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NCSU forestry professor elevated to department head
Barry Goldfarb, forestryGrower helps in leaf tests
Michael Boyette, biological and agricultural engineeringState's unemployment rate falls
Michael L. Walden, resource and agricultural economicsFIR SURE: N.C. tree to decorate White House
Earl Deal, a professor emeritus, College of Forest ResourcesCRC panel to get course in hurricanes
Ryan Boyles, state climatePeople
Edward T. Funkhouser, communication; Kenneth R. Swartzel, food scienceSAS swaps with N.C.
NCSU gets free lease on landState, SAS ravel land-swap deal
landState holdings in the Triangle
The state owns nearly 32,000 acres in the Triangle.Raleigh Wreck Kills NCSU Student
Two-Car Accident Happens On Avent Ferry, Near NCSU CampusFuneral Set For NCSU Student Killed In Weekend Wreck
Funeral Set For NCSU Student Killed In Weekend WreckMan killed, 3 hurt in Raleigh crash
A 23-year-old N.C. State University student was killed and three men were seriously injured early Saturday in a two-vehicle crash in West Raleigh.$20 million needed by city schools
Institute for Transportation Research and EducationBlack institutions serve as examples
African American Cultural CenterMagazine ranks top colleges
rankingsU.S. News Rates Duke Highest Among Area Universities
rankingsECU moves up in university ranking
rankingsMeredith welcomes freshmen to book club
First-Year CollegeMinority contractors securing campus jobs
bond construction work done by minority firmsCEO pumps WakeMed
He also approached North Carolina State University about working together to bring more leading-edge clinical technology into WakeMed.
UNCG's
enrollment pushing expansion efforts campuswide
UNCG's growth is behind NC State
'Idol'
hopefuls get an early start
NCSU student
Edwards
cheered upon arrival
Kerry/Edwards rally
Alabama
passes Auburn in rankings
rankings
Silencers
without guns
women's center
St.
Lucie scientific research school proposed
RTP
Piece
of state history: from drawer to display case
James E. Crisp, history
Obituary:
NCSU professor dies unexpectedly
Scott Chilton, 70, taught botany
NCSU forestry professor elevated to department head
Aug. 20, 2004
Triangle Business Journal
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
Barry Goldfarb, professor of forestry and director of the Loblolly and Slash Pine Rooted Cutting Program at North Carolina State University, has been named head of the Department of Forestry in the College of Natural Resources.
His appointment was effective Aug. 1.
The Department of Forestry has about 60 teaching, research and extension faculty; 250 undergraduate students and 100 graduate students.
Aug. 20, 2004
News 14 Carolina
By Tracey Early
© Copyright 2004
With North Carolina State University students back in school, Raleigh Police plan to increase patrols this weekend.
The past few years, police have cracked down on parties in west Raleigh, particularly in one popular hot spot, Brent Road.
But what about this year?
For many college students, the first weekend back at school means plenty of partying.
For Raleigh Police, it's something else.
Lt. Darrell Salmon said, "We are bringing in extra officers as, historically, we do have more parties on this weekend than normal and we'll have additional officers to respond as needed."
Five years ago, Brent Road would have been the place to be.
"Before it was like, lots of people, everybody drinking and the streets usually jammed packed. It's not as much fun now," said NCSU student Ran Sun.
The parties were so notorious, the City Council adopted a nuisance ordinance, giving police the authority to arrest party-goers for a range of bad behavior.
That and extra patrolling by officers seems to have wiped out Brent Road’s party days for good.
"As far as I know I haven't heard of anything,” Sun added.
Last year, Raleigh Police set up DUI checkpoints at several locations with over 100 officers on hand to control students.
Officers can't give details of their plans for Brent Road this weekend, but they do say they will cover all areas of the city.
“We'll have increased patrol throughout the entire city and Brent Road and west Raleigh will certainly be a part of that but we haven't heard of any Brent Road parties this year," Salmon explained.
Students haven't heard of any either, but they're staying clear of
the troubled party spot just in case.
John Hudson is also a student and knows about the parties.
" I'm on the swim team and my coach always tells us to stay away from this
road because of the cops."
Under the nuisance ordinance, police can give citations to anyone acting in a way that annoys or endangers the safety and health of a neighbor.
Aug. 20, 2004
News 14 Carolina
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
The country's top colleges and universities have been named.
U.S. News and World Report ranked Duke University fifth. Wake Forest came in 27th and UNC-Chapel Hill takes the 29th spot. N.C. State ranked 86.
Harvard and Princeton are tied for the best college in the country.
The magazine's list is based on graduation rates, faculty resources and the percentage of alumni who donate money to their alma mater.
For a complete list of all the rankings, click here.
Aug. 21-23, 2004
Associated Press; Charlotte Observer; News & Observer; WCNC; Wilmington Morning Star; Winston Salem Journal; WTVD; Charleston Post Courier, SC; WVEC, VA
By David Rice
© Copyright 2004
This year's tobacco crop is one of the best in years. And what is David Hinnant doing with 20,000 pounds of it? He's cutting it up before it's even cured.
"As far as the curing, I'm having no problems whatsoever," Hinnant said last week as migrant workers ran freshly harvested leaf through a chopper that cut it into 6-by-8-inch pieces before it went into his curing boxes.
"In the U.S., we're mechanized and we can do this," Hinnant said. "If we can maintain the quality, if it can save the manufacturer money, that makes our tobacco a better value for the dollar."
Hinnant is cooperating with researchers at N.C. State University in an experiment on his Wilson County farm to see what happens with leaf that is chopped before it is cured.
The method allows farmers to pack 30 percent to 50 percent more tobacco into a bulk barn and save 20 percent on fuel costs as they heat and dry the leaf, said Michael Boyette, an agricultural-engineering professor at N.C. State who is guiding the research.
U.S. tobacco farmers already grow the highest-quality leaf in the world. The aim of the experiment is to determine whether they can also produce lower-cost chopped leaf to compete with cheap foreign filler that is streaming into U.S. and world markets.
"We're trying to feed a part of the market where we know there's demand. It's just not what we're used to doing," said Boyette, who grew up on a tobacco farm near Wendell.
With the premium leaf that U.S. growers produce, "we tend to be up in the $2 (a pound) range, and the demand for tobacco is down in the $1, $1.25 area. We don't produce much of that," he said. "Where we ought to be is we ought to be talking about how to gain back market share."
Researchers have experimented since the 1970s with chopping tobacco before curing.
"Cutters are not rocket science. We're just making a salad," Boyette said. "I know very little Spanish, but very soon after we turned the cutter on the first time, the migrant workers were feeding it into the cutter and one of the first words I heard was 'ensalada.'
"Our strength is we know technology. We design machines. We build machines. So let's play to our strength," he said.
As U.S. tobacco growers struggle for market share against growers in other countries, he said, "they cannot compete with us on that basis.
"They're doing it the way we did it 30 years ago. We think that the real advantage that we have is mechanization."
The idea behind the chopping research is to position U.S. growers to compete internationally after the government eliminates the quota system that limits how much tobacco can be grown.
Until then, Boyette said, farmers aren't likely to use their limited tobacco quota to produce leaf that might sell for $1.20 a pound.
"If you've got a pound of quota, you want to sell it for as much as you can get for it," he said.
Current government grading standards also don't allow for chopped leaf, he said.
But if production limits disappear, he said, farmers could eventually use a practice known in Georgia and Florida as "ratooning" to grow two crops a year - a conventional crop followed by a second crop from a sucker growth that the farmer would leave on the plant after the first harvest.
"This second crop of tobacco is not as good as the first, but it's something we're going to investigate," Boyette said.
The farmer could use the equipment he already owns to cure both the first crop of premium leaf and the second crop of chopped leaf.
"They could address another market that's not being addressed currently by (U.S.) growers. So we're sort of expanding our market share without cannibalizing what we've got," he said.
The team from N.C. State is working with Philip Morris USA and Universal Leaf Tobacco Co. to run some of the experimental leaf through processing lines and see what smokers think when they sample it.
The researchers already know that chopped leaf has a slightly lower sugar content and a slightly higher starch content than conventional leaf after it is cured.
"We are trying to take it one step past the farm. We have a pretty good idea it will work on the farm. What we're trying to find out is whether it will work in the processing lines," Boyette said.
Players in the tobacco industry are anxious to see the outcome - and whether U.S. leaf can compete with foreign leaf that sells at substantially lower prices.
