Sioux City Journal from Sioux City, Iowa • 1

nEast High wins history contestpage A4 BUSD receives record giftpage A7 Area The Sioux City Journal Friday, May 10, 1991page A3 DDfa' Vaairall3flira jl)cll br FliHL NiBiuMidP Medical unit staffers glad to be back from the Persian Gulf Big parade is Saturday About half the members of the 730th Medical Co. returned home last Saturday. The remainder of the unit returns home this Saturday. A welcome-home parade for the entire unit is planned for Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in Vermillion.

If the remainder of the unit is late arriving in town, the parade will be put off until they get there. It will begin at the southwest corner of Prentice Park and will be led by the University of South Dakota R.O.T.C. Color Guard. South Dakota Army National Guard Major Gen. Harold Sykora and Mayor Betty Lynn will participate.

Gov. George Mickelson is scheduled to arrive in Vermillion to take part in welcome-home activities later in the day. The day will end with a dance at the Vermillion National Guard Armory for members of the 730th and their invited guests. f- By Loretta Sorensen Journal correspondent YANKTON, S.D. Dean and Becky Caton of Yankton, members of the Vermillion-based National Guard 730th Medical Co.

just back from the Persian Gulf region, say they're happy to be home with their 6-year-old daughter, Jessica, and the business of "getting back to normal." Meredith Kirchner of Yankton, also a member of the unit, was enthusiastically welcomed home by her husband and three children. Four-year-old Jennifer says now that Mom's home, she plans to "kiss her and hug her a lot. I love her so much." The 730th accompanied the first wave of troops invading Iraq when the ground war began. The unit was set up west of the Euphrates River in the southern half of Iraq. Kirchner and the Catons say the majority of casualties they saw during the war were Iraqi soldiers.

Once the fighting stopped, they began treating Iraqi refugees. "We treated a variety of gunshot and shrapnel wounds and burns and by the second day of the war it was pretty steady. But I'd say we only treated about five Americans. The rest were Iraqi EPOWs (enemy prisoners of war)," Dean says. Kirchner says she couldn't believe the endurance the Iraqi soldiers displayed during treatment of their wounds.

"We used very little anesthesia, only in the worst cases. One of the Republican Guards, the doctor couldn't find the vein in his chest for a central line. I held his hand while the doctor dug to find the vein. He looked about 25. 1 watched his face.

He would close his eyes, but he didn't flinch. Whether he was praying or just hardened, I don't know," she says. Kirchner and Dean Caton had the opportunity to question some of the soldiers with the help of an interpreter. The soldiers, not members of the Republican Guard, appeared to be unwilling members of Saddam Hussein's army, they say. "One man had been shot twice in the back.

We asked him how that happened. He told us that when the Americans appeared, he had tried to run to them and away from Iraqi troops. He said the Iraqis shot him. You have to take what they said with a grain of salt, but I believed most of were stationed in the Persian Gulf region during the Gulf War. (Photo by Loretta Sorensen) Dean and Becky Caton use a map to show Becky's sister, Cindy Breyfogle, where they they drank.

They'd stand in a pond of water and scoop up a drink," she says. Children often suffered from dehydration because of the way they were dressed, she says. "People were carrying bundles of clothes. The kids maybe had five changes of clothing. The parents put all of the clothes on them, five layers, so they wouldn't have to carry them.

It was so hot, they were sweating, and became dehydrated," she says. Although some of the Iraqis willingly sought treatment, others were too frightened to accept help. "There was one baby that was 40 days old. The mother, a young girl, seemed to want help, but the grandmother kept saying no," Becky says. Members of the medical unit and an interpreter tried to reason with the girl and her grandmother.

They even, removed the grandmother from the presence of the girl, but still the girl would not allow the baby to be treated. "They took it home to die," Becky says. The Catons say many Iraqis found it hard to trust the Americans what they told us," Dean says. Many Iraqi refugees began seeking medical treatment at the station when the Republican Guard began systematically killing rebels in towns along the Euphrates, unit members say. "They were going in and killing rebels and destroying the towns.

