The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana • Page 9

(She Simes Deaths 2B Region briefs 3B O) O) ii trnir CONTACT CRAIG DURRETT 459-3248 or newsthetimes.com TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1998 3 watesrelateii aieicleht escapes tragedy Third '('''" 1 By NITA BIRMINGHAM The Times An 8-year-old boy swallowed a lot of water Monday afternoon after zipping down a pool slide at the Riverside Christian Fitness Centre, but was pulled out by an alert lifeguard. Kline Moore was breathing when Shreveport firefighters and EMTs arrived shortly after 2:13 p.m., said Capt. Margene McCoy. The fitness center is located at 31 1 E. IVeston Ave.

"He'd apparently swallowed some water and he was not feeling good at all," McCoy said. Monday's incident was the third water-related mishap Shreveport firefighters have handled recently. McCoy said more people are probably swimming because it's so hot. Moore was taken to Highland Hospital as a precaution, but was released by 6 p.m., a hospital spokeswoman said. Another water-related near-tragedy happened Saturday afternoon.

William Nolle, 34, of Shreveport, broke his neck when he dived into shallow water on the Red River, said Capt. R.E. Parker. Nolte dived off a sandbar near the Jimmie Davis Bridge into water that was about chest deep, Parker said. "Thank goodness the people who were with him there didn't try and get him out of the water.

Him being in the water made him buoyant, which weight off the fracture in his" neck," Parker said. Nolte's companions kept his head out of the water. Firefighters Scott Boyett and Bart Little waded out to Nolte, immobilized him and floated him on a fiberglass board back to shore. Nolte was admitted to LSU Medical Center and was in serious condition Monday. Earlier last week a teen-ager rescued a swimmer who got into trouble and sank in the deep end of a pool at a west Shreveport apartment complex.

McCoy urged all swimmers to exercise more care during the heat "Don't overdo it avoid alcohol consumption and, grownups, keep an eye on their children," Chief Safety Officer Sandy Davis advised. "The biggest problem we get is an overcrowded pool, and sometimes they don't have the adult supervision necessary." That wasn't the case Monday at the Riverside Christian Fitness Centre. Lifeguards and other people were all around the pool, McCoy said. Manager Jim Hard said Moore went down the slide in the shallow end of the pool and evidently took in a lot of water when he hit the surface. The lifeguard was "alert enough to realize even though he didn't go under the water, he had a problem," Hard said.

-j r' 't-1 v'Ch fill The TimesTIM LOtHHKE Kline Moore swallowed water Monday while swimming. 5 I 4 III TW statical fiicfeirsto life 'ifmL y-i Turn it on KNTS broadcasts on UHF Channel 17 in Natchitoches and Red River parishes and UHF Channel 27 in Sabine and DeSoto parishes. KNTS should be on cable this fall, station officials say. By JEFF RICHARD The Times NATCHITOCHES A small commercial television station focusing on the market between Shreveport and Alexandria is broadcasting in this city and surrounding communities. CP-Tel Broadcasting KNTS-TV17 recently went on the air, and the signal is being fed to Natchitoches, DeSoto, Red River and Sabine parishes.

The channel is not on area cable systems yet but people can pick up broadcasts via exterior television antennas, said David Boston, the station's business development manager. The shift to cable, on a number not yet set on a Natchitoches TV dial, is expected when the station's studio on the state I lighway 1 Bypass in west Natchitoches is complete in September, KNTS General Manager Richard Gill said. The Natch itoches-based station is affiliated with America One Television, which offers family-oriented general entertainment Its lineup includes Houston Astros and Texas The TimesAMY BETH BENNETT Roadwork detours landfill traffic RUSTON Motorists who use Arkansas Plant Road to get to the Lincoln Parish landfill will have to use an alternate route beginning today. The section of Arkansas Plant Road between the landfill and state Highway 33 will be closed today due to construction. Parish Administrator Richard Durrett said the work is expected to take about a week to complete.

Meantime, all traffic to the landfill from state Highway 33 will be detoured via state Highway 3072 and Pea Ridge Road. Christian camp starts July 26 The North Louisiana Christian Youth Camp will be held July 26 through July 31 at Grambling State University in Grambling. The camp is planned for boys and girls between the ages of 12, to 23. Cost is $75 for the entire week, and includes housing, meals and activities. for more information or registration materials concerning the Christian Youth Camp, call 425-7193 or contact the Rev.

