The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana • Page 5

Nation THE TIMES shreveporttimes.com SATURDAY, JANUARY 14, 2006 5A California death row inmate says he is too old and sickly to die ings while behind bars for another murder. Allen, who turns 76 on the eve of his execution, has been on death row for more than 23 years. He often uses a wheelchair and had to be resuscitated after suffering a heart attack last year at San Quentin Prison. Schwarzenegger said Allen's age and health did not matter and noted that he committed his crimes at the age of 50. "His conduct did not result from youth or inexperience, but instead resulted from the hardened and calculating decisions of a mature man." advanced age and infirmity.

Clarence Ray Allen's attorneys contend that executing a feeble old man amounts to cruel and unusual punishment banned by the U.S. Constitution. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday denied Allen clemency. Barring a last-minute reprieve by the courts, the governor's decision means Allen will become the second-oldest person put to death since the U.S.

Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976. He is set to die by injection Tuesday for ordering three slay- Gov. Schwarzenegger denies clemency for Clarence Ray Allen. By David Kravets The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO California's oldest death row inmate a 75-year-old who is legally blind and nearly deaf is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to do something it has never done before: block an execution because of the condemned man's iff VI frfftf Money: Three spending plans were approved unanimously with a half-hour Mike KlttrellMoDile Register AP South Alabama Gas employee Jonathan Smith gathers gas meters as he walks past the remains of the Belleville Volunteer Fire Department after a storm tore through Belleville, on Friday.

At least one person died in the state and at least 18 homes and the Fire Department building were damaged or destroyed in Belleville by an apparent tornado, state Emergency Management Agency Director Bruce Baughman said. One killed in apparent tornado in rural southern Alabama ings. Local communities can set their own priorities. The Blanco administration will propose to the legislative budget committee next week a plan for determining priorities for repairs on state buildings, said Commissioner of Administration Jerry Luke LeBlanc. of damage done to state buildings by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, for which there is only $500 million in insurance coverage.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AID: $100 million to local governments to cover their 10 percent match to get 90 percent FEMA funding for repairs of government-owned build until nnlimnni knniinKH hr J) Crabmeat Fresh eabod Co. WWBK Hit swims, we sell il. Jumbo lump Backfill Lamp SIM) Clan Meal 89,93 (wl.l;iil(lau $10.95 8219 jBWha 687-2334 1192 Hawn Av. 221-9967 I Continued from 1A The recovery authority made clear it was making recommendations to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget next Friday as to how the first of up to $6.2 billion in federal aid under the U.S. Community Block Development Grants program should be spent.

Blanco, who sat through most of the authority's daylong meeting, told the panel that it could use those unfettered grants to leverage other federal funds to help state and local governments pay for more than $2 billion in damages to public buildings. Within a half-hour, the authority unanimously approved three spending plans for the grants: SMALL BUSINESS LOANS: $100 million to expand the state's tax-free bridge loans to small businesses as they await permanent loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. REPAIRING STATE-OWNED BUILDINGS: Put up $141 million to cover the state's 10 percent match to cover rebuilding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will begin paying its first 90 percent share of repairs to state buildings, but only after the state's 10 percent shire is in place to finish the job.

Such leveraging will help pay the estimated $1.75 billion worth v' S6ttfr Specials Special Fresh atfish Fillets $QJ) lb. Milium Mir imp AWMIi-i 9M lb. Lsirge Shrimp Si Ili-tf. S.l FmhHnol? Catfish $049 I vlra hrtmi jamn fi. torn.

Mirimi Twister tears section of roof from school in Florida injuring 13. The Associated Press EVERGREEN, Ala. An apparent tornado near this southern Alabama town Friday morning toppled trees and damaged or destroyed at least 18 homes, killing one person. The damage was reported in the Belleville community as severe thunderstorms packing 60 mpli winds swept across Alabama. Conecuh County sheriff's Deputy Gene Wright said the woman was killed in her home by a chimney collapse.

Her name was not immediately released. No other injuries were immediately reported. In a statement, Alabama Emergency Management Agency director Bruce Baughman said the Belleville fire department building and numerous homes were damaged. Roofs were ripped off some homes (m lb. Frozen Catfish Fillets $y( lb.

lb. mm Vf4'- 1 or I hiw ho Mr I heir tlu bumbo l)rtrl Hard frab Ik. Yei i bm4 i shrtmp finrl lb. (la rabiTwal lb. an vll.i llul, MH.V, fHralivhMal.l Itlw: indwiillp vauva I lb M-B lied lid, damtet Red Snapper Scallops Rainbow TrouJ MahiMahi Salmon Ituffalo I Tnna Uas Debl HaussermannNortnwest Florida Daily NesAP Stephanie Owen comforts her 7-year-old daughter Alex Dupree on Friday morning in Baker, while they talk about the tornado that hit Dupree 's school.

