St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 1

0 pin in VOL, 11 4, NO. 138 Copyright 1992 SUNDAY, MAY 17, 1992 (5) INAL 5-STAR, faf I Firm's Mills (TDii(Psti(rbin(pfl 'I I In 'Therapy9 For Elderly By Theresa Tighe Of the Post-Dispatch Staff 1 992, St Louis Post-Dispatch To hear 90-year-old Lena Lehman tell It, life at the Frederick Retirement Hotel in Boonville, got a bit brighter last year when employees of a Cope Care center began calling bingo and helping with crafts. Lehman since has learned that Cope Care characterized the bingo sessions as outpatient psychiatric services and billed Medicare and other insurers up to $6,000 a month for each resident served. She feels she was used. "We played bingo for a dish of soap and a piece of candy, and they got a lot of money," Lehman said.

Several Cope Care centers provide outpatient psychiatric treatment to residents of boarding and nursing homes in central and northern Missouri. Cope Care Is an extension of Kirksville Osteopathic Medi cal Center's Laughlin Pavilion, a psychiatric hospital. Cope Care staff members traveled from Columbia to the Frederick In Boonville to provide therapeutic services to its residents.Occaslonally, Cope Care staff took the residents by van to Columbia. Medicare statements list billings from the Laughlin Pavilion totaling about $580,000 over the past two years for Cope Care's services to 14 residents at three boarding homes. That figure is not comprehensive but represents the bills made available to the Post-Dispatch by clients or the homes.

The three homes are: The Frederick, a once-elegant hotel in Boonville that has 40 residents, about three-fourths of them elderly. The rest are mental patients. Montgomery Care Center, a three-story red-brick building in Montgomery City that Is home to about 15 frail elderly and 15 mental patients. Sturgeon Rest Home, a large white frame residence In Sturgeon that 20 elderly people call home. The administrator of the Laughlin Pavilion, James LeBaron, said in an Interview that there were problems with the operation of the Columbia center, which served six homes.

He said that in an Internal review last fall, hospital officials had determined there was inadequate documentation to support billing for about $190,000 In services provided to residents of the three boarding homes. The hospital has reason to believe that some of the services weren't provided to patients, he said. He said the hospital had returned to Medicare or written off as uncollectible the 43 percent Medicare allows the hospital to collect on those bills, or about $82,000. It also has returned or written off about $7,000 to Medicaid, he said. Some of the boarders referred to Cope See MEDICARE, Page 7 -V; --0r ttl Sam LeonePost-Dispatch Taking in the view from the lobby of her retirement hotel in Booneville is 90-year-old Lena Lehman.

She says she feels "used" by a company that charged high fees to organize bingo games there. THE INTERSTATE KILLINGS ddi im ThtWInntr: Pine Bluff, with Chris McCarron aboard, wins the Preakness. Pine Bluff Captures Preakness Pine Bluff overtakes Alydeed In the deep stretch and wins the Preakness by a length. Pine Bluff, which covered the 1 31 6-mile course in 1 minute 55 35 seconds, went off as a 7-2 favorite and paid $9, $5.80 and $4.40. Alydeed returned $7.60 and $3.80, and Casual Lies paid $4.20 to show.

IF Cards' Win Streak Comes To An End msirocitroi Many Lawmakers Cite Bickering Jj LliiEUfl 1 1 1 Lj-ji, 'tr if 'Ka-'L L.L,L..i i (l i ij i I L.JL jL I The Houston Astros get a run in the ninth inning, and their 3-2 victory halts the Cardinals' six- game winning streak. IF Balanced-Budget By Terry Ganey Post-Dispatch Jefferson City Bureau Chief JEFFERSON CITY The day before the start of this year's legislative session, Gov. John Ashcroft House Speaker Bob Griffin and Senate President Pro Tern James Mathewson were to appear at a joint news conference to endorse an anti-drug abuse bill. But the event was canceled at the last minute. Griffin, D-Cameron, was at odds with Ashcroft, a Republican, on a number of issues and would not come out In support of the bill.

