Elko Daily Free Press from Elko, Nevada • 12

12 ELKO DAILY FREE PRESS, Elko, Nevada Saturday, February 8, 1992 Business SHS manager defends request for more workers sation benefit payments while nine percent is for salaries. SIIS has 968 employees. He said no one was laid off at SIIS when the governor cut back on spending because the "280 were gen eral fund cuts, if you will," and SIIS li fully funded by employers. The department had premium income In the last fiscal year of $322 million and ended the year with a deficit of $200 million, according to 3 VvSjv Fred Hlnners, SIIS public information officer in Carson City. Jayne said he would be doing a study for review in July on various ways to fund the shortfall.

The obvious thing for me to say is there is going to be a premium increase" but it doesnt have to be covered all at once, he added. SIIS raised rates averaging 11.5 percent as of Oct 1, 1991. Workers' compensation is a "major, major problem. It's almost a national Jayne said in answer to questions about such high costs. He also said he didnt "believe SIIS, with the proper staff, was better or worse than the private sector.

SIIS works in the best interest of Nevada." Dorangricchia said he knew of private carriers raising their rates as much as 100 percent in states where workers' comp laws allow for private insurance. In Nevada, he said, employers have to go with SIIS unless they are big enough for self-insurance. Jayne, who has been general manager of SIIS for about six months, and Dorangricchia spoke in an open forum with business owners and representatives at a Thursday luncheon sponsored by the Government Affairs Committee of the Elko Chamber of Commerce. State Industrial Insurance System General Manager Don Jayne told Elko business people this week his proposal to add 193 new employees to the agency could ultimately save employers money. Jayne said hiring the 193 would cost $10 million from July 1992 to June 1993, but he predicted in the long run SIIS could save five to 10 percent in paid-out medical costs through improved service.

"So yes, there is an impact up front that we see as the additional cost of hiring these people, but what we don't see, and it is going to be difficult to predict, is the affect of having the people on board doing a better job. We're going to save dollars, real dollars," Jayne said. Mathew Dorangricchia, assistant general manager of SIIS, said he was "even more confident we'll see results soon" with the added personnel, which in turn would get injured workers back on the job sooner. The request to hire more workers was approved by SIIS directors earlier this week, afler Jayne trimmed 57 from his original proposal of 250 new people. He said he plans to present his final proposal within the next 30 days to the Nevada Legislature's Interim Finance Committee for formal approval.

Jayne defended the request for the new people in light of Gov. Bob Miller's criticism of the proposal at a time when 2C0 state workers have been laid off to avoid a shortfall estimated at more than $130 million for the biennium. The SIIS general manager said the new people are needed to comply with the law passed by the 1991 legislature requiring lower caseloads and quicker turnaround time for claims. "It makes sense to bring people in to get the caseload down to manageable levels. The caseloads pure and simply are too high," he said, noting there are 8,000 active cases.

Currently, the caseload for a rehabilitation counselor is averaging 100, but the new law, SB7, requires that the load be cut to 35 cases per counselor, he said. The law also reduces the caseload for claims examiners to 200. They now have as many as 2.000 active cases. In addition, the new law reduces the time permitted for SIIS to decide whether to accept or reduce a claim from 30 days to 14 days. Jayne said workers now average 21 Vi weeks on workers' compensation compared to about 12 weeks five to six years ago because of a backlog of cases and too many unnecessary medical tests.

He added that 87 percent of SIIS expenses goes for workers' compen Mathew Dorangricchia, left, assistant general manager of the State Industrial Insurance System, Lorri Kocinski, executive director of the Elko Chamber of Commerce, Don fayne, SIIS general manager, and Brent Chamberlain of Independence Mine and chairman of the chamber's Government Affairs Committee, chat at the Holiday Inn. Nevada ships out more gold than all countries except two 1 III Dnrancrricchia also addressed con cerns by employers about accident reports such as what is considered an injury and should be reported to avoid stiff penalties. "Your best bet is when in doubt, file" even minor Injuries. "Just because it's filed doesn't mean it will be accepted." By the same token, he said, it is the employee's responsibility to bring the accident to the employer's attention. Audrey White of Dale White Motors remarked that the requirement that "Band-Aid injuries" be reported "isn't going to help the efficiency of SIIS if it is inundated with "Band-Aid claims." Jayne agreed, but explained SIIS is bound by the new laws.

