The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 1

Tuesday January 19, 1999 f- A61 T44 Complete weather forecast on 6B Pippen heading to Houston Skinny on metabolism boosters Medical experts insist risks are real LIVING HEALTH, ID What if Oilers had them? Columnist wonders how Moss, Chandler would have played here SPORTS, 1C Donating life Father died before" giving up kidney, but: cousin comes through IN TOMORROWS TENNESSEAN tnrJ Bulls trading him to Rockets for new forward, draft pick SPORTS, 1C NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE A GANNETT NEWSPAPER VOLUME 95, NO. 19 5 SECTIONS Copyright, 1999 PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID IN NASHVILLE, TN CHPIS CHANDLER TENNESSEAN Problems watching Channel 2 on cable may get worse Bv JOHN SHIFTMAN StqffWriter For months, Intermedia cable has struggled to fix annoying ghosting problems on WKRN-Channel 2, a phenomenon peculiar to southern Pavidson County and northern Williamson County. To fix the problem, Intermedia has shown WKRN on both Channel 2 and ing the buck," said Brentwood resident Ric Clymer, who said Intermedia and WKRN have blamed each other. "No one seems to want to take credit for the problem and get it rectified." In Nashville, the ghosting problem is not confined to WKRN. It affects all Tirn to PAGE 3A, Column 3 Michael Sechrist said.

"Believe me, we're concerned," Sechrist said. "Well be watching this very closely." The cable reception problem, which to some degree affects most Nashville television stations, is especially troublesome for homes within three miles of a broadcast tower. The ghosts and fuzzy pictures oc cur when the cable and broadcast signals arrive at a TV set milliseconds apart. If a cable line is not properly shielded from the broadcast signal, both images, slightly off sync, are projected onto the screen. "It's a little like when you shine two flashlights at an object from slightly different angles," said David Byars, an engineer at WTVF-Channel 5.

"You get two shadows on the wall." The problem only occurs when a station is cablecast on the same channel as its broadcast channel, which is why WKRN projects ghosts on Channel 2, but not Channel 37. Technical explanations have done little to alleviate the frustration of many Williamson residents. "It just seems that everyone's pass Channel 37 in Williamson since midsummer. That temporary solution ends tomorrow, when Channel 37 will become the Fox Movies channel. When that happens, WKRN expects the picture quality to drop in as many as 5,000 of Williamson's 26,000 households, station general manager mkm St Thomas chief quits amid cuts Tornadoes, high winds left eight dead Bv KEITH SNIDER SlaffWriter John F.

Tighe, a former registered nurse who became the first lay person to lead St Thomas Hospital, has quit barely one month after the nonprofit hospital began a series of painful budget cuts to cushion it against falling revenue. kri Tighe, 49, who took over as chief executive officer in 1994, resigned effective Feb. 1 after discussions with officials of the Daughters of Charity National Health System, which owns the 571-bed Roman Catholic hospital. In a prepared statement. Tiehe T1GHE said he would work INSIDE to ensure a smooth I Exit comes as troubles grow at hospital, on 1E transition and called his time at St Thomas "unique By JON YATES Staff Writer Last April, the damage was mostly to property.

This time around, much of the toll was human. As Tennesseans spent much of yesterday cleaning up after as many as a dozen tornadoes ripped through the state Sunday night, emergency crews began the painstaking task of accounting for the missing and tallying the dead. By late yesterday afternoon, authorities had confirmed eight deaths and 110 injuries from the twisters, which unleashed their cruelest fury in and around Jackson, Tenn. By nightfall, emergency crews were still searching leveled homes and apartment buildings for four people not yet accounted for following the Search dogs continued working into the darkness, but officials doubted anyone was left in the "I think this time of the year, people arent thinking about tornadoes," said Cecil Whaley of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. "It caught a lot of people by surprise." The fast-moving storms swept through West and Middle Tennessee, pockmarking t'ne area with damage as twisters hopped and skipped from the Mississippi River to Clarksville and into southwestern Kentucky.

Whaley said while 12 tornadoes were reported throughout the area Sunday night, the number could decrease as emergency crews re-evaluate radar information and evidence on the ground, possibly reclassifying some tornadoes as just high winds. Although funnel clouds were reported in the Metro area, TEMA said it does not appear any touched down in Davidson County. Metro Chief Emergency Planner Kevin Penney said the storm, at its peak, threw 70 mph wind gusts at Nashville International Airport. The winds downed trees and splayed power lines, cutting electricity to about 8,000 homes and businesses. Nashville Electric Service spokesman Tim Hill said about 1,000 remained without power yesterday evening.

