Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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, DRUG ARREST FALLOUT Derek Watson says he’ll clear his name Star football player could be expelled, USC says BY ADAM BEAM THE GAMECOCK After being arrested for sim ple marijuana possession Jan. 12 and being dismissed from the USC football team Monday, ju nior running back Derek Watson released a statement Tuesday claiming his innocence and promising to try to return to USC’s football team. “I do want to say that I am in nocent of the misdemeanor charge issued against me and look forward to the opportunity to clear my name,” Watson said in the statement. When detectives of the Vice/Narcotics Bureau were conducting surveillance in the parking lot of the Salsatheque Night Club on Pleasantburg Drive, they were expecting to find underage alcohol violators — not USC’s startine tailback. “They didn’t know who they had until the arrest,” said Capt. Dave Henderson of the Greenville City Police Department. The arrest was Watson’s fourth instance of trouble since December 2000. He was suspend ed from the team before the 2001 Outback Bowl after wrecking a teammate’s car. In February 2001, Watson pushed a student referee at an intramural basket ball game, which police re sponded to. Until Saturday, Watson’s most recent charge came when he allegedly hit a fe male companion, which result ed in a temporary suspension from the team. Upon learning about the inci dent Monday, South Carolina coach Lou Holtz suspended Watson “indefinitely” from the football team, only later to dis miss him entirely. “This is not about Derek Watson the football player. This Derek Watson, seen here In the Outback Bowl Jan. 1, was arrested by Greenville police for marijuana possession Friday. Head coach Lou Holtz dismissed Watson from the football team Monday, but Watson said Tuesday he was innocent of the charges, photo by aaron hark is about Derek Watson the per son,” Holtz said in a statement released Monday. But according to Watson’s lawyer, Walt Tollison, Watson met with Holtz “within the last 48 hours” to discuss his rein statement. “I have met with coach Holtz and, as always, appreciate his support and guidance,” Watson said. “I owe a great deal to coach Holtz.” Watson said he would not ask Holtz for reinstatement “unless these matters have been resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. That is fair to him, this great univer sity, and myself.” Tollison said the previously announced court date of Jan. 30 had been moved but hasn’t been rescheduled. The new court date will be set “sometime before January 30,” he said. Kerry Tharp, USC’s associate athletic director, said Tuesday, “At the present time, (Watson) is still in school on scholarship. I’m sure there will be some deci sion that will be hiade bvef the course of the next few weeks. He has every legal option available to him during this time as he is going to be facing some legal is sues.” The arrest eliminates Watson’s pretrial intervention standing for his previous charge of assault and battery, according to Fifth Circuit Solicitor Barney Giese. This means Watson’s case will go back to the Lykesland Magistrate Court, where it orig inated. Tharp said the decision to dismiss Watson wasn’t easy. “I think any time you lose a ♦ WATSON, SEE PAGE 2 Four strikes and Watson’s out This isn’t Derek Watson’s first run-in with the law. December 2000 Watson ~“ wrecked a teammate’s car; Holtz suspended him from the Outback Bowl. February 2001 Police responded to a report that Watson pushed a student referee at an intramural basketball game. May 2001 Watson allegedly hit a female companion. He was suspended from the team, but reinstated before the season began. FRIDAY Watson was arrested for marijuana possession and was dismissed from the team Monday. PHOTO BY CANDI HAUGLUM Sanford wants to abolish income tax Plan would be phased in over 18-year period BY KEVIN FELLNER THE GAMECOCK Republican gubernatorial can didate Mark Sanford proposed Monday to eliminate South Carolina’s income tax as part of his political platform. Sanford said his plan would in clude eliminating state taxes on individual income in three phas es over the next 18 years. Sanford’s plan provides for 50 percent re ductions in both 7 percent and 2.5 percent tax brackets within the next five years. “The premise of this plan is not about a tax cut; it’s about econom ic need in our state,” he said. Sanford said his plan would also involve adding sales tax to gasoline and keeping the corpo rate income tax rate at 5 percent. Sanford said the plan would re quire a referendum to reverse any of its policies. “We need a tax system in South Carolina that is not only fair and equi “The table to all and not premise of only addresses this plan is property concerns, not about but ais0 one that ft's about' rewards savings’ economic “vestment and need in our Productive behav state,” i°r.” he said, former Sanford also al U.S. Rep. luded to the nine Mark other states that Sanford do not levy state said. income taxes and said his plan would