The News-Star from Monroe, Louisiana • Page 1

1 lI If" Sunday September 8, 2002 i ttI he 403IW)streii ftora .011 i if I 41 1 iJr By HEATHER WECSLER hwecslerthenewsstar.com Before Tim McGraw took the stage Saturday night in Start, Tammi Arender of KTVH Region 10 News advised the crowd how they could get on national television. "The best way to be on TV is when the camera is on you," she said, "you're not excited about the camera. You're excited about Tim." She needn't have worried. From the moment he took the stage of the C.W. Earle Cotton Gin, McGraw had the full attention of the crowd.

"Down on the Farm" and "Something Like That." But by far most of the audience had come from McGraw's own back yard. "1 see a lot of familiar faces here tonight," McGraw told audience, "some of my teachers, my coaches." The audience braved a steady drizzle and bumper-to-bumper traffic over Interstate 20 to see McGraw perform the same hour-long show twice for NBC. Volunteer crew workers had been at the gin since 8:30 a.m.; Saturday to set up equipment See McGRAW18A eroes 0 1 nonore by school KAREN S. OOERR The News-Star Mandy Eppinette, left, Aubrey Ballew, Tony Florence and Ashley Lewis tailgate Saturday night in the parking lot before the Tim McGraw Concert in Start. Students struggle to understand By CHRISTY FUTCH cfutchthenewsstar.com The anniversary of Sept.

1 1 is fast approaching, eclipsing the opening of school. When the City of Faith approached Carver Elementary Principal Lavergne Gunn-Ford about a back-to school bash, she said, she decided to invite some of their local heroes firefighters, police officers and emergency medical technicians to the party to honor them for their commitment to the people of the community. But it was clear the children were as honored by their presence especially since they brought the heavy machinery with them. As soon as fire trucks pulled into the parking lot of Carver, followed by patrol units and ambulances, children swarmed to take a tour. Ford said Carver students were confused by the events of Sept.

11, and programs like this help settle their fears. "1 had children asking me, MI According to Richland Parish deputies, more than 40,000 people turned out to see the Country Music Entertainer of the Year perform his "Sing Me Home" concert, set to air on NBC in November. "He has a great stage presence," said Stephanie White of Ruston. "He looks like he's right at home. He is at home." And, so he was.

McGraw, a Start native, chose the cotton gin as the setting for his first nationally televised concert. Some of the fans had come from as far as Tallahassee, and Saratoga, N.Y., to see McGraw perform such favorites GPN "ft bjibmiw as out the 'I Grambling rallies to slip by Alcorn Grambling Grambling State rallies to trip up Alcorn State and grab its first win of the season Saturday, 41-35. Sports, 1C Remembering Flight 93 heroes As the anniversary of Sept. 11 approaches, many are focusing on the tragedies at the World Trade Center. In the midst of this reflection, Dave Barry, and many others, have not forgotten the heroes on the fourth hijacked plane, Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania.

Perspectives, 1B Fay's rains flood Texas coast Houston Three boys play in the high water Saturday outside of their Ashley Forest Apartments in Sweeny, Texas. The apartments, as well as many other cities along the coast of Texas, were flooded as Tropical Storm Fay swept through. The storm did not do as much damage as predicted. Nation, 2A Seminar teaches children life skills Volunteers from the Court Appointed Special Advocates service, along with the children and foster parents they work with, participated in a seminar to teach life and communication skills. The children learned about body language and how to eat healthier.

LocalRegion, 3A i' Vr. 9 9 tiEiSW' If .1 -I KAREN 8. OOEBflThe News-Star Local emergency professionals say the Pledge of Allegiance with several Boy Scouts on Saturday afternoon at Carver Elementary School, where the City of Faith, Carver Elementary and the Monroe alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority sponsored a tribute to emergency professionals in commemoration of Sept. 11. 'Are they going to bomb our a special unit on Sept.

11, ford have been. was co-sponsored by City of Ford said. said, on what the attacks meant The event at Carver, which Faith and Delta Sigma Theta 's The school also plans to teach and what our responses to them included entertainment and food, Monroe alumnae chapter. Gaping scars of 9 Living in Terror's Shadow A News-Star Special Report The Mmm tii State builds emergency response network 14A Louisiana loses millions in tourism 14A Teachers to offer lessons on attack despite lack of text-. books 15A List of church and memorial services planned 16A Anniversary gives Americans cause to make changes1 7A Country music artist Charlie Daniels defends patriotic tenor of songs 17A Area Muslims reveal their feelings -on 9-11 4B Churches affected by WTC attacks 4B Teen council remembers day that sends chills down spine 4B Citizens access to' state records tight-; ened4B Trade Center businesses come back from the brink 1E Small businesses recovering 1E fl How newspapers are covering the anniversary 1E On tlte leii Check out a com- plete Gannett News Service online report at thenewsstar.com Th News-Star football coach and chancellor do we rank in the top 10 in the country," write Ravi P.

Rau, professor in the department of physics and astronomy, and Paul F. Bell, associate professor in the department of agronomy, in a statement titled SeeLSU18A vV By CHUCK RAASCH Gannett News Service WASHINGTON Sept. 11 is America's new date of infamy. A sudden age of anxiety crashed down that sunny morning a year ago. It was a vicious summons to a new threat, like the one thrust upon the World War II generation at Pearl Harbor 60 years earlier.

