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Medicinal Herbs Project Seeks Interested Farmers
Jeanine Davis, horticultural science; College of Agriculture; Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in FletcherThe art of the rocket-propelled ninja throwing star, and other lessons in computer gaming at NCSU
computer science and industrial design studentsWake stream buffers looser
Rick Hamilton, forestry extensionAttack bugs from many angles
Carl Matyac, agricultural extensionClasses end, and new lives begin
commencement
NC State's
Pirate Captain drops anchor at ECU
student government
Tourney
venues discussed
Lee Fowler, athletics
Pack's
Cobb takes AD job at App. State
Charlie Cobb, athletics
Other
ACC meetings news and notes
Lee Fowler, athletics
Opinion:
For UNC's leader, an inside story
UNC Board of Governors
Point
of view: N.C.'s obligation to research
written by Molly Broad
More
workers ease down the retirement road
Steven Allen, management
Classes end, and new lives begin
May 12, 2005
Charlotte Observer
By FRED KELLY
© Copyright 2005
It was only three years ago that Athena Lapan was a teenage runaway dabbling in drugs and living on the streets.
Wednesday, she graduated from college.
Lapan's turnaround story was among the most poignant at the Central Piedmont Community College commencement ceremony at Cricket Arena.
She had dropped out of school in the ninth grade, run away from state group homes and was homeless by the time she moved to Charlotte three years ago to live with a father she had never met.
After Lapan passed the general equivalency diploma test in August 2002, she enrolled at Central Piedmont, where she graduated with honors in culinary technology.
"I never thought I would be here," said Lapan, 21. "It's unbelievable. It feels like this isn't even me."
Lapan was one of more than 900 students to receive associate degrees and diplomas.
Commencement exercises for some of North Carolina's largest colleges are this weekend, including UNC Charlotte, UNC Chapel Hill and N.C. State University.
Lapan's reversal of fortune mirrored the theme at Central Piedmont's ceremony.
Speakers cited the story of student government President Ruben Campillo, who enrolled in the college after immigrating to the U.S. from Mexico.
He needed English lessons when he came to the school but graduated Wednesday with a 4.0 grade-point average.
Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue gave the keynote address and reminded the students that community college allowed them "to reinvent themselves."
Perdue encouraged them to remember the people who helped them along the way.
"None of you would be sitting here without help from somebody," she said. "They deserve a diploma as much as you."
But few had as far to go as Lapan.
At age 14, Lapan was sent to live in a state group home in Rhode Island because her mother had a drug problem.
She said she often ran away, sleeping at acquaintances' homes or on the streets.
"In the group home, you felt like a number," Lapan said. "It was hard to have self-esteem."
In 2002, her father, Richard, invited her to come live with him. She had previously only seen pictures of him.
He and his wife, Dawn Baynor, encouraged Lapan to pursue college, where she earned a 3.89 grade-point average.
Lapan won the prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship, valued at $90,000, which she will use to attend Johnson & Wales University in the fall.
"Somebody actually believed in me," Lapan said. "Now I can't be stopped. Central Piedmont has given me a second chance."
May 12, 2005
Greenville Daily Reflector
By T. Scott Batchelor
© Copyright 2005
An NC State student wearing an eye patch, a parrot on his shoulder and saying "Arrgh!" a lot braved The Jungle on Tuesday when ECU took on the Wolfpack at Clark-LeClair Stadium.
Whil Piavis, aka The Pirate Captain, said he was on a goodwill mission when he and his four hearties arrived Tuesday in Greenville.
But decked out in full pirate regalia while cheering on the Wolfpack, who wouldn't think his persona wasn't meant to mock?
Piavis said he and his mates aren't there to root for their team or cast aspersions on the purple Pirates of ECU hurling "the white orbs."
"We be there to watch the combatants battle it out on the hallowed ground," Piavis said. "It be sport."
In a nutshell: Piavis, wanting to liven up student body elections this spring at NC State, adopted The Pirate Captain persona and ran for president.
He won and vowed to maintain his affectation during his term of office.
The owners of Greenville's Pirate Radio 1250, Troy Dreyfus and Jonathan Ellerbe, heard about Piavis' campaign, and, being about all things pirate, took up his cause – despite the long rivalry between East Carolina University and its sister institution about 80 miles west.
"When we found out he was a pirate, we were able to overcome the fact that he's from NC State," Dreyfus said.
Pirate Radio hosted the pirate captain and crew members Swabby, Powder Monkey, Boatswain and a boarder (he goes over the rail of victim ships first) for Tuesday's baseball game between ECU and NC State.
Piavis, 21 – or as he puts it, "The earth done circled the sun 21 times since me was born," – arrived with his crew in their "land boat," a green sedan.
He pulled into port sporting a blond wig, eye patch (the eye sees fine, he admits), a swordless scabbard (cops get nervous otherwise), and a suspiciously docile parrot perched on his left shoulder.
He chose the buccaneer alter ego, he said, "Because a pirate be commanding attention."
Yes, Piavis talks that way. All the time. He even serves on the NC State Board of Trustees in full pirate get-up.
Braving the gravitas of trustee meetings is one thing. But what about wading into a raucous Jungle filled with victory-craving members of the ECU Pirate Nation? The Pirate Captain said he wasn't afraid.
"Not at all," he said. "I think the Pirates around here like pirates for what they do, not for where they come from."
In fact, Piavis and his mates are a refreshingly benevolent bunch of freeboots.
"To be having fun – that's what we be all about," The Pirate said.
Dreyfus and Piavis billed the visit as a "goodwill mission" to help extinguish the animosity that has built up between the Pack and the Pirates over the years.
