Asheville Citizen-Times from Asheville, North Carolina • Page 8

State Region Page2B ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES Tuesday, May 31, 1994 Like Democrat Terry Sanford before him, Lauch Faircloth is receiving thousands of dollars from banks while sitting on the Senate Banking Committee. With contributions totaling more than $100,000, banking topped the list of had not contributed to Faircloth during the campaign. "We went back and wanted to make amends, in a sense," said Frank McLaughlin, director of political affairs for the American Dental Association. The group gave $3,000 to Faircloth in 1993 after contributing $10,000 to Sanford during the campaign. "We just wanted to say, 'OK, we backed the other guy, but we want to start anew with McLaughlin said.

"We understand the pressure to raise money in off-year elections is tremendous. We want to help him in that regard. We don't expect anything more than just an opportunity to work with him and share our thoughts on what's happening with dentistry. "We think of him as a friend and want to help him any way we can." Other political-action committees were not willing to talk about why they waited until after the election to contribute to Faircloth. "We play by the rules of the Federal Election Commission," said James Stacey, a spokesman for the American Medical Association, which contributed $4,000 to Faircloth last year after giving Sanford $5,000 during the campaign.

"The only comments we make are to the FEC." regulates banks. "He's carrying their water for them on the Senate Banking Committee," Faircloth said during a 1992 campaign stop in Durham. "He represents the bankers, not the people banks are supposed to serve." On April 23, at a reception sponsored by the American Bankers Association, political-action committees for 10 banks contributed almost $15,000 to Faircloth. For many of the PACs, it was the first time they had contributed to Faircloth. Some, such as Banc One of Columbus, Ohio, had given heavily to Sanford.

The bank's PAC contributed $1,000 to Faircloth in 1993 after giving $4,500 to Sanford during the campaign. "Senator Faircloth is on the banking committee, and he seems to understand the needs of the banking industry," said Walter Kirkwood, vice president for governmental affairs for Banc One. "Senator Sanford had been on the banking committee, and he had been a good person on the banking committee." Banks were not the only ones to develop a friendship with Faircloth after the election. Of almost $900,000 in identifiable contributions to him in 1993, more than $500,000 came from people or PACs who Half of his money came from political action committees ASSOCIATED PRESS RALEIGH U.S. Sen.

Lauch Faircloth, who ran against special interest groups during the 1992 campaign, is now relying on their money. In Faircloth's first year as a senator, the North Carolina Republican received more than half his money from out of state. Broken down a different way, half the money came from PACs representing special-interest groups. When Faircloth was a candidate, less than a quarter of his contributions came from such groups, and less than a third came from outside North Carolina. And like Democrat Terry Sanford before him, Faircloth is receiving thousands of dollars from banks while sitting on the Senate Banking Committee.

With contributions totaling more than $100,000, banking topped the list of identifiable interest groups contributing to Faircloth. UM laemijiaoie interest Lauch Faircloth groups contributing to Faircloth. Faircloth did not return telephone calls from the newspaper. There was no answer at his offices in Clinton or Washington on Monday. As a candidate, Faircloth accused Sanford of having "sold his soul" to the bankers by taking contributions from them while a member of a committee that KIDS ON PARADE FmMBc vs- private Ocracoke pier sparks debate over access to Pamlico Sound 4.

DIGEST 'I- i 'i vrt A hi the coast to the mountains. The state owns the submerged lands under these waters, holding them in trust People have the right to boat, swim, fish or dig for clams in public trust waters in much the oame way they have a right to walk unimpeded along the beaches. But increasingly," recr'eation-oriented developments such as piers, marinas and even anchored mooring buoys for boats are taking away the public's unfettered use of waters along the coast. Critics say North Carolina has been negligent by failing to safeguard the public's interest At New Bern, for example, a 450-boat marina takes up two-thirds of the width of the Trent River. 'c They also claim the state lets developers exploit public waters for profit, charging no fees for piers or marinas whose boat slips fetch thousands of dollars.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS OCRACOKE The pier is only 350 feet long, but it's the focus of a fight over access to North Carolina's public waters. The pier, built for the exclusive use of property owners at the Ocracoke Horizons condominiums, juts into the Pamlico Sound. But some Ocracoke residents say it blocks boating and fishing and harms fish by killing aquatic grasses they need. A judge has sided with them, ordering the pier torn down. "Boats no longer traverse the sound there said Charles Run-yon, 80, a retired lawyer who lives a block away.

