THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 13, 1997 TAG: 9702130378
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: From The Associated Press.
LENGTH: 66 lines
CENTRAL VIRGINIA Circus performer injured in 30-foot fall from high wire
RICHMOND - A fifth-generation circus performer fell nearly 30 feet from a high wire during the opening night of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus Tuesday, seriously injuring himself.
Walfer Guerrero fell partly on a foot-thick mat when he fell into the center ring of the circus. Spectators said Guerrero's head and upper body hit the floor of the Richmond Coliseum.
Guerrero suffered severe spinal injuries and was in critical but stable condition Wednesday at the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals, officials said.
``I thought he was dead,'' said John Hamilton, 13, of Highland Park, one of many in the crowd who witnessed the fall. Federal charge in robbery
RICHMOND - Authorities have made an arrest less than two weeks after a pair of robbers stormed into a NationsBank branch with guns blazing, killing a teller and wounding three others.
Jermaine Jerrell Sims, 21, was charged Wednesday with federal bank robbery, the FBI and Richmond police announced. The search for a second suspect continues.
Investigators have received 200 to 300 tips about the crime.
Teller Lori Ann Robinson, 23, was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest during the Jan. 30 holdup. Three others in the bank, including an armed guard, also were hit. Magazine policy changed
RICHMOND - Mecklenburg Correctional Center has changed a policy that permitted inmates to subscribe to Playboy and similar magazines while blocking free publications from religious groups.
As of this week, Mecklenburg officials were screening religious pamphlets mailed to all inmates rather than tossing them away. A complaint from death-row inmate Steven Roach, 20, led prison officials to change their policy.
NORTHERN VIRGINIA Biology textbook dispute
FAIRFAX - The local leader of the conservative American Family Association has demanded that school officials disavow a biology textbook's description of the biblical account of creation and include a disclaimer stating that creationism is as valid as evolution.
The ninth-grade textbook, ``Biological Science: A Molecular Approach,'' says creation science is not science and compares creationism to astrology, fad diets and other ``pseudoscience.'' The committee of faculty, students and parents will hear a rebuttal next week by a biology teacher at the school.
COMING UP
TODAY: Newport News - Attorney General James Gilmore addresses the first quarterly luncheon of the Airport Blue Ribbon commission, noon, Rainbow Ballroom of the Newport News Omni. Richmond - Gov. George F. Allen attends the 1997 Southern Regional Meeting of the College Board, 12:30 p.m., Hyatt Hotel, 6624 W. Broad St.