The Californian from Salinas, California • 1

Flu vaccine still scarce in countyLOCAL 1C The HO Weekend iHtinh Low r- BOB, 5735 Today's Sunny to partly cloudy www.thecalifornian.com Informing Monterey County for 132 years $1.00 SATURDAY AND SUNDAY December 27-28, 2003 TV's crazy year 2003 in photos v. la Plus, outtakes from Reese Witherspoon, From Paris to Michael, a look back LIVING IE Justin Timberlake and more USA WEEKEND if" i -Ji iHiiUmkIii HmMBi im il' 1 I 1 1 -Ha 'f I "1 ---l rsmn (Oieara 1L SALINAS Bataan veterans ask for legacy March survivors want monument site to display 'half-track' vehicle MI. aooo LDUfltt at Trojans meet Cowboys Salinas plays Alisal in boys basketballIB L1 jif i Ji i mini if .4 u4 i ft; i EfT 4 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A mourning Iranian mother and her child cry for their families who were killed in the earthquake Friday in the city of Bam, Iran, 630 miles southeast of the capital, Tehran. Inside By Katharine Ball The Californian Frank Muther of Salinas remembers the torture tactics he endured: the bamboo pieces forced under his fingernails and set afire so that steam, unbearably hot, would burgeon under his nails. He also remembers the buddies who never got to come home, fallen during the Bataan Death March in the Philippines or the subsequent brutality of life in a Japanese prison camp during World War II.

In one of the war's most notorious atrocities, Japanese soldiers captured Allied troops and force-marched them to a prison camp 85 miles distant. The captives were allowed little food or water, and stragglers were executed along the way. Once at the prison camp, they were routinely tortured. Muther, 83, makes presentations to Salinas-area schoolchildren about his wartime experiences, but he and other veterans realize they will not be here much longer to remind the young folks about the sacrifices they made to preserve freedom in the United States and elsewhere around the world. They want a monument that will do it for them.

See BATAAN, Page 2A 'i-rV' Damage could exceed THE ASSOCIATED PRESS $200 million3C An Iranian man sits beside an injured person Friday after an estimated 6.5 earthquake hit the city of Bam, Iran. CITY OF BAM, HISTORIC LANDMARK NEARLY DESTROYED Numbers of people killed could reach 40,000 Quake strikes Iran A strong earthquake hit southeast Iran early Friday, destroying 60 percent of the housing in Bam. The death toll was estimated to be at least 20,000 but could go as high as 40,000. TURKM. 0 Wffll -Caspian Sea 0 200 km I high as 40,000," said Akbar Alavi, the governor of Kerman city, the local provincial capital.

"An unbelievable human disaster has occurred." The quake also destroyed much of Barn's historic landmark a giant medieval fortress complex of towers, domes and walls, all made of mud-brick, overlooking a walled Old City, parts of which date back 2,000 years. Television images showed the highest part of the fort including its distinctive square tower crumbled like a sand castle down the side of the hill, though some walls still stood. The government asked for international assistance, particularly search and rescue teams. The United States promised to send aid, as did numerous European nations. See QUAKE, Page 2A But the Interior Ministry later released a statement saying the early estimate was 20,000 people.

It said 30,000 people were injured. The statement was broadcast on state television. "The disaster is far too huge for us to meet all of our needs," President Mohammad Khatami said. "However, all the institutions have been mobilized." Two senior officials involved in the relief operation said they feared the final toll from Friday's temblor could be 40,000 dead. The leader of a relief team, Ahmad Najafi, said 40,000 dead was his estimate of the ultimate toll.

He said in one street alone in Bam today, 200 bodies had been extracted from the rubble in one hour's work. "As more bodies are pulled out, we fear that the death toll may reach as oTehran yj SAUDI ARABIA By All Akbar Dareini The Associated Press KERMAN, Iran Entire blocks of buildings lay crushed and survivors lined up blanket-wrapped bodies in the street after a devastating earthquake leveled nearly three-quarters of the Iranian city of Bam on Friday. The preliminary death toll rose to 20,000, the Interior Ministry said, and rescue crews said it could go even higher. Officials said an accurate count was impossible with many victims still trapped under the rubble, and early death toll estimates have fluctuated greatly. An exact toll is not expected until much later because of the scope of the tragedy.

