The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 15

iks illoincs licfltotcr Ann Landers 2T Impotent, diabetic husband blames his wife for lack of sexual performance. Today TV Listings Comics Classifieds JcaniR'Alibolt, Features liililiir 5 1 5-2fM-fi()2!) C. K. Mitchell. Today Kditor 5 13-2H4-B2U7 Monday, July 22, 1 996 Section 7 Super-equipped minivans, wit 1 1 tvs, vgrs and cd players, take the whine out of travel i no with the kids.

mil hi fiJr -x tW Vis Ir" FUN IT' ON 2 I A' I Rekha Basu She fights child support wars For four years, Maja Rater has been foiled in every attempt to collect even a dime of the estimated $56,000 her ex-husband, Ot ho Rater of Runnells, owes her in back child support. She has been through civil court and criminal court. He was found guilty in January of 14 felony counts of failing to pay $12,000 over 14 months. He was sentenced to five years in prison, which is now on appeal. The civil case, which dragged on for three years, ended with a contempt of court conviction.

Earlier this month, he embarked on a 160-lay jail term. Through all that, he has maintained he is too broke to support the three minors among his seven children. And through all that, Maja Rater has been trying to make the simple point to anyone who would listen that if her ex-husband could twice come up with bail money, surely he could come up with something for his children. Last week, Rater's persistence paid off, as she scored her first material victory against him. A judge ruled she could collect the $2,500 her ex-husband had put up as bail in the 1993 civil case, after his appeal on that recently failed.

a sternly worded decision, Polk County Judge Robert, Hutchison cited rf f- ROAD IK liW tl.l.Sl llKKMilNTKII Riley McCurnin, 10, sorts through videos and games lie used to pass the time during a family vacation earlier this summer as his father, Tom, watches from the driver's seat. I vs Y-r S. i Tlw By BETSY RUBINER Kkgistkr Staff Wkitkk Jetsons," a built-in TV-VCR system called FlexVision, which can be installed in some minivans, depending on the seat design. "It's absolutely fantastic," raves Jenny Foster of West Ues Moines. She recently returned from a family vacation to the Black Hills of South Dakota in a Mercury Villager minivan equipped with two 4-inch television screens mounted onto the back of the driver and passenger seats.

A compact VCR (usually a video cassette player, VCP, that doesn't record) slides neatly under the driver's seat; a Nintendo video game player does the same under the passenger seat. A control panel to adjust channels and volume is located Forget counting cows. Forget spotting exotic license plates. Forget Billboard Alphabet. When you go on a long road trip this summer, how about keeping the kids entertained with a little Nintendo, a video of the movie, "Big Green," or the latest television episode of There are lots of ways to hit the road and bring your living room along, or at least your television and videocassctte recorder.

Among the newest and coolest is something right out of an episode of "The While the state has good laws, it fails to enforce them, Rater complains. in the wall next to the passen ger's seat behind the driver. During the Fosters' long FlexVision is a TV VCR system with haul 20 hours round trip headsets. The McCurnin family of Mitchellville gets ready for a road trip in a rented conversion van equipped with a TV and video player. the Foster children, Jessica, 12, Leeanne, 8, and Kevin, 6, whiled away hours in the van s00 by playing video games and watching movies.

This isn't the first time tne rosters have traveled witn iv; but in the past, the vehicle's cigarette lighter. Jenny F'oster liked the portable set because she could take it into the hotel at night and plug in a workout tape. But inside the van, the television set "got in the way more," she says. And it was awkward because "you have to decide where to put it so everyone can see it, and it needs to be stable." And because the cigarette lighter was occupied, the family couldn't use the outlet for other devices such as a radar detector or telephone. With two televisions in the van during the South Dakota trip, the Fosters' (laughters could play Nintendo while their son watched a video on the other television screen.

Even better, each television set had headsets the lightweight kind, similar to those on a Walkman that the kids could use and their parents in the front seat didn't have to listen to Nintendo all the way across Nebraska. "We didn't hear a thing, so we could still talk and have the radio on," says Jenny VANS llmsettmi tohujr 2T television they took along was a bigger, clunkier, portable TV-VCR combo that plugged into their A guide The armchair Olympics watching the Games in VOLLEYBALL TODAY ON TV Description: Indoor volleyball is played six on a side with first to 15 points the winner. Matches are best-of-5 sets. Only serving teams can score points until the fifth game, when the defensive team can score. Rater's attempts to hide the money in the name of his live-in girlfriend, and before hat of someone else.

He also noted that Otho Rater has provided equity for his girlfriend's home. "What is painfully apparent," the judge wrote, "is that respondent and his friends have played a shell game with Rider's assets such that petit ioner will never be able to locate the elusive pea representing the funds respondent owes for child support" Ferreting out funds hidden in other people's names is just one of the many frustrations parents might find themselves up against when they try to collect child support. Wages, after all, can be garnisheed, as Otho Rater's were when he worked. Maja Rater's troubles began when he quit his job as a math professor at Grand View College four years ago deliberately, she claims to avoid paying support. The Raters were divorced in 1987 after 2lt years of marriage.

