The Greenville News from Greenville, South Carolina • 56

Friday, March 11, 1988 i 1 II I i VVV 4D iTOGiroiniiAnieinifiaBoste tow close watoGu mi IhiammpiiDini Council in Tennessee. "We're going to develop some parks along the shores of the Pigeon River and heaven help Champion if they don't follow through and clean up the river like they've pledged to do." The impasse finally was broken Wednesday when Tennessee officials agreed to grant Champion a variance on its water quality standards. The compromise had to be agreed to by both states, the Environmental Protection Agency and Champion. "This has been hanging over our heads for about three years," Oliver Blackwell, manager of the Canton, N.C., paper mill, said one day after a compromise was announced that would allow the mill to continue operating by forcing it to significantly cut its discharges into the river. "We still have a lot of work to do," he said, noting that it could take months before a revised wastewater discharge permit can be issued by the EPA.

"This is a big step but we recognize we don't have the permit yet." The mill produces raw paper stock for milk and juice cartons and envelopes. Tennessee residents had complained for years that it stained the Pigeon dark brown, killing game fish and reducing the potential for recreational revenues. "In accepting this revised permit, Champion has agreed to operate under the most stringent environmental limits of any mill in North America and possibly the world," CHARLOTTE (AP) North Carolina and Tennessee reached an agreement in their lenghty and often acrimonious battle over Champion International paper mill's discharges into the Pigeon River, but environmentalists said Thursday they won't let go of the issue until Champion has made good on its promises. "We're going to construct picnic areas, ramps for Whitewater enthusiasts," said Nelson Ross, one of the founders of the Dead Pigeon River Blackwell said. "It's going to be difficult but I'm encouraged." The proposed five-year permit, which must be approved by both states, calls for a reduction in the color discharged from the mill by 50 percent, with additional reductions when river levels are low.

The proposed color limit is not as low as the one originally sought by officials and environmentalists in Tennessee, who determined 50 color units per million units of water to be the maximum allowed in the river, which begins south of Canton and flows into Cocke County, Tenn. The compromise calls for Tennessee to grant Champion a variance from the 50-unit standard. The revised permit allows about twice that color 100-120 apparent color units, or 85 true color units. Champion already has applied for a variance from North Carolina, which must be approved before the wastewater permit is granted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

ff' U.S. Chamber official trade, minimum wage By Wayne Peterson Nw buslnot editor The chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce told Greenville business people Thursday that a number of bills now before Congress would be bad for business, including a trade bill and a measure to increase the minimum wage. "We don't need an overly protectionist trade bill," said Oliver H. Del-champs referring to the Omnibus Trade Bill pending in Congress.

He didn't take a position on the proposed textile bill because it deals primarily with one industry. "We're working to try and make sure that whatever trade bill comes out of Congress is something we can live with," he said. criticizes legislation ing measures to require early notification of plant closings, increase the minimum wage and mandate parental leave. He said most of the "pro-labor" bills will likely fail, but he expects the minimum-wage increase to pass in some form. "It's a good election-year issue," said Delchamps, who quoted a Clem-son University study that said up to 1.4 million jobs would be lost by increasing the wage from $3.35 to $4.65, as proposed in a Senate bill.

"Our whole thrust is trying to hold down the extent of regulation of business, especially as it relates to small and medium-sized business," he said of the U.S. Chamber, a pro-business federation. minimum dards subcommittee, said the legislation to increase the wage to $4.65 was "crafted so that it will be accepted by the full House and the executive branch. If we accept this (Perkins) proposal, it will not be accepted." Rep. Stephen J.

Solarz, read from a letter written by Labor Secretary Ann McLaughlin, who said senior White House advisers would recommend to President Reagan that he veto any legislation increasing the minimum wage. The biggest argument of the session came over the amendment by Labor committee OKs WASHINGTON (AP) An increase in the federal minimum wage from $3.35 to $5.05 an hour was tentatively approved Thursday by the House Education and Labor Committee. The original bill before the committee called for an increase of 50 cents in 1989, 40 cents in 1990 and 40 cents in 1991 to $4.65. The committee adopted, on a vote of 18-14, an amendment by Rep. Carl C.

