Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / July 8, 2004, edition 1 / Page 3
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$1 1* lath} ®ar Mrrl CAMPUS BRIEFS Batts, prison detainee, shoots self at UNC Hospitals The state Department of Correction is investigating how a detainee took an officer’s gun and shot himself at UNC Hospitals last week. Jackie Ray Batts Jr., 35, made the suicide attempt Friday, public affairs director Pamela Walker said Wednesday. Batts was being held at Raleigh’s Central Prison for a Johnston County probation violation. Correction officer Uricia Powell, 30, had escorted Batts to the hos pital for treatment. Department spokeswoman Mildred Spearman wouldn’t say why Batts was at the hospital, citing patient confiden tiality. Powell was not shot and still is on duty. Batts was on probation from cases in Harnett and Wake coun ties for forgery and obtaining property by false pretenses in 2002. He was placed on probation for five years and eight months. In March, he was charged with felony probation violation for not paying restitution and performing community service, according to court records. He received a 30- day extension to do the communi ty service and was to serve week ends in the Johnston County Jail. Batts was being held as a “safe keeper” at Central Prison. County jails sometimes send detainees to Raleigh because jailers feel the person would be safer there than in the county facility. UNC Hospitals spokesman Tom Hughes said the inmate was in fair condition from the gunshot wound. Investor backs fellowship for 9 UNC students' travel With a $160,000 gift from Jones Apparel Group, nine UNC students will be able to spend six months in China during the next three years. The gift is being divid ed to fund the nine fellowships, which at $16,480, allows funds for travel, tuition, housing, board and other related expenses. The program is aimed at pro viding students with skills that would help them in seeking post graduation employment. “There’s a tremendous need in business and government for employees who are proficient in Mandarin Chinese, in particular,” Peter Boneparth, a 1980 UNC graduate, and president and chief executive officer of Jones Apparel Group in New York City, said in a press release. “In addition to the intensive language training, we wanted to combine Carolina’s Asian studies curriculum with real-life exposure to the culture and with practical experience in the business world. The Jones Fellows program pro vides students with opportunities that will open doors for them after graduation.” Students must haven taken three semesters of Chinese lan guage and must demonstrate an interest in Asian culture. The first group of Jones Fellows will be announced in the fall. STATE AND NATION Insurers lose ability to hurt consumers with questions RALEIGH lnsurance com panies in North Carolina couldn’t penalize consumers who ask them questions in a bill given final leg islative approval Tuesday in the Senate, Senators agreed unanimously to the House version of the bill, designed to block insurers from entering inquiries as claims on an insurance database. Those “claims” could lead to rising premiums or terminating existing policies. The state Insurance Department says the practice is widespread. The company that maintains the insur ance database warned insurance companies last year that coverage or deductible questions shouldn’t be recorded as claims. Iraqi government rolls out package of security laws BAGHDAD, Iraq The Iraqi government issued a long-antici pated package of security laws Wednesday to help crush insur gents, including a provision allow ing interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to impose martial law. “The lives of the Iraqi people are in danger, they are in danger from evil forces, from gangs of terrorists,” said Human Rights Minister Bakhityar Amin, who compared the new law to the USA PATRIOT Act. The new laws give Allawi the right to impose curfews, to con duct search operations and detain individuals with weapons, once he receives unanimous approval from the Presidential Council. They also give him the right to assign gover nors, including military leaders, in specific areas. From staff and wire reports. Movie theater gets seal of approval 10-screen theater set for Village Plaza BY JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ CITY EDITOR After months of wrangling, including impassioned pleas and sworn testimony that divided neighboring business owners, Eastern Federal finally has clear ance to build a state-of-the art movie theater at the Village Plaza. At its June 30 meeting, the fjSBwP ■Hr J* \ fit •m 4 ’ ' S , * T'''/. „ ' * ' 1 pnr-qhree-year-old patriots James and Jeffery Patterson play with the bell from the Durham’s original American -A. Tobacco Company Plant at the Horace Williams House, as part of Sunday’s July 4 celebrations. The bell, once used to signal a shift switch for workers, traditionally is rung Sophomore phenom makes waves Miller struts stuff in summer league BY BRIAN MACPHERSON SENIOR WRITER CHATHAM, Mass. The fog rolls in quickly from Nantucket Sound, and it doesn’t take long for the light haze to create some seri ous problems in Veterans Field. Andrew Miller tugs at his red As cap, worn slightly to the side, and focuses his attention on the batter as the lawn chairs and picnic blan kets atop the hill in center field not to mention the center fielder himself begin fading from view through the mist. Jacoby Ellsbuiy, a sophomore left fielder from Oregon