"Let it walk the plank, we say!" Piavis said of the ill will.
Calling The Pirate "a confused young man," Dreyfus said he has been urging Piavis to transfer to ECU and continue his role here for the benefit of Pirate fans.
"Maybe more NC State students can catch pirate fever like that," Dreyfus said during an on-air interview with the captain.
Transfer is unlikely, Piavis said, noting that he's about 1½ years from earning a mechanical engineering degree. Next might be a master's degree somewhere else.
And what about his crew? Will they follow him on his journey on the sea of life?
"Aye! If he ever needs us, we'll be there!" said Boatswain.
"We'll follow him to the ends of the earth," Powder Monkey said, "and not a step further."
Medicinal Herbs Project Seeks Interested Farmers
May 11, 2005
Southern Pines Pilot; Tabor-Loris Tribune (4/20); Asheboro Courier-Tribune (4/19); Wake Weekly (4/21); Wilkes Journal-Patriot (4/20); Franklin Press (4/22); Caswell Messenger (4/20); Waynesville Mountaineer (4/20)
By staff report
© Copyright 2005
Farmers interested in growing medicinal herbs are being sought for a project designed to determine whether herbs can be a viable commodity on North Carolina farms.
The Medicinal Herbs for Commerce project is part of the North Carolina Specialty Crops Program, a cooperative effort of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at North Carolina State University and the Marketing Division of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It is based at N.C. State’s Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center in Fletcher.
Applications are being accepted from farmers interested in participating in the second year of the project.
Farmers who are selected must agree to meet with the project coordinator at their farms as necessary, maintain production records through the course of the project, keep accurate financial records and receipts for the development of budgets and be willing to host a field day for other growers and extension agents.
In return, growers will get agricultural, technical, and direct marketing assistance plus the seeds necessary to produce and market top-quality medicinal herbs. Project staff will also help growers contact buyers and market herbs.
Farmers from throughout North Carolina are eligible to participate. While all types of farmers are eligible, the project is geared toward tobacco growers and developing medicinal herbs as an alternative crop for tobacco.
Thirty farmers will be selected. They must agree to grow at least an acre of herbs. Applications must be postmarked by May 15. More information and applications are available on line at http://ncherb.org. Information is also available from Woody Woodward, project coordinator, at (828) 684-3562, or by e-mail at woody_woodward@ncsu.edu.
The project began in March 2004 with funding from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission and the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. This year the project is funded by the Tobacco Trust Fund, Golden LEAF and the North Carolina Rural Center.
Last year, 17 growers from 15 counties grew purple coneflower, California poppy, valerian and dandelions. The crops were chosen for their market potential and compatibility with existing tobacco cultivation equipment.
“We were looking for new crops for tobacco growers that didn’t require expensive inputs and could use existing resources,” said Dr. Jeanine Davis, associate professor of horticultural science at N.C. State and North Carolina Cooperative Extension specialist. Davis is the project director and specialty crops program coordinator.
“I didn’t have to buy any equipment for this project,” said cooperating farmer Peggy Garrett of Person County.
Most growers were able to simply plug a different crop into their tried-and-true production systems.
“I had been looking for something to help me on the farm and keep me going,” said Randy Ball, a participating grower from Vance County. “This project gave me the opportunity to reach out and expand [beyond tobacco].”
Garrett added, “It was a good thing, sort of a life saver because of the tobacco issue.”
Six growers have sold their California poppy crop (fresh and dried), five growers sold their echinacea crop, and the dandelion and valerian growers have their crops pre-sold and will ship once they are harvested.
Herb brokering and manufacturing companies including Botanical Supply, Gaia Herbs, Ridge Runner Trading Co., and Strategic Sourcing, all based in North Carolina, and Triarco Industries, of New Jersey, are an integral part of the project. They offer invaluable advice, participate in conference calls and field days and purchase herbs.
“Together, partners involved with this project are building a strong network of medicinal herb growers and buyers, all the while building North Carolina's reputation as a state that produces superior quality raw materials for a growing natural products industry,” Woodward said.
The art of the rocket-propelled ninja throwing star, and other lessons in computer gaming at NCSU
May 11, 2005
Independent Weekly
By FIONA MORGAN
© Copyright 2005
"Who here likes ninjas?" Hands shoot up all over the auditorium. "Who
here likes high-impact explosions in slow-motion?" Again--who doesn't?
Michael Freenor, lead engineer of the Angry Lawn Gnomes computer game design
team, clearly knows his audience. They are fellow students at NC State University
who have packed the house to see the unveiling of five games developed within
seven weeks through a unique interdisciplinary course.
Freenor and his teammate explain their game, Karate Explosion, a throwback
to the old Nintendo games of the late 1980s, like Super Mario Bros. The main
character--a ninja, naturally--makes his way through varied landscapes, fighting
little enemies with rocket-propelled ninja throwing stars on his way to the
big battle at the end of each level. The '80s flavor is not just in the corny
power-rock guitar music that elicits chuckles from the audience; this is a "side-scrolling" game,
a more two-dimensional style than most of today's multi-player, multi-perspective
games. It's still incredibly complicated, the collaborative work of 10 students
in all. Explaining the game's intended appeal, Freenor says, "By now everyone
has picked up a Nintendo control no matter what age they are." Whether
that's true or not, it's clear that nostalgia is the idea.
