The Bismarck Tribune from Bismarck, North Dakota • 10

Page 2B Tuesday, August 26, 2008 Bismarck Tribune Bismarcktribune.com Dakota Officials want to keep OB unit deliveries at Mercy dropped "Small-town hospitals are asking themselves, 'For two or three or four deliveries a month, is it worth having all these resources and all this equipment and all the Dennis Lutz, chairman of the University of North Dakota medical school's OB-GYN program VALLEY CITY, (AP) Valley City officials are trying to get their hospital to keep delivering babies. Mercy Hospital is scheduled to close its obstetrics unit in January. Hospital officials cite declining birth numbers and mounting financial losses. Mercy still will provide prenatal and postnatal services and emergency deliveries. The North Dakota Healthcare Association says 10 of North Dakota's 43 licensed community hospitals deliver babies.

The number has dropped because of a decline in births, officials say. At the same time, services have become more complex as premature and C-section births rose in recent years, said Dennis Lutz, chairman of the University of North Dakota medical school's obstetrics-gyne-cology program. "Small-town hospitals are asking themselves, 'For two or three or four deliveries a month, is it worth having all these resources and all this equipment and all the Lutz said. Some believe the Mercy administration has underes- from 101 10 years ago to 68 last year. In 2007 alone, the OB department cost the hospital $320,000, he said.

At a time of a nationwide shortage, the department also is struggling to recruit and retain nurses; the hospital has brought in outside nurses to cover 54 of the department's 68 shifts, which costs more than hiring full-time professionals. Osse said that though the hospital as a whole lost money last year, it enjoys relative financial stability. Keeping the OB department will threaten that stability, he said. Valley City State athletic director BJ Pumroy, whose second child is due Jan. 13, worries about having to drive on Interstate 94 to Jamestown or Fargo in January.

"It could be a blizzard, and we could be in a world of hurt," he said. Osse said a one-time financial boost or the arrival of more nurses alone won't help the OB department in the long run. "Now if you give me more babies, that would work but I mean a lot more," he said. timated the costs to the community of the obstetrics unit closing. Mayor Mary Lee Nielson worries it will send the wrong message while the community is trying to attract young professionals.

She and about 20 other city government and business leaders met with Mercy officials Friday to try to get them to change their minds. They were disappointed, but Nielson said they are not giving up. Steven Welken, a board member of the Valley Development Group, said he and others floated the idea of raising private funds to keep the unit open, hoping an increase in young professionals might reverse birth rate trends down the road. "Even though the city and business leaders have asked to reconsider and are willing to help investigate alternatives, they will not change their stance," said Welken, whose baby is due in November. In a letter to the Valley City Times-Record, one of the four physicians who provide OB-GYN services at Mercy, Brad Braunagel, said the hospital has not done enough to promote its OB services and create a work environment that would help retain nurses.

"It's very frustrating for me, the board and the physicians, but the stakes are too high," said interim administrator John Osse about the decision. "The only alternative is to keep the department and risk losing the whole thing." Osse said the number of WSI meeting was illegal if enough committee members show up to allow their respective boards to take votes and make decisions. Stenehjem said the open meetings law was violated May 21 when Mark Gjovig, the chairman of the full board, and board member Mark Jackson met at a Bismarck restaurant the night before a scheduled meeting of the full board. Gjovig and Jackson are members of the board's "governance" subcommittee, which has three members. The presence of Gjovig and Jackson was enough to require notice of a public meeting, Stenehjem's opinion says.

The third member, Ed Grossbauer, who is a labor advocate on the board, was not invited. During the restaurant meeting, Gjovig had been discussing new board governing guidelines with Bruce Furness, the agency's director; a consultant, Stacy Sjogren; and Mary Thompson, a WSI information services project manager. Gjovig subsequently called Jackson and another By DALE WETZEL Associated Press Writer Two directors of North Dakota's workers compensation agency broke the state's open meetings law by meeting in a restaurant to discuss business without public notice, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said. Stenehjem, in a legal opinion Monday, said the Workforce Safety and Insurance agency must draft minutes of the illegal meeting and prqvide a free copy to anyone who asks. Former WSI executive Jim Long, who filed a complaint with Stenehjem about the meeting, must receive a free copy, the opinion says.

Workforce Safety's operations are supervised by an 11-member board of directors. The board also has smaller subcommittees, which report to the full board. Meetings of the smaller groups and the full board both require public notice under North Dakota's sunshine law, which is triggered board member, Michael Gallagher, to invite them to join the group, the opinion says. "At the point Mr. Jackson arrived and discussed the public business" of the governance subcommittee, "it was necessary to provide public notice consistent with" the state's open meetings law, the opinion says.

"The board must prepare detailed minutes of the meeting and include a statement in the notice indicating that the public may receive a free copy of such minutes upon request," the opinion says. Long said he was tipped that the meeting was going on, and went to check for himself. He was dismissed as WSI's chief of support services in March, and has said he plans to sue the agency to challenge his ouster. Long believes he was sacked because he cooperated with an investigation into possible criminal wrongdoing at Workforce Safety and Insurance, an allegation his supervisors deny. Car-semi crash kills Fargo woman FARGO (AP) Authorities say a car-semi collision on Interstate 29 in Iowa has killed a Fargo woman.