He expected all lines to be fixed by this morning. ERIC PARSONS STAFF Laura Williams, 14, comforts her 4-year-old cousin, Skyler Garner, night when a tornado hit Jackson. The orange indicates the home whose home was thrown from Its foundation into nearby trees Sunday has been checked for survivors. and challenging." "I have been privileged to work with the best people in health care while liv- ing out my faith and personal values," Tighe said. Tighe, praised by health-care colleagues yesterday as an energetic CEO loyal to his employees, is the second prominent hospital chief to leave in recent months.

C. David Stringfield-stepped down at Baptist Hospital last fall and was ousted as board chairman in November. St Thomas gave no reason for Tighe's resignation. "As far as we're concerned, this resignation is a voluntary one on John's part," spokesman Mark Lee Taylor said. However, Tighe leaves as St Thomas seeks $43 million in budget cuts and new revenue to offset devastating cuts in federal reimbursement and increasing pressure from managed-care insurance companies.

Like other hospitals nationwide, St Thomas has to cut back at a time when its budget is bloated by un-. profitable ventures such as physician practices the hospital bought St Thomas was $53 million in the black in 1997 but said it had a surplus of about half that in 1998 and expected a further drop this year. Last month, the hospital laid off about 50 administrative and management workers as part of a cost-cutting reorganization widely seen as the first in a wave of cuts Insido Residents in West-state wake to see what havoc nature has brought on 2A. Tomactoes not unusual for January Tennessee, experts say, on 2A. Columbia resi- -dents recount their fearful night, on 2A.

hi Gore promises victims quick aid for re- The storm also ravaged parts of Montgomery County and the Fort Campbell military base. TEMA officials believe a tornado touched down in Clarksville and tore a path through Fort Campbell's main entrance, ripping the roof off the Turner Guest House, where 92 people were registered to stay. Lt Col. Bill Buckner said the base sustained extensive property damage, but only three minor injuries to people were reported. The most significant damage, by far, was in Madison and Maury counties, where tornadoes destroyed an apartment building, smashed businesses and ripped apart mobile homes.

Turn to PAGE 3A, Column 3 if' 1 If Vtrmi rMinmi in SHELLEY MAYS STAFF Rachel Bovee surveys the damage t6 her home, among 350 Columbia homes and 25 businesses hit by Sunday's storms. 7 State's congressmen split on Clinton's decision to speak tonight "He could postpone it or send it up in writing the way (presidents) used to for many years," said Sen. lic education, increased federal spending on civil rights enforce-' ment, a boost in the minimum How to wctch ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS wffl carry President Clinton's State of the Union address at8CSTtonight On cable, si-news networks CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC, as wel as CNBC and C-SPAN, also wi air the addess Ive. Earter In the day, ABC, CBS and NBC wi continue setecfive coverage of tie impeach-ment trial, which resumes at noon. PBS, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, Court TV and C-SPAN II plan gavel-to-gavel coverage.

ASSOCIATED PRESS biggest boost in pay and benefits for the armed forces since 1981. Several of Tennessee's Republican lawmakers hoped he would delay the the speech until after the trial or submit it in writing. Tennessee's Democrats unanimously support Clinton's decision to speak They say it will show the government is still running. Sen. Bill Frist, thinks the situation will be awkward.

"We are literally going to be leaving the trial where the president is accused of perjury and obstruction of justice, going to the House of Representatives, where the president will be giving a ceremonial speech." But Frist supported Clinton's decision to speak. After all, he added, he has been invited by Congress. Other Republicans wish Clinton wouldn't speak. By PENNY BENDER Tennesstan Vashinton Bureau WASHINGTON Talk about an awkward moment President Clinton plans to deliver his State of the Union address tonight shortly after the Senate takes a break in the impeachment trial that could remove him from office. Clinton's aides said he will propose sweeping changes in federal support for locally-controlled pub Fred Thompson, R-Tenn.

Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Murfrees-boro, said Clinton "certainly" should speak. "We cant just shut down the government for another several months," he said. Hearst Newspapers contixrted to this report wage, uia uicaiu iwi ruiicuiaiia providing long-term care for family members, increased federal support for after-school programs to help working parents, and the largest Pentagon spending increase since 1985, containing the Sections: Local News, DsarAbby Dsat Edtoriafe Entertainment Sports. -6-7A .30 J2D Hockey.

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