"You're looking at something that has a potential for replacing offshore tobacco," said Tommy Bunn, the executive vice president of the Leaf Tobacco Exporters Association. "If the cost of production is significantly reduced, you might be able to compete in that arena.
"This is at a stage now to see No. 1, if it's doable, and No. 2, if it produces a product that's acceptable to the industry," Bunn said.
George Scott, an agronomist at Universal Leaf, said that the company wants to evaluate the chopped leaf's overall quality, how it runs through processing lines, its chemistry and what smokers think of its flavor.
"A lot of our customers are aware of what we're doing and are intrigued," Scott said. "All of our customers that we've talked to about it are willing to evaluate it."
Hinnant has studied the chopped leaf after it emerges from his curing barns and compared it to his conventionally cured leaf.
"It looks good," he said. "I'm not sure looking at it, just by the appearance of it, that it doesn't look better than some of the unchopped."
Aug. 23, 2004
News & Observer
By DUDLEY PRICE
© Copyright 2004
The state and SAS Institute have completed a $15 million land swap that gives N.C. State University room to expand and adds 96 acres to the software company's sprawling Cary campus.
Before the Aug. 4 deal, SAS was already one of the Triangle's largest landowners, with 900 acres abutting Interstate 40 and North Harrison Avenue. About 200 acres of the SAS campus is developed, spokesman John Dornan said.
The 96-acre addition to SAS abuts Trenton Road and the SAS campus and had been used by NCSU as a research farm. Tommy Cline, the state's manager of general real estate, said SAS has leased the property back to NCSU at no charge for 10 years.
In return, Reedy Creek Investments, SAS's real estate subsidiary, swapped three separate parcels with a total value of $7.9 million to the state. The state received 1.44 acres adjacent to NCSU's College of Veterinary Medicine on Blue Ridge Road, a 2.15-acre tract next to the Raulston Arboretum off Beryl Road and 96.14 acres adjacent to the NCSU field laboratory on Lake Wheeler Road.
SAS would not discuss plans for its new acreage, but Cline said NCSU was happy to have land to expand.
"We wanted additional land at Lake Wheeler, and the land at the vet school is one of the few pieces of private property in that superblock," Cline said. The state land swapped to SAS had been appraised at $6 million, and the state paid the company another $1.3 million to even out the property values, Cline said.
SAS co-founder Jim Goodnight is a major financial backer of developers Tim Smith and Julian "Bubba" Rawl, who paid $14.5 million for 159 acres at I-40 and Wade Avenue a week after the land swap with the state was completed. The 159 acres are about a mile from the 96 acres SAS got in the swap.
Smith said Friday that he's still mulling plans for the 159 acres, but the 96 acres would not be included in the project.
Black institutions serve as examples
Aug. 22, 2004
News & Observer
By CINDY GEORGE
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH -- As Kenneth Zogry explained why volunteers in Raleigh are working so hard to preserve a lone house near the Raleigh Convention Center, he rattled off a list of unique artifacts found in the home.
Heads nodded and eyes widened Saturday afternoon as he talked about Manassa T. Pope, the prominent Raleigh physician who was the first black doctor licensed by the state.
But audible gasps ensued when he mentioned the most incredible find: Creased 1851 freedman's papers Pope's father carried with him to prove he was a free man of color in North Carolina. Without them, Jonas Pope could have been enslaved.
Technically, the Pope House on South Wilmington Street is not open to the public.
The Pope House Museum Foundation has not restored the house to circa 1919. Artifacts are assembled, not organized or on display.
But for this group -- and for the museum's curators -- this visit was a must.
The Association of African American Museums wrapped its conference in Raleigh on Saturday after four days of workshops, lectures and tours of the Triangle's museums and black historical sites.
More than 300 people converged on the Triangle and visited the African American Cultural Complex in Raleigh, Durham's Hayti Heritage Center, several state-owned museums and the Pope House, the state's only black family house museum.
Besides the area's draw of institutions, the Triangle boasts one of the most coveted black architects for museums and African-American cultural centers.
Phil Freelon and his firm, The Freelon Group, in Research Triangle Park, are designing the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco and a museum of Maryland black history under construction in Baltimore. Freelon's resume includes the African American Cultural Center at N.C. State University.
Friday night, convention attendees traveled to Raleigh's African American Cultural Complex to see "Amistad," its outdoor theater production.
"I think it's a wonderful thing. We've gone to so many museums since we've been here," said Earlice Taylor, 61, a professional singer who captured the oral history of her Memphis, Tenn., neighborhood and later had it listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Today, Taylor runs a historical society and community development corporation from her office in the Glenview Historic District in Memphis.
"We need more museums because nobody's going to tell the story as we've done," she said.
Attendees represented wide-ranging centers, including the National Cowboys of Color Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas; Greensboro's International Civil Rights Center and Museum, set to open February; and the proposed International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C.
Margaret Burroughs, considered the matriarch of the black museums movement in America, is still consulting folks about how to create their own institutions to black history.
A half-century ago, parents would often bring their children to the home of Burroughs and her husband, Charles, to see their personal collection of black artifacts. In 1961, the couple founded Chicago's DuSable Museum of African American History -- the first black history museum in the country.
Now director emerita of the museum and in her late 80s, Burroughs remains a guiding force for the Association of African American Museums, which she helped start in 1967.
She attended Saturday's opening of the new stand-alone Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Four decades after DuSable was founded, there are about 125 black museums and black cultural buildings -- many of them institutions that capture the local black history of hamlets across the country.
"The main thing is that we're having more museums devoted to black history and culture," said Burroughs, who is also an artist.
In Washington, there are plans for a National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial.
"I think it's very important because our history has been left out of the history books," said Hana Stith, 75, a retired teacher who attended the conference. She founded the African/African-American Historical Society Museum in Fort Wayne, Ind., which opened in 2000 to preserve the black history of that city and northeastern Indiana. "Our history is not taught. Our history is not known."
The story of Manassa Pope, who ran for Raleigh mayor in 1919, bridges the historical and political gaps in North Carolina's black history between the Civil War and the modern civil rights movement.
"The only reason we have been able to put it back together is because this house survives," Zogry said.
Minority contractors securing campus jobs
Aug. 21, 2004
Durham Herlad-Sun
By ERIC FERRERI
© Copyright 2004
CHAPEL HILL -- Quintin Munn knows the construction business is all about relationships.
He tries not to let it bother him too much, even if, as the owner of a small, relatively new subcontracting business, he's an outsider.
Complicating matters, Munn is black. Firms run by minorities traditionally have struggled to secure work in the ultra-competitive construction business.
That's why Munn saw the 2000 voter approval of the state's higher education bond program as a bright beacon of hope for his firm and many like it. The program promised $3.1 billion in new construction for the state's public universities and community colleges, and its proponents stressed the economic impact it would have on the state's minority construction firms.
Four years later, the state's college campuses are tangled knots of activity. Classrooms are being renovated, performance halls updated, dormitories outfitted with the latest bells and whistles.
The frenzy is just what UNC system officials hoped to create with their chunk of the public money, $2.5 billion in all. Their forecast called for a wholesale rejuvenation of the 16-campus system's infrastructure, and the program is well on its way.
But how much of the construction is finding its way to the minority firms so hopeful for a piece of the prosperity?
To Munn, whose Raleigh firm does drywalling, floors and telecommunications installation, progress has been slow. It's still a bit difficult, he said, to cultivate the sorts of working relationships with university officials and general contractors needed to secure steady UNC business.
"Yes, there's an old boy network. People tend to favor people they know," Munn said recently. "I understand their position. But when I look at the whole pie, there's so much money with the bond [program], there's enough to share and nobody would get hurt. It's a little disheartening at times."
A Herald-Sun review of bond program data, coupled with interviews with construction firms, subcontractors, university system and campus officials, suggests mixed results of how much sharing is happening.
By state law, the university system doesn't have to meet specific goals of how much work goes to specific minority groups. Instead, it has to meet an overall goal of 10 percent participation by minority firms. That participation can come from firms owned by blacks, Hispanics, Asian-Americans and women. A fifth category, socially and economically disadvantaged firms, is factored in as well.
Taken as a whole, the UNC system has exceeded its goal, with 14.24 percent of all bond construction work thus far done by minority firms, according to the most recent report.
