The Brattleboro Reformer from Brattleboro, Vermont • 2

Wednesday, November 13, 1991 ii Brattleboro Reformer Gov. Cuomo ahead in N.H. Poll: If he runs, New York I CONCORD, N.H. (AP) Paul Tsongas and Bob Kerrey are leading in New Hampshires earliest-in-the-; nation Democratic presidential primary race, but if New York Gov. Mario Cuomo enters the campaign, he would have a commanding advantage, according to a poll released Tuesday.

The survey also found voters believe Cuomo gives Democrats the best chance to beat President Bush next November, with 38 percent pointing to him, compared to just 6 percent for Nebraska Sen. Kerrey and 4 percent for Tsongas, a former Massachusetts senator. Forty-three percent said they werent sure. New York Democratic Chairman John Marino, a Cuomo supporter, was impressed by those findings. Its interesting, and I think the most interesting number is the number of Democrats who say they think Mario Cuomo would be the strongest candidate against George Bush.

I agree, he said. For weeks, Cuomo has hedged about entering the race. Marino said the governor is nearing a decision. It could come in the next couple days, it could come later," he said, adding that any decision depends on New Yorks fiscal situation and the results of Cuomos budget negotiations with legislators. He did not say what the results would have to be for Cuomo to enter the race.

The telephone poll of 469 registered Democratic and independent voters who said they either definitely or probably will vote in the states Feb. 18 primary was conducted between Oct. 28 and Nov. 8. It has a margin of error or plus or minus five percentage points.

are seen to be about even. With Cuomo in the race, the numbers change. The poll found 30 percent of those surveyed would back Cuomo, followed by 10 percent for Tsongas and 9 percent for Kerrey. Harkin was next with 6 percent, then Brown, 5 percent; Clinton, 4 percent; and Wilder, 2 percent. Thirty-four percent were undecided.

The results were similar to a poll done last month by a Massachusetts firm. That survey, which didnt ask about Cuomo, gave Tsongas a 24 percent to 19' percent edge over Kerrey. Harkin came in third with 12 percent, and other candidates were in single digits. That poll had a margin of error of plus or minus four to five percent. If Cuomo doesnt run, the poll found the number of people unsure of which Democrat gives the party the best shot to unseat Bush jumped to 61 percent.

Kerrey was picked by 10 percent, followed by Tsongas, 9 percent; Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, 8 percent; former California Gov. Jerry Brown, 6 percent; Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, 5 percent; and Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder, 1 percent.

When asked which declared Democrat they would vote for now, Tsongas, from nearby Lowell, was backed by 16 percent, while Kerrey received 13 percent. Harkin was third with 8 percent, followed by Brown, 7 percent; Clinton, 5 percent; and Wilder, 2 percent. Forty-nine percent were unsure. Because of the margin of error, Tsongas and Kerrey N.H. lawmakers approve Medicaid bailout proposal CONCORD, N.H.

(AP) Both j-sides agreed Tuesday that getting $118 million through a loophole in the '-federal Medicaid program would put a Band-aid over a gash in New Hampshires budget that needs several dozen stitches. But only 42 representatives and three senators voted against trying to erase a projected $100 million deficit in this years budget with a federal windfall. Their alternatives were clear and too distasteful to most: eliminate programs, lay off hundreds of state workers and raise taxes. The House voted 283-42 to authorize Health and Human Services Commissioner Harry Bird to go after the money. About an hour later, the Senate followed suit, 19-3.

Gov. Judd Gregg, who backed the idea, has said he will sign the measure. But he also cautioned the Medicaid bailout money wouldnt be enough. The federal government still would have to approve giving the state the money, but that decision wont be known until the state seeks the money from the feds. Some hope to tap the program for even more money toward another $100 million budget shortfall pro jected for next year.

