Bennington Banner from Bennington, Vermont • 11

REGION Ill NNINOTON IIANNI IKIDAY.MAV M.miI IE Father searches for missing girl ,...81 ,53 IIAVl KIWI, Nil (AP) Aft ikimiiiLtou Data High Yesterday liw Yesterday I'tet ipilalioit JUxluiiul Data Not tnal High Normal liw Record High .86 Record .30 I'tet ip lor Mouth Normal lor Mouth I'tet ip lor Year Normal lor Year All it.iia ii ii i il ii ul 4 in in i bHulUmd 74,64 Ij SprinfJlelJ 1 7SIS7 Mamhtstfr I sJlem 77166 7165m Cam rndae 7M66 HenninKton hwskk Fulls yt(4 llratthhoio 7WAT 79,68 79167 LrLJ 22J in 1976 hmtimxB TODAY rvfL lew Showers ryrC High; 76 low; nI'V SATURDAY fffK I cw Showers iTS High: 79 sxl SUNDAY I partly Cloudy CyTfil High: 70 i MONDAY -yCvf Partly Cloudy cyrA High: 74 Ujw: 51 TUKSDAY jrjri f'cw Showers VTryO High: 74 Low: 52 .0.78" ,1.50" .8.78" 'Hu rt' tic 4H mi uitiUiiiiK in New l.mipshiic ul leusi feci high, and I nil Mutiay ha iIiiuIkiI them nil many of llum wiih hi daughter. Maura, They miow-Mined together, liin road raven together. When she wa in high school, then ul West Point aiul later the Univetsity of Massachusetts a nursing Mutli-nl, 1 1 icy would pi awiiy on camping weekends, lie coached her in solihull and basketball, nml in her early years, he picket! her up from school every tl.iy. "Tin's kill i my buddy." he said. I liif he hasn't her since early February.

Maura Murray disappeared siller she failed to make curve on rural Route 1 12 ami hit a snowbank while driving All forvt MM. thiut oruf ttufhii i utv fntniiliil hs At ewmutllu nwt, fm 2tHM All tiyhls irwun the night of I ch, 'J in northwest New She cscaK'd M'lioii injury urn! asked nearly resident wlto taint ly not to call police, lie iliil anyway, hut ly the lime Ihey arrived, she had vanished into the winlcry leaving her car and belongings behind. She also tell behind her molher and (wo sisiers, one police officer and the other a West Point graduate stationed at lint Bragg, who might xoon Ixr sent to liaij. And she left behind her father. It has ken three mouths und he has not given up hoie of finding her, even if she is dead.

"l)o want to rind her? Not really. I keep looking, but 1 don'l want to k- successful, a horrible xisilion to in," he said. Mm ray said his daughter might have ken distraught because she had another accident two days earlier. She also apparently planned to gel away kcause she lied to professors about a death in the family and said she would be gone from class for the week, then packed her belongings as if she was moving out. However, Murray believes she might have ken the victim of foul play, although police said there is no evidence pointing in that direction.

Almost every weekend since lib. he h'ls made the eight-hour round trip drive from his home in Weymouth, to the Woodsville section of Haverhill. I le searches the vast forest or knocks on doors and questions neighbors who might have seen something. He also hands out fliers with Maura's picture. i Ji i wsijMiisia i Sunrise 5:30 a.m.

Sunset 8:09 p.m. Mwnrisc 3:39 a.m. Moonsct 3:41 p.m. OS First Pull Last 62 69 New 518 527 J. Tuliiy.

lite NiHtln-ast will sec partly cloudy skies with isolated sIkiw ers, with tlie higluM leniXT.Huiv of 87'loaxastc-d lor Wesilield. Mass. 'Hie Southeast will exX'rience mostly ckHkly tocliKKly skies with scattered showers, with tlie higk-sl teniX.T.ilun; of 91" tiMecasled lor hinla Goala, lla. 'Hie central United States will see mostly ckxidy to ckxidy skies with seal tervd slniwers, with tin. highest lemxralure of lixvcaslcd lor Wink, Texas.

In the Northwest, llierc will lx- partly cloudy lo cloudy skies, with tlie higliest lem-penilure of 7'' forecasted tor Pasco, Wash. The Southwest will see mostly clear skies, with Ihe highest teniX'raiure of 102' tore-casled lir Blytlx. Calif. Thin in ihc CHttimtlcd UV imk-n (or hnlity ul Mthtr noon. The position of ihe kiiii hum nprcscttli the cKtit'(J UV level.

V- AP Fred Murray holds a reward poster featuring his missing daughter during a news conference in Haverhill, N.H, on May 8. I Mi lHl.lll'iU mm H3 10 UV Index Stale 1-2: Minimal Kxposurc; 3-4: Low Exposure 5-6: Mixlenite Exposure; 7-s1: High Exposure Sources: Velella to plead in bribe case l(): Very High Exposure Judge denies llth-Jiour bid to stop Mass. gay weddings pav his hefty legal bills. Velella and his )()-year-old lather. Vincent Velella, had ken scheduled to go on trial Monday on charges the senator took at leasl 137.0(H) in return for steering contracts to bribe payers.

Velella. his father and three other men were indicted in May 2(K)2. In return for the senator's plea, charges against his father would lie dropTcd, said the sources. "Most of this is not having his dad his last days in a prison-style nursing home," said the Republican close to Velella. According lo psychologists who have testified in court, Vincent Velella has severe mental impairments and is showing signs of Alzheimer's disease and border-line retardation.

