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Vol. 124, No. 72 WEATHER

Courtney Lance, 2nd grade, Trinity Christian Academy

MOSTLYSUNNY

HIGH: 61LOW: 32

Friday, March 12, 2004 A home-owned newspaper 50 cents

BUSINESS

Popping upeverywhereWhy is the Oxford areaattracting so many different hotel chains? 1D

WORLD/NATION

Reporter toanti-U.S. spy?Former congressionalaide accused of working with Iraqis. 3A

SPORTS

Tigers, Tide differ in SECAfter Auburn’s hard loss toGeorgia, Alabama able todown Tennessee. 1C

REGION

Not just for the greensGolf carts become anew status symbol forOxford residents. 1B

Infant William Dawson Baker,OxfordWillie Mae Ballard, AshlandLeonard Eugene Brittain, JacksonvilleLeonard A. Crawford, GoodwaterMary M. Corby, Talladega

Linda Faye Hamilton, AnnistonHollis Hawkins, AnnistonLovell Jackson, AnnistonRetired Navy Rear Adm. WilliamHarold “Tag” Livingston, TexasAnnie Mae Madden, Pell CityArlenda Marbury, AnnistonMurphy “Turk” Pearson,

LincolnOmmie Nora Bell Smith,RoanokeWillie Cleve Tanner, TalladegaLizzie Keith Turner, TalladegaEugene Gilbert Williamson,Ashland

Obituaries/4B

At least 192 killed in blastsBY MAR ROMAN

Associated Press

MADRID, Spain — A series ofbombs hidden in backpacks exploded inquick succession Thursday, blowingapart four commuter trains and killing atleast 192 people and wounding morethan 1,400. Spain at first blamed Basqueseparatists but a shadowy group claimedresponsibility in the name of al-Qaidafor the worst terrorist attack in Spanishhistory.

Panicked rush-hour commuterstrampled on each other, abandoningtheir bags and shoes, after two of thebombs went off in one train in the Atochastation in the heart of Madrid. Train cars

were turned into twisted wrecks andplatforms were strewn with corpses.Cell phones rang unanswered on thebodies of the dead as frantic relativestried to call them.

“March 11, 2004, now holds its placein the history of infamy,” Prime Minis-ter Jose Maria Aznar said.

The bombing came three days aheadof Spain’s general election on Sunday. Amajor campaign issue was how to dealwith ETA, the Basque militant groupthat is seeking greater autonomy.

Campaigning for the election wascalled off and three days of mourningwere declared.

The bombings occurred exactly 2 1/2years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist

attacks in the United States, and wasEurope’s worst since the 1988 bombingof a Pan Am jetliner over Lockerbie,Scotland, that killed 270 people.

The attacks also reawakened terror-ism fears among investors. Stocks fell inLondon and in New York, where theDow Jones industrial average droppednearly 170 points. On Friday, Tokyostocks opened sharply lower.

The 10 backpack bombs exploded ina 15-minute span, starting about 7:39a.m., on trains along nine miles of com-muter line from Santa Eugenia to theAtocha terminal, a bustling hub for sub-way, commuter and long-distance trains

Peter Dejong/Associated Press

Rescue workers remove victims at the Atocha train stationfollowing a blast there. Explosions rocked three train stationsThursday in Madrid.

1,400 injured by terrorist bombs on trains in MadridINSIDE

After blasts, panicked passengers raneverywhere —including dark-ened tunnels.

In a country with homegrownterror, investiga-tors struggle tosort out attack.

PAGE 5APlease see BLASTS ❙ Page 5A

IncineratorPCBs testsare set forweekend

BY NATHAN SOLHEIMAssistant Metro Editor

The Army’s chemical weaponsincinerator will redo parts of criti-cal tests on the incinerator’s abili-ty to remove PCBs from its stackemissions this weekend.

Environmental regulatorsasked for the repeat tests after theincinerator failed by narrow mar-gins parts the original tests, takenback in November.

Several officials with the Envi-ronmental Protection Agency willmonitor this weekend’s tests butwill not be available for questionsfrom the press.

Officials said the observerswill monitor the tests and help inthe investigation to determine thesource of PCBs.

“(The Army) needs to meet thestandard,” said Maria Doa, of theEPA. “We want to work with themso they meet the standard. Wewant to cooperate with them andto make sure the problems areresolved and thus, they meet thestandard.”

