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NC State Fraternity Suspended for Hazing
Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternityNCSU Fraternity Suspended After Alleged Hazing Incident
Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternityNCSU opens hazing inquiry
Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity
Turning
Toward a Different Leaf
Loren Fisher, crop science; Blake Brown, agricultural and resource economics
No easy
answers for transportation for seniors
Institute for Transportation Research and Education
Easing
commutes earns honors
commuter-friendly employers
Editorial:Momentous
floods were a wake-up call to improve our coexistence with river systems
hurricanes and flooding
Tweaking
tree genes on horizon
genetically modified trees
Pasquotank
plans to keep lot minimum at one acre
Pasquotank County commissioners decided Monday night to
keep the one -acre minimum lot size requirement for new subdivisions.
Keep
America Beautiful, Inc. Recognizes Four Cities For Exceptional Graffiti
Prevention Programs
Deborah Lamm Weisel, political science and public administration research
Obituary:
Norman C. Miller, Jr.
food science professor
Obituary:
Carey McGinnity McCrackan
employee
Nov. 17, 2004
News & Observer
By TIM SIMMONS
© Copyright 2004
Allegations of hazing at N.C. State University's Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity have triggered an investigation by school officials and an immediate suspension of all chapter activities.
John Mountz, director of Greek Life at NCSU, said the suspension does not mean the fraternity has violated the university's Code of Student Conduct, but it does mean the allegations are considered credible. He said the fraternity -- not individuals -- is being investigated and that no criminal charges are involved.
Mountz would not discuss details of the hazing allegations except to say they are related to activities from earlier this year.
Local and national representatives of Sigma Phi Epsilon met Tuesday with university officials to discuss the case.
The investigation will be a joint effort involving Greek Life, the NCSU Office of Student Conduct, the national chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon and local chapter members.
Wilson Harris, president of the NCSU chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon, declined to comment.
Mountz said it's likely the investigation will be complete before the semester ends. Charges would be filed by the university's Office of Student Conduct.
"The suspension in no way means the chapter has done something wrong," Mountz said. "That's why we are conducting the investigation."
The suspension does prohibit Sigma Phi Epsilon, on Fraternity Court south of Western Boulevard, from participating in any activities except the investigation.
"No sports, no social activities, no community service, no anything," Mountz said. "We want them focused on getting through this as quickly as possible."
Penalties will not be determined until after the Office of Student Conduct decides whether the fraternity should be formally charged, Mountz said. The national chapter acts separately when deciding penalties.
But Mountz and Scott Thompson, director of communications for the national chapter, both emphasized that the investigation also will be used to educate chapter members.
"We try to do things proactively," Mountz said. "We tell them what they can do and what will get them into trouble. Then, even if no charges are filed, we want them to understand why their was a perception that they might have done something wrong so they won't repeat that behavior in the future."
Nov. 17, 2004
Winston-Salem Journal
By David Rice
© Copyright 2004
KING - For the past 13 years, Stanley Smith has grown a few rows of burley tobacco alongside his flue-cured tobacco in Stokes County -an oddity in the clay soil of the Piedmont, where flue-cured leaf is the norm.
But with restrictions on where tobacco can be grown about to end, Smith and other flue-cured farmers in the Piedmont are increasingly interested in growing burley leaf that the federal quota system has confined in North Carolina to patches of mountain soil for the past 65 years.
"I think there will be enough interest. I think the companies will get enough to make it worthwhile," Smith said. "I think you will see it as a good supplement to flue-cured. I don't think you will see it transition from total flue-cured to total burley."
Smith says that his father, John, is the only owner of burley quota in Stokes County. The Smiths grow the burley leaf as a novelty - 300 or so pounds a year amid 150,000 pounds of flue-cured leaf.
Unlike the flue-cured leaves that are harvested by stalk position and cured with forced, heated air, the entire burley stalk is hung to air-cure.
The Smiths hang their burley for about two months in a turn-of-the-century stick barn. Then they take it to sell at a market in Asheville where John Smith works as a ticket-marker and Stanley Smith works as an auctioneer.
Flue-cured tobacco is the dominant type used in cigarettes, accounting for about 60 percent of the leaf in most U.S. blends. Burley accounts for about 30 percent, and Oriental tobacco about 10 percent.
Since the late 1930s, though, the government quota system has limited production of burley to the areas where it was grown at the time - chiefly the mountains of Kentucky, Tennessee, western Virginia and North Carolina.
But with passage of a tobacco buyout that eliminates geographic restrictions on where burley can be grown, that could change. Some farmers in the Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia are eager to try it - and some already are.
Plenty of interest
"I think this area would grow very good burley tobacco," said Danny Nelson, a flue-cured farmer near Kernersville who grew an acre of burley for four of the past five years for research conducted by N.C. State University.
