AU police hire five officers
By Bob Grant
Staff Writer
So, you are driving along and notice the traffic light at the intersection of Roosevelt and Donahue is about to turn red.
Before you punch the accelerator and speed through, you need to ask yourself an important question, "Do I feel lucky?"
Well do you, punk?
Because if you don't, Marcus Walton and Scott Belton are lurking around the corner ready to hand you a ticket.
Walton and Belton are two of the five officers hired by the Auburn University Police Department in the past four months.
Joining Belton and Walton on the force are James Vickers, John Henderson and Jama Smith, one of two women officers working for campus police.
According to Bill Nevin, campus police chief since October, Belton, Walton and Smith will attend the Alabama State Police Academy in Selma, Ala., in August.
Nevin said Vickers and Henderson are currently attending the 12-week training program.
"We have hired some good officers. We have a tough selection process that exceeds state requirements," Nevin said.
Nevin said campus officers must pass additional physical and psychological evaluations and a physical agilities test. In addition, recruits must meet minimum requirements on the firearms field test and written examination.
Walton, who worked as a reserve officer for two and a half years before being hired as a permanent patrolman, said the challenge in police work for him comes from dealing with people.
"I love working and communicating with people. I meet 35 to 40 different people everyday, so this is a great job for me," Walton said.
Belton, who graduated from Auburn in 1994, said becoming a police officer has been his goal since high school.
"Every day has been a learning experience. Everybody up here has been very helpful," Belton said.
In addition to patrolling Auburn's main campus, University Police cover the airport and the north research area, which includes the fisheries and forestry facilities.
Nevin said Auburn campus police officers are currently paid $4,000 to $5,000 less than most city police officers.
"With that big of a difference in salary, it is difficult to keep good police officers," Nevin said.
But that doesn't bother Walton too much. "I would love to make a career out of the campus police," Walton said.
Law threatens billiards at Fink's
By Megan Healy
Staff Writer
The Auburn City Council is threatening to close Fink's Bar and Grill because of a questionable Alabama law.
The 1923 code created during the prohibition of liquor reads "that you can't sell intoxicating liquors and have a pool table," Jeff Finkhousen, owner of Fink's, said.
When Fink's opened in May 1995 Finkhousen received a billiards table license and sold only beer, he said.
However, in October 1996 Finkhousen obtained a liquor license through the state and city.
Now that Fink's sells liquor and charges for pool it does not comply with the law.
City Manager Doug Watson said the council requested the opinion of Attorney General Bill Pryor to see if the law was still in effect.
Pryor said the code was still in effect.
The conflict began when a complaint was filed to the city about bars selling liquor with pool tables, Finkhousen said.
"(The council) did not say it was filed against me," he said.
"It's the law," Finkhousen said.
A complaint was made, so the city must do something about it, he said.
An exemption in the code says a bar can sell liquor with pool tables if it is a "bonafide club."
A request for Pryor's opinion on the definition of a "bonafide club" was issued by the city council.
"Pryor said that he, in no way, thinks that Fink's is a club and that he feels I am trying to circumvent the law," Finkhousen said.
Charles Ingrum Jr., Finkhousen's lawyer, said, "The code of Alabama does not define a 'bonafide club.'"
Finkhousen said Pryor did not state any case laws regarding the code, either.
"I've got membership cards, and I've got a membership list," he said.
"We've already got hundreds of members," Finkhousen said.
"It's like green fees. You pay fees to play golf, and at Fink's you are charged an hourly rate to play pool," Finkhousen said.
"From what I've researched, we're a club," he said. "So far the city has been supportive," Finkhousen said.
Fink's can stay open and operate as it has if the attorney general says that Fink's is a "bonafide club."
"If (Pryor) looks at the overall picture and what we are doing and what we are trying to do, it will be a more favorable response," Finkhousen said.
"My goal is to be a social club, a public club," he said.
"I have built this business up according to the practices of the city," Finkhousen said. "They were not enforcing the law."
"I'm trying to work with the city," Finkhousen said.
Buffalo's American Grille and The Buffalo Connection have already removed their tables because they sell liquor.
"The profit margin is so high with liquor," Finkhousen said. Fink's has been able to make a lot of improvements with the building and landscaping since it has sold liquor, he said.
Watson said, "We are trying to work with Jeff. Let's just wait and see what the attorney general says.
Sen. Bob Ingrum said, "The foundation of the problem is the law itself, and if the law was removed everybody would be happy."
"What needs to be done is the students should contact their legislatures and try to get the code altered or removed," he said.
Finkhousen said, "They need to look at it from my side too, because I'm not going to go away."
Second Waffle House increases all-night dining options for students
By Lizz Fullerton
1997-98 Assistant State/Local editor
For those with late night munchies, a new Waffle House restaurant is open on Opeika Road near the Books-A-Million.
"The new store is exactly the same as the old one. All the company units are the same," Ray Cooper, the unit manager, said.
The Waffle House sees many Auburn students, both as employees and as customers, and often in the middle of the night, because of the 24-hour availability of food.
"We have a lot of students as customers, pretty much all the time. They come all during the day, and at night, too, during the bar rush," Cooper said.
Tylon Crooks, a senior in health service administration, said he often visits the old Waffle House on South College Street.
"I eat there pretty often. I ate at the one at home, too," he said.
"I probably will eat at the new one. Night is when I generally like to go. I get the late-night cravings," Crooks said.
Cooper expects the new restaurant will thrive because of the many student customers.
"I expect students to go to the new one a lot because a lot of them shop at the mall. I hope it won't take business away from our store, but I don't think it will," he said.
Some students are undecided about the restaurant chain.
Jennifer McGuire, a freshman in interior environments, said, "I've eaten there a couple of times, both during the day and at night. But they don't take checks. It's really an inconvenience. That's why I usually end up going to Tiger Time."
Proximity is a main concern to most students in picking a restaurant.
"I might go to the new Waffle House, but the old one is closer to me. They don't have french fries. That really bothers me," McGuire said.
One reason for the high number of students at the current Waffle House is its closeness to the University.
Cooper said, "We are so close to the college and the interstate that I expect to keep the same customers. We also have students who are employees in the existing store."
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