He's married to the daughter of a powerful Fresno County political figure.

• He was recruited for a high-level job in the administration of former Gov. George Deukmejian, a fellow Armenian-American
• He was given an even higher-level position by Gov. Pete Wilson.
• He was hand-picked by former Assemblyman Bill Jones, a college classmate, to run for Jones' Fresno-Tulare County Assembly seat when Jones became secretary of state.
• He avoided potential disaster by deciding the time was not right to run for statewide office like attorney general or state treasurer last year, when a surprise Democratic tide mowed down Republicans.
• Then he stepped effortlessly into the 16th district Senate seat vacated by retired Sen. Ken Maddy when his only potential serious opponent, Republican Assemblyman Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield, was persuaded not to run.

  However, people who know Poochigian (pronounced poo-CHEE-gee-an) say luck has had less to do with his success than careful, thorough preparation; a reputation for integrity; a genial, outgoing personality; and hard work.

  "If I had to go through a list and choose someone to replace me," said Maddy, "Chuck Poochigian would be one of the people at the top of the list."

  He said Poochigian's experience in the administrations of two governors gave him a leg up on the experience of most lawmakers in the era of term limits. His knowledge of the agriculture industry, from growing up on a farm near Fresno, was another plus.

  "Chuck's philosophy would probably be called a little bit more conservative than mine," Maddy added, "but in the Bakersfield area, that probably would fit the profile a lot of people would like."

  Indeed, Poochigian gets rave reviews personally from just about everybody in his political career, from Bakersfield to Sacramento.

  "Chuck Poochigian is one of those wonderful individuals in public life that have the integrity you want people to have," said Martha Fallgatter, a Bakersfield Republican and California State University trustee. "I think he's in politics to try to do the right thing for people and the state, instead of his own political fortunes."

  That's not to say everyone approves of his political philosophy.

  His strong support of property rights and opposition to government regulations have led to clashes with environmental and consumer groups.

  By all accounts, however, he gets along well personally with opposition groups as well as the Democratic majority in the Legislature.

  That's the chief reason he was chosen as the Senate Republicans' point man in negotiations on multibillion-dollar bond issues for water projects, parks and transportation facilities.

  He is frequently called cautious. He is slow to take positions on controversial issues, preferring to take plenty of time to analyze them. In interviews, he often gives long answers to questions, choosing his words carefully and revising or adding to answers later to make sure he is understood correctly.

  He bristles, however, at the implication that he is reluctant to take risks.

  He insists he has taken plenty of risks, like sponsoring a bill in 1996 that would have made it more difficult to prosecute corporate managers who overlook workplace safety hazards or sell dangerously defective products. Poochigian said he introduced it at the request of the Chamber of Commerce to help improve the state's business climate, but it drew a barrage of criticism from consumer groups and district attorneys before it was defeated.

  He acknowledges, however, that he is careful in his approach to his job.

  "I try to be as thorough in evaluating issues that come before me as possible," he said.

  "I'm not knocking anyone else, but I do sometimes get frustrated that legislation gets thrown together in the wee hours of the morning without much thought, and then for years our courts are trying to figure out what we intended, and we spend time and money year after year trying to fix things that maybe we could have done better if we had spent a little more time."

  Because at least one house of the Legislature has been controlled by Democrats for his entire tenure, Poochigian cannot point to major bills he has passed, but he is especially proud of a number of spending measures and budget items he's pushed.

  The valleywide rural crime task force was expanded over the last two years from a Tulare County pilot project he sponsored. He also takes credit for a $4 million agricultural technology center that serves four school districts in rural Fresno County.

  Poochigian's biography is like the quintessential American success story.

  He is the grandson of immigrants who fled the Turkish massacres of Armenians at the turn of the century. His grandfather worked most of his life in the Chicago stockyards.

  His father, Frank Poochigian, came to California as a child, worked in agriculture and eventually acquired a farm near Sanger in Fresno County.

  Charles Poochigian, 50, now lives in a rural subdivision near the family farm. His two younger brothers, Bob and Gary, live nearby.

  As a teen-ager in the 1960s, Poochigian worked during the summers in packing houses and a box-making plant. After graduating from Sanger High School in 1967, he enrolled at Fresno State, becoming the first in his family to attend college.

  A business administration student and a fraternity member with a conservative bent, Poochigian found himself at odds with the anti-Vietnam-War, anti-establishment faction at the center of growing turmoil at Fresno State.

  One of his classmates and best friends was another farmer's son, Bill Jones, who was elected student body president on a platform of opposition to the bell-bottomed critics of the government and the college administration.

  Poochigian says although he wasn't heavily involved in student politics in his first two years, Jones appointed him a representative of the junior class on the Student Senate.

  "Chuck was always a steady, reliable, consistent force that would listen to all sides, not be judgmental, but (was) a very great support to me in difficult times," Jones said.

  The campus turmoil faded after the war, but personal and political alliances formed there did not.

  Twenty years later, he said, "Bill and I had a conversation, and he said he was more than likely going to run for statewide office. I was then working in the governor's office, and he said, ‘I don't know if you're interested in running for the Legislature or not, but I'd be moving on, and you'd be a strong candidate. If you're interested, this would be a good time to make that move, Chuck.' "

  Poochigian graduated from Fresno State in 1972 and moved on to the University of Santa Clara law school. In 1975, Poochigian and a buddy, Steve Vartabedian, opened a law office in Fresno.

  Not long after that he was introduced to Debbie Koligian at the Armenian Orthodox Church.

  She is the daughter of Deran Koligian, a farmer who was beginning to move up through the ranks of boards and commissions to become a member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, where he still serves.

  Poochigian got actively involved in politics in 1978, helping organize a fund-raiser for then-state Sen. Deukmejian's campaign for attorney general.

  In that race, he said, Debbie demonstrated a talent for organizing political and social events that she has honed into an art and is now an essential part of his political success.

  That led to fund-raising and organizing in Fresno for Deukmejian's successful campaign for governor four years later as well as local campaigning for Presidents Reagan and Bush.

