Fall 4th Quarter Journal 1996 October-December

 

2 October 1996 10/02/96 AIDS Page: B2Keywords: UT, County Commissions,Diseases, AIDSUtah County Says No to  AIDS Plaque Byline: BY TAYLOR SYPHUS SPECIAL TOTHE TRIBUNE    PROVO -- A proposed plaque and memorialgarden to celebrate AIDS awareness andvictims of the incurable disease in Utah Countywere rubbed out by the Utah CountyCommission on Tuesday.   ``We don't have anything against AIDS,''said Commissioner Jerry Grover, whose unclehas the syndrome. ``From a policy standpoint, ifwe opened that door we would have memorialgardens all over the place.''   Clark Swenson, a public-relations employee  with the county Health Department, proposed the plaque and garden for countyproperty two weeks ago. He claimed volunteerswould pay for the plaque and maintain thegarden, Grover said. However, Swenson failedto attend commission meetings when theproposal was discussed.   ``The issue is not political,'' Grover said.``There are better ways if you really want topromote AIDS awareness.''   He suggested an official proclamation, whichwould be recorded on county records, oreducational programs. He said commissionersgenerally are reticent about any plaques, notwanting to promote one group over another.   Commissioner Gary Herbert said there areabout 100 AIDS cases and peopleinfected with HIV in Utah County's history.He suggested there are far more victims of othercircumstances, such as traffic accidents, cancerand venereal diseases.   Only one plaque is displayed at the countybuilding, commemorating Utah County veteransand victims of World War I, World War II, theKorean War and the Vietnam conflict. Thecommission is considering adding a POW-MIAsection to the memorial, but Grover said thereare conflicts over even that.   ``We already have a special program for  AIDS victims in the county HealthDepartment,'' Grover said. ``If there is aproblem [such as AIDS], people need tobe aware of it, but not to the point of making apolitical statement about it.''

 

9 October 1996 10/09/96 Page: B3Keywords: UT, AIDS, Gardening  AIDS Activists PlantFlowers to Remember Victims Byline: BY STEVE GREEN SPECIAL TOTHE TRIBUNE    OGDEN -- They were barred from plantingflowers for AIDS victims on Utah Countyproperty, but were welcome to do so at parks inOgden and Salt Lake City.   And plant they did. Members of the Utah  AIDS Foundation and the People With   Aids Coalition of Utah planted 400 flowerbulbs Saturday along the Ogden River Parkway.The effort came on the heels of planting 4,000crocus bulbs Tuesday at City Creek Canyon inSalt Lake City.   ``We're still hoping to do something in UtahCounty,'' said Barbara Shaw, executive directorof the Utah AIDS Foundation, referring to adecision last week by the Utah CountyCommission to deny a request to display amemorial plaque on county property to drawattention to people who have died from theincurable disease or who have contracted HIV,which causes AIDS.   The crocuses, as well as tulips and daffodils,will bloom in the spring as a living memorial to  people who have died or suffer from AIDS   and HIV.   Ogden-area members of the AIDSfoundation hope to erect a plaque at the site byDec. 1, designated World AIDS Day.   Audrey Combe of South Ogden plantedflowers in honor of her son, Jeffery Fuller, andhis partner, Phillip Virtuoso, who died from  AIDS and are buried next to each other inNorth Ogden.   Virtuoso, 52, died in 1992. Fuller, 39, diedlast year.   ``Jeffery would be so proud of his mom.Phillip would be proud of me,'' Combe said.``They were wonderful companions. I lovedthem both.''   Combe said she hopes the flower memorialwill help family members of people with  AIDS cope. ``I wish more people wouldnot be ashamed of their children,'' she said.   The Utah Health Department says 1,305 casesof AIDS have been diagnosed in Utah since1983, 94% of them on the Wasatch Front.Another 776 HIV diagnoses have been made.   Shaw said an estimate of people in Utahwho are HIV-positive but don't know it rangesfrom 2,000 to 6,000.   ``We believe we can stop it,'' she said. ``Weknow how to prevent this virus.''   People can get AIDS by not takingprotective measures before sex and by sharingdrug needles.   People needing information about AIDSprevention, diagnosis and treatment are urged tocall their area health department or the AIDSFoundation at (800)-865-5004, or 487-2323 in the Salt Lake area.

 

10 October 1996 10/10/96 Page: B1 Keywords: Homosexual Gay Issues, Education, Students, Public Schools Caption: Jump Page B3: Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune Gayle Ruzicka of the Utah Eagle Forum and Clayton Vetter, the Skyline High debate coach who has acknowledged he is homosexual, spar over the ``gay agenda'' in   Utah schools.   Gay Agenda In Schools Is Debated; Panel: It's Either About Respect or Recruitment; Gay Agenda In Schools Is Debated Byline: BY KATHERINE KAPOS THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Yes, Utah, there is a gay agenda in public education. But it is not about recruiting teen-agers to become homosexuals and lesbians. Rather, the message is respect, according to one Utah teacher asked to discuss the question during a special panel debate Wednesday evening.  ``The question really should be: Do you think respect should be taught at school? Do you think children should be safe at school? Or shouldn't all families be celebrated?'' said Clayton Vetter, the Skyline High School debate coach who announced his homosexuality earlier this year. ``If that is what we are talking about, then yes, there is an agenda,'' he said. ``I want children to be reinforced for who they are. I don't want them to live in secrecy. I don't want them to lie,'' he said.In Utah, the gay and lesbian issue came to the forefront early this year when students at East High School wanted to form a gay-straight alliance. The Salt Lake City School Board decided to ban all clubs not related to academic courses rather than allow the club to form. The Legislature answered with a law prohibiting teachers from promoting any illegal activity.    The issue still seems to draw interest as more than 150 people crowded into a hall at Salt Lake City's First Unitarian church to hear the debate.  Respect for others was the theme that echoed throughout the 90-minute discussion. Daryl Barrett, a member of the Utah State School Board said gays and lesbians probably do have an agenda, like every other group from the PTA to the Utah Education Association to Republicans and Democrats.    What everyone must realize, Barrett said, is that ``no one agenda should drive policy, but all should be part of the debate.'' She said Utah's elected bodies, from the Legislature to state and local school boards, need to be more diverse so that all views are represented.    Under state law educators must not teach the acceptance or advocacy of homosexuality.    But Barrett said that does not mean teachers and administrators should just dismiss students who ask questions about homosexuality or ignore derogatory comments they hear in the hallways and on playgrounds. ``Those incidences should be used as an opportunity to teach and learn respect for all people,'' she said, adding that it can be done within the parameters of state law.  And teaching tolerance is not enough, according to panelist Debra Burrington, a University of Utah professor and a lesbian. ``I don't want to be tolerated, I want to be respected,'' she said. But Gayle Ruzicka, with the conservative Utah Eagle Forum, and the fourth member of the panel, said there is a difference between teaching respect and teaching children to accept an ``immoral behavior.'' ``It sends a message that it is OK to be homosexual. That is not right,'' she said. Ruzicka said if schools are talking about acceptance of homosexuality it is contrary to what many parents are teaching their children at home. ``I expect public schools to uphold my values. You can't. You don't. You shouldn't teach that homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle,'' she said. Activities for Gay and Lesbian Awareness Week continue today with a keynote address by Scot Nakagawa, former field director for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.  Nakagawa will discuss ``The Political and Religious Extreme, at 11 a.m. in the U.'s Olpin Student Union Building. Nakagawa was supposed to be part of Wednesday's panel, but a minor traffic accident kept him from the event. He was not injured. Friday, the Utah Stonewall Center will sponsor the National Coming Out Day program at 6:30 p.m. at Sugar House Park, 2100 South and 1300 East in Salt Lake City.    ``It's Elementary,'' a documentary on gay and lesbian programs being taught in schools around the country, will be shown at 9 p.m. in Orson Spencer Hall Auditorium at the U.

 

11 November 1996 10/11/96 Page: D3-- Gay and lesbian students at Weber State University have formed an official campus support club. Tom Henderson, a WSU alumnus and club member, noted the University of Utah has had a gay club for 20 years and Utah State University's gay club has been organized for eight years.   ``It's about time,'' Henderson said. ``A support group like this will help students know they are not alone. Besides, anything that canhelp wake Ogden up to the fact there are gays inthe community is a good thing. We're here andthey need to get used to us.''   Lee Peters, the dean of students, said he was``pleased'' with the new organization.   The club has about two dozen members and meets Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. in the Shepherdnion Building.

 

11 October 1996- TOPIC-AIDS DEATHS-  Duane C. Elliott    A.K.A.   Carl A. Nuesmeyer  SALT LAKE CITY -- Today, October 11, 1996, I fought my final battle against death at the home I have shared with my loving and longtime companion and spouse, Thomas R. Tischner. I was born December 27, 1962, son of Doreen Janet and Frederick William Nuesmeyer. They preceded me in death, along with many friends. I lived my life to the fullest, taking many risks to enjoy as many good times as possible, and at times I paid a heavy price for standing by my convictions, yet at the time of my passing, I have only one regret, the feelings of sorrow and loss that I leave my many family and friends. I am survived by my brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, and large extended family and friends. My family and I would like to thank Dr. Kristen Reis and Maggie Snyder for their many years of friendship and superb medical care.  There will be an informal gathering to celebrate Duane's life at Evans & Early Mortuary, 574 East 100 South, Tuesday, Oct. 15, from 6-8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Utah AIDS Foundation. Funeral directors, Evans & Early. T 10/13    N 10/14

 

13 October 1996 : 10/13/96 Page: D12 Keywords: Events Schedule Coming Up: FILM Byline: Compiled by Sean P. Means  `Stonewall' on Screen: A special screening of the film ``Stonewall,'' to benefit the Utah Stonewall Center, is set for 12:30 p.m. today at the Tower Theatre, 876 E. 900 South in Salt Lake City. The movie follows a young gay man fresh off the bus in New York, buffeted between acceptance-seeking homosexuals and flamboyant drag queens. The movie culminates with the 1969 riots at the Stonewall Inn, often called the pivotal beginning of the gay-rights movement in America. Tickets for the benefit are $7, available at the door. Silents Are Golden: The Capitol Theatre is rolling back the clock -- and hanging off the clock -- Friday night, with a screening of the 1923 silent classic ``Safety Last.'' The movie is regarded as Harold Lloyd's best, as the bespectacled comic tries to make his fortune in the big city. The film's trademark stunt, with Lloyd hanging for dear life off a clock face high above the street, is still unequaled. (Jackie Chan saluted Lloyd by duplicating the feat in 1985's ``Project A'' -- except that Chan fell three stories to the ground.) The screening is to celebrate the 35th anniversary of KBYU-FM. Michael Ohman, an organist at Brigham Young University, will accompany ``Safety Last'' and a Laurel & Hardy short. A costume contest, '20s-era refreshments, a vaudeville act and community sing-along also are part of the program.    The show starts Friday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets, ranging from $6 to $10, are available at the Capitol Theatre box office, or at ArtTix locations at participating Albertson's stores.    `Spin' Art: The Utah Film & Video Center gets political on Friday, with two election-oriented videos. Brian Springer's ``Spin'' is a compilation of off-the-air footage from network satellite feeds during the 1992 presidential campaign. The clips capture unguarded moments and image coaching that reveal the manipulations of the media and politics. Also on the bill Friday is a collection, compiled by Antonio Muntadas and Marshall Reese, of political ads from 1956 to 1988. The ads show the evolution of political salesmanship from Ike to Bush. The program begins at 8 p.m. Friday at the Utah Film & Video Center, 20 S. West Temple. Admission is $5.

 

Sunday, October 13, 1996 KILLER MOVES CLOSER TO EXECUTION By Jim Rayburn, Staff Writer Condemned killer Michael Anthony Archuleta has lost another round in his legal battle to spare him the death sentence. Fourth District Judge Lynn W. Davis on Friday dismissed Archuleta's petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The petition was filed more than two years ago. Archuleta made 35 allegations of error in his criminal trial and appeal. Most involved allegations that he had ineffective counsel. However, in a 66-page ruling, Davis said Archuleta did not have ineffective counsel and that many of his claims were brought up earlier during his appeal process. Archuleta was convicted in 1989 of the brutal and torturous slaying of Gordon Ray Church on Nov. 22, 1988. A 4th District jury sentenced him to death. Co-defendant Lance Conway Wood was also convicted but was sentenced to life in prison. Archuleta and Wood were on parole from the Utah State Prison when they abducted Church, a drama student at Southern Utah University, after meeting him at a Cedar City convenience store. They severely beat Church and sexually assaulted him with a tire iron and battery cables. Wood confessed to police the following day and led them to Church's body. In March 1993 the Utah Supreme Court denied Archuleta's appeal. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case later that same year. Archuleta can now appeal Davis' ruling to the Utah Supreme Court. If that appeal is rejected, Archuleta's last legal recourse to stop his execution would be to file a federal petition for writ of habeas corpus.

 

15 October 1996 10/15/96 Page: B2It has been nearly a year since Kelli Petersonasked permission to form the Gay/StraightStudent Alliance at Salt Lake City's East HighSchool. The request for a formal support groupto discuss gay issues ignited a firestorm in  Utah. The Salt Lake City school boardbanned noncurricular clubs in all its junior highsand high schools and before the winter wasover, state lawmakers had jumped in.   Peterson graduated in May, but her interest inthe struggle that young gay and lesbianpeople face has not waned.   Peterson has crisscrossed the country as aspokeswoman for young people's gay rights.She spent last week in Washington at the ``FreeTo Be Me Festival.'' She returned to Salt LakeCity for one day and headed to Los Angeles toreceive one of the 1996 Lambda LibertyAwards along with Lily Tomlin and the otherproducers of the film The Celluloid Closet; thestaff of The Advocate, an award-winningnational gay and lesbian news magazine;and Clyde Wadsworth, a gay-rights attorney.   Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund isa national organization committed to achievingfull recognition of the civil rights of lesbians,  gay men and people with HIV/AIDS. Theorganization has offices in Los Angeles, NewYork and Chicago and gives the awardsannually.   The program for the event lists Peterson asfounder of the Gay/Straight Alliance who``spoke out bravely when political extremistsmoved to bar such clubs from the Utahpublic schools.''   Peterson said accepting the award in front ofan audience of Hollywood-types doesn't botherher at all. In fact, she is anxious to thank the  gay and lesbian celebrities she looked upto when she was younger. Seeing famous peoplelike rock singer Melissa Etheridge and activistCandace Gingrich made her feel she had a futureeven though she is gay.   Lately, the tables have turned and she is aperson younger people have been looking up to.   ``I really wouldn't consider myself a rolemodel. Hopefully, I'm just the first of many whowant clubs like this. Sometimes kids come up tome and tell me I'm brave and I did somethingthey could never do, but it really wasn't just medoing it,'' she said.    Peterson's travel schedule kept her fromstarting college this fall, but she plans to attend winter quarter; she just doesn't know where.

 

Thursday, October 17, 1996 WHO'S BEHIND PINK FLIER? NOT ME, COOK ASSERTS  By Bob Bernick Jr., Political Editor  Merrill Cook denied Wednesday any connection to a flier that showed up in the downtown Salt Lake area this week, saying his campaign had nothing to do with it and he'd fire any volunteer or paid campaign worker who did. "I deplore it," said Cook. The flier, printed on pink paper, was plastered on the Main Street headquarters of Ross Anderson, Cook's Democratic opponent, and on some newspaper boxes and retail store windows. It says: "Utah Gay & Lesbians Unite, we have a voice, Ross Anderson for Congress, pro-abortion!, pro-ACLU!, pro-gay clubs in schools!, pro-more gun control, anti-death penalty!" In smaller type at the bottom, imitating the legally required committee endorsement, is written: Utah Gay and Lesbian for Anderson Committee. There is no such committee, says Anderson and Howard Johnson, board member of Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats. Anderson said the flier is an attempt by his opponents to harm his campaign. Following a debate before the Utah Women's Forum on Wednesday, Cook said he hadn't heard about the flier. After it was explained to him, he said he condemned such tactics. Cook said he could still be against same-sex marriages and still condemn any discrimination of homosexuals. A staff member of Cook's campaign did fax a copy of the flier to several newspaper reporters. But Cook said that didn't show that his campaign had anything to do with producing or passing out the fliers, just an attempt to notify the news media of the fliers. The flier "is just an attempt to outrage conservatives and moderates (to oppose Anderson)," said Johnson. David Nelson, founder of Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats, said the latest episode "sounds an awful lot like what happened at the end of the Rich McKeown campaign." McKeown, a Democrat running for Salt Lake mayor last year, was the victim of a last-minute flier drop. In that case, one page of a Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats newsletter that endorsed McKeown was copied and dropped on doorsteps in a mostly Republican eastside neighborhood. No one confessed to doing it, but McKeown said it probably hurt his campaign. He lost a close race to Mayor Deedee Corradini (who said her campaign had nothing to do with that flier). The latest flier had nothing to do with Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats at all, said Johnson. "I would know if there was any such committee for Anderson, there isn't. It doesn't exist."  _© 1998 Deseret News Publishing Co.

 

17 October 1996 GAY BASHING POLITICS 10/17/96 Page: B1As political dirty tricks go, this one wasn'tparticularly clever or even grammatically correct,although it raised a hubbub just the same.   A flier showed up in various Salt Lake Citylocations Wednesday, purporting to be from a  gay and lesbian group promotingDemocratic 2nd Congressional Districtcandidate Ross Anderson as ``pro abortion,''``pro ACLU,'' ``pro gay clubs in schools,''``pro more gun control'' and ``anti deathpenalty.''   Upon learning of it, Anderson's campaigninformed news organizations that the candidateintended to confront Republican opponentMerrill Cook about the  flier's origin.   But Cook's disavowal of the paper and hisstatement that it did not come from his campaignor his staff apparently satisfied Anderson.   ``Sometimes you're tacky, but not this tacky,''Anderson told Cook when the two discussedthe matter after a debate Wednesday.   ``I really doubt that Merrill Cook himself hadanything to do with that flier,'' Anderson added.``I don't think he would stoop that low, althoughhe has misrepresented a number of things in thiscampaign.''   Cook assured reporters that nothing like theflier would ever come from his campaign. And ifit was done without his knowledge by a stafferor overzealous volunteer, ``they would not be onmy campaign a minute longer.''   The flier, printed on pink paper with the name``Utah Gay and Lesbian for AndersonCommittee'' on the bottom, was found taped tonewspaper stands, on bank windows, even onsigns designating parking stalls for the disabled.   Anderson and Cook agreed the propagandahad to be from a bogus organization.   ``This has come very clearly from right-wingextremists that are too cowardly to come up outof the shadows and debate these issues,''Anderson said.   A copy of the flier was faxed to The Salt LakeTribune by a Cook staffer Wednesday morning,but the aide said it was to make the newspaperaware that the thing was appearing all overdowntown. Cook said he hadn't seen the flieruntil reporters showed it to him after the debate.   ``People know that my opinion againstsame-sex marriage is in no way bigotry or hatredtoward homosexuals or lesbians. I am not onethat ever engaged in the kind of bashing a piecelike this would indicate,'' he said.

