Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 12

NEWS FROM AROUND TO SHARE TIPS, IDEAS: Contact: Annie Oeth, assistant metro editor-state Jackson area: 961-7237 BFax: 961-721 1 E-mail: aoethjackson.gannett.com THE CLARION-LEDGER fl JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI nn IM TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2000 fete ninifo to Pol i3 OXFORD human tissue, there is no question that burying the fetuses was a violation of state dumping laws. "We have not initiated any action on this end," Williams said. He said the agency was waiting to see whether criminal charges would be filed. Typically, the DEQ does not file a civil action while a criminal action is pending. During an inventory at Brock's business, an employee found the cooler and told Brock that it smelled.

Brock instructed the employee to dispose of the cooler. Mark Williams, special administrator with the state Department of Environmental Quality, said because formalum, a derivative of formaldehyde, had been introduced into the Police chief not sure if civil or criminal charges warranted The Associated Press Police Chief Mike Ezell said his department will present information to a Jackson County grand jury about fetuses found buried in Ocean Springs. Ezell said he does not know if criminal or civil had purchased items sight unseen from an auction at a Gulfport storage facility. Among the items Brock bought was a cooler with plastic bags containing the fetuses. It was later determined the cooler had previously belonged to Dr.

Joseph Booker, who had operated and performed abortions at Gulf Coast Women's Clinic in Gulfport. OCEAN SPRINGS charges are warranted. "We are going to let them decide," he said. Police on Dec. 20 found the fetuses buried in a wooded area on U.S.

90 behind Timeless Treasures. The police investigation that followed revealed that J.R. Brock, the owner of the buy-and-sell type business, -7 1 3 if 7 1 i I 4 -f. Ballet break Ballerinas (from left) Centurie Stewart, Sydney Eidt, Blair Lee, Carrie Cole, Kyaira Todd, Caitlyn Upton and Breanna Pollard entertain themselves recently as they wait for class to begin at the Natchez Ballet Acad- emy. The 3- and 4-year-olds who participate Natchez learn coordination and rhythm and terms.

i Laura Skelding The Associated Press in the pre-ballet class in are introduced to ballet Aberdeen Mayor William Tisdale said he objected to the ordinance when it was established and believes it unfairly limits the pool of qualified applicants. "We are limiting ourselves to a small area to seek technical people," Tisdale said. "Often times they are not around in the small city environment." rescue of the bridge tender, Logan Smith, who called in the fire. Ricky Fitzgerald, the U.S. 90 bridge tender, said by mid-day there were two tugs and two shrimp boats backed up.

He expected they should be able to pass through the railroad bridge sometime late Monday. Gould said CSX rerouted or held trains in place depending on their location and how far away from the local bridge they were TRIAL DATE SET: A March 13 trial date has been set in U.S. District Court in Aberdeen for former Prentiss County Sheriff Jerry C. "Bud" Michael. Michael, who served as the county's chief law enforcement officer until Jan.

3, is accused of manufacturing more than 50 grams of a substance containing metham-phetamines and two counts of distributing a mixture of a detectable amount of metham-phetamines from June 1999 until earlier this month. Michael pleaded innocent on all three counts at an arraignment hearing in Oxford Monday. He is being held at the Lafayette County Jail since his arrest Jan. 1 2. OXFORD FATAL ACCIDENT: Authorities are investigating a two-vehicle accident that killed a University of Mississippi student and injured two others on Mississippi 6.

Sophomore student Artisa Cooley, 19, of Winona died at the scene of the accident Sunday night. Benita Woodley, 21, and Christye Hayes, 20, also students at Ole Miss, were injured. MAGNOLIA MURDER TRIAL UNDER WAY: A former Louisiana taxi driver charged with killing his stepson, the stepson's wife, and their 4-year-old daughter will stand trial for capital murder this week. The trial is the second one for Michael Rubenstein. The first trial last year ended in a hung jury.

Darrell Perry, his wife Evelyn, and their 4-year-old daughter Krystal, all of Mar-rero, were murdered in November 1993 in a cabin near Rubenstein, also of Marrero, collected the insurance a few months after the murders, according to prosecutors. LONG BEACH SERV-SAFE CLASSES SET: The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast's Culinary Arts Academy will conduct seven Serv-Safe classes during the first six months of 2000. Serv-Safe is a proactive, comprehensive science-based food safety system that allows food service operators to continuously monitor their establishments and reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses. State law in Mississippi requires that all food service establishments have at least one person who is Serv-Safe certified. The classes cover two days, culminating with a certification exam.

