The Kansas City Times from Kansas City, Missouri • 6

Wednesday November 25 1987 The Kansas City Times C-7 Troubled KZKC eliminates its late-night movies The company has said general unsecured creditors would be paid back within a 10-year period Program syndicators the largest group of unsecured creditors would be paid within seven years However court documents say that if KZKC is liquidated unsecured creditors would only receive about 10 cents on the dollar because there would be only about $600000 left to pay the $59 million in unsecured claims The cancellation of the movies at KZKC followed other programming problems at the station Financial difficulties reportedly cost Channel 62 the right to show some reruns this fall season including the reruns of "Family Ties" According to industry reports as many as one-fourth of all independent stations are in financial difficulty KZKC is owned by a general partnership Choice Channel 62 Partnership which owns 4947 percent of the station and a limited partnership Kansas City Television 62 Limited which owns about 49 percent Two investors own less than 2 percent of the station Media Central owns 5876 percent of Choice Channel or about 29 percent of the station A hearing on documents detailing assets and liabilities of the stations has been set Tor Dec 14 in federal court in Chattanooga Stophel the attorney said At that point the court is expected to set a date for a hearing on the reorganization plan itself which is expected in January Financial documents estimate secured claims of $58 million against KZKC and $59 million in unsecured claims The company intends to pay back 100 cents on the dollar to its claimants Stophel said would be on the air from 6 am to 1 am Monday through Thursday and 7 am to 3 am Friday other stations sign off at about 1:30 during the week Perl said a reason for The reason is that low advertising revenue makes it harder to be profitable in the late-night hours he said The eight stations managed or partly owned by Media Central filed for Chapter 1 1 bankruptcy protection July 2 Kent said the move was taken to protect limited partners stockholders and program syndicators while the company reorganized and obtained refinancing Kansas City is Media largest market The company also owns television stations in Cape Girardeau Mo Honolulu Jackson Miss Huntsville Ala Canton Ohio Knoxville Tenn and Columbus Ga By Rod Perlmutter OtthBu(in Staff Late-night movies are the latest victims of the financial problems that led KZKC Channel 62 to file for protection from creditors under the federal Bankruptcy Act earlier this year And a Chapter 1 1 reorganization plan filed for the station Oct 30 states that it could take the independent station as long as 10 years to pay off its debts But officials in Kansas City and Chattanooga Tenn the headquarters of Media Central Inc the media company that manages and partly owns KZKC said they remained optimistic that the station would survive expect to be out of Chapter 1 as fast as said Morton Kent chairman of the board of Media Central which manages KZKC and owns about 29 percent of the station Documents filed in federal bankruptcy court in Chattanooga estimated assets at about 1 3 million and its liabilities at about $112 million However the assets include the value of the television license which can be transferred only with the approval of the Federal Communications Commission said Glenn Stophel a Chattanooga attorney representing KZKC and seven other stations managed and partly owned by Media Central Kent and Ed Perl acting general manager of KZKC said that the station would continue to operate and that they were optimistic about its future They also downplayed the importance of decision this week to stop showing late-night movies Monday through Friday The station said Tuesday that beginning Monday the station Butler buying part of Pacific Aluminum Airline frequent-flier programs Farm land values rise in quarter By th Times Business Staff and The Associated Press Midwestern farm- and ranch-land values rose modestly for a third consecutive quarter in the three months ended Sept 30 the Federal Reserve banks of Kansas City and Chicago have reported Researchers for the banks noted Monday however that the latest price changes varied widely within their districts Lynn Gibson a researcher at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said price differences abounded in that bank's district the 10th Federal Reserve District The 1 0th district covers western Missouri Kansas Oklahoma Nebraska Wyoming Colorado and part of New Mexico Gibson said preliminary findings from a survey of bankers in the district showed that overall land prices rose perhaps 1 2 percent in the quarter But the increases were not uniform The price of farm land suitable for crops rose an average of $7 to $414 an acre and ranch land was up an average of $4 to $172 But prices for irrigated fields fel $4 on average to $686 an acre Other variations showed up from state to state Prices for tillable farm land in Missouri for instance broke from the trend and dropped to $545 an acre compared with $569 at midsummer Also bucking the regional trend was an $8 jump in the estimated price of irrigated land in Nebraska The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago found similarly varying results in the parts of Illinois Indiana Iowa Wisconsin and Michigan that lie in its district Gary Benjamin