Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 23

Today's tip Section 2C OBITUARIES 4-1 3C CLASSIFIED Monday OCTOBER 14, 1985 RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL Mevacta Retirement is to be enjoyed and you can learn how through a class being offer from 10 a.m. to noon at the Reno-Sparks YWCA. Cost is $7.50 for non-members. Details: 322-4531. Homes for retarded 'good neighbors' the plan, the new center had passed all required city, state and federal inspections by fire, health and education officials, residents were told in a recent neighborhood meeting.

The new home wants to be accepted by its neighbors, who should realize the other centers have been accepted in their communities, said Tim Melarkey, community education director for River Mountain Services, the center operator. RMS currently operates centers on McLean and Galleron ways in Sparks, and the state's Sierra Developmental Center has a home on Gault Way. All 15 families interviewed by the Gazette-Journal in the neighborhoods Sunday said they But some Sparks residents nervous By Wayne MeltonGazette-Journal The mentally retarded make fine neighbors, say several Sparks residents who live near group homes for the retarded. Not so certain are some residents of another Sparks neighborhood who disagree on whether a similar center should be allowed at 3125 Probasco Way. Their concerns appear to be moot, however, since city officials say the home for the retarded has already been approved.

Before most neighbors were aware of were not opposed to the centers, which don't bother them. Sparks officials told residents in the Probasco Way neighborhood that all who responded to a city survey of the McLean Way neighborhood said they were not opposed to the center on their street. Even so, "I definitely am opposed to it (the new center) because of what it could do to lower property values," said Probasco Way neighborhood resident Walter Gross after the meeting. "It's not the retarded people I have a problem with; I'm concerned about property values only," Gross said. His remarks were representative of some other Probasco Way residents at the meeting.

Freedom shortlived for prison inmate LAS VEGAS Steven Pelletier, a prison inmate serving 12 years for robbery, was captured by police Sunday a few hours after he walked away from an honor camp at the Indian Springs prison. Las Vegas police offier Mathew Alberto said Pelletier, 24, was taken without incident in his girlfriend's trailer in northeast Las Vegas. According to Alberto, prison officials did a bed check at the honor camp shortly after being notified by Metro police of the escape. However, prison guards still failed to notice the missing inmate. It wasn't until a second bed check that the escapee was missed.

Pelletier, who has been doing time since June 1981, is at least the eighth inmate to escape this year from the honor camp or the medium-security facility at the Indian Springs complex. Robin Bates, spokesman for the prison system, said Pelletier apparently walked away from the prison between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. and was picked up by someone he knew and driven to Las Vegas. Metro police arrested the man at about 3:30 a.m.

on a tip from a citizen. iff if KA Reno doctor leads academy Reno physician Richard Inskip was sworn in as 38th president of the American Academy of Family Physicians at a weekend ceremony in Anaheim, Calif. Inskip succeeds Dr. Robert Higgins of Bremerton, as head of the national association, which represents 55,000 family physicians and medical students. A group practice physician and clinical assistant professor at the University of Nevada School of Medical Sciences, Inskip has just completed one year as the AAFP's president-elect.

Inskip has served two years as speaker of AAFP's Congress of Delegates and three years as vice speaker. He has served on several AAFP commissions and committees. The AAFP, with headquarters in Kansas City, helped establish the family practice specialty in 1969. The academy also is a pioneer in continuing medical education, requiring its members to maintain 150 hours of approved credit every three years. But several neighbors of the other three homes said property values are no longer a major concern.

"We have no problem, any problems at all" living next to a center, said Betsy Pilliod of 544 McLean. "They're great people," said one neighbor who declined to give his name. "You don't even know they're there," said Diane Howell of 525 McLean, who also lives next to the center. "They're very quiet people. I don't know why some people supposedly are afraid." Several of Gross' neighbors said they would welcome the center and also do not believe property values should be a major See GROUP, page 2C Foundation not complying with state law By Ken MillerQazette-Journal A multimillion-dollar charitable foundation, carved from the estate of the late E.L.

Cord of Reno, has not met state reporting requirements for the past 10 years, the Attorney General's Office confirmed last week. The Cord Foundation, created in 1962 to benefit the needy, particularly in this area, was notified in a Sept. 24 letter from Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Stern that it had until Oct. 25 to comply with state law or face court action. Among other things, state officials want to know how the foundation plans to deal with the sensitive issue of turning over a controlling share of stock in a Reno television station to the Cord Foundation, which cannot legally keep the stock and maintain its tax-exempt status at the same time.

Ms. Stern did not imply any improprieties concerning the foundation, but she said the state must keep better informed about how the money is being handled. "We have jurisdiction over charitable trusts," she said in an interview. "We're just attempting to gain compliance with Nevada law." In her letter to Cord Foundation trustee Charles Cord, Ms. Stern said charitable trusts must report annually to the attorney general.