Hassell Brown, a grower near East Bend in Yadkin County who grew burley in an experiment for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. this year, agrees.
"It did well. It did real well," Brown said. "The Reynolds R&D (research and development) people were right pleased with it."
Some analysts speculate that flue-cured tobacco will effectively shift eastward too as growers on the larger, more efficient farms in Eastern North Carolina plant more leaf than those in the Piedmont.
Growing burley could help offset that shift for Piedmont farmers, Brown said.
"If R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris decided to cut back in this area and shift their (flue-cured) production to east of I-95, a lot of flue-cured growers in this area would be interested in growing burley," he said.
"We're hoping flue-cured stays in the Piedmont. But if it doesn't, everybody can't switch to grapes," he said. "That (burley) would definitely be an alternate crop."
The Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corp. bought its own cigarette plant near Roxboro this year, and Andrew Shepherd, a board member of the co-op, said that the co-op would need burley tobacco for its cigarette blends.
If a Piedmont grower wants to grow more flue-cured leaf than the co-op is willing to buy, the co-op might be willing to buy burley if the farmer can provide it, he said.
"We'd just as soon let our growers grow more of that cigarette," he said. "It seems like a very complementary thing to do."
Can it be done?
Though burley has been restricted to areas in North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and other states, researchers say that it can be grown in the Piedmont as well.
"Without a doubt, it's possible to grow burley tobacco agronomically in nontraditional growing areas. And I think it's possible to do it economically," said Loren Fisher, a crop scientist at N.C. State University.
N.C. State researchers have grown burley as far east as a research station in Clayton, Fisher said, and they plan to do more research growing burley varieties next year in the Piedmont and even the coastal plain.
"I don't foresee North Carolina taking contract pounds away from traditional growing areas. But if those traditional growing areas aren't able to meet the contract needs of the companies, then I think we are well suited agronomically to produce it in the Piedmont, and growers are interested," he said.
With leaf-processing plants in Nashville, Wilson, Farmville, Roxboro and Danville, Va., "North Carolina's the center for processing tobacco. That also makes it more efficient to produce it here, economically," Fisher said.
Cost considerations
"I think it'd be a natural fit for companies, if they're not receiving the burley pounds they contract for, to go to flue-cured growers. They're much more likely to do that than to go to new growers," he said.
With curing burley leaf, though, there are technical considerations and additional costs involved.
Farmers can't use the same gas-fired barns to cure burley that they use for flue-cured leaf. So they must either build a separate barn to cure burley by air, or use a post-and-rail system designed in Tennessee to cure burley in the field. But that system costs $300 to $400 an acre to install.
"The main thing here is our curing facilities. It costs so much to build a burley barn -that's what's going to hold people back," said Nelson, the grower near Kernersville.
As for the post-and-rail system, "It's a quick fix, but it's not a long-term deal," Nelson said.
So tobacco companies would have to pay Piedmont farmers a price that justifies the investment in new curing equipment for burley, he said.
Those who have grown burley also warn that even though burley and flue-cured tobacco grow in similar fashion, it will take farmers a few years to learn how to cure burley leaf.
"When you get to the harvesting, it's apples and oranges - night and day," Smith said.
Burley growers contend that there is more labor involved in cutting and curing the entire plant, then stripping the leaves after curing, for example.
"Everything is different with burley," said Eddie Green, the lone burley grower in Davidson County. "It takes time for a farmer to learn what to do with burley tobacco." Blake Brown, an agricultural economist at N.C. State, agrees that the number of burley farmers will decrease in Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and the mountains of North Carolina.
"We'll see a decline in burley production in those states. The price is going to go down," he said. "And because of the topography, basically, they're not as cost-efficient in those areas."
Some flue-cured farmers might view burley as an alternative.
"It wouldn't surprise me," Brown said. "I suspect they'll be cautious, though - they'll do it at the beck of a company that wants to try it."
David Howard, a spokesman for Reynolds, said that the company has made no decisions about contracting with burley growers in the Piedmont - but it hasn't ruled it out.
"If there were growers in the Piedmont that transitioned to burley, we would consider contracting with them, just as we would consider contracting with burley growers in traditional burley-growing areas," Howard said.
Universal Leaf Tobacco Co., which has leaf-processing plants in Danville, Va., and Nashville, N.C., is curious about Piedmont-grown burley as well.
"Universal Leaf is very interested in the traditional flue-cured growers potentially growing burley in the future," said Todd Haymore, a spokesman for Universal. "Like everyone else in the industry, we have been thinking outside the box."
Arnold Hamm, the assistant general manager at the flue-cured stabilization cooperative, said that burley offers an opportunity for flue-cured growers in North Carolina and Virginia.
As for whether the co-op might contract to buy burley in the Piedmont, "I think what we would do is take a wait-and-see attitude," Hamm said.
