Wisconsin State Journal du lieu suivant : Madison, Wisconsin • 3

ISCONSIi Sunday, July 11,200403 Wisconsin Stale Journal Digest 'A kians plead to Greytatasid Celebrating children's citizenship By Evan Rytlewskl Wisconsin State Journal They say service cuts will hurt people and businesses could suffer The Associated Press Gov. Jim Doyle and six U.S. senators have asked Greyhound Lines Inc. not to end bus service to 260 communities in the Upper Midwest and Northwest, including 43 Wisconsin communities. Doyle said federal aid might soon be available to help maintain service, and he urged the Dallas-based company to delay action at least until Congress acts on a new long-term highway and transit funding bill.

But a Greyhound spokeswoman said Friday that the company is going ahead with plans to cut service in its 13-state northern region effective Aug. 18. Greyhound announced June 25 that it would cut back as the first step in a two- or three-year nationwide restructuring plan. Chief Executive Officer Stephen Gorman said the bus company is trying to stay profitable by focusing on faster service with fewer stops and better on-time performance on routes of 450 miles or less. In Wisconsin, the cuts would leave 14 cities with Greyhound stops.

Janesville, Stevens Point, La Crosse and Wausau are among the cities losing service. Those moves "could have a severe impact on many in our states," the senators told Gorman in a letter Thursday. They said many people rely on the bus. "There could also be serious economic impact on these people, and the cities where they live and work, will be significant." Doyle said the state is pushing the federal government to expand aid for intercity routes in an effort to preserve some service. But Greyhound spokeswoman Kim Plaskett said while the company is willing to work with public officials, it has found existing subsidy programs unreliable.

Federal aid programs administered by the states often last only two or three years and don't give the company a sufficient rate of return, she said. "We can no longer afford to operate unprofitable and marginally profitable routes," Plaskett said. and unfortunate ramifications for business communities in the affected locations, not to mention our states' overall economic health," the senators wrote. Wisconsin Sens. Russ Fein-gold and Herb Kohl signed the letter, as did Iowa's Tom Harkin, Oregon's Ron Wyden and North Dakota's Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, all Democrats.

In a similar letter to Gorman, dated Wednesday, Doyle recalled a previous round of Greyhound cuts after bus service deregulation in 1982: "If Greyhound further reduces service, many people in Wisconsin will have no intercity transportation options available to them. The personal and HAVE YOU SEEN MY BABY? 4 Faith Kufahl believes that when granting citizenship to children, you should pull out all the stops. "When you become a citizen, it needs to be more than jast getting a certificate in the mail," Kufalil said. "There needs to be ice cream, music, cultural dancing and a celebration." And since no such celebration existed, Kufalil created one: International Adoption Citizenship Day. Kufalil hopes the event, now in its fourth year, will make adopted children feel their citizenship is more official.

About 150 children, many under 2 years old, participated in the symbolic citizenship ceremony Saturday. Under a packed tent at the Henry Vilas Zoo, they were presented with mini-American flags, copies of the Declaration of Independence and letters from government officials. Kids even read a child-friendly version of the Oath of Allegiance, the pledge new citizens take, in between eating apple pie and playing with bubble wands. "We were excited to find out about this," said Mary Leising, a mother from Wau-nakee, "because there really weren't any existing celebrations to celebrate citizenship." Leising came with her 3-year-old son, Shawn, whom she adopted from India last September. She also attended last year after adopting her daughter Elena from the Marshall Islands.

Susan Scott came to Madison from Iowa for the event after hearing about it through an adoption support group. Scott, the mother of two children from South Korea, said many parents enjoyed meeting other families that had adopted children from the same countries. Mark Hertzberg Racine Journal Times Baby animals are all over the Racine Zoo this time of year. Some are born there, others are donated to the zoo. Animal care specialist Sarah llling-worth shows off Emma, a North American otter, who is still too young to be out for public viewing.

MILWAUKEE Boy in coma after beating A 14-year-old boy who was severely beaten by as many as 20 people, one with a piece of lumber, remained in a coma Saturday. It was the second brutal beating by a group within a week in Milwaukee. The boy suffered a fractured skull and a brain injury from the incident Thursday on the north side, which happened a few blocks from where Charlie Young Jr. was beaten to death by a group of children and young adults nearly two years ago. Also Thursday, a 54-year-old man with schizophrenia died from head injuries that apparently happened Sunday when he was beaten and robbed by about 10 young men near his west side home.