  In 1988 he received a call out of the blue from the office of Gov. Deukmejian, who then had just two more years to serve.

  "I was asked if I had any interest in working for Gov. Deukmejian," he said. "The point was made that I was one of the few people who had been actively involved with him virtually from the beginning and hadn't asked for anything."

  He and Debbie decided that he would accept the position of chief deputy appointments secretary, interviewing applicants and making recommendations on appointments to everything except judgeships.

  Expecting to stay no more than two years, Poochigian stayed for the transition to Gov. Pete Wilson's administration and was asked to fill the vacancy created when Wilson's original appointments secretary left.

  That gave him a major role in all the judicial appointments Wilson made for the next three years.

  He gets rave reviews on his performance by both former governors.

  "He impressed me as being very thorough and having very fine interpersonal skills," said Deukmejian.

  "The only thing I used to kid him about is that he likes to write long memorandums. I kept trying to get him to shorten them a little bit."

  Did he ever change?

  "Of course not," laughed Bob White, Wilson's chief of staff.

  Wilson said Poochigian was "outstanding in what I view as a very important role" — making recommendations in the selection of scores of judges.

  "Long after I am a dim, unpleasant recollection for a number of people," Wilson added, "the legacy that will survive me is the quality of the people we put on the bench."

  Both former governors said Poochigian's sense of humor and frequent, often outrageous puns made their work more enjoyable.

  When Poochigian ran for Jones' Assembly seat in 1994, he won easily.

  That was the year Republicans captured nominal control of the Assembly for the first time in two decades.

  It would be another year before the GOP, frustrated by former Speaker Willie Brown's maneuvers, could take actual control.

  When they did in early 1996, Poochigian was named to the powerful chairmanship of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, partly in the belief that he had a better communication pipeline to Wilson than most other GOP lawmakers.

  It's not so inconceivable now in the era of term limits, but Poochigian believes he may be the first freshman lawmaker to head the Assembly's money committee, at least in modern times.

  In 1998, when Maddy was forced to retire under term limits, both Poochigian and Ashburn — good friends — were logical candidates to replace him. Their Assembly districts were contained within Maddy's, which ran along the east side of the valley from Fresno down into Bakersfield.

  At first, Poochigian explored running for attorney general or some other statewide office, giving Ashburn hope that he could go for the Senate without an intraparty primary election battle against his friend.

  But Poochigian decided the GOP field was already too crowded and the timing was not right. Under the best of circumstances it would have been an expensive, uphill battle for the statewide name recognition he lacked.

  As the deadline for filing for the Senate race neared, Ashburn decided to run for re-election to the Assembly. Republican power brokers had warned him privately they believed Poochigian would win the battle because of his prodigious fund-raising ability and his powerful political base among the valley's large and intensely loyal Armenian-American community.

  Indeed, Poochigian had nearly $500,000 in his campaign bank account as of July 1 this year, three years from his next election.

  Ashburn says the decision not to go for the Senate was his alone.

  "I just decided it was not healthy for our district or for the Republican Party," he said, to waste money and energy that could be devoted to electing more Republicans to the Legislature.

  Both men insist there are no hard feelings.

  In Kern County most political figures are gauged by their relationship to the county's powerful but controversial congressman, Republican Bill Thomas. Poochigian is often asked about that, and tells constituents he wants to be judged on his own, not in comparison with another official.

  He says he has a good relationship with Thomas' office, but he has already crossed Thomas on one issue. He was among Senate Republicans signing a letter opposing a political reform initiative expected to appear on the March election ballot with strong backing by Thomas.

  If passed by voters, It would take the reapportionment of legislative districts out of the hands of the Legislature, a goal of all Republicans with the Legislature and the governor's office controlled by Democrats. But to appeal to disaffected voters of both parties, it would also slash state legislators' pay and per diem.

  "My concern is where you seek to inspire angry opposition to the Legislature as a means of getting the measure passed, I think the likelihood of approval is reduced," Poochigian said.

  As for Poochigian's future, he has the potential of seven more years in the Senate under term limits, and he insists he spends little or no time "strategizing and scheming about my next move."

  But having already expressed an interest in moving up, few people would be surprised if he ran for statewide office, probably attorney general next. He would get enthusiastic backing from nearly everybody who knows him, including Wilson, who said: "I would be among those encouraging him to do that."

Poly, which got strong showings from Darrell Rideaux, who had the fastest time in the 100 meter yard dash (10.51) and from Jeremy Johnson, who had the fastest mark in the 300 meter hurdles (38.65), saw eight members of the Jackrabbit team qualify for the championships.

Poly's 4 x 100 meter relay time also came in first place with a mark of 41.05, edging Lynwood's time of 43.72.  Other Jackrabbits who qualified for next week's finals included Kareem Kelly (10.53) and Samie Parker (10.87), who qualified along with Rideaux in the 100 meters, Lonnell Penman (6-5) who qualified in the high jump, Martin Conrad (9:41.53) in the 3,200, Michael Dickerson (39.85) in the 300 hurdles and Lonnie Hart (44-10) in the triple jump.

"The main thing today was to qualify for next week," Poly Head Coach Don Norford said.  "It didn't matter who won or who had the fastest time, the important thing was to qualify for the finals."

The top nine performances in each event qualify for next week's CIF Southern Section Finals at Cerritos College.

Sophomore Jamie Kolar became the first ever girl to qualify for the finals from Poly in the pole vault when she had a personal best mark of 9-10.

Democrats Sarah Reyes of Fresno and Dean Florez of Shafter, and Fresno Republican Mike Briggs all made the voters' decisions official at the Capitol's biennial swearing-in ceremony. None has prior experience in the Legislature, leaving a vast swath of the greater Fresno area with a complete contingent of neophyte assembly members.

"I think that this is the first time you've had this broad of a region, portions of Fresno, Tulare and Kings counties all with freshmen," said Sen. Jim Costa, now the Valley's senior legislator. Costa, a Fresno Democrat, and newly elected Sen. Chuck Poochigian, a Fresno Republican, also were sworn in Monday.