"To date, the Cord Foundation has failed to comply with the requirements of Nevada law," she said, adding if the foundation does not report by Oct. 25, "we will See CORD, page 2C Stateline name change enemies gird for battle By Laura MyersGazette-Journal There's a storm brewing over "Lake Tahoe, and many are complaining it came without warning. The storm is over whether the names of two unincorporated cities, Zephyr Cove and Stateline on the south shore of Lake Tahoe, should be changed to the more lucrative and tourist-oriented, Lake Tahoe, Nev. Two business groups on the south shore favor the name change, as did the Douglas County Commission in a recent vote. But two business groups on the north shore joined by 350 Zephyr Cove petition signers and the League to Save Lake Tahoe are making waves.

The storm clouds began to gather in early September when South Tahoe Marketing Council Executive Director David Attaway and the executive director of the Tahoe-Douglas Chamber of Commerce, Kathy Farrell, held a public meeting on the issue. A straw vote after the meeting showed 26 people in favor of the name change, with only one dissenter who said only See NAME, page 2C Champion eater lasts the course By Wayne MeltonGazette-Joumai If Larry Pizorno's mouth were an electric vacuum cleaner, it would have a lifetime warranty. "It makes me sick just watching him eat," said 32-year-old Reno maid Charlotte Malm at the 4th Annual Great Italian Festival on Sunday. Sparks airline stewardess Charlene Bybee complained she "couldn't watch" and "had to leave. It was just too much." Other spectators bellowed about their mild nausea while looking at Pizorno gulp his way to victory in the festival's first-ever spaghetti eating contest.

"Ohhhhh," scores of people moaned as Pizorno competed against seven other contestants in the Eldorado Hotel-Casino parking lot downtown. Despite a persistent echo of grunts and cheers, Pizorno seemed oblivious to the crowd. This, after all, was the local businessman's chance to publicly prove his lifelong love for spaghetti. With raccoon-like speed, Pizorno flashed handful after handful of pasta into his eager mouth, quickly discouraging anyone who had arrived with the mistaken impression this would be a high-brow affair. With his head held high, the robotlike competitor had his hand and mouth on automatic pilot, scooping and chomping constantly for 10 minutes before a crowd of nearly 400.

Indeed, if gluttony is an art, Pizorno had instantaneously become Reno's Michelangelo of Pasta Chomping. Except in matters of etiquette, the wiry 176-pound, 6-foot-l-inch Pizorno displayed eating skills far superior to the other contestants all local disc jockeys and media-types, some with more portly stature. While his competitors poked, prodded and chewed their food, Pizorno preferred to almost literally suck down his portion to the tune of about a week's worth of food, far more than his closest competitors. After weighing his remaining portion, contest officials calculated he ate 50 yards of spaghetti, enough to feed a family of seven in one sitting with plenty of leftovers. "These are hollow legs, that's how I do it," Pizorno said moments after savoring the victory, noting some spectators couldn't stand watching him because "they don't know how to eat." "They don't know the joys of the pasta, the joys of the food, the wonder of just inhaling it all in." Well, at least not in Pizorno's fashion.

Hundreds of people did visit several display booths to sample free Tom SottzGazette-Joumal IT'S OVER: Larry Pizorno gives a sigh of relief after winning the spaghetti-eating contest at the Great Italian Festival Sunday. I' They don't know the joys of the pasta, the joys of the food, the wonder of just inhaling it all in. Larry Pizorno spaghetti-eating champ Reno City Council Member Florence Lehners cooked her special recipe before spectators quickly gobbled the samples she provided. "I've never seen so much food go so fast," Lehners said, adding the secret to her sauce is the "basil, you can never get enough of it." Cooks at several other booths were tight-lipped about their recipes: "It's a secret; you just can't tell a secret," said Lido Forte of British Columbia, Canada. Pizorno, meanwhile, kept no secret about his desire to retain his crown.

Moments after leaving the competition platform, he was challenged by a man in the crowd who said he intends to win next year. "I'll be ready," Pizorno said, wiping sauce off his chin. "I'll be ready." Child Find Project The Washoe County School District recently announced it has a Child Find Project, which locates children in need of special education. School officials said special education services are avilable for children who are deaf, hard of hearing, speech-impaired, visually handicapped, mentally handicapped, seriously emotionally disturbed, orthopedically impaired or suffering from learning disabilities. For more information, contact Jacqueline Wright, Child Find Project coordinator, at 322-4862.

Programs are avilable for county residents ages 3 to 21. 2 scholarships available HAWTHORNE Wassuk College will have two new scholarships available to a 1986 graduating senior from Mineral County High School. Day ZimmermannBasil Corp. is offering a $500 scholarship to students wishing to pursue business, computer information systems and management. Preference will be given to dependents of DZB employees.