economic adviser and vice president of the Chicago Fed said: a modest upturn in land values during the first three quarters of this year and despite expectations for a stronger demand and increased farm real estate transfers in the months ahead bankers are cautious about characterizing the current land market as being in an uptrend this a large majority (74 percent) of the bankers expect that farm-land values during the fourth quarter of this year will hold stable Another 24 percent expect an uptrend and only 2 percent expect a the rest ot it by the first quarter of next Negotiations between the two companies will continue Butler President Donald Pratt said the acquisition was part of a continuing effort begun in 1985 to expand the market served by Vistawall division The division makes storefront entrances and building framework The architectural division acquired from Pacific will continue to market products through its existing network of architectural representatives and dealers The acquisition of the Pacific division is the ninth purchase or proposed acquisition by Butler in the last three years Butler had primarily been known for its agricultural buildings such as grain bins But the company has expanded into other building manufacturing areas to help strengthen its business By Rod Perlmutter Of the Business Staff The Butler Manufacturing Co of Kansas City said Tuesday that it had reached an agreement to acquire part of a California architectural company and that it was negotiating to buy the rest of the company Butler announced in September that it would acquire the Pacific Aluminum Corp which had annual sales of about $20 million But by Tuesday Butler and Pacific of Modesto Calif had agreed to the acquisition of only architectural products division which designs engineers and fabricates storefront architectural products Terms of the acquisition were not announced had some problems in said Larry Miller assistant treasurer wanted to get into business on the West Coast as soon as possible We hope to have Air tie-ins: Big Sky Airlines Express Airlines 1 Mesaba Aviation Pacific Southwest Airlines Simmons Airlines Hotel tie-ins: Hyatt Mandarin Oriental Marriott Radisson Other tie-ins: National Thrifty rent-a-car Trans World Airlines Frequent Flier Bonus Minimum mileage credited per trip: 750 Mileage required for two free round-trip tickets: Mainland US: 50000 To Hawaii: 50000 To Europe: 60000 Air tie-ins: Japan Air Lines Pacific Southwest Airlines Piedmont Airlines Trans World Express Hotel tie-ins: Hilton Marriott Other tie-ins: Hertz Rent-a-Car United Airlines Mileage Plus Minimum mileage credited per trip: 750 on United 500 on United Express Mileage required for two free round-trip tickets: Mainland US: 50000 HU To Hawaii: 50000 IUJ To Europe: 75000 uniTto AiRunes Air tie-ins: Air France Aloha Airlines Alitalia British Airways Cathay Pacific Lufthansa German Airlines Scandinavian Airlines South Central Airlines Swissair United Express Hotel tie-ins: Hilton Kempinski Westin Other tie-ins: Hertz Rent-a-Car Mileage Plus First Visa card USAir Frequent Traveler Minimum mileage credited per trip: 500 Mileage required for two free round-trip tickets: Mainland US: 50000 ToHawaii: 40000 (buy one ticket and get us Air a second ticket free) To Europe: 60000 Air tie-ins: Allegheny Commuter British Airways Finnair Hawaiian Airlines Lufthansa German Airlines Pacific Southwest Airlines Philippines Airlines UTA French Airlines Hotel tie-ins: Marriott Omni Other tie-ins: Budget Hertz rent-a-car NRC clears utility officials American AAdvantage Minimum mileage credited per trip: 750 Mileage required for two free round-trip coach tickets: Mainland US: 50000 To Hawaii: 50000 AAdvantage To Europe: 60000 Air tie-ins: American Eagle British Airways KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Qantas Airways Singapore Airlines Hotel tie-ins: Inter-Continental Sheraton Wynd-ham Other tie-ins: AMR Services Flight Service Centers Avis Rent-a-Car Citibank Diners Club Continental-Eastam OnePass Minimum mileage credited per trip: 1 000 Mileage required for two free round-trip coach tickets: Mainland US: 35000 a To Hawaii: 45000 Qt To Europe: 55000 Air tie-ins: Aer Lingus Air France Alitalia British Caledonian Airways Continental Express Eastern Express Scandinavian Airlines Hotel tie-ins: (Compri) Doubletree Marriott Radlsson Regent International Southern Pacific Wyndham Other tie-ins: Europcar General Hertz National Thrifty Tilden rent-a-car Delta Automated Mileage Minimum mileage credited per 000 Mileage required for two free round-trip coach tickets Mainland US: 70000 A To Hawaii: 80000 To Europe: 110000 omlta Air tie-ins: Air Canada Air New Zealand Atlantic Southeast Airlines Business Express ComAir Japan Air Lines Lufthansa German Airlines Sky-west Swissair Hotel tie-ins: Hyatt Marriott Preferred Trust- house Forte Viscount Other tie-ins: Alamo Hertz National rent-a-car Northwest WorldPerks Frequent Flyer Minimum mileage credited per trip: 500 Mileage required for two free round-trip tickets: Mainland US: 40000 To Hawaii: 60000 To Europe: 60000 were not being adequately investigated Many concerns received meaningless superficial investigation Wrongdoing was not in the minds of much of management as being related to Kansas Gas and Brown oversaw Quality First from the spring of 1985 until January 1987 He said that the investigation uncovered no problem in the way plant