The Daily Spectrum from Saint George, Utah • 10

Sunday, December 20, 1998 Page A10 The Spectrum State The West Wolf death survey withdrawn Hillbilly casino plan sparks division in Reno By SCOn SONNER reintroduced into the ild early this vear. U.S. Rep. Joe Skeen. Sen.

Pete Domenici, and Sen. Jeff Bingaman. protested the questionnaire. The eight-page questionnaire not only sought information from hunters on their trips but also asked such things as whether they shot a wolf, if they knew who shot a wolf and whether they should be believed. By The Associated Press The U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to retract a controversial wolf questionnaire that drew complaints from hunters, game officials and lawmakers, a congressman said Friday. The questionnaire was supposed to help investigators find out who shot a Mexican gray wolf last month near the Arizona-New Mexico state line. The wolf had been Reno Gazette Journal The Associated Press Jethro's Beverly Hillbillies Mansion Casino is envisioned as the cen- terpiece of Park Lane Mall in Reno. shown Tuesday in this artist rendering. For The Perfect Christmas WE HAVE IT But the council postponed sched- uled action until Jan.

12 on what Baer says could be a deal breaker a pro-1 posed 240-foot oil derrick and 70-foot flame he says is critical to the project's success. Much of the criticism at a public hearing Tuesday night focused on the derrick and its flame. Nathan Robison, an engineering stu-J dent at the University of Nevada who helped whip up opposition to the der-1 rick, said it would be a waste of natural At Unbelievable FACTORY DIRECT PRICING And If In-Stock, Ready lb lake Home Now! night. "But at one time, I was an is. Jethro will always be an is.

Just like Superman and Batman is an is because of television." Baer, who has homes in Las Vegas and at Lake Tahoe, likens his project to Walt Disney's most famous creation. "Fifty years ago or more there was a guy who had an idea that people said was tacky. They said the character he was creating would spread bubonic plague and scare women and children," Baer said. "It was Mickey Mouse," he said. "It's all in how it's done." Baer's proposed casino with a restaurants ranging from Granny's Vit-tles and Hog Jowls to Drysdale's Fancy Eatin' for the Richins has divided a city trying to chart its economic future.

"Are we competing to become the capital of kitche?" asked Mike McCur-ry of Reno. "Is Reno the lady that automatically rolls over when a stranger comes to town with a fistful of dollars and a diamond on his pinky?" Others say the city can't afford to turn its back on Baer, who wants to build the hotel-casino at an aging, struggling mall south of downtown Reno. "If not what Mr. Baer has in mind, then what?" asked Barbara Moss, a local backer. "It's important that this area of town do something," added Dexter Baker.

"I'd like to see it revitalized and this is a good step." Gene Newhall, a Reno native who drives a shuttle bus at the airport, said locals back Baer's project over "some starving artist project" the council is funding downtown. SS3S' S. The Associated Press RENO, Nev. You can criticize Jethro's Beverly Hills Mansion Casino, gripe about the plans for a flame-spewing oil derrick and worry about the impact on traffic, school children and views of the Sierra Nevada. But don't try to tell Max Baer a.k.a Jethro Bodine, his plan for a hotel-casino in Reno based on the hit television show is "tacky." "I think it's tacky," said Frankie Williams, a lifelong resident who urged the Reno City Council Tuesday night to reject Baer's $130 million project.

"We have the philharmonic, the opera, the ballet. I think it is an insult to the intelligence of the people of Reno," she said. Them's fighting words for Baer, who played the dimwitted Jethro on the show that ran from 1962-71. "The Beverly Hillbillies are not tacky," said Baer, 61, the flamboyant former actor who appeared before the council in a black leather jacket and black suede snow boots. "One hundred million people watched it every week.

So 100 million American citizens are tacky?" he asked. "The ratings were higher than for "Seinfeld," Baer said. Baer says Reno's tourism-based economy is badly in need of a shot in the arm. He says the city can't afford to be picky about his plans for a hotel-casino he says would attract visitors from around the world. "I'm a has-been, a used-to-be and a was," Baer told the council Tuesday WWmxwm gjgggggft 'IMjJ "I'm here to tell you Reno is dying," Newhall said.

"I'd like to work for this guy." Baer shouted from the audience, "You've got a job, baby. Keep talking." In addition to the continuing growth of new mega-resorts in Las Vegas, Reno business leaders fear new competition from Native American casinos in California, where voters last month approved an expansion of reservation gambling. And hile three more major casinos are scheduled to open in Las Vegas next year, the last new casino to be built in Reno was the Silver Legacy in 1995. "Nobody wants to come to Reno," Baer said. "You can look at Virginia City and see the future of Reno after Indian gaming.

Virginia City lost its silver and became a ghost town. "Whether you like the Beverly Hillbillies or not, I don't give a damn. That's not my problem. You have a problem," he told the council. The city council unanimously approved a series of zoning changes and special-use permits Baer needs to move forward.

gas. 1 "More people will be offended and! even disgusted by this use of a fossil; fuel than the few people, of frankly; poor taste, who will be attracted to a flame-thrower in the middle of he said. Mercedes de la Garza, a Reno architect, said she used to live in Texas where "oil derricks are the embodiment of dirty, filthy environmental deeradation. "If you are rich enough to own anj oil derrick, you are also rich enougn to live far from one," she said. Lewis Gaee, a pilot for 40 years, O.A.C 'With porchow ovw $500 -ST 9 Family Fun For Evvryom ecard Pools Spas nrtj Utak, MiMi ArtzaM Wv hav whol hows filtration systMM by Hagw said he worries about the flame causing problems for airplanes.

