The Napa Valley Register from Napa, California • 22

i 2D The NAPA VALLEY REGISTER Tuesday, October 27, 1 Sao IH finds file more imterestimej final his wife Trial of Charles Ng finally starts after 13 long years ured, paralyzed or even killed makes my blood run cold. If anything happened to him in a car accident because of my negligence, I could never forgive myself. I say this to all parents: If you don't want to live to see your child grow up and choose not to wear a seat belt yourself, that is your decision. But to jeopardize the life of your child, hom you profess to love, is quite another matter. From all the reports I have read, the safest spot for a child is the center of the back seat.

If you think a child car seat for your infant or toddler is too expensive, many places offer discounted models. And be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions when installing a car seat. Teach your children to use the restraints even if you are only traveling a short distance. Most accidents occur within 10 miles of home. Thanks, Ann, for letting me speak my piece.

Connie in New Jersey Dear New Jersey: I hope your letter will be remembered by all parents who drive with children in the car. There is no cargo that is more precious. And teaching children to buckle up should be mandatory. That simple act has saved countless people from serious injury and even death. When Princess Diana died, the only person buckled up in the car was the bodyguard in the front seat.

He was also the only survivor. 1998 Creators Syndicate. Inc. Dear Ann Landers: May I add my two cents to those Internet marriage-killer stories? It could explain what is behind them. One month ago, I bought my first computer.

I have many outside interests and subscribe to more than 30 publications. I also average five hours a day on line. Why? Because I love learning new things and want to stay informed on the latest. My wife, on the other hand, has three interests her relatives, her job and her church. Frankly, none of HER interests is of interest to ME.

I couldn't care less how many hours "Sis" spends baby-sitting her neighbors kids, or how many of her co-workers clock in late after break, or how the Sunday sermon went. Tapping into my computer allows me access to classic literature, movie memorabilia, travel information, an entire city library, dozens of daily newspapers and hundreds of magazine articles. I can look up job openings anywhere in the country or read interviews with major newsmakers. I can chat with people from all walks of life who teach me more in one sitting than I could learn in a sear. I get up-to-the-minute world, national and local news, weather and sports, and humor of every kind imaginable.

Perhaps the reason these marriages are breaking up (as mine ill soon) is because the computer-literate person has finally found he and his wife Lola had traveled to about 80 hearings, including several in Canada. For 13 1 2 years weve waited so see it come to trial, Stapley said as opening statements began Monday. I usually dont have any emotions about it, but this morning, Im close to tears. Prosecutor Sharlene Honna-ka said San Francisco police helped break the case in 1985 when Ng was arrested for shoplifting and Lake offered to pay for the merchandise. On June 4 that year, authorities searched the cabin grounds and found pounds of human remains, mostly teeth and bones, she said.

They discovered that that property had been used as a killing field and a mass graveyard, Honnaka said. A hidden door in a cinderblock workshop led to a cell about 3 12 feet wide and 6 12 feet long, she said. One wall held a one-way mirror, Honnaka said; inside was a bucket of water and a roll of toilet paper. Photos of the building under construction were found in Ngs San Francisco apartment, along with belongings of several victims, she said. Ng was seen carrying bags from the San Francisco apartment of Sean, Deborah and Harvey Dubs, who disappeared in July 1984, the prosecutor said, two other victims, Clifford Peranteau and Jeffrey Gerald, were co-workers of Ng at a San Francisco moving company, she said.

In opening statements Monday, prosecutors showed the eight-woman, four-man jury a videotape of Ng cutting away the shirt and bra of a bound woman identified as Brenda OConnor. Lake is heard off camera giving her a choice: cooperate by cleaning, cooking and having sex with the two, or be raped and shot immediately. William Kelley. The defense also opened its case with a videotape, made by Lake in 1983 to explain his plans to build a cell for a sex slave. Ng wasnt even in California at the time, his defender said.

Ng has fought with his court-appointed attorneys and at times acted as his own lawyer. The drawn-out case has cost the state a reported $9.6 million so far. Dwight Stapley of Garden Grove, whose son Scotts body was found near the cabin, said DIHISS an inherited sHisonta as left ventricle enlarges Ann Landers something infinitely more interesting than the person he is married to. Didn't they say the same thing about the newfangled gadget called TV 50 years ago? Married to the Monitor in St. Louis Dear St.

Louis: Your letter is sure to spark many conversations around the dinner table tonight. The Internet is not a "killer of marriages" any more than TV was when it first entered our living rooms. The killer is boredom, which too many couples know too much about. Meanwhile, before you throw the baby out with the bath water, I hope you will try joint counseling. It has worked for many and might work for you.

