Windy
LoW tonight in the 40s with a
20 percent chance of rain.
Windy and warmer Friday
with a high in the mid 70s.
Taxes
Having trouble telling your
W-2 from a 1040-A? Consult
the DTH income tax story on
page 6 to add to your
confusion.
41
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Serving the si intents and the Lniversity community since 1H93
Volume C3, Issuo No. 13 ) 1 J
Thursday, March 29, 1979, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
NewsSporUArU 833-0245
Business Advertising 833-1163
ear accime
A-TOP
ults in damage
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reactor core
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP An accident at the Three Mile
Island nuclear power plant apparently damaged the reactor core
and allowed radioactive material to leak into the atmosphere, the
government said Wednesday.
Officials said their readings indicated there was no immediate
danger to the public, and there were no plans to evacuate the
15,000 people living within a mile of the plant.
Edson Case, a Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman,
said radiation levels inside the plant's reactor building registered
at 1.000 times normal.
But George Troffer, manager of generation quality assurance
for Metropolitan Edison, one of the consortium of companies
that runs the plant, said he thougth that figure was too high. He
said employees and NRC officials worked at the plant to reduce
the temperature and pressure inside the reactor dome to allow x
engineers to enter and check the reactor for damage.
A plant spokesman said "a handful of workers was exposed to
radiation in the accident, but no one was seriously contaminated
or hospitalized.
.In Washington, Sen. Gary Hart, D-Colo., said human error
appeared to have been a factor in the incident.
"I am informed by the NRC that the emergency core cooling
system was turned off prematurely resulting in partial blockage
of water needed to cool the nuclear core and keep it under
control, said Hart, chairman of the Senate subcommittee on
nuclear radiation.
"Some human error seems to have been involved in responding
to the emergency situation, he said, adding the NRC had told
him radiation levels outside the plant did not pose a health
hazard.
Case said radioactive gases from the plant's nuclear fuel may
have leaked out of the plant, which was shut down by the
accident. There was no word when the electric facility would
resume operation.
A statement from General Public Utilities, the consortium
which operates the plant, said there was "some low-level release
of radioactive gas- beyond the site boundary....Despite this
release, the company does not believe the level constitutes a
danger to the health and safety of the public.
Earlier, the consortium said the accident mayhave damaged
the fuel cladding, metal tubes which contain the pellets of
radioactive uranium fuel.
The cause of the accident or the precise sequence of events
that led to the radiation's release could not be immediately
determined.
But Lt. Gov. William Scranton III said steam containing
radioactive material was released into the air for over two hours
to "relieve potentially dangerous pressure in the reactor.
"The situation is more complex than the company first led us
to believe, Scranton said.
"It (the release of the steam) was done to relieve potentially
dangerous pressure in the reactor chamber, Scranton "said.
Case said heat-caused pressure inside the dome had risen
temporarily to four or five pounds per square inch above outside
atmospheric pressure enough to cause leakage. The leaking
gases may have included iodine and xenon, he said, but not
uranium or plutonium.
Plant officials said some workers may have been
contaminated. "I'm sure some of them got exposure, but
positively none were over-exposed, said Jack Herbein, vice
president for generation at Metropolitan Edison. The plant
employs 500 persons.
Plant spokesman Blaine Fabian said, "There is absolutely no
danger of a meltdown. We are not in a China Syndrome-lype
situation.' He referred to a movie that dramatizes the possibility
of an uncooled nuclear reactor core melting and buring into the
earth.
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By ANNE-MARIE DOWNEY
Staff Writer
Between six and ten Chapel Hill establishments
are under investigation by the Orange County
Alcoholic Beverage Control police for serving liquor
to minors, ABC Police Chief Burch Comptonsaid.
After receiving complaints that some area
restaurants have been serving liquor to people under
the age of 21, the ABC police began an investigation
of the suspected businesses, Compton said. Compton
refused to name which establishments were under
investigation.
The ABC police conduct investigations of
establishments by dropping in at the restaurants at
least once a week, or possibly for several consecutive
days if the restaurant is suspected of violations, he
said.
If an ABC agent sees an employee serving a mixed
drink to a minor, both the minor and the person
serving the drink could be arrested, he said. A report
of the arrest would then be sent to the state ABC
Board. After a hearing on the case, the state board
could reprimand the owner, or suspend or revoke the
establishment's liquor license.
Compton said serving mixed drinks to minors is
more of a problem in Chapel Hill than in some other
areas.
"It really is a burden on the places in Chapel Hill
because there are so many people that are underage,
he said. t .
The ABC agents have not seen much checking of
identification in local establishments, which makes
serving liquor to minors likely, Compton
complained.
