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Volume 110, Issue 78
Police Look for Suspect in Robbery
WANTED: ARMED ROBBERY
Black male in his early 20s,
approximately 5 feet 10 inches
tall, 185 pounds with a medium
to dark complexion. No facial
hair and wore tight cornrow
style. Had on a gray T-shirt, blue
jeans and boots.
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SOURCE: http://WWW.DPS.UNC.EDU
UNC Student
Charged With
Possession
Suspect received precursor
"date rape" drug by mail
By John Frank
Assistant University Editor
An 18-year-old UNC student was arrested
Thursday afternoon on felony drug charges in con
nection with a national “date rape” drug sweep by the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Freshman Justin Ryncavage, of 239 Craige North
Residence Hall, was charged with one count of posses
sion of the precursor chemical gamma-butyrolactone.
Known as GBL, this colorless, odorless liquid is the
main ingredient of the “date rape” drug gamma-hydrox
ybutyrate, or GHB. The substance is easily produced by
combining GBL with either sodium hydroxide or potas
sium hydroxide in a cooking pot or bucket.
The drugs are popular at clubs and raves and are
commonly used to spike alcoholic drinks in hopes of
rendering a person unconscious or unable to resist
sexual advances. The drug can also cause seizures,
severe respiratory depression, comas and death. The
DEA has documented 71 GHB-related deaths.
Officials said this was the first reported case of
GHB on campus in almost 10 years.
University police were notified after the U.S. Postal
Service intercepted a package to the suspect from a dis
tributor in Canada that was charged in the national
sweep. In conjunction with University police, a postal
inspector arrested the suspect during a set-up delivery.
The package being delivered to the suspect con
tained 780 milliliters of GBL, roughly the amount of
See ARREST, Page 5
County Sees Some Drought
Relief; Lake Levels Still Low
By Shelley Basinger
Staff Writer
Recent rains and community conser
vation efforts have provided some
drought relief, but local lake levels are
still substantially low, Orange Water and
Sewer Authority officials say.
OWASA representatives say it is for
tunate that the number of days left of
water for the
area increased
from 133 days
last Monday to
137 days
Friday.
UNC Might Put in
Place More Water
Restrictions
See Page 3
Cane Creek Reservoir is 16 feet 7
inches below full capacity, and the
University Lake lacks 4 feet 9 inches of
needed water.
OWASA spokesman Greg Feller said
the number fluctuates daily because res
idents are conserving more water, not
from the occasional precipitation.
Crime and the fear of crime have permeated the fabric of American life.
Warren Burger
POSSIBLE WITNESS
Black male in his early 20s, 6
feet tall, 220 pounds, wearing a
white T-shirt with blue writing
on the front blue jeans, do-rag.
Medium to dark complexion.
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Laura and Pedro Escudero, dancers from Argentina, perform the tango Thursday evening in the Great Hall during a night of Latin
music and dance sponsored by the Carolina Union Activities Board. Francisco Navarro, a classical guitar player, and Greg Ribot, a
flute player, also performed during the event. For the full story, visit www.dailytarheel.com.
The demand for water has decreased
greatly from August to September.
In August, residents used 11.5 million
gallons per day as opposed to 8.4 mil
lion gallons used per day thus far this
month.
“The demand (for water) is much
lower than it was,” Feller said.
Although Feller said the lakes are still
only around 40 percent full, the remain
ing days of water can increase with cor
rect conservation efforts.
OWASA Executive Director Ed
Kerwin, said he is pleased with the
area’s response to the water restrictions
implemented Sept. 9 and hopes people
can continue to conserve water so the
area can one day be out of the drought.
“We have seen a very nice reduction
on customer demand,” Kerwin said.
“Unless we get some major rain, it’s
going to take many months to get out of
See DROUGHT, Page 5
Music for the Masses
Durham's Phoenix Fest 2002 benefits
the Durham Hayti community.
See Page 6
Police also are searching for a possible witness
By Daniel Thigpen
University Editor
University police released this weekend the
composite sketch of the person they believe
robbed a student at gunpoint in his Avery
Residence Hall room Thursday night.
Police also released a sketch of someone
they believe could be
a possible witness.
The two compos
ites have been circu
lated and posted
throughout campus
Housing Officials
Encourage Extra
Precautions
See Page 3
and also can be found on the Department of
Public Safety Web site at
http://www.dps.unc.edu.
Budget Calls for Airport to Stay Open
By Jeff Silver
Assistant University Editor
A provision in the state budget approved by the
N.C. General Assembly last week will force UNC to
keep the Horace Williams Airport open until 2005, a
move that counters administrators’ wishes to begin
closing the airport immediately.
Chancellor James Moeser announced UNC’s inten
tions to close die airport at a press conference April 30.
He cited the cost associated with maintaining the airport
and safety concerns as reasons for the planned closing.