State, has worked the count to 2 and 2. But the last delivery came in at 91 miles per hour, and all he could do was watch it sail through the strike zone. The professional scouts bran dish their radar guns in the bleach Management switch works well for shelter County sees smooth Ist week at helm BY JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ CITY EDITOR One week into the first change in management of the Orange County Shelter in 25 years, officials said, despite a few glitches, the transition has been a smooth one. On July 1, the Animal Protection Society was forced to relinquish control of the animal haven to the county. Joe Pulcinella, who was hired on April 19 by APS and continues to serve as director of the shelter, said so far, any major hang-ups have been avoided. “It’s actually knock on wood been going fairly smoothly,” he said. He noted that three months of planning allowed officials to ease a lot of the impact of the handover. “We were able to really hit the ground running with the purchas ing,” he said. In April, county officials esti mated that all the purchases would cost about $107,901 in one-time start-up costs to replace the APS owned equipment. The estimate was based on the Top Nows Chapel Hill Town Council gave its endorsement to the project by an 8-1 vote that saw dissent from only Council member Jim Ward. The group had previously approved a Special Use Permit for the movie theatre on Jan. 27,2003, but the permit required that Eastern Federal make improve ments to driveways located beyond RED, WHITE AND BLUE ers behind home plate. Just weeks removed from the close of his freshman season at UNC, Miller lifts his right knee above his belt, tucks his chin to his chest and whips his left arm across his body. The 84-mile-per-hour change-up comes in low and inside, and Ellsbury’s swing does nothing but disturb the mist. Strike three. “Ooooh!” one scout whistles. “Thanks for coming!” Miller then blows away sopho more second baseman Chris Lewis with a fastball at 94 miles per hour, and after an infield single, sets down sophomore outfielder Brian Bogusevic with a breaking ball across the outside comer. As the fog thickens, the pitches only become more difficult to see. Miller’s delivery comes from his left hip, shielding the ball from cost of replacing computers, dog and cat cages, feeding supplies and other utilities necessary for shelter operation. At the April 20 meeting, the Orange County Commissioners approved a one-time capital equipment budget for the same amount. In addition to the startup costs, officials also estimated that run ning the shelter this year will cost $695,550. Although funding hasn’t been a problem thus far, replacing the equipment has proven extremely taxing. Pulcinella said he was searching for the perfect water bowl, one that would not tip over easily. “We must’ve gone through about 10 different samples ... we took three or four weeks trying to find the right shape,” he said. “This is a good example of the detail that it takes to rehouse the shelter.” More than just keeping the ani mals hydrated, letterhead and out- SEE APS, PAGE 5 its property. Eastern Federal and Steve Ginn, who owns the block of buildings that house Whole Foods along with the parking lot and driveways, were unable to reach an agreement. The newly adopted resolution allows the theater to be built pro vided that Eastern Federal pay for an off-duty officer to direct traffic. The officer will be used on Friday nights for the first six months of the theater’s operation. on the Independence Day. Chapel Hill Preservation Society members dished up ice cream to the sounds of the Villge Band on the Horace Williams House lawn between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The high heat didn’t prove prohibitive, as locals turned out to celebrate the holiday from Carrboro to Kenan Stadium. view as long as possible. And when the ball doesn’t materialize from the ever-thickening haze until the last possible moment, the hitters don’t stand a chance. Miller continues to roll, mixing in a sweeping slider and a decep tive change to strike out the side in each of the next four innings. It’s an achievement unmatched in the history of the Cape Cod Baseball League, the most prestigious sum mer baseball league in the country. But when the conditions deteri orate from unfair to dangerous, the umpires halt the game and Miller’s feat goes unrecognized by league statistics. “If they thought it was maybe a safety problem with the batters not being able to see the ball, then obvi ously they’re making the right call,” says Charlie Thoms, general man ager of the Chatham A’s. “But boy, to erase that one off the books... ” There’s one consolation for Town taps finance director Interim director receives nod for post BY JOSEPH R. SCHWARTZ CITY EDITOR Kay Johnson, the woman who has been in charge of managing Chapel Hill’s $67 million annual budget for six months, can set up permanent shop in her office. Johnson was appointed to the post of finance director last Thursday by Town Manager Cal Horton. She was named interim finance director in December after the November departure of Jim Baker, who had manned the position for more than a decade. “Kay has earned this position through dedicated service and excellent performance,” Horton stated in a press release. “We are lucky that she has cho sen to make a career in town gov ernment.” The position, and the numerous duties and responsibilities it entails, serves residents in advisory, techni cal and managerial capacities. Johnson