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4fThe Daily Tar HeelTuesday, September 26, 1989
Community groups join.
it against diroe abuse
irog
Editor's note: This is the second
story in a series.
By JANNETTE PIPPIN
Staff Writer
The variety of government-operated
and private drug prevention
agencies emphasizes that the battle
for a drug-free America is far from
over, but experts say hometown
groups will deal the final blow.
The inner cities of Philadelphia,
Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and
other large metropolitan areas are
heavily saturated with substance
abusers and dealers, said Bill Miller,
director of the Northwest Task Force
on Drugs in Philadelphia.
"We have all kinds of groups of all
nationalities dealing and using drugs,
and someone in an office in Wash
ington isn't going to be able to moni
tor their activities like a community
group can," he said.
Whether it's the community of
Wister in Philadelphia, Morrow out
side of Atlanta or Inglewood outside
of Los Angeles, residents say they
want to feel secure in their neighbor
hood and want to raise their children
without the influence of drug dealers
operating from area drug houses.
Right now the biggest fear is the
crack houses operating to sell the
cheap and easily accessible form of
cocaine, said Otticer W. Miles of the
Inglewood Police Department.
The Wister Neighborhood Advi
sory Committee is a beneficial liai-
Drugs in America
son between residents and police, said
Geneva Lankford, director of the com
mittee. "People in Wister look out their
windows and see the problems,"
Lankford said. "As individuals we can't
always get police to take action, so we
use the influence of an NAC contact at
the station. The purpose of neighbor
hood councils is strength in numbers."
Other community organizations
formed in schools, neighborhoods and
churches go beyond acting as infor
mants and start their own drug preven
tion and education programs.
The Prevention Plus Agency in At
lanta began as a volunteer effort in
1984. The agency models its programs
after the national Youth to Youth prin
ciples of education; alternatives to
drugs, personal growth and environ
mental change.
"It all began with the concern of
parents at a PTA meeting," said Lois
Collins of Prevention Plus. "Now
through the schools and area teen cen
ters, we are letting the kids take charge
in educating their peers about the con
sequences of drugs."
Collins said the enthusiasm has
spread from the youth to the commu
nity. "The people of the community are
doing for themselves what wasn't being
done," she said.
Collins said she got involved in the
program because she saw firsthand
how her father's alcohol abuse af
fected her family.
"Alcohol is a drug and it and every
other drug are overrunning the coun
try and our young people," she said.
"We keep this at a grass roots level
so that people can come to us and be
able to get help," Collins said. "It's
so wonderful to see a recovering child
who used to be on the downside of
society."
Other community programs claim
to have similar success.
According to Miller, one elderly
community in Philadelphia has al
most completely wiped out visible
drug activity in their community.
'The elderly in the community
were fearful of the crack houses and
drug transactions that were blatantly
going on around them, so through
their own community watch system
and contact with police, they stopped
what they saw," Miller.
Statistics released by the Georgia
Department of Human Resources
show that cocaine addiction in the
state increased more than 1 ,000 per
cent in a period of one year, Marie
Albert of the department said.
"The figures are alarming," Al
bert said. "We're asking that com
munities in Atlanta and elsewhere
that are experiencing drug-related
problems come to us. We have grants
from the federal government that can
help them organize their own local
drug prevention programs."
Residents seek-right to rebuild
By WENDY BOUNDS
Staff Writer
South Carolina beach-front property
owners have a real mess on their hands:
Not only did Hurricane Hugo leave
them with battered or destroyed homes,
but it also may have left them without
the right to rebuild.
Replacement of destroyed or se
verely damaged buildings is restricted
in a "dead zone" 20 feet behind the first
row of dunes as well as in a "setback
zone" farther behind the dunes accord
ing to the 1988 Beachfront Manage
ment Act. These restrictions also apply
to erosion control structures.
This means homeowners with storm
damaged property within these dimen
sions may not be allowed to rebuild
their homes.
People with homes deemed "be
yond repair" that fall within the re
stricted zones will not be able to rebuild
in the same location, said Donna Gress,
public information director for the
Columbia Coastal Council in South
Carolina.
'These people may be able to move
their homes farther back on their prop
erty if they will then be in accordance
with the Act," she said. "Otherwise,
they may be out of luck."
The criteria for determining if a house
is beyond repair is handled on a point
system. If two-thirds of a house are
destroyed; rebuilding is prohibited.
