Rocky Mount Telegram from Rocky Mount, North Carolina • 1

Volume 91, No. 239 Seventy-five cents ))l U.S. OPEN Tiger vs. the field LET'S FIRE UP THE GRILL Prep time for cookquts SPORTS IC TOP THRILLS 'Psycho' heads film list FOOD IB LIFE 3B ROCKY MOUNT, NORTH CAROLINA WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13,2001 Serving the All-America City urn? Ml1 ID) A lviT Helms dining with rock star International debt relief on menu at luncheon with Bono 1 I I nations. He is the co-author of a Senate bill that would provide more money for Third World debt forgiveness and tighter controls over World Bank and IMF lending practices.

"Senator Helms was already into this last year, before he met with Bono," Broughton said. "He. has long been interested in humanitarian aid all around the world, most i.f it pay back astronomical loans to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. "Senator Helms has never been a fan of the IMF or World Bank," Broughton said. "He'll be the first to tell you that they've failed." Helms, 79, has been a longtime and ardent critic of the two international lending institutions, which were established after World War II to provide financial aid to developing "The issue is to take Third World debt relief to a new stage," said Jimmy Broughton, Helms' chief of staff.

"It will be a working lunch, and Bono will make a presentation he'll have more specific proposals." After meeting in September 2000, the archconservative Tar Heel senator and the ultrahip Irish singer formed an unlikely alliance to seek debt forgiveness for impoverished Third World countries struggling to By GENE METRICK Staff Writer U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, is scheduled to have what may turn out to be a beautiful day in Washington, D.C., today with rock star Bono. Helms is sponsoring a Capitol Hill luncheon for the lead singer of the rock band, U2, to discuss international debt relief with a group of his Senate colleagues. Contributed photo U.S.

Sen. Jesse Helms, with Bono, lead singer of the Irish rock band U2, in Helm's Washington, D.C., office last fall. See HELMS, 2A evalositioini MLK Park Playground city tax cut Council begins budget review' ill; Mf-it I. i. 'jw frr 4 1 By RAY WATTERS Staff Writer The Rocky Mount City ''Council began reviewing a proposed two-cent tax cut Monday, which would be made possible because of increased property values in Rocky Mount from Nash and Edgecombe counties property revaluations.

The city's recommended annual budget for the 2001-02 fiscal year suggests reducing the property tax rate from 46 The city's property tax rate has not changed for the past six years. The council will continue to review the recommended budget at its next meeting at 4 p.m. today in the conference room behind the council chambers on the third floor of City Hall. The recommended budget for 2001-02 totals $167,591,133. That almost is a 5 percent decrease from the 2000-01 budget of $175,882,646.

The budget is smaller because some city projects have been finished and because of a hiring freeze and other cost-cutting The council will continue to review the recommended budget at 4 p.m. today at City Hall. Telegram photo David H. Weaver Paul Goddard, of Playmax Installation Technology of Clearwater, applies another coat of urethane Tuesday to the rubberized play surface surrounding part of $43,000 worth of playground equipment at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Rocky Mount.

The grand opening of the park is scheduled for late July, when work will begin on the MLK monument. New law keeps suspended in class Attorney General Roy Cooper initiated legislation measures, said Steve Raper, Rocky Mount city manager. Under the current tax rate, the owner of a house worth $80,000 would pay $368 in city property taxes. The same owner only would pay $352 if the tax rate is reduced by 2 cents. A tax rate of 44 cents per $100 valuation would be the third-lowest in the state, compared to other cities with more than 20,000 residents.

Raleigh has the lowest tax rate and Cary has the second lowest rate, Raper said. The tax cut will not be the only thing affecting residents' See BUDGET, 2A Higgs found guilty of food stamp fraud "This new law will help catch those children who are at a crossroads between learning from their mistakes and starting a pattern that will turn to crime." probation. He originally was charged with felony food stamp fraud. Higgs, 46, is no stranger to controversy or jail. He has By VIOLA HARRIS Staff Writer TARBORO Just'a week after being denied a second ROY COOPER N.C.

Attorney General suspensions could be sent to Tar River Learning Center. The center will relocate from its Fairview Road location to the former W. L. Greene Elementary School campus in Nashville in the fall. Joyce Sulfaro, Tar River Learning Center acting principal and the Nash-Rocky Mount Schools' dropout prevention coordinator, praised the new law.

Instead of allowing suspended students to spend their punishment on the street, the program enforces structure and still allows them to continue their education. Moreover, students will have access to counseling. "I think it's wonderful," Sulfaro said. "Law enforcement will be real excited." N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper, who initiated the legislation, said he believes that children who have discipline problems in school are likely to commit crimes later in life.

"They are the ones we need to catch early," Cooper said in a news release. "This new law will help catch those children who are at- a crossroads between learning from their mistakes and starting a pattern that will turn to crime." By BILL CRAIG Staff Writer Gov. Mike Easley has signed a bill into law to keep short-term suspended students off the streets and in a classroom. The bill establishes as many as five pilot programs for short-term suspended students in state schools through the State Board of Education, in cooperation with the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and the N.C.

Department of Public Instruction. Short-ferrri suspensions' are generally imposed for misbehavior or poor attendance. Alternative learning programs are for students receiving long-term suspensions for serious or repeat disciplinary problems. Nash-Rocky Mount Schools will apply to have one of the programs. Dr.

Stephanie Brown, director of pupil services for Nash-Rocky Mount Schools, said the district has a tentative plan to implement the program, but couldn't say exactly what that plan entails. "There's a whole load of stuff," she said. "We're keeping our fingers crossed." term on the Edgecombe County Social Services Board by the county Board of Commissioners, Roosevelt Higgs was found guilty of misdemeanor food stamp fraud in Superior Court this week. been arrested for voter fraud, resisting arrest and failing to remove his hat inside a courtroom. He was replaced on the Social Services Board by the Rev.

William Clayton II Each pilot program will include a plan for supervising students who are suspended for less than 10 days. The program is voluntary, and funding will come from private foundations, like the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, a philanthropic organization headquartered in Wrrnston-Salem, the N.C. Attorney General's office reported. Students in the Nash-Rocky Mount system who are given short-term HIGGS Higgs was sentenced to five days in the county Detention Center and 24 months of supervised on June 4 by the commissioners.

Clayton will take See FRAUD, 2A in Sports I-5C Television 4B Comics 5D Food I-2B Carolina 8 5, 6B Classified 1-6 Thunderstorms Thursday. High 85. Low 69. Details 8A Obituaries 8A Opinion 4A 1075 00776.