The Greenville News from Greenville, South Carolina • Page 10

BUSINESS ROUT TIGERS LOSE FIRST IN ACC Florida State uses homers to down Clemson, 84. Page 1C NEW BMW HARDTOP PADRES AGAIN ROADSTER Sammy Sosa drives in career- roadster coupe upvr I high six runs as Chicago comes to Greer in '98. Page 8D wU beats San Diego. Page 2C SPORTS fx i I S. I tj WW Upstate Edition ffhfCTffnuitlfNfU's SATURDAY, MAY 17, 1997 U2 BLASTS DEATH VALLEY iTo RiliDsiiflta I He hands power to his cringing government as rebel troops mass for assault on capital it By Tina Susman The Associated Press KINSHASA, Zaire With rebels closing in and his own generals abandoning him, President Mobutu Sese Seko handed power to the shaky remains of his government and slipped out of the capital Friday, reportedly headed for exile abroad.

The move effectively ended the nearly 32-year rule of Mobutu, who long maintained close ties with the United States while reaping a personal fortune from Zaire's vast mineral riches. The dictator's furtive departure left the capital's dispirited defenders likely to melt away before the rebel army massed outside the city. Rebel leaders said their troops intended to push on to Kinshasa Just in: U2 's The Edge waves as he and other band members get off a plane in A nderson Friday. Behind him from left are band members Adam Clayton, Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. Rock show roars in Clemson Safety infractions found at blood center Weather A cool start, then a warm p.m.

High: 82 Details, 14A New deal reached on Southern Connector By Scott Wyman Staff Writer Developers of the Southern Connector toll road dropped their insistence on a 35-year ban on new road work in southern Greenville County in exchange for a promise from the state that a competing freeway won't be built. The compromise, hammered out after the original plan drew fire from lawmakers when it became public this week, puts the project back on track. Although both the highway department and developers support the wording, the agreement won't be signed until after the state Supreme Court rules on the legality of the toll road later this summer. The original ban on any road work that may cut into the revenue of the $145 million highway threatened to torpedo the project, with key state legislators saving they couldn't support such a sweeping prohibition. They said Friday the new proposal is acceptable because the county would be able to upgrade roads while the suburbs continue to grow.

Under the new wording, the state Department of Transportation agreed that it won't consider building a limited-access freeway that runs parallel to the connector within 10 miles of the road. The proposal ensures that the state could widen such roads as Wesj; Georgia and Fairview roads and State 14 without fear of violating the agreement. The rapidly growing suburbs between Woodruff Road and Simpsonville are also dropped from the area where developers are concerned about competition. "I didn't want us to sign away our right to provide services to our people and handle growth when we don't know what growth will mean for 30 years," said state Sen. Verne Smith, D-Greer, who chairs the county transportation study committee.

"I was strongly opposed to it but believed there was a way for them to do it that wouldn't harm us." The 17-mile road will link Interstate 385 with Interstate 85 west See COHHtCfORon page VM i Southern Connector compromise i Compromise bars new interstate in 10-I mile stretch around Southern Connector Compromise road ban Pickens jCSi i County Greenville fcft 7fi Lwtfra" Anderson Ijnrens bounty County i 4 Where state wouWnl build roads i If may impact Southern Connector First road ban proposed between developers and the state Ben Ml Svartanburr County 123. muniy Greenville County t.yCwt vafflPifli Laurens i County -Jl" Where state wouldn't build roads i. 5 5 it tney impact Southern Connector SOURCE: Slate Dept. of Transportation SUZIE RIDDLE Staff 1 Vw tap the last obstacle to their total control of Zaire. Some Mobutu allies, including the head of his presidential guard, were fleeing by boat to neighboring Congo.

The rebel alliance, headed by Laurent Kabila, has vowed to clean up corruption in Zaire and establish democracy, but Kabila has resisted calls for quick elections, and his troops have been accused of massacring Rwandan refugees. Mobutu's decision followed a meeting Thursday night of his top generals, Western diplomats in Kinshasa said. "He's been told the realities of the situation by his own people, which is that they cannot and do not intend to defend the city, and by implication, him," said one diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. tributed is safe. The center on Grove Road sends blood to 18 hospitals in the Upstate and Georgia.

Investigators from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspected the center last fall. They issued a 16-page report citing problems with: lost or missing blood; inattention to a report signaling when there's a problem with screening tests that ensure the blood supply is safe; and the screening of potential donors. The FDA didn't take the most severe actions possible against the center, such as seizing blood products. Instead, it sent a warning letter to the center.