APPLETON Warrant is issued for supervisor An Outagamie County judge has issued an arrest warrant for a Calumet County supervisor after he failed to make a court appearance. Mark Gabriel, 43, of Ap-pleton, was to be sentenced Friday on a misdemeanor charge of obstructing an officer from a 2003 incident in Grand Chute. Circuit Judge Michael Gage said a notice of the court date had been mailed to Gabriel. He issued the arrest warrant and ordered another notice to be mailed. "There hasn't been any call or communication indicating he would not appear," he said.

MADISON Nonprofits alerted to culture grants Area nonprofit organizations are encouraged to submit grant proposals to the American Girl's Fund for Children. The fund supports programs that expose children to arts, culture and entertainment or gives them a hands-on education about the arts. Application material is online at www.madison-communityfoundation.org. Proposals must be postmarked by Aug. 1.

MIDDLETON Dance and raffle starts Friday The Middleton Fire Company's 90th Annual Dance and Raffle will take place at 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Fireman's Park, 7400 Lee St. The fund-raiser will raise money to purchase CPR training equipment that will be used to offer public CPR classes. The event will feature live music and food and beer tents both nights. Tickets for the raffle, which will be held on July 19, can be bought at the dance or the Middleton Fire Station.

Included among the more than 70 raffle prizes are a plasma television and a Carnival Cruise package for two. PRAIRIE DU CHIEN War of 1812 battle to be re-enacted The only War of 1812 battle fought in Wisconsin will be re-enacted on the very ground it occurred, Villa Louis in Prairie du Chien. At 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, major events from the battle will be condensed into a narrated re-enactment In between battles, there will be demonstrations illustrating details of early 19th-century army life. In the 1814 battle, British troops and Indian allies forced an American contingent to surrender after two days.

Nobody was killed. For ticket information, call 326-2721. Journal staff and wires Airman to be tried on base in murders Being voted among Madison's Best Personal Injury Attorneys means little unless it translates into the best outcome for clients. With Eric Farnsworth and Michael Davis, seriously injured clients have obtained some of the largest recoveries in Dane County history. Doesn't your family deserve the best? Madison's Best Proves Best for Clients judge advocate at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center.

The next step will be a pretrial hearing before a judge advocate general, who will recommend whether Witt should be court-martialed on the charges. If the case goes to trial, Witt's defense can request it be heard by a panel the equivalent of a military jury or a military judge, Strickland said. It would be the first murder trial at Robins in the base's 63-year history, Strickland said. If convicted, Witt could face the death penalty. Strickland and other base officials refused to provide further details Friday on the case or circumstances behind the slayings, saying an investigation is still under way.

Witt, a 2000 graduate of Aquinas High School, joined the Air Force in November 2001. An avionics technician, he has been with the 116th Air Control Wing at Robins since August 2002. Witt's mother, who lives in West Salem, did not return calls for comment By Betsy Bloom La Crosse Tribune The case of a former La Crosse area resident accused of stabbing a Robins Air Force Base couple to death in central Georgia most likely will be handled on the base, through the military legal system, a base legal official said Friday. Senior Airman Andrew P. Witt was formally charged Thursday with two counts of premeditated murder and one count of premeditated attempted murder.

He was taken into custody Monday evening after the bodies of Senior Airman Andrew Schliepsiek and his wife, Jamie, were found at their base residence that morning. Another man, Senior Airman Jason D. King, is still hospitalized with knife wounds. Both Schliepsiek and King were assigned to the 5th Combat Communications Group at Robins, which is about 15 miles south of Macon, Ga. A second court date for Witt has not been set, said Lt.

Col. Mark Strickland, deputy staff DEWITT Ross Stevens. LAW I www.dewittross.com (608)255-8891 No charge for initial personal injury consultation. I -y Eric FARNSWORTH Krug withdraws from race The Associated Press MILWAUKEE State Rep. Shirley Krug has dropped out of the race to represent the 4th Congressional District.

Krug's abrupt Michael DAVIS departure Friday leaves three other Milwaukee Democrats battling for their party's nomination. Krug said chp wnulH Tim Carpenter and attorney Matt Flynn remain as candidates in the Sept. 14 Democratic primary. The Democratic and Republican nominees will compete Nov. 2 to succeed retiring U.S.

Rep. Jerry Kleczka, a Democrat. Krug did not give a reason for her departure Friday. "She just feels her time isn't now," Krug spokesman Joma Taylor said. Last month, EMILY'S List, an important source of campaign cash for female candidates, endorsed Moore over Krug.

The group conducted a poll that found Moore was leading in the primary race. Taylor said Krug would have raised enough in campaign donations "to be competitive." I MffMiftB iir mm -i stand by her Kru9 previous decision not to seek re-election to her Assembly seat on Milwaukee's northwest side, ending her 20-year legislative career. State Sens. Gwen Moore and jlfffflfflllnHiM'ilili 'Mfliflfi.