The Iowa State Patrol says 26-year-old Karen Olson was a passenger in the car that collided with the semi Saturday night. Authorities say the car driven by 26-year-old Joshua Orr of Fargo rear-ended the northbound semi on the interstate in Monona County. The patrol says Orr was treated and released in Sioux City. Another passenger in the car, a 14-year-old girl from Marcus, Iowa, was hospitalized. Her name was not released.

The semi driver was not hurt. Grant to focus on rural vets GRAND FORKS (AP) The University of North Dakota's Center for Rural Health says it's joining with the Fargo Veterans Medical Center in a program to improve health care for rural veterans. The UND center says a five-year, $10 million federal grant supports a new network of health care facilities and schools in the Midwest that will work together on veterans care. The deputy director of the Rural Health Resource Center, Alana Knudson, says the projects will influence how veterans health care is delivered across rural America. Trust claims $85M lottery ticket OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A trust has claimed a winning, $85 million Powerball ticket sold in Altus, the Oklahoma Lottery said Monday.

A group called the Zorro Trust came forward and requested the lump-sum payment option, yielding $29.3 million after taxes for the winning ticket in the July 2 drawing. The ticket was purchased at a Stripes convenience store in Altus. It was worth $85 million if taken in annual payments over 29 years under an annuity plan. Under the lump-sum payment, the cash amount, before taxes, is about half as large as the annuity plan figure. It was the third jackpot winning Powerball ticket sold in Oklahoma since January 2006.

The WJW Investment Trust claimed the first jackpot of $101.8 million in August 2006, and Don and Joyce Harvey of Muldrow claimed a jackpot prize of $105.8 million in June 2007. Under legislation enacted in 2007, the names of trust members must be disclosed to the Lottery Commission and checks are made to see if they owe back taxes or child support. There is no requirement that the names be released publicly. Man dies in tow truck mishap GRAND FORKS (AP) Police say a man hitching a tow truck to another large truck in a Grand Forks parking lot apparently was pinned between the vehicles when one of them moved, and died at the scene. The name of the 65-year-old man has not yet been released.

Police say the man was found dead at about 11 a.m. College holding block party JAMESTOWN (AP) Jamestown College is holding a block party to help its students and the community get to know one another. Former mayor Charlie Kourajian has the title of Main Street-Downtown Association ambassador. He says the students will be neighbors, hopefully, for the next four years. The Monday block party is aimed at making students aware of community services while helping businesses introduce themselves and recruit workers.

Tena Lawrence is the co-chairman of the College Community Connection. She says more than 70 businesses, organizations, nonprofits and clubs signed up for booth space. Hundreds of students are expected at the daylong event. Motorcyclist facing charges FARGO (AP) The Highway Patrol says an 18-year-old from Fargo has been arrested after a motorcycle chase on Interstate 29 and Interstate 94 and through a Fargo construction zone at speeds of more than 150 mph. Troopers say they started chasing the motorcycle after it was spotted speeding Sunday afternoon on Interstate 29 in Fargo.

The patrol says Cass County deputies joined the chase. They say the teen was found late in the afternoon, sitting in a ditch south of Moorhead, talking on his ceS phone. He's facing charges of aggravated reckless driving and fleeing a police officer. Wild parsnip spreads across Minn. BUFFALO, Minn.

(AP) Wright County is fighting an infestation of wild parsnip, a weed whose sap can cause blisters and scars. The DNR says wild parsnip has been a problem in southeastern Minnesota for years. But the weed has been spreading across Minnesota and has grown to severe levels this summer in Wright County, in the central part of the state. The Star Tribune reports that Wright County had expected $70,000 in state funding this year to eradicate the weed. But officials say the county will get $20,000 about a third of the amount that was expected.

Kerry Saxton, of the Wright Soil and Water Conservation District, says wild parsnip has "just exploded the past three years here." Turkey production down in N.D. FARGO (AP) The Agriculture Department says turkey production in North Dakota is at its lowest level since 2005. A preliminary estimate from the agency shows 1.2 million turkeys raised in North Dakota this year, a 29 percent increase from last year. The record high for turkey production in North Dakota came in 1997, when 2.6 million of the birds were raised. The agency says the national estimate of 271 million turkeys raised this year is down slightly from a year ago.

Fields are drying out in S.D. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) Sunny skies spurred the small grain harvest toward completion and raised concern that row crop yields might be reduced if it doesn't rain soon. After a week of temperatures reaching the 90s and no measurable precipitation, the weekly crop report shows 35 percent of South Dakota is short of topsoil moisture, up from 19 percent a Week ago. Two men charged in '01 slayings GRAND FORKS (AP) Two men have been charged in the shooting deaths of a father and son whose bodies were found on a gravel road seven years ago, Grand Forks County prosecutors say.

