Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 1

CL Artie Armstrong Details Bribery Plot, IB 1 etoton-dfler Mississippi edition Jackson, Mississippi Wednesday August 4,1999 0 500 Mississi ppi's Newspaper mm fa NATIONWORLD JFK film price set at $16 Arbitrators decide the Zapruder film of the assassination is worth more than the 1 million the government had offered to pay. 4A statemetro" Mew fire trucks get new dents Lt. gov. sweeps Democratic field; former lawmaker avoids runoff By Joseph Ammerman Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer Lt. Gov.

Ronnie Musgrove waltzed to an easy win Tuesday in the Democratic primary for governor, while Mike Parker edged out a majority victory over Hawks wins; Tuck leads in It. gov. race Three of Jackson's 10 new fire trucks have been dam aged in accidents in By Mario Roesilli Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer 3'' oil if v' Former state senator Amy Tuck appeared on the verge Tuesday night of avoiding a runoff and three more weeks of Democratic Party in-fighting in the race for lieutenant governor. But Sen. Grey Ferris, her chief rival, retained hope that Eddie Briggs for the Republican nomination.

Musgrove declared victory with 19 5,691 votes, or 57 percent of the total over his opponent, former Supreme Court Justice Jim Roberts of Pontotoc, who took i Governor's race by county, 6A Sheriff's race roundup, 7A Legislative results, 8-9A Ag commissioner, DA results, 9A the past month, fire department officials say. 1B Heat wave also danger to pets It's important to protect pets with water and plenty of shade during the dog days of summer, veterinarians say. 1 SPORTS Mo bull: These guys are tough Defending champ Bubba Dunn predicts more than half the cowboys will be thrown Saturday when the Professional Bull Riders compete in Jackson. ID Football players his fight would continue for the chance to oppose Republican nominee Bill Hawks, who swept to victory Tuesday in his Dartv's Drimarv. 'I Th MM Tuck jrN With 68 per- I cent of the 88,101 votes, or 26 percent.

Parker, a former 4th District congressman, led Briggs, a former lieutenant governor, with 71,498 to 38,994, or 51 percent to 28 percent, making an expected runoff for the GOP nomination unnecessary. Rick Guy The Clarion-Ledger Thomas WellsThe Associated Press Lt. Gov. Ronnie Musgrove salutes his supporters Tuesday night as GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Parker of Brookhaven drops he celebrates winning the Democratic nomination for governor. his ballot in the box at the Fair River precinct.

Massive campaign for governor looms begin reporting precincts reporting, Tuck led the Democrats with 52 percent of the votes, followed OleMiss' Hawks freshmen report i tnHav Check out our list of other key fall football dates. ID kind of moderate conservatives," said Steve Shaffer, a Mississippi State University political science professor. From the moment Parker entered the governor's race, many have seen him as the favorite son the chosen one of party big wigs who want to hang onto the Governor's Mansion. Musgrove, who knocked off Briggs in a bitter lieutenant governor's race four years ago, had a relatively easy time in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. His strongest opposition came from Jim Roberts of Pontotoc, a self-styled big ol' coun-See ANALYSIS, 6A man, and tried to depict him as a "liberal." Parker in a low-key, folksy tone typical not only of his gubernatorial campaign, but of his congressional cam-, paigns in years past largely dismissed Briggs' attacks.

Had they faced a runoff, it would have been important to impress conservative loyalists. Had that happened, some analysts say Parker might have toughened up on Briggs. "You could have (had) a lot of negative campaigning, with each of them trying to show himself as the most conservative when, in reality, I think they're both By Emily Wagater Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer Ronnie Musgrove started early and campaigned hard. That was the key to his success in the Democratic gubernatorial primary. On the Republican side, Mike Parker and Eddie Brig-gs did the same.

As election results dragged in late Tuesday, Parker seemed to have pulled out a clear victory, avoiding an Aug. 24 runoff with Briggs. Parker has a lot of work ahead and Musgrove does, too. Dick Johnson, state president of the open-government group Common Cause, wants Rep. Charlie Williams of Senatobia was a distant third, and Dan Gibson of Crystal Springs was fourth in the Republican primary.

Musgrove was able to claim victory shortly after 10 p.m. "We are ecstatic with where we are tonight," Musgrove said to the wild cheers of supporters at Old Capitol Inn in downtown Jackson, with a blues and rock-n-roll band blaring in the background. "The people of the state of Mississippi have overwhelmingly supported the platform See GOVERNOR, 6A BUSINESS Entergy, PSC eye outages gubernatorial candidates to focus on clean campaigning between now and the Nov. 2 general election. After years of scandal in Washington, Johnson believes folks are weary of nasty, win-at-any-cost politics.

"I don't know if it's a permanent sort of thing. That's the way the wind's blowing at the moment," Johnson said Tuesday night. For the last couple of weeks, Briggs, a former lieutenant governor, hammered on Parker, a former congress Entergy and the state Public Service Commission 1 are trying to hammer out an answer to "rolling Missing poll workers snarl Madison voting by Ferris with 36 percent and Troy Brown with 12 percent. Tuck needed a majority of the votes cast to avoid an Aug. 24 runoff.

