Skip to main content
The largest online newspaper archive

The Paris News from Paris, Texas • Page 1

Publication:
The Paris Newsi
Location:
Paris, Texas
Issue Date:
Page:
1
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

World Watch SEARCHING BUI Barnes searches through a tangled mass of automobiles Sunday in the parking lot of one of four churches demolished by a tornado in Mannford, Okla. One person was killed. (AP Laserphoto) Tornadoes strike Oklahoma again MANNFORD, Okla. (AP) Four churches filled with parishioners were hit by a tornado Sunday, sending some worshipers into closets and under pews and leaving at least one person dead. Fifty people were hurt in two towns, officials said.

Destruction in Mannford was within a six-block area, said Chief of Police Orlin White. Two schools were also destroyed, he said. The four churches all within a block of each other were either in the midst of services or about to start them when the twister hit, he added. First Baptist Church and Assembly of God Church were destroyed, officials said. Church of the Nazarene was partially destroyed, and a fourth was only slightly damaged.

Twenty people were injured in Mannford and 30 more when the storm battered the town of Prue, the Highway Patrol said. Virgil Loren Athens, about 70, was killed when his pickup truck was lifted by the tornado and thrown into nearby Mannford Elementary School, said Don Couch, pastor of Assembly of God Church. Athens had been on his way to church to pick up his wife because of the tornado warnings, Couch said. Parishoners had a three- to five-minute warning that the twister was coming when sirens went off, White said. Some hid in closets, others crawled under pews, and many children were taken into a hallway, Couch said.

The same funnel that hit Mannford continued to skip northeastward, touching down again in Prue and prompting another warning in BartlesvUle. Diane Warnock, highway patrol dispatcher in Pawnee, said the tornado that touched down in Prue, population 550, damaged three city blocks, including one church. Nine people were injured seriously enough to require hospital treatment. Of the nearly 200 houses in Prue, 64 were destroyed and 17 were damaged by the storm, said Betty Seaman of the American Red Cross disaster services. In southeastern Oklahoma's Pittsburg County, a separate tornado struck a subdivision 30 miles northeast of McAlester, damaging about six homes, said a county dispatcher.

Sunday's storms could have been "as strong or stronger" than the storms that struck Oklahoma last week, killing 10 and injuring hundreds, the National Weather Service said. Train kills four illegal aliens KINGSVILLE, Texas (AP) A freight train late Saturday night surprised a group of illegal aliens walking or sleeping on a remote railroad trestle near here, 100 miles north of the Mexican border. Four died and at least seven were injured, officials said, and perhaps dozens of others fled into the brush in the night. The train plowed into a group of as many as 40 illegal aliens who were on the 450-foot-long trestle, forcing some to leap into the muddy, knee-deep water 31 feet below while others tried to outrun the train, said Rod Saucier, agent in charge of the U.S. Border Patrol office here.

A woman who lives near the scene of the tragedy said "two or three" illegal aliens are hit by the nightly train every month. "The only reason you know about it is because there were so many of them last night," she said Sunday. Saucier said the Missouri Pacific freight train traveling south from Kingsville to Harlingen crossed the trestle at about 10:10 p.m. Saturday. As the train approached, some of the aliens jumped from the bridge, some triea to outrun the train and some tried to avoid the locomotive by standing at the edge of the trestle, said Saucier.

A spokesman for Turcotte Mortuary, where the bodies of the victims were taken, said the dead were two women, a man and a young boy. Police to enter embassy LONDON (AP) The flag came down at the Libyan Embassy and police squads prepared to go inside today to search for explosives, firearms and clues in the killing of a British policewoman. Authorities feared bombs may have been planted in the embassy and strengthened a police cordon "to prevent any member of the public getting anywhere near the building," a spokesman for the Scotland Yard said. Saudi Arabian diplomats now looking after Libyan interests in Britain were expected to monitor the search, which was to be conducted by police experts in bombs, ballistics, fingerprints, scene-of-crime probes, electronic monitoring and chemistry. Policewoman Yvonne Fletcher was killed April 17 by a gunman firing from the embassy at a crowd of demonstrators opposed to the regime of Libyan leader Col.

Moammar Khadafy. Eleven protesters were wounded. The slaying led to an 11-day police siege and the breaking of diplomatic relations by Britain, which took effect at midnight Sunday. Thirty Libyans who had been besieged in the embassy returned to Tripoli on Friday. 'Anesthesia mishaps' cited HOUSTON (AP) "Anesthesia mishaps" could have contributed to the death of one patient and brain damage of two others treated at Ben Taub Hospital last year, a Baylor College of Medicine official said.

College president Dr. William T. Butler did not give details of the death and injuries in an April 11 memo to a Harris County hospital administrator, but said they could be related to anesthesia, the Houston Chronicle reported in a copyright article Sunday. Durbin requested an internal investigation after accusations were made by a former Baylor anesthesiology resident. Ben Taub is a teaching hospital where all doctors are employed by Baylor.

