Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY
January 7,1999
Vol. 106, No. 76 | Athens, Georgia
Warmer with a few showers.
High 42 | Low 32 | Friday 50
ONLINE: wwwiedandblack.ooni
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia community
ESTABLISHED 1893, INDEPENDENT 1980
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s
HEADED HOM
► Assistant football coach
Matthews leaves the Dogs.
Half of new
deck’s spaces
go to students
By MARK NIESSE
The Red * Black
Six hundred students will get
to park In the North Campus
Parking Deck, but officials don't
know how the spaces will be given
out.
After months of speculation,
University spokesman Tom
Jackson said this week that half
of the North Campus Parking
Deck's 1,200 spaces will be for
students, but not until April 1.
The deck originally was slated for
completion Dec. 4 and was to
open for the beginning of spring
semester.
"It hasn't been decided which
students will have access."
Jackson said. “It can’t be flrst-
come, first-serve."
Too many students would
cause traffic congestion on North
Jackson and Thomas streets,
Jackson said.
The University will decide who
gets to park in the deck in about
two weeks, based on feedback
from the Student Government
Association and the Office of
Student Affairs, officials said.
Parking Services Director
Jimmy Linston said in an inter
view last spring that the deck
might exclude undergraduates.
Some have recommended
parking be allocated by lottery,
seniority, mqjor. graduate student
status or standing in line, said
George Stafford, director of auxil
iary services. But officials don't
know yet exactly what method
will be used, and it may not be
any of those recommended so far.
The $12.5 million North
Jackson Street deck has been
under construction since Jan. 5,
1998.
“The rain in April put a
damper on us getting it going,
and good help is hard to find,”
said Jason Erickson, project engi
neer for Patton Construction. "If I
could blink my eyes and have it
be done tomorrow, I'd do it."
Patton Construction aims to
finish its work by Feb. 5, but "it all
depends on the weather,"
Erickson said.
Patton Construction didn't
violate its contract by not com
pleting the deck by Dec. 4, but
Jackson said that was the date
the University hoped it would be
done.
The 600 students selected to
use the new deck won't have to
pay for this year's trial period.
The remaining 600 spaces are
open to faculty and staff with a
“North” parking permit.
There will be a fee for parking
in the deck beginning next fall —
the current cost for zoned park
ing is $108 per year.
A decision on which students
get to buy a parking pass next fall
will be based on how well this
year's "trial run" works.
Braving The Chill
A Sophomores Michelle Keeton and Sabrina Stephens (left to right) from
Augusta, Melinda Lund berg from Alpharetta, and Laura Snow from
LaFayette braved the cold weather on Wednesday to rollerblade on North
Campus before the start of classes.
Freezing temperatures not uncommon
Cold January
worsened by
warm December
By NATHAN SOLHEIM
The Red a Black
Going outside these days is a bone-
chilling endeavor. Weather or not.
Recent cold temperatures have
sent University students scrambling
for coats, scarves, mittens and any
thing they can put on to keep warm.
But these temperatures aren't
uncommon for this time of year. Vem
Meentemeyer, professor of climatology
and Illinois native, said long-term
records of the area's temperatures
show that these polar outbreaks are
common.
“What was unusual was that this
front came on the heels of a warm
period that lasted to December,"
Meentemeyer said.
“We had a drastic
change in tempera
ture.”
Assuaging any
hopes, Jeff
Underwood, a grad
uate student in cli
matology from
Grayson County,
Va„ said the colder
weather doesn't
necessarily mean
snow.
“We're unlikely to
get any snow accumulation,"
Underwood said. “But freezing rain
and sleet is pretty much our weather.”
Some people come to the
University prepared for the polar.
“This is nothing. You want cold?
Move to Minneapolis," said Coleen
Dyer, a graduate student from
Philadelphia. “I took
off my jacket
because I was
warm."
However, not all
Northern students
are as comfortable
as Dyer.
University
women's basketball
player Coco Miller, a
sophomore from
Rochester, Minn.,
said it’s still cool.
“I think it's cold,"
she said. "But as long as there's no
snow on the ground it's not too bad. I
can handle it."
Miller's hometown, which now is
under a foot of snow and sometimes
suffers windchllls of minus 40 degrees,
prepared her for the freezing tempera
tures Georgia has to offer.
"Last year, I didn’t even wear a
jacket because I was used to it," she
said. "Some people thought I was
crazy."
Indeed, winter weather can
account for all kinds of problems: cars
don't start, noses run, goosebumps
rise and layers are piled on.
But Chris Bird, a senior from West
Milford. N.J., said the weather is nice
compared to his native state.
“In New Jersey, once it gets cold it
stays cold until the bugs start peeping
out,” he said.
Dyer even looks forward to nastier
weather.
"I’m waiting for the first day of win
ter weather to see how these people
drive," she joked.
u
“This is nothing. You
want cold? Move to
Minneapolis. I took off
my jacket because I was
warm."