Perkins, which added a 40-cent increase in the fourth year, on Dec. 31, 1991. Oliver Delchamps Jr. In Greenville Delchamps has been a U.S. Chamber board member since 1977, serving with Greenville labor lawyer Bob Thompson who was chairman five years ago and has been a board member for 18 years.

wage hike Perkins who said his proposal "does not go far enough, but it is a start." He said his amendment would still not bring workers up to what is described by the federal government as the "poverty level," a family of three earning approximately $9,500. Rep. Dick Armey, who opposes any increase in the minimum wage because he said it would destroy jobs, proposed an amendment to raise the base to $20 an hour. "I don't think we ought to be pikers," he said. "It would put minimum wage workers on the par with members of Congress." DOW JONES AVERAGE High 2081.40 Low 2020.72 Close 2026.03 Down 48.24 li lt Up 40.7 35.7 33.3 206 24.3 22.1 32.7 33.6 31.4 31.3 31.3 30.0 20.0 ll.l 11.1 11.5 11.5 IS.3 17.9 17.4 17.2 16.7 16.7 UP 41 UP ft UP ft UP 13-33 UP ft UP 7-16 Up It Up ft UP 7-16 UP ft Up 1ft Up IIP IIP N.Y.S.E.

VOLUME PROFILE up down unch. 419 1202 382 Issues traded: 2003 Index 148.92 Down 2.56 Composite Volume 226,802,010 ft UP ft UP ft Up ft Up 1ft UP UP 1 BAROMETER I 1 NYEX 1 1 OTC 1 Market drop of 48.24 steepest in 2 months GAINERS GAINERS Namt LastChoPct. Namt LastChgPct. BUSINESS REPCST I About 44 employees of Flor-I ence's La-Z-Boy East will be laid off indefinitely beginning Friday as the Florence plant cuts its work force for the sec- vtru i-iiiic in trad utau a uiuiuii. I Tommy Casey, personnel man-.

jvje at the plant, said the lay-I cifs represent phase two in a Sieve rfvJiKDotv. Fourty-two em-I were laid off Feb. 19. Th dollar was mixed i-s trading in the other ma-Jet currencies continued to dcmir.ate foreign-exchange TTifirkets. Gold prices advanced sharply amid a confluence of factors.

Republic National Bank of New York quoted a bid price of $442.50 for a troy ounce of gold as of 4 p.m. EST, up $6.35 an ounce from $436.15 late Wednesday. Bond prices fell Thursday as energy and precious metals prices rose, reminding traders about the risks of inflation. The Treasury's bellwether 30-year bond fell point, or $5 per ji.QCO in face amount, as it yield rose to 8.55 percent from 8.51 percent late Wednesday. The union representing 6,700 flight attendants for Northwest Airlines said Thursday the contract the airline plans to impose April 1 is unacceptable and warned travelers about the possibility of a strike during spring break.

The Army and one of its largest contractors, Bell Helicopter Textron have negotiated an $88 million settlement to dispose of allegations the company overcharged for helicopter spare parts over a three-year period. The settlement, considered one of the largest ever in a defense contracting case, is scheduled to be signed and finalized on Friday. Investor Burt Sugarman said Thursday that two companies he controls had boosted their stake in Virginia-based Media General Inc. to 10 percent from 9.8 percent and would seek to force a shareholder vote on his $1.75 billion takeover bid. Japan's unadjusted trade surplus with the United States fell 14.4 percent in February as Imports from the United States reached record levels, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.

Manufacturers Hanover the nation's sixth-largest bank holding company, said Thursday it expected to net about $230 million this year from the sale of "undervalued assets." Investor Marvin Davis, who three years ago sold 20th Century Fox Film is trying to get back into the entertainment business with an unsolicited $780.3 million offer for loss-plagued Lorimar Telepictures Corp. Lorimar, based in this Los Angeles suburb, said Thursday that Davis made the $17-a-share cash offer in a letter asking that takeover negotiations be arranged between him and Lo-rimar's management. Life Insurance Company of Georgia this week became the first insurer in the Southeast to, set up an interest-bearing checking account for life insurance policy beneficiaries rather than the traditional lump-sum payouts. The nation's oil and gas poten-tial may be significantly less than had been believed, according to new studies by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The survey estimates that reserves of undiscovered crude oil at 33.4 billion barrels, well below the 54.6 billion estimated in a 1981 study, according to figures provided tascientists at a research meetingin Denver last wtek. First Union to close 23 mortgage offices CHARLOTTE (AP) First Union Mortgage Corp. plans to close 23 residential mortgage offices, including one in South Carolina, in response to weak demand and too much competition, and more closings from other companies are expected, experts said. So far, few of the more than 200 mortgage companies competing in the Carolinas have closed offices, said Elaine Dillon, president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of the Carolinas. "There's not enough business out there to support the number of lenders in the marketplace," said Dillon, executive vice president of First Charter Mortgage Co.

