The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 1

I mom mm 38 pages, 4 sections TUESDAY, December 26, 2000 Bloomington-Normal, Illinois 500 1 lav)! i. to' a1 gM MOM DIMM rT i Bill New Year's Eve sees less hype this time around By DAVID BRUMMER Pantagraph staff As it does during every New Year's Eve celebration, Elroy's in downtown Bloomington will serve free shots when each time zone enters 2001. The hourly ritual for this big-screen bar builds to a midnight climax when balloons drop from a high ceiling and most in the crowd shout "Happy New Year!" But if the celebration this year at Elroy's or any other bash seems different, it will only be because people are still recovering from the party of the century. One year after marketing madness and media coverage spread millennium fever throughout the world, this New Year's Eve will likely come and go like any other. "We're just acting like it's another New Year's Eve," said Elroy's co-owner Kim Thompson.

"Last 4 r-. i itutr" 'mWilft mi) .1 iz Party City in Bloomington expects to sell 2001 paraphernalia, including plates, but not as much as last year. tion was overshadowed by the marathon presidential election recount and subsequent fallout. A weaker economy and slowing stock market has reduced holiday spending. Israelis agonize over site Peace proposal may shift temple's control JERUSALEM (AP) Within the high walls of Jerusalem's Old City lies a hilltop enclosure revered by Muslims as the Haram.

as-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary that is also the most sacred site in Judaism, the place where the biblical Temples once stood. For many Israelis, though, the place Jews call the Temple Mount is more than a holy place it is inextricably bound up with the country's sense of national identity. And because of that, Prime Minister Ehud Barak may encounter opposition in some unexpected quarters if he seeks to cede control of the hilltop as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians. "The Temple Mount is the only central Jewish point it's a symbol, and symbols are always important," said Teddy Kollek, the much-loved former mayor of Jerusalem who has long favored peace and compromise with the Palestinians. A secular man long identified with a holy city, Kollek said in an interview with The Associated Press that a deal as far-reaching as the one reportedly being considered could not win the approval of the Israeli public.

"At the moment, you certainly cannot persuade the Jews to give up the Temple Mount," he said. "So we won't have an agreement." National pride "The Temple Mount is in our hands," goes the phrase that electrified a nation. Kollek, who was elected mayor a year earlier, vividly recalls hear ing paratrooper commander Col. Mordechai Gur's words on June 7, 1967. Israeli troops had fought their way through the twisting alley ways of the Old City, until then under Jordanian control, to seize the hilltop.

Kollek remembers marching toward the mount behind military chief Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan all moments, faces and places seared into the Israeli national ethos. A few days later Kollek met Israel's founding father and first premier, David Ben-Gurion. "He said what we should do is decide exactly what is absolutely necessary (to keep), and all the rest give back as quickly as possible," Kollek recalled. "If we had done this, we would have saved many years of trouble." Prayers and clashes Each Friday, multitudes of Palestinian worshippers stream to the hilltop for prayers at the Al Aqsa mosque compound; afterward, they sometimes throw stones and clash with Israeli troops. Passions over the site run so See ISRAELIS, back page Much the way the Bicentennial celebrations made 1976's Fourth of July special, last year's millennium push made last year's New Year's Eve all the more "This is the real end of the century, but that's it.

It's just an artificial division of time: the end of the year, end of the decade, end of the millennium." year we just hyped it up a bit more." Thompson still expects a large and happy crowd this year. But the emotional hangover of last year's Y2K celebrations means this year's parties won't have the same novelty. Even purists who believe the new century and 1 'V "It's just an ordinary New Year's," Freed said. "This is the real end of the century, but that's John Freed, ISU history chairman -j 1 if -II li I mi .11 n-V i-- new millennium will not start until Jan. 1, 2001, recognize the difference.

"All the hoopla was last year. You can't just say, 'Oops, we said John Freed, chairman of Illinois State University's history department and a millennium purist. "You can't pull this stunt two years in a row." Freed said a number of factors may contribute to the relative ho-hum atmosphere this weekend: Any potential media atten- it. It's just an artificial division of time: the end of the year, end of the decade, end of the millennium." That's not to say there isn't some marketing going to mark the start of 2001. Glow-in-the-dark "2001" paper sunglasses and paper plates with "2001" decorations are for sale at Party City supply store in Bloom-See MILLENNIUM, PageA8 The PamagrapMiOYD YOUNG Party City employee Jeremy Maher of Normal set up a New Year's Eve section of items in the store recently.

-Si Y2K largely forgotten, but lessons remain Because few problems materialized, those who had sounded the Y2K alarm had to fend off criticism from people who believed they were victims of a big-money bamboozle. "It's like saying to a surgeon after he conducts a major intrusive operation that because the patient's fine, it's not a big deal," said Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America. "Problems did occur, and the fact that it was so minimal means that peo- See Y2K, Page A8 have fouled computers that control power grids, air traffic, banking systems and phone networks. Businesses and governments around the world threw some $200 billion at the problem and then they watched nervously, hoping enough of the errant dates had been fixed to avert a worldwide disaster. For the most part they had.

