Sun Herald from Biloxi, Mississippi • 1

THURSDAY i -V mE fiCOVERING THE MISSISSIPPI COAST Tummmsm is cause Man with a mission 1 Robby Myrick wants His Place to offer Christian teens a place to hang out C-1 World descends The greatest assembly of leaders in history gathers at the United Nations B-1 igg Ole Miss hopes to throw Tommy Tuber-ville for a loss in Oxford on Saturday night D-1 Neo-Confederates spreading Although concentrated in the South neo-Confederate groups such as the League of the South and the Council of Conservative Citizens are also beginning to show a presence in California and other western states On the Web: Racism ties to neo-Nazis Civil War revisionism all cited by watchdog group Southern Poverty Law Center: wwwsplcenterorg Free Mississippi (John Cripps) wwwfreemississippiorg League of the South: wwwdixienetorg By JOHN DeSANTlS THE SUN HERALD Mississippi locations Calhoun Holly Springs Jackson ft Leflore County Piney Woods ft Vaiden Webster 8 Laurel 8 Mendenhall 8 Wiggins protests on the Coast "Tire racism of these groups is undeniable and it is spreading to thousands who once were merely enthusiasts of Confederate symbols and Civil War said Joe Roy director of the Intelligence Project "These groups remind us that white suprematists do not always come wearing Klan hoods shaved heads or swastikas Sometimes they are dressed up with business suits and Michael Hill the president said he welcomed the designation as a of you deal with organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center that have a very An organization active in battles to preserve public display of the Rebel flag has been branded a racist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center The Law Center a Montgomery-based watchdog organization that trades hate groups throughout the United States will issue a report today identifying the Tuscaloosa-based League of the South as the vanguard of a radical and growing neo-Confederate movement The League's Mississippi chapter has been active in pro-Rebel flag leftist agenda these sorts of things are designed to discredit you Hill said take our stand against the leftist agenda and they are one of the primary purveyors and any time we can be cast in opposition to them it is aa credit to where we stand in our The League describes itself as a Southern Council for exc X3 Conservative Citizens Each icon denotes a chapter Please see Hate A-8 source soutmPowftyLcen RUOV NOWAKTHE SUN HERALD Hopes are high for Veterans Day event Legislature has to look at the long-term consequences of its actions not the short-term Andrew Bouiiand executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Association supports stance Industry says tax increase is bad economic move By RENI WINTER THE SUN HERALD GULFPORT A group of Mis-sissippians is organizing a Veterans Day event they hope will attract 100000 people to Gulfport in honor of the silver anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War National Veterans Parade 2000 sponsored by the Coast Chamber of Commerce and its military affairs committee is planned for Nov 11 folio Wig a seafood bash at Point Cadet the night before going to be a great said Donna Yates an event organizer from Magee know going to be an annual event going to celebrate our veterans and what they did for us Veterans are very special people The dead and the living are very special people They ensure all of our constitutional rights My dad is the greatest man who ever lived And how I feel about every father Army Chief Warrant Officer James Leach was killed during the Vietnam War Lt CoL Russell A Madderra director of operations at the Mississippi Air National Guard Combat Readiness Training Center also serves on the organizing committee This is an amazing he said already been contacted by groups and military groups who support this Please see Parade A-8 Economist uses wrong figures A-6 overall economic development of the casino industry but statewide said Palace Casino Resort general manager Keith Crosby president of tiie Gulf Coast Casino Association a trade group that represents 11 of the 12 casinos Industry executives planned to use the USM study as a lobbying weapon if the state Legislature attempted to raise casino taxes to pay for a promised increase in teacher salaries The study was out only a few hours when Rep George Flaggs D-Vicksburg said the report convinced him to back off his previous efforts to raise gambling taxes to finance the pay hike study basically supports what the industry has said all along with respect to a tax said Beverly Martin executive director of the Coast casino association Bemie Burkholder president of the Mississippi Gaming Association and Treasure Bay Resorts in Biloxi said clear that a tax increase would have a negative impact on economic development statewide would have generated a second wave of bankruptcies and financial Burkholder said and Treasure Bay would have been among the hotel-casinos fating Please see Gambling A-6 JAMES EDWARD BATESTHE SUN HERALD Veterans Steve Harig of Covington left and Mike Igo prepare an American flag for a Jump Sunday at Trent Lott International Airport A group of 25 veterans will land on the beach Just west of Grand Casino Gulfport as a part of the festivities for National Veterans Parade 2000 in November By DAVE PALERMO THE SUN HERALD 'f Casino executives are hopeful that a University of Southern Mississippi economic impact study released Tuesday will discourage legislative efforts to increase taxes on the $25 billion industry The USM study included a recommendation that the combined 12 percent local and state tax rate on gross gambling revenue be maintained at itscurrentleveL 4 percent tax increase as sug-pted by some legislators during the 1999 session likely have negative economic and social the study said resulting in the possible closing of six to nine financially marginal properties and the loss of several thousand jobs The USM study said a tax increase also would discourage Wall Street investment in the casino industry eliminating capital for expansion projects and diminishing the ability to fuel increased tourism and economic development appears pretty good linear information that a tax increase would be detrimental not only to the Veterans Parade 2000 What: A parade and seafood bash honoring veterans in special tribute to the 25th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War When: Seafood bash live bands 5-10 pm Friday Nov 10 $1 at the gate parade 1:30 pm Saturday Nov 11 with pre-parade festivities Where: US 90 between 20th and Broad avenues Gulfport Fkineral directors plan balloon release A-8 Report places hurdle in front of monument R-l Woman five pets die in St Martin house fire 'i For home delivery call 1-800-346-2472 uSSSSBBL THEHMQHTHDOER Ceasar heard about the fire Wednesday morning and drove to St Martin after she took the boy to school With tears in her eyes she watched as firefighters shoveled burned debris from her red brick home on April Bayou Road Firefighters extinguished the blaze before it destroyed the house Sgt Carl Cone with the Sheriffs Department said the house sustained mostly smoke and heat damage The news comfort Ceasar though She cried when she talked about losing her friends Ceasar said she also is grieving the death two weeks ago of another friend Fire investigators spent Wednesday trying I 9 V- 4 7" 1 Printed in part on recycled paper please recycle your newspapers TODAY'S WEATHER A couple of iraML showers High: 82 rjlH Low: 72 Winds from E-SE at 8-16 knots Relative humidity: 70 Weather B-6 INDEX Ann Abby B-4 Horoscope 04 Business D-6 Movies B-3 Classified El Obituaries Comics B4 Opinion B-2 3 Crosswords Stocks D-7 Entertainment X-5 TV B4 By TRACY DASH THE SUN HERALD ST MARTIN An act of kindness cost Tammy Ishee her life Ishee 42 and the five pets she was taking care of died when the St Martin home they lived in caught fire late Tuesday Firefighters with the West Jackson County Fire Department responded to the 11:50 pm blaze and found Ishee two dogs two cats and a bird inside Ishee had been staying at the house with her friend Susan Ceasar for the past few months Ceasar left Ishee home to care for the dogs a Bichon Prise and a schnauzer and the other animals while she took care of a late son in Gulfport CROSS CRIME SCEHF nO HOT tnV 2000 Tho Sun Harald i 3 ImL PAT SULUVAN SPECIAL TO THE SUN HERALD i Yellow crime scene tape surrounds a house on April Bayou Road In St Martin on Wednesday after a woman and five pets died In a fire late Tuesday Authorities have not determined the cause of the blaze but preliminary reports show no signs of foul play 6 5 98256 00 Please see Fire A-5 it id yj? -v V't-' KNicWiRtpbERX 1.