Tallahassee Democrat from Tallahassee, Florida • Page 2

2ATallahassee Democrat Tuesday, August 3, 2004 Fnon Pacs 3A wnw.TAIIAHASSRR.com fc0N3AY For information, contact at jpamsfiiStallahassee-cc or (850) 5392349. Health Famdies Garden FRIDAY Satursay Sunday I I Food Entertainment trs Rehgton G01 Government caiefuw in The Democrat recycles paper products. Commum Umelijjit Outdoors in State Calendar ti Datebook in Bj; I Sports Community Caiendsr in Sp 1 i 1 1 1 3 I tfcdfj JEFFERSON the school for 20 years. "A lot more of the education process will be going on at one time." The new building could even bring more support from the com- munity. "The community is going to be a little more cooperative toward the school now that we have the facility and equipment and staff it takes to ensure kids get the best education," Assistant Principal Harry Jacobs said.

Bryan expects the new school to lead to a change in attitude and better grades among students. He said it's hard to change bad habits when you're in the same environment year after year. Bryan said, "The more motivated they are, the more purpose they see in going to school, the more they will apply themselves." Contact reporter Kim McCoy Vann at (850) 599-2143 or kmccoytallahassee.com. "It's self-contained," he said. "The safety and security will be better.

Once the community sees the academic program in place, the technology in place they'll begin to give the school a second look." Each of the school's academic buildings will have a computer lab, and students will gain better equipment for subjects such as science. In addition, the gym will be larger and air-conditioned. Auto-mechanics teacher Alfreddie Hightower can't wait to start teaching in his new classroom. Hell be able to show students material from the Internet by connecting a computer to an overhead projector. And while he's teaching students new to auto mechanics, more-advanced students can work independently in the classroom's computer lab.

"It will enhance my ability to transfer knowledge to students," said Hightower, who's taught at vouchers to attend private schools. The state gives letter-grade assessments to public schools. "It doesn't reflect what our students and teachers are about here," Bryan said. "We will not be an school this year. We're doing everything we can to fix that." The school can accommodate 541 students and will open with about 325, Barker said.

Whether the new school will help boost the district's declining enrollment remains to be seen. "I don't think a new school per se is going to increase enrollment significantly. It may attract a few," Barker said. "We planned to build a school regardless because we needed a new facility for the students." Many families move because of job opportunities in other places, Bryan said. He thinks a new school could make some people 1 more inclined to stay.

From Peg 1A state, Barker said. The old school will be used for school-district and Jefferson County Commission offices. It also will house the district's adult-education and alternative schools. There was a lot of activity at the new school Monday. Some teachers were organizing classrooms, and workers were delivering and setting up equipment.

Geneva Miller, a rising junior, said she and her friends have been talking about the new school, which the community can tour today. "All in all, I think it's going to be great," she said. "It makes you want to do better." Geneva said while she's a little kerry From Page 1A seem to confirm the unique nature of the 2004 campaign, which made a large bounce unlikely for either Kerry or Bush for several reasons. Most Democrats already had unified behind Kerry at the end of the primary season, leaving few to rally to him at a convention and feed the traditional bounce. Also, an unusually large number of Americans have already made up their minds, leaving as few as 5 million truly undecided voters.

Still, Gallup analyst David Moore noted that Bush might have helped limit or reverse Kerry's bounce by returning to the campaign trail as soon as the Democratic convention ended. He said that Kerry led in Friday polling but that Bush took the lead in Saturday polling after the president had resumed campaigning. Nonetheless, there was some good news for Kerry in the polls. Most notably, the convention's repeated emphasis on Kerry's Vietnam record and commitment BUSH From Page 1A mandate to ensure that conflicting views are fairly presented to the president. But Bush rejected the commission's call to make the intelligence director a Cabinet-level position inside the White House.

He also balked at the commission's recommendation to give the director authority over intelligence budgets at the CIA and other government agencies, a reservation that would limit the new director's power. Both commission co-chairmen had strongly endorsed giving the broader powers to the new director during testimony Friday before Congress. Bush endorsed the commission's recommendation for a new counterterrorism center to coordinate the collection and use of intelligence. Echoing another commission recommendation, he urged Congress to streamline its oversight of intelligence agencies by reducing the number of committees with jurisdiction over intelligence. The presidential call to action came 11 days after the Sept.

11 commission released its report and a day after federal officials warned of possible terrorist attacks on financial institutions in Washington, New York and New Jersey. The commission proposed the changes after investigating security lapses before the 2001 attacks. Bush agreed with the commission that the nation is safer, but still not safe from the possibility of another devastating terrorist attack. "The work of securing this vast nation is not done," Bush said. "All the institutions of our government must be fully prepared for a struggle that will last into the future." What: Jefferson County High School ribbon-cutting ceremony When: 9 a.m.

today Where: 50 David Road (County Road 57A) STUDENTS RETURN TO SCHOOL Friday, Liberty County Aug. 9, Jefferson, Wakulla counties Aug. 13, Franklin County Aug. 16, Leon and Gadsden counties nervous about changing environments, she's looking forward to the improved technology and a more spacious practice area for the Army ROTC. Still, school administrators say the new building alone isn't enough to get rid of its reputation as a struggling school.