The lights didn't go out. Planes didn't fall out of the sky. Nuclear missiles didn't launch in the middle of the night. sources to it, solve tough global problems of our making," said Bruce McConnell, who directed the international Y2K effort. "It was a great story of cooperation and hard work.

It was expensive, but it was successful." For those quick to forget, Y2K was caused by decisions by computer makers decades ago to use two digits to represent the year. The shortcut saved money on memory and storage, but also caused some computers to wrongly interpret 2000 as 1900. Left uncorrected, the Y2K glitch could NEW YORK (AP) The nation's Year 2000 czar is now a deputy mayor in Washington, D.C. The $50 million Y2K crisis center houses George W. Bush's transition team.

The international Y2K coordinator plans to relax with friends this New Year's A year after the turn-of-the-millennium computer scare, it's just a fading memory for most people. But leading figures in the Y2K consciousness-raising effort say the episode taught important and enduring "It showed that we can, if we put the re Some missing-child groups use dubious fund-raising tactics NEW YORK (AP) Off a milk carton or poster, or flashed across a television screen, few images are more haunting than the photograph of a missing child. Dozens of nonprofit organizations, large and small, use such images to raise contributions, promising in return to help locate the vanished or solve their disappearance. Most perform valuable work. coalition because of a dispute oyer its fund-raising Some prominent groups complain that their data and photographs are without credit, by smaller groups seekjng to impress potential donors.

i Abuses occur in many charitable sectors, from cancer-related groups to law enforcement benevolent associations. But charity watchdogs say an emotional topic But the realm of missing-children charities has another side, where the competition for funds is fierce and the fund-raising practices sometimes dubious. In the past year, three missing-children groups have been placed on "uncharitable charities" lists in South Carolina and Georgia bfr cause too little of their revenues went to their programs. A fourth group was ousted from a national fund-raising is the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which operates under a congressional mandate. The center's president, Ernie Allen, said unauthorized fund-raisers sometimes make improper use of his organization's name and data.

"Not to cast aspersions on groups doing good things," he said. "But it's relatively easy to declare yourself in the missing children's business. You circulate some photos of kids, you set up a table and do some fingerprinting in the mall." Two missing-children groups were among 10 charities included recently on the annual "Scrooge" list issued by the South Carolina secretary of state's office. One of the groups, the Commit' See GROUPS, back page such as child abduction is particularly vulnerable to exploitation. "If you are a dishonest fund-raiser or scammer, this is the kind of organization you're going to form," said Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy.

"How can you not care about a missing child?" The dominant organization in the field with a strong reputation for effectiveness and proper V. News in brief Monday numbers Cloudy and very cold with some light snow this morning. High 20-25. Details on back page. knows their rhythm.

So much so, they could probably play with their eyes closed. The Illinois State University has hig plans for its future. By its in 2007, ISU wants to be Pick 3 1-491 2-507 Pick 4 1-9739 2-8837 Little Lotto 1216232728 Jackpots Lotto $11 million Big Game $23 million j. ir I Abby D2 Business C1 Classified C4 Comics B6 Crossword D3 Entertainment D3 Focus D1 Horoscope D4 Obituaries A5 Opinion A12 Sports B1 ally, scientists now realize that the wind-chill index itself is wrong. Story on A3 1 Officer Lump, Pontiac's first police dog, is working to make sure the department's K-9 unit is a good addition to the force.

Lump began patrolling Pontiac at the beginning of December. Story on A5 Though the Pontiac and Bloomington basketball teams are not in the top eight seeds of the 16-team Pontiac Holiday Tournament, Aurora West enters the tournament on a 30-game winning streak. The 70th annual event kicks off Thursday. Story on Bl The Normal West basketball team For the past week's winning numbers, call 829-9000, category 771 1 Wildcats take the court at the Pekin Holiday Tournament this week with an 8-1 record. Story on Bl The Economic Development Council of Bloomington-Normal has found itself with tight finances and tight space as the end of the year approaches.

However, the council is considering solutions to its problems. Story on CI come Illinois' premiere university for students who want a smaller school with the opportunities of a large university. Story on A3 With winter weather in full swing, many meteorologists make mention of the wind-chill factor, but their explanation may not be accurate. Actu Today's weather symbol was drawn by Braden Christensen of Eugene Field Elementary School, Normal. ThefPantagraph pONNECTlNG CENTRAL ILLINOIS Pantagraph main phona numbtr (309) 829-941 1 Save with home delivery Call 827-7323 or 1-800-747-7323 or e-mail clrc6pantagraph.com The Pantagraph uMncydad DIM ON THE WED www.pantagraph.com CITYLINE 829-9000.