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VOLUME 18 NUMBER 921 oAtAR AR OLIR B I NT I T i SRS EAT YRR WST T T e ST ffi”&%;‘\“@m{l’fi ’ Focusy R R BT N e TR %&Mf& 'WV < 1 Vl3t L rs WNN ‘?gqg‘i oJe &A R YV {?% bWI S T WS T g% S B SRO N R rk,:% R S - el - POSeEEC e SRS e oR, ey o i i q,,,:7 ""i@ =t SN L e e - BV e i \.JQ b N e 2 S i N g A T J Con . e e e -~ Complets achee flflw O S et ard AR sy b PO L S T "‘s’s"”“ Biy . BRI T STN GA R O sAI L e ég%& o MiAdens BYE - Semdeea R R R e J':-fizt X P SRR o 8 T '.,-"f’—"‘..?g/’/*»-. ?;-,'-r_.z»_.'v,{y: " B iinl e Lo \-4 S e R Fleeing Floyd BThousands of evacuees flood Augusta. Mayor Bob Young calls for more support. e e . S RS 8 3 AR BT i e e T By Eileen Rivers AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer = AUGUSTA Augusta Mayor Bob Young, on Wednesday, made a plea for vol unteer support and assistance for the thousands of families dissplaced because of evacuations in anticipation of Hurricane Floyd. Already, all of Augusta’s commu nity shelters and most hotels in the Richmond County area are filled to capacity, housing approxi mately 2300 evacuees. “This is the largest peacetime evacuation in the history of this country,” explained Mayor Young. “To say that we are overwhelmed is an understatement. We need as much help as possible.” The hurricane was expected to hit land around midnight on Wednesday, and so far citizens in the northeast areas of Georgia, North Carolina and South Caro lina are seeking refuge in areas where the effects of Floyd are expected to be the least damag ing, including Augusta. * “We anticipate that the local area will receive about three inches of rain, and wind gusts of around 35 miles per hour,” com mented Emergency Management Director David Dlugolenski. -Volunteer efforts have already been great, and in many cases, have exceeded efforts put forth during past emergencysituations, according to Mayor Young. Last night the Golden Harvest Food Bank supplied Red Cross shelters with food and drinks; individuals have provided private transporta tion of evacuees to shelters; and a local burn center opened its doors to house nursing home patients evacuated from the Effingham Business expo has black urban flavor BKiss 96 Black Expo puts business markets ‘in the mix’. By Timothy Cox AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer - AUGUSTA lln April, Kiss 96.3 quit playing rock and started rolling with clas sic soul music. Five months later, the Augusta station is sponsoring its first “Kiss 96 Black Business Expo.” The mix between music and business markets is signifi eant, says a station executive. +“Of course, it's our intention to romote our station. But, it’s also goportant to keep revenue dol lars here in Augusta,” explained Timothy McFalls, general sales manager for Cumulus Media’s WRXR, Kiss 96. {/“By playing classic soul, this gives us a chance to attract a crossover listenership from ages 25 to 54. That’s the population segment that drives the economy. Furthermore,” said McFalls, “the Welcome 1999 Black Business Expo Serving Metropolitan ml\ug!u, South Carolina und the Central Savannah River Area . A % ';:"_3's‘2, SR W ;‘ = e # e . . R % g i . 5 [ mam———— el -i, 4 0 ‘?”“‘“ oLei b e B bs L 9’{‘“\‘! e ET;f\ ‘; 3\\ =¥ B —— . -, L ¥ 0 o eiR AR i ; - »L I e o}2 o _ e ’ {44 PR ¥ ol ey 3 s L . S . LV 1] L LIRS O — i : s . EBe2i - 5 o s - . 1,40 P s Tl g S . 7 s’a i.:‘y B ; Henry Walker and his family arrive in Augusta’s civic center from Savannah on Wednesday. Photo by Charles Jones . County area in North Carolina. But this is not enough. With more people expected to flood the area and stay over the next sev eral days, shelters and hotels are desperate for help. “We have seen a tremendous effort thus far,” commented the mayor. “But we are in desperate need of so much more. We expect there may be families out there wanderingthe streets tonightlook ing for shelter. If people have room, e\we need them to volun teer to take them in, donate cots, blankets, pillows ... anything you can afford.” Traffic reports of people leaving Statesboro, Ga., forced the open ing of the Augusta Richmond County Civic center as an addi tional shelter. It can hold as many as 2,000 more evacuees. Accordingto EMA director David Dlugolenski, over the past two days Georgia has been under a state of emergency and approxi- ‘ ‘j' f‘%::/‘ e i _ .\' S 7 P | ‘a .:,1 fi ’," B g 'I T | RUL Expoisachance for businussesin the urban (inner city) community to be aware of each other.” A AL DR AR L y B P ik oL o el —— T : “4*,! Mmoo ST g g , o %fi‘b} ? , . R p e_* :T 5 ¥ )«imafl ._.