The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana • Page 1

nuiiiiMi mif i i eliminated! W'i Shakespeare comes to Shreveport's parks as area high school students are performing excerpts from selected plays every Sunday in June, 1 OA new subdivision is being developed along I-49 v'' W35 om Wo sicSSesfiss -jr. and Bert Kouns Industrial Loop, 60 ft i i i i mi it LSU catcher Tim Lanier tries to tag out Titans runner Adam Millan (35), as Cal State Fullerton scored 1 1 runs in the first inning.The Tigers won't repeat as College World Series champions, Page 1C a New YorK chicks win tace Houston na H- HUUStJlbiUI NDAUIdllipiUllbllip, lb, Sets 813l SSSlOil B-Bmi 5 years later tar 0tS CSfilYI 4 MA Gov. Edwards' opening speech airs on KLTS-TV, Channel 24 at 6 p.m. By BRAD COOPER The Times BATON ROUGE Crime will top Gov. Edwin Edwards' agenda today when he opens a 25-day SPECIAL SESSSOU Gov, Edwin Edwards convenes the Louisiana Legislature at 6 p.m.

today at the state Capitol in Baton Rouge. Included on the 67-item agenda: Crime, abortion funding, Caddo Parish sales taxes and school prayer. special legislative session with an address to a joint session of the Legislature. Short on the cash necessary for serious crime reform, Ed 0 J.iiifrttW'.R' jiiitinn'j GOVERNMENT A YOU oZ' Il 1 A soldier's diary recalls invasion of Normandy By ALISA STINGLEY The Times The inscription in blue fountain pen ink on the first page of the tiny black address book says simply: "Invasion of France as seen from S.S. Abiel Foster troop and supply ship." Shreveporter Thomas G.

Moseley kept an eyewitness account of the D-Day invasion of Normandy 50 years ago today on June 6, 1944. Moseley, who died in 1984, was assigned to a ship that carried troops to their destiny on the Utah and Omaha beaches of France, where the allies turned the tide of World War II against the Germans. Moseles widow, Doris Moseley, 75, a volunteer at Overton Brooks VA Medical Center, discovered the diary after his death. "I don't know how he did it with all the bombing and shelling around the ship," she says. Moseley also has a sister living here, Peggy Garland.

He worked in the oU industry for Arkla Gas for 50 years but never talked about his war service, his widow says. Here are excerpts from the diary's account of those days in June when the world watched and waited: JUNE 6, 1944, HEADING TO UTAH BEACH Throughout the morning all types of Allied planes could be seen taking off for the invaded beaches. At approximately 12:30 a plane was heard and those of us on the starboard side saw a bomb hit the water and explode approximately 1,000 yards off our starboard beam. Almost simultaneous with this, an escort ahead was seen to burst into flames. The hum of a plane was heard overhead and all escorts and ships in the lead of (the) convoy opened fire.

Our ship was among those firing. All through the night flares were seen all around the horizon and with the convoy as well. Occasionally, Please see DIARY, Page 4A Readers' opinions, 2A Many lawmakers are concerned that efforts to reduce crime during the special session will be watered down for two reasons: The session is covering so many issues in such a short period of time that it will be difficult to accomplish anything substantive. There is no money available for adding jail space to accommodate tougher sentences or new programs for drug rehabilitation or early-childhood intervention. "I have so many mixed emotions about this upcoming session," said Rep.

Willie Singleton, D-Shreveport. There are so many issues I don't know what's going to be done." Other lawmakers are more optimistic. "I really think we have the potential to pass out several bills," said Rep. Roy Brun, R-Shreve-port. "I think there is the potential to get a good lick at crime." wards is likely going to concentrate on issues that won't require any new money from the taxpayer.

Edwards is expected to ask lawmakers to back a law allowing voluntary, student-led, prayer in school, warrantless sweep searches in high crime areas and banning juvenile ownership of handguns. He concedes the state may end up in court on the search and school prayer issues. "Certainly (prayer in schools) may be challenged, but I think it is important that we make this opportunity available to the young people who want to participate," Edwards said. Edwards also would like to have an extra $100 million for hiring more police in urban areas like Shreveport, Baton Rouge and New Orleans. 'V- Jail tax election may be in trouble v-x-vx Times photo illustrationMICHAEL McCARTER Thomas G.

Moseley, as a sailor In World War II In the photo at left and in a photo taken before he died in 1 984 at right, kept a diary of the invasion of Normandy. Shreveport veteran returns to the site of invasion tenant with the 16th Infantry Few lawmakers have decided about election. By LARRY BURTON The Times The parish's proposed half-cent sales tax sought to open the new Caddo Parish Jail may be doomed before even reaching local voters. Odds are iffy that the tax will ever make the ballot because two-thirds of Caddo's lawmakers in the state Legislature which must authorize the election now either oppose the tax or are undecided on supporting it. A widening gulf among lawmakers was found in a Times' survey this week.

