The Atlanta Constitution from Atlanta, Georgia • 44

1 MSIV- The Atlanta Journal The Atlanta Constitution E'4 Tuesday, April 30, 1996 LOCAL NEWS ATLANTA fjj -S days SECURITY --V sr. ARCHITECTURE Torch onroute deralii traini New plaza shines as grand symbol; I 1 '1' u.iinii.iiui I xSt. at Tech heart By Catherine Fox TT- --ll-i'Vj i i i no MMnijn w- w- J'iKi Turn mnwiiaiii "-iri VISUAL ARTS CRITIC It rained cats and dogs, but nothing dampened the spirits of the Georgia Tech alumni who attended the dedication of the university's Olympic Plaza on Monday night. They have a right to be proud. What just a year ago was a nondescript grassy area in the center of campus has been transformed into a true campus center.

The focal point of the seven-acre project, designed by EDAW is a shallow 64-foot circular pool animated by a glamorous fantail spray. Water offers the sensation of cool and calm, and already students are taking advantage of the 300-seat amphitheater that rings i jijiiijii i the western side I mm -i 'V5 'C Si.n iir- ''ri T'v" JSC SJfSili Olympic Plaza. In the center of Georgia Tech campus, near Student Center. Track inspected several times to protect flame By Ron Martz STAFF WRITER Yuma, Ariz. Olympic Torch Relay security officials are being especially vigilant today as the flame boards a 19-car Union Pacific train here for the first of 3,500 miles it will travel by rail.

The section of track from Yuma through the cactus-studded Painted Rock Mountains into Phoenix is where an Amtrak train was deliberately derailed last October, killing one person and injuring scores of other. one has been arrested in connection with the derailment of the Sunset Limited that was en route to Los Angeles. Federal law enforcement officials say they are still investigating the case. Although a right-wing militia gipup called "Sons of Gestapo" initially claimed responsibility, citing tteir disapproval of federal govern-ncnt actions at Waco and Ruby Rdge, the group was unknown be-fere the incident and has not been hiard from since. That has led many to speculation tfat the culprit is a disgruntled rail-nad worker.

Georgia State Patrol Lt. Col. Sock Coleman, in charge of Torch security, said his group has teen working closely with federal lw enforcement and railroad offi-cals to ensure the security of the tacks and the flame. FBI officials and railroad police ouiii into ine nnisiae below the Student Center. When the legacy sugar maples grow to their full a KENT HORNER Associated Press Admiring the torch on Monday's leg of the route in Chula Vista, are Steven Segeloff (left) and John Brown, members of the eight-man U.S.

rowing team. The torch boards a train today. nix, the flame will be transferred to a runner and will continue on foot to Kingman, where it will remain overnight. The next train segment will begin Wednesday night in Las Vegas and will transport the flame to San Jose, Calif. have inspected the section of track several times in recent months.

"We have been assured that everything is fine," Coleman said. Torch Relay officials who planned the route and scouted this site said they were surprised at the isolation of this section of track. Most of the four-hour route from Yuma to Phoenix is well away from paved roads and goes through only a few small communities. The spot where the Sunset Limited was derailed is in an area known as Centennial Wash about 60 miles southwest of Phoenix. The derailment site is high on a 30-foot high trestle, more than 20 miles from the nearest paved road and takes a four-wheel drive vehicle to reach.

The Torch Relay train will be carrying the flame from west to east along this section of track, however, unlike the Sunset Limited, which was traveling west. The Union Pacific train has 18 passenger cars, two locomotives and a caldron car, actually the caboose, where the flame will be carried. Following a ceremony in Phoe- height of 30 feet, they will cast (definitely needed) shade on the seating area. The Kessler Campanile, an 80-foot obelisk that rises elegantly from the pool, serves as the excla-. mation point for the space.

Crowned with a stylized version of the Tech Tower, it echoes the vertical thrust of skyscrapers to the east. Constructed of 244 stainless steel plates that rotate to create a spiral effect, the campanile adds a bit of dynamism to the plaza. Richard Hill's complicated design which required the computer, engineering and electrical know-how of several alums and faculty members seems a fitting symbol for what Tech is about. The interior lighting of the tower remains a problem. But temporary efforts to shine colored light on it looked very dramatic at the dedication.

And the electronic carillon which will play music from its 100-song playlist before and after the hour as well as chimes at the quarter hour sounds grand. Plans for a plaza had been on the boards for 4 years, but it took the prospect of the Olympics and the attention Tech would receive as site of the Olympic Village to jump-start the project The classes of 1943 and 1953 took it on as their project. They received important gifts from alums Bill Turner and Richard Kessler, who donated the lion's share of the $500,000 for the sculpture named after him. The Olympic Plaza will add to Tech's TV persona during the games. More important, it moves Tech closer to its goal of creating a stronger sense' of the campus as a community.

IN SPORTS Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis will run in the Atlanta Grand Prix on May 1 and more Olympic sports news. CI.C7 Small town gives a big welcome to the flame DAY 4, APRIL 30 NOTEBOOK h. iV. At' Kingman tYijma By Howard Pousner SViFF WRITER Campo, Calif. The owner of he Ice Cream Place, a roadside es-ablishment in this windswept desert jutpost, was so excited about the Dlympic Torch Relay's visit on Mon-Jay that she raised three American lags and asked her soft drink suppli-3" to make up a welcoming banner.