 

October 17, 1996

 

Deseret News

 

Who's behind pink flier? Not me, Cook asserts

 

By Bob Bernick Jr., Political Editor

 

Merrill Cook denied Wednesday any connection to a flier that showed up in the downtown Salt Lake area this week, saying his campaign had nothing to do with it and he'd fire any volunteer or paid campaign worker who did.

 

"I deplore it," said Cook.

 

The flier, printed on pink paper, was plastered on the Main Street headquarters of Ross Anderson, Cook's Democratic opponent, and on some newspaper boxes and retail store windows.

 

It says: "Utah Gay & Lesbians Unite, we have a voice, Ross Anderson for Congress, pro-abortion!, pro-ACLU!, pro-gay clubs in schools!, pro-more gun control, anti-death penalty!" In smaller type at the bottom, imitating the legally required committee endorsement, is written: Utah Gay and Lesbian for Anderson Committee.

 

There is no such committee, says Anderson and Howard Johnson, board member of Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats. Anderson said the flier is an attempt by his opponents to harm his campaign.

 

Following a debate before the Utah Women's Forum on Wednesday, Cook said he hadn't heard about the flier. After it was explained to him, he said he condemned such tactics.

 

Cook said he could still be against same-sex marriages and still condemn any discrimination of homosexuals. A staff member of Cook's campaign did fax a copy of the flier to several newspaper reporters. But Cook said that didn't show that his campaign had anything to do with producing or passing out the fliers, just an attempt to notify the news media of the fliers.

 

The flier "is just an attempt to outrage conservatives and moderates (to oppose Anderson)," said Johnson.

 

David Nelson, founder of Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats, said the latest episode "sounds an awful lot like what happened at the end of the Rich McKeown campaign."

 

McKeown, a Democrat running for Salt Lake mayor last year, was the victim of a last-minute flier drop. In that case, one page of a Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats newsletter that endorsed McKeown was copied and dropped on doorsteps in a mostly Republican eastside neighborhood. No one confessed to doing it, but McKeown said it probably hurt his campaign. He lost a close race to Mayor Deedee Corradini (who said her campaign had nothing to do with that flier).

 

The latest flier had nothing to do with Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats at all, said Johnson. "I would know if there was any such committee for Anderson, there isn't. It doesn't exist."

___

 

 

20 October 1996 10/20/96Page: J3Keywords: Sidebar to: Facing The JourneyTogether; Medical Professionals, Conferences,   AIDS, Awards`Healing in Your Hands' NextWeekend   The People With AIDS Coalition ofUtah's third annual Community Awards Dinnerand eighth annual conference, titled ``Healing Isin Your Hands,'' is next weekend in Salt LakeCity.   The dinner is Friday at the Salt Lake HiltonHotel, 150 W. 500 South. A silent art auctionand reception begin at 6 p.m., followed bydinner at 7:30. Keynote speaker is the Rev.Barbara King, who heads a 5,000-membercongregation at Hillside Chapel and TruthCenter, Atlanta.   The dinner also features an award ceremonyhonoring those who have contributed to people   with AIDS/HIV.   Recipients are Terrlyn Crenshaw,Political/Social Policy Award; Anne Stromness,Kristen Ries Professional Award; GeorgePeppinger, Red Ribbon Award for an Individual;Kindly Gifts, Red Ribbon Award for anOrganization; Steven Black and Richard Carter,   People With AIDS Coalition of UtahVolunteer Award; and Julie Mohr, BusinessAward.   Cost is $45 per person and $450 a table. Allproceeds go to the PWACU.   The conference continues at WestminsterCollege's Gore School of Business, 1840 S.1300 East, Saturday and Oct. 27.   It opens Saturday with a yoga workshop at7:30 a.m. Registration begins at 8 a.m.Workshops will explore issues affecting people   with HIV/ AIDS as well as their families,health-care providers and others. Among topicsare nutrition and diet, healing through music,hypnosis, traditional Chinese medicine, legaladvocacy and medical treatment.   Saturday's keynote speaker at 11 a.m. is theRev. Barbara King. The closing speaker Oct. 27at 2:30 p.m. is Sharon Lund, a Utah residentwho is president of AIDS, Medicine &Miracles.   The conference fee is $25, which includeslunch both days. The PWACU offers fullscholarships to people with HIV/AIDS aswell as low-income individuals. For information,call 484-2205.   -- Helen Forsberg

 

20 October 1996 10/20/96 Page: J1 Keywords: Diseases, AIDS, MedicalProfessionalsCaption: Photos by Lynn R. Johnson/The SaltLake TribuneNurse Anne Stromness jokes with Kris Johnsonas she changes the dressing on his portablecatheter at his Summit Park home.; AnneStromness is founder of Journey Home, caringfor people with HIV/AIDS.; Jump pg J3:Lynn R. Johnson/The Salt Lake Tribune AnneStromness and sons Dane, 11, and Cole, 14,walk Mesa near their Summit Park home.Facing the Journey Together;Nurse Is AIDS Patients'`Tough Fairy Godmother';Stromness Helps PatientsFace JourneyByline: BY HELEN FORSBERG THE SALTLAKE TRIBUNE   Anne Stromness is a long-term survivor.   That's how colleague Maggie Snyderdescribes the woman who has cared forhundreds of HIV/ AIDS patients since 1988.Many would describe her as their favorite nurse.But most are gone.   Stromness, who began working with AIDSpatients at Holy Cross Hospital, which then hadthe only AIDS-specific care unit in theIntermountain West, developed and iscoordinator of Journey Home.   Journey Home is a program of the nonprofitCommunity Nursing Services and Hospicedesigned to meet the complex needs of people   with HIV/AIDS and their loved ones.   Stromness' work takes her to people's homesor to extended-care facilities.   ``I tell my patients the truth. That's importantbecause a lot of them have been screwedaround by society in general. It's only fair to behonest. I don't want to give anyone false hope,''Stromness said.   The People With AIDS Coalition of  Utah will honor Stromness at its third annualCommunity Awards Banquet at the Salt LakeHilton Hotel Friday evening.   ``I can't say enough about Anne,'' said Snyder,physician assistant at University Hospital'sdivision of infectious disease. ``It's still difficult tofind a nurse who's willing to go out and treat  people with AIDS/HIV in their homes.They're not beating down our doors.''   Stromness' mother worries that Anne iswearing herself down and that she one day couldget the virus.   ``I told her I didn't have sex with my patients,so she need not worry,'' Stromness said in hersardonic way.   She also possesses a sensitive nature.   ``I cry a lot.''   The recent deaths of several patients -- one, in articular, for whom she cared more than a year-- was taken its toll. Stromness visited him hislast days in the hospital and took him a CD ofAmerican Indian music on his birthday. He hadgone on a vision quest that summer. He waslistening to the music when he died.   ``I told him, `I'm here.' He pulled me down tohis chest. I said, `You can listen to this and goon another vision quest.' ''   Snyder said that Stromness is like a tough fairygodmother. She exudes a sense of warmth,sensitivity, sassiness and assertiveness all atonce.   ``The patients know she's on their side, thatshe is there for them,'' Snyder said. ``But shedoesn't let anyone get away with crap.''   People often speak of Stromness'compassion.   ``I don't want to sound New Age. But Annehas great energy, warmth and compassion,'' saidLori Smith, director of client services at the  Utah AIDS Foundation. ``She'snonjudmental and loving.'' Clients tell Smith ofStromness' many random acts of kindness.   Journey Home was modeled after Holy CrossHospital's Continuity of Care, an outreachprogram for AIDS patients developed in1987. Journey Home, founded in 1994, focuseson all aspects of patients' needs, not justmedical, delivered to them in their homes.   The program offers patients services such asnursing, social work, pharmacy, pastoral careand more.   Several months ago, Stromness and acolleague, concerned about a client's livingconditions, helped him move. In fact, they did itall -- found him an apartment, packed him upand moved him in.   ``I joked that we're now the Journey HomeMoving Team,'' Stromness said.   ``She goes above and beyond the call ofduty,'' Smith said.   Stromness dismisses the praise.   ``My patients give so much. I feel like what Ido is so little compared to anything else I getback.''   Most gifts are emotional. But several weeksago, a client gave her a ``beautiful yellow canvasbag decorated with tropical fish he had cut outand sewn and embroidered on.''   He told Stromness the nurse's bag in whichshe toted her stethoscope and other nursingsupplies, left over from her Holy Cross days,``was disgusting.''   Stromness began her AIDS journey in1988, when she applied for a job at Holy CrossHospital's newly opened AIDS unit, knownas Med III.   Married and a mother of two, she had worked13 years in medical/surgical nursing aftergraduation from Westminster College of SaltLake City. She wanted change and found hercalling.   A part-time job on Med III became full-timework. ``I realized I was cheating myself by notworking full time. It gave me more insight intothe patients. I could get a little closer to them.''   At that time, most AIDS patients were gaymen. (Although they remain the largestpopulation infected with the virus, statistics showthat women with HIV/AIDS is one of thefastest-growing populations.)   It was a world unknown to Stromness.   ``I guess I was sheltered growing up.''   Her contact with gay men made herre-evaluate her values.   ``Having these men tell me all this stuff andexplaining their relationships to me, it took me awhile to get over my feelings about how I feltabout that.   ``On one end, you've got people youwould never guess are gay, very macho types todrag queens. They are people like everyoneelse, and their relationships should be respectedand treated with dignity.''   In fact, she said, ``Straight men could learn alot from gay men. They're so caring.''   Stromness was born in Pittsburgh and movedto Salt Lake City with her family when she was4. She has two younger brothers.  ``She has a background that's incredible,'' saidher mother, Barbara Holmes, Grand Junction,Colo.   Her paternal grandfather, I.F. Rains, was a  Utah businessman. He came west to openthe Rains Coal Mine in Carbon County's SpringCanyon and later started Geneva Steel. In 1920,he built what is now Log Haven restaurant as awedding gift for his bride.   Her mother's father, Henry Boonstra, was oneof the country's first U.S. Airmail pilots; his planeis in Washington, D.C.'s Smithsonian Institution.   Hers was a privileged childhood.   Her life today, however, leaves little time forthe social whirl in which she was raised. She hasno regrets.   ``Anne's life has taken an entirely different paththan mine,'' said her mother. ``I was always upto my neck in service groups. . . . Anneabhorred women's organizations. She's neverliked that lifestyle at all.''   High on the Mountain: Stromness lives high onthe mountain east of Salt Lake City in SummitPark with her sons, Cole, 14, and Dane, 11.She makes the drive down Parleys Canyonseveral times a day, sometimes seeing a patientas late as 10:30 p.m.   She likes being a mother and has an upfrontrelationship with her sons.   ``They're not afraid of AIDS. I took oneson to a nursing home when one of my patientswas dying. It was a learning experience for him.It wasn't a bad thing.''   A while ago, Stromness' sons told her she wasbringing too much of her work home.   ``I've learned I have to leave it behind. I stilldo paperwork, but I turn my pager off.''   Still, she is known for being accessible.   Stromness' marriage did not survive thepressures and changes that came with her work.She divorced four years ago.   ``I started doing a lot more with my career andmy life. I met a lot of new friends at Holy Crossand I started growing, I guess you could say.My husband was not willing to grow with me.He liked things the way they were.   ``It was not pleasant, but we're good riendsnow.''   Stromness is still growing. ``I learn somethingnew every day.''   From her patients she has learned ``howimportant the human spirit is. . . . Relationshipsare important, all kinds of relationships. Weshould cherish those and not be angry andhateful.''   In the nine years Stromness has treated  AIDS patients, she has seen some positiveattitude changes toward the disease . . especially among parents.   ``I've seen so many parents take care of theirkids. It seems to be harder on dads than onmoms, and moms are usually the caregivers.They want to help their kids get through thiseven if it means bringing them home and takingcare of them till they die.''   Such was not always the case.   ``I remember back on Med III, hearingparents tell their son, as he was dying, that theywouldn't see him in heaven if he didn't ask fortheir forgiveness.   ``I locked myself in the bathroom and cried.''   Medical Mentors: Stromness' mentors are, notsurprisingly, Kristen Ries, Utah's pre-eminent  AIDS physician, and Snyder, her physicianassistant.   Ries, Stromness remembered, was aformidable figure at their first meeting.   ``She scared the daylights out of me,'' saidStromness with a laugh.   ``She pulled her glasses down on her nose andsaid, `What is your background?' I thought, thisis it. I'm finished.''   ``I didn't trust nobody,'' Ries said.   But Stromness gained her respect and broughtit full circle.   The award Stromness will receive was namedin honor of Ries.   ``Anne's wonderful,'' Ries said. ``She made ita point to know as much as she could aboutHIV, and she's very sensitive to the disease.''   Ries, Stromness said, taught her ``compassionfor the disease . . . to respect it, to respectmyself and to respect the people I take careof.''   Stromness' upbeat, sometimes raucous manneroften belies her perceptive nature. ``From thebeginning, Anne seemed to know intuitivelywhen to keep her mouth shut and when to openit. . . . She has that gift of empathy,'' Ries said.   Her patients would agree. ``She's great,'' saidKris Johnson, Summit Park, who has had theservices of Journey Home since March. ``Shemakes you feel at ease. She's more like a friendthan a nurse.''   On this day, Stromness accessed Johnson'sPortacath, checked his heart and lungs andteased him -- ``Ugh, Kris'' -- about a particularHalloween decoration he bought at the UtahState Fair. She is friends with his threeschnauzers; Chelsea, the mom dog, is especiallyfond of Stromness, who returns the affection.   ``Anne's the best there is,'' said BarbaraBarnhart, one of Stromness' patients. ``She'sincredibly compassionate and caring.''   On a New Year's Eve, when Barnhart washospitalized and ``hating life,'' Stromness broughther a bottle of ``homemade killer eggnog.''   ``Anne said, `This will help,' and it did.''   Patient and nurse like to joke.   ``We call Kristen [Ries] God and are trying tocome up with a name for Anne,'' said Barnhart.``We don't know if it's goddess or god-in-training.''   Knowing people have a terminal illness isthe most difficult aspect of Stromness' work.``Still, I like going through that journey with thembecause I hope I can make it better. But it's stillhard, because it takes a chunk of me everysingle time.''   After a patient's recent death, she told hisfather: ``I want you to know your son willalways be a part of my life.''   He started to cry.   ``I didn't want him to cry, but he needed toknow how special his son was to me and to allthe people who had taken care of him.''   When Stromness can't cry, she watches a sadmovie. ``I know if I'm feeling really crappy anddepressed, I probably haven't cried for a longtime. A sad movie lets it all out.''   The last video she rented was ``It's My Party,''about a man dying of AIDS.   ``My girlfriend said, `Don't you get enough ofthis stuff at work?'   ``The minute the movie started, I was in tearsand I cried to the end. But it was a good feeling.It got rid of all the sadness.''

