The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California • A12

DAYNAMER THE FRESNO BEE FINAL 12 Printed 23:50 Logical Page is THE FRESNO Troops from Lemoore Naval Air Station who are on active service with Navy carriers and their battle groups are: USS Abraham Lincoln Includes 680 Lemoore personnel from three squadrons: VFA-25 (nicknamed The Fist of the Fleet); VFA-113 (Stingers); and VFA-115 (Eagles). Left in July 2002; deployed to the Persian Gulf region. USS Constellation Includes 480 Lemoore personnel from two squadrons: VFA-137 (Kestrels) and VFA-151 (Vigilantes). Left in October 2002; deployed to the Persian Gulf region. USS Carl Vinson Includes 680 Lemoore personnel from three squadrons: VFA-22 (Redcocks); VFA-146 (Blue Diamonds); and VFA-147 (Argonauts).

Left in January; deployed to the western Pacific. USS Nimitz Includes 920 Lemoore personnel from four squadrons: VFA-14 (Tophatters); VFA-41 (Black Aces); VFA-94 (Shrikes); and VFA-97 (Warhawks). Training off the coast of California. LEMOORE TROOPS SETTING IT STRAIGHT The Rev. John Shelby Spong, retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, N.J., is the author of Christianity Must Change or (Harper Collins, $14).

A story on Page F1 of Bee misidentified the title. It is The policy to acknowledge errors promptly. Mistakes should be called to the attention of the editors involved. Local news 441-6330 National, world Business 441-6329 441-6351 Sports 441-6340 tinue to treat the casino parcels as subject to property taxes: this instant, I see any The stakes are high for both sides. Proposition 13 caps proper- ty taxes at of a as- sessed value, which includes land and structures.

The tribe has said the casino-hotel complex will cost $150 million to build. At that figure, the casino-hotelwould pro- duce $1.5 million in property taxes annually. The county takes in about $60 million a year in property taxes, County Administrator Stell Manfredi said. Taxing the Chukchansi casino would boost that figure by 2.5% at a timewhen local governments are worried about fallout from the state fiscal crisis. Property taxes stay in the coun- said.

Nearly goes to schools and nearly to the county, with the rest split among cities (Madera and Chowchilla), special districts and re- development agency. is appropriate, sure, like to have Manfredi said. Nedra Darling, a spokeswoman with the Bureau of Indian Affairs said the prop- erty tax issue is not a federal mat- ter and should be settled by the county and the tribe. Tribal and Cascade officials did not return numerous phone mes- sages asking for comment on the property tax issue. However, an unexpected $1.5 million annual tax bill might hurt a new casino trying to estab- lish itself in a central San Joaquin Valley market that already has four Indian casinos.

The lost revenue could force the casino to curtail advertising or cut back on hiring, says Lassen Coun- ty Assessor Ken Bunch, a former member of the California Asses- sors subcommittee on Native American Affairs. The casino and infra- structure improvements are being paid with $180 million in high yield bonds. Debt service for the bonds would come at least in part from money generated by the casino. For about a year, a debate that some county officials privately de- scribe as delicate has unfolded at the county government center in Madera. The tribe and Cascade want to pay while govern- ment officials want to anger what will soon be the largest private employer.

Neither side may have much wiggle room within the law. The key is the location. The could include as many as 1,800 slot machines and a 192-room hotel, is going up on the Chukchansi 80-acre Picayune Rancheria. Indian casinos generally are lo- cated on trust land. That is Indian land held by the federal govern- ment for the benefit and is not subject to property taxes.

County records show that the only trust land on the Chukchan- Picayune Rancheria is a nearly 29-acre parcel at the east end. The casino-hotel is being built on about 20 non-trust acres toward the west end. Indian- owned land not in trust often is called fee land. The tribe and Cascade have paid property taxes on the nearly 20-acre casino site in the past, ac- cording to county records and statements from officials. Assistant County Counsel Dou- glasNelsonwrote amemo last Au- gust toKidwell that stated thepro- posed casino-hotel sits on fee land within the boundaries of the original rancheria.

The tribe may operate a casino on this non-trust land, but it remains subject to property taxes. Nelson wrote that county and Cascade officials had met two weeks earlier. Cascade officials that the property is not sub- ject to property Nelsonwrote. that timewe asked them to give us any legal authority to support their position. They have not re- sponded to that Nelson discussed a 1983 law- suit, Tillie Hardwick vs.

United States of America, that sought to restore the boundaries of 17 rancherias terminated by the fed- eral government in the 1950s. Pic- ayune Rancheria was among the plaintiffs. The tribes won and Madera County entered into two judg- ments. One of the judgments, Nel- sonwrote, gaveMadera County the authority after Dec. 31, 1988, to and property taxes on Picayune Rancheria parcels which no election to return to trust status has been Based on case law and the Tillie Hardwick decision, Nelson wrote, be concluded that so long as the parcels within the ranche- ria are held in fee they are also subject to property Cascade has sought the assis- tance of Supervisor Gary Gilbert, whosedistrict includes the ranche- ria.

