| |
|
Immigration Appeals Can Take Years To Decide
Bill Boettcher, political science and public administration researchNCSU Designs First-Of-Its-Kind Protection For Firefighters
College of TextilesIndustry bearing fruit
extension and Upper Piedmont Research StationBiotech Center’s Education and Training Its Most Pervasive Program
A recent listing of where the Center allocated its educational grant dollars shows that NC State University received the largest amount over the years.School Board Wrestles With Big Budget Shortfall
Hawthorne said a student population survey being conducted by a professor at North Carolina State University should be started by November and completed no later than February.
Carter-Finley
Clearing Dust In Time For Kickoff
Carter-Finely Stadium construction
Wolfpack's
popularity packs the stadium
College teams are getting ready to hit the gridiron, but a lot of Wolfpack
fans are hitting a wall.
N.C.
Judge Grants TRO to Former Army Reservist
Parrish attended North Carolina State University
on a Reserve Officers' Training Corps scholarship.
Amato
hopes 'five' rule passes
Chuck Amato, football
Hunter
tired of media scrutiny
C.J. Hunter
Editorial:
Passengers first
With Cary, Chapel Hill and N.C. State University deciding not to join in any
merger, it's logical to be concerned that the financial pressures on a new
system could be troublesome in terms of amenities being provided.
Letter
to the editor: Moe's plight
Michael Walden, agricultural and resource economics
Letter
to the editor: Economic royalists
Michael Walden, agricultural and resource economics
Next
Generation Fire Fighter Gear to Be Unveiled
College of Textiles
Gay
by proxy
Home to John Edwards, North Carolina State University, and
The Independent, Wake is actually a thriving liberal, not to mention gay
and lesbian, community.
Tiny
Neighborhood Feels Raleigh, North Carolina Development Closing In
expansion of Centennial Campus
Grow
and Show
Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers
DuPont
Opens $130m Facility That Will Produce Nonwoven Fabrics for the Composites
Industry
College of Textiles
SePRO
to Acquire North Carolina Research Facility
cooperative research opportunities
N.C.
Judge Grants TRO to Former Army Reservist
Parrish attended North Carolina State University on a Reserve Officers' Training
Corps scholarship.
Aug. 26, 2004
Greensboro News & Record
By Carla Bagley
© Copyright 2004
North Carolina's grape-growing industry is spreading its tendrils into the eastern Piedmont, driven by an increase in the number of wineries buying grapes and farmers who want to diversify their crops.
The state now boasts 300 commercial vineyards and 40 wineries. Half the wineries were established in the past two years, according to the N.C. Grape Council in Raleigh.
Five wineries are open or will open in the next few months in Alamance and Guilford counties, and at least a dozen farmers in Guilford and Rockingham counties are growing grapes.
Others are clearing land for vineyards in Rockingham, where more than 100 people have indicated an interest in growing grapes, said Kathryn Holmes, horticulture agent with the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service in Wentworth.
"It's a hot topic," she said.
The number of commercial vineyards may increase if Congress passes a bill to buy out farmers' tobacco allotments, said Larry Somers, a Reidsville grower who helped start the N.C. Winegrowers Association in 1985.
"A lot of these farmers are going to be sitting around getting nice checks over the next five or 10 years, and they are going to want to do something with that money,'' Somers said.
"Grapes are the only thing with which you can replace tobacco, dollar for dollar.''
The industry will range east to Interstate 85 and west into the lower mountains, he said. Its center will continue to be the Yadkin Valley, northwest of Winston-Salem, which already has been named an American Viticulture Area because of its combination of temperatures, rainfall and soil.
Grapes won't replace tobacco as the state's cash crop, but they offer another opportunity for farmers to diversify, said Margo Knight, executive director of the Grape Council.
Grapes demand a sizable investment in time, money and patience. They are finicky about where they will grow well and don't yield a full harvest for about four years. Vineyards also cost $10,000 to $12,000 an acre to establish.
Nonetheless, the prospect of growing grapes has residents peppering Extension Service agents for advice and signing up for new viticulture classes at Rockingham Community College in Wentworth.
Anne Lanning, the college's occupational extension coordinator, received 20 phone calls about the class before the fall brochure hit the streets.
Lanning even plans to take the class herself -- if there's room.
Rockingham growers don't seem to be interested in opening wineries now. But Lanning thinks that when enough farmers grow grapes, wineries will come, just as they have in the Yadkin Valley.
As of 2002, the latest year for which figures are available, the industry employed 855 people and pumped nearly $80 million into North Carolina's economy.
North Carolina wineries attracted about 1 million tourists in 2002, and every 100 tourists generates 134 jobs, the Grape Council says.
"People with some money are going to say, 'We have grapes in this county,' and that's another economic opportunity for us,'' Lanning said. "They are going to be the ones who start the winery.''
Count among them the owners of four new wineries in Alamance County and Max Lloyd, 40, of Chapel Hill, who is building The Grove Winery in northeast Guilford County, about two miles south of the Rockingham County line.
Lloyd plans to invest $500,000 in the winery and bottle up to 6,000 cases of wine by 2005.
In addition to the 6 acres of grapes he grows, Lloyd is buying grapes from farmers such as Bryce and Sara Richardson of Mayodan, who grow niagara and lambrusca varieties.
The Richardsons harvested 3,500 pounds of grapes from their half-acre of vineyards this month and sold them to Lloyd and to the Germanton Winery north of Winston-Salem, which makes a light, sweet wine from the niagaras.
"All the little whiteheaded ladies like to buy it,'' Sara Richardson said.
A successful vineyard can yield 3 tons of grapes an acre for up to 40 years, and good grapes can bring up to $4,500 a ton, said Somers, who has been growing grapes since 1991.
Matt Cardwell, 31, recently put in an acre of grapevines on the 1,500 acres he and his father farm west of Stoneville. The Cardwells, whose ancestors began farming in the 1700s, raise about 60 acres of tobacco, as well as corn, watermelons and tomatoes.
Cardwell turned to grapes because his rolling land, like much of that in Rockingham County, is well suited for a vineyard.
If Congress buys out Cardwell's tobacco allotment, he'd like to purchase some cattle and invest in more grapes, perhaps getting out of tobacco farming altogether.
"This tobacco business is like a cloud over our heads that we just really can't get out of,'' Cardwell said.
He plans to sell his grapes to the Old North State Winegrowers Cooperative Association, which is opening a winery in Mount Airy.
Helping the farmers grow better grapes is one goal of the Upper Piedmont Research Station near Reidsville, where N.C. State is demonstrating vine training systems and testing management practices to speed up production and get better yield.