But supporters acknowledged eventually the federal spigot will be shut off and New Hampshire will have to find the money somewhere else or make the painful cuts. Opponents berated supporters for putting off the difficult decisions and for seeking to reduce New Hampshires deficit by adding to the federal debt. This bill does nothing but create the illusion we are solving the problem," said Rep. Benjamin DePecol, D-Keene. Sen.

Roger Heath, R-Sandwich, who urged deeper budget cuts, warned a showdown is coming with those who refuse to make the cuts necessary to close the budget gap. Sen. Gordon Humphrey, R-Chichester, also called it a scam that puts off the day of reckoning. He said lawmakers should work from now until Christmas to cut the budget instead. But Rep.

Douglas Hall, a member of the House budget-writing committee, said the money, though a stop-gap measure, would buy time to come up with permanent solutions to the problem. N.H. suicide bill filed; excludes mercy killings CONCORD, N.H. (AP) Two New Hampshire lawmakers filed a bill Tuesday that would allow terminally ill people to commit suicide, but would not allow mercy killings by physicians. At a news conference, Reps.

Robert Guest, D-Hanover, and Arthur Corte, R-Dover, said they researched the subject for seven months, talking to doctors, medical ethicists, legislators and regular people, before drafting the measure. Guest, who has said the bill is the first in the country to be initiated by a state legislature, made it clear the measure does not allow euthanasia. The patients physician cannot administer a lethal dose by injection or other invasive means, he said. The patient must independently determine the time, place and conditions under which they would take their life. Now, causing or aiding suicide is a felony if it results in a suicide or an attempted suicide, and a misdemeanor otherwise.

New Hampshire law prohibits assisted suicide, mercy killing and euthanasia as well as any affirmative or deliberate act or omission to end life other than to permit the natural process of dying of those in a terminal condition or a permanently unconscious condition. Guest said several checks are in the bill to ensure suicides arent committed by nonterminally ill people. Among them: Every action by a patient or doctor must be voluntary. Patients must receive a second opinion on their illnesses by doctors who are experts in the area to make sure they are terminal. Patients must make suicide requests in writing, and they must be witnessed by someone other than their spouse or a person who has claims against a patients estate.

Patients must be in full control of their mental faculties. So-called suicide machines like the one used by a Michigan doctor to help several people commit suicide recently would not be allowed, because its considered invasive. Those physically unaable to take their own lives would not be allowed to. An ethics committee of a certified health care facility must review a patients requests. The bill prohibits suicides by pregnant women or minors.

The movement for assisted suicide has grown of late, fueled in part by AIDS activists and intensive publicity about right-to-die cases. Public opinion polls showing increased popular support for physician-assisted suicide prompted drafting the bill, Guest said, referring to a new Boston Globe-Harvard School of Public Health poll showing that 67 percent of Americans approve doctors giving patients aid in dying. In Washington, voters last week turned down an initiative that would have allowed physicians to provide lethal injections to certain patients who request them. The Washington State Medical Society had opposed the measure. AP MAKING TRACKS Marie Kohtala leaves footprints in an early snow Tuesday as she heads towards the Mill Stream Grange hall in the central Maine town of Vienna.

A mixture of snow, sleet and rain fell over most of Maine Monday night as winter weather continued to close. Brother of N.H. woman says Rena Paquette was murdered CONCORD, N.H. (AP) The brother of a New Hampshire woman whose body is being exhumed says he has more evidence Rena Paquette was murdered, and did not University of Bridgeport president resigns commit suicide 27 years ago, a Paquette family friend said Tuesday. Richard Baron, who is writing a book on the Paquette case, said Rena Paquettes brother, Woody Ferland, remembers talking to a state trooper who told him authorities knew his siter was murdered.

For his own peace of mind, just knowing that she didnt do this was good enough, Baron said. Ferland, who lives in North Hampton, planned to meet with the former trooper this week, Baron said. Ferland could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Rena Paquettes charred body was found clad in nightgown and slippers at a pig shack about a mile from the familys Manchester farmhouse on Feb. 3, 1964.