 

20 October 1996 10/20/96 Page: A19They can sign a death warrant for killers,decide which parent gets custody, determine ifan employee was unfairly fired.   State district judges in Utah have immensepowers, making critical the Nov. 5 vote to retainor reject them.   Two of the Salt Lake City judges that voterswill pass judgment on received mediocreevaluations in two surveys of lawyers. And, theappellate records of David Young and HomerWilkinson do not measure up to the records oftheir peers on the ballot.   Young, 54, a former prosecutor who wasappointed in 1987, and Wilkinson, 70, anexlegislator who took the bench in 1979, presidein 3rd District Court, which covers Salt Lake,Tooele and Summit counties.   Young was the only veteran judge who hadless than 50 percent of his cases affirmed by  Utah higher courts, according to a five-yearanalysis of appellate records conducted by TheSalt Lake Tribune. The newspaper examinedpublished and unpublished appellate reviews ofdecisions made by the 33 trial judges up forelection.   Fifty-one of Young's 95 reviewed cases wereeither completely overturned or partiallyreversed, court records show.   Young also received a sub-par ranking fromlawyers evaluating his fairness and impartiality inthe official Utah Judicial Council poll. Andthe 775 lawyers who rated him in The Tribunesurvey were critical of his temperament andimpartiality.    Young refused to comment.   Wilkinson, because of low marks he receivedin the Judicial Council's survey, became the firstdistrict judge to nearly fail the council'scertification requirements, established in 1985.The 789 lawyers who rated Wilkinson in thenewspaper survey gave him among the poorestgrades for intellect, decision-making andtemperament. He received the lowest score forknowledge of the law among the poll's 98 stateand federal judges.   ``I've been on the bench for 18 years and I'veseen . . . that the longer you're in a job, yourenemies remember you and your friends forgetyou,'' Wilkinson said.   ``I push the attorneys,'' he added. ``I've beencriticized for that and praised for that . . . They[lawyers] want continuances [postponements ofcourt dates] and they won't get continuances.''   Young, according to The Tribune's appellateanalysis, was the trial judge most appealed bylawyers and most scrutinized by Utah highercourts.   His record suggests an autonomous pattern ofexceeding his authority and a failure to followestablished law. Even after corrections orderedby appellate courts, Young on occasioncontinued to err, forcing even more appeals.That resulted in further delay and legal fees forlitigants.   Consider these cases reviewed by the Courtof Appeals in Salt Lake City:   -- Rosalind Willey appealed several ofYoung's rulings in her divorce. The higher courtcriticized Young for making insufficient findingsand returned the case to him. When the SaltLake County woman again appealed Young'salimony order, the appeals court, announcing itwas ``troubled'' by Young's ``incomplete'' work,rejected his ``confused, and indeed patentlyunfair'' award.   In a rare move, the court took the issue out ofYoung's hands and calculated its own alimonyand attorney's fee awards. ``To permit thedispute to continue is an injustice to the parties,''the court said.   -- Young rejected employee Susan Slattery'sslander claim against her stockbroker boss, butdid rule she was entitled to $6,847 in a stockaccount. The Court of Appeals set aside the$6,847 judgment -- stating it was ``clearlyerroneous'' because Young heard no evidence tosupport it. Young was specifically instructed toaward Slattery $406, and zero for attorney fees.   Instead, he convened new proceedings,accepted more evidence -- and awarded theSalt Lake County woman $8,567 for theaccount and $15,489 in attorney fees. Again, thedefense appealed -- and again, the higher courtreversed Young's awards. The court said Youngacted beyond his authority and reminded himthat in its first appeal decision, he was directedto do nothing more than enter the $406udgment. ``Nowhere did we indicate that thetrial court should act to supplement the record inany regard.''   -- The Court of Appeals rejected Young'sreasoning and mathematics in his alimony awardto Ila Ernstsen, ruling the alimony was too low.The court also chastised Young for arm-twistingher. Young ``appeared to unduly press her toaccept an award of alimony equal to only 53percent of that justified by the evidence, thenfurther appeared to devote substantial energy aswell as nearly 60 percent of the witnessexamination time to seeing that his predictioncame true,'' the court said.   -- Young told Park City mother Alicia Larsonthat if she wanted to keep custody of her threedaughters, she could not move to Oregon. Thechildren attended a Mormon church, and Youngsaid it was unlikely Larson would continue theirLDS upbringing in Oregon.   The Court of Appeals, noting Larson``faithfully took the children to church everySunday'' and promised to continue the practice,vacated Young's unwarranted restriction on hercustody -- and criticized him for using poorjudgment. ``Unless there was compellingevidence that residing in Summit County wouldbe better for the children than allowing them tocontinue to reside with their lifelong primarycaregiver, we would conclude that the trial courtexceeded the exercise of sound discretion.''   -- Deanna Kleinert sued Kimball Elevator andBoyer Company after she was injured in anelevator accident. Young threw out her case.The Court of Appeals reinstated the claimagainst Boyer. After a trial, Young againrejected the Salt Lake County woman's claims,ruling there was no evidence that Boyer knewtheelevator was dangerous, and granted adirected verdict for Boyer.   Kleinert appealed again. The higher courtagain said Young judged her case incorrectlyand should not have granted the verdict againsther. Indeed, there was testimony and documents``indicating a history of elevator problems andmalfunctions,'' the court noted.   Kleinert has since accused Young of bias --and he was removed from the case. An Apriltrial is scheduled before a new judge.   -- Additionally, Young has been reversed bythe Supreme Court for exceeding his authority inordering the immediate release of a killerbecause the Board of Pardons ignored hisdemand to explain the parole date. Young wasreversed for denying a protection order for afrightened wife, who the Court of Appeals saiddeserved one. And when Young dismissed aman's lawsuit without notifying him, the SupremeCourt reinstated the case.   Some of Young's rulings have drawn publiccriticism. The National Organization for Women(NOW) decried his family-law rulings andaccused him of bias against women. In 1994,more than 100 protesters, objecting to Young'sreduced 6-year sentence for the killer of a gay   man, marched on the state Capitol. The Gay   and Lesbian Utah Democrats joinedNOW in calling for Young's removal from thebench.   Young does have supporters. During the 1994controversy, Salt Lake City lawyer GregorySanders, now the Democratic nominee for the1st Congressional District, said he had``considerable respect'' for the judge and foundthe public attacks ``reprehensible.''   Wilkinson's appellate record since 1991shows 33 cases reversed or partially reversedand 40 affirmed.   He said he would not criticize the Court ofAppeals and Supreme Court, but noted: ``We'reon trial bench, we're in the pits, so to speak. Wehave to make decisions right now. They[appellate courts] take six, seven, eight monthsto make a decision.''   Some of Wilkinson's decisions have beenreversed for fundamental legal errors.   When a jury was being picked for the rapeand sodomy trial of Mark Baker, accused ofvictimizing a 5-year-old girl, one prospectivejuror stated he would be biased against Bakerbecause his own young sister had been raped.Baker's attorney sought to disqualify theprospective juror -- but Wilkinson refused, andBaker was convicted.   The appellate court reversed the conviction,citing the man's selection as a juror andWilkinson's failure to question him closely. Thejuror ``demonstrated actual bias,'' the highercourt said and, quoting case law, added, ``Oncesuch strong feelings are revealed, a prospectivejuror may not sit.''   In another case, Wilkinson declared that adivorcing couple were each ``competent, lovingand equally fit'' to have custody of theirdaughter. But he granted custody to the mother-- observing that men show less emotion thanwomen, ``it's the nature of the beast.'' Headded,  ``There is no question, no question, thata woman is going to spend more time with thechild.''   In nullifying the custody ruling, the Court ofAppeals instructed Wilkinson that the SupremeCourt years ago prohibited gender-basedcustody decisions.   ``The trial court must also avoid any relianceon gender-based preferences or stereotypes,''the appeals court said.   And the capital-murder case of James Hollandhas seesawed from Wilkinson's court to theSupreme Court because of errors, including thejudge's finding that the triple-killer was mentallycompetent when he pleaded guilty.   If Wilkinson is retained by voters, he will beineligible to serve a full 6-year term because thestate judiciary has a mandatory retirement age of75. He will turn 75 in January 2001.

 

20 October 1996 10/20/96 Page: AA3Last week's dirty trick against the RossAnderson 2nd Congressional District campaign,done anonymously, was the first blatant cheapshot of Utah's otherwise mild election season.   Printed fliers on hot pink paper were taped onstorefronts, newspaper stands and street posts inthe Salt Lake City business district lastWednesday proclaiming, in large, bold type:``Utah Gay & Lesbians Unite. We Havea Voice. Ross Anderson for Congress. ProAbortion. Pro ACLU. Pro Gay Clubs inSchools. Pro More Gun Control. Anti DeathPenalty.'' At the bottom: ``Utah Gay and   Lesbian for Anderson Committee.''   There is no such committee. Anderson'sRepublican opponent, Merrill Cook, denied anyknowledge of the act.   It was a jagged bump in what has been mostlysmooth campaigning in all the political camps.But political scientist David Magleby of BrighamYoung University said there is potential repeatingof Wednesday's ugliness.   Often, says Magleby, anonymous hits oncandidates come from independent groupsobsessed with hot-button issues.   Magleby says because Anderson and Cookhave high negatives in their ratings, they arepotential targets for such groups.   Utah has had its share of 11th-hour cheapshots coming from unexpected sources.Sometimes the attacks have destroyed acampaign. Sometimes they have backfired.   The best example of backfire was in 1990with the unlikely election of Democrat Bill Ortonto Congress from Utah's 3rd District, consideredone of the most Republican districts in thecountry.   Orton's election became a national story.Much of the blame for the Republicans losingthat seat for the first time in history was anelection-eve ad that ran in a Utah Countynewspaper about ``family values.''Snow with his large family and a picture ofthen-bachelor Bill Orton -- all by himself. Thecaptions said Karl Snow's family and BillOrton's family.   Many traditionally Republican voters wereoffended and voted for Orton in protest.   But Magleby insists Orton would have wonthe race anyway because of the negativecampaigning during the Republican primarybetween Snow and John Harmer. Each of theGOP candidates were attacked in various massmedia forms for alleged shady business dealingsand bankruptcies.   The aftereffects of the primary are revealing.Magleby, who does exit polling during elections,says the polling in that race showed 68 percentof the people who voted for Harmer switchedparties and voted for Orton in the generalelection. Only 21 percent of the Harmer votersstuck with the GOP candidate.   The most celebrated Utah political dirtytrick was performed in the 1950 U.S. Senatecampaign between three-term incumbentDemocrat Eldon B. Thomas and Republicanchallenger Wallace F. Bennett. And it wasfeatured in the book, Political Dynamiting, by thelate University of Utah political scientistFrank Jonas.   The antagonist in the story was a man namedWalter E. Quigley, a disbarred Minnesotalawyer who became a cheap-shot artist for theGOP. Quigley's specialty was exploiting the fearof communism in the late 1940s and early '50s.   He set the stage with a mailing to Utahhouseholds containing a manufacturednewsletter, supposedly from the CommunistParty, with side-by-side pictures of Thomas andCommunist sympathizer Paul Robeson, with theheadline: ``Senator Elbert Thomas Presides atCommunist Banquet.''   But the coup de grace, wrote Jonas, was anewspaper, The U.S. Senate News, mailed byQuigley on election eve to 200,000 households.It contained a series of stories and cartoonssuggesting Thomas was the puppet of theCommunist Party.   In the 1960 gubernatorial race, Democraticchallenger Bill Barlocker was a guest on KSLRadio's popular evening call-in program,``Public Pulse.'' During the program, a callerbegan reading out-of-context the mostsensational portions of the court transcripts fromBarlocker's divorce.   In an election-eve announcement in the early'70s, popular former Salt Lake City Mayor andex-Republican Gov. J. Bracken Lee questionedthe intelligence of Salt Lake City CommissionerJim Barker, a fellow Republican. That led toBarker's defeat.   In 1976, retiring three-term Democratic Gov.Cal Rampton aided the election of hishandpicked successor, Scott Matheson.   In the Democratic primary, he publicly askedMatheson's opponent, John Preston Creer,where he would come up with the revenueshortfall that would occur if his proposedelimination of sales tax on food was passed.   In the general election, in a speech shortlybefore the election, Rampton questioned theintelligence of Republican candidate VernonRomney. Romney's camp complicated theproblem by having high-profile Republicansrespond that Romney did not have a low IQ.   In 1988, on the Sunday before the election,churchgoers at all the LDS ward houses inCache County found fliers on the windshields oftheir cars with a picture of a dismembered fetusand the claim that Democratic 1st CongressionalDistrict candidate Gunn McKay, who wasattempting to regain the seat that he lost toRepublican incumbent Jim Hansen, waspro-abortion. In fact, McKay was anti-abortion.   In 1992, retiring Democratic Attorney GeneralPaul Van Dam, who was supporting his solicitorgeneral Jan Graham in the Democratic primary,wrote a letter to Graham's primary opponent,Scott Daniels a few days before the runoffelection. The letter, which curiously made it to allthe Salt Lake City news agencies before it wasdelivered to Daniels, accused him of violating theJudicial Code of Ethics because as a judge hehad attended, two years earlier, the JeffersonJackson Day Dinner, an annual fund-raisingevent for the Utah Democratic Party. Judgesare not supposed to participate in politicalactivities.   Despite the fact Daniels had not paid to attendthe event and no one had raised a questionabout his attendance for two years, some newsagencies swallowed the hook. Salt Lake City'safternoon newspaper published the accusationon the front page with a banner headline.   That the accusation was a political ploy can beunderscored by the fact no complaint was everlodged against Daniels, as Van Dam promisedhe would do in the accusatory letter. It also wasrevealed that Van Dam had invited judges to hisown political fundraiser.   In 1994, on the Saturday before the generalelection, 7,000 targeted Mormon householdsreceived a letter signed by former General ReliefSociety President Barbara Smith and formerYoung Women's President Elaine Cannon,accusing Democratic Congresswoman KarenShepherd and Independent challenger MerrillCook of being pro-abortion. The letter, whichwas orchestrated by the Enid Waldholtzcampaign, said she was the only pro-lifecandidate. When questioned later about thatletter, the two former LDS leaders referred allinquiries to Joe Waldholtz.

 

21 October 1996 10/21/96 Page: D1 SAME-SEXMARRIAGE.--   Anderson's top flip-flop in Cook's view comescourtesy of Gay and Lesbian UtahDemocrats, a group that charged last summerthat Anderson broke his promise to them topush for the legal recognition of same-sexmarriage. After winning the primary, theDemocrat then said he would poll constituentsand vote their wishes as long as the issue wasconstitutional. Anderson said recently he neversaid he would support a same-sex-marriage lawin Congress; rather he would have opposed theDefense of Marriage Act, which would definemarriage for federal purposes as the union of aman and woman and allow states to rejectsame-sex marriages sanctioned in other states.As for polling constituents, Andersonacknowledged recently that ``90 percent of thedistrict'' opposes same-sex marriages. ``I'dhonor that.''

 

 Monday, October 21, 1996  GAY SUPPORTERS OF CLINTON TAKE PART IN COMING-OUT RALLY  Members of the Clinton/Gore campaign's Lesbian and Gay Leadership Council Utah Steering Committee participated in a National Coming Out Day rally recently at Sugarhouse Park, said David Nelson, a member of the Clinton/Gore Utah steering committee. "More than 72 percent of bisexual, gay and lesbian households polled in 1992 by the national Voter News Service voted for Bill Clinton, which is more than Latino and union-worker households," said Nelson. Nelson believes that 3.2 percent of all voters and 8.3 percent of urban voters in 1992 were gay, lesbian or bisexual. Nelson hopes homosexuals supporting the president can turn out even more voters for him this year. 

 

23 October 1996

Deseret News Archives, Wednesday, October 23, 1996 GAY ISSUE HELPS COOK, MAY HURT ANDERSON  By Bob Bernick Jr., Political Editor  Merrill Cook clearly believes he's found an issue with which he can hurt Ross Anderson - homosexual nuptials. Cook, the GOP candidate in the 2nd District, has been running a TV ad the past week or so that shows Anderson, his Democratic opponent, voting "yes" for same-sex marriages, Cook voting "no." Cook takes every opportunity available in debates to mention Anderson's stands on same-sex marriages. The tactic may be working. Over the past six weeks, an Oct. 7 Deseret News/KSL polled showed, Anderson closed a 20-point lead by Cook to just under 10 points. But, say several Republicans watching GOP tracking polls, that movement has stopped, perhaps even reversed itself after Cook started running the new TV ads. In addition to the TV ads, a week ago an anonymous flier appeared around town saying gays and lesbians have a candidate they can like in Anderson. The flier was signed by a made-up gay and lesbian group that doesn't exist. Anderson said the flier was "hate-mongering" at its worst. Cook said he had nothing to do with the flier, and Anderson accepts that denial. Cook's ads, the flier and general talk about what Anderson calls "a hot-button" topic keeps same-sex marriages on the front political burner. At a Salt Lake Rotary Club debate Tuesday, the moderator's first question was on same-sex marriages. After joking about picking that subject, Anderson went on to say that same-sex marriage just isn't a congressional issue. And Cook keeps bringing it up just to be divisive and play to some people's prejudices, said Anderson. Anderson said that as a principle, all Americans believe in equal rights for all people, regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. How that applies to the institution of marriage "is another question." Said Anderson: "I do believe that we as a nation, as a people, as a community ought to do what we can to recognize those who have differences in terms of sexual orientation and try to make things a little easier (for them). (The state should) provide, if we call it domestic partnerships, it doesn't have to be called marriage, but at least provide a legal recognition and dignity in our community for the relationships they choose to enter into." Anderson said that all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation, want the same basic things of life, one being to share a close relationship with another person. "I think that should be encouraged, not discouraged. "I don't understand why that has become a mainstay of my opponent's campaign. Because it is not a federal issue," said Anderson. But Cook sees political pay dirt here. Polling by the Deseret News and KSL-TV shows that about 60 percent of 2nd District residents say they are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The LDS Church has taken a moral stand against same-sex marriages and has joined a lawsuit in Hawaii seeking to stop the recognition of same-sex marriages in that state. In March 1995, long before Anderson announced his candidacy or spoke out on same-sex marriages, a Deseret News/KSL poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates found that in the 2nd District, 58 percent of residents opposed legalizing same-sex marriages, 37 percent favored such legalization and 6 percent didn't know. After winning the Democratic primary, Anderson said that while he believes in equality under the law, if a same-sex marriage bill comes up for a vote in Congress, he'd poll the 2nd District and vote as citizens wish. But he added that he won't support a bill he believes is unconstitutional, even if citizens support it. Cook told Rotarians on Tuesday that he would have voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, which Anderson opposed. The bill passed Congress and was signed by President Clinton. Cook said he'd always vote against "the legalization of same-sex marriages." "I think it is an issue," said Cook. Especially when Anderson "was one of only two politicians in the state to march in a gay-rights parade this year," he said. "We ought to have somebody in Congress who fundamentally believes the way I do" on same-sex marriages. "We need (someone in Congress) who will vote in a way that will provide support for families, because we all know that families are breaking apart in this country. We need to support pro-family legislation," said Cook. He added that he would never personally - and doesn't think anyone else should - discriminate against anyone for any reason. Anderson said he did march "very proudly" in a local Gay Pride Day parade "to show that there are people in this community who will stand up for those in our community and their families who are gay or lesbian. They're a large part of our community. He (Cook) likes to talk a lot about family values. But I can tell you there are lots of families that are very upset because of the way this issue is being used for supposed political gain. I don't think (such political tactics) work in our community," said Anderson.  © 1999 Deseret News Publishing Co.