Struggling to make ends meet on a sales job and some public assistance, Rater says she fends off bill collectors daily. The $2,500 enabled her finally to scrap her beat-up 1971 Chevrolet Impalain favor of a 1981 Capri. Rater's little victory may, as she says, tell other women "that you can win when it looks impossible." But it also tells them they may have to make a full-time job of it. For Rater, 54, of Casey, pursuing her ex-husband has been almost that. She has dogged officials from the county court system and the Child Support Recovery unit, often having to educate litem about the law.

She has been helped by an organization called ACES the Association for Children for Enforcement of Support. While the state has good laws, it fails to enforce them, Rater complains even though it ultimately pays when mothers (it's mostly mothers) and children end up on welfare because fathers refuse to meet their responsibilities. "There's no leadership in this area like they have in welfare," she said. A veritable poster child for child-su-port enforcement, Rater rises at 5 a.m. daily, reads the papers, writes letters to the editor, to columnists and politicians, and to other letter writers, chiding them, citing inconsistencies between what they practice and preach where child welfare is concerned.

She says she's even contemplating a run for state Senate seat to advance the issue. "People say I'm obsessed with it," she said. "It's an issue that needs to be dealt with, and no one is willing to do it." And Rater insists her struggles are common. She gets letters from other women similarly struggling to get what is theirs. Her ex-husband, now in jail, can get out of jail anytime and start making payments, she argues.

But until he docs, she'll pursue him. She'll go after money from his former 401 plan, and then fiuiybe his Social Security. She hopes, she says, that this little victory has served him this notice: "It doesn't matter what you do. I'm going to corner you." Medals: 4 (men's and women's indoor; men's and women's beach). ton BASICS POSITIONS Women ROTATION Front Net heiaht: Did you know? Olympic debut: 1964 Most gold medals: USSR: 7 of 16 USA gold medals: 2 When volleyball first became popular during World War II U.S.

soldiers played it religiously while stationed overseas because it requires so little equipment. Soccer fans take note: Open hands can be used on first touches and players now can use any part of their bodies including their feet to keep a ball in play. Beach volleyball makes its Olympic debut this year. Teams of two dig it out on sand for first-to-15 matches. The finals are best 2-out-of-3.

Differences In indoor and beach volleyball OH: 0utsidehitter A MB: Middle Jilocker i xfNv OH: Outside hitter Front NjV Back line ''v MB: Middle blocker S. Outside hitter V'll Game is to 15 points. Winning team must win by two points. A match is best three out of live games. Serving team wins a point when it wins a rally.

If non-serving team wins rally, it earns the right to serve. Players' rotation: When serve changes sides, players on serving team rotate clockwise so each player gets chance to serve. Passing is the most critical skill. The forearm pass or "bump" is used to receive serves or defend against JULY 22 Programming on VMi i Gymnastics-Men's team competition Swimming-Qualifying heats Rowing-Qualifying heats Gymnastics-Men's team final Swimming-Finals -Women's 400m freestyle -Men's 100m freestyle -Women's 100m backstroke -Men's 200m butterfly -Women's 4x100m freestyle replay Basketball-U S. men vs.

Angola Volleyball-U S. women vs Netherlands Volleyball-U S. women vs. Netherlands Boxing Water vs. Ukraine Wrestling-Greco-Roman matches Weightlifting-Featherweight linal All limes CDT spikes.

f. ri A I I 1 1 yy 1 11 Li UU Circumference: 26 27 in. Weight: 9 -10 oz. Made of white leather. '92 GOLD 1 sf.

line Men: Brazil Women: U.S. SERVES Server stands behind backline and gets one chance to serve Roundhouse serve: Most common serve: moves unpredictably like a knuckle ball. Server tosses Jump serve: Similar to spiking the ball. Server tosses ball high and to front, runs and ball high enough to hit it on heel of jumps to meet it, hitting it above head hand with arm extended. to arc ball sharply over net.

Jump Indoor Beach Number of 6 2 players Substitutes No Can cross center line No Yes Kicking thehal Service 9'10" 9 10" aiea square deep by length ot end-line ii It will be less stressful to be at the Olympics than to qualify for them, ff Kim Oden, U.S. volleyball SOURCES: The Official NBC Viewer's GuideThe 1996 Olympic GamesAtlantaiAssocialed PressiGannetl News Service TilK Kkoistkk Contact with ball is servers must risk netting QprvA nr cmarltinn A it lonn to ensure through short, so no 1 A h.Hir,., Kll h. spin is put on ball. KKnJL.