The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 47

irgft jiff iiti CLASSIFIED Local stocks Mutual funds Going, Qolna. aone! Try our 21 auction ads Pages 4-16E 2E lH FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1997 soli 13 ojStew MlSs. Jk. kjSk. I Opryland be their home noes Also included in the ride package are some of Opryland theme park's original rides from Its opening In 1972: the Dulcimer Splash, Opryland Trains, Little Deuce Coupe and the Rock N' Roller Coaster.

The ride sale is a necessary part of Gaylord's dismantling of the theme park to make room for Opry Mills, an entertainment megamall scheduled to open in 2000. The company will keep the carousel, some children's rides and the gondolas for possible use in the new mall. Gaylord leased the Skycoas-ter, which will go back to its owner. The package of rides hit the auc The thrills are gone Chaos (indoor roller coaster) The Old Mill Scream (splashdown ride) Screamin' Delta Demon (wheeled-bobsled ride) Grizzly River Rampage (quarter-mile Whitewater rafting ride) Wabash Cannonball (corkscrew roller coaster) The Barnstormer (biplanes) Tennessee Waltz (swing ride) Country Bumpkin (bumper cars) Dulcimer Splash (log flume) Little Deuce Coupe ride) Rock N' Roller Coaster Opryland Trains (railroad line) The Hangman (suspended looping roller coaster) tion block and got attention from three or four companies, said Gaylord spokesman Alan Hall. Premier Parks will begin dismantling and relocating the rides in January 1998 and is expected to finish by the end of February.

"There are some great rides in this package," said Brent Gooden, spokesman for Premier Parks. "They are well maintained." "We would love for the people of Nashville to visit the new theme park in Indianapolis when it opens in 1999," he said. Such a nostalgic gesture will cost Nashvillians about 325 miles of drive time on Interstate 65.1 theme park in Thorntown, Ind. The purchase price for the rides was not disclosed. Premier, which had revenue of $93 million last year, announced last month that it planned to purchase the Old Indiana theme park and redevelop it to open in 1999 under a new name.

The park was closed last year after a person died on one of the rides. Nashvillians willing to hit the road will be able to see a new version of such former Opryland adrenaline pumpers as the Hangman and the Wabash Cannonball. Poised for flight BkMrtmiiBr ATLANTIC COAST 1 1 TENNESSEAN NEWS SERVICES U.S. trade deficit hits record gaps WASHINGTON Just days before President Clinton meets with Pacific Rim leaders, record trade gaps with China and other Asian nations pushed the U.S. deficit to the worst showing in eight months.

The deficit in goods and services jumped 17 to a seasonally adjusted $11.1 billion in September, as U.S. retailers stocked holiday and other goods. The trade gap with China jumped 13.4 to a record $5.5 billion. The Commerce Department released the figures yesterday as Clinton prepared for the weekend Asian Pacific Cooperation forum in Vancouver, British Columbia. MCI to help Nasdaq WASHINGTON In the latest flexing of technological muscle in the financial arena, MCI Communications Corp.

signed a $600 million contract with the Nasdaq Stock Market that will enable the market to handle four times as many shares currently traded. MCI, the nation's second-largest long-distance company, and Nasdaq, the No. 2 U.S. stock market, announced yesterday the signing of a six-year agreement to replace Nasdaq's existing electronic trading network, also designed by MCL The contract for the telecommunications network is MG's largest ever with a commercial entity. Shareholders file suit DALLAS Shareholders are suing Union Pacific over its stock's recent slide, claiming the nation's largest railroad knew long ago that its merger with Southern Pacific was off track.

A class-action lawsuit representing Union Pacific shareholders who bought stock between March 4 and Oct 1 accuses the Omaha, railroad of misrepresenting its safety record and failing to disclose problems involving last year's merger. The lawsuit, filed here Tuesday, contends that even as the railroad touted the benefits of the $5.4 billion merger, top railroad officials knew that combining the two lines would be costly. Gaza Strip plan offered NABLUS, West Bank The World Bank proposed that the poverty-stricken Gaza Strip become a free trade zone in order to improve economic conditions and attract foreign business. Ishac Diwan, the World Bank's representative to a conference on economic development, said yesterday that such a move could improve life in the strip, where a study found more than a third of the residents live in poverty. Other World Bank proposals include new industrial zones in the West Bank and Gaza, reducing Palestinian government ministries and increasing Palestinian firms' productivity.