Poochigian, too, is a freshman. However, he spent four years in the Assembly before winning the Senate seat vacated by former Sen. Ken Maddy.

Today, most lawmakers will return to their districts until work officially begins Jan. 4.

On that day, too, Governor-elect Gray Davis and Lieutenant Governor-elect Cruz Bustamante and other constitutional officers, including Secretary of State Bill Jones, will be sworn in.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my work in the state Assembly," the Fresno Republican said. "I am now excited about the possibility of serving a larger constituency in the San Joaquin Valley."

Considered a conservative stronghold, the 14th District contains 800,000 Valley residents in eastern Fresno, Tulare and Kern counties.

Republicans have held it for many years, although the district's boundaries changed under the last reapportionment in 1990 and likely will change again in 2000.

Before his election to the Assembly in 1994, Poochigian had served in the Deukmejian and Wilson administrations. Poochigian, in his second term in the 29th Assembly District seat, noted his long experience in Sacramento and on his family farm.

"I think both have given me a good perspective on what is good for the Valley and, at the same time, good for the state," he said.

"During my two terms in the Legislature, I have tried to fulfill pledges and be true to my philosophy as well as to work very hard and be responsive."

When he won his Assembly seat, Poochigian replaced outgoing Republican Assemblyman Bill Jones, who now is the California Secretary of State. Maddy has occupied the 14th District Senate seat since 1979, and before that had been in the Assembly since 1970.

It takes time strapping ice bags to two sore knees and peeling off wrapping from Brown's left elbow.

"That's the way it's gotta be, I guess," the Bulldogs junior midfielder said.

No pain mattered to Brown, who curled in a direct kick in the 60th minute and assisted on Ryan Boyajian 's game-winning header in the 96th as Fresno State snapped a two-match losing streak with a 2-1 overtime win over Texas Christian.

"He's still dangerous," Bulldogs coach Dave Chesler said. "You keep him out there, and he's going to get something done."

That came in the sixth minute of overtime, when Brown and Boyajian were tuned to the same wave length. Brown beat his defender in the left wing.

"I said, `I'm going to drop off for this one' because {Chad} was beating the guy all day," Boyajian, a senior midfielder, said.

Boyajian started backpedaling, all the way behind TCU's defense, and it caught Brown's attention.

"I was just waiting for someone to get in there," Brown said.

Brown laid the cross just right to Boyajian, who heard freshman goalkeeper Ian Keate yell for it but didn't stop from trying a header.

"I just went up, and I guess {Keate} went before me, or behind me, I don't know," Boyajian said.

It didn't matter. Boyajian nailed it.

"Great feeling. {I} needed that," he said. The Bulldogs struggled (20 shots on goal) finishing off a Horned Frogs team reeling from a six-match losing streak.

"You keep a team in {the game}, and life is miserable," Chesler said. "We made that a much tougher game than it needed to be.

"{But} it wasn't just the finishing. We didn't move the ball quickly."

The Bulldogs again switched goalkeepers at halftime. TCU drew Mirko Vuksic out of goal on a breakaway in the 14th minute, with Aaron Grieshaber hitting the open net. Jeff Fluharty played the rest of the way.

Brown's goal came from the left corner, bending around TCU's wall and over Keate.

"Bit of luck," Brown said.

"The Bulldogs are good," one boy said.

"The other team's not so good," said the other.

The truth might hurt Northern Illinois. Final score: Bulldogs 6, Huskies 0.

The hot, humid conditions zapped players enough at the Goal Rush Classic. But pity Northern Illinois goalkeeper Sean McCearley, who also had to deal with 25 shots on goal.

McCearley, a 6-foot 2-inch, 207-pounder, didn't know the Bulldogs' objective was to make amends for Sunday when they had 18 shots on goal in a scoreless tie with No. 6 Washington.

"One of our points of focus was our finishing, being mobile up front, getting in the box," coach Dave Chesler said after his first Bulldogs victory.

McCearley could've used that water bottle.

Six Bulldogs scored, from Matt Williams' hammer deflecting over McCearley in the eighth minute to Ryan Boyajian 's maneuver around McCearley in the 79th.

Aaron Kincaide, a sophomore forward, came off the bench in the second half to trigger a three-goal uprising in a span of 10 minutes 48 seconds.

McCearley came 32 yards out of goal for the ball. Kincaide beat two defenders, but McCearley deflected his chip attempt.

"I didn't think I got the goal," Kincaide said.

But the ball caromed past McCearley into the untended goal, making it 4-0 in the 52nd minute.

Five minutes later, Kincaide spun around on the outside, one-touched toward the far post to draw McCearley and heard Dana McGregor "screaming his lungs out" for a cross.

McGregor, a freshman midfielder from Arroyo Grande, rammed it into another open goal to put the finishing touch on the rout.

"Aaron did all the work," McGregor said. "I just put it in."

Harri Kiviniemi, a sophomore forward from Finland, capped the flurry in the 63rd minute with a rebound goal of his own blocked shot.

Chesler soon replaced Jeff Fluharty in goal with Mirko Vusic as Northern Illinois mustered just five shots.

"We're just so happy with the way we're defending," Chesler said. "Our zone defense really frustrates people. After 15 minutes, they already start trying to play over the top. {They} do not play through us."

San Diego 1, Butler 0:Nicholas Kalafatich scored in the 69th minute from 18 yards into the right post, frustrating Butler goalkeeper Carlos Castellanos, who had made three leaping saves.

Butler midfielder Mike Latos missed a header just over the goal cage in the 82nd minute.

Toreros goalkeeper Carlos Castellanos preserved the win with a save on Joel Armstrong's attempt in the 88th minute.

GOAL RUSH CLASSIC

Friday's scores: Bulldogs 6, Northern Illinois 0; San Diego 1, Butler 0

Heroes: Aaron Kincaide and Ryan Boyajian each has a goal and an assist for the Bulldogs

Sunday: Noon, San Diego vs. Northern Illinois; 2:15 p.m., Fresno State vs. Butler, Bulldog Stadium.

