The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 3

The Salina Journal Thursday, October 6,1983 Page 3 Crisis Hotiine almost ready for opening By ROD LAKE Staff Writer It's 2 a.m., and a drunken teenager stumbles into his parents' home. An angry father waiting. The dangerous combination of alcohol and anger explodes into a life-threatening situation. The frightened father dials 827-4747. "My 15-year-old son just came home drunk and I got so angry I tried to beat some sense into him but now he's passed out and I don't know what to do," the father says.

Volunteers at the Dial Help-Crisis Hotline are now training to cope with such emergency situations. The three-week, 26-hour program will be completed tonight. Salina's only 24-hour hotline number, 8274747, or 8-CRISIS, is expected to be operational by Monday. Although there are other local emergency services, a Salina Social Service Council task force study which was completed a year ago indicated a need for an all-purpose crisis hotline. The report convinced a group of volunteers and social service professionals to organize the hotline.

The Saline County Commission then appropriated $1,000 to pay for the first year of phone service. The organization defines a crisis as "anything that causes people to think they are in a crisis." Because such an assortment of topics as alcohol, drugs, child abuse, sexuality, depression, suicide, rape and incest will be discussed, the volunteers practice the situations during role-playing sessions. They are provided with a "lead-in statement," such as the drunken parent story, and then must respond to the situation. "Role-playing is designed to make the volunteer feel comfortable with any kind of call they get," said Judy Wasko, hotline chairman. "Mostly the statements deal with emotional, value-laden situations such as abortion or homosexuality, that really tax the volunteer." Ten facilitators, with master's degrees in counseling or with experience on other hotlines, then critique the volunteers.

Wasko said she expects the 27 volunteers, ranging in age from 20 to 73, will deal mostly with non-emergency calls. "Mainly I see the phone being used for information and referral such as, 'Where can I get or 'Where can I find and then we refer them to that agency," Wasko said. "We'll get a lot of calls where somebody just wants to ventilate some feelings at that moment and nobody else will listen to them." Each volunteer was issued a 94-page training manual, tailored to meet Salina's needs. The manual includes a list of local agencies for referrals, a section on counseling skills and general information on topics ranging from alcohol to suicide. To complement the training manual, coun- Photo Illustration by Scott Williams Dial Help-Crisis Hotline will open Monday to help troubled persons.

selors from local agencies such as the Domestic Violence Association of Central Kansas, Social and Rehabilitation Services and Adult and Community Counseling were invited to the training sessions. The hotline plans to operate from its central office during the day. Through the use of a call-forwarding technique, night calls will be taken by volunteers in their "There are some advantages and disadvantages to that," Wasko said. "If they're not the kind of person who sleeps through a phone call and can wake up fairly alert, there won't be a problem. "But it's vital that there are no background noises so that the caller knows they are the only person who is important to the listener," she said.

Another flaw of the call-forwarding system arises in emergency situations, Wasko said. For example, if the volunteer receives a call from someone contemplating suicide, the listener can't put the caller on hold and use an outside line to seek help. Instead, the volunteer would have to deal with the emergency by disconnecting the caller and then dialing 911, the emergency number. "It would be ideal for the volunteer working in the office to have a shiftmate," Wasko said. "Our goal would be to have the hotline entirely operated out of the office with two people on a shift.

But I don't foresee that happening for about a year." Wasko said a fully staffed hotline needs 50 to 60 helpers. Another training session is planned for November to recruit more volunteers. "The one thing the volunteers have in common is that they are very caring people. They're what we call natural helpers," Wasko said. "We have a few volunteers who are homemakers who have had very few life experiences.

Others have experienced some really traumatic crises. "Those people remember what it's like to not have a support system, or they did have help, and they want to return that favor by serving on the phone." Whatever the reasons for becoming volunteers, the Dial Help-Crisis Hotline has a common goal, Wasko said. "If we can do anything it is to be there when somebody needs us," she said. "We call it nonjudgmental listening because we're not going to judge them or place our values on them. We'll just be there for them." Downtown project sparks new group By GORDON FIEDLER Jr.

Staff Writer About 100 people with interests in the 'city's possible downtown redevelopment plans gathered at the Salina Hilton Inn Wednesday night and learned of the birth of Salina Civic Center Inc. The day-old non-profit organic tion is aimed at assisting the proposed revitalization of the central business district. The announcement was made by John Poos, chairman of the eight- member Business Improvment District Committee. Poos filed incorporation papers Tuesday. Salina Civic Center Inc.

will attempt to mirror the efforts of a similar group in Wausau, which played an integral role in a $52 mil- The Salina Journal P.O. Boa ZIP Cod. 07401 Published seven days a week, 365 days per year at JM S. 4lh, Salina, Kansas, by- Salina Journal, Inc. (USPS47MW) Fred Vandegrift, President and Publisher Harris Rayl, Editor Second-class postage paid at SaUna, Kansas.