Jim MacPherson, executive See BLOOD on page 11 A INSIDE Abby 7B Automotive IE Bigar's Stars 7B Business 8D Classifieds. 120 Community 2B Comics 6B-7B Crossword 7B Editorial 12A It's Saturday IB Obituaries 4D People Watch Religion 6D Sports 1C Television 4B Theaters 5B Circulation hotline: 298-4110 Classified ads: 298-4221 OCopyrighl 1997 GrMnvitle tows-Pwdmonl Co A Gnn1 Nwwpap 122ndyMr No 11l-6epjw TMf NCWS tt 1 FMTa USING MXVCUDMPCR o- O- By Steve Belli and Kimberly Davis Staff Writers CLEMSON The doors finally opened on U2's PopMart tour, and at least 22,000 fans came to Death Valley Friday night for the one-day sale. The blue-light special most paid $54 just to get in was a gargantuan spectacle that had been hyped since U2 announced its tour in February from the lingerie section of a Kmart store. PopMart shoppers cheered as the band, decked out like a new version of the Village People with Bono a prizefighter, came through the middle of the crowd and onto a stage in the middle of Supply isn't tainted, officials say; violations are paperwork-related By Jennifer Berry Hawes Health Writer Federal health investigators have found the Carolina-Georgia Blood Center failed to follow safeguards that ensure blood contaminated with HIV or hepatitis isn't sent to hospitals for transfusions but a government spokesman said blood recipients shouldn't be alarmed. The blood center and the Greenville Hospital System also said they have confidence that the blood dis 0 the arena.

U2 launched right into the loud, techno-driven "MoFo" as brilliant, dazzling colors lit up the giant St. Louis-style archway. The one-two punch came when Bono ushered the crowd into "I Will Follow" and concertgoers gasped as the 150-foot long, 50-foot high screen in back of the performers was fully illuminated. Before the concert even started, the spectacle of the stage kept fans in awe. "We're pretty excited," said Herschel Pollard, 26, who made the three-hour trip from Knox-ville, with his wife, Nicola.

Vincent Williams, 26, came to the show because he has been a fan of Rage Against the Machine 1,200 showed up for the first of three programs planned this weekend. A "March for Jesus" is set to begin at 9 a.m. today, starting and finishing at Sirrine Stadium, to be followed by a music and praise event called "A Praise Down the Walls Celebration" at the stadium. But if the numbers were few, the spirit of racial harmony and Christian love was abundant. Blacks and whites sat together, clapped their hands together, and raised their arms in praise together in the chilly night air.

"The whole thing is about sharing the love of Christ, I believe, to exemplify it before all people and before all men," said Ronnie Beeks, a black man who was sitting next to his white friend, Clifton Calvert. "So we came out to show that we are bold enough to say that we love God and that we will live for him no matter what's going on in the world today." The two men both attend Mount Zion Christian Fellowship on Garlington Road. See REVIVAL on page 10A BART BOATWRIGHT Staff and U2 for a long time. The Greenwood native played second fiddle to his friend Lorraine Brightharp, a "diehard U2 fan." A few fans forwent the steep ticket prices in favor of lounging in the grass outside the stadium. "We're poor.

We couldn't afford it," said Clemson junior Patrick Smith of Greenville. "If they'd lower their prices, it'd be better." Early in the night, 12 people had been arrested for charges ranging from possession of marijuana to drunken disorderly conduct, according to Clemson University Police Chief Lonnie Saxon. There were few traffic or parking problems reported. 3 Upstate hears gospel of equality Bishops admit sin of racism By Ron Barnett Staff Writer Acknowledging that the church isn't "clean" when it comes to prejudice, bishops of four South Carolina denominations issued a statement Friday confessing guilt and seeking forgiveness for the sin of racism. Six bishops representing more than 466,000 Lutherans, Episcopalians, Catholics and United Methodists signed the statement after a two-day conference on race relations in Charleston.

They plan to follow up with a public confession in a service in January at Trinity Lutheran Church in Greenville. "We do live in a multicultural, multiracial society, and we need to be sensitive to those prejudices which do harm to other people and sometimes even unintentionally," said David Donges, bishop of the South Carolina synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. See mWPSon page By Ron Barnett Staff Writer Turnout was much lighter than expected at a service of racial reconciliation and Christian unity at Sirrine Stadium Friday night, but Green Bay Packer Reggie White, also known as "the minister of defense" didn't seem to care. He came to preach. And although only one person, an elderly black man, came forward for his altar call, the message of a Jesus who came from "the 'hood" and who used his 12 "thugs" to help spread his gospel of equality came through loud and clear.

And his call for making racial unity more than a catchphrase hit home with the racially mixed crowd. "Fellowship with one another, go on a picnic together, invite one another to dinner, get to know each other," the Super Bowl champion defensive end boomed at the close of his sermon. Organizers of the event, sponsored by Upstate Alive and Promise Keepers, had hoped 10,000 would to turn out, but only about ALAN DEV0RSEY Staff One in spirit Cammy Burdine raises her hands in praise as Vina Johnson, left, and Kathy Edwards hug during Upstate Alive Friday. 'Get to know each the audience was urged..