The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 18, 2005, Page 2, Image 2
STATE
Manager advocates
hurricane readiness
HILTON HEAD ISLAND — Officials
should be better prepared for lane
reversals, shelter needs and
evacuation response after the state
weathered one of the busiest
hurricane seasons in recent
memory, a state hurricane program
manager says.
The centers of four tropical
systems crossed into South
Carolina, the first time that has
happened in a single season since
1893.
DHEC asks residents
to test bats for rabies
CHARLESTON — State health
officials are encouraging residents
who find bats in their homes to
have the animals captured and get
them tested for rabies.
Eleven people here were being
treated for potential bat rabies. It's
unusual that the cases were all
reported in a two-week period, said
Matt Shiers of the state Department
of Health and Environmental
Control, even though it's the time
of year when bats come out to feed
and their offspring is born.
NATION
Study: Parents limit
teens' Internet time
NEW YORK — Most parents of
teenagers who go online say they
set time limits on the kids' Internet
activity, according to a study
released Thursday.
Slightly more than half of
parents with online teens (54
percent) have filtering software
installed on home computers, up
from 41 percent in 2000, the Pew
Internet & American Life Project
study found.
Budget amendment
strips Medicaid cuts
WASHINGTON — The Senate
voted Thursday to strip all
proposed Medicaid cuts from the
$2.6 trillion budget for next year,
killing the heart of the plan's
deficit reduction and dealing an
embarrassing setback to President
Bush and Republican leaders.
The amendment was approved
52-48 after days of heavy lobbying
by both sides. It was widely seen as
a test of the GOP-run Congress's
taste for making even moderate
reductions in popular benefit
programs that consume two-thirds
of the budget and are growing
rapidly, even at a timè of record
federal deficits.
WORLD
U.S., India discuss
possible F-16 sales
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The
United States and India papered
over differences on U.S. arms sales
to Pakistan and an Indian natural
gas pipeline deal with Iran on
Wednesday, ahead of a possible
visit to India by President Bush
later this year. ι
Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice discussed future sales of
sophisticated F-16 fighter planes to
both India and rival Pakistan with
her Indian counterpart before
flying to Pakistan, but said no
announcement is imminent.
Youth applaud pope's
live video appearance
ROME — A gaunt-looking Pope
John Paul II appeared in a live video
Thursday evening to hundreds of
young people who filled a Rome
basilica to show their support and
express hope that the ailing pontiff
will travel to a World Youth Day
event in Germany this summer.
In a brief appearance that lasted
less than a minute, the 84-year-old
pope made the sign of the cross to
the crowd, which erupted into
cheering.
BRIEFS FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kidnapping
plot targets
Letterman's
son, nanny
HELENA, Mont. — Authorities
have arrested a man on
allegations he was plotting to
kidnap David Letterman's young
son and nanny from the talk
show host's Montana home.
Sally Hilander, a
spokeswoman for the Montana
Department of Corrections,
identified the suspect as Kelly
A. Frank.
The plot was uncovered
when someone whom Frank
had approached about the plan
informed local police, Hilander
said. Frank was in custody on a
felony charge of solicitation.
Two spokesmen for
Letterman in New York did not
immediately return telephone
calls seeking comment.
Mike Ferriter of the state
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
"Late Show" host David
Letterman appears on the "
Live with Regis and Kelly"
television show, on Nov. 8,
2004, in New York.
Department of Corrections said
Frank, 43, was arrested Sunday
in Cascade County and
arraigned Thursday. He had
been working as a painter at
Letterman's ranch west of
Choteau in north-central
Montana, Ferriter said.
"An individual was
approached by Mr. Frank, an
acquaintance of some kind,
about his thought on the
kidnapping, and (Frank) shared
his idea with this individual,"
Ferriter said. "I'm not sure if he
asked him to assist or be a part
of it."
Ex-housekeeper
testifies against J.
SANTA MARIA, Calif. — A
former housekeeper at Michael
Jackson's Neverland ranch
testified Thursday in the
singer's child molestation trial
that the pop star had close
friendships with several boys
between the ages of 10 and 14
and that she saw children she
believed to be intoxicated at the
estate.
Kiki Fournier also said
children who remained at
Neverland anywhere from a few
days to months at a time would
sometimes stay in Jackson's
room, and she described kids
running wild there without
DAY
Friday, March 18, 2005
"Before meeting my
'key' pal, I was really
nervous, but once I met
her, I knew everything
was going to be fine."
