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CAMPUS BRIEFS
Mandatory Student Congress
candidate meeting today
Students who are interested in
running for Student Congress must
attend a mandatory candidate’s
meeting at 8 p.m. today in the
Wilson Library Pleasants Room.
Those who run will compete
during an Oct 17 special election.
For further information, students
can contact Board of Elections chair
man Jim Brewer at jbrewer@email.
unc.edu or call 962-VOTE.
Scholarships set to benefit
freshmen from Gamer
The Yeargan Foundation
Charitable Trust endowed two
UNC scholarships to benefit grad
uates of Gamer High School.
One freshman annually will
receive the need-based Yeargan
Scholarship, with Preference —but
not exclusivity given to Gamer
High School students.
Also a merit-based Yeargan
Scholarship will be awarded every
four years to an incoming freshman
based on academic achievement.
This merit-based scholarship will
provide financial assistance for a
four-year period and preferences
will be the same as for the need
based scholarships.
The first scholarships are
expected to be awarded for the
2007-2008 academic year.
Award-winning photography
alumnus to speak tonight
Jason Arthurs, a 2004 graduate
of UNC’s photojournalism pro
gram and North Carolina Press
Photographer of the year, will speak
at “Photo Night XXXI” at 7:30 p.m
today in Carroll 33.
The event provides students and
professionals an opportunity to
share work while developing their
own photographic styles.
The free public event is present
ed by the School of Journalism and
Mass Communication.
CITY BRIEFS
Forum to evaluate bicycle
and pedestrian safety
The town of Chapel Hill will
hold a forum from 5:30 p.m. to
7:30 p.m. tonight to review the
Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety and
Mobility Report.
The meeting will be held at 730
Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, and
residents are encouraged to come
share their opinions.
The main area of concern is the
stretch of Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard between North Street
and Interstate 40 that is bordered by
many residential neighborhoods.
Residents and representatives
from the N.C. Department of
Transportation and the Highway
Safety Research Center will review
the study’s findings and recom
mend modifications regarding
crossings, pedestrian safety walks
and bike lanes in certain sections
of the street.
This is a follow-up to a study
done in 2004 aiming to improve
transportation conditions for bicy
clists and pedestrians.
Recycling manager honored
for service, productivity
Rob Tkylor, Orange County’s recy
cling programs manager, received
an award from the N.C. Association
of County Commissioners recogniz
ing his service.
Tkylor was honored for improve
ments he has helped make to the
county’s efficiency, including
increases in electronics recycling.
Taylor was the 15th recipient
of the Ralph W. Ketner Employee
Productivity Award.
STATE BRIEF
Carolina motorists can get
free car checkup in October
AAA Carolinas is offering a
free 26-point checkup to motor
ists as part of Car Care Month.
Appointments are necessary.
Local companies offering the
checkup include Chapel Hill Tire
Company and East Gate BP.
Witness in lottery trial found
choice of Geddings a concern
RALEIGH A lottery company
executive testified Monday he was
worried about the choice of Kevin
Geddings as a state lottery commis
sioner because of connections to
the company’s top lobbyist in North
Carolina.
The night before the appoint
ment was announced, Bill Fox, of
Scientific Games Corp., said lobby
ist Alan Middleton called him with
the news.
Geddings is charged with eight
counts of fraud for failing to reveal
■that between 2000 and 2005 his
firm received more than $250,000
in payments from Scientific Games
or companies it acquired.
From, staff and wire reports
Leaders learn on Wis. field trip
BY KAYLA CARRICK
ASSISTANT CITY EDITOR
Something has been missing since Sunday from the towns of Chapel Hill and
Carrboro.
Ninety-four town, University and community leaders have hopped a plane to
Madison, Wis., to pick up a few tips. Spanning from Sunday to Tuesday, the inter
Wisconsin’s
performing arts
Executive
Associate
Provost Steve
Allred said
he enjoyed his
tour Madison's
downtown.
“We have all been impressed with
State Street, which is the University
of Wisconsin’s version of Franklin
Street.
“It is vibrant, crowded with lots of
interesting stores.
