The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 545

wwwheraldcom THURSDAY NOVEMBER 9 2000 CO I OS CQ CO 5 I SISQO Baseball executive Whitey Herzog is 69 Sen Bob Graham Pa is 64 Actor Lou Ferrigno is 48 BOB EIGHM1EHERALD STAFF ON THE RAILS: Lifelong roller Ross and his lifelong dream the Fun park entrepreneur on roller-coaster ride of his thrilling life Oprah slapped with Three women have sued Oprah Winfrey alleging she misrepresented them as victims of domestic violence reports The Associated Press Tracy Hoaglund Margaret Mitchell and Gloria oney are seeking more than $750000 in damages A spokeswoman for Winfrey and her production company Harpo Entertainment Group said Winfrey wasn't aware of the lawsuit and declined to comment The women agreed to appear in a taped segment to discuss a computer training workshop operated by a woman who also works with victims of abuse the lawsuit said For the interview they were taken to a nearby shelter for battered women Singer Nick Lachey (98 Degrees) is 27 Singer Sisqo is 22 I SEINFELD AND SKLAR Atwood to donate Booker Prize winnings Seinfeld and Sklar: And baby makes three lawsuit None of the three women has ever been a victim of domestic violence and they did not discuss the subject in their interviews the lawsuit said But when the show was aired in April the women were presented as Since the show they been approached by friends co-workers and even complete strangers wishing to discuss their alleged abusive pasts or demonstrating scorn contempt or ridicule of their appearance on the the complaint said thew English Passengers and Brian The Deposition of Father McGreevy A total of 120 books were submitted in Apnl Atwood is only the second Canadian to win the prize Michael Ondaatje from Toronto won with The English Patient in 1992 although that result was officially a tie between Ondaatje and Barry Sacred Hunger cia McQueeney manager for the past 30 years The announcement comes during the same week the National Enquirer published a photo of Ford who in 1998 was named Sexiest Man Alive cozying up over champagne in a New York club with The Practice actress Lara Flynn Boyle 30 Two months ago Boyle ended a yearlong relationship with Jack Nicholson 63 McQueeney says Ford and Mathison had separated well before the photo surfaced just no third party she said -Compiled by MICHAEL HAMERSLY a car Margaret Atwood who Tuesday won most prestigious writing award for her novel The Blind Assassin said give her $30500 Booker Prize money to a couple of unnamed agencies for endangered species consider that said Atwood 60 consider that a finger in the dike where all water is going After three unsuccessful short-listings for the Booker in 1986 1989 and 1996 she finally won most influential literary award for Assassin a book she almost abandoned after struggling to get beyond its first few passages The novel tells the story of an elderly woman reflecting on her life This prize was seen as the most open for years Atwood had been under serious threat from Trezza The Hiding Place Michael The Keepers of Truth Mat BY ANA RHODES arhodesheraldcom As a child growing up in Pittsburgh Jules Ross picked up an addiction: the Thunderbolt the Jack Rabbit and the Racer three wood roller coasters near his home The rides left a lasting just love the thrill of So when Ross grew up to bean he knew what he wanted to do: wanted to build the latest greatest state-of-the-art roller coaster we could and the most exciting one that everybody could Last week Ross 54 unveiled the Dania Beach Hurricane to thousands of enthusiasts at Boomers family entertainment center beginnings gave little hint that he would grow up to be an amusement park guru The low-key soft-spoken president of Dania Coaster studied math and physics at Bethany College in West Virginia wondering what he wanted to do with his life After college he started working at Westinghouse Electric in Pittsburgh as a purchasing agent There he sold fuel rods for nuclear -generators until the early 1970s INITIAL VENTURE But while he was selling fuel rods by day Ross was hatching a thrill-a-minute dream by night In 1972 Ross opened Grand Prix Race-A-Rama at Hacienda Village now part of Davie At the time the park featured six go-carts and an arcade with 10 video games just when arcades were becoming wildly popular was a great opportunity because the whole idea of family recreation was starting to take Ross said By the time he sold Grand Prix in 1998 it had 100 go-carts and 1000 arcade games as well as five 18-hole miniature golf courses He also added a 200-foot Sky Coast swing and a NASCAR track Grand Prix even boasted