"If these places want to keep their liquor licenses
they ought to make an effort and have someone
supervise them (mixed drink sales)," he added.
But Adam Bergniann, bar manager at Tijuana
Fats, said serving liquor to minors is not a problem
because identification is automatically checked
whenever anyone is suspected of being under 21.
"Most of us would rather play safe than sorry.
Serving minors is not worth the risk.... I've carded
jjeople who are 37," Bergman said.
Mickey Ewell, owner of Spanky's, said it is almost
inevitable that some minors will slip through and be
served mixed drinks, but he added that his staff does
its best to prevent it.
The ABC police do not plan any arrests
immediately since the establishments are still being
educated about liquor by the drink, Compton said.
But he cautioned that officers will begin to try
making arrests very soon.
Liquor-by-the-drink was approved by Orange
County voters in a September 12 referendum. The
first drink was poured in Chapel Hill on November
22.
lit:
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...Carolina vs. N.C. State tennis story on page 9.
DTMAndy James
undetermined
By ANNE-MARIE DOWNEY
Staff Writer
A meeting of the Orange County Board of Commissioners and
the Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen ended in a stalemate Tuesday
night when neither board showed any sign of yielding on the
proposed planning district extension for Chapel Hill.
The boards did agree however to reconvene in Hillsborough
April 17 to discuss the practical aspects of a joint planning
process Tor the coUrity au e-towrt; , -
Over the past several years the Board of Aldermen has
unsuccessfully tried to obtain an extended planning district at the
northern end of town. But the Orange County commissioners
have been unwilling to grant the extension requested by the
aldermen.
On March 8, the Board of Aldermen voted to ask the General
Assembly for an extension of the planning district that would
include the northern area, but the request for extension was
submitted too late, and Sen. Charles Vickery (D-Orange) did not
introduce the bill.
If the General Assembly had approved the bill, the Board of
Aldermen would no longer require the consent of the Orange
County commissioners for the extension.
The board of Aldermen wants control over northern growth,
See EXTENSION on page 2
1 x
A
; - - i
Sen. Charles Vickery
.extension submitted late
After chem, carnivals
Wlieaties owns Shack
By GERLIND YOUNTS
Special to the Daily Tar Heel
"When I was four years old my mother
won a year's supply of Wheaties and I
had to eat them," said the 38-year-old
man behind the bar. The name stuck
with him throughout his life, and John
Lawrence Richardson was to be known
by his college friends the same way he's
known today, "Wheaties," owner of the
longtime Chapel Hill drinking
establishment, the Shack.
Although Wheaties has owned the
Shack since 1971, the establishment has
been a bar since 1945. Prior to that, it
was a jitney garage, housing the "taxi"
which hauled students back and forth to
the Durham train station. During
World War 11, the Shack housed a
bicycle shop. Today, it still stands in its
original form.
"In the old days a lot of professors
used to hang out here and also a lot of
politicians used to hang out here in the
1950s before it got to be a real popular
place for students," he said. "A lot of
famous athletes have been in here also,
and other people, too, but no one world
famous," said Wheaties. As proof of its
- innumerable ivisitors, the interior of the
bar hosts thousands of autographs on
the walls and ceiling.
Born in Albemarle, Wheaties spent
four years at UNC where he was a
member of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity
and majored in chemistry. He said he
intended to go into a pre-medical or pre
dental program, but after graduation in
1962, Wheaties went to Canada instead,
where he worked with his uncle in a
traveling carnival. While managing
three rides in the carnival the
airplanes, bumper cars, and the whip--he
waited for his notice from the draft
board. Then came two years in the army
at Fort Benning, Ga.
Wheaties reminisced about UNC in
the '60s. He said the University was very
much like it is today, with a few
exceptions. "Everyone was a little bit
wilder when I was here. Things were
See WHEATIES on page 2
hO II
Wheaties
.cereal namesake
Metrics not in style
Conversion efforts grind to halt
omrd schedules public meeting
By MARTHA WAGGONER
Sun Writer
The student Elections Board met
Tuesday night and set April 2 as the date
for a public meeting on possible reforms
in campus elections laws.
The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in
Suite C of the Carolina Union.
Jil Linker, Elections Board
chairperson, said the purpose of the
meeting will be to discuss proposed
changes in the General Elections Law and
ideas for alternative voting procedures.
"This is not a gripe session," she said.
"We're looking for constructive ideas that
are legally feasible."
The hearing is partly a result of the
Student Supreme Court opinion handed
down Monday on the controversy
surrounding the editorship of the Daily
Tar Heel. The court suggested changes in
election laws such as earlier poll
openings, better planning for runoffs and
greater diligence on the part of the
Elections Board. "It's what I wanted to do
all year," Linker said. "Everything
mentioned here is stuff I already had
written down even before the election
began."