DATES: Effective June 9, 1997. Written comments may be submitted at any time.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Regarding the guideline: Guiragos K. Poochikian, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (HFD-570), Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, 301-827-1050.

FDA has been recommending two additional types of studies to sponsors "based on some of the [chemistry manufacturing and control] issues that have come up as we have seen newer and newer designs of DPIs," Otulana said. "We have come to recognize that a few innovative approaches have to be made in clinical design."

In designing the flow rate studies, Otulana recommended that companies look at "patients of varying severity of disease...and also look at adults and look at children and their ability to generate the necessary flow through the device." The second type of studies being recommended by FDA are "studies that assess the systemic safety of the new device," Otulana said.

"Formulation characteristics, drug delivery from the device, resistance to flow [and] ease of use, as well as the ruggedness of the device may be more crucial for" multidose devices than single-dose devices, Otulana explained in an abstract for the meeting. Many of the DPI products under development in the U.S. are multidose devices, while those that have been marketed are single-dose designs, he noted.

At the meeting, CDER Division of Pulmonary Drug Products Chemistry Team Leader Guirag Poochikian, Ph.D., said that "significant patient and health professional instructions are needed for the correct use of different DPIs" that have "different designs and modes of operation." A supportive study that will be necessary to provide those instructions is "evaluation of the emitted dose and particle size distribution as a function of flow rate and duration," he said. "This will provide a general idea to physicians from a review perspective and also from a practice perspective about the performance characteristics of the device as it relates to the instructed capabilities of the patient of different age, gender, suffering with different degrees of disease," he said.

Poochikian also discussed the importance of controlling drug product variability to "reduce the noise level and increase the sensitivity of the clinical study test results" for dry powder inhalers. Among the parameters that affect variability, particle size distribution "is one of the most important attributes" that should be controlled. "The method for this task should be capable of fractionating and collecting particles by aerodynamic mass diameter and should be able to give size distribution of the whole dose rather than a fraction of the dose," Poochikian said.

Microscopic evaluation is "a relatively crude and somewhat subjective task," Poochikian said. "But we do believe that it has certain important merits and that is why we think it should be retained as a regulatory test because it does provide information which is not available by other tests," Poochikian said. "This test will be most useful during preformulation and particularly the stability studies."

Poochikian commented that content uniformity "may be examined as appropriate from different perspectives depending on the type of device." In DPIs using the capsule approach to drug delivery, "the content uniformity of the capsule itself and the premetered dose as well as that of the emitted dose" should be evaluated, he said.

Poochikian added that studies examining "physical abuse" of the device to "figure how will the device behave if it is mistreated with regard to its performance characteristics," evaluations of "flow resistance to the device" and studies of "the performance characteristics through the life of the device from beginning to end" could be additional supportive studies.

Poochigian was named "one of the brightest, most level-headed" legislators the state Capitol has seen in a long time.

The magazine, which focuses on California government and politics, says Poochigian is a "hard worker who some say takes his job too seriously at times." It calls him independent and praises his ability to create cross-party coalitions.

Poochigian 's reaction: "You do your best to do the job, work as hard as you can to try to make a difference, sort of earn your keep. . . . It was really wonderful to receive the kind of recognition this award represents."

Winners and their graduating high schools were: Hagop Afarian, Edison High School; Jaime Tikijian, Fowler High School; Jill Simonian, Sanger High School; Amy Bagdasarian, Bullard High School; Mark Poochigian, San Joaquin Memorial High School.

Students received the $750 scholarships based on academics, financial need, and community and extra-curricular activities.

Poochigian will be rubbing elbows with some of the biggest names in contemporary philosophy. Like Wittgenstein, considered by many to be the greatest philosopher of the 20th century, those names are largely unknown to the general public.

This is the second international conference Poochigian has been invited to in the past two years. He went to Peru last year to deliver a paper on a related topic.

He said it's no coincidence that his papers take him abroad. Looking at philosophical conferences in the United States, he said, it appears that Americans have lost interest in talking about the philosophy of politics and instead are concentrating on narrower, more technical questions.

By contrast, Europe and other parts of the world are teeming with questions about politics and the legitimacy of government, especially since the Soviet Union collapsed and many peoples of the world find themselves facing questions of self-government for the first time in decades.

So, it's off to Austria. Laboring in obscurity can have its rewards.

The Golden Eagles glided past runner-up Golden West 393-405. Mount Whitney's Troy Stotesbery shot 76 and Golden West's Kevin Martin shot 77.

Scores:

Clovis West (393): Josh Watney 73, Ryan Meyer 76, Michael Thurman 81, David Buchanan 81, Anthony Seidel 82

Golden West (405): Kevin Martin 77, Shaun Trimble 79, Matt Mahlman 80, Aaron Forbes 84, Kirk Marshall 85

Stockdale (413): Matt Foster 79, Daryl Friesen 80, Marcos Castro 80, Philip Taube 82, Dustin Russell 92

Mount Whitney (415): Troy Stotesbery 76, Jud Klinger 83, Randy Chrisman 84, Sam Bingaman 86, Travis Chapin 86

San Joaquin Memorial (419): Matt Muro 79, Jarret Benov 83,
Mark Poochigian 85, Michael DePrima 85, Phil Ellithorpe 87

Tehachapi (421): Ward Sutton 81, Jeremiah Marks 84, Danny Stark 84, Chris Carlson 86, Josh Tyree 86

In his first year as a legislator, Poochigian serves as Chairman of the Appropriations Committee and is a member of the Budget Committee, Joint Budget Conference Committee, Natural Resources Committee and the Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife.

Kaloostian, daughter of George and Jackie Kaloostian, was born and raised on her family's Fresno farm. She attended Sanger High School, Fresno City College, and California State University, Fresno.

Kaloostian has been interested in government, politics and public affairs from an early age. From student government, to participating in the campaigns of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush, and Governors George Deukmejian and Pete Wilson, to a delegate member of the California Republican Party, she has been very active in Republican politics in the Fresno area.