Former resident Dr. Olufunso Ogunbase filed a $10 million suit against Baylor Medical School in January alleging he was denied certification in his field of specialization because he criticized the anesthesia program at Ben Taub and said numerous patients died because of the program's inadequacies. Index Weather Ambulance 2A Classified SB Comics 8A Deaths 2A Dr. Lamb Fire Calls 2A Hospitals 2A Sports IB Women's News 4A Sunday's High: 65 Overnight Low: 45 Forecast: Clear, cool Details, Pg. 2A 119th Year No.

246 Monday, April 30, 1984 25 Phone 785-8744 Clauiflad 785-5538 16 In 2 Sections BRAVE SHOT Thirteen-year-old Carston Buehler of Waukesha County, took this photo Sunday of a tornado that touched down near his home. It was one of several in the state Sunday. This twister killed one woman. (AP Laserphoto) Leading indicators list showing a down trend WASHINGTON (AP) The government's main forecasting gauge of future economic activity dropped l.l percent in March, the first decline in 19 months, the government reported today in a further signal that economic growth is headed sharply lower. The Commerce Department reported that its Index of Leading Indicators fell for the first time since a small 0.1 percent decline in August 1982, during the depths of the recession.

Since then, the index, which is used to predict economic activity six to nine months ahead, has been on a steady upward roll as the nation recovered from the worst recession since World War II. The March decline followed a strong 1.3 percent rise in February, which was revised from an originally reported 0.7 percent increase. In January, the index rose a revised 0.7 percent. Many economists had predicted the index would drop in March because of a string of reports showing much weaker business activity during the month. Housing starts plummeted 26.6 percent, the steepest decline on record, retail sales were off 2.2 percent and unemployment showed no improvement for the first time in six months.

Analysts said this first decline in the leading index was a further sign that the economy is headed into a period of lower growth. The economy grew at a surprisingly strong 8.3 percent rate in the first three months of the year, up from 5 percent in the fourth quarter of 1UH3. However, most economists are predicting growth for the rest of the year will hover around 3 percent or lower. As yet, no economists are predicting a recession for 1984, although some are raising warning flags for next year. The index began its upward climb in September 1982, two months before the country hit the lowpoint of the recession that November.

It has registered steady improvement in every month except last November, when it remained unchanged. Even with the March decline, the index still stands 22.9 percent above its lowpoint in March 1982. Six of the 10 indicators available for March contributed to the decline, the department said. The length of the average workweek, the average number of new unemployment claims, manufacturers' new orders for consumer goods and materials, net business formation, building permits and the price of sensitive raw materials all were down. The average workweek and building permits contributed the greatest declines.

Four indicators showed improvement during the month. They were vendor performance, contracts and orders for plant and equipment, stock market prices and growth of the money supply. Vendor performance, which shows how fast companies are making deliveries to customers, showed the greatest improvement. With the March decline, the index now stands at 165.5 percent of its 1967 base of 100. Reagan speaks to 500 university students SHANGHAI, China (AP) As China's leaders prepared to honor Josef Stalin and other communist heroes, President Reagan today quoted the Declaration of Independence to a Chinese audience and declared, "Americans love freedom." "We believe in the dignity of each man, woman and child," Reagan told about 500 students in a speech during a visit to Fudan University in this city of 12 million people.

Reagan was greeted by the largest crowds of his visit to China as his motorcade made the eight- mile journey from his hotel in downtown Shanghai, one of the most populous cities in the world, to the university. People on their first day of a two-day May Day holiday jammed sidewalks on both sides of the street in the downtown area, and on many side streets they lined up as far as a block from the president's route. The crowds were still there when the president returned two hours later. White House spokesman Larry Speakes said Shanghai police told the Secret Service more than one million people may have seen the president's motorcade. Absentee deadline Tuesday The deadline for absentee voting for the May 5 Primary is 5 p.m.

Tuesday, according to Lamar County voting officials. Absentee ballots may be cast in the county clerk's office in the annex of the Lamar County Courthouse. Officials said Friday afternoon between 125 and 130 persons have voted absentee so far. Progress slow in SW Bell's rate hearing By JANET WARREN Harte-Hanks Austin Bureau AUSTIN The three-member Public Utility Commission made slow progress Monday morning toward a decision on Southwestern Bell Telephone historic $1 billion-plus rate request. It could be Tuesday before a ruling is made.

Southwestern Bell attorneys started with a long parade of arguments, asking commissioners not to adopt a recommendation giving Bell $854 million about half of what it originally sought. Under the pending recommendation, some $784 million would be paid by long-distance telephone companies. Residential customers would see an average increase of 36 cents a month. Bell attorney Jon Dee asked that consumers pick up more of the burden. Otherwise, he said, the message to long-distance companies such as and MCI would be "figure out how you can get off the system as quickly as you can." Consumers would then be left to pay the tab for most of the system, he said.

