The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 17

li 1r til Zir (I) 'The Charlotte Observer Saturday May 13 1989 k' 'The Charlotte Observer Saturday May 13 1989 'io New Head Of UNCC Stresses Community Budget Iget New He "He embodies to a remarkable extent the well-trained and educated engineer and scientist who is also steeped in the best of liberal education" Spangler told board members An engineer by training Woodward is now senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham a young urban institution with a history similar to UNCC's Woodward starts in Charlotte July I at an annual salary of $100000 In an interview after his election By PAM KELLEY Staff Writer CHAPEL HILL UNC Charlotte's new chancellor Jim Woodward pledged Friday to strengthen UNCC's community ties and lobby the university system for more money The University of North Carolina Board of Governors unanimously approved system President CD "Dick" Spangler Jr's recommendation Friday to name Woodward 49 to replace retiring Chancellor EK Fretwell Jr By PAM KELLEY Staff Write CHAPEL HILL UNC Cl lotte's new chancellor Jim Woc ward pledged Friday to strength UNCC's community ties and lob Woodward said he believes faculty concerns about low funding for salaries supplies and support staff are justified Many faculty members and administrators believe UNCC doesnI get its fair share of state money "I think what you first do is provide very rational and very structured arguments within the system regarding the funding needs of that institution" he said "And if there are particular areas where we can show there are inconsistencies that is the other institutions in the system been set but Storrs said it will be "a substantial amount of money" It is important to correct state funding inequities before the campaign Storrs said because "nobody's willing to give money to replace money they feel they've already provided with their taxes" Woodward said he plans to push UNCC along its already-charted course to interact more with the community and conduct more research See WOODWARD Next Page are being better supported then I would expect to pursue that correction vigorously" UNCC Board of Trustees Chairman Tom Storrs who sat in on Wood-ward's interview said he doesn't think UNCC has been funded equitably but added that "the administration is sympathetic to our situation" One of Woodward's first tasks will be to help organize a major fundraising campaign keyed to UNCC's 25th anniversary next year A goal hasn't vs SS Woman Sentenced In Death (01 Tells ari Drunken Driving Caused Fatal Wreck 1 1 Says Threat Preceded Bookstore Bombing -eceded mbing Aid ft 41 4: i1J: A-4717- I A-" :4 Ts 4-'''t 7 '11't rs W54 44t -i'-! -A-4t 1: 'f- Lr' ''1--' 4 -'''c: i 'S A 'i0-- '11 1 1: I 1 otplig" r4: ii ex44 i 1 i r- 1 I '-N 1 T- -r: i -'k t'''4-i'' 'alaiist(-i-ilt6iis 7t '--4'-'- is15 i--i: 14' 1 ir4i 1 -4'V: 1- 'c 17---- 4 t': 0e -i 04 ys I I lt1-1 --NJ' -N 40WWOU A--- t- '''t (Z4A14 tiLL4r 4'4 4-' '7'3 1 4ft4 41v :1 7 i e' '-'4- 00 it--k r' "::7::: 4 P-M1: 4 Pk4 411i rri' 'r' 'fri' ''r "'yr' r' -i? 4C 5' '7: jr''''''i 04 kJ P4A 1' 1 31''''t 4 4 i 4 43''' 440' 'i i i' tio -4--14 kr70'0 --7 7il700 -v t-: -si IN40 1 2 4 1 1 "4 M1 ti 744" 414 -T ::7 1 1 ))) pei: Ot14-4Ate'' -1-2-- --c eit0 1 1 s--4' -0-i---' lik DAVIE HINSHAWStall Stan ly County farmer Coy Furr nets a few of the 3400 catfish he raises He lost about 100 last week because of the cloudy weather Carolinas Farms Get 'So Much Water Our Catfish Are Drowning' By CHIP WILSON Staff Writer SHELBY A Forest City man who was in the Shelby III Adult Book Store hours before five men were shot testified Friday that two men visited the store and threatened the manager Leslie Dean Watts testified in the trial of Douglas Sheets who is accused of joining two other men in the firebombing of the Shelby III shortly before midnight Jan 17 1987 Sheets and Robert Eugene Jackson face charges of murder assault arson conspiracy kidnapping and robbery Jackson is scheduled for trial June 5 Watts didn't identify Sheets as one of the men who visited the store about 7:15 that night He described both men as being in their late 20s One had sandy-blonde hair the other dark They caught Watts' attention by approaching night clerk Travis Melton at the store's front counter and