The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • 4

NORTH CAROLINA THE NEWS OBSERVER WEDNESDAY JUNE 22 199:4 A com'ic63' Pot smugglers NO MINIMUM OPENING BID! ITRAI SIN AUCTIO 300SAM CREDITORSIOF VARIOUSJI4AJOR JMEORTERSAND OTHERS Authorities are looking for two men whose drug-laden plane which had been trailed across North Carolina by Customs Service planes crashed near Blowing Rock VA 411 '4' 1 444 1 4 265 1 'la PERSIAN i pl' ORIENTAL I trt RUGS 4 1 NEW 1 i ANTIQUE 1 't i I IA fL 331 11 a 14 tr0tt 1 1 14r(-1 7 4 3 64 LOTS SOLID MAHOGANY CHIPPENDALE STYLE FURNITURE -'xITS 1 4 Al koe 744'4: the mountainside But no remains were found in the burned wreck- age On Monday evening tracking dogs were used to determine that two people had left the scene following a creek out of the gorge A customs helicopter equipped with a heat-detecting device was used to search the area but officials did not find either survivor Ranger Heeren said police do not have names or good descriptions of either man "Several people say they saw them but they were so dirty and banged up it was hard to get a good description" he said "As far as we know nobody gave them a ride But we just don't know We only know for sure about the one man who didn't" The men's escape has been compared to the antics of DB Cooper who hijacked Northwest Airlines Flight 727 in 1971 and parachuted out over Washington state with $200000 in ransom Cooper was never arrested "There's a lot of speculation" Heeren said "There's a few things we don't know But there's definitely a twin-engine plane full of dope crashed out there and we think two people are out down the mountain" a mile off the parkway on land owned by the US Park Service after being followed more than 1275 miles by customs planes Customs officials began trailing the Piper after it was spotted in the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti on Sunday morning They suspected the plane was being used to smuggle drugs because it was cruising just 20 to 30 feet over the water and its pilot had not filed a flight plan The plane traveled north to Wilmington then turned inland and headed across North Carolina The chase intensified after the pilot prepared to land at the Lumberton Municipal Airport and then abruptly pulled away apparently realizing he was being tailed by three Customs Service patrol planes The pilot tried to lose the planes through a series of risky maneuvers under power lines and around radio towers Finally the Piper went into 1000-foot-deep China Creek Orchard Gorge about two miles southwest of the town of Blowing Rock It crashed into a ridge on the way out Originally investigators believed the pilot and any passengers had been killed in the crash which spilled airplane fuel and about 40 bales of marijuana onto ktlz 441 1 28 FABULOUS OIL PAINTINGS ARTIST SIGNED I I lit Eill tt-S''' Auctioneers Note Items will be auctioned off piece per piece regardless of value to the highest bidder with minimal or no reserve Due to the urgency of realization of immediate cash we are under strict mandate to insure maximum disposal of merchandise BY MARTHA QUILLIN STAFF WRITER BLOWING ROCK The search continued Tuesday for two people who may have walked away from the crash of a drug-running plane that hit a Watauga County mountainside Sunday while being chased by US Customs Service officials Several people in a tiny community about a mile from where the twin-engine Piper went down reported seeing two dirty bedraggled men in the hours after the crash One resident told Watauga County Sheriff Red Lyons that two men offered him $200 in cash for a ride into town then walked back into the woods after he turned them down By late Tuesday neither man had been located by police One of the men reportedly had a head injury according to Blue Ridge Parkway Ranger Ron Heeren The plane crashed about rY Oriental Rug Liquidation Co 1817 Harrison Ave Cary Corner I-40 and Harrison Ave Exit 287 From Raleigh or Durham Ca 0 1-40 (t) Terms: Cash Check Visa Mastercard Discover American Express 10 Buyers Premium Auctioneers: CHRIS MINSHEW NCAL 5037 GARY NEWSOM NCAL 36113 Exit 281 677-8841 ROI Airport Senate panel OKs tax on citrus Bill retaliates against Florida slap at tobacco 1' t911 'N i ii i' l' 1 al I I 1 BY HUNTER GEORGE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS tasol-11k (vi'IN Oh eo'ti1 ai 1 v--4111- -40 AN ti TO tt 601 110 kkill Aro l' I 10' 2 At 14 01 k' 'P''i'''' i A V1)--r ot 3- $4 le A i- kR IA: 4 5 I -1 'A I SILK TUNIC AND SKIRT 1 8997 COMPARE $158 Sandwashed silk makes an elegant day to evening statement