The Montgomery Advertiser from Montgomery, Alabama • 2

Montgomery Advertiser 2A Thursday, Nov. 18, 1999 Timbasr: Mild, dry weather this fall, winter favors pine beetle LOTTERY Wednesday's numbers Florida Cash 3: 9-1-1 Play 4: 8-6-6-3 Fant. 5: 3-5-8-11-16 Lotto: 5-13-39-47-51-52 Georgia Cash 3 Midday: 0-1-6 Cash 3 Evening: 9-0-1 Cash 4: 4-8-4 8 Fant. 5: 7-19-21-29-31 said. "But if it's in your back yard and not near other pines that could also become affected, we recommend you leave the tree there as it provides a home for squirrels and screech owls, and insects which are food for woodpeckers." There are chemicals that can curb the spread of the pine beetles.

Pirtle said homeowners can use chemical sprays from farm supply stores which are "dangerous" if not handled properly. He said they rarely help once a tree gets the bugs. Cooper advises timber land owners to inspect trees regularly. "Keep a watch out for the Southern pine beetle," he said. "If you see it, cut the affected trees and cut a buffer zone.

And don't put it off. That's the worst thing you can do." From Page 1A dies start dropping. When rainfall is abundant, pine trees naturally fight off many of the insects. "The natural way a pine tree kills pine beetles is by drowning them in sap" as the beetle drills Into the cambium layer, Pirtle said. Lack of water means there is less sap.

The weather this fall is on the side of the pine beetle. "The overall forecast for this fall and winter is predicted to be mild and dry," he said. That translates to the continuing expansion of the epidemic which otherwise would have been put on hold during cold weather. The epidemic is bad news for timber land owners in some areas per said. And trees "have not flooded the market," as a result of landowners rushing to harvest their timber.

Forestry officials are already waging war on the beetles. The Alabama Southern Pine Beetle Suppression Project is funded by the Alabama Forestry Commission and the U.S. Forest Service, Hy-land said. The federal government funds the program with $400,000 and Alabama provides $575,000. Once a "spot" has been located from the air, foresters then coordinate teams to go to the site and cut down the live trees in a "buffer zone," the surrounding perimeter typically of about 70 to 80 feet in width, Pirtle said.

The landowner pays for the cutting in many cases, he said. However, in some instances when the landowner resides in another state and can't be reached, or when contract cutters are unavailable, the commission will cut the spots and absorb the cost to halt the spread of the epidemic, Pirtle "To keep the Southui pine beetle from spreading to other liees, you have to cut down the surrounding live trees in a buifer zone that is as wide as the affected trees are tall," Pirtle said. "And these trees grow to be about 70 to 80 feet high." Aside from forests, some trees in parks and yards have fallen victim to the beetle, Pirtle said. He estimates a tree surgeon would charge about $1,000 to $2,000 to remove a stricken tree from a yard. "You might want to remove the (stricken) tree from your front yard for aesthetic reasons," Pirtle who feel pressured to cut their timber and sell it now, before it falls victim to the beetle, rather than waiting for the trees to get bigger and the market prices to go higher, Pirtle said.

Not everyone is panicked by the bug. John Cooper, a registered forester with Bayou Wood, an Autau-gaville company that buys and sells timber, said land owners in Autauga and Chilton counties with whom he works are not rushing to sell large tracts of trees. "They are just cutting a buffer zone around the affected trees" to stop the spread of the beetle and to sell the wood in that isolated area before the beetle renders it useless, Cooper said. Most paper mills harvest trees from within a 100-mile radius, Coo Tan: Corporate increase, provisional plan receive approval Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, voted against the corporate tax Increase because it called for the special March 21 election, which will cost taxpayers about $3 million.

Hall said the tax referendum vote could have been held during scheduled elections, in June and November, saving the $3 million. "It makes sense to me that if we've got consensus on this, that we ought to be able to get it passed anytime," Hall said. Rep. Bill Fuller, D-LaFayette, said the special election would be worth the $3 million because families are directly affected by the state services depending on the money. "The sooner we can relieve some of the tension on these caregivers' minds, the better," Fuller said.

The two-day hearing produced no vocal opposition to the plan, although business lobbyists were busy in the State House halls and the bills were adjusted before the final vote. 1 5 Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery, explains bills designed to fix the franchise tax crisis to House members. Knight is chairman of the Ways and Means-General Fund committee. Station: Rebuilding of station caused delay in airing programs Visit the newspaper Madison Avenue 1 1 Montgomery Was Advertiser Washington Downtown 200 Washington Ave.

I 2 Mail P.O. Box 1000 Montgomery AL 36101-1000 Call the newspaper (334) 262-1611 Presidentpublisher Thomas A. Bookstaver 261-1582 Executive editor Paula S. Moore 261-1509 Managing editor Andrew Oppmann 261-1516 Advertising director Mark Logsdon 261-1571 Circulation director Rufus Friday 261-1506 Marketing director Tom Cooper 261-1558 Production director Mike O'Connor 264-1657 ext. 123 Controller Delinda Renner 261-1552 Human Resources director Fred Villacampa 261-1574 Systems director Tim Gould 261-1554 To subscribe 269-0010 in Montgomery area (800) 488-3579 toll-free in Alabama www.accessmontgomery.com on the Web Call the Montgomery Advertiser Customer Service Department between 6 a.m.

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Your comments will be used to improve the news report. Place an advertisement Classified 264-3733 Display ad 261-1546 Private-party I-classified 264-3733 Owned and published daily and Sunday by The Advertiser 200 Washington Montgomery AL 36104, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc. Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Ala. (ISSN 08924457). Postmaster Send change of address to Montgomery Advertiser, P.O.