But most of the bond program work secured by minority firms is in the subcontracting realm; relatively few general contracts have been awarded to companies run by blacks or other minorities. Some minority firms believe they can handle entire, large-scale projects; others acknowledge they have size and scope limitations that restrict them to electrical, flooring, tiling or other subcontracting work.
And some black contractors say the university hasn't done enough to send work their way.
According to the data, black firms have done $50.1 million in work on bond programs on UNC campuses. That represents 3.53 percent of the more than $1.4 billion in contracts awarded thus far.
The numbers vary from campus to campus. N.C. Central University boasts the highest black participation rate, at 13.1 percent. UNC Wilmington comes in at the bottom. The $9,485 it has paid to black contractors is less than 0.1 percent of its total.
At UNC Chapel Hill, black firms have done about 3.5 percent of the total bond program work. But that total, $14.4 million, is sizable enough to account for nearly 30 percent of all work done by black firms across the state university system.
In all, UNC Chapel Hill will spend about $510 million on bond program construction, about 20 percent of the university system's total.
"We have worked very hard in the bond program to increase minority participation in our construction," said Jeff Davies, vice president of finance for the UNC system. "We believe we're on the right trajectory, though I don't think anyone is comfortable enough to say we're where we want to be."
Developing relationships
With November 2000's successful statewide referendum on the bond program, campuses quickly began bustling with activity that continues to this day.
On campuses like UNC Chapel Hill, the construction program has become a happy hindrance. Work has progressed at a breakneck pace, snarling traffic, rerouting pedestrian walkways and filling the air with the less-than-melodic strains of jackhammers.
As construction began, system officials looked for ways to get more minority businesses involved, with a particular emphasis on black-owned companies. Each UNC campus hired a historically underutilized business -- or "HUB" -- coordinator to act as its liaison to the minority business community.
At NCCU, HUB director Tammie Hall spends a good deal of her time meeting with minority subcontractors. Through these one-on-one visits, Hall said she can get a sense of what each firm can do. That way, when a project is under way and the general contractor needs a specialty skill, she can act as an intermediary.
"It's all about developing relationships," Hall said. "It's the only way of knowing who's capable and who's serious."
At UNC Chapel Hill, HUB coordinator Garland Burton thinks the bond program has aided minority involvement by helping contractors understand the intricacies of state construction.
A licensed general contractor himself, Burton has created an extensive database of black and Hispanic companies and their strengths, and spends a great deal of his time helping firms gain the expertise they need to compete in the marketplace.
"I think it's going extraordinarily well," Burton said, noting Carolina's bond projects and overall construction program. "[But] we've got more projects than we have skilled, trained people to do them."
To that end, the UNC system has held workshops across the state for contractors and subcontractors to disperse information about getting university work. The most recent, a series of classes for business owners, was designed to help them with the technical aspects of securing state construction work.
On Tuesday evenings this summer, minority contractors filled an N.C. State classroom to learn about blueprint-reading, equal opportunity employment law, financial management, estimating, legal issues and other potential stumbling blocks.
Created as a pilot program, the Contractor Business Academy has proven popular enough that UNC officials hope to duplicate it in other regions of the state.
Munn, the Raleigh subcontractor, is enrolled in the course and is eager to gain a better understanding of the skills it will take to get steady university business.
"For a small business, it's very hard to compete with the larger firms," he said. "I need as much instruction and knowledge as I can get in terms of making myself more competitive."
Opportunity knocking?
So is the UNC system doing all it can to help minority construction firms? It depends on whom you ask.
Donnell Thompson is the head of a Chapel Hill-based general contracting company. A UNC Chapel Hill alumnus and former football star there, Thompson believes black contractors aren't getting a large enough slice of the massive amount of business generated by the ongoing UNC system bond program.
As proof, he points to the system's numbers -- 3.53 percent of its total business to black firms and a nearly identical percentage of the work at his alma mater.
Thompson, who has done work at several UNC campuses and was the general contractor on a recent mold-removal project at NCCU, believes the UNC system can do more to help minority firms. He doesn't want a handout, he says -- just the same chance as larger, more established firms.
In particular, he points to smaller-scale construction projects, both in the university's bond program and outside of it, that come in at $300,000 or less. The UNC system, Thompson said, should work harder to help minority firms get those projects, since the smaller size makes them more manageable for smaller companies.
"Construction is about relationships as much as it is about doing the job," he said. "We're not saying 'give me' anything. We're saying, 'Give me an opportunity.' "
Six UNC bond projects worth $300,000 or less were won by black general contractors, according to university system records. Of those, five were North Carolina firms, scattered from Elizabeth City to Winston-Salem.
Some other black contractors feel the university has done more than enough to get minority firms involved.
Calvin Brodie, a general contractor based in Raleigh, falls at that end of the spectrum. If anything, the university system, through its academy and other outreach efforts, has offered too much help and advice, said Brodie, who has done masonry work on a number of university projects.
"I think they do a lot," he said. "The stuff they're doing -- I feel the contractor should go out and do for himself."
UNC officials say they've done plenty to encourage minority participation. They point to the work they do to help minority firms through prequalification, a process used to winnow the field of potential bidders on complex projects.
Once prequalified, a firm is free to bid on a project. At UNC Chapel Hill, officials say they encourage minority firms to apply for this prequalification status, and often help them through the process.
But often, that isn't enough, said Burton, the HUB coordinator on the Chapel Hill campus.
One recent example: UNC Chapel Hill was offering an $800,000 "general trades" project as part of a massive science complex currently under construction. The project called for a variety of miscellaneous jobs, such as bolting down chairs in an auditorium and pouring concrete for Dumpster pads in loading zones.
Six minority firms were among those prequalified for the job; just one actually placed a bid. That firm won the job. But Burton was left shaking his head, frustrated that five other minority firms passed on the opportunity to compete for the work.
"The doors are open," he said. "We're trying to recruit African-American [firms]."
The UNC system also has fostered mentoring relationships between small companies and some of the larger ones to help small firms gain a foothold in the business, said Kevin MacNaughton, a capital projects specialist at UNC Chapel Hill.
"If a contractor is eager and interested, they're given the opportunity," MacNaughton said. "I don't see anyone playing favorites."
$20 million needed by city schools
Aug. 22, 2004
Asheboro Courier Tribune
By Kathi Keys
© Copyright 2004
ASHEBORO - Asheboro City Schools' facility needs are estimated at nearly $20 million over the next seven years for additions and/or renovations at existing schools, most of which are now at or nearing capacity.
The figure does not include any new schools which may be needed over the same period.
"This is not the final dollar figure," pointed out architect John Sinnett of Smith Sinnett Associates in his presentation to the Asheboro City Board of Education Saturday at its fall retreat held at South Asheboro Middle School.
He gave the board a preliminary look at the comprehensive long-range facilities plan which the Raleigh firm is developing.
The long-range plan will include information from the Operations Research/Education (OR/Ed) Laboratory at the Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) at N.C. State University.
OR/Ed will provide data about student enrollment forecasting to determine future attendance boundaries and where new schools may be needed through 2011.
This data, for inclusion in the plan, is not expected to be available until later in September - after student enrollment figures from the 20th day of the new school year which is Sept. 14.
City school officials have previously informed the Randolph County Board of Commissioners of the need for $9.7 million over the next five years for future construction costs, but noted that their priorities could change once the board receives the long-range plan.
School board members were told Saturday that county commissioners are scheduled to address the best financing route to take - a bond issue or Certificates of Participation (COPS) - for local school needs at their Sept. 7 regular meeting. Asheboro Board Chairman Chris Yow urged fellow members to attend the session.
Information presented at Saturday's retreat showed that the city school district is limited in expansion of present facilities.
Three schools are at or over capacity - Balfour Elementary (98.05 percent capacity), North Asheboro Middle (104.39 percent) and Asheboro High (105.92 percent). All three sites have the potential for additions and/or renovations which account for an estimated $13.5 million of the nearly $20 million figure. Balfour currently has three mobile units.
Three elementary schools and the second middle school do not have space for major additions - Charles W. McCrary (at 94.40 percent capacity), Donna Lee Loflin (91.11 percent), Lindley Park (74.51 percent) and South Asheboro Middle (93.85 percent). Lindley Park has some present capacity for growth; there are three mobile units at McCrary this year. Renovations and/or additions at these four facilities total more than $3.4 million.