"It's intriguing to us. If the burley tobacco grown in this region was of a good quality and was usable in our blends, you're doggone right we'd be interested in it. You'd rather have it close," he said. "It makes sense to have it in your own back yard."
Restrictions sought
Traditional burley growers, of course, aren't eager for competition from flue-cured growers in the Piedmont of North Carolina and Virginia.
"They're hoping that burley doesn't move to the Piedmont of North Carolina the way we're hoping that flue-cured doesn't move east," said Hassell Brown, the grower in Yadkin County.
The Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative - which represents burley growers in Kentucky, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Missouri - fought to keep restrictions in the buyout legislation in Congress on where tobacco can be grown.
"That was one of our goals in the buyout - to keep it out of nontraditional growing areas," said Daniel Green, a lobbyist for the burley growers' cooperative.
Burley growers lost that fight, though.
"Certainly, with the buyout, the rules have changed now," Green said.
He said that Kentucky remains well-suited for burley tobacco, providing plenty of moisture during the critical fall curing season, and he questioned how much burley would actually migrate to North Carolina and Virginia.
"The companies want to get the highest quality and the lowest price possible. Obviously we'd like to see them get it from our area," he said.
But if the alternative is for tobacco companies to buy burley grown in Brazil and Malawi, Green said, then burley growers have a preference.
"Some producers are going to quit, and certainly we'd rather see it stay in the United States than go overseas," he said.
Editorial: Momentous floods were a wake-up call to improve our coexistence with river systems
Nov. 16, 2004
Asheville Citizen-Times
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
In October, RiverLink conducted the first of a series of public information sessions regarding the floods. The speakers from the National Weather Service, U.S. Geological Survey, N.C. Flood Plain Mapping Program and the N.C. Geological Survey painted a very detailed scientific description of what happened and the tools needed to address future disasters.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is still running the models, but it has been said that what we experienced in September was two 100-year flood events. They may have even been 500-year floods. Per the USGS, "the term `100-year flood' is used in an attempt to simplify the definition of a flood that statistically has a 1 percent chance of occurring in any given year." No matter what you call them, they were floods and they created a disaster for many people.
Hurricanes Frances and Ivan left not only disaster but a spirit of camaraderie. Landslides and flooding have made a mess of our lives, and the financial impacts are still being tallied. Despite the mess, droves of people have turned out to help neighbors pick up the pieces. Recovery is under way but will take time to complete. It will also take more money to assist those who lost so much. I was notified that one Clyde homeowner received only $5,000 for the loss of everything they had, because their mobile home was not valued more in the eyes of the FEMA personnel. As a state and community, we need to assist our fellow humans better than this.
In our regional attempt to make some sense of the whole mess, we, as a community, have been also trying to figure out how to lessen future impacts from future disasters. One step is to improve our monitoring and warning systems so that we can better plan and protect our communities. We must update our flood plain maps. Maps for some western counties are more than 20 years old. We need additional stream and rain gauges in order to better monitor the rise of the rivers. Hazardous waste sites, underground storage tanks, petroleum refineries and other uses that could impair life need to be inventoried and managed so as to remove the chance of toxins entering into our waterways. (Additional recommendations can be viewed at www.riverlink.org.)
The hurricanes of September brought not only flooding but landslides. The information presented by the N.C. Geological Survey on landslides alarmed me the most, as it is apparently an area that no one is addressing, particularly in communities where there is little planning. The deaths from the latest landslides should be a wake-up call to the community. Some geological structures are weaker than others. There are geological triggers to landslides. Geologists can tell us what these structures and triggers are so that we can intelligently locate our homes and workplaces.
Some have discussed short term fixes such as altering streams in the watershed through dredging, dams, and/or levees. Millions of dollars are presently being spent by N.C. State University, Wildlife Resources Commission, Department of Transportation and the Clean Water Management Trust Fund to protect streams and implement natural stream design.
Research indicates that despite our federal government's expenditure of approximately $25 billion over the past quarter of a century for flood control projects, approximately $140 billion in federal tax revenue has been spent on preparing and recovering from natural disasters during the same time frame. Floods account for most of those expenses. The U.S. Geological Survey states, in "Dams and Rivers: A Primer on the Downstream Effects of Dams" that "traditionally, river managers have focused on issues of engineering efficiency, sometimes to the neglect of in- stream environmental values."
For our region, neglecting the environmental values can impact jobs. Rafting, fishing and the intrinsic values that attract corporations and tourists are just a subset.
The single point that I absorbed from the presentations is that we can and must protect human life. The science is there to help us minimize losses. We must begin to use the data that our agencies collect, increase their capabilities to improve data collection and create long-term plans that will improve our future coexistence with the river system.
Gibson is employed by RiverLink as the French Broad Riverkeeper. RiverLink is a regional nonprofit organization spearheading the environmental and economic revitalization of the French Broad River and its watershed. He served on the N.C. Stormwater Stakeholders Advisory Committee and is presently a member of the N.C. Sedimentation Control Commission.
