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(10/22/08 4:00am)
Mae Arent put out two signs supporting the presidential candidate of her choice.When she drove down U.S. 15-501 this week" she noticed they were gone.""Last week they were there" and this week they aren't" Arent said.A number of complaints have been made to Orange County political party headquarters and to Chapel Hill police regarding recent sign thefts from both parties as election day nears.Arent purchased the Barack Obama signs for $15. She said not only were all the Obama signs gone on the strip, but signs for local and state Democrats were missing, too.Parties on both sides of the political spectrum have reported sign thefts.Former Orange County Republican Party Chairman Augustus Cho, who ran against U.S. Congressional candidate B.J. Lawson in the Republican primary in May, said the incidents don't surprise him.There's no guarantee in democracy" he said. It happened to me when I was running for Congress" so I imagine it goes on.""Chapel Hill police spokesman Kevin Gunter said there have been two or three cases of sign theft reported since the political season began"" but that some might go unreported.""There are so many signs on these intersections in towns" he said. People aren't reporting it to us" they're just replacing the signs.""Under N.C. law" sign theft is a Class 3 misdemeanor which could result in 30 days or less of imprisonment or a fine.On Oct. 11 Chapel Hill police arrested John Kees Frelinger a research coordinator at UNC for pulling up a John McCain sign during the UNC vs. Notre Dame football game. Frelinger reached by telephone declined to comment.Kevin Wolff a Republican candidate for the Orange County Board of Commissioners reported political signs were stolen from the median of N.C. 54 at 1:18 a.m. Wednesday.Chapel Hill residents Paul and Lolette Guthrie also had a sign stolen from their yard this week" the first time it has happened to them.""I think certain people don't like Obama signs up"" Lolette Guthrie said. There's some ugly folks.""Paul Guthrie is the treasurer for the Orange County Democratic Party. He said sign-stealing isn't very common"" but it seems more pervasive this year.""I think it probably is an expression of very strong sentiments that people have and the need to move on with the election"" he said. It's heightened by the fact that it's been such a long campaign.""The Democratic Party has distributed more than 3"000 signs during the course of the campaign and many have needed replacements recently" Paul Guthrie said.It appears that might continue until Nov. 4.""I just know that a huge number of signs are gone"" Arent said.I wish that people would find whoever did it and make them put it back.""Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/20/08 4:00am)
Although train tracks run through Hillsborough no train stops" and citizens are looking to change that.A group of Hillsborough citizens are pushing for an Amtrak train station that will be discussed at today's Orange County Board of Commissioners meeting.Commissioners will vote on whether to approve a community task force to determine future steps for the installation of the station.""There's been a huge amount of local interest"" Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens said. It is very positive. It's really accelerated the official efforts to help go forward with the station in Hillsborough.""Hillsborough already has Amtrak lines running through the town" Stevens said.But the closest train stations are located on either side of town in Durham and Burlington.Stevens said Amtrak and the N.C. Department of Transportation recently did a feasibility survey and found a station in Hillsborough could be put to good use while being economically efficient.Hillsborough Commissioner Eric Hallman said projected net profits from the train station are about $56"000 from ridership alone.""I think if you look at the ridership on any of the mass transit options we have" there is a huge demand" he said.The Chapel Hill Town Council passed in 2007 a resolution supporting construction of a new station by September 2009, but the town of Hillsborough will need to provide funds and land for the station.A new station would allow citizens like Art Mines, who commutes to work in Greensboro, to better utilize these rails.I love taking the train to work" but I have to drive halfway to get it Mines said. He drives to Burlington to catch the train two to three times a week and said he would ride every day if there were a station closer to home.Mines said there is high community support for the project.Mines and other supporters informally conducted a survey that found 400 people who would take the train.Many residents cited a reduced carbon footprint as a major reason for a train station. Commuting is costly" said Elizabeth Woodman, a member of Hillsborough's planning board. I see that most of the cars getting on interstates in the mornings are occupied by one person. I think that this would really help alleviate a lot of pollution.""Mines said the train station would not only benefit Hillsborough but also surrounding communities. ""Just think about what an impact it could have on UNC"" he said, explaining that students could travel on weekends easier. The train station could be completed in a minimum of nine months, Hallman said. Until then, citizens will have to wait.I assume we'll get a train station"" Mines said. The question is when.""Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/15/08 4:00am)