BUSINESS: Latinos' impact on housingID NATION: Jackson gives intcrvicw3A NATION: CIAs strange goodies5A breaking news SALT LAKE CITY Three feared dead in avalanche An avalanche swept at least five snowboarders down a rugged northern Utah canyon hit by a heavy snowstorm Friday. Two managed to dig their way out after being buried up to their chests, but authorities held out little hope of finding the others alive. Rescue workers called off their search Friday night in Provo Canyon, about 25 miles northeast of Provo, after authorities decided it was too dangerous to continue. The Associated Press COMING UP: How are youths spending their winter break MONDAY IN NEWS Index Business Nation 3A Classifieds Obituaries Editorials Religion Legals 5D Sports 18 Living IE State JC Local 1C Weather Lotto 2A Weddings Movies 31 Wdrld 7A AP SOURCES: Associated Press; USGS 7, "if i Natalities keep corning in Irao JO 1 1 I r- A THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IRAQ Four US. soldiers killed in separate incidents in 2 davs AFTERMAT SCOTT MACDONALD THE CALIFORNIAN World War II veteran Frank Muther holds a patch with the insignia worn by troops stationed in the Philippines surrounded by the slogan The Battling Bastards of Bataan, No Mama No Papa No Uncle a reminder of his service during the Bataan Death March.

To help Anyone wishing to contribute to the establishment of the Bataan memorial is asked to contact Eugene Ferris, owner of Windermere Coast and Valley Properties, 401 Monterey Suite 202, Salinas, 93901. Phone: 753-2180. An ambulance is stuck in the mud Friday after mudslides swept through a Greek Orthodox camp in the Waterman Canyon area of the San Bernardino Mountains Thursday. Still searching for mudslide victims Background The latest military deaths of three soldiers Friday bring the total to 322 U.S. troops killed in hostile action since the invasion in March.

Inside SCENE: Survivors hope for loved ones' rescues2A tactic Friday near Balad, north of Baghdad, setting off a bomb that killed a second soldier, a U.S. military spokeswoman said. The U.S. military earlier reported a third soldier had been killed Friday, but military officials later said the report was wrong and that they had confused the incidents in Baqouba and Balad. The other two deaths came Thursday but were first reported Friday.

Two soldiers were killed as Iraqi insurgents shelled a U.S. base near Baqouba and four were wounded, Maj. Josslyn Aberle of the 4th Infantry Division said Friday. Also Friday, three soldiers from the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division were wounded in an ambush in Mosul when their convoy came under small arms fire, said Maj.

Trey Cate, the division spokesman. 7 killed, 9 missing in San Bernardino Mountains ll'llll By Michelle Faul The Associated Press BAGHDAD, Iraq Four American soldiers were killed in bomb blasts and a mortar attack, authorities said Friday, bringing the U.S. death toll in Iraq this week to 10 violence serving as a reminder that insurgents remain defiant despite the capture of Saddam Hussein. Rebel gunmen also assassinated a Sunni Muslim tribal leader who backed the coalition near a mosque in the northern town of Mosul. Anti-US.

guerrillas have targeted Iraqi police and other officials who cooperate with the U.S.-led occupation authorities. One American GI died Friday as he tried to defuse a homemade bomb in Baqouba, 30 miles north of Baghdad in an area serving as a power base for Saddam loyalists. Capt Jefferson Wolfe of the Army's 4th Infantry Division said the bomb blew up as the soldier worked on it Such explosives are a favored weapon of rebels, who leave them on roadsides and detonate them as military convoys pass. The guerrillas used that Vol.144. No.3!1 Copyright 2003 A Gannett newspaper jffr The Californian a trailer camp in the fire-denuded San Bernardino Mountains.

Five bodies were recovered in Waterman Canyon below Saint Sophia Camp, which was smashed Thursday by a flow of mud, rocks and trees. See MUDSLIDE, Page 2A By Alex Veiga The Associated Press SAN BERNARDINO Searchers found seven bodies and poked through deep mud, jumbled trees and boulders Friday in hope of finding nine other people, mostly children, missing after mudslides roared through a church camp and 4 is printed on What's next The Salinas Recreation and Park Commission will consider placement of the Bataan memorial at its Jan. 14 meeting. recyciea paper amoMfj arm Ul 424-2321.