The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 11

Stuttering Researchers may have found a biological cause for stuttering, which has been classified as a psychiatric problem. Page B3. The Beacon Journal Tuesday, October 18, 1994 its VfW a'm REVIEW Craven has dreamed up a real fright But the director of the first 'Nightmare' movie has a lot of fun with this Freddy film, too DOC SWEAT Two deaths sadden the soul One was a celebrity; the other was a friend A profound feeling of mortality hangs in our locker room. It's palpable. This sense of life's brevity reeks like a musty old book.

Two people died last week in New York City who enjoyed happy, health-conscious lives. There's no irony, just sadness in being reminded that good health is ephemeral. turns and suspense ful shocks. Sound like fun? Hey, 'tis the season the Halloween season, that is. This is the time of year that we remind ourselves why we tell spooky stories.

Wes Craven's New Nightmare, therefore, is something of a wake-up call for a culture quick to condemn horror as a mind-rotting cauldron of gore galore. As horror master Stephen King has said, take away the Halloween mask and the terror tale is as conservative as a Republican in a three-piece suit Craven understands this, and he serves up the chills and thrills with a See REVIEW, Page B4 we risk losing that precarious grasp. If one generation forgets the evil, it can escape and visit new horrors on their children. This is the message that echoes from the creepy core of Wes Craven's New Nightmare. Pretty serious stuff, huh? Well, yes, but writer-director Craven makes sure we have a grand time getting to the moral behind all the makeup and make-believe.

So, step right up. Craven, the soft-spoken Cleveland native with a wicked wit, is about to strap you in for a roller-coaster ride through terrifying territory. The trip will jolt you with the sudden impact of dreadful drops, terror-fraught Searching for tools capable of bringing dark things to light, we momentarily capture elements of evil in myths, fables, fairy tales, horror novels and monster movies. In this unpredictable yet enduring way, we can speak about the unspeakable. That's how we define evil That's how we give it shape.

That's how we keep a grasp on it And we must never stop telling the stories. If we do, Mark Dawidzlak COMMENTARY A HOUSE FOR THE REGION New Line Cinema John Saxon and Heather Langenkamp play themselves in New Nightmare. 51 Chuck Blair Is surrounded by the pipes of the Wurlitzer organ that he has In his Canton home. minor-league franchise. We are tied by who we were, who we are, who we can be.

Most of all, we are tied by where we live. Mike Agganis, Canton-Akron Indians owner, can't change this. He's another person who lives somewhere else who has been trying to tell us what we must and mustn't do if we want his baseball team to remain in the area, either at Canton's Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium or in a new, larger, fancier ballpark that could be yet another cornerstone in the revival of downtown Akron. For a while there, Canton's lawyers were going after Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic as if he were a shoplifter. Everyone has pulled back from the brink of confrontation, leaving us Blair House as a symbol for what could be.

Built in 1868, Blair House has been home to Peter Chance, Judge Seraphim Meyer, who was Canton's fifth mayor, and Judge Charles Krichbaum. A home officially becomes a House (upper case), See LOVE, Page B2 Clothes horse Few people anywhere have anything on Prince Charles, sartorial-wise, says Brit royal tracker Richard Mineards, who reports Charles' closets contain: 160 suits. 40 military dress uniforms. 150 shirts. 200 ties.

20 sports jackets. 40 pairs of slacks. 50 pairs of regular shoes. 25 pairs of sports shoes. 35 outfits for polo, hunting, fishing, tennis, walking and whatnot The final word Citibank announced that its customers can now buy and sell stocks at ATM machines.

That's a smart move. It'll allow New York muggers to diversify their portfolios. David Lettennan Edited by Mickey Porter from Beacon Journal wire services. CaU him at 996-3849 with press-stopping goodies. in 11! One was a celebrity, the other, an old buddy of mine.

Both went for all the gusto. In the blink of an eye, they are gone. Fred Lebow will be remembered as the brilliant, if eccentric, founder of the New York City Marathon. Lebow, 62, succumbed to brain cancer. His legacy is easy enough to gauge.

The New York City Marathon drew slightly more than 100 runners in 1970. A quarter-century later, more than 25,000 runners, including some of the fastest anywhere on Earth, return to the streets of New York every November for one of the finest experiences the sport has to offer. Speedwise, the average Big Apple marathoner performs more like a Fred Lebow than a Frank Shorter. Lebow was a mediocre runner. He simply pushed himself farther than most people ever care to go on foot 26.2 miles.

Lebow's real talent was as a promoter. He created the biggest marathon ever. In return, the New York City Marathon made him a legend in his own time. In 1992, Lebow ran his final marathon. His body was devasted by cancer treatments.

