The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 1

SPORTS WORLD SERIES GOES OVER PAR Jim Gallagher Jr. leads, but Firestone course is a real winner. Page Dl. LATE HOMER DOES IT Tribe wins in 1 1th, 6-5. Jose Mesa's save streak is High today: 83 Low tonight: 63 Aos suwwy today.

to ctatft tomorrow. High 85. Copyright 1995 Beacon Journal Pu Wishing Co. over. Page Dl.

Beacon jotjkn SATURDAY, August 26, 1995 Serving tiie community fin-157 years Summit Edition 'A 17 SI MI it i. in nTT .1 Youth revel in last days before start of school year i 2V'; 1 'A 7 iAV 1 I ft. s. i 1 I i 1 5 Is Jmef 4 1 pi Religious activity in schools clarified Guidelines stress student-led expressions, forbid organized prayer By Steven A. Holmes New York Times Washington: Trying to defuse the politically volatile issue of school prayer, the Clinton administration has issued the first detailed guidelines on what kinds of religious activities public schools may permit under current law.

The four-page set of guidelines, prepared earlier this month by the Department of Education, stresses the extent to which student-initiated prayer or proselytizing can be accommodated. Under the guidelines: Students have the right to pray either individually or in informally organized prayer groups as long as they do not cause a disruption. Students may also carry and read Bibles or other religious tracts in school, distribute religious literature and proselytize and wear religious clothing, including yar-mulkes and head scarves. Organized prayer in classrooms or assemblies led by stu- See PRAYER, Page A6 Officials seek court takeover of hotel union Radical step needed because group influenced by the mob, officials say By Robert L. Jackson AND RONALD J.

OSTROW Los Angeles Times Washington: In the second such move against a major national union, federal authorities will ask the courts to seize control of the organization representing hotel and restaurant workers on grounds that it is heavily influenced by organized crime, according to government sources. Justice Department lawyers, in a radical step planned next month, will seek to place the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union under the supervision of a court-appointed monitor who would direct a cleanup of the organization. The hotel and restaurant workers union, along with the Team- See UNION, Page A6 Wu spins web of lies, deceit to survive Prisoner tells China he'll stop getting involved From Beacm Journal uire sen-ices Mjlpitas, Harry Wu lied. Not little white lies. Big ones.

He told the Chinese who had imprisoned him that he would go gently into his expulsion. "I lied to them," human rights campaigner Wu said yesterday, home after two months of imprisonment in China, "and so what? "I said that if they released me I would stay away from politics and have a good life with my wife." Wu, whose arrest had become an irritant in U.S.-Chinese relations, declined to say whether he would continue his secret forays into China, investigating forced labor camps. But he said would continue his human rights work. "Why See WU, Page A4 In Health Test on prostate drugs produces clear winner The first direct comparison of two drugs to treat prostate enlargement shows Hytrin works better than its fierce competitor Proscar, a doctor who conducted the tests announced yesterday. Abbott Laboratories' Hytrin "clearly outperforms" Merck Proscar, Dr.

Hebert Lepor of New York University told the American Foundation for Urologic Disease in Washington. The enlargement of the prostate gland has 10 million American men getting up to urinate in the middle of the night and generates hundreds of millions of dollars in sales for the two companies. Lepor's study of more than 000 prostate patients has not yet undergone review by prostate experts because he has submitted the study to the New England Journal of Medicine, which restricts data dissemination before publication. In Shopping Service not included in Saks' high prices Sometimes, you got to dream. That's what the Mad Shopper did on a recent trip to Saks Fifth Avenue in Beachwood Place.

But the fantasy took a sour turn when the Mad Shopper found some of those $800 dresses to buy, but no salesperson around to help her do it. Her advice: better work on the customer service angle. Nordstrom, with a reputation for trying hard to please its customers, is moving to the Northeast Ohio area. That could be a nightmare for Saks. See Page Br? On The Front Page Wild woman wears out 37 men -nope, sorry! "Aspen police are involved in a statewide womanhunt for an unidentified wild child' who rampaged through local singles bars Wednesday night, leaving a string of wasted males in her wake." That was the lead on a frontpage story in yesterday's Aspen Daily News.

The problem was it wasn't true not even close. News Editor Curtis Robinson said a reporter typed it up as a prank for his girlfriend, but put the story in the wrong computer folder. Somehow, the story made its way onto the front page of the II, 500 circulation Colorado daily. Robinson would not say if the reporter would be disciplined. According to the story, which named a local woman, "no less than 37 men aged 13 to 78 were taken to local hospitals.