435-688-6833i. 888-688-7727 ISPUSI LDS church reinstated as defendant in abuse lawsuit christ By MARTHA BRYSON HODEL The Associated Press lliill 1 the horrors of physical.and sexuah abuse," Kirkpatrick said. The judge also said the history of West Virginia's child abuse reporting' statute is plain. A Raleigh County Circuit Judge has dismissed four counts of a $750 million lawsuit against the Mormon church but will allow the case to go forward on six other counts. 'The West Virginia Legislature has determined from the outset that the privileged communications between i 100oz.Polyurcthane Reservoir An orderentered by Raleigh County- professionals, such as clergy or reli-J Zippered and Mesh Pockets Plus Bungee 1, Xitt'Uil Jl nlgr.iiLi-K gktu.hcal&rs- are inapplicable when Total 'Sloraj-e 7 3 reverses an earlier ruling that dis- child abusa is at issue, Kirk-f CoolMax Badfw4i nusseu ine cnurcn oi jcsus iinisi ui patncKsaiu.

I The case is set to go to trial in May. I Fully Insulated To Keep Liquids Hot Or Cold For Hours Wfcklng Mesh Keeps Back Extra Dry CoolMax Back Panel Harness 70 oz. Pol yurethane Reserwiir ErgorKMnkally Designed Shoulder Pads 1 00 oz. Polyurethane Reservoir F.arlier this vear Kirknatrick had? 3 Zipper Accessory Chambers Easy Access Mesh Pocket Ergonnmically Designed Harries Stabilization Belt CoolMax Back Pand Ergonomkaily Designed Shoulder Pads 400 cubic Inch Total Space FuO Length Pocket Latter-day Saints from the lawsuit, which accuses church officials of failing to report a case of child abuse involving a church member. The four counts were dismissed on the basis of First Amendment protections for freedom of religion.

But the court said some allegations supersede that issue. "This court will not make the protection of children from physical and sexual abuse subservient to free exercise interests of the LDS Church defendants. This court can think of no greater compelling interests than the expectation of the child to be free from Regular 36.99 Regular 57.99 Regular 79.99 dismissed the Salt Lake City-based church as a defendant in the lawsuit, saying there were no grounds to bring suit against the church because it is not incorporated as a legal entity. But Kirkpatrick subsequently allowed lawyers for Jane and Rebecca Doe to refile their lawsuit using a different legal procedure. In a ruling issued from the bench on Nov.

30, Kirkpatrick allowed plaintiffs to amend their complaint, naming church officials in Virginia and West Virginia as individual defendants and in their official capacity as representatives of the organization, said plaintiffs' lawyer Debra Kilgore of Princeton. 761 S. BLUFF STREET, ST. GEORGE "What we are doing is naming indi-1 Only Southern Ricfit enc 7ufofa Henrutvufl wsml mw mm mm viduals as representatives of the unin-1 corporated association, and that allows the suit to proceed," Kilgore said. The! church will be the entity liable for dam- ages if a jury finds for the plaintiffs, Kilgore said.

Michael Sullivan, a South Carolina lawyer also involved in the case, called the decision "a serious setback for the Mormon Church and its team of lawyers, who have raised this defense in similar suits throughout the country." 5 The church has been sued at least 26 other times for its failure to report the sexual abuse of children, Sullivan saidt in news release. A West Virginia lawyer representing! the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the case dismissed Sulli-i $750 DISCOUNT $750 CASH BACK $750 MATCHING DOWN $750 DOWN PAYMENT HOME RUN van's news release and the revived law suit as "a very slim reed as far as: plaintiffs are concerned." Von Keetch the church had nothing to do withlbe1 abuse. 'The alleeed abuse in this rasp Wni inflicted by a father on his own daughter within the privacy ofpetr, own home," Keetch said. "The "father was simply a member of The Ch'utch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saiij he did not hold any leadership position According to the lawsuit, uoe and her husband separated tfid then divorced in 1988, after whioh'tfiej husband tixk custody of the The suit alleges that the hushed! mWAH tr 1 it -ta r-nMA 4X2 ARUNNER TACOMA 4X4 a rf RAV 4 Savings up to $1498 EVP Savings up to S500 lfuw" ti250 EVPSangsuptoS1 EVP Savings "5 EVP uM.im.jr uiiu ucjiuii sexuauy EVP Saving -r cash v. $1000 piusSIZ00 plus YOU'RE IN TOYOTA TERRITORY! anusing me couple two children, i According to the lawsuit, thejj' became publicly known when thffhil dren told a baby-sitter about it-tjifi baby-sitter tape-recorded the chndreii statements, then tried to extoij $20,000 from the father, the lawsurt Faced with the children's lather, an LDS member, mid ma iff saK 1VJI1I I IV I TEH I 111 I I 1 tf 1flX) SOUTH HILTON 1 -800-451r 8384628-7300 Matching down offer up to $750 from Denver region Toyota Dealer Association limited to new '99 Camrys in stock.

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