Friday, October 6, 2006 - The Michigan Daily - 7A Amish town buries victims of shooting GEORGETOWN, Pa. (AP) Stoltzfus, 12, was scheduled for - Scores of horse-drawn bug- Friday. gies from across the Pennsylvania The killer's widow was invited countryside clip-clopped past the to one of the funerals yesterday, home of the schoolhouse gunman according to a Roberts family to a wind-swept, hilltop graveyard member. But it was not immediate- yesterday as the Amish buried four ly known if she attended. Roberts of the girls killed in their class- was well-known around the com- room. munity because his milk pickup In a doleful scene that looked route took him to many Amish like a 19th-century tintype, hun- dairy farms. dreds of Amish - boys and beard- The girls, in white dresses made ed men in wide-brimmed hats and by their families, were laid to rest dark suits, women and girls in long in graves dug by hand in a small black dresses and black mourn- burial ground bordered by corn- ing bonnets - stood near a huge fields and a white rail fence. Amish mound of earth for the brief grave- custom calls for simple wooden side services. coffins, narrow at the head and feet The daylong series of three and wider in the middle. funeral processions took the cof- To protect the privacy of the fins past the home of Charles Carl Amish, all roads leading into Roberts IV, the 32-year-old milk the village of Nickel Mines were truck driver who laid siege Mon- blocked off for both the funerals, day to the girls' one-room school- which were held in the families' house in an attack so traumatic that homes, and the burials. Airspace the building may soon be razed to for 2 1/2 miles in all directions was obliterate the memories. closed to news helicopters. Benjamin Nieto, 57, watched the Tragedies such as the massa- processions from a friend's porch. cre at Columbine High School in "They were just little people;' he Colorado have become moments said of the victims. "They never got of national mourning, in large a chance to do anything." part because of satellite and TV Pennsylvania state troopers on technology. But the Amish shun horseback and a funeral director's the modern world and both its ills black car with flashing yellow lights and conveniences, including auto- cleared the way for up to four dozen mobiles and most electrical appli- buggies, including black carriages ances. carrying the hand-sawn wooden "I just think at this point most- coffins of 7-year-old Naomi Rose ly these families want to be left Ebersol, then 13-year-old Mar- alone in their grief and we ought ian Fisher, then sisters Mary Liz to respect that," said Dr. D. Hol- Miller, 8, and Lena Miller, 7. The mes Morton, who runs a clinic that funeral for the fifth girl, Anna Mae serves Amish children. Pelosi promises integrity, civility WATCH OUT Four-year-old Ann Arbor resident Stuart Atkinsmith plays with the propellor of the Human Powered Submarine Team's submarine at an open house at the Wilson Center yesterday. WASHINGTON (AP) - Rel- ishing the prospects of a triumph, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi yesterday promised to restore integrity and civility to the House if voters put her party in control this fall. "We'll turn the most closed and corrupt Congress into the most open and honest Congress," Pelosi (D-Calif.) told The Associated Press in an interview. She spoke five weeks before the midterm elections as the House ethics committee opened an inves- tigation into an unfolding sex scan- dal that led to Rep. Mark Foley's resignation and calls for House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) to step down. "The only way you can make the change that needs to be made for our country - a new direction where we're there for the many and not the few - is to drain the swamp," said Pelosi, who is in line to be the nation's first female House speaker if Democrats ascend to power. With Nov. 7 looming, an AP- Ipsos poll released yesterday found the majority of likely voters favor- ing Democrats to win control of the House and half of likely voters say- ing recent disclosures of corruption and scandal in Congress will be very or extremely important when they cast their vote. Republicans are scrambling to try to stop the political bleeding that began last week when Foley resigned amid reports that he sent sexually explicit communications to teenage boys who once worked as House pages. That set off finger- pointing among House Republican leaders who were accused of fail- ing to react quickly when they were warned of Foley's behavior. Hastert spurned calls for his res- ignation from the party's conserva- tive base while some Republicans expressed fears that the scandal could cost the GOP the House. In Idaho, Republican Rep. Mike Simpson said he was no longer confident that Republicans would retain power, a shift from a week ago when he was "fairly confident we were going to keep the major- ity." Now, he said, it's "a real tos- sup. Republicans outside of Wash- ington, meanwhile, chastised Dem- ocrats for criticizing House leaders while ignoring what Republicans called a long and tawdry history of Democratic impropriety and sex scandals. "What we don't have to do is allow our friends on the left to lec- ture us on