asking to rent pornographic movies "Travis said there was a $50 deposit The large sandy-haired man said that was too damn much money" Watts said The two men then walked to the private movie booths in back of the store Watts said They entered one stall together "Travis had a large stick with a lead casing" which he used to knock on the booth door Watts said "He said 'One to a booth'" The men then walked back to the front counter Watts said and the blonde-haired one grabbed Melton by the shirt "He said 'I'll be back' Then he turned to all of us standing inside the store and said 'You're all a bunch of faggots and queers We'll be back' Watts said The men walked out Watts followed "It scared the living daylights out of me" he said "I went back to Forest City" Watts testified he saw a TV news account of the shootings the following night Melton died along with Paul Weston and Kenneth Godfrey Two other patrons John Anthony and James Parris were seriously injured Watts said he told his wife that he had been in the store He went to the police the next day He described the men's physical appearance and said one was wearing a wedding band "I thought it was strange that a man with a wedding ring would go into a single booth with another man" Watts said District Attorney Bill Young said Watts' testimony verified the earlier statement of a witness who claimed to have spoken with Sheets at the Cleveland County Jail in September 1988 Earlier Friday Herman Marcus Jamerson testified that Sheets told him that Jackson and former White Patriot Jeff Johnston of Shelby had gone inside the store posing as homosexuals Jamerson testified that Sheets admitting taking part in the killings with Jackson Johnston and Hugh Black of Gastonia Neither Johnston nor Black has been charged in the Shelby III incident 4 who was in the before five men men visited the trial of Douglas other men in the before midnight Dn face charges of kidnapping and rial June 5 le of the men who ght He described te 20s One had approaching night front counter and Dsit The large too damn much he private movie aid They entered casing" which Watts said "He he front counter one grabbed Mel-turned to all of us You're all a bunch tck' Watts said ed it of me" he said ws account of the In died along with Two other paTis were seriously le had been in the xt day LI appearance and Ind a man with a ingle booth with I Watts' testimony a witness who at the Cleveland lamerson testified and former White gone inside the admitting taking hnston and Hugh on nor Black has dent Section Woodward (7 Section A 1 irt Pii ye rEViltifrp0: t'o-t "4 2 4' A Woodward Pf 1 1 I IMP By GARY WRIGHT Staff Writer Sylvia Crawford cried in anguish as she limped from the courtroom Friday She had lost her left arm breast and ear in a fiery wreck about a year ago But Crawford wasn't in court as the victim of a crime The victim wasn't there She is dead Crawford's drinking and driving killed her Friday Mecklenburg Superior Court Judge Chase Saunders sentenced Crawford to two years in prison for felony death by vehicle Crawford was traveling about 75 mph on Sept 24 1987 when her 1978 Honda Civic struck a Ford pickup on Albemarle Road (NC 24-27) near NC 51 The pickup flipped and skidded on its roof before slamming into a tiee and trapping its passengers Pamela Thacker 40 of Stanfield died of head and chest injuries Her husband Richard Thacker 21 suffered a concussion Crawford now 27 wasn't seriously injured in that crash But on the same road about 512 months later her 1985 Chevrolet van went off the road hit a tree and burst into flames Craw- f-s' ford was se- verely burned At the time 4- 4 of her disabling eg' accident Craw- it ford was facing 131 a charge of second-degree murder a rarely used charge in sus-Crawford pected drunken-driving cases but one prosecutors seek when they believe there is evidence to establish malice in the reckless use of a vehicle "The facts of the case merit this type of prosecution" Mecklenburg assistant district attorney Stephen Ward said at the time Five days before the fatal accident Crawford had been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in Pageland SC She decided not to appear for trial and forfeited her bond Last November Crawford in a plea bargain with the prosecutor pleaded guilty to felony death by vehicle