The Montgomery Advertiser from Montgomery, Alabama • 1

Ellasters: Couples, Duval share lead; Woods in hunt ID MOOTGOM EKf ADVERTISE APRIL II, 1998 FINAL EDITION 50C SPECIAL REPORT: TORNADO CLEANUP BEGINS Irish promise of peace uneasy Awing ipjuigioj I i.i Ji I I 'f H-WJ ii ii ii u-. nj. i i.i i.iii.i... jjwp VW winnu II ll .1 1 ft 4 I '-r- r. J-i: i I IN, iv Vj w.

i j-" I u- 4 -jcv s-J s-r ASSOCIATED PRESS Houses lie obliterated Friday in west Jefferson County following Wednesday's tornado. Vice president tours tornado-ravaged area H' I 'The spirit is quite inspiring. The whole country was touched by what was happening here Al Gore VICE PRESIDENT CQ FULL PAGE INSIDE Death toll at 33, 160 injured; 1,117 homes destroyed Gore tours path of tornado in suburban Atlanta 4A Survivor bears scars of killer tornado 4A How Montgomerians can help survivors 1B DAVID ALAN PLANCHETSTAFF Violette said she doesn't remember much of what happened. "I just remember the wind." Violette and Ruby's family and neighbors are helping clean up. Ruby's daughter, Mary Wave, and her husband Harry traveled from Panama City, in a recreational vehicle.

Another daughter, Pat Russell, came down from Fort Payne with husband Jim. "We're here to help salvage what personal items we can," Russell said. Jim Evans, a friend of Violette's and Ruby's who was at work during the storm, was thankful his neighbors survived. "There's nothing you can do about it, but clean up and start again," Evans said. "Your lives can't be replaced but that can, said Evans, gesturing to the rubble that once was Violette's house.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Pope John Paul II participates in the Stations of the Cross procession Friday. 4 imwonwMOTHM i By Shawn Pogatchnik ASSOCIATED PRESS BELFAST, Northern Ireland In a sweeping accord that reduced many hard-bitten politicians to tears, negotiators cleared the way Friday for "a new beginning" for Northern Ireland after 30 years of bitter rivalries and bloody attacks. Exhilarated and exhausted, the eight participating parties approved a settlement presented by the talks chairman, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, after a 32-hour negotiating marathon.

"I have seen no sour faces. Everybody is content. That's amazing given the range of views in there a bloody miracle," said Oliver Napier of the non-sectarian Alliance Party, one of many politicians who found themselves moist-eyed at the prospect of peace at last. The accord the most important since the foundation of Northern Ireland 77 years ago raises hopes for an end to a conflict that has left more than 3,400 dead since 1969 in Northern Ireland, Britain and the INSIDE: Irish leaders face difficult battles. 6A.

Old divisions war with new peace. 6A. Clinton, aides go sleepless in 6A. Irish Republic. Problems inevitably lie ahead.

Hard-liners on both sides of the divide some who speak most powerfully with bombs and guns object to key provisions of the agreement, two key parties must take the accord back to their memberships, and major issues remain to be worked out. But after 22 arduous months of debating, negotiators allowed themselves to bask in their achievement, if only briefly. "Today, we have just a sense of the prize that lies before us," said British Prime Minister Tony Blair, standing beside his Irish counterpart, Bertie Ahern. "Today's historic agreement marks a new beginning for all of us," Ahern agreed. "It's a day we should treasure a day when we hope a line can be drawn under the bloody past." Negotiators credited Mitchell for pushing everyone toward a midnight Thursday deadline, more than three years after President Clinton first sent him to Ireland.

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171, No. 10148 pages Jim Evans takes out time to talk with his neighbor Ruby Jones, 91, in the devastated Sylvan Springs community. Families, friends join rescue effort Action: As Gore spoke, FEMA officials were going house to house to aid victims By Alvin Benn MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER ROCK CREEK Financial assistance will be on the way within two weeks to victims of the killer tornado that hit Jefferson County Wednesday night, federal officials who visited the area said Friday. Federal Emergency Management Agency workers will be going door to door in the ravaged areas to inform residents of the assistance available. "We're trying to make it as easy as possible," Director James Lee Witt said.

