Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 1

1 Jet with 137 aboard crashes World, 9A House members for Nixon impeachment LSU's Dale Brown a treaic ot a coacn State Metro, 1B I II Sports, 1C 'Copyright 1988 iS FINAL -volume iHB no. 23 JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI March 18, 1988 4 sections 48 pogi's 1 Weyerhaeuser mill State to get $400 million pulp mill i I Mississippi AlabamaN Ti I 1 Proposed I mill site I I Areas affected by pulp mill t- -i i 1 1 Make the company eligible for a program that provides tax breaks for hiring "advanced technology" employees. Give Lowndes County, where the mill will be located, permission to grant a 10-year property tax exemption. Mabus said Mississippi 388 in Noxubee County will be rebuilt with federal and state money. He said "secondary" federal highway aid can be used on the county road, which Lowndes and Noxubee county officials estimate will cost $5.7 million to rebuild.

Location: Lowndes County Cost: $400 million Construction jobs: Permanent plant jobs: 2 1 5 Directly related jobs: 400 Timber consumption: 1 .928 million tons a year Woodpulp production: 425,000 tons a year he was "very optimistic" the plant will be built. Wall Street analysts, who were aware of the planned mill before Mabus' announcement, said board rejection of the project after such a public proclamation is inconceivable. Weyerhaeuser said that before the plant is built, two roads to the site must be upgraded and that the state will have to provide aid routinely granted to new industries. The state Board of Economic Development responded with quick approval Thursday to Weyerhaeuser's requests to: Issue up to $510 million in industrial revenue bonds to finance construction of the mill. Lowndes expects benefits, 8B By JOSEPH BONNEY Clarion-Ledger Business Editor Weyerhaeuser which already operates a big paper mill near Columbus, plans to build a $400 million wood-pulp mill there that will employ 215 people and consume almost 2 million tons of logs a year.

The official decision on construction of the pulp plant, which will produce the raw material for paper, won't come until Weyerhaeuser's board votes on it April 21 at company headquarters in Tacoma, Wash. But Gov. Ray Mabus called a news conference Thursday to declare that George H. Weyerhaeuser, the company's president and chief executive, had said See Pulp Mill, back page this section encan trooes s. HoEo.

land i uras I i sf' I Tl i Jt Sandinista buildup preceded attack, 3A The Associated Press PALMEROLA AIR BASE, Honduras Planeloads of U.S. soldiers streamed into this air base Thursday in a show of strength ordered by President Reagan to counter what he called an invasion by Nicaraguan forces. In northern Nicaragua, warplanes dropped bombs near a Sandinista military headquarters Thursday, but no casualties or damage resulted. Reporters at the scene said the explosives fell on the Honduran side of the border. Nicaragua and a U.S.

official said earlier that the raid was aimed at the military post. The American troops were to engage in joint exercises with the Hondurans. But the U.S. airlift was so hastily arranged that American commanders were left scrambling to develop training exercises to keep the men busy. Hundreds of soldiers bedded down in dusty fields near the airstrip awaiting orders for training missions that normally are arranged months in advance.

The American troops were told to expect to spend about 10 days in Honduras, but spokesmen said there was no official timetable yet for them to leave. Two battalions from the renowned 82nd Airborne Division of Fort Bragg, N.C., and two battalions from the 7th Light Infantry Division of Fort Ord, were combined into a task force of 3,000 troops. A Honduran official said his government had given the Sandinistas 24 hours to get out of the country, which they entered in pursuit of Contra rebels. President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua responded that his army was "ready to combat and liquidate the famous forces of the 82nd Airborne Division." Maj. Gen.

Carl W. Stiner, commander of the 82nd Airborne, said he knew of no plan to have U.S. troops enter into the battle between the Sandinistas and the U.S.-backed -Contras. RICK GUYThe Clarion-Ledger A C-141B StarLifter transport plane departs Jackson Municipal Airport en route to California to pick up U.S. troops bound for Honduras.

Four planes and 28 crew members from the Mississippi Air National Guard made the trip. Mississippi guardsmen answer president's call 'j i i i 4 C. ByDEANSOLOV Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer Lawyers, firemen, policemen, professional pilots and a teacher are among four Mississippi Air National Guard crews on a mission their officers term routine. They are transporting California-based U.S. troops to Palmerola Air Force Base in Honduras as part of the U.S.

response to reports that Nicaraguan troops have entered that country. "It went real smooth," said Col. Tommy Weems, chief of command post. "I think everybody is enjoying this sort of thing." Twenty-eight members of the 172nd military airlift group, all from the Jackson area, took off Thursday from Jackson Municipal Airport. Weems and Col.

Shellie Bailey, commander of the 172nd military airlift group, said the mission isn't too different from other missions the guardsmen run, except for the source of the order the White House and the media attention. "It's really just doing their job," Weems said. "We've been to Honduras a lot. Most of the crew members on there have probably been to Honduras at one point or another." See Guardsmen, back page this section The Associated Press Holding M-16 rifles and other gear, members of route to Honduras. President Reagan sent the the 82nd Airborne Division wait at Ft.

