Thursday, April 24, 1997

Cowboys contingent tours damage, contributes to rebuilding

By JAMES JEFFERSON

Associated Press Writer

COLLEGE STATION, Ark. (AP) - Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and three of his top players visited this devastated community Thursday and stayed in the area to help raise money for tornado-ravaged Arkansas.

Jones and players Troy Aikman, Jay Novacek and Nate Newton drove past blown-out buildings and bulldozed blocks where homes and businesses used to sit before a March 1 tornado ripped out the heart of the community.

"We're concerned about the devastation and the heartache," said Jones, an Arkansas native. "We're here to offer support, but we're also here to do everything we can to give these victims some tangible help in the former of money."

Scores of residents, young and old, lined the narrow streets as Jones' entourage, including a half-dozen members of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders squad, drove to Mount Nebo African Methodist Episcopal Church. There they were mobbed by hundreds of autograph seekers.

Outside the church, Jones announced a $5,000 donation to the congregation for its efforts to help in recovery efforts.

The Cowboys contingent later planned to attend a fund-raising reception and dinner in North Little Rock, Jones' hometown.

Organizer Sheffield Nelson, a longtime friend of the Cowboys owner, said the benefit events had raised $115,000 in support of the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund as well as specific communities. First lady Janet Huckabee is the fund's chairwoman.

Jones said the Dallas Cowboys Foundation would contribute another $25,000 and that American Express Corp., a key Cowboys sponsor, would match the contribution.

Five College Station residents were among the 25 people killed when tornadoes roared across the state March 1. Another 180 people were injured in College Station, where 68 residences were destroyed or heavily damaged and a health clinic demolished.

Cowboys quarterback Aikman, standing in the church pulpit, said he could only imagine the grief the community had endured.

"My heart goes out to everyone," he said. "I'm behind your efforts to put the city back together, and I know you will."

Resident Gloria King, whose sister-in-law was among the storm fatalities, said the Cowboys' visit helped continue the healing process in a community earlier visited by President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"It has been unreal. We never expected anything like this," Ms. King said. "This means a lot to us. It helps in getting over the shock of everything that happened and to just get back to normal again."

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