BUSINESSMAN OFFERS $10,000 TO CALL OFF DOGG

A DeSoto County businessman said Thursday night he would be willing to pay
up to $10,000 to the DeSoto Civic Center if center operators would cancel a
planned appearance by controversial rapper Snoop Dogg. "If they'll shut him
down, I'll write them a check for $10,000 in the morning," Hernando
resident Dale Wilson said after a meeting of the DeSoto County Convention
and Visitors Bureau.

About 20 angry DeSoto County residents showed up at the CVB's monthly
meeting to speak out against the Oct. 28 show, which has created a
firestorm in the county since the show was announced this month.

Board members took no action, but they did accept about 350 petition
signatures from citizens who say they will boycott the center if the show
goes forward.

CVB chairman Ed Franklin would not reveal the number of tickets that have
been sold to the concert, what it would cost to cancel the show or the
board's opinion of the controversy.

A drug-related charge against Snoop Dogg in Ohio Wednesday only added fuel
to the fire.

"They should have arrested him last night," said protester Elaine Fletcher
of Nesbit, who started the petition drive.

"That's what we've got in just two days," she said. "There are still about
20 of these out, and people have been calling me for them."

Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was charged Wednesday with
marijuana possession after Ohio officers stopped two of his tour buses for
speeding and found several bags of marijuana.

In one bus, they found Snoop Dogg, who will turn 29 Saturday, and said they
smelled burnt marijuana. Drug-sniffing dogs found six bags of marijuana
weighing about 200 grams in the cargo hold of the bus.

The rapper was charged with possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor with a
maximum $100 penalty, and possession of drug paraphernalia, which carries a
maximum penalty of $250 and 30 days in jail. Two other passengers also were
charged.

Franklin cut speakers off Thursday night at the CVB meeting when citizens
tried to speak out of turn, which brought Wilson to his feet.

"C'mon, give us a shot here," said Wilson, who owns American Fireworks Co.
in Walls and is also a developer. "We don't need a dictatorship. We need to
let people speak."

"We're praying that he will not come," added Cindy Lipscomb, chairman of
DeSoto Youth Theatre.

The organization has an Oct. 28 matinee of Annie, and having it the same
day as the rap concert alarms Lipscomb.

". . . We've taken appropriate measures to block off our parking lot until
we're out of here," Lipscomb said.

Wilson was skeptical that Thursday night's showing would make a difference.

"They've got their own agenda, and I resent them not speaking openly and
honestly to us," Wilson said. "The board was not interested in anything we
had to say."

The CVB also Thursday approved a policy change requiring future concerts to
be approved by the full board and not just a committee.

The change does not affect the Snoop Dogg concert, said civic center
general manager Stuart Taylor.