COLEEN DYER
Graduate Student from Philadelphia
Closing
debate
not over
By TOM LASSETER
The Red and Black
Just a week into an ordinance requiring busi
nesses with alcohol licenses to close at 2:45
a m., the words of club owners and county offi
cials alike have already kicked up a storm of
rumors and apprehension.
The Fifth Quarter, the center of the ordi
nance debate, has closed. But that doesn't
mean the jig is up, said owner Tony Malott. In
the dance club's place will be a sports bar with
a different name, set to open at the end of this
month, he said.
Malott said he's also planning to start two
more businesses in the Athens area, one possi
bly being a late-night dance hall that doesn’t
serve alcohol.
However, Malott so far has failed to apply for
either a business or an alcohol license, said
John Culpepper, Athens-Clarke finance direc
tor.
“I’d rather work with people, but they can
throw all the things in the world at us and we'U
find ways to go around them," Malott said.
A series of fights outside of The Fifth
Quarter — including a shoot-out — and a con
tinued presence of large crowds milling outside
its doors were cited in the ordinance.
Whether or not Malott is serious about open
ing more clubs, the prospect of late-night dance
establishments has the county's attorney
researching a possible second ordinance mak
ing it illegal for alcohol-free businesses to be
open past 2:45 a m.
“The biggest threat right now is that some
body might join the market without getting a
liquor license and we need to close that particu
lar loophole," said Ernie de Pascale, A-C attor
ney. "But there could be some constitutional
problems with such an ordinance — it’s some
thing we should research."
In the meantime. Boneshakers' owners said
they might challenge the existing ordinance in
court. Boneshakers is the only business that
has been caught violating the regulation,
according to A-C police officials, although no
citation has been given for the Jan. 1 incident.
“We're waiting to see how things shake
down," said Greg Martin, co-owner of
Boneshakers, echoing the hope of many down
town club owners that The Fifth Quarter's clos
ing will prompt the county to either take the
ordinance off the books or shy away from
enforcement
If A-C police are strict in monitoring closing
times, there will probably be a legal battle, said
Jeff Rothman, a local attorney representing
three downtown businesses, including Toppers
International Showbar
“It really depends on if the county was just
paying lip service to what was perceived as a
problem," Rothman said. “But if they are seri
ous, I think there will be a suit. I really do.”
wmmKzssiMzmmm
> How one club is opening in the midst ol the late night
dancing debate. 7
MOVING BACK IN
A Diane Sullivan, a freshman from Suwanee, move* Into
her room at the PI Beta Phi house, which was damaged
by Hr* during the sorority’s rush before the beginning of
fail semester. Story Page 2
Lady Dogs look to tie best start
By JON GALLO
The Red a Black
When asked the difference between last
year's women’s basketball team and this sea
son's Lady Dogs, head coach Andy Landers
offers a quick answer.
"We re Just a totally different team this
year,” he said. “It's that simple."
For instance, Oeorgla was 9-4 through its
first 13 games last year, but if the Lady
Bulldogs win tonight at 7:30 Inside Stegeman
Coliseum against No. 19 Florida, they will
push their record to 13-0, which would equal
the 1989-90 team for the best start in pro
gram history.
The reason for that, too, is simple
Last season, Landers played much of the
year with six scholarship players. This year,
he has 10.
Last season, lack of personnel made field
ing competitive teams just as tough during
scrimmages in practice as it did for Georgia
to compete in the SEC. This year, he can mix
and match lineups at will.
Landers, though, still led last year’s squad
to a 17-11 finish and a fourth-straight NCAA
Tournament appearance.
“Our team is so much more experienced
than we were last year," said senior guard
Pam Irwin-Osbolt. "Last year, we really didn't
know how to play with each other out on the
court until the end of the season. This sea
son, we are communicating a lot better, and I
think it has really shown in the way we have
played so far."
And while the operative words in Osbolt-
Irwln's assessment this season are “so far,"
Georgia’s record-tying opportunity must
stand for something.
“Considering where we were last year at
this time, I think it says a lot about this team
and what we are capable of," said sophomore
guard Kelly Miller, who was named SEC
Player of the Week on Monday. "And to do
what only one team In school history has
done before would definitely be something
special."
But in order to equal the achievement, the
Lady Bulldogs will need more than a big
game from Miller to get past the Lady Gators
(12-4).
So far this season, that hasn't been a prob
lem, as Georgia currently has five players
averaging double-digits per game.
“I think we're a good team right now,”
Landers said. "And we can get even better,
especially if we keep coming together as a
family like we have this year. But I don't want
the best part of the season at the beginning
of the year. I want It to be at the end."
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Tonight: No. (9 Florida at No. 4 Georgia
Whore: Stegeman Coliseum at 7:30
Admission: Free with UGA card
Promotions: A chance to win free books for
spring semester Winner announced at halftime
TN0MAS MOTT* I'm Kan • Bla»*
A Georgia’s sophomore guard Kelly
Miller (right) was named SEC player of
the week Monday.
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