The Jackson Sun from Jackson, Tennessee • 1

mmim rir: Jackson aces art rnrrmotitinn Today: 1 Chance of jjjk afternoon gZLil T-storms Sampras falls, gets up, wins Navratilova plays in women's final today "r-; TI-iii'Nrt nidi -iv4i Jackson murder suspect arrested Man extradited for 1 993 east Jackson slaying Page 3A 1 Wm PagelB BMrM Page 1 Pete SamPras gift Jackson officials talk with Nashville Xpress owner about possibility of local team by '96. By DAN MORRIS Sun sports editor Past strikeouts aside, Jackson rejoined the candidates for a Double-A minor league baseball team Friday when city officials entertained Nashville Xpress owner Dennis Bastien. Bastien, 41, is sole owner and general manager of the Xpress, which must find a permanent home by 1996. The team has shared Greer Stadium with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds the mm toured the city and region and picked up a copy of the market study Jackson put together in 1992 when it was in the running for a franchise. Bastien closed the deal on the Xpress acquisition in May.

He has been living in Lexington, since January trying to con Bastien vince that city to build a stadium for his team. His efforts crumbled last month when the city turned down an effort to increase an existing tax to help finance the project. "Our first preference is still if. 1 1 is Rights leader Hooks in local crime march fe'S2S iffcwM i BTiJr I "it I ft 'O Beauty Thy Sting' Saturday July 2, 1994 Jackson, Tennessee (pDGU Proposed site of Jackson's Class AA Baseball Stadium Jackson's search for a baseball team, year-by-year, Page 2A. k.

Reaction from local fans, Page 1C. Smaller jail gets county backing Commissioners set $10 million limit on building costs; site awaits word from city." By SANDY HODSON The Jackson Sun Where a new Madison County Jail will be built still is unknown, but county commissioners Friday approved a scaled-down version and borrowing most of the $10 million needed to build it. With a 13-12 vote, commissioners opted to build a 277-bed jail with two courtrooms. Also, spending was limited to $10 million and the commission's Property Committee is supposed to find a location on county-owned land if it cannot talk Jackson city leaders into trading or selling the land at the Jackson police station. The decision not to include a location for the new jail came after a passionate plea from Lane College President Wesley McClure.

He protested the Law Enforcement Committee's rec- Please see SMALLER, next page Commissioners approve budget, tentative tax rate, Page 2A WHAT'S NEXT Madison County Commissioners will meet July 6 at 8 p.m. to formally adopt a resolution that calls for borrowing $2.8 million for this year's capital expenditures and $7.2 million for a new jail. Interest on the 12-year bond issue is estimated at $4.76 million. man said no charges have been filed, and investigators are waiting for blood-alcohol test results on King to come back from the crime lab. "We sure don't want people to drink and drive," Freeman said.

"This is what can happen when they do." In the accident report, King said she bought the beer from a south Jackson convenience store. King was driving a 1988 Chevrolet Bcretta east on Steam Mill Ferry when she veered off the right side of the road, Into a ditch, struck a mailbox and then hit a tree. No one was wearing a seat belt. ll Jackson ('1 MORE INSIDE lb Complete report on Page 2A. 35 cents Jim Bakker is out of prison Former TV evangelist Jim Bakker arrived Friday at a North Carolina halfway house after spending more than four years in prison for defrauding investors out of millions of dollars.

Nation, Page 5A Man escapes from jail with dental floss rope CHARLESTON, W.Va. -Robert Shepard didn't need a file baked in a cake to get out of jail. Dental floss worked just fine. While cameras, guards and computer-controlled doors were keeping other inmates in, Shepard braided the floss into a rope as thick as a telephone cord and used it to scale an 18-foot wall. Shepard escaped from the recreation yard, which is topped by a chain-link fence.

Shepard, 34, remained at large Friday, two days after the breakout. Story, Page 2A Former police officer convicted of neglect DETROIT A former police sergeant was convicted of neglect of duty Friday for failing to stop two police officers from beating a man to death with metal flashlights. Freddie Douglas testified Thursday that he never saw a blow struck after he arrived at the scene of the beating as the supervising officer. He was fired after the beating. Douglas faces up to a year in jail for the misdemeanor.

A sentencing date has not been set. His lawyer said he would appeal. From wire reports SIMPSON CASE The judge in the O.J. Simpson case refused Friday to open an envelope containing a mysterious piece of evidence. Simpson witnesses described finding the body of Nichole Simpson Brown.

