Newspapers / The daily Tar Heel. / Sept. 17, 1976, edition 1 / Page 1
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3 tffi? Partly cloudy The weather today is expected to be partly cloudy with a 30 per cent chance of rain. The low last night was 65, and the high today should be in the mid 80s. Alive and well Edward , Powell, Republican candidate for attorney general, was glad to find Republicans alive and well in Chapel Hill Wednesday. See story on page 2. Serving the students and the University community since 1893 Friday, September 17, 1976, Chapel Hill, North Carolina Volume No. 84 Issue No. 16 way V . I vHiah 54 by Chuck Alston Staff Writer An old and well-worn N.C. 54 will be replaced by a four-lane route between the Research Triangle and the Durham Orange County line, according to Henry Clegg, assistant to Highway Administrator Billy Rose. The North Carolina Highway Improvement Program includes a projected $11 million for N.C. 54 that will be spent either to improve the N.C. 54 route with new construction or to build a freeway connecting Chapel Hill to Interstate 40. The future of N.C. 54 depends upon the location of the 1-40 link between Interstate 85 in Durham County and Interstate 95 in Johnston County. Five alternative routes are under consideration for 1-40, one of which is a southern route designed to pass near Vo te p rotes t unlike ly at Greenwood polls Howard N. Lee said Thursday that he would not challenge the election results in the Greenwood voting precinct where four UNC students were denied their voting privilege because of residency rules. Lee, who lost his bid to becomethe Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor to former House Speaker James C. Green, said the vote margin was too great. "The margin, 62,000 votes, is too great to justify a challenge," Lee said. "1 was aware of the problems in the Greenwood precinct, but we have no plans to challenge the results." Tom Holland, chairperson of the Orange County Board of Elections, said that a challenge must be initiated by the candidate. Holland said the students would be able to protest their voting privilege only if they take individual legal action. The students, residents of the Greenwood precinct last year who moved to other districts in August,-con tended that they shoukHie allowed to vote on the grounds -that they had not officially changed their addresses until they returned to school. Because July 19 was the deadline for changing registration for the Aug. 17 primary and the "run-off, the students said they were still residents of Greenwood precinct at that time. Helen Jane Wettach, registrar at the precinct, held hearings Tuesday night for six students who challenged the fact that they were not allowed to vote, and ruled that two of the six were eligible. The four students could not be reached for comment Thursday. ! ':" .'::i.:i'-"S-;i'jS:-' ' Really quite a light George Griffin Jr., a construction worker found something better than "a flick of his Motorist Chapel H ill through the existing N .C. 54 corridor. "If this southern route is chosen then 1-40 would have the N .C. 54 traffic from Raleigh until just west of N.C. 751 where the spur (freeway) would be," Clegg said. "In this case, N.C. 54 would become a secondary road, with 1-40 and the spur handling the traffic, and it would be left as is except for improvements," Clegg said. "We haven't been able to move on N.C. 54 because we wouldn't want to jeopardize the 90 per cent federal funds for 1-40," Clegg said. The federal government provides 90 per cent of the money for interstate construction with the other 10 per cent coming from state highway funds. Any decisions concerning improvements on N.C. 54 would not be legally binding on the next administration, according to Clegg, but Staff photo by M. Elin Dickens at the Wilson Library addition site, has B1C." 9 traveling on federal funds have been set aside for the project. A decision on the location of 1-40 should be reached by the end of the year. "Environmental impact studies on the I 40 alternates are being finished now, and a final statement is being prepared," said Clegg. Department of Transportation sources said that the Planning and Program Committee has approved $600,000 for improvements on N.C. 54 between Davis Drive in the Research Triangle and the Durham-Orange County line until a decision concerning 1-40 is made. The committee feels approval is certain and will recommend the improvements to the State Transportation Board which will make the final decision at its Oct. 7 meeting. The improvements would include widening the roadbed from 20 to 24 feet, v; Howard tee iiiilllp lillillil .11111111 Jllfllllll Opponents to protest Corps might fill lake by Elliott Potter Staff Writer Conservationists will file protests against the impounding of water at the 14,000 acre B. Everette Jordan Reservoir in Chatham County, according to John S. Curry, president of the Conservation Council of North Carolina. A notice of intent to begin filling the lake