Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 19

ate- Metro DEATHS 2 STOCKS 5-6 BUSINESS 8 JPe larion-rifler April 29, 1988 FRIDAY Legislator alternates writing bills with writing books By DAN DAVIS room at his home. Because the manuscript is being revised, Gri 1 I ting, Grisham said. "In New York they have a fascination with the South, especially small towns," he said. Grisham's "unofficial editor" is his wife, Renee, a compulsive reader who scrutinized the as he wrote it. "The funny thing is that a lot of revisions she; suggested and I was against are the ones the folks in New York are demanding I make now," he said.

Grisham has given the book a working title of Death Knell. That title will likely be dropped. "The agent doesn't like it, my editor doesn't like it and my wife doesn't like it so I don't think it'll make it," he said. He has commissioned Mississippi author Willie Morris to find a new title. Morris has become something of a mentor to Grisham, although he has not read Grisham's manuscript.

"I go to him for advice. I never went to Willie and said, 'I want you to read this and help me get it Clarion-Ledger Suff Writer As a state lawmaker, Rep. John Grisham of Southaven has authored his share of legislation. Now he's the author of his first novel. Grisham came to terms with Wynwood Press of New York this week for release in 1989 of a novel set in a fictional northern Mississippi county.

The book will be Wynwood's lead fiction title for the year. Wynwood editor Bill Thompson, who discovered horror writer Stephen King, has been assigned to Grisham. Although the writers have little in common, Thompson said he sees some comparisons between King and Grisham. "There's the same kind of commitment. John's got the same talent," Thompson said.

"He's an instructive and intuitive writer. This is not a one-shot book." The book's release next spring will come almost five years after Grisham started the project. "It's right between the washer and dryer. If we can get both the washer and dryer going at one time, it's the best time for me to write because the noise blocks out the rest of the world." After completing his novel in 1987, Grisham began submitting chapters to various publishers and agencies. He got no bites on the book.

In April 1987 three New York agents called and said they were interested in the manuscript Grisham settled on Jay Garon, a veteran agent. Garon took charge of trying to get the book published and told Grisham to forget it. "I was really kept in the dark. They don't want to tell you about the rejections," Grisham said. To forget the manuscript, Grisham started on his second novel.

"Then, three weeks ago, I got the magic phone call," he said. Wynwood Press, owned by a conglomerate that also publishes the inspirational magazine Guide-posts, is interested in the book because of its set sham would release only the barest plot details. "The story is about a sensational, highly entertaining, racially charged murder trial in a small Mississippi town in 1984," he said. The setting Is in make-believe Ford County, "which is an hour from Memphis and an hour from Tupelo. I don't know where that puts it." The murder trial is a composition of five or six cases Grisham has heard about secondhand.

Grisham, a lawyer, can partly thank his election to the Legislature in 1983 and the three-hour trip from Southaven to the Capitol for the completion of the book. "I was driving home one day and said 'I'm going to start it and finish he said. He began getting up about 5 a.m., heading to his Southaven law office and working on the novel. "It was all written in longhand and then typed by my secretary," he said. A second novel, now nearly half complete, is being written on a word processor in the laundry f.i I V.t' Is: 4 4" STATE REP.

JOHN GRISHAM: from legislation to first novel Judge bans Sillers cross permanently The Associated Press A federal judge has ruled Mississippi can't light a Christmas cross on a state office building because the tradition violated separation of church and state. U.S. District Judge William H. Barbour Jr. of Jackson, in an order signed this week, made permanent a temporary injunction issued Dec.

12, 1986, that halted lighting of the cross in the windows of the 20-story Walter Sillers State Office Building in Jackson. Barbour said the cross unlawfully promoted Christianity and violated the separation of church and state provision in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. "We think it's the right decision, amply supported in the Constitution," Jackson attorney Ken Rose said of Barbour's decision to make the injunction permanent. Rose is one of several attorneys who represented the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi and five Jackson residents in their lawsuit to stop the cross display.

"It draws a bright line between what is religion and what is not religion and what is state government. Government has its role, and religion has its role in our society," Rose said of the ruling. "Our main goal was to see if we could get the district judge to change his mind. I don't know where we will go from here," said Assistant Attorney General T. Hunt Cole who represented the state in an attempt to keep the cross lighted.

