Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page B3

FRIDAY, MAY 26, 2006 STAR TRIBUNE TWIN CITIES B3 vertebraecrushed duringwaterride ByCHAO Tommy Lee planned on an early birthday celebration Monday at the Water Park of America in Bloomington. Instead, the Lakeville man said, he suffered injuries at the park that left him unable to feel or move his limbs and forced him to spend his birthday having titanium screws planted in his neck. Lee, 39, said he went to the park for the first time Monday afternoon with family members, including his two young sons. Just minutes into the trip, Lee said, he grabbed a boogie board, got on and slid onto the FlowRider, a ramp with water shooting upward. Lee said the powerful jets immediately pushed him back to the top of the ride, where he landed forcefully and felt his body go numb.

was said his wife, Laura Lee. started touching him on the leg and he said he had no Family members said doctors told them vertebrae in neck had been crushed within one centimeter of his spinal cord, which was bruised. If the bone had moved any closer to the cord, Lee could have been paralyzed, said his brother-in- law, Louis Lau. Lee and his family members said the water park should have better-trained personnel who provide appropriate instructions. Lee said he was given no instructions.

A reporter received instructions on how to use the ride Wednesday. Angela Greer, spokeswoman for Wirth Companies, which owns the water park, said a sign posted at the ride warns that it is turbulent and also provides instructions. Lifeguards are also trained to give appropriate instructions and intervene if a rider requests help, she said. feel that the guidelines that were put in place were more than she said. family also said that the water speed was too high and that the park did not have an adequate emergency plan in place to get him out of the building efficiently; the FlowRider is located on a raised platform reached by steps.

The family said it plans to take legal action. Water shoots out of the ride at about 20 miles per hour, according to Tom Lochtefeld, owner of the manufacturer, Wave Loch Inc. A reporter at the park Wednesday heard a lifeguard say the water traveled at 35 miles per hour. Millions of riders have been on FlowRider with no major incidents, only cuts, scrapes and bruises, Lochtefeld said. any participatory sporting activity and FlowRider is an aggressive white-water attraction there is always potential risk of he said.

is a very safe Safety and handicap accessibility are planned into the design and have been a problem, Greer said. Lee underwent surgery Wednesday to have two titanium screws and a plate installed in his neck to stabilize the vertebrae and relieve pressure from his spinal cord, a Hennepin County Medical Center spokeswoman said. Lee said the surgery eliminated a burning sensation that jolted his body when somebody touched his left arm. Doctors have told his family his left arm will always be weaker than it was before the accident. They also warned him to refrain from rough physical activity, such as sports, or heavy lifting, his family members said.

Lee and his wife given much thought to the long-term effects. They know how manage his responsibilities with the active 11- and 8-year-old sons and a third who is due in September. something like this Laura Lee said, just want him to be fine. You have time to think. You just want him to go home Lee said he walked yet, although he has regained slight movement of his limbs.

Staff writer Jim Adams contributed to this report. Chao Xiong 612-673-4391 Hisfamilyplanstotakelegalactionin theaccidentattheWaterParkofAmerica. MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND EVENTS Thefollowingisalistofcemeteriesandother locations whereMemorialDayceremonies willbeheld. SundayandMonday eventswill beincludedinlistingthatwillrunlater. SATURDAY Morningside Memorial Gardens 11800 University Av.

Coon Rapids. Open dawn to dusk. 10 a.m. service presented by the Veterans Organizations of Anoka County. The guest speaker is LeeAnn Karg, Disabled American Veterans; music by the North Suburban Concert Band.

Bunker Hills Park Foley Blvd. Hwy. 242, Coon Rapids. 11:30 a.m. service presented by the Veterans Organizations of Anoka County, with music by the North Suburban Concert Band.

Tommy Lee around the metro Miller Dunwiddie Architecture An atrium would connect the Shubert Theater on Hennepin Avenue to the Hennepin Center for the Arts. $23.5 million moves arts venues to next stage By LINDAM Thanks toartsfundingfromthe oftheShubert TheaterinMinneapoliswill celebrate, St. Centerwill renovateandMacPhail Center forMusicwillbreak groundonanewMinneapolisbuildingin August. ingbill parceledout tothethreehigh-profile Twin Citiesartsprojects. It to completeany supporters sayitwillspurprivatefundraising.Afterprevious requestshad werethe topprior- ities oftheir respectivecitiesinthis firsttimeitmadea request, partly becauseithad saidSen.LindaHiggins,DFL-Minneapolis, whosponsoredtheShubertbill.