The general election is Nov. 2. "It really doesn't matter who my opponent is at this point," said Hawks, 54, a farmer from Hernando. "We will take the same type of campaign to the people that we have up to this time." Hawks easily defeated Rep. Terry Brown, of Columbus.

With 77 percent of the precincts reporting, Hawks led 64 percent to 36 percent. Troy Hickey, a Republican who is supporting Tuck, said he believes she could beat Hawks. "If she tells you she's going to do something she does it, and if she can't do it, she tells you that, too," Hickey said. "She's good ole country girl." The Democratic race has been unusually divisive, with Tuck and Ferris splitting labor and minority constituencies. In the days leading up to the Democratic primary, the tone of the campaign turned harsh.

Ferris, 53, of Vicksburg, criticized Tuck, 36, of Maben, for failing to support affirmative action legislation as a state senator. The Ferris ad said Tuck tried to use an affirmative action statute to become a lawyer after failing the state bar exam three times. Tuck criticized Ferris for SeeLT.GOV.,7A outages." 1C FOOD Flavor key to perfect dressing It's easy to toss together a salad, but it takes a little know-how to choose the right flavors for the dressing. 1F FORECAST it -T-'1 Leonice Goodloe, co-chair of the Madison County Democratic Executive Committee, said "it was a case of no-shows." "I was trying to get more help, but I had at least one person for each poll," Goodloe said. "They were told ahead of time where they would work, but it was a case of people not wanting to work the polls." Goodloe estimated that there were just four or five precincts which opened late, but The Clarion-Ledger has confirmed that at least 10 precincts opened See TROUBLES, 9A By DoShuna Moore and Clay Harden Clarion-Ledger Staff writers Election Day failed to go off without a hitch, especially in Madison County.

Voters at several precincts were unable to vote for Democratic candidates because there were no poll workers. Kevin Gilbert was outraged when he arrived at the polls around 11 a.m. Tuesday to vote at the Sunchase Apartments in Ridgeland and was turned away. "We're trying to perform our civic duty and no one is out here," he said. Hot weather continues today, but it won't be quite as sticky as humidity levels fall.

Weather details, 2A Greg JensonTneClarion-Ledger A handmade sign alerts Democratic voters to Main Harbor Precinct in the Pearl River Valley the absence of election workers Tuesday at the Water Supply District office in Ridgeland. INDEX Ann Landers 4E Movies 3E Business 1C Opinion 10-11A Calendar 6E People 2A Classified 1G SouthemStyte 1E Comics 4-5E Sports 1D Crosswords 5E.3G Spotlight 3A Deaths 3B StateMetro 18 JackSunn 4E Stocks 2C.4-5C Jumble 5E TV listings 6E Willie Morris memorial services scheduled for Thursday Volume 163 No. 168 Copyright 1999 3 Tuesday. "Willie brought something special to the university," Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Si Honoring the king of rock Elvis Presley's hometown of Tupelo is making plans for its first festival in his honor. 10F his state, his nation and indeed the world." John Grisham (The Firm), the best-selling novelist and former Mississippi legislator, plans to attend Thursday's services.

"I feel a deep, deep sadness," Grisham said, "but at the same time I can't help but smile every time I think of Willie. He was so generous to everyone. It will be a sad occasion on Thursday, but at the same time it will be a celebration of his life." Morris, former editor of Harper's magazine in New York, was best known for his books North Toward Home, My Dog Skip and Good Old Boy. "When North Toward Home came out, it was just such a great, wonderful book, and everybody in the state followed his career from the moment it began," said friend and Jackson author Josephine Haxton (pen name Ellen Douglas, Truth: Four See MORRIS, 4A greatest writers." Services are 4 p.m. Thursday at First United Methodist Church in Yazoo City, 203 N.

Washington with burial in Glenwood Cemetery. Visitation is 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday in the Rotunda of the Old Capitol Museum, where Morris will lie in state. Flags at the University of Mississippi, where Morris became writer-in-residence in 1980, flew at half-staff By Billy Watkins and Sherry Lucas Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer Willie Morris will be buried Thursday in the hills of his beloved hometown of Yazoo City.

Reaction Tuesday to the celebrated Mississippi writer's death spanned from Oxford to the White House. Morris, 64, died at St. DominicJackson Memorial Hospital at 6:21 p.m. Monday of an apparent heart attack. "Hillary and I were greatly Morris Memories of Morris, IE Obituary, 4B Editorial Ramsey cartoon, 1 0A saddened to learn of the death of our good friend," President Clinton said in a statement.

"Willie Morris was not only my friend, he was a national treasure. "He will take his place beside (William) Faulkner and (Eudora) Welty in the pantheon of the South's Khayat said in a statement. "When the heart of Willie Morris II mi 409 stopped beating on Monday evening, a voice was stilled which was quintessentially Mississippian, yet spoke to 9806 ro p. ii FOR HOME DOJVBIY.TCALi. 98 1-7200 RJ-S77-e50-5343 .1.