 

26 October 1996-10/26/97 Page: J5 Keywords: UT, AIDS, Diseases, Awards Caption: Photos by Bruce Romney  Honoree Pete Suazo, coalition director Pam Mazaheri. The Rev. France Davis, Terrlynn Crenshaw, the Rev. Jerome Council. Businesswoman Lorraine Miller is flanked by the ACLU's Carol Gnade, left, and Linda Hunt. PWAC board chairman Robert Chase, Christopher Ruud. People With AIDS Coalition honors 6 heroes Byline: BY HELEN FORSBERG THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE  Cleve Jones left the crowd quiet and thoughtful as he spoke of the AIDS pandemic. ``We are living on borrowed time. .. We are not at the end of the storm.''  Jones, San Francisco, founder of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, was a speaker at the People With AIDS Coalition of Utah's fourth Community Awards Banquet at the Salt Lake Hilton.    Honored were Pete Suazo, Political/Social Policy Award; Don Austin, Kristen Ries Professional Award; Brook Heart-Song, Red Ribbon Award for an Individual; Utah AIDS Foundation, Red Ribbon Award for an Organization; Carolyn Jones, People With AIDS Coalition of Utah Volunteer Award; and Smart Bodies/Jacquie Zacher-Becker, Business Award.  Suazo spoke movingly of his sister's AIDS death in 1991, while Jones told how the AIDS death of a family member was the impetus for her volunteer work. There were light moments during the annual event, particularly as guests mingled, sipped wine and looked at art work featured in the silent auction. Art works purchased included those of Ursula Brodauf-Craig, Norma Forsberg, Randall Lake, Kim Martinez, Lori Mehan, Tom Mulder, Chad Smith, Trevor Southey, Bonnie Sucec and Theodore M. Wassmer.   Among those attending were Robert Chase, chairman of the coalition's board; Pam Mazaheri, coalition director; Christopher Ruud, Chad Smith and Dell Larsen, Brett Clifford, Ron Lyman, Leonard Frost, Jody Gibson, Julie Mohr, Craig Phillips, Allan Gates, Leanne Bennett, Gary Clark and Richard Cottino. Carol Gnade, Cori Sutherland and Linda Hunt represented the ACLU. Leslie Peterson, Kevin Higgins, Douglas Kinney-Frost, Mikell Kinney-Frost and Paul Dorgan from the Utah Opera attended. Dancers of Ballet West purchased a table, but were performing in the company's season opener the same night. Zacher-Becker came with her children, Tyler Zacher and Sterling Becker, and Carolyn Jones was accompanied by her father, Robert Baldwin. Also in the crowd: Kristen Ries, Maggie Snyder, Larry Reimer, the Rev. France Davis, the Rev. Jerome Council, Terrlynn Crenshaw, Barbara and Frank Shaw, Kim Russo, Anne Stromness, Paula Campbell, Lorraine Miller, Randy and Dee Peterson, Judy Rollins, Lance Gudmundsen, Jeff Manookian, Lou Arnold, Bruce Romney, Debra Hummel and Michael Westley.

 

November  1996- The Barony of Northern Utah elected Carlos and Dominique as Baron and Baroness IV (154)

 

1 November 1996 11/01/96  Page: E5 It's Elementary   A no-nonsense documentary of schools thatteaches kids about gay life.   The most telling thing about the documentary``It's Elementary,'' a look at how some schoolscan teach about homosexuality, is the scary waythe children often are more rational than the adults.   The film made a splash in Utah inSeptember, when pro-gay activists set upscreenings for state legislators -- who didn'tshow. A subsequent benefit show packed theTower Theatre, so the management therebrought it back for a regular run.   Director Deborah Chasnoff and herco-producer, Helen S. Cohen, never broach theargument of whether gay and lesbianissues should be taught in schools. Their goal isto show that, in these instances, such lessons canbe effective -- and without infringing on theparents' rights and responsibilities of teachingtheir morals. As an eighth-grader at theManhattan Country School says, ``School needsto give us all the facts, so we can decide on ourown what to think and what to do.''   The film looks at six schools across thecountry that have made gay and lesbianawareness part of the curriculum. The reactionsare thought-provoking:   -- At New York's P.S. 87, fourth-graders tryto identify the traits associated with gays andlesbians. They turn out to be well-versed on thesubject, thanks to talk shows and movies (theyall know the scene in ``Ace Ventura, PetDetective'' where Jim Carrey reacts to kissing aguy).   -- At Hawthorne Elementary in Madison,Wis., third-grade students already know theword ``homophobia,'' but are surprised to learnthat Elton John is gay -- though theinformation doen't affect their appreciation forhis music from ``The Lion King.''   -- At the Manhattan Country School, anindependent school in New York,eighth-graders talk about the controversy ofhaving a gay-lesbian lesson. They dismissthe excuse that students would ``freak out'' andtherefore the subject should be omitted. ``Thereason they freak out is because they haven'tseen it [in school],'' one student says.   -- At Luther Burbank Middle School in SanFrancisco, members of the eighth-gradesocial-studies class talk about stereotypes --then have their stereotypes about gays andlesbians shattered when they meet two of themin person.   -- At Cambridge Friends School, a Quakerschool also in Cambridge, a Gay Pride Dayis celebrated throughout the school.    The filmmakers stack the deck a bit,intercutting these thoughtful kids with newsreports of anti-gay panic: scared parents,demagogic politicians and violent  gay-bashers. But the central message of ``It'sElementary'' (unrated, but probably PG formature themes) -- one that would be aneducation for every Utah legislator -- isexpressed by one third-grader, who asks simplyand sagely, ``What's the big whup?''

  

1 November 1996 11/01/96 Page: B6A group of Cottonwood High School studentshas applied to form a gay-straight allianceclub, but that petition joins several others in theGranite School District in limbo.   Granite spokesman Kent Gardner confirmedThursday that Cottonwood students were thelatest to request the gay-straight alliance.Petitioning students declined to talk about theclub.   In a special session in April, Utahlawmakers passed legislation enabling schooldistricts to deny access to clubs that ``encouragecriminal or delinquent conduct, promote bigotryor involve human sexuality.''   The action followed several months ofdiscussion about a gay and lesbian clubproposed at East High School in Salt Lake City.   On Friday, the State Board of Education wasto consider a rule that reportedly strips authorityfrom school districts in applying state and federallaws that govern student organizations.   Education attorneys said the proposed staterule is intended to make the state the maindefendant in any court test of the issue, not anindividual school district.

 

2 November 1996 11/02/96 Page: A1 Utah Democrats are bound to scribble intheir Campaign '96 scrapbooks that theirlegislative candidates had to run hard to stay inplace.   Occupying just 30 of the Legislature's 104seats, the minority party faces formidableobstacles in its quest to grab some Capitol seatsin Tuesday's election.   Republican legislators are enjoying the bounce

their campaigns have gotten from being at thecontrol panel when the state's economy isbooming. Plus, they have gotten the citizens'work done without much ado, so votersprobably will not be inclined to unseatincumbents seeking re-election.   Even the divisive and, at times, messy fight toban gay and lesbian student clubs inpublic high schools has seemingly little residualeffect on the election.   ``People just aren't mad out there. There's nota mood of `dump the incumbent,' '' said Rep.Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City.   Aside from those factors, Democrats alsomade their own task tough at the outset.      First, they failed to field candidates for morethan one-third of the 89 seats up for election.Then, several incumbent Democrats -- includingthe top three House Democrats -- are retiringthis year or stepping down to run for otheroffices.   Here's a rundown of some of the mostinteresting contests:   Senate Minority Leader Scott Howell findshimself fighting to keep his seat after eight yearsof service.   GOP challenger Robert Warnick has enjoyedsubstantial financial and organizational supportfrom his party, which sees the Sandy district asstrongly Republican.   ``It ought to be one of the more interestingraces to watch election night,'' said Warnick, areal-estate developer and freelance writer. ``I'mconfident of victory, although it may not be verysubstantial.''   He said a poll commissioned for him last weekshowed a dead heat, with many voters stillundecided.   Howell, a moderate Democrat, hascampaigned aggressively all season. He hasfocused his campaign on his record, urgingvoters to consider meat-and-potatoes issues likecrime, education, transportation and economicdevelopment.   Meanwhile, he has been fending off attacksfrom Warnick about his stands on social issues.Howell said his opponent has been twisting thetruth to make him appear far more liberal than heis -- casting his vote against monitoring theprivate lives of teachers, for example, as supportfor homosexuality in schools.   ``They are not scared of gays and lesbians inhigh schools. They are afraid of gangs and crimein their neighborhoods,'' Howell said of hisconstituents.   In North Ogden's Senate Dist. 19, RepublicanSen. Robert Montgomery has found his racetargeted by gun-rights supporters who havethrown their weight behind Rep. GrantProtzman, a Democrat hoping to make a movefrom the House.   Each has counted on campaign help frominfluential friends.   Following a decade in the House, Protzmanhas the backing of the gun groups, as well aseducators and public employees. He said thatsort of grassroots aid has been essential tomounting a campaign against the retired doctor.   Montgomery has enjoyed support frommedical professions, but his votes on guneducation for minors and concealed weaponsprompted the gun-rights groups to put him ontheir campaign hit list.   In Western Salt Lake County, educator andDemocratic candidate Mary Hammond haspredicted her hard work meeting constituentswill pay off on Election Day.   In the weeks leading up to the election,however, she found herself vying for anincumbent's seat, rather than an open spot. Gov.Mike Leavitt appointed her opponent, then-Rep.Michael Waddoups, to fill in for outgoing Sen.Stephen Rees, who resigned before his term wasup.   In the House, much of the action is in SaltLake County, where a half dozen seats are inplay for possible party switches this election.   One that has attracted the most attention isWest Jordan's District 42, where first-term Republican David Bresnahan is challenged by democrat Perry Buckner.   Bresnahan is the legislator who stands chargedwith illegally discharging a gun as a warning shotas he chased suspects fleeing from a hit-and-runcar crash. The insurance agent is distributingcampaign ads featuring a picture of himself withthe headline ``Bresnahan Praised as Hero,Enemies Attack Him.'' The ads are notself-promoting, he insists, but a defensive moveagainst possible attacks.   Bresnahan also defends a brochure that on itsfront page identifies him as ``national legislator ofthe year'' -- an award he applied for but did notwin. He claims the ``error'' was made by acontributor who had the flier printed and heOK'd it because an inside reference clarifies itwas only a nomination.   Buckner, a Salt Lake County Sheriff's deputy,accused his opponent of ``obvious politicalpandering'' and ``misrepresentation.'' He said hiscampaign is stressing the issues of public safety,motivation and credibility.   Other west Salt Lake County House seats inserious contention are Kearns' District 38 wherefirst-term Republican Sue Lockman faces GaryCox in what has traditionaly been a Democraticstronghold.   In District 43, Republican Wayne Harper ofWest Jordan is mounting an aggressive campaignto return the area to GOP control. DemocratMark Myers is battling to retain it for theminority party in the wake of the retirement ofRep. Kelly Atkinson, a 10-year DemocraticHouse leader.   In the Holladay area of District 41, RepublicanRep. Darlene Gubler is attempting to hold herseat against a spirited challenge by DemocratPatrice Arent. Gubler, a Salt Lake CommunityCollege teacher and administrator, and Arent, anattorney, agree education and crime are topissues.   Two-term Democratic Rep. Mary Carlson isseeking to hold her seat in southeastern SaltLake County's District 31 against RepublicanGreg Hopkins. A former director of the UtahRepublican Party, Hopkins stresses partisanshipin this GOP-leaning area. Carlson is working theneighborhood hard to keep the seat and possiblyadvance to a House leadership post.

  

2 November 1996 11/02/96 Page: C1The State School Board intends to take theheat when someone decides to sue over Utah'scontroversial stand on gay and lesbianclubs in public schools.   And board members believe a lawsuit isinevitable.   On Friday, the state Board discussed a newrule that would establish strict criteria thatdistricts would have to follow when decidingwhether a student club could be allowed.   The preliminary draft calls for the protection ofstudents from influences that are detrimental totheir welfare or are inappropriate for their ageand maturity.   The rule was approved on first reading by a12-to-2 vote. But it will be debated andfine-tuned for at least two more months.   If adopted, the state's 40 school districtswould be bound to follow the regulation, thusstripping them of any liability in case of a lawsuit-- which is precisely the board's intent.   ``What we don't want is a lawsuit over everydifferent kind of club,'' said state educationattorney Doug Bates. ``We want to structure arule so we can get the issue fairly litigated andget it over with.''   Bates said if the rule is crafted properly, thestate could win a court battle. If it did lose,though, it could cost taxpayers as much as $1million in plaintiff attorney fees, he said.   Board member Grant Hurst said that today heknows of at least three Utah school districtsthat are looking to the state for guidance relatingto school clubs.   One of those is Granite School District, wherea group of students at Cottonwood High Schoolhas applied to have a gay-straight alliancesimilar to the one proposed during the pastschool year.   That application, along with several otherrequests for new clubs, has been put on hold,said Granite's Deputy Superintendent Briant J.Farnsworth.   ``We haven't said no to anyone,'' saidFarnsworth. ``We have just been waiting for theboard to address the issue in a policy.''   Farnsworth said Granite has been working onits policy for several months, but now probablywill wait to make sure it is in line with whatcomes out of the State Office of Education.   The debate over gay and lesbian clubsin public schools began last spring when studentsat East High School wanted to form a  gay-straight alliance.   The Salt Lake City School Board decided toban all clubs not related to academic coursesrather than allow the club to form.   And during a special session in April, theLegislature passed a law enabling school districtsto deny access to clubs that ``materially orsubstantially encourage criminal or delinquentconduct, promote bigotry or involve humansexuality.''   That prevents not only gay clubs, but alsothose such as the Ku Klux Klan, the AryanNation and even gangs.   The wording in the state law is included in theproposed rule from the state education office. Inaddition, the board calls for different regulationsdepending on the age of students. Those include:   -- Children in kindergarten through eighthgrade could only be involved in ``school clubs''or those specifically organized and directed byschool officials.   -- Nintand 10th-graders could participate in``supervised student clubs'' or those organizedwith the permission of school and operatedunder close supervison of a faculty sponsor.   -- Eleventand 12th-graders would be given themost leniency. They would be allowed toparticipate in ``monitored school clubs,'' or thosewith an assigned faculty adviser who providessupport as necessary and is around mostly tomake sure school rules are followed.

 

3 November 1996 11/03/96 AIDS Page: AA4Keywords: Guest Column OnACT UPByline: BY BARBARA J. SHAW   Recent comments by The Salt Lake Tribune(editorial, ``Offensive AIDS Demands,'' Oct.22) were contradictory and misleading. Whilecriticizing ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition toUnleash Power, The Tribune attempted to covera wide range of issues related to health care,research, chronic and terminal illness and stateand federal welfare programs.   In any social movement, some will adopt moreextreme forms of protest. The women'sliberation movement gained public attention onlywhen some women burned their bras. TheVietnam antiwar movement was fueled byburning draft cards. The civil-rights movementdidn't explode until Rosa Parks sat down on thebus and others ``sat in'' at lunch counters acrossthe South.   ACT UP grew out of frustration asgovernment and private research facilitiesignored increasing numbers of deaths from amysterious illness among America's gay men.When ``acceptable'' means of change wentunheeded, those most impacted knew they hadto become more dramatic in their approach, andACT UP was born.   The sadness of The Tribune's editorial stand isnot the criticism of ACT UP, but that it chose tohighlight one small segment of an eventdedicated to the memory of over 350,000Americans and hundreds of thousands morearound the world. More than 2 million peopleviewed The NAMES Project AIDSMemorial Quilt during the three days it wasdisplayed on the Capitol Mall.   Ten thousand volunteers helped unfold andfold over 40,000 panels containing 70,000names of friends and loved ones lost to HIV. Families and friends of 2,000 more came tobring new panels and lovingly dedicate them tothe Quilt.   Volunteers walked softly among the panelsoffering support, helping find the panel of a lovedone, explaining the meaning of the Quilt, lendingn ear and a shoulder to mothers silently viewinga child's panel, to children gently touching apanel dedicated to their mother's memory, topartners and spouses finally finding the freedomto release long pent-up grief.   No, it was not ``radical AIDS activists''who unfolded the mile-long Quilt, it was Utahns.It was staff and volunteers from the Utah  AIDS Foundation; it was high schoolstudents who wrote essays on the Quilt display'stheme, ``Not All Battles Are Fought With aSword''; it was young men, middle-agedwomen, children, mothers, fathers, grandparents,husbands and wives, your neighbors, yourco-workers, your friends.   The figures quoted in the editorial are real butmeaningless without context. The 40 millionAmericans lacking health insurance were not leftwanting because those with AIDS got toomuch. There is no need for additional animositytoward those living with HIV disease.   There is no cure for HIV.  There are greatadvances in medicine to prolong and improvethe lives of those already infected. And there isprevention. We know how to prevent the spreadof HIV in Utah.   We should be working together to prevent thespread of HIV and support those impacted by it.The Utah AIDS Foundation is dedicatedto preventing the spread of HIV and ensuringcompassionate service to those impacted by it.Will you help?   Barbara J. Shaw is executive director of the  Utah AIDS Foundation.