First Union, the Southeast's largest mortgage banker, plans to lay off 110 of its 1,400 employees, including fewer than 10 employees at its offices to be closed in Columbia and Elizabeth City, said Larry Dew, senior vice president in charge of the residential division. First Union's closings, expected to be completed by the end of the month, involve a fourth of its 92 residential offices. In the second half of last year, First Union Mortgage closed 19 offices and laid off 110 workers. A few of the workers will find other jobs at the firm's parent, First Union Corp. of Charlotte.

Most, however, won't receive job offers because First Union doesn't operate bank branches outside North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. Low interest rates in 1985 and 1986 prompted many people to buy houses or to originate mortgages with more favorable terms. The boom encouraged housing lenders to open a flood of new offices, but business dried up last April when interest rates rose suddenly. Though falling interest rates prompted a modest improvement in mortgage originations last month, First Union officials concluded the firm needed to cut costs further. "The market for the housing industry, and the mortgage industry following suit, won't be very good for the next two to three years," Dew said.

Uptons plans to close Haywood store Uptons Department Stores will close its Haywood Mall store in early April, a company official said Tuesday, citing the store's size and proximity to the larger McAlister Square store. Uptons, based in Norcross, acquired the two Greenville sites last June when it purchased MeyersArnold. The fate of the 20,000 square-foot Haywood Mall store was uncertain from the start. Most Uptons stores are square feet. "Part of the pMosophy was to test the Haywood store, which we called 'Uptons for for six months," David Layne, president and chief executive officer of Uptons, said in a news release.

"Now that we've tested, we're convinced that that a limited merchandise assortment is not in the best interest of the company's future growth." He said the limited size of the store and no available space for expansion led to a decision to close April 2. Haywood Mall officials could not be reached for comment on the closing. Layne said employees of the Haywood store will be considered for similar jobs in other Uptons stores. After the purchase in early June, Uptons' officials were undecided about what to do with the Haywood store and two Augusta stores also purchased from Meyers Arnold. The company considered closing the store before deciding to sell women's fashions and accessories there.

Uptons sells moderately price fashions for men, women and children. "There are some things in the bill that we do need, but we don't need an overly protectionist trade bill in the traditional sense." The Mobile, businessman, who heads a 100-store supermarket chain, spoke at a Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting at the Greenville Hilton. "It wasn't the stock market crash of 1929 that caused the Depression. It was Congress making the wrong moves they did then what they do best, raise taxes. They also passed an overly protectionist trade bill," he said.

"We're trying to preach to Congress, 'Don't make the same mistakes He listed a variety of bills with a potential impact on business, includ The Senate has a companion bill, sponsored by Edward M. Kennedy, chairman of the Labor and Human Resources Committee, which would raise the minimum wage to $4.65 over a three-year period. The Perkins amendment was approved essentially along party lines except that two Democrats, Reps. Austin J. Murphy of Pennsylvania and Timothy J.

Penny of Minnesota, joined the Republicans in opposing the proposal. Rep. Austin J. Murphy, chairman of the House labor stan likely to maintain the favorable trend of the past couple of reports. On Thursday, Japan said its trade surplus fell in February from its comparable level a year ago.

Point-plus losers among the blue chips included International Business Machines, down 2 78 at 113 Ford Motor, down 13 at 43 38; Alcan Aluminium, down 1 78 at 28 38; Merck, down 3 58 at 160 58; International Paper, down 2 18 at 4334, and DuPont, down 2 58 at 8414. AFG Industries fell 5 to 31 58. Forstmann Little Co. said it had decided after studying the matter not to make an offer to acquire AFG. On the plus side, Colt Industries jumped 4 78 to 18 18 in active trading.

The company said it agreed to be acquired by a group including its top executives for $17 a share. mart dropped i2 to 34 38 after trading higher for most of the session on the company's report that earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 27 were $1.58 a share, up from $1.41 in the like period a year earlier. As measured by Wilshire Associates' index of more than 5,000 actively traded stocks, the market lost $39.96 billion, or 1.50 percent, in value. Nationwide turnover in NYSE-listed issues, including trades in those stocks on regional exchanges and in the over-the-counter market, totaled 226.80 million shares.

nounced that he signed the contract on behalf of himself and his relatives, the Long and Darby families. The price Way plans to pay the Kiawah Island Co. was not disclosed, but Kiawah officials have said their investment in the island has reached about $200 million. The closing of the sale isn't expected until mid-summer. "We look forward to our stewardship of what is without question the most beautiful island resort property in America," sraid a statement released by Way.

Vl Up 9t6 Up S. ft P. COMPOSITES LattChgPct. 3ft- ft ft Off 263.84 Down 5.22 Off OH OH OH OH OH OH OH Off OH OH OH OH ft 414-14 COMPOSITE VOLUME THU. WEO.