Linker said some of the ideas that will
be discussed included expanding the size
of the Elections Board, extending poll
hours, more clearly defined campaign
expenditure regulations and establishing
stricter guidelines on when the Elections
Board may take the initiative to make
decisions, especially regarding
certification of election results.
In addition to plans for changing
elections laws, the board will discuss
alternative voting procedures, such as
computerized voting. Linker said Orange
County might buy two voting machines,
and the Elections Board may ask to
borrow them.
Proposals by the Elections Board will
be sent to the Rules Judiciary Committee
of the Campus Governing Council,
Linker said. The committee will send its
proposals to the full body of CGC. Linker
said the earliest that CGC will consider
the proposals will be the end of this
semester. "I'm sure they won't take our
proposals at face value; they'll want to
work on it," she said.
Copies of the current elections laws are
available to anyone planning to attend
the public hearing in Suite C of the
Union.
By JIM HUMMEL
Staff Writer
OK folks, it's time for your metric quiz. How many kilometers
are there in ten miles? How many mililitres are in a quart? Or
better yet, how many grams are in a pound?
If you failed the quiz, don't worry; you're not in danger of
having to know conversion factors in the near future. According
to state officials, moves to convert to the metric system have
ground to a halt.
"I have just introduced legislation for the state to go no further
in enforcing change to the metric system," Rep. John Brown of
Wilkes County said Wnesday. "There are a million reasons
why we shouldn't go m..ic.
"Never has anything happened, short of an all-out war, that
would be as expensive as this thing. I've heard it would take
billions of dollars to convert. It's just pitiful."
Brown's views echo a growing sentiment, both in North
Carolina and across the country, that a conversion to the metric
system is not worth the cost.
"We're at a low plateau right now,", said Robert Jones,
chairman of the Task Force for Metric Conversion, established
in 1977 by Gov. Jim Hunt.
"The last couple of years have shown a lot of interest, but it has
declined in the last six months," Jones said. "In education we're
still shooting for 1981 to have all the material converted to
metric.
"Industry is moving right along in this direction, but in terms
of highway conversion we're still a long way off. I wouldn't dare
take any legislation to the General Assembly at this point because
it would be shot right down.
"It's not a politically attractive subject. We're not going to get
anywhere, outside of education, until the U.S. Metric Board
takes action towards conversion."
The U.S. Metric Board is one of three main forces currently
working towards conversion, according to Howard Segermark,
assistant to U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms. Joining the board are a 1975
National Metrication Act that calls for voluntary conversion and
the National Bureau of Standards, which also has been involved
in the conversion process.
"Sen. Helms is considering legislation requiring that statistics
be kept as they are now or at least prevent a total changeover,"
Segermark said.
The main point of opposition to conversion lies in the cost,
said Dr. Louis Gasper, an adviser to the U.S. House Committee
on Banking. Finance and Urban Affairs in Washington.
"I wrote a paper eight years ago on the cost analysis of metric
conversion." Gasper said. "My estimates were that it would take
from $75 billion to $100 billion to convert I'm sure the cost has
gone up since then."
The National Federation of Independent Businesses recently
took a poll asking how its members felt about metric conversion.
In North Carolina, 72 percent were opposed and 20 percent were
in favor. Nationally, 69 percent expressed opposition and 26
percent were in favor.
Another poll, conducted by the Federal Highway
Administration, showed an overwhelming opposition to metric
conversion on the highways, said Dick Riley, public information
director for the U.S. Department of Transportation.
"The FH A inserted a notice in the Federal Register asking for
public reaction to a metric conversion," Riley said. "They
received 6,000 responses and out of those, 98 percent were
opposed, so since that time we've dropped our efforts."
Riley said since Congressional action has no specific
conversion requirements and is on a voluntary basis, metric
conversion will come only with public support.
Another hindrance to highway conversion has been the
Surface Transportation Act of 1979, which prevents federal
funds being earmarked for roadsign conversion.
"A state can't make a total change from our present system to
metric," Riley said. "If they want to, though, they can put up
metric signs at their own expense in addition to those already
up "
The N.C. Department of Transportation several years ago
experimentd with metric roadsigns along 1-40 on a limited basis.
Efforts in other parts of the country have been equally limited.
Ontario. Canada phased in metric roadsigns over a two-year
period, with the total conversion coming a little over a year ago.
The fast changeover forced residents to learn conversion
immediately, something Jones says will be the only way to get
Americans to convert. "When all your signs are in kilometers you
learn very quickly how fast you should be going by the metric
system," he said.