The Greenville News from Greenville, South Carolina • Page 9

Falls Park helps West End bloom IB HIGH SCHOOL WRAP Mi Laurens, Clinton look for bragging rights Nice afternoon Mostly sunny. High: 89 Weather, 8B Greenville South Carolina Saturday, September 10, 2005 State Edition "MMmMOTHMMMMMMM greenvilleonline.com LOCAL, 2B, LIFESTYLE, ID Experience cultural diversity at UNITY FESTIVAL we teewil Mots i 1 Hincapie rides home a hero flies in for tribute 7 Big wheel: Cyclist George Hincapie, right, acknowledges fans who turned out to see him in downtown Greenville on Friday, including teammate Lance Armstrong, left. For a photo gallery from the event, go to OWEN RILEY JR. Staff itfil llilin.il ui'lmm P. Mm Lf Ophelia trains eye on state's coast Lance Armstrong Details, Page 1B By Ann Green Staff Writer agreen greenvillenews.com George Hincapie's welcome home celebration in downtown Greenville on Friday night included his family, politicians, area cyclists and one special cyclist i I fa seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.

Armstrong flew in from Austin, Texas, on Friday for "George Hincapie Day" to thank Hincapie for the role he has played as his teammate in all seven of those Tour de France victories and as his friend for two i i'K nn Keeping their spirits up: box at the Palmetto Expo i-cJ decades. Hincapie, who won the toughest stage of the 2005 Tour de France and makes his home in Greenville when he isn't racing or training in Europe, was honored with a parade along Main Street, proclamations and a short speech by Armstrong. This week Armstrong, who announced his retirement from the Tour de France this year, opened HELPING OTHERS Extensive coverage online For photo galleries, the latest on Katrina's aftermath and how you can help, go to: GreenviIIeOnlitie.com The people at the Greenville shelter treated him well, giving him clothes and food, Burch said, but it's hard to sleep on the rows and rows of air mattresses. "It feels like a jail." Burc said. See HOMES on page 4A Carolina's coast Religion Sports Television 6B I 1C .30 50 the door to an attempt at an eighth Tour win.

At one point in his speech, the crowd of approximately 2,500 broke into chants of "Eight, eight, eight." Armstrong waited for them to stop, then said, "That would be about me, and this is about George." Later he told the crowd, "There's no telling what this guy is going to do next year." FEMA director relieved of duties after criticism of relief effort By Erika Bolstad, Chris Gray and Martin Merzer KnighxRidder NEW ORLEANS The desperate 11-day mission to rescue the living evolved Friday into a laborious, house-by-house search for the dead even as hope emerged that Hurricane Katrina's toll may be far lower than the 10,000 predicted by the mayor. "Some of the catastrophic deaths some people have predicted may not have occurred," said Col. Terry Eb-bert, the city's director of homeland security. "The numbers, so far, are relatively minor as compared with the dire predictions of 10,000." The comments came as Michael Brown, the embattled director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was relieved of his on-the-ground duties and recalled to Washington. Coast Guard Vice Adm.

Thad W. Allen, who had been in charge of the relief operation in New Orleans, assumed Brown's regional oversight of the recovery effort. Last week, President Bush told the FEMA director, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job," but critics blasted the federal response as slow and disorganized and called for Brown's dismissal. In other developments, oil-industry experts said gasoline prices could remain above $3 per gallon for the rest of the yearwhile home-heating-oil costs could soar by as much as 70 percent, and Bush prepared to make a third visit to Katrina's sprawling impact zone. M'H'N grecnvMcnnlinf com Circulation hntlme.

298-4110 Classified ads: 298-4221 News tips; 298-4301 1. i. '1)11" OWEN RILEY JR. Start New Orleans evacuees Sherman and Rose Frazier sing gospel music along with a boom Center Friday. Ophelia upgrades Tropical Storm Ophelia regained hurricane strenght and may threaten the southeast coast.