AMEX 11,000,000 15,190,000 2ft- 1 Come 20,749,350 17,319.600 2ft- ft 14 5ft- 14 ft NASD 150,466,900 AMEX -3 1 16-2 GAINERS Nome LostChgPct. 1 EmerEICu wt 3ft ft Up 13.3 NEW YORK (AP) The stock market took its sharpest drop in nearly two months Thursday, giving back some of the gains from its early-1988 rally. The selloff hit both the blue chips and the smaller secondary stocks that had been especially strong of late. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials fell 48.24 to 2,026.03, its largest loss since falling 57.20 on Jan. 20.

Declining issues outnumbered advances by nearly 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 419 up, 1,202 down and 382 unchanged. Big Board volume totaled 197.26 million shares, against 210.90 million in the previous session. The NYSE's composite index fell 2.56 to 148.92. Analysts said traders were disappointed by the Dow Jones industrial average's inability to make a run at the 2,100 level after reaching new highs for the year on Tuesday. Investors evidently are skeptical about the market's ability to put together a sustained rally less than six months after the October crash.

Those traders who have been buying are quick to step in and take profits when prices move up, brokers say. A good many market participants are already looking ahead to next week's scheduled monthly report on the trade deficit, trying to figure out whether the figures are 1 Coltlndn lift 4 Up left Mllp 2ft Up iip to ft up to up 5ft ft Up lift 1ft Up 7 ft Up 6 ft Up 21V. 1ft Up 13'. 1 UP 10 UP 614 ft Up Oft UP 1 ft Up to It IIP 3ft ft up 3 ft Up 4 ft Up 30 lit UP 1 HughKthEn 2 Soblne 3 BrltPelpp 4 EnterroCp 5 KonebSvc 6 ReodngBat 7 AmShipB I CamronlrWk 9 AdobeRsc 10 RanaerOII II USShoe 12 Athlonelnd 13 Soumrkodlpf 14 Solllron 15 CvcareSvs 16 BrltPtrwt 17 vIGIobMrpI 11 PorkrDrlll 19 WincMs 30 Elect Assoc 21 EsexChems 23 MesabtTr 33 MexIcoFd 24 Audlovid 25 BrMPel 2 Robesonlnds 3 Gomooenun 4 ArtelCom 5 Margo 6 VulcanPkg 7 ApldMlcroblo I CltvReso 9 SplreCp 10 CompMlcrflm II JnAdaimLf 12 Amerford 13 SPIPhrm 14 Rapltech 15 Sensorctrl 14 Perceptrn 17 VIUNRInds 11 HCCIndust 19 RuberRsch 20 NetwrltEl 21 RubrRshun 32 Hl-Ports 33 Robolool 34 FtWrldwt 25 Scltex 3 ft Up 4 ft Up 4ft ft Up 40ft 3ft Up LOSERS Namt LattChaPct. 1 USGpl 13114 24ft OH 314k 5 OH 69 10 Off 9ft 1ft Off 17ft 114 Off 3ft OH 21 ft Off 21-2 Off Namt 2 AFGInds 1 FranOnv 3 Kopperspf 4 vlWhIPIISII 5 GNCtnptt i ClalresStr 7 Clablrcp I IntegRsc 9 Savin 1.S0pl 10 VIPSNH3.5PID II Colton 12 IMCFertn 13 Ideal Basic 14 WlnnersCp 15 Wendvi 16 Culllnet 17 Sprlnglnds 11 InsplrRsc 19 Motorola 20 TollBrost 21 Epulmrh Cp 22 FamDIrst 33 Gull Resrc 34 Kalsertech 25 AlbertoCulv 2 Texcelwt CMSAdvt MerCapAt Texcel CeiiTecn Cvlraxwt 2ft ft Off 6H-H Off 5rt ft OH 29ft -2H OH 214 OH 214 OH 7ft OH 74 OH Jlft Off RoochHal Intel wtSI 10 MIcrwveLbs 11 ColRepBki 13 Prtormatec 13 Amservlnc 14 Cnjersvs 15 NAmvens 16 SKurFncI 17 SllvarLlsco II VIconFlbOp 19 CellTchun 30 Chernt 31 Shwnecostm 23 CropGenet 33 ConvexCP 34 FIFdIPanan 35 Horlionlnd 36 LonsLoke tft 47ft 314 Off 4ft 3ft ft OH lift Off 13-1 Off lift OH 30 2ft OH MOST ACTIVE NYEX Namt VolumeLaetCha.

