Concord Monitor from Concord, New Hampshire • 1

is' i h-n oousr JOES it 4-l i 1 Ftanklin school board Chairwoman Jane Soule addresses city council members about proposed budget cuts A television cameraman (right) tapes the response President Campaigns For Tower From Monitor Wire Reports WASHINGTON President Bush began a last-minute lobbying blits with Senate Democrats today in an attempt to salvage his nomination of John eras defense secretary With the fell Senate prepared to take up the nomination this week Bush rejoined the battle last night alter returning home from the Far East He told reporters on Air Force One: "I wavered one iota and I intend Democrats have been largely unimpressed with Towel's pledge to swear off alcohol if he is eon-firmed saying they are concerned with the issue of his judgment in general and his past finks with mifi-tary contractors In an attempt to change their minds the president scheduled meetings to lobby for Tower with a dozen senators most of them Democrats On the list were Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell of Maine Sen John Warner of Virginia the ranking Republican member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and at least five Democrats whose votes will be cmdal if Tower is to be confirmed Sen Charles Robb of Virginia Sen Lloyd Bentsen of Texas Sen Bennett Johnston of Louisiana Sen Dennis DeCondni of Arizona and Sea Bill Bradley of New Jersey going to work real said White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater going to talk to a lot of people and ask them to keep an open mind and to read the FBI report and to taut to John Tower" When Bush was asked whether Tower's no-drinking pledge would help he shrugged his shoulders and said "I know" Asked ifTower's cause will prevail he replied: "Time will teQ I have any predictions" After a White House meeting last night Senate Republican leader Robert Dole of Kansas said there was no talk of withdrawing Tower's nomination But earlier several Republicans expressed skep- 1 ticism that Bush could save ft "Nobody can understand why George Bush is let ting this said Sen David Durenberger of Minnesota a Tower supporter "This is sort of like the question Why did he pick Dan I guess George is just new at this4 And Sen John McCain of Arizona who has been one of strongest defenders indicated that hw wee no longer opMnastte that the Senate would confirm the nomination He summed up his gloomy view of the situation with a quote he attributed to former Chinese leader Mao Tse-Tung: always darkest before it is totally black" Senators are using the time before formal debate on Tower opens tomorrow to troop into a highly secure lead-lined room directly under the Capitol to read a confidential FBI report oh Tower's drinking habits alleged and the extensive ana lucrative links he forged to military contractors after retiring from the Senate three years ago It took Democratic Sea Phil Gramm of Texas a speed-reader about lvk hdurs to peruse those ports of the report dealing with alleged alcohol abuse: He concluded from what he read that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Tower is unqualified to See TOWER Page AS Franklin Finds Little To On ree Mayor Chester Wickens opened the meeting with criticism for the school board and the city council Tm not pleased with the procedures of the school board and its administration" Wickens said "And not pleased with certain city councilors who have publicly divided our city by being dictated to by special interest said the school board should rethink its budget and find less provocative ways to cut the budget But he also chastised councilors for looking for a way to keep the $5 million middle school now under construction dosed By SCOTT HILYARD Monitor SUIT Writer FRANKLIN They applauded everything The crowd at the school board meeting cheered when a cpeaker railed against the board for cutting sports and kindergarten from its budget People dapped when the city council waa aipdsed for demanding the budget rise by no more than I percent But they happy they were angry More than 600 peotAe many of them cnooidiildien fiUea the Franklin High School gymnasium last night aa the school board presented its budget to the council be bothered (to attend They hooted and hoHerea as the board ex- meetings when the middle school project plained how it cut $608000 from what it was being discussed) until It was too Same Meeting Different Views By SCOTT HILYARD Monitor Staff Writer FRANKLIN School board member Roger Pouliot kept track of the applause in his head Colleague Allison Cross heard support for her dissenting views as a school boiuxl member Council member Bob Sharon kicked back and batoned without a-scorecard Reginald LaFlante got mad Last meeting of the school board city council and man than 600 residents meant different things to different people Few if any minds were changed But no one likes the school decision to cut kindergarten sports busing for high school students and 15 staff positions to meet a spending cap ordered by the city council And the lines between who is to blame -the city council or the school board and how the problems can be resolved remain sharply drawn "I see any winners in any of this" aid Sharon "It waa an emotion meeting a See VIEWS Page AS thought was an already lean budget The two boards met to go'over the budget cuts which were ordered by the council and resisted by the school board The strong feelings made it clear it would be difficult to find middle ground And the city council which must determine how muai money to give the achool board made no decision The budget will get another hearing in late March The two-hour meeting became a forum for emotions "This is a media circus" said Roy Gilbreth his voice angry the words coming fast "And the only message sending to the state is that we care about he aaid "Now just going to have to live with it" The school board said it had to eliminate 15 Jobs including nine teaching positions as well as some busing aU sports and kindergarten to keep its midget below the 5 percent increase But some council members said the board had not considered enough budgetcutting alternatives The cuts were made in the most sensitive areas to arouse the public council members contended The audience