Technician
june
10 2010
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Am Surf /Sweetwater ProSurfer at the Reef c Street ni ea Oc at h Beac Fest in Wrightsville in 2009.
thursday
Waves crash ing in Caro lina Beach at Pipe”, an ar ea close to “The where the ce once stood nter pier .
Park lina Beach State Sunset at the Caro s here, at bo eir th or harb Marina. Fishermen elihood. fishing for their liv
photos By jonathan stephens
BP oil spill likely to affect N.C. Coast Students express concerns of spill consequences in north Carolina Students living at and visiting N.C. beaches offer varying opinions on effects of spill. Chelsey Francis Staff Writer
In Louisiana, it was the pictures of the oil-soaked pelicans and dead sea turtles that upset the residents. As the oil moves east, residents of Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are contending with the expanding size of the spill. Now, with oil pouring in to the Gulf of Mexico for almost two months, residents of the North Carolina coast are watching the flow closely to determine how it will affect tourism and the fishing industries. The oil spill is putting a damper on the economy of the states already affected by the spill, according to Mike Walden, an agriculture and resource economics professor. “We don’t know yet what type of effect the oil spill will have on tourism and the economy in North Carolina.
If the oil gets here, and we see the same effects that are being seen in the Gulf Coast, we could see some major adverse effects,” said Walden. According to Walden, the oil spill could impact both tourism and the fishing industries. Both these industries are vital to people living on the North Carolina coast. Alex Venegas, a sophomore in aerospace engineering, lives at Holden Beach. He hasn’t heard anyone talking about how the oil spill is going to affect businesses in the area. “The oil spill hasn’t really affected us here. At least, I haven’t heard any one talk about it,” said Venegas. “The oil is still a long ways off from getting here, but it seems quieter than in past years around town.” Caroline Harman-Scott, a sophomore in animal science, lives in Manteo, on the Outer Banks. She said that people around her town are worried. “If the oil gets into the Gulf Stream, it will be coming to the Outer Banks, and if that happens, the fishing and tourism industry will be completely
destroyed. Our economy is basically split between fishing and tourism and the effects would be devastating,” Harman-Scott said. “We are already being hit hard by the recession, and if the oil comes here, countless people and businesses will be broken.” Harman-Scott also expressed the national worry about sea life and the negative effects the oil could and will have on endangered sea life. “Not to mention what the oil will do to our sea life. Our turtles are already endangered and this could completely wipe them out,” said Harman-Scott. Families planning trips to the beach are taking different approaches on planning for the oil reaching the North Carolina coast. Amanda Brooks, a sophomore in First Year College, said she plans to travel to the coast at the end of June with her family. Brooks said, “Short of the oil getting here soon, we won’t cancel. But if we heard it was in the area, we’d probably have to cancel the trip.” Venegas easily summed up the attitude of a lot of students and beach-
By the Numbers: What is in a barrel of oil? gallons of oil 42 Proccessed into:
19.5 11.5 4.1 2.5
gallons gasoline
4.4
gallons other products
gallons fuel oil gallons jet fuel gallons asphalt and petrochemical feedstocks
SOURCE: Texas Oil and Gas association
Timeline of the oil spill
April 20 at 10 pm: explosion of the oil rig April 22: second explosion causing oil rig to sink April 27: size of oil spill estimated at 580 square miles April 30: size of oil spill estimated at 4,000 square miles May 2: BP begins drilling first relief well May 17: BP begins drilling second relief well May 19: first controlled burn of oil in the Gulf of Mexico May 24: size of oil spill estimated at 30,000 square miles June 4: BP begins to funnel off the leak Source: newsweek.com
goers. “I haven’t really kept close tabs on where the oil is. I know it’s not to North Carolina yet,” said Venegas. “The oil will probably get here later, maybe at the end of the summer. Then it will be more of a big deal for us.”
Dance team coach charged with embezzling from own team
Chancellor dismisses Easley grievance, lawyers cry foul
Volunteer coach purloined over $20,000 of the self-supporting team’s money.