NC State Fraternity Suspended for Hazing
Nov. 16, 2004
WTVD
By Vanessa Welch
© Copyright 2004
An NC State campus fraternity is on temporary suspension. Members of Sigma Phi Epsilon are accused of hazing pledges.
Members of Sigma Phi Epsilon are being extremely quiet about the alleged incident. However students on campus tell Eyewitness News it all involves a fraternity ritual that's been going on for quite some time.
Members of Sigma Phi Epsilon are the focus of an intense investigation after being turned in for alleged hazing. The fraternity is accused of forcing its pledges to streak naked and sing outside of a sorority house on campus.
Kai Mullen lives next door to where the alleged incident took place and says he saw the whole thing happened. "They run naked like through the commons and things like that and through different sorority houses."
Mullen says streaking is a known ritual for Sigma Phi Epsilon pledges. "It's a good reason for them to be under investigation but it's kinda hard to prove if they don't have concrete evidence."
Chris McCaw is a national representative for Sigma Phi Epsilon. He was called in from Virginia to discuss the investigation with NC State leaders. "College students often do crazy things like streaking and in that incident you may be able to say it was fun and games but if there was actually some forcing someone to do something it makes the situation a lot different."
McCaw says his group strongly prohibits hazing, and believes this chapter will be found innocent of all charges, still other students on campus say the group is giving the Greek system a bad name. "I think it turns people away from what frats are all about that's brotherhood."
If this fraternity is found guilty of hazing, national representatives will work with Greek Life and NC State to come up with a punishment.
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, it could be something as simple as forcing the fraternity to take educational classes, or something as severe as students being expelled and the chapter being suspended.
NCSU Fraternity Suspended After Alleged Hazing Incident
Nov. 16, 2004
WRAL
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. -- The investigation into hazing accusations against a local college fraternity starts Tuesday.
The North Carolina State University chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon is being investigated by the university and the fraternity's national headquarters.
N.C. State officials would not comment on the nature of the alleged hazing incident, but has suspended the fraternity pending the investigation.
"We have over 100 years of tradition here on this campus and we believe we're innocent. We believe that's what's going to come out of this whole process," chapter president Wilson Harris said.
A national representative of Sigma Phi Epsilon said members from its national headquarters in Richmond, Va. are already in Raleigh.
No easy answers for transportation for seniors
Nov. 17, 2004
Outer Banks Sentinel
By GINA HARRIS
© Copyright 2004
There are no easy answers to transportation questions facing Dare County's most vulnerable population, older adults.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 17 percent of the population of the Outer Banks is 62 years or older, or 5,093 residents.
There are 7000 residents more than 55 years old -- a population sector larger than several towns. Older adults have a higher rate of diseases like Alzheimer's, dementia or other age-related illnesses.
Some are simply aging in a county where resources -- transportation, housing, geriatric medical specialties, are limited at best and, in many instances, non-existent for older adults.
"I wish there were more support through the county or a volunteer action group for seniors," said Teresa Bradshaw, a nurse at Health East. Bradshaw's father, Ashley Bulluck, 79, has Alzheimer's. Her mother, Nell Bulluck, 76, is his primary care-giver.
"Without GEM [an adult day service], their lives would be so different. He would be stuck at home, where he's safe. But his caregiver would [feel] guilty and be frazzled," Bradshaw said.
Nell Bulluck drives her husband to the GEM Adult Day Services, four times a week, because transportation is no longer available through the county.
GEM had provided transportation, using a county vehicle, but stopped the service Sept. 15.
"Volunteers are hard to find and because they are volunteers when events come up in their lives they don't come to GEM and drive," said Gail Sonnesso, founder and program director. She has participants who live from Wanchese to Duck.
Sonesso said that some patients are at risk of wandering off, if left alone at home while care-givers go off to work. "I am hopeful that this situation can be addressed and a way found that will work for us all," she said.
"All these vans sit idle. We're so departmental, if we could look at all these departments and do some coordinating between them," said Commissioner Richard Johnson.
The county is looking at its transportation options. The Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE) may provide some answers. ITRE, located in Raleigh, at North Carolina State University, conducts research, education and technical assistance projects on a variety of surface transportation issues.
"We're looking at primary ways to redirect year-round and summertime congestion [using ITRE]," said Commissioner Cheryl Byrd. "Obviously, any progress would help everybody."
Effective planning is needed to resolve the issues, Byrd said. "We must identify and quantify [the issues] and look at case studies."
"It's a question of resources and know-how," she said.
"It's going to be solved on the county level," said Southern Shores Mayor Hal Denny, "if it's going to be solved at all and at a tremendous cost."
Dare County receives its guidelines for transportation services, primarily, from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT}, said Brandi Rheubottom, Director of Older Adults Services.
