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THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 1994 » ATHENS, GEORGIA • VOLUME 101, ISSUE 153
Athens area
a blast on
July Fourth
By KATHLEEN RAGAN
Staff Writer
Picnics, politics and
pyrotechnics will fill the
Independence Day weekend,
allowing those students spend
ing the holiday in Athens an
opportunity to inexpensively
celebrate the Fourth of July.
The weekend kicks off at 5
p.m. on Friday with Georgia
Square Mall’s Firecracker
Follies, featuring clowns, line
dancing and a gymnastics
demonstration. At 9:30 p.m.
fireworks begin, with WNGC
broadcasting a musical salute
in sync with the pyrotechnics.
If celebrating the birth of
America’s freedom at the mall
isn’t your idea of fun, the city of
Madison offers an alternative
on Friday evening with its first
Independence Day Concert.
The free performance, featur
ing Athens’ own Classic City
Band, begins at 6 p.m. at the
Madison-Morgan Cultural
Center (342-4454).
“Everyone is invited to bring
their blanket and a picnic,”
said Cynthia Hamilton of cul
tural center.
Race on Saturday
Saturday’s events begin at
7:30 a.m. with Colbert’s 5K
race, the Seventh Annual
Canna Run. Runners and
walkers can still register for
the race by calling organizer
Sally Boleman at 795-3105.
The entry fee is $10, and the
proceeds benefit the city of
Colbert.
Trina Duvall, a sophomore
from Danielsville, will be run
ning in the race for the fifth
time.
“The race has brought a lot
of people out,” she said. “People
that don’t get to enter the
Peachtree (race in Atlanta) can
run in this instead.”
A parade follows the race at
10:30 a.m., with remarks from
Gov. Zell Miller at 11 a.m. The
festivities continue until about
4 p.m. with arts and crafts
booths, clogging performances
and barbecue prepared by the
city’s volunteer fire depart
ment.
“Mainly it’s a good ol’ home
town gathering,” Duvall said.
Sunday’s lack of holiday
activities in Athens make it a
good day for a short road trip to
Stone Mountain Park (404/498-
5702) for the Fantastic Fourth
celebration. The festival will be
held Saturday through Monday
and begins each day at 3 p.m.
with live music on Memorial
Lawn. Sunday’s scheduled acts
are oldies bands Mardi Gras,
David Rockett & The Boosters
and The Fabulous Expressions.
At sundown, the
“Lasershow ’94 Time Capsule”
begins, featuring some of the
best segments from the past 12
years of Lasershows at the
park, followed by fireworks.
Clarice Lewis, spokeswom
an for Stone Mountain Park,
said the events are free,
although there is a five dollar
parking fee per car.
Music on Monday
Wrap up the holiday on
Monday in Athens-Clarke
County with the popular Star
Spangled Classic at Bishop
Park.
Ray Allen, a junior from
Comer, said he’s attended the
Bishop Park celebration for
many years.
“That’s probably where Til
be this year,” he said.
“Everyone that I know will be
there."
The country rock sounds of
Timeless open the celebration
at 6 p.m., with patriotic music
from Chosen Generation and
The Classic City Band sched
uled throughout the evening.
Athens-Clarke County CEO
Gwen O’Looney will be on hand
to cut a huge “Happy Birthday
America” cake for all to sample
at 8:30 p.m. and fireworks
begin at 9:30 p.m.
Don Oliver of the ACC
Recreation Department said he
expects about 5,000 to attend
the park festivities and about
25,000 to view the fireworks
from the surrounding area.
Claxton drafted by the Suns
By JOSH KENDALL
Sports Editor
Georgia big man Charles Claxton was
picked by the Phoenix Suns in Wednesday
night’s NBA draft.
The 7-foot 283 lb. center from the Virgin
Islands was taken late in the second round,
as the 50th overall pick in the draft.
However, Claxton could still be back at
Georgia next year thanks to a new rule
instated by the NCAA. If Claxton cannot
come to contract terms with the Suns, he
will have the option of returning for his final
year of eligibility at Georgia.
“I don’t know if I’m coming back to
Georgia,” Claxton told The Red and Black
after the draft. “I have to sit down and weigh
my options.
“I have all of my options in front of me
and will sit down with my family in the next
couple of days and make a decision,” he said.
Georgia Assistant Head Coach Tevester
Anderson said he “absolutely” wants
Claxton to return to the University.
