The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 15

The News Journal, Wilmington, Del. FOCUS: Delaware celebrates African American Heritage Day with special events today. B3 Friday, Feb. 18, 2000 Section Police report Obituaries D3 B5, D6 Have a news tip for Local? Call 324-2774 or e-mail njnewsnewsjournal.com For questions about coverage in this section, call CityState Editor Jean Buchanan at 324-2882 or Public Editor John Sweeney at 324-2906 x-DuPont worker wins $735,000 in asbestos claim MHMMtaaaaJ fc kaaj 47-year-old had worked around insulation and developed cancer the trial, which began three weeks ago. Hollis was not in court when the verdict was announced.

"We're very pleased the jury concluded these companies were at fault," Crumplar said. Hollis began working for DuPont in Seaford in 1969 and left for the Vietnam War in 1970, Crumplar said during the case. He returned to Ohio-based Owens Corning Corp. and New Jersey-based GAF responsible for Hollis' medical problems. Hollis, 47, was exposed to asbestos in their products, which were used to insulate the plant where he was a textile operator, said Hollis' attorneys, Thomas C.

Crum-plar and Maria Rosoff Eskin. The jury deliberated two and a half days. Judge John E. Babiarz Jr. presided over consideration we received from the jury," Roberts said.

Owens Corning and GAF reached confidential settlements with the Hollises during the trial. But Pittsburgh Corning also had claims against Owens Corning and GAF; therefore, jurors could continue considering the companies' role in the case, attorneys said. Reach Mary Allen at 324-2794 or mallenwilmmgtgannett.com the plant briefly in 1972 and again in 1981, working there until 1997. Hollis' attorneys said doctors found in 1997 that he had a rare form of cancer that affected the interior lining of his abdomen. The cancer was of a variety known to be caused by asbestos exposure.

His prognosis is uncertain. C. Scott Reese and Ted Roberts, attorneys for Pittsburgh Corning dis- agreed with the cancer findings. They said asbestos exposure was not shown to be the cause of Hollis' health problems. Roberts said his clients would consider an appeal that could, in part, raise questions about the scientific evidence presented to jurors.

Still, he said he was not troubled by the amount of the judgment. "We were pleased with the the man ill. The panel of five men and seven women sided with Larry and Donna Hollis, who claimed Larry Hollis developed cancer after working at the DuPont Co. in Seaford. The Wilmington jury found Pittsburgh Corning 01 layor meets dinosaur if tlm Series of road projects slated before 1-95 closes in April 0' The News JoumalBHIAN BRANCH-PRICE Wilmington Mayor James H.

Sills Jr. checks out the skull of Giganotosaurus, a large meat-eating dinosaur, Thursday at the Riverfront Arts Center. The Riverfront Development Corporation has contracted with Dinosaur Productions and Its founder, Don Lessem, to present "Discovering Dinosaurs: The Great Exhibition" March 10-June 4. More than 40 species of dinosaurs as well as other attractions will be on display, including giant fossils of an as-yet-unnamed Jurassic meat eater discovered in Utah. Lessem, a former science reporter for the Boston Globe, was a consultant to Universal Studios on the Steven Spielberg movie, "Jurassic Park." The exhibit will be open from 10 a.m.

to 6 p.m. daily. Tickets are $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and $5 for children 2-12. Children under 2 will be admitted free. For more information, call (800) 37-GRAND.

Via. trucker testifies in fetal crash By MARY ALLEN Staff reporter A Superior Court jury awarded $735,000 to a Seaford man and his wife Thursday after finding that working around asbestos-laden insulation had made More to get help with heat State requirements altered temporarily By PATRICK JACKSON Dover Bureau reporter More people will be able to get help covering this year's skyrocketing heating bills, a state official said Thursday. Leslie Lee, who oversees the low-income heating assistance program for the state's Department of Health and Human Services, said that the state temporarily would increase the eligibility threshold for the program from 150 percent to 200 percent of the federal poverty line. For a family of four, 150 percent of the federal poverty line is $25,050. For a family of four, 200 percent is $32,900.