Benjamin Blake at 222-0262. The camp's enrollment is limited to 500 campers. Applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Stewart seeking council re-election Shreveport City Councilman John David Stewart announced Monday he will run again for his District seat Stewart, a Republican, will be seeking his third term. A lifelong resident of the area, he is president of ISAStewart Insurance Associates Inc.

and Legacy Financial Group. His campaign headquarters is at 2625 Line call 42945823. Workshops focus on solving conflict "dispute mediation" workshop is being held today at LSUS as part of a series of workshops on personal development All seminars will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Today's workshop will discuss conflict resolution and skills for problem-solving.

A July 1 workshop will focus on identifying factors and risks involved with adolescent drug and alcohol abuse, delinquency and problem school behavior. 'A July 8 workshop will help participants discover their potential at work, school and in their personal lives. For more information or to preregister, call (318) 798-4172 or (800) 290-2378. Crime kingpin in hospital with burns Krksey McCord Nix, a Louisiana prison veteran and kingpin in a scheme that ultimately led to the murders of a Mississippi judge and his wife, was hospitalized Monday with facial bums. A spokesman at Louisiana's state penitentiary at Angola told a Biloxi, television that suffered the bums when he was splashed with hot water thrown by another inmate during a confrontation.

Nix was taken to LSU Medical Center in Shreveport and was in good condition in the bum unit, a hospital spokeswoman said. Prison officials said Nix should remain at the hospital for several days. He was one of four people convicted in August 1997 of roles in a racketeering organization that arranged the contract murders of Circuit Judge Vincent Sherry and his wife Margaret The Sherrys were murdered in their home on Sept 14, 1987. "Prosecutors allege Nix ordered the killings over missing profits from a prison scam Nix ran out of Angola. From Staff, Wire Reports Rangers baseball coverage, professional wrestling and syndicated renins of shows like Ko-jak, Qttincy and Rockford Files.

The main niche the station hopes to fill, however, is better coverage of the goings-on within the viewing area. A station consistently covering news, weather, sports and events in the rural areas south of Shreveport is "long overdue," Gill said. Gordon Rivet, station ojx'ra-tions manager, said, "The Shreveport and Alexandria stations do a good job, but sometimes the area gets put on the back burner." Northwestern State University stands to gain much out of the new station in terms of coverage, said Doug Ireland, director of NSU's sports information department "This is an opportunity for great local and regional exposure for the entire university, not just the athletic program." Lori Plunkett shares a story as part of the children's reading program at the Webster Parish Library in Minden. Library Leapjs4S ix grows Minden branch expands, experiences 'growing pains' The main library nearly quadrupled its public space with a S2.2 million building that opened last August The new building allowed the library to have a separate chij-' dren's area and more ofre erything from computers to magazines. A community meeting room, caters to medium-sized gatherings of library workers, social service professionals and civic groups." feally love this area for New -1 (159) 1 library jT Webster Pansh Ark.

-I hk I i il Or The Times By MELODY BRUMBLE The Times MINDEN Summer sun streams through floor-to-ceiling windows, falling across a roomful of 5-, 6-, and 7-year-olds gluing construction paper to balloons at the Webster Parish Library main branch. In the next room, parents, grandparents and younger siblings browse orderly bookshelves and command computers to read favorite stories. Less than a year ago, it was a different picture. The former main branch building a converted house had only 3,500 square feet of public space. Books were piled on the floor when.

librarians ran out of Children worked on crafts in the staff lounge and listened to a story on the stair landing. Now the children have a room of their own. "It's better," said 9-year-old Allen Mosley, who enjoys reading about baseball. "I like the computers. There are more books." Judge issues gag order in lesbian custody case i See MORE 3B Minden library Minden's main library sees increases in users.

Here's a look at the past two years. 1 i 1 yy-' 53.153 71.450 Total circulation Juvenile books 12,911 13,002 Becky Davis were divorced in 1997, with Becky receiving sole custody of the children. Earlier this month, Walker granted temporary custody to Joe and Patricia Davis and called for a hearing on the matter of permanent custody. However, the grandparents' attorney, John S. Stephens, withdrew from the case.

