Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 43

Nevada Healthy help Sunday JULY 30, 1989 RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL CITY EDITOR: MORGAN CARTWRIGHT, 788-6397 Section 2D ACROSS NEVADA 4D OBITUARIES The Washoe District Health Department and the Senior Citizens Center offer senior health services to those 60 and over. Open weekdays 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at Ninth and Sutro. Details: 328-2482. Common Cause takes aim at pension referendum The last straw came when legislators voted themselves a 300 percent pension boost; it was, one member said, "abysmal arrogance." That night, frustration quickly turned to anger.

"I'll work myself to the bone," Executive Director Leola Armstrong pledged to board members. "It couldn't be any worse," one member said. "You have everything to gain and nothing to lose." Thus began what could be the 15-year-old chapter's most ambitious effort to sculpt public policy. This September, volunteers armed with card tables and pens will converge on supermarkets and shopping malls to try to get enough signatures for a referendum and an initiative on the 1990 general election ballot. The referendum would repeal the pen sion boost and the initiative would limit campaign contributions and spending.

"The Legislature didn't know what it was bringing down on itself," member John Townley said about the pension hike. "It's too good to be true." Too good, he said, because the pension boost is evidence that the people no longer have a say in running Nevada. "We need to bring the state of politics before the people," the retired historian said, "and we will with this petition drive." But is it possible? For both petition drives, the group needs 35,700 signatures, or 10 percent of those who voted in the last general election in 13 of Nevada's 16 counties. Signatures to get a referendum on the ballot to repeal the pension hike must be collected by May 4 and by June 1 for a campaign reform initiative. Lobby group wants vote on lawmakers' benefits, campaign spending By Martha MillerGazette-Journal Less than two weeks after the 1989 Legislature finally broke up, a group of citizens gathered around a table in the basement of a Reno bank.

The Common Cause members were feeling ignored by state lawmakers. Two minor amendments they supported one calling for the registration of political action committees and another mandating separate bank accounts for campaign contributions were passed, but most members felt that was a hollow victory for the watchdog group that used to carry more weight in Carson City. "It's going to be difficult," chapter president Jim Hulse said. "We've been told to collect 50,000 signatures to be safe and we don't have 5,000 at this point." They also don't have much money or "fat cats" as the group likes to say. Common Cause, a national organization, does not accept any corporate or foundation contributions.

It is supported by membership contributions and a $25 membership fee, part of which is returned to individual state chapters. Hulse said there are about 750 Nevada members, with 400 in Reno, Sparks and Carson City and about 250 in Las Vegas. The rest live in rural counties, he said. Townley said most members are associated with the University of Nevada or are political idealists who haven't made any headway in the state's two major See COMMON, page 8D Orangutan trainer answers abuse charge LAS VEGAS Animal trainer Bobby Berosini, whose orangutan act was indefinitely pulled from the Stardust Hotel, says he still has hotel management's vote of confidence. The 42-year-old performer is being accused of beating his orangutans backstage.

He keeps eight of the animals at his southwest Las Vegas home. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a Washington animal-rights lobby, has viewed a videotape showing Berosini striking his animals backstage. The tape is also being played by Reno, Las Vegas and Los Angeles television stations. Jeanne Roush, PETA's director of research and investigations, was in Las Vegas Saturday as part of the group's investigation. Roush is a licensed private investigator with a master's degree in anthropology from the University of Oklahoma.

She said anonymous eyewitnesses claimed to have seen abuse. Berosini's orangutans have performed in such movies as Clint Eastwood's "Every Which Way But Loose" and Burt Reynolds' "Cannonball Run." Berosini said management's vote of confidence came Saturday during a telephone conversation with Chuck Ruthe, a senior executive at the Boyd Group, the hotel's parent company. He said Ruthe told him that the hotel will stand behind him 100 percent. Fight for ground-waft er nghls California Bpart of Truckee New nursing dean at UNR The Orvis School of Nursing has a new dean. Sydney Krampitz was selected from a pool of 28 applicants and took over the post early this month.