After Mary Easley’s formal complaint was rejected, Easley’s attorneys sent protest letter to trustee.
Staff Writer
Dance team coach and State a lumna Jamila Kikora Wr i g h t w a s charged June 3 with embezJamila zling $21,001.31 from her team. Kikora Wright coached N.C. State club the team from dance team fa l l 20 07 to April 2010 and was herself a member of the dance team for four years until she graduated in 2004. “The dance team is not considered a varsity sport and functions as a club sport with Campus Recreation and Wright coached on a volunteer basis,” said Laura Karps, assistant director of marketing for campus recreation. “All club coaches are volunteers so she was never employed by the University,” Karps said. “Club sports receive very little funding from the University, requiring the team to be almost entirely self-sufficient, raising all funds on their own.” “The sad part is that these students are out there running all this on their own because they get limited funding
According to the team’s website, they have been active 17 years and perform at all home football games, men’s and women’s basketball games, gymnastic meets and select baseball games. They also perform at pep rallies, parades, alumni events and many community and charity events. “That they appear at so many school functions and pay for it all almost entirely themselves is admirable, they must be really dedicated. I’m sure that missing money made things much harder than they should have been,” said Mary Brooks, junior in First Year College. “They’re there to support the school and that the coach is an alumna makes her treachery even worse.” Cambridge Cunningham, junior in communications, said the school should provide more regulation so this doesn’t happen again. “Given the recent incident state should have a system in place to check and balance all the money coming in and spent for the club teams. It’s terrible they put their trust in that person to be a role model and coach and she set such a poor example,” Cunningham said.
While you’re on campus, visit NC State Bookstores
Chris Boucher Correspondent
The Mary Easley termination saga
is over for N.C. State — for now. A former University faculty member and wife of ex-Gov. Mike Easley, Easley filed a grievance over her termination less than a year ago. On June 3, Chancellor Randy Woodson announced that the University dismissed the grievance. A pair of the former first lady’s attorneys returned fire the next day, however, indicating that the dismissal might not end the grievance fight. The grievance dismissal was “due to procedural issues,” according to a press release. “Mrs. Easley failed to respond to the University’s request to schedule a pre-hearing meeting and the grievance hearing itself,” the
insidetechnician
release continued. Easley filed the grievance last summer, soon after interim Chancellor James Woodward cancelled Easley’s contract at the direction of the Board of Trustees on June 8, 2009. Woodward said Easley was no longer needed because many of the responsibilities listed in her job description were eliminated to make up for a state budget shortfall. University officials declined to releases the grounds on which Easley was contesting her firing since it was a personnel matter and would not comment further. What was clear, however, was the fallout that resulted from Mary Easley’s tenure at the University. Easley was hired by then provost Larry Nielsen in 2005 as an executivein-residence and lecturer. The job called for her to head up the Millennium Seminars speakers program, and to teach graduate courses in public administration and leadership for
easley continued page 3
Two-sport star still intends to return to gridiron in 2010 story. See page 8.
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from the University and now someone’s come in and taken the money they spent their hard time and energy raising,” Karps said. “The filched funds were discovered after the team treasurer noticed inconsistencies in the team’s bank account,” Karps said. “Club teams are student run and managed, and currently are not required to give a copy of bank statements to the club sport’s director.” “We are looking into new policies so we can deter this from happening in the future… right now clubs are student run, student lead. We [Campus Recreation] just offer assistance, and answer questions,” Karps said. Keith Nichols, director of news services, said he is not sure how the money was used but the investigation is ongoing. “Exactly what was done with the money and how she purloined it are not known as the case is still under investigation,” said Nichols. “I assume there won’t be a lot of details until the investigation is complete.” Kimberly Susen, junior in middle grades education, has a friend on the dance team and knows how dedicated and hard working the dancers are. “A friend of mine is on the dance team and I know she puts a lot of effort and money into the team, they have to pay for a lot of things. It’s really terrible that someone they are supposed to trust would take from them like that,” Susen said.