European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 14, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday August 14, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 7kudzu festival in Yazoo has a certain ring Yazoo City miss a it s known As the Vine that ate the South. Like a beheaded worm Kudzu a pronounced Kud zoo a keeps on coming. It engulfs Trees Telephone poles and anything else in its path. The Pesky Weed will be recognized by the 12,700 residents of Yazoo City a with an emphasis on the Yaa a at a festival Friday and saturday. But not because its a Noble Plant. A a a Kudzu sounds Good with a Yazoo a so we came up with a Kudzu in Yazoo a a said Sandra Ragland of the chamber of Commerce which organized the event. The Vine was introduced to the United states from Japan in 1876 to help control soil erosion. It did the Job a and then some. In Japan powdered Kudzu is used As a starch and gelling agent. About 85 percent of Japan a Kudzu Harvest is used to make desserts. Its in everything from noodles to Kudzu lemonade. In the South Kudzu has a reputation As Low As the fire ant. In some areas it s everywhere taking Over Back Yards with a greedy vengeance. It kills Trees and covers Telephone poles and Power lines. A Kudzu s supposed to grow 3 feet a Day a said Kirk Harpole of the Yazoo county farm Bureau. A but anything to put Yazoo City on the  the Kudzu in Yazoo festival will include arts and crafts exhibits and a softball game. But there wont be a single Kudzu product featured. The main attraction is a pig Barbecue contest Yazoo s hang Day afternoon. Ragland hoped a local restaurateur would whip up some Kudzu dishes but none had the time. So there won t be any deep Fried Kudzu leaves Kudzu Grain Coffee or Kudzu de. There s no move to make Kudzu a Cash crop in the Fertile Region. But not everyone sees the Weed As a curse. A i like it Quot said Bill Jenkins who works for a farm implement store in this mostly farming Community. Quot Deer eat it and i Hunt  ambassador consoles Temple supporters _ from wire reports Phoenix a the thai ambassador to the United states flew to Phoenix on monday to Lay a Wreath at the Temple where six Buddhist monks a nun and two others were slain. A the reaction in Thailand has been very sad shocked and quite Strong a said ambassador Sirab Hongsen Kasemsri. A the thai Community Felt Shock because it could not imagine that such a crime could be committed against these monks and. Because the Temple has been quite Well established for a number of  the ambassador refused to speculate on a motive but said he intended to question authorities about the possibility of a hate crime. About 50 people gathered monday at a thai restaurant to meet Kasemsri. A i feel that the people need me. During this time of Travail a the ambassador said. Eleven Buddhist monks from across the country also gathered in Phoenix and vowed to re staff the Temple. The monks went to the Temple to Pray but were initially turned away by investigators. Officials later relented and let them inside police lines to Pray briefly. In Bangkok Thailand two groups of thais demonstrated briefly outside the . Embassy to protest the slayings. About 10 people from a Bangkok Temple demonstrated tuesday afternoon followed by a separate group of about 15 student protesters from Rakham Haeng University. Both groups delivered letters of protest to an embassy Security official. News of the slayings has dominated the thai Media and even strongly vied for coverage of the widely revered Queen is Rikita a 59th birthday. A this is a most shocking Case because thai monks have never caused trouble to anybody and have been a mental pillar for thais laotians and cambodians a the nation newspaper quoted foreign minister Arsa Sarasin As saying. Authorities have Little evidence and almost no leads in the Case. On monday investigators began searching for a late Model red and White Ford Bronco ii that was seen leaving the Temple grounds about 6 30 . Saturday said Duane Brady a spokesman for the Maricopa county sheriffs department. Brady said it was unusual for such a vehicle to be on the grounds. The bodies of the six monks who were originally from Thailand were found about 10 . Saturday by a Temple member who was bringing them their morning meal. The bodies of an elderly Buddhist nun her grandson who was studying with the monks and a Young Man from Thailand who worked at the Temple also were found. The bodies were lying Side by Side and face Down in a room adjacent1 to the main worship room. Each had been shot once in the Back of the head and some had been hit from behind with Buckshot investigators said. A the Shotgun blast did no to kill anyone a said or. Heinz Karnitschnig the county medical examiner. A it Hurt them but that was All. They died