One elementary school has space to grow, Guy B. Teachey (85.35 percent capacity). Additions at that school are estimated at more than $3 million.
In talking about possible additions at Teachey, Sinnett said a new multi-purpose room could be constructed there, accessible to the parking area and the community.
"Schools have to be more than just schools today. When it costs $8-$10 million per addition, you've got to have support of the community and get dual use of a school so it truly belongs to the neighborhood."
The nearly $20 million in possible additions and/or renovations would provide capacity for an additional 600 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The capacity figures are based on students in typical classroom settings and do not include provisions for programs such as Title I reading and English as a Second Language which are in small group settings.
Not addressed thus far is use of the Early Childhood Development Center, the former Balfour School, now being used for pre-kindergarten classes and the alternative school for middle and high school students.
Also, during his presentation, Sinnett said the school district "is approaching the point where eventually there will have to be a new school."
Asheboro's previous estimate of $9.7 million in projects identified for the next five years includes additions at Teachey and NAMS as well as funds for infrastructure needs such as roofs and parking lots.
Asheboro Superintendent Dr. Diane Frost gave the board an update in 2004-05 school year enrollment figures which, as of Friday, the fourth day of school, was at 4,481, compared to a projected membership of 4,524. She expects more students to report.
There's been growth at Balfour and Lindley Park, in addition to Asheboro High which has experienced the largest increase and was at an enrollment of 1,302 as of Friday.
Raleigh Wreck Kills NCSU Student
Aug. 21, 2004
WRAL-TV
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Just three days into the semester, students at North Carolina State University are mourning the death of a popular sophomore and hanging on for news of three others injured in an overnight car accident.
From the looks of the cars involved, it was hard to believe anyone survived the terrible crash.
"It sounded like a bomb when they crashed," said John Gentry, who lives near the scene of the wreck on Avent Ferry Road.
The fatality was identified as N.C. State student Brandon Sova, 19, of Clayton.
Investigators said it appeared one of the cars was going too fast around a curve.
According to Raleigh police, the wreck occurred at 1:58 a.m. in the 2600 block of Avent Ferry Road, near the intersection of Chappell Drive. Two vehicles were involved, a 1994 Chevrolet Camaro and 1999 Honda CRV.
The Camaro was driven by Victor Rivera, 21, of Clayton, and was occupied by three passengers: Sova, 20-year-old Troy Bradshaw, of Rose Hill, and 20-year-old Bruce Chipa, of Clayton.
Sova, who had been riding in the front passenger seat, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Honda was driven by 22-year-old Michael Bryan Keadle, of Raleigh.
Rivera was treated at WakeMed and released. Bradshaw and Chipa were in critical condition, Keadle in fair condition.
Bradshaw and Chipa also are students at NCSU.
The accident remains under investigation. No charges have been filed at this point.
When the sun came up, Sova's cousin, Trent, came to see the scene for himself.
"He had everything going for him, great in school, anything pretty much you could want your cousin or your son to be," Trent said.
Sova, majoring in computer engineering, was a 2003 graduate of Clayton High School.
"There's a lot of memories," Trent Sova said. "And that's what brings me to tears, just knowing there was so many."
Sova's friends at N.C. State also are trying to remember the good times. RA's broke the news to students in the dorm where Sova lived.
"It was just shocking," student Brandt Morrow said. "I mean, we were just out here playing football with him yesterday."
Said another friend, Stephanie Canady: "Everybody's just really upset and just truly taken back."
Canaday also went to high school with Sova.
"Every time I saw him, even at State, he would always stop to ask me how my day was and how I was doing," she said. "A lot of people will be feeling a tremendous loss from this."
Counselors from N.C. State spent the day with friends and family at WakeMed as they waited for word on the other students involved. They also will be on campus to help students make sense of it all.
State's unemployment rate falls
Aug. 21, 2004
News & Observer
By AMY MARTINEZ
© Copyright 2004
Hiring remained strong in North Carolina last month even as it virtually stopped elsewhere, marking the sixth straight month of job growth and providing new evidence that the state's economic recovery is well under way.
North Carolina employers added 8,200 jobs in July, mainly because of growth in health care, construction and manufacturing, state economic leaders said Friday.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell half of a percentage point to 5 percent, its lowest level since April 2001. Nationally, unemployment was 5.5 percent in July, and employers added just 32,000 jobs, the smallest increase since December.
Economists said North Carolina benefits from a diverse economy that is growing across nearly all business sectors and does not show any sign of letting up. They said North Carolina's textile mills and apparel factories will continue to lay off workers amid foreign competition, but gains in sectors such as technology, health care and financial services will more than make up for them.
"The state economy really appears to be on solid footing," said Mike Helmar, who follows North Carolina for Economy.com in West Chester, Pa.
Only three states had bigger job gains in July. Maryland led with 11,800 new jobs, followed by Massachusetts, up 11,600, and Washington, up 8,600. Economists said Friday's report from the N.C. Employment Security Commission offers more proof that the economic recovery is gaining momentum.
"This should give people without work hope that the jobs engine in North Carolina is really cranked up," said Michael L. Walden, an economist at N.C. State University.
Still, July's job growth was down from June's gain of 11,600, according to the Employment Security Commission. The agency had reported 35,400 new jobs in June but revised that figure downward to adjust for seasonal variations in government employment, which tends to fluctuate at this time of year.
Also, about 8,070 people dropped out of the labor force in July, suggesting that some job seekers gave up. The labor force includes people with jobs as well as those actively looking for jobs. "We'd like to see that number go up as we pull discouraged workers back in," Walden said.
North Carolina was one of 22 states where joblessness declined last month, led by a 0.6 percentage point drop in South Carolina. Joblessness rose in 18 states and remained the same in 10.
North Carolina has now added 57,300 jobs this year, sixth-best in the nation. California boasts 96,000 new jobs for the year, the most of any state. Next is Florida, with 85,700 new jobs, followed by Texas, 74,400; Virginia, 72,600; and Wisconsin, 63,900.
A year ago, North Carolina had 6.6 percent joblessness and was struggling with 5,000 layoffs at Pillowtex, the Kannapolis textile maker that filed for bankruptcy July 30, 2003.
Job gains in other parts of the economy have helped lift North Carolina out of its worst downturn in at least two decades. The professional and business services sector has added 23,200 jobs since the first of the year. Educational and health services is up 12,200 jobs.
Only manufacturing is down this year. Since January, the state has lost 3,000 manufacturing jobs, fifth-worst in the nation.
"Certainly, the manufacturing sector remains somewhat in transition. Undoubtedly, there will be more announcements of layoffs," said Ray Owens, an economist with the Federal Reserve in Richmond, Va. "But to a greater extent, those are being offset by announcements of plant openings and expansions."
Cree, the Durham semiconductor company, said last week it will expand its manufacturing plant near Research Triangle Park, creating 300 jobs. The announcement was seen as a major victory for a state that has lost more than 40,000 jobs to foreign competition since 1998.
On Jan. 1, the United States is scheduled to eliminate all quotas on textile imports, exposing North Carolina's textile mills and apparel factories to more competition. By the end of this month, Sara Lee Branded Apparel will have shed 200 jobs in Asheboro to prepare for an onslaught of inexpensive imports.
"It's just amazing what's being shifted overseas. Long-term, the trend does not look good," said John Yarboro, director of government relations for the 2,500-member Employers Coalition of North Carolina.
"But some manufacturers are doing well," he said. "Those who are engaged in niche markets and haven't felt the strain of foreign price wars are OK."
ECU moves up in university ranking
Aug. 21, 2004
Greenville Daily Reflector
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
East Carolina University has moved up to the third tier of national doctoral universities in the latest annual rankings compiled by U.S. News & World Report.
ECU is one of 248 universities nationwide listed in the national doctoral category compiled by the magazine based on the strength and breadth of doctoral and research programs.
The university was first included in this group in 2001 and was in the fourth tier last year.
Other universities in North Carolina in the doctoral group are University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Duke, N.C. State and UNC-Greensboro.
"It's nice to move up on a list, but our focus is always on what we add to the student experience once they arrive on the campus," Chancellor Steve Ballard said. "Student success is central to our values and what we want to be measured by."
Many of the U.S. News rankings are in issues of the magazine available on newsstands Aug. 23.
