Aiken Standard (Newspaper) - April 4, 1997, Aiken, South Carolina A I K E N Home Take risks in decorating your own home Page 1C A win at last Braves ride arm to first victory Vol 128 No 94 Aiken South Carolina Friday April 4 1997 25t Briefly Spring forward Sunday morning Its time to spring forward again so dont forget to move your clocks ahead one hour before going to bed Saturday night Daylight Savings Time will take effect at 2 am Saturday If you forget to change your clocks youll be an hour early everywhere you go on Sunday Daylight Savings Time is designed to give us an extra hour of daylight during the spring and summer months In the fall clocks will be turned back an hour and return to standard time Nations jobless rate falls to 52 percent WASHINGTON AP The nations unemployment rate fell for the second consecutive month to 52 percent in March helped by employment gains in the computer industry and at retail and financial businesses It was the lowest seasonally adjusted rate in five months the Labor Department said today and another sign of brisk economic growth The rate was 53 percent in Febru ary and 54 percent in January But job growth last month was moderate In its initial reaction Wall Street took the report as er sign that the Federal Reserve will have to raise interest rates again The yield on the benchmark 30year Treasury bond rose to 709 per cent from 706 at Thursdays close Fears of rising interest rates have caused a recent plunge in the stock market The Dow Jones industrial average has lost about 400 points in the last five sessions Drug dealer attended White House function NEW YORK AP A con drug dealer attended a White House reception with Hillary Rodham Clinton and met with Vice President Al Gore after donating to the Democratic National Com The New York Times reported today Jorge Cabrera wrote the check in November 1995 from an account brimming with cash from cocaine sales after being solicited at a Cuban hotel by a Democratic fund raiser the Times said citing unidentified congressional investigators Within two weeks of the con Cabrera met with Gore at a dinner in Miami and was photographed with the vice president the Times said Ten days later Cabrera attend ed a Christmas reception at the White House and had his pho taken with Mrs Clin ton The Democrats say the money has been returned Index Dear Television 5B 4 Deaths Queenie Brooks Edgefield Charles E Zettle Aiken Obituary notices on page 2B Ga lottery Thursdays winning numbers 3 035 Fantasy 25121423 1st grade readiness improves By BENGTSON Aiken Countys youngest stu dents are making progress toward school readiness accord ing to statistics made public Thursday by the SC Department of Education Among the countys current crop of 1869 699 percent qualified as ready after taking the Cognitive Skills Assessment Battery That repre sents an improvement over last years results 664 and is below the state average 758 Dr Frank Roberson assistant superintendent for instructional services said he is pleased with the CSAB results which repre sent a third straight year of progress up from a 1994 mark of 612 percent readiness He point ed out that more than 84 percent of the countys third graders eventually test as ready for that grade level although many of them were not adequately pre pared to begin first grade After looking at the data our teachers and school administra tors do a masterful job reversing what could be a trend of failure for these young first graders he said We are impressed with what teachers are able to do with these children Two local teachers also offered BNFL Band Staff photo by Scott Webster A large crowd listened to the BNFL Band Thursday evening at Hopeland Gardens Crowd enjoys concert By BENGTSON Aikens nuclear nature brought a little energy to town Thursday evening in the form of a concert by the BNFL Band a unit repre senting British Nuclear Fuels Limited The polished group of ama teurs delighted a crowd of sev eral hundred in Hopeland Gar dens with more than two hours of music from classics to con temporary and with Dixie thrown in for good measure Director Richard Evans led the performance in the midst of a weeklong tour that will take the band from one Wash ington the state to another the District of Staff photo by Scon Webster Gary Lord solos on the flugal horn as Richard Evans directs the BNFL Band Aikens Carl Hirst had seats near the front where the trom bones and baritones made their presence clear blasting through the closing number Pines of Rome en route to a pair of standing ovations underneath the pines of Aiken Its a wonderful tribute to come to Aiken and good for the public We really enjoyed it he said His wife Judy had similar ideas It was tremendous absolutely tremendous One of the younger listeners Please see CROWD page 3A Aiken meets Orvieto By NINA J NIDIFFER A Partners In Friendship dele gation that visited