Hillsborough Man Says Denial Unfair HILLSBOROUGH - Terry VanDuzee and his wife lived the first two years of their marriage apart -- he in Canada, she in Hillsborough -- so he could enter the U.S. legally. Now he must leave the country within two weeks because he was charged with marijuana possession in Canada 30 years ago. He has been pardoned by his native country. VanDuzee has worked for a software company in RTP. He plays bass guitar in a worship band at River of Joy Church in Durham. He and his wife, Debbie, who has never lived outside North Carolina, have been trying for six years to get him a green card to make him a permanent legal U.S. resident. But U.S. law disqualifies him because of three drug violations in 1977, 1978 and 1979. Controlled substance violations are one of only two categories of crimes that make visa applicants ineligible. The other involves "moral turpitude." [continues 600 words]
CHAPEL HILL - A Chapel Hill man was accused last week of pedaling while he peddled. He was charged with maintaining a late-model Next Avalon Comfort Bike for selling crack cocaine. Police nabbed him as he ran into some woods in the Northside neighborhood. He might have escaped on his seven-speed Comfort Bike, but the chain fell off with police in hot pursuit. Police took custody of $3.25 in cash, along with his two-wheeler, which police estimate to be worth about $20. [continues 146 words]
PORTSMOUTH - "Clearly, just telling kids about the consequences of their behavior is not working," said Portsmouth High School Principal Rick Gremlitz in response to a recent report on risky behavior among local students. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, furnished by the Psychiatric Research Center at Dartmouth Medical School, shows the vast majority of Portsmouth youth have used drugs, alcohol and tobacco by the time they hit high school. The survey was conducted in February. Gremlitz said the results were reliable, since nearly every PHS student was surveyed. The survey showed 83 percent of local teens had used tobacco, alcohol, marijuana or other drugs at some point in their lives. [continues 303 words]