In answer to another question, Jayne said there is "without question an element of fraud in workers' comp but it is very, very hard to prove fraud." But he urged employers "not to back off' when they suspect fraud. Also at the luncheon, Pam Chesher, chief financial officer for Elko General Hospital, told the two SIIS officials the agency was "regulating the wrong people" over hospital tests. SIIS tells hospitals it won't pay for certain tests, but "physicians order the tests," not the hospital. or area of the body after a patient is injected with a radioactive isotope, she said. The radiographic fluoroscopy machine, called the and does general X-rays and projects the image to a television screen for the doctor to view, Hartshorn said.

Visitors to the open house can also see the hospital's ultrasound equipment, she said. General Electric, which manufactured the hospital's three new imaging machines, is providing refreshments, according to hospital spokesman Janet Glenn. briefs aimed at middle American families. "Our track record operating in Las Vegas is very well known," said Mir age spokesman Alan Feldman. "Our confidence as a result of that track record in doing a successful job in this middle market is very strong." Feldman said the resort, which will be built next to The Mirage on the Las Vegas Strip, will feature an open-air theater fronting the Strip complete with ships battling each other atop a manmade lake.

Super Bowl bets Nevada sportsbooks took a record $503 million in Super Bowl bets but wound up winning only $301,280, according to the state Gaming Control Board. Board Chairman Bill Bible said unaudited figures show the sports-books' win amounted to only 0.6 per cent of the money bet The legal books usually hold an average of 2 percent to 4 percent on football wagering Bible also said this year's Super Bowl wagers were up more than $10 million from last year. this century. In 25 years of production, the Comstock lode around Nevada's Virginia City produced 8.3 million ounces of gold between 1864 and 1889. "We're producing a pretty large fraction of what was produced in that whole era," Dobra said.

Those 6 million troy ounces equal 186.6 tonnes, Dobra said. A tonne is the metric equivalent of 1,000 kilograms, or 2,204.6 American pounds. The entire United States produced 295 tonnes of gold last year. "South Africa produced 605.4 tonnes in 1990, Australia 241.3 tonnes. The Soviet Union, before the place fell apart, said they were going to do 260, but it's very doubtful they're going to produce even half of that," Dobra said.

"We're No. 3 in the world, with Canada fourth at 165 tonnes." Dobra, stressing that he is an eco '1 nomist and not a geologist, compared Nevada's 1991 output to the Corn-stock's total of 8.3 million ounces of gold and 192 million ounces of silver. "At current prices, that would be $2.94 billion plus $816 million for a total of $3.76 billion dollars," he said. "Last year, our production here in Nevada was $2.38 billion in gold, silver and other minerals; 98 percent to 99 percent of that value is gold and silver, most of it gold." Mining ranks behind tourism as the state's No. 2 industry.

Nevada's casinos generated $5.41 billion in 1991 gaming revenues. Even conservative estimates forecast no less than two more booming decades for Nevada mining, according to a study by Dobra and Paul Thomas, an economist at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Vv1 Lu Hartshorn, director of the Diagnostic Imaging Department at Elko General Hospital, shows off the hospital's new CT scanner. Open house at EGH tomorrow RENO (AP) More gold left the state of Nevada last year than was taken from the famed Klondike claims in the early 1900s or at the height of the historic California and Comstock gold rushes more than a century ago. "If we were an independent country, we would be behind only South Africa and Australia in production," said John L.

