The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • 77

Thursday, Dec 10, 1992 Flock shock Birds giving Georgia State the drop Page F2 Cornelius trial Defendant denies having sex widi girl PageFI2 mrm Weather In this section The Atlanta Journal The Atlanta Constitution News briefs F2 Obituaries F13, FI4 Malcolm To be or not to be? 1H Plan to rename Ashby Street draws supporters, critics E2 BankheadHwy ATLANTA And who was Ashby? Turner Ashby is a barely remembered Confederate cavalry general from Virginia Wojhnjton Pork Morrii Brown Coegf L.K. Jr. assassinated in 1965. About 75 people, at least a third of whom appeared to oppose the idea, discussed the name change at a contentious public hearing Wednesday at E.R. Carter Elementary School.

The proposal, which is supported by Malcolm X's widow, Dr. Betty Shabazz, sets the stage for a bitter conflict over Atlanta's carefully cultivated image as the Southern city that reveres its Civil War legacy even as it savors its reputation as a mecca for African Americans. For decades that reputation fit easily with Atlanta's fame as the home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But supporters of the increasingly popular Malcolm killed at age 33 while leading a charge on Union troops near Harrisonburg, Va.

Ashby Street is apparently his only ma- i VVoiWngtofl High School Atlanta r' r-m V'ti l. University By Douglas A. Blackmon STAFF WRITER West End doesn't have enough room for both black activist Malcolm and Confederate cavalryman Turner Ashby. At least that's what some members of Atlanta's black Muslim community believe, and they want to change Ashby Street which runs through the heart of one of Atlanta's most historic African-American neighborhoods to Malcolm Boulevard. "Ashby has been an insult in the African-American community, just like Hosea Williams junction would be out of place in Forsyth County' said Kwaku Delaney.

Mr. Delaney is one of the organizers of a petition drive calling for the City Council to rename Ashby in honor of the outspoken Muslim leader Speman Collect TurnerAshby an Atlanta street was named for Ashby is unclear, for he played no particularly significant role in the Civil War. Historians have written that he was widely known for his bravery, despite, being killed in just the second year of the conflict Abemathy Blvd." wnose support oi coexistence RENEE HANNANS Staff with whites was less clear than Dr. King's want a place for TV i 1 1 7 name Ashby Street, now named after a Confederate cavalry-Please see MALCOLM man, in memory of Malcolm X. STAFF CHRISTMAS TREES gertcies t.

.1. rp.V Brisk sales bring cheer to vendors Sellers say buyers seem more optimistic this year plan to act quickly on Tfecliwcodf i 0IV f-W 1 Land sale proposal wins federal OK iM "People come in and I can see, a different look on their faces." JIMBOB LIVADITIS of Big John's Christmas Trees By HolliiR. Towns STAFF WRITER i It's peak week in the Christmas tree biz, and fir vendors can take a bough: The word on the lots is they're raking in the holiday green." A little more than two weeks before. Christmas, longtimers in the greenery a game say sales are making up for last year's 1 By LyleV. Harris STAFF WRITER an aking little time to celebrate, the-; I agencies charged with hosfingl'! the Olympics and redeveloping one of Atlanta's most depressed com-1' munities plan to move swiftly on de': tails of relocating residents and build-: ing dorms for athletes during the 1995 Games.

it- bleak season; customers are buying bigger and more expensive trees, then picking up accessories such as garlands and wreaths. "People come in and I can see a different look on their faces," said Jimbob Liva-ditis, co-owner of Big John's Christmas Trees, which has nine metro locations. The recent cold wave put metro Atlan- Starting next week, the 1 Vw1 1 University System of Georgia and the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) will dicker over the price of 4.5 acres at Techwood-Clark Howell Homes that will be transformed into DWIGHT ROSSJRTStaff i tans in the yule mood, and there's optimism over the country's changing political lead- ership, sellers say. Also, abundant spring-v time rains produced fuller and healthier jf, trees. i "There's nothing like a live tree," said Constance McMurphy of Norcross, while j- What you'll pay for your tree Christmas trees range in price from $15 to more than $150, depending on the type and height Here is a sampling of popular trees this year In the 6-foot 't range, and their approximate costs.

Vendor Michael Henne, a newcomer to the Christmas tree business, shows a tree to a family at his lot in Peachtree Corners. buying a tree from a lot on Jimmy Carter Boulevard. "The smell, the beauty, the look. I can't understand why in the world anyone would want an artificial tree." Bill Adams wouldn't know. In less than a week, his lot at Georgia 138 and Interstate 75 in Henry County sold 120 trees at $40 to $50 a pop.