almost instantly from the bullets to the  authorities said monday that they still had no idea what the motive for the killings might have been. A it could be anything from a hate crime to gang violence to an isolated couple of kooks a Brady said. Authorities also have speculated that the motive May have been robbery a theory based on the reports of some worshippers who said the monks sometimes wore jewelry. No jewelry was found on their bodies. However the thai ambassador disputed that theory and said the monks never wore jewelry. He said some people May have been confused by medallions carrying images of Buddha that the monks sometimes wore. Kasemsri met for about an hour with the 11 monks to discuss the temples future. The uncertainty and brutality of the crime left some Temple worshippers fearing for their own safety. Latchalee Yates of Tucson said she thought she left such violence behind when she emigrated from Thailand six years ago. A a in be never Felt afraid Here in the United states a she said in broken English. A they monks Are Happy. They done to do anything bad to  ambassador Sirab Hongsen Kasemsri addresses a thai group in a Phoenix restaurant monday riverfront toxins endanger Detroit projects paper says Detroit apr virtually every project in a major riverfront redevelopment Effort sits on land showing signs of toxic waste and that could spell big problems in reviving Detroit a crumbling downtown area the Detroit news reported monday. As Many As 10 projects were built on or Are targeted for land possibly contaminated by toxic Industrial wastes the report said. The redevelopment area stretching East from downtown along the Detroit River includes apartment and condominium complexes office buildings stores restaurants Parks and marinas. The contaminants include Lead arsenic cyanide Mercury pcs cadmium barium and chromium legacies of nearly a Century of Industry along the River officials said. If developers or landowners discover hazardous wastes they Are required by state Law to notify the state department of natural resources. Any contaminated soil is to be moved to a licensed Landfill. Developers Howe of Are not required to look for toxic chemicals. Planners had hoped the major revitalization Effort along the River would help the City rebound from a 20-year decline that sent businesses and residents fleeing to the suburbs. Mayor Coleman Young said monday that he had seen no official word of any riverfront contamination. He accused the newspaper of making an Effort to close Down the riverfront and said riverfront contamination was a nationwide problem. Still he acknowledged that findings of polluted land on the riverfront could spell disaster in Detroit. Department of natural resources officials said the toxic chemicals most Likely came from unregulated dumping decades ago by now defunct industries and from the use of waste As  tells senators net Worth is $177.264 Washington a supreme court nominee Clarence Thomas responding to a questionnaire from senators weighing his qualifications has reported a financial net Worth of $177,264. Responding to a questionnaire from the Senate judiciary committee Thomas said monday that about half of his net Worth is tied up in equity in his Home in Fairfax county a. Thomas who is Black conservative and a former chairman of the equal employment Opportunity commission was nominated by president Bush to succeed retiring Justice Thurgood Marshall the Only Black to serve on the court. Thomas is a judge on the . Court of appeals in the District of Columbia. The questionnaire also asked about a judicial activism a the notion that courts should impose Broad affirmative duties on government and society. A the role of the Congress is to enact Laws after deliberation and debate a he responded. A it is the function of the judiciary to apply such Laws in specific cases properly before it. A in interpreting Lii pc a courts objective must always be to determine the legislative intent. And in adjudicating a Case before it the courts Overall objective should be to resolve Only the controversy presented in that  replying on another question Thomas said no one in the Bush administration or the Senate had discussed any specific court Case or Legal Issue with him As part of the nomination process. He said he considered his 8/z years in the executive Branch of the Federal government to have been essentially a pro Bono work meeting the american bar associations code of responsibility. The code says every lawyer should find time to help the disadvantaged. Pro Bono work is usually done without compensation. A a. I have emphasized efforts to include those who have been excluded from our society a Thomas wrote. A a. 1 have made it a priority to encourage counsel and advise younger individuals especially