The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 6

THE COURIER-JOURNAL MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1997 ating couple throw party to help singles become pairs 7 1 1 "They were like, 'Professional single men who are interested in meeting professional single women? We're Yolanda Pantoja, talking about her friends 5 Si 4 last week. About a third of UPS' 2,000 pilots, make their permanent homes here, said Sprague, who spends 10 to 12 days a month in Louisville. "They're here as much as they're anywhere," he said. To Yolanda Miller, a laboratory technician at Columbia Suburban Hospital, that's a little troublesome. Miller said she went to the party because a friend asked her and she was having a good time.

But "I don't think I'd really want to date a pilot because they're never there," she said. Still, you never know. "They all seem like really nice guys." Ana Onoufriadis didn't go to the party to meet pilots; she was there to see old friends. A UPS captain herself, she said, "I'm pretty sure I know all these guys." Jim Harrod, who, in addition to being a pilot, runs a business specializing in aviation and Western art, said that even if no romance results from the party, it's an enjoyable way to make friends. "I'm just here to have fun, meet some new people," he said.

"It's an excellent opportunity to mix with nice professional people. Who knows where it'll lead?" By KAREN MERK The CourierJournal Single? Looking for that special someone? You'll wish you or one of your pals had thought of this: Inviting all your single male friends and all your single female friends to a party to meet one another. That's what United Parcel Service pilot Stillman Sprague and Yolanda Pantoja, a nurse, did Saturday night at the Marriott Inn in eastern Jefferson County. Before the party billed as the Stillman Sprague Pilot-Nurse Conference was even in full swing, guests were planning the next one. Most of their friends are in their 30s and 40s, Pantoja said, "and the bar scene is pretty much out." So when she approached several friends with Spragiie's idea, it wasn't a tough sell.

"They were like, 'Professional single men who are interested in meeting professional single women? We're Pantoja, who works in the dialysis unit at University of Louisville Hospital, had been dating Sprague for a month or so when she mentioned that his friends were nice guys, and that she knew several single women who'd probably like to meet them. PHOTOS BY KEITH WILLIAMS, THE COURIER-JOURNAL Ella Zimmerman, left, who is 89, danced with 17-year-old Jenny Potts at the senior citizens' dance yesterday. Jenny attends Presentation Academy in Louisville, which organizes the annual event Dance organized by high school brings young and old together About that time, one of Sprague's Eilot friends, who had just moved to ouisville, asked him where he could go in town to meet women. "I told him the parry was at his house next weekend," Sprague said. Initially it was just going to be a few potential couples, nurses and pilots.

But word spread until even the clubhouse at the Willows of Plain-view, which holds 40 people, would have been a tight squeeze. So Sprague rented a couple of meeting rooms at the Marriott. He organized everything, well, on the fly from Billings, Des Moines and Salt Lake City, three of his destinations vi i t- 1 f'l' iP I 'J Contractor seeks tax credit to turn former school into apartments By CAMILLE DIANA BARBEE The Courier-Journal Whoever believes that the latest dance steps are performed only in clubs frequented by members of Generation should have cut a rug with a group of senior citizens dancing the Macarena yesterday at the Holiday Inn in downtown Louisville. From the Hustle and Chicago Bopp to the Mashed Potato and the Duck Dance, the dancers spent the day strutting their stuff in front of their peers and high school students. "It's great to be able to have a good time and dance," said Doris Johnson, 70.

Johnson and her friend, Clifford Baker, 70, both of Louisville, were a sight to see as he twirled her around in her black and white checkered skirt with matching checkered pumps. The two danced to "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" "We dance all the time," Johnson said. "In fact, we just came from another dance." The dance at the Holiday Inn, which is in its third year, is offered to local senior citizens' groups by the Presentation Academy student council. "A lot of the students were doing school service at nursing homes, so it was only natural for us to offer something for older people," said Angela Lincoln, student council moderator and teacher at Presentation, a Catholic girls' school. The Holiday Inn has donated a room each year for the dance fest, Lincoln said.

And each year music is provided free of charge by the band A Little Help. The dance, which is free for senior citizens, brings together young and old. Students from St. Xavier High School serve as dance partners for many of the women who come to the event stag. "I decided to come and help out by By YVONNE EATON The Courier-Journal A contractor who bought an 86-year-old school building in Louisville's Algonquin neighborhood for less than $200,000 last fall is seeking a low-income housing investment tax credit to turn the building into 38 "affordable" apartments.

