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Tuesday, November 7, 1989 / University Daily Kansan
Capture the Moment...
The University of Kansas
School of Fine Arts
Concert Series
Proudly Presents
a Special Event
The National Theatre of the Deaf
"A National Treasure" in Homer's
You can see and hear every word!
A Mid-America Arts Alliance Program with the Kansas Arts Commission
3:30 p.m.
Sunday
November 12, 1989
Hoch Auditorium
Tickets on sale in the Murphy Hall Box Office*; all seats reserved for reservations; call 913/864-3982.
Public: $12 & $10;
KU and K-12 Students: $6 & $5;
Senior Citizens and Other Students: $11 & $9.
- This performance is a special event and not part of the Concert Series season ticket.
... You'll Be Glad You Did!
of the Native American Church conducted a religious ceremony on the grounds of the Capitol across the street from the court.
Peyote was not part of the ceremony. Leaders burned leaves and blits of cedar and prayed for the future of the church.
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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court was told yesterday that establishing a constitutional right to take peyote in religious ceremonies would allow use of a dangerous hallucinogenic drug and could lead to broader drug use.
"It can cause psychotic reactions in a small number of users." Oregon Attorney General David Frohnmayer said about peyote.
The Associated Press
However, Craig J. Dorsay argued
The case is before the nation's highest court for the second time. The justices sent it back to the Oregon Supreme Court last year to determine whether the religious use of peyote was a crime in that state.
Court hears debate about peyote usage
permitted in church ceremonies, it would pave the way for drug use by other religious groups.
When asked by Justice Antomu Scalia if states may ban snake handling as a religious practice, Dorsay said, "I don't think there's a dispute that rattlesnakes can cause harm. Peyote misuse is dangerous," not its control use.
The justices heard 60 minutes of arguments and are expected to announce a ruling by July. After yesterday's court session, members
Dorsay, who represents the two fired workers, said small amounts of peyote had been used in religious ceremonies for hundreds of years with practically no evidence of harm. Alcohol generally is more dangerous to Indians, he said.
Frohnmayer said that if the drug is
that the survival of the Native American Church would be threatened if Oregon officials are allowed to deny unemployment compensation to two men fired for using peyote at religious ceremonies.
Chronister
Continued from p. 1
"I don't like vans, I don't like sport cars, I don't like trucks," she said. "I like cars."
brown van.
She doesn't like airplanes. That, she said, is one reason she probably doesn't want for Congress, though people often suggest it.
"The thought of flying home every weekend is not one that lends itself to me," she said. "Washington's a long ways away. I think that my lifestyle works real well the way it is."
Talk of the town
Neodesha, population 3,400, made Chronister a product of small-town America. Her parents were raised there, and they lived next door to her paternal grandparents while raising their only child.
"Grandmother used to bribe me to say I was a Democrat," Chronister said. "She used to say, 'If you're a Democrat, I'll bake you a vinegar pie.'"
Chronian isn't sure what a vinegar pie was, but she knows it was tasty. She was a Democrat until her husband persuaded her to switch parties after they were married in 1961.
1831. Her grandmother lost in politics, but won in religion. Chronister still sings in the Methodist church choir when her schedule allows. Friends said she was involved with dozens of community activities and had been since high school.
many people in Neodesha follow Chronister's career because she's one of their own.
"People will wonder how she's doing or what she's doing," said Billie Porter, a close friend since fifth grade. "Neodesha has a pretty good network of information."
All that talk makes her mother proud.
"I don't go around saying, 'Did you see my daughter's picture in the paper?' Did you see her on TV?' " said Arlene Beach, Chronister's mother. "I don't say that, but other people do, and they make comments to me because Rochelle has always been liked all over town. Always."
Ed Lyon, Chronister's high school principal, said local meetings where Chronister spoke always were filled to capacity.
"she we have a stand, she'll tell you about what it is," Lyon said. "She'll listen to you, and she'll respect your views. She may not agree, but at least you could tell her and she'd
listen. "People, they believe in her."
Some Democrats don't. They believe that Chronister's statewide stature distracts her from representing her district.
"I never seriously considered unseating her," said Paul Andreas, chairman of the Wilson County Democratic Party and Chronister's opponent in the most recent election.
"The thing that I wanted to do was give her enough competition so she'd stay here and not go off campaigning for other candidates."
But Andreas concedes that Chronister has a grip on her seat. She beat him by a 4-to-1 margin.
"Her personality is a deciding factor," he said.
Prelude to politics
Attending Girls' State while in high school boosted Chronister's interest in government, and as a youngster she wanted to study law.
"My father really did not want me to become a lawyer because he didn't want me in politics," said Chronister, whose father is now deceased. "He saw politicians as being rough and tumble, maybe not the place for his girl. I don't think he realized that his girl grew up to be pretty tough in many ways."
Nevertheless, she might have gone to law school if not for the influence of a high school science teacher. As a high school senior, Chronis's science project won the state competition, and she won a trip to Washington, D.C.
