The Daily Spectrum from Saint George, Utah • 1

March lO, 1997 Big Dance Time The NCAA men's basketball field excluded some prominent teams from the Big East Conference and made the Utes a No. 2 seed. Bl Country If ARCH Madnes II HE rW J-L I JUL JLL1 Weather Watch Teaching brings pastor closer to his religion I r-i By MARTA MURVOSH Low Tonight High Tuesday Near Near 40 80 Elsewhere A I gsga Spectrum photo JudBurkett to attend the Center for Jewish Studies Seventh-day Adventist Church Pastor Don Pate teaches a possibly only, gentile Jewish studies class at Dixie College. Pate was the first, and in Berkeley, Calif. Rival casinos, employees await Black reshuffle at Players Island The Spectrum Teaching Jewish studies helps a St.

George Seventh-day Adventist Church pastor get closer to his Christianity. Pastor Don Pate can't easily visualize a life without God. "A person has to define for themselves what they will choose to believe," Pate said. "Nothing is more important in the whole universe than what a person chooses to believe. "Choice is the strongest operative thing in life.

A person can live with dignity and justice, to a higher standard rather than just what makes me happy." Pate said he discovered his empathy for Judaism when he took a class from W.D. Davies at Texas Christian University. An internationally recognized Jewish scholar, Davies advised Pate to continue in the field and offered to help. Davies' sponsorship got Pate into the Center for Jewish Studies in Berkeley, where Pate was ministering a church. Pate was the first and possibly only gentile to attend the center, a seminary con- nected to University of California, Please see FACE on A2 i 1- i 1 Spectrum photo Nick Adams Lauren Mermejo, a planner for the Bureau of Land Management, said she really began to worry when she saw the stream lower by four feet and "head cut," eroding banks upstream.

She had a retaining wall in her back yard a cement wall designed to divert flood water away from the home but still felt unsafe. She organized the neighborhood and asked St. George officials to reinforce the wall, which they did. Lauren Mermejo said she still worries about the river shifting paths and whether the retaining wall is stable. "You live every day wondering when the next flood's going to come down, and what it's going to do to the retaining wall," she said.

Please see RIVER on A2 Tobacco industry directed at keeping children from picking up the habit, he also suggested that tobacco would be as illegal as heroin if it were a new product instead of something deeply ingrained in the nation's history. Still, he said he is not inclined to make such a drastic proposal. But he will do "everything in my power" to ensure young people are fully aware of the dangers and that the products not be glamorized. At a task force meeting last month, Hansen said, "Advertising is a key component of the tobacco Industry's push to Please see TOBACCO on A2 suspect sought ATLANTA The FBI is looking for a man they believe sought a remote hideout in the Ozark mountains of Missouri with Oklahoma City bombing suspects Timothy McVeigh and John Doe Terry Nichols, CNN and Time magazine reported Sunday. A6 Flood victims pull together to survive losses FALMOUTH, Ky.

In towns devastated by an act of God, worshipers along the flooded Ohio River basin prayed in shelters and makeshift churches Sunday to give thanks for their lives, even if they lost their homes. A6 Unionized Latinos take asbestos protest to streets SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. In a large-scale attempt to recover some of the labor movement's old clout by rebuilding its ranks, a major laborers' union is in the midst of a million-dollar campaign to organize Southern California asbestos workers. Road Watch ST. GEORGE Skyline Drive is closed from 900 East to about Pioneer Park while a water pipe is installed.

Work should continue for two to three weeks. Pioneer Park is accessible from the west. Utah Department of Transportation is installing left-hand turn lights at three intersections for the next two weeks. Left-hand turn lanes at Green Springs Drive and Telegraph Street, Hilton Drive and Bluff Street and Dixie Downs Road and Sunset Boulevard may be blocked temporarily. HURRICANE State Route 9 is under construction from Brentwood to Hurricane.

Speed limits have been reduced from 55 mph to 40 mph, with some sections at 30 mph during construction hours. Traffic also is being rerouted onto an unpaved stretch of the new roadway. Motorists are cautioned to stay alert and travel slowly. For more information, call 635-2628. To add an item to Road Watch, call The Spectrum at (80 1) 674-6237.

Inside Today Classified B5 Obituaries Comics B6 Opinion A4 Entertainment Scrambler B10 Lifestyles A11 Sports B1 Local A2 State A4 Movies A10 Television A10 Nation A6 World A8 SUBSCRIBER SERVICE: Though we strive for 100 percent on-time delivery, errors do sometimes occur. If you haven't received your Spectrum by 6 p.m. on weekdays or 9 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, call the number in your area before 7 p.m. on weekdays and between 8-10 a.m.

on weekends. Circulation Department St. George (801)674-6212 Cedar City (801)586-6999 The Santa Clara River now flows within a few feet of homes in the Creekside subdivision, due in part to development upstream, assistant city engineer Jay Sandberg said. The sandy stretch at right was once the stream's bed, but it shifted after developers cleared vegetation from the stream bank for a private park, he said. Officials consider protecting homes from encroaching rivers The resort's present appeal brings balance to tthe community, said Greg Lee, vice president of tfcvelopment for Mesquite Casino.