Lee said the move might increase the number of families that CELIRAL flSSBM Review is urged of state criminal sentencing system B2 are eligible for heating oil assistance from 8,000 currently to about 11,000. "There are a lot of people who are classified as 'working poor' that don't get help and that have been hard hit by these oil price increases," Lee said. "We think this will help them get through the winter." Lee told Sen. Harris McDowell III, D-Wilmington North, stories of her clients who have had to lower temperatures to unhealthy levels and make choices between medicine and heat. McDowell, who is the chairman of the Senate's Energy and Transportation Committee, held the hearing to get a sense of what caused this year's crisis as well as to determine ways to get the state through the present situation and prepare for the future.

McDowell has written letters to Gov. Tom Carper and President Clinton, asking them to consider a temporary rollback of fuel taxes for truckers. See OIL B4 Online By TERRI SANGINITI 1 Staff reporter Three Delaware men have been arrested on charges of third-degree rape in an Internet police sting that began about four months ago. men were arrested after they allegedly had sex with a 15-year-old girl. Police said the men were: Chris A.

Ruggiero, 30, of the 200 block of Duncan Talleyville, arrested Wednesday on felony charges of third-degree rape, unlawful sexual contact and patronizing a prostitute. He was released on $1,250 bail. According to court records, Ruggiero met with the girl between July and August and paid her $20 to per about took my heart out. spent my whole life trying a model citizen and somebody my kids could look up to." Trucker Abraham McElmore, he cried on the stand A 11 those records show he was on the road 36 of the 51 hours preceding the crash. The list includes dates and times at regular intervals, with the location of the truck and whether its ignition was running.

But McElmore's defense attorney, Eugene J. Maurer said the records don't say precisely when the truck arrived at a certain place or how long it stayed. He contends a different reading of the data could raise questions about how much time McElmore was off duty. McElmore said he was aware of the federal regulation. He said he would not have purposely done anything that might create a tragedy something prosecutors must prove to get a manslaughter conviction.

Two days before the crash, his truck left Millersport, See TRUCKER B4 court records said. County police Detective Chris Rees assumed the teenager's screen name and logged in to an Internet chat room posing as the girl to PV; An The three men later were identified after police subpoenaed AOL records using their screen names, police said. Police said the investigation is continuing, and more arrests are expected. "We're still actively chatting with people, using her screen name," county police spokesman Patrolman Trinidad Navarro said. Staff reporter Esteban Parra contributed to this story.

Reach Terri Sanginiti at 324-2771 or tsanginiwilmingt.gannett.com fj 7 -r'vs my whole life trying to be a model citizen and somebody my kids could look up to." Prosecutors in the Superior Court trial in Wilmington have charged McElmore with manslaughter in the Oct. 22, 1998, accident. They said he had exceeded driving limits set by federal regulations, which require truckers to take eight hours off the road after 10 hours of driving. Log books of McElmore's Chris A. Robin W.

Ruggiero Roberts Newark, arrested Oct. 20 and charged with felony third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute. He was released on bail. "I'm totally embarrassed and humiliated," Gearing said. "I've never done anything like this in my life.

The girl told me she was of age." The teen-age girl, who at ij 4 UL ilSLbkj -7j llifc ii BfiMilinil "It I've to be as By PRASHANT GOPAL Staff reporter Philadelphia-bound motorists should use 1-95 this weekend to avoid construction that will narrow a section of 1-495 to one lane, state officials said Thursday. Painting and concrete patching work on 1-495 will begin at 9 tonight and end at 5 a.m. Monday. The project represents the first of several weekend projects on both interstates before the closing and reconstruction of 1-95 in April. State officials said the closings this weekend will not cause major delays because weekend traffic normally is light.

But for many motorists who have Monday off for Presidents Day, this is not a normal weekend, said Colleen Healey, AAA spokeswoman. Road work on the Delaware Memorial Bridge and I-95 on Columbus Day caused a traffic jam that stretched from the bridge to Del. 896. "Granted, people still have 1-95 to take as an alternative but unless we have poor weather conditions motorists should really expect delays," Healey said. State officials have not determined how many weekends of preparation work will be needed on the two interstates before the 1-95 south lanes are closed in early April, department spokeswoman Michele Ackles said.