Hurricane Ophelia LOCATION MOVEMENT MAXSUSt 30.0 NE7mph 75 mph 78.2 Asof5p.m.EDT Projected path Window of movement N.C. 100 mi 100 km S.C. 2 p.m. Walton. GA.

r- 2 p.m. Sat 30' lS p.m. Fit Atlantic Ocean FLA. SOURCES AccuWeamer: USGS AP Agency to suspend flights of Katrina refugees "so they're not factored into any coastal evacuation because Charleston is one of the receiving centers," Drum-mond said. FEMA said no additional flights are planned until next Wednesday, he said.

Sanford held a telephone conference call Friday afternoon with FEMA and National Guard officials to discuss preparations and map plans for the weekend. The state's Emergency Operations Center was partially activated Wednesday, mostly to deal with Katrina relief. Drummond said that based on National Hurricane Center projections and an assessment by Hope Miz-zell, the state climatologist, "we should anticipate a medium to high-level Category 2 hurricane with winds from 96 mph to 110 mph." Lt. Col. Pete Brooks, spokesman for the South Carolina Army National Guard, said ample manpower and equipment remain to deal with in-state hurricane relief.

Wit.h 1,300 troops deployed on anti-terror missions and 350 in Alabama on post-Katrina duty, there are still 7,100 available. See OPHELIA on page 5A Coming Sunday Response plan ready if storm hits, governor's office says By Dan Hoover Staff Writer dhoover greenvillenews.com Even as evacuees from Hurricane Katrina were settling in around South Carolina, state officials were taking steps Friday to deal with a potential strike early next week from her erratic little sister, Ophelia. The National Hurricane Center projected landfall as early as late Monday between Hilton Head Island and Charleston. After mov-. ing inland, Ophelia is forecast to swing to the north-northeast, moving east of Columbia toward Florence.

Gov. Mark Sanford could issue voluntary evacuation orders by late today or early Sunday if Ophelia continues as projected, said his spokesman, Chris Drum-mond. Alternately gaining and losing strength, Ophelia has meandered along central and northern Florida's Atlantic coast, punishing beaches with heavy surf and playing havoc with NASA installations at Cape Canaveral. The National Hurricane Center reported late Friday that Ophelia had regained hurricane strength and could pose a threat to Southeastern states. The agency's five-day map projection showed Ophelia making landfall just north of Hilton Head Island sometime Monday evening or night.

Ophelia was located 175 miles east-northeast of Day-tona Beach and 220 miles south-southeast of Charleston, according to a 5 p.m. advisory. It was moving northeast at 7 mph with hurricane-force winds of 75 mph with higher gusts. Sanford asked the Federal Emergency Management TWWW9lt PftMTtD UWHfl KCVCLCD Wl "iOW'wuor 1 Evacuees eager to have room of their own Aid agencies have their fill of volunteers teered their services, others have donated money and still others have given goods in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina like the Presbyterian College students who assembled kits with shampoo, wash cloths and other comforts, said chapter manager Ann Wright. In fact, the generosity of the Upstate has been so overwhelming that volunteers no longer are needed.

See HELP on page 4A By Ashley Fletcher, Tim Smith and Anna Simon Staff Writers Many hurricane evacuees at Greenville's Palmetto Expo Center say the shelter is heaven compared to the hell they left behind, but still, some are itching to get out. Norman Burch of New Orleans isn't sure whether he arrived with the 118 evacuees Wednesday night or the second crew of 110 on Thursday, but he's ready for a hotel or an apartment. IE Loral news 3D Obituaries 30 Opinion 10 IB 4B 6A 8A Red Cross asking callers to check back in a few months By Liv Osby Health Writer losbygreenvillenews.org The phones at the Upstate South Carolina chapter of the American Red Cross just don't stop ringing. Thousands have volun I Energy crunch Abby Automotive Bridge Business raises prospect of oil drilling off South INSIDE .30 Classifieds Comics 2 40 Crossword 9A Lifestyle Copyright 2005 Greenville News-Piedmont Co. A Gannett Newspaper 30th year, No.

208 48 pages.