Wednesday, April 16, 2008 BY JEF RIETSMA, THREE RIVERS -- An abandoned hospital that has been an eyesore for more than two decades in Three Rivers appears to have the chance to become a major attraction.
The Three Rivers City Commission on Tuesday agreed to sell the three-story, 89,000-square-foot facility to a Jackson man who plans to convert it into a seasonal haunted house.
Businessman Lance Cuffle, 42, owns and operates Homer Mill haunted house, which opened in Homer in 2005 and attracts 1970s shock rocker Alice Cooper for an appearance each fall.
Three Rivers officials had discussed selling the property for $25,000 but plan to negotiate a figure with Cuffle and his attorney. They also will propose that a percentage of all ticket sales go to the city's coffers.
Cuffle said he envisions splitting the old hospital into four different haunted houses.
``It will take more than a year to have it in full operation, but the idea right now is something for the smaller kids, a haunted house for middle-school-aged kids, something neutral like what most people think of when they think of a haunted house, and then an extreme haunted house on the lines of the Homer location,'' he said.
Cuffle said he hopes to have a scaled-down version in operation by this fall.
The boarded-up building, located on the city's south side near Scidmore Park, was abandoned 21 years ago after Three Rivers Health opened its facility off Broadway Street.
Cuffle said he would keep the haunted house open four nights a week, Thursdays through Sundays. He said it would include Disney-quality animatronics. ``This will be more than someone jumping out of a dark space and yelling `Boo!''' Cuffle said. ``People come to the Homer Mill to get scared, and few people leave disappointed.''

4/8/08 Julie Fertig KOBR - The future of Roswell's planned alien theme park is now up in the air. Last year the state agreed to shell out more than $240,000 toward the alien amusement park. But the state pulled out once it realized the city wouldn't be in charge of the park.
Roswell's mayor now hopes a private investor will step in to make it happen.
"We're absolutely still for it. If an investor came in or if Disneyland or Six Flags came in and wanted to put a theme park in Roswell, let me assure you, we would absolutely be working with them to accomplish that," said Roswell Mayor Sam LaGrone.
The park's creator says he still wants to build the park, and said he is also looking for private investors. Officials say the park will not open until 2012, if it opens at all.