"My private sector background should be very helpful in dealing with the special problems handled in a busy Assembly office. This is an exciting and challenging opportunity to act on my personal interest in government while assisting Assemblyman Poochigian in service to his constituents," said Kaloostian.

Kaloostian served for 20 years with Gottschalk's Inc. as a member of senior management. While working for the company, Kaloostian served on the Steering Committee for the Fresno High School Marketing Academy and was a keynote speaker and coordinator for a number of special programs.

Under a haze-hidden sun that seemed to turn everything liquid, President Clinton and South Korean President Kim Young Sam dedicated the Korean War Veterans Memorial yesterday to the veterans and their fallen comrades. The ceremony came 42 years after an armistice perpetuated the division between North and South Korea and ended a bloody three-year conflict that faded quickly from the consciousness of many Americans.

In brief remarks, the two presidents thanked the veterans of the "forgotten war" -- in which 1.5 million Americans fought -- for their courage more than four decades ago.

"By sending a clear message that America had not defeated fascism to see communism prevail, you put the Free World on the road to victory in the Cold War," said Clinton, who acknowledged that Americans in the past had lost sight of the importance of the 1950-53 conflict.

Reciting wartime hardships that included deathly cold, months crammed in foxholes and overwhelming numbers of Chinese and North Korean troops, Clinton said the Korean War veterans "set a standard of courage that may be equaled but will never be surpassed in the annals of American combat."

Kim, whose remarks were translated into English from Korean, said, "The blood and sweat shed by the U.S. and the U.N. troops proved to be the prime mover behind the realization of freedom throughout the world after the war." In that sense, he said, the Korean War "was a war that heralded the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the demise of communism."

The ceremony began promptly at 3 p.m. and was dispatched quickly. When it was over, however, several hundred veterans who found themselves trapped in the fenced area for distinguished visitors ran low on patience as they waited for Clinton, Kim and their parties to leave the Mall and for a group of distinguished guests to take the first tour of the memorial.

It was then that they displayed a little of that long-ago daring. Chanting, "Go! Go! Go!" they burst through a line of U.S. Park Police and charged up a small hill toward the 19 larger-than-life stainless-steel statues that form the memorial's core.

As the memorial was opened to the public, veterans and their families began streaming past, posing for photographs and touching the black granite wall that bears about 2,500 images of the nurses, cooks, mechanics and other support personnel who served. The images were culled from photographic archives and sandblasted onto the wall.

In the tradition of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the other side of the Mall, they filled the grounds with flowers, wreaths, small flags and computer-printed certificates and photos of soldiers who had died.

Among the offerings was a poem, "No Longer the Forgotten War," and a slightly crumpled certificate, trimmed in red, of Marine Cpl. Clarence Francis Hile Jr., of Ithaca, N.Y., who was "killed in action" two days after his 20th birthday in August 1950.

"This was a hell of a memorial for the men who fell before us," said Tom Stauffer, 69, of Jeanette, Pa., one of the first to reach the memorial. Tears ran down his face as he tried to take a photograph.

Many veterans praised the way the 19 figures -- 14 Army soldiers, three Marines, one Navy medic and one Air Force forward observer -- capture the essence of their service in Korea. The figures are of men trudging wearily up a hill as if on patrol. Rifles in hand, they are hunched, tensed for battle.

"I wore that type of boots. I carried the radio just like that," said Bernard Brooks, 62, a District resident who served in the Signal Corps, gesturing to one of the statues.

George Poochigian, 61, a retired educator from Whittier, California, served in the Army's 2nd Infantry Division from 1951 to 1953.

"I've got a lot of buddies of mine that didn't make it back or they came back in body bags," he said. "Either way, I've lost lots of guys, guys who didn't get to see this. That's why I had to be here, whatever it's worth. It's way overdue."

Clinton and Kim took their tour with retired Marine Gen. Ray Davis, who received the Medal of Honor for his heroism during the war and who now heads the official Korean War Veterans Memorial board.

In his remarks, Clinton singled out two Americans for special praise: Lloyd Burke, of Arkansas, who destroyed three enemy bunkers in a lone assault and threw back hand grenades that were thrown at him; and Ronald Rosser, who knocked out two enemy bunkers and cleared a trench with only a carbine and a grenade. Both men won the Medal of Honor and were seated on the dais yesterday.

The war began when the communist North Koreans launched a surprise attack on South Korea on June 25, 1950. The United Nations condemned the invasion, and 21 countries, led by the United States, sent troops to fight the North Koreans and the Communist Chinese, who came to the North's aid. The armistice was signed July 27, 1953.

Etched in stone at the edge of the pool of remembrance is the war's grim toll for the United States: 54,246 Americans killed in three years. During a decade of war in Vietnam, 57,000 Americans died.

There are 8,177 Americans still missing from the Korean War. Clinton promised yesterday to press North Korea for a full accounting. For years, the Vietnam War has been the focus of the Pentagon's attention regarding prisoners of war and military personnel missing in action.

"I'm trying to put the period at the end of the sentence," said Robert E. Davis, 68, explaining why he came from Granville, Ohio, for the day's events.

Many of the Korean veterans who flew here from Seoul for the ceremony said they were grateful for the memorial. They also said the conflict remains very real for them. "The Korean War is not over for us," said retired Brig. Gen. Kim Beong-Kil. "We still have trouble between the North and the South."

First-term Assemblyman Charles Poochigian, of Fresno, is the top Republican on the new Budget Committee for the 1995-1996 session, in one sign of a faster learning curve for newcomers.

"It is an awesome responsibility," Poochigian said. "I think anyone, especially someone in their first term, has to do a lot of homework with this assignment."

Poochigian, who has handled appointments for Gov. Wilson and Gov. Deukmejian, has strong Capitol connections and is expected to be a key advocate of Wilson's $56.3 billion budget.

Wilson has two Fresno lawmakers to help secure the two-thirds votes required for passage of the budget in each house.

Senate Minority Leader Ken Maddy, R-Fresno, said he is "delighted" Poochigian was chosen. The two men, who are friends, will work closely to find ways to trim $2.5 billion debt incurred in prior years. Cuts in health and welfare programs -- stopped by the federal courts in past years -- may meet success this year as a result of growing voter impatience, Maddy said.