"We're walking a fine line," Rheubottom said. "Drivers are not trained to pick up riders who require on-going attention. Riders need to be cognitive."
The public transportation system is regulated by federal, state and county. The county provides $1 for every $9 dollars received from DOT. A ride limit was established, 12 per passenger per year, to the same location at the same time, so more residents might have an opportunity to participate, said Rheubottom.
"DOT's goal is to be more efficient. We provide transportation for everyone [but] that is the constraint. We all need to work together to get this done," she said.
The long, sparsely populated nature of the Outer Banks, tugs at the limited resources. One client had to travel from Hatteras to Richmond, Va. for treatment, at a cost of nearly $200 per trip. No group can receive preferential treatment, whether it is the Baum Center or GEM, she said.
"This is a small piece of a larger issue," Rheubottom said. "I admit I know it's not enough, we have to find another answer."
Nov. 17, 2004
News & Observer
By BRUCE SICELOFF
© Copyright 2004
If you ride your bike to work at the Triangle J Council of Governments, you can park it inside the building.
When Carrboro town employees make work-related trips around town, they're invited to use town-owned bicycles.
The GlaxoSmithKline cafeteria offers tempting food specials on ozone-alert days so employees will think twice about driving someplace for lunch.
These employers are among two dozen across the Triangle that provide a mix of incentives in a concerted effort to reduce automobile travel by their combined 70,000 employees. The incentives helped the employers win recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in its national Best Workplaces for Commuters campaign.
"For more of us Americans, the daily commute has become so time-consuming and stressful that it's like a second, part-time job," Stephen Offutt, manager of the Washington-based EPA program, said at a ceremony Tuesday at Exploris museum in downtown Raleigh.
To earn the designation, an employer must provide incentives to help workers use commuting alternatives including buses, van pools, carpools and bicycles. At least one major benefit is required, such as a transit subsidy or a substantial telecommuting program.
The two dozen participating workplaces include 11 Research Triangle Park employers, six local governments, two state universities and the Raleigh-area employees of the state departments of Transportation and Environment and Natural Resources. The two state departments are helping to develop the Triangle's travel-reduction campaign, which will serve later as a model for a statewide push.
A few RTP companies enable hundreds of their employees to telecommute from home at least a few days a week. Employer-subsidized bus passes make public transportation cheap or free for several thousand Triangle workers.
The local focus on the role of employers began in 1999 with an RTP program called SmartCommute. There were 11 Triangle participants in the EPA's Best Workplaces campaign last year. Advocates say that more efforts are needed to slow the growth of highway congestion and unhealthy air.
Joseph A. Freddoso, operations director for Cisco Systems in RTP, said he hoped to see as many as 60 Triangle employers honored next year.
"We can't highway-build our way out of traffic congestion and bad air," Freddoso said. "We have to take action."
COMMUTER-FRIENDLY EMPLOYERS
Twenty-four Triangle-area employers have been designated Best Workplaces for Commuters by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The program requires commuter benefits such as transit subsidies or major telecommuting options and a guaranteed ride home in case of a family or other emergency for employees who do not drive alone to work. For more information, see www.trianglebwc.org.
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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
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Triangle J Council of Governments
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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Bottom Line: NCSU vet school tests human medications for pets
Nov. 17, 2004
Associated Press; Scripps Howard News Service; Charlotte Observer; WCNC; Wilmington Morning Star; Winston-Salem Journal; Biloxi Sun Herald, MS; Bradenton Herald, FL; Centre Daily Times, PA; Duluth News Tribune, MN; Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN; Fort Wayne News Sentinel, IN; Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX; Grand Forks Herald, ND; Kansas City Star, MO; Kansas.com, KS; Kentucky.com, KY; Knoxville News Sentinel, TN; The Ledger, FL; Miami Herald, FL; Monterey County Herald, CA; Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC; Ocala Star-Banner, FL; Philadelphia Inquirer, PA; San Luis Obispo Tribune, CA; The State, SC; Tallahassee.com, FL; Times Daily, AL; Worcester Telegram, MA; WVEC, VA
By SABINE VOLLMER
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. - Major McCoy was diagnosed with epilepsy when he was 11 months old.
Now 3, he regularly takes phenobarbital, potassium bromide and Valium to control his seizures.
His treatment, which costs about $2,000 a year, is not unusual for those who suffer with epilepsy. But Major is an Australian shepherd - and so far the drugs have never given him more than 35 days without a seizure.
Major's illness illustrates a problem faced by pet owners and veterinarians. With few drugs tailored for animals, veterinarians are more and more turning to human drugs to treat anything from allergies to heart disease in pets. And although the practice is legal, there is limited evidence to suggest that the drugs will be as effective in the animals as they might be in their human companions.
But researchers at veterinary colleges such as N.C. State University's are working to change that. The school regularly runs clinical trials with pets as the patients to test the effectiveness of human drugs on their ailments.