He joined Vice President Al Gore, who along with two Clinton Cabinet members got an aerial view of the devastation Friday morning aboard a military helicopter. The group then walked through the rubble of this tiny west Jefferson community. Gore described the damage as "unprecedented." Rated an F-5 the most serious storm designation listed by the National Weather Service the tornado claimed 33 lives, hurt more than 100 people and destroyed or damaged more than to 1,100 houses. Officials have yet to estimate the cost of the destruction. As the federal contingent landed, an army of emergency workers and volunteers poured into the do killed 20 people at a church near Anniston.

The whole country was touched by what was happening here," Gore said. He promised to help cut through the red tape usually associated with federal programs to bring financial help fast. "Within 7 to 10 days, there will be a check," Gore said. Gore reminisced about his days as a newspaper reporter for the Nashville Tennessean when he reported on a tornado. He said one of his first assignments involved writing about a tornado in which his wife, Tipper, and their first child, became part of the story.

"She and our daughter huddled in the middle of the house and part of the duplex was destroyed," he said. "When I got home, I felt some of the emotions that some of the folks here have been feeling the past few days." Gov. Fob James greeted Gore at Please turn to TORNADO, 4A By David Alan Planchet MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER SYLVAN SPRINGS "The Lord up yonder watched over me," said Ruby Jones, 91, as she stood Friday outside her mobile home. Somehow, it was spared from the destructive wrath of the tornado that struck her Sylvan Springs community Wednesday night. Jones' daughter Violette, who lives barely 100 feet away, was lucky to escape with her life.

Her conventional home was destroyed. The two were on the telephone to each other when the tornado struck. Violette survived because of a staircase that fell on top of her, shielding her from flying debris. "Everything that I've got is gone," Violette said. "There is nothing left." Earlier, John Paul heard the confessions of 16 people in St.

Peter's Church, a tradition he began in 1979. The confessors came from Burkina Faso, Italy, Spain, the United States and the pope's native Poland, the Vatican said. Elsewhere on Good Friday, thousands of pilgrims retraced Jesus' last steps in Jerusalem, some shouldering wooden crosses. Dozens of believers in Taxco, Mexico, whipped themselves or strapped 100 pounds of thorny blackberry stalks to their bare shoulders in penance. And in the Philippines, 18 people screamed and grimaced on crosses while nails were driven through their hands and feet.

ASSOCIATED PRESS Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, peer outside an Alabama Air National Guard helicopter Friday as they review damage from Wednesday's twister. areas hardest hit by the storm. Alabama Power Co. crews from throughout the state were at work, taking down destroyed poles and putting up new ones as they prepared to restore electricity. The resilience shown by victims and their relatives who have begun the cleanup was not lost on Gore, who spent part of his brief visit here chatting with them.

"The spirit is quite inspiring," said Gore, who visited Alabama four years ago when another torna- INSIDE: Sunrise services aim to accurately re-create resurrection atmosphere. 1C. Easter events in central Alabama. 1C. own suffering with the anguish of the "humiliated, downtrodden and exploited" in today's world.

"In every person suffering from hatred and violence, or rejected by selfishness and indifference, Christ continues to suffer and die," he said. For the fourth consecutive year, the pope bore the cross only briefly. The 78-year-old pontiff has been Thousands gather to mark Good Friday hobbled since undergoing hip replacement surgery in 1994. Still, his voice sounded firm, and he appeared to gather strength as the evening went on. Others who joined the pope in bearing the cross during the procession included Catholics from the Philippines, Italy, Argentina, China and Burundi.

The homily marking the Good Friday ritual, known as the Stations of the Cross, was written by Orthodox Christian theologian Olivier Clement of France. It underscored the suffering of women and lamented the pain that Christians have inflicted on Jews by accusing them over the centuries of killing Jesus. ASSOCIATED PRESS ROME Protected from the driving, chilly rain by an aide's white umbrella, Pope John Paul II carried a wooden cross in a solemn Good Friday procession at the Colosseum to symbolize Christ's suffering before his crucifixion. Thousands of people stood beneath umbrellas outside the ancient monument, holding candles during the annual ritual enacting Jesus' execution and the events leading to it. The pope walked haltingly for a short stretch, carrying the lightweight cross.

Later, in a homily, John Paul said Christ identifies through his COIYIING SUNDAY: A status report on the case that triggered a 'Save the Ten Commandments' rally one year ago ,.1.