"If a grape is going to fail, it needs to fail here and not at a farm,'' said superintendent Joe French, who is tending 45 varieties of wine grapes.
The researchers want to know what varieties grow best in a warm, humid climate, which are least susceptible to cracking and rot, and which yield the best balance of sugars and acids, research technician Rocco Schiavone said.
The tannat grape may be successful here, said Scott Lawrence of Greensboro, a psychology professor, grower and winemaker who is bottling wine from some of the test grapes.
The heavy, rustic grape makes a flavorful, strong wine and seems to withstand humid weather better than Bordeaux grapes, Lawrence said.
If vineyards, wineries and research all come together, the grape industry could help keep farming alive in a region with a long tradition of it.
"We want to keep our land. ... Maybe these grapes are one way to do it,'' Cardwell said.
Aug. 25, 2004
WRAL-TV
By Amanda Lamb
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Technically, people who appeal their immigration status can stay as long as it takes to have their cases reviewed. The Board of Immigration Appeals in Virginia, which falls under the Department of Justice, is responsible for dealing with these cases, but a recent case is raising concerns about possible flaws in the system.
Randy Lewis is with a group called "Stop the Invasion." He was not suprised to find out that Chikele Gideon, arrested Monday after a fatal car accident in Apex, overstayed his visa. Under a court order, Gideon was supposed to leave the country last year. He appealed, and the case is still pending.
"There is no homeland security. It's smoke and mirrors. Literally, anybody can come to this country. It's not hard," Lewis said.
N.C. State University Public Policy Professor Bill Boettcher said people often fall through the cracks.
"Since Sept. 11, there has been a lot of money flowing into the Department of Homeland Security, not enough to deal with what is an overwhelming problem," he said.
Lynn Calder, an immigration attorney who represents people facing deportation, said the Board of Immigration is actually reviewing cases quicker than it ever has. She is worried her clients' rights are being compromised.
"They have every right to stay while their appeal is pending -- stay legally," Calder said. "With the Board of Immigration appeals, it becomes much riskier because we're worried judges aren't taking enough time with the cats."
Since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, the Board of Immigration has doubled the number of cases it rules on each month, despite the fact that the number of judges hearing those cases has been cut in half.
In light of Monday's accident, local immigration officials have put a detainer on Gideon, which means if he makes bail on the death by vehicle charge, he will be taken into federal custody.
Carter-Finley Clearing Dust In Time For Kickoff
Aug. 25, 2004
WTVD
By Tim Nelson
© Copyright 2004
We are less than two weeks away from the kick-off of the college football season and many N.C. State fans are wondering about a few changes at Carter-Finley Stadium.
The Wolfpack Towers project is ongoing on the west side of the stadium, and that construction zone will be off limits on game days.
With just 10 days until tailgating, the dust has yet to settle on the prime location for pre-game festivities. But the team of construction workers is mixing it up and pouring it on fast. "It's hectic, it's fast-paced."
"They're gonna be working up until game time getting it ready."
All in the hopes of having this in good shape before N.C. State kicks off its sold-out season on September 4th. "Our plan and the contractor's plan is to have this look as if, as if it looked like last year, the last game of the year, except for the structure being there."
That structure is the 400-foot tall Wolfpack Towers, a mix of club-level seats, luxury suites, and a press box. That's further changing the face of Carter-Finley and literally building up state's football tradition.
"People talking about big-time college football, and I feel like we're getting it at NC State." But not just yet - the Towers aren't slated to be finished until next year. That means this season they are much more a sight to behold than to enjoy. But the construction has some consequences. "We're not gonna have the entire lot available for parking."
Some 300 season-ticket holders will lose their spaces and will be shifted to other lots. A bit of an inconvenience, certainly, but chances are they won't mind losing them if the Wolfpack wins.
The new space inside the Wolfpack Towers is selling like hot cakes. All but 7 of the 51 luxury boxes are sold. The going price is between $45,000 and $55,000 per year.
Wolfpack's popularity packs the stadium
Aug. 25, 2004
News 14 Carolina
By Heather Moore
© Copyright 2004
College teams are getting ready to hit the gridiron, but a lot of Wolfpack fans are hitting a wall.
The team's growing popularity in recent years has made tickets to watch the Wolfpack a hot commodity; they've been sold out for more than 3 months now.
That has some Wolfpack fans singing the blues this season.
Every fall, more than 55,000 football fans flock to Carter Finley
Stadium to watch the Wolfpack.
This year, an exciting schedule packed with powerhouses like Ohio State and Miami make tickets even harder to come by.
A NCSU junior, Jennifer Bowden, said, “Freshman year I don't think I went to any of the games because I couldn't get tickets.”
That has a lot of fans, especially students, worried they won't be able to get into the games.
“It’s just really frustrating to know that I am now a senior here and I've worn a toga to home football games for 3 years of my life and I am getting bumped,” Joshua Nowak said.
And students aren't the only ones sweating football tickets. Earlier this year, more than 40,000 Wolfpack fans tried to buy season tickets. In fact, the Wolfpack Club sold more tickets than there are seats. So about 2,000 fans are getting refunds and are still scrounging to figure out how they'll watch the Wolfpack this season.
“We're trying to build a tradition that it’s hard to get tickets to NC State football and obviously that's true having sold out the last three years,” Stephen Ponder, Wolfpack Club’s associate executive director, said. “So, we think it's a good thing, we wish we could have tickets for everyone but we have to cut it off somewhere."
Members of the Wolfpack Club get more than 70-percent of the tickets at Carter-Finley and half of those are members with lifetime seats.
Students get 16-percent but die-hard fans are determined they'll find a way to get into the games.
Nowak explained, “Don't worry. We will get tickets this year! We will do everything in our power to get tickets. We already have plans and contingency plans because it’s so tough to get tickets.”
“I've always been a Carolina fan, personally growing up and their football games it's a little easier to get tickets to,” Davis Hammer, a NCSU freshman, said.
But most Wolfpack fans aren't that desperate, just yet.
NC State is building a new addition to Carter-Finley Stadium called Wolfpack Towers. It'll add more than 2,000 seats.
Wolfpack Towers is scheduled to open next year.
NCSU Designs First-Of-Its-Kind Protection For Firefighters
Aug. 26, 2004
WRAL-TV
By Gloria Lopez
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. -- In modern times, a firefighter's job is becoming more dangerous and protecting them is more important than ever. It is not enough for their suits to be fire resistant anymore. Nowadays, they need to be terror-proof, as well.
Turnout gear traditionally protects firefighters from fire. Cutting-edge suits developed by North Carolina State University's College of Textiles incorporates new materials that will protect firefighters against biological and chemical agents, like sarin, mustard gas and anthrax.
