The Montgomery Advertiser from Montgomery, Alabama • 1

322 students graduate from AUM 1B wmx SINCE 1 8 2 9: Tuskesee finishes uerfect season SUNDAY Dec. 17, 2000 Montgomery, Edition $1.50 JL --4 rJ. if I L. "We didn't begin by thinking about a perfect season. We just wanted to win a conference title.

But when we won the conference, and then when people started talking about a national championship, we wanted to be the best." Rick Comegy, Tuskegee University head football coach Tuskegee finished the season at 12-0, the most wins in school history and its first perfect slate since the 10-0 year of 1929. Tuskegee came into the game ranked first in the Sheridan Poll and the Black College Sports Page Poll, and with the victory clinched the mythical black college national title. It was the sixth national championship for the Golden Tigers, but the first since 1930. "We didn't begin by thinking about a perfect talking about a national championship, we wanted to be the best. "And what an opportunity for these young men, to be national champions." In the flush of the moment, Comegy also addressed speculation that he might leave Tuskegee.

Til be here," he said. "I talked with the president (Dr. Benjamin F. Payton) and he wants to do things that I want to be done. I don't need to seek somewhere else.

I'm getting my joy of football at Tuskegee." season," said coach Rick Comegy, who has led Tus- kegee to two Southeastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles and a 43-15 record in five years. "We just wanted to win a conference title. But when we won the conference, and then when people started Bon ftora ates 0 The Golden Tigers capped their season with a Pioneer Bowl win By Tom Ensey Montgomery Advertiser ATLANTA, Ga. Jason Lee kicked Tuskegee to a perfect season Saturday, hitting field goals of 21, 27, 42 and 42 yards to give the Golden Tigers a 12-9 win over Winston-Salem State in the fourth annual Pioneer Bowl. HXf A I 1 4 4 Todd Van Ernst Staff Tuskegee's Montrice Terry celebrates during Saturday's game.

I ii ARTS TRAVEL Local artist shares angelic vision 1H Powell accepts position The Associated Press CRAWFORD, Texas Retired Gen. Colin Powell, a son of the South Bronx who rose to become America's highest ranking military officer, accepted Presidentelect Bush's nomination as secretary of state Saturday, pledg-i to strengthen U.S. alliances and stand firm against nations that practice terrorism. "We will defend our Powell Related stories 1AA 4 interests from a position of strength," Powell said. With tears in his eyes, Bush praised his first Cabinet pick as "an American hero, an American example and a great American story." Powell would become the first black secretary of state just as he was the first black to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms, said Powell will make an "exceptional" secretary of state and promised to gain his Senate confirmation before Bush's Jan. 20 inauguration. The committee's ranking Democrat, Sen. Joseph Bi-den of Delaware, said he would work with Helms to move the nomination quickly. "At the present time, I foresee no problems," Biden said, calling Powell "a man of great integrity." FORECAST 36 Clearing, windy and cold today.

4Q0 Mostly dear, very 1 cold tonight. 14A INDEX Alabama 3B Arts Travel 1H Autauga Elmore 9B Business Classified 1E Coffee Break 15G Crossword 15G Editorial 10-11A FYI 2B Lifestyle 1G Lottery 2A Montgomery Movies 7H Nation 7A Obituaries 4B Real Estate ID Sports 1C Washington 13A Weather 14A World 2AA Page edited and designed by Scott Johnson A Gannett Newspaper 94 pages Volume 1 73, Number 3S2 2000 The Advertiser Co. SUBSCRIPTIONS 269-0010 Mi HIT ilt-nitirin-iill'ilii 11 iniimn i HI WilnimiminlMWIllWfclM Dacrita rtarcAnnal anrl rttKorc holn uith An infurpH 4 Associated Press photos chill readings toward zero Saturday night and tonight as the front pushed the stormy weather out of the U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, said he has contacted the Federal Emergency Management Agency to request expedited federal assistance for victims of today's tornadoes.