CASEY OSTIEN
FIRST-YEAR FRENCH STUDENT ON SPENDING
SPRING BREAK WITH HER FRENCH PEN PAL
TAKE IT OR LEAF IT
NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK
The Thomas Cooper Library displays specimens from an exhibit that opened Thursday,
highlighting the work of S.C. botanist Henry William Ravenel (1814-1887).
parental supervision and little
discipline from Jackson being
permitted to stay up late, eat
candy, watch movies and play
games.
"They would get in candy
throwing fights in the theater,"
she said, describing how she
nicknamed Neverland
"Pinocchio's Pleasure Island."
"Sometimes they would get
pretty rowdy. ... He did let'
them have a free hand, so to
say. They could get pretty
rambunctious."
Jackson's accuser and his
brother were among the
children who became wilder
the longer they stayed at
Neverland, Fournier said. She
said that initially the accuser
was very polite but she soon
noticed that the room he
shared vfith his brother was
increasingly dirty.
Asked by prosecutor
Gordon Auchincloss if she had
ever seen children who
appeared to be intoxicated,
Fournier said, "I can't say for
sure how many times but I've
seen it a couple of times." The
witness later clarified that it was
about three or four times.
She said, she once served
dinner to Jackson and about
four children, three of whom
appeared to be intoxicated.
Fournier said she stopped
working at Neverland soon
after that dinner in September
in 2003 but did not testify
about her reasons for leaving.
She also said the children
who stayed there included
actor Macaulay Culkin and Frank
Cascio, who became a Jackson
employee when he became an
adult and is named by the
prosecution as an unindicted
co-conspirator in the case
against the pop star.
Earlier, a TV weatherman
who befriended the accuser's
family testified that he gave
them gifts and helped raise
money even though they never
asked him for anything.
Fritz Coleman, the weather
forecaster for KNBC in Los
Angeles and a standup
comedian, had been
mentioned in opening
statements by the defense,
which suggested he was misled ι
by the family into thinking
they needed money for medical
expenses when they actually
had sufficient funds from the
father's union insurance.
Coleman was called to the
stand by the prosecution,
which has said the boy was
introduced to Jackson through
the owner of a Hollywood club
who ran a comedy camp for
underprivileged youth.
Coleman said of the accuser
and his brother and sister: "I
found them personable and
polite and charismatic."
Blake seeks work
following acquittal
LOS ANGELES — Work
wanted: 71-year-old actor
recently acquitted of killing his
wife seeks job in entertainment
industry.
Moments after his trial
ended, Robert Blake was
making a pitch to Hollywood.
"I'm broke. 1 need a job," he
told reporters Wednesday after
the verdict.
Industry types said
Thursday the legal battle
couid revitalize the career of
the tough-guy actor best
known for starring in the
1970s detective drama
"Baretta" with a cockatoo
named Fred.
"There could be a book.
There could be a made-for-TV
movie, but I don't think it
would be the one that he'd
want," said Mike Sitrick, a Los
Angeles publicist whose firm
specializes in crisis
management. "I think he
could, down the road, get some
roles."
Blake will need money. He
said he spent $10 million
defending himself in the
criminal case. He faces added
costs in the upcoming,
wrongful-death lawsuit filed by
the family of his wife, Bonny
Lee Bakley. The civil trial is set
for July 7.
Pop psychologist Joyce
Brothers called Blake a likable
guy who should have no
trouble getting work after
being embraced by America.
"They will not only accept
him back but accept him back
in spades," she said. "We are a
nation that loves comebacks.
We have 'Rocky' and 'Rocky
2' and 'Rocky 3.'" She
predicted TV producers "will
be fighting for him to be a
guest star on an existing TV
show or even build something
around him."
Brothers said she believes
many people sympathize with
Blake for wanting to protect
the young daughter he had
with Bakley. Bakley made a
living scamming men out of
money with nude pictures of
herself and promises of sex.
COMING
UP@USC
TODAY
Women's Tennis: (JSC vs.
Kentucky: 2 p.m. Maxcy Gregg
Tennis Building.
Harmony Ann Hoverman Junior
Vocal Recital: 6 p.m. School of
Music 206.
