Tyler Morning Telegraph from Tyler, Texas • 1

John TVIor, Jacksonville, Lbngviev Continue Guests For State: Pages 1-2, Section 4 Tgkr Itomtof AltoMoUs To Stay Unbeaten Page 1, Sec. 4 Saturday (Cast Vexai Ony Complete Warning Ylewipaper 25 CeiltS VOL.68 NO. 14 Tyler, Texas, November 29, 1997 1 997, The Tyler Morning Telegraph 4 Sections (AP) The Associated Press TTwod Him EiammstoiPiM i "Mi i 'jjr---- I By GREG JUNEK And BOB PETERS Staff Writers Two men were transported to the hospital late Friday morning after being shocked by a lightning strike outside a Tyler store, a fire official said. Bruce Lyons of Tyler was treated and released at East Texas Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. Tyler fire authorities and an ETMC Emergency Medical Service official said neither entity had the second man's name, and hospitals cannot issue condition reports without names.

Lyons, however, confirmed in a telephone interview he and the other victim were released at the same time. Both were in the Parking lot of The Christmas Store and Party lace, 1910 Roseland part of Bergfeld Center, when the lightning struck. Lyons, a Christmas Store employee, said he was thankful he was not injured by the lightning. He said he would rather not discuss the incident. "It can happen in East Texas," he said.

"It happened to me today." Tyler Fire Department Capt. R.K. Shirley said the incident was reported at 11:14 a.m. Lyons said he told a woman in the store parking lot they needed to go inside the store as a safety precaution. But he came back outside to carry a Christmas tree for a customer, and that is when the lightning struck.

Shirley said the other victim might have been holding an umbrella when he was shocked. The captain was careful not to use 3 Southeast Texas Deluged Page 13, Sec. 3 the words "struck by lightning" when referring to the incident. "I wouldn't call it getting hit; I'd call it getting shocked," he said. The fire captain said some witnesses said they saw lightning "skipping around the parking lot" at the time of the incident, but he was unsure of where it actually struck.

East Texas experienced heavy rains Friday as a slow-moving upper air store and Pacific cold front approached from the west Tyler received 1.91 inches of rain during the 24 hours ending at 6 p.m. Friday. By 4 p.m., radar estimates were that from 1V4-214 mches of rain had occurred in most of the area. Elsewhere, small hail was observed over parts of Van Zandt County, and a severe thunderstorm moved through Hopkins County The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for counties from Angelina south to the Texas coast and east to the Louisiana border Lightning also was blamed Friday for damage to intercom wiring at Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Tyler Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert Dear said. The incident was reported at 11:27 a.m.

and, although a concession stand was nearby, damage was confined to the wiring. STORM Page 6, Sec. 1 ft- 7 Staff Photo By Charles Small FIREFIGHTERS, EMERGENCY MEDICAL PERSONNEL SHOW CONCERN Man Injured In Lightning Strike Outside The Christmas Store In Bergfeld Center Four Slain. One Injured In Beaumont flKanna SDoeim9t Slow lay (Off Year rJ faUM- l-r vic ym BEAUMONT (AP) A 28-year-old woman, her mother, 9-year-old daughter and an acquaintance were found shot to death in a house Friday. Police Lt.

Gary Wagner would not go so far as to classify the case as a murder-suicide, but he said: "We feel like we have everybody involved in this identified, and we're not looking for any suspects." A call to police led to the discovery of the bodies of Evelyn Williams, 28, her 64-year-old mother Altre Mae Williams, and 9-year-bld daughter Amber Taylor about 3:30 a.m. in various rooms of their house on the city's south side, police said. Also found dead was Michael Paul Dixon, 30, an acquaintance of Evelyn Williams, police said. At least one, but not all, of the victims had multiple gunshot wounds, Wagner said. The victims were shot in various parts of their bodies.

A fourth member of the Williams family who was shot was taken to a local hospital and was expected to recover. Wagner would hot identify the girl, saying only that she is a minor. Besides the wounded girl, there apparently were three others in the house at the time of the shootings. A gun believed to be the weapon used in the shootings was found in the house, police said. Wagner would not say what type of gun it was.

Police said they were not sure of a motive in the slayings. Autopsies have been ordered, and a justice of the peace will rule on the cause and manner of the deaths. By JEFF TOMICH Staff Writer Friday's foul weather may have been enough to keep some East Texans at home, but Tyler retailers said rain showers weren't enough to completely wash away sales on what is traditionally one of the year's busiest shopping days. Some stores opened before dawn, offering big discounts in hopes of tempting anxious bargain hunters. Morning traffic was heavy, as confirmed by the sea of automobiles in local parking lots.

Some Splurge, Others Hunt Bargains -Page 6, Sec. 1 At Broadway Square Mall, Marilyn Barber of Murchison employed a simple strategy for cashing in on after-Thanksgiving sales and beating the crowds at the same time. "I make a list the night before, follow the list and get out before it starts to get busy," she said while calmly waiting outside Dillard's for the store's 9 a.m. opening. "And I don't vary; I get exactly what's on my list and leave." Sitting next to Ms.