applauded both positions with equal enthusiasm See FRANKLIN- Page AS Brian Butler who plays basketball wants the sports program restored I High Radon Levels Lead To Costly Choices Dnside a measure several other families in The gas can enter homes In two ways: with record level of radon 100 times Dunbarton have taken as they try to cope through water that has been eontominat what the state considers high prompted with high levels of radon discovered in 14 ed usually in deep wells dug out of granite town officials to act For the past month private wells recently The worst of those bedrock or by seqping from the ground they have been working with the state to wells registered the highest radon level through cracks in houses test other wells ever recorded in the state Health officials say radon poses a At least 42 wells have been tested Moat Raikm nn odorless colorless tasteless threat to humans when it is inhaled The of the contaminated wells are near the gas is produced by the decay of uranium threat from radon-contaminated water town center according to Leslie Ham-found naturally in some types of granite they say comes when the gas escapes into mond the town's moderator and the offi-bedrock the air That can happen when the water is dal coordinating testing The Environmental Protection Agency heated or agitated aa in showers or in It's not the first time the town has had has estimated radon is responsible for be- washing dishes or clothes to cope with radon-contaminated water In tween 5000 and 20000 lung cancer deaths So far there has been no risk detected 1986 a routine water test showed high lev-S year nationwide Last fall the agency rec- in drinking radon -contaminated water els at the Dunbarton Elementary School ommended that all homeowners test for state officials say radoa The discovery in November of i well See RADON Page AS ByTADSHANNON Monitor Staff Writer DUNBARTON When Ted and Maggie Johnson derided to have their water tested by the state about six months ago they really concerned about radoa But that was before they got the results back The radon levels were more than 10 times what the state considers to be high A second test showed higher levels And then a neighbor found much higher levels still in his weU Three days ago the Johnsons installed a $3900 machine in their basement to remove the radon from their water MV On The Move Merrimack Valley's Scott Drapeau muscles through the Goffstown defense MV and Kearsarge won their Class I quarterfinal games setting up a semifinal duel Thursday See atortea page C-l Gregg Would Help With Transplant ABOUT THE TOWNS IB-4 BUSINESS til CALENDAR J)? CLASSIFIED n- EDITORIAL GO REN BRIDGE D-S LOCAL-STATE J-l MOVIES -P-7 NEWS OF RECORD B-2 OBITUARIES 0-2 SPORTS jC-1 TV wwH5 WORLD-NATION -A-2 Channel 21 Cuts Back Local Shows By NEAL SHULTZ Monitor Staff Writer WNHT-TV the Concord television station that aired its first new broadcast last -t year has canceled its noon-time news how as well as other local programs effoe- live today Km Pulera the station's general manager said this morning A worker at the station said the station -also fired at least IS people yesterday including three reporters a meteorologist several members of the production staff and some part-time employees Pulera would not confirm the layoffs still reassigning people whils wn bring our expenses more in line with general revenues Nothing has been firmed up" said Pulera who aaid the station wifi make its final decisions on personnel fay the end of the day WHNT (Channel 21) began airing even- -big news broadcasts on Memorial Day last year after owner Thomas Flatley spent more than a $1 million to start a news do- Mrtment and bring the station Into the CBS network The station added a noon news show last Labor Day Yesterday Pulera said the cutbacks were due to programming delays and a slowdown in ad revenue that prevented See WNKT Page AS Weather From Staff And Wire Reports Gov Judd Gregg said this morning that bell make an exception to state rules and help pay for a 6-year-old Nashua bone marrow transplant Derek Annese whose family is on Medicaid la dying of leukemia and needs the transplant to save his fife Gregg wants to pay for "a sizeable percentage" of the operation which ne said will run about $50000 out of his contingency fend Gregg said he'd consider offering the same help to other low-income patients on a case-by-case basis But Gregg doesn't not want to change slate law to provide transplant coverage for all Medicaid redpf-ents New Hampshire is one of six states that does not provide the coverage An neve's case first publicized in the Sunday Beaton Globe has drawn mounting attention and criticism -Dr William Bartwresi Annese's doctor told a reporter the family is at its wits end reduced to begging" Bartwresi said "There's nothing else we could And the head of human sendees in Massachusetts which does pay for transplants for Medicaid patients lashed out at the New Hampshire policy a dying child access to critical medical attention is a tragedy beyond comprehension" aaid Philip Johnston who added New Hampshire's policy lacks compassion and in this case common Johnston said that in Massachusetts Annese's operation would be covered under Medicaid The life he said threatened by a government that has gone the other route" "1 certainly donl want to take a slap at policy-makers in New Hampshire but I think those of us in Massachusetts should be proud of our efforts to reach out to poor and needy nmole" he said There has been critical reaction in New Hampshire as weU In Nashua Sea Thomas Magee is urging his Senate colleagues and constituents to contribute to a fund set up for Annese "It is unfortunate that we have situation where a young boy's fife is in jeopardy (imply because he is unable to pay for the needed treatment" Magee said Sea Mary Nelson a Democrat from Nashua and a member of the legslative panel considering the See TRANSPLANT Page AS Sunny this afternoon with highs in the 30s Increasing cloudiness tonight with a chance of snow by morning lows in the teens Snow likely tomorrow highs 30 to 35 Anqr Brown of the George White School in Deerfield draws i snowy day Afore weather page B-2 Pauline Vargas (left) holds her son Derek Annese as a nurse prepares for a transfusion eJ a VI a I.