Asheville Citizen-Times from Asheville, North Carolina • Page 34

ASHEVILLE CITIZEN-TIMES SATURDAY, DEC. 14, 1 99 1 8D GETTING HER BEARINGS DIGEST Bush wants $15 billion for cities I Alt 'V has meningitis serious Infection in the spinal cord lining." Hough said incubation for developing the disease after coming in contact with an active case is two to 10 days, but it usually shows up in four to five days. Symptoms are similar to the flu, especially the high fever and headache. Treatment works best within 24 hours, and anyone who does not receive immediate treatment and develops symptoms should seek medical attention. Health officials in Jackson County who dealt with the death of 19-year-old Richard Ruhlman of Cullo-whee in April called the disease weakly contagious.

No other cases of the disease were reported after Ruhlman's death, although more than 50 people who had been in contact with him received preventive care. "We've been a little more aggressive at Pisgah in treating classroom contacts than called for by our guidelines," said Hough. Hough said the disease can be spread through oral secretions and she was concerned when talking to the students to learn how common it is for students to eat and drink after one another. "They are definitely passing the flu around this way and we don't want anyone to get the meningitis, so we are advising they observe better hygiene and go to their doctors if they have any of the symptoms," she said. Pisgah, like other county schools, is battling a flu epidemic and had about 30 percent of its 680 students absent Friday.

A school concert and basketball games were canceled for Friday night because of the flu. Larry Leatherwood, associate superintendent of schools, said no consideration has been given to closing Pisgah because of the meningitis report. Pisgah student ByAngela Griffin WAYNESVILLE BUREAU WAYNESVILLE A Pisgah High School student remained in serious condition in Memorial Mission Hospital Friday diagnosed with a case of meningococcal meningitis, the same bacterial disease that caused the death of a Western Carolina University student in April and claimed the life of a third-grade student in Gamewell on Sunday, Jeffrey Stockton, 19, a senior at the Canton school, left school ill with flu-like symptoms on Tuesday, said Principal Bill Upton. Stockton was admitted for treatment Tuesday night at Haywood County Hospital and transferred Wednesday to Memorial Mission's intensive care unit, according to a hospital spokesman. More than 200 students and faculty members at the high school who had come in contact with Stockton were given immediate preventive treatment on Wednesday.

Dr. Dorcas Hough, Haywood County Health Department director, said interviews were conducted to determine who might have been in close contact with Stockton and those contacts were given pills to prevent the illness. Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes of the spinal cord or brain. The disease is caused by various types of bacteria that reach membranes in the spinal cord and brain through blood or from the sinuses and mastoid cells. The bacteria is considered endemic or always present in the general population, said Hough.

"The germs are present in all parts of the United States. People carry it in their throat or pharynx. Sometimes for unclear reasons it becomes invasive and sets up a Svk'V ,1 1 sw 1 MmJiZ'P WASHINGTON President Bush said Friday the economic proposals in his State of the Union address will include $15 billion in grants to local governments "with no strings attached." Bush, speaking by video hookup to a National League of Cities conference in Las Vegas, sympathized with the nation's mayors who said their cities were hard hit by the economic slump. The administration is putting together what Bush called a "common-sense" package of economic-growth proposals that he will include in his Jan. 28 address.

The proposal for block grants to cities is similar to one Bush proposed last year but which Congress did not to enact, said White House aide Judy Smith. "It's taken a long time to get the legislation drafted in a way to answer some of the understandable concerns in the Congress, but we're going to be pushing it and it's going to be part of our overall economic package," Bush said. Plane finally found VAT.nnSTA fio Pookiiot-ii Police Briefs THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A two-year-old female Polar Bear surveys her new home in Seneca Park Zoo In Rochester, N.Y., after a two-day truck ride from the Salt Lake City Zoo. UN may send military observers to Yugoslavia UNITED NATIONS The Security Council reached tentative agreement Friday to send a small advance party of military observers to Yugoslavia, partly as a way of heading off Germany's searched in the wrong place while two mjured men waited overnight in a small plane that crashed in a swamp 1 mile from an airport. The men finally managed to contact the airport tower with a hand-held radio after the tower opened Friday morning, directing rescuers to the wreckage through mud and thick vegetation.

detectives are searching for clues in a rash of recent robberies involving soft-drink machines, sheriffs Detective Robert M. Orr said Friday. At least eight robberies have occurred since Dec. 3, and similar reports have been made in Henderson County. Some of the machines were opened with keys while others were pried open, Orr said, adding that between $7 and $40 was taken each time.

