Bristol Herald Courier from Bristol, Tennessee • 25

VirginiaTennessee Saturday ebruary 27 1999 Bristol Herald CourierVirginia Tennessean Page 1 1 Black lawmakers blast voter ID bill By The Associated Press By The Associated Press By The Associated Press By The Associated Press Stephens Court throws out one death sentence best bets tonight Ryan Merriman and Ashley Peldon SATURDAY 22799 EVENING Austin City Limits (S) Sessions 54th(Oft Air) I 8 (35) VIP (S) 5 Up Close 1 Personal (96) (Robert Redford) (S) (CC) worship Contemporary Gospel Music Mr Been Boxing Cesar Bazan vs Stevie Johnston IS Live) (CC) ALL THIS AND MORE SUNDAY IN PARADE I NHL Hockey Ca okna Humcanes at Edmonton Olers (Lire) Jews (11:15) (75) (Roy Scheider) Safer Bros R) (CC) Oforte NewWfrJohn 8:30 9 1 7:00 17:30 I Cable and Premium wsaetcy SEE WHAT SUNDAY HAS IN STORE Judge finds probable cause for kidnapping other charges in school incident Tm A Russell triumph over dyslexia The judge said he believed her but it was too soon to con sider releasing the boy who showed little emotion as he watched the proceedings flanked by his parents and law yers Denton said he was troubled that no motive has been offered to explain why the boy alleg edly brought the gun to school or pulled it on his principal and why the boy would act so out of character think there is anyone here who would not say this is a bizarre Denton said adding that the lack of motive me concerned about his mental The judge ordered the boy to undergo a mental evaluation at Lakeshore Mental i secured facility for young peo ple The process should take about three weeks Ratledge recounted the or deal for the court The prin cipal said when he confronted the boy outside class about a gun Stephens claimed was innocent He do any thing like But Ratledge took the boy to his small office for further questioning As Ratledge fin ished inspecting the book bag he looked over as Ste phens began standing up from a couch Ratledge I hate to do the principal recalled him saying then he pulled out a Ratledge said the boy drew the gun from the crotch of his pants It was wrapped in a handkerchief When the prin cipal moved toward him the Cottege Basketbatl Anzona at Stanford ILrve' House kills measure to encourage TV coverage Of the day 7 hope if this bill goes through they've got wide angle cameras' Delegate Jackie Stump a Buchanan County Democrat who weights in at 340 pounds on a measure encouraging live TV broadcasts of legislative sessions 8 pm on 0 MOVIE: VP CLOSE PERSONAL This 1996 drama was inspired by the life of newswoman Jessica Savitch but the only thing aspiring anchor Tally Atw ater has in common with Savitch is ambition Robert Redford plays a local news director vehement objections from black legislators and many other Demo crats stymied it This year in what they viewed as a compromise solution Republi cans introduced the pilot project The bill says almost any identifi cation will be acceptable it have to have a picture Also voters who have no ID can vote anyway as long as they sign a legal form verifying that they are who they say they are going to have a check and balance said Del John Rust Jr Il airfax always frankly been shocked that we never had to show ID at the polls You have to show ID for far less important Black legislators though say that kind of reasoning discounts the terror black people endured in the South and the fear it bred in many that their rights can be taken away Earlier this session while dis cussing a proposed license plate with a Confederate flag on it Jones made an impassioned speech on the House floor describing Ku Klux Klan rallies he had seen and efforts by protesters to drive him out of his high school things still matter espe cially to older he said Other Democrats said the ID law would stop people black and white from heading to the polls in a state where voter turn out is often under 50 percent just one more impediment one more thing they have to do to said Del William Robin son Jr Norfolk NASHVILLE Gov Don Sundquist signed legislation ri day that names the 100 mile stretch of Interstate 40 between Nashville and Crossville the ator Tommy Burks Memorial The measure is one of two bills introduced in the memory of state Sen Tommy Burks who was mur dered on his farm last fall Sundquist had not received the second bill which would keep the names of candidates on the ballot if they die within 40 days of an election but planned to sign it spokeswoman Alexia Levinson said riday On 98 0 votes House members approved the bills Thursday Burks made the 180 mile round trip drive on 1 40 from his Monterey farm to Nashville every day the Legislature was in session 9 pm on THE PRETENDER Jarod and Miss