 

3 November 1996 11/03/96AIDS Page: A1Treatments-TechniquesCaption: Lynn R. Johnson/The Salt LakeTribune AIDS patient Kim hopes to ``live along life.''; Jump pg A6: Lynn R. Johnson/TheSalt Lake Tribune Thanks to a combination ofanti-AIDS drugs, Kim, 33, is walking into abrighter future and talking about finishing college.New Drugs Bring New Hopeto Utahn With AIDS;  AIDS Drugs Keep Hope,Utahn, Alive Byline: BY LEE SIEGEL THE SALT LAKETRIBUNE    Battling AIDS for the past six years, Kimnever thought much about the future. She figuredthe disease would kill her, just like it ended thelives of her infant daughter and the bisexualformer boyfriend who infected Kim.   But a powerful new combination of antiviraldrugs has given the 33-year-old Utah womanher first real hope she might live years, andeventually beat a disease once considered adeath sentence.   Since August, Kim has been taking AZT, 3TCand indinavir, which belongs to a promising newclass of AIDS drugs. Two months later, Kimwas told the amount of AIDS virus in herblood had dropped to undetectable levels.Blood counts of her T-cells -- thedisease-fighting white blood cells destroyed by   AIDS -- had climbed to the highest levelssince she was diagnosed.   ``They called me at work. I was in shock andI started bawling, crying with joy,'' recalled Kim,an administrative assistant at a Salt Lake Cityinvestment firm. ``I didn't believe I was cured.But all of a sudden all sorts of things camerushing to me, like I really could finish college,and maybe I should be putting my money in anIRA.''   The promise, however, comes at an enormousprice. Triple-drug therapy for a single AIDSpatient costs $12,000 to $16,000 a year,depending on which three drugs are used.Insurance companies, Medicaid and otherprograms that cover AIDS patients are beingwalloped by the cost.   Further, the most effective AIDS treatmentyet is not available to most patients because theycannot tolerate side effects, will not take pillsdiligently or lack insurance or some other way topay for the expensive treatment. Some AIDSpatients who work must quit or plungethemselves into poverty to get Medicaid to payfor the medicines.   ``Live poor or die -- that's exactly the choice''for some patients, said Kristen Ries, the doctorwho directs the University of Utah's AIDScenter. ``Many people have decided to justquit taking medicines and die.''   Ries added: ``Finally, we have drugs that workbetter than anything else before, but we don'thave the money to pay for the drugs. . . . If youtold me three years ago we suddenly were goingto have great new medicines, I never would havedreamed they'd be here and we couldn't getthem for a lot of people.''   Kim is able to get medicines because shequalified for Utah's AIDS Drug AssistanceProgram, which uses federal and state funds topay for treatment for patients who lack insuranceand cannot qualify for Medicaid.   She swallows 14 antiviral capsules daily. Shemust take them religiously to reduce thepossibility that whatever AIDS virus remainsin her body will develop resistance to thetriple-drug combination and resume its attack ofher immune system.   Every 12 hours, she swallows one capsule of3TC. Every eight hours, she takes two doses ofAZT and two capsules of indinavir.   ``It's the first thing I do when I get up and thelast thing I do when I go to bed,'' she said.   The treatment gives Kim a bad taste in hermouth and sometimes makes her nauseated -- acommon side effect of indinavir, which is sold byMerck & Co. under the brand name Crixivan.   AZT and 3TC are older AIDS drugs. Theyreduce the deadly virus' ability to make copies ofitself, then take over and destroy the body'sdisease-fighting T-cells. Indinavir belongs to ahot new class of AIDS drugs namedprotease inhibitors, which attack the AIDSvirus in a different way to keep it fromreplicating.   The Food and Drug Administration hasapproved three protease inhibitors since late lastyear. Studies showed they reduce viral countsand boost T-cells in many AIDS patients,especially when combined with one or two ofthe older anti-AIDS drugs.   ``It's a time of great optimism in terms ofprospects for treating and controlling AIDS,''said Andrew Pavia, who is Kim's doctor andclinical-research director at the University ofUtah's AIDS center. ``We're making muchfaster progress than we thought we would just afew years ago. We're whispering the word `cure'as something we can work toward, but wecertainly don't have the cure in sight.''   Pavia cautioned that long-term effectiveness oftwor three-drug combinations remains uncertainbecause patients have been on them no morethan 18 months. Also unknown is whetherpatients will develop resistance to multi-drugtherapies, especially if they miss doses. Suchmedicines also seem ineffective for patients whoalready have too much AIDS virus and toomuch damage to the immune system.   Daughter's Birth & Death: Kim was born andreared in Chicago. But as a troubled teen-ager,she was sent to live with relatives in Utah byher divorced mother. She graduated fromBountiful High School, then returned to Chicago,where she lived from 1985 to 1989 with abisexual boyfriend who infected her with the  AIDS virus.   She did not learn that until 1991 -- a year afterreturning to Utah and marrying an old friend.They had a baby girl, Haley, who was born sick.Because of Haley's poor health, doctorsdetermined the baby and her mother wereinfected with AIDS. Kim's husband remainsuninfected, although they had unprotected sexuntil Kim and Haley were diagnosed.   Kim's old boyfriend died of AIDS in 1992.Haley died in late 1993 at age 2 1/2. She isburied in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.   ``My grave is right next to hers,'' Kim said.   Kim refused to surrender to dismay -- eventhough her T-cell count at times dropped as lowas 90. Anyone with a T-cell count below 200 isconsidered to have AIDS.  Despite theimmune-system damage, Kim never has suffered``opportunistic infections'' -- ailments that afflict   AIDS patients and ultimately kill them. Shegot a job and fought her disease, participatingrepeatedly in clinical trials of experimental  AIDS drugs.   Last January, The Salt Lake Tribune profiledKim, the first Utah patient to participate in anationwide clinical trial of indinavir. In theoriginal story she was identified by her full name.Now, however, Kim asked that her last namenot be published because her family is sensitiveto the stigma of AIDS.   Some patients in the experiment got indinavirand D4T, an older drug. Others got one drug orthe other, but not both. Because the experimentwas ``double blind'' to prevent biasing theresults, neither Kim nor Pavia knew for surewhat she was getting.   The experiment started in May 1995. But ayear later, Kim was pretty sure she wasreceiving a worthless placebo instead ofindinavir. She also was pretty sure she wasgetting D4T instead of a placebo, mainlybecause she was suffering neuropathy, acommon side effect of D4T.   ``It felt like zillions of needles going to my feetand calves,'' she said.   Five months ago, Pavia pulled her off the pillsshe had been taking and put her on AZT and3TC. In August, he added indinavir to the mix.Within two months, Kim's T-cell count climbedto 367 -- normal is 800 to 1,200 -- and the  AIDS virus could not be detected in herblood, although some probably exists.   ``This is the first time I've ever had real hopethat we're working toward a cure,'' she said. ``Ilook at it as real hope that I could live a longlife.''   Still, she is not quite convinced. At anotherpoint during a long interview, she declared, ``I'llprobably die before I'm 40.''   Said Pavia: ``I don't believe we can use theword cure for a long time yet, but we can sayher disease is controlled.''   Kim will stay on the triple-drug treatmentindefinitely, switching to newer drugs if shebecomes resistant to the $12,000-a-yearmedicines she now takes. (Drug companies saythey must charge high prices for the drugs to paythe bill for years of research and development.)   After Kim's daughter died in 1993, sheapplied for Social Security disability payments.Social Security classified her as disabled, but didnot pay her benefits because she had gotten ajob. She qualified last year for Medicare, whichpays for doctor bills and hospitalization, but notfor medicines.   Because she qualified for Medicare, she losther private insurance. She did not worry about itbecause her medicines were paid for while sheparticipated in clinical trials.   Now Kim no longer is considered disabled, soshe cannot qualify for Medicaid. Even if shecould, she would have to quit her job or spendall but a few hundred dollars of her monthlyincome on medical treatment before she couldbe poor enough to get Medicaid.   Other AIDS patients ``with limited incomesmay not be able to get on Medicaid because itwill leave them with so little cash they can't meettheir living expenses,'' Pavia said.   Kim thought she would be able to buyinsurance through her employer under a new  Utah law expanding access to coverage for  people with pre-existing conditions. But shewas ruled ineligible because she qualified forMedicare, even though Medicare does not payfor medicines.   ``If we had a normal health-care system, shewould be able to pay for insurance and becovered, but our system is crazy,'' Pavia said.   Of almost 560,000 Americans diagnosed withfull-blown AIDS, more than 350,000 havedied. As many as 800,000 Americans arebelieved to be infected by HIV, the virus thatcauses AIDS. Drug companies hope that bymid-1997, between 100,000 and 300,000HIV-infected Americans will be taking the newdrugs.   Recent estimates indicate Utah has as manyas 4,000 HIV-infected people. By lateOctober, 1,598 people in Utah had beendiagnosed with AIDS -- including 965 whohave died -- and another 812 were infected bythe virus. Ries said the majority of her patientsare on three-drug combinations, but many of therest cannot pay for them, particularlymiddle-income AIDS patients.   ``Not everyone is going to be able to go ontriple-drug combinations, even if they want to,''said Edie Sidle, director of the Utah Bureauof HIV/AIDS.   After leaving the clinical trial of indinavir,Merck paid for Kim to get the drug in Augustand September. Since then Kim's medicineshave been financed by the AIDS DrugAssistance Program (ADAP) -- a source of lastresort for AIDS patients.   AIDS patients who once shied away fromtreatment because of unpleasant side effects noware seeking the new drugs, driving costs evenhigher, said Jodie Quintana-Pond, who runsADAP for Utah's Department of Health.   ADAP's monthly spending for AIDS drugsrose from $198,819 for the year ending lastMarch 31 to a projected $616,907 for the yearending next March 31. The program nowfinances drugs for 58 AIDS patients.   To help control costs, ADAP probably willtighten eligibility requirements in January. Kimstill will qualify, but will have to makeco-payments for her medicines.   Utah's Medicaid program also faces risingcosts. The number of Medicaid patients onthree-drug AIDS therapy rose from six inJanuary to 38 by October. Protease inhibitorsfor those patients will cost about $450,000annually -- excluding the costs of otheranti-AIDS drugs -- and the cost will keeprising, said Blake Anderson, the Medicaidofficial who oversees such payments.   Raedell Ashley, Utah Medicaid's pharmacydirector, expects Medicaid will cover 200  AIDS patients -- most of them on the newdrugs -- by next July. She hopes the new drugswill keep AIDS patients healthy enough toreduce hospitalization and other costs of caringfor them.   Private insurers also are being hit by the highcost of new AIDS drugs, although ``it's notbreaking the banks of insurance companies,''said Knox Fitzpatrick, main medical consultantand a retired vice president for Blue Cross andBlue Shield of Utah.   Ries complains private insurers often will notpay for the best new AIDS drug -- just thecheapest -- and require absurd amounts ofpaperwork before paying for treatment.   ``All I do all day is fight with these [insurance]   people,'' Ries complained. ``They are thereto make money. . . . They don't care aboutanything but money.''   Fitzpatrick agreed insurance paperwork is``crap'' to doctors such as Ries. But rapidproliferation of expensive new drugs promptsinsurers to say, ``We've got to put a lid on,'' andsometimes deny payments until the insurers areconvinced they are medically necessary.   John T. Nielsen, president of the UtahHealth Insurance Association, said insurerscannot pay out more in benefits than they collectin premiums ``or they are going to go out ofbusiness and nobody is going to have anyinsurance.''

 

Tuesday, November 5, 1996  GAY UTAH DEMOCRATS GROUP TO DISBAND AT END OF YEAR  Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats will cease to be a political organization at the end of this year, GLUD founder David Nelson said Tuesday. The group has been having problems for some time. After Nelson earlier this year criticized 2nd Congressional District Ross Anderson for Anderson's "clarification" of his stand on same-sex marriages, a number of GLUD supporters severely criticized Nelson. Then-GLUD leaders said Nelson didn't speak for GLUD. Howard Johnson, former GLUD president, told the Deseret News this summer that members of the group were considering dis-band-ing. In announcing GLUD's demise Tuesday, Nelson said that a gay and lesbian caucus within the state Democratic Party will continue "to serve as a way to encourage bisexual, gay and lesbian people to work within the party to help protect equal rights." There are a number of caucuses within the party, but few have been as politically active outside the party as GLUD. During the 1996 legislative session, several leading Democratic officeholders met privately with GLUD leaders and asked the group to change its name. The officeholders said continued public activity by the group - and the use of "Democrat" in its name - was hurting Democrats' efforts to appeal to a broader political base in the state. Nelson has been a steady promoter of GLUD, showering news media with press releases on paper and by e-mail. During the Democratic National Convention held in Chicago this year, Nelson, a delegate, sent out more than a dozen GLUD press releases during the five-day event. In announcing the end of the political organization, Nelson said interested persons can call 238-2526 or 800-648-9996 for information on GLUD or write to P.O. Box 11311, Salt Lake City, UT 84147-0311. The address of the organization's World Wide Web site is (http://members.aol.com/glud/).

 

6 November 1996 November 6, 1996

 

The Salt Lake Tribune

 

Gay Utah Democrats Will Fold Organization

 

Founder Vows That Caucus Will Continue Pushing Its Cause From Within the Party

 

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

When the year ends, so will the Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats (GLUD) organization, says founder David Nelson.

 

The announcement Tuesday followed a period of internal acrimony in the group.

 

Nelson reportedly came under fire from within GLUD after criticizing 2nd Congressional District Democratic candidate Ross Anderson earlier this year for clarifying his stand on same-sex marriages.

 

Anderson said that while he supported allowing such unions, he would not himself advocate it if elected to Congress.

 

In announcing GLUD's demise, Nelson said that a gay and lesbian caucus within the state Democratic Party will continue "to serve as a way to encourage bisexual, gay and lesbian people to work within the party to help protect equal rights."

 

There are a number of caucuses within the party, but few have been as politically active outside the party as GLUD.

 

During the 1996 legislative session, several leading Democratic officeholders met privately with GLUD leaders and asked the group to change its name. The officeholders said continued public activity by the group -- and the use of "Democrat" in its name -- was hurting their efforts to appeal to a broader political base.

 

Nelson, with his steady rain of news releases by paper and e-mail, had become a recognized spokesman for the gay community.

 

During the Democratic National Convention held in Chicago this year, Nelson, a delegate, sent out more than a dozen GLUD news releases during the five-day event.

___

 

 

6 November 1996 11/06/96

Page: A6After a moment to think about it, Salt LakeCity School Board candidate Roger Thompsonadmits his life would be a lot simpler if he didn'twin. Given the pressure members of the SaltLake City School District have endured in thepast year, it's no wonder.    Board members Thompson and Ila Rose Fifefaced re-election Tuesday. Both voted againstthe controversial district ban on extracurricularclubs, including gay-lesbian clubs, but theban passed 4-3. Thompson and Fife feared thevote would haunt them on election day, but theysaid they would vote the same way today.    ``Oh no, I have no regrets,'' Fife said.   Across Utah, voters chose brave soulswho will devote four years to 40 local schoolboards. Winners will hear endless complaintsfrom angry parents, attend long meetings andmake almost no money.   Elections for school board seats are staggered,resulting in some new faces every two years butallowing for continuity in district governance.   In Salt Lake County, problems with votingcards stalled late returns.   But in early returns in Salt Lake's District 2,Fife held a 2-to-1 lead over William Price, acrossing guard who recruited an army of youthsto pass out fliers and post signs that said he, too,opposed the club ban.   And indeed, District 5 Thompson trailed hischallenger and neighbor, Janice Clemmer.   Voters in Salt Lake's District 1 were giving thenod to incumbent Cliff Higbee, who supportedthe club ban, over L. Steven Woodall, who hasno children in school but decided to run becausehe disagreed with the ban.   In the Jordan School District, incumbent JaneCallister maintained a healthy lead over DonCarpenter in the race for District 4. In District 5,Shane Bodell led fellow newcomer CherriWhite.   In Granite School District, voters favoredincumbent Lynn D. Davidson over challengerFrancis Gomez for the District 1 position.Incumbent Patty Sandstrom was trouncingDuane Hughes in District 2. In District 3,incumbent Dean V. Knight led Sarah R. Meierby a wide margin.   Three candidates for the Murray SchoolBoard ran uncontested. They were MildredHorton, Leslie L. Komatsu and Sherry Madsen.   In Tooele, the school board will have threenew members since incumbents chose not to runagain. In District 1, Donna B. Davis was leadingMyron E. Bateman. There were no results lateTuesday in District 2, where voters werechoosing between Jerry P. Medina and J.Raymond Johnson. In District 3, Daniel L.Pacheco led Shawna R. Kendell.   Davis County incumbent Barbara Smith held acommanding lead over challenger WilliamSwank in District 1. In District 2, William P.Moore led Bruce L. Dibb. In District 3, formerschool teacher Marian Storey held a hefty leadover businessman Lew Swain.   In Summit County, there were no late results inthe North Summit School Board District 1 racebetween Ralph Jones and write-in candidateGrant Richins.   Park City School Board incumbent Carol A.Murphy was running against Gordon Ottley forthe District 2 seat. Again, no results.   Final results were available in the SouthSummit School District, where newcomer LoriePearce beat incumbent Rod Maxfield in District1. In District 2, voters chose newcomer Kendell``Tiny'' Woolstenhulme over first-timer Glen A.Jones. And in District 3, incumbent Kathleen C.Gordon beat Kevin J. Page.

 

6 November 1996 GLUD 11/06/96

Page: B4 When the year ends, so will the Gay and  Lesbian Utah Democrats (GLUD)organization, says founder David Nelson.   The announcement Tuesday followed a periodof internal acrimony in the group.   Nelson reportedly came under fire from withinGLUD after criticizing 2nd CongressionalDistrict Democratic candidate Ross Andersonearlier this year for clarifying his stand onsame-sex marriages.   Anderson said that while he supportedallowing such unions, he would not himselfadvocate it if elected to Congress.   In announcing GLUD's demise, Nelson saidthat a gay and lesbian caucus within thestate Democratic Party will continue ``to serveas a way to encourage bisexual, gay and  lesbian people to work within the party tohelp protect equal rights.''   There are a number of caucuses within theparty, but few have been as politically activeoutside the party as GLUD.   During the 1996 legislative session, severalleading Democratic officeholders met privatelywith GLUD leaders and asked the group tochange its name. The officeholders saidcontinued public activity by the group -- and theuse of ``Democrat'' in its name -- was hurtingtheir efforts to appeal to a broader political base.   Nelson, with his steady rain of news releasesby paper and e-mail, had become a recognizedspokesman for the gay community.   During the Democratic National Conventionheld in Chicago this year, Nelson, a delegate,sent out more than a dozen GLUD newsreleases during the five-day event.

  

14 November 1996  STUDENT CLUBS 11/14/96 Page: B2NOW to Honor East High  Gay/Straight Alliance    The East High School students who fought toestablish a support group for gay and  lesbian teenagers may not have hadconventional National Organization for Womenissues at heart, but NOW knows standing up toharsh public criticism and the scorn of their peersis courageous.   That's why the East High Gay/StraightAlliance and a high school teacher who publiclyrevealed that she is a lesbian have beenchosen to receive the Utah NOW 1996Women of Courageous Action Awards, said  Utah NOW chapter president Luci Malin.   NOW member Camille lee revealed her sexualorientation after the East High students askedher to be their faculty adviser. ``If those kidswere willing to take the risk, then I certainlyneeded to help them,'' said Lee, a high schoolscience teacher.   Lee and the East High alliance will be honoredby the Utah NOW chapter at its awardsbanquet Friday evening at the Red Lion Hotel inSalt Lake City.   Mary Coehlo, who has campaigned forgreater accountability on the part of judges, andSherianne Cotterell, who designed andimplemented an afterschool arts program atLincoln Elementary, also will receive the Womenof Courageous Action awards.   Coelho spearheaded the ``No on Young''effort that fell just short of unseating 3rd DistrictJudge David S. Young in last week's retentionelection.   Cotterell, who recently became Salt LakeCity's new Director of Recreation, instituted thearts program to help children from troubledbackgrounds feel safe and express themselvescreatively.