The machine at Custom Design on U.S. 64 was hit twice, on Dec. 3 and again Thursday. Other coin box thefts occurred in machines at Brevard Motor Lodge and Food Lion Dec. 4, Revco and Bi-Lo at Brevard Plaza on Thursday and at Jud's Autos and Pisgah Used Appliances on U.S.

64 sometime before business hours Friday, Orr said. Anyone with information about the thefts should contact Crime Stoppers of Transylvania County at 86-CRIME (862-7463). STAFF REPORTS Three men who had been shooting at a street sign in Erskine Street Apartments in Asheville dropped a rifle, pistol and more than two dozen small bags of cocaine when fleeing an Asheville Police Department officer Friday afternoon. No one was injured Friday in the incident involving three young, black males. But the incident happened less than 24 hours after another shooting at Erskine Apartments Thursday in which a Buncombe County man was Bhot after an altercation with three black men.

Police had not determined Friday night whether the same suspects were involved in both incidents. Injured in the shooting at 11:50 p.m. Thursday was Charles Rickey Rice, 26, of Barnardsville, a police report indicates. Rice was shot with a handgun after an altercation with the men. Rice was in stable condition Friday at Memorial Mission Hospital, a nursing supervisor said.

In the shooting Friday, police received a report about 4:30 p.m. of shots being fired behind a building near the fence separating Erskine Apartments from Asheville-Bun-combe Technical Community College. Officer G.E. Anton said that as he ran to the scene, he saw three black men fleeing. One of the men dropped a rifle, a hat and 27 small bags of cocaine.

Police had not determined Friday how much cocaine was in the various sized bags. Another man threw down a pistol, the officer said. Police searched the area but had not apprehended the suspects Friday night Anton described the men as 18 to 22 years old, weighing between 180 and 200 pounds and being 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet tall. The suspects were wearing dark clothing. Drink machines robbed BREVARD Brevard police and Transylvania County sheriffs recognition of Croatia.

Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar told council members he was willing to send an advance unit that diplomats said would have fewer than 100 people, perhaps just a few DIGEST "It's all to pieces," said Roy Bennett, who lives nearby and was among the first to reach the plane. "TOman l.n nvn lunln, Via oliuo Bennett said the men told him the plane ran out of fuel on a flight from Baltimore to Key West, and they could not find a place to land. The pilot of the single-engine Cessna 150 was identified as John Murray, 38, of Ashton, and his passenger as Paul LaCosta, 32, of Ocean City, Md. Cleaning plant explodes PLYMOUTH. Minh A DEATHSFUNERALS chemical explosion ricoed apart an times, the family will be at the home of Georgia Miller, 208 Gashes Creek Road.

industrial cleaning plant Friday, injuring 19 people, one seriously, ClUUlUilUCD 0O1U. "All the walls blew right out," dozen, including military observers. The advance party would presage eventual deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force of 10,000 soldiers and police. The secretary-general doesn't want to send the full force until Croatia and the Serb-dominated forces agree to hold their fire.

So far, 14 brokered cease-fires have quickly fallen apart. Chinese offer to talk with Dalai Lama NEW DELHI, India Chinese Premier Li Peng offered on Friday to open a dialogue with the Dalai Lama, the exiled leader of Tibet, on any subject except Tibetan independence. Li, whose visit has been dogged by protests from Tibetan refugees, reiterated Beijing's position that Tibet is a province of China, and there is no room to discuss independence, United News of India and Press Trust of India reported. Tibetan officials were not immediately available for comment. But the Chinese condition on talks with the Dalai Lama has prevented such meetings in the past.