Karen Munana, an associate professor of neurology at NCSU's veterinary college, is an investigator in a three-state study that tests how well Keppra, a seizure drug prescribed for humans, works in dogs whose seizures have been hard to regulate.
Major's owner, Mary Grace McCoy, enrolled him in Munana's clinical trial three weeks ago. She gives Major his medication at their home in Pittsboro and then takes him to NCSU for regular checkups. She doesn't know whether Major is getting Keppra or a sugar pill, but she still believes participating in the study is worth it.
"He's a perfectly normal dog between the seizures," McCoy said.
If the three-year study shows Keppra works well in dogs, the drug could be a valuable addition to a vet's tool kit despite its cost, Munana said. A month's supply costs $200.
"There are plenty of people who would be willing to pay that," she said. "But we want to make certain it works and there are no side effects in conjunction with other drugs."
Keppra is made by UCB Pharma, of Smyrna, Ga. A spokeswoman for the company, Lisa Garman, said researchers have the freedom to investigate Keppra as a drug for dogs. But UCB Pharma doesn't intend to pursue the animal-health market.
"We're not a veterinary medicine company," Garman said.
UCB Pharma's stance is basically the problem facing veterinarians and researchers.
For large pharmaceutical companies, the financial reward of pet drugs is not great enough to go through the expense of clinical tests required for FDA approval.
Even Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical company with an animal-health division in Greensboro, focuses primarily on human health.
Animal health is projected to generate 2.6 percent of Novartis' $27.9 billion annual sales this year, said Martin Flueckiger, an analyst with Bank Leu in Zurich.
But at least one company sees the potential in pets.
BioSite, a San Diego company that makes cardiovascular diagnostic kits for humans, has developed a dog-specific version.
Teresa DeFrancesco, an associate professor of cardiology and critical care at NCSU's veterinary college, said that based on the initial data she has received, "it works great."
More than 3 million dogs in the United States have heart disease and could use the test, said Ferran Prat, BioSite's director of strategic planning. With those numbers, the company will probably market the dog test, Prat said.
Expected to be priced at less than $50, the test would cost a fraction of the more than $300 dog owners now pay for X-rays and sonograms to diagnose heart failure.
"There's lots of interest," Prat said. "It's worth trying."
Tweaking tree genes on horizon
Nov. 17, 2004
Knoxville News Sentinel, TN; Record-Searchlight, CA; Scripps Howard News Service
By CATHERINE CLABBY
© Copyright 2004
After creating worm-resistant corn and glow-in-the-dark fish, it was only a matter of time before genetic tinkerers unveiled their next big thing.
Look up. Now they're talking trees, especially in the Triangle.
Science is poised to insert foreign genes into conifers and other trees harvested for cash.
Opposition already is stirring. The prospect raises ecological and cultural issues unlike any encountered before.
But the promise is big, too, said Claire Williams, a geneticist and visiting professor at Duke University. Designer trees may grow faster and yield products cheaper. That could preserve existing forests while the world's appetite for wood and paper keeps growing.
Supporters and skeptics, she said, need to talk. "We have a narrow window for constructive dialogue. In five or 10 years it will be too late," Williams said.
This week, she and the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke will host a gathering of scientists, lumber industry people, environmentalists and regulators to do just that. The two-day forum at Duke, funded by the National Science Foundation, will be closed to the media so that people can chat freely.
Also this week, the Institute of Forest Biotechnology will host a conference called "New Century, New Trees" in Research Triangle Park. It also wants to generate straight and informed talk about a field soon moving from the research stage to the planting stage.
Change is sprouting
So far, genetically altered trees are found in only a few places outside corporate or university research plots. Chinese foresters raise altered poplars resistant to bugs. And Hawaiian farmers tend papaya trees that have been made immune to a ringspot virus by a gene imported from that virus.
But change could be coming fast to states with sizable lumber-product industries, including North Carolina. In coming years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which reviews and permits genetically modified organisms, is expected to see more applications to test and then grow modified trees.
Geneticists at N.C. State University already have made experimental aspens that produce less lignin, the cellular substance that makes trees rigid and takes polluting chemicals and a lot of effort to break down in pulp mills.
In South Carolina, ArborGen, a research company launched by International Paper and MeadWestvaco Corp., wants to market genetically altered trees by the end of this decade.
"An increasing number of field trials will be very visible in the next three years," predicts W. Steven Burke, a vice president at the N.C. Biotechnology Center and a board member at the forest institute.
Plantations filled with engineered trees could follow.
Burke expects that people outside the forestry and lumber fields will be watching closely, because trees are so precious in aesthetic and in functional ways.
"Trees are requisite for life on this planet," he said. "We can survive without corn. We cannot survive without trees."
Worries of wide effects
Re-engineered trees would differ significantly from modified crops such as corn and soybeans, Williams said.