FIR SURE: N.C. tree to decorate White House
Aug. 21, 2004
Winston-Salem Journal
By Monte Mitchell
© Copyright 2004
LAUREL SPRINGS
Whether the president of the United States hails from Texas or Massachusetts in 2005, the Christmas tree will be from North Carolina.
Earl and Betsy Deal, and their son Buddy, of Smokey Holler Tree Farm, earned the right to take a tree to the White House by entering another tree into competition at the recent convention of the National Christmas Tree Association in Lake Harmony, Pa.
"It's a real honor, something we've dreamed about for 30 years," Earl Deal said.
The Deals used a refrigerator truck to take their entry, a Fraser fir, to Pennsylvania. Judges there narrowed the field, then the 1,000 or so farmers at the convention voted on the winners. The family's first-place finish gave them the right to take a tree to the White House this year or next.
They choose 2005 to allow more time for a tree to grow to the 181/2 feet required by the high ceiling of the Blue Room. The Deals have a particular tree in mind for the White House, a Fraser fir that is now growing in a field above their home in Alleghany County. The family crowded into an extended-cab four-wheel-drive pickup yesterday and bounced along a steep, rutted dirt track to reach the tree. The nose of the truck seemed as if it was pointing straight up.
"This might be the tree right here," said Buddy Deal, pointing to the 16-foot-tall tree, already full and well-shaped.
"To me, a beautiful tree has branches for the ornaments," he said.
They believe that selecting a dense tree that had been pruned only lightly for a natural look was the key to their winning entry.
Buddy Deal said that he looked at about 200,000 of the farm's 500,000 trees before selecting a top 12. A committee from the N.C. Christmas Tree Association helped grade the trees before the family selected the one for the contest.
The contest judges considered density of foliage, uniformity of branches, taper and other factors on a 200-point scale. The Deals never found out their score, but they heard them call out the winners. The second-place finisher, from Washington state, will take a tree to the White House this year because the Deals chose to go next year.
North Carolina last placed a tree in the White House in 1997.
The Deals had given special attention to growing some trees for the contest, but they found that the pick of the lot came from the ones treated like all the others.
"You never know how a tree's going to grow," Earl Deal said. "The Lord managed these."
The winning tree sits on their porch, with a blue ribbon in its branches. They plan to keep it green as long as possible.
Earl Deal, a professor emeritus from N.C. State University's College of Forest Resources, tended Christmas trees as a hobby until taking a full-time approach in 1998.
He and some partners bought some trees on the farm, but not the land, in 1972. It was a foggy day when they walked deep into a hollow to see the trees.
"In that fog, they all looked beautiful," he said. "When we came back, the sun was out. We realized we'd bought a lot of work."
But the foggy hollow gave them the name, Smokey Holler Farm.
They stayed in a nearby campground in those days. They acquired land, and houses, and more land. Deal eventually bought out his partners.
The farm is about 500 acres now. All but only a quarter of that is suitable for growing Christmas trees.
The fields have such names as Sheep Dip, Cullen's Corner, Earl's Defeat, Ty's Agony and Chuck's Mistake, many of the names reflecting the friends and students who helped over the years.
The field where the potential White House tree has been growing has been commonly referred to as Above the Shed, although its new status in the world now has the family calling it the more elegant Smokey Holler Homeplace field.
Earl Deal is a Democrat but said that he would still be happy for the tree to go to a Bush White House.
"It doesn't matter," he said. "Whichever person is there, I would be glad for them to have the tree because we view it as a gift to the nation, not just to the president."
UNCG's enrollment pushing expansion efforts campuswide
Aug. 21, 2004
Triad Business Journal; MSNBC
By Mick Normington
© Copyright 2004
GREENSBORO -- As UNC-Greensboro welcomes a record 15,000 students this week, the Triad's largest university is looking beyond its busy campus for room to grow further.
advertisement
"
UNCG will need to grow its off-campus enrollments at a faster pace than on-campus
enrollments due to anticipated classroom space limitations," said Provost
Ed Uprichard.
While most of the Triad's 11 four-year colleges are also experiencing record enrollment, this is a key year at UNCG due to the combination of more students, more doctoral programs, more construction, more employees and more pay for those employees.
First, the university has topped the 15,000 student milestone a couple years ahead of schedule thanks to another 2 percent boost in enrollment this fall. By comparison, N.C. A&T State University is the next largest Triad university with nearly 10,000 students this fall.
Uprichard's office had anticipated 15,000 on campus and another 2,000 off campus by 2008 UNCG, but those numbers now will have to be revised up.
Enrollment increases in recent years were fueled by more graduate and adult students who had either lost their jobs or felt they were underemployed and decided to return to school, school officials said. That scenario is changing this fall.
"It's less and less the economy driving enrollment," said Jim Black, UNCG's associate provost of enrollment.
For example, graduate student enrollment is down 2 percent while freshman enrollment is up 6 percent.
The rise in traditional students (ages 18-24) is being driven by a more aggressive marketing plan to high school seniors and transfer students, most of whom were signed up for their core classes in March and April with their friends. Of those students who signed up for class, 94 percent arrived on campus this week, Black said.
Post-graduate degrees
UNCG is also starting four new doctoral programs this fall and has more in
the pipeline to meet Chancellor Patricia Sullivan's goals of becoming a nationally
recognized research university, while still maintaining its traditional focus
on teaching.
A new vision statement more than a year in the making seeks to strike that balance as UNCG now describes itself as "a diverse, student-centered research university, linking the Triad and North Carolina to the world through learning, discovery and service."
UNCG is also starting new doctorate degrees in economics, geography, history and specialized education. This gives the university 19 doctoral programs with plans already under way to add Ph.D. programs in nursing, public health, biological sciences, computer science and dance.
The schools' first full-time master of business administration class arrived on campus last week with 32 students. The Bryan School of School of Business and Economics has 309 part-time MBA students but decided to design the full-time day program around young people who just got their undergraduate college degree and are looking for more business training.
While MBA programs at Wake Forest University, Elon University and High Point University are targeting experienced business people, this new effort at UNCG has students with an average age of 23 and will be one of a series of specialized business training programs the Bryan School is rolling out, said Sheldon Balbirer, MBA director.
He's working on an MBA programs that specialize in gerontology and health care next.
Construction spending
This summer marks the halfway point in construction projects from the 2000
UNC System bond issue. UNCG has $73 million in construction projects underway,
highlighted by the new 86,000-square-foot Hall for Humanities and Research
Administration as well as the 99,000-square-foot Studio Art Center. Both
are expected to be open by summer 2006. UNCG has another $79 million of construction
projects in the planning stage for the next two years.
UNCG's spending got a boost this summer thanks to additional money from the state. After four years of pay freezes or cuts, UNCG got approval for 99 new positions and extra pay. That means the university saw its payroll grow by 12 percent this summer to 2,346 faculty and staff. And each of its employees is getting at least a $1,000 raise this year.
The enrollment growth will soon push more classes and programs off campus. Now with $4 million from the state, UNCG and A&T are starting to develop their Joint Millennial Campus at Summit Avenue and N.C. 29 northwest of the city. Uprichard said that by next fall the new research park campus will house new programs including a Training and Development Institute, a Transportation Logistics Cluster center, and the National Centers for Design.
With 15,000 students, UNCG is now the among the five largest universities in North Carolina, behind N.C. State, East Carolina University, UNC-Chapel Hill and as large at UNC-Charlotte.
"Having the major universities in our community is critical," said Dan Lynch, senior vice president of the Greensboro Economic Development Partnership. "They're knowledge manufacturers."
This summer a company approached Lynch's office to inquire about moving operations to the Triad. The company wanted to talk to UNCG, A&T and Wake Forest about supplying college graduates as workers as well as continuing education classes for company managers. The unnamed company continued discussions with UNCG, Lynch said.
State, SAS ravel land-swap deal
Aug. 22, 2004
Triangle Business Journal; MSNBC
By Amanda Jones
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH - In a real estate
transaction that rivals calculus in its complexity, three of the largest
landowners in the Triangle - including the state of North
Carolina and SAS Institute - have engineered a $22 million deal that gives
SAS virtual control of more than 250 acres between its campus and the RBC Center.
And according to property records, at least two of those deals, which involved
land swaps, leasebacks and cash payments, were all consummated within one
week with predetermined prices and handshake agreements.
"When you work for government, you have to be inventive and creative sometimes," says Joe Henderson, director of the state Property Office.
