-be-demolished
eight-unit apartment building and pro
vide 24 single occupancy dwellings for
and scholarships
first,” she said.
Before making
the decision to ask
for a loan, she sug
gests that students
evaluate their
financial situation
and make sure it is
necessary.
The amount of
any student loan
cannot exceed a
predetermined
budget including
tuition, books,
room, board and
various expenses.
But Burdick
said she has
noticed an increas-
Your Money
A four-part series
exploring money
issues that
students face.
■ Tuesday:
How to Read a Lease
■ Wednesday:
Investing
■ Today:
Student Loans
■ Friday:
Credit Ratings
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recommending.
Dean Blackburn, UNC coordinator of sub
stance abuse services, said he is surprised by the
national findings. “The statistics at Carolina are
much lower than the national average," he said.
Surveys in 1997 and 1999 found that two out
of three UNC students came home Thursday,
Friday and Saturday nights with a 0.0 blood
alcohol level. He said there is a difference
between perception and reality in how many
students on campus drink. “The reality is many
students don’t,” Blackburn said.
He said he is trying to change the atmosphere
on campus by promoting alcohol-free events so
students are not pressured into drinking.
Blackburn said there are numerous options for
students on campus to get help for alcohol prob
lems, including counseling, alternative activities,
education and group outreach. “I am alarmed by
the national figures,” he said. “It indicates that we
are doing something right at Carolina.”
The State & National Editor can be reached
atstntdesk@unc.edu.
Club Nova members. “You really help
define Carrboro, at least for me,” Mayor
Mike Nelson told Club Nova members,
staff and supporters at Tuesday’s board
meeting. “The work you do is critical.”
After the vote, Club Nova officials
gathered on the steps of the Can-boro
Town Hall. “(The old apartments) have
served their purpose,” said Club Nova
executive director Karen Dunn. “It’s
ing trend among students who take out
larger loans in order to maintain a high
er standard of living. By using loan
money to pay for tuition and housing,
students choose to free up their own
money for luxury items, she said.
“There is a maximum that can be bor
rowed. A student can’t walk in and take
out a second loan because they want to
go to the Bahamas this year,” she said.
Burdick emphasized that she coun
sels students to settle for the minimum,
not the maximum, dollar amount.
“If a student qualifies for $9,000 but
can get by on SB,OOO, we encourage
them to borrow $8,000,” Burdick said.
According to the financial aid ser
vices Web site, more than one-third of
all students at UNC receive some type
See LOANS, Page 4
Budget Crunches
Slow Hiring for
Municipal Jobs
Town employees struggle to handle an
increased workload as more than a dozen
positions remain unfilled indefinitely.
By Colin Sutker
Staff Writer
Chapel Hill and Carrboro officials say budget shortfalls in
both towns have created delays in hiring new employees,
which could result in increased workloads and make it diffi
cult for the towns to provide services.
This year’s statewide budget crisis, which has led to reduced
funding, has prompted both town governments to gready
reduce the hiring that normally happens. Chapel Hill has
implemented an official hiring freeze, while Carrboro is taking
a less restrictive, but still conservative, approach to hiring.
Bill Stockard, assistant Chapel Hill town manager, said
funding issues have translated into filling no new positions this
fiscal year. “Due to the budget, temporarily there is a hiring
freeze,” Stockard said. “There may be some essential posi
tions, for example, the head of human resources, that we went
ahead and filled. But there are other positions that are not
going to be filled in the immediate future.”
Stockard said positions kept vacant by the freeze might not
be filled until late June or July 1, when a budget will be for
mally adopted by the Chapel Hill Town Council.
While town officials are hoping to fill 12 essential positions,
13 other positions will be frozen indefinitely. Some of the
vacant positions are for house maintenance personnel, an
engineer coordinator and an administrative analyst
The town should be able to handle the workload for the time
being, said Betsey Harris, Chapel Hill employment coordinator.
But she added that unfilled positions over time could lead to
severe problems in serving the town. “People just have to take on
extra work,” Harris said. “It’s always difficult to meet our staffing
needs when there are positions that are needed to be filled.... It
does mean there are questions to how we would deliver services.”
Stockard said despite increased individual workloads, there
has been little negative feedback while the freeze has been in
effect. “It may involve some shifting around of duties," he said.
“But there is a lot of cross-training that goes around the gov
ernment, so we’re able to take care of that.”
Chapel Hill is not alone in its personnel crisis. Carrboro,
also facing a budget deficit, has several unfilled positions.
While the official freeze in Carrboro has been suspended,
there still remains a budget conflict with filling positions.
Carrboro Town Manager Robert Morgan said that the
freeze had put too much of a strain on human resources and
that the town was forced to fill vacant positions. “Basically
we’re making decisions on a case-by-case basis,” Morgan said.
Capt. Joel Booker of the Carrboro Police Department said
hiring still needs to occur despite the funding crisis. “If there
was a freeze for an extended period of time, then we might
have a lot of problems.”
Stockard also said though the freeze continues, most officials
say the situation will be resolved soon. “I think people and
employees understand we’re doing the best we can. Across town
there might be extra work, but there is hope that relief will come.”
The City Editor can be reached
at citydesk@unc.edu.
now time for us to move forward and
have something that’s more up to date.”
Club Nova was founded in 1987 to
provide the county’s mentally ill residents
with a comfortable place to cook, eat,
work and socialize. With the help of local
realtor Thomas Whisnant, the organiza
tion relocated to its current home in 1992.
Over the next 10 years, membership
swelled to 80. Though most members
Interesting Loans
The current average interest rate for the Federal Stafford Loan, one of three types of available college
loans, is 5.39 %. Interest continues to accumulate the longer the borrower waits to pay of the loan.
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live off site, Club Nova wanted new liv
ing facilities for its on-site members that
reflected dignity and respect, qualities the
club tries to instill in all of its constituents.
In February, the organization asked
the board to speed up the review
process, and the board responded with
an approval less than two months later.
See ALDERMEN, Page 4
DTH/BETH GALLOWAY AXD MARY STOWE
3