Additional mailings made from Hays and Colby Kansas. Founded February IMWl Department Heads Managing Editor: Bill Mertens. Photo Editor: Frftt Wendell. tijfjcftbui! Paul Webb, director. Advertising: Gary Wannker, sales manager.

Jim Pickett, production manager. Circulation: Hike Allen, manager. Herbert Laue, mall foreman. Production: Kennela Ottley, composing foreman. Howard Gruber, press foreman, Batumi: Jotaw Ar.aCod.WJ WaUIMJM ww ralM Dally tot- Sunday By Carrier Monthly rate 17.00 Including atlas lai.

By Koto Monthly Including sales city Motor Route SWM as 'By Carrier 1 rate. Mall subscriptions available In areas not serviced by carrier or motor routes. Send change of address to The Sattna Journal, p. 0. Hoi SaUna, Kansas If your Salina Journal Is not delivered by 7:00 a.m., call your carrier or Circulation Department at BWJM or (out at town subscrtbera.) Tbe Circulation lion downtown regional shopping center project.

The Wausau group raised money to pay expenses that likely would not be covered by tax dollars, such as lobbying trips to Washington, the state capital and for paying various legal services. About 50 Salinans on two separate fact-finding tours in July and September visited Wausau's downtown project and those in Mankato, Iowa City, Iowa; Dubuque, Iowa, and Muskegon, Mich. Downtown merchants have pledged $66,000 for the fledgling corporation, to be added to the estimated $48,000 expected to come from assessments within the downtown improvement Those attending the Wednesday meeting viewed slides of the five cities and discussed the different downtown projects. Of the five cities, only Mankato, which converted the heart of its retail shopping area into a climate- controlled shopping mall by covering a portion of the main street, seemed to have excited the majority of the Salina contingent, which included Commissioners Fortino Bonilla, Merle Hodges and Mayor John Burgess. Hodges, Bonilla, Burgess and Commissioner Joe Ritter were at Wednesday's meeting.

Commissioner Charles Roth did not attend. Downtown merchant Bob Vis- hneski, who perhaps spoke for others at the meeting, asked if proponents of a revitalized downtown were entering a race with Arkansas real estate developer Ed Warmack, who has worked toward building a regional shopping center at the corner of South Ninth and Magnolia. "If we are, we better get with the program," Vishneski said. "We'd better get started." Poos said the next step will be for his committee which he wants to expand from eight to 12 to bring in developers to provide costs and concepts. Gerald Shadwick, president of First National Bank and Trust, visited all cities and said in those with successful projects, community support was an eventual necessity.

He said Salina's downtown project was doomed to fail if it's seen as a downtown retail project. Retail stores, he said, occupy about 17 percent of the core area. Nine arrested in McPherson drug case Department open from 5:00 a.m. to p.m. Monday thru Friday and SJB.

to 11:00 noon Saturday and Sunday. The advertising and bustoeas otfke will close on Saturday! 1:00 p.m. (HNS) Nine people were arrested Tuesday night and two more were sought as the result of a five-month undercover drug investigation in McPherson County, Sheriff Harris Terry said Wednesday. Terry said most of those arrested where accused of selling less than a pound of marijuana to a paid civilian informant or a Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent. Terry said the arrests primarily were for sale or possession of marijuana.

One suspect was charged with sale of marijuana and sale of an uncontrolled substance. Terry said Schmidt is accused of attempting to make "crystal," a form of amphetamine, but the substance made actually contained no am- phetamines. He said a laboratory was not found. A McPherson man was charged with burglary of a storage shed and felony theft of an air conditioner. Terry said the informant bought the stolen air conditioner during the investigation.

Another suspect was arrested on two counts of sale of an uncontrolled substance. Terry said those counts accuse the woman of selling fake crystal and fake cocaine. By late Wednesday morning, several of the suspects had been freed on bonds ranging from $1,500 to $5,500. "We feel we've got at least two of the major dealers in town," Terry said, adding the county spent at least $5,000 in the investigation, and it was money well spent. He said the informant bought some drugs, but set up most of the drug buys with a KBI agent as the purchaser.

There is a possibility that two more arrest warrants will be issued because of the investigation, Terry said. Terry said the arrests took place from 6 to 10 p.m. and required the work of all of his staff, KBI agents and McPherson police officers. "We assisted with six officers," said McPherson Police Chief Bob Perkins. "We were satisfied with the whole operation and glad to cooperate with the sheriff's department." Irrigation district accepting petitions in Kanopolis area By LINDA MOWERY-DENNING Great Plains Editor LINDSBORG The Kanopolis Irrigation District, after a stormy history that dates back to the 1950s, is in the process of a recovery that could depend on how many friends the KID has left in the Smoky Hill River Valley.