Their injuries included everything from severe bleeding due from hickies on their necks to sexual exhaustion." Some people loved it. Readers called the newspaper and even came to its offices to buy extra copies. NDIAM HOME PAGE Can't get enough of the Cleveland Indians? Try the Internet. The Beacon Journal has opened a site on the World Wide Web filled with Indians game stories, features, statistics and photographs. So if you have a computer, a modem and a link to the Internet, connect to the Beacon Journal's Indians Home Page at http:www.beaconjour-nal.com.

And enjoy. Business Bl-7 Movies C5 Nation Briefs A3 Terry Pluto Dl Real Estate Tab Religion A8-10 Soaps C8 Sports Dl-7 TV Listings C8 Weather A2 World Briefs A5 Classified C9-26 Comics C6, 7 Deatfis C3 Editorials All It's Now C4-8 Ann Landers C6 Local News Cl-3 Lottery CI Mad Shopper Bl By Katie Byard Beacon Journal staff writer The 11-year-old boy was the picture of summer. Decked out in shorts, a T-shirt and baseball hat, he rode his bike to the sports card shop on a sunny afternoon this week. But already, like some internal school bell had sounded, Dustin Watkins was very aware that the beginning of another school year was upon him. This week, the Medina boy was marking the approaching school year by checking out prices of football cards while ignoring the baseball cards at the Medina Sports Card shop just off the city square.

While homework did not yet appear to be on Dustin's mind, he was concerned about an impending lifestyle change: "In some ways, I don't want to go back to school. I get to stay up late all the time (in Die summer)." Plus, he said, his television-watching is limited to a half-hour on school nights. A summer break from school was created in more agrarian times, when children were needed to help out on the farm. Educators debate whether a longer school year might help U.S. students compete better in a global economy.

A number of other countries have considerably longer school years. In the meantime, American kids like Dustin Watkins continue to revel in their free time and somewhat reluctantly prepare for school to start next week. Eight-year-old Peter Kalessis of Medina didn't need to sense the chill in the air this week or see the few brittle leaves on the ground to know that change is ahead. The calendar says summer officially ends Sept. 22.

But in a way, summer was over for Peter when he heard the snip, snip of the scissors. There he was, sitting in a black leather barber's chair, draped with a smock, getting that begijining-of-the-school-year haircut While a lot changes, much stays the same. It was a Norman Rockwell scene at Hershey's Barber Shop, a well-maintained relic of the old-time barbershop in downtown Medina. Hershey's was established in 1926. "I don't want to go back to school," Peter proclaimed when a visitor asked about his mood.

"He does well in school," his See END, Page A6 ROBIN WTTEKBeacon Journal photos Eleven-year-old Dustin Watkins (above) of Medina ends his vacation by studying a a si 4 a tit remain. Minnesota-based ValueVision International, which paid $6 million to buy Akron's local television station in April 1994, said yesterday it has sold the station and another in Bridgeport, to Paxson Communications Corp. in West Palm Beach, Fla. for $40 million in cash. The companies did not break out the relative price of each of the stations.

If approved by the Federal Com r4r Ik magazine with football card values. Eight-year-old Peter Kalessis (top) of Medina gets his hair cut by Jennifer Colonna in preparation for school. At left, Damareo Cooper, 16, of Akron, unties a knot in his fishing line at Lake Anna in Barberton. Damareo was taking a break from his summer job. stations, also mostly in Florida.

Paxson also operates several network affiliate stations. Paxson, 60, made his fortune as the co-founder of the Home Shopping Network, which started as a radio program in 1977. He sold off most of his ownership in that company in the early 1990s, when he launched the Infomall TV network. The company's business strate- Sale won't change Akron TV station sold again. But Florija infomercial WAKC programs broadcaster says ABC affiliation and shows will stay munications Commission, the sale could take effect by January.

The sale was announced to WAKC employees about 1 p.m. yesterday by executives from both companies. A brief mention of the sale was announced on the evening news. Owned by Lowell "Bud" Paxson, Paxson Communications is a publicly traded company that operates more than 20 television stations, mostly in Florida, and eight radio by Maura mcenaney Beacon Journal business wnier WAKC-TV, sold by the Berk family only 16 months ago to a home shopping network, has been sold again, this time to a Florida infomercial broadcasting chain. But don't be expecting Susan Powter's motivational talks to be infiltrating the local airwaves via Channel 23.

The new owners say the station's ABC network affiliation and programming will.