Several Orange County Schools may have to change their policies concerning athletic trainers in order to comply with a law proposed in the wake of deaths like that of Chapel Hill High School student Atlas Fraley.We've had three very unfortunate and possibly preventable deaths here in the state of North Carolina in the last six weeks"" said Kevin Guskiewicz, chairman of UNC's Department of Exercise and Sports Science.Fraley died in August after complaining of headaches and body cramps following a football scrimmage.Matt Gfeller of R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston Salem, and Jaquan Waller of J.H. Rose High School in Greenville also died after football-related incidents this year.Last week, Guskiewicz and Frederick Mueller, director of the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research and a UNC professor, put forth a proposal to the N.C. High School Athletic Association that would require high schools in the state to hire a full-time certified athletic trainer.Mueller and Guskiewicz say that schools should require a nationally certified trainer who doesn't have classroom responsibilities.The problem is most of the trainers are full-time teachers"" Mueller said.Stephanie Knott, spokeswoman for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, said there is someone at each of the district's high schools with the responsibility of an athletic trainer.Chapel Hill High School and East Chapel Hill High School have certified athletic trainers on campus, Knott said. But Chapel Hill High's athletic trainer, Ben Reed, doubles as a teacher at the school during the day. Officials at East Chapel Hill High could not be reached for comment.Carrboro High School has a third-level first responder who responds when emergency services are needed but does not work full-time, Knott said.Donna Williams, director of student services for the Orange County Schools superintendent office, said both Orange High School and Cedar Ridge High School have an athletic trainer, but they are not nationally certified.Guskiewicz, however, said that an athletic trainer who is not certified is not qualified for the position.In my opinion" it's an inappropriate title that they are claiming to hold and very misleading when they don't have the proper credentials" he said.While many faculty members see good intentions with hiring trainers who are not full-time teachers, they argue that a teacher who doubles as an athletic trainer is more practical.They don't have anything to do during the day"" said Jim King, a teacher and athletic trainer at Orange High. They'd be twiddling their thumbs.""King teaches sports medicine and physical education at Orange High. He says interaction with the students and the instruction of the material is a good sharpener for his trainer skills.""At the high school level" I don't know if we're going to see them be able to afford something like that" he said.Nationwide, the starting pay for the job is $35,000 to $40,000 a year, Guskiewicz said. If the Athletic Association adopts the recommendations, board members will push for the legislation to allow for some state funding to pay for salaries, Guskiewicz said.But if schools are unable to appropriate funds for a full-time athletic trainer, seven high-contact sports may have to be removed from the schools' roster.It may come to that"" Guskiewicz said. They may be forced to discontinue those high-risk sports.""April Ross" athletic director at Carrboro High" says the problem is not that trainers are part-time.""We've had a certified trainer in the past"" she said. Our current person is doing a fantastic job however our situation is that it's part-time.""The school system is investigating Fraley's case. When Fraley called emergency services" he complained of dehydration. However" Hayes doesn't think Reed's dual responsibilities affected his ability to help Fraley. ""As far as I'm concerned"" Mr. Reed did everything he could that day.""Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(10/08/08 4:00am)
Emergency services personnel are preparing for the double trouble that this year's Friday night Halloween might bring them.Alcohol-related emergencies are already more prevalent during the weekends and Halloween could put additional strain on services said Jeff Strickler" administrative director of UNC Emergency Medical Services.""We've always been very concerned about Halloween" he said. When you consider the fact that this event is on a weekend" it's a little bit of a perfect storm for us.""Chapel Hill officials are aiming to downsize the Halloween celebrations this year by shutting down a park-and-ride shuttle" decreasing parking availability and operating a bus to get partygoers out of the Franklin Street area and back to their apartment complexes.Town officials also are negotiating with local bars to limit the serving of alcohol on the night of Oct. 31. Bar owners say that drunk people on Halloween aren't spilling onto Franklin from bars but are coming into downtown already intoxicated.On Halloween Franklin Street has its own channel at the dispatch center because of the large number of emergency calls the police station gets.Frank Montes de Oca Orange County emergency services director said the increased number of calls from partygoers for extra aid to be brought in from different regions of the state. But he said there are always sufficient EMS services.Strickler said that on Halloween EMS easily sees twice as many cases than on a normal night and about half of the trauma patients have alcohol-related injuries.For the event UNC Hospitals sets up a field hospital in a campus building lobby to observe and assess patients quickly.Last year there were about 25 to 30 patients in the field hospital which usually stays open until about 3 a.m. Strickler said.Lt. Everett Clendenin of the N.C. Highway Patrol said despite the large number of participants which last year was about 800" drinking laws will be enforced and people will be charged if they are caught.Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran said most drinkers are targeted because they carry their alcohol with them.""All the red and blue cups"" he said. They don't fool anybody.""It's not rocket science.""Halloween is always planned well in advance. Curran said there are usually anywhere from 350 to 400 officers on the blocked-off section of Franklin Street alone.But until Halloween arrives" EMS" police and hospital services will be busy preparing themselves for the oncoming ""perfect storm.""""Halloween is a big event for emergency services in Chapel Hill"" Strickler said.That fear and concern is always there.""Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.