Barber was Jan Calongne of Tyler. It was her fourth stop after leaving home before 7 a.m. "Sometimes quantities are limited, so ifyou don't get there early, you miss the specials," Ms. Calongne said. Within an hour of arriving in Tyler, Becky Gel-wicks of Henderson and her 10-year-old niece, Alicia Yancey, had kicked back in a couple of massage chairs in the mall concourse.

Ms. Gelwicks said a force stronger than sale prices persuaded her to get in the car and drive to SHOPPING Page 6, Sec. 1 Art Staff Photo By Charles Small SHOPPERS LINE UP TO PAY FOR PURCHASES AT STORE IN MALL Whitney Hicks, Vicki Hicks (Center) Among East Texans Who Began Holiday Shopping Season Do you hear what I hear? Small Group Conservatives Full Away IFrom lexas IBaptists McCaughcy Septuplets Off Ventilator What's Inside Page Sea Business 6-8 2 Classified 1-14 3 Classified Crossword 11 3 Comics 12 3 Editorial 4 1 InfoConnect 6 1 Lottery Results 6 1 Movies-Dining 6 4 Obituaries 4 2 Sports 1-7 4 TV Program 7 4 Variety 8 4 Weather 13 3. Women's News 12 From Staff, Wire Reports FORT WORTH A group of conservative Baptists have opted to separate from the moderate-dominated Baptist General Convention of Texas. The 30-member board of Southern Baptists of Texas voted unanimously to move forward with the split last week after about 400 conservatives met in Austin to discuss forming a separate group.

The group is not affiliated with churches in the Smith County Baptist Association, area denominational leaders said. Smith County Baptist Association executive director Paul Saylors remained unavailable for comment on the issue The Rev. Dee Slocum of Lubbock said the group of conservative pastors and laymen will ask their congregations for financial support to help form the new state convention. "We feel like we are being forced into this; we take no pleasure in it," said Slocum, who is pastor of Highland Baptist Church in Lubbock. The conservatives decided to move forward with the split after moderates approved changes they fear might move the Texas convention away from the conservative sway of the national Southern Baptist Convention, he said.

About 5,000 Southern Baptist Churches are members of the Baptist General Convention. Slocum said churches can align with either or both Baptist groups. State Baptist Convention executive director William M. Pinson Jr. said his group will continue to try and reconcile with the splinter group.

BAPTISTS Page 6, Sec. 1 DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Nathan Roy McCaughey became the last of the Iowa septuplets. taken off his ventilator, joining his three brothers and three sisters in; fair condition. The milestone for the born Nov. 19, is a good sign, an expert said Friday.

"They've moved beyond the first critical phase," said Dr. Tim Cooper, associate professor of neonatology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. All seven are now being fed through tubes in their noses. Doc-r tors will closely monitor how th babies' underdeveloped digestive' systems handle the formula. Premature babies face the risk: of gangrene in their stomach and intestines.

"They're not engineered to be! Six Arreted In enver 'Hate Crime! Nov. 29 26 shopping days to Christmas Forecast The forecast for Tyler and vicinity calls for mostly cloudy, 20 percent chance for showers Saturday, high 66-70, northwest winds 10-20 mph; Saturday night: clearing and cool, low 42-46, light northwesterly winds. Bible Thought Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:13 DOW (Industrials) tfC-rvw See fjMr Story Pages, 41.,,...,..., 4 Sec. 2 7 llll 4 and assault.

O'Neill also said, "To call it a beating would be an exaggeration." But Andrew Hudson, a spokesman for Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, called the incident "an atrocious act of violence and we're determined to prosecute those involved." Thursday's attack prompted the Denver NAACP to schedule a news conference next week to announce its recommendations for dealing with the wave of hate crimes that have shaken Colorado. On Monday, more than 1,000 said "yes" and started hitting her. She couldn't say for sure how long the attack took. "To be hit by that many people at once it felt like forever," she said. The suspects ran away as 12 police cars pulled up.

All six were caught and arrested, Denver Police Sgt. Michael O'Neill said investigators on Friday were trying to determine whether Francis assailants were skinheads because two had long hair long and another was Hispanic. All six suspects were jailed for investigation of ethnic intimidation DENVER (AP) A black woman attacked at a convenience store said her assailants told her they were skinheads and used a racial slur before beating her in the latest in a string of apparent race-based crimes in Colorado. Shomie Francis, 26, of Aurora told police she was jumped by six people as she was getting some food at a 7-Eleven about 2 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Paramedics called to the store treated her for cuts and wounds to her face. Francis said she asked the suspects if they were skinheads, they The next milestone will be suck-; ing and swallowing so they can; take food through their mouths, an? ability that develops at 34 to 3S weeks gestation, medical experts; say. The McCaugheys were born a(; 31 weeks. Premature babies who make ii through the first week after birtK have a 98 percent chance of suri. vival, Cooper said.

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