A new lawyer, S. Lynn Walker, was appointed to the case Monday. The case has upset some members of the gay and lesbian community, who are concerned about what type of precedent could be set if the children are taken away from their mother. These grandparents have got to have something very valid to fight with this woman about," said Billy Glover, vice chair of the Homosexual Information Center in Bossier City. The fact she's a lesbian has got to be left out entirely in this issue.

The judge has to make the decision based on what's best for the children." By KACEE HARGRAVE The Times About 20 people crowded into a Caddo Parish courtroom, prepared to testify whether the children of Becky Lynn Davis should be placed in their grandparents' permanent custody because their mother is a lesbian. But Judge Michael Walker, who issued a gag order on attorneys and others involved in the case, told the witnesses to come back next month after psychological testing has been done on the participating parties. Joe and Patricia Davis are seeking custody of their grandchildren because they believe Becky Davis "will continue to engage in sexual activity with her lesbian partner in the presence of the minor children." They also accuse Davis of trying to influence the children as to her sexual orientation. The children's father, Joseph C. Davis, reportedly is in jail on a parole violation.

He and Children's checkouts 3,603 10,715 Children's summer programming 2,345 1 ,872 1 997-98 figures are for two weeks of a six-week program. Source: Webster Parish Library Tony Gipson, 7, gets into Falcons to the Fight during the summer reading program. If the TV Nielsen ratings are down, it's not funny Once Tlie Tonight Show goes off the air each weekday evening in Los Angeles, Jim Teddy Allen Lottery numbers JUNE 22, 1998 Louisiana pick three Brogan goes to Jay Leno's house to work on tomorrow's Tonight. Leno and Brogan, Leno's chief joke writer, begin about 10:30 p.m. and work un was buried, Leno said in his monologue, "in a casket with fruit on the bottom." "Sometimes they understand," Brogan says.

"Sometimes they don't" Fourteen writers, each except Leno and Brogan working alone most of the time, help create all the jokes and skits. The Dancing Itos during the J. Simpson trial, for instance, was Leno's idea, and the writers took it from there. And kept going and going and going and "Often well get tired of it long before the audience does," Brogan says. Major public figures are al ways targets when in the news.

When Bob Dole lost the presidential election, the "Dole is old" jokes stopped. When Dole commented on Viagra, he was back in. Dan Quayle was at one time good for tons of material. Concerning the likelihood he might again run for office, Brogan says, his smile hopeful, "We can't wait" Teddy Allen is a Times writer. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

He can be reached at 459-3260 or by fax at 459-3301. E-mail to: livingthetimes.com ers are the ones most likely to be misunderstood. They say it's not easy being funny every day. It's fun, but not easy. When Jerry Seinfeld is on The Tonight Show, he does 20 minutes of material total in his four or five annual appearances, Brogan says.

"Jay does that much in two nights; it's a little tougher." If Leno's not funny, it's not because he's not trying. After going to bed at 2 he's at work each moming at 9. Often hell return calls of people who might have been offended by a joke, like the family of the yogurt magnate who died and work at NBC studios at 2 pm. to finish preparing for and writing that evening's show. It takes time to be funny.

"If I did the jokes myself, I'd probably hit four out of five," says Brogan. "If Jay did them by himself, he'd probably hit four out of five. "But if we work on them together, we can probably hit eight out of 10." Brogan is addressing a group of newspaper writers at a conference in San Diego. The subject is humor. Along with Brogan is unassuming funnyman Steve Harvey of Los Angeles.

Harvey is adored and missed by sports fans. In the late '80s, his weekly The Bottom 10" column, listing the worst college and professional football teams, was loved by fans and despised by coaches. Navy sinks to 0-8 The University ofTexas-at-El-Intercepted-Paso Those were the days. "I once had a coach tell a TV crew he wanted to hang me," Harvey says. Then he called the TV station and asked them not to run what he said.

The coach said he was scared people might Harvey and his fellow writ l.t a Columnist TEXAS CASH 5 til 1:30 a.m. Brogan goes home, goes to bed at 2 am, and goes back to.