The Lincoln Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 43

j--i'-'y-y 1 y-j-y -j pp. tf- Tfrpy-gif--'-WW myrt i Mi ijffij 'Mij -ftur-rijii--iriLjlj "Tiir JT" 'til" Thir--W--iijrrt M'ViiWi -liir- ulna irtHYii' -iiwi M-rn irr iumm' 'Liitr- ii toh'-lf-'riM 1 1 in i mVinini rr'nrni 'in lir 1 Sunday Journal-IStar AUGUST 13, 1988 iVearly $541,000 raised in first half of '89. ostof Exon's LJ i v.4-; IN, x- "1 I I i 1 Is i i funds from $1,000 donors Stenciling up a storm GAIL F0L0A8UMMY JOURNAL-STAR University of Nebraska-Lincoln students Gary Troester and David Aman stencil a parking spot in front of Bob Devaney Sports Center. The stencil designates the spot as a five-minute parking place for people buying tickets to events at the center. By Fred Knapp Sen.

Jim Exon, D-Netx, has raised most of his re-election campaign funds from political action committees and individuals who contributed $1,000 or more, according to his latest campaign finance report. Exon's re-election committee raised almost $541,000 in the first six months of this year, the report shows. Nearly $348,000 came from political action committees, or PACs. Of that, more than $300,000 came from donations of $1,000 or more from PACs headquartered outside Nebraska. Some out-of-state PAs represent national groups with members or interests in Nebraska, noted Jane Mefftiinger of Comnwn Cause.

Individual contributions accounted for almost $176,000 of Exon's funds, with more than $100,000 coming from contributions of $1,000 or more. About a third of those larger contributions were from outside of Nebraska. Another $17,500 came from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. $82 each'-" A- a In a news release when the; report was filed July 31, Charles Pallesen, Ex on's campaign chairman, reported that 2,134 individuals, 98 percent of them Ne-braskans, had contributed an average of $82 each. Pallesen's figures are consistent with the campaign report But while large numbers of small donations may have lowered the average contribution, the bulk of the money was provided by PACs and large Individual contributions, Pallesen's news release noted Exon's support of legislation that would limit campaign spending.

But with such legislation blocked in Congress, 'the Exon campaign win be forced to operate and compete under the current system," he said. According to Exon, legislation he is co-sponsoring would limit general election spending by Senate candidates In Nebraska to $950,000. Total PAC contributions for the primary and general election combined would be limited to $191,000, according to his office. But Exon has said it is too late for the limits to take effect for next year's contest' Variety of interests Exon's latest report shows contributions from PACs representing a wide See EXON on page 2E Census Bureau gqarsup fotimw-ardecade blitz i By John Rood Some say it is the most difficult job in government: Hire thousands of temporary workers, buy hundreds of personal computers, figure out how to keep track of an estimated $2.6 billion budget Then, in 10 years, do it all over again. The work win start in Lincoln in November, when the VS.

Census Bureau plans to open an office. Billed as the "big count," the 1990 census will take place on Census Day, April as a government media blitz encour-, ages people, particularly minorities the homeless, to take part in a snapshot of American life. At stake is more than an 8-by-10 glossy. Billions of federal financial moving away from the East Coast A larger number of legal aliens counted because of the Immigration Control and Reform Act of 1986, which granted citizenship to many illegal aliens. More illegal aliens because of worsening political upheaval in Central America and growing economic problems in Mexico.

Early population estimates indicate California could gain six seats in the House of Representatives and Texas and Florida could gain four each, while New York and neighboring states could lose five. Illegal aliens Although the U.S. Constitution re- olH Hnllarc Wfil nor norenn in 1097 Muura wu the toss or gam of several congress oi" aonal seats and the building of nun- States every 10 years, some politi- dreds of new roads and schools all ZTIZZZJLZTZ icueioi iiiuiicy aim rcuppuiuuu uic 435 House seats should not include1 depend on results of the count Much at stake With so much at risk, it is not surprising that speculation about the big count has become increasingly more political as April 1 approaches. Following the release of 1980 census figures, the bureau found itself in the now-common position of defendant against 54 different lawsuits, many of them filed by city and state governments. "We try to stay out of the political arena as much as possible," said Ron Ritschard of the bureau's Denver office.

