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

0 Fan 3P APR 17 1S52 tyiu VOL 114.N0. 108 Copyright 1 992 FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 1992 (4) 3-STAR 50 CLOSE 3366.50 UP 12.74 lad! otwiiiiiii ii 1 1 iihmi 2B LIST OF HOUSE members and bank overdrafts Page 16A told last fall that she had never overdrawn her account, was listed Thursday with one bad check. Horn attributed that to an error by the House bank; she declined to reveal the check's value. "I am very angry that the sloppy, unprofessional management of this 'bank' has jeopardized the public trust in elected officials like me who are trying to reform the system," Horn said. Former Rep.

Jack Buechner, the Republican from Kirkwood who lost to Horn in 1990, was listed with seven overdrafts. "Seven bad checks is an impossibility," complained Buechner, now president of the National Republican Institute for International Affairs. "I did By Robert L. Koenig Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau WASHINGTON The House ethics committee, lighting a fuse that could prove politically explosive in dozens of elections, released on Thursday its full list, of 303 current and former legislators who wrote a total of 24,000 bad checks at the House bank. Among those who signed bad checks over 39 months were high-ranking House Democrats and Republicans, four members of President George Bush's Cabinet and the chairman of the House ethics committee, Rep.

Louis Stokes, D-Ohio. Stokes had 551 overdrafts. While many names on the list had been revealed earlier, there were a few new minor surprises among current and former members of Congress from Missouri and Southern Illinois: Rep. Joan Kelly Horn, D-Ladue, a first-term lawmaker who had been not play any games with that account. My average daily balance was close to $2,000." Former Rep.

Kenneth J. Gray, a Democrat from West Frankfort, 111., wrote 19 bad checks in the six months before he retired from Congress in January 1989, the list said. Gray could not be reached for comment. Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Lexlngton, who said he had been told last fall that he had written no bad checks, was on Thursday's list for writing nine checks against Insufficient funds.

Skelton attributed the problem to sloppy bank management but added: "My desk, like Harry Truman's, is where the buck stopped." The ethics committee's list cut a wide swath across party lines, including such party leaders as House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, D-SL Louis County (28 checks); Majority See HOUSE, Page 17 Najibullah Toppled Pakistan, which has provided haven for Afghan rebels, called for an immediate cease-fire among the many antagonistic Muslim guerrilla groups. Russia and the United States arms purveyors to the enemy sides until a few months ago urged restraint, as See PRESIDENT, Page 19 NAJIBULLAH OUTLASTED most predictions Page 1C i If i I Afghan President Is Ousted Rebels Hold Najibullah; Aide Commits Suicide Compiled From News Services KABUL, Afghanistan President Najibullah was stripped of power and detained early Thursday while trying to flee the country as rebels advanced toward Kabul, the foreign minister said. A coalition of generals and rebel leaders appeared to be In charge. The chief of the secret police, Ghu-lam Farouq Yaqubl, killed himself after learning of Najibullah's escape attempt.

The toppling of Najibullah one of the last surviving Soviet proteges capped a headlong government collapse over the past month. The ouster raised fear that Afghanistan could splinter and experience the worst bloodbath of its 13-year-old civil war. Cosmetic Implants Limited But FDA OKs Silicone After Breast Cancer Compiled From News Services WASHINGTON The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that it would allow women to use silicone implants after breast cancer surgery but would sharply restrict their use in women who want the implants for breast enlargement Reaching Out A Legend: John Goodman portraying Babe Ruth. The Real Babe Ruth Still An Idol 4 (ft? 4" -4; 1 Every player who aims for the bleachers pays his respects to Babe Ruth. "The Babe," a movie about his life starring John Goodman, opens today.

IF fi ft ts; Storm Doors Remain Open Reports of the demise of the Storm are untrue as local investors confirm they are still trying to purchase the professional soccer club. ID "i'S i The decision calls for all women who get the implants to take part in studies of their safety. "We know more about the lifespan of automobile tires than we do about breast implants," said Dr. David Kessler, FDA Home Building A Kessler Sees Rebound Home building in the St. Louis area mounts a recovery.

Building permits for single-family houses post their highest first-quarter totals in four years. IB I commissioner. "We're going to acquire, once and for all, the information necessary to establish the safety of these devices." The FDA will allow about 9,000 women who were caught in the midst of breast reconstruction when the FDA called for a freeze on the implants In January to get the implants immediately. See IMPLANTS, Page 18 The Easy Answer (EDITORIAL) France Bites The Nuclear Bullet Karen ElshoutPost-Dispatch Scientist Jane Goodall posing with an orangutan as St. Louis Zoo director Charlie Hoessle looked on Thursday.

