Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 1

wrnimtssBS WfiiSlitF i il igagma Editor's story Believe it, dude Hand it to 'em When 2 jets crashed, an editor lived The Simpsons will go head to head with rlj Handgrabbing catfish is a passion 1 to write about it, 3A. Ihe Cosby Sjowthis fall, 6D. JsSfo for 14-year-old Rob Herrington, 1C. HindsJackson edition Jackson, Mississippi Thursday May 31, 1990 a University presidents kick off efforts for SEC expansion The athletic conference wants to know which schools are interested in joining. By Rick Cleveland Executive Sport Editor rized first-year SEC commissioner Roy Kramer to begin discussions with universities that might be interested.

"If the schools we want to come in agree to come in, we will expand," said Mississippi State University President Donald Zacharias, who is also president of the SEC. "I'd hate to say expansion is certain, because it is a lot like marriage. "We're entering into a courtship phase," Zacharias said. "It takes more than one to make a marriage." SEC officials here for their annual business meeting declined to name tar geted universities and said they haven't decided how many to bring in or when. Kramer said several scenarios have been discussed, including those that would divide the league into two divisions.

"I think it's safe to say we would expand by an even number," he said. Kramer said he has already spoken informally with some prospects, including Florida State University, a member of the Metro Conference. Among others mentioned by various SEC officials as prospects are the University of South Carolina, the University of Miami, the University of Arkansas, the University of Texas and Texas A University. Arkansas, Texas and Texas A are members of the Southwest Conference. South Carolina is a Metro member.

Miami is independent. If Florida State and South Carolina join the SEC, the Metro Conference membership would be reduced to six, including the University of Southern Mississippi. "Hopefully, those teams that are now Possible newcomers? Team Campus Conference Arkansas Fayetteville Southwest Florida State Tallahassee Metro Miami Miami Independent South Carolina Columbia Metro Texas Austin Southwest Texas College Station Southwest DESTIN, Fla. The presidents of the Southeastern Conference voted unanimously Wednesday to try to expand the 10-university league for the first time in its 57-year history. Hoping for new TV revenues and increased stability, the presidents autho Slain park ranger buried in Ocean Springs Wirksir ftrnod St, ia fiulieinl lnJSl IbllOT WM, 1' I I 1 "A i Tom Roster The Clarion-Ledger A third man died of injuries he suffered in the explosion.

By Grace Simmons Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer HEIDELBERG One of the men severely burned in an oil and natural gas well explosion near here said workers were attempting to jump start the rig" engine when the blast occurred, a friend reported Wednesday. Three men died of injuries from the explosion. Willie Lee Kennedy said Charles Windham, 40, told him workers were about to shut down the well Tuesday afternoon on Eucutta Road in east Jasper County, but the rig's engine went dead. "They were going to jump it off," said Kennedy, 28. "He (Windham) said he told them not to jump it off." Kennedy said Windham told him Tuesday night at the South Central Regional Medical Center in Laurel that a spark flew as one of the men hooked a cable from a nearby vehicle to the rig's battery.

Windham, 40, who has lived with Kennedy in Heidelberg for a year, was among five men working at Travis No. 3 when the explosion occurred shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday. All were described as experienced oil well workers. Windham suffered burns to more than 40 percent of his body, authorities said.

He was transported Tuesday night from the Laurel hospital to the Mississippi Firefighters Memorial Burn Center in Greenville, where he remained in critical condition Wednesday. Dwayne Kennedy, 24, Kennedy's brother, was killed when the derrick fell on him during the blast. Dudley Barnett, 31, was pronounced dead at 11:05 p.m. Tuesday at the University of South Ala-See WELL, 17A Well inspected 4 hours before it exploded By Christine Uthoff Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer Inspectors gave a Jasper County well a clean review Tuesday just four hours before it exploded, an official with the state Oil and Gas Board said. "There was no indication anybody was violating any Oil and Gas Board rules," Richard Lewis, chief engineer for the agency, said Wednesday.

The inspectors were at Travis No. 3 well near Heidelberg about 10 a.m. Tuesday because owner Oil Gas of Tickfaw, was working over the well to prepare it for collection of oil at a deeper level, said Joe Nester, a petroleum geologist and field director for the board. The well, exploding shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday, killed three workers and severely injured two others on the site.

Lewis said Wednesday he did not know what caused the blast. "Anything that we would say would be pure conjecture," Lewis said. "Of the five people that know the most about it, three are dead and two are in the hospital." The Oil and Gas Board administers and enforces conservation laws and safety regulations involving the state's natural oil and gas resources. Inspectors routinely review See INSPECTED, 17A i rangers from across the nation stand at attention. McGhee was shot to death Saturday at the Gulf Island National Seashore.

Story, 1B. Pallbearers carry the casket of slain park ranger Bob McGhee from an Ocean Springs funeral home Wednesday as National Park Service Assessor balks at ex-mayor's refund request Supervisors wanted the property tax refund for Hite Wolcott, but Gerald Barber refused to sign a form. By Randy Kenner Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer property tax refund. "I won't have anything to do with it. If they (supervisors) want to walk down to my office and get it and sign it and send it in, fine," Barber said Wednesday.

