Show The Herald Journal Logan Utah Wednesday October 19 1994 — Pag pay number of women prosecutors growing Despite By The St Louis Post-Dispatc- 21 h ST LOUIS — More frequently than ever accused murderers rapists criminals march into court only to stare into the and other hard-hitte- n women of trying to send them to prison — or worse unflinching eyes The number bf women prosecutors is growing While Marcia Clark the deputy district attorney in the OJ Simpson n female prosecutor many of case is probably the nation’s dramas her women colleagues handle their own And like working women everywhere their tightrope act between home and job isn’t easy Factor in the numbing reality of handling unspeakable crimes by day and raising a son or daughter by night and the pressures snap into even sharper focus Here’s a look at how five women prosecutors all with children view their jobs and handle the flash points Ask Kcllee Koncki about tough moments and she will mention the time she was trying a drug dealer when she learned that her infant son had a fever Her husband was out of town on business What to do? “You’re already nervous because you’re in trial” recalled Koncki an assistant prosecutor in St Louis “Then you hear your baby is sick” The trial had to continue so Koncki got another prosecutor’s mother to deliver a pain reliever to bring (own her baby’s fever All in a day’s work Had Koncki 33 been at her former job at a big law firm downtown she probably could have taken care of her son herself She gave up that life and its potential salary in 1991 for an office in the gray Courts battle scarred Municipal building After getting her law degree in 1989 Koncki went to work for the private firm so she could pay off student loans quickly New associates seldom get out of the law library so after two years she checked out and headed for the courtroom She’s won all but one of her 15 trials which can come up suddenly forcing Koncki to prepare into the wee hours and begin her day by dropping son Jack at his baby sitter “You run around here frantic making sure all your witnesses are in” Koncki said “I hardly ever eat lunch when I’m in trial You hope best-know- six-figu- re Like working women everywhere their tightrope act between home and job isn’t easy Factor in the numbing reality of handling unspeakable crimes by day and raising a son or daughter by night and the pressures snap into even sharper focus the judge gives you enough time to pick the baby up” Don’t talk to Peggy McCartney about supermoms “Something has to give” said McCartney a city prosecutor “For me it means my house isn’t always as clean as it should be You realize that you can’t be perfect at everything” Her one concession is her insistence that she cook family dinner every night “It’s the one thing I won’t give on” Both her children were born last year — Emily on New Year’s Day and Caitlin on Nov 16 McCartney 30 counts herself among women who can juggle family and job even though work can mean three trials a week When the lid threatens to pop husband Mike McCartney takes out the children for the evening His long days as a lawyer for McDonnell Douglas Corp leave Peggy to deal with child-relate- d emergencies and much of the household work including meals and doing laundry at odd hours “I’m probably more organized than I’ve ever been” she said “I do things immediately — when have the time” McCartney went straight to the circuit attorney’s office after finishing law school in 1990 The rundown state of the Municipal Courts building was an eye opener “My first two desks here didn’t even have middle drawers” McCartney said Still she said she has no desire for a cushy office at a large law firm goal Laughing Becoming a law school professor might be a long-ter1 m she said “I don’t know what I want to do when I grow up” son and is pregnant Her Hope Whitehead has an active husband Jon Whitehead encouraged her to leave social work fjhc began law school here in 1988 while Jon an occupational therapist stayed home in New York City with their son Jarib The Whiteheads work hard to coordinate schedules to give themselves a home life Jarib she says helped her get through law school She used to base his bedtime stories on her law school cases It helped her work over the salient details “I’d read contracts and corporation law and make up stories: The big company is taking over the little company” Whitehead said “Or somebody slipped on this ice and it was really hard Whose fault was it?” Work and home are inseparable for Diana Wagner and her husband fellow prosecutor Jeff Hilliard Their daughter Danielle spends her days with Wagner’s sister Like many prosecutors Wagner said she has little interest in corjpo-rat- e law She would rather be pleading the state’s case in front of a juTy “As stressful as that is you’re doing something exciting” she said “And you’re doing good for people hopefully” Wagner blows off steam by singing in a barbershop quartet called the Sweet Adelines The group practices weekly “As hokey as it sounds it’s my one night out” she said Carrie Costantin took a $15000 pay cut and gave up a big office downtown in 1987 for a cubicle at the St Louis County courthouse That’s just fine she says “We’re supposed to be doing good things here and that’s something that can’t be quantified in money” Costantin said “The tradeoff is that you’re helping people” Her twin daughters just turned 3 She prosecutes abuse cases in which most of the victims are under 10 “You go home and are very grateful for what you have” she said “You are grateful that your kids haven’t had that happen If you’re going to be away from your own kids you want to do something that makes you feel you’re doing something good in this world” memorial AIDS quilt grows birth of Superstitions mourn behind left those while in modern still Japan linger year bad-luc- k TOKYO (AP) — The year 1966 came and Japan’s birthrate began dropping precipitously By year’s end it had fallen by a decrease normally associated only with war famine or epidemic The reason for the plunge: According to Chinese zodiac-basefolklore girls born that year would grow up strong one-four- translator said that after she learned as a child about the superstition she consciously cultivated a calm gentle demeanor Tamami Akashi another 1966 baby remembers her fear when she first heard that females born th one-ye- ar d even ferocious and powerful Japan where femininity is often equated with the dainty demure and decorative these girls were seen as a kind of demographic time bomb: women warriors in waiting Couples worried that with a birthright like that daughters brought into the world in 1966 would never find husbands So many put off having children Only 13 million babies were born in 