The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California • 1

FOODS lgfQQk A few tips for finding the right ring without spending a nuptial nest egg Tobacco strikes out Players grudgingly go along as ban on chewing tobacco begins in minor leagues Weird food Valley chefs do their best with unusual ingredients: Fruit Loops Blue Jell-O Spam FINAL wBwgwwwwyiwHi WEDNESDAY Visalia native dies fighting for Armenian causes fl Tens of thousands are expected at the foneral of Monts Melkonian who died on Ihe battlefield as a commander of Armenian forces By John Cramer The Fresno Bee When three of Monte Melkonian officers failed to show for a rendezvous he went looking for them himself It was a dwriafawi that cost him his life "That was the kind of person he said hia sister Marcia Melkonian Bedrosian of Los Angeles send someone to do a job that he Melkonian a Visalia native and militant Armenian activist was killed in battle Saturday A commander in the Nagorno-Karabakh war in the former Soviet Union Melkonian died when hia vehicle was hit by fire from either an Azerbaijani tank or Azerbaijani troops according to reports The encounter occurred aa Nagorno-Karabakh forces attacked Aghdam a nearby Azer-banani city after another proposed cease-fire collapsed the 5-year-old conflict Melkonian 35 was a high-ranking commander for Nagorno-Karabakh an ethnic Armenian enclave seeking independence from Azerbaijan It was unclear what effect death would have on the drive for independence Melkonian had assumed an increasingly important military role and was credited with organizing guerrilla forces into more of a regular army Melkonian was a self-taught military leader who studied military history and learned his skills while involved in militant Armenian causes in the Middle East in the 1980s was the first reported death of a top combatant among the many ethnic Armenians participating in the conflict from other countries Rouben Shugarian ambassador to the United States said death was irrevocable Galib Mammadov second secretary for the Azerbaijani Embassy in Washington DC said Melkonian was a with a criminal and declined to further comment Rep Richard Lehman D-Freeno said he was saddened by the news was truly an Armenian Lehman said "He knew the risks but he was always willing to take body was flown by helicopter to Yerevan the Armenian capital where up to 50000 mourners were expected to attend his funeral Saturday He was to be buried in a cemetery in Yerevan surrounded by the graves of men Please zee Melkonian back page Monte Melkonian 35 who died lighting In Azerbaijan Saturday grew up In Visalia but spent most of his adult life fighting for Armenian causes County puts out Fresno County supervisors te8 staff to research possibility of more sales taxes to fond criminal justice system By Felicia Cousart The Fresno Bee Fresno County voters may decide this November if they want to pay more in sales taxes to cover increasing costa of law enforcement and other justice needs The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to direct county stall to find out how much counties can increase the sales tax and to find out how a local sales tax would mesh with the half-cent state sales tax scheduled to end June 30 Though board members said they are willing to explore the idea of a sales tax increase to fund local criminal justice costa they also noted the hazards of higher taxes Supervisor Sharon Levy said a higher sales tax could lead businesses to undertake "competitive shopping if not all 58 counties in California pursue a sales tax this felL Supervisors agreed to begin researching sales tax options during a discussion of the city of plans to hire 100 more police officers and the impact that would have on the justice System from prosecutors to tire courts to jails A county report initiated a few months ago when the city was considering the formation of an assessment district to raise money to hire more police officers said 100 new officers would generate Please see Sales tax Page A10 Fresno supervisors order key changes in CPS system ea uiuuupi vices But those two were pivotal involving a proposed reorganization of the Social Services Department which in- human services agency Randolph was told to examine in greater depths the dudes CPS KSEEis sold to NY firm Meredith Broadcasting is selling Channel 24 in a 2-station $32 million deaL Board stops short of ordering reorganization of departments administration and By Alex Pulaski The Fresno Bee On the same day a jury convicted two adults in a little girl's death five Fresno County supervisors Tuesday endorsed changes in the system that was ArignH to protect her Supervisors voted to pot into place all but two of 74 recommendations made by County Administrative Officer Will Randolph in a report on Child Protective Ser A fundamental change directed by the board was also to cause social workers to follow cases in their entirety At present different social workers handle separate aspects of each case a practice that report suggested was lacking in accountability action was set in motion in part by the beating death last October of Rose Ann Palumbo 4 Combined with the death of an infant five months earlier pressure began building on CPS which had received numerous reports in both cases that the children were in danger A Fresno County Superior Court on Please see CPS back page results of the proposed re- Pair found organization and return to guilty in Pal- the board later umbo Among the recommenda- Pggi tions that the board told Randolph to begin working on immediately however were pursuing a privately recep tion home fiw abused children limmnring training and education requirements for social workers increasing foster parent training and designing in a way to measure how well children and their familiar are served The supervisors although they voted unanimously on the recommendations were split on the reorganization issue When Supervisor Doug Vagim signaled toward the end of an hourlong ifam-inm that hia Bwing vote would not go to reorganize that issue disappeared and the board lined up behind the other recommendations Vagim said be wanted to wait a few weeks on the reorganization issue because of budget uncertainties and undear projections of the cost and effectiveness of INSIDE THE BEE On cholesterol: better but fight over By Lanny Larson Tne Fresno Bee A decade after buying KSEE Channel 24 Meredith Broadcasting is selling NBC television station to Granite Broadcasting of New York in a two-station 332 million deal that includes a tax break Meredith initially wasn't interested in selling but a federal program designed to encourage minority ownership sweetened the offer with a tax shelter chief executive officer Don Cornwell is an African-American who started Granite after a 17-year career in investment banking with Goldman Sachs Please see KSEE Page A1Q i Clinton says proud of his record By Muriel Dobbin Bee Washington bureau WASHINGTON A good-hummed but feisty President Clinton defended Tuesday the quality of his foreign and domestic leadership over the past five months proclaiming it "the most decisive presidency you've had for a very long time on all the big issues that Clinton who 24 hours earlier angrily terminated questioning by reporters reappeared at a surprise press conference in a more relaxed manner He cited eigne of improvement in the domestic I Please see Cllntontack page By Detthia Ricks Onando Sentinel Your cholesterol level is a safe 190 and you think there is no need to worry about that extra slice of bacon or pat of margarine? Wrong Experts say that even though Americans have made progress in the past 12 years in cutting fat from their diet and lowering cholesterol levels they can do better because heart disease remains the nation's No 1 MW Findings reported in Journal of the American Medical Association give Americans high marks for reducing cholesterol levels and outlined a new set of guidelines fir treating people whose i San Joaquin Jalley tanners Page B1 News 441-6330 see back page.