Among the other games unveiled is Dodgeball, a version of the childhood playground
ordeal. Awakening is a classically militaristic game, with Marines battling
aliens while trying to achieve a number of objectives inside a labyrinthine
power plant. (In their presentation, its creators sheepishly admit to having
designed the most violent game of the class.) Edgewalker is a more character-driven
quest, with a benign young necromancer switching between mirrored landscapes
of life and death to save the world from drought--but she's still got weapons,
namely a crossbow and a bell, which help her to control the dead. Most impressive
of all was Wide Asleep, a game that pits a 12-year-old boy against the creatures
of his nightmares. Breaking from the coding templates they had to work with,
the designers custom-animated the boy, creating an elaborate story and various
dreamlike trials such as falling down a well and swimming through a cavern.
Professor Michael Young has offered this course, Computer Game Design and Development,
to his computer science students for three years now, but this is the first
year he has collaborated with the College of Design. Few schools offer such
courses--the University of Southern California and Carnegie Mellon among them.
But Young has been using game design in his classes for many years, and several
students have gone on to work for gaming companies. "I think there's a
growing understanding that the popularity of games can be used as a teaching
tool," Young says. "It's fantastic because they really learn the
material. I'm really amazed by how much time they put into it."
For the first few weeks, students familiarized themselves with the scripting language of Unreal, a hugely popular game first launched in 1998, which introduced startlingly realistic, three-dimensional graphics to the online, multi-player, first-person shooter genre that had already taken hold. Epic, the company that makes Unreal, "provides a great deal of support to this community they call the mod-making community," Young says--that is, people who want to get under the hood and modify the game, customizing and building on it. Open-source video games, in essence. The components are complex, including head's-up display (HUD), artificial intelligence, weapon design, modeling of various levels, and so on. Once the teams were formed, students had seven weeks to design the game, customizing it according to how much time they were willing to spend in the studio.
In the adjacent room, some dozen computers are set up with demos of the games, and people are already playing even as the presentation goes on. Erin Morrison, a senior in art and industrial design, stands out of the crowd for a couple of reasons. Her plaid tights and yellow Converse sneakers for one, and also the fact that she's one of the few women in the room.
"It's a predominantly male field," she says. Only two other female designers were in her class of 15; on the computer engineering side, that ratio was much smaller. "I felt like everybody's little sister," she says. "I wonder why more women aren't exploring this. It's something that could be very prosperous and also, it's a great art form with a lot of opportunities."
Primarily experienced with photography, two-dimensional design and sculpture, Morrison says she had never worked in digital arts before, but decided to try it after talking to Professor Tim Buie, who teaches the Real-time Modeling and Animation Studio. "As far as my work ethic goes, I'm extremely hands-on. This was completely devoid of that aside from clicking a mouse," she says. Nor had she played computer games much. But she came away with an appreciation for them, she says. "I think it's an art form that doesn't get as much respect as it should, because most people evaluate it based on the pretext of whether it's violent or not." There are layers upon layers of design involved, she says. Morrison designed "little pizza-cutter type monsters that come at you at a fast speed for Karate Explosion," and worked with her fellow designer on drawings that the engineers used to create the play levels.
"I don't know if I want to stay within video games exclusively, but I would definitely pursue digital animation or illustration in the future," Morrison says. "Even though it's so tedious, it's really rewarding to see everything come together in the end."
Back in the demo room, custom commands for each game are written on the chalkboards that surround dozens of people waiting their turn to play. Among them is Davis Leonard, a wide-eyed 12-year-old with a mop of blond hair and an oversized blue sweatshirt. He came with his father and brother from Hillsborough. "My mom read about it in the paper and she thought it would be a cool thing to check out," he says.
Asked which of the games is his favorite, he says, "I'm not sure. They're all really cool." His preference is for the classic shoot-'em-up, but he's intrigued by the one about the 12-year-old boy.
All games from the class are available online for free. If you have Unreal Tournament on your computer, you can play them. Go to mimesis.csc.ncsu.edu/classes/csc481/showcase.html.
Opinion: For UNC's leader, an inside story
May 12, 2005
News & Observer
By JIM JENKINS
© Copyright 2005
And so it begins. The University of North Carolina Board of Governors, or rather a search committee of that board, has immersed itself in the process of finding the system's fourth president. There will be public meetings to get "input" from people as to what kind of president they want.
This is by far the best part of the whole process of choosing a president, because pleasing even a majority of alums, faculty, staff and for that matter, the taxpayers who support this university, is thereby demonstrated to be...completely impossible!
F'rinstance: Representatives of different branches of the university who appear before search committees always say they want a president who understands the different missions of the 16 campuses and will respect their "autonomy." Translation: If we have to have a president, then may we please have one who will leave us completely alone and be the next best thing to no president at all?
And you gotta love the people who come to the committee meeting talking about the urgent need for a president who understands the academic mission. The translation there: Don't give us some business executive type who's going to irritate us with questions and actually try to run the place.
Flip side: the people who want someone with corporate acumen and extensive management skill. Translation: Jerk a knot in some of these in-the-clouds thinkers around here and jostle their velvet pillows of tenure.
The code's not really that complicated. I like it when boosters show up and tell the committee that the next president must understand that the university's mission goes beyond just academics and that a president must have a grasp of that. In other words: President must learn secret handshake and proper bowing position required to meet Roy Williams, and address him as "your worship." Don't mess with sports.
In the coming weeks, the search committee will hear from people who:
1) Want a strong, centralized UNC system office that will direct policy.
2) Want a hands-off system office that will be seen and not heard.
3) Want a North Carolinian in the job, someone familiar with the state.
4) Want an outsider with a fresh perspective.
5) Want an academic who's written three textbooks and is regularly published in zoology journals.
6) Want a Donald Trump type who'll fire anybody with the wrong necktie.
