The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 23, 2001, Image 1
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_Vol. 94, No. 79 Monday April 23, 2001__
^ Serving the Carolina Community since IQ08
Woman
sexually
assaulted
by Charles Prashaw
The Gamecock
HI A Lexington County woman was
sexually assaulted early Saturday alter a
man broke into her boyfriend’s apartment
off St. Andrews Road, several miles from
campus.
The incident look place around 6:30
a.m. in the couple’s Stoneycreek apartment
at 18 Berryhill Road. Reports give the
following account of the incident:
The 26-year-old victim was cooking
breakfast while her boyfriend slept in a
nearby bedroom. She heard a noise and
turned to see a man wearing a cloth mask,
police said.
The man had a gun and tried to rob
the couple. After the victim told the
gunman she didn’t have any money, the
armed man locked her boyfriend in a room
and told her to go to another room.
The gunman then hit the woman on
the head and threatened to kill her. He
then forced her to perform a sex act on
^im.
Police oflicere said the man had been
watching llie womin for several days before
he broke into the apartment, and they’re
investigating how the man entered the
apartment.
ttC UU tuuirv guj iiiaj unvc
been watching this victim for a couple
of days, because he made a comment that
he knew she had a boyfriend,” assistant
Richland County SherifiTnn James said.
Columbia and Richland County police
are working together on the case because
they diink the incident could be iinked to
similar cases that occurred last year in
nearby apartments, James said.
Last year, a man sexually assaulted
and robbed two women and tried to rob
another woman in their apartments off
Broad River Road. In another incident,
.^re man shot a dog and ran when a woman
round him in her apartment.
Anyone with information about the
incident is asked to call the Lexington
County SlterilFs Department at (803) 359
8230 or CrimeStoppers at (888) 559-8477.
The city desk cun be reached at
gamecockcrtydesk@hotmail.com
FUN IN THE SUN: Residents enjoy nice weekend weather
Aaron Hark/The Gamecock
Andy Salwinsld, a Sunday school student at Fellowship Baptist Church In Lexington, files his kite
Sunday during Earth Day festivities at Finlay Park In downtown Columbia.
Web site lists state’s delinquent taxpayers
Delinquent
taxpayers
V
The groups that owe the
state the most money:
■ William and Cathleen
Gilliam of Telluride, Colo.,
$1,964,716
■ Smoky Mountain
Secrets Inc. based in
Tennessee, $1,063,020
■ Dane Jones of Aruba,
$419,127
■ Robert Ledford
of Pauline, $351,827
■ James and Belinda
Cooke of Lancaster,
' $338,494
■ GSI Management
Company at Benedict
College, $321,305
Sourc«: State Department
of Revenue
■ Site will list names
of up to 100 who owe
South Carolina taxes
by Charles Prashaw
The Gamecock
Tlie S.C. Department of Revenue hopes
a little cyber-shame will persuade some
South Carolinians to pay more than $24
million in back taxes from individuals and
businesses.
The department has started to list the
names, addresses and amount owed by 63
taxpayers who owe large amounts of money
to tlie state.
The names are listed under “debtor’s
comer” on the department’s Web site at
www.sclax.org.
Elizabeth Carpentier, revenue
department director, said more than 100
delinquent taxpayers owing more than $24
million were notified about their outstanding
debts.
They had 30 days to satisfy their debt,
to make arrangements to pay or have it
be published on the Internet. So far, 37 have
‘The money these people owe could be paying
for the essential services that all the citizens of
South Carolina depend upon.*
Elizabeth Carpentier
Revenue department director
paid or set up payment plans.
The Web site will be updated biweekly,
and a list of up to 100 delinquent taxpayers
will be kept on the site regularly.
“Delinquent taxpayers hurt all of the
citizens of South Carolina,” Carpentier said.
“The money these people owe could be
paying for the essential services that all the
citizens of South Carolina depend upon.”
Carpentier said information about
delinquent taxpayers is public information
because the Department of Revenue files
tax liens with tire Clerk of Court or Register
of Deeds in the debtor’s county of residence.
“Especially in a year of budget cuts,
revenue from all taxpayers is necessary,”
Carpentier said.