officials evaluated technical issues that directly related to plant safety The concerns directly related to how officials evaluated allegations of wrongdoing such as drug abuse and employee harassment Brown said Initially Quality First was not designed to handle such problems he said Quality First continues at Wolf Creek but its scope has been scaled down as the work force stabilized after the plant started commercial operation in September 1985 Brown said The program also has been changed since 1984 he said Continued from PageC-1 untarily by Kansas Gas and Electric in 1984 to handle employee complaints The utility was responsible for operating Wolf Creek until January when the operation was taken over by the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corp which represents the owners The Kansas City Power Light Co and Kansas Gas and Electric each own 47 percent of Wolf Creek Kansas Electric Power Cooperative Inc of Topeka owns the rest The NRC disclosed Tuesday that its investigation of Quality First was based on interviews with 21 past and current Quality First employees as well as Kansas Gas and Electric officials The NRC summary released Tuesday said: investigation concluded that commencing in August 1984 the new manager of Quality First made certain fundamental changes in the Quality First program which directly led to a perception by a majority of the former Quality First investigators interviewed that employee concerns The TlmeeGejrUnd Burke Frequent-flier plans are big hit but using free trips can be tricky SBA to sell Ram Fur assets Home equity loan ads are criticized Th Associated Press WASHINGTON A consumer survey of advertisements for home equity loans showed Tuesday that most of the ads did not disclose important information about fees interest rates and repayment terms Consumers Union the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports released its survey of ads 20 financial institutions as Congress considers legislation that would icquire lenders to disclose terms of home equity lines of credit The American Bankers Association the chief trade group for commercial banks has said it would support some disclosure requirements but urged Congress to give voluntary industry efforts a chance to work However Consumers Union said that: Eighty percent of the ads surveyed failed to include information about closing costs such as fees for title examination appraisal and recording Ninety percent failed to say whether there was an annual maintenanceor membership fee Sixty-five percent did not say whether the loans had an interest rate cap or if so what the cap was Thirty-five percent failed to disclose the formula for calculating the interest rate and 40 percent lacked an understandable disclosure of how often the interest rate would change Sixty percent did not describe repayment terms including whether a balloon payment would be required at the end of the loan term One in four ads promoted the tax deductibility of home equity loans without explaining space usually available Some awards provide travelers with free tickets for fellow passengers Eastern also limits their use To qualify for a free companion ticket the traveler first must buy an unrestricted adult fare that require an advance or round-trip purchase And both passengers must travel on the same flight and in the same class Other frequent-flier programs carry similar conditions Airlines say the travel credits are only for passengers who earned them and for their immediate families Nonetheless an active resale market has developed Carriers say these exchanges defeat their intent of locking in repeat business But this allegiance can cause headaches for organizations that buy the tickets Their travel budgets could be swelled by setting itineraries to build frequent-flier points rather than finding the cheapest rates The Midwest Research Institute in Kansas City has acted to prevent such abuses It has a travel coordinator who administers a $500000 Continued from Page C-l Ram Fur Market and that the company's inventory was worth far less than its debt to the SBA After the sale was terminated the SBA and Mellina Furs Inc of Atlanta submitted to the court a new proposal for the sale of Ram Fur assets They received permission to proceed Mellina Furs conducted the liquidation sale Mellina-SBA proposal was to modify the stay so that the SBA could take posession of the collateral and be free to liquidate it as it saw Roser said However the court set rules by which the new sale is to be conducted According to the proposal the SBA and Mellina Furs will pay Roser 1 5000 for the right to use the name Ram Fur Market Inc and to use Ram Fur premises at 7211 97th St in Overland Park for the sale The sale will include Ram Fur inventory of fur coats jackets and accessories and similar Mellina Furs items Stewart ruled that the SBA and Mellina Furs could advertise the sale but that none of the ads could make use of the word or make any direct or indirect reference to the Bankruptcy Court In addition the ads must stipulate that the liquidation was ordered by Ram Fur board of directors The ads also can say that the sale is being conducted cooperation or the request or Mellina" for the SBA The SBA and Mellina Furs will be entitled to all proceeds of the sale and will be responsible for all expenses Roser filed a motion with the court Thursday contending that the proposal would serve the best interests of