"This will be a new generation. This will be a new type of firefighter suit," said Dr. Roger Barker, head of the Textile Protection and Comfort Center at N.C. State's College of Textiles
The first-of-its-kind suit was developed with an $830,000 Homeland Security grant awarded in December.
"The protection is actually built into the new materials that are going into the suit," Barker said.
The new suit has all the functional features of a traditional suit, but with added protection. A thermal liner is the main component in heat protection that was developed at N.C. State.
"They're going to be on the front lines of first response," Barker said.
N.C. State presents its prototype to the Raleigh Fire Department on Thursday.
The turnout suits could eventually be used nationwide.
N.C. Judge Grants TRO to Former Army Reservist
Aug. 25, 2004
Associated Press; Charlotte Observer; NBC 17; News & Observer; WCNC; Wilmington Morning Star; Winston Salem Journal; WRAL; WSOC; WTVD; ABC News; AirForceTimes.com; Anchorage Daily News, AK; ArmyTimes.com; Atlanta Journal Constitution; Bakersfield Channel.com, CA; Biloxi Sun Herald, MS; Bradenton Herald, FL; Boston.com, MA; Centre Daily Times, PA; Champlain Channel.com, NY; Channel Oklahoma.com, OK; Click 2 Houston.com, TX; Click10.com, FL; ClickonSA.com, TX; CNN; CNN International; Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, GA; TheDenverChannel.com, CO; Duluth News Tribune, MN; Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN; Fort Wayne News Sentinel, IN; Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX; FoxReno.com, NV; Grand Forks Herald, ND; INDYchannel.com, IN; Iowa Channel.com, IA; Kansas City Channel.com, MO; Kansas City Star, MO; KCRA-TV, CA; Kentucky.com, KY; KIROtv.com, WA; KSBW Channel.com, CA; KTVU.com, CA; Louisville Channel.com, KY; Macon Telegraph, GA; Marine Corps Times; Miami Herald; Milwaukee Channel.com, WI; Monterey County Herald, CA; Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC; Navy Times; NBC5.com, IL; News4Jax.com, FL; NewsNet5.com, OH; New York Newsday, NY; Penn Live, PA; philly.com, PA; phillyburbs.com, PA; Pittsburgh Channel.com, PA; Pioneer Press, MN; Sacramento Bee, CA; San Diego Union Tribune, CA; SanDiego Channel.com, CA; San Jose Mercury News; San Luis Obispo Tribune, CA; Seattle Post Intelligencer, WA; Spectator Newspapers, NJ; Tacoma News Tribune, WA; Tallahassee Democrat, FL; Tallahassee.com, FL; Times Picayune, LA; Turn to 10.com, RI; Tuscaloosa News, AL; WAVY-TV, VA; WDIV, MI; WFtv.com, FL; WHIOtv.com, Ohio; Wilkes Barre Times-Leader, PA; WJACtv.com, PA; WLWT, OH; WMUR Channel.com, NH; Worcester Telegram, MA; WPXI.com, PA; WSBtv.com, GA; WTNH, CT; WVEC, VA; Xposed.com; Canoe.ca, Canada; Collective Bellaciao, France
By Tim Whitmire
© Copyright 2004
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that a former Army reservist from suburban Raleigh does not have to report for recall to Iraq by Friday, granting a temporary restraining order at least until a hearing next week.
Todd Parrish of Cary is locked in a legal battle with the Army over his status. He says his Army commitment expired Dec. 19, after four years of active duty and another four years in the reserves.
But the Army says Parrish never formally resigned his commission as a lieutenant, making him indefinitely eligible for involuntary recall to duty.
Last month, Parrish sued the Army, contending he was never informed "of any requirement or need to 'resign' his Army Reserve commission in order to terminate his status with the U.S. Army Reserves."
With a Friday deadline looming for Parrish to report for duty and discussions with the Army going nowhere, Parrish's lawyer Mark Waple said he filed a motion Monday for a temporary restraining order in Raleigh federal court.
U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan granted the request Wednesday. She scheduled a hearing on whether to grant a preliminary injunction against the Army for Sept. 1
In her order, Flanagan said the Army's willingness to extend Parrish's reporting date several times in recent months shows the military will not be harmed by delaying the case until a full hearing can be held.
Waple, of Fayetteville, said he and the Army have been going back and forth about Parrish's status since Parrish first received an order from the Army in May requiring him to report to Fort Sill, Okla., by June 13 for processing and deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
When Parrish tried to resign his commission, the Army told him it was too late. He then filed for an exemption from recall, which also was denied, Waple said.
Parrish has appealed that ruling.
Waple has said he believes Parrish is a victim of efforts by the military to keep as many people as possible in the Individual Ready Reserve so they can be called to active duty.
The Defense Department has been using numerous devices to keep enlistment up during the Iraq conflict, included a "stop loss" order that prevents soldiers from leaving the military when their obligations end and multiple deployments of guard and reserve units.
Parrish, who grew up in Durham, attended North Carolina State University on a Reserve Officers' Training Corps scholarship. He served four years on active duty in the United States, completing that obligation in December 1999.
Last week, a California Army National Guard soldier sued the military in federal court in San Francisco over the stop-loss program, which could keep up to 20,000 Army personnel beyond their time of service.
The Army says its stop-loss program is necessary for a cohesive military with seasoned personnel, although it has been criticized as contrary to the concept of an all-volunteer military force. Stop-loss also was enacted during the buildup to the 1991 Gulf War.
School Board Wrestles With Big Budget Shortfall
Aug. 25, 2004
Southern Pines Pilot
By BRIAN KLIMEK
© Copyright 2004
The Moore County school system’s classified employees will likely be getting a raise when the schools’ budget for 2004-2005 is finalized.
What they don’t know is how much the raise will be.
The Moore County Board of Education, wrestling with a budget shortfall — the result of more than $700,000 in unfunded state mandates and a 2-percent county appropriation — heard two budget proposals Monday from Superintendent Susan Purser and Chief Operations Officer Don Peccia.
To provide the raises, the school system must cut at least $460,000 in other areas.
The board is looking to give classified (noncertified) employees a $100 or $60 credit for each year of service as an employee of the N.C. public schools. If the board approves a $100 service credit, the cuts could total $594,000.
Many of the cuts involve instructional supplies and staff development. One of the largest cuts would be an $84,000 reduction for supplementing state funds for library books and other print media. Other cuts include an $86,159 reduction in staff development, $50,000 in copy costs and $50,000 for maintenance costs.
“These cuts are no fun whatsoever,” Purser said afterward. “But I think what you see is that educators, time and time again, find ways to drive as far with our students as we can with the resources we have. We’re not going to let up on our mission.”