SILK TUNIC AN SKIRT 8997 COMPARE $158 Sandwashed silk makes an elegant day bertson a Democrat from Beulavhie "To see it constantly daily attacked sort of gets me riled up to be honest about it" State Sen Ed Warren a Democrat from Greenville told Sands: "I hope you get to Congress and do something about it" State Sen Dan Simpson noted that Mississippi recently sued the tobacco industry to recoup some of that state's medical expenses "What do we buy from down there that we can include in this bill?" Simpson a Republican from Morganton asked rhetorically Some Florida officials and legal experts have questioned whether Sands' bill violates interstate commerce provisions in the Constitution But Sands a lawyer said the bill singles out a product not a state Sands repeated his assertion that the bill has nothing to do with his congressional campaign noting that he's been "blasted" by editorial boards in North Carolina and Florida Sands said he also has received a number of letters from concerned citrus growers who say they have nothing to do with the tobacco issue One even sent him a box of grapefruit which Sands donated to a soup kitchen in Reidsville TAILORED JEWELRY 797-1697 COMPARE Golcitone and silvertone pins earrings necklaces and bracelets from one of America's leading jewelry designers of America's leading jewelry designers A tobacco-friendly Senate committee approved a bill Tuesday that seeks to retaliate against attacks on North Carolina's billion crop by taxing all citrus fruit brought into the state Members of the Senate Agriculture Marine Resources and Wildlife Committee thanked state Sen Sandy Sands for filing the bill They said a message needs to be sent to states like Florida which recently passed a law making it easier for the state to sue tobacco companies to cover the cost of treating people with smoking-related illnesses "This has accomplished part of what I wanted to do" Sands a Rockingham County Democrat who's running for Congress told the committee "This is a time for those of us in North Carolina to take the lead and say 'Let's be fair' No one on the committee spoke against the bill which it approved unanimously and sent to the Finance Committee Under Sands' bill anyone carrying citrus fruit into North Carolina would pay a fee to cover the cost of inspecting it Then a Democratic Sen Sandy Sands of Rockingham County wants to tax citrus products like these grapefruit from Florida THE ASSOCIATED PRESS person would pay a 2-cent tax on each piece of fruit The revenues from the tax would be used to help farmers learn to grow something other than tobacco The committee didn't focus as much on the tax increase as it did on the message the bill sends from the nation's largest tobacco-producing state "Tobacco is a legal commodity" said state Sen Charlie Al MOILS' UMME'Rall NE MT 1 I 11111111SUMME1M1 l'E11 ii 0 l'i4P35 4)' 3 'Sr414' 44 r'' ot t4 Ire p4-1 i frTAr 94P7' -0-' i- T- '441'I''' 16 Q2ft- --p -v400 i 77-- 4 -4 Senate OKs stricter reporting of finances in statewide races Democrats stifle Fake loth's idea of work-for-rent 30 60 SUPER SIZE TOWELS 597 BATH COMPARE $115 Pure cotton terry in white rose It blue or mint Wash and hand (comp $5-310) 197-397 COMFORTER SETS 4988 COMPARE $120-300 OUR REG 6997 First quality comforter with dust ruffle and sham(s) Twin full queen king 30 60 SUPER 97 BATH COMPARE $115 Pure cotton terry in white rose It blue A bill approved Tuesday would require candidates for major offices to file finance reports earlier so voters could take them into account on Election Day BY EMERY DALESIO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 4 ti ir 't Iwiti 411 Zu3'A' Iri-f tilt' 4' At111! 4 i 11-1 'le 1- A1 1 V': 4 le it il it ---41: --4- ti tia -P t000 -041toi 4 1 7 ii1p 1 th" )4 4' 4" 1 'I4'et -1 '4 1' 4 l' it'' ''sk''' 111:0" ''4-''' ---i- 12 N06 1 vol i kv t')---' -'y I AP'''' SOLID TABLECLOTH 897 ANY SIZE COMPARE Easy care or polycotton blend Napkins $197 PILLOWS 697 ALL SIZES COMPARE Plump plush pure polyester from give more than $100 to list their occupation and employer If the Senate bill approved Tuesday passes the House the winner and loser of a party primary each would have to file reports detailing the amount and source of their contributions 60 days before a general election The measure would add a reporting requirement for statewide candidates who now must detail donations 10 days before the general election The earlier reporting deadline was designed to let the public know who is helping finance big-ticket statewide races well before election day said state Sen Clark Plexico