St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 1

i i BEHOLD! The Bald TO BOSNIA AND BACK A girl and her puppy amid the desolation of war. Photographer Jerry Naunheim Jr. has covered all sorts of disasters, but nothing like Bosnia. Eagle Rave Reviews Slatkin, Symphony Do New York REGION ID REGION Arcade May Be Landmark Case id SPORTS New Twist In Blues Victory if EVERYDAY The Good Doctor Hawatmeh ic 1 't ffiTCH mi POST-OS 25 SUNDAY, JANUARY 28, 1996 CoDvnaht 1996 VOL. 118, NO.

28 FINAL 5-STAR World's Biggest Sideshow Surrounds The Super Bowl JDUPLIII ft if I a He's In: Dierdorf Makes Hall Of Fame Cardinals' No. 72 Elected After 2 Disappointments By Jim Thomas the Post-Dispatch Staff TEMPE, Ariz. Dan Dierdorf couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it. He and his wife, Debbie, had just flown in from St. Louis.

He was speaking at an Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. function Saturday night, so the brewery sent a chauffeured car to pick them up at the Phoenix airport. They had just pulled up to their hotel when a female voice was heard over the limo's walkie-talkie: Tell Mr. Dierdorf he's the newest member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"I thought it was either a very cruel joke, or she was the most wonderful woman I ever heard in my life," Dierdorf said. Debbie Dierdorf joyfully buried her head in her hands. Then she remembered to hug mm By Bernie Miklasz Of the Post-Dispatch Staff TEMPE, Ariz. Earlier in the 20th century, ailing visitors flocked to Phoenix and surrounding desert communities to improve their health in the dry heat and sunshine. This week, 150,000 hard-charging, big-spending tourists have journeyed to the Valley of the Sun to do considerable damage to their well-being.

Fans will drink, eat, party, push through stifling crowds, miss sleep, paint their faces, deplete their bank accounts and holler for the Dallas Cowboys or Pittsburgh Steelers. They will roam the streets in search of good times, celebrities and if they're lucky a ticket to Sunday's game. It's all part of the national sporting holiday known as the Super Bowl. The National Football League will stage its 30th Super Bowl on Sunday afternoon at Sun Devil Stadium. But this is more than a championship football game.

The Super Bowl is a movable feast a rolling carnival, highlighting the best and worst of our pop culture. "It's the biggest show there is," said Deion Sanders, star player for the Cowboys. "It's the biggest stage there Advertisers pull out all stops 1E Cowboys are big favorites to beat the Steelers 1F Dan Dierdorf "The thrill of my lifetime her husband. Too late. Jackie Smith had leaped into the limo's back seat to hug his former teammate and fellow Hall of Famer.

Smith, already in Phoenix for the Super Bowl, had met the Dierdorfs at the airport. Still, there was the slightest bit of doubt. Dierdorf had suffered through narrow, gut-wrenching misses in Hall of Fame balloting the previous two years, A voice on a limo walkie-talkie was hardly official notification. Dierdorf checked into the hotel, tipped the bellboy and with his unpacked bags still on the bed, the phone rang. A reporter was calling to congratulate Dierdorf.

See DIERDORF, Page 4 start by reviewing vid-7 eotapes of Super Bowl Week," Howie Long once said. Long is a Fox broadcaster who The most famous of ancient games Olympics began as a religious festival in honor of Zeus. The most fa Bernie Miklasz: People love to hate the Cowboys 1F used to play defensive end for the Oakland Raiders. Here is a glimpse of what those historians would see: See GAME, Page 4 mous of modern games the Super Bowl is a festival that glorifies excess. "In the distant future, when historians sit down in an effort to trace the beginning of the Decline of Western Civilization, they'll Infectious Diseases On Rise I rr W7 Lobbyists' Gift To Legislators: Lavish Lifestyle Lawmakers Say The Perks Save Taxpayers, Don't Influence Votes 25 1 I -X- 1 mm ir-xK By John G.

Carlton Post-Dispatch Medical Writer For five days last fall, doctors pumped potent antibiotics into Jerod Wickware as he lay comatose on a hospital bed. His heart was racing. His fever was high. His brain was being squeezed by the ever-increasing pressure of the fluid surrounding IC Afer Jerod was transferred to Louis Children's Hospital, doctors there tested the 16-year-old high school junior to see how well infection-fighting drugs were working. The results were frightening.