The Viani family is sponsoring the "Papa Joe Viani Memorial Scholarship" for $200. "The scholarship is presented with no special provisions," said Julia Viani, widow of the longtime community leader. "It is available to any student in need." Water flow analyzed FERNLEY The flow of water into the Fernley area is made up mostly of canal seepage and irrigation diversions, a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey shows. The USGS estimates about 45,000 acre-feet of water per year goes into the 120-square-mile area, 30 miles east of Sparks.

The area is going through a transition from rural to a more urban setting. From 1960-80, the population increased more than fivefold from about 650 to 3,300. The report, prepared in cooperation with the Nevada Division of Water Resources, updates an evaluation of Fernley area water resources made before the rapid growth. Outdoor survival tips ELKO Marty Shaw will present tips about outdoor survival at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the board room of Elko General Hospital.

The free presentation is aimed at those who engage in outdoor activities in the Elko County area, Shaw said. The two-hour presentation will include a film, slides and a talk on basic survival skills, emphasizing an "every-day, common sense approach" Tom SpltzGazette-Joumal TEAMWORK: Reno Mayor Pete Sfer-razza holds the bottle while Miss Reno, Michelle Lopez, stomps the grapes. When a child needs a special friend, call a CAS A Cottontail Ranch rises from ashes By Doug McMillanGazetle-Journal GOLDFIELD The working girls of the Cottontail Ranch took time off from their regular duties Sunday afternoon to pour champagne for the "grand reopening" of the legal bordello 15 miles south of Goldfield. Beverly Harrell, one of Nevada's most famous madams by virtue of her unsuccessful run for the Nevada Assembly 10 years ago, rebuilt her "pleasure palace" after fire destroyed the old one last June. Several hundred guests, including four skydivers who tried to land on a brightly colored bed placed in the parking lot, dropped in to help her dedicate the new brothel.

Brisk winds kept the skydivers from hitting the bed but they each still got a big hug and kiss from a Cottontail prostitute. It was 18 years to the day since Harrell opened her famous bordello at Lida Junction, a piece of desert almost as desolate as Death Valley See GRAND, page 2C a broad spectrum of the community because all of the cases are different. "CASAs don't have to have any special education or background. But if they do have special skills, those skills are matched to special needs of children as assignments come here." A diverse group in education and work experience, CASAs in the program now range in age from 24 to 75. Poloni explained the duties of a CASA as interviewing the child, parents, teachers, friends, counselors and "anyone else involved in the child's life." From this investigation, the volunteer then must write a clear, concise report on the findings to the judge, with a recommendation for handling the case.

The CASA may be called on to testify in court hearings, sometimes with opposing attorneys, representing different parents, doing the questioning. When McGee issues court orders in a case, such as requiring parents to undergo counseling, therapy or drug or alcohol abuse treatment programs, the CASAs follow through to see that these orders are carried out. McGee said CASAs, who are in weekly contact with families, are the best people to monitor court orders because social See CHILD, page 2C Our only purpose is to advocate for the abused, neglected and dependent child, Toni Poloni, coordinator Washoe County CASA program adding an extra insight into the decisionmaking process." A program started in 1982 by the Junior League of Reno, CASAs now number 72 in Washoe County and McGee said it will reach 100 by the end of the year. They have been appointed by the court to 111 cases involving 148 children. With rare exceptions, CASAs are appointed to just one case at a time and are expected to represent the child or children in that case until the court's jurisdiction is ended, usually about two years.

"The qualifications are mostly that they be mature, responsible adults with good judgment," Poloni said. "They have to have the ability to relate to families in stressful situations. They have to be able to communicate both orally and in writing. In our volunteers, we have and want By Michael PhillisGazette-Journal Many times, the best friend an abused or neglected child can have is a complete stranger. Even though court powers have been broadened, prosecutors have become-tougher and social workers have developed a keener eye, abused and neglected children need a friend a court.

In Reno they have one Court Appointed Special Advocates or CASAs. "Our only purpose is to advocate for the abused, neglected and dependent child," said Toni Poloni, administrative coordinator of Washoe County's CASA program. "We try to promote cooperation among the agencies that deal with these children, but we're in no way a partner. Our recommendations to the court are independent and we prepare an independent and factual report that goes directly to the juvenile judge." "Children are often intimidated by both the parents and the court process, so they clam up," Washoe District Judge Charles McGee, the district's juvenile judge, said. "So the best aspect of the program is that in CASAs they have a champion of their best interests.

They (CASAs) can tell what really happened and what's on their (children's) mind, ft. Wire service and staff reports.