The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 1

T1 Salino 1 1 he Journal 115th year No. 347 Salina, Kansas MONDAY December 12,1988 25 Cents Truckers escape fiery wreck From Staff and Wire Reports A truck driver and his brother escaped from the fiery cab of a tractor-trailer hanging 40 feet above the Saline River Sunday after the truck jumped the guardrail of an icy bridge on Interstate 70. The accident sent the men to St. John's Hospital, but both escaped serious injury. "It's amazing, isn't it," said Capt.

Joe Knott, division chief of the Salina Fire Department's Emergency Medical Service. The accident was one of many in the area Sunday after a wet snow made roads as slick as skating rinks. Two people were killed in an accident about four miles west of Florence Sunday. A Marion County dispatcher said details of the accident and the victims' identities were not available late Sunday. Also Sunday, three Sedgwick County men were killed Sunday afternoon on Interstate 35 when the car they were in slid on slick roads and collided head-on with a tractor- trailer, the Kansas Highway Patrol said.

The accident occurred on the turnpike about 11 miles north of El Dorado. No names were released Sunday night. The Kansas Highway Patrol said Mark Adams II, 61; William Richardson, 68; and Thomas Loyd, 32, were killed. The three worked for the law firm Adams and McCarthy in Wichita. In the accident near Salina, Behrouz Taami-Ali, 40, a passenger in the truck, was admitted to the hospital and was in stable condition Sunday'night.

His brother, Parviz Taami-Ali, 45, also was treated. Both men are from Texas. The accident occurred about a mile east of the 1-70 and Ohio Street interchange and was reported shortly after 4 p.m. It blocked the the westbound lanes of 1-70 for more than six hours as firefighters tried to extinguish the fire that consumed the cab and spread to the trailer. Traffic in the westbound lanes was stopped for more than an hour and backed up about six miles, said Trooper Burt Brown of the Kansas Highway Patrol.

After the fire was (See Wreck, Page 9) Ben Harrli A tractor-trailer burns on Interstate 70 about half a mile east of the Ohio Street exit Sunday afternoon. Airplane crashes en route to help after earthquake LENINAKAN, U.S.S.R. (AP) Rescuers in this earthquake-ravaged city struggled Sunday with poor equipment and organization to free a dwindling number of trapped survivors after saving at least 1,500. Adding to the tragedy, a Soviet military transport plane carrying soldiers to help in rescue efforts crashed as it approached a city airport, killing 78 people, Tass said. President Mikhail S.

Gorbachev wound up a two-day visit to the disaster area and called Wednesday's earthquake in Armenia "a grave disaster, simply a tragedy." "It is simply difficult to bear this in human terms. It is unbearable," Gorbachev told Soviet television. He exhorted rescuers to speed their efforts, warning an epidemic of disease could break out within a few days. Gorbachev and his wife, Raisa, were shown consoling survivors and speaking with rescuers in Spitak, a city of 16,000 nearly destroyed by the quake, and in Kirovakan 10 miles to the east. He said 3,900 soldiers from the region performing military service throughout the country were granted leave to return home.

The estimated death toll increased. Doctors Without Borders, an international relief organization, said in Amsterdam that Health Minister Lenlnakan Armenian Republic Fireworks ignite blaze in market that kills 51 MEXICO CITY (AP) Illegal fireworks exploded in a crowded street market Sunday and started a chain reaction and fire that spread to five buildings, killing at least 51 people and injuring 45. "We'll be searching all night. They're still finding bodies," said Salvador Padillo, the Red Cross commander at the scene. At least 51 people were killed, said Dr.

Jose Borja Gonzalez of the city medical services. He was marking and counting the bodies of the dead as they were brought out of the buildings. "They can't get inside the storerooms, but they are full of bodies," said Roberto Castanon Romo, city director of medical services. "You can no longer talk of At least 11 of the dead were children, officials said. Padillo said at least 45 people were injured, but an official at Red Cross headquarters put the number at 83.

Two firefighters were among the injured, medical workers said. The first explosion apparently was in one of the Merced market stalls set up in a narrow street jammed with Christinas shoppers, said Red Cross worker Jorge Torres San Juan. Fire spread to a two-story building of candy and fireworks shops, where fireworks also were stored, and to a building of candy shops next door. A city legal official, Jesus Sandoval, said the fireworks were being sold illegally. Inside THE BIG EIGHT shows it remains a strong basketball conference by going 7-1 over the weekend.

See Sports, Page 11. A RECOMMENDATION on which military bases should close will be ready by the end of December. See Page 5. STUDENTS IN PURDY, make the most of a judge's order and enjoy the first dance after a dance ban was struck down. See Page 6.