Henderson's staff negotiated a $6 million land swap for almost $8 million in property that had been acquired by SAS' real estate subsidiary, Reedy Creek Investments LLC.
The state did pay about $1.3 million in cash to Reedy Creek, but in the end, SAS' Reedy Creek Investments took a $586,500 loss, according to data from property deeds filed with Wake County.
That deal closed only one week before Cary real estate partners Tim Smith and Bubba Rawl bought 159 acres adjacent to the RBC Center for $14.5 million from the state. Much of the financial backing behind Smith and Rawl's land buys come from SAS founder Jim Goodnight and other SAS executives.
Henderson insists that it was "pure coincidence" that the same group of investors were involved in both deals and that the Reedy Creek negotiation was more of a scratch-my-back-and-I'll-scratch-yours kind of deal.
"Reedy Creek said you have something we want, we can get something you've been wanting," Henderson says.
Here's how the deal played out:
The state agreed to pay about $1.3 million to Reedy Creek to even out the property values, Henderson says. SAS agreed to lease the land back to the university at no charge.
Originally, Colonial Properties Trust of Birmingham, Ala., had been negotiating to buy the 159 acres at the intersection of I-40 and Wade Avenue. Colonial had already pushed through site-plan approvals that included more than 1 million square feet of offices, retail, housing and a hotel. It had also offered a $14.5 million price tag to the state of North Carolina for the property.
But, when the Triangle's commercial real estate activity languished, Colonial decided to cut its losses and allow the contract with the state to expire. Henderson says Tim Smith's group contacted him shortly thereafter to put the property under contract again last April. That purchase deal closed Aug. 12, Smith says.
Joe Lee of Raleigh says he had started land trade talks with the state seven years ago after Hurricane Fran came through and wiped out most of the trees on his land in southwest Raleigh. He and his wife, Hannah Lee, decided they would rather sell it to the university for research purposes since the 95-acre property was already surrounded by Finley Farms, one of the university's largest agriculture research properties.
But Lee and the state could never come to terms on price for the property. Over the years, Lee says, residential developers would knock on his door offering a price, but he always refused. "I wanted the state college to have it," he says, adding, "We didn't want to mess up the land with a bunch of houses."
Funeral Set For NCSU Student Killed In Weekend Wreck
Aug. 22, 2004
WRAL-TV
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Funeral arrangments have been finalized for a North Carolina State University student killed in a car accident.
Brandon Sova was killed in an early-morning accident Saturday on Avent Ferry Road in Raleigh.
Visitation will take place Monday night from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. at the McLaurin Funeral Home in Clayton.
The funeral will be Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the funeral home.
As for the others involved in the accident, Troy Bradshaw and Bruce Chipa, are in critical condition. Michael Keadle is in fair condition.
Man killed, 3 hurt in Raleigh crash
Aug. 22, 2004
News & Observer
By THOMASI MCDONALD
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH -- A 23-year-old N.C. State University student was killed and three men were seriously injured early Saturday in a two-vehicle crash in West Raleigh.
Brandon Lee Sova of 1012 Melville Lane in Clayton was pronounced dead at the scene. He was a front-seat passenger in one of the cars at the time of the crash, authorities reported.
Sova, an honors graduate of Clayton High School, was a sophomore computer sciences major at NCSU, according to the university's Web site.
The wreck occurred just before 2 a.m. in the 2600 block of Avent Ferry Road near Chappell Drive, the Raleigh Police Department said in a news release.
Authorities say a 1994 Chevrolet Camaro and 1999 Honda CRV collided at the intersection. According to emergency reports, all five victims were pinned as a result of the crash.
Sova was a passenger in the Camaro, driven by Victo Ernesto Rivera, 20, of 101 N. Nickal Way in Clayton. The passengers in the vehicle were identified as Troy Joseph Bradshaw, 20, of 104 N. Newton St. in Rose Hill and Bruce Chipa, 20, of 678 Jack Road in Clayton.
Bradshaw and Chipa also are students at NCSU, according to the university's student directory. Bradshaw is a junior physics major. Chipa, a graduate of Clayton High School and a junior computer sciences major, was named to NCSU's dean's list in May.
Bradshaw and Chipa were rear-seat passengers in Rivera's vehicle, authorities reported.
The Honda was driven by Michael Bryan Keadle, 21, of 1018 Sandlin Place, Apt. D in Raleigh.
Bradshaw, Chipa and Keadle were transported to WakeMed. Their conditions were not released, but Richard Chipa, 35, of Clayton said his brother and Bradshaw were in WakeMed's intensive care unit Saturday. He said Bruce Chipa was in a coma.
Police estimated damage to the Camaro at $6,000 and to the Honda at $9,000.
The accident remained under investigation. No charges had been filed Saturday.
(Staff writer Winston Cavin contributed to this report.)
CRC panel to get course in hurricanes
Aug. 23, 2004
Jacksonville Daily News; New Bern Sun Journal
By PATRICIA SMITH
© Copyright 2004
MOREHEAD CITY - How do hurricanes form? What kind of impacts can they have? Why are they so difficult to forecast?
The State Climate Offices plans to answer such questions when members meet this week in Raleigh with a committee from the Coastal Resources Commission.
"Think of it as Hurricanes 101 for committee members," said Ryan Boyles, associate state climatologist with the office at North Carolina State University.
Additionally, the State Climate Office will explain its duties to the CRC's Planning and Special Issues Committee.
The State Climate Office is a public service center that provides local weather and climate information beyond the forecasts people get from local broadcasters and the National Weather Service, Boyles said.
It works with state agencies to determine how climate change might affect agriculture, water resources and other environmental conditions. It works with emergency management services to predict inland damage from tropical storms.
And because the office can make use of graduate students in the university's earth- and life-sciences programs, it can quickly turn around research requests on the frequency of tornadoes, for example, or how often hurricanes make landfall, Boyles said.
An overview from the N.C. Division of Public Health on harmful algal blooms is also on the P&S Committee agenda.
The full commission will hear a presentation from N.C. Sea Grant scientist Spencer Rogers on how the beach works and a discussion from Robin Smith, assistant secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, on adoption and implementation of the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan.
The CRC Implementation and Standards Committee will continue a discussion on enforcement of variances to shoreline buffer rules that required the installation stormwater-retention systems.
The CRC meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the Sheraton Capital Center hotel in Raleigh. Committee meetings begin at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday.
The CRC Advisory Council will meet at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the same hotel.
Aug. 22, 2004
News 14 Charlotte; Associated Press; Charlotte Observer; News & Observer; WCNC; Wilmington Morning Star; Winston Salem Journal; WVEC, VA
By TIM WHITMIRE
© Copyright 2004
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards was welcomed by raucous cheers Saturday night when he made a surprise stop at a competition of marching bands from historically black colleges.
Making his first campaign visit to heavily Republican Charlotte since being named John Kerry's vice presidential nominee in early July, the North Carolina senator was introduced to about 6,000 spectators braving a steady rain in a football stadium by nationally syndicated radio personality Tom Joyner.
"It is good to be home. I heard this event was going on. I had to come by and say hello," Edwards said from the 50-yard line of Memorial Stadium.
Joyner, who hosted the event, indicated there was a surprise guest after a police motorcade, lights flashing, pulled into the stadium parking lot. The radio host warmed up the crowd with criticism of President Bush's narrow victory in 2000 and war in Iraq.
"He stole the election in Florida (in 2000), sending our boys and girls to die in Iraq," Joyner said. "Bush has got to go. We can get him out in 2004."
He introduced Edwards and the two walked together to the microphone.
"With your help, come November, John Kerry and I will do better for America," Edwards said. "Tonight, enjoy, celebrate. But get ready to work between now and November to build an America that all of us are proud of."
The competition pitted marching bands from Albany State, Bethune-Cookman, Miles College, South Carolina State and North Carolina A&T. Some proceeds from ticket sales went to Joyner's foundation, which helps students attending historically black colleges and universities.
Earlier, Edwards was greeted upon arriving at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport by a veterans group and the top managers of the city's expansion NBA team. Charlotte Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff and team president and CEO Ed Tapscott presented Edwards with the orange jersey to be worn for road games and unveiled Saturday. It was customized with Edwards' name and the numbers "04" on the back.
Also greeting Edwards were Charlotte's mayor pro tem Patrick Cannon and Rev. Claude Alexander of University Park Baptist Church, one of Charlotte's best known black religious leaders. Edwards will attend services Sunday morning at Alexander's church.