When they came to a hospital, they would just shoot it up. After that happened a couple of times, doctors in the towns began emptying out the hospitals," Dean says. Becky says other Iraqi hospitals were out of bandages and medication. "We saw a lot of kids hurt by explosions of cluster bombs. (The bombs) were bright orange and red, they looked like a ball.

The kids thought they were toys, so they were picking them up and throwing them around. It was only a matter of time before they blew up," she says. Refugees also suffered from starvation, dehydration and dysentery. Becky says lack of pure drinking water was the cause for much of the dysentery. "People were bathing in the water 3 Z3 Mike Gors Prejudice and racism just won't go away That I should be writing about this topic in the year 1991 is probably what bothers me most about racial prejudice.

Shouldn't our society have progressed beyond feelings of dislike toward and discomfort with minorities in this country? The answer is, yes. Sadly, the reality is it hasn't, not entirely. Some people and some areas of the country have progressed more than others, I'm sure. However, here and I'm sure in cities and towns across the country the derogatory terms used to describe minorities and the racial jokes can still be heard. The unease some people feel with being around minorities can be seen and felt.

I speak from personal experience. I've heard the derogatory terms and the racial jokes, many times from people I was very surprised to be hearing them from. My wife and I have a good friend who happens to be black. We've seen and felt the unease of others toward her. Certainly she has, as well.

Those of us who are white can never truly know what it would be like to, say, be black in a distinctly white world. Prejudice and racism can be found on varying levels from the guy in the office who tells a joke about some minority all the way to the crazies who run around with sheets over their heads and burn crosses. Perhaps the most insidious form of prejudice is the hidden kind. The kind in which a white person professes to be free of such feelings but yet doesn't want a minority in his or her home. It's much easier to deal with the hard-core feelings of a blatant racist.

Reasonable individuals can recognize them for what they are and discard them and their ideas. One isn't quite sure what to make of the person who holds the hidden feelings about minorities. One can say he or she harbors no ill feelings toward minorities. However, would that same person invite a minority into his or her home, into his or her family, enjoy a close friendship with one? Many of you will read this and say, "Well, I'm not like that." That may be true. I'm certainly not saying prejudice and racism are rampant here or anywhere else or that any one community or area of the country is any more prejudiced or racist than the next.

I'm not a sociologist. I haven't studied the matter enough to make those judgments. All I can speak to is what I have seen, heard and felt. And prejudice and racism are out there, in some individuals. How someone can want nothing to do with another person or treat another person differently simply because of the color of that person's skin is something I can't comprehend.

The unwillingness to give someone a chance, to get to know someone, because they look different is difficult for me to deal with. People are people. There are good and bad among people of all races. No one race is better or worse than another. To me, that seems a fairly simple fact of life to understand and live by.

Mike Gors supervises correspondents and area news for The Journal. Budget reform chances dim because of propaganda spread by the Iraqi government. Kirchner was concerned that her son, who celebrated his first birthday the day she was deployed for training to Fort McCoy, wouldn't know her when she returned. "Sure enough he didn't," she says. "But Desirae (6) was a godsend.

I was hoping she'd play the big sister role for Jennifer (4), and she did." Darrell Kirchner, a member of a Yankton-based field artillery National Guard unit, says it was frustrating to have trained for combat and be left behind and not put his training to use. "I learned a lot by being in charge of it all. But I always assumed that if something happened, we'd both be going. It was hard," he says. Becky's sister, Cindy Breyfogle, took a leave of absence from her job, moving into the Caton home to take care of their daughter.

"She's a strong little girl. She would cry sometimes at night, but she did very well. One day, I think journ the 1991 session late tonight. Negotiators from the House and Senate met late Thursday night to finalize a $3.3 billion budget for 1992. Approval of the budget and the reapportionment plan would clear the way for adjournment.

