The State from Columbia, South Carolina • 29

WWW.THESTATE.COM THE STATE, COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2002 B3 METRO Metro Briefs Power failure strikes South Trust building An electrical problem caused a power failure in the South Trust building in downtown Columbia Thursday afternoon. At about 12:30 p.m., the Columbia Fire Department was called to the building after a main transformer blew in the basement, said Curtis Maffett, assistant chief. There was no fire damage. The building was evacuated, with the fire department helping five disabled people who couldn't walk down the stairs from the 18th floor, Maffett said. Courthouse powder case nets two arrests Two people were arrested Wednesday in connection with the sprinkling of a nonhazardous brown powder in and around the Saluda County Courthouse.

Leroy Harris, 50, and Charles Ann Chatman, 44, both of 330 Plumber St. in Batesburg-Leesville, were arrested by investigators, said Saluda County Sheriff Jason Booth. Harris and Chatman are charged with two counts each of use of a hoax device of mass destruction. Each charge carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison. A hidden camera showed two people sprinkling the material in a courtroom, Booth said.

Gas leak closes school in Calhoun County An early morning gas leak at John Ford Middle School in St. Matthews Thursday forced the Calhoun County school system to send children home for the day. Walt Tobin, the interim superintendent, said administrators had to close the school for safety and logistical reasons. Tobin said repair workers could not guarantee the gas leak could be fixed quickly, and the problem meant the cafeteria was unable to prepare meals for lunch. The decision affected about 460 students.

Midlands to host two marching band events High school marching bands from across the Midlands will compete at two different competitions Saturday. Eighteen high schools will vie for awards at the 22nd annual Capital City Classic. The contest starts at 2:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Columbia. The event is sponsored by Columbia High's "Band of Gold" Booster Club.

White Knoll High is sponsoring the Silver Invitational Band Competition. A dozen bands will participate in the new event, which starts at 4 p.m. at Lexington 1's stadium in Lexington. City gets emergency response funding The city of Columbia has received $400,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help prepare for coordinated medical response to public emergencies.

The contract is for the development of a Metropolitan Medical Response System, that will enable the city to better coordinate the first emergency responders, public health systems and hospitals in their response during times of crisis. Columbia is one of 119 cities across the nation with the MMRS program. Austin is accreditation panel's new member Charles P. Austin, Columbia police chief and assistant city manager of public safety, has been appointed to serve a three-year term on the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement. CALEA is responsible for accrediting law enforcement agencies in the country.

Austin will be one of 21 people on the commission. Austin's duties on the commission will begin Jan. 1, 2003. STEVE JOHNSON TREE SERVICE (803) 787-4804 105384-61 STERLING Garnet Colored Stone With Gamecock Neck Slide $29 Jewelry WAREHOUSE 06456-45 www.jewelrywarehouse.com 2909 Platt Springs Rd. 7007.

Two Notch Rd. 817 St. Andrews Rd. Riverbanks to adopt two grizzly orphans By JOEY HOLLEMAN Staff Writer Two grizzly bear cubs orphaned when their mother was killed in Alaska soon will get a new home at Riverbanks Zoo. The two male bears were captured near Prudhoe Bay in August.

Their mother had been shot because she repeatedly caused problems for humans in the area, said Ryan Scott, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The department usually lets orphaned cubs fend for themselves, but these cubs already had been taught by their mother to hang around people, feeding off their garbage. The two cubs, who were captured along with their sister, were born last winter. The female is bound for the Denver Zoo, Scott said. The grizzlies will take over the exhibit left empty when the polar bear died in April 2001.

Riverbanks executive director Satch Krantz said the zoo considered several options for the showpiece exhibit. "It's just inside our front door," Krantz said. "We agonized over what to put there." In the end, the bears won out. "Bears are extremely popular with visitors," Krantz said. "There's a fascination with big Riverbanks let Alaska offi- SPECIAL TO THE STATE Two grizzly bear cubs will soon be living at Riverbanks Zoo.

Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. In common parlance, grizzly bear and brown bear are synonymous. Bears of the species Ursus arctos found along the coast are called brown bears, and those found inland are called grizzlies. But the two subspecies have interbred enough that the dividing line blurs, according to zoo officials. In Riverbanks' early years, it had a Kodiak bears exhibit.

Ko- cials know it was interested in any grizzly orphans the department had to capture. The new bears, now at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, should I be shipped to Columbia in the next two weeks. After about a month in quarantine, they should be on display for Riverbanks visitors in November. Grizzly bears thrive in the wild in most of Western Canada, Alaska, Washington, diaks are another subspecies that some experts believe should be lumped in with the grizzly. Grizzlies usually are shorter and more rotund than polar bears.

They prefer to live in thick forest vegetation. Riverbanks will make minor changes to the old polar bear exhibit to make the newcomers feel more at home, curator of mammals Steve Wing said. Plants and trees will be added to make the exhibit less stark. do WLTX selects Berry, Strickland to anchor newscasts J.R. Berry and Darci Strickland will be the new evening anchor Chisholm said he has a job lined up that will allow him to remain in the area, but he declined to say what it is "until all the t's are crossed and the i's dotted." Keith left the station last week, said WLTX general manager Rich O'Dell, "by mutual agreement." The State has not been able to reach Keith for comment.

WLTX has been the perennial No. 2 news station in the market for decades behind top-rated WIS. "Unfortunately, the governor's statement was totally inconsistent with a long line of attacks his campaign has leveled against our plan since we announced it five months ago," Sanford said. In newspaper stories over the past several months, Hodges' campaign manager, Jay Reiff, has been quoted as criticizing Sanford's plan. Reiff said earlier this week in a Greenville newspaper that Sanford's plan would take "power away from the people to make himself more powerful." Wednesday night, Hodges said making those offices part of the governor's cabinet would help create "true executive authority" in South Carolina.

