The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 1

Central boys fall short against Manhattan in I-70 League A look back Exhibit looks into treatment of blacks through history C1 OlttAT PLAINS GhNIIOS lOT KOCH: Troubled Koch Industries plans layoffs A6 PPOtBSt COMtaUOO; Cuban moms demand the U.S. return boy A8 1 Ugh: 64 Low: 82 Mostly sunny and warm today with west wind WEATHER the Salimi Journal Qstvttirtj-t AlnstA "1 QTM Classified C4 Comics B8 Deaths A9 Great Plains B1 Religion B6 Viewpoints C2 INDEX Serving Kansas since 1871 SATURDAY JANUARY 15,2000 SALINA, KANSAS 50 cents SALINA REGIONAL HEALTH CENTER MARC HALL The Salina Journal Dr. Mace Braxton poses for a picture Friday at Salina Regional Health Center with his patient, Raymond Rahe, 64, and his wife Thelma from Ellsworth. Heartful celebration Hospital's heart team, patients salute successful first year of program By KARA RHODES The Salina Journal Robert Gould; No. 19, came to Salina Regional Health Center Friday afternoon to celebrate.

It was a different feeling for Gould, 66, Salina, and his wife, Delores, who were at the hospital back on March 26 when Gould had open-heart surgery because his arteries were 95 percent blocked. "Dr. Braxton is the Gould, who was the 19th patient to have open-heart surgery at the hospital. His wife agreed. "Dr.

(Mace) Braxton prayed with us before surgery," she said. "He told me he could feel the prayers of people during surgery." There were similar stories told all over the conference room at the hospital where more than 60 open-heart surgery patients, their families and hospital staff gathered to share in the celebration of the hospital's first year of open-heart surgery. The first surgery was Jan. 14,1999, when Elfreida Schneider, Lucas underwent a successful operation. Her husband, Vernon, had open-heart surgery at the hospital in March.

He Every one of them is conscientious. You feel like you're their only patient. DaleSoukup patient No. 25 in the first year of Dr. Mace Braxton's heart surgery program was No.

22. Dale Soukup, No. 25, had surgery April 28. Dale, 55 and his wife, Alice, said the terrifying experience of open-heart surgery was alleviated by the hospital staff. "The support you wouldn't believe," Alice said.

"Whenever I was scared or confused about what was happening, Dr. Braxton was right there. He didn't make me feel like any question was stupid I've never met a man like him. You can't learn the kind of compassion he has." Dale said the entire heart team made him feel confident about the surgery. "Every one of them is conscientious," he said.

"You feel like you're their only patient." Helen Graves, the mother of Gov. Bill Graves, had open-heart surgery at the hospital in 1999. While out of town on vacation Friday, she called Braxton during the party to wish him well and congratulate him on his first year in Salina. Spirituality and surgery Like Graves, many of the patients wapted to credit Braxton and his team for their ongoing health. But Braxton said prayer and spirituality are what give him and his staff the courage to continue in their jobs.

"Though we know a lot in medicine, it's important to acknowledge we don't know everything," he said. "There's so many imponderables." Calling the birthday party a "culr mination of a dream," Braxton had his picture taken Friday with all of his patients. Looking for a second surgeon Randy Peterson, the hospital's chief executive officer, watched Braxton as he shook hands and greeted guests. The hospital invested about $4.5 million in the heart program. Because of how well it has been doing and the growing demand for its service, talks have begun on adding another heart surgeon, Peterson said.

With 40 percent of patients coming from outside Saline County, there is demand enough to support a second surgeon, he said. In its first year, there have been 116 open-heart patients. "The heart program moves us to another level of service," Peterson said. "We have a whole continuum it's a lot of pride for our entire staff and a real recruiting point." Braxton took a minute between talking to former patients and their families to reflect on the past year. "One of my professors told me once I needed to go where I was needed," he said.

"When I found Salina, it looked like a place that really needed a surgeon." Reporter Kara Rhodes can be reached at 823-6464, Ext. 167. or by email at SUPREME COURT High court to take on abortion, Boy Scouts Justices to decide whether states can ban procedure called partial-birth abortion By The Associated Press WASHINGTON The Supreme Court reclaimed center stage in the legal and moral war over abortion Friday by agreeing to decide whether states may ban a surgical procedure opponents call "partial-birth abortion." The justices said they will review a Nebraska law that made it a crime for doctors to perform such abortions. A federal appeals court has blocked enforcement of that law, calling it unconstitutional. Nearly identical laws have been enacted by 30 states, but courts have blocked STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION Salinan to run for Hill's seat Wyatt, a 53-year-old attorney, wants evolution in curriculum; Johnson County woman to run enforcement of most of them.

