Longview News-Journal from Longview, Texas • Page 1

It, Federal officials investigating the crash of Northwest Airlines Flight 255 are expected to focus on the jet's wing flaps as public hearings begin Monday, 3-A. Former minister Walker Railey cited the wrong time on a message he left on his home answering machine 40 minutes before he reported finding his wife unconscious ln their garage, the Dallas Herschel Walker capped the fourth-best individual rushing performance in Dallas history with a 60-yard touchdown run 1:50 into overtime to land a 23-17 NFL victory over the Patriots, 1-B. iff VcPuyN-mjlJ Morning News saidSunday, 8-A. Monday Evening November 16, 1987 PRICE 25 CENTS PHONE 757-3311 LONGVIEW, TEXAS 1987 LONGVIEW NEWSPAPERS INC. 116TH YEAR NO.

227 Texas er since across From Staff and Wire Reports Tornadoes cut a broad path of destruction across Central and East Texas Sunday night, leaving at least nine dead and more than 200 injured. The twisters resulted in deaths and major damage in Palestine, Jacksonville and Whitehouse, and at least four Diana-Ore City area residents were injured before the tornadoes left the state. Rescue workers in both states worked Sunday night and this morning, clearing debris across roadways in several areas to get to damaged homes. Jacksonville, Palestine and Whitehouse were the hardest hit in East Texas, according to Department of Public Safety officials. Officials said two people were killed in Whitehouse, two died in Jacksonville and one was left dead in Palestine.

Two deaths if D' Also hard-hit were Jarrell, 'I H. located near Austin, and Cald- were reported in CaJdweU and two dead in Normangee. well, a Burleson County com Some of the heaviest damage was in Palestine, where an elementary school and two churches were leveled, dozens of See Twisters, 5-A munity southwest of Bryan. In addition to the nine Texans who died, a Shreveport area man was killed and several others injured as the storms moved on into Louisiana Sunday night. TV- UPSHUR MARION Ore City ft i Diana I IT BT 4 1W K.w I 1 HARRISON I SMHpEGGL Mar8hall Ty' PANOLA rusk I ANDERSON Jacksonville CHEROKEE.

VyiJS, i Staff photo by Jarray Robert! Brown, between grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. H.E. Whitehouse and Troup. Melissa Green, left, David Helms and Tricia Keels look over the wreckage of the home belonging to their Line on map indicates path Sunday's tornadoes took across East Texas.

Storms dump rain on Longview oirw -r -V it IMI till 1115? mi no I ti 1 1 41 Wfc" 8 mAfU i tut Jfe' mation officer. As of noon, Noble said there were no reports of fallen power lines or flooding from the storms. However, the Longview Fire Department responded to a call this morning after lightning apparently hit a house transformer. No major damage was reported, records show. Noble warned that because of the bad weather conditions, driving dangers are increased.

"They need to drive slower to compensate for the bad weather," he said. "People should listen to local television and radio stations to keep abreast to the current conditions." If a tornado is seen, Noble suggested getting into a closet in the middle of the house. low in the 40s and south winds at 10 mph, according to Jimmy Nunn, meteorological technician with the National Weather Service facility at Oak Hill. A flash flood watcg was expected to end by late afternoon today. Nunn said Tuesday will bring increased cloudiness and mild temperatures with a high in the mid 60s.

Winds will be light and variable, he said. Although deaths and major damage was reported in surrounding areas, Longview suffered no major damage. "The city sustained no severe damage due to the high winds and heavy rain that came through the area Sunday," said Gene Noble, Longview Police Department public infor By BRUCE HAWKINS Staff Writer Thunderstorms have dumped more than 2 inches of rain on Longview since Sunday, but the city was spared from the tornadoes that struck struck several East Texas communities. An official 1.42 inches of rain fell on Long-view during the 24-hour period that ended 7 a.m. today, according to the Pinewood Fire Station.

Additional rains this morning increased that amount to 2.08 inches. However, the rain is expected to decrease during the night, according to officials. Tonight, Longview citizens can hope for relief from the heavy rains as the chance of rain falls from 100 percent to 60 percent with a i 'Z I i 1 Jet flips during takeoff, killing 26 trapped in the wreckage for up to six hours. barely off the ground when the accident happened. "That flight lasted five seconds, maybe six," said Navy Lt.

Curtis Renfro, an aviation maintenance officer, who saw the crash from another Continental flight landing on a parallel runway. "The last time I saw it (the plane), it was grossly tilted. He was actually up on his starboard wing. When that happens, the pilot tries to flip to left to correct. He may have overcompensated," said Renfro.

snowstorm. It was en route to Boise, Idaho, when it crashed at 2:16 p.m: MST. A team of investigators was going through the wreckage today, but said it might be months before a cause was known. Dr. Norm Dinerman of Denver General Hospital, who helped to coordinate treatment efforts, said today that the fact that any passengers emerged alive was due to "tremendous luck, divine providence and the fact that the airplane had not gained a lot of altitude." Rescue efforts were hampered by bad weather, blinding snow, darkness and ice on the roads and runways.

Some survivors were By The Associated Press DENVER Witnesses said a Continental Airlines jet veered back and forth before it crashed on takeoff in falling snow, killing 26 people and injuring 56, but an official said today there were no crosswinds and the airport can operate safely in snowstorms. The DG9, with 82 people aboard, broke into three pieces and turned upside down, and 11 survivors were in critical condition today. The Sunday afternoon crash was the deadliest in Stapleton International Airport's 58-year history. Flight 17i3 originated in Oklahoma City, stopped in Denver and was delayed by a Stoff photo by Rn Age Pedestrians make their way through the rain in downtown Longview this morning. Officials seek blast cause Budget talks face Friday deadline Inoido Abby 10 A Business news 6-7-A Classifieds 8-12 Comics 7 Crossword 8-A Editorials 4 A Entertainment 6-7 rt Horoscope 6 Living today iO-A Longview today 2-A Obituarks 11 A Sports 1-5 3 Theaters 6-B TV log 7H Weather 2 A Word Cor fly of the damage it did to the heart of the plant and the damage it did to the people." Three people remained hospitalized today with serious injuries.

The largest single employer in this Panhandle town of 23,000, Celanese is vital to the community but the plant's future is uncertain. Company officials evaded questions about whether the 35-year-old plant would reopen and when. "1 think to get into speculation on that point is far down the road from where we are now," said Guard, who later added he would like to see the facility return to normal operation. See Celanese, 12-A By The Associated Press PAMPA Company officials today continued the painstaking process of determining the cause of explosions that rocked a chemical plant, killing three workers and injuring 35. Damage assessors were checked the soundness of buildings still standing at the 775-acre Hoechst Celanese Corp.

chemical plant after two strong blasts rocked the plant Saturday, plant spokesman Herbert Reed said. Plastic sheeting was wrapped around computer terminals and files left exposed after roofs were torn off, Reed said. Plant manager Ron Guard said the disaster was the worst he'd seen at a chemical plant "I'd hate to see one any worse." he said, "because it's necessary," he said. "I think the administration is looking at it. I think the Congress is looking at it," he said.

Rep. William H. Gray, chairman of the House Budget Committee, said he also thought the talks would "wrap up this week." But he said "Social Security is not on the table unless the president has changed his viewpoint," referring to President See Budget, 12-A By The Associated Press WASHINGTON The budget talks between the White House and Congress entered their fourth week today with negotiators saying they expect to buckle down and finish a deficit-reduction agreement before Friday's deadline. "The time is getting late," said Sen. Bennett Johnston, as the talks resumed this morning.

Social Security cuts would be part of the final package "only if.