"There are many, many knotty issues to be resolved with this budget," Maddy said. " Poochigian is going to have to move fast to figure out where the Democrats will be willing to compromise."

Several years ago a group of 10 professionals in the San Francisco-Oakland area decided to by pass all the "bureaucratic gridlock and political baggage" and form an organization to undertake specific humanitarian projects in Armenia with a hands-on approach from start to finish - no strings attached, no underlying agendas and zero percent administrative overhead. Impossible?

The Bay Area Friends of Armenia (BAFA) was born "out of the frustration of people who want to see things done expeditiously and effectively," says BAFA board member Ara Tahmassian, a health physicist. Other board directors are just as adamant about the organization's raison d'etre: industrial pharmacist John Halibian, one of the group's founding members, explains that "considering the urgencies involved, as a small group we can expedite all support activities without expecting anything in return."

John Poochigian, an internist, says BAFA offers "an opportunity to have direct impact on projects and receive immediate feedback... with all administrative expenses covered by the board of directors."

Nerses Teshoian, CPA, joined BAFA because it could "fill the void in those who have a desire to contribute to Armenia and want to be sure their dollars are being spent for their stated purpose."

"I see BAFA as a bridge between the Bay Area and Armenia, each side approaching the other with objectivity in order to avoid false expectations," says Levon Der Bedrossian, restaurateur.

Conceived in November 1992, BAFA filed documents last March for non-profit, non-political and non-sectarian incorporation. With funds contributed by each of the 10 board directors, the organization purchased two computers, hired a secretary and set up office space in the homes of two of its directors. Day-to-day operations are handled by executive director Francois Antounian, an orthopedic surgeon, who also serves on the board and was instrumental in founding BAFA.

"Our only agenda," he stresses, "is to assist Armenia with whatever needs are identified in the republic."

Because of his personal involvement in a surgical training program in Yerevan, Antounian travels frequently to Armenia and performs orthopedic surgery on those injured in the Karabakh war. He has witnessed first-hand the pitiful conditions and survival tactics Armenians must resort to every day. He is outraged that some groups and individuals in the Diaspora are decrying the Armenian government and its policies while showing little or no concern about the wretched living conditions there.

The incentive to organize was propelled by the ability of the "friends" to raise $10,500 in two days in response to the Armenian Missionary Association of America's (AMAA) plea for support of its Children's Milk Fund. But the "friends" went one step further and requested that their contribution go to the children living in the orphanages adopted throughout Armenia by First Lady Lucy Ter Petrossian, and the families of Karabakh veterans. Ter Petrossian had described the details of her project to the Bay Area community during her visit in October, 1992.

Within one month of collecting the funds, the "friends" received a fax from the director of the orphanages, thanking them for the much-needed powdered milk. It was this "mission accomplished" clincher that hastened the birth of BAFA.

Since the group seeks to collaborate with other organizations or individuals, the soup kitchen program in Yerevan, established by Nora Nercessian, a Harvard medical administrator, seemed made-for-BAFA. Currently, six soup kitchens, known as barekordzakan jasharans, operate in and around Yerevan, feeding elderly, disabled and orphaned individuals. Using a coupon system developed in cooperation with the Mayor's office, each kitchen serves 100 people, six days a week. Representatives from the organization make frequent on-site visits to ensure the quality and effectiveness of the program. Another benefit of the soup kitchen project is the creation of jobs and new business for local merchants and farmers.

When BAFA adopted the kitchen in central Yerevan last year, the project cost $12,000 a year. However, with runaway inflation and the issuance of the new dram, costs now have doubled. BAFA's Soup Kitchen Committee, chaired by scientist Hriar Cabayan, also a board director, has recently launched a nationwide fund-raising campaign across the US to bolster its budget.

Plans for future projects such as an educational program for teens about sexually-transmitted diseases and a drive to inoculate Armenia's children are on the back burner for now. "During this emergency situation we're focusing upon survival. No long-term projects yet," Antounian says.

He admits that starting an organization is a headache, and he knows that BAFA is not capable of saving the world. "But so much is going nowhere. All you have to do is ask `where is the need?' and then, after some smart planning and evaluation, go into action." Much of BAFA's "action" is covered in the pages of its slick bi-monthly newsletter, ARIT. It encourages its readers to comment and debate ways and means of helping the homeland.

Notwithstanding the efforts of other groups and individuals who support Armenia, BAFA's uniqueness lies in its personal approach to personal needs. Pediatrician Julie Kulhanjian, one of two women on the board, has the last word: "To be an Armenian today and in the 21st century means serving Armenia with one's time, experience and money."

In the past three seasons, Laguna Hills lost only one league game, a 1991 thriller to Trabuco Hills in which the Mustangs overcame a 3-1 halftime deficit to win, 4-3.

This season, though, the one-goal games have all gone the Hawks' way. At the midway point of the league schedule, Laguna Hills was atop the league with a 5-0 record, thanks in part to outstanding road play. Of their five victories, the Hawks have tallied three by one goal, all on the road. They posted 2-1 victories over Costa Mesa and Estancia and a 1-0 shutout of Century.

During the nonleague schedule, Laguna Hills struggled, losing seven of twelve. But after the Hawks returned players from Laguna Hills' football team, which advanced to the semifinals of the Division VII playoffs, and overcame early injuries, they began to come together.

Team captain Rick Stilson made the transition from one Hawks' defense to another as the senior safety finally shed his shoulder pads to take over as Johnson's sweeper. Junior stopper R.B. Edwards recovered from a broken arm suffered before the holiday break.

With a full, healthy team surrounding it, the middle of the Hawks' lineup has thrived. Halfbacks Ryan Boyajian and Cesar Montes have accounted for much of the Hawks scoring, Boyajian leading the way with 11 goals and ten assists. The pressure on Boyajian has lightened. however, as more Hawks have gotten in on the scoring.