who sponsored both campaign finance measures approved Tuesday The current deadline for contribution reports is too close to election day and "by the time a campaign reports it mails it and someone goes through it the election may have come and gone" said Plexico a Democrat from Hendersonville The bill excludes statewide judicial races and elections for local offices such as sheriff and county commissioner because those races do not generate big donations Plexico said Candidates for Congress would not be affected because those campaigns are regulated by the Federal Elections Commission The campaign law governing PAC contributions was tightened because the name of a North Carolina resident giving less than $100 does not have to be reported Plexico said The state Election Commission has treated PACs the same as state residents he said 200 THREAD COUNT SHEET SETS 1997 MIN 1997-3997 COMPARE Twin full queen king First quality famous maker sets in percale prints and all cotton solids The state Senate moved Tuesday to tighten laws on reporting campaign contributions in statewide elections and from political action committees The Senate gave final approval to a bill creating a deadline two months before elections for governor attorney general and other major state offices for the candidates to spell out where they have received donations A second bill makes clear that candidates must report all donations from PACs Both bills passed on voice votes and now go to the House "We're closing the loopholes strengthening the laws creating fairer and more competitive elections" Patricia Watts executive director of Common Cause-North Carolina said after the vote The group has pushed for campaign finance reform and Watts sat on a study committee with legislators from both chambers that proposed the revisions The Senate earlier approved a bill to cut the campaign contribution limit from $4000 to $1000 which means individual or committee donations would be limited to $1000 per candidate per election The same measure also would require contributors who STATES NEWS SERVICE WASHINGTON Rake the leaves Mow the lawn Wash the windows Republicans on the Senate Banking Housing and Urban Affairs Committee offered a list of chores Tuesday for public housing tenants to earn their keep But in a strict party-line vote Democrats rejected US Sen Lauch Faircloth's work-for-rent amendment to the comprehensive federal housing and community investment bill "How can anyone be seriously in opposition to this amendment?" asked US Sen Phil Gramm a Republican from Texas "The senator is just asking that people dedicate just 10 hours a month" Faircloth a Republican from Clinton put it this way: "It only makes sense that the people who are receiving taxpayer-subsidized housing should have to do a minimal amount of work to help make that community decent clean and safe" But Democrats disagreed "Great ideas don't always make great laws" said US Sen Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado who joined his fellow Democrats in saying Faircloth's plan would be difficult to implement and impossible to enforce They also agreed the plan shouldn't be adopted without further consultation with housing authorities In attacking Faircloth's proposal US Sen Carol Moseley-Braun a Democrat from Illinois called Faircloth "a communist" branded the plan "dictatorial" and said it is reminiscent of "the Evil Empire" Faircloth's amendment would have changed the comprehensive federal housing and community investment bill to require residents to spend a little more than two hours a week mowing lawns cleaning windows and doing other chores in housing complexes "Most housing projects I've seen are littered with trash he said "Clean up the trash" SHOWER CURTAIN 1697 COMPARE $25 Includes valance Handcrafted Cutwork lace in ecru or white Si11 se THE LOOKTHE PRICE 58-1177 Falls Centre at 4500 Falls of Neuse Old Wake Forest 790-8060 Crossroads Plaza in Cary851 -6446Mon-Sat 10-9Sun1-8 Pilot ejects before Marine jet crashes 'Receive Award-Winning t-z7------------- Coverage Delivered Daily! c--1-'43111 ITHE YEIVSKOBSERVER Call Today To Subscribe: 829-4700 Hospital at Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station His condition and identity were not immediately available The jet assigned to Marine Attack Squadron 223 crashed at 2:59 pm officials said THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHERRY POINT The pilot of a Marine AV-8B Harrier jet ejected before the plane crashed on the flight line Tuesday afternoon military officials said The pilot was taken to the Naval i.