The schedule for classes through June is: Jan. 27-28, Feb. 17-18, March 23-24, April 20-2 1 May 1 8-1 9 and June 1 5-1 6 and 26-27. For details call (228) 865-4533. PASCAGOULA ROBBERY ARRESTS: Investigators with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department made two arrests in connection with a Jan.

7 robbery. Gary Wesley Lambert, 20, of 4030 Max Moss Point, and Timothy Earl Hill, 22, of 13108 Wolf ridge Road, Pascagoula, were arrested last week. Bond was set at 1 0,000 for Lambert and $5,000 for Hill. James Stuart of the Helena community reported that he was beaten and robbed by three suspects. A jacket and $150 were stolen.

Officers are looking for a third suspect. BAY ST. LOUIS WORKSHOP SCHEDULE: The NASA Educator Resource Center at John C. Stennis Space Center has a spring calendar packed with workshops: Introduction to Home Page Development, for teachers grades K-12, Jan. 27 and March Introduction to Power Point, for teachers grades K-12, Feb.

land 10; I Can Sense That, for teachers grades K-3, Feb. Power Point II, for teachers grades K-12, Feb. 15 and March 16; Flying for teachers grades 2-6, Feb. 23; Introduction to the Internet, for teachers grades K-6, March 14; Home Page Development, March 20 and 27; Introduction to Excel, for teachers grades 3-12, March 22; Let's Do Language for teachers grades K-5, March 23; Remote Sensing Not So Remote, for teachers grades 6-12, April 1 1 It's All in the Game, for teachers grades K-5, April 13. All workshops start at 8:30 a.m.

and are free of charge. Reservations are required. For information, call the NASA Educator Resource Center at 1-800-237-1821 (select 2) in Mississippi and Louisiana or (228)688-3338. OCEAN SPRINGS TOWN MEETING SET: U.S. Rep.

Gene Taylor will host a town meeting from p.m. today at Ocean Springs City Hall. From wire service reports Chief: Residency rule hurting police force Booker is serving a five-month sentence in a federal prison for bankruptcy fraud, filing false tax returns and tax evasion. Although it has not been confirmed that the fetuses originated from procedures performed at the Gulfport clinic, authorities with the Mississippi Department of Health said that at one time Booker did perform abortions at the clinic. OXFORD Student opinions sought on survey Sex, alcohol and drug use among task force issues The Associated Press A task force of health care workers, teachers and others has drawn up surveys for more than 2,000 city and county middle and high school students and their parents.

The surveys, each of which include about 50 questions, inquire about everything from grades to cigarette and alcohol use to sex. "We want to get feedback from the youth," said Greg Patton, founder and director of Youth Vision, the task force. "We want to be able to better assess teens' and parents' information base, their attitudes toward themselves and toward sex." Oxford and Lafayette school boards are setting aside class time sometime in the next several weeks so that students can take the surveys at school. Parents can keep their children from taking the survey. Parentguardian surveys and copies of student surveys were mailed to parents last week, Patton said.

"This is not being conducted by the school district, but we've agreed to facilitate it by giving the surveys in the schools," said Oxford Schools Superintendent John Jordan. Patton said the surveys were designed by sociologists at the University of Mississippi. Participants respond to statements by circling one of the following: definitely disagree, mostly disagree, neither disagree or agree, mostly agree, or definitely agree. Some statements included on the surveys for youth are: I believe that sex is how you show that you love someone. I would feel comfortable talking to my parents about sex.

I have lots of questions about sex but I don't know who to talk to. Among questions on the survey for parents and guardians are: If my child became sexually active I would know it. I am quite comfortable talking to my child about topics such as sex. I am more concerned about my child using alcohol or other drugs than I am about sexual activity. Patton said the task force will use information gained from the surveys to formulate "more relevant" programs to help teens cope with sexuality and other issues.

Statisticians at the University of Mississippi have volunteered to process the results, which should be available this spring. Lafayette Schools Superintendent Jimmy Treloar said the district has committed to spending whatever time is necessary to conduct the surveys properly. The Associated Press The Aberdeen Police Department has scaled back on patrolling until officers comply with a city ordinance. The ordinance requires city employees to move to Aberdeen within six months of their employment. Ten Aberdeen employees, including six police officers, had been for the last week," he said.