When terrorists crashed huge jets into big buildings in New York and Washington and were forced into the quiet Pennsylvania countryside by heroic passengers on the fourth hijacked plane, they killed more than 3,000 people. They also introduced a new lexicon of fear: terrorist alerts, dirty bombs, al-Qaida, sleeper cells, weapons of mass A large flag hangs on the outside of Hob Nob Corner Restaurant in Nashville, in October. dance soared, and faith in other institutions went up. Unlike during Vietnam, support for the war in Afghanistan was nearly as universal as it gets in a democracy. A president for whom the jury was still out for many Americans first appeared shaken, but then rose to the crisis.

Americans rallied around the office, and the president became popular overnight. New York's pugnacious mayor became the symbol of defiant leadership and a city's gritty per- See SCARS 15A fl 11 linger the 21st century. New York, which heartland America had long seen as a distant capital of urban decay, was embraced as the wounded sibling in the American family. New York's new graffiti was the sad cloak of missing-person leaflets blanketing the public spaces of Manhattan. Small towns and big cities all over America sent blood, people and money, and grieved from afar with the victims' loved ones.

The American flag flew from the rubble of the World Trade Center, from the Pentagon, and from the front steps and automobiles of average Americans. Right after 9-11, a nation fixated on the bottom line found far more consequential markers on which to judge life. Family life and friendships were re-evaluated. Church atten- Baton Rouge. Shortly afterwards, William Hubbard, chairman of USC's search committee, denied USC's Board of Trustees had offered Emmert the job.

The next day, Emmert called a press conference and announced he would stay at LSU. In July, the LSU System Board approved a whopping salary increase for Emmert from $284,160 to $490,000. Here's how the compensation plan works: $259,160 comes from state coffers, Two university foundations the LSU Foundation and the Tiger Athletic Fund will contribute $230,840. If Emmert stays until the end of his contract in 2007, he'll receive another $100,000 a year bonus. He also receives a car and house provided by the university.

LSU salary ruffles feathers, raises eyebrows In the rush of the new millennium, Americans had largely been spared the globe's recent horrors. Before 9-11, the genocide of Eastern Europe and Africa, the cauldron of the Middle East, even the ongoing confrontations with the dictator in Iraq were distant. But with a terrible swiftness, Americans joined the ranks of the vulnerable. A new world order made the United States both a target of terrorism and the chief aggressor in the war against it. Unwittingly, the terrorists of 9-11 also re-introduced Americans to old heroes.

To the firefighters and police officers of a less jaded age. To the soldiers fighting a nasty war in Afghanistan. To the leaders and the institutions devalued in the individualistic, Internet world of ANALYSIS after Jenkins was promoted in April 1999. Last year, LSU reported Emmert's compensation at $284,160, But all that changed nearly three months ago. Emmert became a candidate for a position at the University of South Carolina, replacing retiring USC president John Palms, The position at USC would have been a little different a combination of the duties of Emmert as campus chancellor and Jenkins as system president.

In March, Emmert apparently visited USC's campus and returned to Baton Rouge. At that point, the Associated Press reported a spokeswoman in Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster's office said Emmert had been offered the job and Louisiana was negotiating with Emmert to have him remain at LSU in Index Dear Abby 5D Business 1E Classified 5E Crossword 5D Deaths 18A Editorial 38 LocalRegion 3A Lottery 18A Movies 3D Top salaries for university presidents Mark Emmert. the president of Louisiana State University and tops a list of the highest paid university presidents, according to a survey released by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Institution Naw Total talary State wlary Private Mlary 1 Louisiana State University Mark Emmert S490000 5259,160 5230,840 2 University of Alabama at Birmingham Carol Z.

Garrison $400,000 $300.000 $100,000 3 University ot Delaware David Roselle $388423 $368423 4 University of Houston Arthur Smith $367,600 $367,600 It 14 University of CaliforniaBerkeley Robert Berdahl $310,900 $310,900 By LEESHA FAULKNER lfaulknerthenewsstar.com Money drives higher education. Money woes aren't a local phenomenon. Nationally, colleges and universities are cutting back and reorganizing to save dollars. Take, for instance, Dartmouth College, which announced last week it'll have to cut its budget for two years to make up for endowment losses. That's one of the reasons why news from Baton Rouge of LSU Chancellor Mark Lmmert's doubled salary seems an aberration.

Genesis cf the raise Ltnmert moved to Baton Rouge as chancellor of LSU from the University of Connecticut in July l0l9. He replaced William Jenkins, now president of the LSU System, i Sections, 90 pages Forecast Mostly Cloudy 40 chance of rain I III II liilillill ii i liiri "40901" Sourc: Chronicle othgnoi taxation The subsequent salary increase makes Emmert the fifth highest-paid university or college administrator in the nation, according to a survey released last month by The Chronicle of Higher Education. A look at the top 10 on the Chivnicle's list shows Emmert is the only campus president in the top 10. Others on the list are heads of university systems. Backlash Two professors from LSU composed their views on Emmert's salary increase and delivered it to the Louisiana Board of Regents, which oversees higher education in the state.

"Only in the salaries of the.