 

15 November 1996 11/15/96 Page: E10Laughter rang out.   As the members of Sweet Loretta gatheredtogether for brunch, Mary Tebbs threw an insultat the band's latest addition, keyboard playerMark Ricker.   ``Just breaking him in,'' said a grinning Tebbs,band leader, guitarist and main songwriter.   As the other four members chuckled, Rickerjoined in. He didn't have much of a choice. Youcan't join a group without enduring a bit ofplayful harassment.   Bassist Ken Critchfield then offered his takeon the Salt Lake City band's personalities andpolitical leanings: ``We're all neurotic as hell.''   ``You should see us in the decision-makingprocess,'' added drummer Adam Sorensen.``We had secret ballots for the songs on theCD.''   The CD is ``Taste Your Kiss,'' the first fromSweet Loretta. It captures the melodic pop, funkand groove that makes this Salt LakeCity-based six-member group among Utah'smost popular.   While the musicianship within the band is firstrate, what separates Sweet Loretta from thepack are the lead vocal dynamics and harmoniesof Tebbs and Michael Hessling.   Hessling, a native of Lander, Wyo., spent heryouth singing in church choirs. That influence isclearly heard in her emotional and energeticvocals.   ``They're probably one of the premier localbands,'' said Sam Callis of the Zephyr. ``I lovethem. They have a style of their own when theybegin singing like that.''   When Hessling was invited to join the bandlast year, her audition didn't last long.   ``The decision was made halfway through thefirst verse,'' said Critchfield.   Sweet Loretta unveils the 12-song albumtonight at the Zephyr Club and Saturday at theAshbury Pub.   Also on Saturday, the band performs at 3 p.m.at Blockbuster Music at 2107 S. 700 East, SaltLake City.   ``It feels weird,'' said Tebbs about thelong-awaited compact disc. ``Now, we have tobe responsible to the product.''   ``It was mixed to keep a live feel,'' saidHessling.   ``But it's not just a reminder of how the bandis live,'' added guitarist Page McGinnis.   Come December, Sweet Loretta will attemptto build its fan base outside Utah. The grouphas already played at several influential festivals,including the 1995 North by Northwest Musicand Media Conference in Portland, Ore., the  Gay and Lesbian Music Awards in NewYork City, and, closer to home, the UtahArts Festival and the 2002 Olympic Bid Party.   Sweet Loretta has opened for national touringacts Luscious Jackson, Weezer, X and TheSamples during the bands' Salt Lake stops.   Now, Sweet Loretta is set for a tour of itsown, planning performances on the West Coastfrom San Francisco to Portland.   ``We want to see how far we can take this,''said Hessling.   Considering the starts and stops it hasexperienced since its inception, Sweet Loretta isfinally on the right track.   The band began as MaryMonique with Tebbsteaming with vocalist Monique Lanier. McGinnisand Critchfield were impressed watching aperformance of MaryMonique at the LazyMoon Pub in Salt Lake and approached Tebbsabout forming a band.   ``We were blown away and half drunk,'' saidMcGinnis. ``It put me over the edge of courage.   ``I was wondering who this nice gentlemanwas,'' Tebbs said.   MaryMonique's new friends sat in for aperformance the next week. The partnershipclicked, and new members were billed asMaryMonique and the Trip.   ``I looked over Mary's shoulder and followedalong,'' said McGinnis.   Later, Critchfield and McGinnis introducedSorensen to Tebbs as a drumming replacement.The old drummer wasn't ``subtle enough forMary.''   ``When Adam is not in his [other] band, he'ssubtle and Mary likes him,'' said Critchfield witha laugh.   In 1995, Lanier left the band.   ``When Monique left the band, I didn't knowwhat we were going to do,'' said Tebbs. ``Ididn't even know if we were going to haveanother singer.''   Enter Hessling, who added a different textureto Tebbs' music. Where Lanier was soft andsmoky, Hessling had fire.   The new lineup was a hit with Utahlisteners, as the band was selected Salt LakeCity's Best New Band of 1995 and BestOriginal Band of 1996, in a Private Eye readerspoll.   Ricker, previously with Band and His Dog,was the final piece of the band's puzzle.   ``I wanted this gig,'' he said. ``I hung out untilthey were ready for me.''   ``Mark's keyboards change how some of thestuff sounds,'' said Tebbs. ``It changed Page'sapproach to what he does.''   ``It gives me room to be more melodic,''added McGinnis.   All of that is captured on ``Taste Your Kiss.''It is the start, the band hopes, to somethingbigger.   ``Our ultimate goal is to make a living as aband,'' said Tebbs.   ``I see the band's [versatile] music and realizethat we don't have to worry about turning 30 likePearl Jam and having to do a Christmas album,''said Sorensen.   More laughter.   Sweet Deal   Sweet Loretta performs Friday at the ZephyrClub, 301 S. West Temple, and Ashbury Pub,22 E. 100 South, Salt Lake City, on Saturday.Both performance times are 9:30 p.m. with a $3admission. Anyone wearing a Sweet LorettaT-shirt gets in

 

17 November 1996 11/17/96 Page: J8 Keywords: RSVP, Staff Column Caption: Judy Magid/The Salt Lake Tribune Westminster College president Peggy Stock is flanked by her daughters, Diana Leiterman (left) and Darcy Williams, at inaugural festivities.; Photos by Bruce Romney At AIDS awards: Kelli Peterson (top left), Carl Nelson; Robert

Chase, Kristen Merrill. R.S.V.P.; Rising Stock Market Byline: By Judy Magid  -- AIDS Community Awards AIDS COMMUNITY AWARDS ``Don't give up your dreams,'' urged the Rev. Barbara King of Atlanta. ``If you don't follow those dreams, someone will miss out.''  King, founder/minister of the Hillside Chapel and Truth Center, spoke to 350 gathered for the People With AIDS Coalition of Utah's third Community Awards Dinner at the Salt Lake Hilton. Honored were Terrlynn Crenshaw, co-chairwoman of the statewide HIV/ AIDS Prevention Planning Committee; Anne Stromness, founder of Community Nursing Services' Journey Home Program; George Peppinger, an -HIV/ AIDS programs volunteer since 1989; Kindly Gifts, whose members make afghans and sweaters for those with -HIV/AIDS; Julie Mohr, Blue Marble owner, who has contributed to AIDS-related causes; and Steven Black and Richard Carter, coalition volunteers.    Mohr was accompanied by her parents, Arthur Mohr, Salt Lake City, and June Mohr and friend Joan Coch, Phoenix; sister, Jan Meng, Eucha, Okla.; and Cheryl McGovern. Mohr paid tribute to her brother, Michael, who died of AIDS in 1989. Stromness was accompanied by her mother, Barbara Holmes, Grand Junction, Colo. Jean Peppinger was with husband George. Brook Heart-Song chatted with Dee and Randy Peterson and daughters Amanda and Holly. Daughter Kelli Peterson and Erin Weiser talked with Carl Nelson.  Sipping wine were Susan Massey, Elizabeth `Betsy'' Baker, Virginia Rainey, Janet and Tom Lund, Piper Napier, Sharon Kelly, Michael Westley, Michael T. Manning, Jack Droitcourt, Lucy Ormond, Bill Balkan and George Miller. Robert A. Chase, vice chairman of the People With AIDS Coalition, was with Saliva Sister Kristen Merrill.    Also in the crowd: Kristen Ries, Maggie   Snyder, Larry Riemer, Katherine Zimmer, Veronica and Bill Sutherland (whose daughter, Cori Sutherland, is director of the People With AIDS Coalition of Utah), Carole Gnade, Linda Hunt, Andrew Hunt and Lori Bona, Eric Mitchell, Lisa Carricaburu and Chris Maxfield. The $25,000 raised at the dinner and auction goes to the coalition.  Tribune staff writer Helen Forsberg contributed to this report.

 

November 21, 1996

 

Salt Lake City Weekly

 

Politics: Inconvenient Friends

 

By Katharine Biele

 

[CAPTION: FILE Ñ David Nelson in Salt Lake City, November 5, 1996. (Photo/Fred Hayes, File)]

 

"Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats" founder David Nelson calls it quits.

 

There's been a whispered chant on the wind. The witch is dead. The witch is dead. But it's hard to tell who's happiest over the melting away of GLUD, the Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats.

 

That founder David Nelson is bowing out has left morality conservatives feeling verified and newly-moderate Democrats feeling relieved. In politics, even your friends are functions of convenience.

 

And while Nelson was effective, he was an inconvenient friend to many Democrats. Persistent, brash and even insulting, Nelson took aim at not only his political enemies, but also at those who would otherwise be allies:

 

People like Kelly Atkinson, the former state House minority whip who wanted to distance the Democrats from their "fringe groups." Or like former Majority Leader Frank Pignanelli, who, among others, asked GLUD to drop "Democrat" from its name to spare the party any negative association with the group. And like 2nd Congressional District Candidate Ross Anderson, who said he'd let the pollsÑnot his personal convictionsÑdecide his official stand on gay marriage.

 

Some would say that's biting the hand that feeds you. To Nelson, it was all in a day's work. He was not the kind to subjugate his agenda for the good of the whole. "The elected Democrats began in 1992 by being extremely supportive," Nelson says. "But we caught them off guard with how much of an advocacy group we would becomeÑand how much we would expect them to be a part of that."

 

Well, they didn't become much a part of it. Disappointing, but not disastrous for Nelson. Nonetheless, it was one of the pieces that helped shatter GLUD. The Big One was the gay community itself.

 

Nelson founded GLUD in 1990, against the odds because Utah gays and lesbians were little more than occasional political participants. There would be a protest here or there, like when Anita Bryant came to sing, but it was pretty superficial, reactive stuff. "When we came on the scene, we said we work from the inside out. To a lot of gay people, that was reason enough to distrust us," Nelson says.

 

In fact, he says, gay people are generally distrusting of government because it represents institutional discrimination. People warned him that he was playing with the sleeping giant, and yet they exulted in his victories. Nelson's fund raising brought in some $10,000 a year to his cause. His lobbying helped bring about a state law to permit viaticals, which allow AIDS victims to use the proceeds of their life insurance. Nelson worked with Pignanelli to pass a hate crimes bill and he was instrumental in pushing city ordinances to ban discrimination.

 

But there were some monumental defeats, too. Gays helped elect Clinton in Ô92, only to see him gloss over the gays-in-the-military issue. Ninety-four was a huge setback for Democrats across the nation, and GLUD appeared particularly ineffective in Utah. Brigham Young University professor David Magleby, by his statistical look at the election, instigated the now pervasive call for Democrats to become more conservative and more Mormon.

 

"We had a track record of not being effective in electing our friends," says Nelson. "It was a chink in our armor." And it was made worse when GLUD endorsed Rich McKeown over Deedee Corradini for Salt Lake City mayor, causing division in the gay community and bringing out the one-time-only Gays for Corradini group.

 

Gay people would come up to Nelson and ask him why he was picking on their friends. It happened with a vengeance when he publicly denounced Anderson, saying he flip-flopped on the gay marriage issue. Depends on your point of view. Of course, Merrill Cook thought Anderson was unwavering in his support of gay marriage.

 

Bitch and moan. Nelson heard a lot of it. "I'm getting tagged as egotistical and a one-man operation. That's unfair. Look at Barbara Shaw of the AIDS Foundation. She's a saint. But I do politics, and I get beat up," Nelson says.

 

Dale Sorenson knows how it feels. He began working with Nelson in Ô90 and was executive director until October 1994, when he left GLUD and Utah. "I burned out really hard in Ô93," Sorenson says. "I thought Bill Clinton was the Messiah of the gay community. Now I know no one is going to raise us up. We have to do it ourselves."

 

And that was what really doused the spark for Sorenson. Everyone seemed to want him to do itÑalone. Like Nelson. "The pressure of the closet in Utah is crushing," Sorenson says. People would thank him for the job he did, but refuse to support him in public. "Toward the end I started saying it out loudÑIf you don't come out, nothing I do matters," Sorenson says.

 

On another plane, the gay community never seemed satisfied. "The gay community in Utah eats its leadership," Sorenson says. "I was accused of being a megalomaniac. Now they're saying David is GLUD and GLUD is David. It's so insidious."

 

No one would say Sorenson or Nelson lacked ego, but they were egos that helped kick down doors. The problem is that egos need to be bolstered.

 

Nelson had long since written off persuading the Republican institutions of his cause. In Ô94, he realized he couldn't look to the elected Democrats for help. "But to finally lose our last constituentsÑ"I think that's what's hurt the most," Nelson says.

 

A still-bitter Sorenson thinks Utah's gay community is engaged in an odd self-homophobia, refusing to stand up and be counted. There has been plenty of disaffection within GLUD. Over the last seven years, it has run through 25 board members, some of whom went on to found splinter gay groups. None has been as large or as public as GLUD. In a way, both he and Nelson are saying, "OK, to hell with you."

 

GLUD isn't completely gone. "I just won't be Mr. GLUD anymore," says Nelson, who's planning to work instead for national gay organizations in Utah. At his urging, the board voted to disband GLUD's lobbying, fund-raising and political action committee work. GLUD will still maintain its caucus within the Democratic Party, although its effectiveness will certainly be compromised by the gutting of its other functions.

 

And the gutting of its leadership.

 

"Those who choose to get involved," says Nelson, "become the target."

 

 

24 November 1996 11/24/96 age: E3 Keywords: Books, Authors, UT Caption: In ``Coming Home to America,'' Torie Osborn urges gays and lesbians to come out of the closet, gain acceptance. Gay Rights Being Won, 1 Person At a Time; Ordinary People Bring Change, Says Osborn Byline: BY BRANDON GRIGGS THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE  The battle for gay rights, historically centered in huge coastal cities such as San Francisco, is increasingly being fought in smaller inland communities such as Denver, Minneapolis -- and Salt Lake City.    Furthermore, it is being waged not so much by political activists as by ordinary gays and lesbians. By coming out of the closet to their family, friends and co-workers, these people set living examples that help sway the tide of public opinion toward tolerance.  So says author Torie Osborn, former director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, who will visit Utah next week. ``Salt Lake is a perfect example of how this issue has moved from San Francisco and New York,'' Osborn said by telephone last week, citing the furor last winter over the forming of gay-student clubs in Utah high schools. ``That explosion of visibility and support is a sign of the times. It used to be you had to move to a big city to come out [of the closet].''  Osborn has written a new book, Coming Home to America: A Roadmap to Gay & Lesbian Empowerment. It is a book that she, as much as anyone in the country, is qualified to write. A lesbian activist for more than two decades, she debated Pat Buchanan on CNN's ``Crossfire'' and brokered an Oval Office meeting between gay leaders and President Clinton in 1993.  The book is filled with scores of personal anecdotes from the thousands of gay people -- and their friends and relatives -- Osborn has met during her career. Such as the Kansas mother who fell in love, at age 64, with a woman classmate at a high-school reunion. Or the Virginia man who came out to his mother, only to discover his parents already were attending meetings for parents of gays and were trying to fix him up with another man. Or the elderly man sobbing at the AIDS quilt in Washington, D.C., stricken with guilt over the dead son he had abandoned a year earlier. ``I believe so much of history is made by the individual,'' Osborn said. ``This is a personal struggle. There's a vibrancy and an immediacy to people's own experiences.'' In Coming Home to America, Osborn urges gays and lesbians to come out of the closet. Each and every time homosexuals communicate their identity, she writes, they educate people and help break down stereotypes. Studies show that people who are acquainted with gays or lesbians are more likely to support gay rights. And of all the gay people Osborn has encountered, none of them have ever told her they regret revealing their homosexuality. Activists will not achieve equal rights for gays through speeches, parades or protests alone, Osborn believes. If gays in America are to rally mainstream America to their side, they must do so one neighborhood, one workplace, one family at a time. ``This struggle for equality will be won around the Thanksgiving tables of America,'' she said. ``In many ways, this is a very moral movement. It's driven by love, by commitment, by community -- all those things the radical right says we don't have.'' Osborn is highly regarded in gay and lesbian communities around the nation. Salt Lake City gay leaders, impressed with Osborn's energy and her skillful stewardship of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center, are eagerly anticipating her visit. ``She's a tiny little woman, but she just has this charisma that goes for miles,'' said Renee Rinaldi, executive director of the Utah Stonewall Center. ``She's dynamic. Every time she's here she just blows us away.'' As a national activist, Osborn has seen such issues as gays in the military and same-sex marriages become the subject of national debate. She backed Clinton enthusiastically four years ago, and while she has reservations about the president's positions on some gay issues, she still supports him.  ``I know homophobia. I can smell it a mile away,'' she said, referring to her 1993 White House meeting. ``Bill Clinton as as warm and welcoming as he could be. He was clearly comfortable with us.'' Along with the rest of the country, Osborn watched Clinton move to the political center as he sought re-election. Now she wonders whether the president's second term will free him to adopt more gay-friendly stances on issues. Osborn believes Hawaii's courts will legalize same-sex marriages sometime next year, but she doesn't expect other states to immediately follow. ``The issue is a little ahead of its time,'' she said. ``This country is evolving. In 20 to 30 years we'll look back . . . and people will have changed. This [gay-rights] issue has come tremendously far. It's on America's social agenda -- and I remember when it wasn't.''    Polls show about one-third of the nation is sympathetic to gay rights. Another 30 percent of Americans are religious, political or cultural conservatives who will never embrace homosexuals as equal members of society. Osborn, ever hopeful, is targeting her message to the people in the middle.  ``We're still in the process of changing hearts and minds. The best way to get through to people is through humanity. We have more in common [with the religious right] than they think we have,'' she said. ``We have a ways to go. It's just a matter of time.''  Coming Home Torie Osborn, former director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, will visit Salt Lake City for two days next week. She will read and sign Coming Home to America: A Roadmap to Gay & Lesbian Empowerment, Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Sam Weller's Books, 254 S. Main. She also will appear at an event Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. at the Utah Stonewall Center, 770 S. 300 West.

