Print edition for June 18, 1996

Stars vs. Dukes game details: E--Tredaway 2, Mimbs, Anderson, Parker. DP--Las Vegas 1, Albuquerque 4. LOB--Las Vegas 9, Albuquerque 6. 2B--Steverson, Richardson. HR--Steverson (7), Mulligan (13). SF--Kirkpatrick.

Sperling: 'August surprise' from Dole could include Powell: Despite some indications to the contrary, it seems to me that the suggestion that Gen. Colin Powell could end up as Bob Dole's running mate is taking on credibility.

Walking the beat with a nuclear patrolman: Peter N. Spotts; SEABROOK, N.H. -- John Macdonald strides into the control room of Seabrook Station, a nuclear plant on the coast north of the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border.

Probe sought over land exchanges: Ensign's call for a congressional hearing comes in the wake of an audit by the Interior Department's inspector general.

Obituary: Capt. Robert A. Cook: Neptune Society of Nevada, 1111 Las Vegas Blvd. North, Building 5, is handling arrangements.

Latest N.Y.C. gridlock threat: garbage exports: Ron Scherer; NEW YORK -- Tractor trailers now carry so much trash up and down the East Coast on Interstate 95 that solid-waste officials have dubbed it "the Great Trashway." That handle is likely to be reinforced in the years ahead since New York has recently announced that over the next five years it will close its landfill, the largest in the country.

Obituary: Ruth Marie Dennis: Palm Mortuary, 1325 N. Main St., is handling arrangements.

Tension on West Bank rises as Jewish settlers get restless: Ilene R. Prusher; KIRYAT ARBA, WEST BANK, ISRAEL--In this well-armed Jewish settlement just outside the Israeli-occupied town of Hebron, an aerial photo on the wall of the council office shows a red line around the existing community, and a blue line encompassing twice as much territory.

Obituary: Otelina G. Alirez: Visitation is scheduled from 2-8 p.m. Wednesday with a 6 p.m. prayer service in Palm Mortuary, 800 S. Boulder Highway, Henderson. Mass will be celebrated 10 a.m. Thursday in St. Peter's Catholic Church. Burial will follow in Palm Memorial Park, Henderson.

Mineral County leads state in fed money: Ken McCall; The tiny county, with a population of less than 6,000, cashed federal checks totaling more than $76 million, according to a SUN analysis of newly released data from the federal Census Bureau, making them by far tops in the state in per capita federal spending.

English-only drive appears stalled: But another measure, the first step in a long process to limit the years congressmen can serve, may be headed for the November ballot.

Obituary: Anton Jensen Anthony: A memorial service will be 2 p.m. Saturday in the Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1730 N. Pecos. Nevada Funeral Service-Nevada Cremation or Burial Society, 726 S. Casino Center, Suite 208, is handling arrangements.

Smarts behind the siver screen: David Sterritt; NEW YORK -- Now you see it, now you don't.

Dow could hit 7,000 by '98, analyst says: David Mutch; BOSTON -- The booming United States stock market will keep booming for at least another 18 months, says Ralph Acampora, director of technical research for Prudential Securities in New York. He sees the Dow Jones industrial average reaching 6,500 to 7,000 by the first quarter of 1998. It closed Friday at 5,649.45.

Badlands Golf Club will be expanded by 9 holes: The nine-hole expansion will be designed by Johnny Miller, who was responsible for the first 18 holes. It will be less of a target course than the original one, according to Badlands general manager Eric Dutt.

LV blues saxophonist Mercereau dies at 61: He experienced it all, from the hazy jazz clubs he haunted as a teenager, to the drug use that landed him in prison as a young man, to the heavy drinking and chain smoking that took a tremendous toll on his health in recent years.

Obituary: Anthony Francis Specht: Visitation is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. today in Palm Mortuary, 800 S. Boulder Highway, Henderson. Graveside services will be 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Boulder City.

Fire contained in Utah brush: The blaze -- dubbed the Long Ridge fire -- burned over 3,485 acres of mostly Bureau of Land Management property about five miles northwest of Mona, 65 miles south of Salt Lake.

Columnist: What you believe is real IS real at Magical Empire: It was an ideal venue for Friday night's fund-raiser to benefit UMC's Children's Miracle Network and the Clark County Law Foundation, a children's advocacy group. Event co-chairs Nancy Alif and Robert Touma couldn't have had an easy time coordinating this event. Guests had a choice of two dinner times, 5:45 or 7 p.m. The evening began with a silent auction that ended prior to the arrival of the second group. Guests arriving for the later seating had their own silent auction.