UCableTVi 4.2M.600 11 ft 4ft ft ft ft -m ft 114 -2ft ft ft -tft ft i Coltlndn PacOE Navistar Exxons FedcrDStl AlcanAlum ColumbPlct FordMotri IBM BankAmer EstKodak i Reebok Varllv 3,459,900 2,645,900 1,969,100 1415.000 1,730.000 1.325.400 1,519,100 1,401,700 1,440,300 1,425.700 1,407.200 1,376,700 1,362,300 lift 16ft SH 41H 6414 20ft Ift 43ft 11314 Oft 42ft 14ft 3 37 PublsnEop MOST ACTIVE Namt Volume inlets Shonev AppieCs MCI Satecds wellmn ChlnsTc TIcmA Seagate 1,116.500 1.049,100 1, 500,100 1.429.500 1,317,000 1,313,000 1,311,900 1,203,400 1,197.400 1,121,100 AFGInds 1,334,700 31ft MIcrTc WHAT NYEX DID Advonced Declined Unchanged Totol Issues New highs Advonced Declined Unchanged Totol Issues 1203 343 3003 17 6 TotOI tales The contract calls for the purchase of the assets of the island which include an inn, resort operations, three golf courses, tennis facilities, a shopping area known as the town center, the remaining land for development and the island utility company. Last week, Rivers said he "decided not to exercise my option to buy Kiawah" but would not comment as to why. Rivers, the president of Rivers Enterprises Inc. and former president of WCSC-TV, had announed plans in December to purchase the 21t 2ft 3 23-16 3 2ft 4A 5 2ft 3 9 2ft 414 3ft 4ft 3ft 4ft 114 5ft 3ft 4 5-16 LOSERS 2 2ft 614 5ft 3ft IS 514 3 10 2 ft 4ft 2ft 4ft 4ft 2 EverJnA 9ft ft Up 10.6 3 OxfordEnov .4 ft Up 10.3 4 Jetronlc lid 314 ft Up 10.0 5 Ark Restaur 3ft ft up 9.S 6 Coot Icon 6 ft Up 9.1 7 Audlovox Ift ft Up 1.3 I Redlowlndg 3ft ft Up 7.7 9 GlobNatRes 5ft Up 7.3 10 CrownCHs lift 1ft Up 7.2 II LorlmarTel 15ft 1 Up 7.0 12 NRMACapl lift 14 Up 7.0 13 Lorlzia Ift ft Up 6.6 14 EverJnB 10ft ft Up 6.3 LOSERS Namt LastChoPct, 1 WanaLobB 13ft 3ft Off 31.4 2 AmTr-lbmsc II 1ft Off 14.6 3 GeoReswt 314 ft Off 14.3 4 AmTr-mosc 19 2ft OH 11.6 5 Hofmlnd 4ft ft OH 10 0 6 AmFructA I ft OH 9.9 7 Clablr Pf Oft I OH 9.9 I AmTr-fsc II Ift OH 9.4 9 AmTr-ek sc 10-1 OH 9.1 10 NWIdEntr 2ft ft OH 9.1 II FreaElct 12ft 1ft OH 9.0 13 AmerTrohpsc lift Ift Off 1.9 13 AmFruCtB 6ft Off 1.6 14 StevenGohn 9ft ft Off 1.4 WHAT AMEX DID Prtv.day Thursday Advanced 330 446 Declined 317 333 Unchanged 244 241 Total Issues (59 910 New highs I 12 New lows 7 4 ft OH Ift OH ft Off ft OH 1 Off ft OH ft OH 14-1 OH 4-1 OH 4ft- ft OH ft OH 3ft- It Off ft OH NASDAQ idAtktdCM. 30ft -1ft It -Ift ft ft ft 1 ft -Ift -3 903 1.305 1490 4,490 40 IS 2414 45 10ft IH 20ft 1714 26ft 30ft 19ft 160.230,100 developer island and its assets for an undisclosed amount.

Kiawah Island was originally purchased in 1974 for $17.4 million by the Kuwait Investment Co. the parent company of the Kiawah Island Company. The Kuwait Investment Co. bought the island from C.C. Royal of Aiken who had originally purchased it in 1952 for lumbering for about $125,000.

Royal purchased the island from the Vanderhorst family of Charleston which had owned it for about 180 years. Kiawah Island bought by Charleston CHARLESTON (AP) Charleston businessman Charles Way Jr. announced Thursday that he has signed a contract for the purchase of Kiawah Island, located south of Charleston. The signing comes after another Charleston businessman, John Rivers last week let expire an option he had to purchase the resort island. Way, who is the president of The Beach Co.

Inc. a Charleston real estate development firm and chairman of the board of directors of the Spoleto Festival U.S.A., an.