Gilbert said he discussed the tax issuewith Cascade officials, in- cluding President Russell Pratt, andemployees of the of- fice at a meeting last August. Gil- bert declined to give details, citing taxpayer confidentiality. The supervisor said he prefers to talk about the nearly 1,300 jobs the casino-hotel is expected to cre- ate: looking at an econom- ic engine in a county that has more than Kidwell says taxpayer pressure is part of any county job: dealing with Several residents of Indian Lakes Estates, an unincorporated community of about 500 homes next to the rancheria, want to see the tribe pay property taxes. they said homeowner Ted Weller, offi- want to give me a not that simple, said Jon Harte, general counsel for the Na- tional Indian Gaming Association in Washington, D.C. He said there are different types of but no type of Indian land is subject to county property The reporter can be reached at or 441-6272.

Continued from Page A1 carriers (the Lincoln and the USS Constellation) in the Persian Gulf, and more could be headed there soon. Anadditional 680 sail- ors and pilots from Lemoore are aboard theUSS Carl Vinson, head- ed to the western Pacific to fill in for the USS Kitty Hawk, which was reassigned Feb. 6 to the Per- sian Gulf. With nearly half of the base population either deployed or preparing to deploy, Navy offi- cials say there could be a mass exodus from Lemoore Naval Air Station unlike anything seen in the past 20 years. the presidentwants to do and wherever he wants to do it, be ready to do base spokesmanDennisMcGrath said.

Pilots and sailors are normally at sea for six months. But with the possibility of war growing more likely, they could find them- selves separated from family much longer. Justin Lozowski, 21, says one of the toughest parts of his job as an electronics technician at Lemoore Naval Air Station is not knowing how long the separation from family and friends will be when he heads to sea in the next couple of months. definitely hard when you know when leaving or when coming When the Lincoln left its home port of Everett, in July, the crew expected to be home with their families by January. The ship spent six months in the Per- sian Gulf, supporting planes pa- trolling the southernmost areas of Iraqi air space.

In December, the shipheadedhome to theUnit- ed States. But on a stop in Australia, the Navy ordered the Lincoln back to the Gulf. Many pilots and sailors in Lemoore know the same thing could happen to them on their next deployment. one carrier gets extend- ed, there is always the possibility that it will happen McGrath said. that is definite- ly on the minds of the military and their The absence of people and air- craft is becoming more notice- able at LemooreNaval Air Station.

Some of the hangars sit empty. In areas where typically 30 to 40 planes would be parked, only a few can be seen. About 920 people returned to Lemoore last week after spend- ing several weeks training off the coast of California on the USS Nimitz. They will ship out again in three to six weeks. This time they will be gone at least six months.

not known where they will go, but the Persian Gulf is a real possibility. leave again; the only question is McGrath said. at the top of their game right now, and when you The squadrons still at Lemoore VFA-41, VFA-14, VFA-97 and VFA-94 are keeping up with their training, and the hangar where they store their planes is once again burstingwith activity. 18 Hornets and Super Hor- nets can be seen and heard flying overhead, andmaintenancework- ers are spending their days mak- ing sure everything is in order. David Buckley, 22, says not worried about his upcoming deployment.

Buckley, an electron- ics technician with VFA-41, was at sea during Endur- ing in Afghanistan. If war breaks out, Buckley says be ready. been there before, so kinda used to it. And if we get stuck out there, then we get stuck out there. just do what I have to Once Buckley and the other sailors and pilots in his squadron ship out, activity on base will drop to aminimumagain.

Rough- ly 2,700 of the nearly 5,000 peo- ple stationed at Lemoore will be gone. And nobody knows exactly when they will return. week, we were empty, and anywhere from three to six weeks from now, be empty McGrath said. The reporter can be reached at or 622-2417. Continued from Page A1 BY JONATHAN FOWLER A I A GENEVA Aid agencies and governments have received too little money to prepare for thepossible humanitarian catastrophe result- ing from a war in Iraq and must move faster to get ready, officials said Sunday.

The meeting, attended by major countries theUnited neigh- bors, was held behind closed doors. been enough said Elisa- beth Rehn, a U.N. specialist at the two-day meeting of 29 countries to examinewhat else should be done to care for potentially hun- dreds of thousands of refugees. there should be Meeting participants included aid agencies like the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Red Cross, which have beenpreparing relief supplies and contingen- cy plans for months.

Iraq was not invited to the conference be- cause Swiss officials said they wanted to avoid turning it into a political event. The United States refused to attend the Geneva meeting on the grounds that U.N. agencies already have made extensive prepa- rations and it was unclear how this meeting would help. The United Nations has appealed for more than $120million since December to get food and other humanitarian supplies in place in caseofwar. TheUnited States alreadyhas con- tributed $15million andhas pledged an addi- tional $40 million.

Other nations have given about $1 million, U.N. officials said. JakobKellenberger, head of the Internation- al Committee of the Red Cross, said the ICRC had stockpiled food for 150,000 people, but expected to acquire enough for 500,000 if there is a conflict. ICRC Mideast head Balthasar Staehlin said Sunday that the agencywas finding it hard to make plans. is extremely he said, noting that relief needs would depend on the length of a potential conflict.