Despite those efforts, two-thirds of the suits filed following the 1980 results dealt with undercounting of minorities and illegal aliens. Winners, losers Experts say some states, such as California, Texas and Florida will claim a larger slice of the population pie in 1990 because of: Increasing migration to the Sun Belt because of more hi-tech jobs and a growing number of the elderly illegal aliens. Others interpret the Constitution literally or point to the 14th Amendment which said slaves must be counted as a whole person instead of three-fifths of a person. According to Ritschard, the courts arranged at least a temporary truce when the bureau agreed to study the possibility of using a mathematical adjustment to compensate for the undercount A total of 150,000 households will be surveyed after the census to see if an adjustment is necessary, he sail: Even though it isnt expected to cost the state one of its three congressional seats, the census win change Nebraska. University of Nebraska-Lincoln researcher Jerry Dei-chert said Nebraska is one of several rural states that have experienced a shift from rural to urban areas since the Great Depression, Nebraska shifts Based on 1988 estimates, 67 coun-See CENSUS on page 2E Travnicek medical legacy began 52 years ago Bbctor's departure saddens residents By Paul Hammel State Bureau WILBER Dr.

Robert Travnicek sees an ugly engine roaring down the tracks for rural medicine. And instead of getting run over, Travnicek is stepping aside. On Aug. 19, the 48-year-old win leave a medical practice that his father, F.G. Travnicek, opened in Wilber 52 years ago.

His departure win end an era in medicine in this Czech community. F.G. used to bust through blizzard-choked country roads on a borrowed tractor to see patients. RusseU Zimmerman, a De Witt farmer, recalls the first' time young Robert ministered to his ills. It was at 3 a.m.

15 years ago, one of the three times in his life Zimmerman said he has been sick. "We didnt know who to can and he didn't know who I was," Zimmerman said. Yet Trav, as folks in Witter re-f erred to Robert, made the 10-mile trip. dont get too many guys who wfll do that anymore," Zimmerman said. "I imagine he'd do it again." Off to Harvard Travnicek may not get the chance.

He is hanging up his stethoscope to study health care administration at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. During a break in his breathless schedule, Travnicek said he was not burned out by the long hours and lower wages of rural medicine, just fed up by a government bureaucracy that is choking the life out of small-town doctors. They're absolutely bent on destroying the system Rural medicine doesn't fit into their plans," he said. "I give up. I surrender," Years ago, Travnicek said, he could set his own rates and order his own course of treatment without filling out a stack of paperwork or referring to a dictionary -thick book of Medicare rules.

No more. For the past two years, Medicare has dictated what he win charge his subsidized and non-subsidized patients. Because of the tangle of rules that must be followed, he said, it is "TV-. I I -U PAUL HAMMELSUNOAY JOURNAL-STAR Dr. Robert Travnicek (right) says goodbye to longtime patient Olga Keller of Crete during a recent visit to his office.

In the background is Emma Duba of Wilber, who has worked 30 years in the clinic, initially for Travnlcek's father. Dr. F.G. Travnicek. easier for him to refer an his patients to hospitals in Lincoln, not to the hospital in nearby Crete.

His referrals accounted for $5 minion in business last year, he said. Forced upgrading Travnicek said new rules that go into effect in January would have forced an expensive upgrading of bis in-office lab. The lab, he said, Is accurate enough" as it is, but the government wants it to meet the standards of big-city laboratories. Medicare reimburses rural doctors at only a fraction of what physicians in bigger cities get, Travnicek said, adding: "AH I have to do is get a Lincoln billing address," Harlan Heald, president of the Nebraska Hospital Association, said Medicare reimbursements generally are 40 percent higher for Lincoln doctors than rural physicians. "When they expect a doctor in Wilber to jump the same bureaucratic hoops as a doctor in a metropolitan area and yet they're going to pay him considerably less, it's not a very good incentive," Heald said.

Travnicek began his medical career as an intern at Los Angeles County Hospital, then worked as a medical administrator for Medicare in Mississippi and Washington, D.C. When his father died in See DOCTOR on page 5E lAmiting teen drivers said to reduce deaths By Larry Peirce Research shows that nighttime motor vehicle accidents kin more teen-age drivers than accidents at any other time of day, but there are few, if any, advocates of placing curfews on Nebraska's teen-age drivers. In research published this month, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Arlington, says that limits on teen-age night driving reduce the number of teen-age car accidents and deaths. The institute found that as drivers and passen-, gers, teen-agers are involved in a disproportionate number of automobile accidents compared with other age groups. Weekends deadliest Among the institute's analysis of the U.S.

Department of Transportation's Fatal Accident Reporting System, are these findings: About half of all teen-age motor vehicle deaths occur between 9 p.m. and 6 am; 58 percent of teenage motor vehicle deaths occur on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. (1 percent of teen-age passenger deaths occur in accidents in which another teen-ager is driving. Drivers between II and 19 are responsible for about four times as many crash deaths per Ucense holder as are drivers 30 to 51 Six states New York, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have laws restricting 15- to 18-year-old drivers to certain hours. Six others Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Wyoming, South Dakota and South Carolina restrict the driving hours of school permit or Junior license holders, most of whom are 14 or 15.