“He’s in a win-win situation - he can
come back or go,” Anderson said. “I’m sure
he’ll make the right decision.”
Claxton will not be allowed to sign a pro
fessional contract until at least July 8 due to
a district court ruling on Tuesday.
Claxton, whose decision to forego his final
year of eligibility and make himself eligible
for the NBA draft was widely criticized, now
finds himself right in the middle of yet
another controversy. U.S. District Court
Judge John F Keenan ruled that no player
can sign an NBA contract until July 8 so that
the NBA and the Players’ Association will
have time to reach a new collective bargain
ing agreement.
The old agreement expired June 23, but
the NBA filed for a declaration of rights so
that the old terms would remain in effect.
The Players Association, headed by former
Hawk Dominique Wilkins and current Hawk
Danny Manning, is arguing that the salary
cap, draft and the right of first refusal rules
are illegal under antitrust laws.
Although his decision was much
maligned, Claxton stood by it to the end, say
ing it was his dream to play in the NBA. The
lack of centers in this year’s draft may have
helped Claxton achieve that dream one year
early.
Only two of the top 55 prospects this year
were listed taller than Claxton. These are
North Carolina’s Eric Montross and
Marquette’s Jim Mcllvaine at 7-foot-1.
However, Claxton is heavier than both
Montross and Mcllvaine.
With the increasingly physical play of the
NBA, especially at the post positions, size is
almost as important as height in physical
dimensions.
But, according to Anderson, Claxton’s size
could be a disadvantage if he signs with the
Suns, who already have talented players at
the forward and center positions.
“It’s kind of strange that they would draft
him unless they wanted to tyade him,” he
said.
In his first year with the Bulldogs,
Claxton averaged 9.4 points and 6.6
rebounds per game and was a unanimous
selection to the All-SEC Freshman Team. In
his sophomore season, Claxton made a major
impression by leading the team in points and
rebounds.
The Virgin Islands native averaged 11.0
points and 6.6 rebounds per game in that
year. However, in his junior year, Claxton’s
game failed to mature like many thought it
would.
Charles Claxton
Pam Folger
stands in the
wreckage that
was the History
Department’s
main office in
LeConte Hall. The
degree program
assistant said
she discovered
that the office’s
ceiling had col
lapsed from
water damage
Monday morning.
“When I first saw
the mess, I
almost turned
around and went
back home," she
said.
Campus recovering
after major storm
damages buildings
By ANDY PETERS
Staff Writer
Flooding wreaked havoc at
many University buildings this
week, causing water damage and
forcing some classes and professors
to shift operations to drier rooms.
The primary reason for the flood
damage, according to Physical
Plant director James J. TenBrook,
was that campus drainage systems
were overwhelmed with an
immense amount of rain in a short
period of time.
“That was the kind of storm we
see once every 10 years,” TenBrook
said.
In fact, Athens received the
highest amount of recorded rainfall
in the state Monday, 7.34 inches.
On campus, 113 calls were made
to the physical plant about water
damage. A clogged drain pipe
caused all three floors of LeConte
Hall to flood, according to Pam
Folger, degree program assistant
for the history department.
Professors were forced to set up
makeshift offices in the basement.
“Some dissertations that had
just been printed are really wet,
and computers, copiers and VCRs
were damaged,” said Folger. "It
will be a couple of weeks before we
move back into our old offices."
An elevator was shut down tem
porarily Monday in Creswell Hall
because of flooding, said John
Ayoob of Residence Halls Facilities
Services.
“It was more of a mess than a
nuisance," said Ayoob.
Participants in the parents’ ori
entation program, who are staying
in Creswell, did not have to vacate
the dorm.
Two of the home management
houses of the College of Family and
Consumer Sciences had two feet of
water in their lower basements.
Oglethorpe House, Mary Lyndon
Hall, Dawson Hall, the Fine Arts
and Visual Arts buildings also sus
tained significant damage from
Monday’s rains.
A $300,000 project to rebuild
the drainage line from the Georgia
Center to the College of Veterinary
Medicine which has been “on the
books” for four to five years could
alleviate some of the flooding prob
lems, TenBrook said.
TenBrook said he intends to
present the project to the
University for consideration for
funding. If it is approved, the work
would begin next summer.
Student steps down as Miss Georgia
Marietta junior ioses Miss UGA title
but will keep $9,000 scholarship
Joanne Grogan was crowned
Miss UGA in January, but lost the
title when she stepped down as
Miss Georgia on Tuesday.