Baseball: USC vs. Arkansas: 7
p.m. Sarge Frye Field.
SATURDAY
Jessica Robinson Violin Recital:
7:30 p.m. School of Music 206.
SUNDAY
Softball: Carolina vs. LSU: 1
p.m. Beckham Field.
Baseball: USC vs. Clemson:
1:30 p.m. Sarge Frye Field.
Guest Artist Scott Rawls Viola
Recital and Masterclass: 7:30
p.m. School of Music 206.
MONDAY
Marc A. Holton Senior
Saxophone Recital: 6 p.m.
School of Music 206.
Euphonium/Tuba Recital: 7:30
p.m. School of Music 206.
TUESDAY
Graduate Vocal Ensemble: 6
p.m. School of Music 206.
use BRIEFS
Alumni group calls
backers to capital
The Carolina Alumni
Association invites all USC
alumni, faculty and staff
members and friends to
"Carolina Day at the State
House 2005" at the Capital
City Club and the S.C. State
House on March 30.
Registration begins at 9:30
a.m., advocate training will
take place at 10 a.m. and State
House visits will begin at
10:30 a.m. USC President
Andrew Sorensen will speak at
lunch at noon. The event is
free. Register at
http://www.carolinaalumni.or
g/advocacy/.
Professor emeritus
to give WWII talk
The African-American
Studies Program will feature
John Hope Franklin in the
Eighth Annual Robert Smalls
Lecture.
The lecture topic is "Days
of Infamy: Personal
Reflections on World War II,"
and will take place 7 p.m.
Thursday in the Belk
Auditorium of the Moore
School of Business. Franklin is
the James B. Duke Professor
Emeritus of History, and for
seven years was a legal history
professor at the Duke
University School of Law.
POLICE REPORT
Each number on
the map stands
for a crime
corresponding
with numbered
descriptions in
the list below.
DAY CRIMES
(6 a.m.-6 p.m.)
□ Violent
Ο Nonviolent
NIGHT CRIMES
(6 p.m.-6 a.m.)
■ Violent
φ Nonviolent
CRIMES AT
UNKNOWN
HOURS
0 Violent
© Nonviolent
MARCH 15
Qlllegal Use of Telephone, Harassing
Bates House 808,1423 Whaley St.
The victim said that during the
last several days she has received
numerous harassing phone calls.
The investigation continues.
Reporting officer: M. Wheeler.
©Assistance Rendered
Bates Hoose, 1423 Whaley St.
The complainant said he
observed the victim passed out in
the corridor. Officers J. Wittifield
and M. Wheeler and First
Responder responded. The victim
appeared to be very intoxicated.
MARCH 16
©Main and Catawba streets
Lend/Borrow/Steal/Alter; Open
Container
Reporting officer G. Kerwin
initiated a traffic stop because
subject no. 2, Lucas Abney, was
screaming out the window while
the vehicle was in motion. The
officer approached the vehicle's
driver-side. The subjects were both
extremely nervous. The officer
asked subject no. 1, Brandon
Newell, if there was anything illegal
in the vehicle. Newell said there
was not. The officer asked the
subjects if any alcohol was in the
vehicle. Newell said there was some
empty beer and liquor botdes in
the back. The officer consulted
with Abney as to why he was
screaming out of a moving vehicle.
He said he did because he saw a
friend he had not seen in a long
time. The officer asked Newell how
he got the alcohol. He said he used
another driver's license, which he
retrieved. Newell was arrested for
possession of the driver's license
and was also charged for having
open containers in the vehicle.
Abney was charged with open
containers, but was not taken to
jail. Newell consented to having
Abney take responsibility of the
vehicle while he was in jail. Newell
was transported to Richland
County Detention Center,
φ Burglary 2nd; Grand Larceny of
Computers
Law Center 202,1112 Greene SL
The complainant said that
upon entering the office, she
noticed the window was opened
and items were missing.
Reporting officer M. Winnington
observed obvious signs of
unlawful entry and contacted the
office occupants, who indicated
several computers were missing.
Investigator Branham responded,
φ Larceny of Textbooks
The Roost 101B, 147 South
Marion St.
The complainant said that
during spring break someone
entered his dorm room and took
four textbooks and a SOG knife.
Reporting officer: R Millhouse.
(guttural
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* What amendment allowed women to vote?
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