“Most of the shops are small and
locally owned, although there is also
an Urban Outfitters and a Lands’ End
outlet.
“We also visited the new perform
ing arts venue, called the Overture
Center for the Arts. It is extraordi
nary.
“It opened in 2005 and has seven
theatres. The largest is a concert hall
that seats 2,200 people. The smallest
is a black box theatre that seats 100
people.
“It’s been a great trip so far with lots
of interaction among participants.”
STANDING ROOM ONLY
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DTH/KATE LORD
Junior Ross Martin (left) and freshman Drew Tlirnier (right) collect seats from the
Smith Center that were discarded outside of the stadium. “The seats are kind of col
lectible, and I need more chairs for my dorm room,” Tlirnier said. The Carolina blue
seats were separated into sections, but that didn’t deter the many students who joined
Martin and Tlirnier to dumpster-dive for a piece of nostalgia Monday afternoon.
Mainstreet accepting credit
Cards account for
10 percent of sales
BY ANNA KIM
STAFF WRITER
Lenoir Dining Hall now is
accepting plastic from those hop
ing to fulfill their food needs.
Mainstreet Lenoir, the food
court on the first floor of Lenoir,
began accepting credit cards last
week, and the cards accounted for
about 10 percent of the total rev
enue earned.
Lenoir brings in between
$75,000 and $95,000 per week,
said Mike Freeman, director of
auxiliary services.
“Anywhere from $7,500 to
$9,500 was represented last week,”
he said, referring to credit card rev
enue.
The introduction of credit cards
accompanies cash and One Cards
as the third form of payment for
dining hall customers.
University officials posted signs
advertising the credit card option
weeks before it began, Freeman
said.
Top News
A look at their
satellite campus
“My impressions of the University
Research Park were that they’ve been
very successful in meeting the goals of
the park and supporting the goals of
the university.
“Economically it has been a suc
cess. They have an average salary of
$62,000 for the 4,100 employees.
“They are about to make another
park two miles away.
“The park they currently have has
buildings that are scattered over the
property, not densely packed. For the
new park, they’re planning to have
commercial activity as well as hous
ing.
“I think their plans for the new
park are very similar to Carolina
North. Something they haven’t had to
deal with are transportation issues, a
major issue for Carolina North.”
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DTH/COURTNEY POTTER
Cashier Kristol Evans runs UNC employee Brandi Walters' credit card
Monday at Mainstreet Lenoir, which has accepted plastic for a week.
“I saw the little fliers up in
Lenoir Dining Hall,” said sopho
more Samantha Shucavage, who
was eating lunch at Lenoir on
Monday.
UNC One Cards still are the
leading method of payment,
accounting for about 70 to 80 per
cent total sales.
city visit was designed by the Community Leadership Council for leaders to learn by
observing during planned sessions.
Topics on the table for discussion include downtown development, workforce hous
ing, a satellite campus called University Research Park and town-gown relations.
The Daily Tkr Heel asked four trip attendees to check in with us between sessions.
Here’s what they had to say.
Madison’s growing
downtown
* JKI
Vice chancellor
for research
and economic
development
Tony Waldrop
toured UW's
research park.
“The director of the Monona
Terrace, a large convention center
downtown,... spoke about the eco
nomic impact of that facility and how
it was a catalyst for growth in down
town Madison.
“They talked about how the Overture
Center helped build up the Children’s
Museum that is in the process of mov
ing from an 8,000 square foot facility to
an 80,000 square foot facility.
“Several of us toured the Children’s
Museum. ... It was phenomenal. It
was a real draw to bring children and
adults of all ages into downtown on
a Sunday afternoon, and I think that
has been one of the most important
elements of our Children’s Museum.
“We need more... opportunities to
bring residents of all ages into down
town.”
But Freeman said he expects the
percentage of credit cards used to
increase because the cards are an
easier way for more people to pay
including faculty and graduate
students.
Tish Atwater, a cashier at
SEE MAINSTREET, PAGE 6
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2006
Liz Parham,
downtown
partnership
executive
director, visited
the Children's
Museum.