Purser spent much of last week conferring with senior staff members and administrators about the proposed cuts and the service credit for classified employees.
“There is consistent support among every person, every board member and every staff member for our classified employees,” she said, adding that classified employees do much to keep the schools running smoothly. “There is a recognition that it’s time to step up and do something.”
Both proposals would require dipping into the system’s reserve fund balance, which totals more than $1.4 million.
Providing a $100 credit would require taking $181,824 from the fund balance, while the $60 proposal would take $123,324. Both proposals would leave the fund balance under $1 million. The $60 credit would eliminate the need for the cut in library books and maintenance costs.
Board member Dale Frye, who supports the $100 credit, said the schools’ classified employees deserve a raise.
“I think it’s important because many of them have not had raises in years,” Frye said. “Last year, we gave 3 percent to the teachers so I think it’s important this year to recognize the noncertified personnel.”
Board Chairwoman Penny Hayes and board members Allan Beck, Blanchie Carter and Charles Lambert said they would support a $100 credit. Clayton Evans recommended phasing in the credit over the next two years, because he strongly opposes taking money out of the fund balance.
Vice Chairman Wiley Barrett said he doesn’t know which way he would vote when the final proposal is presented.
“The tough question now is do we go in and cut other programs that took us years and years to build up in order to give them a pay raise?” he said. “That’s a tough decision.
“I wish we could give them $200. Maybe next year, we can get some money from the commissioners. Let’s let them look at our budget and see where we want to put the money.”
The school board had asked the Moore County Board of Commissioners for a 10.6 percent increase in its appropriation for this school year. After a joint meeting and three mediation sessions, the school board agreed to accept the county’s 2 percent increase of $358,120.
Bond Money
Under the mediation agreement reached Aug. 11, the commissioners agreed to give the school system $275,000 of the $1.3 million left over from a 1997 bond issue.
John Hawthorne, director of planning and construction for the school system, said the facilities committee has discussed how the money could be spent.
“We discussed either funding the Union Pines High School field house or doing several projects and putting the field house and other high dollar projects toward the (potential) bond,” he said. “If we build some new schools under the bond, we will still need to do some renovations at other schools. Larger ticket items might be deferred until a bond referendum rather than spending all of the money on just one project and not getting other needs taken care of. We might be able to get 10 or 12 projects out of the $275,000.”
Under the mediation agreement, a capital needs bond referendum will be held no later than May 15, 2005, for the schools.
The facilities committee will discuss the possibilities at its next meeting Sept. 1 and present its recommendations during the next school board meeting.
Hawthorne also presented updated numbers on the schools’ average daily membership (ADM) for the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year.
He said student population projections, including the five-day attendance numbers, show that attendance at seven schools is above the projections for the start of the year.
The school system’s student population has increased by 1.6 percent (using fifth-day numbers) as a whole compared to last year. The highest increase — 3.4 percent — since the late 1980s occurred in both the 1997-1998 and 2003-2004 school years.
The 10-day attendance numbers are expected to increase student population at all schools, Hawthorne said.
Hawthorne said a student population survey being conducted by a professor at North Carolina State University should be started by November and completed no later than February.
Hayes said she is ready to get the process of securing a bond referendum and building a new high school started.
“In August 2006, we want the high school opening,” she said.
According to Hawthorne, the estimated cost of renovations needed at the 22 existing schools, combined with the cost of constructing a new high school, two elementary schools and two middle schools, is estimated to be just under $91 million. The cost of the renovations is estimated to be $14.4 million. The cost of the new schools, including $30.5 million for a high school, is estimated to be $76.5 million.
The last bond referendum, passed in 1997, was for $25 million.
The school board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is set for Sept. 27. Hayes said a meeting would likely be called prior to that to allow the board to vote on a finalized budget proposal and the expenditure of the $275,000 in bond funds.
Contract Approved
The board unanimously approved a vending contract between North Moore High School and Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated in Greensboro. The contract is for vending machines outside of the school’s cafeteria.
The contract is for three years, beginning July 1, 2004. Under the terms of the contract, the profit paid to North Moore would be 46 cents per 20-ounce bottle.
The school had been making just 19 cents per bottle under the terms of its contract with the Sanford-based PFS. That contract was terminated in March after school officials determined PFS wasn’t paying North Moore or the school system properly. PFS still owes North Moore and the school system’s child nutrition department a combined total of more than $20,000.
School Principal Mike Tylavsky’s request for proposals had several stipulations aimed at giving the school more control over the operation of any vending machines located on school property. School board attorney Richard Schwartz reviewed the contract and made several minor modifications before presenting it to the board for consideration.
“This is the kind of contract that should have been used before,” Schwartz said afterward. “This protects the school better than the last one.”
School board approval is required for any contract worth more than $5,000 or any contract more than one year in length.
In his request to the board, Tylavsky noted that Aberdeen Coca-Cola Bottling Co. does not serve the northwest end of the county.
Biotech Center’s Education and Training Its Most Pervasive Program
Aug. 26, 2004
LocalTechWire
By Allan Maurer
© Copyright 2004
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK — The North Carolina Biotechnology Center’s wide-ranging education and training program “is one of our most pervasive in terms of reaching across the state,” says communications director Barry Teater.
Since 1990, the Biotech Center has awarded more than $4.1 million to equip teaching laboratories and help faculty develop new biotechnology courses and teaching materials. Teater tells Local Tech Wire the Biotech Center budgeted $275,000 for its educational grant programs and $75,000 for its recently completed teacher workshops in 2004. “We don’t know exactly how much we’ll budget for 2005 but it will be more,” Teater says.
A total of 1,140 teachers, from 98 NC counties, 85 this year, have attended the Biotech Center’s summer workshops, which include curriculum follow-up materials the teachers will use in their classrooms.
Teater says only two small rural western counties have yet to enroll a teacher in the workshops. The Center also funds instructor-initiated grants.
A recent listing of where the Center allocated its educational grant dollars shows that NC State University received the largest amount over the years, $478,766. UNC-Chapel Hill, received $152,704, and Shaw University, $45,000.
North Carolina Central University, $79,600. Duke University received $40,000, Laboratories for Learning, $54,794, and Central Carolina Community College, $20,000. Grants to high schools range from #3,552 for Apex, to $5,000 for East Wake. Altogether, the Triangle region’s schools and teachers collected $1,255, 863, as one might expect, the highest amount spent in any one region.
The south-central region that includes Charlotte received the next largest total amount, $621,695, with UNC-Charlotte getting the largest single amount, $396,668 and Davidson College, $68,430.
In other regions, East Carolina University received $390,501 and the area as a whole, including community colleges and high schools, a total of $525,699.
