St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 14

3JUN111998 B4 ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH METRO THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 1998 http: www.stlnet.com Carnahan signs bill on extension of Medicaid to 90,000 children Missouri joins 3 states in insurance generosity hook the middle class on welfare and expand another government entitlement program. They pushed for, and got, $65 monthly premiums for those earning between 226 percent and 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Families in this income bracket will pay $10 for each visit and $5 for prescriptions. Families earning between 185 percent and 225 percent of the federal poverty level will have to pay $5 for each doctor visit.

At the higher income levels, only those families who could not find insurance for less than about $86 a month would be eligible. This figure is based on the premiums state workers and legislators now pay through the Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan. the funding, he said. "It's very cost-effective." The law will extend health coverage to 90,000 children who now lack insurance. This figure is based on an annual nationwide survey of 50,000 households and on U.S.

Census population estimates. Vadner said he expected 70,000 children would be enrolled. About 23,000 children in the St. Louis area would be eligible for coverage under the plan, said a Carnahan aide. Ted Frey, president of Children's Hospital, said getting children preventive care and immunizations was critical.

The bill generated intense debate. Opponents most of them Republicans said the law would who earn between $17,000 and $18,000 a year, will be eligible again for coverage. The program will start enrolling children next month or August, said Greg Vadner, director of the Division of Medical Services, the arm of state government that deals with Medicaid. Services wiJl be available starting in September. The law allows Missouri to receive $51 million annually from a pool of federal money.

The state's annual cost just under $20 million will come from managed care savings and from families leaving welfare rolls. Carnahan said he was not worried that the federal money may dry up in five years. "I think there will be great pressure to extend" The Wesleys learned they would be dropped from the Medicaid rolls last week, leaving them with no way to pay their bills at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Kevin, 6, has not responded to four different kinds of medication for his seizures, which have left him developmentally delayed.

The next option is brain surgery. Albert Wesley, 33, has insurance through his employer, Zarfas Luggage and Gifts, based in Chesterfield. Family coverage, however, for his wife and other son, Christopher, 7, would cost between $375 and $450 a month not including Kevin. "It'd be like providing insurance for your kid or feeding your kid," he said. Under the new law, the Wesleys, if they can prove they could not find affordable health insurance elsewhere.

Families at higher income levels will have to pay premiums and co-payments. Only Hawaii, Tennessee and Connecticut help families with insurance woes at this income level, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a nonprofit organization that monitors public policy. Connecticut covers families through a state insurance plan not Medicaid. Medicaid is the federal and state health program for the poor, the disabled and the elderly. The new law was welcome news for Albert and Paula Wesley, a couple from Columbia, whose son, Kevin, has nightly seizures.

have raped more, officials say By Bill Bell Jr. Post-Dispatch Jefferson City Bureau JEFFERSON CITY Missouri became one of the most generous states in the nation Wednesday for helping uninsured children. Gov. Mel Carnahan signed into law a measure extending Medicaid coverage to children in families earning up to three times the federal poverty level. A family of four earning $49,350 could qualify for the new program, Schools Airport votes to buy land occupied by Berkeley High Continuedfrom Page Bl noise.

Stan Scheer, superintendent of the Ferguson-Florissant schools, said Thursday: "This is fantastic for us. It gives us the opportunity to do things we want to do with our high school program and to have a new elementary school to respond to growth. Ferguson-Florissant has about 11,200 students. About 200 to 250 new students enter district schools each year, Scheer said. Airport money would allow the district to build new 'schools without an additional burden on taxpayers, he said.

A new high school would allow the district to spread students more evenly among its three high schools. Just 350 students attend Berkeley High School while 1,700 attend McCluer and 1,250 attend McCluer North. With the Challenger Center, a regional center to encourage the study of science and space, and a performing arts center, the new high school could be available year-round and be used by the community. The superintendent said the district still needs voters to authorize on Aug. 4 a $16 million bond issue.

The bond issue would require no increase ham said. Tinkham urged other possible victims to call him at the police department: 240-3200, ext. 525. Family Court Administrator Ray Grush said certifying Skaggs was a "no-brainer" because of the evidence in the cases and because he is now an adult. Skaggs was enrolled at Fort Zumwalt North High School, but he seldom attended classes, said Superintendent Bernard DuBray.

He had attended school only for a few days earlier this school year before dropping out, DuBray said. When Skaggs was charged in February for rape, the O'Fallon Police Department was investigating two other cases in which girls alleged that Skaggs had raped them when he was a juvenile, Tinkham said. Some results of one rape of 5 may to 20 are charged with sex offenses. Michael Skaggs is the first to be accused of being a sexual predator. He was certified Monday to stand trial as an adult on four counts of rape that authorities say he committed between September 1996 and January 12, 1997.

He was already facing trial for a Feb. 18 rape of a 14-year-old, which occurred after his 17th birthday on Jan. 30. With the four new charges, his bond has been increased from to $500,000 from $50,000 and he faces a maximum of five life sentences. The five charges involve two 14-year-old girls and three 15-year-old girls who were his acquaintances, authorities said.

"He's basically just a manipulator. He's just a predator," Tink SOI M) (01 on ALL THE STAINS ALL THE ANSWERS Teen charged By Michelle Munz Of the Post-Dispatch The five girls Michael Skaggs is accused of raping may not be the only victims, an investigator in the case said Wednesday. No one else has incriminated the 17-year-old youth from O'Fallon, but police Detective Doug Tinkham wouldn't be surprised if others were raped. "We believe that there are probably even more victims who have not come forward because they're afraid of what their family would think, what their friends would think," said Tinkham, of the O'Fallon Police Department. "And intimidation may be a factor." Of the 2,500 juveniles who go through the St.

