A thick tower of black smoke stretched into the Central Texas sky for hours Thursday, as more than a dozen firefighting stations from across Bell County gathered in Temple to battle a massive structure fire that demolished a two-block storage facility into charred walls and burnt rubble.In what Temple Deputy Fire Chief Ray Perkins called "the worst fire Temple has seen since the '60s," firefighters needed almost eight hours to extinguish the swarming flames that engulfed Atlas Storage, 2600 W. Ave. G, shortly before 1:30 p.m. No injuries at the former American Desk site were reported, and authorities said it would be days before they knew what sparked the sudden blaze.City water level dropped critically low, electricity in several street blocks went out, and residents of one Temple neighborhood were forced to evacuate their homes because of the fire, which was finally suffocated by tanks of foam brought in from Fort Hood around dusk. By nightfall, the flames had mostly disappeared and the smoke was beginning to dissipate."I would say this is the biggest fire here since downtown burned down," said Perkins, referring to April 1961 blaze that destroyed five Temple businesses. by Paul J. Weber

PHILADELPHIA (AP)

With an aim to limit customer outflow to other cities, Colonial Properties Trust has purchased Temple Mall with plans to fully develop it and add more national chain stores.Along with the acquisition

The Temple City Council unanimously agreed to postpone a decision regarding the Temple Planning and Zoning Commission's jurisdiction over plats at the council's Thursday meeting.The council discussed whether to allow the commission to have final approval over plats that don't have any requested exceptions to the city's ordinances.The current regulation states that the Temple City Council examines all the plats, said Temple City Attorney Jonathan Graham.All plats with exceptions would proceed to the council for final approval under the modification, he said.The change would allow developers to continue with their projects faster, Graham said."It's part of the effort to expedite the planning process in Temple," he said.Temple Planning Director B.A. Bailey noted that the modification would allow the commission to act upon properties that were already in line with laws that the council had approved.Councilwoman Sally Myers noted that the commission and the council often had different viewpoints on issues.The council decided to delay its decision in a 5-0 vote after Graham noted that local builders had reservations about the plan and how it would be carried out. by Jonathan Walburgh

An "explosive device" went off in a Temple school bus Thursday while it was parked in a bus parking lot, according to Temple police.There were no injuries.The device

BELTON

BELTON

FORT HOOD

TOKYO