October 1999

Otus the Head Cat: Runners, bikers gridlock at the Broadway Bridge Date: 1 0/16/99 Category: Features Page: E3 Michael Storey It got ugly. Then it got uglier. You'd think that 16,500 fitness fanatics would try to keep their eyes on the bigger picture and work together for their charities. The problem is so many worthy ventures are vying for the limited limelight during the precious few weekends between the nasty heat of summer and chilling cold of winter that there was bound to be some unfortunate overlap. That's what happened last Saturday when the "Hoofin' for Hiatal Hernias 10K" clashed with the "Stride for the Spleen 5K Fun Run," and the "Pedal for Peritonitis 50-Mile Bike-A-Thon." Call it a monumental misunderstanding, a bureaucratic snafu, or a calculated gamble gone awry, the bottom line was one massive pileup at the foot of the Broadway Bridge in North Little Rock. Bodies were everywhere. Here's how it happened. The hernia runners had gathered at Markham and Broadway in Little Rock for an 8 a.m. kickoff to their well-publicized event. Police estimate that approximately 10,000 runners were on hand at the starting gun. The course was to take participants across the bridge, west on Pike Avenue, around Vestal Park and back across the Main Street Bridge to an eventual finish line a half block short of the starting line. Meanwhile, 4,000 spleen striders (sporting bilious green T-shirts provided by Jennings Osborne), had assembled at the seawall parking area near North Little Rock's Alltel Arena for their fun run to Fort Roots and back. Their starting time was to be 7:30 a.m. (The run was underwritten by TicketMaster in support of the Nov. 10 ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd concert at the arena.) Complicating matters was that at 7 a.m., 2,500 hard-core biking enthusiasts had begun their fourth annual pancreas pedal from Lake Willastein Park in Maumelle. The race route had taken the riders through Camp Robinson, near the North Little Rock Airport, around North Hills Country Club, through Lakewood and down North Hills Boulevard toward a planned crossing on the Broadway Bridge and the eventual finish at Little Rock's Murray Park. North Little Rock Police should have seen the potential for disaster when a broken water line forced the spleeners to redirect their route from Riverfront to West Broadway. A 20minute delay while Osborne handed out red-and-white Osborne Family baseball caps further ensured the ensuing chaos. The hernia event, however, went off like clockwork and 20,000 feet thundered toward the arch of the bridge. Meanwhile, the peritonitis peddlers had remained in a tight and impressive pack and at 8:05 were speeding down Maple, preparing to turn south on Main and west on 1 3th. A SkyCam 7 crew covering the events estimates that at 8:08 a.m. approximately 9,500 runners and bikers converged at the northern end of the Broadway Bridge. Like a massive chain-reaction pileup, thousands of runners and bikers unable to stop slammed into the roiling mass and spilled over as far west as Gum Street and east to Orange. It was a writhing sea of suffering humanity. Bikers were seen taking spills as far north as the curve at West Fifth. Mothers with jogging strollers stacked up like cord wood. "I've been involved in charity pledge runs for 20 years," said head hernia organizer Biff Stanley, "and this was the biggest mess I've ever seen. The crush was horrific. Those spleen wackos are insane. They think they own the road." "You want to talk insane?" countered spleen chairman Rolly Winston. "Everyone knows the hernia zealots are the worst. I know people who have been avoiding their running friends for the past month to keep from having to pledge for that thing. It's like some sort of a crusade for those loons." "If you or a loved one knew the heartbreak of heartburn caused by hiatal hernias, you'd be zealous, too," Stanley said. "The fact of the matter is the spleen teams should have yielded to the larger pack. It's only common charity pledge run courtesy." Generally keeping out of the controversy were the sponsors and organizers for the Bike-AThon. "Ours is such an underappreciated affliction," said peritonitis co-chairman Scoots Randolph. "We were just happy to get some publicity out of the incident. I don't want to get into the argument about whose cause is more important or whose organ is bigger or whose event should have been diverted." When pressed, Randolph allowed that the spleen is not a vital organ and there's nothing really more uncomfortable than GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disorder) for a bike rider. "Still," he insisted, "those hernia maniacs had no business running us off the road. A few riders were pelted with water bottles and were victims of serious taunting." North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Henry Hays issued an apology to all parties and NLR charity maven Audrey Burtrum-Stanley vowed to plant three weeping willow trees near the site to commemorate the event. Until next time, Kalaka reminds you to check the starting times when you pick up your packets. Otus the Head Cat's column of humor andfabrication appears every Saturday. E-mail his Owner at: michael_storeyadg.ardemgaz.com Cutline: Thousands of Hiatal Hernias 1 OK runners head across the Broadway Bridge destined for their fateful collision.