"It was a good place to go sailing." But the condo owners question the validity of the judge's order and maintain their pier, approved by the state, should stand. The pier spans what are called "public trust waters." These are the state's navigable waters from fi i 1 i. i. i. n.

i ft imii -in i i i Whale dies despite rescue efforts WILMINGTON It may be months before authorities find out what caused a whale to repeatedly wash on up on beaches during the holiday weekend before dying at Ocean Isle Beach on Sunday. The black and gray whale, which was less than a year old, first washed up at Holden Beach on Saturday. Onlookers were able to push the whale back into the surf, but it washed up again about a half mile down the beach. Again, onlookers pushed the whale back into the ocean. The whale landed a third time before dawn Sunday at Ocean Isle Beach Fishing Pier and was again pushed back into the sea.

It was found dead a short distance off the shore Sunday morning. A necropsy was performed, but results may not be available for months. Ben Chans to address rally KANNAPOLIS NAACP executive director Ben Chavis is scheduled to speak at a rally Tuesday in support of students suspended after a disturbance at A.L. Brown High School. i On May 11, students walked out of class after learn-ing that principal John Maye's contract would not be renewed.

Students pulled fire alarms, fought each other and marched on the central office to demand an explanation for Maye's departure. Kannapolis police arrested 10 students. Maye suspended the 10 students who were arrested and another student caught pulling a fire alarm. Kannapolis schools superintendent Ed Tyson said the suspended students can make up work during night classes. The Rev.

John Jones had asked Tyson to rescind the suspensions. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Poor communities say bypass would benefit wealthy resorts JOHN COUTLAKISCrriZEN-TIMES Singing together during "Kids On Parade Fashion Extravaganza" Saturday at Pack Place Education, Arts and Science Center are, from left: Promise Hill, Brianne Rowland, 11; Danielle Carson, and Charne Tucker, 4. Fourteen children played piano, read poetry, danced and participated In a fashion show during the event Intended to create mors Interest In performing arts among Asheville youths. Alicia Mario Mosher won first place; McCall Oliver was first runner-up; and Jasmine Shepard was second runner-up. Winners received a savings bond and gifts from the local chapter of links, a non-profit national organization of professional women, which sponsored the event Bear poaching is perennial problem THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SOUTHERN PINES Behind the showcase that is Pine-hurst with its world-class golf courses and sumptuous retirement villas people in four tiny communities feel cheated.

In Midway, Berkley, Broadway and Jackson Hamlet, residents are fighting a proposed highway bypass they Bay sacrifices their basic needs for the convenience of wealthy golfers. At issue is a $50 million project to expand N.C. 211, one of several roads that feed into Moore County. The proposed road has the backing of Pinehurst residents, who would like to see reduced traffic along N.C. 6, which winds through the Pinehurst Resort and Country Club's seven golf courses.

Jesse Wimberly of the Piedmont Peace Project, an organization that has been the galvanizing force behind the protest, says Pinehurst civic leaders also don't want poor people driving through the town's streets. "It takes away from the image of wealth, resort and that whole feel to the place," Wimberly said. The 25-mile project, slated for completion at the turn of the century if it's approved, also would mean the loss of 30 homes and 10 businesses, as well as many of the longleaf pines that distinguish the area. What Wimberly and others like him want is to see the idea stricken from the state's Transportation Improvement Plan. They would also like money to be fun-neled into their communities.

"We're not just a bunch xf angry poor people who are jealous of people who have wealth," he said. "What we're trying to draw atten-. tion to is institutionalized policies that benefit wealthy people over poor people. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. For hundreds of years, black bear hunting has been a tradition in East Tennessee.