Hurricane damage severe in Samoa APIA, Western Samoa New Zealand's foreign minister said Friday that Western Samoa looks like it was hit "by a sand blaster" after five days of pounding by Hurricane Val. At least a dozen people were killed in Western Samoa and one died in American Samoa as the hurricane battered the Pacific islands with winds of 150 mph and gusts even higher. President Bush on Friday authorized federal disaster assistance for American Samoa, whose governor, Peter Tali Coleman, put damage at $83.2 million. Coleman said the storm left 200 injured and 4,000 people homeless, wiping out nearly all crops. American Samoa is a U.S.

territory with a population of 38,000. Food export issue unresolved WASHINGTON U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills said Friday that Mexico gave a "constructive" response to her proposal for joint inspection of U.S. food exports newly barred by Mexico, but she said the matter is still unresolved. Hills denied that removal of trade barriers across the U.S.Mexico border would cost U.S.

jobs, as political detractors and "America First" proponents have contended. In part, she said, that is because the free trade agreement would increase U.S. exports to Mexico, thus creating more jobs. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS said Plymouth Township Supervisor Gerald Law. "All the cars that were parked there were absolutely crushed.

A good wind is going to blow it down. The only thing that wan linfmiphpH vuaa fho frnnf nffipo The rest of it is totally demolished." One employee of the Cygnet Automated plant was listed in fair condition at St. Joseph Hospital in Ann Arbor after breathing methyl ethyl ketone, a toxic industrial solvent Eighteen others were treated and released after the blast, officials said. The cause of the explosion was under investigation. The company, located about 20 miles west of Detroit, cleans metal and steel containers with chemical solvents for reuse, Law said.

Madeline Mae Hagan FA1RV1EW Madeline Mae Hagan, of Webb Creek Road, died Friday in an Asheville hospital. A native of Buncombe County, she retired from Sky City and was former sales clerk with Ivey's. She was a member of West Asheville Presbyterian Church. She was a member of Azalea Lodge 545 United Transportation Union Ladies Auxiliary. She was the daughter of the late Robert Moore and Annie May Sprouse McFarland.

She was the wife of Samuel Jack Hagan, who died in 1977. Surviving are a daughter, Janice H. Monday of Fairview; three grandchildren and three great-grandsons. Graveside services will be at 4 p.m. Sunday in Green Hills Cemetery.

The Revs. Ben Sloan and Norman Hubbard will officiate. Burial will be in Green Hills Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the cemetery following the services. Memorials may be made to West Asheville Presbyterian Church, 690 Haywood Road, Asheville, N.C.

28806. Anders-Rice Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. A native of Stuart, and a former resident of Asheville, he had worked as a master printer with Biltmore Printers and was a Sunday school teacher at Merrimon Avenue Baptist Church. He had lived in Gastonia since 1978 and was a member of Grace Baptist Church. He was associated with his son at Auto Parts.

Surviving are his wife, Elizabeth Bell Martin; a son, Bill Martin of Gastonia; a brother, Moir Martin of Martinsville, a sister, Laura M. Campbell of Virginia Beach, and two grandchildren. Graveside services will be at 3 p.m. Sunday in Armstrong Memorial Cemetery. The Rev.

Ron Harrison will officiate. The family will receive friends at 2 p.m. Sunday at McLean Sons Funeral Home in Gastonia. At other times, the family will be at the residence. Buster B.