In the North Central part of the state, NC A&T State received $174,000, UNC-Greensboro, $105,000, and Wake Forest University, $80,224. The region as a whole received a total of $832,240.
Western Carolina University received $63,000 and Wilkes Country Schools $23,600 in the western part of NC, where grants totaled $424,207.
In the Northeast, Elizabeth State College received the largest single amount during the time the grants have been given, $60,300. The region’s schools received a total of $135,899.
Aug. 26, 2004
News & Observer
By staff writer
© Copyright 2004
It may well be that merging bus systems with the one in Durham and the Triangle
Transit Authority's would be the most efficient route for Raleigh -- but only
if the special services provided for disabled persons are maintained. Some
passengers are justifiably concerned about that.
In Raleigh, blind passengers can read Braille schedules; they can rely on announcements
over external speakers to determine if the stopping bus is the one they need.
And other disabled people can use a subsidized taxi service. The service is
a highly reliable way of getting to appointments.
Would the TTA, which would run a merged system, provide those sorts of things? Officials with the organization say Raleigh could order up such services under the new set-up -- and doubtless TTA authorities would wish for such features. Still, with Cary, Chapel Hill and N.C. State University deciding not to join in any merger, it's logical to be concerned that the financial pressures on a new system could be troublesome in terms of amenities being provided.
Raleigh City Council members ought to stand firm in insisting that any merged system include everything passengers have now, without any chance of cutbacks here or there. After a merger, it will be too late to guarantee that arrangement.
And in the meantime, those communities that have opted out -- including N.C. State -- should be encouraged to re-think their positions. A partial merger doesn't sound like the best prospect for passengers, or for the system itself.
Hunter tired of media scrutiny
Aug. 26, 2004
News & Observer; Durham Herald-Sun
By Sean Webby
© Copyright 2004
Former shot putter wants to be left alone.
For a copy of this article, contact News Services at 5-3470.
Letter to the editor: Moe's plight
Aug. 26, 2004
News & Observer
© Copyright 2004
Michael Walden's Aug. 20 People's Forum letter concerning the effect of President Bush's tax cuts on individuals with varying incomes cited hypothetical individuals, Larry and Moe, whose incomes are $100,000 and $15,000, respectively. Larry is presumed to pay $30,000 in taxes, and Moe pays no federal income tax.
This comparison does, however, neglect to mention that Moe pays $1,148 for Social Security, which brings his income to only $13,850; this is well below the $15,260 poverty line for a family of three. Whereas Moe pays Social Security tax on his $15,000 income, Larry doesn't pay a dime for $13,000 of his income.
Walden is correct in noting that simple arithmetic shows that people with a high income pay a large share of the total tax, but that doesn't make Moe's sad plight any better.
Michael Caplow
Chapel Hill
Letter to the editor: Economic royalists
Aug. 26, 2004
News & Observer
© Copyright 2004
Professor Michael Walden's "Curly, Larry and Moe" letter (People's Forum, Aug. 20) was insulting. The issue isn't arithmetic; it is one's view of the nature of our government. If Walden would identify himself as an affiliate of the John Locke Foundation [where the N.C. State University professor is an adjunct scholar], his reply would be more understandable.
Walden might want to study the thinking of the founders of our republic. They deplored any aristocracy, whether royally titled or economic. They dreaded a vast division of wealth between an upper class and the common man as a danger to our country.
Walden and his colleagues at the Locke Foundation seem to favor flat taxes, repeal of the estate tax and a value-added tax, all of which benefit the well-to-do. They do not agree with Bill Gates or Warren Buffet that progressive taxes and estate taxes are important to a nation such as ours for the development of all.
Walden's arithmetic is sound. His understanding of what makes for a democratic government is in question.
Paul W. Thayer, Ph.D.
Cary
(The writer is professor emeritus of psychology at N.C. State University.)
Amato hopes 'five' rule passes
Aug. 26, 2004
Durham Herald-Sun
By AL FEATHERSTON
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH -- This is the time of year when college football coaches normally have to decide which freshmen are advanced enough -- or needed badly enough -- to play right away. The rest of the newcomers will be "redshirted" ... a term that means they'll be held out of competition to get older, stronger and more familiar with a team's schemes.
The tactic of redshirting stems from NCAA rules that give players five years to play four seasons. But that will change if the NCAA passes in April a proposed rule that would give players five seasons to play five years.
"I really believe that will happen," N.C. State coach Chuck Amato said. "I'm hoping that will happen. And if it happens, they'll at least go back to this [freshman] class and hopefully they go back and make it retroactive all the way through."
Because Amato said that he believes the rule will pass, he's looking at this freshman class differently.
"I'm really not concerned about redshirting right now because of the possibility of this new five to play five [rule]," he said. "If a young man can help us somewhere, I really believe he's going to have an opportunity."
That doesn't mean every freshman will play. Some simply aren't ready to contribute. But there might be a good athlete who can help on special teams. In the past, Amato would not have wasted a year of eligibility for a player such as, say, John Dunlap -- a top prospect who might eventually become a key player at wide receiver or linebacker -- to cover kickoffs and rush the punter.
Now, there's no reason not to use him in that role, if Amato believes it would help his team.
But there's another aspect to the rule that concerns Amato. While he's confident the rule will pass and it will extend to this year's freshman class, he's not sure whether it will cover current upperclassmen.
"We have to know because it affects recruiting," he said, pointing out that the NCAA's 85 scholarship limit will remain in effect.
"If it looks like the rule's not going to pass and we sign 25 kids, then it passes and [we have seven seniors who] want to come back, then what do we do with the 25 kids?"
A lot of schools may have that problem, especially since the rule wouldn't be voted on until almost three months after the national signing day is in February.
"So maybe the first year there are so many problems it won't be retroactive for this senior class right now," Amato.
Or maybe it will be.
"I talked to our seniors and I told them, if this passes, you've got to consider yourselves a fourth-year junior," Amato said. "I would trade a fifth-year senior for a smaller recruiting class. How would you like to have [Andre] Maddox back again and [Pat] Thomas and Dovonte [Edwards] and [Lamont] Reid and [Jed] Paulsen and on and on and on? And Manny Lawson would have three years in front of him. Mario [Williams] would have four years in front of him. T.A. [McLendon] would have three more years to get hurt in front of him."
Of course, even if the rule passes, not all of those players will stay five years. The top players still can jump to the NFL three years out of high school. But there are many fine college players who would stay if given the opportunity.
Amato likes to dream about that.
"I was hoping this would have passed a year ago ... and Philip [Rivers] would be here again," he said.
Freshman of impact
While every freshman is a candidate to play some role at N.C. State, not all are ready. But the Pack's three-deep depth chart currently includes nine true freshmen.