Classified 18 Living Today 8 3 5 On the Record 9 Opinion 4 Sports 11-14 Television 16 Weather 9 Weather KANSAS Sunny today, highs in the upper 30s northeast to the low to mid-50s west. Clear tonight, lows in the 20s. Sunny Tuesday, highs in the 50s east and central and in the low 60s west. Toy Run not slowed by snow By MAR1SA DANIELS Staff Writer The bitter snow and cold Sunday only made Harry Walburn feel all the more like Santa Claus as he rode an open-air, four-wheeled vehicle through Salina with a bag full of toys. "I don't mind the snow," said Walburn, 45, 1481 N.

Fairchilds Road. For the third consecutive year, Walburn painted his beard and hair white and dressed up as Santa Claus to participate in the third annual Salvation Army Toy Run. A member of the Golden Eagles Motorcycle Club, Walburn was one of about a hundred motorcyclists who rode in the event. Members of bike clubs from the Salina including the Golden Eagles, the Retreads, Theus, the Harley Owners Group and ABATE, participated in the event. Several members of the Salina Street Rod Association also drove their cars in theTdyRun.

To participate, riders were re- Ban Harris Jim McBride and his son Billy wait at the Mid State Mall for the 1988 Christmas Toy Run to begin so they can take their teddy bear to the Salvation Army Sunday. Yevgeny I. Chazov told workers the quake had claimed 50,000 to 60,000 lives. The previous government estimate was 40,000 to 45,000, an estimate the Soviet Embassy in Washington used Sunday. The embassy also said about 500,000 were homeless and 6,000 people were hospitalized.

It said 1,500 people have been rescued. Soviet officials, including Gor- bachev, denied charges Sunday that children orphaned by the quake were being sent from Armenia to other parts of the Soviet Union. Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady I. Gerasimov said on the British TV-AM program that 22 people were arrested Saturday when about 600 protested over the orphan issue. He denied the children were being (See Airplane, Page 9) Dealing with poor hits hospitals hard ByDAVERANNEY Harris News Service "Are we really prepared to turn away someone who's 95 years old and has a broken hip just because he's poor? "Are Last of two parts we prepared to turn away kids from low-income who've come down The shops "were all full of people buying," said Luis Contreras, another rescue worker.

After the explosions began, an estimated 500 people streamed from the building screaming, "Get out, get out," said Fernando Dominguez, who was working in shoe store less than 100 feet away. "At first it sounded like bullets. Then there were more and more and then the explosion," Dominguez said. The narrow street, running into the huge market, was crowded with people buying fireworks for the celebration of the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe today. The explosion began with one crate of fireworks on the end of the street nearest the Merced.

families with ear infections that are extremely painful but not necessarily life-threatening? "And how are we to decide who gets a new liver or a new Dr. Daniel Caliendo, medical director of emergency room services at HCA Wesley Medical Center, Wichita, knows there are no answers to these difficult questions. But Caliendo also knows hospitals are more often faced with these questions as they near a fiscal crisis caused by unpaid care for the poor. "When we as a nation decide how much we're willing to spend on health care, we immediately begin setting limits; we begin rationing; we enter a system based on an individual's ability to pay," he said. "There is no fair way to decide who's eligible for health care." Wesley Medical Center wrote off $8.8 million in "charity and bad debt" in the first nine months of 1988, said Martyn Howgill, senior vice president for marketing and strategic planning at the hospital.

By year's end, the hospital expects to collect $131 million on billings for $179 million. "Actually, what we're seeing is a hidden tax," Howgill said. "Elected officials have been able to sidestep the ugly task of raising taxes by allowing or forcing the healthcare system into raising its rates to cover the costs of uncompensated care." The trend appears to be part of an assumption that hospitals will quietly swallow millions of dollars in unpaid care. Insurance lacking A recent survey by the Kansas Hospital Association found that 38 percent of the Kansans living below (See Programs, Page 9) Mother seeks better place for kids to sleep ByALANSTOLFUS Staff Writer Brenda's older children ages 10 and 6 sleep in the same double bed but don't like it. They fight with each other at night, and Brenda would like a bunk bed to separate them.

Her third child, 2, has outgrown a baby bed and prefers to sleep with Brenda in her bed. For the two beds, she has only one set of sheets. Brenda has lived in her apartment for eight years and owes the landlord about $900 in rent. The landlord is patient with her as she tries to pay off the bill, she said. Unemployed for almost a year, Brenda receives $445 in Aid for Dependent Children and $233 in food stamps each month.

She and her family are among the families the Salina Christmas Fund hopes to help this year. The names of the families have been changed for the purpose of the story. The fund is in its fourth year and works with local social-service agencies to provide the needy with gifts of food, clothing and other assistance. Brenda has lived in Salina since she was 2 years old. She did not finish (See Sleep, Page 9) The Sffj Christm Fund You can help The Salina Christmas Fund helps the needy of Saline County and the agencies that serve them, during the holiday season and throughout the year.

Will you give? Contributions can be sent to: Salina Christmas Fund P.O. Box 1982 Salina, 67402-1982 Checks should be made payable to "Salina Christmas Fund." The fund's sponsors are the Salina Area Community Services Council, Information and Referral, and the Salina Journal..