__"A e : B = . : o P I LT ~ “ ’o A o Wfi%ffif ,) d A “‘J Jg L] ‘ P Fi.W ; \ % A g, ' _ flL o o fl% [ ; ; . A ' ‘*fi J. Sylvester and his family prepare for a night at an Augusta shelter. Photo by Charles Jones mately 800 National Guard Sol diers were called in for emer gency and security support along Georgia’s coast line. Soldiers and retired military personnel have Too often, explained McFalls, black business owners inthe Cen tral Savannah River Area (CSRA) alsobeen evacuated from the Fort Stewart area and are being housed on Fort Gordon. See FLEEING FLOYD, page 2A Tim McFalls, recently named sales manager at Kiss 96.3. Yoo often black busi nessownersin the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) have failed to considereach other as cusfomers. have failed to consider each other See BLACK EXPO, page 2A Carolinas brace for Hurricane Floyd’s fury Bruce Smith ASSOCIATEd PRESS Writer -» MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. Hurricane Floyd closed in on the North Carolina coast early Thursday, hitting the shore with fierce winds and drenching rains that flooded streets, spun off tor nadoes and knocked out power. Its howling winds reduced to a still-dangerous 110 mph, the Cat egory 2 storm moved north to ward Cape Fear, N.C, after deliv ering only a glancing blow to Florida and Georgia on Wednes day. In all, authorities have urged more than 2.6 million people along thesouthern Atlanticcoasttoclear out of Floyd’s path —the biggest peacetime evacuationin U.S. his tory. . Onédeath was dttributed tothe ‘storm in North Carolina — a per son died when a car hydroplaned on wet roads Wednesday after noon and crashed. A second per son was presumed dead after be ing swept away by floodwaters. At 2 a.m. Thursday, Floyd was 40 miles south of Wilmington, N.C. and moving north-northeast at 18 mph. The eye of the storm was expected to roll ashore before dawn Thursday with a storm surge 7 to 11 feet above normal tide levels. A buoy in Frying Pan Shoals, N.C., about 20 miles southeast of Cape Fear, showed sustained winds of 97 mph and gusts of 112 mph early Thursday. By nightfall Wednesday, areas ofthe North Carolina coast picked up 13 to 16 inches of rain and The CSRA Black Business Expo Sat. September 18, 1999 MORNING 1 Small Business Financial Planning-Wachovia 11:30 Unveiling of the Heritage Crest-Mayor Bob Young AFTERNOON 12:00 Fashion Presentation-Courtney’s Closet 1:00 Lock, Stock and Building-Wachovia 2:00 Benefits of Advertising-KISS 96, ~ Augusta Focus, Augusta Chronicle 3:00 Health Seminar-Dr. Brice and Dr. Oliver g 4.00 Dress for Success The-Silk-Con-Neck-Tion and Mary Kay Cosmetics Vendors Augusta Focus Elect Home Business Services Mary Kay - Augusta Home Accessories Martin & Associates Wireless Solutions Carpet World Century 21 Food Lion Terrell Academy Expressions Graphics The Walker Group Larkins, Bethe & Associates Artistic Impressions Meybohm Realtors Courtney’s Closet Never Anuff Stuff Matthews Enterprises Ambience Small Business Funding - TriComp & Security 50 CENTS Clouds, sun, Lo 80s See Page 6B U.S. POSTAGE PAID NO. 302 AUGUSTA, GA winds from 70 to 90 mph winds were whipping north of Cape Fear early Thursday. Wilmington got 11.5 inches of rain, which caused flooding in streets and low-lying areas. Some 53,000 people lost power. Hurricane-strength gusts of 80 mph had buffeted Charleston, S.C., and more than 200,000 people in the area lost power. More than 15 inches of rain fell on Myrtle Beach by midnight, and authorities said they had never seen such severe flooding. Earlier,in northern and central Florida, Floyd snapped power lines, smashed piers into drift wood and knocked out electricity t 0300,000 people. About 350 miles off the coast, the Navy and Coast Guard rescued eight people whose tugboat sank in 30-foot seas churhed up by the hurricane. But Floyd made a northward turn that spared Florida and Geor giathecatastrophicdamage many hadfeared. NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and its four shuttles were largely unscathed. “I know that Florida and Geor gia at this point feel like they’ve dodged a real bullet,” said North Carolina’s public safety secretary, Richard Moore. “This thing is not going to miss us.” Myrtle Beach, a usually bus tling resort, was a virtual ghost town as people fled or stayed in doors, and highways werejammed around Wilmington. In both Caro linas, many hurricane-hardened peoplewhorode out earlier storms left this time. See HURRICANE, 9A Wachovia Davis Appliance Ray Photography Advanced Securities CSRA Business League Bellsouth Mobility HUD Partnership GoshenLending Silk Connection Brice Chiropractic ICR Greentree Mortgage Reflections Plus Augusta Chronicle Afforable Dental Kuzzins Premier Mortgage Augusta Tech Avon First Union