"We'll always compete with the other casinos, but it's enjoyable to have a property going after different areas of the marketplace," Lee said. "When Players was out there, maybe mistakenly, bringing in the high rollers, it helped put Mesquite on the map." The business atmosphere could become more competitive if Black changes the casino, Lee said. But he said he's encouraged by the family's history of cooperation. "The Blacks have always been very active in the Resort Association," Lee said. They've always had some good ideas about attracting people to Mesquite." Black's management style may help Players become more profitable, but it also might leave some employees out in the cold if Black brings his own management team to the casino.

But Black's interest in the resort may bode well for the management team because it's an indication Players can become profitable, said George Maragos, vice president of hotel operations at Players Island. "When this management team took over in July of last year, our goal was to turn this place around and make it successful," he said. "We should all be very proud that what we've done has made people take interest in the place enough to offer to buy it." Other employees aren't too concerned about their jobs. "I think they'll bring in their own management team, but they'll keep the people like the dealers if they are good," said Players dealer Anne H.S. Loh.

By HANS K. MEYER The Spectrum No one is sure what Randy Black Sr. will do with his new casino, Players-' Island in Mesquite. But the announcement that Black had purchased the 500-room resort and casino Feb. 28 for $30.5 million has touched off a run of speculation about what changes he plans to make.

Rival casino owners are hoping Black won't change too much at the resort, which was sold by Players International Inc. because it was losing money and the company wanted to focus its efforts on other casinos. "Mesquite needs a different focus," said Larry Mullin, marketing director for Si Redd's Oasis In Mesquite. "The spa at Players Island can pull a lot of different customers that the Oasis or even the Virgin River can't pull." Black, who owns the Virgin River Hotel and Casino, will operate two of the four major casinos in the city when he takes over Players in June. He could not be reached for comment.

Mullin said he doubts Black will change much at the casino, which probably will continue to draw new visitors to the city. "If you. look at all the energy focused at Players Island recently, it's all been positive," he said. "Now we, as a business community, need to give Randy Black all the optimistic support we can. "Randy Black is a very talented man and a very dynamic individual.

His type of dynamic approach will drive business throughout the community." Lex Hall, Virgin River Casino general manager, also said he felt Black's style will help him in this new venture. "We feel that the acquisition of Players Island is a perfect fit," Hall said in an official statement released by the casino. "Our style of customer service and management can only enhance a resort like Players Island." By SCOn VAN WINKLE The Spectrum When Lauren and David Mermejo moved into their home five months ago, the stream bed running behind it was dry. Then they heard their back yard had been in the way of a massive flood the year before a 25-year storm that heavily damaged the neighbor's wall and brought flood water within a foot of other homes. "We were really upset," Lauren Mermejo said.

"We probably never would have bought (the home) had we known it was in the flood plain." The situation got worse, as the Mermejos watched the stream bed shift and move closer to their home after subsequent rainstorms. battles with the "His constituents overall have a different mindset," Lauria said. The statement was an allusion to the stereotype of the state's residents as clean living people, stemming largely from Mormon teachings against the use of coffee, tea, alcohol and tobacco. But Hansen ascribed his attitude to a lifetime of gathering information and observing what smoking does to people. For example, a surgeon in his district, Dr.

Chuck Edwards, has shown him tapes of operations in which patients' Jaws have been removed because of oral cancers caused by smoking. Although Hansen said he believes adults should have the right to smoke if they want and most of his efforts are Hansen prepares for even more By HARRY STOFFER Spectrum Washington Bureau WASHINGTON One of the toughest anti-smoking bills proposed so far in the current Congress is a measure to ban the advertising of tobacco products. It was introduced, not by a meddlesome, do-gooding liberal, but rather by Rep. James Hansen, R-Farmington, who consistently receives ratings of close to 100 percent from conservative and pro-business lobbying organizations. Hansen disputed a reporter's suggestion of an Incongruity between his credentials as an advocate of free enterprise and his militant opposition to the tobacco industry, which he carries out as co-chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Tobacco and Health.

"I have never seen such damn liars in my whole life," he said of the tobacco executives who have appeared before Congress and claimed under oath that their products are not addictive. "What other product gets you hooked for life? There Is nothing on the market that is going to kill more Americans." Tobacco Institute spokesman Tom Lauria said his organization finds it "odd" that someone who claims to be a friend of business does not treat the industry "more even-handedly." At the same time, he attributed Hansen's adamant anti-smoking position to his being from Utah. 7 Biljj lllUl Ei ITS POOR COPY.