Rapid City Journal from Rapid City, South Dakota • 48

Section Sunday, August 19, 1990 the Rapid City Journal mm Local Obituaries H2 Vehicle rollover results in death Judge to rule if Jensen must name sources PIEDMONT Trina Van Vleet, 28, Rapid City, died at the scene when a pickup truck in which she was riding rolled on Interstate 90 near Piedmont about 4:30 a.m. Saturday, the state Highway Patrol said. A second passenger, Brian Harmon, 21, Piedmont, was reported in serious condition Saturday afternoon in Rapid City Regional Hospital. The driver, Norma Studer, 29, Piedmont, was treated for injuries at the hospital and released. Studer apparently lost control of the eastbound truck, and the vehicle rolled near the Elk Creek Road exit.

The Highway Patrol said alcohol was involved and that the investigation was continuing. Good fun A crowd of 5,000 to 6,000 people gathers early Saturday afternoon for festivities in the Hills Alive '90 Christian rally in Spearfish. The inspirational comedy team, Isaac Air Freight, above, served as masters of ceremony for the two-day event, which was to end Saturday night. Christian rock and rap groups and speakers were featured. (Staff photo by Steve McEnroe) on Van Vleet's obituary appears page H2.

Arson is suspected in fire at Taft Hotel dacted" version. "I guess I'm kind of stumped why I was subpoenaed in the first place," she said. She said she arrived at the figures using published data, her own estimates and an "algebraic formula." She refused to tell Shultz where she got the formula. Jensen said Thursday that the source of the formula was irrelevant because the data she used was available legally. Shultz also subpoenaed videotapes of Jensen's story, her redacted copy of the report and other records.

Shultz said federal law already prohibited release of certain kinds of financial information about concessionaires at national parks. Similar information about vendors who are competing to win concessions is not released either, he said. "The concessionaires are trying to determine who violated the court's order," Shultz said. The concessionaires contend that the "unredacted" audit report contains information that, by law, should remain confidential The Interior Department disagrees On July 29, The Rapid City Journal ran a story similar to Jensen's. However, the Journal's report was based primarily on "unredacted" pages of the audit report that were leaked to the Journal.

So far, no Journal reporter has been subpoenaed "It's expensive to do," Shultz said. "One should be enough." Shultz said a federal judge in Rapid City either Judge Richard Battey or Judge Andrew Bogue would decide whether to order Jensen to reveal her sources. If that happens, Jensen said, "I plan to protect my sources." KOTA News Director Helene Du-hamel said the station would stand behind Jensen's decision. "I don't think we have a choice," Duhamel said. Schultz has done legal work for the Rapid City Journal.

Bill Harlan Staff Writer The concession operator at Mount Rushmore is asking a federal judge to force a Rapid City television reporter to reveal the names of government officials she interviewed for a story. Deb Jensen of KOTA TV refused to name those officials Wednesday during a deposition. Don Shultz, attorney for the Mountain Company, had subpoenaed Jensen. He interviewed her for 2'2 hours about a story that aired July 23 The Mountain Company, which is owned by Kay Steuerwald of Rapid City, operates the restaurants and gift shops at Mount Rushmore. Jensen's story was about an Interior Department "audit report" on concessions at national parks nationwide.

The audit report did not allege wrongdoing, but it did say the government had earned $100 million less than it should have from concessionaires nationwide since 1984. Mount Rushmore's Mountain Company was one of 45 concessions reviewed in the report. In her story, Jensen reported the Mountain Company had gross revenues of approximately $5 million in 1988 and that it paid th? Park Service about $300,000 to operate at Mount Rushmore that year. Shultz said Thursday the only way Jensen could have arrived at those figures was by obtaining information that a federal judge had ordered sealed at least temporarily. National park concessionaires nationwide have gone to court to prevent the release of financial information about specific concessions that is contained in the audit report.

The matter is still before a federal judge in Washington, D.C. However, Jensen said she arrived at the $5 million and $300,000 figures using information that had been released legally in an edited version of the audit report the so-called "re the election. Project opponent Rich Rutan said the fire would cut voter turnout and work to the advantage of project proponents. Rutan said more than half the residents of Chamberlain and the surrounding area opposed spending tax money on the Taft. Supporters say opposition is not that high.

Kelly Stricherz, another opponent, said he and people he knew didn't oppose the project enough to burn the building. "My mother raised up a bunch of ugly kids but no stupid ones," Stricherz said. "And that would be stupid. Arson is a dirty crime." The association plans to offer a reward for information leading the arrest and conviction of the arsonist. And a state reward of several thousand dollars also might be available.

The state fire marshal told members of the association after initial investigation that the fire appeared to be arson. Further laboratory tests will try to determine how it was set. The state Division of Criminal Investigation, the Brule County Sheriffs Department and the Chamberlain Police Department, along with the local fire department, are investigating. propriation from the South Dakota Legislature. The money helped move part of the Taft Hotel from downtown Chamberlain to make way for a McDonald's restaurant.

