The Modesto Bee from Modesto, California • 2

BRIEFLY Saturday December 12 1998 A-2 The Modesto Bee People Will Image quite entertaining Actor-rapper honored by NAACP LOCAL WORK MONEY THE FRONT PAGE THE NATION Valley jobless numbers Unemployment in the Northern San Joaquin Valley continues to show significant improvement in November over last year Page C-1 Hard pill to swallow Boeing decision to drop a proposal to build 737 passenger jets in California lands hard on Long Beach employees Page C-1 SPORTS NBA lockout over? NBA Commissioner David Stern and union leader Billy Hunter have been holding secret meetings and are close to reaching a deal that could end the 164-day-old NBA lockout sources say Page D-1 In the finals Modesto Christian rolls over Turlock and East Union routs Valley in the semifinals of the Turlock Godinez boys basketball tournament The two winners meet today for the title Page D-1 LIFE Celebrating the Virgin The appearance of the Virgin of Guadalupe is still being celebrated especially by those who share a Mexican heritage More than 3000 gathered in Stockton last weekend for a parade and around 1000 are expected in Ceres at dawn today Page G-1 Help for osteoporosis Millions of women with advanced osteoporosis can take drugs to stop the crippling disease from getting worse but they regrow much lost bone and thus they will always be frail Now scientists are studying a biologically engineered hormone that might one day help patients actually rebuild strong bones Page A-9 Reaching for Mars A NASA spacecraft blasts off on a 416 million-mile journey to Mars in search of water on the red planet Page A-10 Plant blast An explosion destroys a fireworks factory in rural southern Michigan Seven workers are missing and 13 others are treated for injuries mostly smoke inhalation officials say Page A-13 THE WORLD Pinochet in public Seated in a wheelchair a dour-faced Gen Augusto Pinochet makes his first public appearance since his arrest on a Spanish extradition warrant and declares that no foreign court has jurisdiction to try him Page A-16 Thai jet crashes A Thai Airways jet trying to land in a heavy rainstorm plunges into a swamp and bursts into flames Page A-17 Actor and recording artist Will Smith will receive the Entertainer of the Year Award at the 30th NAACP Image Awards NAACP President CEO Kwesi Mfume announced Thursday The Entertainer of the Year Award is presented to an individual who has consistently excelled in the entertainment industry and merits special recognition for a recent outstanding achievement or contribution to the industry and the community Smith has starred in two of the 10 all-time top-grossing films worldwide: last In for which he also recorded the Grammy-winning title song and He currently stars in the action-thriller of the face the future The New York Daily News says Barbra Streisand perform at Madison Square Garden on New Eve 1999 because has a lot of about the Y2K change Electra-fying words Carmen Electra writes in People magazine that she believes in marriage and despite the pending annulment of hers to Dennis Rodman is possibly a future for my relationship We take it a step at a She put anger aside Donatella Versace says she hate her killer Andrew Cunanan feel angry against she told in an interview to air Monday can you feel angry with a sick Impeachment vote In a historic constitutional step in a bitterly partisan atmosphere the House Judiciary Committee approves three articles of impeachment aimed at ultimately removing President Clinton from office for lying under oath about his sexual affair with Monica Lewinsky A contrite Clinton President Clinton tells the nation that he is for misleading his friends his family the country and Congress yet stops short of saying he lied under oath before a grand jury words cannot fully express the profound remorse I feel for what our country is going through and for what members of both parties in Congress are now forced to deal Local opinions split To hear a variety of opinions on the effort to impeach President Clinton you can ask a bunch of different people what they think or you can ask 21-year-old Martin Hermiz really the Modesto Junior College student says He thinks the Republican arguments about protecting the justice system insult the intelligence of the American people but if he were in the Congress he thinks vote to impeach Baby bom alive The baby boy found dead in a pile of garden waste at a city-owned compost plant was bom alive Modesto police say Exactly how the infant died and the circumstances surrounding his death are unknown but the case has been ruled a homicide big Comic creator A former Turlock High School student stumbles into a profession where he can earn a good living and have a lot of fun to boot He writes comic books Page B-1 Now there are two Manteca officials started with 34 possible sites for the new skate park They now have the list down to two locations and one in front of the golf course is favored Page B-1 THE STATE Kids found in drug lab Four barefoot children are found in a Long Beach house littered with dirty needles 142 blood vials and bloody cotton balls a makeshift lab that recruited teen-agers by offering $25 for their blood police say Page B-3 Memorial to vets After seven years of false starts a memorial to the 5 million Californians who have served in the military since statehood will be dedicated on the grounds of the state Capitol A 28-foot black granite obelisk is the work of artists Katherine Keefer and Steve Gillman Page B-3 Lotteiy Tlie Brighter Side new scaiy but is it the fastest? Super Lotto Estimated jackpot for Saturday Dec 12 $4 million Cunanan gunned