BC-SOU--Southern Enterprise Digest, 3rd Ld-Writethru,1470
For Weekend and Monday Editions, Feb. 18-20

For repeats of AP copy, please call your local bureau or the Service Desk at 800-838-4616. Reruns of stories are also available from http://yourap.org. Additional information about the South Wire is available at http://www.ap.org/southwire/. All stories are moving for the weekend unless otherwise noted.

EDITORS: DELETES BC-SOU--Robertson's Remarks, which will not move regionally for this weekend; UPDATES photo numbers and descriptions throughout.

COAL COUNTRY:

Coal company takes heat for suggesting need to recruit Hispanic miners

COAL RUN, Ky. — Sidney Coal President Charlie Bearse was expressing an opinion that many in these mountains secretly share. Problem was, he put that opinion in writing. "It is common knowledge that the work ethic of the Eastern Kentucky worker has declined from where it once was," Bearse wrote to the state mining board in an appeal to relax an English-only policy in the mines and hire Hispanic workers. "Compounding the worker shortage is that attitudes have changed among the existing work force, which affects attendance, drug use, and, ultimately, productivity." At a time when the nation is reeling from a string of coal-mining deaths and lawmakers scramble to enact tougher safety laws, the Kentucky coal operator has set off a cultural explosion. Hispanic miners are commonplace in the coalfields of the West and Southwest. But in the economically depressed Appalachian hills where the Hatfields and McCoys once slaughtered each other — and where Hispanics make up less than 1 percent of most counties' populations — discussions of hiring foreigners are fighting words. "In my opinion," says one disabled miner, "they bring Mexicans in here, they'll get 'em killed."

BC-SOU--Hispanic Miners. 1200 words.
By Southeast Regional Writer Allen G. Breed. AP Photos KYBT601, horizontal of Shannon Gibson standing outside the Kentucky Office of Mine Safety and Licensing; KYBT602, horizontal of Jorge Almaraz mixing a pot of refried beans at the El Poncho Mexican Restaurant; KYBT603, horizontal of the Sidney Coal Company's Coal Preparation Plant; KYBT604, horizontal of men taking a mining exam; KYBT605, horizontal of Randall Bishop. By Brian Tietz, AP.

FUNERAL CYCLISTS:

Motorcycle group attends soldier funerals to pay respects, counter protesters

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Wearing leather chaps and vests patched with military insignia, the band of motorcyclists rolls from one military funeral to another in hopes of giving fallen fighters their due and insulating them from the insults of protesters. Calling themselves the Patriot Guard Riders, they are made up of members of a dozen motorcycle clubs who could no longer tolerate a Kansas-based church picketing military funerals with signs that read "Thank God for IEDs." The motorcyclists seek to shield the families from the protesters, and to overshadow the jeers with their own cheers, patriotic chants and a sea of red, white and blue flags. Across the nation, the Patriot Guard riders now number more than 5,000 and at least 14 states are pushing laws to limit protests at funerals by groups such as the one led by the Rev. Fred Phelps, whose members argue deaths in Iraq are divine punishment for a country that harbors homosexuals.

BC-SOU--Funeral Motorcyclists. 900 words.
By Ryan Lenz. AP Photos TNCB601, horizontal of Motorcyclist Don Woodrick, of the Patriot Guard Riders, showing patriotic support with others from his group while looking over at a group protesters before the start of a memorial service for soldiers killed in combat from the Army's 101st Airborne Division; TNCB602, horizontal of people holding flags during a rally held by the Patriot Guard Riders. By Christopher Berkey, AP.

CIVIL RIGHTS:

Black lawmakers want Georgia's civil rights past better honored in state Capitol

ATLANTA — When Coretta Scott King made history after her death by becoming the first woman and first person of color to lie in honor in the Georgia Capitol, her body was surrounded by halls lined with images paying tribute to the state's Confederate legacy. The only Capitol portrait on display that honors the state's civil rights past is a painting of her husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., shown seated at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial. The lack of black faces among the scores of images on the Capitol's walls has long bothered state Rep. Tyrone Brooks. "It was a feeling of not being included," Brooks recalled of the first time he noticed the void as a rookie legislator in 1980. Joined by other black legislators, Brooks is now rallying for the creation of a civil rights gallery that they say would finally help include more black heroes among the figures honored in the annals of the state's history.

BC-SOU--Civil Rights Gallery. 1080 words.
By Errin Haines. AP Photos GARF601, vertical of visitors walking past the portraits in the Rotunda at the Capitol in Atlanta; GARF602, horizontal of Tyrone Brooks, president of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials; GARF603-4,horizontals of portraits in the Capitol. By Ric Feld, AP.

MILITARY:

Parachutes that made 82nd Airborne famous haven't been used for real in years

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — For seven years, including four tours in Iraq, Maj. Andy Ulrich has served with the paratroopers of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, a storied group of infantrymen who drop into battle at a moment's notice and are prepared to fight for days. But Ulrich has never once carried out this kind of mission. In fact, the last time Ulrich and his battalion jumped out of an airplane, it was over North Carolina after they returned from four months on duty in Iraq. After fighting as regular Army grunts on the ground, the elite paratroopers were out of practice. The last time the 82nd actually parachuted into combat was in 1989, landing in Panama to help oust dictator Manuel Noriega.