"Last week, we had five goals scored by five guys, which is helpful," Johnson said. "Now we just have to make sure we don't get complacent."

Poochigian had talked of running for months, but delayed his announcement for the 29th District seat until after Assemblyman Bill Jones, R-Fresno, formally got into the secretary of state's race. Jones announced Tuesday and Poochigian followed Thursday.

Poochigian, 44, who handles appointments for the governor, is well-connected politically. His father-in-law is Fresno County Supervisor Deran Koligian and Poochigian has served as county chairman for the campaigns of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush and Gov. George Deukmejian.

"I have had a strong interest in government and public policy all my life," Poochigian said. "I will be an outspoken advocate for California agriculture, jobs growth and tough criminal laws to deal with the epidemic of lawlessness that seems to be overcoming our communities."

He praised Jones' service in the Assembly and said the region needs to continue to have effective representation in Sacramento because legislators from large urban areas don't understand the Valley's problems.

The 29th District generally includes the eastern and northwestern portions of Fresno County and the eastern half of Tulare County.

"I am committed to policies that will limit oppressive regulation, taxes and public spending," he said. "We have to recognize that much of our progress has been the result of a vibrant free-enterprise economy and the initiative of people -- not government."

Poochigian, a lawyer, went to Sacramento in 1988 to serve as Deukmejian's chief deputy appointments secretary and continued in that job when Gov. Wilson was elected in 1990. He was elevated to appointments secretary in 1991.

Poochigian said he will remain in the governor's office until the end of the month before taking a leave of absence to campaign beginning in February.

Poochigian was born in Fresno and his family farmed in the Lone Star area near Sanger. He graduated from Sanger High School, Fresno State University and received his law degree from the University of Santa Clara School of Law.

Chuck Poochigian says he'll be "an outspoken advocate for California agriculture."

Senior midfielder Ryan Boyajian scored both goals and converted the third penalty kick to give Laguna Hills (2-3-1) the victory.

Boyajian's first goal came on a penalty kick and tied the score at 1 late in the first half. His second gave Laguna Hills a short-lived lead midway through the second half.

Brian Hurley of El Dorado (3-0-3) tied the score less than a minute later when he converted a penalty kick.

"This is a good win for us," Laguna Hills coach Scott Johnson said. "We've been off to a slow start and have been pretty banged up. I'm pleased with today's performance."

Johnson singled out Boyajian, Jamie Miller and Cesar Montes for play away from the ball.

Senior Luciano Cid gave El Dorado a 1-0 lead at the 11-minute mark. Brad Myrand assisted on the play.

As members and guests entered the ballroom foyer they were deluged with a half-dozen or so vendors selling boutique items. Everything from very glitzy costume jewelry, decorated photo albums, baskets, embroidered linen and lace table linens, sterling silver and gold jewelry, dried-flower arrangements and clothing was for sale.

Hundreds of well-dressed women crammed the area to get a better look at the ritzy items. Enjoying the prelude to the luncheon was committee member Kathleen Kuilanoff of Santa Ana.

"This is very special," she said. "There is a special energy level for the show and the decor _ it's escalating and you feed on that. I am a mother who stays home with my kids all day, so having this event helps to fulfill my time.

Also having fun shopping before the show and tending to last-minute details was event chairwoman Dorothy Nalbandian.

"This is really something. It is so exhilarating for our members. ... Lots of my friends are here from all over Orange County," she said.

Doing a fine job staying away from the shopping area was Irvine's Ellen Poochigian, who was selling raffle tickets to members and guests as they arrived.

"The nicest part of the event is seeing a lot of people I haven't seen for a long time. It's nice to get reacquainted," Poochigian said. She said she also was looking forward to seeing the glitzy designs from Saks Fifth Avenue. "It's nice, especially with the holidays approaching. I'm looking for a special dress for a cruise that I'm going on with six couples to Mexico."

The ballroom was aglow with huge crystal chandeliers, gold lame-covered pots, silk centerpieces and white linens.

The hearty lunch consisted of bibb lettuce with grapefruit, boneless breast of chicken with sage sauce, potatoes and vegetables, and "duo double" chocolate cake with passionfruit sauce.

Nalbandian welcomed everyone and thanked them for their outstanding support of the Ararat Home for the aged. She then introduced board Chairman Robert Shamlian.

"The goal of the Ararat Home is to create an exceptional home of which all of us can be proud. This has been achieved thanks to the untiring efforts of many people and the full support of the guilds. The Orange County Guild contributed greatly to the success," he said.

Committee members recognized were: Peggy Barsam, Lola Bashijian, Alma Chakerian, Mary Dergarabedian, Denise Kaprelian, Kuilanoff, Rose Markarian, Gertrude Nahigian and Alice Sahagen.

Among the assistant committee members named were: Lucia Bartholio, Alice Bilezikjian, Jeanette Davis, Flora Garakian, Margaret Gazurian, Alice Kashian, Martha Rapaelian and Lucy Schlauch.

After lunch was the very haute fashion show presented by Saks. Professional and volunteer models pranced and danced on stage highlighting the newest fashions. Stephanie Lewis and Carole Latham produced the show.

As "These Boots are Made for Walking" played, very sexy Western garb was presented, including denim ensembles, suede, silk and animal prints.

Approximately 300 people attended the event that raised about $14,000. Proceeds will benefit the convalescent hospital under construction in Mission Hills, set to open its doors in July.

Somewhere along the educational journey, you probably learned that the dictionary definition of catholic is "universal, all-inclusive." It suggests the idea of a huge house where family members have diverse ways of acting, but who all consider themselves -- and each other -- to be part of the family regardless of their differences.

The past two weekends in these parts have provided dramatic examples of how "catholic" Roman Catholics are.

Two weeks ago, 9,000 devotees of the Virgin Mary gathered at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines. They talked in rapturous tones about apparitions around the world. They called for a return to praying the rosary, frequent confession and a restoration of the central role of Mary in the church. They told of healings through her intercession. Many said they saw the "miracle of the sun" -- a dancing disk in and about the sun -- that has been associated with reported Marian appearances since those in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917.