7) Want someone with political savvy who can deal with the state legislature.
8) Want someone who believes legislature should be a caged preserve where the only contact is at feeding time.
The truth is, the search committee, and then the Board of Governors that names a president, couldn't hope to please more than a fraction of those who'll be the new president's constituents, even if the decision-making were moved to Rome and the selection announced with a puff of white smoke. (Overheard in the crowd: "Hmmm...why isn't that smoke Carolina blue?")
One requirement for a president is integrity; another is self-confidence; another is a measure of humility; another is an adamant belief in public education; another is loyalty; another is a sense of shared values with the university's historic mission, and with those who previously have shaped that mission. It all adds up to "the right stuff." When you look at the brass plaque of university leaders inside the General Administration building in Chapel Hill one thing that strikes you is how lucky the state has been, because so many of the names on that plaque had all those things, though they came from vastly different backgrounds and areas of experience. That's true, certainly, of the last three presidents, William Friday, C.D. Spangler Jr. and Molly Corbett Broad.
In other words, focus on the person, what is within and not just on a resume, and other things will fall into place.
One person who appeared before the search committee early on said, "What we need is another Bill Friday," invoking the name of The Legend, the 30-year president who is arguably the state's most influential public citizen of the last half-century. Few would argue with that wish, but Friday would be the first to note that when he took over, he was 36 years old and was without experience as a university president. He grew into greatness -- and then some.
That can happen, just as an experienced business executive like Spangler can make a significant mark, just as a professional educator like Broad can leave her own legacy. The next president can, too, if the right stuff is there to begin with.
Point of view: N.C.'s obligation to research
May 12, 2005
News & Observer
By Molly Corbett Broad
© Copyright 2005
For a copy of this article, contact News Services at 5-3470.
May 12, 2005
News & Observer
By LUCIANA CHAVEZ
© Copyright 2005
The ACC did not make any major decisions during its spring meetings in Amelia Island, Fla., this week but the conference did discuss using larger venues to host its annual men's basketball tournament.
"There is not a consensus on that," N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler said after the meetings concluded Wednesday. "[Using only larger venues] was discussed and it's the opinion of some of the athletics directors, but it's not 100 percent."
Fowler said the ACC did direct ACC associate commissioner Fred Barakat to examine available sites for the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 men's tournaments.
Between 2005 and 2010, the ACC will stage the men's tournament at venues that have seating capacities that range from 20,200 to 40,000.
The 2005 tournament was held at the MCI Center (20,674). Upcoming tournaments will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum (23,500) in 2006 and 2010, at Tampa, Fla.'s St. Pete Times Forum (20,500) in 2007, at the new Charlotte Arena (20,200) in 2008 and at Atlanta's Georgia Dome (40,000) in 2009.
Duke athletics director Joe Alleva said most of the ACC officials and ACC school representatives were pleased with how the ACC has moved the men's tournament around in recent years.
"Now we're going to have 12 teams, so we have to think about whether we're going to have a move to places that can house the most people," Alleva said. "It's pretty important for us to take care of our fans.
"Bigger venues, I feel, are going to be important [after 2010]."
The last time the ACC chose sites was in June 2000 when it picked sites for the 2005 through 2010 tournaments. That, of course, was before the league expanded to 12 schools.
The reason venue-size is an issue is because the ACC will officially have 12 schools when Boston College joins on July 1. The ACC does not sell tickets to the public but distributes them to each school.
In the next go-around, a smaller venue like the Charlotte Arena, which opens this fall, could be left out of the mix.
Marty Bechtold, the Charlotte Bobcats' senior vice-president for event booking and marketing, is in charge of non-NBA events at the new arena and called the ACC men's conference tournament "one of the marquee events in college basketball."
"What we need to do, not just with our building but with the city of Charlotte, is realize that we have a state-of-the-art facility with top-notch customer service," Bechtold said. "We'll be in a situation [when Charlotte hosts in 2008] where we have to prove ourselves to the ACC. We all have confidence that we'll put on a first-class tournament and the ACC will want to come back."
Pack's Cobb takes AD job at App. State
May 12, 2005
News & Observer (also appeared in Charlotte Observer)
By LORENZO PEREZ
© Copyright 2005
In a search that ended in Raleigh, Appalachian State stayed within the University of North Carolina system to fill its top athletics post.
Charlie Cobb, N.C. State's associate athletics director for external affairs, was introduced Wednesday morning in Boone as the Southern Conference school's new athletics director. A former second-team All-ACC football center who graduated from State in 1990, Cobb spent almost seven years working at his alma mater.
As an associate AD, Cobb, 37, oversaw the marketing and promotion of Wolfpack athletics as well as the ticket office. Those responsibilities included revenue production for State's athletics department, and Cobb will face similar priorities running a Mountaineers athletics program hoping to complete a $32 million capital improvement plan. The project list at Appalachian State, which has about 14,000 students, includes replacing the artificial playing surface at the school's Kidd Brewer Stadium, renovating and expanding the field house and converting a gymnasium into a multi-use practice facility for several sports.
"This is a great opportunity. It's a very successful athletics program that's won a number of all-sports championships in the Southern Conference," Cobb said Wednesday in a phone interview from Boone. "They have tremendous facilities in place here that just need to be tweaked. There are some ideas and some thoughts and some drawings, and the base-level support is there. It's just a matter of putting a shovel in the ground."
Cobb accepted an annual salary of $150,000, and ASU chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock will ask the university's trustees to approve a three-year contract.
N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler praised Cobb for having a great mind for marketing and said it was inevitable that another school would entrust him with its athletics program.