Craig Buster 'Bus' Brown Craig, 70, of 126 Glendale Asheville, died Friday in an Asheville hospital. A native of Buncombe County, he was a son of the late James and Maggie Pack Craig. He retired from English Lumber Co. He was a member of Oakley Freewill Baptist Church. Surviving are his wife, Sue Wilson Craig; three daughters, Georgia Miller of Asheville, Christine Osborne of Swannanoa and Dorothy Holt of Weaverville; two sons, Doyle Craig of Asheville and Donald Craig of Hendersonville; a sister, Sally Sharp of Asheville; a brother, Richard Craig of Asheville; 14 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 2 Sunday in the chapel of Miller Funeral Home. The Revs. Elmer Hensley and Jimmy Page will officiate. Burial will be in Nesbitt's Chapel Baptist Church cemetery. The family will receive friends from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Saturday at Miller Funeral Home. At other THE ASSOCIATED PRESS See Other Deaths on page 4B William F. Fowler ROCKY MOUNT William F. Fowler, 78, died Thursday in Cullo-whee. He was the son of the late Harry D.

and Mary Quinn Fowler. He was the husband of the late Edith Sumner Fowler. Surviving are a son, Walter D. Fowler of Arden; two daughters, Dianne F. Collins of Cullowhee and Brenda F.

Hall of Fayetteville; two brothers, Edward Fowler of Rocky Mount and Hyland Fowler of Richmond, four sisters, Helen Richardson of Rocky Mount, Florence Lee Hane of Reidsville, Mildred O'Leary of Denver, and Edna Gay of Washington, D.C.; and seven grandchildren. Graveside services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday in Section Pineview Cemetery. The Rev. William I.

Gay will officiate. The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday at Gay-Yost Funeral Home. William Hendrix BELLFLOWER, Calif. William "Bill" Hendrix, 64, died Monday.

A native of Fletcher, he was a son of the late Clyde and Iva Hendrix. Surviving are his wife, Ina Jane Wilkie Hendrix; two sons, Ricky and Keith Hendrix of Bellflower; a daughter, Debbie Hendrix of Bellflower; a sister, Betty Jo Kerley of Balboa, a brother, L.G. Hendrix of Fletcher; and two grandchildren. Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in Star Light Tabernacle in Lynwood, Calif.

Burial will be in Riverside National Cemetery. White Funeral Home of Bellflower is in charge of arrangements. Fred F. Martin CAST0NIA Fred F. Martin, 64, of 404 N.

Morehead died Thursday in a Gaston County County hospital. I Plastic food stamps proposed The Citizen-Times publishes obituaries as a service to our readers at no charge. The obituary desk is open from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 3 to 6 p.m.

on weekends. TELEPHONES From Asheville 252-5611 From N.C 1-800-800-4204 TOUCH-TONE: 252-5610, ext. 401 FAX NUMBER: 704-251-0585 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON Food stamp recipients around the country soon could buy groceries with a plastic card instead of paper coupons. Proposed federal rules published Friday would allow states to computerize their food stamp programs so recipients can purchase food with plastic cards similar to those used to access bank accounts electronically. Officials of the Agriculture Department, which administers the food stamp program, believe the electronic-benefits-transfer system will streamline administration.

"Retailers and banks like EBT because it eliminates much of the paper handling involved with paper coupons and automates much of the accounting. It is also an effective tool against fraud and trafficking because it eliminates the coupon, which has become a secondary currency to some people," said Agriculture Secretary Edward Madigan. The food stamp program provided an estimated $17.3 billion in benefits in the year that ended Sept. 30. The average payment per person was $03.90 a month.

In September, a record 23.76 million Americans were receiving food stamps, up from 20.5 million a year earlier. "We are proposing this step into the electronic age to make it easier for the millions of Americans who rely on the food stamp program at some point in their lives," said Madigan. Once the regulations take effect next spring, states can apply to participate in the electronic system. The law requires that the electronic systems cost no more than the conventional paper-coupon system. Sixteen states have expressed an interest, including California and Texas.

Under the electronic benefits systems, food stamp applicants would apply in the usual way at a local office. Once their eligibility and level of benefits are determined, recipients would have an account opened in their name and would receive a plastic card, protected with a personal Identification number. When paying for groceries, food stamp customers would have their cards run through an electronic reader and would enter their personal identification number. Their account would then be charged. 1 Please recycle this newspaper..