Authorities say Joseph Moncada and Billy Joe Aguero were arrested and charged Monday with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the deaths of Robert Belgarde, 40, and his son Damien, 19, who had lived in Grand Forks. The Belgardes were found shot to death on a gravel road southwest of Grand Forks on Sept. 7, 2001. The Grand Forks County state's attorney's office said Moncada was arrested in Minnesota and Aguero was arrested in Texas. Authorities said they are seeking to return the men to North Dakota.

An autopsy report on the killings found the Belgardes had multiple gunshot wounds from a 9 mm pistol. The report said Damien Bel-garde was shot seven times and Robert Belgarde was shot four times. The elder Belgarde also suffered a blow to the forehead, the report said. Court documents allege Moncada and Aguero shot Robert Belgarde and agreed to "engage in or cause conduct which resulted in Damien Belgarde being shot to death." Both suspects have criminal charges going back at least six years. Court records show that Moncada has been charged with fleeing, and possession of marijuana and cocaine.

Aguero was charged earlier with assault and terrorizing, bail jumping and being a fugitive from justice. Second phase of sentencing to the kidnapping and torture of Dylan and his then-8-year-old sister Shasta Groene, and to Dylan's murder. Duncan has already been convicted in state court of murdering 13- year-old Slade Groene, his mother Brenda Groene and By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press Writer BOISE, Idaho Convicted murderer Joseph Edward Duncan III had killed at least three times before 2005, when his attack on a northern Idaho family left four dead, federal prosecutors told a jury Monday. FBI Agent Mike Sotka testified that Duncan confessed to three other child murders after his arrest in the Groene family case the slayings of half-sisters Sammiejo White and Carmen Cubias in Seattle and her boyfriend Mark McKen zie. the slaying of Anthony Martinez in Riverside County, Calif.

The testimony in U.S. District Court is designed to convince jurors that Duncan should be executed for the kidnapping, torture and murder of 9-year-old Dylan Groene in 2005. In the next few days, Duncan will be given the option to present evidence to balance against the heinousness of the crime in an effort to sway the jurors toward a life sentence without parole. The former Fargo, N.D., man pleaded guilty last year to 10 federal charges related Of the seven people believed to be his victims, only two are adults the rest are between the ages of 9 and 13. All but one were bludgeoned to death.

Dylan Groene was shot twice. Testimony continues today. NUBS OF THE NEWS HOUSE BUNNrei3 (Mtet tibi BRIDESHEAD REVISITED to STARS WARS: CLONE WARS GIANT SCR 15-PHAflOAH'S THATRfc MIRRORS a TROPIC THUNDER a mism teen rt m. JTm fT KiSl "5:307:10 PINEAPPLE EXPRESS a liiiLiij'BOTHSIACiUWi aw THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR Kn 04: 1 SWING VOTE to Himebaugh, Arlington, Wash. IMPOUNDED ANIMALS If you are missing a pet or are interested in adopting a pet, go online to www.bis-marck.orgcitydepart-ments, click on police department then click on impounded animals.

For more information, call 223-1212 or 222-6734. CRIME STOPPERS Call Bismarck Area Crime Stoppers at 224-TIPS (224-8477) to report information about any crime in Bismarck, Mandan, Burleigh County or Morton County. Information can be given anonymously and you may be eligible for cash rewards if the information leads to an arrest. BIRTHS Medcenter One Son, Erica and Aaron Petrowitz, Mandan, 9:45 p.m., Aug. 23.

St. Alexius Medical Center Son, Peter M. and Tanya Sampson, Bismarck, 4:28 p.m., Aug. 24. Son, Bill and Christine Meyer, Solen, 7:39 a.m., Aug.

25. Daughter, Carey Geiser and Nicole Folden, Garrison, 10:05 a.m., Aug. 25. Daughter, Ryan and Terasa Olander, Bismarck, 12:39 p.m., Aug. 25.

Elsewhere Son, Rebecca and Brent Himebaugh, Glendale, Aug. 20. Grandparents are Janel and Vern Mastel, Man-dan, Peggy Himebaugh, Duluth, and Boyd SUCK BEFORE 4.00 PIAt UTAUN ONLY DEATH RACE DLP 1:30 4:00 7:00 9:25 LONGSHOTSpgdlp 1:45 4:50 7:10 9:45 THE WACKNESS 35MM 1:0010:00 THE ROCKER PG13 DLP 1 -10 4-90 7-PS9-50 WANTED fi MAMMA MIA! to ft SPACE CHIMPS JOURNEY TO THE CENTER Of THE FLY ME TO THE MOON 3D DLP EARTH 3-D re -row now. HANCOCK GET SMART to KUNGFU PANDA re NO DISC 3D SURCHARGE APPLIES 1:10 3.15 5.20 7:30 9:35 STEP BROTHERS DLP 1:20 4:30 7:20 9:40 SISTERHOOD 2 PG13 DLP 1:00 4:10 7:05 9:40 DARK KNIGHT PG13 DLP 1:15 4:40 8:00 WALL-E DLP 'DISASTER MOVIE COLLEGE VICKI CRIST1NA BARCELONA 3-15 5 20 7 45.