The North Carolina senator also plans to hold a front-porch session in suburban McAdenville before traveling to Milwaukee, Wisc., for more campaigning on Sunday.
Kerry visited Charlotte on Friday to speak to workers training for new careers
at Central Piedmont Community College.
Although Edwards is making his third campaign visit to North Carolina since
joining the Democratic ticket, many critics in Charlotte say he has not paid
enough attention to the Queen City. Others believe that is not a valid complaint.
"John Edwards has been a very good senator for the state of North Carolina and he has been very good for the city of charlotte," said Charlotte City Council Democrat Malcolm Graham. "He’s been there for us when we needed himand the city of Charlotte and the state of North Carolina are going to be thee for him because he needs us right now."
Kerry and Edwards made their first joint appearance four days after Edwards joined the ticket at a rally on the campus of North Carolina State University in Raleigh. A second North Carolina campaign stop included a front-porch interplay at the home of Durham's Democratic mayor, Bill Bell.
U.S. News Rates Duke Highest Among Area Universities
Aug. 22, 2004
WRAL-TV
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Another round of college rankings has been released.
Along Tobacco Road, U.S. News and World Report ranked Duke University highest. On the list of top schools overall, Duke ranked No. 5 in the country.
Wake Forest was next at No. 27. UNC-Chapel Hill ranked right behind at 29.
Much further down on the list was North Carolina State University, at 86.
U.S.News considers graduation and retention rates, faculty, applicant selectivity and alumni donations in the rankings.
Aug. 21, 2004
News & Observer
By JEAN P. FISHER
© Copyright 2004
When the federal Medicare program was poised last year to enact rules that
would cut the number of patients who qualify for inpatient rehabilitation treatment
-- and shear millions in revenues from hospitals -- WakeMed sprang into action
with unprecedented zeal.
Deborah Friberg, who at the time was in charge of WakeMed's inpatient rehabilitation
hospital on its main campus, and Judy O'Neal, the hospital's vice president
for government relations, flew to Washington. They met with North Carolina's
elected representatives, explained how inpatient rehabilitation works and emphasized
how the change would send hundreds of WakeMed's patients home from the hospital
before they could walk, use the bathroom unassisted or take care of other basic
needs. Ultimately, the federal government temporarily suspended the rule, shielding
hospitals from immediate harm.
Before last year, "we might have written a letter," said Friberg, who is now executive director of WakeMed's Cary hospital. "We certainly wouldn't have taken a trip to Washington and actively engaged our representatives."
The difference? William K. Atkinson, WakeMed's CEO.
The trip to the nation's capital is just one example of how WakeMed is changing under Atkinson, 50, who came to the hospital just over a year ago from Wilmington, where he was CEO of New Hanover Health Network. Since his arrival -- after the retirement of WakeMed's longtime chief executive Raymond L. Champ -- the county's largest hospital system has put its fingers in a lot of new pies. Its aim is to become more of a regional and national player in health care.
One of Atkinson's "main themes has been taking WakeMed to a new level," said Doug Vinsel, WakeMed's chief operating officer.
If efforts under way go as planned, WakeMed could generate more money to expand existing clinical programs or establish new ones in Wake County and provide broader patient access to technology normally found only at academic medical centers.
Atkinson's main challenge will be to maintain WakeMed's strong track record as one of the Triangle's most financially successful hospital systems and largest providers of charity care.
Shortly after Atkinson left in 2003, New Hanover struggled with a budget deficit that ultimately led to layoffs that cost the jobs of 16 people (a tiny fraction of the system's 4,600 employees).
Atkinson said New Hanover, which made net operating income of $16.9 million during the 2003 budget year, was stronger when he left than when he arrived -- and that his record there speaks for itself.
During his time at New Hanover, the public hospital system increased its financial reserves, widened its net operating margin, and added two hospitals -- Cape Fear Hospital in Wilmington and Pender Memorial Hospital in Burgaw -- and about 1,000 employees.
Atkinson said WakeMed, which ends its fiscal year Sept. 30, is having its strongest financial year yet.
At least part of Atkinson's strategy for WakeMed includes harnessing new resources.
This spring WakeMed took the unusual step -- at least for a private hospital -- of asking the General Assembly for money to help start an emergency response team that would provide care at the scene of major disasters. (The legislature didn't find the money). The hospital also made the rounds in Washington and expects this year to compete for more federal grants, including from sources WakeMed hasn't tapped in the past.
"Everywhere we have gone, the response has been, 'How can we help?'" said O'Neal, who followed Atkinson to WakeMed from New Hanover, where she also oversaw government relations.
Atkinson created a new vice president position to pursue regional collaborations, with an eye toward establishing a coalition of Triangle health care organizations. He also approached North Carolina State University about working together to bring more leading-edge clinical technology into WakeMed.
And earlier this year, WakeMed paid seven of its registered nurses to teach nursing students at Wake Technical Community College after Atkinson learned Wake Tech would have to turn students away because of a lack of clinical faculty.
Atkinson, a North Carolina native, is reluctant to take much credit for WakeMed's more outward-looking stance.
"In a way, it's the natural progression of the organization," he said. "You've seen us surface in areas that are not necessarily new, but perhaps with some laser focus."
One example of that new focus is the prominence Atkinson has given WakeMed's role as a business leader and major employer. About 6,000 people take a paycheck home from the hospital -- a fact WakeMed has pointed out in a newspaper advertisement.
Within weeks of assuming his duties at WakeMed, Atkinson was on the board of directors of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. And this year, he joined the Chamber's leadership committee and became co-chairman of a Chamber economic development program that aims to create 50,000 new jobs in the city of Raleigh over the next five years.
At the same time, Atkinson has managed to be a hands-on CEO at least in part, apparently, by cutting back on sleep. It's not unusual for him to be at one of WakeMed's hospitals until 3 a.m., looking over the facilities or meeting with employees, only to be back at the main campus on New Bern Avenue for a 7 a.m. breakfast with doctors. Atkinson attends such breakfasts, which all community physicians are invited to attend, as often as once a week.
"His inclination is to try to turn 24 hours into 48," said Dr. Dana Copeland, a pathologist and member of WakeMed's board of directors, which selected Atkinson.
Longtime WakeMed leaders also give Atkinson credit for deftly and sensitively handling what might have been a rough transition -- the hospital had been run by Champ for more than 20 years.
"Whenever there's change, there's always anxiety," said Vinsel, a Champ recruit who has been at WakeMed nearly as long as the former CEO. Atkinson "has said again and again that WakeMed was not a fixer-upper. He made it clear he didn't intend to turn the organization on its ear."
Aug. 23, 2004
News & Observer
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
N.C. State University
Edward T. Funkhouser, an associate professor of communication, recently received a Triangle Access Award for his achievements in removing communication barriers.
The awards, presented annually by the Alliance for Disability Advocates and the Center for Independent Living, recognize people, businesses and organizations in the Triangle area whose awareness and actions have created accessibility and inclusion for people of all ages and abilities. Funkhouser helped create Radio Reading Service in 1983, an independent nonprofit corporation that provides daily newspapers and other news to blind and visually impaired Raleigh residents over a special radio signal carried by NCSU's station, WKNC-FM.
UNC SYSTEM
Kenneth R. Swartzel, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor and former head of the university's department of food science, has been named director of the newly established Food Systems Leadership Institute, a program of the William Friday Institute for Higher Education Leadership. The institute's programs are designed to prepare future land-grant university, government and industry leaders to deal with the emerging challenges within the food system.
Meredith welcomes freshmen to book club
Aug. 23, 2004
News & Observer
By CINDY GEORGE
© Copyright 2004
As area colleges welcome students to campus this month, freshmen will have
some of their first encounters with classmates, faculty and staff in groups
discussing summer reading assignments.
Educators at Meredith College have started thinking about how to lead hourlong
talks about the book "Naked in Baghdad," recollections of the American
invasion of Iraq from Anne Garrels, National Public Radio's senior foreign
correspondent.
Meredith's 400 freshmen are to meet in small groups across campus to discuss the book on Sept. 20. Garrels is scheduled to speak at the Raleigh women's college Sept. 27 during an event that will be open to the public.
Rebecca Duncan, associate professor of English, discusses why the program's six-year run at Meredith hasn't spawned heated debates like those at UNC-Chapel Hill in recent years. She also addresses the issues she expects to rule the small-group discussions.
