Birmingham Post-Herald from Birmingham, Alabama • 11

tShrfJminghamftixw BIRMINGHAM OTY SCHOOLS State clears Summer in the park audit frees up millions By CHARLES DEM News staff writer State school officials have decided to release millions of dollars in federal money to Birmingham schools after the system met a June 30 deadline for submitting its 2000-2001 audit State schools Superintendent Ed Richardson had ordered in March that all federal dollars targeted for the system be held up pending the completion and review of that audit Two years of missed audit deadlines prompted Richardson to order a halt in federal funding for Birmingham schools But a new Birmingham Board of Education and new administrative leadership in the system succeeded in meeting the dead-' line While the audit continues to show problems in some system operations Richardson said he has decided to release the federal money In aU the state which acts as the agent for the federal money had been holding onto about $8 million Most of that money goes to pay for the system's child nutrition program and to provide additional help to disadvantaged students "They met the deadline which was our first requirement and we are pleased that they appear to be making progress in solving the problems in the child nutrition program said Richardson A federal audit of the lunchroom program earlier in the year found that some schools were providing free and reduced-price meals to students who did not qualify for them That same program on a much larger scale in 1996 led Richardson to take over operation of the lunchroom program Last month Richardson sent in a team of investigators to spot-check CNP records and for die most part found that the problems identified earlier in the year had been solved In addition the school board recently voted to buy computer software that is designed to help schools do a better job of properly tracking students who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals NEWS STAfTJEREMY LYVERSE Above: Jared Burt of Homewood strums his guitar while on a family camping trip at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham on Friday Right: While Jared played Pharo Hand was fishing in the park's Lunker Lake Hand said he only got a few nibbles but the park was quiet and relaxing Sloss report details 19 water violations News anchor Thomas on way out at ABC 5340 general manager at Channel 3340 were unsuccessful Morning anchor Pam Huff was told January she would lose her job in April due to cost cuts at the station However station owner TV Alabama Inc and parent company Allbritton Communications reversed their decision and renewed Huffs contract in March The station has since returned Huff to co-anchor Morning Alabama which is in third place in the local morning ratings Thomas has been the coanchor of the coveted 6 pm and 10 pm newscasts with Brenda Ladun since the station went on the air in 1996 after By MICHAEL TOMBERIJN News staff writer Alabama's ABC 3340 is preparing to drop its leading news anchor just weeks after deciding to retain Pam Huff once thought to be on the way out at the station Josh Thomas said the station has told him his contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of August His contract has a noncompete clause that could keep him off any other Birmingham television newscast for one year Thomas said station officials have not given him a reason for not renewing his contract Efforts to reach Roy Clem Josh Thomas Contract be renewed the ABC network was booted by WBRC-Channel 6 for the Fox network Since shortly after going on the air Channel 3340 has See Thomas Page 12A The plant violated four out of five cyanide tests for the month pouring as much as 816 pounds of cyanide into the stream on a single test day according to the water monitoring results Sloss reported to ADEM for May The plant also violated its permit limits for nine organic chemicals considered by federal environmental officials to be priority pollutants including pyrene fluorene and phenols ADEM water quality inspectors visiting Five Mile Creek last fell reported that the site of die Stoss discharge pipe was virtually devoid of life and was littered with the carcasses of dead animals The environmental agency recommended tightening standards on the creek However that rule change was blocked by a legislative committee after Sloss officials said it would cause them to dose and lay off 350 employees The company has said it has tost money for the past two Eand 250 employees have on strike since December An economic analysis by the Environmental Protection US Agency has indicated that Stoss can anon ord the changes During the 1970s Joseph and Virginia Simpson owned the home which was the site of a number of social events in Birmingham On Aug 29 1977 Virginia Simpson was found shot to death in her bed The crime has never been solved The mystery is still talked about but it won't be a deterrent to possible buyers said Simpson of RealtySouth who is no relation to Joseph and Virginia Simpson Coverage by the Journal should generate a tot of interest die said feel we have a market that expands across Birmingham nationally and internationally Carole Simpson said Several local people have already expressed interest in the property she added By KATHERINE B0UMA News staff imter Sloss Industries reported 19 water quality violations lor pouring too much cyanide and other chemicals into West Jefferson Five Mile Creek in its most recent state report Jefferson County coke plant has been fined $46500 by the state in the past 16 months since it signed a consent agreement with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management pledging to stop its illegal pollution Bill Lott an engineer for the state environmental agency said he had not totaled the fines due for the most recent report which covers violations that occurred in May By ADEM policy officials can not predict or discuss specific future enforcement actions However Lott said the department has not dropped the Sloss case Efforts to reach a Stoss official were unsuccessful this week In the past company officials have said they would need to spend $28 million to bring the coke plant on Five Mile Creek up to current standards The 21385-square-foot home has eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms It was designed by William Kessler in 1928 for Theodore Swann a metallurgist as an exact replica of the Castle Hedingham in Essex England It has 10 fireplaces two wine cellars a small gym and a conservatory that overlooks a small pond gardens are magnificent' said Carole Simpson one of the sales associates with RealtySouth was fashioned from the gardens in Provence The Journal's story mentioned the house's 12th-century stone Norman arch its beamed ceilings and foil Elizabethan tavern but it didn't mention a notorious killing that took place there 25 years ago Castle-like Swann House for sale at $625 million Neal Miller In 1976 Known as Jack" star dies at hospital By MART C0LURS0 News itaff writer Neal Miller who entertained thousands of area children with his Jack television show died Friday at Montclair Baptist Medical Center A family member confirmed Miller's death Other details available and funeral arrangements been announced late Friday Miller a local broadcast veteran was best known for the Jack program which ran in the 1960s and '70s on WBMG-TVChannel 42 a CBS affiliate Wearing the uniform of a Jefferson County sheriffs deputy Miller celebrated birthdays on the air with excited tykes made balloon animals and bantered with puppets He also did magic tricks and sold carnival kits to viewers who wanted to their own Jack experience at home Miller was also a celebrity in the Birmingham radio world Before signing on at WBMG he worked as a disc jockey for radio station WSGN-AM known as 610 for its position on the diaL His show was particularly popular with teenagers who would cruise around Southside near the WSGN tower listening See Miller Page 12A By MARIE A JONES News staff writer One of most well-known homes is on the market and was featured Friday in The Wall Street Journal The Swann House a 1920s Tudor-style home on Redmont Road atop Red Mountain was the Journal's of the Anthony Fant chief executive officer of Minnesota-based HEI a microelectronics maker bought the Z'A-acte property for $21 million in 1996 then made $3 million worth of renovations to the home and gardens the Journal said The house is listed locally with RealtySouth and because of its upper-bracket status is also listen with International Realty for exposure lists the asking price at $625 million The Swann House seen in this 1997 photo is on the market with an asking price of $625 million NEWS OLE A- 'y -ip'yyssi A SiU fv ittflfriij AyiWi W'fcjWiAwa ir JtfWi'hN UUBf 0 1 JCu iv nv I i.