"I have personally contacted the office of FEMA director James Lee Witt and encouraged him to send a team of experts to Alabama to evaluate the damage done by today's tornado," Shelby said. Gov. Don Siegelman will conduct a tour by helicopter today of the hardest hit area, Tuscaloosa County. A A girl who was pulled from a mobile home is carried through debris in the middle of the road Satur- day in a Tuscaloosa subdivision. The girl was awake and talking after being taken to a hospital.

Storms leave path of destruction T- jTI Other twisters caused damage from Geneva County in extreme southeast Alabama, where at least eight people were injured, to rural Etowah County, with at least 12 injuries, and as far north as Limestone County near the Tennessee line. No injuries were reported in Limestone County. A tornado warning was issued around 5 p.m. in Montgomery, Autauga and Elmore counties, but the tri-county area apparently escaped any damage, and all watches and warnings ended by 10 p.m. The violent storms hit Alabama as temperatures soared into the 70s Saturday afternoon.

A cold front was expected to send wind- about his plans for the court. His path to prominence inspires some who thinks he is a defender of religious freedom and wor- Judge Page 6A I 1 By Alvin Benn Montgomery Advertiser Tornadoes ripped through Alabama on Saturday afternoon, including a twister that swept through a Tuscaloosa subdivision and mobile home park, killing at least 10 people and injuring 54 others. "Tornadoes have hit Alabama from one end of the state to the other," Scott Adcock, state Emergency Management Agency spokesman, said Saturday night. "Several of our counties were hit hard by the storms." Two people were still missing last night after the Tuscaloosa tornado, Adcock said. Grncein.

TiKra loosa On tornadoes swept VIOLENT STORMS Tornadoes struck in at least four Alabama locales Saturday after- i noon. Counties where tornadoei hit timestone Marlowe Mason Staff Nomination letters should be no more than two typewritten pages, providing the name of the nominee and explaining why the person should be considered. The letter must include the name, address and telephone number of the person making the nomination and nominee. Send nominations to the Advertiser, King Spirit Awards, P.O. Box 1000, Montgomery, AL 36101-1000.

Letters also can be faxed to the newspaper at (334) 261-1521. Deadline is Jan. 2. The winners will be announced Jan. 14.

rn Jl Tuscaloosa? I Saturday after a series of through the state. tornado devastated Hinton Place, an upscale housing subdivision about five miles south of downtown Tuscaloosa, and Bear Creek, a sprawling trailer park just south of Tuscaloosa in west Alabama, where mobile homes were blown into mangled, unrecognizable piles of debris. "There's been a large amount of structural damage," Sgt. Greg Kosloff of the Tuscaloosa Police Department said. "Many houses were hit in the Hinton subdivision.

Right now we're in the midst of search and rescue operations." State EMA Director Lee Storms Page 2A words and actions honor King's legacy and help extend his work. Such efforts might include, but are not limited to: Work to promote WJVulS racial un derstand- ing. Service to com munity. Leadership on important community issues. A panel of community leaders familiar with King's work in Montgomery will help the Advertiser select the five award recipients.

Nominations accepted for King Spirit Awards An injured man walks away from his tornado-ravaged neighborhood along Bear Creek Road in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. Judge's rise was meteoric By Mike Cason Montgomery Advertiser State Sen. Larry Means of Gadsden has known Roy Moore since both walked the halls of Etowah County High School, Class of 1965. That image of Moore standing trill on billboards labeled "The Ten Commandments Judge" is genuine, Means said. "He is not a fake.

What you see is what you get," Means said. Based on this year's elections, most Alabama voters agree. They vaulted Moore, David Bundy Staff Judge Roy Moore writes a note in Bibles owned by Sarah Duncan, left, and her brother Daniel Duncan after his election reception in Gadsden. By Jannell McGrew Montgomery Advertiser In 1955, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

was only 26 when he became the leader of the Montgomery bus boycott and modern civil rights movements. Today, the Montgomery Advertiser calls for nominations for the second edition of the King Spirit Awards. The awards were created to recognize people who exemplify King's courageous and determined spirit The winners will be five young central Alabamians, age 30 or younger, whose unknown just six years ago, to the top of the state court system. Moore will be sworn in as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court on Jan. 16.

Moore has said little fwwvv.mcntqomeryadvertiser.com.