Coleman said having only 10 officers hurts the department and is compounded when officers are sick, on vacation or attending training seminars. Hiring new officers has been difficult because of a lack of qualified applicants in Aberdeen, Coleman said. "It is embarrassing to me that I can't hire people in 1.4: V- v. i ABERDEEN asked to comply with the residency ordinance or lose theirjobs. One of the officers has already resigned to take another job, Police Chief, Brent Coleman said.

Coleman said the department is left with just 10 officers. "I have only had one officer on patrol during the day STARKVILLE while there is no absolute flu protection, precautions can help. First, a flu shot each fall before the season remains the best prevention. Usually about 80 percent effective, vaccines are developed annually from strands most prevalent the previous year. "Most cases we have seen this year were not vaccinated and are 'Strain which is in the vaccine," said Fuller.

"Much of the outbreak could have been prevented if people had only taken the time to get the shot." Early vaccination is especially important for the pregnant and all persons over 65. Others in this category include sufferers of long-term health problems and continuing residents of care facilities. "Along with rest and fluids," said Fuller, "flu victims should be sure to see their local health care provider for antiviral drugs that can be taken to treat the virus soon after symptoms start." Trains back on track after fire closes railroad bridge MSU educator offers tips on avoiding flu Aberdeen as police officers," Coleman said. "We need people who are qualified." Alderman Wilchie Clay, who supported the ordinance, said the policy was needed because Sve want to encourage people to come to Aberdeen to shop, buy homes and spend their money in order to earn more tax dollars for the city." OCEAN SPRINGS fire. "We had to replace about 40 percent of the ties on the turnspan," Gould said.

He said the cause of the fire has not been determined. The blaze began about 8 p.m. Saturday on the turn span. Firefighters from Biloxi, Ocean Springs and D'Iberville were on the scene past midnight. Coast Guard crews from Mississippi assisted in the increase upsets residents Special to The Clarion-Ledger For months now, hundreds of state residents have flocked to health centers and doctors' offices with high fever, chills, severe muscle pain, and headaches.

It's flu season. A Mississippi State health educator says the purposeful avoidance of crowds can be the biggest single step taken by most to avoid infection. Widespread influenza outbreaks often result because the virus is present in and around large-group settings, said Jennifer Fuller, health educator at the university's Longest Student Health Center. "Anyone can get the virus from any place their hands touch that also has been touched by an infected person," she said. The virus is transmitted through tiny droplets in the air, primarily from sneezing and coughing.

Touching an object a doorknob, for instance that recently was handled by an infected person can continue transmission and infection. As Fuller reminds, The Associated Press Freight trains began moving again Monday between Ocean Springs and Biloxi after a weekend fire temporarily closed a railroad bridge. Robert Gould, a spokesman for CSX said repairs to the turnspan of the bridge that crosses Biloxi Bay were completed by midnight Sunday. He said the company had about 30 trains, plus two Amtrak trains, backed up because of the Saturday Water cost The Associated Press Not everyone is pleased with city plans to improve the water quality here. Most of the complaints are coming from north of U.S.

90, which will not benefit immediately from a new system that will make water cleaner and give it a better taste. Those residents, however, still have to pay higher rates. "Everybody is not going to get it, but everybody is going to pay for it," said Ramona Thigpen. Janet DeForrest, who lives near Thigpen, said, "We have good water in the area. Why do I have to pay PASCAGOULA to fix somebody else's problem?" City officials said the north side residents will still benefit, even though the well that serves the area is not immediately getting treatment equipment.

For years, people complained about salt and color in the water. In a few days, the city will put on line a filtration system with reverse osmosis and ozone generation. City officials said they are fixing the worst problem first. The second filtration site is scheduled to go on line in March. Mayor Joe Cole and other officials say people all over the city will get better water each time a filtration plant goes on line, because of the blending of waters and looping of water lines.

Cole said that the average increase in water bills, about $5 a month, should not put a burden on anyone. Elsie Childress disagrees. "The majority of people up here are senior citizens. They are on fixed incomes. The $5 a month will help me pay my prescriptions," she said.

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