a 260-foot bungee jump until coaster enthusiast Jules Dania Beach Hurricane the state banned all such jumping statewide in 199L The risky rides reflected his private passions Ross who lives in Davie is a helicopter pilot who loves to skydive in his spare time He passed on his thirst for thrills to his family frequently bungee jumping with his two children 21-year-old David a student at Boston University and 23-year-old Elissa who attends Mount Wachusett Community College in Massachusetts RECORD HOLDERS He claims his children also hold the record for the most hours on the death-defying Sky Coast swing So figure hanging with a guy like Ross would provide constant excitement Not so says Damaso Saavedra attorney for 11 years and his partner in the roller coaster with Jules is like traveling with a said Saavedra who toured the country studying amusement parks with Ross goes to bed early and drink a straight shooter who really knows the Ross who moved with his wife Karen to South Florida in 1976 had been making plans for the roller coaster since 1996 When he sold Grand Prix to Festival Fun Parks out of Irvine Calif he made a provision to lease the three acres next to the park for the roller coaster QUALITIES He never doubted for a minute that the Hurricane of his dreams would be a wood one He says he loves how wood coasters magnify the every sound creaking up to the top of the drops Another big selling point is that wood coasters lift riders off their seats as the train hurtles around curves and plunges down hills giving people the sensation they are flying a wooden roller coaster the ride is different every time depending on the temperature the humidity and the movement of the Ross said makes for a very exciting Construction on the Hurricane began in February Five hundred pages of architectural drawings $45 million and nine months later the real thing sits next to Interstate 95 beckoning only the bravest of souls COMING TOMORROW INTHE HERALD Does Marilyn rock still have the power to shock? Find out Saturday at Sunrise Musical Theatre or in WEEKEND All three Seinfelds are soon expected to return to the Upper West Side Manhattan apartment where a well-equipped nursery is reportedly in the waiting of his former Seinfeld co-star Jason Alexander told the New York Daily News about prospective parenting prowess of the presents' first The Seinfelds who met at a West Side health club have been married since December following her highly publicized divorce from promoter Eric Nederlander after only a few months of marriage Harrison Ford wife split Sascha Seinfeld healthy baby in the words of her representative was born early yesterday morning to Master of His Domain Jerry Seinfeld 46 and his wife Jessica Sklar 29 a public relations consultant for fashion designer Tommy Hiifiger doing said spokeswoman Elizabeth Clark She also said of the natural delivery which took place in an undisclosed New York hospital was there every step of the She declined to divu'ge birth weight Master P's financial A Louisiana bank is suing Master claiming the rap artist owes $739000 on a line of credit secured last year The lawsuit filed last month claims that Master real name Percy Miller has fallen behind repaying a promissory note made by the bank in 1999 It looks like Han Solo is going solo reports People magazine Harrison Ford 58 and his wife ET screenwriter Melissa Mathison 49 announced their separation Tuesday after 17 years of marriage and two children Malcolm 13 and Georgia 10 (Ford also has two adult sons Ben and Willard by first wife Mary Mar-quardt whom he divorced in 1979) would appreciate it if the media and the public would respect this as a very painful time for both of us and consider this a private matter henceforth" the couple said in a statement released by Patri Find I NEWS AT 6 PEYI No-Cost Giving woes The New Orleans native presides over a multi million-dollar business that includes recording and fashion labels as well as real estate In 1999 however Miller said he was restructuring his record label No Limit which was reportedly experiencing financial woes Miller could not be reached for comment Someone answering the phone at Master No Limit Sports store in Baton Rouge told The Associated Press he could not provide any contact information for an attorney or spokesman for Miller sc 4 alia How would you like to feed the hungry house the homeless or help find a cure for cancer all without spending a dime of your own money? Tonight NBC 6 is going to show you how you can help the organization of your choice for free rrfemicom bit'wardcom SOUTH HOME PAGES NJBClj J- I 2 5 'VTHM xj 4 iT 3SS.