Ram Fur estate because it owed the SBA about $507000 which is secured by virtually all of Ram Fur property However the property is valued at less than $250000 Roser said the 1 5000 payment included in the proposal would be used for administrative expenses and to pay claims of creditors in addition to the SBA Continued from Page C-l its Therefore Arendt said airlines are pushing their frequent travelers toward other bonuses such as cash and free car rentals Free flight awards also have become tougher to redeem even as rules for earning them have grown more generous Conditions will become particularly thorny over the holdiays For example frequent travelers on Eastern Airlines the main national carrier at Kansas City International Airport could be disappointed if they want to use their credits for holiday trips to or through Florida Free travel on these flights is prohibited from Dec 15 through Jan 5 when the planes are stuffed with sun-hungry holiday passengers Also off-limits is service to London operated by Continental Airlines sister At other times free travel benefits are subject to what airlines call If seats are filled with paying passengers free annual budget and books flight and hotel space But frequent-flier awards still go to the traveler and not to MRI even though MRI bought the tickets Frontier Airlines early last year tried to cut in frequent employers on benefits with an award plan that also gave the employers credits But Frontier quit flying in August 1986 Other carriers copied that idea And Mel Kirk treasurer said his organization would have a hard time keeping track of the credits that it received like frequent-flier Kirk said they kind of inched up on everyone and have become a fact of life Airlines seem to think they need them to be To cope with changing market conditions carriers reserve the right to change the amount of flight mileage required to earn free trips and other awards Early this year some airlines proposed increases but were forced to roll them back after howls came from government officials and travelers who claimed that they been adequately informed of the changes union pact adds buy-out provision 11 1014 27 2444 19 109 1344 13V NYSE 2444 1344- ft 24 4 7 30 21 3 3971 9 24 3 9b Continued from Page C-4 WrnC pf3il WarnrL 1 JO WaghGt IN WMhH gOtl WlhNat I Whrlpl gl10 Whlfthl WMttak 1 Wteftunn Wick wf Wick PfA? JO Wlttrad 12 WtNcOs 11 Wtttlam 140 WMihrO WincW nlOSa Wlnlak IN WlnDIx 1M Wlnnbg 40 Winner WIEn 1 144 wtaopms WltcPL 312 WHPS 154 Wltco 120 WolvTc 20 WotvrW Wlwth 1 132 WrtdCP WrldVl WrNiv 104 Wurttir WytaL 20 Wynnt 40 Xarox 3 Xtfox Pf5 45 XT A 44 XTHA pfl94 Yorkln Zapata Zavra 40 Zamax 40 Zanlthfc Zan Lab ZanNtl 80 Zaro 34 Zornln 40 Zwtlo Wa Copyright by flight attendants think that this would provide a long-term guarantee against concessions and would discourage an unwanted takeover the Machinists takeover protection might actually make some sense if United is as desirable as some people apparently she said Conley the Machinists spokesman said his union wanted contract language guaranteeing the right to make a bid that would be considered because Eastern Airlines dismissed" a union counteroffer to a buy-out a few years ago A court challenge to the action by Eastern now a subsidiary of the Texas Air Corp remains for our own Machinists spokesman James Conley said Tuesday not something we want to The Machinists have maintained throughout the takeover flurry surrounding United and the parent company the Allegis Corp that the unions did not have any business running the airline That belief has not changed Conley said But the Machinists want the chance to protect themselves from someone basically would run the company in an anti-union or anti-worker he said Conley said it was conceivable that even if the pilots union put in a bid the Machinists would want to make a counteroffer if the pilots demanded unacceptable contract The Associated Press CHICAGO The Machinists union has gained an unusual contract provision that would give some measure of protection against an anti-union takeover of United Airlines officials said Tuesday The provision which allows the Machinists to submit a competing bid for the airline in the event of a buy-out attempt is part of the regular employment contract voted on Monday and Tuesday by the union members employed by United The buy-out protection allows the Machinists to submit a competing bid on their own or to act with the Air Line Pilots Association or the Association of Flight Attendants or with both other unions is something we would do concessions The pilots union has been positioning itself to buy the airline and says that it has made an offer to buy 80 percent of stock on behalf of all employees However United has said that it consider the proposal a legitimate offer and has not responded James Damron a spokesman for the pilots union said its attorneys and banking advisers were studying the language in the Machinists contract and had no comment on the buy-out protection Carol Holmes an official of the United flight local said her union had considered similar language in its new contract which is up for a ratification vote However she said assuming that the 42-month pact is approved 12 11 19 15 40 59 10 1 1 23 1039 10 1044 15 40 19 19 9542 57 54 916 55 14 142 2144 67 21 $4 601 1 10 19 54 4'4 21 4 2144 wci WCNApf pf 1 SO WtfnSL 24 WUnlon WnlJnpf Wnu pfS WnUtfE WUTlPf 1907 Tha Auoclattd Prt I.