The association secured state and federal permission to locate the stripped bulding near the Interstate 90 interchange at the southern edge of town. The restoration project had been controversial since its inception in early 1989, and it further divided the community when the Brule County Commission voted to give $3,000 to the association. Weniger said the county money was insignificant compared to the total projected restoration and development cost of $450,000 to $500,000. Most of that money would come from donations and grants, Weniger said. The $3,000 in county dollars was "good faith" money to show local support.

But support for the project was far from universal. After the county commission voted to give the $3,000, opponents gathered enough signatures to refer the appropriation to a county vote. That election, which will cost $5,000 or more, will be held Tuesday, despite the fire. Chamberlain lawyer Leonard Andera said it was too late to stop Kevin Woster Staff Writer CHAMBERLAIN Charred wood and a scorched foundation were the only remains of the historic Taft Hotel Saturday morning, following a fire that officials suspect was arson. But supporters of a controversial historic preservation and development project said the destruction of the Taft didn't mean the end of the Taft project.

They will meet this week to decide whether to build a replica of the old hotel, a portion of which served as the officers' quarters at Fort Hale in the 1800s. "It's like somebody died," said Joe Weniger, treasurer of the Chamberlain Area Historic Preservation Association. "It's a grand old girl," said association Vice-president Shirley Miller. "She went down." The fire was reported at about 5 a.m. Saturday but couldn't be contained by the Chamberlain Volunteer Fire Department.

The association had liability insurance on the building but nothing to recover the more than $60,000 already invested in the project. Included in that investment was a $25,000 ap Blizzard of faxes makes owls hostage to axes Bill Harlan congressmen of all parties return all PAC money from all savings and loan associations? Er, well, no. But I'm sure Muenster just forgot to fax them the news. The real story here is the new political technique known as the Big Fax Attack, which was illustrated by the 20 pages of faxed material the Journal received Friday afternoon from Muenster and Pressler. This "Fax when ready, Gridley!" mentality bodes ill for owls, which like to sit in trees, which are used to make paper, which is the stuff of faxes.

If the faxes on savings and loans keep rolling in at the rate they did Friday, I figure most of Washington and Oregon and a large chunk of northern California will be deforested by mid-October. But not to worry. I'm working on a way to recycle these political faxes, if I can just figure out how to keep them on the roll. did indeed add up to $21,500. So we asked the Pressler campaign about this, and they faxed their own facts.

These included a letter of support for Muenster written by lobbyists for the liquor industry. You might be wondering what liquor has to do loans. So did we, so we called the senator. Pressler said if it was improper to take money from savings and loans associations, surely it should be improper to take money from the demon rum lobby. And the liquor letter has been circulated for months as evidence of Muenster's "special interest" in rum.

Just in case we didn't get the point, Pressler faxed us the infamous "demon rum" letter, which has been faxed around the state for months. More to the point, Pressler also said some of the PACs Muenster mentioned weren't savings and loan PACs at all. Yes they were, a Muenster's campaign aide replied, and he had the fax to prove it. Then Pressler argued that South Dakotans had helped him get the money from the other out-of-state PACs on the fax. Since South Dakotans were involved, Pressler said, those PACs shouldn't be counted as "out of state." How ingenious.

This logic could open the door to many other "instate" PACs, such as the Seafarers' Union, since many South Dakotans have been to one or both of the major oceans serving the United States. Or they know someone who has. But I digress. Pressler's most telling point was that many of the Democratic senators and congressmen who have campaigned or will campaign for Muenster have received savings and loan PAC money. Is Muenster demanding that all Muenster and Pressler have been arguing all week over who got what from which savings and loans and who should send back how much money and to whom.

Early Friday afternoon, Muenster accused Pressler of understating the amount of campaign contributions he had received from out-of-state savings and loans in 1989. It wasn't $2,000 or $3,000, Muenster said. It was $21,500. Considering that the savings and loan crisis itself is going to cost us about $500 squajillion, an extra $18,000 or $19,000 in a multimillion dollar Senate campaign seems somewhat trivial. But what the heck, let's pretend for a minute that it's the principle of the thing even though we're talking about Congress here.

Given that, there was no doubt that Muenster had faxed the facts, which consisted of two lists of contributors to Pressler's campaign. The money This is the story of how the savings and loan crisis is threatening the spotted owl. We might as well blame savings and loan associations for endangering helpless birds. They get blamed for everything else. I figure it's only a matter of time before Saddam Hussein's name shows up on Silverado's board of directors.

1 can hear Neil Bush's testimony before Congress now: "Mr. Bush, do you mean to tell this committee you had no idea Saddam Hussein was getting interest-free loans?" "Well golly, now that you mention it, I do remember a guy with a moustache and an accent "But Mr. Bush, on Mr. Hussein's loan application, right here under "Purpose of Loan," he wrote: "To slice Kuwaitis up like camel jerky." Didn't that arouse your suspicion?" "Not at all. I thought he'd stumbled onto a great idea for fruit processing.