Dear Ann Landers: As I was driving to work today, I saw something that made me absolutely crazy. Why are parents too lazy or too thoughtless to make sure their young children are buckled up as soon as they get in the car? As the mother of a 7-year-old, the thought that my laziness might possibly cause my son to be disfig free of symptoms for years. Treatment is not necessary' until a person develops the symptoms of this disorder. To give you related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report "Understanding Heart Disease." Other readers who would like a copy should send $2 plus a long, self-addressed, stamped envelope to P.O. Box 2017, Murray Hill Station, New York, N.Y.

10156. Be sure to mention the title. DEAR DR. GOTT: What is "organic brain syndrome?" DEAR READER: This term means that a patient's mental powers, memory and judgment are diminished because of physi at spreading Cavalli-Sforza and Eric Minch at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Their findings were published in the November issue of the journal Nature Genetics.

Another genetics expert said he suspects theres more to the story. The study used data on modern-day genes. It looked for the effects of men and women moving away from their native communities in ancient times and producing children somewhere else. It relied on the fact that the chromosome is passed on only by fathers. In contrast, genetic material called mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, is passed along only by mothers.

Both kinds of genetic material contain tiny variations that can be tracked in different populations. The more a specific variation is confined to a particular population, the less chance it has had to spread elsewhere By LARRY GERBER Associated Press Writer SANTA ANA One of Californias longest and costliest homicide cases is finally under way, more than 13 years after Charles Ngs arrest for shoplifting led to his prosecution for mass murder. Ng, 37, is charged with 12 murders dating back to 1984 and 1985. Prosecutors allege he and accomplice Leonard Lake tortured and raped some of the victims, who were lured to Lakes cabin at Wilseyville, in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Lake committed suicide in 1985 by taking cyanide while in police custody in South San Francisco.

Ng was arrested in Canada, where he fought extradition for six years. In 1994, the case was transferred to Orange County on grounds that extensive media coverage made a fair trial impossible in Calaveras County, where the bodies were found. In opening statements Monday, prosecutors showed the eight-woman, four-man jury a videotape of Ng cutting away the shirt and bra of a bound woman identified as Brenda OConnor. Lake is heard off camera giving her a choice: cooperate by cleaning, cooking and having sex with the two, or be raped and shot immediately. Youd better believe us, Brenda, or youll be dead, Lake says.

I believe you, the woman responds. Lake, not Ng, was the murderer, said defense attorney OBITUARIES Stephen Szymanski NAPA Stephen A. Szymanski, 23, died Oct. 24. He was born on Dec.

17, 1974, in San Jose to Lance and Mary Szymanski. Stephen lived in San Jose for six years and then moved to Glide, and stayed there for five years. He came to Napa and went to school at St. Apollinaris and was a graduate of Justin-Siena High School in 1993. He attended U.C.

Santa Barbara for two years and then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and graduated with a degree in humanistic physiology in 1997. He came back to Napa and was employed locally, Stephen was a member of the Penn. Glee Club. He is survived by his father, Lance S. Szymanski of Napa; his mother, Mary A.

Szymanski of Napa; and his sister, Tina M. Szymanski of San Luis Obispo. Friends are invited to attend a memorial Mass on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 960 Caymus St.

Father Gordon Kalil will officiate. A memorial rosary and vigil service will be held today at 7:30 p.m. at Claffey and Rota Funeral Home, 1975 Main St. UPCOMING SERVICES WEDNESDAY SZYMANSKI, Stephen 10 a.m., St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 960 Caymus St.

THURSDAY, NOV. 12 These veterans will be remembered at the 10 a.m. service at the Veterans Home Memorial Chapel in Yountville: MORRIS, James W. CUENDET, Clarence Delbert Forrest Lawson NAPA Forrest Elsworth Lawson, 63, died Sunday. He came to Angwin when he was six weeks old and was a truck driver for the Teamsters for 41 years.

Mr. Lawson is survived by his wife, Mona of Napa; his children, Dan Rhoades of Springfield, David Rhoades of Marysville, Cheryl Miller of Palm Springs, Scot Lawson of Arlington, and Russell Rhoades of Napa; his mother, Ellen Lawson of Napa; one sister, Janet Harris of Napa; seven grandchildren; and several nieces. Private family memorial services will be held at a later date. Arrangements were under the direction of Richard Pierce Funeral Service. Ada Foulston ST.