"He's a young man that's going to have a great future in college athletics," Fowler said.
Cobb's career advancement also leaves State down one assistant women's soccer coach. His wife, Lindsay Brecher Cobb, was a first-team All-ACC goalie for the Wolfpack from 1988 to 1990 and has been a State assistant for six seasons.
"She'll always be a part of our program," coach Laura Kerrigan said. "Not because she's an alum, but because she cares so much about our players."
Charlie Cobb earned a master's degree in sports administration from Ohio University. He has served as associate executive director of the Peach Bowl and the Atlanta Sports Council and as sales manager for the Georgia Dome.
Gerald Adams, director of the Yosef Club, ASU's athletics booster club, said Cobb's breadth of experience impressed the school.
"He's a great catch for Appalachian State," Adams said.
Men's basketball coach Houston Fancher called Cobb a "bolt of lightning" with the ability to raise the level of the athletics programs.
"We're used to all our programs being successful here. That's because they've been given individual attention, and I think Charlie will be able to do that," Fancher said. "The great thing about Charlie is he's not coming in here with any preconceived notions. He's not coming here with all the answers because he knows he doesn't know all the questions."
Cobb said the possibility of a football game next year between Appalachian State and N.C. State, as well as a basketball game between the two, was in negotiation before his job change. Cobb joked that an official excuse to return to Raleigh once or twice was not part of his job negotiation, however.
"I've talked to a number of people, and they all said, 'This is a hot school. Kids want to go here.' And it's not just for athletics," Cobb said. "I've not run across anybody who's had a bad experience here."
Other ACC meetings news and notes
May 12, 2005
News & Observer
By staff report
© Copyright 2005
The ACC concluded its spring meetings in Amelia Island, Fla., on Wednesday. Some of the topics discussed included the following:
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The ACC women's tournament will be played Thursday through Sunday starting with the 2006 tournament, ACC associate commissioner Bernadette McGlade confirmed on Wednesday.
From 1999 through 2005, the women's tournament had run Friday through Monday.
"We really wanted to get the tourney back to a more traditional tournament weekend ... with the big rounds [semifinals and finals] on the weekend," McGlade said.
The Thursday-Sunday format also had been used from 1995-98. McGlade said the ACC went to the Friday-Monday schedule in 1998 because that was the only time they could get national television exposure.
"I think it's a tremendous move," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "Having a title game on Sunday afternoon will be great for television and will also enable more fans to come to the game. It's tough for them to be there on Monday night. The game finishes so late and that makes it tough on the media, too."
Though the ACC is still working with Fox Sports Net to shore up the 2006 schedule, Fox spokesman Jamie Kimbrough said the semifinals and title game would all be national broadcasts in 2006.
FOOTBALL TITLE GAME
More than 42,000 of 77,000 available tickets have been taken for the first ACC football title game, which will be held in Jacksonville, Fla., on Dec. 3, Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett said Wednesday.
The ACC took 24,000 tickets. Each participating team will get 8,000 of those tickets.
The public sale starts June 1. For the public, tickets can only be purchased through the bowl's Web site at www.gatorbowl.com.
FIFTH YEAR FOR FOOTBALL
The ACC football coaches supported the idea of giving Division I football players five years of eligibility instead of the current four. N.C. State athletics director Lee Fowler said the ACC coaches agreed to push the idea with the American Football Coaches Association in the fall.
The ACC sponsored NCAA legislation in 2004-05 that would have given Division I-A football players a fifth year of eligibility. The ACC withdrew the proposal in January.
Assistant commissioner Mike Finn said the ACC had heard that other conferences would be interested in the proposal. Finn said that the ACC coaches would talk to their own school presidents to gauge their interest.
BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT PRACTICE DAYS
The ACC approved adding a Wednesday practice session for the men's and women's basketball tournaments. Both tournaments will run Thursday through Sunday in 2006.
"Yes, we passed that," Fowler said. "They can come in as long as they don't miss classes on Tuesday to get there."
Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski had raised the issue prior to the 2005 ACC Tournament at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C.
The 2005 tournament was the first time the ACC staged more than one game on a Thursday as the first year the league had 11 teams. That prevented teams with first-round byes to shoot around or practice on the game floor at the tournament site.
May 12, 2005
News & Observer
By RYAN TEAGUE BECKWITH
© Copyright 2005
To protect water quality in southeastern Wake County, property owners could soon face new restrictions on clearing land and building next to streams.
But if they are farmers or loggers, the rules would not apply to them.
Farmers and foresters applaud the exemption, arguing that they cause less damage to rivers and streams than new subdivisions do. But developers and environmentalists say it is unfair.
"Either we all have to participate, or none of us have to," said Tim Minton, head of the Home Builders Association of Raleigh and Wake County.
The rules are designed to protect the dwarf wedge mussel, an endangered species that lives in the muddy bottoms of rivers and creeks. State and federal officials asked Johnston and Wake counties and the town of Garner to improve water quality in the mussel's habitat.
In exchange, they said, they will not oppose a long-awaited bypass around Clayton on U.S. 70 or a water-treatment plant that the city of Raleigh plans to build on Lake Benson.
The two counties came up with different plans. Both call for expanding existing 50-foot natural buffers to 100 feet to stabilize stream banks and filter silt and pollution. Trails and driveways would be allowed, but most new construction would be forbidden inside the buffers.
Wake County, however, added an exemption for "bona fide farms, including land held for forestry practices."
The provision will cut the amount of new natural buffers in Wake by more than half, from 296 acres to 132, according to consultants hired by the city of Raleigh. That troubles environmentalists such as Dean Naujoks, the Upper Neuse riverkeeper.
