Officials say bad marriages caused military slayings
Law enforcement officers and military officials said the four domestic homicides at Fort Bragg this summer were due mainly to bad marital relationships.
This conclusion came after Pentagon sources said the malaria drug Lariam--which some of the soldiers who committed the murders had taken while in Afghanistan--played no part in the slayings.
"The only link we can see is these people had really bad marital problems," said Lt. Sam Pennica, the chief detective with Cumberland County Sheriff's Office.
The Army is preparing to release its findings after an epidemiological probe, which is investigating medical aspects of the slayings. The report is expected to be release within the next 10 days.
Congress has taken measures to combat domestic violence in military families, authorizing $5 million for support programs as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill.
Community colleges want raises for faculty, staff
Leaders of the community college system have asked the state legislature to raise faculty and professional staff salaries to the national average.
The system has requested $96 million in its 2003-2005 expansion budget to meet this goal. It is the top priority in the spending plan that officials tentatively will submit to Gov. Mike Easley.
The General Assembly has raised faculty and staff pay over the past four years, but North Carolina community college salaries are still about 20 percent below the national average and rank near the bottom in the Southeast.
"I would certainly say that we're as needed as the public school staff and faculty, and I think people do wonder why we at the community colleges are being overlooked," said Susan Doody, an English instructor at Durham Technical Community College and chair of the faculty council.
System officials do not think the General Assembly will meet the national average in the next two years, but legislators must be made aware of the need so they can reach for it over the next few years, said System President Martin Lancaster.
State allows 'ghostbusters' into old Capitol
Tales of slamming doors, muffled voices and books flying off shelves has long been a part of the mysterious history of the old state Capitol building. This year, researchers from the Ghost Research Foundation have been approved to check them out.
The 162-year-old landmark is one of nine locations scheduled for spectral inspections in a program sponsored by Durham's Rhine Research Center, billed as one of the world's oldest and best-known institutions devoted to paranormal study.
The center is bringing in ghost-hunter Patty Ann Wilson from Altoona, Pa. She will study the old capitol with infrared video cameras, electromagnetic field detectors and audio recorders.
"To be honest with you, I've always made it a rule to be out of the building at quitting time," said Raymond Beck, Capitol historian.
Wake Forest students plead guilty to animal neglect
More than 20 Wake Forest University fraternity members pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of animal neglect after a 200-pound pig was found sunburned, dehydrated and reeking of alcohol in a ditch after a party at a picnic shelter.
Twenty-one students, all members of Sigma Phi Epsilon, agreed to several conditions in a deal with prosecutors that will allow them to avoid criminal convictions. They will perform 50 hours of community service at the Forsyth County Animal Shelter, write a 10-page essay on animal cruelty, and attend a meeting to discuss responsible animal care with university community members.
"This was a stupid, unthinking act, but I don't think there was any intention of cruelty," said Tom Keith, the Forsyth County district attorney.
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