"Some people told me the retail market is slow, but I haven't seen that. I'm expecting my biggest sales this weekend." While most big operators are offering few discounts because of brisk business, they say the moonlighters in the trade may undercut profits. Michael Henne is one of the newcomers. The Delta Air Lines employee bought a big load of Fraser firs from North Carolina, rented a corner of Peachtree Corners and plans to camp out 24 hours, a day selling trees by day and protecting them by night. He and three partners have already gone through one tractor-trailer load of trees, selling 15 to 20 each weekday arid up to 50 a day on weekends.

But they haven't made a dime yet. "They say you don't make much the first year," said Mr. Henne, referring to the cost of trees, county permits and liability insurance. "But we're enjoying what we're doing and we'll probably be here next year." Across town, Melissa Pelfrey did a little haggling before paying $40 at the Weath-erby's on Cobb Parkway, near the Big Chicken in Marietta. "There's a lot to spend on family and children at Christmas," she said.

"You can't just spend $60 and watch it die in a few weeks." Staff writers Judy Bailey, Rebecca Nash and puane D. Stanford contributed to this article. Picking out your tree dormitories for college students be- fore and after the Atlanta Games. After a bureaucratic logjam, AHA won federal approval Wednesday to sell the parcel and use the proceeds as "seed money" for a more ambitious redevelopment of the community. Jim Cofer, the University System I vice chancellor for fiscal affairs, said he plans to meet with AHA Director Earl Phillips on Monday and has been instructed to settle on a sales price for.

the property within 30 days. Mr. Phil-. lips has expressed hope the land would fetch more than $1 million per acre, but Mr. Cofer would not disclose what the state might pay.

Russ Chandler, the Atlanta Com- mittee for the Olympic Games execu-" tive in charge of planning for the, Olympic Village, said architects "are' right on schedule" for the design. phase of the project, which must begin by September 1993. 'y INSIDE: Two pages of Olympics coverage. F6t F7 $25430 $24430 $40450' $25 $35' i Douglas fir Fraser fir lJ Scotch pine fNoblefir Blue spruce Premium balsam Sheared balsam Avoid trees that are sprayed green; they are more flammable. Look at the trunk of your chosen tree and make sure resin is still sticky.

This is a sign of freshness. Run hands through branches. If many needles fall off, the tree is not as fresh. Look for pliable needles. They are fresher.

Taidng care of your tree When you get your tree home, make a fresh cut on the bottom so that it can absorb more water. Water it every day. Do not block exits with your tree. Keep all candles or open flames away from trees. Ensure that all lights used are approved by Underwriters Laboratory (UL) or Factory Mutual.

Check for old, cracked or torn wires. Source; Zettla Harrii, public education ipeeialist for DeKalb Flr Servicet. Sources: Big Joho'i on Pwchtra Strtet In Atlanta nd Ptcannt HiO Road In Dukith; SturgHI'i on Jtmm Cartar Boulevard ki Nkxtroo; Midtown Evening Op-timiit Oub on r4orth Dnid HMi Road; and Waadv-rby'i on Cddb Parkway. Suspect in serial killings was released early from prison A look at the state's early-re- Lyndon F. Pace The suspect has not been charged in the slayings of five Atlanta 0 FI0 By Kathy Scruggs and Bill Montgomery STAFF WRITERS The prime suspect in the seri-.

al killings of five Atlanta women was released from prison last 1 year as part of a state early-release program designed to re-; lieve overcrowding by freeing non-violent Offenders. Lyndon Fitzgerald Pace, 28, had served seven months of a 30- fended his court-ordered July 11, 1991, release from the Coweta Correctional Institution, saying his previous conviction record and his prison stint revealed no evidence of violent tendencies. "He was a good inmate in prison, if you look at his disciplinary records and were to draw a conclusion from mat," said state Department of Corrections spokesman Andy Bowen. Mr. Bowen said Pace's only tion with the exception of the seven-month prison stint in 1991, and three months at a prison farm for a 1987 probation revo- cation.

"We're having to give prefer ence to the dangerous people be- I cause of the lack of jail said Fulton County District At-torney Lewis Slaton. "I don't that applied particularly Please see SLAYINGS, FIOV would indicate he was not a problem in prison." Police believe Pace is a suspect in at least 20 burglaries committed either before he was imprisoned or since his release. Atlanta police Chief Eldrin A. Bell said investigators are reviewing those cases. Records show Pace has been arrested about nine times since 1981 for non-violent crimes, but only received fines and proba- A chronology of the Vine City and southeast Atlanta slayings 1 0 offense in prison was for smoking a cigarette in an unauthorized area.

"And he immediately apologized," Mr. Bowen said. "That ies, including a break-in at the home of Coretta Scott King, where a radio was stolen. State and local authorities de- 1 month sentence for two burglar- I.