The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 41

i 1 J- CLASSIFIED USIN Huntlng merchandise? Try our 805 listings Pages 2-12E Local stocks 2E Livestock 2E SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1997 Rl I (finally) Parkway riley si This is Briley Parkway at the Brick 3 it I is 1 TO TVA pays big bucks in bonuses Executives receive about $2 mMon By PUHCm MANSFIELD Associated Press KNOXVILLE The Tennessee Valley Authority, saying it is losing top nuclear employees because of low pay, yesterday announced it awarded $1.9 million in bonuses to 84 executives for fiscal 1997. Led by new Nuclear Chief Ike Zeringue and former Nuclear Chief Oliver Kingsley, 13 executives received bonuses of more than $25,000 seven of them nuclear officers. The number and amount of the bonuses is virtually the same as the previous year, when the agency awarded $1.9 million to 86 executives. i However, the federal power agency cut performance bonuses for non-managerial employees in fiscal 1997, citing lower power revenues because of mild weather. About 12,000 employees received bonuses of $275 each, compared to the $22,000 average among executives.

I Still, TVA contends it might have retained Kingsley and Browns Ferry nuclear executives Rick Machon and Gene Preston this year if they were paid more. Toward that end, TVA has commissioned a study by consultants Towers Perrin to determine whether TVA's executive pay "can attract and retain the caliber of executive talent needed to protect the value of the power system." The cost of the study is undetermined. Kingsley, who left for Chicago-based Commonwealth Edison the nation's largest nuclear power Company received a total compensation package from TVA worth $533,865 this year, Machon, who earned $205,000 the year before at TVA, and Preston both left for Ontario Hydro. TVA officials say they dont know how much the three were offered to leave TVA, but it could be as much as double. Comparisons of top salaries at five neighboring investor-owned utilities suggest TVA is paying one-third to half as much as the competition.

Ike Zeringue, Kingsley's successor and formerly his chief aide, received TVA's top bonus in fiscal 1997 $185,769. Combined with his $115,000 salary and $117,500 in deferred compensation, Zeringue Turn to PAGE 2E, Column 1 After 36 years, road around city complete hi Church Pike exit The whole Briley DREW WHITE STAFF Briley loop finally linked 1.6-mile final section The final link in the 34-mile-long Briley Parkway loop around Nashville opened yesterday after 36 years of planning and KroNu GoodlettsvilleljD construction. loop has been completed now. By CARRIE FERGUSON Staff Writer More than a few shouts of "Whoopie!" may have been heard in Joelton and Whites Creek yesterday morning, as the final phase of Briley Parkway opened, making a commute to Madison and the airport much easier for residents there. "To get to Madison now we wont have to go on Old Hickory Boulevard or go south on 1-24 to go back north again on 1-65," said Joelton resident Steve Henry.

"I think it will make a difference." This final piece of road, named for former Mayor Beverly Briley, is a 1.6-mile section that connects 1-65 to 1-24 in northern Davidson County. The new section closes the loop on the 34.1-mile circle of road a loop that was started in 1961. The cost of the last piece was $16 million. Now, Nashville motorists can use Briley Parkway to make a complete circle around the city following the route from countryside to urban sprawl. Eight miles of Briley are on is: TENNESSEAN NEWS SERVICES drops out of local service game NEW YORK MCI and Sprint have had enough.

One after another, the nation's largest long-distance phone compa- nies have pulled back from selling local phone service to residential customers. The retreats signal the i failure so far of a 1996 federal law intended to bring more phone choices and lower prices to con- sumers by removing barriers to competition among telecommunications companies. In the latest pullback, Corp. said yesterday it was halting an unprofitable strategy for selling local phone service to residential customers. said it has spent up to $4 billion trying to break into the local phone market this past year and has yet to make money, Judge removes browser WASHINGTON A federal judge says he quickly removed In- ternet browser software from the Windows 95 computer system, dis- puting Microsoft's contention that its system will not perform proper- ly without the program.

The procedure took 90 seconds and "Windows 95 functioned flaw- lessly as it was intended to oper- ate," U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson said yesterday. Nevertheless, he scheduled a Jan. 13 hearing to consider the question of whether the two programs can be separated without impairing their operation. Jackson had issued a prelimi- nary injunction Dec.

11 ordering Microsoft to quit requiring manufacturers to distribute the Explorer browser program as a condition of installing its popular Windows operating system on personal computers. A browser enables a computer user to find and retrieve information on the Internet Harrah's buys Showboat LAS VEGAS Harrah's Entertainment Inc. has agreed to buy rival casino owner Showboat Inc. for $519 million in a deal that will make it the world's biggest gambling company. A top industry watcher expects more deals in 1998.

Harrah's announced yesterday it would buy Showboat for $30.75 a share in cash. That was a healthy 45 premium over Showboat's closing price Thursday. It also is assuming Showboat debt of $635 million. Harrah's is getting control of an additional four casinos, giving it a total of 20 casinos in 15 markets. The deal will expand Harrah's base of customers and raise its profile in Atlantic City, N.J., and suburban Chicago.

Graco recalls carriers WASHINGTON Graco Children's Products has recalled about 564,000 infant carriers and carrier swing seats for repair, the Consumer Product Safety commission announced yesterday. The company reported 45 injuries caused by children falling out A of the carriers after their handles unlocked unexpectedly. The injuries included four skull fractures and two concussions, the commission said. The carriers and carrier swing seats subject to the recall are model numbers 1300, 1301, 1310, 1350, 1501, 1502, 1530, 1723, 2788, 5510, 8108, and 36264. Consumers who own the products are advised to stop using them immediately and call Graco at (800) 281-3676 for a free repair kit that locks the handles in place.