A Turkish Red Crescent official said his country would initially be able to host 80,000 refugees but expected to have to cope with at least 200,000. Aid officials said it was the first time neighbors have met with relief agencies and donor nations to discuss what plans they al- ready have made. The neighboring countries, which say they had to shoulder too much of the aid burden during the 1991 Persian Gulf War, welcomed the conference. The attendees included Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Syria and Saudi Arabia. Shaher Bak, minister of state for foreign affairs, told reporters after session that neighbors would need more help than they received from the inter- national community during the 1991 war.

the event of war, ending a monthlong dead- lock that threatened the credibility and rele- vance of the oldest military alliance. The dispute had pitted three countries openly opposing an immediate military strike against Iraq Germany, Belgium and France against other NATO members who saw the defense of Turkey as a test of the core commitment to assist one of its members. The impasse was broken when the issue was taken to Defense Plan- ning Committee, on which France has no seat, and the other two holdouts, Germany and Belgium, eventually gave in to pressure. The decision allows NATO to begin moving alliance AWACS radar surveillance planes, Pa- triotmissiles, and chemical and biological de- fense units to Turkey, to be used in case Tur- key is attacked during a war with Iraq. The United States is hoping to use bases in Turkey, the onlyNATO country to border Iraq, to open a in a military cam- paign to oust Saddam.

The Turkish parlia- mentwas scheduled to decide Tuesday on the U.S. request, but the foreign minister, Yasar Yakis, said Sunday in Ankara that a decision could be delayed. Rice said on News that the WhiteHousewas considering anewU.N. reso- lution that would make it clear that Saddam had not to comply or face military action. The United States and other U.N.

partners have not settled on thewording of the resolu- tion, Rice said. She added that while the Bush administration did not think a new resolu- tion was necessary, it would support it. Rice made clear that the United States wanted to end the appearance of any breach among Western allies that might encourage Saddam and cause other problems for NATO members. need this to become a street fight between the United States and France, the United States and Rice said. However, she made no secret of U.S.

impa- tience with the process. to talk about more time and more time and more time is simply going to relieve pressures on the Iraqis to do what they must Rice said on the is time for this to Rice said. is enough. Putting this off is not an Under the diplomatic deal being discussed, according to reports, the British government of Prime Minister Tony Blair, with U.S. sup- port, would lay down precise terms that Sad- dam must accept in full with a deadline for compliance of mid-March.

In return for the United agreeing to this new U.N. resolution, effectively ruling out military strikes until mid-March at the earliest, the French and German govern- ments would endorse the deal but would ab- stain on a Security Council roll call. The chief U.N. weapons inspector warned that Security Council members now opposed to war against Iraq could change their minds if Baghdad display the willingness to reveal all evidence of past and current nucle- ar, chemical and biological weapons pro- grams. is clear that the Security Council would like to give the inspections more Mo- hamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told The Associated Press.

said that, Iraq should not get the wrong message. The Security Council is still very impatient. The Security Council be- lieves that Iraq still is not cooperating the way it should In Iraq on Sunday, at the ruins of a bomb shelter struck byAmericanmissiles, Iraqi offi- cialsmourned the civilian victims of their last warwith theUnited States and celebratedglo- bal anti-war protests aimed at preventing an- other one. Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan pre- sided over the ceremony inaugurating a me- morial for the 403 people mostly women and children who Iraq says were killed when U.S. warplanes fired twomissiles at the Amariya bomb shelter on Feb.

13, 1991. is one of the most horrible crimes committed by the evil American administra- tion and its evil allies. They are merchants of war andmakers of he told a crowd of government officials, foreign diplomats and peace activists. Survivors and relatives also attend- ed the ceremony, someof themopenlyweep- ing as they recalled the bombing. memories still run in my said Ahmed Dhia, 28, who lost his sister in the attack and was one of only 14 survivors.

Despite 10months ofmedical treatment in Germany, he still bears scars on his face and torso. is how America treats human be- The Amariya bombing was the worst civil- ian tragedy of the 1991GulfWar, launched by a U.S.-led coalition after Iraq invaded Kuwait. U.S. generals believed the shelter to be a com- mand center. Reporters who visited the site saw charred bodies of women, children and men being pulled from the wreckage.

TheWashingtonPost and TheAssociated Press contributed to this report. Continued from Page A1 Iraq: Civilian dead remembered Casino: Madera County wants to tax tribal land 6 Away: Departures, returns remain unclear CHRISTIAN PARLEY THE FRESNO BEE Jet ramps and hangars at Lemoore Naval Air Station are nearly empty Friday. With almost half of the base population either deployed or preparing to deploy, Navy officials say there could be a mass exodus from the Lemoore base unlike anything seen in the past 20 years. Relief agencies plan for Iraq war refugees Humanitarian organizations say they are short of funds, supplies. CONFLICT WITH IRAQ A12 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2003 THE FRESNO BEE.