Gary Bates said he hopes to spend $2.8 million to renovate the old John B. McFerran School, at 1515 Cypress into apartments to rent for $300 to $460 a month, not including utilities. His plan for the three-story building calls for 22 three-bedroom units; 12 four-bedroom units; three with two bedrooms; and one one-bedroom unit, Bates said. The three- and four-bedroom units would have 1(4 bathrooms. There would be a play area for children and at least four apartments would meet the Americans With Disabilities Act guidelines, he said.

In response to neighbors' requests, he said, the building's historic integrity would be maintained. Bates has asked Housing Partnership a non-profit agency that helps create affordable housing in Jefferson County, for help in structuring the financing and in applying to the Kentucky Housing Corp. for the tax credit. If the tax credit is approved, the financing would involve a combination of equity investors, Bates said, with McFerran Partners Ltd. as the general partner.

The first mortgage would be held by an area bank that would serve as a limited partner. At the end of 15 years, such a limited partnership typically is released, with the general partnership continuing to operate the project. The tax credit would require that the units be geared toward those in lower-income, working households who can pay rent, usually under market value, or to those who receive some form of housing assistance, said Robert French, vice president for housing production for the Housing Partnership, Sina Harris, president of the Cypress Street Area Block Watch, said she and her neighbors have some concerns about subsidized units, but she thinks the plan for "affordable" apartments is acceptable. Bates has promised to keep the grass cut during renovation and generally keep the place looking nice, she said. If the financing plan is approved, Bates said, he could start the project in three to six months.

Bates bought the school at auction last fall for $192,500. The school closed last summer, when McFerran moved to the remodeled Detrick Technical Center at Seventh Street Road and Algonquin Parkway. KingFish to stay in downtown Louisville after all Mattie Stanton applauded the band A Little Help after a dance with her sister Frances Adams, left, at the social yesterday. By SHELDON S. SHAFER The Courier-Journal KingFish Restaurants isn't leaving downtown Louisville after all, but the owners aren't ready to say exactly where they'll relocate.

By late spring the company will abandon its restaurant at Sixth Street and River Road, which opened in 1970, to make way for the new $50 million headquarters of Vencor Inc. Coowner Charles Brown said KingFish hopes to open a new restaurant on Main Street in or near downtown by year's end. He declined to disclose the location because the company is waiting for the property own er's response to its offer. Brown was aggrieved last fall when Louisville and Waterfront Development Corp. officials picked Landry's, a Houston-based seafood chain, to operate a restaurant that will be a centerpiece of the new Waterfront Park near the Clark Memorial Bridge.

Brown said at the time that he didn't believe KingFish's competing offer got fair consideration. He also suggested that KingFish might not operate downtown after the River Road restaurant closed. City officials said Landry's proposal was superior to KingFish's. But Brown, who owns the restaurant company with Norman Nolte- meyer, was conciliatory Friday. "We have a long history of being downtown, and we certainly don't want to leave," he said.

Mayor Jerry Abramson said the city wants KingFish, which operates five restaurants, to stay downtown. He said the city-funded Louisville Development Authority gave the company a list of available downtown properties. A new KingFish also may be built across the Ohio River. Jeffersonville, officials are scheduled to decide soon on KingFish's proposal to build a restaurant on Jeffersonville's riverfront, Brown said. If approved, the restaurant could be open as early as May, he said.

ent to do." The dance gave senior citizens a chance to do more than boogie they could meet other singles too. William Smith, 70, was there as the date of his granddaughter, Melissa Smith, a senior at Presentation, who was ready to play matchmaker. "I thought it would be fun for him to come to the dance," she said. "My grandmother died last year, and I thought he may want to meet someone new." "I had to get rid of that cabin fever," Harris said. "This is the first time I've been out socializing since before winter." Harris and his friend, Frances Adams, 57, both of Louisville, said they 'can't get enough of the dance floor even though their favorite dances are from different generations.

"I like to disco," Harris said. Adams is a fan of the Electric Slide. "I'm really enjoying myself," Adams said. "It's something differ dancing with some of the ladies who came alone," said Craig Wiseman, a senior at St. X.