Audit criticizes rural deficiencies: Teresa Hinds; District officials released four of the infamous 15 deleted paragraphs on Monday, filling in some of the blanks on pages 31 and 32 of the document. A paragraph released last week is included in the information from these two pages.

Obituary: Eugene "Gene" Swift: A memorial service was 3 p.m. today in the Nathan Adelson Hospice chapel. A private burial followed. Palm Mortuary, 1600 S. Jones Blvd., handled arrangements.

Letter: Clinton position on dolphin protection unreliable: Perhaps President Clinton has changed his mind in the time between when I received my response and he made that statement to Gale. For the sake of the dolphins, I sure hope so.

Bob Shemeligian: Mystic turns columnist into sandal-mongerer: "Bob, we need a story for the business section on the opening of Caesars Magical Empire," the editor told me.

Bi-state aid urged at Tahoe: "The difference between California and Nevada has narrowed considerably," added lawyer Lew Feldman. "It is imperative that both sides of the line come together."

Reid: Nevada's richest legislator: Reid's financial disclosure statement shows him with assets of between $2.6 million and $5.7 million. He was ranked among the 36 richest members of Congress by Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper that estimated his wealth at about $3 million.

Obituary: Thelma Wacker: Palm Mortuary, 800 S. Boulder Highway, Henderson, is handling arrangements.

Project runs into problems: Some samples of the concrete poured last week have failed to meet the strength test.

Columnist: Fightin' words aid promoters: To wit: Ali-Frazier II? Boring. Thrilla in Manilla? Captivating.

Electrifying research destroys pollutants that cause smog: Laurent Belsie; Cars aren't the only things that cause smog and urban pollution. So do industrial plants and hazardous-waste dumps.

Ella Fitzgerald, artist 'beyond category': Roderick Nordell; BOSTON -- Ella! "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" Shakespeare could be writing about the lift Ella Fitzgerald's sunlit voice gives us all. As the tributes grow after her passing last weekend, Shakespeare has another thing right about her: "But thy eternal summer shall not fade."

1996 Las Vegas Stars Statistics: 1996 Las Vegas Stars Statistics

Country stars ready to rock: Alison Calkins; The American Music Grill, Country Star Las Vegas will open on the Strip July 1 with a star-studded gala. The stars include Vince Gill, Reba McIntyre, Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase.

Where I Stand: A fall from grace? Not really: What causes a city like Las Vegas to take such a tumble from among the top 10 places in the nation to live?

How to invest in rising stars before companies go public: Guy Halverson; NEW YORK --Do you ever wish you could have bought into Intel Corp. back when people hardly knew what a computer chip was? Thanks to the US Small Business Administration, there is a way.

Fire guts two townhouses: Cathy Scott; Monday's fire destroyed two townhouses and damaged four others, causing $325,000 in damage, said Clark County Fire Department Capt. Larry Dau.

Subcritical test draws protests around world: They are calling for an end to all nuclear tests, including the type of explosion the Test Site is planning -- a "subcritical" blast whose radioactive content is far less than a typical nuclear experiment.

Obituary: Carlene Elizabeth Wallace: Desert Memorial Cremation and Burial Society, 1111 Las Vegas Blvd. North, is handling arrangements.

WLV man dies in alleged drug crime: Police were called at 10:45 p.m. Monday to an apartment at 203 George Place, near Owens Avenue and E Street. Officers found the unidentified victim inside, shot in the head.

Obituary: Paul M. Mettler Sr.: Visitation is scheduled from 8-10:30 a.m. Thursday in Palm Mortuary, 1600 S. Jones Blvd. A graveside committal service will be 11:30 a.m. Thursday in Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Boulder City.

Pioneer NLV pharmacist Earl dies in California at 81: Murdell Canfield Earl, longtime owner of E&T Drugs in North Las Vegas and a former 51-year Las Vegas resident, has died in Poway, Calif. He was 81.

Obituary: Samuel P. Lexis: Visitation is scheduled from 1 p.m. until a 6 p.m. trisagon service Wednesday in Palm Mortuary, 7600 S. Eastern Ave. Services will be 11 a.m. Thursday in St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church. Burial will follow in Davis' Paradise Memorial Gardens.