Bragg, N.C., troops in response to the reported incursion of Thursday to board an Air Force transport plane en Nicaraguan forces into Honduras. Coming Sunday Senate OKs economic agency merger Yazoo tug-of-war: Land condemnation to make way for the controversial Yazoo drainage project in the Delta is fueling opposition among landowners, hunters and wildlife groups who say the work should be stopped. Index 4 charged with random shootings By GRACE SIMMONS Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer Jackson gang detectives arrested three adults and one juvenile late Thursday night and charged them with two counts of aggravated assault for two random shootings this week. Sgt. E.W.

Williams said the juvenile, a 16-year-old whose name was not released because of his age, fired shots from a car, wounding two people in separate incidents Tuesday night. The adults arrested in connection with the shootings are Roy Knight, 18; Terry Pullum, 21; and Frederick Lane, 24. All are from Jackson. The juvenile had been arrested twice for the Dec. 22 rampage at the Whiterock Apartments, 550 Country Club Drive, Williams said.

He and Knight are Folks gang members, Williams said. Lane and Pullum are not known gang members, Williams said. The 16-year-old had fired the bullets that struck Robert Mayberry, lHGlendale anda 13-year-old girl, Williams said. Both were walking down the street when the shots were fired from a dark blue 210 Datsun. Mayberry, a member of the Black Pea Stone, a subdivision of the Vice Lords, was walking near Woodrow Wilson Avenue and Flora Street when a bullet grazed his hip.

The girl was walking near Wood and Maple streets with two friends when she was wounded in the right ankle. Williams said he did not know why the two individuals were shot. The car, which belonged to Lane was confiscated at Glen Oaks Apartments, 850 Lindbergh Drive, Williams said. The gun had not been found late Thursday, he said. Lane, Knight and Pullum were arrested after Detective See Shootings, back page this section Gambling, liability bills die on deadline By DAN DAVIS and JOE OKEEFE Clarion-Ledger Staff Writers A midnight legislative deadline Thursday killed measures that would allow gambling on jai alai in Tunica County and require compulsory automobile liability insurance.

The bills were among 49 measures left on the calendar when the House adjourned at 9:30 p.m. All general measures failing to receive initial floor action by midnight are dead. The jai alai bills were near the top of the calendar when the House convened at 9 a.m. Thursday, but Ways and Means Committee chairman Rep. Tommy Wal-man of McComb decided not to bring the measures up for a vote.

The bills would have authorized Tunica County voters to decide whether they wanted a jai alai arena and whether gambling should be allowed on the fast-paced game, which is similar to handball. Tunica County residents have tried unsuccessfully for several years to get horse-racing and pari-mutuel betting in their county. Also caught by the deadline was a House bill that would have required motorists to have liability insurance for their automobiles. See Deadline, back page this section Break up the state Research and Development Center and split its manpower and functions between the state Department of Economic Development and a new agency called the University Research Center, which would fall under the supervision of the state College Board. Assign field workers from the state Department of Economic Development to work with each of the state's 10 planning and development districts.

Direct the University Research Center to develop long-range economic plans for Mississippi. Mabus, in a prepared statement released Thursday, said the bill's passage was "a move in the right direction and falls in line with the spirit of my call for government streamlining." The agency consolidations would result in "considerable savings and a more efficient operation when it comes to economic development," the statement said. Mabus campaigned on a pledge to consolidate the state's more than 135 agencies to about 15, saying the plan would cut duplication of services and ensure accountability in government. The Legislature has approved a study commission to issue recommendations on agency consolidations by Oct. 1.

Sen. Dick Hall of Jackson on Thursday offered an unsuccessful amend- See Economic, back page this section Bills' status listed, IB By JOE OTCEEFE Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer The state Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a plan to give Gov. Ray Mabus more control over Mississippi's economic development, including power to hire and fire the state director in charge of those efforts. "I'm willing to say 'Governor, it's your ball game. We want you to lead this state in industrial said Sen.

John Morgan of Oxford during floor debate on the bill Thursday morning. "If you give this governor that authority, he'll get the job done," Morgan said. "You'll see a difference in Mississippi in four years, I promise you that." In a show of solidarity, all but five senators signed up as co-sponsors on the 102-page, agency-shuffling bill. The measure, which now goes to the House, would: Abolish the state Board of Economic Development and give the governor the authority to choose directly the executive director of the Department of Economic Development and establish the director's salary. Currently, the 15-member board selects the executive director and sets the salary.

The current salary is $63,000. The governor has a majority of the appointments on the board, but the appointments are staggered throughout his term. Ann Landers 2D Bridge 3D Business 8B Calendar 5D Classified 6C Comics 6D Crosswords 6.7C Deaths 2B Entertainment Horoscope 7D Jumble 8D Names Faces 2A Opinion 10,1 1A Portfolio BB Scorecard 2C Southern Style 1D Sports 1C State Metro 1B Stocks TV-Radio Log 5D Unwind 4D WEATHER Rain likely. High 50. Details, 12A.

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