The Billings Gazette from Billings, Montana • 5

The Billings Gazette Tuesday, Sept. 29. 1 987 Dick, Jane, Spot replaced by ogres, princesses says Heinecke. Along with their reading, they also write. Heinecke's first literature unit this school year has featured folk and fairy tales.

So the students, having studied the elements of stories, wrote their own. The unit ended Friday "1 with all the students coming to school in costumes repre- KALISPELL (AP) Remember Dick and Jane? Forget Dick and Jane, says Kalispell teacher Terry Heinecke. The timeworn hero and heroine of primary-school reading books and their equally bland canine companion, Spot, are not to be found in Heinecke's second-grade classroom at Edgerton School. Instead, the daily reading hour is peopled with ogres, princesses and giants from folk and fairy tales. Reading is not even called "reading" in Heinecke's class; it is "literature." A couple of years ago, when she was teaching first grade, Heinecke was troubled over the traditional reading program that required children to complete a lot of tedious and repetitious paper-and-pencil exercises.

"What do you do with students who enter first grade reading well above the first grade level?" she asked herself. "We're getting more and more of them all the time." Looking back now, Heinecke says, "We'd almost pretend that wasn't what was happening. We'd make them workbooks and skill sheets. She also found out that there was no correlation between reading achievement and the amount of such routine "seatwork," a fact she found "just shocking." If testing has cast a bad light on the traditional method of teaching reading, it has made Heinecke's program and others like it look good. "National tests show that students who have a chance to read whole pieces of literature are scoring way beyond those locked into basal programs," she says.

"My whole class performance has come up with this program even the weaker readers." Some of the second-graders are reading novels. Last week, one of them was deep into "The Mystery of the Empty Trunk," a 165-page volume without pictures. They read independently at their own level, and sometimes they all read the same thing in class and discuss it. They talk about the main character, setting, and how the plot is carried forward. "It's not beyond them," all go through the reading program for their grade." Heinecke decided not to teach that way.

Starting with six first-graders who were above-average readers, she encouraged them to read "literature" real stories and books with literary value, not just sentences put together to teach words. It worked so well that Heinecke began to think, "The whole class should be doing this. Why not?" Now the whole class does as do some other classes, at Edgerton and other schools. Although Heinecke did not realize it at the time, she was a leader in an education movement that was springing up elsewhere around the country. "Becoming A Nation of Readers," a thick report compiled by the Commission on Reading, spurred her efforts at reform.

It told her that children in traditional reading programs actually read very little during the typical school day, and seldom attempt whole pieces of literature. In fact, 70 percent of "reading" time is spent on senting their favorite tales. When do the students learn basic skills like phonics? Heinecke includes those in the spelling part of the curriculum, separate from literature. "Sometimes when kids don't like to read, they're associating reading with skills," she says. Heinecke has talked about the program at meetings of educators throughout the state.

Next month in Calgary, Alberta, she will present it at the Eighth Transmountain Regional Conference of the International Reading Association. "I get so excited about it," she says. "I guess that's why I'm so anxious to share it." Fans get plenty of country melodies J5mall town radio tough to maintain By EVELYN DONKERSLOOT Gazette Glendive Bureau GLENDIVE Mike Coyan worked 2 months without a day off after two KXGN disk jockeys recently lost their jobs over selling dangerous or imitation drugs in Glendive. During that time, he spent at least seven hours a day on the air. "Usually any time you get around to spring, the door starts to swing anyway," said Coyan, program director and music director for the Glendive station.

"For us, this summer was perhaps a little more hectic than it had been for quite a few years." Drug convictions aren't normal at Eastern Montana radio stations, but dealing with staff turnover is. So are struggling with a down economy and competing against newspapers and other radio stations for advertising. High turnover has always been a problem at small radio stations, said Michael May, president of the May School of Broadcasting in Billings. "Probably always will be." Disk jockeys start at about $800 a month and average one year at their first job, May said. Coyan known as Mike Rogers on the air said it's hard to pull someone out of broadcasting schools in Billings or Minneapolis and expect them to adjust to life in rural Montana.

"You have to get somebody who clicks and likes a small town," said Coyan who's starting to focus more on people who want to move up from smaller stations. Steve Stumbo, general manager of gospel station KGLE in Glendive, said KGLE has an unusually low staff turn-over, but "the most difficult place to work in Eastern Montana within a radio station would be the area of sales. It's a down economy and there's lots of competition. If you aren't cut out for it, it's pretty tough. We have seen a lot of people try it and go." Ad rates in Eastern Montana are also lower than they are in a larger market, Stumbo said.