It received an this year and in 2002, making students eligible to use to military strength and national security appeared to pay off. Before the convention, registered voters preferred Bush over Kerry to handle terrorism by an 18-percentage-point margin. After the convention, they preferred Bush by a 3-percentage-point margin, according to ABC. Before, they preferred Bush over Kerry to handle Iraq by a 12-percentage-point margin; afterward, they preferred Kerry by a 2-percentage-point margin. It was our goal that John Kerry appear presidential, that people see him as someone ready to take the mantle of leadership," said campaign manager Cahill.

Yet Kerry made little progress in persuading undecided voters to say they would vote for him in November. "It hasn't resonated with voters," said political analyst Stuart Rothenberg. "No matter how good it was, there weren't many people out there to be persuaded." The major networks provided only three hours of live coverage, thus limiting exposure to the casual viewers who also were more likely to include undecided voters. Though television ratings were up slightly from 2000 about Kerry, who's given a blanket endorsement to the commission's recommendations, urged Bush to summon lawmakers back to Washington from their summer break to carry out the overhaul. He also noted that Bush's call for change came nearly three years after the Sept.

11 attacks. "The president seems to have no sense of urgency to make America as safe as it needs to be," Kerry said. "The time to act is now, not later." Kerry endorsed the commission's recommendations virtually upon their release. Bush and Republican leaders of Congress initially said they needed time to study them, but as it became clear that Americans wanted action fast, they agreed. Although Bush embraced the thrust of the Sept.

11 panel's recommendations, his reservations on the scope of the new director's powers could prove controversial. The president said he favors a director who would work outside the White House, without Cabinet rank and with only advisory power on budgets. The changes would reduce the director's clout but make the position less susceptible to White House influence. Bush would appoint the director with Senate approval. "I will hire the person, and I can fire the person," Bush said.

That's how you have accountability in government. I don't think that the office ought to be in the White House, however. I think it ought to be a stand-alone group." Critics said Bush's proposal would deprive the position of the clout needed to force change at agencies with a long history of mistrust and rivalry. The commission's co-chairmen Lee Hamilton and Thomas Kean insisted Friday that the intelligence director have authority to set budgets, hire and fire personnel across agencies, and set operational strategy for counterterrorism efforts abroad and at home. They also stressed that the director should be a part of the LOTTO: 731 6-12-14-4550-52 (850) 487-7777.

Fantasy 6 tea paga 4B. CASH 3: (Noon) 82-3-7-8 LOTTO SOUTH: MEGA MILLIONS: OBESITY From Page 1A Newark, N.J., bringing together activists for social events and workshops on self-acceptance, political advocacy and the "fat lib- eration" movement. "I hope we can be a viable force of sanity in the midst of hysteria," said NAAFA spokeswoman Mary Ray Worley of Madison, Wis. Tve found allies in all kinds of unexpected places, but overall there's a lot of animosity. Some people act like obesity is the next worst thing after terrorism." The convention comes as the movement is scrambling to counter federal-government pro-, nouncements that obesity is a "critical public health problem" costing more than $100 billion and 300,000 lives per year.

Jeannie Moloo, an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman who counsels overweight clients at her nutrition practice in Sacramento, empathizes with the activists' fight against bias but says they should be wary of oversimplifying obesity-related health issues. people can be overweight all their lives and not end up with diabetes or heart disease or hypertension," Moloo said. "But the majority are probably going to develop one of these life-altering conditions." Fat-acceptance groups were dismayed when federal officials announced last month that Medicare was discarding its declaration that obesity isn't a disease. The policy change will likely prompt overweight Americans covered by Medicare to. file medical claims for treatments such as stomach surgery and diet programs.

"Obesity is not a disease," said Allen Steadham, director of the Austin, Texas-based International Size Acceptance Association. "All this does is open the door for the diet and bariatric-surgery ABOHTiOiM From Page 1A fmblic, ones started by the Legis-ature don't get reviewed by the court before they're slated for the ballot. The proposed amendment was a priority of House Speaker Johnnie ByrdyR-Plant City, and engendered emotional debate before the Legislature voted this spring to put it on the ballot. The House passed its version 93-25, with only Democrats objecting. The Senate passed its version 27-13.

Byrd, a candidate for U.S. Senate, has since been endorsed by the National Right to Life Committee. "The lawsuit filed today is just more of the same from liberal activists who are intent on stripping away the rights of Florida parents to be notified if someone convinces their child to seek an abortion," Byrd said. "It will not succeed. Florida's families are 27.7 million watched Kerry's convention speech Thursday night much of the increase came on cable networks that aired expanded coverage.