"It seems to imply that developers are causing all of the problems," he said. "But it's coming from a variety of sources. There needs to be a fairness and balance to spread this effort to everyone who is affecting water quality."
Foresters argue that they have much less impact than new construction. Under existing state and county guidelines, they have to be careful when logging near stream banks and rivers; and timberland, unlike a new home or a parking lot, is usually replanted after clearing.
"Basically, it comes down to this: The forest does not need to be buffered from itself," said Rick Hamilton, extension forester with N.C. State University.
Don Maynard makes the same argument about his 36-acre farm outside Garner. A property survey earlier this year showed that 3 percent of his land would cause stormwater runoff -- "a house, a driveway and that's it," he said. The rest is pasture for sheep.
"Why shouldn't it be exempt?" he asked.
Johnston County commissioners, who narrowly approved their plan in March after arguing over restrictions on logging, were surprised to hear that Wake County was considering a plan that allows it.
Wade Stewart, a Johnston commissioner who voted against the plan, said he did not think state and federal officials would allow any exemptions in Johnston County, but he was happy that Wake County would give one to farmers and loggers.
"I think they ought to do it," he said. "It's what we should have done."
The town of Garner's plan does not call for any new buffers, instead focusing on limiting runoff from new development. Planning Director Brad Bass said that was because the town has more subdivisions than the counties do.
"We looked at the standards more from an urban point of view," he said.
Wake County planners added the farming and logging exemption after negotiating with officials from the N.C. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which had asked for the mussel habitat protection plans.
Gary Jordan, a fish and wildlife biologist who oversaw the three plans, said the looser standards in Garner and Wake County were due in part to different circumstances and in part to tougher negotiating by local planners.
"There was give and take," he said. "We had certain goals that we wanted to achieve, but there were maybe different ways to achieve them."
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Public hearing on proposed 100-foot buffers on streams in southeast Wake
County.
WHEN: 2 p.m. Monday
WHERE: Commissioners' meeting room, seventh floor, Wake County Courthouse, Raleigh
May 12, 2005
News & Observer
By staff report
© Copyright 2005
First you notice the new buds on the trees. The early flowers -- tulips and
daffodils -- catch your eye.
And as the mercury continues to climb, you notice one more thing. Was that
a bug scurrying across the carpet?
Warmer temperatures bring lots of new sights, including a whole host of insects and critters that are ending their winter dormancy.
But before you grab a can of bug spray to send that insect to oblivion, there are some precautions to keep in mind.
Pesticides are poisons and can be very dangerous if they are ingested or inhaled, or if they get onto the skin or in the eyes. Many pesticides also are irritants that can trigger asthma attacks or other allergic reactions.
The most effective strategy for controlling pests might be an approach that combines a variety of methods, known as integrated pest management.
That might mean encouraging ladybugs in your garden to eat the aphids that are attacking your roses or attracting birds that eat insects to your yard. Or it could mean planting pest-resistant flowers and shrubs.
For pests in your home, the Safer Pest Control Project, an advocacy group based in Chicago, offers some tips to get at the cause of the pest problem.
* Inspect your home and try to determine where the pests are coming in from, where they might be hiding (for example, cracks and small spaces), and where they find food and water. Check behind the refrigerator and oven and under the kitchen sink -- three favorite pest areas.
* Seal cracks, crevices and holes to keep pests out of your home. Pay special attention to the places where pipes come into your home.
* Reduce clutter -- such as old newspapers, cardboard boxes or poorly stored clothing -- that provides pests a hiding place. In the yard, tall grass can be a great place for pests to hide.
* Deny pests food and water. Standing water in your yard or home can attract insects and other pests. In the house, improperly stored food, crumbs and other food spills can attract pests.
But when a pesticide is the best option for your problem, the most basic advice is the best.
"The first thing we tell everyone -- from the farmer and commercial horticulturist to the homeowner -- is to read the labels," said Carl Matyac, an agricultural extension agent in the Wake County office of the N.C. Cooperative Extension.
Simply reading the instructions can tip consumers off to possible hazards that come from misapplying the product. Homeowners often use the wrong product for their pest problem or more than is necessary to combat a pest problem, Matyac said.
"Before you use some pesticides [such as fogger-style bug sprays], you should make sure that your problem really requires that level of response," he said.
Matyac also said consumers should make sure they protect themselves when using pesticides by wearing gloves and a mask or respirator.
"I feel that any time you apply pesticide, you are facing contamination," Matyac said.
"People say it's just Roundup or Raid, but those pesticide residues can linger on your skin and clothing, and the longer they linger, the greater the risk of contamination."
CONTACT US
Staying Safe appears on this page every Thursday and explores issues that relate to crime, safety and government attempts to help with both.
If you have a question about crime and safety or have a topic you would like us to address, send e-mail to stayingsafe@newsobserver.com. You can also call Holly Stepp at 829-4792.
Partnership on the radar screen
May 11, 2005
Tasley Eastern Shore News, VA
By Ceri Larson Danes
© Copyright 2005
OYSTER -- When radar first came into wide-scale use after World War II, early military and weather technicians regularly detected unexplained targets at night -- not aircraft, but something mysterious and spectral-like -- that would fly across their screens.
"They called them angels, because they didn't know what they were," said Barry Truitt, chief conservation scientist for The Nature Conservancy's Virginia Coast Reserve, based in Nassawadox.
Truitt explains that the targets on the radar were mostly birds, and therein lies the story of radar ornithology -- two words that most would never think of on their own, much less hooked up together.