Yeltsin drops minister MOSCOW President Boris Yeltsin dismissed his finance min- ister in an unsuccessful attempt to quell a scandal over book fees paid to top government officials. The dismissal yesterday was largely symbolic, since it allows Anatoly Chubais to retain the influential post of deputy prime minister and remain the government's top economic policy-maker. Ignoring Yeltsin's limited concession, opposition lawmakers in the state Duma, the lower house of Parliament, insisted on Chubais' dismissal from all posts and demanded a shake-up in the Local residents inspect a new Atlantic Coast Airlines regional jet at begin service from Nashville to Dulles-Washington International Air-Nashville International Airport The Dulles, carrier, which, port tomorrow. The Nashvillians got their guided tour of the jet operates as United Airlines commuter carrier United Express, will yesterday. Indiana park to By STACEY HARTMANN Staff Writer A road trip to Indianapolis in 1999 might mend the local hearts broken by the closing of Opryland theme park.

Thirteen rides Opryland's major points of laughter and thrills are on their way to a theme park outside Indianapolis. Oklahoma City-based Premier Parks, the nation's fourth largest theme-park company, has purchased the rides from Opryland-owner Gaylord Entertainment Co. and plans to move them to the defunct Old Indiana Leaders want better labor force Education key to change By RENEE ELDER Staff Writer Beauty school and body shop must make way for more high-tech training in state vocational schools if the Midstate is to attract and retain the kinds of employers it desires, Midstate leaders agreed yesterday. But officials at Nashville's state-run Technology Center say they can only enroll students in the classes they want to take, and demand right now is highest in the areas of air conditioningrefrigeration, nursing and, yes, cosmetology. "We'd like to enroll more students to meet the specific demands of businesses, but the job market is so good, it's a difficult time to do that," said Lana Pierce, assistant director of the Tennessee Technology Center on White Bridge Road, one of 27 such centers throughout the state.

"That's especially true if the individual's goal is to make money." Improve the quality of the labor force became the battle cry of civic leaders who met yesterday to forge a common economic agenda for the 10-county Midstate area at Partnership 2000's Regional Summit Other regional issues needing work, as outlined by growth consultant Ross Boyle, were: Transportation systems throughout the area; Infrastructure systems, particularly water and sewer systems in outlying communities; Reducing crime rates, especially in urban Nashville; Public education throughout the region. Worker training Is a primary regional concern because of the low unemployment rates, averaging 5 in the Midstate, which cause second thoughts for some employers considering relocating here, especially those requiring a highly trained workforce. Both K-12 public education and vocational or college-level training programs need to be improved to address the issue, Boyle said. The state's technology centers are assigned the task of training future workers for a wide range of vocations, from computer-assisted drafting to machine tool technology, auto mechanics to dental assistants. While they might not be meeting every industry's needs, they are considered up to par technologically, Boyle said.

Pierce agreed. "All of our programs have state-of-the-art technology," Pierce said. "Even in cosmetology, there is computer software used to determine a hair style." State figures show the highest levels of students training for health careers, industrial electricity and electronics, and business and computer technology. Those percentages vary from school to school, de- I Turn to PAGE 4E, Column 3 Business Editor: Lisa Green 259-8096 Personal Finance Editor Candy McCampbell 259-8076 Fax: 259-8093 E-mail tips: newstipstennessean.com For information or ques-ttons, caB Monday through FrWay, 9 am to 5 p.m. AITO-HMES 1 NINA LONGSTAFF CompUSA to help Apple ist sales DOG By USA BENAVIDES Staff Writer CompUSA will open Macintosh-focused mini-stores inside all its superstores, including the Nashville store, in a new partnership with Apple Computer Inc.