Trees are perennials that can live more than 100 years. They also produce large amounts of pollen that could carry altered genes for miles, making it more likely to affect nature's genetic profile.
That worries Alyx Perry, director of the Southern Forests Network, who will attend Williams' meeting. She sees possible environmental threats to natural forests and economic threats to private landowners raising timber on those forests.
"These are clearly brilliant people," Perry said of the scientists leading the charge into this new field. "But we have a real concern with ultimately how this technology is going to affect the land."
Some scientists advocate creating modified trees that are sterile, so their pollen can't mix with other trees. Similar strategies are under consideration to control the spread of altered genes from other re-engineered crops.
But some environmentalists question whether this planet needs sterile trees.
Extremists in this debate have previously resorted to sabotage. In 2001, vandals damaged most of the genetically altered trees grown at a University of Oregon program. That same year, an office building at the University of Washington was firebombed. It housed a geneticist who was developing a fast-growing poplar.
Dawn Parks, a spokeswoman for ArborGen, said her company hopes the Duke conference will help people with a stake in the debate sort substantive issues from those without merit.
"We want to determine which are real and which don't need to be addressed," she said.
Speaking face to face, Williams said, can only help. "I sympathize with all the different groups. It was time to talk," she said.
Pasquotank plans to keep lot minimum at one acre
Nov. 17, 2004
Virginian Pilot, VA
By LAUREN KING
© Copyright 2004
ELIZABETH CITY — Pasquotank County commissioners decided Monday night to keep the one -acre minimum lot size requirement for new subdivisions.
In July, the commissioners decided to increase the minimum lot size from 25,000 square feet to 43,000 square feet, or one acre, based on recommendations from Albemarle Regional Health Services. The primary concern was that growth could outpace the county’s services.
That change went into effect immediately, but after two months, the health department reduced its suggested minimum to 35,000 square feet and recommended requiring that a soil conservation drainage expert visit all new developments.
Rodney Bunch, Pasquotank’s planning director, had said that Dwayne Hinson,
a district conservationist for the department’s Albemarle Soil District, had
raised an objection about the second recommendation because Hinson’s territory
includes several counties, and long waits would result if he was required to
visit every proposed development.
But the health department wants more focus on the county’s drainage when officials
are considering new developments.
Several local developers supported the revision because they said the one -acre requirement is a “one-size-fits-all” solution that could be an unwise use of the county’s land.
The commissioners sent the issue to the Planning Board for a recommendation. The Planning Board voted 6-0 to reject the change.
“We had talked for many moons about how to slow growth in this county,” said Commissioner John W. Kitchen Sr. “The health department had originally agreed with us. ... I don’t think we need to go backward.”
Kitchen joined Commissioners Bill Trueblood, John “Hank” Krebs and Marshall H. Stevenson Jr. in rejecting the new health department recommendation and keeping the one -acre minimum.
Commissioners Lloyd E. Griffin III, Matt Wood and Cecil Perry voted to drop the minimum requirement to 35,000 square feet.
“I voted against it in the beginning,” Perry said. “In my opinion, the size of the lot will determine the cost of the new home.”
Before this year, the last time the minimum lot size was changed was in the 1990s, when commissioners approved 25,000 square feet.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a majority of Pasquotank was written off as unbuildable because the soils that made up most of the county could not support a traditional septic system, said Ralph Hollowell, environmental health director for health services.
But teaming with North Carolina State University, a solution to that problem was found – a sand line trench system. That system required builders to extract the clay from the ground and replace it with sand. The sand could then be used to filter the discharge. Artificial drain tiles also were placed in the ground to help push the water table down so that it would have less chance of mixing with the discharge.
Health officials also established a monitoring system that included an annual inspection.
In addition to the inspections, Hollowell said, septic systems had to be laid out in a small enough area so that the drain tiles could be put together tightly enough to work properly. To encourage that, the commissioners approved the 25,000-square-foot lot minimum, and that opened up the door to more development, Hollowell said.
Keep America Beautiful, Inc. Recognizes Four Cities For Exceptional Graffiti Prevention Programs
Nov. 16, 2004
SocialFunds.com; CSRwire.com
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
STAMFORD, CT - Keep America Beautiful, Inc. announces the results of its first annual Graffiti Hurts(R) National Award competition. Innovative graffiti prevention programs in four cities are the winners: First Response Team in Burlington, VT and Operation Clean Sweep in New Orleans, LA (first place overall winners); the Baltimore Police Department in Maryland ("mural" category winner); and Operation Brightside, Inc. Kansas City, KS (Honorable Mention).
"This Graffiti Hurts(R) awards program honors the best and most innovative collaborations to combat graffiti," said G. Raymond Empson, president of Keep America Beautiful, Inc. "Across the country we’re seeing creative and proactive ways to achieve lasting community improvement. These Graffiti Hurts(R) winners are taking responsibility for their environment and Keep America Beautiful is proud to recognize their achievements."