Those little guys are delicious, but they're darn hard to peel, and "Excuse me, Mr. Bush, the word is KIWI fruit, not KUWAITI fruit." "Hoo boy. We don't have to tell Poppy about this, do we?" Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the savings and loan crisis has become fodder for Senate campaign cannons here in South Dakota. For example, on Friday The Rapid City Journal was buried under barrages of faxes and counterfaxes from challenger Ted Muenster and Sen. Larry Pressler, Aldermen schedule city budget meetings Top teacher believes in her work dents learn how to be good students and in the process build self-esteem.

Starting from scratch, she developed a highly individualized special needs program. She reviews students' entrance test scores and often makes course Slanina is the first person students meet when they come to Vo-Tech, and she is often one of the first they turn potential and realize their goals," Slanina wrote. "I feel each individual, who has the desire, has within themselves the ability to be a dynamic contributor to the work force." Slanina said she enjoyed knowing she had played a part in helping students reach their goals. She is president of the Special Needs Division of the South Dakota Vocational Association, a member of the national vocational association and the "at-risk youth" representative for South Dakota Higher Education Council for Adult Vocational and Technical Education. As the state's vocational teacher of the year, Slanina's name is now submitted to the Region 5 competition.

Vocational teachers of the year from 17 western states will compete for the regional title, and the winner will be named in April. Winners from each of the nation's five regions will then be considered for the national title, which will be awarded in December of 1991. see vocational education playing a vital role in the revitalization of the education system on a national level." Since graduating from Black Hills State College in December of 1982 with degrees in elementary and special education, Slanina has taught vocational education. Her career started at Black Hills Special Services Cooperative, where she developed a strict behavioral program for a 10-year-old student. In the summer of 1983, she started teaching in the co-op's alternative education program and was responsible for placing students mainstreamed into classes at Sturgis Brown High School.

Slanina said the need for special services would grow as education intensified its focus on "at-risk" students and the number of people returning to school for an education beyond high school increased. It's an area of education she finds rewarding. "I enjoy working with individuals, helping them to develop their Erin Andersen Staff Writer Three years ago, Mary Ann Slanina was burning out on teaching. Today, as South Dakota's 1990 Vocational Education Teacher of the Year, she was a candidate for the regional title. And Slanina said she's far from being burned out on education.

The Lead native began her teaching career in 1983 as a vocational teacher at Black Hills Special Services' alternative school. Slanina worked with students who weren't succeeding in their regular school systems. "I was working with at-risk kids before we even knew what 'at risk' was," Slanina said. It was a big job, and it was taking its toll on Slanina's energy. During the summer of 1988, she was offered an even bigger job helping Western Dakota Vocational Technical Institute lower its adult student dropout rate, which was 35 to 40 percent.

Her job as special services coordinator was to help Vo-Tech stu 9:10 a.m., wastewater division, Dan Bjerke, Craig Back; 9:30 a.m., traffic engineering, Jerry Wright, Nick Boerger; streets, snow removal, street lighting, equipment maintenance, street cleaning, sanitation, Wright; 1:15 p.m., cemetery and parks, Lon Van Deusen; 1:45 p.m., Meadowbrook and Executive golf courses, Mike Goff; 2:15 p.m., recreation and pools, Lori Coble; 2:30 p.m., inspection and government buildings; p.m., public works administration and engineering, Larry Kostaneski. Thursday: 1:15 p.m., Rapid City Regional Airport, Bill Bacon; 2 p.m., transportation terminal, public transportation, Bonnie Hughes, Rich Sagan; 2:15 p.m., parking lot, community development, Hughes; 2:30 p.m., police, detox, corrections, animal shelter, Tom Hennies; p.m., capital improvements planning committee. First reading of the proposed 1991 budget ordinance has been set for the Sept. 10 Common Council meeting. Second reading has been set for Sept .17.

1 Rapid City aldermen will get their first look at the 1991 city budget on Tuesday when three days of city budget meetings begin. The budget meetings will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday with an introduction and budget address by Mayor Keith Carlyle. Here is the schedule of when various budgets will be heard and discussed by city officials. Tuesday: 9:15 a.m., Rushmore Plaza Civic Center board, civic center concessions, operations, ticket office, promotion, Kevin Buntrock; 9:45 a.m., Convention Visitors Bureau; 10 a.m., city energy plant, Gunar Dzintars; 10:15 a.m., mayor and council; 10:30 a.m.-ll a.m., library board, Susan Sandness; 1:30 p.m., finance department, Kent Brugger, Coleen Schmidt; 1:45 p.m., fire department, Jim Tish; 2:15 p.m., planning department, Marcia Elkins, David Hough; 2:30 p.m., transportation planning, Mely Rahn; 2:45 p.m., personnel department, Bob Mullally; 3 p.m., city attorney, Bob Jackson.

Wednesday: 8:45 a.m., water divi-sipn, Dar'Bke. Rodger Kruger; Slanina to when they're having problems. Last year, the dropout rate had dropped to 13 percent. "I strongly believe vocational education is a problem solver," Slanina wrote in her nomination paper. "It has a unique ability to solve the specific problems of one individual; the broader, more complex problems of business and industry; it responds to the local needs of cities and states; and I.