"We haven't evaluated any further options." Cole, writing on behalf of the attorney general in legal papers submitted to the judge, stuck to the state's position that the cross display didn't violate separation of church and state. "The overall Christmas display at issue here does not in any manner compel or coerce the observance of religion or religious orthodoxy, nor does it interfere in any concrete manner with the rights of non-believers," Cole said in a March 22 document submitted to the judge. "The cross is a general symbol of the religion founded by the man whose birth is celebrated at Christmas, and such use in this country is not unprecedented," Cole said. In 1986, state officials added a Christmas tree and the words "joy" and "love" to the other sides of the building after the ACLU threatened to sue. No trial was conducted in the case after Barbour listened to testimony at a hearing in December 1986 and issued the temporary injunction.

In lieu of a full-blown trial, attorneys for both sides agreed to submit a written record to Barbour. Negotiations on unit bill said stalled Committee 'not close at all' to agreement, chairman says An editorial: Unit system stall, 1 6 A From Staff and Wire Reports Members of a legislative negotiating team reported a stall Thursday on a compromise between House and Senate versions of a county unit bill. "We're not close at all," Sen. Ollie Mohamed of Belzoni, chairman of the Senate County Affairs Committee, said Thursday afternoon. Mohamed said, however, that he remained optimistic that an agreement would be reached before the Saturday deadline for filing a settlement.

Meanwhile, the Mississippi Economic Council issued a siren call for the public to pressure state lawmakers into passage of a far-reaching, mandatory county unit system bill. "The public in Missisippi has had all it can take of this extravagant, wasteful and inefficient county government," said Bob Pittman, president of the MEC in an afternoon news conference. A six-member conference committee is trying to forge a compromise between the House and Senate measures outlining a county unit system. "We are concerned that in these final days of the Legislature, with a deadline on these conferees, that we'll either get no county unit bill or that we will get a weak and watered-down bill, which will be of no effect," Pittman said. Currently, most counties in Mississippi operate under the beat system, which allows each of the five supervisors in a county to control the road work, purchasing and personnel in his own district.

However, a recent string of indictments and convictions of county supervisors stemming from an FBI crackdown on corrupt purchasing practices has prompted a strong push in the Legislature this year for an across-the-board switch to the unit system of government. Under the unit system, supervisors would function primarily as policy-makers, with administrators handling centralized systems of road work, purchasing and personnel. The House-passed version of the bill specifies sweeping changes to centralize county operations under a unit system plan, but allows each county the option of voting on whether to go to the unit system. The Senate-passed version of the bill allows supervisors to maintain some control over day-to-day operations in their districts, but mandates that the unit system be implemented statewide. Pittman, on Thursday, called for the conference committee to approve the more far-reaching version of the bill without the referendum provision.

"All we're doing with a referendum is first, we're delaying the decision. Secondly, the Legislature is refusing to accept its responsibility," Pittman said. Thirdly, he said, a referendum would be an expensive undertaking. Mohamed, a conferee on the bill, earlier this week said the measure "will not leave conference with a referendum in it." House County Affairs Chairman Sonny Merideth of Greenville said the conference committee would have a better indication of the state of negotiations on the bill today. CHRIS TODDThe Clarion-Ledger Jackson State University campus.

Brown, a former JSU football player, was shot to death near the student union on Monday afternoon. Clifton Harris, left, and Shellon Chambers listen to a speaker at the memorial service for Lerone Brown on Thursday afternoon in Dansby Hall Auditorium on the Jackson State mourns slain student tory where the victim lived, said he remembered Brown as "upright, intelligent and mild-mannered. He was a leader and a creator. He would not be satisfied with the status quo. He set an example for the rest of us to follow he will be sorely missed." Percy Lambert, a graduate resident assistant at Dixon Hall, reminded those gathered that "as long as we cherish his memory, he will never die." The Rev.

A.W. Crump the campus minister, said, "Without a doubt many of us have come here for many different reasons. But we're here in remembrance of him." He added, "Death is not the end of life, but the beginning." Crump, who preached on the theme of God's love for His people, said, "I realize the See JSU, 2B Wright, 23, of 926 Dalton who is being held in the Hinds County Detention Center on a murder charge in connection with Brown's death. County court officials said after Wright's initial appearance before Judge James D. Bell that a preliminary hearing and bond reduction hearing in Wright's case are tentatively set May 5.

During the hour-long memorial service, Brown was remembered by friends, classmates and administrators, who also sought to console the victim's family members and each other with song and prayer. Dr. Mildred J. Allen, acting vice president for student affairs, stressed the sense of family on campus. "Each of us is part of the main, no man is an island unto himself.

