The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 16

GO NATIONFROM PAGE ONE THF CHARI OTTF OBSFRVFR I www charlotte com 16A WFPNI SPAY 0( TOHFR 3 2007 Snratlh way or duo speedway Drag Strip from 1A Bruton Smith: Is The Thanks We In an interview Tuesday with the Observer Speedway Motorsports Chairman Bruton Smith said fed up with Concord city leaders 5 YEARS AFTER KILLINGS Sniper phones daughter 7 need to says man convicted in Ariz DC-area deaths it sounds like I feel like I am a victim in this I do feel like the victim I know why the mayor of Concord dislikes racing the way it appears that he does" "People tell me how hard it is supposed to be to do business in California But I am treated much better in California than I am here at my own back door or side door are 144 drag strips in United States and I know of any one of them that is having problems like LUKAS JOHNSON ljohnson(a)charlotteobserver com "I feel like I have been an excellent corporate citizen in Concord We have given more than $5 million through Speedway Charities I have given money to the Junior (Charity) League (of Concord) they have some very nice people there I gave a truckload of art for the old courthouse We have done a lot of good things and this is the thanks we get?" Preliminary grading work takes place last week near The Dirt TrackLowe's Motor Speedway where owner Bruton Smith is looking to add a $60 million drag strip make sure he follow through Concord Mayor Scott Padgett objected to criticism He said the city was one of the first to embrace the motorsports industry when others shunned it At the same time the city wants to protect the neighbors Padgett said Some residents live less than a mile from the proposed location for the drag strip They say worried noise from the track could disturb their sleep and drive down property values have legitimate concerns that need to be addressed but I think they could be Padgett said hoping cooler heads will prevail and there will be an opportunity for everyone to sit down and talk and look for ways to work this situation out I recall a time when ever said to anything the speedway A force for tourism tax base Losing the speedway would be extraordinarily costly to Concord and Cabarrus County The speedway brought $169 million in tourism spending to Cabarrus last year nearly 70 percent of all the tourism money that came into the county according to the Cabarrus Regional Chamber of Commerce In taxes the speedway is worth about 1 percent of Cabarrus property tax revenues and about 2 percent of worth about $102 million in property taxes to the county this year and $722247 to Concord "If the folks there like noise maybe one day they will not allow jets to come into the airport there so they will lose that If I find enough land and get permitted by the FAA I will build an airport where I build the new track" "We are either going to go away or the city of Concord will go away and leave us alone" DAVID POOLE AND SHARIF DURHAMS the fourth-largcst taxpayer behind Philip Morris USA Corning and Concord Mills mall When asked to describe how important keeping the speedway is to Concord John Cox chief executive officer of Cabarrus Economic Development made this observation on the series of blows the economy has endured in recent years: The Pillowtex manufacturing plants have closed Midland plant shut down operations in 2002 and only this year began moving toward restarting Philip Morris USA has announced its plans to close its Concord cigarette plant and three other major businesses have been bought by outsiders put all of those things Cox said the impact of losing Motor Speedway would be Work started but no permits In August Smith announced plans to build the drag strip He said then that racing could begin there in April His company started grading land for the drag strip more than a week ago though it had not applied for required city and county permits Concord City Council members called a special meeting Monday and by unanimous vote changed the zoning on property to ban drag strips Padgett said the council would consider reversing the decision if Speedway Motorsports would take measures to reduce noise at drag races Besides moving the track Smith said his lawyers were studying whether they could have his property By Matthfw Barakat Associated Press MlLEAN Va Cheryll Witz was shopping for a birthday cake when her cell phone rang Waiting to speak to her was one of the most notorious serial killers the man who killed her father five years ago need to apologize for what done to you and your Lee Boyd Malvo said Sept 20 Witz stood my eyes In March 2002 Malvo who was 17 at the time shot and killed father Jerry Taylor who was practicing chip shots on a practice green in Tucson Ariz The slaying was a precursor to a sniper spree that terrorized the Washington DC area in which Malvo and partner John Allen Muhammad killed 10 people and wounded three others over a threc-w'cek span beginning Oct 2 2002 Malvo placed the call to Witz thiough a third party He had initially called a producer at ABC News who then used three-way calling to connect Malvo to Witz after she agreed to take the call Witz said that Malvo broke down at one point as he spoke first thing he said was tried to write a letter to you but I I know what to Witz said Witz said that she remains angry but that it was important to her to hear apology told him that I was glad he get the death penalty I told him need to think about what Witz said said Lee then and Lee now arc two different from Concord so city leaders could not control the zoning a long shot The state legislature would have to approve such a change Smith has made threats like this before In 2003 the Tennessee county that hosts Bristol Motor Speedway was considering raising money through an entertainment tax that would apply to race tickets After Smith threat ened to pull his NASCAR races from the track Sullivan County Tcnn leaders backed away from the idea Smith also got into a public name-calling match with Charlotte and Mecklenburg leaders in 2004 over whether they had given him permission to cut down hundreds of trees that the track had promised to save Sharif Durhams: 704-786-2185 summer clearance WILLIAM GRAY Hurricane expert reduces forecast His Colorado State team calls for 4 named storms in October November Juniors Children Associated Press FORT COI LINS Colo Hurricane expert William Gray slightly downgraded his forecast Tuesday calling for four named storms in October and November including two hurricanes one of them major team at Colorado State University had predicted five named storms in their earlier forecast for the two months expect Octobcr-Novem-ber to be very said Phil Klotzbach lead author of the hurricane forecast In April Gray had predicted a 2007 season with 17 named storms including nine hurricanes with five of them major hurricanes As of Oct 1 a total of 13 named storms had developed including four hurricanes Two of the hurricanes were major team revises the forecast throughout the hurricane season which lasts fiom June through November had somewhat above-average activity about 130 percent of average while September had about average activity -about 92 percent of Klotzbach said Eight named storms formed in September in the Atlantic basin tying a record set in 2002 for the most in that month But measured by the combined strength and duration of those storms this September was actually the least active in the Atlantic since 1997 the National Hurricane Center said That is because most of the September storms were weak and short lived Accessories Intimate Apparel Home cosmetics Earn Reward Points toward more Dillard's Reward Certificates every time you shop A to credit approval Certificates for opening a Dillard Card account will arrive with the Dillard Card 4 4 a 1 and expire 60 days from issuance See credit application for Rewirds program terms fjg1 JfVuM fee 22222 I OPEN MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY 10 AM 9 PM OPEN SUNDAY 12 NOON 6 PM USE YOUR DILLARD CHARGE WE WELCOME VISA MASTERCARD AMERICAN EXPRESS DINER CLUB DISCOVER CARD S0UTHPARK MALL 365 3111 CAROLINA PLACE 544 0113 N0RTHLAKE MALL 71b 1150 EASTLAND CLEARANCE CENTER 568 3111 OPEN MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY 1 1 A 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