The Independent-Record from Helena, Montana • 8

A independent nM.ord. Helena, t-ndoy. December IV. 106 RIEFS Freed merceuiQiry hcocEc home Bus driver loses control; another takes wheel GRAMERCY. La.

(AP) An off-duty driver guided a Grey hound bus down a steep embankment Thursday night after the FBI will get details of his ordeal first On 7 it driver at the wheel, apparently suffering a heart attacK, losi control. State police Lt. Ray Farris said the off-duty driver, whose name was not available, took the wheel of the bus after it headed off Interstate 10. The striken driver was taken to River View Hospital in nearby Gonzales, La. His identity and condition were not immediately available.

Reports from the scene indicated that the bus left the road and traveled down the embankment toward railroad tracks that pass beneath the interstate. VI ft 4Wv CT Si a MARINETTE, Wis. (AP) Eugene Hasenfus, the American who spent two months in a Nicaraguan prison for running guns to rebels, returned home today to hugs from his children, and said it was "great just to be standing here." Hasenfus looked relaxed as he spoke to reporters briefly from the doorstep of his in-laws' rural Marinette house about 2:15 a.m., after a day of travel that began in Guatemala City on Thursday. He declined to talk about his ordeal, saying he had agreed to speak first with the FBI. "I'm back in a free country and I can talk to whoever I want, but there has been an agreement and I will go along with that.

"IT'S GREAT JUST TO be standing here drinking my third beer," he added. "These people are all my friends, relatives and neighbors and I'm just enjoying myself." The Nicaraguan National Assembly on Wednesday approved President Daniel Ortega's request that Hasenfus, 45, be pardoned from his 30-year prison term for supplying weapons to Contra rebels. Hasenfus, his wife, Sally, and lawyer Dwight Davis arrived at Green Bay's Austin Straubel Field about 11:30 p.m. Thursday. About 25 family members, including sons Adam, who turned 7 Thursday, Eugene 10, and daughter Sarah, 12, greeted them at the airport.

Many family members wore red, white and blue ribbons. "It's good to be here," Hasenfus said at the airport, sweeping up the two boys and kissing his daughter. HE WAS GIVEN A CHOCOLATE cake made by his mother-in-law that read "Welcome back daddy." The family, many of whom came from Marinette on a chartered bus, gathered privately for about 10 minutes before Hasenfus greeted reporters. "There are a lot of people to thank," he said. He singled out Wisconsin Gov.

Anthony Earl and Sen. Christopher Dodd, among "all the people who helped the family until this actually happened, which I can't believe yet." Dressed in a tan raincoat and his own Hasenfus with children upon his arrival in Green Bay Thursday. red, white and blue ribbon, Hasenfus refused to answer questions before leaving the airport for the 50-mile trip home. Davis explained Hasenfus had agreed with the FBI not to talk about his captivity before the agency could question him next week "THE FBI WANTED TO TALK to him as soon as possible so his memory will not be diluted," Davis said. He did not say why the FBI wanted to question Hasenfus.

Hasenfus was captured by Nicaraguan soldiers Oct. 6, the day after his plane was shot down on a gunrunning mission to Contra rebels fighting Nicaragua's Sandinista government. Two other Americans and a Nicaraguan were killed in the crash of the C-123 cargo plane. After a trial before a People's Tribunal, Hasenfus was sentenced last month to 30 years for terrorism and other crimes. During his ordeal, Hasenfus said, there were times he doubted his future.

"But being an optimist, I think we got through most of that," he said. Dodd, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee traveling in Central America, said he accepted the Nicaraguan explanation that Hasenfus was released on humanitarian grounds. HASENFUS AND HIS WIFE left Nicaragua on Wednesday and spent the night in Guatemala City before traveling to Miami, Detroit and Green Bay on commercial flights Thursday. He told reporters in Miami earlier Thursday he could not "explain the gratitude in my heart at seeing all of you here and being able to step on American soil again." HOLIDAY SPECIAL YO, SANTA Brian Powers, 14, gives Santa Claus a high-five as he zips along the gutter on his skateboard in Fresno, Calif. Shuttle flag returned to Boy Scouts COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.

(AP) An American flag aboard the space shuttle Challenger when it exploded last January has been returned to a Boy Scout troop from Monument. "We receive a sacred emblem, which truly represents the principles of dedication, service and sacrifice that epitomize our great country, its astronaut corps and the Boy Scouts of America," said Scout leader, Air Force Maj. Bill Tolbert. The flag, which was stored in a locker that was blown out of the shuttle when it exploded, was awarded to Troop 514 on Thursday by astronaut Col. Guion S.

Bluford Jr. Safety of gastric bubble questioned CHICAGO (AP) Experts feel further study is needed on the safety and effectiveness of a plastic bubble placed in overweight patients' stomachs to help them eat less, a medical journal said today. Though 20,000 such bubbles have been sold, they still have not been proven safe or effective, said 18 of 24 experts polled by the American Medical Association. Bubble developer Dr. Lloyd R.

Garren said Thursday new federal guidelines on appropriate use of the bubbles should rule out the devices for "cosmetic" weight-reduction. Nader enlists stars to promote car air bags WASHINGTON (AP) Ralph Nader says he wants to send a message to automakers about air bags, so he's enlisted a lineup of celebrities to endorse the safety devices with checkbook in hand. Nader on Thursday distributed the names of nine celebrities, most in the entertainment field, who pledged to buy a car from the first manufacturer who offers air bags protecting both driver and passenger on a widespread basis. "These will be known as the Air Bag Nine," said Nader. The nine included actors Dustin Hoffman, Burt Reynolds and Paul Newman, who also is a frequent racecar driver, as well as advice columnist Abigail Van Buren, better known as Dear Abby, and talk show host Phil Donahue.

Others among the nine were comedian Steve Allen and actors Ed Asner, Dan Akyroyd and Bill Murray. Groomer held in poodle death GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) A dog groomer here has been arrested on charges of cruelty to animals in the alleged beating death of a poodle at a local dog salon. Trina Elaine Brutsche, 31, was arrested and released Thursday, and will be arraigned Jan. 21, according to Sgt Greg Kuhn.

"This dog's insides were crushed," said 24-year-old Sandra Le-nard, whose family owned Peaches the poodle. She called police after reading an autopsy report on the 4-year-old AKC registered poodle, which died Sunday. Fran Turner, who owns Bobbetts Grooming where Peaches was attended to on Saturday, said there is no apparent motive for the beating by Brutsche "other than just frustration." "Unfortunately, the girl was quite inexperienced and was fired immediately upon finding out what the situation was," Turner said. The dog's fur was "extremely matted" and had to be brushed out before clipping, Turner said. "The dog was in pain because of that," she added.

Fri. Sat. ONLY Mediator enters steel dispute PITTSBURGH (AP) USX Corp. and the United Steelwork-ers set the stage for renewed negotiations to end a record 141-day work stoppage by naming a veteran labor lawyer as their mediator. A meeting with mediator Sylvester Garrett was tentatively scheduled for today or Saturday, said sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

His views will not be binding on either side. Garrett, 75, who chaired a joint company-union arbitration panel for nearly 30 years ending in 1979, was tapped as mediator Thursday. "What do they have to lose by asking a mediator to help settle it?" asked Bruce Lazier, an industry analyst for Prescott, Ball Turben of New York. "It makes sense for both sides. Both are boxed into positions that are pretty solid." The meeting would be the first 1.

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