Indiana Gazette from Indiana, Pennsylvania • Page 4

A-4 The Indiana, PA Gazette Sunday, November 12,1995 Thousands of veterans march Veterans Day parade marks end of World War II By MICHAEL BLOOD Associated Press Writer NEW YORK Thousands of veterans, many in vintage uniform, marched up Fifth Avenue on Saturday in The Nation's Parade, marking the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. For World War II veteran Malcolm Smith, 73, of Tranquility, N.J., it was "the culmination of everything I stand for as an American." Other Veterans Day observances across the nation ranged from the solemnity of a presidential wreath-laying at Arlington, to the noisy rush of biplanes over San Francisco, where the Palace of the Legion of Honor reopened after a three-year renovation. In New York, at least 33,000 veterans and troops took part in the parade on an overcast but mild day. Some shed tears, others tossed red, white and blue- wrapped candies into the crowd. Military vehicles ranging from a World War II-era Sherman tank to Army Jeeps went up the route.

Marchers included crewmem- bers from the USS Kearsarge, who are credited with rescuing Air Force Capi. Scott O'Grady after he was shot down behind enemy lines in Bosnia. The World War II veterans groups included U.S. Army Rangers and survi- vors of the Bataan Death March. "I really feel and appreciate the crowd enthusiasm for our unit.

It made you feel a little more important," said Dante Mercurio of Marlboro, N.J., an Army veteran and Pearl Harbor survivor. The parade got under way a very unmilitary 10 minutes late. A group of dignitaries marched near the head, including Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Gov. George Pataki, and developer Donald Trump, the grand marshal who donated $200,000 toward the march. Trump said he was pleased by the turnout.

"I want them to see people care about the veterans," he said. Even with the outpouring of public support and a S2.4 million budget, march Executive Director Tom Fox said the event was about 3200,000 in debt. As the parade began, bells rang at St. Patrick's Cathedral and across the nation, followed by a moment of silence. Spectators stood five-and-six deep along the parade route.

The Glenn Miller Alumni Orchestra was on one float. Artist Peter Max painted a five-panel mural for the reviewing stand, which featured depictions of the Statue of Liberty. Flag-waver Jacqueline Catton said she came to recognize "ev- eryone who served in the war, and for my dad. This is a great country, the United States. I'm so proud to be an American." In other Veterans Day observances throughout the country: President Clinton placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.

"Today, this day, our grateful nation is united to honor America's veterans" who served in the war against Nazi Germany and Japan "from the windswept beaches of Normandy to the craggy shores of Corregidor," he said. More than 2,500 veterans, their families and visitors braved strong winds and rain in Charleston, W. at the dedication of a state veterans memorial. Red, white and blue balloons, representing each of the 10,197 fallen West Virginia veterans, drifted in the gray sky as bagpipers played "Amazing Grace." Spectators gathered in subfreezing weather at Liberty Memorial to World War I veterans in Kansas City, Mo. Rear Adm.

Thomas C. Lynch, former director of Navy staff, told the gathering that the military had concentrated on the Soviet Union during most of his 35-year career, and the United States won that conflict. "Now it's time for us to concentrate on those things that make us strong as a country," he said. Members of the 305th Air Mobility unit, based at McGuire Air Force base in Wrightstown, N.J., march in formation up 5th Avenue in New York Saturday. (AP photo) GOV.

FOG JAMES questions about friends RALPH EAGERTON revenue commissioner, Alabama tax agency accused of racial slurs By PHILLIP RAWLS Associated Press Writer MONTGOMERY, Ala. The state's top tax official is accused of using racial slurs and targeting political enemies for audits, prompting charges of racism and dirty tricks against the administration of Gov. Fob James. Some legislators are calling for Revenue Commissioner Ralph Eagerton's removal from office over the allegations, which have dominated state capital news in recent days. Eagerton has declined to comment.

Political analysts said the controversy is hurting James and his Republican agenda of shrinking government and reforming education and the courts. He is the third consecutive Alabama governor to get bogged down in ethics questions. The discord began earlier this year when it was disclosed that 24 legislators, 13 of them black, had been targeted for state income tax audits bv Eagerton's department. That led to formation of a legislative panel to investigate the tax-collecting agency. In recent testimony: high-ranking Revenue Department employees attributed racial slurs to Eagerton, including one directed at Alabama's only black state revenue commissioner.

Eagerton allegedly promised a mass tax audit of the former commissioner's accounting firm. department employee said papers were shredded that showed wight Pridgen, chief of the department's income tax division, checking the income tax returns of legislators for review. department's administrative law judge, William Thompson, said he was audited after issuing rulings that Eagerton and Pridgen disliked. agreed that paranoia is prevalent at the department, with employees trying to protect themselves by tape-recording each other, copying records and destroying documents. Pridgen, in his testimony to the committee, said working in the Revenue Department is "a living hell." James, who appointed Eagerton in January, was silent about the racial accusations until Thursday, when he said he had never heard Eagerton utter racially derogatory remarks.