A tornado tore a section of roof from the school, causing minor injuries to 13 children as a series of storms moved through Florida's Panhandle on Friday. SwtM lb fvl lib s'-' 1 Itrii Shrimp ,.) fiz. rirn Vond Uli ihm lll-17-IKi atred a nost office and several mobile in the community of about 200 resi-. homes in Baker, about 50 miles mil UIBtpilMMMI1iaillM.llWllllM IIIMIHB ijiiiiiiw-tiii'iiiTOiillitiiiiii'iii'ii'TiiiiwiiiniiimiiiiM I NEWLY RENOVATED! Only $1700 a month! ISSSSk BEDROOM jkt 'nTs ft dents and downed trees crushed some mobile homes. Conecuh County EMA Director Heather Walton said a dozen cars were destroyed, 15 homes were damaged and three demolished.

Baughman said the EMA has offered state assistance to local officials, including sending a mobile kitchen for use during the relief effort. Meanwhile in the neighboring Florida Panhandle, a tornado tore a section of roof from a school, causing minor injuries to 13 children. The National Weather Service in Mobile, said the storms dam- northeast of Pensacola. Homes also were damaged in the Milton area. were reported down in other sections of Okaloosa County.

"There was quite a bit of damage," said meteorologist Gary Beeler. Beeler said golf ball-sized hail fell at Perdido Key beach on the Alabama-Florida state line. Ken Wolf, emergency management director for Okaloosa County, said the only injuries occurred at the Baker School, which houses 1,363 kindergarten through 12th-grade students. The children had minor cuts and bruises and were treated at the scene, he said. The Village at State licensed assisted living facility Now accepting long-term care iiburance Three daily meals Scheduled Transportation Social recreational activities One bedroom apartments Full size Kitchen appliances Weekly housekeeping laundry service Paid utilities (except phone services'! Basic cable television Newspaper delivered daily Individual climate control settings 2-i hour professional staff Month-to-Month Lease Personal assistance available auk i living 1 SSSgajB.

With 26 straight days of rain, Seattle approaches a half-century-old record I DINING One Bedroom Apartment Call today for a tour! 8622 Line Ave. (318)861-2366 (Located behind Guest Care Center) ii Vauiiihii'flkiifaifirii Wwv.iHhiiwVi ii mf Meteorologist Danny Mercer said he tliinks the rain will continue at least until Jan. 20, when Seattle would tie the 1953 mark. "We have a front coming in almost every single day, with very few breaks in between these systems," he said. A respite could come Sunday or late next week, but it's more likely that the rain will only lessen, possibly with a few hours of scattered sunshine.

On Wednesday the weather service reported 0.94 inches of rain at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, breaking the old record for Jan. 10 of 0.71 set in 1979. A record of 1.56 inches was set at Olympia Airport, breaking the previous mark of 1.12 set in 1976. Hooding 'along numerous rivers, none of it severe, was generally easing as water receded early Friday, and the only flood warnings were for the Chehalis below Centralia and the short, flood-prone Skokomish west of. Bremerton.

By Donna Gordon Blankinship The Associated Press SEATTLE People in water-logged Washington now have official confirmation of sometliing they've been suspecting: It's been raining a lot. The city had its 26th straight day of rain Friday and was just a week short of the 1953 record of 33 consecutive rainy days. Daily rainfall records have already fallen in Seattle and Olympia. More seriously, officials worried about the potential for more landslides and floods, warning that the saturated land can't hokl much more water. "What we need is a reprieve." Tony Fantello, maintenance and operations manager for Pierce County Water Programs in Tacoma, told The News Tribune.

"Everything is just overtaxed. Even 24 to 36 hours of dry conditions really help take the heat off." No dice. Mostly light rain fell early Friday, and the weather service predicted more over the next 10 days. A Special Report: Louisiana Drought "1 2006 GRAMMY NOMJNEE! Jf II I 1 1 if The massive Toledo Bend Reservoir is at its lowest level ever. Land once covered by water is exposed with trees and dust replacing boats and fishermen.

What's the state of recreation, agri-business, water supply and it's quality? Are other area eco-systems being affected as well? Find out Sunday only in The Times. She CEimes.