The sight of the man hobbling through the city brought tears to well-wishers from Staten Island to Central Park. Three days after that race, Lebow told the Beacon Journal the marathon was not for everybody, that jogging a few miles a day was plenty to achieve fitness. He made a distinction between those who run purely for their health, and runners who keep on going because they can't help themselves. Lebow nourished this strange love affair that marathoners have with 26.2 miles, and many of us are better for it. My friend, Bill, was 43 when his life slipped away in an emergency room.

His death, caused by a See DOC, Page B4 TELEVISION Channel 23 subtracts, adds news WAKC (Channel 23) is at once expanding and shrinking its news presence. The expansion is its hourlong 6 p.m. news, scheduled to begin Oct 31. Robert Tayek, vice president for news at the Akron ABC affiliate, said: "We're still finalizing roles and personnel matters," with more details available later this week. The expanded program will include a national and international news segment to bridge the two half-hours, a new health segment and, as Tayek put it "a bona fide meteorologist" to do weather forecasts.

Current forecaster Ana Perez "is in our plans," Tayek said, and her new role will be discussed this week. The shrinkage comes on weekends, when the 11 p.m. newscasts are being dropped for the time being, although Sunday's See TV, Page B4 Eric Sandstrom R.D. Heldenfels I I Home being restored by Chuck Blair is common ground for Canton and Akron On 13th Street Northwest in Canton, two cities, Akron and, of course, Canton, have found the common ground of regionalism. It's called Blair House and is as far removed from ballparks, built or dreamt courts of law and the bickering over the Canton-Akron Indians as any place could Hpre.

the last flowers of summer fade in the frosty night. By day, a big cream-colored dog chases a balT, and ume turned back reveals a new age of cooperation between Akron and Canton. Actually, it's between two men, Chuck Blair and Larry Pentecost. But this is where it Pentecost begins. If cooperation can have a new day, it also can have a tomorrow.

In Washington, this senator from Wyoming, Malcolm Wallop, can block legislation creating an 87-mile Ohio Erie Canal historic corridor from Cleveland to Zoar, a splendid thread of regionalism. What he cannot do, what no one can do, is change the facts of our lives. We are tied by more than old canals and a comparatively new Dig deep, and, hey, thanks If every person in the United States chipped in $18,832.78, our national debt of $4,683,900,250,184.36 would be erased. Pass the rutabaga "Real men you know, truck drivers can be vegetarian." Linda McCartney, pitching her line of frozen meatless entrees. Costly derailment The Am trak jokes continue speeding down The Tonight Show laugh track, even though the railroad yanked its $2 million advertising account with NBC.

"Have you seen the new Amtrak ad in People magazine?" Jay Leno quipped. "It says, 'If you have never taken the train, what exactly have you Well, for one thing, you have missed hitting another train." Not at all amuse "re the one-track-minded folks at Arn-k. "Our advertising couldn't keep up with their jokes," railroad spokesman Howard Steve Love A. ho v7 Gothic revival house on 13th Street Northwest PORTER'S PEOPLE 1 PAUL TOPLEBeacon Journal photos Is being restored by owner Chuck Blair. Dying with dignity Glenn Burke, 41, the only major-league baseball player to out himself as gay, is dying of AIDS in San Francisco.

During 1976-79 he played for the LA Dodgers and Oakland A's. Now down to 140 pounds from his playing weight of 210, he says: "There's no bitterness. No regrets. I had a nice life. I met some beautiful people.

I always knew what I was doing." On a related note RE.M.'s engagingly enigmatic frontman, Michael Stipe, tells Rolling Stone magazine that the rumor mill is wrong: He doesn't have AIDS, and he's not HIV positive. "On a related issue, in terms of the whole queer-straight-bi thing, my feeling is that labels are for canned food," the rocker says. Popeye couldn't have said it better. This day in music 1976 No. 1 Billboard hit IfYou Leave Me Now, Chicago.

Robertson said. "Even though recent accidents haven't been our fault the jokes have been more frequent and less tasteful" If you got it, flaunt it Multi-octave wailer Marian Carey keeps stepping up in the world. First she married her boss, Sony Music President Tommy Mottola, and now she's building a huge house to fit in all her awards. The manse in Bedford. N.Y..

will Carey include (take a deep breath) a recording studio, a ballroom, two pools, nine bedrooms, seven fireplaces, a conservatory and a pistol range on 50 prime acres. Celeb neighbors include Ralph Lauren, Glenn Close and E.G. Marshall. mm. 1 I .11.