This text was obtained via automated optical character recognition.
It has not been edited and may therefore contain several errors.

---

"~~r
runway
BY JEFFREY MCMURRAY • The Associated Press
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A commuter jet mistakenly trying to take off on a runway that was too short crashed into a field Sunday and burst into flames, killing 49 people and leaving the lone survivor — a co-pilot — in critical condition, federal investigators said.
Preliminary flight data from Comair Flight 5191’s black box recorders and the damage at the scene indicate the plane, a CRJ-lOO regional jet, took off from the shortest runway at Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport, National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman said.
The 3,500-foot-long strip, unlit and barely half the length of the airport’s main runway, is not intended for commercial flights. The twin-engine CRJ-lOO would have needed 5,000 feet to fully get off the ground, aviation experts said.
SEE PLANE PACE 5A
RUNWAY NOT SUITABLE FOR JET
'	Lexington	\
KENTUCKY
Investigators of Sunday's plane crash in Lexington,
Ky. are trying to determine if it was on the airport's short runway.
Officials say it would have been too short for the jet
Versailles Rd.
Airport scene
■i Runway
'Control
tower
Parkers Mill Rd.
- The Associated Press
Iran test fires new submarine-to-surface missile
BYALI AKBAR DAREINI • The AssociatedPress
TEH RAN. Iran — Iran tested a new ani-shi? missile fired by a submarine during war games SJndty. raiding worries it could disrupt vital oil tanke traffic in the Gulf amid its standoff with the West <ver its suspect
nuclear activities.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmtdinejai took a tough tone over the nuclear issue, savhg his ountry’s decision to pursue nuclear technology was irfversible.
His comments and the missile test cam«*>nly days before a Thursday deadline imposed United Nations for Tehran to suspend the t^chment of uranium, a process the United Sta:es sfthe Iranians intend to use to build nuclear weap)ns/lnchnient can produce both reactor fuel and ma;eror a warhead. The Thaqeb, Farsi for Saturn, is I:/^rst missile that
■ iran page sa
“The great decisio/^e banian nation for progress™ acquiring technology is a rlte decision.
The/no waY back frof's Path.”
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
’ ^The Associated Press	j
COAST;
Photos special to the Savannah Morning News
Volunteers stand outside the battered home of Patricia and Harry Wilson, seated center, in Pearlington, Miss, on March 16. The couple was among hundreds of families assisted by the Savannah charity Pickin' Up the Pieces.
RED CROSS: FASTER RESPONSE, MORE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Linda and MktweJ Edwards stand on either side of» stud«nt from Gulfview Elementary school in Lakeshore, Miss, during a December toy delivery event hosted by Pickin’ Up the Pieces.
Savannah couple continues Pickin' Up the Pieces
BY DANA CLARK FELTY
(912) 652-0311
dana.feltygsavannahnow.com
Since forming the local charity Pickin' Up the Pieces just days after Katrina, Michael and Linda Edward' have returned to Hancock County. Miss., about a dozen times.
They have delivered 350 bags of household essentials, launched a holiday adopt-an-angel program benefiting 750 people, led a team of college students to work during spring break, helped rebuild homes and delivered outdoor toys for children, tool kits and vacuum
SEE PICKIN’ UP, BACK PACE
Kiefer Sutherland took best actor award.
The Associated Press
BY DANA CLARK FELTY
'V. ~ ~ ~ ~ ^ *
oana reityg savannahnov* corn
More than 4 million people received assistance from the American Red Cross in the 2005
'.>4 season, which nican<'. Charley, "	i(Hie. just
r>'
INSIDE
Their confidence shaker by Katrina, many Americans don't bei:eve the nation is ready for another major disaster, a new AP-Ipsos poll finds. 8A
COMING TUESDAY
A look at the Gulf Coast one year after Hurricane Katrina.
ON THE WEB
Go to savannahnow .com and click on KNOW to find our special Hurricane Katrina section. Listen to audio clps from survivors, view photo galleries of Katrina's path of destruction and read local and national coverage of the long road to recovery
'C» those r.'tr..: the rapid ,.:,d growing I ‘>.s> and other ■ are making iir .wing coastal
r.L: understood hed Katrina
savannah chapter. - I ok for how you
in includt
Fraiu- >
Robin -igr*: figures ti. j; r.'
imp rove nn-needs — thv Re. disaster-re.Krf e to better >-r.e < population “I think
—	as we i'l
—	this a rru)> s atastrophic event," said Wingat.;-. director of the Red Crus.;
“But > ou a'v. . can do thinp h
Ayear after Hurricane Katrina, which brought jhruit 800 evacuee families to L haiiiam and bordering countit ~. Wingate and other emergency responders say more help is need, j I.-ally to be ready for the next d:- ister.
This sea^ .n the Red Cross identified two a:	of improvement:
increasing -en ices to emergency victims and speeding delivery of financial assistance to victims as they move out of shelters.
The Red Cross served meals to about 150.000 Louisiana evacuees sheltered at the Houston Astrodome. It is the largest Red Cross shelter ever established in the
SEE VOLUNTEERS, BACK PAGE
Sutherland best actor
The groundbreaking action series "24," which turns one dangerous day into a season, found a satisfying end Sunday as it won three Emmys, including for best drama series and best actor for star Kiefer Sutherland.
"The Office" was honored as best comedy.
One Emmy front-runner, sexy medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," was shut out in the awards.
"Every once in a while you'll have an evening that just reminds you that you're given too much and this is that evening," Sutherland said.
Mariska Hargitay of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and Julia Louis-Dreyfus of the freshman comedy "The New Adventures of Old Christine" struck Emmy gold with lead actress awards for drama and comedy, respectively.
INSIDE: Fashion review and complete list of winners, 5A
- The Associated Press
Free wee Jepson c on a higl
Late last year held onto mor earmarked to admission to t Telfair Museui weeks this ye; said almost 8( Saturday, and Sunda/ more 1 enjoy the exhil
SPORTS
Aquatic G to open S<
The day the Save Georgia Coastal, have been waitin A week from tod, Aquatic Center is in the morning h(
EXCHAr
Christmas
You find it hard t when you're weai bad. Retail stores their Christmas Ii twice. 8D
CORREC
•	Dr. John Williar president of thi Dental Society Association in! article and phoi of Saturday's A incorrect inforn
•	Britney Spears' in a headline or
If you spot an err<
Catron, executive
FOR DELIVERY (
PROBLEMS: Call
INDEX
Business 8D Classifieds IE Coastal Empire ID Comics 2E, 8F Crossword 2E Help Wanted IE Horoscope 8F Lotteries	ID
Movies	7F
Nation	3A
Obituaries 5,7D Opinion 6-7A TV Highlights 7F Sports	IB
Vox Populi 2F Weather	2A
World	4A