Police concluded she burned herself to death. But the Paquette family never believed the suicide ruling and, at Barons instigation, is exhuming the body Wednesday for a new autopsy to be performed by state Medical Examiner Dr. Roger Fossum. constituting the longest faculty strike in U.S. academic history.

Many were permanently replaced, and others saw their programs eliminated as the school downsized to cut costs. This fall, the universitys problems worsened. Facing a $3 million projected budget shortfall, the school borrowed heavily from its endowment and admitted it was on the brink of closing. The school has launched a fund-raising campaign aimed at raising more than $5.2 million. The campaign began after university trustees rejected an offer from a group linked to the Unification Church that could have put the privately run school on sound financial footing.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) The president of the University of Bridgeport has resigned, less than a month after trustees of the beleaguered school rejected a financial bailout from an arm of the Rev. Sun Myung Moons Unification Church. President Janet D. Greenwood, president since 1987, will remain at the university as a tenured faculty member and president emeritus.

The announcement of her resignation came after a 5 1 2-hour Board of Trustees meeting Monday night. Greenwood didnt attend. University spokesman Walter Wager said he didnt know if Greenwood, 47, had been asked to resign. Edwin G. Eigel the universitys provost since 1979, was named interim president.

He refused to comment. Colin Gunn, trustee chairman, said Greenwood had faced unusual burdens, including limited financial support, the shrinking pool of college-age students, labor strife and declining enrollment. Student enrollment slowly dropped from a high of 9,000 in the 1970s to 3,800 this year. Faced with a $10 million budget deficit early in her term, Greenwood imposed pay cuts that prompted the faculty union to go on strike in September 1990. About 70 faculty members remain on strike, Teen accused of using electrical shock to punish kids WEATHER EYE MacNeil allegedly threw the switch, sending a current into their arms.

Police officer Wiliiam Audette said it appeared the shock device was not designed as an instrument of torture. He said the switch was going to be part of a toy or something that MacNeil was in the process of building. sault and battery with a dangerous weapon, electricity. The children told investigators they had done something bad when MacNeil applied the shock machine, the Milford Daily News reported. The boys allegedly were forced to hold two bare wires that were attached to the switch and plugged into a wall circuit, police said.

MORNING FLURRIES, then decreasing clouds today, high near 40. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Tonight, becoming partly cloudy, low near 30. Thursday, sunshine and clouds mixed, high around 45. A chance of showers Friday and Saturday, high 45 to 50, low 30 to 35.

Fair Sunday, high 40 to 45, low 25 to 30. NORTHBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) A teen-ager pleaded innocent Tuesday on charges he used wiring and an electrical switch to shock two children he was babysitting. David MacNeil, 17, was arrested Monday night following an investigation by police of last Thursdays incident, in which the 5- and 8-year-old boys were given electrical shocks as punishment for bad behavior, police said. MacNeil allegedly used a device linking exposed wires and a toggle switch, police said.

He was arraigned in Uxbridge District Court on two counts of as- fill these shoes be a big brother (802) 257-0361 Sponsored by: First VT Bank of the rich and famous, and the rest of us. Mark the occasion with a birthday or anniversary mention o( someone you know. Line mention Is only 5, photo mention Is 1 10. Please send Information and payment to: Reformer birthdays and Anniversaries, P.O. Box 802, Brattleboro.

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Metropolitan Police said Elizabeth Fitz, 25, also of Nashua, fell out of a pickup truck being driven by Thorkildsen on Interstate 93 near the Route 1 split. Fitz was struck by two cars driving behind the truck on Saturday, police said. TUESDAY Tri-State 3-8-1 0-4-7-2 Mass. 8-3-3-8 Millions 3-17-19-23-34-39 Bonus 31 SAVE MONEY Pork Roasts Chops 5 lb. average s1.49 5 5 Delmonico Steaks 30 lb.

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