1966 compared to 18 million the year before and 19 million the year after The girls of 1966 are now women of 27 or 28 Despite parental fears marriage rates for these women are in line with those of the general population Still discrimination does exist Chieko Hayashi 28 was incredulous when she was rejected sight unseen by a potential suitor after he learned her birth In date “I would rather not meet him if he is particular about those things” she said The superstition also has subn tler legacies Some the of women say that because 1966-bor- aggressive image associated with their birth year they tread carefully in Japan Hiroko Ijima a male-dominat- -- that year would become fierce and domineering “I really wondered whether I would grow up to murder my husband!” said Akashi who married this year The superstition surrounding 1966 births is derived from the Chinese zodiac Every 60 years comes the “hinoeuma” year its written characters combining the powerful elements of horse and fire overlaid with dominance or forcefulness In Japan the “hinoeuma” year was long viewed with particular dread because it was believed to foretell house fires a disastrous event in a country of d wooden structures close-packe- Over time it came to be consid- ered a general portent of bad luck especially for girl babies In the lifetimes of the current crop of “hinoeuma” women social standards have changed in Japan In the booming 1980s women began earning more money postponing marriage and traveling abroad Even so many Japanese women feel bound by rigid expectations And the lingering recession has sharply eroded their position in the workplace Those born in 1966 do have one advantage which applies to both men and women Because of the drop in the birthrate they found it easier to get into good colleges and find jobs But even that was a mixed blessing for Ijima the translator She said a male taunt- er ed her saying she would not have been hired if she faced the tougher competition in a normal year The “hinoeuma” superstition is not the only old custom to affect the lives of women in modern Japan Elders of Japan’s national sport sumo wrestling do not permit women to set foot in the ring Under the teachings of the country’s indigenous religion their presence would Shinto defile a sacred place Women have also been barred ceremonies from ribbon-cuttin- g at tunnels because of an age-ol- d superstition that they would arouse the jealousy of the mountain goddess and bring disaster That same taboo applies to fish- ing boats where a woman’s presence is believed to bring bad luck Jennifer Robertson a Univer- sity of Michigan anthropologist and Japan specialist said that even superstitions no one believes in still exert a strong influence because people worry about what others will think if they defy custom “These practices within the guise of tradition have persisted in Japan as a form of sexist discrimination” she said Tetsuo Shinobu a man who went through school with girls born in 1966 said he believes Japanese society is more accepting these days of stronger women — at least on the job But he said he wouldn’t want to marry someone who challenged his opinions too much Mini World By Patricia Corrigan St Louis Post-Dispatc- h Catherine Lyle spent last weekend awash in memories of two dear friends Those friends Thomas Gregory and Marcus Langston died ot AIDS When Tommy died at age 38 in 1992 Catherine and Marcus made a panel for the AIDS Memorial Quilt in his memory When Marcus died at 33 in 1993 Catherine made a panel for him The two panels — along with more than 1200 others — were on display in St Louis Catherine s home Catherine 46 works at Southwestern Bell Co She went to the exhibit to visit Tommy’s panel and to present Marcus’ panel “I knew I would cry a lot but the room is full of love A lot of love went into the making of all the panels and it remains there” she said Cleve Jones a gay activist in San Francisco chose the patchwork quilt as a symbol for the fight against AIDS He made the first panels in 1987 and he invited others to make panels Today there are more than 27000 panels and the quilt is too big to take on the road in its entirety Those 27000 panels represent only about 12 percent of the people who have died of AIDS Catherine said she has seen the quilt on display before Tommy’s panel was part of an exhibit in Columbia Mo and she went there “After we made it it was hard to let that panel go” she said “When I saw it in Columbia sewn in with the other panels it was like he was visiting me Tommy’s death was ugly but that panel is a beautiful expression of his life” Each panel is 3 feet by 6 feet the size of a grave Each panel contains mementos of the person’s life For instance Rudolph Nureyev’s panel contains one of his dancing shoes In Tommy's panel Catherine and Marcus included a stitched Christmas tree a musical note and a rising sun with rainbow-colore- d rays They also put in the Baha’i faith Tommy’s faith the for religious symbol “I met Tommy through Baha’i and we became close friends” Catherine said They traveled together they sang Christmas carols together they laughed together They cried together when it came time for Tommy to die after nine years of living with AIDS Marcus was the home health care nurse assigned to Tommy He and Catherine had decided to make a quilt panel for Tommy but they hadn’t told him One day Catherine said Tommy sat up in his bed and said he would like for them to make a panel and he had some ideas about what should go on it “We did it because it was what Tommy wanted It was my way of honoring him” she said “This was a beautiful positive thing a way to let go after all the horror” At the time of Tommy’s death Marcus was HIVn positive but he had no symptoms of Marcus AIDS A year later Catherine said got a brain tumor and a month later he died On Marcus’ panel Catherine included an artist’s palette a piece of a patchwork quilt that Marcus had made and mementos from his church work and his work with Food Outreach an organization that prepares and delivers meals to people living with AIDS She also stitched in this message: “Hug Tommy full-blow- for me” “Making the two panels was emotionally fulfilling and draining at the same time” Catherine said “It was almost as though I needed to make myself cry “As though I haven’t already cried enough” ' Children’s Factory Outlet Store DR HUNTCRS SRLC WIDOWS Through October 30th Now Save An Additional 1 0"t The Lowest Marked Price On All Boys And Girls Sportswear Save An Additional oFF 1045 12 North Main 753-091- 9 POOR COPY But you'll pay for it The Lowest Marked Price On Any Fall or Holiday Dress Shop Early For Beet Selection LOGAN Sure you could get a home equity credit line somewhere else moTJTp ZIONS BANK |