The Town Talk from Alexandria, Louisiana • Page 1

Monday March 20, 1994 Metro Cpl. Lofton: action in dangerous case earns top police honors -D-1 Index Advice C-4 Business B-5 Classified D-4 Comics B-7 Obituaries D-3 Opinions A-4 La. Lottery A-2 Alexandria-Pineville, La. Volume 111 No. 12 35 Cents Features rjj Hammer: rap star's new album debuts C-5 School uniforms C-1 Sports I Leon Barmore: has Techsters in NCAA Women's Final 'V ri Four B-1 R'ts Man in Dlack wins D-3 Sunny today; highs near 60; lows tonight in upper 30s.

Map, Details B-8 D-8 iv-- MM Victims include 17 in Ala. church if-: i t7 Associated Press Rescue workers search through rubble and overturned pews look- ing for trapped worshipers Sunday after a tornado smashed into the Goshen Methodist Church in Piedmont Ala Seventeen people, including six children, were killed and about 90 injured. Plaintiffs: new remap proposal is scant improvement xi v.t umUnHa ormoroo. want rare-neutral districts. "It's just not their respons have fair and equitable congres wants race-neutral districts, "It's just not their responsibili MONROE fAP) The latest plan for new congressional districts for Louisiana is little better than the one it was drawn to replace, says one of the men whose lawsuit got the current districts declared unconstitutional.

And, Ray Hays said, the proposed lines seem to have one Riverboat hazard 1:1 objective: "It appears that they have arrived at a successiui pian to re-elect seven incumbents." Hays and three other Lincoln Parish residents sued in July 1992, contending that Louisiana's district lines were gerrymandered by race. A three-judge federal panel agreed. The new map may not be what naming interests provided $12,300 about 20 percent of the $62,284 total for Sen. Larry Bankston, D-Port Hudson, head of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Another leading recipient is Sen.

Francis Heitmeier, D-New Orleans, who championed river-boat gambling laws. Heitmeier got $15,700 from gambling-related sources, or about 25 percent of the $62,284 he raised in 1993. All three said contributions do not sway them. "The gaming stuff is too important," Lalonde said. "I'm not going to sell my kids' inheritance, my grandchildren's inheritance for a $500 contribution, whether it's from the oil and gas industry or the gaming indus- He said he spends many hours on his own research, but acknowledged that he cannot say donations do not influence his Please see GAMING, A-2 into: a chocolate bat.

It's part of the society's attempt to portray bats as cuddly creatures rather than, say, blood-sucking vampires. "We've been trying to do things that will help people perceive bats in a different light," said Heidi Hughes, a volunteer for the society's Bat Hotline (301) 309-6610. The bats come in solid milk or dark chocolate, or with ears made of peanut butter. "We're out of stock right now," Ms. Hughes said.

"We're totally overwhelmed with sales." 4 Sections, 28 Pages Mail Edition 4 Sections In Accordance with U.S. Postal Regulations i Sweeten pot Gambling interests help foot judges had in mind when they ordered the state to draw new districts, because it still appears to have been drawn along racial lines, Hays said. "If this legislation does not abide by judges' guidelines, we'll be back in court," Hays said Saturday. "We'll keep going to court until the court decides we A key legislators' election costs and something came through one of the windows," said Carol Scroggins, who was at the altar leading the Easter program. "I just started to scream, Everybody get People were screaming, but it happened so quickly there wasn't much time for reaction." The tornado blew the church steeple into the parking lot.

Pieces of pews were strewn across the grounds. "One man ran down the aisle yelling 'Get on the said worshiper Elwanna Acker, 63. "Then the roof came down. The woman right next to me died." "People were praying," she said. "People were worrying about their grandchildren." A nursery filled with children Please see STORMS, A-2 ty.

I can't prove, for sure, they had something to do with it, but there's been no action in Baton Rouge," Stokley said. Hays said he expected state legislators to draw the new map. "The congressmen would have just too many vested interests," Stokley said. 'Brady 2' gun bill pushed By David Masci Congressional Quarterly WASHINGTON Less than a month after the Brady handgun law took effect, gun control advocates are pressing for passage of new handgun licensing and registration requirements. Unofficially dubbed "Brady 2," the new bill aims to deny handguns to criminals through the establishment of new requirements for gun purchasers and dealers.

The Brady law, which was enacted last November and took effect March 1, mandates a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases in states without background checks. Build on Brady The new measure "is intended to build upon the foundation laid by the Brady bill," the sponsor, Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum, D-Ohio, told a Senate Judiciary subcommittee. Stricter controls are needed to reduce the flow of handguns and stop the "epidemic" of violence resulting from a plentiful supply of firearms, Metzenbaum argues.