Carpentier said in some cases, the
individuals and businesses have failed to
pay state taxes for several years.
Carpentier said she got the idea after
hearing about similar programs in other
stales.
South Carolina joins nine other states
that have similar debt-posting programs,
according to Carpentier. She said the
program has been successful in other states,
bringing in millions of previously unpaid
taxes.
The city desk can be reached at
gamecockcitydesk@hotmail.cofn
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Potential Budget Cuts
Construction
bonds face
opposition
■ Finance chairman
wants to cut bonds
from House version
of higher-ed budget
by Brandon Larrabee
The Gamecock
As higher education leaders braced
for die possibility of a significant reduction
in state funding, die chairman of the Senate
Finance Committee said he didn’t support
issuing bonds that would partially pay for
USC construction projects.
The finance committee will take up
the budget, wliicli would include any bond
issue, this week.
The budget must pass the Senate, be
reconciled with the House version —
which slashed USC’s funding by about 12
percent — and tlien be signed by Gov. Jim
Hodges to become final.
Under the House bill, the state would
issue nearly $395 million in bonds.
The bond bill would earmark millions
of dollars for construction projects at USC,
including $10 million fora new School of
Law center and $20 million for renovating
the Gibbes Green area behind McKissick
Museum.
But the state is close to breaking a
statutory borrowing limit and has already
authorized about $1 billion in bonds that
have yet to be issued, Senate Finance
Committee chairman Hugh Leatherman,
R-Florence, said. He also said South
Carolina typically issues liiout $250 million
in bonds every year and it would take four
years for the bonds to be issued.
“So what’s the big hurry for a bond
bill this year?” Leatherman asked.
USC has said since the beginning of
the discussion on budget cuts that it would
have to institute large tuition increases to
make up for decreased funding. A proviso
being considered by the Legislature would
allow die university to raise tuition-above
the rise in the Higher Education Price
Index, which some universities must follow
under stale law. But any college that does
so would be forced to hold tuition
Construction see page 2
Postal Service
commemorates
USC bicentennial
BY BKANDON LAKKABbc
The Gamecock
The U.S. Postal Service will issue a
stamped postcard commemorating USC’s
bicentennial Thursday on the
Horseshoe.
The ceremony, scheduled to take place
at 9 a.m. in front of the Faculty House,
will dedicate the card, which is the 52nd
stamped postcard in USPS’s Historic
Preservation Series.
The 20-cent stamp will be available
at the ceremony and at Columbia post
offices Wednesday. Other post offices and
Philatelic Centers will begin carrying the
postcard the next day.
“The U.S. Postal Service’s
commemoration of [USC’s] bicentennial
is indeed a tribute to the university, for
it not only honors our lieriUige, but it also
recognizes the contributions that this
university has made to our suite and our
nation,” said USC President John Palms.
US. Postal Service Director for Public
Affairs Joyce Carrier, who will be the
dedicating official for the event, said the
card honors USC’s history.
“[The postcard] pays tribute to one of
our nation’s best-preserved and most
historic learning institutions,” Carrier said.
Columbia postmaster Lawrence Jordan
will serve as the event’s master of
ceremonies. Olliers attending die ceremony
include Postal Service Vice President of
Operations for the Mid-Atlantic Area
Henry Pankey, Postal Service District
Manager for the Greater South Carolina
District Larry Jones, Columbia Mayor
Bob Coble and state Sens. John Courson
and Nikki Setzler, who serve on the
W tV* *<» t UftUU
How to order the
first-day postmark
Purchase the new stamped
cards at the Thursday cere
mony or at the post office,
address it and place it in an
envelope addressed to:
USC Stamped Card
Postmaster
1601 Assembly St.
Columbia, SC 29201-9991
The Postal Service will
return the stamped cards
through the mail for free.
Deadline is May 26.
Bicentennial Commission. Other USC
and local dignitaries are expected to be on
hand.
Designed by Etltel Kessler of BeUiesda,
Md., the stamp features a detail of a T.
Ulor painting of the Horseshoe. Ulor
painted the picture around 1820.
The “Old Campus District” at USC
is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places.
The university desk can be reached at
gamecockudesk@hotmail.com
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