Lawyers lor the elder Velella had been seeking to have the case against him dismissed on those grounds. I le is a member of the New York City Board of Elections. (iuy Velella has been in the Senate for 18 years and was in the slate Assembly for 10 years before that. I fe is also the longtime chairman of the state Senate Republican Campaign Committee and is Bronx county GOP chairman. ALBANY, N.Y.

(AP) A imwerful Republican slale senator from the Hronx, lacing bribery charges, will plead guilty to a felony and accept a year in jail as pari of a deal, sources said Thursday. Hie sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Sen. (iuy Velella would enter his plea Monday in slate Supreme Court in Manhattan and would lose his law license as part of the agreement. Velella is expected to resign his Senate seat before entering his guilty plea, said a Republican close to the senatoi. Velella spokesman Gerald McKelvey declined comment Thursday, as did Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgen-thau.

Speculation had increased about a plea deal after Velella on Tuesday ordered a halt to all fund-raising for his legal defense efforts. At the time, Velella offered no explanation. Velella's supporters had created a fund to raise money for his legal defense. I le had tapped his own Senate campaign committee and relied on contributions from his Senate GOP colleagues to help hauling a slay of the Supreme Judicial Court's landmark ruling "would be lo deprive that court of ils authority and obligation to consider and resolve, with finality, Massachusetts constitutional issues." liiuro wrote. "The SJC has the authority to interpret, and reinterpret, if necessary, the term marriage as it appears in ihe Massachusetts Constitution," Tauro wrote.

BOSTON (AP) A federal judge Thursday rejected a last-minute bid by conservative groups to bkx'k the nation's first stale-sanctioned gay marriages from taking place in Massachusetts next week. U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro said Massachusetts' high court acted within its authority in interpreting the Massachusetts Constitution. The plaintiffs imme diately announced they would take their case lo the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and to tlie U.S.

Supreme Court if necessary. Tauro heard arguments Wednesday on a petition spearheaded by the Florida-based Liberty Counsel and joined by the Catholic Action League, II slate lawmakers and conservative legal groups in Boston, Michigan anil Mississippi. Adirondack ski cabin plan meets opposition ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Slope-side, three-season cabins for corporate VI Ps paying hundreds of dollars a day are proposed for the Adirondaeks' Whiteface Mountain in a plan environmentalists warn threatens the wilderness. The "day-use destination huts" inspired by facilities in upscale Vail, would be built on Whiteface off tree-lined trails, wired for electricity and have propane service.

They would rent for "triple figures" by the day to corporate and other customers. The cabins would be rented in winter -accessible by skis and tracked vehicles as well as summer and probably the fall, according to officials from the state Olympic Regional Development Authority that runs Whiteface. Four huts arc now proposed at an elevation of about feet, more than hallway up the mountain. ORDA officials say they don't know how much customers would be charged to lease the cabins. The propositi (mm 4 tl'ii Class of fishing day to undergo test run VI see if the idea of 'B Days can work," he said.

Gloucester fisherman Vito Giacalone, who proposed the new days last year, said the program gives fishermen economic incentive to use sound fishing practices. Skilled fishermen will pull in a good catch and spare troubled species, he said. "I'm pleased with this leap of faith" by fishery managers, Giacalone said. was approved by a state i Adirondack Park Agency committee Thursday and faces a full board vote Friday. Snericil i Purchase! f.

2 for only i I 1 BOSTON (AP) A new class of fishing days created to give fishermen a way to weather tough new restrictions will tested in a pilot program approved by regional fishery managers this week. The program gives fishermen additional fishing days over one year, starting in November. On these Days," fishermen can target only healthy stocks, such as haddock, and must avoid strained species, such as cod. The new days were approved last year amid hoies they could be used by the May I start of the fishing season, when severe new restrictions ttx)k effect. But regulators said the complex program needed more time to develop.

The pilot project, which requires federal approval, passed Wednesday evening at the New England Fishery Management Council meetings in Providence, R.I. If fishermen can't avoid protected species during the trial period, the plan will likely die next year, said Tom Nics, a fisheries analyst for the council. "It's basically a test program to rtii iVi A' jL. a a A. J.

Jh- a lite Mite The Shaftsbury 6th Grade would like to thank Alice Miller for her donation of time and money, which allowed us to go to Montpelier this year. We arrived at the State House and got to meet both Governor Douglas and Lt. Governor Brian Dubie in the Cedar Creek Room. Lt. Governor Dubic had some wonderful stories to share about each of the beautiful paintings in this room.

We then got to tour the State House and Historical Society. At the State House, each room was described in detail. The function of '599 f- 1 'I the room was explained, as was the detail of the decoration i i of each. At the Historical society, the kids learned about artifacts and how to handle and record them. We then got treated to pizza for lunch with Alice.

After lunch, we went to discuss an education bill with Alice and Bill Botzow. Some of the children were selected to be representatives and a lively discussion ensued about the new bill. We learned how the entire process works. Then, it was off to the Supreme Court. Here, other kids were selected to be members of the Court and we had a mock trial.

With the time left, we cot to meet two of the Paecs (7th erade fPittdfieCd Swuutwiz (Zempatuj, ZZ GC-i www.pittsfieldfurniture.com si 2 Brown St, Pittsfield, MA 499-11 06 -mm student helpers) and ask questions. It was a fun time for all Monday Friday Sat 10-5, Thursday till 8 p.m. William F. Bratcher M-F SAT. 309 Gage St.

Bennington, VT nO9-447-01 68 as well as a learning experience..