In a 1984 study, the institute found that states ytth strong curfews had substantially tower per- centages of accidents and deaths among 16-year-old drivers during curfew hours. In New York, where a 9 p.m. to 5 am curfew was In effect percent of 16-year-old drivers were involved in motor vehicle accidents during curfew hours, compared with 28 percent in Ohio, which has no curfew. There were 7,790 16-year-old drivers in injury-producing crashes in New York during curfew hours, compared with 17,097 in Ohio. Not eager Curfews have not been proposed for Nebraska teen-age drivers, and highway safety and law enforcement officials here are not eager to say curfews are the answer.

Fred Zwonechek, administrator of the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety, said inexperience with night driving, combined with some drug and alcohol use, causes problems for some teen-age drivers. Zwonechek said he has no opinion on the issue, but rural parents, who depend on children to drive to school and school events, would oppose such a proposal Nebraska State Patrol Traffic Maj. Dave Wol-bert said be is neither for nor against a driving curfew. "Typical of an answer of any law enforcement officer in traffic division, you're for anything that wUI save lives and reduce accidents," he said, but added he does not like to see restrictions imposed on any group. Tm sure it would probably have an impact if it were legal" Wolbert said.

Would discriminate Lincoln Police Chief AUen Curtis said curfews would discriminate against an entire class of drivers. A better answer, he said, would be to have parents exert more control over the family car. "One of the things I kind of dislike about it is that the youth of this country has felt picked on by law enforcement forever, primarily because they get engaged in activities that older people find offensive," Curtis said. "Granted, if you do save Uves it's worth looking at But it's difficult to not say that that (restricting driving) isnt the responsibility of the parents." Not an teen-agers are bad drivers, Curtis said, nor do they an drink and get in trouble. But an would be penalized by a curfew, he said.

"That kind of rankles," he said, "It just doesnt seem very fair." Curtis said raising the minimum age for a driver's license to 17 might work better to reduce the teen-age accident rate. "That quite frankly makes more sense to me," Curtis said. "It is more equally enforced than the curfew." More politically viable The institute's 1984 study also concluded that raising the minimum age to 17 or 18 would be more effective than curfews in reducing accident rates for teen-agers, but that "imposing curfews" on young drivers might be more politically viable, especially if driving to and from work is allowed. There is no question, Curtis said, that young people are involved in more accidents and are more aggressive in their driving habits. He said that restricting 16-year-old drivers would not make a significant dent in the number of drunken drivers on the road.

In its latest study, the institute found that fatally injured teen-age drivers are less likely than 30- to or 54-year-old drivers to have been drinking, and are less likely to have blood-alcohol concentrations of 0.10 percent or higher. However, the institute found, in terms of per mile driven, teen-agers are more than twice as likely as the 30- to 54-year-old group to be in alcohol-related fatal crashes. Steve Oesch, a researcher at the institute, said he does not know why no states have enacted legislation to restrict teen-age drivers since the 1984 study. "I dont know if they realize the value of it We've done opinion pons as wen, that show that adults favor these types of restrictions. You'd think that there would be political support," Oesch said.

Allan Williams, the institute's vice president of research, said curfews make sense. "It seems logical to let teen-agers in their first stages of driving get their experience during the daytime when it is easier to drive," Williams said. "But if you talk to teen-agers, they very much Want to drive at night" Strong opposition Not surprisingly, some newly licensed and almost-licensed drivers are anti-curfew. "That isnt good," Elberta James, 16, of Lincoln said while getting her license at the testing station. "Sometimes I like to stay out late.

It should be up to the parents to decide when their kids should be home." Shelley Etcher, 15, of Lincoln also didnt like the idea. She Bald she might occasionally drive late at night after her 16th birthday. "If her parents wUI let her," added Steve Eicher, SheUey'8 father. He said curfews might be effective for drivers who have repeated violations, but "it is the parents' job to enforce curfews, not the state." Mother still grieves for missing girl NORFOLK (AP) For the mother of Jill CutshalL the passage of time has not brought healing, nor has it eased the horror of ber daughter's disappearance. Two years ago today, Jill Cut- shall, 9, was reported missing.

Al- though authorities have Identified potential suspects in the abduction, no arrests have been made. Last month, Norfolk police officers suspended their active inves-. ligation but said the case win remain opea The police decision came as blow to Jill's mother, Joyce Cut-shall of Norfolk. Tve lost a lot of hope. Finding out they were going to close (the investigation) put me in a panic." Pausing to wipe away tears, CutshaU said it was difficult to-face the knowledge that her daughter may never be found.

"For the past month my feelings are that probably I will never know," CutshaU said. "Not being able to put her to rest, and, if she is not dead, not being able to actu- See GIRL on page 5E a.