The sales tax is included in Gov. Edwin Edwards' 67-item call for the special legislative session that begins at 6 p.m. today in Baton Rouge. "As it stands now, I see very little chance of it clearing the Legislature, not with the delegation split like it is," said state Rep. Roy "Hoppy" Hopkins, D-Oil City.

Of Caddo's 10-member legislative delegation, only Hopkins and two colleagues have firmly decided to back the election. Local bills seldom pass when a local delegation is split. Even Shreveport Mayor Hazel Beard, who has termed lack of local jail space a critical problem, has yet to publicly endorse or criticize the Caddo Parish Commission's proposed parishwide election and jail funding plan. Opponents remain critical of the commission's vote to let a private See QUESTIONS, Page 2A By JOHN ANDREW PRIME The Times When Shreveporter Otto Thoma first visited Normandy, France, bullets and bombs were the greeting he received. Sunday, returning for the 50th anniversary of D-Day, he found a friendlier reception.

Instead of spending the night inside a captured German pillbox said, referring to Memorial Day 1993, when Clinton was jeered. Tm not a fan of his, but I think the office and the dignity of our country are important." Sunday, he saw more than three dozen former members of the 82th Airborne, most now in the 70s or early 80s, re-enact their jump into enemy fire at Sainte-Mere-Eglise. There was such a tremendous crowd that we couldn't get within five or six miles of the city." Division, he was the guest of a French couple in the village of Osmanville, not far from the beach. The hospitality here is wonderful. When you stop to think that D-Day ceremonies, 4A eradicated due to two enemies fighting over their soil, they thought more of liberty and were willing to pay the price." Today, Thoma will attend memorials at Pointe du Hoc and at the American Cemetery near Omaha Beach.

President Bill Clinton will speak at each. "I hope there is more courtesy and respect than what happened at the Vietnam Wall," he Thoma on umana ceacn lenaing wounded, as he did while a lieu- their homes and families were 1 Horseshoe works to beat June 29 opening deadline Partly cloudy CHANCE OfV. OF RAIN HIGH TODAY: LOW TODAY: low low 90s 70s Details: 2A Bossier City casino will open without fanfare. By JENNIFER RAMPEY The Times Horseshoe Casino's opening on June 29 won't have any parades or fireworks. 1 HORSESHOE What must be done before the June 29 opening: $1 .5 million in interior design and glass work in the pavilion.

The installation of more than $1 million in kitchen equipment. Installation of $250,000 worth or 6,000 square yards of carpet in the pavilion. Installation of $500,000 of marble. Installation of 1 ,061 slot machines. 1 ie-WV- Lottery I 'if.

numbers But if things fall into place, casino doors will swing open. Since the Red River's largest riverboat will use a temporary boarding June 5, 1994 GAMBLING H- ing ducts were visible. Windows and interior decoration were to be installed. A parking lot for at least 1,400 still was unpaved. "I would say we're confident well open on June 29," Payne said.

Gaming equipment was coming in by the truckload. More neon has been delivered for the well-lit site. Cashier cages were being installed. Despite a legal battle over Horseshoe's gaming license by state police, a mock opening has been scheduled for June 28 during which police will test the casino's operations. A suit by state police and Sen.

Larry Bankston, D-Baton Rouge, seeks review of the license and is pending in 1st Circuit, Louisiana Court of Appeals. But more than 250 miles from the courtroom in Baton Rouge, construction workers are transforming the inside of the building into a station house with western accents. The boat and pavilion will each be larger than competitors Harrah's Casino, which opened April 18, and the Isle of Capri, which opened May 20. LOUISIANA PICK THREE Times photoJIM HUDELSON Construction continues around Horseshoe's boat and pavilion. ramp initially, the grand opening is on hold until a high-tech $2.5 million walkway is ready.

"I don't want people to feel this is it," said Horseshoe spokesman Jerry Payne. "The reason it's worth waiting for is it's completely enclosed and it includes escalators and hydraulic lifts to avoid steep inclines." The casino has about three weeks to prepare for what the industry calls a soft opening. Horseshoe won't be launching any major advertising campaigns 1994 The Times -1 Classified 6C Landers SO Comics 40 Money 6B Deaths 2B Sports 1C Editorials Scoreboard 2C Graham 50 Television 60 until closer to the grand opening, and casino officials don't know when that will happen. The riverboat is the only local casino that is not held in a controlled basin, so until Red River water levels stabilize later this year, the ramp is important. Inside the pavilion last week, concrete floors and air condition on the payroll in the next few weeks.

Gaming school for about 360 people continues. The long-vacant Horseshoe Le-Boss'ier Hotel has been booked on weekends with the exception of about 20 rooms still being renovated for several weeks. Some 72 people are working there. It will have a gift shop, buffet, steak house, sports bar and ice cream parlor. Payne said the casino has not defined its market yet.

"Generally it's ages 35 to 64, but what we're seeing is a much younger group." Hundreds of employees will be tested for drug use and placed CITY EDITION.