Goodall visited here to talk to the Zoo staff and to deliver a lecture on her research into chimpanzees. Story on Page 3A. i IMPLANT' DECISION leaves mixed reactions Page 18A Hunger Gun-Safety Measure Advances In House Caterpillar Is Recalling All Strikers (EDITORIAL) 2C Business 1-6B Classified 2-22E Commentary 3C Editorials 2C Everyday 1-12F Movie Timetable 10F NationWorld 14A News Analysis 1C Obituaries 4C People 4A Real Estate IE Reviews 3F St Louis 3A Sports MOD Television 9F Local Need For Food Shattering Records; Pantries Appeal For Aid By Virginia Young Post-Dispatch Jefferson City Bureau JEFFERSON CITY A bill aimed at keeping loaded guns out of the hands of children won first-round approval in the Missouri House on Thursday. The bill advanced after the sponsor, Rep. Sue Shear, made numerous changes to satisfy gun owners and members of the National Rifle Association.

The vote was 112-28. A final vote is needed to send the bill to the Senate. Critics said the compromises made the bill unenforceable. "It's a very watered-down, weak bill," said Rep. Ken Jacob, D-Columbia.

But Shear, D-Clayton, said the bill would be a deterrent because people would become more aware of the need to safely store their guns. House Minority Leader Jim Talent, R-Chesterfield, agreed. "This may be a bill where the publicity arising from it is as important as the substantive provisions," he said. Under the bill, people whose guns were used by anyone under 14 to cause death or serious injury could be charged with "criminal storage of a firearm," a misdemeanor punishable by up to 15 days in jail or a $1,000 fine. A parent or guardian could be prosecuted only if he or she were "grossly negligent." No charges could be filed under certain conditions, such as if: The firearm was kept "in a locked container or in a location which a reasonable person would believe to be secure." See GUNS, Page 12 rr.

uiun raiT'DmiwcH By Linda Eardley Of the Post-Dispatch Staff Chocolate bunnies and jellybeans are on the minds of many children this Easter season. But other youngsters are simply hoping for food to eat, period. Social service agencies, food pantries and their suppliers say they are having trouble keeping up with the growing needs of hungry people in the area. "The agencies we provide food for are experiencing shortages, no doubt about it," said Bill Nord-mann, executive director of Operation Food Search. "It's going to be come more prevalent because demand is going up, and as we get into the spring and summer months, the demand is going to increase even more so." When school is out, some families will sorely miss the government food programs that provide lunch, and sometimes breakfast, for their children.

"Those families rely more on food pantries in the summer than through the rest of the year," said Frank Finnigan, executive director of the St. Louis Area Food Bank. The Food Bank and Operation See HUNGER, Page 19 PEORIA, 111. (AP) Caterpillar Inc. announced Thursday that it would recall all 12,600 members of the United Auto Workers union who defied the company's ultimatum to end a strike and return to work.

The company said that it had determined it no longer needs 1,350 of its union workers but that it would not follow through on its threat to trim the ranks of the group by up to IS percent. Instead of not recalling some of the workers now that the strike is over, Caterpillar will cut Jobs through attrition and an early retirement offer, the company said. "We are taking these actions out of genuine concern for the well-being of See STRIKERS, Page 12 iirHi Win Up To $1,000 Daily Page6D 'Redneck9! Carnahan Livid Over Name-calling By Schoemehl More Showers FORECAST: Today: Chance of a showers or High 66. Chance of showers tonight. Low 57.

Saturday: Chance of High 78. Other weather, 2A 6mm POST-DISPATCH WEATHERBIRD I Hiq Or Y. "I don't think I have offended anybody," Schoemehl said. "I don't think it will cost me one vote." Speaking at the Adam's Mark Hotel downtown, Carnahan said he regarded the word "redneck" as "a demeaning term like 'hick' or something of that nature." He complained that Schoemehl was pitting region against region with such remarks and said a governor can't be successful unless he can get people of various backgrounds and regions of the state to work together. Schoemehl said Carnahan had tried to make just such divisions when he attacked Schoemehl as a big-city mayor while campaigning in out-state Missouri.

"He has been all over the state calling me a big-city mayor and everything but a cat burglar," Schoemehl said. "This is major-league politics, and if this guy can't take the heat, he should get out of the kitchen." Schoemehl made the "redneck" remark Thursday morning in answering a listener's question on a call-in show on WGNU-AM. The See CARNAHAN. Pace 14 By Mark Schlinkmann and Tim O'Neil Of the Post-Dispatch Staff Oops, he did it again. Outspoken Mayor Vincent C.

Schoemehl Jr. spoke out again Thursday, this time calling Lt. Gov. Mel Carnahan a "redneck from Rolla" on a radio talk show here. Carnahan, insulted, immediately demanded an apology.

"It's highly inappropriate language," Carnahan said at a news conference after aides handed out copies of articles on previous Schoemehl outbursts over the years. "We don't need a leader who resorts to name-calling any time things don't go his way. We don't need a candidate for governor who calls anyone not from his city a redneck." Schoemehl, who's running against Carnahan for the Democratic nomination for governor, refused to apologize and called the flap "nonsense." "I probably should have called him a thin-skinned highbrow from Rolla," Schoemehl told reporters at City Hall a few minutes after Carna-han's statement. i' I I in inn imt -mm Kevin ManningPost-Dispatch Lt Gov. Mel Carnahan responding at a press conference Thursday in St.

Louis 09189ll21100l 1 to comments by Mayor Vincent C. Schoemehl Jr. a.