morality;' former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said at a party fundraiser in South Carolina. "There's a certain stench of hypocrisy." On Capitol Hill, Pelosi expressed confidence that Democrats would gain the 15 seats they need to seize control of the House from Repub- licans who have ruled for a dozen years. Should Democrats win, she promised they would approve rules to "break the link between lob- byists and legislation" and enact legislation adopting all the recom- mendations of the bipartisan com- mission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The party's agenda also includes rais- ing the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour and cutting the student loan interest rate. SENATE Continued from page 1A cies of the Bush Administration that have lost us jobs and threat- en our Michigan way of life. I've been one of the big advocates for things that increase access to college." Bouchard and Stabenow also used the discussion as a chance to encourage political participa- tion by college students. "Get involved in the system," Bouchard said. "The system won't work otherwise." Although Bouchard and Sta- benow agreed on many educa- tional issues, the event featured some trash-talking. In an interview, Bouchard compared Stabenow to a failing student at the University. "If students don't work hard to get good grades, they're not going to pass," Bouchard said. "It's the same with elected offi- cials, and the current senator has not done that. It's time to give somebody else a chance." "That's what any oppo- nent says," Stabenow said in response. The discussion was moderated by Charity Nebbe. Nebbe hosts All Things Considered on Mich- igan Radio, the local syndicate of National Public Radio. It was filmed by a crew from Michigan Televisionthe Univer- sity's affiliate of PBS. Michigan Television plans to broadcast the discussions tonight at 9 p.m. SUDAN Continued from page 1A faced the threat of death, slavery or forced recruitment into the army. Radlmeier helped young refu- gees leave the U.N. compound, where conditions were inhospi- table. Mickelina Pia Peter, a refugee who is now is a junior at the Uni- versity of Colorado, said the refu- gees would have to line up as early as 4 a.m. to assure they received rations of food and water, which were often insufficient. "What amazes me is there was a swimming pool on the U.N. com- pound, but not enough water for the refugees," Pia Peter said in an interview. The Sudanese youths who sur- vived the hazardous thousand-mile journey from Sudan to the Kakuma camp became known worldwide as the "lost generation." Their stories were told in the 2002 documentary "The Lost Boys of Sudan." Radlmeier was originally assigned to the Nairobi mission- ary and supported it financially as a teacher at the local community college, but her mission evolved to include securing the futures of the young refugees. After initially paying herself for the primary and secondary school- ing of 27 children, she has worked to raise money to enroll several hundred students a year in univer- sities and trade schools. By the late 1990s, she was assist- ing applicants for resettlement by helping with the interviews and tests for immigration to the United States, Canada and Australia. Funds procured by Radlmeier have led to the development of a compound consisting of student dormitories, a shelter for children orphaned and infected by AIDS, two nursery schools and a primary school in Juja, which is northeast of Nairobi. She is now working on her mis- sion to secure health care and edu- cation for refugees in east Africa. In 2005, she sponsored 300 refu- gees in different levels of school. But because of cuts in funding, Radlmeier is struggling to aid the numerous candidates for relief, including more than 200 former child soldiers who have applied for sponsorship to pursue vocational training. Her strongest wish is to raise money to help 300 refugee girls to leave the Kakuma camp, where she said the girls face exploitation; Radlmeier said orphaned girls at refugee camps are kept from edu- cational opportunities and are often forced into wedlock with already married men. Among others to receive the Wallenberg medal are Miep Gies, the woman who protected the fami- ly of Anne Frank; Holocaust author Elie Wiesel and the Dalai Lama: Last year, the medal was presented to Paul Rusesabagina, the man whij inspired the film "Hotel Rwanda."' Agents look for negligence at spinach plants SA N FRANCISCO (AP) - In took appropriate steps to make sure opening a criminal investigation their products were safe to eat. into two produce companies FBI and Food and Drug Admin- involved in the contaminated istration agents spent 11 hours spinach outbreak, federal agents Wednesday searching Natural are following a script first writ- Selection Foods LLC and Growers ten a decade ago to hold compa- Express, sifting through records nies responsible for mass food for evidence indicating the spinach poisoning. producers skirted proper food-han- In 1996, authorities secured the dling procedures. first criminal conviction in a food "We are looking more toward poisoning case when juice-maker the food-safety issue at this point," Odwalla Inc. was heavily fined FBI spokesman Joseph