 

21 November 1996 PHILLIP AUSTIN SEX CRIMES 11/21/96Page: B2  Universities & CollegesMental Exam Ordered for Ex-WSU Official Byline: BY STEVE GREEN  SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE    OGDEN -- Former Weber State University administrator Phillip Austin was ordered Tuesday to undergo a60-day psychological evaluation at the Utah State Prison prior to his sentencing for a kidnapping conviction.   Austin, 45, was convicted by a jury in September 1994 but has remained free while his attorneys appealed. TheUtah Court of Appeals and the Utah Supreme Court rejected his appeals this year.   Roy police arrested Austin in April 1994 after a young man said Austin picked him up at a bus stop and then atgunpoint solicited sex and refused to let him out of the car. The victim escaped by jumping from the vehicle.   Austin was arrested a few weeks later after the victim went to Weber State to pick up his transcripts andcoincidentally spotted Austin at the Academic Advisement Office, where Austin was the director.   Two other young men testified Austin, who acknowledges he is gay, also picked them up at bus stops and solicitedsex in 1994. Defense attorneys objected to their testimony, saying it was gaybashing. No charges were filed in thosecases.  Second District Judge Stanton Taylor in 1994 sentenced Austin to 1 to 15 years in prison, but stayed the sentencepending his appeal.

 

24 November 1996 11/24/96 Page: E3The battle for gay rights, historicallycentered in huge coastal cities such as SanFrancisco, is increasingly being fought in smallerinland communities such as Denver, Minneapolis-- and Salt Lake City.   Furthermore, it is being waged not so much byp olitical activists as by ordinary gays andlesbians. By coming out of the closet to theirfamily, friends and co-workers, these people setliving examples that help sway the tide of publicopinion toward tolerance.   So says author Torie Osborn, former directorof the National Gay and Lesbian TaskForce, who will visit Utah next week.   ``Salt Lake is a perfect example of how thisissue has moved from San Francisco and NewYork,'' Osborn said by telephone last week,citing the furor last winter over the forming of  gay-student clubs in Utah high schools.``That explosion of visibility and support is a signof the times. It used to be you had to move to abig city to come out [of the closet].''   Osborn has written a new book, ComingHome to America: A Roadmap to Gay &  Lesbian Empowerment. It is a book that she,as much as anyone in the country, is qualified towrite. A lesbian activist for more than twodecades, she debated Pat Buchanan on CNN's``Crossfire'' and brokered an Oval Officemeeting between gay leaders and PresidentClinton in 1993.   The book is filled with scores of personalanecdotes from the thousands of gay people-- and their friends and relatives -- Osborn hasmet during her career. Such as the Kansasmother who fell in love, at age 64, with a womanclassmate at a high-school reunion. Or theVirginia man who came out to his mother, onlyto discover his parents already were attendingmeetings for parents of gays and were trying tofix him up with another man. Or the elderly mansobbing at the AIDS quilt in Washington, D.C.,stricken with guilt over the dead son he hadabandoned a year earlier.   ``I believe so much of history is made by theindividual,'' Osborn said. ``This is a personalstruggle. There's a vibrancy and an immediacy topeople's own experiences.''   In Coming Home to America, Osborn urgesgays and lesbians to come out of the closet.Each and every time homosexuals communicatetheir identity, she writes, they educate peopleand help break down stereotypes. Studies showthat people who are acquainted with gays orlesbians are more likely to support gay rights.And of all the gay people Osborn hasencountered, none of them have ever told herthey regret revealing their homosexuality.   Activists will not achieve equal rights for gaysthrough speeches, parades or protests alone,Osborn believes. If gays in America are to rallymainstream America to their side, they must doso one neighborhood, one workplace, onefamily at a time.   ``This struggle for equality will be won aroundthe Thanksgiving tables of America,'' she said.``In many ways, this is a very moral movement.It's driven by love, by commitment, bycommunity -- all those things the radical rightsays we don't have.''   Osborn is highly regarded in gay and  lesbian communities around the nation. SaltLake City gay leaders, impressed withOsborn's energy and her skillful stewardship ofthe Los Angeles Gay and LesbianCommunity Services Center, are eagerlyanticipating her visit.   ``She's a tiny little woman, but she just has thischarisma that goes for miles,'' said ReneeRinaldi, executive director of the UtahStonewall Center. ``She's dynamic. Every timeshe's here she just blows us away.''   As a national activist, Osborn has seen suchissues as gays in the military and same-sexmarriages become the subject of nationaldebate. She backed Clinton enthusiastically fouryears ago, and while she has reservations aboutthe president's positions on some gay issues,she still supports him.   ``I know homophobia. I can smell it a mileaway,'' she said, referring to her 1993 WhiteHouse meeting. ``Bill Clinton was as warm andwelcoming as he could be. He was clearlycomfortable with us.''   Along with the rest of the country, Osbornwatched Clinton move to the political center ashe sought re-election. Now she wonderswhether the president's second term will free himto adopt more gay-friendly stances on issues.   Osborn believes Hawaii's courts will legalizesame-sex marriages sometime next year, but shedoesn't expect other states to immediatelyfollow.   ``The issue is a little ahead of its time,'' shesaid. ``This country is evolving. In 20 to 30years we'll look back . . . and people will havechanged. This [gay-rights] issue has cometremendously far. It's on America's socialagenda -- and I remember when it wasn't.''   Polls show about one-third of the nation issympathetic to gay rights. Another 30percent of Americans are religious, political orcultural conservatives who will never embracehomosexuals as equal members of society.Osborn, ever hopeful, is targeting her messageto the people in the middle.   ``We're still in the process of changing heartsand minds. The best way to get through topeople is through humanity. We have more incommon [with the religious right] than they thinkwe have,'' she said. ``We have a ways to go. It'sjust a matter of time.''   Coming Home   Torie Osborn, former director of the National   Gay and Lesbian Task Force, will visitSalt Lake City for two days next week. She willread and sign Coming Home to America: ARoadmap to Gay & LesbianEmpowerment, Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at SamWeller's Books, 254 S. Main. She also willappear at an event Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. at the  Utah Stonewall Center, 770 S. 300 West.

  

29 November 1996 11/29/96

Page: E1``Well, thank God, I finished ahead of MichaelJackson,'' Melissa Etheridge, said, heaving amock sigh of relief in a recent telephoneinterview.   Since announcing that her partner, JulieCypher, is expecting a baby on Jan. 25, theoutspoken singer has found herself the subject ofeverything from a recent Newsweek cover storyto a poll on ``Dateline NBC.'' The TV newsmagazine asked viewers to decide whichcelebrity -- Etheridge, Jackson or Madonna --had the best chance of rearing a normal child.The winner: Madonna.   Etheridge, who performs tonight at the SaltPalace, is neither discouraged nor put off by hersecond-place finish in ``Dateline's'' viewer call-insurvey.   ``I know that all three of us are unconventionalparents,'' she said. ``I suppose Madonna is themost conventional because she's straight and hasa male figure in her life. That's what people goto. That's the way we were raised and whatwe've always known. I suppose it will be likethat for years until generations have grown andwe realize that homosexuals have the samepercentages of good children and bad childrenand gay children as anybody else.''   Parenthood puts another twist on Etheridge'srise to fame. Her career took off four years agowhen she announced she was a lesbian at theTriangle Ball in Washington, D.C., during theinauguration of Bill Clinton. Her next album, ``Yes I Am,'' sold 6 million copies. It is stillkeeping pace on the charts with her latest album,``Your Little Secret.''   Etheridge is comfortable being a role modelfor lesbians and gays, ``if that is how peopleview me.''   Utah is a frequent recreation spot forEtheridge, and national headlines regarding theresistance to gay-straight alliances in Utahhigh schools have caught her attention.   Etheridge understands about growing uphomosexual in a conservative community. As ateen-ager she could not wait to get out ofLeavenworth, Kan., home to a Hallmark cardfactory and the federal prison where Al Caponedid time.   She is concerned about young gay and  lesbian people who have no support system.   ``I was a teen-ager when I started realizing Iwas different, but I had no idea what it was,'' sherecalled. ``My saving grace and the reason I gotthrough it was that I knew I was going to leave,so I could bear through the isolation andloneliness of it. There are thousands of millionsof teen-agers who don't think they can get out,and that is sad.''   Utah gay and lesbian advocates sayit is important that celebrities such as Etheridgecome here in spite of what some perceive as ahomophobic atmosphere.   ``Melissa Etheridge is respected by gayand straight audiences alike, and that sends amessage, and not just to gays and lesbians --that it is possible to be whole, healthy andaccepted,'' said Charlene Orchard,co-chairwoman of the Utah Human RightsCoalition, which brought Chastity Bono to  Utah for Gay Pride Day last summer.   In her experience, Etheridge said she has seen``a lot of shedding of fears.''   ``It is relatively new to be so upfront about it,but homosexuality is as old as man itself,'' she said. ``Having been on the outside, at times, Idon't ever want to approach anyone who ishomophobic and say, `Oh, you're wrong,period, that's it.' There's a lot of understanding togo with that. A lot of talk. A lot of tolerance onboth sides that needs to be done.''   No longer on the outside, Etheridge often findsherself the center of attention.   ``When I first came out, all the talk was allabout the lifestyle. Then about a year ago, itreally settled into my music. People realized thatI make enjoyable music and good music andpeople like to listen to it and I'm succeeding withit and that's a story within itself. Then, of course,my partner is pregnant, so it's back to thelifestyle thing.   ``It's OK because I don't have a problemwhere I'm at or with my lifestyle. The more I talkabout it, the better it is for me, and I don't mind,''she said.   Etheridge and Cypher, a video director whowas married to actor Lou Diamond Phillips,have been together for nearly eight years. Havingchildren was something they had been ``thinkingof three or four years.'' But with both theircareers in full swing, there never seemed aconvenient time.   ``We'd say `OK, after this project or thatproject,' and years went by,'' Etheridge said.``Last year we came to the conclusion that therewasn't going to be a time when we are both notworking and when we can both just carve out atime to do it. We just needed to evolve andbecome parents. So Julie decided to go and doit.''   Because the couple want to raise the child inas much privacy as possible, Etheridge does notdiscuss how the baby was conceived. After theend of the tour, Etheridge will batten down thehatches and prepare for parenthood.   At Salt Palace   Melissa Etheridge will play tonight at the SaltPalace Convention Center. Tickets are $39 atSmith's Tix. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.

  

11/29/96Page: E9Torie Osborn will sign Coming Home toAmerica: A Roadmap to Gay & LesbianEmpowerment, Sam Weller Books, 250 S.Main, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. Osborn will alsospeak at a dinner at the YWCA, 322 E.Broadway, Sunday at 7 p.m. Admission is $7.

 

30 November 1996 11/30/96 Page: B3 Sunday afternoon at 2, bells in several dozenchurches along the Wasatch Front will ring 16times.   Their resonant tones aren't calls to worship --or linked to the holiday season.   To some people, the pealing may bemeaningless. To others, the sound will beheart-wrenching.   Sixteen knells . . . one for each year that the  AIDS epidemic has ravaged populationsworldwide, with more than 560,000 deaths inthe United States alone.   The bell-ringing is part of Utah's observance ofWorld AIDS Day, which also includesinterfaith services, candlelight vigils and otherevents. On Friday, more than 30 Utahgalleries and museums observe the eighth annualDay Without Art.   In Utah, 2,121 people have beeninfected by the AIDS-causing HIV virus. Inthe past dozen years, the AIDS death toll is792, according to the Utah Department ofHealth. Experts believe unreported cases of HIVinfections would drive the figures much higher.   Cori Sutherland of the People of AIDScoalition of Utah fears that news accounts of``magic bullets'' -- new drug combinations andanti-viral protease inhibitors -- may lull people   into a sense of false complacency.   ``Even if the new treatments prove to work inthe long term, there's a real concern about theircost -- between $15,000 and $25,000 a year,''she said.   ``AIDS still is with us . . . a fact we mustface realistically,'' Sutherland declared.   Don R. Austin, a licensed clinical socialworker, calls vigils and prayer services ``safeplaces where people can come together in anonjudgmental setting'' to reflect on the life of aperson who has died of AIDS.   For some, the ceremonies ``can be a time tomourn . . . but also to rejoice in our strengths'' inbattling the disease, he added.   Among Sunday's events:   -- A nondenominational service, titled ``Hope,Healing and Remembrance,'' at CongregrationKol Ami, 2425 E. Heritage Way (2760 South),Salt Lake County, at 3:30 p.m. Clergy fromseveral faiths will participate, and a display fromthe AIDS Quilt will hang in the sanctuary.   -- An hourlong candlelight vigil on the southsteps of the State Capitol from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30p.m. Candles will be provided. Speaker is PattiReagan, Utah AIDS Foundation founder.An open microphone will be available for  people to share their experiences with  AIDS.   -- In Logan, an interfaith candlelght ``Serviceof Remembrance'' at 7 p.m. at First PresbyterianChurch, 12 S. 200 West.   -- A broadcast of ``Positive Voices'' at 5:30p.m. on KUED Channel 7. The half-hourdocumentary profiles young men and womenwho acquired HIV through risky behavior whilein their teens.   On Monday, confidential, free HIV testing willbe offered from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the SaltLake City-County Health Department, 610 E.200 South. No appointment is necessary.   On Friday, 30 art galleries in the Salt LakeCity area each will drape at least one sculptureor remove a painting from the wall toacknowledge the achievements of artists in alldisciplines whose irreplaceable talents have beenlost to the epidemic.

 

30 November 1996 11/30/96 Page: B6Keywords: Universities & Colleges,Homosexual Gay Issues, Ut, ClubsCaption: Loni Behunin Clifton Wright founded the Gay, Lesbianand Bisexual Club at SUU. The latestincarnation of the club, he says, will take a moreserious approach toward civilrights issues than inthe past.SUU Gay Club Vows toFight For Education, CivilRightsByline: BY STEVE LAW SPECIAL TO THETRIBUNE   CEDAR CITY -- For the third time in fouryears, a club for gay, lebian and bisexuals hassprouted on the campus of Southern UtahUniversity in Cedar City.   Whether it takes root and grows or withersand dies, like its predecessors, depends on howsuccessful Clifton Wright, the founder of the  Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Club, is inimplementing his vision for justice and equalityfor gays, lesbians  and bisexuals.   One thing different about this club, which isopen to any one regardless of sexualorientation,  is a more serious approach.   ``As a club, we want to stay away from thesocial thing completely and try to accomplishsome of the civil-rights issues first,'' says Wright,a 22-year-old clinical psychology major fromNew York City. ``With a social club it's easy togo back underground when the pressure is on.This time around, if we face discrimination, we'llfight it.''    Wright says he decided to take a stand afterreading a famous quote by a Protestant pastornamed Martin Niemoeller who became a victimof Nazi fascism during World War II.   ``I have a poster on my wall that says, `Theyfirst came for the Communists and I didn't speakup because I wasn't a Communist. Then theycame for the Jews and I didn't speak up becauseI wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Catholicsand I didn't speak up because I was aProtestant. Then they came for me and by thattime no one was left to speak up.' ''   Wright says the club will take an active ratherthan reactive stance to accomplish three goals:   -- Form a support network for gays, lebiansand bisexuals in southern Utah, where,Wright says, they suffer discrimination regularly.   -- Educate SUU students and the communityabout AIDS, breast cancer, the gay lifestyleand sexual harassment.   -- Speak out politically to secure the samequality of life and civil rights as heterosexuals.   ``Right now, we're listing everything we canthink of that may be in violation of our rights,''says Wright. ``Then we're going to vote on whatissues we want to focus on the most. We'remainly going to concentrate on basic issues suchas not getting kicked out of school, losing ourjobs or being kicked out of the places we rent.''   So far, things have been going smoothly for thegroup, which has gained about 50 memberssince it was formed a month ago.   ``I haven't felt direct discrimination,'' saysWright, ``but I have felt their uncomfortableness.Sometimes people wish we'd go away. We'renot going away but we're not here to offendanyone, either.''   Part of the club's education campaign hasalready begun.   Members were part of a panel discussion in asociology class earlier this month about the gay   lifestyle. The class professor, Linda Silber,said, ``I was amazed that so many [students]said that this was the first they've been aroundhomosexuals. By the end of the discussion, mystudents went away more understanding of the  gay lifestyle.''   A course on human sexuality at the school justtouches on homosexuality. Class professorDavid Broger says three or four days are spenton the topic outlined in a chapter in the classextbook.   ``It discusses mainly the theories that causehomosexuality, such as genetics, social orenvironment [influences], says Broger. ``It's atolerance type of approach that tries to teach thetudents what it is and let them make up theirown minds about it.''   Wright would like to to bring the issue intodiscussion through the university's convocationseries, which every year features speakers on avariety of topics.   Lana Johnson, SUU's assistant dean of specialprojects, says certain criteria have to be metbefore a lecturer is approved.   Mainly, the speaker should talk about a topicthat is of interest to a broad audience. A lectureabout gay rights may be too narrow for alarge audience, but a discussion of the subject aspart of a lecture on civil rights would have abetter chance of coming to SUU, says Johnson.   Wright says his group would eventually like toexpand off the campus and into area highschools.   ``Most of the discrimination we face comesfrom normally nice people who just don'tunderstand who we are,'' says Wright. ``If wecan help them see that we're normal people, alot of the discrimination would stop.''   Chris Hadlock, the club's secretary, says thediscrimination stems mostly from ignorance. ``Ifpeople knew how many gay people areworking around them, they'd be less likely to saythe things they do about us,'' says Hadlock, a21-year-old dance major from Vernal. ``Thediscrimination isn't so much to your face as it isin the form of a gay joke or lewd commentabout gays.''   Hadlock says he had one professor whoregularly told gay jokes in class that madehim feel uncomfortable. He hopes the club willmake the professor and others like him moreaware that SUU does have gays, lesbians andbisexuals on campus and make them moresensitive.   Hadlock says high school was very hard forhim as a gay man. ``It's very important to beaccepted,'' he says. ``Before I came to college Ididn't know what to do. When I came tocollege, I met a lot of people who were also  gay and it was great. I hope we can educatepeople and help them see that we're just asnormal as they are.''   One of the things the club has this time aroundis support from heterosexuals. Wright says atleast a third of the club's members areheterosexual supporters.   Jen Atkins, an 18-year-old psychology andsociology major from Salt Lake City, is aheterosexual club member.  ``I have numerousfriends who are homosexual, and after seeingwhat's happened unfairly to them in the past,''she says. ``I wanted to do my part to show mysupport for them.''