a crime punishable by up to five years in prison Because of Crawford's medical condition the sentencing was postponed until Friday During Friday's hearing defense lawyer James "Bill" Walker told Judge Saunders there was no evidence that alcohol was to blame for the March 6 1988 accident that left Crawford disabled But Walker said Crawford's blood-alcohol content at the time of the fatal accident was 0175 It is against the law to drive in North Carolina with a blood-alcohol content of 010 or more "There is no way I can justify the conduct of my client" Walker See DRIVER Next Page P' 1 40 44 15 I fi 0 i I 0' 2 L' 1' 4: tt tA '''F' i 1 ki 0-'-'' t'" 3i4 ::702:::: irl -s- i i 'ili 'E- 5:: VI: 40if! A i 'kk -i-4-3i'''r 1 r- Qe p-kt4 By GENE STOWE Staff Writer Last spring Carolinas farmers complained about dry weather This spring they're complaining about wet weather "We've had so much waterover here our catfish are drowning" said Stan ly County Agricultural Extension Director Frank Simpson He's serious: Sunless days deplete oxygen in the Stan ly County ponds where commercially grown catfish are penned The drenching spring has mired NC corn and SC cotton planters rotted hay potatoes and strawberries and left gloom blotch fungus and powdery mildew on the ripening wheat Last spring's drought withered corn parched pastures stressed vegetables and forced replanting of some tobacco But farm experts admit there's no such thing as a season that makes everybody happy "It does sort of seem like the farmers are never satisfied" said Union County Agricultural Extension Director MC Howell Jr "I guess it's a lot like a family that has heat and air conditioning in the house "There are very few days when the comfort is just right Agriculture is so diverse When one thing is good for one part of agriculture it's actually bad for another one" This time last year about 1012 inches of rain had fallen in the Charlotte area This year more than 1812 inches have soaked the soil Raleigh has had more than 20 inches Asheville more than 16 Two-thirds of North Carolina's farm soil had more water than it See AFTER Page 3C it41 )1 vtict DAVIE HINSHAWStaff Coy Furr and his son Curtis Inspect damage to their corn from last week's frost tv: '''s" aacil ti 4 Stvi 1 I A 9 Inmates Turn Freedom In Jail Melee lelee acks Most of cell block A awakened to a scuffle about 2 am as three prisoners overpowered Detention Officer Darrell Walters with a sharpened toothbrush locked him in cell No 6 stole his car and fled Charged with escape kidnapping armed robbery assault and battery with intent to kill auto theft and criminal conspiracy were Charles Ray Nelson 26 of Rock Hill Robert Daryl Curlee 24 of Maury NC and Kelly Debray Wallace 19 of Raleigh Carolinas authorities are searching for them Hart in the cell where the breakout started said several prisoners banged on the bars and yelled for help for an inmate they said was having a seizure That inmate is often sick and even Hart believed the ploy Chief Deputy Gail Maggart said inmates reported during interviews the men yelled for help saying the inmate was turning blue See 9 INMATES Next Page are searching for ere the breakout lers banged on the or an inmate they That inmate is believed the ploy ggart said inmates vs the men yelled was turning blue Next Page By LOLO PENDERGRAST Staff Writar ROCK HILL Inmate John Hart weighed God and his family against the lure of an open jail cell and an unconscious jailer He chose God and family "It was not the right way" said Hart 34 one of nine York County inmates who refused to participate in an escape early said I was through with that life I was going to change And this is one of the ways I've proved that to myself" In 112 hours of events that astonish even veteran deputies the nine got back in their cells helped spring an injured jailer from a locked cell loaned him cigarettes and hunted for his missing wedding band "I guess there is an unwritten understanding the jailers have a job to do and inmates know the jailers don't have anything to do with them being there" said York County sheriff's Capt Mike Green Inside Lenoir Police Blame Alcohol In Man's Death tme Death SC Girl's Abduction Still A Mystery To Investigators In Sanford A Lee County Superior Court Judge allowed testimony outside the Jury's presence