'Casino' figure suing LV attorney: Rachael Levy; Rosenthal gave a $150,000 loan to his barber, Jose Trujillo, in 1989. Trujillo said he gave the money to attorney Chris Beecroft Jr.

No end to the talents summer can awaken: * Clark County School District Extension Academy, which includes courses in reading, math, science, bookmaking, music, fine arts and computers. Classes began June 10 and will run through June 28. Tuition is $80 per student. Call 799-7912 for information.

Morning blaze guts restaurant: The 5:01 a.m. blaze caused at least $500,000 in damage to the 15-year-old structure at 5485 W. Sahara Ave. just west of Decatur Boulevard, officials said.

SouthShore's last five holes are challenging: Bob Cloud; SouthShore, a private Jack Nicklaus signature course, opened its back nine in May of 1995, before becoming fully operational last December. Memberships for the 6,917-yard, par-71, tract are being given away for a limited time with the purchase of a housing lot in the Lake Las Vegas community.

Local curfew another tool against crime: President Clinton has recommended reimposing curfews throughout the nation to curb the alarming rise in juvenile crime. The laws give police the tools to round up teens in the early evening before they get into trouble.

Firefighters don more urban hats: Jeanne DeQuine; MIAMI -- Caring for the homeless is traditionally the domain of soup kitchens, churches, and the social-service agencies in many American cities. But in Miami, the helping hands have callouses from hauling canvas hoses.

Obituary: Luigi Michael Zenna: He is survived by his wife, Beino; one daughter, Lisa Edens, and one son, Louis Zenna, both of Phoenix, Ariz.; one stepdaughter, Gena Raabe of Salem, Ore.; two stepsons, Michael Boyce of Las Vegas, and Marco Boyce of Henderson; one brother, Michael Zenna, and one sister, Marie Pierrie, both of Brooklyn, N.Y. and six grandchildren.

A kids' mind is a terrible thing to waste during summer: Merilyn Potters; Sean Harper, 11, beats on a steel drum to create the melody. With each repetition of the song, other students jump in with their steel drums. Volume and rhythm increase until the room reverberates with hypnotic percussion.

Urban lessons on violence-free victories: Ann Scott Tyson; CHICAGO -- Combatting an international trend of sports victory celebrations turning violent, Chicago and other US cities are having to employ armies of police, public-service messages, and prayer to keep rowdy behavior in check.

Obituary: Anatta Fay Stauffer: Graveside services were 11:30 a.m. today in Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Boulder City. Palm Mortuary, 7600 S. Eastern Ave., handled arrangements.

Devlin-Brown: Eritrea offers key lessons in nation-building: When Eritrea pulled free from a collapsing Ethiopia in 1991, few thought that Africa's newest country would survive. Eritrea had eight different ethno-linguistic groups, a population evenly divided between Muslims and Christians, and a legacy of communal strife so bad that one RAND Corporation analyst dubbed the place "Lebanon squared."

Stars start second half with a victory: The Stars took a 6-0 lead in the fourth inning of Monday night's game on a two-run home run by Todd Steverson, a solo shot by Sean Mulligan and a pair of bases-loaded walks. Albuquerque pitchers walked six Stars batters in the inning and 10 in the game.

Obituary: Syble Collins: Affordable Cremation and Burial Service, 2457 N. Decatur Blvd., is handling arrangements.

Feud arises over school zone: He added that the speed limit on U.S. 93 through McGill already is 25 mph and the school is three blocks away, the Ely Daily Times reported.

Looking back at comics over the decades: Alan Bunce; BOSTON -- Comic books have grown from a kid's medium of comedy figures and superheroes into an almost bewildering mix of styles and subjects. Their history is a bit like rock-and-roll's - expanding from a clearly defined style for the young to hugely varied manifestations.

Letter: Don't fault Clinton's war record: When the Vietnam conflict was started by us and before the draft, I told everyone I talked to that we didn't belong there. The Vietnamese didn't know the difference between communism and communion and couldn't have cared less. But we had to defeat communism -- or were we there for economic reasons? Ask McNamara, who was defeated.

Netanyahu's plan: Talk tougher, give up less land: JERUSALEM -- Israel is making a dramatic departure from the path toward peace that it began taking at the 1993 Oslo peace accords as Benjamin Netanyahu was set to officially become prime minister today, backed by a religious-right coalition that is pledged to oppose the creation of a Palestinian state.