By KRISTIN HUBERT
Staff Writer
Less than one week after being
crowned Miss Georgia, Joanne Grogan
relinquished her crown, losing both her
shot at becoming Miss America and her
previous title as Miss UGA.
Despite her withdrawal, the junior
from Marietta will keep the $9,000 schol
arship awarded by the Miss Georgia
pageant.
Citing personal and school commit
ments, Grogan stepped down on Tuesday,
allowing the first runner-up, Andrea
Krahn, to take her place and represent
the state at the Miss America pageant in
September.
According to a press release issued by
the Miss Georgia Pageant Corporation,
Grogan was not in a position to make a
commitment for the next year “upon
reflection of the time commitment and
responsibilities associated with serving
as Miss Georgia.”
Jerry Anthony, adviser to the Miss
UGA pageant, said he spoke with Grogan
on Wednesday afternoon.
“She said she does not want to talk to
anyone right now,” Anthony said. “I think
she feels like she’s let a lot of people
down.”
Neither Grogan nor her family could
be reached for comment.
Calls to Grogan’s Athens residence
indicated that her telephone number had
been changed shortly after she issued the
press release announcing her resignation.
“I think it was overwhelming for her *
said Mansfield Bias, president and execu
tive director of the Miss Georgia pageant.
“I think that once she started thinking
about it, she just wasn’t ready to walk
away from her normal life for a year.”
Bias said, once crowned Miss Georgia,
Grogan would have had to reside in
Columbus for the next year, travel exten
sively across the state as well as make
numerous speaking engagements.
“I understand she has time con
straints," said University senior Adrian
Mendez. “But she should’ve known that
before she entered the pageant. If she
couldn’t fulfill the obligation, then she
should’ve let someone else enter."
Bias said Grogan will be able to keep
the $9,000 scholarship awarded to her
upon being crowned Miss Georgia, but
will not be able to receive any other
awards.
"I think she should have to give back
the $9,000,” said Jennifer Sullivan, a
junior from Monticello. “Part of earning
the scholarship money is fulfilling her
duties as Miss Georgia. She should have
to do all of the work if she’s going to get
the money."
Greg Shonek, a junior from
Greensboro, N.C., said, “She took a
chance away from someone else from the
University, someone who would’ve really
wanted to win."
Anthony said Grogan, who won the
Miss UGA pageant in January, will now
be ineligible to hold that title for the
remainder of the year.
Mary Beth Schermerhom, a junior
from Snellville, will be crowned the new
Miss UGA, although a date has not yet
been set.
Tm very proud and honored to be able
to represent the University for the next
seven months,” Schermerhom said.
Grogan issued a statement through
Anthony that said "she wishes Andrea
Krahn all the best in her reign as Miss
Georgia and best of luck at the Miss
America pageant.”
No injuries in
Myers Hall fire
By MICHAEL CASS
and KATHLEEN RAGAN
Staff Writers
A cigarette may have ignited a flammable sol
vent used to strip floors in Myers Hall, causing
a fire in the dormitory on Wednesday.
No injuries were reported.
Police were called to the fire, which appar
ently started in a second-floor lounge, by a grad
uate resident at 5:08 p.m., according to
University police spokesman Lt. Carlton Mullis.
Frank Edwards, University fire marshal, said
a preliminary investigation indicated that work
ers from Advanced Environmental Services of
Braselton were using a flammable liquid to
remove tar from floor tiles.
A bucket of the solvent was found near the
scene of the fire, according to Wendell Faulkner,
Athens-Clarke County fire chief.
Edwards said the fire was being considered
an accident, but the investigation will continue.
He said he was unable to get much information
from the workers, who only spoke Spanish.
“We’ve had a bit of a language barrier," he
said.
Edwards said the lounge was severely dam
aged by the fire, and second-floor rooms in the
middle of the building sustained extensive
smoke damage. Minor damage was reported on
the third floor.
The residence hall is occupied only by a grad
uate resident during the summer, although the
building was also occupied by two mailroom
workers at the time of the fire.
Heather Lubeck, a junior from Savannah who
was working in the mailroom, said she saw
smoke coming from the east side of the building
after she was evacuated.
Traffic on Lumpkin Street from Cedar to
Carlton streets was redirected for more than an
hour as firefighters and police investigated the
scene.
