The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • A1

TUESDAY JUNE 24, 2008 charlotte.com varies by county 2008 The Charlotte Observer Vol. 139, No. 176 ANGRY GEORGE GENTLE GEORGE REMEMBERING CARLIN, A COUNTERCULTURE ICON. 6B Olympic basketball team will have ACC flavor SPORTS 90o 61o A little warmer: Mostly sunny and warm this afternoon. Clear overnight and a little warmer Wednesday.

Forecast, 6D ONLINE SPOTLIGHT Partygoers on Lake Norman talk about the issues that concern them this election year. charlotte.com/spotlight Ask Amy Classified Editorial Horoscope Sports Delivery Assistance or to Subscribe FOOTBALL FANS GET APOLOGY The chairman of the UNC system Board of Gover- nors apologized Monday for saying she was leaning against allowing higher student fees to pay for a UNC Charlotte football team. 1B Madam charged Charlotte madam Sallie Saxon was charged with shoplifting from the Cots- wold Stein Mart. 2B Natural healing Alternative healing meth- ods are the focus at NoDa festival Saturday. 1E MUST-READS Full flip: She was on the Sports Illustrated cover at age 14 be- fore her Olympic dreams crum- bled.

Now she finds fulfillment teaching the sport in Iredell County. 1C COMING WEDNESDAY Eastern or western BBQ: What wine goes with fried chicken and a hot dog? CAROLINA LIVING By Karen Sullivan body is scarred and missing part of one leg, but otherwise hard to believe this dog was once apparently bait in a dog-fighting oper- ation. The pit bull terrier survived his or- deal with his spirit unbroken. loving, gentle and eager for affection and playtime. Hundreds have donated money and gifts, followed his recovery online and found inspiration in his character.

Now they plan to celebrate. caregiver, Amy Murphy, is inviting his supporters and the public to meet him today at the Wine Vault in the University City area. Other dogs invited. Gunny is still recovering from two surgeries, and as many as 100 people hope to at- tend, based on e-mails. of the things learned from JONATHAN YOUNG Gunny the pit bull relaxes with Amy Murphy, his caretaker, largely unhindered by his amputated leg and scarred body.

Murphy suspects Gunny was once used as a to train other dogs in the fighting ring. Maimed body, friendly spirit SEE GUNNY, 8A MEET GUNNY Watch a video of Gunny at www.charlotte.com/news Bearing scars, Gunny the pit bull has inspired people to give and to care. By Ann Doss Helms During the school year, Jamie Dyer drives 30 minutes from her Charlotte home to her teaching job in Cabarrus County. She has no interest in working closer to home. single teacher working (at my school) wants to be says Dyer, an English teacher at the new Hickory Ridge High in Harrisburg.

A newly released state survey of teacher working conditions suggests typical. Teachers in districts surrounding Char- lotte tended to give their schools higher ratings than peers across North Carolina. Charlotte-Mecklen- burg teachers, on the other hand, rated their schools below state averages on safety, trust, academic free- dom and other key measures of satisfaction. They also were more likely to say they plan to leave their schools or the teaching profession in the next two years. In a region where enrollment is booming, a good reputation can be crucial to school districts competing for teachers.

N.C. Gov. Mike Easley considers working conditions so important he polls the teachers every two years. The 2006 results prompted the state to create a new principal evaluation, which must be used starting in 2008-09. It requires principals to make plans for solving problems highlighted by their results on the teacher survey.

Teachers give CMS low marks in survey But districts around Charlotte earned higher ratings on working conditions, a potential boon to recruiting in competitive market. SEE CMS, 10A CHECK YOUR SCHOOL Get results of the 2008 teacher working conditions survey by district and school: conditions.org/ By Jacqueline L. Salmon Washington Post WASHINGTON More than 90 percent of Americans believe in God or a universal power, and more than half pray at least once a day, according to results of a poll released Monday that takes an in-depth look at Ameri- religious beliefs. The poll, by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, also found that nearly three-fourths of Americans believe in heaven as a place where people who have led good lives will be eternally rewarded. And almost 60 percent believe in hell, where people who have led bad lives and die without repenting are eternally punished, the poll found.

Majorities also believe that angels and demons are at work in the world and that miracles occur today as they did in ancient times. Among the more startling numbers in the survey, conducted last year: 57 percent of evangelical church attendees said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life, in conflict with traditional evangelical teaching. STAFF FILE PHOTO In the religiously strong and diverse U.S., there is surprising agreement: say many religions lead to eternal life; more than want government to do more for the needy and the environment; and most believe the nation should concentrate more on problems at home and less on problems overseas. IN GOD WE TRUST A new poll of 36,000 that more than of Americans believe in God. Faith in the Carolinas in N.C.

said they prayat least once a day. in S.C. saythey do. nationally saythey do. in N.C.

said Scripture isliterally true, word for word. in S.C.say that. nationallysay that. Source: U.S. Religious Landscape Survey SEE STUDY, 14A STAFF FILE PHOTO ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By Tom Raum Associated Press WASHINGTON Like two rival filling-station owners in long-bygone price wars, Barack Obama and John McCain keep offering new incentives in hopes of attracting customers battered by $4 gas prices.

McCain is offering a summer break from the 18.4-cent federal gasoline tax and holding out the promise of more offshore drilling to help you drive more cheaply. The presump- tive Republican presidential nominee wants to build 45 nuclear reactors to generate elec- tricity. On Monday, he proposed a $300 mil- lion government prize to anyone who can de- velop a superior battery to power cars of the future. If you pull into the Obama station, promise cash back from the windfall-profits tax he plans to slap on Big Oil. Check the tires? How about promises to go after oil-market speculators who help drive up prices as well as big subsidies for solar, wind, ethanol and other alternative-energy projects? The Demo- cratic presidential candidate likens his energy package to the Kennedy-era space program.

Oil and gas prices that have doubled in the past year have squeezed aside the war in Iraq as the No. 1 issue this election year, and both parties are blaming each other for the price McCain, Obama focus on $4 gas Experts say the plans would do little in the short term to lower fuel prices. PUMPED-UP PRICES? Lawmakers blame speculators for their role in propping up oil prices. 1D SEE FUEL, 14A McCain Obama.