A weekend construction schedule will be released next Friday. Closings this weekend will include: Three north lanes of I-495 will narrow to one and Pollution may miss By JEFF MONTGOMERY Staff reporter State plans for launching a new fertilizer pollution control program threatened to slip Thursday as officials struggled to meet rule-writing deadlines. Delaware Nutrient Management Commission mem- December 1999 target for shifting some oversight of very large livestock and poultry farms from the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to the Department of Agriculture. Late Thursday, some commission members said the group might delay a July 1 deadline for regulations to govern the entire program. A law approved last year makes fertilizer management plans mandatory beginning in 2003 for most livestock and Weekend closings Exit ramp from 1-295 to 1-495 PA.

1 north to close Da, A 2 it fcS 'A One lane of 1-495 to be closed 1-495 north fc sun narrows to one A and two lanes The News Journal two lanes for about 3,000 feet, starting just north of the I-4951-95 north split, which is north of the Del. 141 exit. The exit ramp from I-295, south of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, to 1-495 north will be closed. One lane of 1495 will be closed in the area around the Naamans Road bridge. Workers will be removing paint from the bridge.

During the six-month reconstruction project, south and north lanes of 1-95 will close alternately from the Pennsylvania line to Concord Pike. The main contractor for the 1-95 project, George Lynch Inc. of New Castle, also will be completing the weekend work. The company has financial incentives to stay on schedule. It could receive up to $1 million in bonus money for finishing early, but would be subject to $1 million or more in fines for finishing late.

Reach Prashant Gopal at 324-2832 or pgopalwilmingtgannett.com officials deadline POULTRY'S HIDDEN PRICE poultry producers and farms larger than 10 acres. The timetable includes a phase-in period ending in 2007, and requires certification for all fertilizer handlers by 2004. Spurring the new controls were reports linking pollution in state waterways and groundwater to excessive use of poultry manure fertilizer. In a related development, a firm closely tied to Perdue Farms Inc. applied this week for up to $12 million in Sussex County industrial rev- enue bonds to build a poultry manure recycling plant south of Seaford.

See POULTRY B4 Logs of time spent on road are scrutinized By MARY ALLEN Staff reporter The Virginia truck driver charged in a fatal U.S. 13 crash near Odessa testified Thursday that he can remember nothing from the accident and little about what happened in the hours before the fiery crash. Abraham McElmore, 59, of Norfolk, said he learned that William Wheeler, 64, and his wife Mary Wheeler, 63, of Franklinville, N.J., had died when his lawyer told him over the telephone. "It about took my heart out," McElmore said, as he cried on the stand. "I've spent travels burned in the fire that ignited when his truck struck the Wheelers' minivan and another tractor-trailer in front of it.

The vehicles were stopped for a red light at a construction signal at Vance Neck Road and U.S. 13. Prosecutors instead are relying on computer records generated by a satellite system that tracked McElmore's travels for his employer, Landair Transporting of Greenville, Tenn. They said sex lure leads to 3 arrests In Ill mil ll tends school in Delaware, was arrested Sept. 21 on three counts of prostitution, police said.

Those charges were dropped Jan. 10 by Family Court Judge William Howard Gearing Chapman a Family Court spokeswoman said. Police said they identified the girl through her AOL screen name after receiving a tip. During the investigation, police learned from the victim that she "contacted several men over the Internet and met with them to engage in sexual acts for money," form a sexual act in his parked car. Ruggiero would not comment.

Hjs attorney, Dan Lyons, did not return telephone calls. Robin Vv. Roberts, 44, of the first block of Ridge near Newark, arrested Tuesday on charges of third-degree felony rape and patronizing a prostitute. He was released on $5,000 unsecured bail. According to court records, Roberts paid the victim $20 between July 1 and Aug.

31 to engage in sexual acts with him in his parked car. Roberts could not be reached for comment. Howard Gearing, 37, of the unit block of South Kingston Road, near.