Dobra, an associate professor of economics at the University of Nevada, Reno. "Nevada produces just under 6 million ounces of gold. At the height of the gold rush in 1850, California produced just over 3 million ounces, so Nevada is already doing twice what California did at its zenith," he said. The Alaskan Klondike, along with Goldfield in south central Nevada and mines in Northern California, Idaho and Montana surrendered 5 million ounces in the first decade of Cathy Long of Napa Valley, tried on hats at the Cow Camp Trading Post at the Red Lion Inn and Casino Sunday, the last day of Cowboy Poetry events. Looking on was Larry Lutrell, also of Napa Valley, and an unidentified woman.

This was the first year for the western goods trade show, said Lee Mullen of Snohomish, who organized the event with Ms wife, Vickie. He said there were 22 booths, At right, Jenna Price, 7, of Elko was overshadowed by the Wrangler jeans balloon at Corral West's tent store. Corral West manager Mark Basse tt said this was the first year the store put up the balloons and tent in the Red Lion Inn and Casino parking lot during Cowboy Poetry week, and he reports it was very successful, "We sold as much in one week as in the entire month of January last year." 5k "If An open house at the Diagnostic Treatment Center of Elko General Hospital is scheduled from noon to 3 p.m. tomorrow, and will feature the hospitals newest equipment The new imaging machines will be demonstrated during the event, including a CT scanner, a radiographic fluoroscopy and a nuclear medicine camera. In addition, all the diagnostic personnel will be on hand during the open house to answer questions, said Lu Hartshorn, director of the Diagnostic Imaging Department She said the newest machines bring the hospital up to date, and Nevada Treasure Island (AP) Mirage Resorts Inc.

will borrow $200 million to build its new $400 million Treasure Island resort, a extravaganza that will feature pirate ships battling hourly on the Las Vegas Strip. Hotel officials said the $200 mil can provide the same sophisticated tests done in Salt Lake City, for example. "Now patients don't need to go out of town. We have the latest now," she said. The CT scanner, called a CT 9800 HiLightHTD Computed Tomography, represents state-of-the-art computerized scanning, and cost roughly $750,000.

Hartshorn said. The nuclear imaging machine cost $220,000 and the new radiographic fluoroscopy machine about $350. The CT scanner shows detailed "slices of the body" while the nuclear scan shows a specific body part gaming lion would be borrowed in the form of a first mortgage on the property, with the remainder of the money coming from funds the company already has. Construction is scheduled to begin next month on the resort, the latest in a series of theme hotel-casinos izona, with nine offices, are the company's banking subsidiaries. Non-banking subsidiaries include Valley Electronic, Valley Mortgage, Valley Leasing, Caliber Premium, Valley Capital Life Insurance, Caliber Finance and Bank Building, Inc.

Also Thursday, Valley Capital's Board of Directors approved and announced a dividend of 20 cents a share payable -Feb. 28 to stockholders of record at the close of business Feb. 25. 1 11 my ft 4 Valley stockholders OK BankAmerica merger LAS VEGAS Valley Capital Corporation stockholders, at a special meeting here Thursday, approved Valley's proposed merger with Bank-America Corporation. Richard A.

Etter, Valley Capital's president, reported more than 97 percent of the company's stockholders, in person or by proxy, voted in favor of the merger. The merger agreement was announced July 21. Under terms of the agreement, BankAmerica will pay approximately $400 million for Valley Capital. Completion of the deal is still subject to a number of other conditions, including regulatory approvals, which must be met prior to consummation of the merger. Valley Capital is a bank-holding company headquartered in Las Vegas.

Valley Bank of Nevada, with 68 branches, including one in Elko, and Caliber Bank in Ar CASINO EXPRESS AIRLINES Week of February 9-15, 1992Scheduled Service from Elko, NV to Seattle-Okla. ary-Klispell-Aberdeen-Bozeman-Wichita-Scottsbluff La Crosse-Kansas City-Denver-Minneapolis-Portland-Tulsa Rights Depart 11:00 a m. and 9:30 p.m.Call 738-2111 ext. 595.