St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 5

ivir 4, ia4 SI.LUUIb KUb I -DISPATCH 5A Seniors Gambling lit Sam LeonePost-Dispatch Orchard Farm High School seniors, at their recent class picnic at Forest Park, wear T-shirts with a message about "tough times" that is a memento of their problems with flooding's aftermath. mot games so they can make the most money from them, and it flies in the face of voters who defeated gambling on April 5." Irwin said he will proceed as planned despite the threatened suit. That includes "shakedown" gambling sessions, played by invited guests who will use fake money. Among the "gamblers" will be state agents who will attempt to identify weaknesses in the operations. Irwin would not rule out attempts by the agents to cheat or otherwise disrupt the games.

Agents also will review cash flow and handling, Irwin said, "to make sure receipts are in order so that the state's taxes are protected. It's almost like a Marine Corps command inspection." Another pre-licensing issue awaits the Admiral. Although it has no engines to power a cruise, it must win special exemption from cruise requirements. Monday, it appealed to the commission for permission to moor permanently as a casino. Witnesses told commissioners that the Admiral's lack of engines is just part of the reason the old boat can't cruise.

Gary Frommelt, director of marine operations for the Admiral, said the boat was rebuilt in the 1980s to meet city building codes not Coast Guard regulations. The boat depends on shore hookups for water, electrical power and sewage treatment, Frommelt added. He said it would be cheaper to build a new boat just like the Admiral than to retrofit the original to cruise again. And, the renovation made it so tall that 95 percent of the year, it could not fit under the Eads or Poplar Street bridges, he said. Lt.

Robert Siddall, the Coast Guard's chief of port operations here, told the hearing that having the Admiral cruise merely between the two bridges may be unsafe. During the VP Fair last summer, the Casino Queen could not get under the bridges and had to cruise between them. "The captain of port was very nervous last year over the Casino Queen having to move" within that space, Siddall said. It helped that the harbour was closed, he said. Kevin Mullally, deputy director of the commission, then heard testimony on economic reasons for letting the casino have a non-cruising license.

Tom Dunn is general manager of Gateway Riverboat Cruises, which, like the Admiral, is part of President Riverboat Casinos Inc. He testified that gambling would make the Admiral a year-round attraction. It would provide 1,150 jobs, he said, compared with about 350 jobs during its mid-1980s opening. Fred W. Lindecke of the Post-Dispatch staff contributed information for this story.

From page one change the statewide tally by no more than a few votes. The tally lends more certainty to the final steps leading to the launch of limited-games riverboats in St. Louis and St. Charles late this week. Thomas Irwin, executive director of the Missouri Gaming Commission, said practice runs are scheduled for noon Wednesday aboard the Admiral and noon Thursday on the St.

Charles Riverfront Station casino. Friday morning the commission will vote on whether to license each boat and to decide on the Admiral's dockside request. Irwin said gaming could be open to the public as early as late Friday or Saturday. "If the boats are ready, there would be no reason to hold back," he said. The casinos will include poker, blackjack and craps, plus electronic versions of poker and blackjack.

Plans for full-scale gaming ended with a Supreme Court decision in January outlawing games of chance in the absence of a constitutional amendment like the one that lost April 5. The state Legislature defined the games expected to be licensed this week as games of skill. One source of uncertainty as opening day draws near is the threat of a lawsuit by anti-gaming forces seeking to challenge those definitions. Mark Andrews, chairman of Citizens for Life and Liberty, said, "We anticipate bringing some action as soon as we understand the implications of what can be done." Andrews' group had worked to defeat the April 5 ballot issue. "We have lawyers reading and seeking to understand" the limited gambling law, he said.