Prior to the discovery that radar can detect the night movements of birds, and specifically their migratory habits, little was known about their migration because people were literally in the dark about it.
It didn't take biologists long -- and many bird-studying ornithologists in particular -- to realize the value of radar as a tool for bird migration analysis when the nocturnal migrants previously could only be studied by observing the face of a full moon.
Fast-forward to today, and as radar has advanced, so has the study of bird migration.
A group of ornithologists led by the conservancy now is using state-of-the-art radar developed by scientists at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility. The new technology, NASA Polarimetric Radar, or NPOL, is used to measure the characteristics of precipitation.
Truitt figured that if the NPOL system could provide information and measurements of individual raindrops, it should be able to do the same for birds.
It was Truitt who first heard through the conservationists' grapevine that NASA was scouting for a home somewhere between two radar sites -- the NEXRAD location at Wakefield and the SPANDAR system used at Wallops -- for their new baby, NPOL, which is 10 times more powerful than NEXRAD.
NPOL is NASA's only portable polarimetric research radar. The only other one in use in the country is in Oklahoma.
Truitt said he contacted NASA at Wallops and was told it was still looking for a site.
"I asked them if this type of radar picked up birds," he said.
"'Oh sure,' they told me, 'but we turn on all the filters to keep the birds out.'"
Then Truitt asked: "Well you can keep the filters off, can't you?"
And from there a partnership was forged.
The new radar was soon installed near Cobb Island Station in Oyster, where the conservancy owns not only the historic facility but also 1,400 acres surrounding the town's harbor.
When there is precipitation in the air, NASA gathers data from the raindrops, ice or snow; on clear nights during the fall migration, the conservancy tracks the traveling birds' movements.
"The crew from Wallops was really intrigued to use this radar to look at something other than weather," he said. "It's a real partnership that meets their needs and gives us critical data to identify the habitat the migrant birds are using in the fall.
"The prevailing winds bring them here; our interest is in protecting where they migrate through."
Two types of birds migrate here on the Shore in the fall, including the neotropical songbirds (Truitt calls them 'Tweety birds'), which are long-distance migrants who winter in Central or South America.
Numbering around 5 to 6 million, they appear on the Shore in early August and are the first to come through.
They are followed by the temperates, like robins and flickers, and 10 to 12 million of them come through the Shore, with some of them staying.
It would be an understatement to say that, after 30 years with the Virginia Coast Reserve, Truitt is the keeper of volumes of information on the habits of migratory neotropical songbirds, temperate birds, as well as other wildlife habits and habitats.
For more than 40 years, bird-banding has been taking place on the Shore, lately at the banding stations at Kiptopeke State Park. Truitt says they have identified more than 90 percent of the migrants as young of the year -- or hatch year, meaning this is their first trip.
Scientists estimate that up to 80 percent of these birds die on their first migration.
"Science has shown that some species are declining 2 to 3 percent each year," he said.
The conservancy has an extensive group of partners in this project, which includes much more than the radar.
"You can't do radar ornithology with just radar," Truitt said.
The partners involved include The College of William & Mary's Center for Conservation Biology, U.S. Geological Survey and North Carolina State University. In addition, the project has received funding from a diverse group of sources.
William & Mary has been conducting detailed land cover analysis, he said and has "visited and characterized 800 patches of woods in Northampton County -- so the whole county has been covered."
"We actually have people out in the woods counting the birds they see." There are a total of 192 sites, and five-member crews do 96 of the sites every day.
What the data have shown, he said, is that there "is a direct correlation between these point counts and the exit signatures (of the birds) at night."
And the Chesapeake Bay, he said, acts as a barrier in the migratory patterns. Birds typically start a migratory flight at night and will fly all night until they reach a barrier.
But once they take off, he said, the Bay does not act as much of a barrier. "We watched some on radar exit from Savage Neck," he said. "They were across the bay and out of sight on radar within 20 minutes."
The birds, he said, circle before take-off at night, after sunset. "It provides a perfect target for the radar to bounce off of...it looks like a river of birds...it's the most amazing thing I've ever seen."
Truitt said they have finished the NEXRAD radar analysis and are starting on the NPOL, and he hopes the analysis of the data from last fall will be completed by this fall. Sarah Mabey, a conservation scientist at NCSU, is doing that part of the work.
"The problem is there are huge, massive amounts of data from just one night of radar," Truitt said.
Doppler radar can detect direction, speed and relative density, he said. But Truitt calls NPOL "super-duper Doppler."
He said the hope is to calibrate the new radar to identify the numbers and sizes of groups of birds, making it possible to distinguish a songbird from a seagull, for example.
"NPOL advances the whole science because you can measure the size of the bird."
More workers ease down the retirement road
May 11, 2005
MSN Money
By Christian Science Monitor
© Copyright 2005
Seven months before Ken Klein retired last year as a project manager, he went to his boss with a modest proposal: He wanted to ease into retirement by working a four-day week. His employer agreed, allowing him to compress 40 hours into four 10-hour days, with the option of doing some work at home.
"That was very valuable to me," says Klein, who spent 28 years with The Hartford Financial Services Group in Hartford, Conn. "It gave me a chance to begin seeing what extra time at home would be like. It also got my wife used to having me around and knowing that I was coming into her territory."
Count Klein among a growing number of people who are eager to keep one foot planted firmly in the workplace, even as they enjoy more leisure time and cultivate new activities. Phased retirement, as the arrangement is called, lets older employees work fewer hours with more flexibility and less responsibility.