But some lawmakers believe the Legislature won't be able to finish its work this weekend. "It doesn't look to my like it's possible," said Rep. Wayne Bennett, R-Ida Grove, who predicts lawmakers will still be in Des Moines next week. While budget negotiators huddled in private Wednesday, rank-and-file lawmakers milled about the State-house. Lawmakers debated a few bills, but, for the most part, waited anxiously for the outcome of the budget talks.

"Obviously we don't have much else in the fire," Hutchins said. "These people here have been doing next to nothing this week." Sen. Wilmer Rensink, R-Sioux Center, said, "It doesn't seem like we have a lot of input into what's going on." A popular topic of conversation among lawmakers Wednesday was reports from the governor's office that state income tax collections have fallen as much as $55 million short of expectations. Hutchins said he predicted a downturn in the state's economy last us in a week or so after they have had time to follow up on some of the leads." The Franklins recently taped a segment of the "Oprah Winfrey Show" covering unsolved mysteries. The show is scheduled to air today at 3:30 p.m.

The Franklins plan to go to Colorado in June and visit the area where their daughter was murdered. They hope the publicity about their daughter's murder will bring forth a lead or clue that will end the mystery once and for all. we both had a bad day. We were in a restaurant, and we both started crying at the same time. But I told her, 'That's OK.

We can Breyfogle says. Becky Caton says initially she was not called to go to the Gulf. Her name was not on the roster because authorities felt they did not want to send a husband and wife who were in the same unit. She contacted Mary Edelen in Vermillion, who helped her change the orders. "But if I had known what it was going to be, I wouldn't do it again.

I guess I'm not as strong as I thought I was. You find out in a hurry there how strong you are or aren't," she says. Dean, who served in the armed forces during the Vietnam War, says he told members of the unit before they left that the experience would change them. "Anytime you go to war, little things in life become insignificant. Some of those things you thought were so important really aren't a big deal," he says.

February. "I wasn't shocked," he said. "The only thing I was shocked at was they didn't recognize it sooner." Branstad has proposed a number of stop-gap measures to balance the 1991 budget, which has less than two months remaining. One plan is to delay $35.5 million in expenditures until the 1992 fiscal year, which begins July 1. "What he's doing with that $35 million is just more smoke and mir-, Tl Tl "VII t- -va luta, i a vjui, i-oiuuA said.

Rep. Don Shoning, R-Sioux City, said he believes Branstad will have to item veto spending from the budget the Legislature approves in order to wipe out the red ink. "I think the governor will have to do a lot of soul searching in striking items from the budget," Shoning said. Branstad has asked lawmakers for an across-the-board cut in 1992 that would be based on the revenue shortfall. But Hutchins said the governor already has the authority to make across-the-board cuts.

In addition to the budget and reapportionment, the Legislature has a handful of bills to finish before adjournment. They include a plan to set voluntary limits on campaign spending, and a bill to provide more state assistance to owners of leaking underground storage tanks. Pay For Your WANT AD In Advance And SAVE 7.31 In Cash! 3 Lines 7 Days Extra Linn Are OO Each. When Paid In Advance MasterCard, Visa or Discovery CALL 279-5092 OR CALL TOLL FREE 1-OO-397-3S30 as I Itm im to tvnomftmsi mtrnimn or ana mm p0 Mtvtncw Sorry no wft on cnctvnt 5 ow mtiirnixn Man gets 25-year sentence Sioux Cityan Matthew McGuire was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison, the maximum penalty allowed for his conviction on second-degree sexual abuse. Imposing the sentence was Woodbury County District Court Judge GaryE.Wenell.

