F riDAY, April 9, 2010 • 50¢
SpOrTS
Amnesty plan draws $57,112 for city coffers
Taking flight
By Steve Sanoski ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com Vicksburg collected $57,112 from 77 people during a four-month fine amnesty period, Municipal Court Judge Nancy Thomas said. In exchange, the debtors had arrest warrants suspended. “I think it was successful for the first time,” Thomas said. “It was very beneficial for the city and for the people who chose to utilize this program, so they could avoid being arrested.” The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and
big WiNS MSU’s Varnado, Rack take Howell, Gillom trophies b1
WEATHEr Tonight: Clear; low near 44 Saturday: Sunny; high near 76
See Amnesty, Page A8.
Justice Stevens is stepping down
Mississippi River:
40.9 feet Rose: 0.2 foot Flood stage: 43 feet
A7
By The Associated Press
DEATHS • Charles Edward Cortezie Sr. • Lillian Claire Quarles Hightower • Joe Mitchell Johnson • Dennis Ryals • Mary Pichetto Terry • Gertrude White • Occola Wilson
A7
TODAY iN HiSTOrY 1682: French explorer Robert de La Salle claims the Mississippi River Basin for France. 1865: Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders his army to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. 1942: American and Philippine defenders on Bataan capitulate to Japanese forces; the surrender is followed by the notorious Bataan Death March which claimed thousands of lives. 1959: American architect Frank Lloyd Wright dies. 1959: NASA announces the selection of America’s first seven astronauts: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton. 1965: The newly built Astrodome in Houston features its first baseball game, an exhibition between the Astros and the New York Yankees. (The Astros won, 2-1, in 12 innings.)
iNDEX Business ...............................A5 Classifieds ............................ B6 Comics ..................................A6 Puzzles .................................. B5 Dear Abby ........................... B5 Editorial ................................A4 People/TV ............................ B4
CONTACT US Call us
Advertising ...601-636-4545 Classifieds ...... 601-636-SELL Circulation .....601-636-4545 News................601-636-4545
E-mail us
See A2 for e-mail addresses
ONliNE www.vicksburgpost.com VOLUME 128 NUMBER 99 2 SECTIONS
KATIE CARTER•The Vicksburg PosT
A rescued juvenile bald eagle perches on top of a wooden box inside its new cage.
Juvenile bald eagle needs funds to fly By Tish Butts tbutts@vicksburgpost.com A Warren County resident bald eagle needs a bit of financial help in order to fly again. Plans are to create a 20-by-50foot cage in an unused outdoor storage space on the grounds of the Old Court House Museum. Pledges to donate labor, materials and half the costs have been made in hopes the larger enclosure will be followed by the eagle, now in a smaller cage, regrowing flight feathers and a tail and becoming strong enough to be freed. Gilbert Rose, president of Tara Wildlife, a large preserve between Eagle Lake and the Mississippi River, brought the bird to Vicksburg in August after finding it unable to fly and being fed by fishermen. “The eagle was very malnourished. It couldn’t sustain flight,” Rose said. “It wouldn’t have survived much longer in the wild.” With an average lifespan
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, the court’s oldest member and leader of its liberal bloc, is retiring. Stevens said today he will step down when the court finishes its work for the summer in late June or early July. He said John Paul he hopes his successor Stevens is confirmed “well in advance of the commencement of the court’s next term.” The timing of Stevens’ announceSee Stevens, Page A8.
61S resurfacing to begin Monday By Danny Barrett Jr. dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com
Becki Bolm stands next to a cage outside the Old Court House Museum that houses a rescued juvenile bald eagle.
To donate Checks should be sent to Old Court House Museum Eagle Project, 1008 Cherry St., Vicksburg, MS 39183. of 20 years, bald eagles live near water because their diet depends greatly on fish. The
protected species made a return to the region about 25 years ago and nesting sites were spotted near Warren County’s largest lake, named for its shape, not for the birds. Soon after capture, the eagle spent two weeks at Louisiana State University School of See Eagles, Page A8.
Crews will start work at 7 p.m. Monday to resurface nine miles of U.S. 61 South in each direction, engineers with the Mississippi Department of Transportation said. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction for the work’s first phase, starting about 600 feet south of the Pemberton Square Boulevard intersection, Vicksburg project engineer Jeff Curtis said. APAC-Mississippi Inc. will handle “three-fourths” of the three- to fourSee 61S, Page A8.
‘WE CANNOT STAY AWAY’
Native Haitian tells of quake’s horrors
By The Associated Press
By Manivanh Chanprasith mchan@vicksburgpost.com Among visitors in Vicksburg this week was a student who not too long ago was living in “unspeakable” conditions. Carl Nazaire was with classmates from New York Theological Seminary on a Southern tour of Civil Rights and Civil War venues. He’s a native of Haiti, and was there Jan. 12 when an earthquake struck, killing nearly 200,000 including his niece. “My daughter put me on as a missing person here in the United States,” he said. “There was no communication. After two or three days, I got a call on my cell phone. I was safe, but no one was safe, really.” His daughter, Karen, is a student at Mississippi College School of Law. Nazaire, a U.S. citizen, said he was evacuated by the Air Force 10 days after the earthquake struck, but during that time, he said he faced the same conditions as almost everyone else in the impoverished island nation. “I had to sleep See Haiti, Page A8.
$19 million awarded to women who say Texaco harmed babies
Carl Nazaire, originally from Haiti, stands with fellow New York Theological Seminary students at a downtown bookstore Thursday.
Continuing the Tradition
■ QUALITY SERVICE AT AFFORDABLE
PRICES
Frank J.
FISHER FUNERAL HOME
JACKSON — Attorneys for Texaco say they will appeal a $19 million verdict for five women who alleged the oil company was responsible for their children being born with disabilities and illnesses, including mental retardation. A Hinds County jury reached the verdict Thursday. The women had claimed they were pregnant when they worked in the old Jefferson County office building in Fayette, which previously was a gas station affiliated with Texaco Inc. The women sued Texaco, now a unit of Chevron Corp., saying they were exposed to leaded gasoline fumes from tanks left in the ground
(601) 636-7373 1830 Cherry St. Vicksburg, MS
when the former gas station was renovated. Loraine Simon was the lead plaintiff in the case. She alleged her 20-yearold daughter, Rosalyn, is severely mentally disabled, and the children of the other women suffer from respiratory conditions and learning disabilities. The trial was moved from Jefferson County to Hinds County on a change of venue request by Texaco because the women were known or worked in the county. “Texaco intends to appeal today’s verdict, which we believe is contrary to the evidence and law,” Texaco attorney Bill Jones III said. “Texaco never owned, operated or controlled the service See Texaco, Page A7.