Obituary: Roseanne K. Kevorkian Wilkinson: Visitation is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Friday in Palm Mortuary, 1325 N. Main St. Services will be 11 a.m. Saturday in Palm Chapel, Main. Burial will follow in Palm Memorial Park.

Firefighters warn of telephone scam: Cathy Scott; At a Monday news conference, Fletcher said one woman agreed to give the caller a donation and a man arrived at her house within 10 minutes.

Is Eastern Europe ready for NATO?: Jonathan S. Landay; WASHINGTON -- Like debutantes at a military cotillion, some East European countries have been primping for this moment for years. Some regard an invitation to NATO membership as inevitable. But midway through the current phase of NATO expansion, there is still wide disagreement over how to admit new members.

Finn: Why educators can't fix education: The theme song of several dozen captains of industry at the recent education "summit" in Palisades, N.Y., was that American schools must do a far better job of equipping their graduates with basic academic skills. Employers are ready to provide their people with job skills, said IBM's Louis Gerstner, whose company co-hosted the gathering of governors and business leaders. "What is killing us is having to teach them to read and to compute and to communicate and to think."

Attorney on trial in crash scam: Rachael Levy; Norman Reed, 34, said he -- like other Southern Nevada attorneys -- was unaware that he was being used in an elaborate insurance fraud scam.

State official says gun law gets job done: This is one of the surprises of the federal Brady Law, which is under review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Circus aiming higher: Gary Thompson; The company's announcement of an alliance with Four Seasons-Regent Hotels & Resorts, the world's largest luxury-hotel operator, means far more than just a single, albeit decidedly elegant, new hotel in Las Vegas.

Cross survived LV church fire: Karen Zekan; The cross has no monetary value, fashioned years ago of simple wood and ties by a church maintenance man, but the fact that the handmade symbol survived Sunday's raging eight-hour blaze touched Father Dave Casaleggio.

DUI charge weighed in pedestrian death: Bill Gang; After all, authorities said 29-year-old Scott Haag was traveling about 60 mph in the 35-mph zone on Tropicana Avenue near the Strip when he ran down a tourist who was just an hour or two away from a return flight to her Massachusetts home.

Comic books: No longer just for kids: Alan Bunce; NORTHAMPTON, MASS. -- From afar, the four-story building looks like an image from a comic book: At roof level, a creepy gargoyle perches atop a gambrel peering down on the sidewalk. At night, he's bathed in light, and the silhouette of a comic-book hero is illuminated in each front window of the facade. Atop each of these windows, a small gargoyle supports a stand holding comic books.

Germany debates shelving law that closes shops early: Ruth Walker; BONN -- The law so many Germans love to hate finally looks about to change: the shop-closing law.

US lauds ballot result, struggles with resurgent Russian nationalism: Peter Grier; WASHINGTON -- The United States and its allies are relieved by Boris Yeltsin's slim first-round electoral victory. But the West is still worried about Russia's direction after a presidential vote that revealed deep fissures in the nation's society and a longing for a tougher stance toward the rest of the world.

Letter: Will's stance on tax cut ridiculous: Just how much can you cut from the budget 'til you are seriously hurting the most vulnerable in our society? Bob Dole, while wildly blathering "about across the tax cuts" without saying how he will offset these tax cuts is merely pandering to a naive public which believes you can cut taxes and still balance the budget without touching their favorite programs. Dole knows better but panders on and on just the same.

Jeff German: Bell, local police union boss sparring over cop beating case: And Bell, who has long enjoyed a good reputation among cops, doesn't appreciate it.

Russia opts for stability, aiding Yeltsin: Marshall Ingwerson; MOSCOW -- By the time the returns from Russia's pivotal presidential vote Sunday had rolled in yesterday, Russians had spelled out the sentiment that tipped the balance: They are uncomfortable with President Boris Yeltsin, but don't want another revolution.

Mineral rights lost in deal: Jeff Schweers; The decision record, signed Jan. 15 by Las Vegas District Manager Michael Dwyer, states: "All patents issued under this action would be subject to a reservation for mineral materials and leasable minerals."

US-China deal on piracy warms up ties: Sheila Tefft; BEIJING -- In an pact that averts a damaging trade war with the United States, China has agreed to a tough, new clampdown on copyright piracy of American music, films, and computer software.