"Every 50 seconds, someone is raped, robbed, or assaulted with a handgun in America, and handgun homicides have now reached 13,000 a year," he said. Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund agreed. "Firearms are virtually the only unregulated dangerous consumer product in the United States," she told Metzenbaum and other members of the subcommittee. Hatch disagrees But Sen. Orrin G.

Hatch, R-Utah, argued the bill would do little to reduce violent crime. "Criminals generally obtain firearms in the black market or from other criminals, not from gun shops and licensed dealers," he said. All the proposed measure would do is make it harder for Please see BRADY, A-2 PIEDMONT, Ala. (AP) A tornado caved in the roof of a church crowded with Palm Sunday worshipers, killing 17 people. Fifteen other people died as a series of twisters and violent thunderstorms tore through the Southeast.

The tornado hit Goshen Methodist Church about 11:30 a.m., shattering windows and toppling a brick wall onto a pew of children in Easter outfits waiting to sing in a pageant. At least 90 people were injured, authorities said. Six children, from 2 to 12 years old, were among the dead. Worshipers said they heard wind against the church, then the lights went out. "At that minute, things started hitting the side of the church, Hays said.

The plan, although developed by state Senate research staffers, reportedly has gotten the nod from the state's seven U.S. representatives. Stokley and Hays feel that the representatives probably helped draw the lines. Stephen Reed Staff photographer SfVinnl "It's going well," she said. "They seem to be responding well." She said she helps the students with their homework and tries to answer any questions they may have.

Kathy Susman, a senior from Shreveport, helps coordinate the tutorial program in Ms. D'Amato's office. She said students and educators in the high school and junior high have told her the program is helping students improve their grades. If the program continues to be successful, she said, the hope is to expand it next year to reach more students. "This is a unique experience Please see TUTOR, A-2 I RATON ROUGE fAP) Gambling interests are rolling substantial amounts of money into re-election campaigns of legislators in a position to influence passage of laws affecting the gambling industry.

Nearly $70,000 from identifiable gambling interests went to a handful of legislators on two committees where gambling bills live or die. The greatest beneficiaries include the two committee chairman. Their vice-chairmen, both anti-gambling lawmakers, got very little, campaign finance reports show. Rep. Raymond "LaLa" Lalonde, D-Carencro, head of the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice, got more than 60 percent of his 1993 campaign contributions from gaming They added up to $21,350 out of $34,150 raised last year for a 1995 campaign.

sional districts. Gary Stokley, another one of those who sued, said the plan is a little better, but he still has some concerns. "The plan seems to have increased some areas with more white voters," Stokley said. The Lincoln Parish group mm: A -JH nrnpram was initiated during those years as the program for honors students struggled to get on its feet. Now the Scholars College appears securely in place.

Ms. D'Amato said she had experience in establishing tutoring programs in Los Angeles while she was at the University of Southern California, so she chose that as a community service program for the college students. he has been pleased with the response of the Scholars College students and those they are helping with their studies since the program began a month ago. Becky Robinson, a sophomore from Lake Charles, tutors at Natchitoches Junior High MairiiP riminpl a soDhomore at the Scholars' English paper during a tutoring program at cSSSe rSca State Natchitoches Central High. Scholars' College stu- University, helps freshman Keith Antee with an dents tutor at several schools in Natchitoches.

Scholars lend luand NSU students volunteer as tutors Good morning: No big winner BATON ROUGE (AP) Nobody won Saturday night's $1 million Lotto jackpot drawing, so next weekend's pot will be worth at least $2 million. Seventy-five tickets had five of the six numbers drawn Saturday and won another 2,450 had four of the numbers to win $50. The numbers drawn Saturday were 4, 10, 16, 23, 25 and 43. The Easter bat ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) Flippity flappety, Easter's on its way.

Forget Peter Cottontail. The American Bat Conservation Society is offering a new Easter treat to sink your teeth By Raymond L. Daye Staff reporter NATCHITOCHES They don't get paid and they don't get academic credit for their work, so why do students at Northwestern State University's Scholars College volunteer their time to tutor junior high and high school students after school? Believe it or not, they just want to help. Dr. Jean D'Amato, an associate professor at Scholars College, said college officials determined several years ago that students should be involved in some kind of community service activity to enforce the belief that citizens must be willing to give back something to society.

No such.