Parker flash back to a child hood incident They meet a dying girl wlxwe presence is not explained Ryan Merriman and Ashley Peldon play the young Jarod and Miss Parker alty the high court said it is materially vital to the defendant in a criminal case that the jury have a proper verdict the court ruled In other rulings the court upheld both the capital murder convictions and death sentences given: Earl Bramblett for killing his former best friend the wife and their two daughters in Roanoke County in August 1994 Brandon Hedrick for robbing sodomizing raping and murdering Lisa Crider in Appomattox County in May 1997 Brian Cherrix of sodomizing and murdering pizza delivery person Tessa Van Hart in Accomack County in January 1994 All Virginia capital murder convictions are auto matically appealed to the highest court 8 pm on SHOW MOVIE: THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE Rebecca De Momay plays Peyton the Bartel family's nanny who blames Mama Bartel for the loss of her husband and unborn child RICHMOND To Republicans in the General Assembly the idea is a simple and harmless one: Vot ers should have to show identifica tion before casting their ballots to prevent fraud But black legislators are de nouncing the bill the GOP pushed through to passage this week say ing it evokes a time when ob stacles were put in front of blacks who wished to vote in the segre gated South To black members of the Gen eral Assembly many of whom lived through the days of poll taxes and rigged reading tests be fore desegregation in Virginia any restriction on voting is a bad re striction the long dark past Virginia has had in the area of voting said Jerrauld Jones Norfolk who is black think that plays a very significant role in our Voters in Virginia do not have to show IDs when they vote But a bill approved Thursday creates a pilot project experimenting with an ID requirement in up to 10 lo calities The State Board of Elec tions would choose the localities but the local electoral boards would have to agree to participate Gov Jim Gilmore has not said whether he will sign the bill But several delegates said it is likely he will since it was sponsored by his fellow Republicans Republicans have tried in the past to push a voter ID require ment through the legislature but boy pointed the gun at him and warned do it do Over the next three hours the principal kept talking with the boy as did a police negotia tor over the phone was just praying that God would give me the words to calm the Ratledge said lushed and talking fast the eighth grader became more composed after asking Ratledge for permission to light a ciga rette know not sup posed to smoke in the prin cipal's office but not supposed to have a gun here the boy told him At one point Ratledge no ticed the gun was cocked He asked the boy to disengage the weapon but the boy said he know how The boy did manage to put on the safety Mrs Stephens testified she and her husband Alan Ste phens kept no guns in the house The 380 caliber semi automatic pistol pulled on the principal reportedly belonged to the grandfather lawyer Joe Costner suggested Ratledge 1 a hostage that he could have left any time but stayed to prevent the boy from harming himself or anyone else The judge refused to Jet Cost ner ask if Ratledge thought the incident might have been avoided if he confronted the boy about the gun word to my knowledge was never used until a quarter to Ra tledge said when he said you are not a The principal walked out of the office a half hour later RICHMOND Jerry Springer can relax The king of chair thtowing hair pulling bleep out the expletives Trash TV will get no competition from the Virginia General political brawling anytime soon The House of Delegates voted 54 44 riday to reject a Senate resolution encouraging live tele vision coverage of the legisla floor sessions Supporters of the idea said it would make government more open and accessible especially to Virginians who are unable to travel hundreds of miles to Rich mond to watch the General As sembly in person Critics argued that TV would encourage more long winded speeches and political posturing for the folks back home ulti mately forcing the General As sembly to lengthen its sessions would be creating an un believably extensive political said Delegate Anne Rhodes Richmond She noted that the the period set aside for in troducing guests and making speeches on any subject already has become longer and more po litical in a House evenly divided be tween Republicans and Democrats Delegate Thomas Jackson Jr Carroll said legislators who excel at oratory would thrive before the TV cameras while losers would be the ones who read bills and do the work in