Graffiti Hurts(R) was developed in 1996 through a partnership between Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s largest nonprofit education and community improvement organization, and The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW), maker of Krylon paint. Graffiti Hurts(R) provides community resources and promotes best practices for graffiti prevention.
The competition drew over 60 entries from 26 states representing the best of local governments, police departments, nonprofit volunteer organizations and other groups dedicated to eradicating graffiti vandalism. Winning programs receive a cash award, a plaque, and local and national recognition. The four program winners also will present their program best practices at Keep America Beautiful’s 51st annual national conference, during a special conference session on December 1st in Washington, DC.
Award winners were selected by an independent panel of judges, who included Michelle Gregory, The Sherwin-Williams Company; Rosemary DeMenno the National Crime Prevention Council; Mike Zaleski, Hartford Proud and Beautiful; Deborah Lamm Weisel, North Carolina State University, and author of the U.S. Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Service publication, "Graffiti"; and Conni Kunzler, Consultant to Graffiti Hurts(R).
"The Graffiti Hurts(R) program demonstrates that effective public-private partnerships have a positive impact and make a difference in communities," said Christopher M. Connor, chairman and CEO of The Sherwin-Williams Company. "It enhances community awareness about the complex nature of graffiti and what can be done at a local level in terms of prevention, removal and education. Sherwin-Williams is committed to strengthening communities and protecting our environment through programs like Graffiti Hurts(R)."
About Keep America Beautiful, Inc. and Graffiti Hurts(R)
Keep America Beautiful, Inc. is a national nonprofit public education and community
improvement organization whose network of nearly 1,000 affiliate and participating
organizations engages individuals in programs that prevent litter and reduce,
reuse, recycle and properly manage waste materials. Through partnerships
and strategic alliances with citizens, businesses and government, Keep America
Beautiful’s programs motivate millions of volunteers annually to clean up,
beautify and improve their neighborhoods, creating safer and more livable
community environments.
To learn more about Keep America Beautiful, or its National Conference Graffiti Prevention session, visit www.kab.org. For more information about Graffiti Hurts(R) and its resources to help communities prevent graffiti, visit www.graffitihurts.org or contact graffitihurts@kab.org.
About the Graffit Hurts Award Winners
First Response Team in Burlington, VT
Since its launch in December 2001, First Response Team has repaired graffiti
vandalism in over 900 locations, racked up over 1,700 volunteer hours, painted
seven murals in high-graffiti areas, and in a local survey found that 92%
of respondents reported a decrease in graffiti in their neighborhood. With
an operating budget of $37,000, the program includes removal within 72 hours,
weekly volunteer cleanups, volunteer training, youth service learning, adopt
a block, mural and other restorative activities, and community service opportunities
for prosecuted graffiti vandals.
Operation Clean Sweep in New Orleans, LA
Through a grassroots effort and a shoe-string budget of just under $30,000
a year, Operation Clean Sweep has painted out over 10,000 tags and reduced
graffiti 65% overall in the City of New Orleans, and 85% in the French Quarter.
Building on broad local media support, and working with over 40 neighborhood
associations, youth groups, churches, schools, and the New Orleans Police
Department, Operation Clean Sweep has initiated a program that is reducing
crime and bringing a better quality of life to the City.
Baltimore Police Department in Maryland
The Baltimore Police Department and Access Art, a local youth art center, teamed
up on the "Mural Project," a creative outlet for Baltimore City
youth that discourages tagging in favor of public displays of positive community
images. The premise is that to change attitudes and behaviors, young people
must participate in their neighborhoods. Following 50 hours of professional
art instruction and education to promote civic responsibility, the youth
conceived and created a 25 x 75 foot mural showing residents in different
stages of community involvement. Youth who would otherwise be involved in
graffiti vandalism became advocates for cleaning up the neighborhood and
acting as role models for other youth. In 2003, Baltimore City painted over
500,000 square feet of graffiti at a cost of $350,000.
Operation Brightside, Inc. Kansas City, KS
In 2003, to respond to an increase in graffiti, the Unified Government of Wyandotte
County/Kansas City, KS built a coalition of public and private organizations
to assess the graffiti problem and design a solution. This Graffiti Task
Force targeted ordinance changes, expanded public and youth education, and
coordinated a new abatement effort. After one year, a total of 644 graffiti
cleanup projects were completed, 96% of calls to the graffiti hotline have
been resolved, and the new code enforcement process is providing victims
with free assistance.
Obituary: Norman C. Miller, Jr.
Nov. 17, 2004
News & Observer
For a copy of this obituary, contact News Services at 5-3470.
Obituary: Carey McGinnity McCrackan
Nov. 17, 2004
News & Observer
For a copy of this obituary, contact News Services at 5-3470.