was filed Wednesday in U.S. Middle District Court by the U .S. Army Corps of Engineers. Opponents of the project have 30 days in which to file complaints with the court, and District Court Judge Eugene A. Gordon said that he will probably hold hearings before final arguments begin on the Corps petition. Gordon said he will decide the matter within 1 20 days after the notice of intent was filed. A consent order halting the impounding of water at the Jordan site was secured by environmentalists in 1974. Opponents of the reservoir charged that the lake would be a catch basin for pollutants from urban areas upstream. The reservoir is located on, and will be filled by, the Haw River and New Hope Creek. Curry, a Carrboro lawyer, said that a report filed last week by the Corps shows that there are still heavy concentrations of mercury and weeds in the water. "The new report is merely a glossed over version of a December 1975 report used by the Corps and does not deal with the real problems involved in the storage of water at the reservoir," he said. Dave Hewett, a public affairs officer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday that projections of water quality based on present flow show that the water will be satisfactory for public use. "The benefits of impounding water in the reservoir greatly outweigh those provided by keeping the lake dry," Hewett said, agreeing with a statement released Wednesday by Col. Homer Johnstone, the Corps Wilmington District engineer. Hewett noted that the reservoir will offer an additional water source to surrounding communities, 'Pray for Me' smoothing out sharp curves and improving the shoulders. "There is presently, already approved, $150,000 for minimum-type improvements," Clegg said. "This includes spot widening, shoulder paving and the' addition of turn lanes between the Research Triangle and the Durham Orange County line." When N.C. 54 was built, planners did not anticipate the high volume of traffic generated by development in the Research Triangle Park and Chapel H ill areas. Since Jan. 1, 1970 there have been 9 15 accidents resulting in nine deaths and 336 injuries on N.C. 54 which winds, twists, and turns its way from Chapel Hill to Raleigh. N.C. 54's accident rate was 3.73 accidents per million vehicle miles between Jan. 1, 1973 and April 30, 1976 compared to the statewide average of 2.82. ee accepts party pos ks D see by Tim Pittman News Editor Howard N. Lee said Thursday he would accept the vice chairpersonship of the state Democratic party a position offered him by Democratic gubernatorial hopeful James B. Hunt. Hunt offered Lee, the defeated candidate for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, the post Wednesday. : Lee said' in u telephone interview that he would hold the post only until Dec. including Chapel Hill. "The Corps feels that the reservoir would aid fish and wildlife conservation in the area," Hewett said. "The project would provide an open space in an area that is becoming increasingly urbanized. "The Corps has every reason to believe that the court wil rule in our favor." He added that the town of Pittsboro had been using the Haw River and New Hope Creek the sources that will be used to fill the reservoir for years without problems. He said that the lake would create a steady river flow downstream. "As a case-in-point, a fish kill downstream "this year wouid not have occurred if the lake would have been present to allow a sustained river flow," Hewett said. Chapel Hill and Durham city officials have expressed concern over the project because of the stringent water treatment standards that it would impose on their sewage plants. Curry said that Chapel Hill has no present plans to use the water provided by the reservoir. "If in years down the road, the Corps can prove the water will be unpolluted, then we will accept their proposals," Curry said. Even if the court approves the Corps plan, it will be December 1978 before the reservoir can be filled. The Corps must clear hundreds of acres of woodlands and build recreational areas before impoundment can begin. Union quiet after TV by Tony Gunn Staff Writer Last year a student had to stumble down the crowded basement stairs in the Union at noon. It was time for "The Young and the Restless," and woe unto anyone who dared disturb the viewers. For the past month, however, the voices of Peggy, Chris, Snapper and Brad have not been heard. Alas, the TV has been stolen. Between closing on Aug. 25 and the next morning, Union Director Howard Henry said the color set was lifted from its resting place on the table in front of the bowling lanes and spirited away into the night. "People really miss it," said an attendant at the Union desk, the scene of many inquiries as to the whereabouts of the television. Students who did not have televisions in dormitories came to the Union to watch it, she said. The thief apparently hid in the basement until after the Union road finally X v.. j " In if Rotten shoulders abound along N.C. emocra 