Congress enacted a federal ban on partial-birth abortions but President Clinton vetoed it. The court has not issued a major abortion ruling since 1992 when it reaffirmed tne core holding of its JQ73 decision in a case ca ll Hoe vs. Wade. That landmark decision said women have a constitutional right to end their pregnancies. Although the legal controversy swirls around a specific procedure, far more may be at stake.

Abortion-rights advocates say the court's eventual decision could broadly safeguard or dramatically erode abortion rights, depending on what state legislatures can consider when regulating abortions. The court will hear arguments in the Nebraska case in April. A decision is expected by July. The surgical procedure involves partially extracting a fetus, legs first, through the birth canal, cutting the skull and draining its contents. Partial- birth abortion is not a medical term.

Doctors call the method dilation and extraction, or In unanimously striking down the Nebraska law, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law's wording could also outlaw a more common procedure called dilation and evacuation, or Scouts vs. gays Taking on emotional issues of free speech and homosexuality, the Supreme Court also agreed to decide whether the Boy Scouts of America can exclude gays By CAROL CRUPPER Harris News Sen'lce as members and troop leaders. The justices said they will decide whether the organization had a constitutional right to oust a young troop leader after learning he is gay. The court is expected to hear arguments in April and issue a decision by July.

New Jersey's highest court ruled last summer that the Boy Scouts' denial of membership to homosexual boys and leaders violated a state law banning discrimination in public accommodations. But the Scouts' lawyer contends that law violated the organization's rights of free speech and free association under the Constitution's First Amendment. "Scouting adheres to a moral belief that homosexual conduct is not moral," the Scouts' lawyer, George A. Davidson, said after the high court granted review Friday. A Salina attorney and a Johnson County businesswoman announced their intentions to run for the State Board of Education this week, saying they dislike how the current board members have handled school curriculum.

Bruce H. Wyatt, 53, Salina, filed Tuesday as a Republican candidate for District 6 in north-central Kansas, a seat now held by Scott Hill, R-Abilene. WYATT Republican Sue Gamble, 58, a Shawnee real estate agent, filed Thursday for District 2, now represented by Linda Holloway, R-Shawnee. Wyatt said evolution should be part of Kansas' science curriculum and that the board should have followed the recommendations of its own panel of scientists. Standards should reflect the current consensus opinion of the scientific community, he said.

"The board rewrote the standards based apparently on the personal belief? of the majority of its members," Wyatt said. "This was wrong and should be reversed." Wyatt said he believed in creation and that evolution and creation could co-exist. The attorney, who has been attending monthly board meetings since the evolution issue popped up, said he thought it was time to announce his intentions. See BOARD, Page A9 SALINE COUNTY COMMISSION McKenna cites Forsberg for fireworks Commissioner admits guilt, won't fight charge for violating fireworks ban New Year's Day By DAVID CLOUSTON The Salina Journal Saline County Commissioner Doug Forsberg was cited Friday for violating the county's fireworks ban by shooting off fireworks at his rural home on New Year's Day. Forsberg's reply: "Guilty.

The record will prove that." He had no further comment Friday, except to say he won't fight the allegation. The complaint was filed by Saline County Attorney Julie McKenna, who announced the charge in a late afternoon press release. Forsberg is to appear in Saline County District Court March 8. The offense, a violation of the county's 1981 resolution prohibiting the use or possession of fireworks, is a misdemeanor and carries a fine of $50, plus $46 court costs. McKenna refused to answer questions about the case Friday, saying court procedure precludes discussing pending litigation.

Forsberg previously admitted shooting off a fireworks fountain and an aerial display he purchased in McPherson the evening of Jan. 1, after he gave in to his childrens' requests. A sheriffs deputy, who happened to be on patrol nearby, saw the fireworks and followed them to the county commissioner's residence at 2652 E. Mentor in southern Saline County. Forsberg said earlier that he didn't shoot off fireworks on New Year's Eve, as did his neighbors, because he knew it was against the law.

The sheriffs deputy didn't ticket Forsberg but later wrote a report that was forwarded to McKenna's office. Sheriff Glen Kochanowski said Friday the report was the only one he knew of that was written and forwarded to McKenna that weekend concerning illegal fireworks. Reporter David Clouston can be reached at 823-6464, Ext. 131, or by e-mail at sjdclous.