down fashion designer Gianni Versace outside Miami Beach home on July 15 1997 during a cross-country killing spree that also left four others dead Nine days after killing Versace with police closing in Cunanan committed suicide in a houseboat 2 Vi miles from home A Bond bombshell Introducing the new Bond girl Actress Denise Richards the pouty beauty who made a splash in and plays a nuclear weapons expert in the new Bond flick as yet untitled Pierce Brosnan will once again play agent 007 The movie opens next November Fiery meditation Supermodels are more dangerous than you think Kate Moss discharged Tuesday from the $500-a-day Priory Clinic in London where she had checked in to my life and left behind a fire-scorched room for good measure Seems when exboyfriend Johnny Depp sent her a lovely $100000 BMW as a get-well gift Moss immediately took the car for a spin Except she forgot she had left meditation candles burning next to a scarf sent by her mummy It ignited the room and the place was evacuated by firefighters No one was hurt Bee news services Nov 18 6 14 16 25 40 43 Nov 14 10 31 32 39 47 50 Nov 11 25 32 36 42 48 51 Fantasy 5 Friday's winning numbers: 19 21 31 34 36 Daily 3 Friday's winning numbers: 7 8 5 Daily Derby Friday's winning numbers: 9 6 2 Time 1:4857 Super Lotto and Fantasy 5 results call: The BeeLine 575-7500 Ext 7550 pers call by 9:30 am Monday Friday and by 10:30 am Saturday or Sunday Long distance: (800) 776-4233 Monthly ratos by mall applicable sales tax will be added): Stanislaus County $1600 Elsewhere in Calif Nev Ore $1900 Other states $2000 Newspapers Publiaher James McClatchy Vice Presidents Operations News Frank Whittaker Gregory Favre and the Audit Bureau ot Clrcitions The Associated Press BUENA PARK It is the newest old-fashioned roller coaster in the West but some debate over whether the fastest GhostRider started running Thursday at Berry Farm where park publicists billed it as one of the biggest and fastest wooden roller coasters The unveiling prompted a news release from rival Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia on behalf of its Colossus Colossus 125 feet high runs at about 62 mph When it opened in 1978 the Guiness Book of World Records called it the tallest and fastest wooden coaster It is still the tallest and fastest in the West the park claimed height depends on how you measure said Bob Ochsner a publicist for highest point is 1 18 feet from average ground level measured from some low points however it would top Colossus saying 1 18 feet just to be the good Ochsner said plenty of room for all of us But GhostRider also is reaching speeds of 60 mph and then some he said think the remains to be Ochsner said is one of the fastest if not the The wooden variety appeals to coaster aficionados for its nostalgic look and sound as well as its modern speed turns and dips The new two-minute ride at Ghost Town features a banked 108-foot drop and can carry up to 84 riders The Modesto Bee and NEWS HERALD Vol 121 No 346 Delivery service: Call 578-2222 for subscriptions delivery questions vacations other services For missed pa -f OUTLET Why Pay Retail TIME: M-F 8:30 TO 7PM SAT 10 TO 5PM SUN -10 TO 1PM 906 CARPENTER ROAD WHOLESALE PRICES OPEN 7 DAYS large Selections MODESTO 521-5 HOLIDAY HOURS Monday-Friday 9:30 to 8:00 Saturday 9:30 to 5:30 Sunday 1 1 :00 to 4:00 In McHenry Village 577-2590 HOME OFFICE SLEEP TRAVEL HEALTH FITNESS Orage Quarles III Publisher 578-2091 Executive Editor 578-2356 Mark Vasche Senior Editor 578-2379 Susan Windemuth Senior Editor 578-2346 Judy Sly Senior Editor 578-2315 Dave Lyghtle Opinion Pages 578-2317 Dick LeGrand Local News 578-2330 Turlock Bureau 667-1227 San Joaquin Bureau 239-2152 Tuolumne Bureau 984-5150 Features 578-2310 Work Money 578-2336 State Nation Foreign 578-2359 Sports 578-2300 Photo 578-2322 Letters to Editor 578-2317 Librarian 578-2333 Local News FAX 578-2207 Sports Features FAX 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travel Visit your nearest RELAX THE BACK' store and ask gk about our 90 Days SameV as CASH Financing Miisuiur I 120 stores nationwide For a free cataloa call: Willi iit'h 's liittil 'tuilinl 3 tlllishlhh Ih il I' liuiir Inversion Tlwmjiy In hie HmkSnvn Zm (Imvily Jlecliner yns 3 Modesto (209) 526-222 (BmCK) TRAVEL HEALTH FITNESS slecfi Alth Valley Oak Pediatric Associates We are pleased to announce the association of Dena A Lenser MD In their practice of Pediatrics Dr Lenser has completed her Pediatric residency from Loma Linda University Medical Center Rush Bailey MD FAAP Stephen Jacobs MD FAAP Ronald A Goldman MD FAAP Martin Cohen MD FAAP Kathryn Bolton MD FAAP Elizabeth Bailey RNC MSN CPNP Marsha Andreae RN BSN CPNP Jill Jenkins RNC MS CPNP James Costello PA Sarah Koch MD Nancy Bouvier MSN PNP 8 Open regular hours: Mon-Fri Acute Care Hours: Mon-Fri 5pm-8pm 5 Sat Sun Holidays 12pm 1325 Melrose Avenue Modesto 544-7300 Most insurance accepted The Modesto Bee (USPB 398-120) Is published dally and Sunday by pars ownsr and publlshsr Periodicals postags paid ilness circulation editorial production offices 14th CA 95384 Write Ths Modssto Bas Newsroom at: PO Box 5256 Modesto CA 95352 Write Ths Modssto Bss Buslnsss Offices at: PO Box 3928 Modesto CA 95352 Postmaster: Send changes to The Modesto Bee PO Box 5156 Modesto CA 95352 j- Solutions for Back Pain Sal 10-6 Sun II 1300 Sylilan Ave at Coffee Rd HOME OFFICE SLEEP Suggested home delivery rates applicable sales tax will be added): Dally and Sunday $1125 per month WeekendPlus $725 per month McClatchy Chairman of the Board Erwin Potts President Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt Member ol the Associated Press.