Florence Morning News from Florence, South Carolina • 1

President puts homeland security department at top of priority list By SCOn LINDLAW Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON President Bush outlining a legislative agenda after his party captured the House and the Senate in midterm elections said Thursday his top priority is his stalled proposal to create a new Department of Homeland Security He said he wanted it this year The president also said Vice President Dick Che ney would be his running mate should he decide to seek a second term In his first public appearance since the GOP sweep Bush said "The election may be over but the terrorist threat is still Bush said the election out come showed that want something done" Instead of waiting until the new session of Congress in January Bush said lawmakers should take up the homeland security bill in the postelection session that begins next week I want it done It is a pri Bush said Just a day earlier Senate Republican leader Trent Lott said Congress proba bly wouldn't finish the homeland security bill until the new session next year The legislation proposed in the aftermath of the Sept 11 2001 attacks has been hung up in a parti san fight over civil service rules Bush spoke with reporters on the eve of a UN Security See BUSH 8A INSIDE Spending on political ads tops $11 million in South Carolina Page 8A APRON EDMONDS s' Ri President Bush talks with reporters at a press conference at the White House in Washington on Thursday With the Senate and the House both controlled by GOP allies Bush is shaping his post election agenda beginning with a homeland security department and economy boosting measures West lorence gets first playoff victory with win over Georgetown Page ic 0 ews Kl iviv i it 1 i in The Voice of the Pee Dee 50 cents A Media General Newspaper Sa riday November 8 2002 weather Sunny high 69 low 45 Details 2A Morning: xH ri ihiffiVNews Si Late lorence artist remembered with exhibition of work Me 7 (D fcry HmR fl wRjE rar I jj 1 jv 'Mr A jKi i si AWaW3Mmia wt STAJOHN RUSSELL A CSX train collided with a tractor trailer stuck on the tracks in Lake City about 5:30 pm on Thursday causing one of the three engines to derail Train hits truck in Lake City No one injured when debris flew into parked ears office building By DIANNE OWENS Media General Carolina dowens florencenewscom LAKE CITY Around 5:30 pm Thursday a north bound CSX freight train struck a Southern Asphalt 18 wheeler pulling a loaded with two asphalt roller packers in downtown Lake City The impact split the lowboy sending a roller and debris onto cars parked along North Acline Street and into a storefront The front two locomotives derailed in front of the city's fire depart ment about four blocks from the point of impact Though no one was seriously injured the train's driver and engineer were transported to a local hospital The driver of the tractor trailer jumped from the truck which according to eye witnesses had become stuck on the railroad tracks at the corner of Acline and Main streets driver was spinning his wheels and trying to get across the track while the whis tle was constantly blowing he jumped from the cab when he saw he was out of said Dianne Bazen who was leaving her office on Acline Street 1 'j The accident meant Amtrak had to provide alternate trans portation for riders whose routes would go through Lake City or riders headed south bound 81 people will be put on charter bus going south to Kingstree Charleston and Savannah on to Jacksonville About 25 people headed northbound will be sent to Washington DC to catch the next train something like this happens we try to make as little impact on the trip as we can and get to them to where said an Amtrak employ ee The employee said people in the Charleston station will be brought by bus to lorence people here (10 at the lorence station at 8 pm) are all going to lorida take a charter bus to Jacksonville and get on a train the employ ee said A young boy sitting in the barber's chair of Barber Shop on another corner of the intersection also witnessed the train accident little fellow started cry Michael Pinckney his bar ber said See TRAIN 8A Officials want to pursue water agreements By JIM NEWMAN Staff Writer jnewmanflorencenewscom MYRTLE BEACH SC De partment of Health and Environ mental Control officials said Thursday their intention to is continue seeking water accords with neighboring states to pre pare for the next drought which might come sooner than later The pledge was part of a larg er discussion among state gov ernment legal and environmen tal officials at the 11th SC Environmental Symposium in Myrtle Beach The gathering was held to seek solutions to the waterways many of which were well on the way to being reduced to a trickle had the summer drought not been broken by a See WATER 8A Carmike closes doors at Magnolia Mall By ANDY COLE Senior Writer acoleflorencenewscom LORENCE Carmike Cinema has closed its theater at Magnolia Mall The theater which has been at Magnolia Mall for 23 years ran its last showings Thursday night and will no longer be open for business effective today The closing is just the latest in a shake up of the movie theater business in lorence which began last spring with th? open ing of 14 screen multi plex Swamp ox theater The Capri Theater on South Irby Street closed earlier this fall after it and the Julia IV were bought by Phoenix Theaters Carmike Cinemas which came out of Chapter 11 bank ruptcy in January closed several unprofitable theaters during a reorganization process Comp any officials say the closing of the local facility had nothing to do with the bankruptcy lease was up and we decided it was in the best interest not to renew the said Suzanne Brown spokeswoman for Carmike According to the Web site Carmike has identified a core group of theaters it owns that will be the nucleus of its operations Carmike owns 309 cinemas in 35 states and targets small to mid sized communities Magnolia Mall officials say there are no plans to bring a new theater company to the mall and the space will be renovated to add space to existing stores existing plans for the theater space will be completed in multiple said David Heydasch general manager of the Magnolia Mall the first phase demolition and reconstruction of the space will be necessary to bring the floors of the individual auditoriums up to grade and to reconfigure exist ing mechanical electrical and sprinkler Heydasch said several stores See CARMIKE 8A Black voter turnout fell in Tuesday's election By JIM DAVENPORT Associated Press Writer COLUMBIA A state senator from the Lowcountry blames the South Carolina Democratic Party leaders for low black voter turnout and the loss of the gover mansion to Republican challenger Mark Sanford Charleston Sen Robert ord helped lead efforts to get black voters to the polls working close ly with the statewide Voter Education Project On Sunday ord told a group gathered for a Voter Education rally that Richland County was key to win ning the election But even in Richland precincts where 97 percent or more of the voters are black 7 percent fewer votes were tallied for Gov Jim Hodges than in his winning bid in 1998 Harpootlian should really ord said of the state party chairman know a damn thing about black people ord who is black said party I infighting and spending too much money on television ads and too little time in neighbor hoods cost the Democrats the black vote and most of the statewide offices up for election Democrats hoped blacks would account for 30 percent of the voters turning out That would have been a large increase since nonwhite voters accounted I for 24 percent of the turnout in 2000 and 26 percent in 1998 Turnout fell in both of Sum ter largest majority black districts In those precincts turnout was down 5 percent Midlands was a problem area for ord said where all the negative stuff The included black legislators who criticized Hodges That criticism confused voters ord said Inside Heater appears to be cause of fire that killed four children Page IB mnvinorninjLncwsonliueeoni' wwwwbtweoin fir £1 Om 'W git iij fcw rg I gBi flOL MSRP K272O5 Less 35005 Discount 2000 RebatalorLow APR 4' XLT Package 46 V8 SOHC Auto Air 7 AM PM Cass CD Cruise Power Everything Snce 1959 We'll Be Here 'M It ft L'B Hornemccom fal 600 Colt Downtown lorence 8436644141 Vol 79 No 312 lorence SC COMICS 4B CROSSWORD 3D HOROSCOPE 6B OBITUARIES 2B OPINION 6A STOCKS 6C TV 6B INDEX THE BEST CLASSIIEDS IN THE PEE DEE PAGE ID CALL 317 SELL 7673 4 HOME DEUVIinraU (843) wwwmorningnewsonlineeoin The Voice of the Pee Dee.