Clinton Lundquist, KID president from Lindsborg, said Wednesday that the board is now processing petitions from farmers who wish to be in the district. 1 Lundquist said there are about 6,500 acres of irrigation land left in the KID, plus another 1,000 acres that the old board wouldn't accept. He hopes this summer's drought might encourage even more landowners to consider irrigation. "We want to work with all the different people and towns in the area," Lundquist said, "to see how many acres we've got left in the district and how we can best serve them." In April, after a district hearing in which landowners were allowed to withdraw from the district, Lundquist found himself the KID's only elected official. The other two board members, Dean Wiederstein and L.A.

"Blackie" Nelson, both of Marquette, were among the landowners who petitioned out of the district. At the same time, the KID had about 13,000 acres of irrigation land removed from its boundaries. In September, the board was reestablished with Lundquist appointing new members Duane Johnson and Irva Brandt, both of Lindsborg. "I'd say they're back in business as an irrigation district," said Glen Kirk, Kansas representative for the Federal Bureau of Reclamation. Kirk said many questions need to be answered before the district can be considered feasible.

"The more acres you have," Kirk said, "the less cost per acre you have In operation and maintenance." Lundquist predicted the largest part of the new district would cover an area that runs roughly from near Marquette to Lindsborg. Kirk said the district's land pattern nteds to be considered because, if there are too many isolated tracts, the distribution system could force the KID into expensive right-of- ways across land that is outside the district. "An alternative might be a series of riverside pumping units, but each unit would need to serve more than one acreage," Kirk said. He added that Kansas officials, in the process of developing a state water plan, are interested in the KID because they need to know how much water to reserve for irrigation. The Division of Water Resources also would need to review the KID's water filing and scale it to a smaller district, Kirk said.

Kanopolis Reservoir was built in .1948 as a flood control project. A year later, the Corps of Engineers and the Board of Reclamation agreed a portion of the storage space in Kanopolis Lake would be made available to irrigation. KID was organized in 1958 and almost two decades later, in 1976, Congress authorized construction of the project. But lawmakers never took the next step of approving funds for district construction. Over the years, there were several attempts to dissolve the district.

Opponents objected to the district's cost, which was estimated at $40.7 million in 1976. They also didn't want the water level at Kanopolis raised, an action they believed would have been detrimental to recreation. They feared farmers would end up paying for water they weren't getting because irrigation takes a back seat to domestic and municipal use. If the KID survives, Kirk said there are several ways to fund construction, including a distribution system loan from the federal government. Briefly Governor up, conducting business TOPEKA (UPI) Gov.

John Carlin, hospitalized for back injuries suffered in an automobile accident last week, was able to get out of his hospital bed Wednesday and walk for the first tune since the accident. Mike Swenson, Carlin's press secretary, said the governor walked "quite a bit" and was able to do so with some ease. "He's been doing very well," said Swenson. "He's had a pretty active day, both from the standpoint of getting state business done and with his recovery." Carlin talked with members of his staff on the telephone several times during the day and was able to conduct some state business, Swenson said. Although Carlin's physician still has not decided when he will be discharged from the hospital, Swenson said the governor wants to be released by Sunday so he can attend the Midwestern Governors' Conference, which begins in Lawrence that day.

Today, Carlin will conduct a news conference at the hospital. It will be the first time he has met with the media at large since the accident. Bargain struck on threats charges TOPEKA (UPI) An unemployed former disc jockey pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony theft by threat and officials dismissed charges of making terroristic threats against the governor and president. James Buchanan, 31, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Shawnee County District Court to one count of felony theft by threat, punishable by one to five years in prison. Assistant District Attorney Bill Ossmann said two charges of ter- roristic threat were dismissed in a plea bargain arrangement.

The terroristic threat charges had named President Reagan, Gov. John Carlin and the governor's 18-year-old daughter, Lisa. Buchanan was arrested Aug. 15 after he walked into Carlin's office, allegedly threatened Reagan and the governor and demanded $250,000 for the return of Lisa Carlin. Although Miss Carlin was not kidnapped, an earlier kidnapping hoax in March prompted a two-hour search for her.

Olathe slayings bring guilty plea OLATHE (UPI) A 21-year-old man Wednesday pleaded guilty to killing two teenage sisters and to beating their brother while the children's father was asleep in the family's Kansas City suburban home in January. Michael J. Cade entered pleas of guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of kidnapping, rape, aggravated burglary and aggravated battery. Cade, who was charged in April, admitted slaying Kelly Duffield, 17, and her sister, Janelle, 12, and beating Paul Duffield, 15. who survived the Jan.

28 attack. He pleaded guilty to abducting and raping Kelly Duffield, whose body was found 11 days after the attack in a ditch near a lake. Dennis Moore, Johnson County prosecuting attorney, said the state will ask for the maximum penalty of the murder and kidnapping convictions life in prison. Cade pleaded guilty to every charge against him in the Duffield case as part of a plea agreement with the state. In that agreement, the state agreed to dismiss a charge against Cade involving a burglary of a school and to drop an aggravated burglary charge in another case in which Cade pleaded guilty to robbery..