31 when new officers will be elected within the party organization. "I am accepting the vice chairmanship temporarily to help bring unity to the Democratic party in this state. "1 will not run nor will I be talked into running for the position on a permanent basis in December," Lee said. Lee added that he was accepting the post as a favor to Hunt, the state Democratic party's titular head and its standard bearer for the November governor's race- , Former House Speaker James C. Green defeated Lee Tuesday to win the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor by a 62,000 vote margin. Green garnered 56 per cent of the votes cast, compared to Lee's 44 per cent total. Lee served as second vice chairperson of the Democratic party in the early 1970s and recently stepped down as one of North Carolina's representatives to the Democratic National Convention. But the former Chapel Hill mayor said he did not view the party post as a stepping stone for future campaigns and said he was unsure of future political plans. "I think there is an awful lot in the S. Africa JOHANNESBURG (UPI) Bombers struck all-white downtown Johannesburg for the first time Thursday, exploding two kerosene bombs in a department store. Police killed a colored striker in Cape Town on the second day of a work boycott. Officials of the O.K. Bazaars store said the bombs went off shortly after lunchtime on the third floor of the department store, setting curtains on fire. The white-owned store is on Eloff Street, the main shopping street in the exclusively white downtown section of Johannesburg. Several salesmen quickly extinguished the fire which caused no injuries. The floor was "fairly deserted" at the time, the officials said. The incident was the first time the racial violence has hit the all-white area of Johannesburg in three months of riots. Antigovernment rioting struck Adderley Street in all-white downtown Cape Town to get relief I J v. . sS SUbftt: Staff photo by Bruce Clarke 54 between Chapel Hill and Raleigh 5 un future for me, but right now I haven't given . it too much thought. I'm just going to spend a few days resting and relaxing." Lee said of the vice chairpersonship, 'I'm just going to try to do what 1 have always tried to do, contributing to the Democratic party in this state." Following the election, several Democratic officials, including Green, suggested the possibility that Lee might be offered a position in a Democratic administration, provided its candidates win in November. Lee, whose background includes professional social work and research, has been mentioned as a likely candidate for the post of Secretary of Human Resources. Lee said, however, that he has not been involved in talks concerning a cabinet post. "I'm not going to say that I will accept a cabinet post outright right now," he said. "I would have to see the conditions of the offer and the restraints involved. "I don't think my background limits me to consideration for a position in human resources. My greatest interest lies in the area of commerce." tic Johannesburg bombed two weeks ago, forcing police to open fire with shotguns and tear gas on colored demonstrators. In another attack in Johannesburg's white suburbs, blacks tried to set two buses on fire late Wednesday night. In both incidents the drivers put out the blaze. Police said they believed the attacks on the two black buses were timed to coincide with Friday's visit to the capital, Pretoria, by Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger for his third round of talks with Prime Minister John Vorster on the problems of white-ruled Southern Africa. In Cape Town, police Maj. Gen. David Kriel said police shot and killed one colored man and wounded three others in renewed racial violence on the second day of a work boycott which . has forced some small industries to close completely. Kriel, who heads South Africa's police antiriot operations, gave no details. disappears closed, Henry said. The doors are locked to keep people out but not to keep people in. All the thief had to do was simply pick up the set and walk out. Police were notified, but Henry was not optimistic about the return of the set "The security people can't take a lot of time to look for it." . The television was not considered too valuable. The set had been in the Union since the building opened in 1969, Henry said. "How much would you give for i seven-year-old set?" There are no plans for extra security measures to prevent another theft. A chain would not do much good, Henry said. "If someone wanted to steal it, they can cut the chain. "We really can't afford to keep a guard'on it," he said. The Union loses a few things every year but not enough to warrant a guard. "That would just make it more challenging," Henry said. A guard, he said, could not protect all the exits in the building. A new set should arrive in a few weeks. "As soon as it comes, we'll have it out there."
Sept. 17, 1976, edition 1
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