SHUBERT Owner Artspace Projects envisions the 1910 theater which was rolled from Block to Hennepin Avenue in 1999 as a flagship for dance, a statewide interactive arts education center and a Minneapolis venue for the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. What it got: $11 million. What it wanted: $15 million. Already has: $24.5 million.

Still needs: $12.5 million. Building plans: Renovate and build a new stagehouse for the theater; renovate the Hennepin Center for the Arts, also owned by Artspace, and build a glassy atrium to link the two buildings. What saying: Rep. Kurt Zellers, R-Maple Grove, who authored the bill in the House, said that the outreach to 25 communities in which artists teach students in Brainerd or Fergus Falls from an interactive classroom at the Hennepin Center helped garner his pport. ORDWAY The 21-year-old center in downtown St.

Paul houses the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera and Schubert Club. What it got: $7.5 million. What it wanted: $12.5 million. Building plans: On the wish list, which the Ordway said must be pared to fit the budget, are improvements to the stagehouse, including a new acoustical shell so players can hear each other better, redoing the curving glass wall so it is more energy efficient and upgrading noisy mechanical systems.

What saying: need to make capital investments so that we can save operating Ordway CEO David Galligan. MACPHAIL It will move from its historic home at 1128 LaSalle Av. to the corner of 2nd Street and 5th Avenue S. in the Minneapolis Mill District. What it got: $5 million.

Already has $16.5 million. Still needs $4.5 million. What saying will allow us to break ground this August and begin construction while raising MacPhail President David James Dayton DesignDAVID BREWSTER Star Tribune file WCCOdethronesKAREinthetelevisionnewswars While WCCO had tied or pulled ahead of KARE in months past, the margins were slight. wasdecisive. Third-ranked KMSP, Channel 9, and fourth-ranked KSTP, Channel gains, too.

and helped Fox-owned KMSP to an 18 percent ratings increase over the previous May. Viewers seemingly approve reshuffle in CyndyBru- cato toearlynewsand addednew eveningnews teamLeah McLean and John Mason as the 10 p.m. news gained almost 10 percent. WFTC, Channel 29, saw its 10 p.m. newscast drop to a 1.2 from 1.6lastMay,fuelingrumorsthatit maybedumpedaltogether.

KARE general manager John Remes said he particularly concerned by the ratings drop, althoughheacknowledgedthatit had been long since the stationhad rankedthat farbehind WCCO. He said KARE faced dual challenges from freefall in the primetime ratings and the loss in December of popular anchor Frank Vascellaro and meteorologist KenBarlow. He discounted the numbers re- leasedThursday a broadmea- sure of household viewership as less crucial than the detailed demographic breakdowns that are closely watched by advertisers. When those figures are released in several weeks, demos should finish in the top spot for all Remes predicted. Anne manager for the Minneapolis- based ad agency, think too soon to tell going to be number she said.

even if KARE retains the position the WCCO is definitely closing the celebration was muted Thursday by news that gener- almanager Ed Piettewillbeleav- ingtheCBS-ownedstation. CBS has promoted Piette to lead three of its New England TV stations: WBZ and WSBK in Boston and WLWC in Providence, R.I. He starts his new job June 19; CBS has not named his successor. At least one familiar face will greet that hired weatherman Barlow fromKARE. RATINGS FROMB1 MAY TV SWEEPS RESULTS Here's how local 9 and 10 p.m.

newscasts rated during the May sweeps, compared with last year, among TV-equipped Twin Cities ouseholds. Rating Share Station 2006 2005 2006 2005 WCCO-4 14.3 11.6 26 20 KARE-11 11.4 14.5 21 26 8.5 7.2 14 11 KSTP-5 6.7 6.2 12 11 WFTC-29 1.2 1.6 2 3 newscast Source: Nielsen Media Research. Figures are a seven-day average. Rating is a percentage of all households with TV sets. Share is a percentage of households actually viewing TV at that hour.

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