The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 1

unman The Kansas City Star ranuY December 13 1996 50 TODAY IN THE STAR Tickle Elmo if you can find him BAMCNN CHAMPF vnMnvK Fines levied in gas blast into wish lists and stores meet the demand 9 By BARRY OAR RON ty and raised $7100 A radio station in Memphis Tenn raised $1800 for charity with a single chuckling Elmo doll Alter it told woman called the station and offend to pay the same amount if the station could get another one Parents in the Kansas City area are clamoring for the doll calling Wal-Mart daily at the break of dawn to check if any have come in overnight Wal-Mart and might sold oi sold Cali a Tickle Me Ekno hyttena Call it a national frenzy driven by a ted fluffy Muppet of a doll Cau it whatever you want but there hasn't ben anything like it since the Cab-bap Patch doll eras of 1983 Earlier this week a radio station in Denver suctioned an Elmo doll for chan Pete Stoyano-vich is but he has room for redemption Sunday against the Colts other retailer are out and individuals are selling theirs to the highest bidder Tickle Me Elmo is a cuddly Sesame Street doll that giggles when you squeeze See ELMO A-24 Col 1 Two women were hurt house destroyed after pipe was cut by trenching crew By DIANE ARROLL Stott Wrtto The Kansas Corporation Commission lined natural gas utility and Sjrmch-ing company Thursday in dfiection with an explosion and fire Octf 3 that leveled an Overland Park house and severely injured two women The KCC fined United CitiaatJai Co $20000 for failing to ensure I hat the natural gas line was marked correctly The commission lined Underground II WIFF FAST CARS HGCR0WDS Promoters hope to bring a big-league stock car track to area tailing it had i gouged By JOE GOSE WK new movie starring Whitney Houston appeals to moviegoers of all races fv emergency officials hat the line The explosion leveled the house at 9146 1 02nd Terrace and injured the women who were carrying pets to safe-tv Three houses nearby were severely damaged The commission's investigation showed that the explosion occurred after severed a 2-inch plastic gas pipe that had been mismarked by a contractor for United Cities The KCC report is in line with one issued Nov 26 by the Overland Park Fire Department United Cities violated the Kansas Underground Utility Damage Prevention Act by failing to make sure that its contractor Central Locating Service marked the gas line within 2 feet on ei-See BAS A-32 Col 1 Council rebukes Brown CRy manager is asked to explain reasons for size of pay raises HUONG HEAT i use i dollars on Igious displays I Ntws Steffen Greater Kansas City is trying to capture a piece of the NASCAR circuit one of the fastest-growing sports nationwide International Speedway Corp a Daytona Beach Fla-based owner of auto racetracks is considering the area for a $100 million international speedway that could seat more than 120000 people in the preliminary stages of our investigation" said John Story a spokesman with the company this lint we think City could certainly support the type of facility we re The company also is considering other cities including Chicago for a new track Story said The Kansas City Area Development Council is leading the effort to win the track for Kansas City with help from development officials in surrounding communities The council has been successful of late in attracting big-name projects for example the new Harley-Davidson plant near the airport and the expanded Allied-Signal avionics plant in Lenexa Story declined to specify the size cost or Essible locations of a speedway in the msas City area Nor would he say whether NASCAR the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing would schedule races at the track But the company owns the Daytona International Speedway Talladega Super-speedway in Talladega Ala and Darung-See OFFICIALS A-21 Col 1 WEATHER By MARK MORRIS and CHRIS LESTER Stall Writers 10 12 2 4 6 8 FWMYPM WpITAM PARTLY CLOUDY MILD Forecast M2 -in Sharon Cook deserves Community Star recognition for her years of compassionate care for patients BOB LEVERONEThe Charlotte Observer sites of NASCAR events International Speedway Corp is considering the area for a speedway If area officials get their way Kansas City wilt join Daytona Beach Fla (at top) and Charlotte NC (above) as A week of City Hall turmoil culminated Thursday with a sharp council rebuke of City Manager Laity Brown for giving large raises to his top aides The furor began late last week when a memo revealed that Brown had bestowed raises for his assistant city managers that peaked at 143 percent more than four times what the average city employee received this year and brought two of the assistants to annual salaries of $107495 Voting 10-1 on a resolution from Councilman Ronald Finley the council directed Brown to explain his and reasons" for the pay increases and promotions he has approved since 1994 think important that we send a message to the manager and we send it Finley said "We have a lot of people in this city who perform dangerous jobs who are now wondering why they get a 14 percent raise" The raises came as Brown prepares to ask front-line city workers to make sacrifices for transformation plan to find $40 million in operational savings for deferred maintenance and basic services The raises have softened sup-SeeC0UNaLA-22Col 1 IWSCAfi Local track spcdflcctioiis Potential hurdles 1 200 to 2000 acres of land Land assemblage Vehicle access iCoeb $120 million to $200 million Hotel rooms Airline access 80000 to 120000 seats THE SINK fYI: latest vision drama cuts a bit than the usual hol-inspirational movie Drill sergeant discharged sentenced to 18 months for fondling trainees Vol 1 17 Na 87 7 section About Town Lottsrisa C-2 Advise S4 Movies Busineu B-l hiftwiiw Ctawsiftsd PunM UU 147 Reviews cjl a in Soldier pleads guilty to some charges at Missouri post By A SCHARNHORST OzarVt Correspondent StarTouch A-14 TV E4 NCAA sites The National letter fidu of future headquarters cMee to four and one of menus me Kansas City home of the group ThpoB- mam Oaten MS UlAftk Mw Vw 8 STARBEAM A holiday TV special we still expect to see: Unemployed Christmas with Boutros incidents of assault and battery and failing to obey a general regulation He was found not guilty of a charge of maltreatment Fore 36 of Detroit was in pore the first year of a two-year stint as a drill sergeant when the offenses occurred post officials said Workers who knew Fore from previous assignments as an Army medic and nurse described him as a stellar worker otherwise model soldier has made some mistakes" said Fore's defense attorney Capt James A Dearie admitted them here The character references apparently made little difference to the court which sentenced him as severely as a plea bargain would allow apologies apparently mattered little either just apologize for being a disgrace upon the military not only Fore told military judge Gregory Varo before sentencing Fore was particularly concerned he said about what happened with one 18-year-old recruit He was convicted of sexually fondling the woman when he approached her bed to check her for fever During the exam he ran his hands across her breasts reached beneath her shorts and fondled her the woman testified Thursday know how to apologize to Fore told the judge hope forgive me for losing my profes-See INSTRUCTOR A-25 Col 1 JL White House bints Reno will stay Despite weeks of signals that she would not be welcome in President second term some people at the White House are saying Janet Reno will be asked to continue as attorney general Shift -2 FORT LEONARD WOOD Mo A US Army drill instructor was sentenced Thursday to 18 confinement loss rank pay and benefits and a dishonorable discharge aflef he was court-martialed for sexually fondling female soldiers in his platoon Stan Sgt Anthony Foie a basic-training instructor at the south-central Missouri post pleaded guilty Thursday morning to touching several breasts and was found guilty of fondling another recruit during a Fore also pleaded guilty to various 14111.