That deep, personal devotion to Mary is part of the tapestry of Catholic diversity.

Social Activists

Last weekend, a group of social-activist Catholics worshiped at a Glenwood church, then drove to the Strategic Air Command headquarters near Bellevue, Neb., where 37 in the group engaged in non-violent civil disobedience by defying orders to not cross the line onto base property. It was done, they said, from religious concern for peace and justice and in memory of the late Bishop Maurice Dingman, prelate of the Des Moines Roman Catholic Diocese for 19 years before retiring in 1987.

That deep, personal devotion to action seeking peace and justice is also part of the Catholic tapestry.

The Roman Catholic Church is those activists out to change the world by their involvement. It is the Carmelite nuns and the Trappist monks whose way of changing the world is their continual life of prayer for the rest of us. It is Mother Teresa seeing Christ in the faces of the poor dying in the street.

The Roman Catholic Church provides a home for those who thrill at the sonorous Gregorian chant, those who yearn for the return of Latin and those who really get into a polka or guitar Mass. It has opened the doors of its ancient and spacious house to the charismatic renewal with its hand-clapping and foot-stomping joy, speaking in tongues, healings and messages of prophecy.

It has many folks who still cherish what others call the "pray, pay and obey" church of the pre-Vatican II Council of the 1960s. And it has a growing and restive flock who insist that the church belongs to all the people of God, not just the hierarchy and not just males.

Three Catholic educators reflected this week on Catholic diversity.

"Yes, the church does embrace a wide range of people, ideas, attitudes and orientation," said the Rev. Richard McBrien, professor of theology at Notre Dame University, a columnist for Catholic newspapers and an outspoken liberal.

"It is a strength of the church. But it carries with it the seeds of its own undoing," McBrien said. "Since it is open to such diversity, a lot of elements get in that, paradoxically, work against the diversity. It is almost always people on the right who want to hassle people. You almost never hear of people on the left who want to kick the ultra-conservatives out of the church."

Welcoming Diversity

"Any communion as enormous as the Catholic Church has to permit a great deal of diversity. It is a strength when we can welcome that kind of diversity. It enlarges our conversation about issues and forces us to clarify our position," said Sister Ruth Poochigian, director of adult education at the St. Joseph Educational Center in West Des Moines.

The diversity may not have been so obvious to non-Catholics in days gone by, Poochigian said, because the hierarchy tended to be the voice that spoke for the church. "That is still an important voice, but there are many other voices in the public conversation about the church. There are many men and women with theological education and in leadership and ministry roles and are not part of the hierarchy."

"Diversity creates tension necessarily and healthily," said the Rev. Robert Beck, professor of theology at Loras College in Dubuque. "Diversity is good, though the tension is hard to put up with. The problem is in keeping the parts of the church talking to each other."

In such a diverse church, what is the glue that holds it together?

"It is a faith that transcends human diversity," said McBrien. "What keeps liberals and progressives in the church at a time when they are being trampled on is their faith. They believe in the gospel, the values preached by Jesus. The Catholic Church is their home and family. They aren't going to leave their family and they aren't going to ask their rude and embarrassing relatives to leave."

Beck suggested that the sacraments, the authority of the church and a certain "Catholic style, a Catholic sense of life that one shares," would be given by many as elements of the glue. He, too, came around to a sense of family. "The church is like a family reunion. Some of the members may be cantankerous, but they are still family."

"This is clearly a church rooted in the gospel, sacramental life, a long sense of history and reflection on what the word of God means in each generation," said Poochigian .

Robert Beck Church is like a family reunion Ruth Poochigian There are many voices . . . Richard McBrien Faith transcends diversity.

Among the five men and two women Wilson appointed were the aides who will help him pick judges, choose political appointees and lobby the Legislature.

The seven will join Wilson's longtime chief of staff, Bob White, and a handful of other top aides who were named shortly after the Nov. 6 election. Wilson has about 10 more jobs to fill in his inner circle, as well as more than two dozen cabinet secretaries and department directors to name.

The only newcomer in the group named Tuesday is Mark Davis, who will leave a speech-writing job with President Bush to become Wilson's chief speech writer and solicit ideas from California's universities and private policy think tanks. His job will be director of writing and research.

The others on the list are:

* Janice Rogers Brown, legal affairs secretary. Brown has worked for the Legislature and the state Department of Justice and was deputy secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing under Gov. George Deukmejian. Most recent, she worked for a Sacramento law firm that includes among its partners Steven Merksamer, Deukmejian's former chief of staff.

* Allan Zaremberg, legislative secretary. Zaremberg has worked for Deukmejian for 10 years, first as his legislative representative when he was attorney general, then as deputy legislative secretary in the governor's office and finally in the top job.

* Maureen Higgins, deputy legislative affairs secretary. Higgins is now Deukmejian's director of housing and community development. She worked in Deukmejian's legislative unit from 1983 to 1988.

* Terrance Flanigan, appointments secretary. Flanigan has known Wilson since he was a deputy city attorney and Wilson was mayor of San Diego. Before becoming Deukmejian's appointments director in 1988, Flanigan was a deputy in that office and a lobbyist for the California State Bar and the California Manufacturers Assn.

* Chuck Poochigian, chief deputy appointments secretary. Appointed by Deukmejian to a seat on the state Fair Employment and Housing Commission, Poochigian has been deputy appointments secretary since 1988. Before that, he was a lawyer in private practice in Fresno.

* David Caffrey, deputy chief of staff for administration. Caffrey, who has been an aide to Deukmejian since his days as attorney general, is now the governor's Cabinet secretary.

Wilson's press secretary, Bill Livingstone, said the governor-elect chose several Deukmejian aides for his Administration to take advantage of their expertise. Livingstone said Wilson may give his assistants different marching orders than they have had under his predecessor.

"Wilson has a different style," Livingstone said. "It is going to be Wilson's agenda that these individuals are supporting."

Livingstone said Flanigan's knowledge of the process will enable Wilson to move "much more quickly" to make the appointments needed to get the government running "at full speed."