"I hate to see people cramped up inside all the time." The thought of getting out of the house to dance was refreshing for 76-year-old Monroe Harris who was looking for relief from the winter blahs. TODAY IN THE NATION Forecast for noon today WTh ATTJPft From the National Weather Service, VV LLrXL JDIV AP and Accu-Weather RN-Rain SN-Snow -STATIONARY FRONT WARM FRONT 1 are for today. Foreast LOUISVILLE FORECAST Mostly sunny today and warmer with south winds from 10 to 15 miles per hour. A. TODAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY 50! iKI THURSDAY it CHANCEOF i SHOWERS Flurries 11 CHANCEOf SHOWERS 7 SUN AND MOON SUNRISE i 7:31 a.m.

SUNSET i 6:24 p.m. M00NRISE i 2:30 p.m. M00NSET 4:08 a.m. FULL MOON Feb. 22 LAST QTR.

Mar. 2 NEW MOON I Mar. 8 FIRST QTR. I Mar. 15 70' MOSTLY MOSTLY SUNNY if SUNNY 50 1 60' at 7 p.m.

EST yesterday. Forecasts City HI LoPrec. Us Vegas 69 51 Utile Rock 64 39 Los Angeles 79 61 Memphis 56 41 Miami Beach 82 67 1.09 Milwaukee 22 20 .09 Mina-St Paul 14 4 .04 Mobile 65 33 Nashville 56 26 New Orleans 63 36 New York City ..38 28 Norfolk, Va 45 33 Oklahoma City ..65 35 Omaha 29 20 Orlando 66 56 .83 Philadelphia 38 27 Phoenix ..83 56 Pittsburgh 33 15 .02 Portland, Maine 26 21 Portland, Ore. 59 39 Providence 36 ..27 Raleigh-Durham 54 24 Rapid City 55 29 Reno .64 33 Richmond 48 26 Sacramento 68 45 St Louis 40 39 .01 Salt Lake City 55 31 San Antonio 67 34 San Diego 73 58 San Francisco 65 52 50" "44 42 40" NATIONAL WEATHER CL Clear CY Cloudy Temperatures and precipitation for 24 hours ending CHy HI LoPrec, Forcast Albany, N.Y 25 19 23 11 CL Albuquerque 59 30 60 34 CY Anchorage 33 27 .05 34 26 CY Atlanta 61 29 61 33 CL Atlantic City 39 22 37 28 CL Baltimore 42 23 39 25 CL Billings 55 37 60 39 CY Birmingham 62 26 63 33 CL Boise 59 34 49 41 RN Boston 34 28 26 20 SN Brownsville 72 42 74 45 CL Buffalo 24 12 .11 23 10 CY Charleston, C. 61 35 62 35 CL Charleston, W.Va.

48 24 43 23 CY Charlotte, N.C. ..56 28 52 30 CL Cheyenne 56 27 55 32 CY Chicago 24 22 .27 40 17 CY Cincinnati 41 19 .01 37 33 CY Cleveland 29 20 .09 28 18 CY Columbia, S.C. 59 26 61 28 CL Columbus, Ohio .35 18 .02 33 15 CY Dallas-Ft. Worth 67 38 70 44 CL Dayton 35 17 .01 33 15 CY Denver 62 22 60 29 CY Des Moines 24 19 .09 60 19 CY Detroit 28 19 ,07 31 14 CY Duluth 7 -10 29 7 CY El Paso 69 33 70 37 CY Fairbanks 24 -3 15 0 CY Fargo 10 -13 37 16 CY Flagstaff 54 24 50 28 CL Hartford, Conn, 34 23 27 17 CY Honolulu 84 73 84 70 CL Houston 68 35 69 38 CL Indianapolis 37 22 .04 38 34 CY Jackson, Miss. 65 29 65 31 CL Jacksonville 63 42 61 40 CY Juneau 34 32 39 34 RN Kansas City 38 27 .01 65 36 CL A 70 Ll.

30" if" 20 10" 71 47 CY 65 35 CL 68 55 CY 59 33 CL 73 65 CY 40 12 CY 34 14 CY 64 38 SN 56 27 CL 65 40 CL 32 27 CY 44 32 CL 68 36 CL 48 25 CL 70 50 CL 36 25 CL 77 55 CY 31 17 CY 23 12 CL 52 42 RN 28 20 SN 50 29 CL 58 32 CY 50 45 RN 45 26 CL 62 50 CY 57 29 CY 53 36 CY 74 43 CY 66 52 CY 62 51 CY 23 -8 CY 50 46 RN 20 7 CY 70 50 CL 62 31 CL 77 47 CY 68 41 CL 43 28 a Showers YESTERDAY'S EXTREMES High: 87 at Tavernier, Fla. Low: -34 at Int. Falls, Minn REGIONAL OUTLOOK INDIANAPOLIS 38-34 Temperatures are for today's high and tonight's CINCINNATI 37-33 low YESTERDAY High: 44, low: 26. Year ago: high 31, low 21 Records: 78 in 1883, 2 in 1958 Precipitation: Trace Month: 2.01 inches, 0.27 inches above normal Year: 5.58 inches, 0.98 inches above normal. BL00MINGT0N 42-37 St Ste Marie 12 6 .04 Seattle 58 42 Syracuse 21 13 .03 Tampa-St Ptrsbg 70 56 Topeka 43 31 Tucson 79 45 Tulsa 58 38 Washington, D.C.