"Our whole feeling is that this law is unconstitutional. This is an effort to redefine gambling Fox and New World also will jointly develop syndicated programming that will run on both Fox and New World stations. Some industry sources said the move could position Fox to launch a national TV news unit as part of its quest to become a dominant broadcast service. The agreement calls for up to 12 stations owned or to be bought by New World, changing their network affiliations to Fox from ABC, CBS and NBC. Eight CBS affiliates, including those in key markets such as Detroit, Atlanta and Cleveland, may switch to Fox over the next year or so as part of the deal.

Reuters News Service contributed information for this story. of Orchard Farm on television last summer, the Arizona teens worked to collect $5,000 for Orchard Farm. Part of the money went for a prom this month at the Harley Hotel in Earth City "the best party we ever had," said Lindsay Smith. On hand for the prom were Bob Arkfeld, assistant principal from Tempe, and two student leaders, Ann Kissell and Steve Culbertson. Kissell hadn't realized how much the good deed meant to Orchard Farm until her group got a plaque and a standing ovation.

"That was when it finally hit," she said. Arkfeld said, "What some of the Orchard Farm students shared was just unbelievable. Their courage was incredible." Sure. But as a sign at Orchard Farm says: "Tough times don't last. Tough kids do." audience.

In seeking to move beyond the youth market, Fox shocked its competitors recently by outbidding them for the rights to broadcast National Conference games of the National Football League starting next season. New World's production company produced "The Wonder Years" and "Santa Barbara" television series. Industry analysts said CBS now the most popular TV network, has the most to lose as a result of the Fox-New World alliance. Wall Street seemed to agree, pushing CBS stock down $14.50, or 4.79 percent, to close at $288 on the New York Stock Exchange. From page one and optimism as the grass and crops sprouted once again in the miles of mud and sand.

Different teens adapted in different ways to the hands that the flood dealt them. But all refused to let the flood wash out their last year of high school. "I had to keep clothes in the car, because I didn't know where I'd be the next day," recalled Christine Dunkmann. She lived in three different places before her family could move back home. Eric Speh will remember the nonstop nature of the cleanup, which continues even today.

"It changed our weekends," he said. "Most had to work on their houses instead of being with friends." Some of the students didn't see their friends for months because the flood forced them from the district some to the city of St. Charles, some to St. Louis County and some even to Illinois. For months, the district sent buses outside its territory to pick up students to try to keep the students together and the schools open.

About 500 of the high school's students never came back, leaving 945 this year. But all the seniors returned. "They wanted to finish with their class and graduate and go on about their lives," Principal Lanny Hradek said. Barbara Daugherty, the school's guidance counselor, believes that the class weathered the flood emotionally as well as academically. When the school year started with the floodwater still in sight, problems and frustrations were evident.

"But things got worked out for most of the kids," Daugherty said. "They moved back into their homes or found new Television From page one for A.G. Edwards Sons. The potential switch stems from a deal billed as the largest realignment of network stations in TV history. Fox Broadcasting Co.

said Monday that it will form a $500 million joint venture with New World Communications. The deal will give Fox 12 stations now affiliated with its big three network rivals and boost its share in major broadcast markets. New World also said it has an option to take control of Argyle Television Holdings Inc. Argyle, based in San Antonio, owns Channel 2 in St. Louis andihree stations in Texas and Alabama 'm: If it takes control, New World said it would switch Channel 2 from ABC to the Fox network, along with Argyle stations in Dallas and Austin, Texas.

The Federal Communications Commission would have to approve the ownership switch. If ABC were booted from KTVI (Channel 2), the network probably would try to stay on the VHF dial, with its low channel positions and strong signals, said analyst Kupinski. ABC could try to lure Channel 4 ones. She said the flooding had prepared the seniors for life's hard knocks. "It probably taught them that disaster can be overcome," she said.

"It might have given them that extra bit of knowledge or wisdom that things can be overcome and problems worked out." Lana Brashear, mother of senior Sarah Brashear, complimented the teachers and administrators. "They were up there sandbagging, too," she said. "They went beyond the call of duty." A few days ago, principal Hradek leaned back in his office chair and reflected on the school year. As the floodwater subsided, he said, so did most of the students' stress. Returning to school was probably the best tonic for them, he said.

