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News Orleans police superintendent resigns after four turbulent weeks Julia Silverman THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW ORLEANS — Police Superintendent Eddie Compass resigned Tuesday after four turbulent weeks in which the police force was wracked by desertions and disorganization in Hurricane Katrinas aftermath. “I served this department for 26 years and have taken it through some of the toughest times of its history. Every man in a leadership position must know when it’s time to hand over the reins,” Compass said at a news conference. “I’ll be going on in another direction that God has for me.” As the city slipped into anarchy during the first few days after Katrina, the 1,700 member police department itself suffered a crisis. Many officers deserted their posts, and some were accused of joining in the looting that broke out. Two officers Compass described as friends committed suicide. Neither Compass nor Mayor Ray Nagin would say whether Compass was pressured to resign. “It’s a sad day in the city of New Orleans when a hero makes a decision like this,” Nagin said. “He leaves the department in pretty good shape and with a significant amount of leadership.” Lt. David Benelli, president of the union for rank-and-file New Orleans officers, said he was shocked by the resignation. “We’ve been through a horrendous time,” Benelli said. “We’ve watched the city we love be destroyed. That is pressure you can’t believe.” Benelli would not criticize Compass. “You can talk about lack of organization, but we have been through two hurricanes, there was no communications, problems everywhere,” he said. “I think the fact that we did not lose control of the city is a testament to his leadership.” Earlier in the day, the department said that about 250 police officers — roughly 15 percent of the force — could face discipline for leaving their posts without permission during Katrina and its aftermath. Each case will be investigated to determine whether the officer was truly a deserter or had legitimate reasons to be absent, Deputy Chief Warren Riley Ann Heisenfelt I The Associated Press New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass talks with an officer at the temporary emergency services headquarters in New Orleans on Sept. 10. Nearly 250 police officers could face a special tribunal because they left their posts without permission during Hurricane Katrina and the storm’s chaotic aftermath, Compass said. said. “Everything will be done on a case-by-case basis. The worst thing we could do is take disciplinary action against someone who was stranded in the storm or whose child is missing,” Riley said. Sally Forman, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said it is not clear whether the deserters can be fired. She said the city is still looking into the civil service regulations. Benelli said true deserters should be fired. “For those who left because of cowardice, they don’t need to be here,” Benelli told the paper. “If you’re a deserter and you deserted your, post for no other reason than you were scared, then yoil left the department and I don’t see any need for you to come back.” But Benelli said he believes only a small fraction of the officers will wind up being deserters. “We know there were people who flat-out deserted,” he said. “But we also know there were officers who had to make critical decisions about what to do with their families.” Riley said some officers lost their homes and some are looking for their families. “Some simply left because they said they could not deal with the catastrophe,” Riley said. Also on Tuesday, the state Health Department said Katrinas death toll in Louisiana stood at 885, up from 841 as of Friday. Tuesday marked the second day of the official reopening of New Orleans, which had t»een pushed back last week when Hurricane Rita threatened. Nagin welcomed residents back to the Algiers neighborhood on Monday but imposed a curfew and warned of limited serviices. Nagin also invited business owners in the central business district, the French Quarter and the Uptown section to ins pea their property and clean up. But he gave no timetable for reopening those parts of the city to residents. S. C. agencies must pay for failed ‘Choose Life tags Jim Davenport THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Three state agencies will have to pay Planned Parenthood’s legal costs after it won a court case blocking the use of “Choose Life” license plates approved by the Legislature. The state Budget and Control Board refused to let the Departments of Corrections, Social Services and Motor Vehicles use a state contingency fund to pay the $157,810 legal bill of Planned Parenthood, which sued the agencies to block the tags. Last year, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal judge’s ruling that the anti-abortion license plates the Legislature approved are unconstitutional because they provided one group a forum to express its beliefs without giving the opposing view a similar forum. In January, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. hours • connnuED PRom i the policy is implemented inconsistently” because many freshmen who live in housing with upperclassmen might enjoy the more open visitation policies.Plan C is a policy of opposite gender visitation from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Monday, 24-hour visitation is allowed. The policy is implemented in the Roost, South Tower and Sims, where freshmen and upperclassmen may be living. Plan D has no set policy, but is determined by residents. This is the plan RHA looks to implement for every dorm. “It’d be just as easy to have no visitation policy and leave it to be determined by roommate contracts,” Wilkins said. “One of the main mission goals of Housing is (to have students) grow as an individual and deal with adult situations. Telling freshmen they can’t handle (open visitation) doesn’t coincide.” The plans have been in place since the early ‘90s, when there was a push for the 2 a.m. policy. Wilkins said some of it had to do with state senator influence. “One of the main fallacies in the whole setup is that it’s not decided by the students. We should have some say about what goes on in our campus,” Wilkins said. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknrws@gwm. sc. cdu I Corrections Department Director Jon Ozmint said the three agencies didn’t do anything that would leave them responsible for shouldering the legal expenses. “The Legislature took action and these three agencies took no action. We simply were part of the executive branch and had to be sued to stop production of the plates,” Ozmint said. “It seems to me the Legislature — somebody else — should bear some burden for the action that was taken than brought about the suit.” The agencies previously had asked the state’s Insurance Reserve Fund to cover the costs, but the fund denied the request because Planned Parenthood only sought an injunction and attorney’s fees in its lawsuit. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, refused to go along with other Budget and Control Board members to have the state pay the fees out of a contingency fund. He said the Corrections Department and other agencies have the cash to cover the expense. Gov. Mark Sanford, chairman of the Budget and Control Board, tried to persuade Leatherman to go along with the payment plan. Sanford said taking the money from Corrections would hurt Ozmint’s ability to “basically maintain law and order within the correctional system.” The budget board gave final approval to several other projects, including: — $42 million for research university bonds for work related to Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research. — $30 million in borrowing for overdue maintenance at the state’s colleges. — $7 million for a new culinary arts program at a Trident Technical College campus in Charleston. pizza m 2009 Greene Street # 106 _ We803.256.II00 deliver five points-usc-shandon-downtown \ 6 ne<o°l'Vor^ \ \ - r ^ ; 3k i i buy a giant pizza , at regular price 1 I . and I receive a large pizza I (with equal or less toppings) I , | OFFER VALID THROUGH I 10-31-05 I MUST MENTION COUPON WHEN ORDERING. I NOTVALID WITH ANY OTHER OFFER. . ■ <r DELIVERY CHARGE MAY APPLY. V H DERRICK •COnnnUED FROR1I serving his second tour in Iraq. Defrick joined the South Carolina National Guard when he was 18 and the Army two years later, Shealy said. “He wanted to make a career of the Army,” his father, Butch Derrick said. “He loved everything about the Army. The discipline. The challenges. He had traveled I all over the world.” Joseph Derrick knew the risk of being a soldier, but felt the good he did was more important. “The more he was over there, the more he saw of the impact he was having,” his father said. Derrick was supposed to come home for leave in just over two weeks. In his last conversation with his mother and stepfather hours before he died, Derrick told them he wanted a steak and tickets to the South Carol ina Vanderbilt football game. “He was very tired,” Shealy said. “It was 2 a.m. his time when he called, and he had had just four hours of sleep. He had been working 20 hour days. He said he couldn’t wait to get home to see us.” Funeral arrangements are pending for Derrick, but his unit plans to hold its own memorial service in Iraq on Tuesday, Shealy said. ■ i ^ ^ ^ Eye shadow got me my * J shoes for the formal.** Antoinette, mark Representative Want to make your mark in the Greek system? Antoinette did—by selling mark. More than a top beauty brand, mark has 350-1- makeup products and accessories. It’s an opportunity to earn money or even fundraise for your favorite organization. Selling' mark is fun and fashionable, and more rewarding than working in restaurants or retail stores. Be your own boss, work flexible hours, and make money for school, shopping, or whatever! • Earn up to 40% on everything you sell. • Earn prizes, trips and cash. Go to meetmark.com/schoolsweeps to become a mark Representative and enter to win $100: No purchase necessary. Must be a legal U.S. resident and 17 years of age or older to enter. 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