subcommittee It be comes a beauty contest to some Delegate Donald A McEachin Richmond said the General Assembly could go the way of Congress which has become more rancorous since its sessions have been televised Bristol Herald Courier A Media General newspaper Making Things Better: Young people coming together in support of human rights resh Voices: are girls so 9:30 0:00 10:30 11:00 1 11:30 12:00 12:30 Broadcast 7 pm on DIS MOVIE: HERCULES A god by birth the awkward adolescent Her cules must become an earthly hero to reclaim his divine powers helped by an impish satyr and hindered by Hades TBS WCW Saturday Nht TNN jv'aak Counlry By The Associated Press RICHMOND The Virginia Supreme Court up held four capital murder convictions riday but again threw out the death sentence in one because the jury was not properly instructed during the penalty phase The court reissuing with minor revisions an opin ion released in January affirmed the conviction of Daryl Atkins for the August 1996 abduction rob bery and murder of Eric Nesbitt in York County but ordered a new sentencing hearing for Atkins The jury was not given a verdict form containing the option of sentencing Atkins to life in prison if it found his crime was not sufficiently vile or he did not pose a future danger that warranted the death pen (CC) fha Himchback of Noire Dama So Weird MuslcVlds Mystery Castle Zorro(CCl pponscenrer (uvi amous amines amous am Sat Night Live Early Edition (S) (CC) Opry Opry statlar Broe (R) (CC) Mental exam ordered for Maryville teen Saturday Night Live (R) (S) (CC) I (35) Viper Associated Press Montvale Elementary School principal Jim Ratledge accepts flowers from parent Karen Myers at the school Thursday where a day before Ratledge had been held in his office by an eighth grader after confronting the boy about bringing a handgun to school The boy released Ratledge unharmed then surrendered InBA Basketban Charlotte Hornets al Chicago Buts Cops (CC) Cops R) (Most Wanted nyPD Blue (CO Gospel Music Roundup Gospel I Tim Sundquist signs Burks memorial highway bill 28 years he made that tnp back and forth because he wanted to be at home and attend to the affairs of his family and look after that farm that he loved so said House Majority Leader Jere Hargrove Cookeville Hargrove sponsored the bills Burks was shot to death Oct 19 on his farm His Republican op ponent Byron (Low Tax) Looper has been charged with the murder and is awaiting trial name was removed from the ballot because he died within 30 days of the election Supporters mounted a write in campaign that resulted in the election of his widow Charlotte Burks Under the proposed law a va cancy will be declared if the dead candidate wins an election In the case of legislative candidates the county governing body would elect an interim officeholder until a spe cial election can be held SpinMarty Track Mr Bill Sopranos ER ae in foe Bely Texas Ranger Nightman Spefoound Bes Redux II (CC) Hour of Decis ion News News Wrestling Outer Limits Vaccine UadTViSHCC) The Hitcher Kickin' It (S) Wrestling: Shotgun Lawrence Welk Show ortune jeopardy! Profiler Spree of Love Texas Ranger Breech of Trust (N6) (ifchaal Bshr) Lansky (99) (Riewd Dreyfuss) (CC) Plato's Run (R l97) (CC) utfa! Weapon (935) (R 87) (CC) Erotic Bounderiee (NR 97) (S) The Hand That Rocks foe Gratae Lfoc't (R) RudeA Safe House (981 (Patrick Saewsrt) Tennis: ATP Guariff Direct Cup The Hrrt for Red October (8:05) f90) i (San Connery) Opry MARYVILLE Tenn A 14 year old boy accused of taking his school principal hostage at gunpoint was ordered by a juve nile court judge riday to un dergo a mental evaluation Judge Terry Denton ruled the state established probable cause to charge Devin Ste phens with especially ag gravated kid napping and carrying a firearm on school prop erty Montvale Elementary School Principal Jim Ratledge was held captive in his office for three hours Wednesday after confronting the boy about reports from other students that he brought a gun to school Ratledge was released un harmed and the boy sur rendered about 90 minutes later without any shots fired Teresa Stephens pleaded with Denton to release her son to her custody pledging to take indefinite leave from her job as a local bank officer to be with him is a joy to my life He is a wonderful boy I would do anything for she said of her only child described as a well behaved straight A stu dent Walt God TimeGoes Hay Dec Pretender (S) (CC) Martial Law Trifecta college BasketbaJ: WLV at Wyoming AM Suwnerthne Switch Two at Hearts (99) (GM (S) jWA A SH HBO i MAX Tha Rainmaker (530) SHOW'l Cmdd Happn ss JwaLEaskefoal Wk iwWwu J' i 'VSB I LQuote of 12:30 11:30 12 I 8:30 1 9 I 7:00 I 7:30 msioec' I I.