GlacierCats marketing familiarity Barton's team drops puck on 2nd season Date: 1 0/21/99 Category: Sports Page: C1 JEFFREY SLATTON ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE When talk of two professional hockey teams began to surface in central Arkansas, many assumed the Arkansas GlacierCats would be at a disadvantage playing at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock. But amid mounting problems and concerns with Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Barton Coliseum doesn't look so bad anymore. "Right now, everything seems to be running smoothly at Barton Coliseum," GlacierCats General Manager Derek Bundy said. The GlacierCats (1-1-1, 3 points), of the Western Professional Hockey League, begin the home portion of their 1999-2000 season tonight with a 7:05 game against the Shreveport Mudbugs (0-1-0, 0 points). "I've been in town for a couple of weeks now and I've only been hearing good things about the GlacierCats," said winger Tim Findlay, who finished second in the WPHL's most valuable player voting last season. "I think we're going to have a pretty big crowd [tonight] and hopefully we keep the crowds throughout the year. "I think it's going to help us with the stuff going on with Alltel [Arena] right now. I think that can only work to our benefit." Last season, the GlacierCats averaged 4,236 fans per game for 35 home dates at Barton Coliseum. With a season-ticket base of nearly 1,000 again this year, the team expects to bring back similar crowds with most fans buying their tickets on game days. "We discovered last year that this is a huge walk-up market," Bundy said. In Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Jennings Osborne Family asked which hockey team people would support in their Question of the Day. The GlacierCats received 53.7 percent, the RiverBlades 30.5 percent, while 15.6 percent said they would support both teams. "It was a real boost to the moral of the players and the staff when they found out about it," Bundy said. "I think the results of that survey speak volumes. It was a non-political question posed to the people of Arkansas. That is a loud statement." One reason for the GlacierCats' popularity will certainly be the popularity of returning players like Tim Findlay, Marty Melnychuk, Todd St. Louis and Brian Stacey. "This was one of the best buildings in the league to play in last season," Stacey said. "The fans are great. We've got guys back like Findlay and St. Louis. That guy [St. Louis] could run for mayor in this town." Signing these players was the heart of the GlacierCats' marketing strategy. "It was very important because we wanted to build an identity and have some continuity in our team," Bundy said. "We decided what players we wanted back and supplemented them with eight or 10 more skilled players. Fans will continue to identify with our returning players, and I think the new players will quickly become fan favorites." And the players have already felt the support of the community, which includes the GlacierCats Booster Club. "I'm looking forward to [tonight], I think the guys are ready too and they're ready to compete hard. As long as that happens, we should be OK," said GlacierCats Coach Jim Burton, who led the team to a 37-27-5 record and an appearance in the President's Cup Playoffs. All along, both teams have contended that the other's actions don't affect them one way or the other. Bundy is sticking to that, saying the problems the RiverBlades have had at Alltel Arena don't affect the GlacierCats. "There's no such thing as bad press, and they're in the news every day. I don't think that will be a factor at all," Bundy said. "We're not gloating over their problems. We're just continuing to work our plan, doing our thing which has nothing to do with the competition. We're concentrating strictly on putting on GlacierCats hockey at Barton Coliseum." Arkansas GlacierCats vs. Shreveport Mudbugs WHEN 7:05, tonight WHERE Barton Coliseum, Little Rock TICKETS Prices are $6, $12, $14 and $20.