Page 5A. TOMORROW How to protect yourself against tornadoes. Newt. An unusual profession for an unusual woman Betsy Kelsey finds bail bonding is a fascinating view of justice at work. Living.

Jackson Sun readers get a chance to send in their favorite CubsCardinals memories. Sports. INDEX Business BC Nation 6 A Classified 6B Opinion 7A Comics 4B Sports 1C Crossword 12B Television 2B Deaths SA Weather 2A Living IB West 4A Local 3A World SA Si f. Michael Mallard's Where is to get a ballpark built in Lexington, Bastien said. "We will know fairly soon whether it is or isn't going to happen there.

If it happens it will be because a miracle falls out of the skies It would take some monumental efforts What we're doing now is exploring other possibilities." The Xpress, which Bastien bought for about $4 million, is the same franchise Jackson investors came close to purchasing in July 1992. Under a four-day deadline, they could not present a letter of credit to the Southern League on time. Please see JACKSON, next page a rffW li i a I. wherever they want to go." Leadership Council Co-chairwoman Shirlene Mercer pointed out Jackson has had only one murder this year. She hoped aloud that the hot summer months of July and August typically high crime months don't mar that record.

Said Leadership Council Co-chairman Nick Pappis in a closing prayer: "It's up to us coming together from all segments of our city, community and culture." Madison County General Hospi tal. A condition report was unavailable Friday night. Stewart was in intensive care at Re gional Medical Center in Memphis. A family member said Stewart had two broken legs and a head injury. King told Mad-ison County Sheriffs Department investiga Brittain tors she and Stewart had seven to eight 7-ounce beers and Brittain had five beers, according to an accident report.

Deputy Chief Tommy Free- 0mm we i 1 past two seasons. If Bastien decides Jackson is the preferred site, the city council would have to approve financing for construction of a stadium. Costs would run between $8.5 million and $12 million. "We're a long way from (approaching the council)," Jackson Mayor Charles Farmer said. "Dennis hasn't told us yet he has a real interest in Jackson.

If he does, the timetable would be to have a stadium ready for 1996." Bastien said he liked the visibility of the proposed stadium site on city owned property at the Christmasville Road and Interstate 40 interchange. He said in the grassy commons area of Merry Lane Courts. About 100 people circled around under gusty skies to join Hooks in call and response chants of "I am I may be black. I may be white. But I am somebody.

I may have been born in the slums. But the slums are not born in me. I am somebody." Hooks especially praised the participation of children, recalling Martin Luther King dream of seeing the sons of former slaves and of former tive officer. Clifton left the Jackson chamber in January to become chief operating officer of the Memphis Chamber of Commerce. "Jim has extensive experience with both economic and community development and he displays a keen sense of team management," said Jim Moss, Chamber board of directors chairman.

Background of new chamber leader, Page 8C fth-i 4 Jf 11 Mfi hm mt- ni mi. Benjamin Hooks, right, former national NAACP director, and the Rev. Roland Porter, assistant to Jackson Mayor Ex-NAACP leader LARRY ATHERTONThe Jackson Sun Charles Farmer, join in the anti-crime march at Merry Lane Courts Friday afternoon. hails crime fight slaveholders sitting down together. During the march, which circled the 96-unit apartment complex twice, dozens of residents waved from their porches or doors.

Hooks didn't miss the opportunity to promote Shelby County Mayor Bill Morris, who also attended the march, as his choice for governor. Hooks said Tennessee needs to drive drug dealers "to North Carolina, to Arkansas, to Mississippi, to hell or Tennessee needs to drive out drug dealers, Hooks says. By DIANA BRANUM The Jackson Sun Former national NAACP director Benjamin Hooks lavished praise on Jackson's crime-fighting efforts Friday after he participated in the 40th weekly anti-crime march. "We're going to try to take a lesson from Jackson and take this back to Memphis," Hooks Alcohol suspected in teen's road death Mississippian selected as top chamber official By DARLETTE SAMUELS The Jackson Sun A 15-year-old south Jackson girl died late Thursday night in Madison County from injuries suffered in a wreck the sheriffs department suspects was alcohol-related. Samantha Dee Brittain, a student at South Side High School, was killed in the one-car accident on Steam Mill Ferry Road at 10:30 p.m.

The driver of the car, 20-year-old Jennifer Ann King of Bemis, and passenger Brian Keith Stewart, 19, of 90 Clayton also were injured. King was taken to Jackson- The Jackson Sun The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce has unani mously named a Mississippi man its new top official. James B. Flanagan, 40, of Olive Branch, succeeds Chris Clifton as the Flanagan chamber's president and chief execu AM..