Darrell Blackman and Bobby Washington are listed behind injured veterans McLendon and Reggie Davis at tailback. Dunlap and DaJuan Morgan are listed as third-team wide receivers. Two players who enrolled in January -- defensive end Raymond Brooks and safety Miguel Scott -- also are battling for second-team spots. Kicker Tyler Lewis is listed behind veteran John Deraney.
Perhaps the Pack's most heralded recruit -- Greensboro's Demario Pressley -- has moved into position as the second-team defensive tackle behind sophomore John McCargo.
Amato was asked how Pressley compared to the freshmen who played on the defensive line last season.
"A little further ahead," he said.
Perhaps the most surprising new name on the depth chart is freshman Andrew Evans, the son of former Wolfpack star Johnny Evans. His twin brother Daniel Evans (actually, they are quadruplets with two twin sisters) was signed as a quarterback out of Raleigh's Broughton High School, but Andrew Evans came to N.C. State as a walk-on.
Daniel Evans hasn't cracked the depth chart yet, but Andrew Evans already is listed as the third-team halfback, behind Tramain Hall and Chris Hawkins.
Board looks for ways to lessen traffic
Aug. 26, 2004
Myrtle Beach Sun News
By Brock Vergakis
© Copyright 2004
HOLDEN BEACH, N.C. - Holden Beach town officials are weighing their options when it comes to reducing traffic congestion at the base of the bridge on the island.
The area near the town's bridge, which is the only way on or off the island by vehicle, is the focal point of a recent study by N.C. State University's Institute for Transportation Research and Education.
Researchers from N.C. State visited the island to study its traffic problems during the Memorial Day weekend.
"I think at this point, [the Holden Beach Board of Commissioners] has learned a lot. It's just a matter of looking at all of the options," said Holden Beach Town Manager Steve Wheeler.
The board of commissioners has no specific timetable for making decisions on the options.
The research team recommended placing a stop sign near the base of the bridge to halt oncoming traffic from the western portion of the island. Travelers coming onto the island are often unsure whether westbound traffic will turn left onto the bridge or continue on to the eastern portion of the island.
The team also suggested building a traffic circle by the base of the bridge.
But any improvements to traffic flow would have to be done with the permission of the N.C. Department of Transportation.
Holden Beach Town Manager Steve Wheeler said the DOT owns all of the right of ways by the bridge and Ocean Boulevard.
"Any kind of solution the board [of commissioners] wants to pursue would require DOT to come on board with us and be involved with that process," Wheeler said.
The research team also recommended improving parking underneath the bridge by adding a collection box for parking fees, restricting boat trailer parking and closing the road between beach parking lots.
Next Generation Fire Fighter Gear to Be Unveiled
Aug. 26, 2004
Azom.com
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
Researchers at North Carolina State University’s College of Textiles are set to unveil a prototype of the next generation of fire fighter turnout gear that not only offers increased protection from fire, but also provides protection from chemical and biological agents.
The prototype turnout gear will be formally presented to the Raleigh Fire Department at a media event at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, in the Atrium of the College of Textiles. Media coverage is invited. Reporters and photographers will be able to see the fire suit and interview the researchers and Raleigh firefighters who assisted with the project. U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, who is on the Select Committee on Homeland Security, is expected to attend the event to see the prototype fire suit.
NC State partnered with Globe Manufacturing and DuPont for the project awarded by the Department of Homeland Security and the Technical Support Working Group. “This prototype incorporates all the goals we had for the original design, which was to develop a suit that not only had the fire protection, but also a level of chemical and biological protection,” said Dr. Roger Barker, head of the Textile Protection and Comfort Center (TPACC) at NC State’s College of Textiles.
The new suit has all the functional features of a traditional suit, but with added protection. The thermal liner that is the main component in heat protection was developed at NC State. According to Barker, it utilizes a new non-woven thermal material that incorporates new fiber technologies offering better protection from heat.
“Our suit is going to take protection to an entirely new level with a wider range of chemical resistance at higher levels,” Barker said.
TPACC will also test the suit to ensure it meets all the required standards for protection, but also test for comfort and ergonomics – making sure it’s easy to put on, wear and take off. Other tests will determine the level of harmful vapour infiltration.
Aug. 26, 2004
INTHEFRAY Magazine, MA
By Molly Hennessy-Fiske
© Copyright 2004
Mainstream media-watchers take note: Outsports.com, just a footnote in last week's post, saw its profile raised this week by ubiquitous media gossip Romenesko.
Apparently a Wake County, North Carolina, man who ran the Los Angeles marathon in March was stunned to find his picture featured in Outsports.com's coverage of the event. No caption. No disclaimer. I mean, people might just as well assume he, Chris Harbinson, was ... gay. So last month, Harbinson sued the site — for defamation.
As Outsports.com reports:
"In his suit, Harbinson claims he is not gay and that his picture on Outsports caused him to suffer 'extreme embarrassment, public humiliation, mental agony and damage to his name and reputation.'
"The suit added that Outsports 'knew or should have known that false depiction of Plaintiff as gay could subject Plaintiff to the general community’s ridicule, contempt and disgrace (regardless of Plaintiff’s being gay or otherwise), and to the gay community’s ridicule, contempt and disgrace (as Plaintiff was not gay.)'"
As if Wake County is some homophobic backwater. Home to John Edwards, North Carolina State University, and The Independent, Wake is actually a thriving liberal, not to mention gay and lesbian, community. Couldn’t find any coverage of the suit in the local papers, including The News & Observer (my former employer) though its sports reporters have tapped Outsports columnists in the past, and its media attorney Amanda Martin is defending Outsports.
Outsport's response (yes, it speaks) can be found on the site:
"Outsports, which has been
regularly credentialed to photograph public sporting events from Major League
Baseball and the NFL to international swimming
and water polo, did not run captions with any of the Marathon photos, and nowhere
on the site did it say or imply that Harbinson was gay.
'We believe this lawsuit is frivolous and without merit,' Outsports said in
a statement. 'We have published thousands of images of athletes from the famous
to the obscure, and are appalled that in 2004 someone would argue that their
mere presence on our site would be defamatory.'
"'In addition, we were credentialed to shoot the event, which took place on public streets in Los Angeles, and were well within our First Amendment rights. It would be chilling if gay-oriented publications were subjected to different standards than the rest of the media when covering the same event.'"
Granted, Outsports should have asked before snapping Harbinson's mug and posting it all over the Web. But the chilling argument is a good one, long and storied and supported by precedent reaching all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Some general standards of proof Harbinson would have to meet:
Defamatory meaning: The plaintiff must establish that the statements in question were defamatory. For example, the language must do more than simply annoy a person or hurt a person's feelings. (Harbinson, take note.)
