The Ithaca Journal from Ithaca, New York • 1

Comiel Pj feared earlier robbery, witness says New town hall could include nod to Ulysses' namesake 3AIjOCal News Air Force: Pilot deliberately flew plane off course IBNation World Tiger Woods surges ahead to lead his first pro major 8BSPORTS Participation picks up in local kayak race 2ALocal News 8BSPORTS A-10 watplane The Ithaca Saturday April 12, 1997 IGURNAL oV- 50 cents Newsstand Ithaca, New York Enabling a world of oppoiiiinity Event information The Second World of Skills event is set for Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Women's Community Building, 100 W. Seneca Ithaca. This year's event will focus on people with disabilities, along with underemployed workers and those re-entering the job market. It will provide an opportunity to network with local employers.

Diverse workers, employers network iQX I 11 Representatives from more than 30 area organiza- Editorial, 10A nuns, muuuiny niyner euuuauuu, manuiauiuniiy, uanu, icLdiiBia, yuvemineiii cuiu Human ocivioc agencies will be in attendance. This year's sponsors include: The Finger Lakes 1 iT lnrienftndftnr.fi Cflnter Thft Ithaca Journal Women's Community Building, 100 W. Seneca Ithaca, to meet people and offer job applications. Employment opportunities may not be available in every represented business, but Ed Pasto, director of vocational rehabilitation services for Challenge Industries, said it's a good start for people having a hard time starting their job search. Roughly 15 percent of the population has a disability, whether it be medical, mental, developmental or physical, said Larry Roberts, program director at the Finger Lakes Independence Center, 609 W.

Clinton Ithaca. In Tompkins County, Challenge Industries See SKILLS, 8A Challenge Industries, Cornell University Office of Human Resources, Occupational Services of the step in attracting an interested and determined group of county people who otherwise might be discouraged or not confident enough to enter the work force again. "We feel like there's a job pool of very committed workers out there," said Melissa Brous, personnel director for Collegetown Bagels a company that will be attending the fair. "It's possible they are more committed than people in the general population." Twenty-one county employers representing higher education, banks, governmental offices, retailers and manufacturing will be on hand from 9:30 a.m. to noon in the By LAUREN STANFORTH Journal Staff At first, Ithaca resident Lew Seely enjoyed his time off from work.

Seely, 55, was forced to quit his job in electrical sales in 1989 after multiple sclerosis made it impossible for him to climb up and down stairs. But after two years, a stagnant life at home became too much. The boredom grated on his nerves and he searched for a way out. Seely got a job in 1991 at Challenge Industries, 402 E. State Ithaca, in the microfilm depart- Finger Lakes, Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES, The ment, but now wants to move on into the work world again.

The Ithaca resident will be among the many disabled county residents taking advantage of The World of Skills II Diversity of Ability and Experience taking place on Wednesday, sponsored by the Finger Lakes Independence Center, The Ithaca Journal, the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, Occupational Services of the Finger Lakes and six other organizations-. The job fair could be one small Human Resource Association of Tompkins County, New York State Department of Labor, Tompkins Cortland Community College and the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce. People with disabilities who are looking for work are invited to attend. To discuss special accommodations or for more information, call Larry Roberts at the Finger Lakes Independence Center, 272-2433. CU center layoffs loom Old owner purchases the State Ciaschi buys time Inflation concerns deflate Dow Vie Associated Press NEW YORK New signs of inflation sent the Dow Jones industrial average down nearly 150 points Friday, wiping out the last bit of the year's gains and leaving the market at its lowest since eservationists December.

The 23-per cent drop took the Dow to 6,391.69 at the close and left it By JOE WILENSKY Journal Staff ITHACA Businessman Joe Ciaschi successfully regained the State Theatre at a foreclosure auction Friday morning, giving local preservation groups a few more months to come up with a plan to ensure its long-term survival. Ciaschi placed the only bid made at the auction; receiving the property, the mortgage and related responsibilities back for $290,000. According to county tax rolls, the property is assessed at nearly 10 percent below its high reached just a month ago. However, trading volume was not particularly high. The stock market's chronic inflation worries surfaced again Friday after the government reported that a key part of its wholesale price report shot up unexpectedly.

The market is watching for inflation signs to get a feel for whether the Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates aggressively to ward off rising prices. 7s $425,000. Ciaschi bought the 1929 theater at a April 1989 auction then sold it in 1994 to the not-for-profit Ithaca Performing Arts Center, which fell behind on payments, prompting the foreclosure. Many preservationists and arts patrons hope to save the theater, MARGUERITE NICOSIAJoumal Staff downtown's only remaining large QjggQjij Weather SUPER SCREENSAVER: Computers in the supercomputer operat- floor of Cornell University's Theory Center, including a terminal ing room reflect on a view of the machine room on the seventh with a waterfowl theme: Federal cuts will hit Theory Center sooner than expected Today: Cloudy with occasional rain. Becoming windy.

High 50 to 55. South wind increasinato i ''J A (j 1 5 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90 percent. Tonight, rain tapering to scattered showers early. Low around 40.