Intended to boost sluggish Apple sales, the stores-within-stores will open in 40 of CompUSA's 139 stores before the holiday shopping season starts. The Nashville store at 100 Oaks Mall will not have a boutique for another three or four months, said Carol Elstron, spokeswoman for CompUSA. Dallas-based CompUSA's other Tennessee location, in Knoxville, will have a boutique by March, Elstron said. The "store-within-a-store" concept has been used successfully in other retail formats, including home-furnishings designer Ralph Lauren in department stores. Apple said the decor at CompUSA sites will tie in with its "Think Different" advertising campaign.

Elstron said it had not been determined how much square footage would be devoted to the Macintosh boutiques. CompUSA employees would be trained in Apple specifics, but it has not been decided whether additional staff would be hired, Elstron said. CompUSA Inc. shares were even yesterday at $62; Apple shares closed up 25 cents at $18.50. a Security payroll taxes to the government is an idea "worthy of intensive evaluation," Greenspan said.

"But it does not create miracles; it does not create something out of nothing." A Clinton administration commission earlier this year narrowly endorsed Social Security privatization without agreeing on a specific plan. Proponents say investing on booming Wall Street would provide a greater return on the national re- Turn to PAGE 4E, Column 1 AP Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan answers a question from Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg during a budget hearing on Social Security. Fed chief: Fix Social Security Woes 'significant, but manageable' WASHINGTON (AP) Americans have to save more or else expect less from Social Security, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said yesterday. "Unless you save and Invest and increase the total amount of real resources in the 21st century I dont care what new financial system you devise, I dont care who owns it, all you're doing is shuffling paper," Greenspan told the Senate Budget Committee task force on Social Security. The new panel is charged with providing "an agreed-upon set of facts" for future debate, said its chairman, Sen.

Judd Gregg, President Clinton's chief budget adviser, Franklin Raines, has agreed to share his views early next year. Greenspan, who chaired a 1983 commission during the Reagan administration that led the last overhaul of Social Security, said the system's problems were "significant but manageable" if they are tackled promptly. Working people now pay enough "1997 Investment Strategies Conference," by Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants, 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. today, TSCPA Meeting Center. Fee: $190 for TSCPA members and $220 for non-members.

Info: 377-3825. "Tax Teleconference on 1997 Tax Changes," by American Society of Chartered Life Underwriters and Chartered Financial Consultants and the American College, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. today, Baptist Hospital. The teleconference is approved for four hours of CIE, CPE, CLE and PACE credit. Call Jef Osteon at 371-0156.

taxes to cover the Social Security benefits of current retirees. But as the baby boomers retire starting in about a decade the system will be obligated to pay out more than it takes in. "If we procrastinate too long, the adjustments could be truly wrenching," Greenspan said. "Our senior citizens, both current and future, deserve better." Moving to a system in which workers would be required to save and Invest privately for their own retirements instead of paying Social Volunteer Express Inc. names Hickman a VP Stocks move closer to recovery from crash Stocks rose sharply yesterday, pushing closer to a complete recovery from last month's mar Hickory Hollow and Rivergate Malls are offering after-hours shopping Sunday, along with the chance to benefit more than 65 area charities.

The malls will stay open p.m., but only to holders of the $5 admission tickets, which can be bought from area charities or at the door. In addition to the bonus shopping time, participants can enjoy live musical performances, door prizes and special guest appearances. All merchants will be offering special discounts, as well. The evening is sponsored by The Tennessean, Nashville Banner, Fox 17 and WRVW-FM. 1 v.

Dov Ken Hickman has been named vice president of sales for Nashville-based Volunteer Express Inc. and will oversee all the company's sales and supervise the 12 marketing representatives in Volunteer's 11 locations, 1101X7 ket meltdown. Broad-market indexes also posted sizable gains during the session yesterday, keeping pace with the blue-chip sector after lagging Wednesday's advance. The Bloomberg 3 7,823.81 nicv wwan volunteer in 1 986 and was previously director of sales there. Tennessee Index was 207.50, up 2.60.

Story and tables on.