The Anniston Star du lieu suivant : Anniston, Alabama • Page 9

Dear Abby Stocks 2B 3B Editor: Anthony Cook: 235-9279 (The JVmusttm tar Wednesday, January 9, 2002 Page 1B Associated Press Early education program earns rare compliments and Alabama earned kudos for Gov. Don Siegelman's plan for early learning centers to help prepare youngsters for sch(H)ls. In an interview with reporters Saturday. Siegelman ciied early learning centers as one of his proudest accomplishments as governor. He said 47 centers have opened so far.

and his goal is to keep open- Please tee Grades Page3B tioual issues. Alabama slipped from "B-minus" to on the adequacy of its education funding and moved up from to "C-plus" in equity of resources. The state maintained its "C-plus" in the "standards and accountability" category, as well as its for efforts to "improve teacher quality." Only .15.5 percent of Alabama's students go to school in districts where the per-pupil expenditure is at or above the national average, according to the findings. Doherty said 16 states saw their grades fall as a result of the change. The annual report focused for the first time on earlv education issues.

State Board of Education member Bradley Byrne of Mobile was concerned about the adequacy mark. "On a competitive basis, we're not holding our own anymore," he said. Kathryn Doherty. research director for the report, said the dip in Alabama's adequacy grade was likely due to a change in the formula for Just call her Snugglebunny Monsanto trial Judge dismisses healthy plaintiffs Claims cannot be based on risk of future illness, Laird rules if''' calculating whether funding provided is enough to do the job. In the past, states were graded according to how their per-pupil spending compared with the national average.

Now, the survey also considers how many districts ithin the state fall below the national per-pupil spending. By Elizabeth Bluemlnk Star Environmental Correspondent GADSDEN The judge in the Monsanto PCB trial Tuesday dismissed the personal injury claims of all plaintiffs ho do not allege current illnesses due to contamination from the former Monsanto plant. An unspecified number of the 3,500 plaintiffs in the Gadsden trial in which Monsanto stands accused of damaging people's health and properties with PCBs, a probable carcinogen mh had asked for compensation for the risk they face of obtaining future diseases, such as cancer. Plaintiffs who allege current illnesses, mental anguish, fraud and property damages will not be affected by the ruling. Calhoun County The Supremo ruled months plaintiffs be sick to make for personal injuries.

(Alabama) Court several ago that must In order claims mobile Alabama's public school programs -earned mediocre grades in an education magazine's annual report card, but the state drew compliments for the governor's plan to provide learning programs lor preschoolers. Education Week's annual "Quality Counts" report graded each state and the District of Columbia on standards that deal with K-1 2 educa- Alabama's Constitution House Denis call for changes By Bob Johnson Associated Press MONTGOMERY Alabama House Democrats said Tuesday their top goal for the current regular session "of the Legislature is to rewrite as many as six articles of the 1901 Alabama Constitution. Rep. Jack Venable, D-Tallassee, said the six articles are non-controversial and cover subjects such as impeachment, banking regulations and the state's boundaries. Venable and other members of the House Democratic Caucus outlined priorities for the regular session, which began Tuesday.

The House has previously passed bills by Venable to rewrite four of the articles, but those efforts have died in the Senate. Others during the session are expected to push for a convention to rewrite the Constitution, which has more than 600 amendments and is the longest in the country. Venable said rewriting article by article is an easy way to rewrite the non-controversial sections. He said lawmakers will need to call in outside assistance in future sessions when they tackle more controversial articles, such as those dealing with education and taxes. "We could bring in people representing all facets of society to help with those," Venable said.

He said the rewritten articles he is introducing are the result of the work of various commissions on Constitutional reform dating back to the administration of Gov. Albert Brewer in the early 1970s. Anothpr priority for the House Democrats is a bill that require the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance in every public school classroom every morning. "This will encourage teachers to teach students to love their country and respect the flag," said the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Jack Page, D-Gadsden.

Another bill would post the national motto "In God We Trust" in all classrooms. Sponsor Rep. Gerald Willis, D-Piedmont, said the posters would be paid for with private donations. George Smith Star Senior Editor George Smith is taking a break for the holidays, but he and his column will rejoin you at the breakfast table before too long. 7V began Monday in Gadsden.

