GROUP HOMES CHIEF DENIES KILLING LINKED TO RESIDENTS

The president of the Wilmington Chapter of Oxford Houses defended the
organizations tenants Wednesday after neighbors suggested the police begin
a murder investigation by interviewing Oxford House residents.

Terrence McGuire said he has known the 13 people who live in Oxford Houses
at 3258 and 3260 Camden Circle for six months or more and he doesn't
believe any of them were involved in the death of Buren Borneman, who was
found stabbed to death Monday in his home at 3128 Camden Circle.

Mr. McGuire said everyone who lives there has been accounted for and no one
has seen Mr. Borneman's red pickup, Mr. McGuire said.

"These houses are a second chance for us," said Mr. McGuire, a former
Marine and Gulf War veteran. "We don't hide anything."

Mr. Borneman's son found him stabbed to death in his home Monday. His red
1999 Chevrolet pickup with an extended cab is missing. The truck has a
North Carolina vanity license plate with "Bootys" on it. Neighbors said
that was Mr. Borneman's nickname.

Group homes in Wilmington have come under close scrutiny in recent months
after the city learned that 41 of the 63 in the city are operating
illegally because the operators failed to get the required special use
permits and zoning certifications. The Planning Commission and City Council
have considered numerous proposals to bring the transitional houses into
compliance.

The City Council will consider another proposal at one of its February
meetings, said Jeff Harris, chief code enforcement officer for the city.

Oxford House is an international organization for recovering alcoholics and
drug abusers. It is a nonprofit, self-supporting and self-governing
organization. The homes have elected officers who administer the rules,
which are established by the international organization.

Residents who drink or use drugs on or off Oxford House premises "are
automatically evicted," Mr. McGuire said. If they refuse to leave or create
other problems, Mr. McGuire said, the tenants call the police.

"This is a recovery house and you cannot come in and do whatever . you want
to," said Mr. McGuire, who has been free of alcohol for 20 months. He has
lived in an Oxford House for 18 months.

Oxford House tenants must get jobs within 14 days after they move in, Mr.
McGuire said. Those who are elderly or unable to work are required to
provide 20 hours service per week, depending on their skills, to the four
Oxford Houses in Wilmington. For example, they may be required to do
electrical work, plumbing or landscaping.

Brenda Hewlett, coordinator with New Hanover County's 911 Center, said
Tuesday that there was no record of any calls from or about the two Oxford
Houses on Camden Circle in the 911 Center's records.

In December 1995, however, an Oxford House tenant who had been battling
drug and alcohol addiction was charged with killing a deaf homeless man,
who was sleeping on a bicycle path between Forest Hills Drive and Camden
Circle. Mr. McGuire said he was unaware of that incident.

Mr. McGuire said some people who live in Oxford Houses may have criminal
records or be on probation. Criminal background checks are done in New
Hanover County, and if warrants are out for their arrest, they are not
allowed to move in, he said.

Oxford Houses, he said, are not homeless shelters or places for fugitives
to hide. Tenants pay rent each week, he said.

Mr. McGuire said the Oxford House on Market Street where he stays sends
tenants out in the neighborhood to rake yards and neighbors welcome their help.

Oxford House operates four houses with 36 beds in Wilmington. Tenants
usually stay about nine months, he said.

People are more concerned about group home tenants with criminal records,
said Mr. Harris, the city's code enforcement officer.

"But there is nothing the city can do to force exposure of that, except
people convicted of sexual crimes," he said. People convicted of sexual
offenses are required to register with local law enforcement agencies.

One complaint Mr. Harris received was of scruffy-looking individuals
walking around a group home. Mr. Harris said he investigated and didn't
find anything.

Mr. Harris believes the proposed regulations would dispel some fears and
suspicions about group homes. The rules would require supervision. Rules
that govern group homes would have to be posted and adhered to, he said.
Group homes could have their special use permits revoked if they have three
substantiated violations a month or six in a year, he said.

The Planning Commission and City Council are grappling with whether to
require a half-mile or one-mile separation between group homes.

"I foresee a time when you have these care facilities dispersed" more than
they are now, Mr. Harris said. Many of them are clustered in part of the
city where rent and land prices are lower than other areas, he said.

"I think the community needs to have patience at this time and let the
council adopt new regulations" that will require a greater distribution of
group homes, he said.