“Madison is a much larger commu
nity than Chapel Hill and Carrboro,
and they’ve had some tremendous
successes that we’re going to look to
to get guidance from.
“Current University of Wisconsin-
Madison construction projects call
for seven million new square feet of
buildings, and no new parking spac
es. Virtually no parking is allowed on
campus for students.
“UW has worked diligently with
the city of Madison and surrounding
neighborhoods on a Good Neighbor
policy aimed at predicting impacts
and minimizing disruption of people’s
lives as the campus develops.
“Formal committees are in place for
managing the relationship between
perimeter neighbors and UW... this
contact builds credible relationships.”
N.C. sees first
biodiesel plant
Backyard operation
goes large scale
BY LINDSEY NAYLOR
ASSISTANT STATE & NATIONAL EDITOR
PITTSBORO - Hundreds of
N.C. citizens wined and dined on
the bucolic edge of Pittsboro on
Tuesday, serenaded by a string
ensemble in front of a revamped,
Cold War-era chemical plant.
All of Pittsboro was invited to
attend the grand opening of the
state’s first biodiesel plant, situated
on its own colorful Lorax Lane and
designed to run on solar thermal
energy.
The recycled Piedmont Biofuels
plant will produce one million gal
lons of biodiesel per year, provid
ing the local community with fuel
derived from waste vegetable oil.
Rachel Burton, one of the three
founders of Piedmont Biofuels,
remembered when she and her
partners made their first batch of
biodiesel in a backyard. It yielded a
total of five gallons and couldn’t fill
the tank of one of their cars.
“We really longed to make more
fuel,” she said.
Soon the operation expanded to
become a co-op, with delivery servic
es and a widening customer base.
The plant’s founders experienced
some initial apprehension of taking
their essentially backyard opera
tion to a larger scale. But they said
the benefits of locally produced
green energy outweigh the nega
tive connotations of commercial
production.
Douglas Crawford-Brown, direc
tor of the Carolina Environmental
Registration system
to kick off Saturday
BY ELISABETH GILBERT
STAFF WRITER
The new course registration sys
tem is about to face its first test.
Starting today students can view
their registration times on Student
Central.
Registration will begin Saturday
for graduate and professional stu
dents. Seniors can select courses
beginning Oct. 7.
Each class will be divided into
alphabetically based sections: A-E,
F-K, L-Qand R-Z.
Students whose last names
start with a letter between A and
E will register first for spring 2007
classes, followed by L-Q, R-Z and
F-K.
While the alphabetical quartiles
are not expected to change, the
order in which they register will
rotate each semester for the next
two years.
The groups will rotate so that
each semester the one that previ
ously was first will register last. The
group that was second will regis
ter third, the group that was third
will register first and the previous
Town-gown
relations
Chapel Hill
Mayor Pro Tem
Bill Strom
attended a
session on
community
sustainability.
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DTH/LEAH GRONNING
Apex resident Steve Eliason and his
son Sean Eliason play chess with
industrial equipment at the grand
opening of anew biodiesel plant.
Program, said large-scale produc
tion is necessary to maintain effi
ciency while serving a growing
customer base.
It also is necessitated by the lim
ited amount of waste and agricul
tural resources available to back
yard operations looking to make
their own biofuel.
“You’ve got to eventually get to
larger-scale production of biodiesel
to make it feasible,” he said.
“That infrastructure is not going
to work with mom and pop opera
tions.”
Despite some problems with
cold-weather fuel coagulation and
SEE BIODIESEL, PAGE 6
“I really feel that
most students, if
they understand
what were doing,
arefine xmth it.”
ALICE POEHLS, REGISTRAR
semester’s fourth group will regis
ter second.
“There’s an implicit guarantee
here,” Student Body President
James Allred said. “If you’re in the
lower half of your class this semes
ter, you’ll be in the upper half next
semester.”
University Registrar Alice
Poehls, Allred and the academic
affairs chairman and vice chair
man of student government host
ed an open forum Monday night
to solicit student feedback and
answer questions about the new
system.
But only two students attended
SEE REGISTRATION, PAGE 6
3