David Bazzel Date: 10/22/99 Category: News Page: B7 Associated Press David Bazzel (right) peers into a 1 0-foot-deep hole Thursday that will be used for a footing of an enormous Christmas display in the back yard of Graceland, Elvis Presley's home in Memphis. Bazzel, who runs a marketing company and does special projects for Jennings Osborne (left), gets a hand from Osborne's wife, Mitzi, to avoid slipping. Jack Soden, the chief executive of Elvis Presley Enterprises, is second from left. The Little Rock philanthropist is stringing 2 million lights at the Graceland mansion in a display that will feature Elvis dancing atop a giant Christmas tree.

Elvis' Graceland to shine brightly with Osborne gift Memphis mansion getting 2 million bulbs Date: 10/22/99 Category: News Page: B1 MARK MINTON ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE MEMPHIS -- Jennings Osborne has struck again. This time, it's Graceland. The Little Rock philanthropist is stringing 2 million lights at the Graceland mansion in a display that will feature a 12-foot Elvis dancing atop a giant Christmas tree. Osborne announced the plans Thursday as workers with a backhoe began the installation, digging gaping holes in the back pasture where Elvis Presley kept his horses. There, Osborne is installing a 40-foot wall of lights, 100 gold-winged angels, 20 lighted trees and an illuminated "Peace on Earth" message. Across the street in Graceland Plaz, he is adding more lights and icons as well as the 120foot metal tree with the Elvis figure astride, hips swaying and playing a guitar. "Elvis was a big part of my life," Osborne said, noting that he is taking care to incorporate his flourishes into the display that the King himself put up every year. Graceland still sets out Presley's Santa Claus and reindeer and decorates the front drive with blue lights just the way Presley did. Osborne's display won't disrupt the arrangement, said Jack Soden, chief executive of Elvis Presley Enterprises. Soden said Presley family members blessed Osborne's plans, including daughter Lisa Marie, who "absolutely loved it." Osborne got the inspiration to expand his famous Christmas displays to Graceland three years ago. "I wanted something very special," he said. "I had a chance to do Times Square this year, but I wanted Graceland." He pitched the Memphis project recently with help from David Bazzel, who runs a marketing company and does special projects for Osborne -- who was thrilled to win approval. "I'm happy," Osborne said as he surveyed the work that was transforming Graceland's back pasture Thursday. "I'm having Christmas in October." Osborne, who traveled to Memphis with his wife, Mitzi, said he hopes to make the Graceland display an annual event, expanding it every year. The millionaire philanthropist known for "random acts of kindness" such as free barbecue dinners and fireworks displays already lends Christmas lights to 34 Arkansas cities and has an annual display of 4 million lights at Disney World. Osborne, who estimates he owns more than 35 million bulbs, bought a few new ones for the Graceland display, which of ficials hope to illuminate on Nov. 26, the same day they switch on the lights in Elvis' traditional "Christmas at Graceland" display. Though Osborne has toured Graceland before, he said he had never been there for the Christmas celebration, in which the mansion's caretakers take pains to authentically replicate the King's decorations, even switching the blue curtains in the mansion's front room to a festive red. On the front lawn, Elvis first displayed a large Santa Claus, sleigh and reindeer along with the message "Merry Christmas to All, Elvis." He changed the scheme in the mid1 960s, switching to a life-size Nativity scene and adding lighted aluminum trees and the driveway lights. Osborne said he was pleased to discover that Presley's lights were blue, matching the predominant color in the gigantic new display. Osborne said he picked the design, which will include various rock 'n' roll images as well as lighted icons of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, because it inspired him. "It just seems to be magical to me," he said, "and I wanted something magical." He said he was thrilled to walk around the grounds of Graceland and to feel a connection to the late King of Rock 'n' Roll. "It would really have been neat if I could have met him," he said. The Osborne-Graceland connection seemed natural to Soden. "Jennings had great enthusiasm for the notion of, in essence, doing something at Elvis' house," Soden said. "And we had great enthusiasm for doing something with a man who clearly loved Christmas as much as Elvis did." And what would the King himself think? Soden was willing to speculate. "Elvis was a big Christmas guy," he said. "He would not only have been thrilled about this but he would have been out there sitting on the backhoe with these guys digging the holes," Soden said. "He would have loved it -- he would have absolutely loved it."