The bickering was a portent of things to come. For the next 4 months the scene was repeated on a larger or smaller scale as the Missouri Legislature spat and sputtered but never addressed many of the state's problems. The Senate was at odds with the House; individual lawmakers tested their power against one another, the Legislature was at odds with Ashcroft Often the General Assembly seemed paralyzed by the complexity of the issues or the number of bills. In the halls outside their chambers GOVERNOR, LEGISLATORS put best face on session Page 6B LEGISLATOR WANTS to be House speaker Page 6C "IT'S BEEN a good year for parks." Page 4B lobbyists demanded attention, and constituents telephoned from home wanting action or Inaction on issues such as abortion or the concealed weapons amendment. And as a result, when lawmakers adjourned at 6 p.m.

Friday, several major jobs remained undone, including revision of the state formula of distributing school aid and Ashcroft's drug bill. Phyllis Rozansky, executive director of Citizens for Missouri's Children, bitterly criticized the Legislature's performance. "Dogs fared better than children," Rozansky said. "At least with dogs, there are minimal standards now for taking care of them." Rozansky referred to a bill that was approved that sets standards for dog-breeding operations and kennels. See LEGISLATURE, Page 8 Amendment Gains Congress is rushing toward adoption of the long-stalled constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget.

IB Scott DinePost-Dlspatch RAYTOWN, A shopper peering into the closed Store of Many Colors where Sarah Blessing was killed. Blessing is believed to be one of six victims of a serial killer. Clerks' Murderer Leaves Trail Of Death And Grief Police: 'We Don't Know What We're Looking For' Disappointment In Jeff erson City (EDITORIAL) Simple Justice Eludes Blacks (EDITORIAL) By Peter Hernon, Bill Smith and Susan K. Brown 2B Governor's Race Full Of Sound And Money NL INDIANAPOLIS Wednesday, April 8, 1 p.m. Jeff Meyrose, manager of the the MAB paint store at 7324 Pendleton Pike, said he first noticed the strange man In the green coat walking west on the street known by locals as "The Pike." The man was coming from the 3 Cardinals ....2 San Francisco.

2 By Jo Mannies Icago 0 Post-Dispatch Political Correspondent 11 ll a ma a With 79 days remaining NBA 113 Utah 88 AL Oakland 6 New York 3 Seattle. 7 Toronto 6 Minnesota ....8 Cleveland ....6 5 Texas 4 Boston 3 California 0. Cincinnati ....6 .5 San Diego ...10 Pittsburgh ,...9 Montreal 7 Atlanta 1 Of the Post-Dispatch Staff 1992, St Louis Post-Dispatch The first to die was Robin F. Fuldauer, 26, a manager at a shoe store in Indianapolis. The latest was Sarah Lynn Blessing, 37, a clerk in a health foods store in a Kansas City suburb.

In all, five women including Nancy Kitz-miller of St. Charles and one man have been shot to death by a gunman police say may be a roaming vagrant. The killer has crisscrossed four Midwestern states and traveled at least 1,700 miles during a monthbng murder spree. The killings are linked by weapon, a pistol; by location, busy shopping malls close to interstate highways; and by cause of death: gunshots to the head. Still, police are baffled.

"We don't even know what the hell we're looking for, "said a frustrated Joe Newport, assistant police chief in Terre Haute, the scene of one of the murders. Three Post-Dispatch reporters and a photographer last week followed the trail of the killer. What follows is a chronology of the bloodshed. before Missouri's primary on Aug. 4, the governor's race is blasting off like a Roman candle: mues nonn oi wu, ana iweyrose assumed that he was a hitchhiker.

He was carrying a large bag, about three feet long, and Meyrose said when the man got to the paint store, he circled the building several times before sitting on a concrete curb outside a closed Ed and Ed's hamburger stand next door. He sat there for 30 tn 40 minutes And the attacks crossed party lines, which Is unusual In heated, contested party primaries where there Is no Incumbent for all challengers to attack. After a springtime truce, the Republican candidates are sparring over a wide range of issues, including debates, endorsements and disclosing personal income-tax returns. The three major candidates are Attorney General William L. Web NHL Lots of sparks and Chicago money are flying In all directions.