At first, the bear was a source of food and furs. "It has been passed down through the ages," said Steve Nifong, assistant chief of law enforcement for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Now, the bears are valued in parts the gall bladders are used in medicines in the Orient, and the teeth, hide and paws also can be sold. Some hunters want to kill a black bear so badly they are willing to illegally get bears through poaching setting bait to attract bears or killing them out of season. The value placed on experienced hunting dogs also seems to encourage bear poaching, according to Nifong.

In the 1980s, officials made a concerted effort to stop poaching through Operation Smoky. "I think bear poaching is down from when it peaked in the 1980s," Nifong says. "We continue to have a poaching problem." State officials say they don't really know how widespread the practice may be, but they do believe it has dropped some. "It's just one of those things endemic to the area," says Doug Scott, a TWRA wildlife biologist "You have to be careful with the bear resource because it's limited," Hunting seasons are usually in the fall. Nifong says the increasing value of bear hunting dogs is one reason poaching continues.

"(Bear hunting) is particularly a houndsman's sport in this part of the country," Scott said. Smoking debate provides weekly fireworks on Capitol Hill THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON It's become almost a weekly occurrence: A panel of congressmen grills yet another witness in a quest to prove tobacco companies engineered a massive conspiracy that killed Americans. Full of fireworks and enough to anger any congressman from a tobacco-growing state. Congress is "repeatedly beatirg the tobacco industry into the ground without apparent legislative purpose," said Rep. Alex McMillan, "Let's move on with the legislation instead of engaging in a PR extravaganza." "What these hearings are showing is the industry has abused its right to manufacture these products," said Scott Ballin of the Coalition on Smoking or Health.

"But we want to make sure Congress remains focused We've got to come to an end point somewhere." States are suing cigarette Turns and companies are banning smoking. The Food and Drug Administration may regulate tobacco products as drugs, a move that would ban most cigarettes. But the rilost heat is from Capitol Hill: Members tant" The industry is responding with massive advertising campaigns and lawsuits. "Yeah, we have to fight back," said Tobacco Institute spokeswoman Brennan Dawson. "This is a legal product that people choose to use.

These people are not criminals, they're not drug addicts, they're tax-paying neighbors and family who ought to be treated with the same accord everyone else Is." How much will the heat hurt? "I don't think anyone can look into their crystal ball and say what will happen," she said. But anti-smokers say the field is forever changed. "The hearings have catapulted tobacco to the front burner," said Ballin, who is pushing Wax-man to move on to legislation next month. The saga began in March, when FDA Commissioner David Kessler unveiled patents indicating tobacco companies can manipulate nicotine levels. If they do, and if nicotine is addictive, he plans to regulate tobacco as a drug.

The chiefs of the seven largest tobacco firms responded, under oath, that nicotine isn't addictive and "What these hearings are showing is the industry has abused its right to manufacture these products. SCOTT BALLIN COALITION ON SMOKJNO OR HEALTH there's no proof that smoking causes disease. But there's evidence indicating that the companies know otherwise, including statements from industry scientists and confidential Brown Williamson company documents that Waxman will probe next month. "We had a pretty good idea of what the materials were that caused the cancer" before 19G3, said James Mold, a Liggett Myer scientist for 30 years. In 1953, New Yoik researchers found the first proof that cigarette tar caused cancer in mice.

In 1955, Mold proved that study was accurate. But his work "was not for publication. Certainly the never saw it" "(Congress is) repeatedly beating the tobacco industry into the ground without apparent legishtive purpose. u.s. rep, alex McMillan REPUBLICAN FROM NORTH CAROLINA of Congress want a Justice Department criminal investigation of the industry.

The House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee narrowly passed a ban on most indoor smoking, the heaviest tobacco restrictions ever to pass a congressional paneL And now the subcommittee is considering letting the FDA regulate tobacco without banning It Debate on the bill hasn't been scheduled, but Rep. Henry Waxman, who accuses companies of conspiring to hide tobacco's danger and addictiveness, says his hearings are vital to generate support for such legislation. "I Intend to Continue to call hearings," said Wax man, D-Catif. "I can't think of anything more impor.