She succeeds former dean Marion Schrum, Krampitz who retired last year. Before coming to the University of Nevada-Reno, Krampitz was associate dean and director of graduate programs in nursing at the University of Kansas. During the last eight years there, she administered statewide graduate programs in nursing, developed and implemented thousands of dollars in federal grants to support new doctoral programs in nursing and engaged in a full range of teaching, research and community service activities. During her career, Krampitz has served as the associate chief of nursing service for research at the Veterans Medical Center in Hines, 111., director of the Diecke Center for Nursing in Elmhurst, 111., and director of the Evangelical School of Nursing in Oaklawn, 111. A well-known author on nursing issues, nearly two-dozen of Krampitz's articles have appeared in various professional nursing publications.

She is listed in the 1988 Who's Who in American Nursing. pPjr jf. i 1 i -J ygjr eff': negotiations By Jane Braxton LittleGazette-Journal SUSANVILLE, Calif. State and local officials, angry over a Washoe County plan to import ground water from the Nevada side of the Honey Lake basin, say they will make the issue of shared ground-water basins a part of negotiations over the Truckee River. California Sen.

John T. Doolittle, R-Rocklin, has asked the California Department of Water Resources to include Honey Lake Valley and other ground-water basins on the California-Nevada border in a final agreement on the division of water from the Truckee River. "We seek a commitment from the state of Nevada that no more ground water be taken from basins shared with California than what is determined to be a safe yield before the state of California agrees to a final settlement on the Truckee River," Doolittle said. Negotiations over the Truckee River, initiated 30 years ago by the federal government, the Pyramid Lake Paiutes, and the states of California and Nevada, could reach a settlement this year, officials said. Nevada gets the lion's share of the Truckee's water, even though the river emerges from Lake Tahoe in California.

For years the two states have adhered to a 1970 distribution agreement, but that pact has never been ratified by Congress. The Reno-Sparks area gets t5 percent of its domestic water from the river. The Lassen County Board of Supervisors has formally protested 29 applications filed by Washoe County for an additional 29,000 acre-feet of Honey Lake ground water. The supervisors also asked Doolittle to carry special emergency legislation creating a Honey Lake groundwater management district. "Washoe County is going full speed ahead, ignoring everybody," said Lassen County Supervisor Helen Williams.

"We would like a guarantee that we will have water available for future generations." The actions followed approval Tuesday by the Washoe County Commission of a special use permit for the county's $86 million plan to import water from the Honey Lake basin 35 miles north of Reno. The permit to run a pipeline from Fish Springs Ranch to Reno does not violate Nevada's agreement with California to suspend ground-water development until See LASSEN, page 6D Craig SailorGazette-Journal and sodas Saturday in Pat Baker Park after the anti-drug march through northeast Reno. ANTI-DRUGS: Alice Burton of Stead, holding up her 10-month-old daughter Angel, and others enjoyed hot dogs Marchers take to streets for drug-free city but was curious as to why representatives could not be sent. "I want to be fair," he said. "I did not press the city leaders to come to the march.

But when you tell people that you're having an anti-drug march and start advertising zero tolerance and no one from the City Council shows up, you can't say that there is zero tolerance." Butler said he had received a great deal of support from the city leaders in other anti-drug efforts and understood that many of the officials had previous engagements and couldn't make the march. But he had hoped for some sort Organizer disappointed no city officials attended By Mark McCormickGazette-Journal Rev. Don Butler called an anti-drug march Saturday through northeast Reno a success, but said he was disappointed at the absence of some city and county leaders who have pledged to fight drug use. Butler, who organized the march of about 25 people, said the absence of local leaders was particularly discouraging in light of a recently "Zero Tolerance." The public-relations campaign is sponsored in part by area businesses and the Washoe County District Attorney's Office. "There is a campaign, allegedly in Washoe County, which says zero tolerance," Butler, pastor of the First Baptist Church, tola the group of supporters at the end of the march at Pat Baker Park in northeast Reno.

