The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 29

SATUKDAY May 4 1991 THE KANSAS CITY STAR Section A coramic monagorio GEORGE GURLEY Nothing succeeds like a flop UAL Corp recently nude spectacular appearance in the ranks of American business losers It lost 1 37 million in i single quarter The interesting thing is that the man who presided over this prodigious flop is alto the nation's highest-paid executive Chairman Stephen Wolf hauled in 1 83 million even as UAL profits took a 71 percent nosedive For the parent Ethics bill passes in Kansas LUasuro falls to ban PAC donations some lavvrnakefs complain By STEVE KRASKE Topaka ConMpondtnt TOPEKA An ethics bill designed to improve the public's perception of Kansas lawmakers passed the Legislature this week but not before some lawmakers complained that the measure was deeply flawed The bill which now goes to Gov Joan Finney passed the Senate 34-5 and the House 106-1 7 on Thursday In the Senate several members cited the failure to include a ban on campaign contributions from political action committees as an important drawback Such a ban they said would limit the influence of special interests such as unions and professional groups "If Kansas has a problem with political ethics it is not in the area of gifts or entertainment The problem is too much special-interest influence through campaign contributions" said Sen Dave Kerr a Hutchinson Republican The Senate had passed a bill banning special-interest contributions but the House objected House members said the ban would have little value because lawmakers easily could skirt the law Michael Woolf executive director of Common Cause of Kansas a group that lobbies for tougher ethics taws described the bill as a mixed bag He said the legislation makes some improvements "But we wish they would have gone farther in a number of areas" such as requiring lobbyists to report more information about their activities Woolf said Among the bill's key provisions was improved subpoena power for the agency that oversees ethics laws The clause makes it easier for the agency to be called the Kansas Commission on Governmental Standards and Conduct to investigate allegations of wrongdoing Under the bill public officials accused of violations have 30 days to respond to the charge The Legislature removed a Senate proposal that would have barred the agency from using subpoenas to investigate matters before Jan 1 1990 of united Airlines it was an awesome double whammy Only a crabapple would begrudge a tip of the hat to the appropiatdy named Wolf It takes a true genius to pull a fortune like that out of a blackhole Such legerdemain could happen only in America The JONNBLIIZtnTlMSIv Boulevard from 10 ajn to 9 pm today and from 11 am to 6 pm Sunday The show In its sixth year Is sponsored by the BrookskM Business Association and other merchants and professions hi the district A hard of ceramic animals on metal roos catches the eye of Kathryn Johnson of Otatrw on Friday the opening day of tho BrookskM Art Annual The Hems called plant watchers are produced by Kansas City artist Bonnie Clow The art fair continues on BrookskM stockholders of UAL have every right to red that they've been touched by a master People who "do lunch" out of lunch buckets might be tempted Judge is keeping Tarkio open for now to suspect wolf of practicing an unusually lucrative form of robbery You can almost hear the nitpkkers whining that captains of industry should be rewarded for making money not for losing it But that would only reveal their pettiness and their ignorance of economics The real reason the United States is losing its competitive edge of course is because sdf-eedung lethargic slobs make up its labor force These pampered babies think they're too good for tightening bolts and turning out widgets school open "Emotions run high when it becomes necessary to close an institution" he said "I know that people care "Unfortunately people have let their caring for the institution go beyond their caring for the people involved" The lawsuit Walker said could adversely affect the sale of Tarkio's extension program which would mean the school could not pay its faculty sUff and uninsured creditors Richard Ingram executive vice president of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges said he was not familiar with Tarkio but that it was "probably a very uncommon practice for individual trustees of an academic higher education institution to secure loans" Sterling College to hire an unnamed administrator from Tarkio as a consultant might be a conflict of interest "We can only assume that No 1 person would be Dr Walker" Hughes said which would make his vote to close the school a conflict because "he'd be voting himself a consulting position" But Walker said the charge was unfounded "It is completely untrue that I have any kind of arrangement with Sterling to be that person or one of those people" he said Walker noted that the board voted in February to close the school if it had not raised $3 million by the end of March The only way to keep Tarkio open now is "if someone writes me a check for $3 million" Walker raid adding that he understands the desire to keep the Trustee Robert Hughes and three other board members said the court was their only option to save the Presbyterian-affiliated college which has 433 students Hughes a Tarkio graduate who lives near Philadelphia said he wanted the judge to evaluate the vote "to make sure it was proper" He said several board members had guaranteed a bank loan and might have been motivated to close the college because the loan would be paid off But Tarkio President William Walker said the allegations were untrue "In my opinion and the opinion of our attorneys there's no conflict of interest" he said The lawsuit also referred to a plan to sell Tarkio's extension program to Sterling College in Sterling Kan Hughes said a proposal by His temporary order is issued after a lawsuit alleges improper votes By TERESA GAINES Higher EdunSsn Writer In response to a lawsuit filed by four coHege trustees a judge has issued an order temporarily restraining the closing of Tarkio College or the sale of its assets The order by Associate Circuit Judge Henry Copcland will remain in effect until a hearing Tuesday Attorney Larry Forman said In the lawsuit the trustees charge possible conflicts of interest and ask the judge to nullify a vote taken in March to dose the northwest Missouri school May 31 because of