However, plaintiffs' attorney Donald Stewart has previously told The Star that Monsanto's motion to dismiss would not affect as many as WX) plaintiffs who do allege current illnesses. The case in Gadsden has been renamed Andrew Bowie Monsanto et al. It was previously referred to as the Abernathy case. Also on Tuesday, the attorneys in the Monsanto trial questioned the 72-me'mber jury pool. Jury candidates were asked a barrage of questions by Stewart and by Monsanto's Gadsden-based attorney, George Ford, from approximately 10 a.m.

to 3:30 p.m. 'This is the only time we can communicate with you," Ford told the jurors, adding, "You can tell when they drag in six or seven attorneys for each side, this is an important case." The jurors were asked to raise their hands to answer as many as 100 questions, including whether they believed that chemicals in tiny doses could cause death, whether they wash their vegetables and whether they had a friend or relative who died within the past six months. A handful of the jurors stated that they may be inclined to feel sympathy for the Anniston plaintiffs, but all said they could be impartial. This morning, the defense lawyers will strike 28 potential jurors and the plaintiff attorneys will strike 29, according to Laird. Opening arguments will begin today after the jury is seated.

Oxford OKs neighborhood rezoning plan By Amy Sleckmann Star Staff Writer Enveloped in the smells of fresh paint and new carpet, Oxford City Council members met for the first lime Tuesday in the new city hall. Although the discovery of microphones in the council chamber and the scramble for each member to choose a private office caused a small stir and more than a few smiles, the newness did not distract the council from the business of approving rezoning for a new housing development and leasing a city-owned building. The housing development is proposed for three acres surrounding 1229 Circle Drive, owned by Roger Cash. The council approved an ordinance to rezonc the property from R-l residential to cluster development, paving the way for construction of patio homes. The homes, mostly one- and two-bedroom units, are designed for retired or young people and will serve a growing need jn Oxford.

Please) Oxford Page 3B Trent PnnyTh Anniston Star Three-year-old Cameron Buckelew spends some quality time with her pet rabbit, Cameron Is the daughter of Mahatna and Matthew Buckelew of Saks. She has had the rabbit almost a year. Circuit Judge Joel Laird said he based his decision on a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling in the Hinton vs. Monsanto case. The Supreme Court ruled several months ago that plaintiffs must be sick in order to make claims for personal injuries.

As a result of the ruling, the Hinton case filed by Birmingham attorneys on behalf of an Anniston family concerned about future risks from PCB exposures was dropped in federal court. And shortly after the ruling, Monsanto attorneys asked Laird to dismiss similar claims in the ongoing PCB litigation. Due to a gag order. The Star did not obtain comments on Laird's dismissal from the lawyers or the plaintiffs involved in the Monsanto trial, which you're dealing with people, you're going to have human emir. But we were able to identify and fix the problem in a very timely fashion." The changeover to a new area code went much smoother than Please see Switch Page3B 5 1' At midnight Monday, the 251 area code became mandatory for long-distance calls to all of Baldwin, Escambia, Mobile and Washington counties and parts of Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Monroe and Wilcox.

About 300 customers of longdistance carrier Adclphia Bus-iness Solutions couldn't receive incoming "I was shocked," he said. "It was heavy." He said tire tracks were left where a truck apparently had backed up to the monument. He said a crane of some sort may have been needed to tear it from the base. Pat Mitchell, a spokesman for Mobile police, said Tuesday there had been no developments in the investigation. The monument honoring Lewis, who died in 1935.

was created by Henry Williams, a welder and history buff. He said a young understudy Please tee Stolen Page 3B jr. Prefix switch does a number on callers Associated Press MOBILE Some residents and businesses in Southwest Alabama complained about telephone difficulties during Monday's switch to a new area code, but the transition was smooth for most people. calls because of a programming glitch, said manager Pete White. The problem was fixed by about 3 p.m., White said.

"It's not unusual, when you're dealing with large quantities of (phone) numbers, to have a problem like this," said John Somski, a spokesman for Adclphia. "When Slave ship survivor's bust stolen from Mobile church 1 Associated Press MOBILE A bronze bust of Cudjoe Lewis, who arrived in the Mobile area in 1 859 on what became known as the last slave ship from Africa, was torn from its base in front of a church and stolen. The bust of Lewis, a revered figure who was the final survivor of more than 100 Africans shipped aboard the Clotilde, had been in front of Union Missionary Baptist Church for about three decades. The church, pastor, A.J. Crawford said it was taken Jan.

2 or Jan. 3. Associated Press A bronze bust of Cudfcto Lewis stands in front of Union Missionary Baptist Church Jan. 14, 1988. The bronze bust was stolen from its brick base sometime Jan.

2 or 3. Lewis was the last survivor of 1 00 Africans brought to Mobile In 1 859. MAsesAMsftMrtSjeMLtesiiseAi.