Following a bench trial last month, Wenell returned a verdict of guilty against the 22-year-old McGuire on one count of second-degree sexual abuse stemming from the alleged sexual abuse of a juvenile female. McGuire was originally tried on eight felony counts related to the alleged sexual abuse of three minor females between July 1986 and October 1989. Wenell returned verdicts of acquittal in the seven other counts, finding the state had not proven its case against McGuire. Man faces aggravated assault charge A Sioux City man remained in jail Thursday night, facing a charge of aggravated assault for beating a woman at his residence with num-chuks. Police arrested Merv Yarborough, 20, 1420 S.

Linn about 1 p.m. after responding to a call from the woman. They said she had managed to escape from Yarborough's residence and had fled to the home of a relative and phoned police. When police arrested Yarborough, he turned over a set of num-chuks to them. Yarborough appeared before District Associate Judge W.

E. Adams, who set preliminary hearing for May 17 and bond at $6,500 on the aggravated assault charge. Sioux Center superintendent resigns SIOUX CENTER, Iowa Sioux Center Community School District Superintendent Lyle Kooiker has submitted his resignation to the board of education. Kooiker, 46, who has been at Sioux Center for 11 years, is leaving to take a position as superintendent of Iowa Valley of Marengo Community Schools. Marengo is located 35 miles from Iowa City.

By Dave Dreeszen Capitol correspondent DES MOINES Plans for a package that would include a sales tax increase and budget reforms are fading, Senate Majority Leader Bill Hutchins said Thursday. A team of lawmakers have been meeting informally this session to address solutions to budget problems. The discussions have included raising the sales tax from 4 percent to 5 percent to move the state to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). A law passed in the 1980s requires the state to meet the new standards by 1993. The state balances its books now by moving some expenses into the next fiscal year.

When GAAP is used, the state faces a deficit as high as $250 million. While a budget reform plan is not technically dead, Hutchins said he doubts lawmakers will consider it before the session ends. Gov. Terry Branstad has repeatedly opposed any plan that includes a major tax increase. "The prospects of any budget reform dealing with GAAP is probably not going to happen because the governor said time and time again he's going to veto something like that," Hutchins said.

Also Thursday, Hutchins said he's optimistic the Legislature can ad Schnee's body was not found until July 3, nearly six months later. Both women had been shot and officials believe the murders are Franklin said detectives in Colorado and California are taking calls related to the murders and will be following up on leads over the next few weeks. "There were 15-20 calls the first night and more than that the second night," said Franklin. 'it will take awhile for them to go through the leads they have gotten. They said they will contact Optimists sponsor bike day Show exposes unsolved murder course.

All participants will receive gifts and coupons and be eligible to win a new bicycle courtesy of Arby's Restaurants of Siouxland. Registration for the children's races will begin at 9:15 a.m. The big wheel races will have two divisions: 4 and under and 5- and 6-year-olds. The races will start at 9:30 a.m. Bicycle races for youngsters 6 to 9 and 10 to 12 will begin at 9:45 a.m.

Prizes donated by Security National Bank, Sunshine Food Markets, Chesterman Beverage Co. and Southern Hills Mall Hy-Vee Food Store will be awarded in each of the races. The Morning Optimist Club of Sioux City will sponsor its annual Bike Safety Day from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Saturday at Lewis Park in Mor-ningside.

This year's event will be in conjunction with the Siouxland Bicycle Club's Twin Bing Criterium bicycle races, also being held in Lewis Park. Club president Sandy Volk said several cycling events are planned, including bike safety checks, bicycle safety obstacle courses, big wheel races and bicycle races. Children of all ages may bring their bikes for a free safety check and participate in a bike safety obstacle By Rebecca Schossow Journal staff writer Mr. and Mrs. Laurel Franklin.

3516 Correctionville Road report that viewers of the television show "Unsolved Mysteries" have been calling in with clues and leads about the unsolved murder of their daughter, Annette Schnee, since the story of her murder aired May 1 Schnee, 21, and a Colorado woman, Barbara Oberholtzcr, were murdered on Jan. 6, 1982 near Brcckenridge, Colorado. Oberholtzer's body was discovered the following day, but.