The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 1

r-4 008gJCrQo)G0 faith Inside FoCUG 78 pages, 8 sections Sunday, May 8, 1994 Bloomington-Normal, Illinois $1.25 i JL U.S. grants hearings to Haitians D009 i Tuesday shadowed by eclipse By JAMES KEERAN Pantagraph staff Do not look up Tuesday. Look down. Repeat: DO NOT LOOK UP. Yes, that's where the moon is going to eclipse the sun Tuesday, and Central Illinois is in the path of the best viewing area in North America, but DO NOT LOOK UP.

Granted, what's going to happen Tuesday is one of those phenomena that drives some astronomers wild. It's one of those things that, while it happens more often than your average non-astronomer might imagine, won't happen again in these parts until Aug. 21, 2017. That's when, according to Carl Wenning, director of the Illinois State University Planetarium, a to-tal eclipse of the sun will occur in Southern Illinois, and Central Illinois will be treated to about 93 percent of that total. Don't look at that one either, because looking at the sun, even when you can't see 93 percent of it, can cause almost instant, often severe and permanent damage to your eyes.

Tuesday's event is an annular eclipse of the sun. So, you ask, "Just what's the big deal about an eclipse that happens every year?" Well, stargazer, it is annular, as in "of, like or forming a ring," not annual, as in "of or measured by a year." And the path of this eclipse Tuesday covers the entirety of Central Illinois, as in Pant-agraphland (see accompanying map). An annular eclipse, Wenning points out in his "The Great Eclipse," a 16-page publication of the ISU physics department, oc- from members of Congress and others to protect political refugees from retribution in Haiti. Under current policy, Haitians who fear political persecution are encouraged to apply for refugee status at processing centers the State Department has established in Haiti. Exiled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide Saturday renewed his characterization of that policy as racist saying that boat people suffer persecution when they are forcibly returned.

Aristide, interviewed on CNN's "Both Sides," said it was time for a shift "from statements to actions because our country looks like a house on fire." "Our Haitians cannot flee political repression," he said. "The U.S. vessels are around our island. And when they escape, they send our refugees back to this house on fire -after seeing 5,000 killed by the military." Randall Robinson, head of the TransAfrica lobbying group, appeared on the same show and said he would continue his fast now in its 26th day, until Clinton gives shelter to "those who are marked for death" and democracy can be restored. He suggested offering refugees hearings at the U.S.

installation at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba or elsewhere "and an opportunity to demonstrate they have a legitimate Please see HAITI, back page Refugees may seek asylum WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) -Under pressure to Improve treatment of Haitian refugees trying to reach the United States, President Clinton decided Saturday to grant asylum hearings aboard U.S. ships or in other countries, an administration official said. White House aides said Clinton remains committed to his policy of repatriating Haitians who are not political refugees as the best way to keep thousands from fleeing their impoverished homeland in unseaworthy boats. But an administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Clinton no longer would force refugees back to Haiti without hearings.

Instead, they will be allowed asylum hearings aboard U.S. ships or in other countries. The official said details for third-country hearings had not been worked out The decision was worked out in a two-hour meeting among Clinton and his top foreign policy advisers Saturday, and the president was set to announce it today. The shift comes at a time when the Haitian military has stepped up its persecution of political opponents and amid increasing calls unsolved The path of Tuesday's eclipse will cross over the entirety of Central Illinois, beginning about 10:15 a.m. About noon, approximately 93 percent of the sun will be blocked out for 6 minutes, and the whole show will be over about 1 :45 p.m.

Central Illinois residents in the center path will view a perfect circle of the sun around the moon, while those in the northern and southern paths will have a slightly distorted view. curs when the moon crosses between an observer and the sun but is too far away from the earth to cover the sun completely, so a ring of light is visible. But you should not look at it because at the outer edges of the moon, the light is still powerful enough to cause that instant, severe damage to your eyes. The moon's orbit is elliptical, said Wenning, not circular, and, its restaurant available. Investigators were, however, able to determine the blaze began near a can light on the west side of the dining room and spread throughout the entire roof system.

Can lights are oval-shaped fixtures installed flush with a ceiling or wall. About three-fourths of the 17 booths and 11 tables inside the restaurant, which is located next to a Super 8 Motel near the southeast corner of the Interstate 55-IlIinois 116 interchange, were occupied when the fire began, employees said. Ten employees also were inside, but the exact number of customers was not known. The evacuation of the PANTAGRAPH QRAPHICPhd HoM The moon will be moving through space at about 2,300 miles an hour, which is pretty darned fast, so the time it is directly in front of the sun creating that ring will be fairly short Springfield, Rantoul and points between will get 6.2 minutes (Maroa and Latham are looking pretty good, and the Please sea ECLIPSE, back page Lockmiller slaying Family, friends consumed by loss distance from the earth varies from 221,300 to 252,600 miles. A total eclipse occurs when the moon is close enough to the earth to block sight of the sun totally.

Back to Tuesday: Beginning about 10:15 a.m., the moon will begin to move between you and the sun. It will be centered on the sun about noon, and the whole show will be over about 1:45 p.m. gutted square-foot restaurant went smoothly and occurred before fire could be seen in either the dining area or kitchen, said Kathy Green, who has been a waitress at the restaurant since it opened in October 1990. "The customers were real calm. They all got up and walked outside because they could smell the smoke," said Ms.