The incinerator’s deactivationfurnace, which burns M-55 rocketparts and small amounts of agent,will be tested again for three daysstarting Sunday. Two preliminaryruns are scheduled for Saturday.

Results from the tests will beevaluated by the EPA under theToxic Substances Control Act, orTSCA, which regulates chemicalssuch as PCBs. PCBs are present inshipping and firing tubes for M-55rockets, amounting to less than 1percent of the overall composi-tion, officials said.

The EPAalso asked incineratorofficials to study potential sourcesof PCBs other than the tubes,which could include air, naturalgas or gaskets. Officials havebeen able to rule out some sources,

Please see TESTS ❙ Page 5A

Jacksonville elections heat up — already

BY BEN CUNNINGHAMStar Staff Writer

JACKSONVILLE — After 12 years of relative sta-bility, city leadership in Jacksonville is set for a shake-up this summer.

Winter’s chill hardly has left the air, but campaignseason already is warming up, with candidates steppingforward early for an election year in which the mayor’soffice and two of the five council seats likely will nothave incumbents.

Mayor Jerry Smith, who has served in that positionsince 1998, has said he won’t seek re-election. Jack-sonville businessman Bill Owens is running, and currentCouncilman Johnny Smith and former mayoral candi-date Buford “Pete” Brooks each have said they’re con-sidering running.

The qualifying period for candidates begins July 6and ends July 20. The election is Aug. 24.

If Johnny Smith runs for mayor, his council seat andthat of Evelyn Douthit will be open — the first time in atleast eight years so many seats have no incumbent can-

BY AMY SIECKMANNStar Capitol Correspondent

MONTGOMERY — Over the next 25 to 30 years,Alabama taxpayers will have to come up with $10.3 bil-lion to help cover the health insurance costs of retired stateemployees and teachers.

The administration had estimated earlier this year thatthe state would need about $7.5 billion to cover those costs.But a recent study concluded that, even assuming healthcare growth is cut in half in the next five years, the actualtotal will be much higher.

That means that either $10.3 billion will have to befound — through increased contributions and/or reducedbenefits to state employees and teachers — or the state willhave to find some tax dollars to meet the cost.

If Alabama did not find the money, it would have todefault on its payments to its health care provider, BlueCross Blue Shield, and that would mean BCBS could denyclaims payments.

Please see COST ❙ Page 4A

Please see JACKSONVILLE ❙ Page 4A

BY CHARLOTTE TUBBSStar Staff Writer

ABEL — Strings of fire snakethrough the woods like an unraveledspool of yarn.

They devour crisp leaves,pinecones and honeysuckle, grow-ing stronger and brighter by the sec-ond.

Within a few hours, hundreds ofacres are blazing and charred, alltaking place as planned.

U.S. Forest Service teamsburned 2,500 acres across the Tal-ladega National Forest this week,bringing the total number of acresburned since October to 16,000. Thecontrolled fires, known as pre-scribed burns, are used to reduceunderbrush and reinvigorate

forests. Prescribed burns decreasethe chances of wildfires and allowlarger trees, such as the longleafpine, to flourish, according to ForestService officials.

Thursday, Forest crews burned795 acres west of the intersection ofCleburne County Road 24 and theTalladega Scenic Highway, alsoknown as Alabama 281, in additionto 486 acres southeast of Munford.

Smaller burns could continuethrough this weekend and themonth, depending on weather con-ditions. One may take place north ofColeman Lake Recreation Area,

20

Calhoun

TalladegaNationalForest

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9

Anniston

Cleburne

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David Bone/The Anniston Star

Burn Area

431

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431

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Stephen Gross/The Anniston Star

Leigh Agan’s image is distort-ed by the intense heat from afire she started along theScenic Highway on CheahaMountain during a U.S. ForestService controlled burn.

ONE HOT JOBStephen Gross/The Anniston Star

Earl Stewart, right, firing boss for the controlled burn on Cheaha Mountain, describes the planto keep the fires under control.

Prescribed burns have gonethrough 16,000acres of forestsince October

Please see BURNS ❙ Page 4A

EPA officials will be intown to monitor redo

$10.3 billion neededto cover cost of carefor state employees