Box 10Q0, Montgomery AL 36101-1000. The publisher reserves the right to change subscription rates during the term of subscription with a 30-day notice. The notice may be by mail to the subscriber, by notice contained in the newspaper itself or otherwise. Subscription rate changes may be implemented by changing the duration of the subscription. "I have not received nor heard any negative comments about these bills," Hall said.

The consensus-building began last summer when Siegelman asked business representatives to come up with their ideas to replace the state's franchise tax, ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in March because out-of-state companies paid more than 90 percent of the amount collected. The Business Associations' Tax Coalition, made up of 35 statewide associations, gave the governor its plan on Nov. 11. Parts of that plan were included in Siegelman's bills.

The coalition supported other parts of Siegelman's plan, Mabry said. Besides the corporate tax increase, the bills would equalize the franchise tax on in-state and out-of-state companies and require limited liability companies to pay the tax for the first time. Most would pay the minimum $100, Mabry said. Dave Price, formerly ofKOMU in Columbia, as anchor; Deanna Poe, formerly of WAKA as meteorologist; and Mark Hall, formerly of WTVY in Dothan, as sports director. Price The same team will do Sunday shows at 5 p.m.

and 10 p.m., Cox said. Shows will be moved to other times or pre-empted to make room for the news shows. For example. Cox said, "World News Now," in the morning, will be replaced by the 90-minute local show. "Grace Under Fire," in the 11 a.m.

slot, will be moved into a late-night position. "Millennium Milestones" focus on 365 key events in history one a day for every day of 1999, until the unofficial start of the third millennium on Jan. 1, 2000. They highlight people and events that shape today's world and prepared the path to the next millennium. Ivan III steered Russia toward Orthodoxy The Russian state came together later than many European or Asian states and had to survive between these two often-hostile peoples.

Hence many of Russia's cultural pieces were assembled hastily, as in a jigsaw puzzle. In religion, the overwhelming strength of the Russian Orthodox Church is based on decisions by Ivan III, known as Ivan the Great. His second wife, Sophia, whom he married in 1472, was the niece of the last Byzantine emperor. Under her influence, Ivan allied Russia's religious rites more closely with the Greek Orthodox Church of Byzantium than with the Catholic Church. Thus Russia largely sat out the Protestant Reformation.

Ivan's Byzantine alliance had effects far outside religion as he modeled his rule on the autocratic style of Byzantine rulers. By 1832, Russian Orthodox influence was so prevalent that Tsar Nicholas I declared "orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality," the official state theology. Gannett News Service IILLENMmiX. a MILESTONES From Page 1A On Wednesday, after a two-day hearing, the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee approved all four bills in the tax plan, including the corporate tax increase and a provisional plan in case voters reject the increase. "I think we're closer to getting this problem solved," said state Finance Director Henry Mabry, a Siegelman appointee who explained the bills to the committee.

"The unanimous approval of the committee says something. I'm sure we'll hit some bumps in the road." The House met for 90 minutes Wednesday, long enough to hold a required reading of the bill. It is expected to vote on the bills today. If passed, the bills go to the Senate, where they could be voted on as early as Saturday. On Wednesday, the bills fell just short of unanimous approval in the Ways and Means committee.

A Artz Hall ell, who is also news director, and DeeDee Sharp and weatherman Dan Atkinson. Editorialist Bob Ingram will offer commentary several times a week at 6 p.m. Howell's co-anchor at 10 p.m. will be Elizabeth Artz, formerly of WMBB in Panama City, Fla. The general manager announced that six other on-air personalities will join the expanded news lineup.

Kim White, formerly of WMCF in Montgomery, and a former Miss North Dakota, will anchor the 90-minure "Morning Edition." Cox We deliver tl nmp or i flnn apfl 379 mtf 0 one call 286-WELL. IS) in promote Health. childbirth prepare to possible start Health information programs throughout Why do we you stay the more living, the CARING Pylant Dascanio said meteorologist Dave Pylant, formerly of KOAM in doplin, will provide the weather on that show. At 11 a.m., the 30-minute "ABC 32 News at 11" will be anchored by Sarah Dascanio, formerly of WAAY in Huntsville. Pylant will do the weather, he said.

The unusual time slot was dictated by network policy, which requires a live broadcast at noon of "All My Children," Cox said. Cox said on weekends a 30-min-ute show on Saturday at 6 p.m. and another at 10 p.m. will feature IRontgomf rg Advertiser choose to know net www arc our area does more to 1 David Alan Planchet Staff White Poe the stove is a day or two late," he said. The station plans a week-night anchor team at 5 p.m.

and 6 p.m. of familiar Montgomery faces, including veteran co-anchors Bob How- -4 tMy 1 nf range of health services, vi ift I A .1 1 From Page 1A ratings book comes out and see what the numbers say," said Jim Caruthers, general manager of WAKA, Montgomery's CBS affiliate. I Cox said advertising agencies and customers can project viewer-ship and rates "if we get as few as five days of the month." Formerly WHOA-TV, the ABC station was bought by Channel 32 Montgomery LLC, in April. Construction work went on around Cox at the station this week, as he said rebuilding the station caused the delay in airing the news programs. "It's like building a house.

The cabinets may not be ready on time, 1 For information on our wide 1 I Jt 1 A --y I women's health than Baptist Our Stork Club and classes help women give their babies the best in life. The Women's Connection provides health and educational of interest to women each stage of their lives. do so much more to help healthy? Because we know you know about healthy healthier your life can be. ll 1 cSa Baptist LI Health FOR CENTRAL ALABAMA www.baptisthealthnet.ory.