Chance of rain 80 percent. Sunday: Mostly cloudy and breezy. A 40 percent chance of rain or snow showers. High in the mid 40s. Complete forecast, 1 2A that befell a similar building on East State Street, the Strand Theatre, in 1993: the wrecking ball.

Ciaschi said he'll probably wait four or five months for Historic Ithaca Tompkins County or another group to propose to rent or otherwise use the property. "If this lingers on, really, really for a long time, with all the variances and codes and all that I'd like to remodel the building, but I think it might have to be torn down if no one picks this up." "We think of Joe as the good guy in all this," said Historic Ithaca Executive Director Ed Franquemont. "He rescued it once he has the good of the building in his heart. While Historic Ithaca doesn't have the resources to purchase the building, it does have a list of peoj-ple willing to donate time, money and effort to keep the State alive, and promises of donations keep coming in. By JOHN YAUKEY Journal Staff ITHACA Cornell University's Theory Center, which operates a federally designated national super-computing program, will be laving off as much as one-third of its staff sometime in the next six months, officials there said Friday.

As many as 40 of the center's 120 staff members will be given at least five months notice, officials said. It's not yet known who will be terminated. That decision will be made sometime within the next month. The Theory Center is funded and designated as a national facility through the" National Science Foundation. It's one of two national centers that will be dropped, The Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center, a joint project with the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and Westinghouse, also will be phased out.

The two centers selected to continue are at the University of See THEORY, 4A puter has been put on hold. Linda Callahan, director of external relations at the Theory Center, said the reductions in money and staff will not completely eliminate" the university's supercomputing program, which now serves an international clientele of 2,000 researchers working on complex scientific and industrial problems. "It will not be the center as we have known it," she said. "But we're still fairly certain some kind of Theory Center will remain." About Theory Center, 4A 'The announcement, already made to staff, follows a vote by federal science policy advisers March 28 in Arlington, to drop the Theory Center as one of four national super-computing facilities. It was established as a national center in 1985.

Within a year, the center could see a second round of layoffs and the complete loss of federal operating support. The loss of national status could also cost the center a significant com Inside Lent gets 25 years to life for death of Sara Wood Police seek Harris leads from relatives in Ithaca Family, 5A, 6B Health, 5A Horoscope, 1C Landers, 4C Lottery, 12A Movies, 9A Obituaries, 4A Opinion, 10-11 A Police, 4A Religion, 5B Science, 3B Sports, 8B-12B State, 2B Television, 4C Today's Topic, 2B Weddings, 6B Anniversaries, 6B Business, 6A Calendar, 12A Campuses, 3A Classified, 1D-12D Comics, 1C.3C Consumers, 7A County, 3A Crossword, 2C Engagements, 6B Entertainment, 9A Environment, 3B if A. -1 if Deaths William D. Kemp Bemice E. (Wild) Robinson Mildred Scudder Ruth S.

Weaver Obituaries, 4A By WILLIAM KATES Vie Associated Press HERKIMER, N.Y. Robert and Frances Wood thought they would feel some peace to finally see Lewis Lent Jr. sent to jail for the kidnapping and murder of their daughter. But the parents of Sara Anne Wood felt only pain at Lent's sentencing in Herkimer County Court on Friday. Lent walked out of court without telling where he buried Sara's body.

Judge Patrick Kirk sentenced the former janitor from North Adams, to 25 years to life in state prison. The judge offered Lent a last chance to reveal Sara's whereabouts, but Lent's only Lorenda at a store days before the shooting and that she planned to move away from Lester. "She told me that she and her kids were moving downtown, and she said she would stop by and see me," said 28-year-old Liz Owens, who has known both Harrises since she was 8 or 9 years old. "I always knew Leddy had a temper, but I didn't think he was the type of person who could do something like that," she said. Jay Owens a cousin of Lorenda who lives in the Madison Street house, was not surprised.

He said many people in the family disliked Lester. "There shouldn't be any rewards offered for him," he said. "It should be shoot to kill." By KEVIN HARLIN Journal Staff ITHACA Police continued Friday to follow leads some in and around Ithaca in the hunt for for 57-year-old Lester E. Harris Sr. Harris is accused of shooting his 33-year-old common-law wife, Lorenda Harris, Tuesday as she drove away from their home after an apparent fight at 671 Washburn Road in Spencer.

While two days of intense ground searches turned up nothing, police are following leads from family and friends. Several years ago, the couple lived in Ithaca on Madison Street. Relatives still there said they saw Sentence reaction, 4A words were yes or no answers to the judge's questions. Sara disappeared in August 1993 while riding her bike about a mile from her home in Norwich Corners. Prosecutors had hoped the 47-year-old Lent would reveal the location of her body in exchange for a transfer to federal prison, which Lent had asked for.

Lent will never actually get the chance to serve his New York sentence. He will be returned to Massachusetts, where he is serving life without parole for the 1990 slaying of 12-year-old Jimmy Bernardo in Pittsfield, Mass, whose body was found in the woods of Newfield. The Associated Press NO WORD ON SARA: Lewis Lent sits in Herkimer County Court Friday during his sentencing for the 1993 abduction and murder of Sara Anne Wood, "40901 "038 3.