We have lost part of the main." Gregory Holloway, director of the dormi By JEFF COPESKEY Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer More than 1,000 members of the Jackson State University "family" grieved during a memorial service Thursday for Lerone Brown, who was shot to death on campus Monday. "This is a sad occasion for all of us and yet it is an occasion to remember a man of promise," said JSU President James Hefner, who added that the students still have the opportunity to strive for their goals, unlike Brown. The service at Dansby Hall Auditorium was held only a few hundred yards from the Jacob L. Reddix Union building where the 25-year-old former JSU football player was shot at point-blank range. A $100,000 bond was set Thursday in Hinds County Court for JSU senior Chauncy Lovett students find joy in making handicapped peers happier Rebecca Hood-Adams Columnist The Clarion-Ledger i i A.

something the first time, you have to hang in there and keep working." Peer Tutors earn respect from classmates and teachers. "These kids are really to be commended," said teacher Carol Cooper. "They're doing something I couldn't do." Tutors understand that some handicapped students have life-threatening health problems, but Lindsey and teaching assistant Shelia Williams have carefully explained each student's disability. "They're concerned, but they take it one day at a time," Lindsey said. Detailed explanations aren't necessary when tutor Brian Cain, 11, of Clinton coaxes a giggle from Jermaine.

"He's just nice," Brian said. "I started out wanting to help somebody, but this is just fun. Besides, it makes me feel so good." And a little child shall lead them The rest of April's One Mississippians are: Amanda Messe-more, Benetta Bolton, Camille Campbell, Tabitha Henderson, Kimberly Claxton, Katie Orman, Elizabeth Hayman, Tanya Vinson, Emily Nix, Ashley Braun, Kenny Holdiness, Leonard Roberts, Shelton Josey, Jessica Graham, Amy Pyron, Emy Lilley Carley Schoggens, Laura McKey Melissa Irsby, Amy Stewart, Courtney Nolan, Trinette Brown, Shannon Clark, Carol Brown, April James, Angle King, Amy Car-ruba, Sharon Ezell, Megan Cox, Kevin Arlington and Leslie Parker. If you'd like to become One Mississippian who volunteers one hoiawf public service each month, send yourjiame, ad- To most sixth-graders, "having fun" means movies, malls and music. But April's One Mississippians, 35 students at Lovett School in Clinton, have broadened their definition of good times to include helping handicapped peers.

"I thought it would be fun to work with them," said Nikki Allen, 12, of Clinton. Last fall, Nikki volunteered for Lovett's new Peer Tutor Program, part of a mains treaming effort begun last year when a special education class from Willowood Developmental Center was integrated into Lovett's sixth-grade facility. The four handicapped students, who have profound mental and physical disabilities, quickly found their place in the student body. Building on that success, the Peer Tutor Program paired volunteers who donate study hall time to work one-on-one with handicapped students. "We listen to music together or practice throwing the ball," Nikki said.

"But the best time for me is when they finally learn to do something on their own, like hold a spoon." Nikki said working with handicapped students like Jer-maine Butler, 8, of Clinton helps her understand what life is like for the disabled. "When I first came, I was a little scared," she said. "I didn't know what it was going to be like. But after a few days, we all got used to each other." Having devoted hours coaching Jermaine to throw a ball, Nikki values her own mobility. "It's made me see what we take for granted, like feeding ourselves," she said.

"They try with all their strength to just jet the spoon to mouths; you feel g-jpat when it hap- pens. Principal Limmie Flowers has noted improvement in the handicapped students' skills since tutoring began. "They appear to be happier, more satisfied," she said. "They smile more and are responding better." Gloria Lindsey of Jackson, teacher of the severe and profoundly handicapped class, developed Peer Tutors. "When we came here last year, I could tell that a lot of students were interested, curious, but they didn't know what the handicapped students were like," she said.

"This seemed a good way to introduce them." Hope Robinson, 12, of Bolton volunteered because she "thought it would be a challenge." "I want to be a doctor someday," she said. "This was a good way to start." For Shundra Jordan, 12, of Bolton, tutoring has been a learning experience. "I've learned patience," she said. "When they can't do TOM ROSTERThe Clarion-Ledger Hope Robinson, 12, of Bolton, left, helps 8-year-old Jermaine Butler of Clinton eat his lunch after a Peer Tutor session at Lovett School in Clinton. dress, phone number and a stamped, self -addressed envelope to: Rebecca Hood-Adams, The Clarion-Ledger, P.O.

Box 40, Jackson, Miss. 39205. We'll send you a One Mississippian button touting your status..