"So a salesman working on commission can do the same amount of work in Billings or Kalispell and make twice or three times as much as here." Amie Nash, traffic manager at KFLN-AM in Baker, said Baker has also had a high turn-over of sales people. Officials at several radio stations said the swinging door is normal, but it's slowed down the past few years for announcers and disk jockeys. "Generally speaking, in small-market radio, we become a training ground for larger stations," said Mike Hughes, general manager for KLTZ-AM and KLAN-FM in Glasgow. "We haven't really felt that in the last three years." People in larger markets are probably moving less and that has cut down on the opportunities for people to move up from smaller stations, he said. To prevent turnover and better serve the area, Andy Shamley, general manager of KVCK-AM and Y-22 in Wolf Point, said he intentionally tries to hire natives of Northeast Montana.

Local employees are an advantage because they understand the area and already know how to pronounce names. "Us local people understand us local people," Shamley said. The economy is more of a problem than turn-over for many Eastern Montana radio stations. Glendive and Miles City each have three local radio stations competing for advertising. A radio station in Chinook and one in Sidney closed this year because of finances.

"It's a struggle simply because of the way the rural, the agriculture prices are," said Hughes of Glasgow. "We're no different than any Hi-line community in that whenever we lose a business, we feel the effect of it By the same token, if a new one opens up, we feel it too. "We all agree that because of our loyalty in our own communities, our merchants give us as strong as support as possible in their advertising dollars," Hughes said. "But when they don't have it, of course, we feel a real impact "It's tough in a small market because 80 percent of our businesses are on the air," Hughes said. "We don't have the potential of a whole lot of business to try to get on the air." Arch Ellwein, station manager of KGCX-AM in Sidney, said his competitor went off the air in March and that made it easier for him.

"The market can't support all that many, you know, because it's not that big of market," he said. "It's just the facts of life coming to roost." By EVELYN DONKERSLOOT Gazette Glertdlve Bureau COUNTRY MUSIC fans should never feel isolated in Eastern Montana. Almost every town with a radio station has at least one station that plays country-Western music, and the music can reach as far as 50 to 200 miles away. Country is one of the most popular formats in Montana, according to Michael May, president of the May School of Broadcasting in Billings. "It fluctuates between that and contemporary," he said.

KGCH-93FM of Sidney changed its format from adult contemporary to country in August. "They felt there was a hole in the market," said Arch Ellwein, station manager of the sister AM station. KIKC-FM of Forsyth did the same thing in 1983. KLTZ-AM of Glasgow went country around 1982, about the same year that KATQ-AM FM of Plentywood stopped format-hopping and finally settled on a mostly country format. "The response is an overwhelming 'I like my country said KATQ General Manager Joy Fanning as she described the results of a recent listener survey.

In Glasgow, "KLTZ was a real blend when it first went on the air," said Mike Hughes, general manager of KLTZ-AM and KLAN-FM. "With the only station in the market, we tried to please everybody had a mix of country, blend of adult contemporary, rock and played a little bit of everything until about five years ago." Then KLTZ-AM switched to all-country and Hughes said he's been pleased with the results. "Country in this market is a very solid market because of the rural listeners we have." At Sidney, KGCX-AM plays traditional country music and KGCH-93 plays modern country. There's no market for rock stations around Sidney, Ellwein said. Some stations mix country with other formats, but the general manager of at least one station said he's content to leave the country to others.

Scobey radiothon named best program of year KCGM-FM General Manager Dixie Halverson. KCGM-FM has also held radiothons which raised $151,000 for the lorpl hospital and $41,000 for a community ball park. "I think people in this area have decided if we want something, we have to do it ourselves," Halverson said. "There's no outside income in Daniels County other than agriculture We don't have a lot of oil. We have no industry." The radiothons have given the station state-wide recognition among broadcasters, Halverson said.

This year's radiothon was named top broadcasting program of the year for small markets. By EVELYN DONKERSLOOT Gazette Glendive Bureau SCOBEY Eleven Eastern Montana towns besides Billings have radio stations. Scobey, the smallest of those towns, has made at least three major improvements because of money raised by its local radio station, according to KCGM-FM General Manager Dixie Halverson. KCGM-FM held a radiothon in March which raised $45,000 in cash and an estimated $135,000 worth of donated supplies and labor to expand its fire halL said "We have no need to go country," said Don Richard, general manager of KATL-AM in Miles City. "We have a significant strong listenership, and other stations fill the country need quite well." KATL sends adult contemporary music all over Eastern Montana.