 

5 December 1996 12/05/96 SAME SEX MARRIAGE Page: A1Keywords: Homosexual-Gay Issues,Courts, WesternUS, ReligionsCaption: Jump Page A6: ChangHawaii Gay Marriages Puton Hold; Hawaii Stays Rulingon Gay Marriages Byline: TRIBUNE STAFF AND NEWSSERVICE REPORTS    HONOLULU -- A day after issuing the firstruling in American history that allows gaymarriages, a judge put the effects of his decisionon hold while the state appeals to Hawaii'sSupreme Court. The stay means gay coupleswon't be able to marry in Hawaii for at least ayear.   It will remain in effect until a ruling by thestate's highest court, which ruled in 1993 thatHawaii's ban is unconstitutional unless the statecould show a compelling government interest inpreventing gay marriages.   Circuit Judge Kevin Chang agreed therewould be confusion if gay couples gotmarried and then the high court overturned hisruling.    ``We kind of expected it, but we're not happywith it,'' said Joseph Melillo, who sued alongwith his partner, Pat Lagon, and two lesbiancouples.   On Tuesday, Chang said Hawaii failed toshow any compelling state interest in denying  gay couples the right to marry. He orderedthe state to begin issuing them licenses. It wasthe first such ruling by a judge in the UnitedStates.   Within the religious community, a broad rangeof groups -- including evangelicals, Mormonsand Muslims -- condemned Chang's decision.But others, including Reform Jewish leaders andseveral pro-gay caucuses within mainlinedenominations, hailed the ruling as a positivemove forward for homosexual rights.   The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-daySaints strongly opposes gay and lesbianmarriage, and many Hawaiian members activelyworked against it. On Wednesday, churchleaders in Salt Lake City said they were``troubled'' by the decision.   ``Scripture teaches that marriage between aman and a woman is ordained of God, and toalter that sacred union is to lay an ax to the rootof civilization's wellbeing and disqualify societyfrom the blessings, stability and happinesspromised by our Creator,'' read a statementreleased by church spokesman Don LeFevre.   ``This decision is most unfortunate, especiallyat a time when America is experiencing so manysevere consequences from failed families,'' thestatement read. ``Fortunately, other states andthe federal government have recently adoptedlegislation strengthening traditional marriages.''   The federal law signed by President Clintonsays the U.S. government will not recognize  gay marriages and allows states to refuse torecognize such unions licensed in other states.Sixteen states have passed laws denyingrecognition of gay marriages.   Utah is one of those states. In the finalseconds of the 1995 Legislature, lawmakerspassed without debate a law aimed at preventingthe state from being forced to legally recognize  gay marriages performed elsewhere.   Gay activists and civil-rights groups initiallyvowed a legal challenge, based on constitutionallaw as well as questions whether the bill passedafter midnight, when the Legislature's authorityhad expired. But the lawsuits never materialized.   Utah's law was drafted by Lynn Wardle, a lawprofessor at LDS Church-owned BrighamYoung University. Wardle has denied acting atbehest of the church although the statuteconformed with the faith's officialpronouncements against gay marriage.   The Legislature's attorneys have warned ofpotential legal flaws.   ``[There are] possible due-process issuessince marriage is a fundamental constitutionalright,'' legislative counsel Janetha Hancock wrotein a legal assessment of the bill.   ``But there are strong arguments that thestate's interests outweigh any infringement,''Hancock added.   In Hawaii,  Deputy Atty. Gen. Rick Eichorhad sought the stay, arguing that allowingcouples to marry immediately would underminethe state's case. ``If hundreds, or eventhousands, of gay marriages take place, theSupreme Court probably won't even hear theappeal,'' he said.

 

12 December 1996- Richard (Raving) Myers Kiehl II, 36, shuffled of this mortal coil on December 12, 1996. One more casualty in the War on AIDS.  Preceded in death by his long time companion of nine years, Todd Phillips.  Survived by his family of friends, Eric Nielsen, Dennis Arbogast, Allen Rieger, Carolyn Wood, and Jack Droitcourt. Special thanks to Dr. Kristen Ries; Dr. Maggie Snyder; the University of Utah's Infectious Disease Clinic's staff; Rachel Krinsky, and the Utah AIDS Foundation; Cori Sutherland  and the People with AIDS Coalition of Utah. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Utah AIDS Foundation in Rick's name will be gratefully accepted.

 

16 December 1996 JANE EDWARDS 12/16/96 Page: D1 YWCA IN TRANSITION:Edwards Is Moving On ToNew Passions, Causes;Edwards Keeping OptionsOpen for FutureByline: BY NANCY HOBBS THE SALTLAKE TRIBUNE    Jane Edwards works best when she is in themiddle of a social cause that kindles her passion.   For more than a decade, that cause has beenthe YWCA, which Edwards has guided andpromoted as executive director since 1985.During the same period she has been active withthe AIDS Foundation, serving terms as vicechairwoman and chairwoman.   But now it's time to move on, says Edwards.She has felt her energy level waning, which is herinternal signal to find a fresh pursuit.   And with the YWCA on the threshold ofseveral new projects, she knew the time wasperfect to initiate a new leader. Susan Sheehan,a long-time advocate for single mothers workingtoward self-sufficiency, will take over the helmJan. 1.    Edwards will continue working three-quarterstime on fund raising for the YWCA throughspring. ``Beyond that,'' she admits with an easysmile, ``I don't know what I'll do. That's kind ofthe scary part.''    She has high standards for whatever that maybe, however.   ``It has to have certain ingredients. It needs tobe related to human rights and be something Ican feel passionate about. And it has to havesome sort of service component,'' saysEdwards, whose degrees in social work -- abachelor's from the University of Maryland anda master's and doctorate from the University of   Utah -- decorate the wall of her corner officein the historic YWCA building in Salt Lake City.   Other souvenirs also adorn her office -- mostnotably a rusted, crumbling water pipe thatworked well several years ago as a visual aid inconvincing Salt Lake County commissioners toappropriate funds for building repairs.    That exercise was so convincing, recallsEdwards, that she wrapped up a piece of thepipe and sent it to philanthropist James L.Sorenson with a plea for help.   ``He gave us $10,000,'' she says.   It's because of that gumption and those kindsof successes that the YWCA board of directorsand Community Advisory Council conspired tokeep Edwards involved in the organization'sdevelopment efforts.    ``We all felt Jane's name and reputation in thecommunity would be a benefit to us'' in raisingproject funds, said board President CherylBolinder.   At a recent roast in her honor, Edwards'associates often referred to her tenacity andpersuasive abilities. One YWCA board memberlikened her to a pit bull: ``Jane sinks her teethinto something and holds on until it's done.''   Salt Lake attorney Pat Shea, a member of theCommunity Advisory Council, was morereverent. He calls her ``St. Jane.''   ``The image I have of Jane in my mind is abeacon of hope in a sea of despair,'' he says.``She can be incredibly compassionate andcaring, while at the same time be able to look athow do we solve this problem?''   Then Edwards makes the solution work --``and she does it well,'' Shea adds.   He also credits Edwards' uncanny ability to cutthrough peoples' protective facades as``endearing her to the hearts and minds of SaltLake's political, business and communityleaders.''   Edwards hopes that includes her ``Rotarianbrothers,'' who more than once have heard hercorrect their gender-biased language orperceptions. She says they've been patient withher comments ``and, I would even say,appreciative.''   On the other hand, Edwards says she'slearned a lot from the predominantly maleRotary Club.   ``I was surprised to find what a match theRotary mission is with the YW's, withinternational peace and international service, andhow much I enjoyed working with, well, I wantto say `men.'   ``I've had the opportunity to work here, in anall-women's organization, for 11 1/2 years. Itwas good for me to go into an organization thatwas predominantly male for a couple of reasons.   ``No. 1, I realized that men are compassionateand caring and want to serve the community.And second, it is a reminder of how it feels to bein a minority position in a majority group,''Edwards says.   Since Edwards hasn't charted a course forherself beyond next spring, others have offeredtheir opinions.  Most often, she says, thesuggestions are running for political office orwriting a book.    In contemplating politics, Edwards takes adeep breath and says little more than, ``I'vethought about it.'' If she were to try it, itprobably would be on a smaller, communitylevel rather than statewide office.   Writing seems more inviting, especially sinceThe Salt Lake Tribune has published Edwards'series of stories on women in Utah's history tocommemorate the state's centennial.   She found yet another passion in researchingthe articles.    ``I loved uncovering the history of Utahthrough the lives of women,'' though she wasfrustrated at finding so little historical informationon women who contributed much to theircommunities.    Her interest also helped recover lost historyabout the YWCA and Mary Willis MartinCritchlow, one of the Salt Lake organization'soriginal founders and namesake of newlow-income apartments being built at theYWCA. The 36-unit will provide transitionalhousing for battered women and their childrenwho seek refuge in the YWCA shelter.   When Edwards announced her pendingretirement earlier this year, Debra Daniels, whoheads the YWCA's prevention services,panicked. Not only was she losing her mentor,Daniels recalls, but the YWCA would be losingits best image-polisher.   ``People out in the community neverquestioned Jane's integrity, her commitment, orthe YWCA's credibility,'' says Daniels.   Finally, Daniels says, she's accepted theinevitable.    ``Jane brought us to a great place. Now I'mexcited for the new changes, and the nextphase.''

 

19 December 1996 SEX CRIMES Thursday, December 19, 1996 MAN CHARGED WITH FORCING A BOY TO PERFORM SEX ACT A 27-year-old man was charged Monday with forcing a 17-year-old boy to perform a sex act.The man faces one count of forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony, according to charges filed in 3rd District Court.In either March or April, the man took the juvenile to his apartment in the 2100 East block of Bengal Boulevard (7600 South)and forced him to perform the sex act, the documents say.© 1998 Deseret News Publishing Co.

  

17 December 1996 12/17/96 Page: B1Keywords: UT Legislature, Education, SocialIssues, Homosexual Gay IssuesState Sets Rule On SchoolClubs; State Board Sets RuleOn Clubs in SchoolsByline: BY KATHERINE KAPOS THE SALTLAKE TRIBUNE    The state School Board on Monday fine-tuneda policy that will give Utah educators morecontrol over controversial school clubs, such asthose for gays, lesbians and bisexuals.   But officials from the American Civil LibertiesUnion are calling the rule unnecessary andvague.   Utah's 40 school districts have been awaitingthe state board's new policy, which comesnearly a year after a controversy erupted over arequest by some students at Salt Lake City'sEast High School to form a gay-lesbianalliance.   The Salt Lake City School Boardsubsequently ruled that any club had to bealigned with school curricula, effectively shuttingdown groups ranging from rugby enthusiasts togays, lesbians and bisexuals.   Other districts have considered their ownpolicies, but have also watched to see how thestate board would handle the issue.   Under the new rule, which is up for finalapproval in January, the state's 40 schooldistricts would be bound to follow theregulations, thus protecting them from liability incase of a lawsuit. No suit was filed after the EastHigh episode.   Board attorney Doug Bates said that whilethere are no guarantees, he hopes the rule alsowill end any potential for litigation against thestate.   Under the rule, students or school staffwanting to organize a club must develop acharter that describes the kind of activitiesplanned for its members.   The state board is calling for different kinds ofclub supervision depending on the age ofstudents. Children in kindergarten through sixthgrade could only participate in clubs organizedand directed by the school.   Students in seventh through ninth grade wouldbe allowed to participate in ``supervisedstudents clubs'' or those organized with thepermission of the school and operated underclose supervision of a faculty adviser.   Students in 10th, 11th and 12th grades wouldbe given the most leniency. They would beallowed to participate in ``monitored schoolclubs,'' or those with an assigned faculty adviserwho provides support as necessary but isaround mostly to make sure school rules arefollowed.   Local boards also have the ability to setdifferent regulations for the different kinds ofclubs, including:   -- Controlling the time and place a club meets,   -- Denying access to the school newspaper,yearbook, bulletin board or public-addresssystem,   -- And requiring informed, written parentalconsent to join some clubs.   The local board may also get to decidedwhether a proposed club name is acceptable.   The rule calls for a club name that reflects thenature and purpose of the club and will notcause undue disruption, student harassment orimply an inappropriate association with outsideorganizations or group.   Bates did not anticipate any substantialchanges to the rule before January, when theboard is expected to give final approval.   The rule specifically states that a local schoolboard cannot prohibit a club simply because ofits controversial nature as long as the clubcharter and application meet laws and rules.   While the words gay and lesbian are notused in the new rule, Bates said ``the policymakes it clear that straight kids and gay kidshave the same rights. It does not discriminate.''    But Carol Gnade, executive director of the  Utah chapter of the American Civil LibertiesUnion, says the policy still has the potential ofviolating the First Amendment's guarantee of freespeech.   ``Our position has been from the beginningthat it has been unnecessary. The Equal AccessAct addresses all the issues surrounding schoolclubs,'' she said, referring to a federal law thatensures students equal access to school facilities.The Salt Lake district was within the law when itlinked clubs to curriculum.   Gnade said the ACLU will watch closely tosee how individual districts interpret and applythe rule.   With Monday's action, local school boards areexpected to begin developing their own policies.   Work likely will begin immediately in theGranite School District, where a group ofstudents at Cottonwood High School haveapplied to have a gay-straight alliance.   That application, along with several otherrequests for new clubs, has been on holdpending the state rule.   During a special session in April, theLegislature passed a law enabling school districtsto deny access to clubs that ``materially orsubstantially encourage criminal or delinquentconduct, promote bigotry or involve humansexuality.''   The wording in the state law is included in thestate board rule.

  

24 December 1996 12/24/96 Page: A10Keywords: Tribune EditorialCan't Dress Up Bad Law   Utah's new school-clubs rules -- those set bythe State Board of Education last week -- seemreasonable enough in the abstract. But theirgenesis -- reactionary laws passed last winterand spring (Gov. Leavitt vetoed the first) --raises doubts about their purpose and futureeffectiveness.   In a special session last April, legislatorsordered public schools to prohibit anyextracurricular clubs that ``involve humansexuality.'' Legislators claimed their primary aimwas to return control of schools to localcommunities, which supposedly were threatenedby the Equal Access Act of 1984. Theirsecondary goal, they said, was to put the ruleinto statute so that local school districts wouldbe spared the expense of defending it in court.   But, of course, this issue never would havecome up if a group of homosexual students andfriends had not requested recognition as anextracurricular club at East High School in SaltLake City last year. The underlying reason forthe new law, as well as the resulting state schoolboard regulations, is to keep gay and  lesbian students hidden in Utah's publicschools.   The regulations, which do not directly addresshomosexuality, apparently satisfy thelocal-control issue by giving school districtsguidelines for handling clubs outside the schoolday. They call for restrictions on the time andplace clubs meet, and on ``disruptive'' clubnames and activities. They also authorize schoolsto require parental permission for clubparticipation. And they shift responsibility for theregulations' legal defense to the state. But adoption of these regulations does notsettle the issue of gay and lesbian clubs in   Utah.   That's because the federal law says schoolscannot discriminate against groups of students inextracurricular activities because of controversialtopics they discuss. This presumably wouldinclude topics involving human sexuality, such ashomosexuality and social pressures facing gay   and lesbian students.   So while the state regulations seem benignenough on their face, they were developed tothwart a federal law designed to protect thefree-speech rights of all students, includinghomosexuals. Therefore, the rules amount tolittle more than a well-crafted legal exercise inpostponement and, ultimately, futility.A23Keywords: Laws Regulations, Homosexual  Gay Issues, WesternUSArizona Legislators Pattern  Gay-Club Ban on UtahLawByline: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS    PHOENIX -- State lawmakers past andpresent are proposing legislation to ban gayorganizations from high school and universitycampuses.   Under a plan patterned after Utahlegislation, the Arizona Board of Regents wouldbe required to bar any group that encourages``criminal or delinquent behavior'' or ``involveshuman sexuality.''   School boards would be required to keepsuch organizations from meeting or having facultysponsors.   Under a second proposal, sodomy would beraised from a misdemeanor to a felony.   Rep.-elect Karen Johnson, R-Mesa, one ofthe supporters of the proposals, said she has aproblem with having tax dollars in effectsponsoring such groups.   ``They [gays] ``want to sodomize, and I don'twant them recruiting [on campuses] for that,''Johnson said. ``I can work with a homosexualperson . . . on other issues, but when it comes tothat issue I have my feelings.''   In a special session in April, the UtahLegislature passed legislation enabling schooldistricts to deny access to clubs that ``materiallyor substantially encourage criminal or delinquentconduct, promote bigotry or involve humansexuality.''   The legislative action followed several monthsof discussion about a proposed gay and  lesbian student club within the Salt Lake CitySchool District.   Opponents called the bills an attempt todiscriminate against gays and said the proposalscould disrupt the Legislature as it tries to dealwith such issues as educational finance.

 

31 December 1996- David Nelson disbanded the Gay and Lesbian Utah Democrats following internal acrimony. Nelson came under fire from within GLUD after criticizing 2nd Congressional District Candidate Ross Anderson.  Anderson had said that while he supported allowing same-sex unions he himself could not advocate it if elected to Congress. (SL Tribune B4-6 Nov 1996)

 

1996 Doug Worthan and Camille Lee formed a Gay and Lesbian Straight Teachers Network chapter in Utah

 

1996 After writing a research paper on the high suicide rate of Gay adolescents in Utah, Katherine created the Delta Lambda Sappho Union at Weber State University in Ogden. (154)

 

 

 

During 1996, 187 cases of AIDS were diagnosed with 80 deaths from the disease.