The governor conceded he hadn't mentioned the accusations to Eagerton, whose testimony before the committee could be weeks away. Poll shows Dole gaining GOP support WASHINGTON (AP) Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole gains Republican support with Colin Powell out of the presidential race, but President Clinton would beat Dole if the 1996 election were held today, a poll indicates. But many of those questioned in the Time magazine-CNN poll released Saturday are considered "leaners," not strongly behind Dole or Clinton yet, and a Newsweek poll, also releas'ed Saturday, puts such a two-way race in a statistical dead heat. "These numbers don't have a tremendous predictive value yet," said Keating Holland, polling editor at CNN. "All we can say at this point is that given a choice between Dole and Clinton, Clinton would win." The Time-CNN telephone poll was conducted Oct.

31-Nov. 6 before Powell, the retired chairman ot the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that he wouldn't make a White House bid. But the poll asked the 4,787 registered voters surveyed about their choices with and without Powell in the race. This "Election Monitor" poll had a margin of error of 1.5 percentage points. Pollsters planned to track these same voters throughout the 1996 campaign to measure trends and changing attitudes.

The Time-CNN poll found that: a Clinton-Dole match-up, 48 percent said they would vote for Clinton and 42 percent would support Dole. (This included so-called lea- ners.) Four percent said they wouldn't vote, and 6 percent said they weren't sure of their choice. the election were held today, 26 percent said they would definitely vote for Clinton and 41 percent said they would definitely vote against him. The same question wasn't asked about Dole. Republicans, 32 percent said they supported Dole for the GOP nomination and 24 percent Powell.

Without Powell in the race, Dole's support increased to 45 percent, followed by 8 percent for Sen. Phil Gramm, of Texas. Greek Orthodox want independence By PETER STEINFELS N.Y. Times News Service After three decades of leadership by one of nation's most imposing religious figures, the Greek Orthodox Church in the United States is suddenly wrestling with its future. At the heart of the turmoil is the issue of who will replace the church's longtime leader, Archbishop lakovos, and the conflicts surrounding his unexpected decision to retire.

The decision has raised questions about the relationship between the Greek Orthodox Church in the United States and the Ecumenical Patri- archate of Constantinople, the ancient seat of Orthodox Christian authority in Istanbul, Turkey, that governs the American church and retains the power to appoint a successor to Archbishop lakovos. Last Friday, a delegation of bishops sent by the Constantinople Patri- archate to quell the rumors and even murmurs of mutiny generated by the retirement announcement completed a sometimes stormy round of meetings with church members around the nation. The mood at the meetings, participants reported, mixed expressions of loyalty to Constantinople with suspicions that lakovos, who at one point tried to rescind the resignation, was being forced from office. There was also concern about how much weight American Greek Orthodox opinion would have in the choice of successor. Last month the council of priests and lay leaders that oversees church administration in the United States overwhelmingly passed a resolution asking that the patriarch submit a list of leading candidates for archbishop for the council's comment.

A council delegation will go to Istanbul at the beginning of 1996 to clarify how American church members will be consulted. Officially known as the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, the church claims 1.3 million members in this country and 600,000 in Canada and Latin America. It is the largest and most influential group among the estimated 4 million Eastern Orthodox Christians in the United States. The Greek Orthodox archdiocese here is directly accountable to the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I. Both Patriarch Bartholomew and Archbishop lako- vos declare that the latter's decision to retire, cryptically announced in August but not to take effect until the Archbishop's 85th birthday next July 29, was "voluntary." But there is little question that the Archbishop acted after considerable tension with the patriarch, and the clash between these two powerful leaders has added drama and uncertainty to a transition that would have unsettled many American members of the Greek Orthodox Church under the best of circumstances.

Some church members in the United States see the drama as that of a venerable and honored archbishop who had outstayed his effectiveness but could not let go of the reins until pressed. "Change is overdue," said George D. Karcazes, a Chicago lawyer and past president of the Orthodox Christian Laity, a group advocating greater democracy in the church and adaptation to American culture. "This patriarch has been patient." Other church members" are more concerned that the patriarch appears to be flexing his ecclesiastical muscles over an American church body that has generally operated with a large degree of independence. "The patriarch is reaffirming his authority and letting us know, 'You'll said a New York-area pastor who spoke on condition of anonymity.

CHICKEN FISH SHRIMP ETHNIC DISHES Holiday Fashions For Boys Biris Special occasion outfits. Some coordinating. GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE OFF SELECT GROUP COORDINATES LINDIANAMALL Open Daily 10-9: Sat. Sun. 12-5 REGISTER fc TO WIN A VACATION DEI-fflVAY PRIME RIB STEAKS PASTA HOMEMADE PIES SODA FOUNTAIN IN THE HISTORIC CANAL PARK I Featuring Gallikers (412) 639-361 9 A CE CREAM B.Y.O.B.

Chilled Glasses Available ASK ABOUT OUR "CANAL ROOM" FOR BANQUETS lS.6:30a.m.-9p.m. Rl. SAT. 6:30 a.m.-l 1 p.m.; S'JN. 8 a.m.-S p.m.

TAKE-OUT AVAILABLE Stopping Time Creating Beautiful Memories!" 349-1968.