Schadler for tainted apple juice that killed a said yesterday, adding that the baby. That was followed by a case investigation was in its early stages against Sara Lee Corp. five years and may or may not lead to crimi- later, which led to a fine for taint- nal charges. It could also spread to ed hot dogs and lunch meats that other spinach producers, he said. killed 15 people. Also yesterday, health officials in Federal officials do not think Idaho confirmed that-the death of a anyone deliberately contaminated 2-year-old boy was caused by taint- the spinach with E. coli, which has ed spinach. Test results showed that killed two and sickened at least Kyle Allgood was infected with the 190 others. Instead, the probe is same E. coli strain that killed an focused on whether the companies elderly Wisconsin woman. SIP Continued from page 1A Conservative Party. SCP ran on a right-leaning platform last spring. Its key issue was bringing Coca- Cola products back to campus after the University cut its contracts with them. After the election, several party leaders bemoaned the decision to use the word "conservative" in its name, which may have lost them some votes on the largely liberal campus. SLP vows to give students an option as to where yearly MSA funding goes. Each year, about $7 comes out of every student's fees to support MSA. SLP hopes to change election procedure so that students who vote in student government elections could allocate one dollar of their MSA funds to a student organization of their choice. "It would increase voter turnout and give students more power," Fantuzzi said. "Most students are in at least one student group, and this way their vote would go to something tangible." The party's other priority is to pressure the University to have more classes qualify for the race and ethnicity requirement. Fan- tuzzi cited classes that seem as though they should qualify but do not. "The requirement is ambiguous and vague;' Shuster said. SLP hopes to have eight to 10 peo- ple run for MSA seats in the Novem- ber election. The party is adamant that MSA should not address broad political issues, like when it urged the University to suspend its con- tracts with Coca-Cola last year. "MSA should not be all up in students' lives," Shuster said. Shuster also cited a recent MSA resolution condemning "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day," which Young Americans for Freedom plans to hold. "I don't agree with 'Catch ad Illegal Immigrant Day,' but I agree with free speech so I stood up for it," Shuster said. MSA President Nicole Stallings, elected as a member of the long, dominant Students 4 Michigan Party agreed with the importance of focusing on student interests, but defended MSA's involvement in broader issues. "You are obligated to at least look into dealing with them," Stall. ings said. Rice to Iraqi leaders: Settle your differences soon BAGHDAD (AP) - Secretary of State Con- doleezza Rice warned Iraqi leaders yesterday they have limited time to settle their differences and that the escalating waves of violence are intolerable. On a visit five weeks before congressional elections in the U.S., Rice also insisted the Bush administration has been honest with Americans about the costs and stakes in Iraq. Administration officials recently have found themselves defending their conduct of the war, and Rice's remarks reflected the political toll for the White House from an unpopular conflict. "This is really hard going,' Rice told reporters during her stop in the Iraqi capital. "Not only do I believe that the president has been clear with the American people that this is a struggle, he's been clear with the American people why he thinks it's a struggle that needs to be waged." After meetings in the Mideast with Arab and Israeli leaders, the top U.S. diplomat came to Iraq to tell sometimes squabbling leaders they have a short window to resolve disputes that she said are spurring sectarian and insurgent violence. While killings among Iraqis have not abated, American casualties also have spiked recently. Car bombs killed four people and wounded 28 in Baghdad yesterday. At least 23 U.S. soldiers have died since Saturday; most were in Baghdad amid a massive security sweep by U.S. and Iraqi forces. Rice said the U.S. role is "to support all the parties and indeed to press all the parties to work toward that resolution quickly because obviously the security situation is not one that can be toler- ated and it is not one that is being helped by politi- cal inaction" In a series of meetings with leaders represent' ing most ethnic and religious factions, Rice deliv ered a blunt message about how Americans do not see the history behind ethnic and sectarian splits, said a senior State Department official present at the sessions. The official, who spoke on condition of ano nymity because the meetings were confidential said Rice also said Americans need to see Iraqis working together rather than killing one another. Rice met with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other officials as the sectarian cycle of revenge killings between Shiites and Sunnis threatened to undermine his government. Shiite and Sunni par' ties in al-Maliki's coalition accuse each other of backing militias.