about a tape recording that reportedly contains the voice of a slain high school baseball coach Page 2C In Durham Dr Keith Brodie was asked to remain as president of Duke University for an open-ended term despite a professor's call for trustees to find a new leader By ROB URBAN Catawba Vallee Bureau A Lenoir man found dead in front of his house with his clothing drenched last week died of alcohol poisoning Lenoir police said Friday William "Wild Bill" Runion 70 left his Vance Street home near uptown Lenoir the morning of May 3 with several friends police said Neighbors said he had received his Social Security check that day and was headed to the bank to cash it That afternoon a neighbor told police he saw a car pull up in front -t of Runion's home A man and a woman got out of the back seat and dragged Runion's body out of the car up onto his front lawn When a neighbor came outside the man and woman walked quickly away and the car backed around the corner "All the persons that were around him that day have been questioned" Lenoir Police Capt Derek Poarch said Friday "The investigation indicates he left with these acquaintances on the day he died and went to the Johns River community with those folks" Throughout the morning Runion drank with his friends Poarch said When he passed out they attempted to revive him by pouring water over him When they couldn't they put Runion in the car and brought him back to Lenoir "Lie apparently died somewhere in the car on the way back from the Johns River community" Poarch said An autopsy revealed no external or internal injuries Poarch said Runion's blood-alcohol level was 045 about 412 times the limit defined by NC law as legally drunk Poarch said none of the people who were with Runion the day he died would be charged noir Police Capt iid Friday ation indicates he acquaintances on I and went to the with he morning Ru- ith his friends len he passed out to revive him by ver him ouldn't they put ir and brought him ly died somewhere IC way back from er community" vealed no external tries Poarch said -alcohol level was 2 times the limit law as legally lone of the people Runion the day he halted Kia's mother Bernetta returned to her job as a teacher at Nonhside Junior High taking a maternity leave in late winter to give birth to a boy She has declined to be interviewed sending word through a colleague that the subject is too painful Kia's father Richard a businessman in nearby Saluda still hopes that the reward for information about his daughter now totaling $20528 will bring in a tip that will lead to his daughter's kidnapper Kia's third-grade teacher Barbara Shelley has a new crop of students at Merrywood Elementary The 8-year-olds don't mention Kia "But people have not forgotten" Shelley said She sees the evidence every day in the watchfulness of mothers Kia's bike was found beside the apartment manager's office The public areas of the complex including the pool were crowded with families but no one saw Kia leave her 11' bike Witnesses fSt: said earlier in wt Id to the day they I -tti-kitg saw a stranger y1 at the complex a blond- :1" haired pock- marked man A composite Malakia Logan sketch of the man was distributed nationwide garnering 400 leads for the sherill's department But neither the man nor the car he drove has been located The past year has been one of change for many involved in the case Associated Press GREENWOOD SC One year after Malakia Logan was abducted from outside her apartment building authorities say they are no closer to finding the 8-year-old or her kidnapper "We're still out there and we're still hopeful" said Greenwood County Sheriff Sam Riley "Within a short period of time if you haven't recovered her then naturally you fear the worst" he said "But at the same time I've known of situations where it's been several years and the person shows up" Kin as the girl was known was kidnapped May 15 1988 She had been playing on the basketball court at the Georgetown apartment complex where she lived and was seen heading for home on her bicycle about 8:15 pm When she did not show up by 8:30 pm her mother called the sheriff Page 4C In Rutherford ton Stephen Louis Moore of Shelby Is sentenced to 50 years In prison for the 1983 stabbing and shooting death of a former community college Instructor Page 4C 1.