She injected chickens with a virus to determine whether that virus caused cancer.
"It was kind of an interesting project," she said. "It wasn't really successful."
It did pile her interest in science, and she went to the University of Kansas in 1957 to study bacteriology. She said she lived in Sellars Hall, passed spare time at The Wheel and spent hours studying German and assisting a professor.
She graduated in 1961 and worked for four years as a research virologist at the University of Kansas Medical Center. That was the end of her science career.
"There's really not a big call for a research bacteriologist in Neodesha," she said.
Her mother offered a different explanation, "She fell in love."
Rochelle married her college sweetheart. Bert Chronister, a
physician, in August 1961. The couple lived in Kansas City, Kan., Wichita and South Carolina and had their two children before settling in Neodesha in 1967.
Rochelle Chronister jumped into politics the next year by knocking on doors for Bob Dole's first campaign for the U.S. Senate. Since then, she has served on the school board, as a scout leader and in various other community organizations.
Bert Chronister is a quiet man who avoids publicity.
"He's always been willing for me to take on pretty much whatever I want to," said Rochelle Chronister, adding that her husband's support did not include door-to-door camming. "It was hard for him willing to put up with me being gone and take a bigger role with raising his children."
Their 26-year-old daughter, Pam, lives and works in San Diego. Their son, Philip, is a 22-year-old senior at KU.
Philip said his mother brought her work home, often writing letters, making phone calls and drafting speeches, but she still found time for her family.
Arlene Beach is more direct about the family's influence on her daughter.
"She wouldn't do any of these things without Doc agreeing with her," Beach said.
Bert Chronister's medical practice often keeps him working from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. or later.
Porter said, "It's a good thing 'Chelle' had her own interests in life. Otherwise, she'd have been frustrated."
Ambitions
Chronister said being an only-child contributed to her being an introvert, a trait that early in her political career made campaigning difficult.
"Sometimes it's hard to walk into a
nobody you know there," she said.
Porter said Chronister was both introverted and outgoing.
"Rochelle's willing to discuss lots of issues, but she's in many ways a very private person about her own feelings," Porter said.
Chronister spends hours reading. She consumes newspaper editorial pages and enjoys mysteries, especially those by Agatha Christie and, laterly, Kansas novelist Sara Paretsky. The mystery solving and
relaxation appeal to her.
"I like identifiable heroes who I know are not going to get killed," she said. "I don't want anybody wiping out that I've been pulled for."
"I realize that it's corny to say," she said, "but it's true. It gives me a good opportunity to serve the people of the district, which I really enjoy."
She has no intention of wiping out politically. Though she does not want to go to Washington, Chronister does have aspirations of climbing higher on the Kansas political ladder. She says the Legislature is fun and more directly affects Kansans' lives than any other governmental body.
The appropriations process is Chronister's favorite legislative activity, and she hopes to become the House Appropriations Committee.
"I have the soul of an accountant," she said. "I like to see everything come out right."
Chronister also wants to become speaker of the House but says she's in no hurry.
"When you're speaker of the House, your legislative career is finished," she said.
But two of the last four speakers have then become governor.
"I'm not just real sure I'm interested in doing that at all," she said of serving as governor. "Sometimes I think it would be very interesting, and other times I think it would be such a headache. Sure, I think every politician thinks about that."
nurdett Loomis, KU chairman of political science, said Chronister was well-positioned politically to move into the appropriations chair.
Whatever Chronister does, those who know her say she will retain her ties to southeastern Kansas.
"No one doubts her intellectual capabilities to handle that job," he said. "She is also one of a number of potential speakers at some future point. She's a serious legislator."
Porter and her husband dine with the Chronisters on most Friday nights and have since their children were young.
"She has not forgotten her roots," Porter said.
A small white pillow, a favorite gift from Chronister, lies on Porter's sofa. Its green stitching says, "Dull women have immaculate houses."
Chronister laughs about that. The Chronister home is clean and well-kept, but it is not immaculate.
A Profile In Success From
LINDA PROKOP
Journalism / English Major
AGE: 22
LAST JOB PERFORMED: Marketing Intern for a prominent corporation that manufactures and markets computers internationally.
CAREER ASPIRATIONS: A career in marketing leading to a teaching position at a college level.
LATEST BOOK READ: Knock 'n Dead (Interviewing
for jobs).
LATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT: Attending all my classes going to work, studying, and doing laundry all in one day.
FAVORITE PLACE TO SHOP: Here in Downtown Lawrence
STORE THAT BEST REFLECTS HER TASTE IN FASHION: Saffees in Lawrence.
WHY? Because you can count on getting good advice on what to mix and match. My saffron's fashion consultant gives me lots of help. During the time I've been at KU we've gotten to know each other. She knows what I like and she's a great judge of what will look good on me.
FAVORITE BRAND NAMES: JH Collectables and Esprit
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