Lawrence suggested boosting local rates; allowing Bell to raise its regional long-distance rates; and charging an end-user or access fee to consumers. Administrative Law Judges Jacqueline Holmes and Angela Demerle, who made the recommendation, said that keeping telephone service affordable was paramount in their decision. In hearings before those judges, commission staff members had recommended a $1 a month boost for home service, with a $933 million revenue hike proposed for the company. Commissioners also are expected to rule on hearing examiner Mary McDonald's proposal concerning an "access charge" fees proposed for the privilege of long-distance companies having access to the local telephone networks. She recommended that residential and business customers not be asked to pay such fees as proposed by the local telephone companies.

Accident claims C-ville man CLARKSVILLE A 19-year-old Clarksville man was killed here Sunday evening when the vehicle he was driving slammed into a tree. According to preliminary reports filed by Clarksville police, Kenneth Wayne McCulloch, 19, was killed when his car left the roadway in the 500 block of North Street and struck a tree. McCulloch was pronounced dead at the scene by Municipal Court Judge Neal Gilbert at 11:25 p.m. Sunday. Funeral services are pending at the Brownrigg Funeral Home in Clarksville.

Howard, Patterson receive special-interest funding Harte-Hanks Austin Bureau AUSTIN Common Cause of Texas, a 'self-styled citizens' lobby group, said last week that almost one-fourth of the $5 million contributed in 1983 to statewide elected officials and lawmakers came from special interest groups. Common Cause issued a breakdown of the campaign funds donated to state officials following an exhaustive examination of campaign finance reports filed by each elected official with the Texas Secretary of State. That research, the group said, discovered that state Sen. Ed Howard, D-Texarkana, received $33,175 in political contributions during 1983. Howard, the group noted, received 85 percent of that money, or $28,050, from special- interest sources.

No other state senator, according to the group, received a larger percentage of special-interest money compared to overall contributions. State Rep. L.P. "Pete" Patterson, D-Brookston, received $250 in political contributions during 1983, the group said. Of that, it noted, 80 percent, or $200, came from special- interest sources.

"Our research reflects the continuing reliance on special interest and wealthy contributors by most candidates for public office in Texas," said John Hildreth, executive director of the group's Texas operation. Hildreth said Common Cause will ask the 1985 Texas Legislature to limit the amounts groups or political action committees can contribute to political campaigns. "The fundamental concepts of political equality for all citizens and elected officials exercising independent judgment are being sacrificed at the altar of special-interest campaign financing," Hildreth said. "If we intend to preserve our political institutions for all the people, then Texas must move aggressively to reform its campaign finance laws," he added. According to Common Cause's research, six state senators who received in excess of $20,000 during 1983 a non-election year received over half their funds from from PACs, while four received at least one-third of their contributions from special-interest groups.

Question of the Week Those responding to The News "Question of the Week" Sunday seemed, for the most part, to favor conversion of the coliseum on the Lamar County Fairgrounds to an open air pavillion. Here are the responses to the query posed in the weekly newspaper feature: think the old building is dangerous and I think it ought to be torn down with the exception of the arched top and I think that ought to be saved and used for some kind of open air for public meetings and displays and things of that nature. Thank you." X'My suggestion concerning the old coliseum building would be to take it and move it up to the courthouse and while they are renovating the courthouse, place it as an addition to the courthouse. That way we would keep all the great architecture together and in one place." for restoring the coliseum building. Why did they ever let it deteriorate so in the first place? I know the fair had bigger crowds jnd they could have got labor a lot way back then than now.

Did they not keep records then? If it is restored, they will need 24-hour guards to protect it on account of the location. But if you think it was not once a pretty building, go in the new fair exhibits building and look at their picture of it. Years ago it was beautiful. I think with all the people doing a good job now and seeming interested in the place, they could do a good job getting it restored. Ronnie Nutt and all the other workers, too many to mention, are doing a good job." I'd like to say that the Fair Association should be commended for the work that it has done over the past few years to update the facilities and the grounds at the fairground.

And I would like to say that they were doing this on a very tight budget. Money has been raised by everything from garage sales to concerts, donations from concerned citizens in Lamar County. The new Community Exhibits Center and the Livestock Barn are assets to our community and I feel like the coliseum has served its purpose and now its time to move forward. Let's replace the old building with an open air entertainment area with open sides and a roof and use it for family reunions, concerts, the See SOME FAVOR, Pg. 9A.

Get access to Newspapers.com

  • The largest online newspaper archive
  • 300+ newspapers from the 1700's - 2000's
  • Millions of additional pages added every month

About The Paris News Archive

Pages Available:
395,105
Years Available:
1933-1999