45 29 LOUISVILLE EVANSVILLE SQ.4Q A LEXINGTON 9 40-35 PADUCAH BOWLING GREEN 45-35 The following weather observations were compiled yesterday, LONDON 45-35 uaseu un ins previous aay weamer. City dL-J HI Lo Sky City HI Lo Sky TODAY IN WEATHER HISTORY 1930: Eureka, reported and $500 million in damage. oIKSnS91' 1987: Two winter storms, one llnLrllr od Unt'' off the Coast and another beptemDer 1 983. over the South produced snow 1936: The temperature at and ice from the Mississippi Mcintosh, S.D., plunged to 58 Valley to the Atlantic. Parts of below zero, a state record.

south-central Kentucky were 1958: The worst snowstorm without electricity for three days: of the mid-20th century struck the 1989: Arctic air in the upper Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Midwest produced all-time record states. The storm produced 30 high barometric pressure read- inches in New England, including ings of 31.10 inches at Duluth, 19 inches in 24 hours at Boston. and 31.21 inches at The storm resulted in 43 deaths Bismarck, N.D. mwir Readings taken at or forecast for 7 a.m. (in feet).

UHIO HIVEH (L) Lower gauge, (U) Upper gauge i. Flood Yester- Tomor-Next Flood Yester- Tomor-Next Location stage day Today row day Location stage day Today row day Cincinnati 52 29.3 29 5 29 2 28 9 Cannelton(L) 42 18.8 18.9 19.118.7 Markland(L) 51 21.7 22.2 21.9 21 6 Newburgh(L) 38 24.3 23.8 23.5 23 Louisville (U 23 12.3 123 122 122 Evansville 42 22.3 22.1 22.0 21.8 Uuisville 22.4 22.9 22.6 22.4 Uniontown(L) .,37 26.5 26 1 25.6 25 CL Havana 84 71 Helsinki 7 0 CL POLLEN COUNT Hong Kong 59 53 RN Istanbul 50 39 CY AIR POLLUTION YESTERDAY'S HIGHEST READING Oslo 20 4 CL Paris 44 37 CY Rio 93 69 CY Rome 53 33 CL San Juan 82 71 CY Seoul 29 20 CY 62 42 CL 78 57 CY 150- Jerusalem Johannesburg Lima Lisbon 77 68 CL SinaaDore 91 77 CL UNHEALTHY THE WORLD City HI Lo Sky Amsterdam ..44 29 CY Athens 59 48 CY Bangkok 93 80 RN Barbados 84 71 CY Barcelona 68 33 CL Beijing 41 22 CL Beirut 69 53 CY Berlin 35 27 CY Bermuda 73 66 CY Brussels 48 37 CL Budapest 42 29 CY Buenos Aires 86 68 CL Cairo 64 44 CL Copenhagen 29 18 CL Dublin 51 42 CL Frankfurt 44 29 CY Geneva 42 29 CL 62 53 CY Stockholm ..189 CL Not available on most weekends and holidays. TREES ABSENT GRASSES ABSENT WEEDS ABSENT MOLDS LOW 100' 50: MODERATE GOOD London 46 41 CY Madrid 59 39 CL Manila 89 66 CY Mexico City ..71 37 CL Montreal 32 0 CL Moscow 37 11 CY Nairobi 84 57 CL Nassau 84 68 CY New Delhi 75 50 CL Sydney 77 69 CY Taipei 60 57 RN Tel Aviv 69 46 CL Tokyo 48 39 CY Toronto 32 13 SN Vancouver 53 42 CY Vienna 41 35 CY Warsaw 39 29 CY Zunch 41 27 CY For today's readings, i call 574-3319 Ors. Stephen Pollard, James Sufclett and Timothy Feger Internet; www.crhnwscr.noaa.govlmk.