Students rally, pledge to stay drug-free About 7,000 from across state march through LR streets to support Red Ribbon event Date: 10/28/99 Category: News Page: B2 SHAREESE KONDO ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Thousands of students marched along downtown Little Rock streets Wednesday carrying banners, waving flags and pledging to stay drug-free. The students celebrated their healthy bodies by wearing red ribbons or red T-shirts to show their involvement in Red Ribbon events. Starting at Trapnall Hall, 423 East Capitol Ave., and marching along Commerce Street to Riverfront Park, the students jammed downtown streets in the River Market area from 11 a.m. to noon. At the park, they participated in a rally and watched a short concert performed by the Heber Springs hip-hop group Freedom Force. The group's sound system caused the park's audio equipment to blow a circuit. About 100 schools from around the state participated in the event and organizers estimated that 7,000 students showed up to vow to remain drug-free. Little Rock philanthropist Jennings Osborne provided hot dogs, chips and bottled water lunches for the students at the end of the rally. Arkansans for Drug Free Youth sponsors the event each year to keep students aware of the effects of drug use. It also gives them a chance to rededicate themselves to living drug-free lives, said Amy Doza, spokesman for the organization. "How many of you would rather be here than in the Pulaski County jail?" Gov. Mike Huckabee asked the students, who filled the park from the Riverfront Amphitheater stage to the back fence of the park. "A show of hands shows that it's unanimous and that you are all here today to commit yourselves to remaining drug-free," he said. Huckabee and his wife, Janet, have been this year's honorary chairmen of the Red Ribbon celebrations taking place this month. They kicked off the first event at their home Oct. 7. On Saturday, the students will be invited to the Ribbons on the Rock Drug Free Carnival to be held at the Little Rock Zoo 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Since 1985, Arkansans for Drug Free Youth has used the Red Ribbon events to symbolize its support of the cause Enrique Camarena died for -- to eradicate illegal drugs. Camarena, a Drug Enforcement agent, was killed by drug traffickers in Mexico 14 years ago. Since his death, parents and students around the nation started wearing red ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the destruction drugs have caused in this country.

Social Eyes: Celebrating three years Huckabees' friends are Osborne-ized Date: 10/31/99 Category: High Profile Page: D5 Phyllis D. Brandon Jennings Osborne pitched a tent and served his famous barbecue right in the front yard of Mary Lynn and Sheff'eld Nelson's Edgehill home to a gathering Monday. Gov. Mike Huckabee's financial contributors dined on ribs and brisket, beans and slaw with all the trimmings before they went to Robinson Exhibition Hall for a party and fund-raiser to celebrate Huckabee's three years in office. After refreshments inside the house, decorated with massive bouquets of sunflowers, red gerbera daisies and orange lilies, the 100 guests dined on barbecue at tables set on the Nelsons' back deck. "I've never had a Jennings Osborne deal before," one guest remarked. Desserts were offered from the dining room table. Among those congratulating the Huckabees were Republican state Chairman Lloyd Stone, Remmel Dickinson, Tyndall Dickinson, Jo and Steve Smith, Shirley and Jerry David, Gay and Frank White, Tom Wright, Sue and Jim Pickens, Kevin Crass, Kathy and Ernest Cunningham of Helena, Jane and Philip Lyon, Marge and Tom Schueck, Pat Riley, Cathy and Cecil Alexander, Ed Ligon, Jan and Richard Weiss, Ruth Ann and Don Jack, Lu Hardin, Phil Matthews and Jim Teeter. Cutlines: Richard and Jan Weiss with Jerry and Shirley Davis Lu Hardin with Mitzi and Jennings Osborne Sheffield and Mary Lynn Nelson (right) with Janet and Gov. Mike Huckabee

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