HELENA Ada Louisa Manuel Foulston, 87, died Wednesday at her home after a long illness. Mrs. Foulston, with her husband, pastored churches in Vallejo, Paradise, Hayward and St. Helena, and she served in various capacities as a denominational employee in the Adventist Church for 44 years. She is survived by her husband, Wilbert; one son, Wayne of Honolulu, Hawaii; one daughter, Ruth Wiebe of Albion; two brothers; three sisters; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

A memorial service was held Saturday at St. Helena Seventh-day Adventist Church. Interment was at St. Helena Cemetery. Arrangements were under direction of Morrison Funeral Chapel, St.

Helena. cal changes in the brain. Multiple strokes, senility, senile dementia and many degenerative diseases of the nervous system including Alzheimers disease are classed under the broad heading of organic brain syndrome, which is a chronic condition. Patients with organic brain syndrome usually show shrinkage of the brain. Because this change is permanent, they suffer progressive cognitive function, eventually needing nursing care and assistance with the activities of daily living.

In contrast, there are acute brain syndromes, such as drug or alcohol intoxication, that are temporary. DEAR DR. GOTT: Do copper bracelets help ward off arthritis? DEAR READER: I'm afraid not. They were quite the rage several years ago, until medical studies proved that they were ineffective. The newer anti-arthritis drugs are much more useful than bracelets in combating painful arthritis.

1998 Newspaper Enterprise Assn. their genes through human migration. The researchers found that chromosome variations tended to be much more localized than mtDNA variations a sign that men werent migrating as much as women. The difference showed up when different populations on a single continent were compared, as well as in comparisons between inhabited continents. The biggest reason is probably women moving to their husbands communities to start families, the researchers said.

A smaller factor might be men with multiple wives, which would also suppress variation in chromosomes, but very few men have been able to afford that arrangement, the researchers said. Seielstad said he and colleagues werent surprised by the result, because the idea of women moving to their husbands community is so common across cultures. WITH ON SITE CREMATORY Donations may be made to Justin-Siena Foundation, 4026 Maher Napa, 94558. Kathleen Griffin NAPA Kathleen Marion Griffin, known to her family and friends as Kitty, mother of 3, faithful companion to Ginger Buttons, a Jack Russell Terrier, and author of The Tale of Ginger Buttons, died of lung cancer Oct. 23.

COVER GIRL Our mother is a little old lady dyed hair fuzzy face crinkley stoop shouldered swollen feet halting with a cane bladder leaking dog hair covered polyester wearing chocolate eating cigarette smoking optimist patient gentle extraordinarily kind generous generous shrewd ethical atheist practicing Christian phi beta kappa campaigner social worker labor organizer breadwinner entrepreneur teacher inclusionist She is our first and longest love. Kitty was 87 years young. Obituary policy The Register runs death notices -brief items identifying the deceased, immediate family members, funeral services and contributions free of charge. The Register charges, however, for obituaries longer accounts detailing family histories, hobbies and memberships. Information concerning Register obituary rates is available from the newspapers advertising department, 226-3711, or from local funeral homes.

DEAR DR. GOTT: I was recently diagnosed with idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis. hat is this? DEAR READER: IHSS is an inherited disorder marked by enlargement of part of the wall (septum) of the left ventricle, the major cardiac chamber. Blood is pumped directly from the left ventricle into the aorta, where it fans out to supply oxygen to various parts of the body. In patients with IHSS, a portion of the outflow tract is obstructed, forcing the ventricle to work harder during each beat.

This leads to shortness-of-breath on slight exertion, fainting, palpitations, a murmur (extra heart-sound) and cardiac enlargement. Treatment must be given, or the heart will literally work itself to death. Two types of drugs (beta-blockers and calcium-channel blockers) help relieve the obstruction and reduce cardiac work. In the 10 to 15 percent of patients who do not respond to medical therapy, removal of the obstruction may be necessary. Most patients with IHSS are Women best By MALCOLM RITTER AP Science Writer NEW YORK The history books are full of the adventurous travels of men, but a new study suggests that women have done better at spreading their genes around the globe.

That doesnt mean historians have overlooked voyages by women explorers. For the most part, researchers say, the explanation is much more mundane: Women through history moved to their mates communities to start families. Over thousands of years, these short migrations apparently enabled womens genes get around more than mens, said researcher Mark Seielstad. Seielstad, a fellow in the program for population genetics at the Harvard School of Public Health, did the work with L. Luca CLAFFIY and ROTA FUNIRAL HOMI FREE CONSULTATION FOR: Pre-Need Funerals Cremation 224-5210 Burial The affordable alternative.

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