This Weekend Friday Schools Chc. Storms Culbreth and 90/69 McDougle announce Saturday 4th quarter honor Chc. Storms 88/66 rolls |Pg. 5

Sunday Partly Cloudy 85/68 carrborocitizen.com July 12, 2007 w Carrboro’s community newspaper w Volume I No. XVII Free Doug Marlette dies in crash By Taylor Sisk Oxford High School students were rehears- Award for Consistently Outstanding Editorial Staff Writer ing “: A Southern Musical,” an adapta- Cartoons and was twice awarded the Robert tion of his Kudzu , to be staged in F. Kennedy Memorial Award for editorial car- Scotland. The 2002 truck was driven by tooning. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Doug the play’s director, John Davenport, who had Marlette was born Dec. 6, 1949 in Greens- Marlette died on Tuesday when a Toyota Ta- picked Marlette up at the airport in Memphis. boro and was raised in Durham; Laurel, Missis- coma in which he was a passenger hydroplaned Davenport, 33, sustained a broken leg. sippi; and Sanford Florida. He graduated from off a rain-soaked highway near Holly Springs in Marlette’s father, Elmer Monroe Marlette, with a bachelor’s degree northern , some 50 miles south of died last week. Marlette delivered the eulogy at in philosophy and went on to serve as political Memphis. According to the Mississippi High- services in Charlotte on Friday. cartoonist for , the Atlanta way Patrol, the truck hit a slick spot, left the Perhaps best known to most Americans Journal-Constitution, , the Tallahassee Dem- road and struck a sign, then a tree. Marlette, for his syndicated Kudzu strip – the setting for ocrat and the Tulsa World. 57, was killed instantly. He is survived by his which was Bypass, – Marlette In the early ‘90s, Marlette moved to Hills- wife, Melinda Marlette, and their son, Jackson. was most distinguished as a political cartoon- borough, and in 2001 served as a Distinguished He lived in both Hillsborough and Tulsa, Okla- ist. In addition to the , he Visiting Professor in UNC’s School of Journal- homa. was the only cartoonist ever awarded a Nieman ism and Mass Communication. Among the In addition to his career in cartooning, Mar- Fellowship from . He was a PHOTO BY TOM GILBERT COURTESY OF THE TULSA WORLD lette was a novelist, screenwriter and teacher. three-time recipient of the National Headliners SEE MARLETTE, PAGE 4 He was en route to Oxford, Mississippi, where Doug Marlette at his studio in Tulsa.

Stoplight Schools to decide complicates changes, cuts for high school 2007-2008 budget opening By Susan Dickson with the opening of a new By Susan Dickson Staff Writer elementary school and add- Staff Writer ing a senior class to Carrboro High. Carrboro High School ath- Now that the county com- missioners have completed Pedersen’s recommended letic teams may be able to use reductions for this school the school’s new athletic fields their 2007-08 fiscal year bud- get, the schools must decide year’s budget include reduc- prior to its opening after all, ing funding for student field but students who want to vol- the changes, cuts and addi- unteer to get the school ready tions to make to this year’s trips, reducing substitute may still have to wait. school budget. teacher assistants, eliminat- Principal Jeff Thomas said The Chapel Hill-Carrboro ing transportation to the dual this week he’s been concerned Board of Education will con- language and LEAP pro- that since it’s likely to be mid- sider potential changes to the grams and more. August before a traffic light 2007-08 school year budget Bedford said the board being installed at Rock Haven will examine the potential re- Road and Smith Level Road at meetings tonight and next Thursday. ductions and changes more will be operational, students closely and rank any cuts or might not be allowed access to PHOTO BY ROBERT DICKSON Superintendent Neil Ped- Carrboro High School’s buildings are complete, but the grounds and roadways are sill being prepared. ersen has made recommen- reductions by priority. In ad- the school site. dition, board members will The school is scheduled to dations to the board regard- receive a certificate that will pancy for students until the the certificate of occupancy the occupancy certificate was ing the budget, including rank new programs they allow staff to begin work at traffic signal is in place. for students by mid-August. received. The teams have thus possible reductions as well as would most like to fund. the school by sometime next Thomas said that the town Thomas had feared that far been practicing at the Lin- priority enhancements. students on Carrboro High week, but town requirements of Carrboro has told him the coln Center, Culbreth Middle In late June, the Board of light will be completely in- athletic teams wouldn’t be able “It was a tough budget state that the school won’t be County Commissioners ap- granted a certificate of -occu stalled and the town will issue to practice at the school until SEE LIGHT, PAGE 4 season. It’s tough proved a 4.7 cent property for us because we’re tax increase, as well as a 1.5 opening Carrboro High cent increase on the Chapel School.” Hackney says Black’s sentence sends a message Hill-Carrboro special district — Chapel Hill- tax. With the tax increases, Carrboro Board of Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools By Kirk Ross Black’s lawyers argued that he should excused for a public official,” Hackney will receive about $3 million Education Chair Staff Writer be allowed to go into a house arrest pro- said in a statement released Wednesday more than last year. Jamezetta Bedford gram and would give free eye exams to afternoon. “This prison sentence sends a Chapel Hill-Carrboro the indigent if allowed to do so. strong message to all of us that neither House Speaker Joe Hackney says the Board of Education Chair lengthy prison sentence for his prede- Prosecutors argued that Black violated the public nor the courts will tolerate dis- She noted that one of her a plea deal in which he agreed to cooper- honesty by their elected representatives. Jamezetta Bedford said she cessor underlines the consequences of was pleased the commission- highest priorities is a pilot breaching the public trust. ate with investigators. After the sentenc- We have already put measures in place to day treatment program for ing, U.S. Attorney George Holding said restore confidence in our House of Rep- ers decided to increase the Former House Speaker Jim Black was Chapel Hill-Carrboro spe- students who are transition- sentenced to 63 months in federal prison the former speaker deserved every day of resentatives. I hope we are on our way to ing back to school after be- the sentence he got. regaining the public’s trust.” cial district tax as well as the for accepting $29,000 from chiroprac- county property tax. ing out for health reasons or tors in exchange for favorable legislation. Black still faces charges in state court. In last year’s session of the legislature, mental illness. Hackney, who served under Black as as word circulated that an investigation “It was a tough budget Black, who served four terms as Speaker season,” Bedford said. “It’s In addition, Bedford said of the North Carolina House of Repre- House Majority Leader, said that Black’s of Black was likely to lead an indictment, accomplishments do not outweigh his ob- Hackney pushed through a comprehen- tough for us because we’re she would not vote to cut sentatives, is the highest-ranking state of- funding for transportation ficial to be convicted of corruption. l