JAP 1 36 Lawyer appointed: Former Chinook police chief Bernie Brest has been granted a court-appointed lawyer. Brest is accused of illegally recording conversations, lying under oath, and attempting to tamper with evidence. The last charge is a felony, and the others are misdemeanors. District Judge Leonard Langen appointed Havre attorney James Spangelo to represent Brest. Spangelo is public defender for Blaine County.

Blaine County officials say Brest will be arraigned in mid-October. The charges stem from alleged incidents earlier this month when Brest was giving a deposition in a lawsuit he filed against the city. The former chief says he was wrongfully fired. Sheep habitat: The Forest Service is burning portions of the mountains overlooking Lake Koocanusa, to try to restore habitat for a unique sheep herd flooded out by the building of Libby Dam. Bonneville Power Administration ratepayers are helping to pay for the $400,000 project to restore the Ural-Tweed bighorn sheep, a unique genetic stock characterized by their small size and chocolate-brown color.

The herd's size nosedived from 170 in 1965 to a low of 25 in the five years after Libby Dam created Lake Koocanusa. A spokesman for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said the herd has rebounded to more than 100 animals, including about 25 lambs bom this spring. the $1.7 million machine can be vital in diagnosing "soft tissue" diseases, particularly those of the brain or spinal column. They said MRI scans will cost between $500 and $800, and there are no known side effects to the treatment. They said the two Missoula hospitals are cooperating on an agreement to provide all Missoula patients access to MRI treatments.

Golf course bids: ofpoison will open construction bids Oct. 9 for a project to add nine holes and a clubhouse to its golf course. Work will begin In late October, said city administrative assistant Joe Menlcucci. The nine-hole addition will be constructed on land that used to be part of Pack River Slack Point Ranch on the eastern edge of Poison. Coping skills: Flathead National Forest employees are staying calm with the help of Washington, D.C., psychologist Les Frankfurt, who has conducted several stress-management workshops in KallspeH for the workers.

"It gives people coping skills," said forest supervisor Ed Brannon. "You can't give anything you don't have. Emotionally fit employees are higher performers. Being a strong promoter of this course is one of the best things 1 can do as a manager." The Forest Service has contracted with Frankfurt to conduct week-long workshops at different forests around the nation. Homicide sentence: chariesjohn Henry, 21, has been sentenced to eight years in prison, with four years suspended, for the 1985 Christmas Eve shooting death of his uncle, Dale Daniel.

Henry had pleaded guilty in District Court in Havre to mitigated deliberate homicide for the shooting. Henry admitted he shot his uncle, at the home they shared, after Daniel kicked open his bedroom door and threatened to beat him up. Judge Chan Ettien agreed with a recommendation that Henry be transferred from the Montana State Prison to the Swan River Youth Camp as soon as possible for job training and treatment for alcoholism. Reservation hunting, fishing: Gov. Ted Schwinden, in a meeting with tribal leaders about hunting and fishing on the Flathead Indian Reservation, said the state won't compromise individual rights.

But he said the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes also have rights. And he said if the talks between the tribes and the state end without an agreement it could cost a lot of money to sort things out in court. At issue is tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians on the Flathead reservation, including tribal management of fish and game on non-tribal land within the reservation. Loan for streets, sidewalks: The Farmers Home Administration has approved a $2,650,000 community faculty loan for the town of West Yellowstone. Sen.

John Melcher, said the funds will be used to improve the town's streets and sidewalks and is repayable in 17 years at an interest rate of 6 percent. Irrigation disputes: congressman Pat Williams has termed a session between tribal and irrigator representatives from the Flathead Indian Reservation "a very amicable one." The groups met Friday in Kalispell to ritacm ays to resolve differences over management of the reservation's federally run irrigation project. Major disputes over in-stream flows and management of the electric power sytem are In litigation. Williams, who sponsored the session, said the two sides found some common ground in discussing safety problems affecting dams on project reservoirs, and they agreed to meet again. Hospital imager: St Patrick Hospital in Missoula has received a certificate of need from the state Department of Health and Environmental Sciences to purchase a magnetic resonance imaging machine.

Hospital officials also said they have entered into an agreement with Missoula Community Medical Center to beam the machine's images across the city by microwave. The MRI uses a fixed magnetic field rather than radiation and is a new way for doctors to look inside the human body. St. Patrick officials say.