. The plan was opposed by some area residents,
including pilots of small planes who use the airport.
The University-owned airport is located off of Estes
Drive in northwest Chapel Hill.
Moeser was unavailable for comment last week.
Carolyn Elfland, associate vice chancellor for cam
pus services, declined to comment direcdy on the
actions of the General Assembly.
But she said the airport should close, noting that it
will cost UNC $2 million to make several safety and
security related improvements at the site in addition
to the $250,000 the University pays annually for the
airport’s maintenance.
One of the concerns for UNC administrators is that
Giant Killers
Tar Heels topple two
top 15 teams.
See Page 12
Monday, September 23, 2002
In the meantime, University police are still
following several leads pertaining to Thursday
night’s robbery.
It remains unclear, however, whether offi
cials are closer to an arrest.
“We’re following several good leads,” said
University Police Chief Derek Poarch on
Friday.
An 18-year-old UNC student reported
being robbed at gunpoint in his room in
Avery early Thursday evening. The victim
said the gunman took his laptop computer,
cell phone, gold chain and $4 in cash.
Poarch said Friday that the sketch of the sec
ond person is someone who police want to talk
to for more information about the robbery.
But he would not say if the second person
IT TAKES TWO
21
had any affiliation with the crime.
Police describe the second person as a
black man in his early 20s, about 6 feet tall,
weighing 220 pounds with medium to dark
complexion.
Poarch said officers still don’t know if the
gunman is a UNC student or how he got into
die residence hall.
The front door to Avery is locked, and stu
dents must have a Marlock key to enter the
building.
Avery houses 241 students, and Poarch said
he is confident that officers will find a witness
from that crowd who will lead police to an
arrest. “Clearly, in my mind, at some point
(Thursday) night someone saw this person,”
he said.
The University Editor can be reached at
udesk@unc.edu.
trees in the area would have to be removed to meet
Federal Aviation Administration requirements for the
approach area, Elfland said.
“We were concerned about the aesthetic and envi
ronmental impact, as well as the cost,” she said.
In addition to serving private planes, the airport is
home to the Area Health Education Centers. AHEC is a
University program that flies UNC faculty around North
Carolina to coordinate health-care clinics and programs.
In April, Moeser said officials would look into mov
ing the program to Raleigh-Durham International
Airport. But the budget provision calls for UNC’s
chancellor to consult with the legislature’s Joint
Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations
before moving AHEC from Horace Williams.
AHEC Director Tom Bacon said although Horace
Williams is more convenient than RDU for the pro
gram, his group had nothing to do with the legislation.
“We understand and support the chancellor’s stance
on the airport,” he said.
Warren Momingstar, vice president of communi
cations for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association,
said he is pleased with the legislature’s action.
“We still think that it is an extremely valuable air-
See AIRPORT, Page 5
Weather
Today: Few Showers; H 79, L 58
Tuesday: Mostly Cloudy; H 78, L 60
Wednesday: Parity Cloudy; H 77, L 62
Budget Bill
Gets Final
Legislative
Approval
More budget cuts
possible this year
By Cleve R. Wootson Jr.
Assistant State & National Editor
RALEIGH - The N.C. General
Assembly gave the final nod to a $14.3
billion budget Friday, but state agencies
will likely incur deeper cuts than out
lined in the budget bill.
The budget
received majority
support in both
chambers, but leg
islators say the
budget is patchy at
best, noting that
an additional SIOO
million remains to
be trimmed from
state agencies.
If the state’s
economy contin
ues to slide and
revenues come in
below projections,
Gov. Mike Easley
will have the
responsibility of making additional cuts.
“This budget, in my opinion, was
intended to be a life-raft budget,” said
Senate Appropriations Committee
Chairman Howard Lee, D-Orange. “It
gets us through these rapids of uncer
tainty and into calmer times."
House Appropriations Committee
Chairman David Redwine, D-New
Hanover, expressed similar sentiments
Thursday after the first passage of the
budget.
“All we did this year was put our fin
ger in the dike to keep from drowning
us, and we’ve got to fix it,” he said. “We
can’t go on like we are going.”
Redwine emphasized that legislators
must focus especially on revamping the
appropriations process to reduce the use
of nonrecurring funds in the future.
“The bad side (of this budget) is we
are using nonrecurring revenue to fund
recurring need,” he said Thursday.
Lee also said Friday that tough eco
nomic times resulted in a budget that
was less than ideal.
“This was a tough challenge we faced
this year,” he said.
“We had to be creative. You’ll find
See BUDGET, Page 5
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DTH FILE PHOTO
Chancellor James Moeser announces April 30
his plans to close Horace Williams Airport.
‘ 4 t 4 4 4
www.dailytarheel.com
Senate Appropriations
Committee Chairman
Howard Lee
said the budget will
allow the state to
stay afloat.