"Well, I don't see any of those zero tolerance folks here, but we're here. This is our community and we want to send a message forth that we will not tolerate any drugs in this area." Butler said he wasn't necessarily criticizing city leaders who didn't come, Middle school panel formed A task force has been formed to study possible changes and proposed strategies for the state's middle schools. The state Board of Education recently completed appointments to the task force, which is scheduled to meet four to six times during the 1989-90 school year. The members: From Washoe County: Daniel Carter, Linda Brown, Deborah Cylke, Maurice Moyle, Yvonne Shaw, Dede Goodnight, Karen Smith and Janet O'Brien. From Clark County: Christine Shaw-Taylor, Ken Fowler, Pamela Kay Feccino, Penny Porter, Wayne Tanaka, Lou Silvestri, John Hill, Liz Pohe, Manuel Gamazo, Robert Dickinson.

From Carson City: Christine Eakin and Barry Hensler. From Douglas County: Klaire Pirtle. From White Fine County: Florindo Mariani. From Mineral County: Lee Peterson. impaign dubbed See DRUG, page 6D iiapivwea-aniMUaU! cj Carson man arrested ftftafter 5-car accident By Ron FittenGazette-Journal V.

is 'i i 3 I I A Carson City man was arrested for investigation of reckless driving and driving under the influence Saturday after he allegedly triggered a dramatic five-car crash on a busy intersection in Sparks. One vehicle was crushed, two others appeared demolished, and two others were severely damaged after the late-afternoon crash at Pyramid and Prater v. A Toxic releases triple in state; blast blamed By Mike NorrisGazette-Journal Toxic releases in Nevada more than tripled over the last two years, due largely to a May 1988 explosion of several million pounds of a rocket fuel ingredient at a Henderson plant. According to reports submitted to federal and state environmental protection authorities, businesses released nearly 3.6 million pounds of toxic chemicals into Nevada's air, water and land in 1987, led by a Pennsylvania metallurgical firm with two plants in Churchill County. The following year, figures show total emissions soared to 11.5 million pounds.

The largest contributor was ammonium perchlorate, a rocket fuel oxidizer manufactured at the Pacific Engineering and Production Co. plant in Henderson, where a massive explosion killed two people and injured 326 others. Ironically, neither ammonium perchlorate nor sodium cyanide millions of pounds of which are used in mining were among chemicals that companies were required to report. A total of 30 companies with Nevada operations submitted reports for 1987, and 23 for 1988. Of the total 37 firms that reported for 1987 and 1988, nearly two dozen are in Washoe and Clark counties.

Businesses must report toxic emissions under the 1986 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know Act passed by Congress. The law was passed by Congress in response to the 1984 chemical leak at Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, which resulted in thousands of deaths and injuries. The purpose of the law is to increase public knowledge about the location of hazardous chemicals in the communities and to encourage community planning See TOXIC, page 3D Juvenile justice award The state of Nevada has been awarded $325,000 to pay for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention programs. The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice's office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and is based on the number of people under the age of 18 in the state.

The money will support programs that develop, maintain and expand juvenile delinquency prevention services. Indians get HUD grant Rep. Barbara Vucanovich, has announced the Washoe Indian Reservation has been awarded a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Secretary Jack Kemp approved a grant of $1,475,663 for the Washoe Housing Authority to provide housing units for Indians living on the Washoe Indian Reservation.

Staff reports I ways. No one was seriously injured, although several people were taken to hospitals and treated for cuts and Sruises. They were later released. Scott M. Barela, 26, of Carson City was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence, running a red light, driving without insurance and obstructing a police officer, Sparks police officer Joe DeWeese said.

According to witnesses and law enforcement officials, a man was speeding northbound down Pyramid Way when he drove through a red light and was struck by a pickup traveling west on Prater Way. The pickup careened into a car that was also traveling west on Prater Way, police said. Meanwhile, the speeding car rammed into a black pickup, which was in the left-turn lane on southbound Pyramid Way. It also rammed into another pickup, which was traveling south on Pyramid Way. "We're extremely lucky no one was seriously injured or killed out of this," said DeWeese.

"Some people were transported to Sparks Family Hospital and Washoe Medical Center, but that was basically for treatment of cuts and bruises." "The case is still under investigation," DeWeese said. See SMASHUP, page 4D Doug DuranGazette-Journal GET YOUR GOAT: Meredith Sailing, 3, of Sparks, makes a friend at the Sundae in the Park benefit for the Salvation Army Family Emergency Shelter Saturday at Pickett Park. The event continues today from 1 1 am. to 6 p.m..