Briley Parkway lHH CTA-LI LAI Brl'ey ParkwaTj White BrldgRcj Ia "3 I Boulevard lf Lane0" JfJ 0 ''Miles 5 NINA LONGSTAFF "I haven't heard too many people talking about it, but I'm sure my neighbors will be tickled." OSCAR PETERS Whites Creek resident city streets White Bridge Road, Woodmont Boulevard and Thompson Lane. A spin around the parkway which takes one hour traveling at the speed limit during the non-rush hours offers a direct and diverse look at Nashville: from the tourist destination that is Opryland, to the quiet hillsides of Whites Creek, to the plentiful shopping centers on White Bridge Road, Thompson Lane and Murfreesboro Road. "It will help me some," said Whites Creek resident Oscar Peters. "I havent heard too many people talking about it, but I'm sure my neighbors will be tickled." Exchange was the second-highest in history, with 782.03 million shares changing hands, the highest level since it topped 1 billion shares on Oct 28. "The question is, will the problems in Southeast Asia impact the U.S.

in 1998," said Hildegard Zagor-ski, an analyst at Prudential Securities. "Lots of economists say they will slow down growth and affect earnings. You've got a very cautious market here." The market fell to its low of the day about 90 minutes after the opening on Wall Street after another major corporate bankruptcy in Japan precipitated a 5 drop in the Nikkei index that spread to Europe before reaching the United States. The rout in Japan resulted from a bankruptcy filing by Toshoku a major Japanese food trading company, which cited tighter lending policies among Japan's troubled banks. Asia's economic ills linked to Dow drop Please Santa, send a good job I WASHINGTON (AP) Some people ask Santa for Clothes, toys or computers.

Robert Singer just wants a job. I The unemployed marketing director was hoping for some holiday luck this week as he distributed resumes outside a busy subway station downtown. In a gray pinstriped suit with a beige trench coat, Singer looked like any other commuter except for the handwritten sign around his neck. "Just one week until Christmas and all is not right Applied for hundreds of jobs, not an interview in sight Please take my resume. It's absolutely free.

Give your office a valuable gift this holiday. Dial 703-299-6700 and hire me," the poster board sign read. That turned more than a few heads among the downtown crowd of lawyers, bankers and lobbyists, "Are you serious?" said one woman as a crowd gathered to read the sign. "Take a resume, please," Singer responded. "I need a full-time job and a real income." One confused woman asked, "You're working for free?" Another woman held out her hand and said, "I work in personnel" By rush hour's end, Singer had unloaded 67 of the 110 resumes he brought Others need work, too.

The Bureau of Labor Statis- NEW YORK (AP) The Dow Jones industrials slid 269 points yesterday before erasing two-thirds of its losses by the end of the second-busiest trading session ever. The drop was tied to escalating economic troubles in Asia and continued worries about how they will affect domestic corporate earnings. But many saw the drop as exaggerated and a steady stream of buying interest into the afternoon saved the Dow from its worst drop since the 554-point loss on Oct 27. Dow stocks General Electric and Chevron both announced plans to buy billions of dollars worth of their own stock, giving the market some encouragement The Dow average ended down 90.21 at 7,756.29, extending Wednesday's UO-point decline and ending lower for the third consecutive session. But in a sign of health for technology stocks, the Nasdaq Stock Market finished the day with a slight gain.

Volume on the New York Stock I 6- ft? I J. in' i ii AP Unemployed marketing director Robert D. Singer passes out his resume in downtown Washington, D.C. Stocks add to their gains as investors look ahead Windrow named as VP at WEHs Corroon Corp. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 269 points in morning trading yesterday but Turn to PAGE 2E, Column 1 Business Editor.

Lisa Green 259-8096 Personal Finance Editor Candy McCampbell 259-8076 Fax: 259-8093 i E-mail tips: newstipstennessean.com For information or ques-I tions, call Monday through I Friday, 9 am to 5 p.ra tj 5 "Tax-Free Investing: Strategies In Today's Market," with Michael Hayner, sponsored by Dean Witter Reynolds a.m. Friday Dec. 27 at Dean Witter Reynolds, Brentwood. Free and open to the public. To reserve: 221-1662.

"Excellence in Customer Service," four half-day workshops with customer service trainer Bill Piersol, by Tennessee Valley Employers' Association, Brentwood Marriott Courtyard, Brentwood. Fee: $395 for members, $595 for non-members. To register 353-2969. Urology Healthcare signs seven more physicians Urology Healthcare Group, a Brentwood-based manager of urology practices, has affiliated with seven more doctors at two practices. The company has signed agreements with a five-physician group in Hendersonville, N.C., and a two-doctor practice in Tuscaloosa, bringing the number of physicians under UHG management to 65 in five Southeastern states.

The company also has letters of intent to manage an additional 29 urologists in 14 practices. UHG, founded in March 1997, has no venture capital investors and is the only urology practice-management company that is physician-owned and governed. Kim Windrow has been named vice president and director of human resources for Willis Corroon Corp. and will oversee employee relations, recruitment and selection, professional development, compensation, payroll and employee benefits. She was recovered most of its losses and the Nasdaq Stock Market finished with a gain in a strong comeback from a scary drop.

Some analysts described the Dows third straight drop as a knee-jerk reaction to a 5 I Dow-1 if of human re- drop in Bloomberg WINDROW Dreviouslv vice president sources. Tokyo market's decline. The Tennessee Index was 119.11, down 1.66. Tables on 2E 1.