They poured themselves into their work, and with good results. After the trials from CBS or attract Channel 5 from NBC, says Kupinski. ABC could also land on independent Channel 11 or take Fox's place on Channel 30. KMOV (Channel 4) and KSDK (Channel 5) are both owned by out-of-town companies that carry network programming. KDNL (Channel 30) has carried Fox since the network began in 1986, and the locally owned station isn't ready to concede its loss.

"By March of '95, who knows what can happen in our business," said Gregg Filandrinos, general manager at Channel 30. "There are too many ifs." Channel 30 has four years to run on its current contract with Fox. But the deal contains an escape clause that allows Fox to move if it takes an ownership stake in a St. Louis station. Filandrinos thinks his station will land ABC if it loses Fox, despite its position on the high-number UHF dial.

"ABC will vote for us, based on our operation," he said. Channel 30 is owned by St. Louis-based River City Broadcasting. KPLR (Channel 11), an independent station, would be an attractive option for ABC, says analyst Kupinski. But KPLR's contracts to broadcast Cardinals baseball and It 1 4 to of the flood, he said, "Algebra was a snap." The students took part as much as they could in extracurricular activities, too.

Speh said, "We didn't know if we were going to have any sports teams at all." The school's teams came back and did well, improving in most cases on the previous season. Andy Thorne, of the cross-country team, added, "We were the first Orchard Farm team to win district, and we placed fifth in state." Although spirits ran high, wallets ran low. "Nobody had money," said Wilber, president of the Student Council. The flooding wiped out many families' fortunes. The seniors feared that they would have to do without a prom.

To the rescue came fellow seniors at Marcos de Nizo High School in Tempe, Ariz. After seeing the plight Ihe potential switch stems from a deal billed as the largest realignment of network stations in TV history. Blues hockey could prove a stumbling block, because the games would preempt big blocks of ABC's prime-time network programming. KPLR owner Ted Koplar said he thinks news of the Fox move raised the value, of his station Monday. "We're one of the strongest independents in the U.S.," he said.

"I assume we'll be contacted" by ABC. Channel 11 previously announced that it planned to carry programming from a new network being formed by Time-Warner. New World said it paid DLJ Mer chant Banking Partners $100 million for its option to buy Argyle Televi sion Holdings. Closing the deal would cost $616 million more. Fox, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

is the home of the Homer Simpson family, Al Bundy and a slew of other off-beat characters that won the network a large and relatively youthful chunk of the TV APY 5-Year CD with 14 Bonus 1-800-4-M-TWAIN MEMBERS FDIC other oiler Retail CDs only Penalty lor early withdrawal. ,1 BANKS' 100 COTTON (0 WWNK SAVANE No-Iron Men's Shorts Finally a great looking short that's easy to take care of. Simply wash and dry for wrinkle free performance every time. This pleated short is available in indigo, prairie, spruce, white, khaki, olive, navy and black. Sizes 30-44.

Men's Shorts. Diner's Club Or Your Dillard's Charge Centre 10 A.M. 6 P.M. Our CD Rates Are Going Through The Roof With Our 14 Bonus Offer. 1: jvmvwf 4- illard's Mark Twain's CD interest rates are consistently on top.

And for a limited time, we're offering a 14 percent bonus on our 6-month to 5-year CDs. So if low CD rates have you down, don't hit the ceiling. Call Mark Twain for more information. Mark Twain Banks. Because strength matters.

1-800-468-9246 4 Year CD 5.36 2 Year CD 4.84 1 Year CD 4.31 APY APY APY Includes 14 bonus Minimum deposit $1,000 Maximum deposit $100,000. Annual mm mm For Your Convenience We Accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Carte Blanche, DISCOVER THE DIFFERENCE! Shop Today 10 A.M. 9:30 P.M. St. Louis Percentage Yield accurate as of 51994 Not good with any.