"My god, the relay is the biggest thing to happen to Campo since the illegals started coming across," Pat II jorne said of the Mexican borfler, a mile away. The gesture was so sincere and it town (population 1,000) so small, Iflcials with relay sponsor Coca-Coa Co. weren't distressed about ht banner, which sported the logo of irch rival Pepsi. I "Most people know the Coca-Coja Co. is bringing the relay to America," said spokeswoman Jenni- were taped to the tiny school's front windows, and all of Allyn Alsabagh's class of kindergartners through second-graders were wearing paper laurel wreaths.

Arriving ahead of the core caravan, relay driver Dave Mason brought in a map of the 84-day route and gave an impromptu lesson about the relay. The students, holding foil torches with color-tissue torches, were enchanted. "What's that boat thing?" one asked, meaning the riverboat that will carry the flame across the Mississippi. "Where do you stop at?" asked another, and yet another wondered, "Do you have any pets?" As the crowd thickened around the school in the minutes before the flame arrived, the children unrolled a homemade banner with the modes of relay transportation printed with- fer Scherer. "We're going to choose our battles, and this doesn't have to be one of them." The banner and flags flapped mightily in the sandy Santa Ana winds, which popped or blew away Thome's red, white and blue balloons before tiie relay arrived.

There was plenty more enthusiasm in the wind. Twisting his gray handlebar moustache an incredible 16 inches across retiree Roger Challberg said the Campo Kiwanis Club was planning a big turnout. Twenty miles down the road at Jacumba Elementary School, where the relay caravan had planned a brief stop, students were well-prepared for the big visit. Construction paper flags and Olympic torches YUma, Aril to Kingman, Ariz. Kilometers covered: 590.3 Transportation: Train Highlight Kingman hosts midnight 1950s pajama party on Route 66 with marathon dances, bed races, fireworks.

in each Olympic ring. It included a zinger of a misspelling: run, bike, boat, train and "hores." Relay officials were touched by the reception. As they prepared to hit the road again on their way to Yuma, they decided to donate the torch that had been carried there to the little schoolhouse in the desert AMENITIES I 1 11. rf--fc- line's: ReKef can be blocks away Demonstrators decry lack of public restrooms OLYMPIC AID-ATLANTA f- Europe gives $5 million to help world's children By Elizabeth Kurylo STAFF WRITER The European Union donated $5 million Mon-' day to Olympic Aid-Atlanta, a humanitarian pro-, gram that will use the money to buy food for Iraqi children and immunize children in other war zones. "What better way could we have to enrich Olympic ideal than this?" asked Emma Bonino, air Italian member of the European Community Hu- manitarian Office.

Bonino, who flew in from Brussels, Belgium, to present the check, said that she' hopes the gift will inspire other contributions. The European Union has IS member states and cooperates on issues such as common currency, foreign policy and defense. The money will be used to immunize children in Afghanistan, Angola, Burundi, Haiti, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan. About $386,000 will be used to buy food for malnourished children in Iraq. Olympic Aid-Atlanta is sponsored by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.

It hopes to raise SIS million to help 18 million children in 14 war-torn countries. The money will be used for immunizations, medical treatment and trauma counseling, as well as school and recreation supplies. So far, about $7 million has been raised. Stephen Lewis, deputy director for UNICEF, said that in war zones, more children die from disease than they do "from the force of bullets and arms." "By providing the immunizations, Olympic Aid will save hundreds of thousands of children's lives," Lewis said. He recounted a recent visit to Burundi, "a country on the knife's edge of self-immolation." Warring factions came together to have their children immunized.

"All of the mothers came with their babes in their arms and very, very young children," Lewis said. "If Burundi explodes, as may indeed happen in, the next few weeks or months, many of those children will live as a result of that immunization." By Lyle V. Harris STAFF WRITER Activists held an unusual sit-in at Woodruff Park on Monday to call attention to a lack of public toilets in Atlanta that they say will inconvenience the city's homeless as well as thousands of Olympic visitors. As lunchtime neared, fully clothed men took up their positions seated on toilet bowls along the eastern edge of the park, as other protesters circled the perimeter carrying signs that read, "Pee for Free With Dignity." The protest was staged by homeless advocacy groups who blame the city for failing to provide adequate public accommodations. "The public policy around this issue is nothing less than stupid and mean-spirited," said Murphey Davis of the Open Door Community.

"In six months, we could have paid for public toilets instead of flushing public funds down the toilet by locking people up for urinating in public." Tommy Davis, one of the demonstrators who said he was once homeless, recalled the sense of shame lie said he felt when he needed to relieve himself. "I would leok out for the po lice and if the police weren't around, I'd just excuse myself, and, you know." Davis said sheepishly. "There were times I almost got caught." The city was close to signing a deal with a German company to install 10 pay toilets. Homeless people would have been given to kens to use them for free. But the deal fell through, and there are no plans to install permanent toilets on the streets until sometime after the Olympics.

There will be some relief. The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games will be installing 2,000 portable toilets at its venues, and another 192 tent-like restrooms with sinks, toilets and diaper changing tables will be erected at Centennial Olympic Park. But there is no formal plan to provide facilities for visitors as they roam the streets. Instead, the city is asking businesses and restaurants to make their bathrooms and drinking fountains available voluntarily. Leon Eplan, the city's outgoing planning commissioner, said he also expects that promoters of smaller festivals, such as Kudzu Alley in Falrlie-Poplsr, will do their part by erecting portable toilets.

JEAN SHimiN Staff Enthroned: Ed Potts was one of several men making a seated protest about the lack of facilities for the ho-neless and Olympic visitors..