Analysts suggested that cable networks drew more politically active viewers, who also were more likely to have already made up their minds how to vote. i Sure, there's not going to be bounce. If a tree falls in an untelevised forest, it won't bounce either," said Matthew Felling, the media director for the Center for Media and Public Affairs, a nonpartisan group that analyzes television and politics. "The networks are the key to the mainstream, more politically inert audience. You're not pulling many people away from 'Fear Factor by putting something on MSNBC The ABC-Washington Post poll was conducted Friday through Sunday and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

The CBS poll was conducted Friday through Sunday and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. The Gallup poll was conducted Friday and Saturday and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. Oval Office Without such broad powers, they said the director wouldn't be effective. "If you've got him stuck out here somewhere in center field, he's not going to have the authority. He has to have the authority that comes with the presidency of the United States," Hamilton said.

At least three of the agency heads who joined Bush at his Rose Garden announcement Monday Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and acting CIA Director John McLaughlin have expressed reservations about a national intelligence director. "It's the illusion of change, but not the real change that is needed," said Flynt Leverett, a former CIA official, speaking of Bush's position. The rush for action on the commission recommendations reflects concerns about more terrorist attacks and the political stakes of the issue. Kerry and Bush are determined to convince voters that they are the best person to make America safer. Kerry, campaigning in Michigan, asserted that Bush's foreign policies have made it easier for terrorists to find recruits.

"The policies of this administration, I believe and others believe, have resulted in an increase of animosity focused on the United States of America," Kerry said at a news conference. "The intelligence agencies will tell you that they are using our action as a means of recruitment." Bush said Kerry's comments suggested that his rival doesn't understand the terrorist threat. "These people we face are coldblooded, committed killers," Bush' said. "It is a ridiculous notion to assert that because the United States is on the offense, more people want to hurt us. We are on the offense because people do want to hurt us." industries to make a potentially tremendous profit." Most fat-acceptance activists endorse the concept of eating healthy food and exercising regularly, but they oppose any fixation on losing weight and contend that more than 95 percent of diets fail.

They also decry the rapid growth of stomach-shrinking surgery; the number of such procedures has quadrupled to 100,000 annually since 1998. 1 Warm depicts bariatric surgery as "stomach amputation" that imposes anorexia on patients and exposes them to long-term risks. Kelly Bliss, a self-described "full-figured fitness instructor" from Lansdowne, predicts that future generations will disapprovingly look back on stomach sur-gery as 1 to lobotomies." Bliss, who coaches clients by phone and in fitness classes, subscribes to a philosophy called "health at every size" preaching that health, fitness and self-esteem can be achieved independent of weight. "There's a war on obese people, and I'm treating the casualties people whose hearts are being ripped out," Bliss said. -Many fat-acceptance activists were heartened by this year's publication of "The Obesity Myth" by University of Colorado law professor Paul Campos, who con-tends that diet promoters, drug companies and weight-loss surgeons have whipped up an irrational panic over weight.

Campos shares many of the activists' views but says their effectiveness has been limited. "The movement has found itself marginalized by drawing its membership and leadership from the far extreme of obesity," he said. "It will be more successful if it can attract the two-thirds of Americans who are being told by the government that they weigh too much the I-want-to-lose-20-pounds crowd who are starting to feel a certain amount of resentment from the constant haranguing they're getting." committed to overruling liberal court decisions discounting parental rights." Proponents say they have a right to know when their teenage daughter is planning to have an abortion. Opponents worry that a pregnant teen might harm herself or be harmed by her parents if she's forced to confront them about an unwanted pregnancy, especially if it was the result of incest. "We are more in the realm of politics than we are in the realm of health care," said ACLU Executive Director Howard Simon, describing the Legislature's action as sacrificing "the health and the safety and sometimes the lives of young women on the altar of anti-abortion politics." If the amendment survives the latest challenge and is passed by voters, Florida would become the first to require parental consent in its state constitution.

Dozens of other states have some sort of parental-notice provision written into law. Contact Capitol Bureau Chief Nancy Cook Lauer at (850) 671-6547 or nlauertallahassee.com. TODAY IN HISTORY 1492 Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain on a voyage to the present-day Americas. 1987 The Iran-Contra congressional hearings ended, with none of the 29 witnesses tying President Reagan directly to the diversion of arms-sales profits to Nicaraguan rebels. FLORIDA LOTTERY WINNING NUMBERS FOR 8204 FANTASY 5: 82-2-22-293137 FANTASY 81-391113 CASH 3: 82 90 81 7 20 MAY 4: 82-844 81 64H) GEORGIA LOTTERY CASH 3: CASH 4: CASH 4: (Night) (Noon) (Night) 82-1-9-1 82-85-5 82-05-58 731-15-18-1924-3849 730-164921-3435 22 (USPS 633-120) (ISSN 0738-5153) POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Tallahassee Democrat, P.O.

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