For Fans Dutch No.2 station makes more personnel changes to boost ratings By DOUG NYE Television Editor Only days after WLTX anchor Deloris Keith left the station, coanchor Michael Chisholm's last day has come. Chisholm, who does his final newscasts tonight, said his three young daughters prompted his decision to leave the station. "I've been looking for another career since my oldest daughter started school," said Chisholm, who with Keith co-anchored the 6, 7 and 11 p.m. newscasts. "I realized doing three newscasts a night, I was going to miss out on a lot.

My three daughters are my life. "I decided to fulfill my commitment (contract) here before I made a move, and I've done that." Morning show co-anchor J.R. Berry and morning weather announcer Darci Strickland will become the anchor team beginning Monday. Ainsley Earhardt, reporter and weekend anchor, will co-anchor the 5 to 7 a.m. news show with Kari Hamilton, who has served as health reporter.

Reporter Natasha Curry will become the weekend anchor. Political Roundup Sanford, Hodges address restructuring Republican gubernatorial nominee Mark Sanford said Thursday that Gov. Jim Hodges is being inconsistent with regard to restructuring state government. In a televised debate Wednesday, Hodges said he agreed with Sanford that the offices of comptroller general and state treasurer should be appointed by the governor instead of elected by voters. all roads lead to Square Food, Center Fashion Is With great conveniently shopping and movies located Dutch at Square the www.dutchsquare.com Fun at Bush the River CROSSROADS Broad exit River of OF exit 1-26 of 1-20 and COLUMBIA 1-126.

08376-45 Payments as low as month SPORE (Model JOHN DEERE 1454235) POWER EQUIPMENT Hilton's 5933 Two 786-5472 Notch Rd 99703-40 BEARS ON THE WAY Some facts on grizzly bears, which are coming to Riverbanks Zoo soon: a Range in the wild: Much of Western Canada, Alaska, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington and Montana. Color: Fur ranges from white to black, but most often is some shade of brown. The tips usually are lighter, giving the fur a grizzled effect. a Size: Adult females range from 270 to 770 pounds, males 330 to 1,150 pounds. They can grow to lengths of 10 feet.

The two male cubs coming to Riverbanks weigh about 65 pounds. Food: Just about anything. Berries, nuts, roots and rodents are favorites in the wild, but the bears also eat fish, goats, elk and sheep. Behavior: Usually active in the morning and early evening, with long rests in the middle of the day. The two cubs weigh about 65 pounds, about one-tenth their likely adult weight, Wing said.

They've got a lot of growing to do at Riverbanks. nouncer-reporter since 1978, was named the station's community affairs director; Larry Audas was brought in as news director to replace Mark Leeps; a Keith arrived in April 1999, to replace Trinell Moore, who had been with the station since 1994; a Chisholm, who came from Colorado, began his co-anchor stint Oct. 31, replacing 67-year-old Gene Upright, who retired after being part of the Columbia TV scene since 1956. O'Dell cited the local ties Berry and Strickland have with the Midlands as one of the key reasons for the move. Both are native South Carolinians.

Berry, a Sumter native, began his broadcasting career in the area in 1977. He joined WLTX in 1990 as a general assignment reporter. In 1998, Berry became news anchor for the morning program. Strickland, a native of Ladsen (near Charleston), joined WLTX in 1997 as a general assignment reporter and weekend weather anchor. She moved to the morning show in 1998.

Strickland has a degree in journalism from USC and a degree in broadcast meteorology from Mississippi State. "J.R. and Darci certainly know the area as well as anyone," O'Dell said. "I think it's important to have people with local roots on your staff when you're trying to do local news." SPECIAL TO THE STATE anchor team starting Monday. WLTX had gradually closed the gap between the two stations during 2000 and 2001 but those gains leveled off during the past two ratings periods.

Like all stations, boosting ratings is paramount and Gannett, which bought the affiliate in 1998, has searched for the right formula that would spell No. 1 status. And that's meant personnel changes. was brought in from the Cleveland market in 1998 to re- On Thursday, Reiff said the statements are not contradictory. "While (Hodges) has supported additional appointment powers for governor, he doesn't agree with Mark Sanford that we're going to save money by not electing officials like comptroller general or treasurer," Reiff said.

Hodges believes the state's adjutant general should be appointed rather than elected, in part to make place Debbie Holland, who resigned; Not long after that, Gannett lured Jim Gandy away from WIS, where the popular meteorologist earned a following over 14 years. Gannett announced that Gandy would serve as a consultant. But a year later in December 1999, Gandy was named the station's chief meteorologist; 3 Camille Bradford Hugg, who had been the station's weather an- it easier for the governor to deal with an emergency. Candidate schedules Here are today's campaign schedules for the gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidates: GOVERNOR Jim Hodges: noon, serving lunch at the Columbia Greek Fes- tival, 1931 Sumter St.

Mark Sanford: no public events scheduled SENATE Lindsey Graham: information not available Alex Sanders: information not available Living Here page B2 The? State South Carolina's Largest Selection of quality patio porch pool sunroom furnishings Save to. Off I Clearance. ONE OF AMERICA'S TOP 100 Clearance. CASUAL FURNITURE STORES Floor Models 15,000 square feet 1-of-a-kinds Odds ends over jam-packed with Discontinued stock 500 pieces of beautiful Complete groups PATIO GALLERY casual furniture reduced! Hurry while the selection is still GREAT! Sale 1404 prices Charleston also available Hwy, at our (Knox Garden Abbott) Store in West Richland Columbia Mall 796-3237.