Edmonton When they weren't rais Fuldauer ing cash or spending It, the GOVERNOR'S RACE five major candidates Meyrose said, rummaging through his bag and staring toward the Payless ShoeSource store almost directly across the street "He looked," Meyrose said, "like a guy who had been See MURDERS, Page I two Democrats and three Republicans spent last week lobbing firecrackers at one another at a frenetic pace for so early in the ster, Secretary of State Roy Blunt and state Treasurer Wendell Bailey. On the Democratic front, Lt. Gov. See CAMPAIGN, Page 8 season. ArttMutlc 4C Automotive 35Q Books 5C Business 1-8E Classified 2-67Q Commentanr 3B Editorials 2B Everyday 1-14C Movie Timetable 11C Obituaries 9D People 7A Real Estate 1Q tl4f StLouH 1-10O Style Plus 1-63 Travel MOT Pregnant Woman Is Murdered 6 i 2 Other County Residents Showers 1 Haitian Refugees Are Surging Again 1992, New York Times News Service GREAT ABACO ISLAND, the Bahamas Haitians have suddenly resumed the flight from their country aboard small boats in numbers that surpass the surge seen in October In the aftermath of a violent military coup.

With an average of almost 250 people a day being plucked from the seas off Haiti in recent weeks, the number being temporarily housed at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba has risen to about 8,500, from a low of 2,000 In March. On Wednesday, one of the busiest days yet 903 Haitians on 11 rickety vessels were plucked from the seas. When relatively few Haitians were found at sea in March, officials thought the exodus had crested. But now, exasperated officials see new urgency In diplomatic efforts to restore Haiti's elected government Diplomats from the Organization of American States will meet Sunday In the Bahamas to discuss Haiti. Officials seeking to explain the resurgence in refugees point to the sharp deterioration of living conditions in the Island nation, in large part because of a hemisphere-wide trade embargo imposed last November to punish the coup leaders.

Some officials also complain that although the Coast Guard has stopped Haitian vessels from reaching the United States, a sizable portion of those picked up have been admitted to pursue grants of asylum, thus encouraging many others to risk the voyage. Others stress the calm seas and favorable winds, which may encourage more Haitians to risk voyages in often frail and leaky boats. Last week, a senior State Department official estimated that the combined costs of the settlement at Guantanamo and the Coast Guard's interdiction had risen to more than REFUGEES, Page4 FORECAST: Sunday: Showers and a few thunderstorms are likely. High 76. Rain ending Sunday night.

Low 61. Monday: Partly cloudy. High 76. Other weather, 2A Die In Separate Incidents By Joan Little Of the Post-Dispatch Staff A woman who was eight months pregnant was stabbed to death in her house In the Castlepolnt area of unincorporated north SL Louis County, police said Saturday. Elsewhere, two men were killed and five people Including two children were wounded Friday night in three shootings.

The two children, 8 and 3 years old, were struck by shotguns pellets in a crossfire between two groups but escaped serious injury. The body of Valencia Reynolds was found with multiple stab wounds about 8:55 a.m. Saturday at her two-room bungalow at 10129 Lord Drive, police said. A friend discovered her body and notified police. Reynolds was pronounced dead at the scene.

The fetus died, police said. Her 2-year-old son, who also was at the house, was unharmed and with relatives Saturday night "We have not established a motive," said Lt John McCrady, commander of the county's bureau of crimes against persons. "Nor A. Odell Mitchell Jr.Post-Dlspatch Bobby Irving, 8, and his cousin, Lynisha Watson, 3, relaxing after escaping with minor wounds in a drive-by shooting. Bobby was hit on the neck by a shotgun pellet; Lynisha was struck In the right leg.

POST-DISPATCH W6ATHEHBIRD who y.rr. do we have a suspect." Witnesses told police they saw a man leaving Reynold's house shortly before her body was found. The man was described as a black mae, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, of medium build, with dark bair and wearing a camouflage outfit. Anyone with Information should call the county police at 889-2400 or 889-2360. See VIOLENCE, 7 1,1.