BC-SOU--82nd Airborne-On Duty. 950 words.
By Estes Thompson. AP Photos NCFAY601, vertical of 82nd Airborne paratroopers dropping into Fort Bragg's Sicily Drop Zone. By David Smith, The Fayetteville Observer; AP Photos NCKT601, vertical of Maj. Andy Ulrich talking to an operations officer about the weather conditions; NCKT602, horizontal of Lt. Col. Chris Gibson, a battalion commander in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade; NCKT603, horizontal of Sgt. Brett McElfresh's preparing for a parachute jump; NCKT604, NCKT607, horizontals of paratroopers waiting to jump; NCKT605, vertical of a battle-ready rucksack and vest belonging to Lt. Col. Chris Gibson; NCKT606, horizontal of Army 1st Sgt. Steve Horn checking each soldier's dog tags. By Karen Tam, AP.

EDUCATION:

Despite rich history and powerful alumni, small black college faces trouble

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Neither Benjamin Hooks nor Willie Herenton had much trouble deciding where to go to college. The future head of the NAACP and the man who would be Memphis' first black mayor both chose the only Memphis school open to them: LeMoyne-Owen College. The historically black school, which traces its beginnings to helping educate former slaves after the Civil War, has played a unique role in Memphis history and politics, but that may not be enough to keep it in business. Like other historically black schools, it's struggling under a mountain of debt and fighting to keep its accreditation. Experts say the school needs to focus on its illustrious alumni if it hopes to raise the $6 million it needs to keep its accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

BC-SOU--LeMoyne-Owen's Fight. 800 words.
By Woody Baird. AP Photo TNGC601, horizontal of James Wingate, president of LeMoyne-Owen Colleges, talking with students; TNGC602, horizontal of a student using a computer in the college's library; TNGC603, horizontals of students singing in the school's chapel. By Greg Campbell, AP.

HAM AND EGGS:

South Georgia seeks to keep alive tradition of old Southern ham-and-egg contest

VALDOSTA, Ga. — When Southern farmers faced backbreaking work from sunup to sundown, it was important to start the day with an energy-packed breakfast that often included ham and eggs. This traditional hearty meal led to the first ham-and-egg show in 1916 at what is now Fort Valley State University in middle Georgia. The shows spread throughout the rural South from Texas to Maryland, highlighting proper meat-curing techniques in the days before refrigeration and the role that high-quality livestock, including egg-laying hens, play in providing nutritious protein. Even though the shows have run their course with improved farm technology, the tradition is being kept alive in south Georgia's Lowndes County, which is preparing to host its 56th annual ham-and-egg show next week — billed as the last of its kind in the state. There, judges will select the best hams and eggs and everyone will enjoy a luncheon featuring, you guessed it, ham and eggs.

BC-SOU--Ham and Eggs. 750 words.
By Elliott Minor. AP Photo GAEM601, horizontal of farmer Douglas Battles sitting in the cab of his tractor. By Elliott Minor, AP; GAVAL601-2, vertical filers from the 2005 Lowndes County Ham & Egg Show and Sale. By Paul Leavy, The Valdosta Daily Times.

MUSIC:

Banjo exhibit traces instruments roots from Africa to Appalachia

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Banjo maker Dave Ball says you can't tell how a banjo will play by its looks, but to see an old banjo is to dream of where it's been. Instruments on display at the University of Tennessee's McClung Museum have been picked and plucked around the world — from African villages to American slave quarters, from minstrel shows to Victorian parlors, and to the hills of Appalachia where bluegrass was born. Curators say the exhibit features the largest collection of pre-bluegrass banjos ever assembled in the South and brings what many thought only as a "hillbilly" instrument full circle.

BC-SOU--Banjo Show. 650 words.
By Duncan Mansfield. AP Photos TNWP601, horizontal of Banjo enthusiast and anthropologist Matt Morelock touring the banjo exhibit; TNWP602, horizontal of a display case of banjos; TNWP603, horizontal of Morelock pointing to a gourd banjo; TNWP604, vertical of a banjo created from an old ham can. By Wade Payne, AP.

TRAVEL:

Disney aims for new heights with Everest attraction

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Inside a 200-foot mountain snaked with train tracks and topped with snow is one of the biggest, most fierce creatures ever built by Walt Disney. With a potential thrust greater than a 747 airplane, the giant mechanical "Yeti" is the star of Disney World's first big-ticket attraction in two-and-a-half years. Expedition Everest takes visitors through low Himalayan villages and onto on a runaway train ride with 80-foot drops and a close encounter with the beast. Set for an April grand opening, the attraction is a unique endeavor for Disney's Animal Kingdom, which has long lagged behind its sister parks in attendance.

BC-SOU--Disney-Everest. 900 words.
By Travis Reed. AP Photos TNJR601-2, horizontals of Visitors riding the Expedition Everest roller coaster; TNJR603, vertical of a car full of riders plunging out of a tunnel; TNJR604, vertical close-up of riders. By John Raoux, AP.