"But I won't touch it. My fingerprints won't be anywhere around it because I consider it illegal." Wolcott, who was Ridgeland's mayor for more than 20 years until being defeated in 1989, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Supervisors voted to give the Wolcott a refund on 1989 taxes for the tract, which is valued at $693,690, because Wolcott planted Christmas trees on the land earlier this year. He planted the seedling trees so the property would be classified as agricultural land qualifying for a land use tax designation under the Mississippi code. Property qualifies for the designation, dramatically reducing taxes, if the landowner is engaged in production of a crop, timber or other products of the soil.

Barber gave Wolcott the designation for 1990 taxes which will be paid next January. The designation will drop the tax bill on the property from $7,314.72 to $8.44. But he balked when supervisors decided to give Wolcott the refund on his 1989 taxes because Wolcott informed Barber he intended to plant the trees and did some work on the property during the summer of 1989. But he did not file for the land use designation by an April 1, 1989, deadline, and the land wasn't in agricultural production on Jan. 1, 1989, the qualifying deadline for that year, Barber said.

See REFUND, 17A Tax Assessor Gerald Barber is refusing to go along with the request of Madison County super- visors that Ridgeland's ex-mayor get a tax refund of more than $7,300. Supervisors voted last month to give former Hite Wolcott a $7,306.28 refund on 1989 property taxes paid on a 4.55-acre tract, owned by the Wolcott family, on a thriving section of U.S. 51 in Ridgeland Barber said Wednesday he will not sign a form asking the State Tax Commission to approve the Doctors partially remove fetus to correct birth defect German reunification craggy issue as superpowers climb summit today Some physicians question whether the surgery is worth the risk. Today's schedule The Associated Prese IIIDEX Ann Landers 3D Bridge 2D Business 6B Classified 5C Comics 4D Crosswords Cryptoquip 8C Deaths 2B Horoscope 3D Jack Sunn 5B Jumble 8C Mississippi Weekend 1E Movies 5-8E Opinion 18.19A People 6A Southern Style 1D Sports. 1C State Metro 1B Stocks TV schedules 5.6D TV Tonight 6D WEATHER Chance of rain.

Details, 20A. Volume 153 No. 103 5 sections 68 pages Copyright 1990 9 a.m. Arrival ceremony at the White House for Gorbachev and his wife, Raisa. 9:30 a.m.

Bush and Gorbachev begin their first meeting of the summit, scheduled to last 90 minutes. 3 p.m. The second 90-minute Bush-Gorbachev meeting begins. 6:15 p.m. Bush and his wife, Barbara, host the Gorbachevs at a state dinner.

bies. The surgery was reported in today's New England Journal of Medicine. During development, a hole in the fetus's diaphragm fails to grow shut, and the stomach, intestines and other organs squeeze into the chest cavity. As a result, the lungs fail to develop, and the baby is born unable to breathe. About three-quarters of all babies with this defect die.

"This problem is immensely frustrating for pediatric surgeons, because the babies are otherwise perfectly nice, but they die," said Dr. Michael R. Harrison, who developed the surgery. "It seemed as though this was one of those situations in medicine where fixing it earlier would be the only way to have an impact" Harrison has performed the high-See SURGERY, 16A but that he won't sit idly by while the West tries to "dictate" his nation's future. The two leaders were ready to sign long-sought agreements to reduce nuclear and chemical weapons, but their differences on Germany pushed to the top of the agenda on the eve of the four-day meeting.

Gorbachev emphasized his opposition to a united Germany belonging to the West's NATO alliance and challenged Bush to propose another idea. The Soviet leader opened his American visit with a warm red-carpet welcome at Andrews, then moved on to a boisterous greeting from a thousand people at the Soviets' downtown embassy. Applause drowned out a chorus of boos. Power to the republics? 2A Bush bullish on Gorbachev, 2A The Soviet leader arrived Wednesday for his crucial summit. From Wire Service Reportt WASHINGTON President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S.

Gorbachev, setting the stage for the first post-Cold War summit, staked out rival stands Wednesday on the military shape and political alliance of a unified Germany. In brief remarks at Andrews Air Force Base shortly after his arrival, Gorbachev said the summit "stands out in its importance" because it offers promise of making "the first step to reducing nuclear arms." But the Soviet leader's remarks before leaving Canada Wednesday seemed to set the stage for making Germany the hardest nut on the BOSTON In a dramatic but controversial attack on a lethal birth defect, doctors said they partially removed a fetus, rearranged its internal organs and returned it to the womb to develop into a normal, healthy baby. Experts agreed that the operation is the most ambitious and invasive example in the new field of fetal surgery. However, some also questioned whether it is worth the risk to the mother and the fetus. The surgery was pioneered at the University of California, San Francisco, to correct fetal diaphragmatic hernia, a severe birth defect that occurs in about one of every 2,000 ba summit agenda.

Gorbachev closed a 29-hour visit to Canada by signaling that he won't use German reunification to sour the Washington summit 1.