Aikens sister city of Orvieto Italy has returned home with nothing but good news to report We were extremely well host ed with such generosity and hos that it was almost over whelming said Janet Augeri Morris executive director of Aikens Downtown Development Association and one of the dele gates who visited Orvieto for six days at the end of March their reactions Dr Johnette Gunter who teaches at Busbee Elementary said I think we owe it all to our kindergarten here at the school It makes a big difference Parental involvement is also a major factor in helping young sters prepare themselves for the demands of school she added Donna Khakee who teaches Please see 1ST page 3A We never could have hoped for so much she said Everyone on both sides is very pleased with the results of this encounter Best of all Ms Morris said progress was made in the delega tions mission to further a mutu Ready or not Aiken 1994 1995 1996 1995 1996 DSS slaying indictments handed down David Mark Hill accused of slaying 3 NA workers By CARL LANGLEY David Mark Hill the accused slayer of three Department of Social Services workers has been formally charged with their mur ders in a series of indictments handed down by the Aiken Coun ty Grand Jury The murder citations which were returned by the grand jury Thursday could put the 36year old Belvedere man on trial for his life Aiken County DSS workers James Riddle Josie Curry and Michael Gregory were shot to death on Sept 16 after a gunman barged into their offices at the DSS satellite facility in North Augusta Hill authorities said was the gunman He was arrested the fol lowing day suffering from an apparent gunshot wound and has been held in a state facility Deputy Solicitor W Lawrence Brown said Solicitor Barbara Morgan has not filed a death penalty notice on Hill who is being held in the Lee County state prison The solicitor has indicated that an investigation into Hills back Photo courtesy of Janet Morris The Aiken group during its trip to Orvieto Italy ally beneficial relationship in business culture education and tourism between the two cities We took part in round table discussions on topics such as edu Please see AIKEN page 3A ground which will include men tal health testing and the nature of the crime will be major factors in seeking the death penalty She has put three men Jerry McWee Willie Hicks and Donney Council on death row in the past two years Ms Morgan said last week she statements until the grand jury had acted in the case She is attending a judicial seminar and will not return to her office until Monday In the indictments handed down Thursday Hill also is charged with four counts of pos session of a firearm a single count of assault with intent to kill an attempted murder charge kidnaping burglary in the second degree and unlawfully carrying a pistol The North Augusta Public Safe ty Department which handled the investigation and apprehend ed Hill said the defendant was upset over the handling of his daughters case DSS reportedly placed the four yearold girl in foster care over Hills objections The North Augusta shootings represented a first for the Aiken County DSS agency Red landmark car goes up in smoke By CARL LANGLEY Dick red Pontiac con vertible was a downtown land mark that was usually parked in front of Alvanos Restaurant most weekday mornings Thursday Flynt left his morning coffee gathering and headed for his business Trian gle Pontiac on the Aiken Augusta Highway when he began to smell smoke I could smell the smoke but I just kept on driving said Flynt He said he planned to have the car checked out when he got to his business I made my mistake when I rolled down the window to get the smell of the smoke out he said The next thing I knew the dash was on fire Rolling down the windows really fed it Flynt said by that time he was passing the McDonalds restau rant so he decided he would try to make it to the Aiken Depart ment of Public Safety fire sta tion near Pepper Hill The flames got to be three feet long and I decided it was time to get out he said He pulled the car off the right side of the road leaped out and opened the trunk I wanted to save my golf clubs he said It was the fastest Ive moved in some time Flynt said a public safety cer had noticed the car was on fire before he pulled off the road and by the time he got out a fire truck was on the scene I lost my telephone my glass es and my garage door opener but I saved my clubs and shoes he remarked Mrs Flynt said the fire cost her husband his pride and joy He was seen everywhere in it I once told him he couldnt do anything and get away with it because everyone knew him in that car Flynt said all was not lost He had in reserve another red Pon convertible this one a 1968 model and he was back to dri ving that one late Thursday I did have three of them all red all Pontiacs but I sold one said Flynt Theyre collectors items