is charged with admin istering all of the financial and budgetary activities for the town. The position requires that she be able to keep abreast of the fre quent changes in the applicable This stipulation came after Council member Ed Harrison raised concerns about the heavy traffic flow that would attempt to turn onto Franklin Street after movies let out. Carter Meiselman, president of Eastern Federal, agreed to pay for the officer on an experimental basis. At the end of the six months, and after a thorough investigation of the traffic flow, the council will decide whether or not to implement a sim DTH/GILLIAN BOLSOVER Thoms and his team on this dreary Friday night, though there’s no reason the young phenom can’t do it again. The road to the Cape The hype surrounding Andrew Miller arrived on Cape Cod long before Andrew Miller ever did. A top high school pitching prospect in Gainesville, Fla., Miller turned down a third-round contract offer from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to attend North Carolina. Several publications speculated that exorbitant bonus demands caused Miller’s drop out of the first round, but the lefthander said his decision came down to priorities. “It wasn’t that I didn’t feel I was ready to go play pro ball, because I thought I was plenty mature com pared to other people they take in, SEE MILLER, PAGE 5 guidelines. In addition to advising depart ment heads, elected officials and the town manager about financial matters, the finance director assists with daily accounting transactions and oversees payroll. Johnson got her feet wet as a member of the town staff working as an accountant in 1992. She moved on to become accounting services manager in 1995 before being promoted to assistant finance director in 2000. Johnson was out of the country and could not be reached for com ment. The removal of her interim tag comes just after the July 1 start of the fiscal year the effective date for the 2003-04 budget. The annual budget is the means through which the mayor and Town Council allocate the level of town services and funding for cap ital projects as well as establish town property tax rates and other user fees. In managing the budget, Johnson will monitor expenditure levels for all town departments and prepare budget revisions as needed. Another key aspect of the posi THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2004 ilar strategy in the future. The public hearing saw a unique string of events, ranging from the testimony and cross examination of town traffic engineer Kumar Neppalli by Meiselman and Ginn’s attorney’s, to inspired debate from plaza area business owners. Meiselman was first to speak, imploring the council to refrain from further delaying the project. SEE PLAZA, PAGE 5 Panel seeks to better CAPS Many proposals to face scrutiny BY BRIAN HUDSON UNIVERSITY EDITOR The University’s Suicide Prevention Task Force has made progress toward investigating ways to counter student depression. The task force was formed after four student suicides in the 2002- 03 academic year. Attention again was brought to the issue of student depression when two students took their lives during the spring semester exam period. Part of the group’s task was to compare UNC-Chapel Hill’s Counseling and Psychological Services to similar programs at other universities. It learned that most groups, including CAPS, offer short-term counseling in the form of a series of visits ranging from about a half-dozen to two dozen. The group has discussed sever al ideas to improve UNC-CH’s counseling service. Some propos als include improving the screen ing of students who might be depressed and monitoring stu dents receiving treatment from local psychiatrists or psychologists. CAPS has come under scrutiny from students and parents for its service. The wait list for appoint ments can reach up to weeks dur ing the busiest times of the year. The UNC-CH Board of Thistees and the UNC-system Board of Governors recently approved a measure that will fund the University's Counseling and Psychological Services solely through student health fees, rather than a combination of student fees and state budget appropriations. CAPS Director John Edgerly said in an April interview with The Daily Tar Heel that the revenue will be used to add four members to the CAPS staff: one psychiatrist, two psychologists and one social work er. He added that he hopes addi tional staff will increase the avail ability of appointment times so more students can get treatment He estimated that the new ini tiatives will reduce the average wait time from two weeks to seven days. SEE TASK FORCE, PAGE 5 UM alumna Kay Johnson served as interim finance director after Jim Baker lef t in November. tion is taking this information to prepare forecasts for future budg ets and management decisions. Johnson worked previously at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Md. and at the account ing firm of Alexander and Alexander in Towson, also in Maryland. She was an auditor at Touche Ross in Stockholm, Sweden, and at Devitt and Associates in Columbia, Md. She received her distinction as a certified public accountant in 1983 and holds a master’s degree in finance from the University of Maryland. In 1998, she received the George C. Franklin Award from the UNC- Chapel Hill Institute of Government, which recognized her as an outstanding student in the municipal administration program. Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edxL 3
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