Although still in its fledgling stage, the trend could become the wave of the future, according to labor specialists. "The early-retirement trend is over," says Rebecca Miller, managing director of RSM McGladrey in Bloomington, Minn. "For a variety of reasons, folks want to continue to work."
Differing motivations
For some employees, money is the motivator. With investments battered by stock-market
losses, higher health-care costs and greater longevity, they see a need for
continued paychecks. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that each year
of deferred retirement reduces a worker's need for retirement savings by 5%.
Other older workers remain in the labor force because they enjoy their jobs. "They want to continue as contributing members of society," says Joyce Gioia, president of the Herman Group in Greensboro, N.C.
In a recent Gallup poll of investors, 57% expect to retire after age 62, up from 36% in 1998. And nearly two-thirds of full-time workers older than 50 hope to phase into retirement at some point, reducing their hours or gaining flexibility, according to Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a consulting firm in Washington.
For employers, phased retirement helps by slowing turnover and retaining experienced employees -- key factors as large numbers of baby boomers approach retirement age.
"We're moving into a period where labor shortages are going to beset companies," says John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement firm in Chicago.
Half of today's working nurses will reach retirement age by 2015, he notes. The average age of construction workers is approaching the mid-50s. And by 2006, 31% of workers in the federal government -- nearly half a million -- will be eligible to retire.
Phased retirement traces its roots to the academic world. Tenured professors approaching a conventional retirement age often cut back their schedule by teaching fewer classes.
Half-time commitment
At the 16 campuses of the University of North Carolina system, up to 40% of
retiring faculty members choose phased retirement. They must be at least
50 and have spent a minimum of five years at their current university. In
exchange for giving up a tenured position, they receive a commitment to work
half time for half pay for three years.
"This is a very attractive policy," says Steven Allen, associate dean at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. "It's helpful in economic terms, and it allows people to make the adjustment to retirement in a smoother fashion."
Nationally, 14% of the work force is 55 or older. At The Hartford, more than a quarter of employees are 50 or over. "This is a very critical talent pool for us," says Ann de Raismes, an executive vice president, noting that the company has offered a formal phased retirement program since 1997. About 150 workers currently use the plan.
"We equate gray hair with talent and wisdom," says de Raismes. "It's really taking full advantage of the knowledge and experience of these workers."
That attitude does not prevail everywhere. "People frequently look at seniors as being somehow less valuable," says Miller. "They don't recognize that experience has value."
Some younger workers cast a skeptical eye on phased retirement out of concern that older employees will block their progress. Employers raise other questions, says Challenger, such as: "Can you be as productive when you're working part time? And what kind of pay structure should exist for them?"
Cutting hours, not the pension
One of the biggest hurdles for employees involves defined benefit plans. These
calculate retirement benefits based on the pay earned during the last few
years of work. Those who cut their hours and salaries as retirement approaches
may reduce their future pension.
To avoid that problem, some companies, including The Hartford, calculate pension benefits on the basis of the highest five years of salary during the past 10 years. "That provides a great deal of flexibility," de Raismes says.
Employees can also jeopardize healthcare coverage when they cut their hours. By logging 80 hours of work a month, Klein keeps his health insurance intact.
Most programs are informal, allowing employers to offer them only to workers they want to keep. Phased retirement can involve moving workers from full-time to part-time schedules, rehiring retirees on a part-time basis, or keeping them as consultants.
Before Ray Krause retired as national director of accounting for McGladrey & Pullen in July, he knew he wanted to continue working part time somewhere. "I thought I would stack groceries at a grocery store or be a greeter at Wal-Mart," says Krause, of Bloomington, Minn.
Those modest aspirations changed when the company asked if he would consider helping with special projects on a consulting basis. "I agreed," says Krause, who had spent 36 years with the firm. "It pays better."
That continuity is bringing Krause other advantages as well. In June, his wife died. As he adjusts to life as a widower, familiar faces at work, together with the satisfaction of productive activity, provide a measure of comfort.
"I've been told I can work as long under this arrangement as I want to, although each of us will have to reassess this from time to time to make sure that it makes sense for both parties," Krause says.
Cultural divide
Yet in many businesses, a sizable gap exists between what workers want and
what employers offer in terms of phased retirement opportunities.
"Some companies have absolutely no part-time culture," says Valerie Paganelli, a senior retirement consultant at Watson Wyatt in Seattle. "Employees are looking for part-time work, flexible hours and less responsibility. That can culturally be a hurdle for some organizations."
When Lee Shippy turned 62 nearly a decade ago, he faced mandatory retirement as a partner in RSM McGladrey in Crystal Lake, Ill. Unwilling to leave permanently, he arranged a phased retirement by reducing his salary and his hours.
Although he still puts in nearly 40 hours a week as a tax specialist, he feels far less pressure than he did as a partner. When the company finds a qualified replacement for him, he plans to reduce his hours further to pursue interests that include tennis, the arts and travel.
"I doubt that I'm going to get out of the business," Shippy says. "I've got a skill that is in somewhat short supply -- estate planning -- and I feel reluctant to step out and say I'm going to give up that skill. Right now it works well for all of us."
Finding ways for such programs to work well may be the order of the day for many businesses as the work force changes. "It's going to be very competitive out there," Challenger says. "More flexibility, more responsiveness to the kind of balance people want is fundamental to companies."
For Klein, phased retirement proved so successful that now, as a retiree, he is back at The Hartford, spending 20 hours a week on a four-month project. In his free time, he has taken sailing lessons. He also plans to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.
"You're not jumping into the cold ocean," he says of his move to ease into retirement. "You're putting in your toe, then your foot, then your leg, slowly."