The bacteria that caused JerojRs infection hadn't been killed. TheTn-fection hadn't even been slowed. Even with the right kinds of antibiotics in the correct doses, Jerod's infection was growing. If it wasn't checked soon, Jerod would surely die. "It was a horror story," his mother, Linda, said last week, her voice cracking.

In fact, it's the kind of horror story that has become increasing-See INFECTIONS, Page 6 3 national conferences thousands of miles from home, lobbyists and legislators spend time and money together. A close look at one conference the annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council in San Diego last August illustrates the point. Twenty-four Missouri legislators flew to California, and at least 19 lobbyists tagged along. "Basically, my job was to entertain legislators," said lobbyist Peter Vail, who attended on behalf of Golden Rule Insurance Co. Lobbyists who made the trip represent major industries and well-heeled groups hospitals, telecommunications companies, tobacco See LOBBYISTS, Page 9 By Virginia Young Post-Dispatch Jefferson City Bureau JEFFERSON CITY While visiting Southern California last summer, state Sen.

David Klarich and his wife fished in the Pacific Ocean, then feasted on a $134 dinner. The next day, the senator golfed at two championship courses, then dined in picturesque La Jolla. Klarich, a Republican from Ball-win, didn't pay a dime for the excursions and meals. Lobbyists picked up his entertainment tabs: $1,030 over five days. Reports filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission this month show that wherever the state's legislators go, lobbyists are sure to follow.

At watering holes in the capital, golf tournaments around the state and 3 1 Scott DinePost-Dispatch Dr. Gregory Storch and technician Monique Gaudreault-Keener use a new technique, called PCR, to detect viruses in a specimen taken from a patient at St. Louis Children's Hospital. WEATHER INDEX Not So Cold Sex Offender's Access To Child Baffles Many Laxness By Schools, Agencies Called 'Incredible' Back To School Parent Volunteers Fill Void, See Results In Their Children ArtsEntertainment 3-4C Books 5C Business 1-8E Everyday 1-12C Movie Timetable 11C News Analysis IB Obituaries 7-9D St. Louis ID Sports 1-12F Style Plus 1-4S Travel 1-6T Television IOC EDITORIAL PAGE FORECAST Sunday Partly cloudy; wind from southwest at 10-20 mph.

High 44. Cloudy overnight. Low 32. Monday Cloudy. High 41.

Other Weather, 8B that they didn't know of Bright's criminal past when they gave him power of attorney over the child 2Vz years ago. But children's advocates say that plenty of other people should have known of his background and taken steps to protect the child, who is slightly disabled and speaks little English. "There should be centralized background screening for anyone who comes into contact with kids," said Wilma Schmitz, director of the Children's Advocacy Center, an interview and examination center for suspected victims of sexual abuse. See BRIGHT, Page 5 By Martha Shirk Of the Post-Dispatch Staff Where did the system break down? And how can it be fixed? Authorities and children's advocates are asking those questions in the wake of new sex charges against Ruffner G. Bright, a 69-year-old man with a 51-year criminal history and a court-imposed label of criminal sexual psychopath.

Bright was charged Friday with sodomizing a 5-year-old boy whose parents, recent immigrants from Vietnam, had entrusted him with decisions about the child's education and medical care. The parents have told authorities They unzip coats. They open breakfast milk cartons. They referee fights. They assist in classrooms.

And in the afternoon they help at a school homework center. Farragut long has had a small core of parent volunteers. But these days they're all over the building. Around the metropolitan area, similar scenes are happening. Although the most dramatic increases in parent involvement have taken place in a scattering of See SCHOOLS, Page 8 By Carolyn Bower Of the Post-Dispatch Staff A cold, driving rain was falling about 7:30 one recent morning, the kind of rain that makes children hurry.

As they pushed through a basement door at Farragut School in St. Louis near Fairground Park, one of their parents, Mary Stin-son, greeted them. About 20 to 30 parents and grandparents help at school each day. The volunteers supervise children before teachers arrive. POST-DISPATCH WEATHEHBIRD Don't Give Away The Store A $301 Million Billboard 2B nil 0.