"We have three engineering firms
going through and assessing homes,"
Gress said. "If the roof is gone that
amounts to a certain amount of points;
destroyed sidewalls equal more. Thus
if the points add up to a total of two
thirds, then the home will not be re
paired." The point system also applies to
erosion control structures, such as
seawalls, which must meet a 50 percent
requirement to fall under the Act's
regulations. Theoretically if these struc
tures cannot be rebuilt, then the houses
they protect may be in trouble, regard
less of the buildings's point standing.
Three-fourths of the South Carolina
coastline was damaged from North
Myrtle Beach to Edisto Beach, south of
Charleston. Garden City was one of the
hardest-hit places, but real estate agents
say it hasn't been completely swept off
the map.
"The media is saying that Garden
City doesn't exist any more, and we
do," said Maryann England of Garden
City Realty. "Most of the beach-front
property from Kingfisher Pier for one
and three-fourths miles south has been
destroyed, but we are definitely still
here."
England said the National Guard was
on hand to keep people from trying to
get to their homes. There are four to
five feet of sand being plowed off the
streets, and numerous electrical lines
on the ground, making travel danger
ous for concerned homeowners.
"No one is allowed to see their house
alone, not even the contractors," she
said. "This is to prevent looting as well
as injury."
The National Guard escorted people
through their homes from 9 a.m. to 3
p.m. Sunday, but no one was permitted
to remove any items.
For those whose property is not large
enough to allow rebuilding in an alter
nate location, a meeting Thursday by
the S.C. Coastal Council Board of
Directors may determine what alterna
tives they have. The Board will be
given an assessment of the damage and
will act from there. There may be some
hope for property owners who receive
state bond money, Gress said, but there
is no chance of the Acf being repealed.
Ten million dollars was allocated in
the past year to certain beaches to pay
for preventative measures against dis
asters such as Hurricane Hugo. Of that
sum, $7.2 million went to Hilton Head
Island.
'The board will discuss whether or
not reallocation of these funds might be
necessary," Gress said. "They will also
consider whether emergency permit
ting procedures for beach-front proper
ties are needed."
These permitting procedures would
put a delay in funding on non-beach
related permit applications. This would
allow the coastal councils as well as
realtors to catch up and deal with the
disastrous effects of Hugo.
Forum to present council candidates
By CAMERON TEW
Staff Writer
The External Affairs Committee of
student government's executive branch
is planning a forum to introduce Chapel
Hill Town Council candidates and the
mayoral candidate to University students.
661 don't want
alotof hype.
I just want
something I
can count on.99
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Greg Riley University of North Carolina- Class of 1989
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Bill Hildebolt, director of external
affairs, said the forum is tentatively
scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19 in the
Union Auditorium. The forum will give
students an opportunity to learn candi
dates' opinions about certain issues.
Trey Loughran, last year's student
liaison to the Chapel Hill Town Coun
cil, will be the moderator, Hildebolt
said. A panel of students will announce
student government endorsements for
candidates after the forum.
There are not as many major issues
involving students this year as in the
past elections, but there are major
University concerns, Hildebolt said.
"The primary issue concerning stu
dents is development of the town,"
Hildebolt said. "Students should defi
nitely want to know if candidates sup
port development in town."
Issues which concern students in
clude University and town relations,
University use of Horace Williams
Airport and traffic in the town, Hilde
bolt said.
Town council candidates said they
had not been informed about the pos
sible forum on campus, but they said
they would be willing to have a forum
if the students wanted one.
"We haven't heard about a forum
yet, so they should get it set," Art
Werner, a town council member seek
ing re-election, said. "We have about
four or five other forums, so it needs to
be planned as soon as possible."
Werner said a forum would allow
students to ask candidates questions
and to state concerns about issues in
city government.
"Frankly, it is hard to separate the
students" needs from those of the Uni
versity. We don't hear much from the
students on issues, but we are con
cerned about meeting their needs," he
said.
Council member David Pasquini,
who is also running for re-election, said
he considered students important to
Chapel Hill, and they have a voice like
any other resident.
"The one issue that might affect
students the most is affordable hous
ing, since raising taxes means raising
rent," he said.
Bill Thorpe, a candidate for town
council, said a student forum would be
helpful.
"I would love for the students to
have a forum because their concerns
are not always represented and heard
by the town council. The students need
to know how the candidates will sup
port them before they vote."
Council members need to work on a
grass roots level with University offi
cials and students, not just sit in meet
ings with them, Thorpe said. "This
would help find out what is happening
at the University."
Helen Urquhart, another candidate
for town council, said students' con
cerns interested her.
"Students don't attend a lot of fo
rums so it is hard to find out what their
concerns are. If people are involved in
the election process, they are more likely
to be more careful in selecting new
council members."
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968-1825
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