emulate those states in cre ating a “pro-business climate.” Sanford said South Carolina does not provide the same job op portunities for college graduates that other states can. He said there is evidence that South Carolina’s ♦ SANFORD, SEE PAGE 2 On the dotted line Former University of Florida coach Steve Spurrier at a signing ceremony Tuesday. Spurrier signed a 5-year, $25 million deal with the Washington Redskins. STORY AND COLUMN IN SPORTS, PAGE 9. photo courtesy of krt campus Committee recommends new plan for USC’s budget SDI report says research, tuition money should go directly to units BY ADAM BEAM THE GAMECOCK' According to Provost Jerry Odom, the most important recom mendation of the SDI Committee’s highly anticipated report involves totally restructuring the way USC does business. In an attempt to relieve some of USC’s budget cut problems, the Strategic Directives and Initiatives Committee, chaired by Odom, has recommended in its final report that the university adopt a Value Centered Management system. Right now, all of the money USC receives — including tuition, fees and research money — comes into the central administration. The administration then creates a hndeet for each USC hndeet unit Under the VCM, all research money generated outside a certain unit would go primarily to that unit. Each unit would also receive a portion of the tuition from every student it teaches. The central administration would then take the state-appro priated funds and, according to Odom, distribute them “based on the university’s priorities and strategic plans of the various col leges and schools.” Odom cited the recent enroll ment boost in the Darla Moore School of Business and the College of Journalism and Mass Communications as examples of the administration’s failure to “reallocate money in a very effec tive way so that those students are served better.” VCM has been used exclusively at the University of Michigan for the past five years, and the SDI Committee looked to that school as a model for how to create this type of budgeting. The hot trend Several schools have already adopted or are considering instituting a system resembling Value Centered Management. Among them: Cornell University Indiana University Ohio State University UCLA University of Illinois University of Michigan* University of Oregon_ University of Pennsylvania University of Southern Calif. University of Toronto •Note: USC’s system would be based on Michigan's system under the Strategic Directions and Initiatives Committee's recommendations. Source: SDI Committee Report “In the implementation of some thing like this, there is always go ing to be unique characteristics of the particular institution that have to be taken into effect,” said Odom. “But Michigan in the last five years really has seemed to have done an excellent job in imple menting this what’s called Value Centered Management.” The report from the SDI Committee recommends that in fiscal year 2003,TJSC should oper ate under the current system of centralized budgeting with the VCM model running in “parallel mode.” VCM would replace the current system entirely in fiscal year 2004. Odom agreed the parallel sys tem was the best way the univer sity could ease into VCM. “This is a very different way of budgeting within the university,” he said, adding that the adminis tration will “almost certainly” bring in officials from the University of Michigan and com ♦ BUDGETING, SEE PAGE 2 Alabama man kidnapped in Afghanistan BY MARK SHERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — An Alabama man was kidnapped for ransom in Afghanistan while delivering med ical supplies last week, his wife told government officials. The woman reported the ab duction to the State Department and the office of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., a longtime friend. A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymi ty, said the report is being investi gated but would not identify the man because of privacy laws. Rick Dykema, Rohrabacher’s chief of staff, identified the man as Clark Russell Bowers, 37, of Harvest, Ala. He said he spoke to Bowers’ wife Monday. “We put his wife in touch with the proper authorities, and we un derstand that they are following up,” Dykema said Tuesday. “We had no independent infor mation on what he was doing” in Afghanistan, Dykema said. “He had been there before, and we were told he was trying to deliver humanitarian supplies. We didn’t even know of this trip until after his wife called.” The State Department provid ed no information, saying it was asking the Pakistani and Afghan governments to help. “We’re cer tainly following up on that,” spokesman Philip Reeker said. Another Rohrabacher aide, A1 Santoli, said Bowers visited the congressman’s office last fall and Rohrabacher warned him not to go to Afghanistan. “He’s a thrill seeker in a war zone,” said Santoli, the congressman’s na tional security .adviser. TODAY’S WEATHER: Sunny, 0 percent chance of precipitation, High 58, Low 37. ♦ TOMORROW'S WEATHER: Sunny, 0 percent chance of precipitation, High 64, Low 42.