Charles County Family Court each year, about 15 SuperPaint Exterior Flat Latex Maximum durability 20-Year warranty Sale Price $18.99 gal. Similar savings on Satin and Gloss latex. SuperPainr Exterior Latex High Gloss Enamel Eliminates sticking doors and windows Sale Price $23.49 gal. HI mm in Sale DEATHS ELSEWHERE Steve Sanders, 45; baritone joined the Oak Ridge Boys after years as child star ongoing investigation had already been sent to the Family Court, he said. Criminal charges against adults are open record, and when it was reported that Skaggs had been charged with rape, the story prompted two other girls to come forward and tell the O'Fallon Police Department that they had been raped, Tinkham said.

Because each case is similar, St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Braun said his office will ask to try all five cases together. Braun said the incidents occurred at parties, at a park and at one of the girl's homes. "This is a classic case of where the guy must understand that when a girl says she means Braun said. SuperPainP Interior Flat Latex Guaranteed one-coat coverage Rich, even finish Sale Price $19.49 gal.

Similar savings on Satin and Semi-Gloss latex. i i Any exterior surface that is new, bare or badly weathered should be coated with A-100 oil-based primer before painting. sup bp rr rLX A ej 1111 in the district's tax rate. That money would pay for at least 14 new classrooms in five different elementary schools, roofs at two elementary schools and a middle school and for computer-related equipment Scheer said school officials have studied several potential sites for schools in the southern end of the district, but he would not offer details. New schools would be built as noise-proof as possible.

Meanwhile, the airport would work out an arrangement for the district to continue to use the Berkeley buildings until new schools can be built. Airport officials are considering buying out the Ferguson-Florissant buildings according to replacement cost instead of fair market value. The federal government allows replacement cost for public service buildings such as schools and fire houses. Griggs said in all probability a similar system would be used for schools bought out for airport expansion. Airplanes rumbled overhead Wednes- day evening as students filed in to graduate at Berkeley High School.

Patrick Johnson, 18, the valedictori an, said: A new school will be real nice. But it won't be the same place where many of us grew up." Lathon Ferguson, 17, the salutato- rian, said he sees potential in a new site. "It will give the school a rebirth, a chance to show its standards are not as low as people think. We have a lot of talent A new school will give us a chance to shine." placed William Lee Golden, fa mous for his Sanders long gray hair and beard and "Mountain Man" attire. The other members are Joe Bonsall, Duane Allen and Richard Sterban.

Mr. Sanders performed on Oak Ridge Boys No. 1 hits "It Takes a Little Rain (to Make Love Grow)," "This Crazy Love," "Gonna Take a Lot of River" and "No Matter How High." Mr. Sanders started his career as a child gospel singer billed as Little Stevie Sanders. He also appeared as a child on Broadway in "The Yearling" and in the 1967 film "Hurry Sundown" with Faye Dunaway and Jane Fonda.

Besides his wife, he is survived by a son and daughter from his first marriage, and a stepson and stepdaughter from his second. DEATHS University of. Missouri at St. Louis for her contributions as a nurse and nursing educator. Her life was exhibited in photographs and interviews Kennedy in the "Lift Every Voice and Sing: The St.

Louis African American Project" at the Vaughn Cultural Center. For many years, she was a volunteer at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in St. Louis. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. today at C.W.

Roberts Funeral Home, 1416 North Taylor Avenue. The funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Friday at St. James A.M.E. Church, 4301 St.

Ferdinand Avenue. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery. Among the survivors are a daughter, Cynthia Steele of St. Louis; a son, Norman Kennedy of St. Louis; and three us I WoodScapes Exterior Latex Solid Stain Excellent resistance to fading Fast drying, low-drip formula 8-Year warranty Sale Price $19.49 sal.

BE PREPARED The Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. Steve Sanders, a baritone who spent a decade with the Oak Ridge Boys after replacing one of country music's most colorful personalities, died Wednesday (June 10, 1998). He was 45. The former child star died of a gunshot wound to the head at his home in Cape Coral, said Jeanne Schick of the Lee County, medical examiner's office. Police said Mr.

Sanders' wife, Janet, told them he had shot himself. Authorities believe the death was a suicide. Mr. Sanders sang baritone from 1987 to 1996 with the Oak Ridge Boys, the former gospel music quartet that crossed over to country stardom in the late 1970s and peaked with the 1981 hit "Elvira." After five years as the group's rhythm guitarist, Mr. Sanders re- ST.

LOUIS Famelia Kennedy Taught nursing here for years Famelia Norman Kennedy, a retired nurse and nursing instructor in St. Louis, died Tuesday (June 9, 1998) of infirmities at her home in St. Louis. She was 91. Mrs.

Kennedy was bora in Calhoun City, Miss. She came here in 1929 and several years later graduated from the old Homer G. Phillips School of Nursing. She worked at the hospital there for about 15 years. After that, she became one of the first black nursing instructors in the St.

Louis Public Schools. She started a practical nursing program at the old O'Fallon Technical High and also taught at the St. Louis Job Corps. She was an instructor at the old State Community College (now Metropolitan Community College) in East St. Louis for about five years before she retired in 1975.

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