continuing financial problems They're not in the work force for ibc dignity of labor the love of the craft and the company good Planting a Good Clinton isn't giving up its search for woman Two funds offer an $1 1 000 total reward for key infonTiation in the Angela Hammond case By LANEBEAUCHAMP Dozens of investigators have followed nearly 500 leads The Missouri Rural Crime Squad was called in then disbanded Friends and strangers have scoured the Henry County countryside look-ingfbrdues There is little more known today than four weeks ago about what happened to Hammond but Clinton police and two FBI agents working the case are not giving staying rkht on it" Clinton Police Chief Bob Patttson said Wednesday "We're still looking for the vehicle for the suspect and for Angela There's been nothing really solid though in this four-week tune span" Her friends and family wont give up either "I'm trying to prepare myself for the worst and yet trying to hope for the best" Hammond's mother Marsha Cook said Wednesday "I'm taking one See OFFICIALS C-IO Col 3 They rein it for toe beer the bass boats the Vs They're in it for themselves OK you can't entirely blame them for griping when their bosses award themselves extravagant bonuses while running their companies into the ground "What do these guys do besides eat power lunches have manicures attend conferences and drive around in stretch limousines?" they want to know What they fail to understand is that running a company is a difficult and highly stressful job Your typical boss has had to sub a lot of backs to acquire his fiefdom Hb principal responsibility defending his turf is perilous and exhausting He loses sleep worrying about his golf game Uppity employees disturb his privacy and peace of mind with tiresome suggestions and complaints Underlings often fail to show their bosses proper deference This wounds them and undermines their self-esteem Exacting revenge is one of the few pure pleasures that go with the territory of bosses But the task of preparing pink slips distracts them from the important business of finding loopholes to protect their plunder Pusillanimous scoundrels suggest the real problem with American business is incompetent managers rather than indolent workers They say that executives should be paid merely what they're worth Dont they realize that if the compensation of management and labor weren't so far apart our economy would be in danger of becoming more like Japan's? Through all of their trials bosses somehow manage to keep their perspective Lee Iacocca walked off with $46 million last year His company Chrysler recently reported a $314 million first-quarter loss And yet he had the humility to say "I don't have to be the guy who pushes the buttons and rushes things" If he had to push buttons he'd probably expect some real ironey Those who complain about 'how much loot bosses bleed from companies that are losing money should consider the rewards they'd expect if they finished a quarter in the buck Nothing less than deification CLINTON Mo A month ago today Angela Hammond did what rnaay young people in small towns do She cruised the square talked with friends generally hung out But by 1 1:43 pm Hammond's routine evening turned tragic and left this town of 1700 persons searching for answers to a mystery answers that to this point are nowhere to be found Hammond 20 is missing not heard from since late April 4 when she was talking to her nance from a Clinton telephone booth Her fiance heard Hammond scream and then the was gone All authorities have to go on is a somewhat sketchy description of a suspicious man and his truck given by Hammond to her fiance and corroborated by a few passers-by that night Police think that man abducted Hammond JOtet8UEZIRnw8tar Marlborough ScienceMath Elementary Magnet Friday to lock off Rooting for America Eleven School fotxttvgrader Katharine Mima (right) schools are participating in the project punts a eeedUng with the help of Michelle sponsored by the Linda Division of Union WflHama of tho Black Chairs Commerce of Carbide Industrial Oases Inc to determine how Greater Kansas City Throe trees were punted sc preparation atfactstrwcowtri of sewings He faced Iraqi fire now he faces jail term ae qBegOg qfoqlfUqloBe' ne wcnadbefoeaJblotoeetab-tish trw rutton'a first taltarin pralrte preserve on aranchintjieRirtHleC-1 Marino reservist charged in Shawnee robbery turns himself in i with long By TONY RIZZO Staff WfSsr hair are being forced to get it cut before they can attend College of tho Oxarks C-I TacmMCtns caittforanlrrtfostkjatlonof the county's purchasing department 03 "I guess they needed every able-bodied person they had" he said Hopkins raid he wanted to stay and face the charges but didn't want to shirk his responsibilities as a reservist "I didn't want to back down on my duty" he raid And he didnt want to get into more trouble with the mihury by disobeying orders he raid Lt Col John Gaieski inspector-instructor with Hopkins' 24th Marine Regiment based in Kansas City Kan said he was unaware of Hopkins' court situation until See BACK 040013 himsdf in a difficult situation in December as his unit prepared to deploy first to North Carolina for training and uhimatdy to Saudi Arabia He knew he was supposed to appear in court Jan 9 for a preliminary hearing but he also felt an obligation to his country "I had no control over whether I stayed or went" Hopkins said Friday in a telephone conversation from theiail Marine officials were aware of his situation he said but without the proper paperwork from Johnson County authorities they were not going to leave him behind The 21 -year-old Kansas City man was jailed Thursday after he turned himsdf in to the bail bondsman who tried unsuccessfully for several months to have him returned from Saudi Arabia: When his "Marine Corps reserve unit was called to active duty in December Hopkins was facing a charge of aggravated robbery in Johnson County He had been accused of assaulting and robbing a convenience store derk in Shawnee on Jury 30 three days before the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait But Hopkins said be found Nelson Hopkins returned to Kansas City recently after serving his country in the Middle East Now he's serving time in the Johnson County Jail "I've really gone to two extremes" he said "To fed proud to defend my country then fed like nobody because I'm sitting Larry Kaufman proposes a anrafl that would eliminate 15 jobs C-4 here in jail.