Q. How does Meredith avoid a controversial summer reading pick?
A. We're a little bit careful. We don't want to offend some of the more conservative families, because we know the parents are reading over the students' shoulders. What we try to do is work in a different discipline every year -- science, international studies, women studies. This book sort of fell into our laps.
Q. How do Meredith's faculty and staff prepare to lead book discussions?
A. We tried to prepare our faculty to look at this as a book club. We're not teaching the book -- we're modeling intellectual behavior. And we actually get to read books and discuss them!
We had a luncheon in preparation. The faculty talked about how to dive into the contents of the book.
The questions we had were about how journalists get information and how we might interpret what we read in the media.
Q. How do you prepare the freshmen?
A. We send reading questions and background information to them at home. They read the book and when they come, they have a discussion with faculty and staff members in their advising groups. An advising group has eight to 10 freshmen.
Q. What issues do you expect to crop up in the discussion groups this year?
A. The faculty also talked about how we will handle a highly polarized discussion and how we break away from very personal discussions like "My boyfriend is there" and people who have very strong opinions about the war -- because we know it will go there.
We hope every student will have a chance to express their views and that they will not want to stop when the hour's up.
WHAT THEY READ
Here are this year's freshman summer reading assignments at Triangle colleges.
DUKE UNIVERSITY: "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder. The story of 1982 Duke graduate Paul Farmer, a Harvard professor and infectious disease specialist who helped start an international agency that brings modern medical care to the poor.
N.C. STATE UNIVERSITY: "Only Connect: The Goals of a Liberal Education," a 1998 essay by William Cronon. Freshmen in the First-Year College were assigned to write reflection pieces after reading the essay.
PEACE COLLEGE: "Coming of Age in Mississippi" by Anne Moody. A 1968 autobiography about growing up as a poor, black sharecropper's daughter in the American South and her recollections of the civil rights movement.
SHAW UNIVERSITY: "How to Make Black America Better" by Tavis Smiley. A collection of essays by African-American leaders, writers and intellectuals and 12 challenges to the black community. Also, "College Faith" by Ronald Alan Knott. Christian educators and leaders share faith stories from their college days. Finally, students were assigned "Shaw's Universe," the official history of the university.
UNC-CH: "Absolutely American: Four Years at West Point" by David Lipsky. A book that follows the lives of cadets at the U.S. Military Academy.
State holdings in the Triangle
Aug. 21, 2004
News & Observer
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
The state owns nearly 32,000 acres in the Triangle, including parks, university campuses and agricultural research land. State recreation areas and game lands around Falls Lake and Jordan Lake are owned by the federal government.
For a copy of this graphic, contact News Services at 5-3470.
'Idol' hopefuls get an early start
Aug. 22, 2004
News & Observer
By JESSICA ROCHA
© Copyright 2004
The first request of the day came at 4:15 a.m. Saturday, and it wasn't for music.
"Everybody, if I go to the bathroom, y'all going to let me back in my place?" Brandon Nunn, 19, of Durham asked before getting the go-ahead and darting for the shrubs.
Nunn was seventh in line for a local "American Idol" tryout that ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Streets at Southpoint Saturday. By 4:10, about 200 auditioners, relatives and friends were lined up behind orange cones and yellow tape that ran several hundred feet from the mall entrance along two Nordstrom walls. Arriving before 4 a.m. was prohibited and was grounds for disqualification.
By day's end, 271 hopefuls, ages 16 to 28, flocked from all around central North Carolina in order to win the chance to move to the head of the line at the Fox television show's national auditions.
From Saturday's competition, 50 people are to be chosen to sing again Sept. 2. The winner of that event gets an expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas to try out for "American Idol" on Sept. 12, and a letter from WRAZ, Fox 50, guaranteeing a chance to audition.
The winners are expected to be posted on the Fox 50 Web site, www.fox50.com, by Friday.
"It doesn't put them on the show, but what's cool is they don't have to wait in line [to audition]," said Kevin Kolbe, Fox 50 promotion and marketing manager.
The line grew as the sun rose, but people were patient and well behaved, talking with others in line while checking out the competition. People warmed up their voices and cracked jokes.
Less than an hour after the singing started, one woman fainted off-stage.
The competition was halted for about 45 minutes as paramedics treated Tracie Alston, 24, of Raleigh. Alston was taken to Duke University Medical Center and treated in the emergency room.
A second woman fainted about 10 minutes after Alston did. The woman, whose name was not released and who was not involved in the "Idol" competition, was also treated by paramedics. It is unknown where she was taken for further treatment.
Mall personnel reported no other incidents.
Things were a little quieter after the initial rush that started right before 4 a.m.
Security guards kept busy chasing after those who entered mall property too early. Many contestants said they circled the mall for hours or headed to the parking lot across the street, to a nearby convenience store or to the Waffle House.
But minutes before 4, contenders started driving into the mall lot and claiming parking spaces.
"It was parking Pac-Man," said Reno Leggett Sr., who drove his daughter Andrea from Harnett County to the tryout. Andrea Leggett, 19, was second in line.
Selma resident Amber Edwards, 18, said the people madly rushing to be in the front of the line did not heed the traffic.
"It was pure chaos," said Edwards, a business student at N.C. State University. "People were pulling in front of people whether you were moving or stopped."
The first in line was Raleigh resident James Sanders, an 18-year-old psychology student at N.C. Central University.
Sanders said he missed his opportunity to audition last year at a similar promotion in Cary, which accepted only the first 150 in line. He had been No. 154.
This time around, Sanders and his mother, Kimberly Hinton, got to the mall at 11:30 p.m. They circled it for a while, then parked across the street and stole two hours of sleep.
"When I think about that ['American Idol'] contest," he said, "that drives me to do anything."
Aug. 20, 2004
philly.com, PA
By Denise Cowie
© Copyright 2004
A class in floral arrangement looked like an easy "A" to Doug Croft when he was wrapping up his horticultural studies at Virginia Tech.
"I thought it wouldn't tax me too much," he recalled last week, as he led a group of aspiring floral designers through the gardens at Chanticleer in Wayne.
Though he didn't expect that class to have any impact on his new career, it turned out to be one of the most valuable.
"The elements of design and the principles of design you learn in floral arranging can be applied to designing a garden, too," he said. And to get the best out of flowers in the garden and the vase, it helps to know a thing or two about plants and their maintenance.
Not all flowers work well as cut flowers, Croft told participants in "The Arranger's Garden," a class sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. The class, which sold out so fast it had to be repeated a second evening, explored the joys of using your own cut flowers in floral arrangements.
That's where the concept of a cutting garden comes in - even if you think you don't have space for one.
"The philosophy used to be that the cutting garden should be on the 'back nine,' " Croft said. "The idea was that people didn't want to put all that effort into a garden and then cut the flowers," so they kept it separate.
But few people today have the luxury of tucking a cutting garden away out of sight, which means they are gradually disappearing.
"I think there has been a pretty steady decline" in the numbers of dedicated cutting gardens over the last 20 or 30 years, said David Ellis, director of communications for the Virginia-based American Horticultural Society, because today's homeowners have less time and space.
But people still want to be able to pick flowers from their own gardens. "There is a feeling of satisfaction you can get from being able to run out on short notice and gather up... flowers for your own house, or to take to somebody else's house," Ellis said.
Croft suggests integrating a cutting garden into the regular garden by planting sweeps of some perennials that can be judiciously thinned and annuals that will bloom again after cutting, and by using garden maintenance to harvest material that can be used for arrangements.
Prunings from a Hydrangea paniculata "Unique," for instance, became part of a fireplace arrangement in the gallery at Chanticleer last week. Or you might use the grasslike trimmings from amsonia when you whack it back by two-thirds after it flowers, or the flower stalks of hosta that are mainly a textural statement in the landscape, or the purple foliage of Physocarpus opulifolius "Diablo," which may be in need of a trim by late summer.
For the last four years, Croft has been in charge of Chanticleer's cutting garden, which supplies most of the flowers for the displays created by a handful of staff horticulturists for the garden's public spaces. (Savvy visitors make a point of visiting the rest rooms to check out the imaginative flower arrangements, which feature seasonal fresh flowers.)
"It was always important that the cut-flower garden be aesthetically appealing," Croft said, "but the flowers growing in it weren't always suitable for arrangements." That has changed under the leadership of