The South Bend Tribune from South Bend, Indiana • A7

The girls were staying with their grandparents of Monday, even been informed of the said. The cause of the blaze still been officially determined Monday. service to the residence had been disconnected for nonpayment and the couple had been using lanterns and candles to heat and light their said. Midwest Energy Cooperative spokeswoman Patty Nowlin referred to the fire as She confirmed that electricity to the residence was disconnected Dec. 19.However,she said the Smiths have long history of payment is- Midwest Energy.That history includes at least one other instance when electricity was cut off, she said.

Nowlin said the company through the an attempt to resolve the it had done was unsuccessful. can make payment arrange- ments or we can hook them up with organizations that help people in did everything we Thomas said either the candles or lanterns might have ignited the blaze but that be known for certain until later this week at the earliest. Buchner said the Smiths will stay with relatives until they find other lodging.To assist the Wakelee United Methodist Church has created the Smith Fire Fund and has opened the doors of the church for donations. Cassopolis woman who received a message about the and was touched by their story has donated a truckload of said. The family is in particular need of clean clothing for both adults and for young girls, baby supplies and perhaps more said.Such items can be delivered to the church at 15921 Dutch Settlement Road from 9 a.m.to 9 p.m.daily until Jan.31.

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most recent concerns center not on domestic passenger on airliners or cargo planes that take off overseas and cross over U.S.airspace,either on their way to a U.S.airport or to a foreign one. As he has since the terror alert level was raised to Dec.21,Ridge emphasized on Monday that Americans should proceed with their holiday plans.The alert will remain at the second-highest level at least through the New perhaps longer. assured that the full force of Homeland Security all across this nation is at work to keep you Ridge said. Armed air by the federal part of the effort to strengthen airline security after the Sept.11 two of the jets crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York slammed into the Pentagon in Washington and a fourth crashed in a rural Pennsylvania field. In 3,000 people died in the attacks.

In the 27 months since and baggage screening has been stepped up and cockpit doors reinforced to hold off an attacker, among other measures.U.S.officials also review passenger lists for international flights. Yet intelligence officials still worry that terrorists might again try to use airliners a fear that was highlighted last concerns prompted six Air France flights between Paris and Los Angeles to be canceled. Ridge said air carriers would be asked to put a law enforcement official from the home country on board a flight only if there is a specific reason to do so.In the United air marshals fly on thousands of flights each week. Some have such personnel on hand. In officials said Sun- day that they are considering starting a similar program there.But for nations without existing programs or limited said, Homeland Security will offer help in training.

Brian terrorism expert and a senior adviser at the Rand Corp.think the directive is an extraordinary measure but feasible given the number of international flights and the existing security framework of most nations. is one layer in a multilay- ered system that will complicate things for the is all that any security measure Jenkins have locked cockpit have air least on some of the flights.We have passengers who are not going to be passive bystanders in their own doom.All of those are factors that terrorists must now take into account. is interesting is that commercial aviation remains in their playbook and even after these increased security still are thinking about ways they can obviate these security It was unclear Monday how other nations would react to the U.S.man- date. Jenkins said he suspects there will be some grumbling about putting someone with a loaded gun on board airplanes British pilots have already expressed displeasure with their plans but predicted that ultimately other countries will comply. find it difficult to believe that some particular going to refuse to put guards on our would be close to becoming an invitation to Using air marshals from an home country does increase the number of potential opportunities for a terrorist to infiltrate an or- ganization.But,Jenkins pointed out, that risk exists throughout the current at home and background checks have become a standard part of the hiring process.

what protecting against, infiltration from the already been infiltrated by an that changes the security environment said. concern has been raised be- fore.It’s not an easy one to What angers Watts the most, that new property tax bills arrived just before Christmas while landlords held off raising rents for tenants. state did this before give a Though the new reassessment method was ordered by the state Supreme property tax bills are mailed by the individual counties. Watts said he hires a lot of neighborhood residents to help with the rehabilitation of rental units. afford to hire his workers will be out of a job.

tax thing is the last Watts he likely will relocate to Florida soon. you take half your salary then give it to your taxes still go in my he said. Staff writer Terrence Bland: (574) 235-6337 FROM PAGE A1 Tax European police intercept mail bombs Clinton lead poll of the most admired WASHINGTON (AP) George W.Bush and Hillary Rodham Clinton are finally on the same ticket the most admired man and woman in to a poll released Monday. The Republican president and the Democratic senator from New York and former first lady be found on the same sides of many political issues.But both seen in a favorable light by the American public. When people were asked to name the man they admire the was picked by 29 percent.Secretary of State Colin Powell and Pope John Paul II were named by 4 percent and former President Clinton was named by 3 to the CNN- USA Today-Gallup poll.

Sen.Clinton,was named by 16 talk show host Oprah Winfrey was picked by 7 percent, first lady Laura Bush by 6 percent and national security adviser Con- doleezza Rice by 4 percent. The poll asked an respondents were allowed to offer any names that came to mind.For both the most-admired man and most-admired remainder of votes were spread among a wide variety of individuals. The incumbent president is almost always the most admired man in such not uncommon for the first lady not to be the most admired woman. The poll of 1,004 adults was taken Dec.5-7 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. FROM PAGE A1 Family FROM PAGE A1 Air (AP) Police intercepted a letter bomb sent to the director of an international police agency and a possible explosive sent to the head of the European Central Bank on Monday in new mail threats to European officials.

The discoveries came a day after a package bomb burst into flames in the of EU Commission President Romano was not injured.Police are investigating an anarchist group that set off blasts near his house earlier this month and denounced him as a representative of a repressive European Spokeswoman Astrid Rijsdorp said seems letter bomb sent to European police intelligence agency based in The connected to the Prodi we really say anything for certain added. The size of a defused by Dutch military experts, and no one was Rijs- the public office in The Hague. The suspicious letter received at the office of the Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet in postmarked from said.Police would not say whether they believed it was connected to the Prodi package. Bank officials alerted authorities to the letter and it was turned over to investigators for police said.Results are not expected until today. Trichet was in his office Monday, and officials at the central bank declined to say whether there had been any increase in security in the mailroom following receipt of the letter bomb.

Italian police on Monday were still investigating the letter bomb sent to Prodi.They suspect the same anarchist group that claimed responsibility for the Dec.21 explosions near his to Italian news agency ANSA. Like apparent targets Monday represented trans-Euro- pean organizations.Europol is a law enforcement agency that coordinates European police forces with each other and with other intelligence agencies outside Europe, such as the CIA..