ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 29, 1996 TAG: 9612300109
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
A shy, Southern woman who gave away her life savings from 70 years of taking in laundry will begin this year's noisy, glitzy New Year's Eve countdown in Times Square.
Oseola McCarty of Hattiesburg, Miss., will flip the switch starting the countdown to midnight, organizers said Friday.
At 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, the 88-year-old woman - who was honored by President Clinton for donating her $150,000 life savings to the University of Southern Mississippi - will turn on a powerful beam of light, which will illuminate the ball atop One Times Square that descends a 77-foot pole to count off the seconds to midnight.
``We are starting a new tradition by asking someone who embodies decency, imagination and energy to signal the descent of the ball,'' said Gretchen Dykstra, president of the Times Square Business Improvement District.
McCarty told the Hattiesburg American last week that she usually doesn't stay up as late as the Times Square celebration, ``but I can if I need to.''
And she said she never had stayed awake to welcome a New Year: ``Why would I do that?''
More than 350,000 people are expected to pack Times Square, and 300 million people worldwide can watch the live broadcast.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. File Oseola McCarty was honored by President Clintonby CNBfor donating her life savings to a university in Mississippi.