Green, 914 W. Howard St, Pontiac. Employees also walked out of the restaurant after making sure all customers had been evacuated, she said. "We really didn't see anything until we were outside," Ms. Green said, adding, "I have to give credit to our fire-Please see GUTTED, Page A4 If the new appeal fails, the attorneys may bring up Gacy's mental state in a new way to keep him from being put to death, one lawyer suggested Saturday.

Since Gacy's trial in 1980, "he has seriously deteriorated as time has gone on. Whether that will rise to the level of a question of his fitness to be executed remains to be seen," lawyer David Keefe told WBBM-AM radio. Keefe and Gacy's other attorneys did not immediately return calls to Please see GACY, back page By STEVE ARNEY Pantagraph staff When Jennifer Lockmiller wrote about her own death last summer, it was not a premonition about her slaying, which would occur one month later. Miss Lockmiller was writing for a sociology class assignment it Illinois State University. She was killed the last week in August the first week of the fall semester but she left behind these thoughts, dated July 28, on a word processor at her Normal apartment: "All I love and know may be snatched away in one small hour.

Yet knowing this, I love life more, not less. It is life's effect on me. and my effect oh others around me that make all that is good in my time being." Miss Lockmiller, 22, was a senior at ISU, a transfer student from Decatur starting her second year on campus after spending her first two years of college at Illinois We-sleyan University. Miss Lockmiller was a communications major and sociology minor an student planning a career in print journalism. She would have graduated next Saturday.

She was the youngest of five children of Richard and Norma Lockmiller their only daughter. Her effect on them was to bring joy, Mrs. Lockmiller said. Eight months later, the effects of her killing remain profound. "She's the first thing I think of Please see VICTIM, Page A4 Pontiac By TONY PARKER Pontiac bureau chief PONTIAC There were no injuries in a blaze Saturday that gutted Buster's Family Restaurant and one of the chain's owners said the Pontiac facility will be rebuilt this summer.

The cause of the 9:36 a.m. fire remained undetermined Saturday after a four-hour investigation by the state fire marshal's office. Pontiac Fire Chief Dave Lopeman said state assistance in the investigation was requested because his department's certified investigator was out of town Saturday. The probe will continue Monday, he said, adding no damage estimate was We asked whether John Wayne Gacy should be executed or have his sentence commuted to me pnson. Serial killer deserves death, not mercy A sampling of responses on Page A7 Abby C7 I- Gacy lawyers expected to file last-minute appeal CHICAGO (AP) A lawyer for serial killer John Wayne Gacy said Saturday that his client's mental condition is deteriorating and it might be the basis for a last-minute appeal.

Gacy, 52, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday at Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet Today, his attorneys are expected to file an appeal with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an effort to overturn a Friday decision in federal court that went against Gacy. Th PantagraphSTEVE SMEDLEY 'She's the first thing I think of upon waking, and the last thing upon going to bed, and I pray to dream about Norms Lockmiller, mother of homicide victim Jennifer Lockmiller North Central in the first game of a doubleheader. "Story on D3 Rldgevlew High School swept three sprint relays to win the girls half of the 17-team 11th annual Eureka Co-Ed Invitational Saturday.

Story on DS Eldon Nafzlger, a retired Hopedale farmer, changed his mind about the country of Brazil after a six-week stay there. He considers the country a sleeping giant in the world soybean market. Story on El business to a near standstill in protest, our lawmakers argued the merits of protecting "ratite" birds. Dome Lights column on A4 Veteran Lowpolnt-Washburn track coach John Goddard has meant a lot to many athletes over the years, however the coach's reign will end with his retirement this month. Story on Dl Illinois Wesleyan's Softball team clinched the CCIW championship Saturday with a 2-1 victory over Partly sunny, warmer.

High near 70. Details on back page Autos F1 Business El Classified F2 Oipboard C8 Crossword B6 C12 Focus C1 Onthe' Record C1 2 Opinion A6 Sports Dl Travel Leisure B1 Anne'Walther Huang of rural Ellsworth has been an air traffic controller at the Bloomington-Normal Airport for eight years and finds her job very challenging. Story on A2 Two decades after the U.S. lost the Vietnam War, the men who fought it declared victory and rededicated the Vietnam Memorial in Springfield with the help of retired Gen. William Westmoreland.

Story on A2 To help deal With safety concerns, Normal Community High School Principal Alan Chapman asked for a liaison police officer and the Unit 5 board is preparing to vote on the matter Tuesday. Story on A3 A trio of Illinois Ku Klux Klan rallies ended peacefully Saturday, and the Klan's national director said Klan members won't be back until next year once they complete a June 11 rally in Rockford. Story on A3 As House Republicans spent time stalling House Pantagraph film critic Dan Craft looks at movies on CITYLINE't Movie Pick of the Week. Call 829-9000 enter 7601 YTrCYTyZfir MMfimMMmmdmmammmmmmm Kmma'mjmmasmiimsmxBKSKaamm (LJCTJTJ Lotto jackpot $4 million i-nfTT7FTi i Came) trnm i i.i;f-vi i roTm i i'PTTrm i nrri i 1-863 1-809 Pick 3 f-021 308 1-815 1-627 M26 1-344 1-021 1-259 1-007 J-31 4 457 1-2211 1-1852 Pick 4 1-8971 1-4682 1-9856 1-1633 1-9028 1-3256 1-9493 1-2962 M387 1-2923 8161 Little LottO 816212632 314162630 234519 62029 33 9639 LottO 61826313844 Psntsgrsph main phone number: 309 tt The Psntagmptt ueasiecyded paper and 829 9411 toy Ink.