Falsity: The statements must be false; truth is a defense to a defamation claim. Generally, the plaintiff bears the burden of proof of establishing falsity. (There was no caption.)
Statements of fact: The statements in question must be objectively verifiable as false statements of fact. In other words, the statements must be provable as false. (Maybe Harbinson needs to take lessons from Browns Q-back Jeff Garcia and trot his girlfriends into court.)
Who loses if his case progresses? Harbinson's photo still appears online with Outsport's article detailing his suit. So the suit only drew more attention to it. If he keeps it up, he's in for a lengthy battle in a well-educated, no-fuss, get-along Southern town unsympathetic to blatant homophobia. But bless his heart, he's probably a masochist (he is, after all, a marathoner) so maybe he doesn’t mind.
Tiny Neighborhood Feels Raleigh, North Carolina Development Closing In
Aug. 25, 2004
RISMedia, CT; Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
By Richard Stradling
© Copyright 2004
RISMedia, August 25, 2004 (KRT)—Tucked in the woods between the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus and land owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, residents of Pullen Park Terrace enjoy unusual seclusion about a mile from downtown.
About the biggest commotion in this eight-acre neighborhood is the annual Kirby Derby parade, when residents and friends make floats and outlandish costumes and march on Kirby and Bilyeu streets.
"We have our own little culture here," said Denise Lyn Hager, who leads the neighborhood association. "To lose that would be such a shame."
Residents feel their peace threatened by plans to develop the forested land that shelters them. Today, they plan to ask the city planning commission to reject N.C. State University's plans to expand its Centennial Campus to within 50 feet of the neighborhood on land that formerly belonged to Dix.
The 130-acre Centennial Campus expansion is the just the beginning, though.
With Dorothea Dix Hospital set to close in 2007, the future of the neighborhood's largest neighbor remains in doubt. Some legislators want the state to sell the 315-acre hospital campus for private development, and the city and state plan to draft a plan for the property by April.
Meanwhile, the Catholic diocese wants to sell some of its 45 acres along Western Boulevard, now that Cardinal Gibbons High School has moved to West Raleigh.
As the city closes in, Pullen Park Terrace residents, many of them NCSU employees or alumni, hope to fashion a buffer. They asked the university to keep offices, labs and parking lots at least 200 feet away from their property and to preserve a grove of towering oaks next to the neighborhood.
"It would not kill them to move their buildings back 200 feet and not put a parking lot in our backyards," said Hager, 34, a medical assistant at Duke Medical Center.
University officials met with neighbors for more than a year but decided 200 feet was too much to give up, said Michael Harwood, university architect. NCSU's latest offer is a buffer of trees and hedges, with parking lots no closer than 50 feet and buildings at least 100 feet back. Some of the oaks would come down.
"We thought that 200 feet was more than we wanted to saddle future university decision-makers with," Harwood said.
Pullen Park Terrace consists of a six-unit apartment building and 27 homes and duplexes. Many lots are no bigger than a fifth of an acre.
These close quarters, combined with the isolation, foster kinship, said Will Hooker, 61. Only the whoosh of traffic on nearby Western Boulevard and the whistle from the train ride at Pullen Park coming reminds residents they are in a city.
"It's sort of like you're in a life raft," said Hooker, a landscape architecture professor at NCSU. "You get to know each other and rely on one another."
Pullen Park Terrace was to be a neighborhood for the city's professionals and academics, said Steve Duncan, the resident historian. One of the first houses, completed in 1927, has stucco walls and a Spanish-style tile roof.
But the Great Depression brought construction to a halt, and over the next 30 years the neighborhood slowly filled with small homes of wood and cinder block. By the 1980s, many longtime homeowners had died or moved away, leaving most of the neighborhood to renters who came and went.
"It went from high expectations down to the lowest common denominator," said Duncan, 42, who directs a high school equivalency program for migrant farm workers at Wake Technical Community College. "And now we're revitalizing."
Like others, Duncan was attracted to the neighborhood by its unique feel and low prices. Many who bought homes in the past decade paid less than $100,000, and about 60 percent of the homes are now owner-occupied.
Many residents say they want to see Centennial Campus succeed and are happy to deal with the university instead of a private developer driven by profit.
"We want to be connected to the university, not railroaded by it," Aly Khalifa wrote in a letter to the city. Khalifa, 35, is an NCSU graduate who runs a product design and marketing firm in downtown Raleigh.
Pullen Park Terrace residents have rallied to save their neighborhood before. In the mid-1980s, someone tore down a bungalow and put up the three-story apartment building. Residents got the city to change the neighborhood's zoning to prevent anyone from doing it again.
They also got the city to include their neighborhood in the city's comprehensive development plan. The page devoted to Pullen Park Terrace sets basic goals, including protecting the neighborhood's integrity as surrounding land is developed. Residents want the city to keep that commitment.
"Now it's crunch time," Duncan said. "We're hoping the city will help us out."
Aug. 26, 2004
Knight Ridder Newspapers; Fort Wayne News Sentinel, IN
By DENISE COWIE
© Copyright 2004
PHILADELPHIA - (KRT) - 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 recently, as he led a group of aspiring floral designers through the gardens at Chanticleer in Wayne, N.J..
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 R. William Thomas, who took over as director of the garden last year.
Now, Croft said, he is designing the garden in a more formal manner, using rows and blocks, and all the flowers growing in it have to be useful as cut flowers.
What does that mean? They have to be flowers that don't wilt easily, so they'll have a long vase life, and they have to have strong, long stems.
It means no more growing morning glories on the garden's lovely rustic trellises, for example, because their blossoms are fleeting. Instead, Croft is planting clematis and unusual annual vines such as the aromatic Vigna caracalla, or snail flower.
"Those are the biggest criteria," Croft said, but there are also texture, color, and fragrance, "which is not essential, but it certainly does make an arrangement more enjoyable."
To make sure Chanticleer stays on the cutting edge, Croft joined the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, an industry group that conducts growing trials through North Carolina State University, to see how different species and cultivars perform as cut flowers.
This year, the cutting garden at Chanticleer became a trial garden, giving Croft access to the newest and best - such as Lobelia speciosa "Fan Blue," a floriferous new cultivar he used in last week's design class.
So what's growing in the cutting garden? Everything from A (astilbe) to Z (zinnias), including such difficult-to-grow charmers as double lisianthus and workhorses like Helianthus x multiflorus "Flore Pleno," a sturdy double yellow sunflower that usually doesn't need staking, though the plant is more than six feet tall.
This season, there's also a row of asparagus, which provides great greenery for floral displays (and is also doing a good job of attracting Japanese beetles away from the dahlias).
"Don't just think of ferns when you're looking for greenery," Croft told the class, suggesting holly, azalea, yew, helleborus, coleus and hosta as alternative sources. And don't always go with the obvious. If you've trimmed greenery from your Magnolia virginiana, for instance, you can turn it around to feature the leaves' silvery underside in your arrangement.
Croft doesn't stop at the cutting garden when he's looking for design inspiration. The neighboring vegetable garden, also in his charge, provided an entire arrangement for last week's class: leaves from two kale varieties; rosemary; purple ornamental peppers; rhubarb stalks; and red okra pods, which echoed the color of the rhubarb.
"Some people say that's the best use ever for okra," joked fellow staffer Laura Aiken. Okra is actually in the hibiscus family, Croft added, but its pretty yellow flowers would close up quickly if cut.
Color is all many gardeners think of when they choose flowers for an arrangement. But that's just one factor. How about form, texture and line?
Let your structure guide you, urged Croft. Consider the shape of the arrangement you have in mind, its function, and where it might be placed - whether it's for the table, where guests will see all around it but need to see one another over it, or for the foyer, where they might see just the front. And when you begin creating your design, take your cue from the garden.
"I'm trying to re-create the beauty of what's in the garden, but on a smaller scale," Croft said. "I am trying to create a combination of flowers, foliage, and container that is pleasing to the eye and accomplishes a sense of balance and harmony throughout. ... I try to do this by combining different plant materials that work well together, and placing them such that the arrangement feels sturdy and each element can be appreciated in its own right and as a whole."
The result doesn't have to be complex.
Croft told the class of a dinner party he once planned, starring his own floral arrangement in a prized old family vase. When he set it on the table, however, water leaked everywhere - the vase was cracked.
After a frenzied search for an alternative container, Croft settled for a shallow bowl filled with water. He cut the heads off some flowers, floated them in the bowl, and added a candle.
"Everybody loved it," he said.
DuPont Opens $130m Facility That Will Produce Nonwoven Fabrics for the Composites Industry
Aug. 26, 2004
Azom.com; PR Newswire; Yahoo News
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
DuPont today opened a new $130 million facility here to produce innovative nonwoven fabrics born from a revolutionary composite technology that provides users with advanced levels of both comfort and protection.
DuPont's proprietary Advanced Composite Technology (ACT) blends the ideal properties of two different raw materials to create nonwoven fabrics that meet specific needs. More than 20 new patents were developed for this technology.
The ACT's initial product is DuPont™ Suprel™, a highly protective and comfortable fabric used for hospital operating gowns and patient drapes. Suprel™ is the only medical fabric available that is made of polyester – for strength – and polyethylene – for silk-like softness. Traditional single-use medical fabrics can be uncomfortable, especially when they are worn for an extended time, and can lack the necessary fluid barrier for protecting today's healthcare professionals. Suprel™ has less surface friction than other medical fabric products, allowing for greater comfort and freedom of movement. It also transfers heat away from the body quickly, adding to comfort in the operating environment. Suprel™ is made from continuous filament fibers and is very low linting.
Using a market-focused approach as part of its research and development, DuPont researchers developed Suprel™ by working closely with operating room nurses who participated in comfort studies conducted at North Carolina State University.
"The composite fabric technology will allow us to create an array of fabrics in direct response to the evolving needs of the medical industry," said DuPont Nonwovens Global Business Director David Flitman. "Suprel™ is the first in a line of innovative products from DuPont that will raise the bar for standards of protection and comfort in medical fabrics."
The ACT facility is located at DuPont's Old Hickory manufacturing complex, near Nashville. A number of Tennessee public officials joined DuPont employees and leaders in today's opening.
"This newest investment of 110 jobs and $130 million in cutting-edge technology at Old Hickory continues DuPont's commitment to Tennessee," said Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matthew Kisber. "Gov. (Phil) Bredesen and I are proud to see manufacturing investments like this in our state, producing high-quality products that are exported to customers around the world."
DuPont is the leading global supplier of nonwoven fabrics for the healthcare industry, and has set new standards of protection, convenience, and comfort for medical professionals for more than 25 years.
SePRO to Acquire North Carolina Research Facility
Aug. 25, 2004
Inside INdiana Business
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
Carmel, IN – SePRO Corporation President and CEO, William H. Culpepper, announced today that SePRO has completed negotiations to purchase the former Zeneca research facility in North Carolina. The 410-acre site is located at Whitakers, NC, sixty miles northeast of Raleigh.
To be named the SePRO Research and Technology Campus, it includes an extensive six-building aquatic research and technology complex, complete with laboratories and 11 acres of specialized aquatic research ponds and mesocosms. In addition to the aquatic facilities, the campus site includes 296 acres of tillable land, 79 acres of woodland, and a 15-acre lake.
“We are extremely pleased to acquire a facility so ideal for advancing the science of aquatic plant management and for this facility’s ability to provide high quality technical support for SePRO’s future growth,” said Culpepper. “This new Research and Technology Campus greatly expands our laboratory capabilities and allows for additional cooperative research opportunities with such institutions as North Carolina State University,” he explained.
“North Carolina lies at nearly perfect latitude to meet our aquatic research requirements,” commented Steve Cockreham, SePRO’s Vice President of Research and Regulatory Affairs. “It’s a well situated geographic site with mild weather, giving us the ability to conduct studies on both Eurasian Watermilfoil and Hydrilla, and a wide variety of other invasive weed and algae species.”
Over the next five years, SePRO plans to invest approximately $7 million into their new facility, according to Culpepper. The effort will initially include aquatic-related aquarium, mesocosm and field research studies, laboratory assay support, and growth room screening for evaluating existing and new products. In the future, the facility could also accommodate turf and landscape ornamental research capabilities and distribution center for SePRO’s growing product line.
"SePRO's selection to locate their new research campus here is great news for Eastern North Carolina," said North Carolina Governor Mike Easley. "After all their investigation, they chose North Carolina's #1 ranked business climate. SePRO is not only making a substantial investment but also creating jobs of the future, jobs that are high quality and high paying.”
SePRO Corporation is an industry leading, specialty agrichemical company headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. It provides plant protection and plant management products and services that fit specialized niche markets, such as aquatic vegetation management, ornamental and turf management, tree growth regulation, and humane Canada goose control. Some of the company’s major products include Sonar* Aquatic Herbicide, Renovate® Aquatic Herbicide, A-Rest* Plant Growth Regulator, Cutless* Turf Growth Regulator, Talus® Insect Growth Regulator, Decree® Fungicide, and Profile* Tree Growth Regulator. To learn more about SePRO Corporation, its products, services, and technologies, visit the SePRO web site at www.sepro.com.