LEX LUTHOR
BACK HOME

By Frank Moore

After a month's stay at Belle Reve Sanitarium, Lex Luthor has come home rested, relaxed and raring to get back to work. "Lex has had an extremely stressful year," said Mitchell Taylor, spokesman for LuthorCorp and the Luthor family. "He just needed a break to sort out some issues."

The past year was indeed an emotional roller coaster for the young tycoon. First, there was his wedding to Helen Bryce, followed by a plane crash that resulted in Lex being stranded on a deserted island for three months. Then after Lex's dramatic return, tragedy struck again when the couple tried to resume their honeymoon, leading to another accident that left Lex's bride missing. Top it all off with a merger between LexCorp and LuthorCorp that gave Lex a major executive role in the conglomerate run by his father, Lionel Luthor, and it's easy to see how the pressure could build up and exhaustion could set in.

In particular, Lex's lonely ordeal on the island may have been more traumatic than doctors originally suspected. Following the caring advice of psychiatrist Dr. Claire Foster [who was, tragically, recently killed in a car crash--see accompanying article], Lionel Luthor agreed to admit Lex to Belle Reve. "Lionel loves his son more than anything else," Taylor said. "He wanted to ensure that Lex had the best treatment possible and access to the latest in therapeutic techniques."

Now back at Luthor Mansion, Lex appears completely rejuvenated by his time away, according to sources. He is expected to resume his day-to-day duties soon, supervising his father's diverse business interests. "Everyone at LuthorCorp Plaza is excited by Lex's return," Taylor noted. "The atmosphere here is positively electric."

CONTROVERSIAL PSYCHIATRIST
KILLED IN CRASH
By Angie Perez

Claire Foster, a prominent yet controversial psychiatrist, died in a single car crash yesterday off Highway 54. Her vehicle, which had crashed into a tree, was spotted by a passing motorist. Sheriff Nancy Adams arrived on the scene and reported, "It's very strange. Usually with an accident like this, one finds skid marks. But either she didn't brake or they just plain didn't work. You can bet we'll check this one out real close."

Foster was embroiled in a medical malpractice lawsuit when her highly controversial method of electroshock therapy rendered her patient, Brent Watkins, comatose. The suit was eventually dropped, but opponents of the procedure insist the Watkins family was paid to end the suit.

Foster received her undergraduate and medical degrees from Metropolis University and later moved to Bludhaven to continue her research into the therapeutic uses of powerful mind-altering drugs and procedures. But
eventually Foster began testing a new method of electroshock therapy, also referred to as electroconvulsive therapy or ECT. The treatment introduces electric current through the brain.

The author of the book Shattering Psychosis: Recent Advancements in the Treatment of Mental Illness, Foster was heralded by some in the field of psychiatry, but famed psychotherapist Dr. Gena Dill of the Mustard Clinic in Wisconsin was not a fan. She stated, "People didn't know if she was ahead of her time or behind. I say behind. Her electroshock therapy was archaic. We have modern drugs that greatly enhance patients' lives. We don't need to erase someone's memory. We must counsel them to learn to accept the past and move on. No one should alter a person's memory."
Foster had lost her grant recently, and the source of funding she used to continue her research is unknown. Claire Foster, 51, is survived by two brothers, Frank and George, both living in Metropolis.

THE RELUCTANT PROPHET

Deciphering the Legacy of Ezra Small

By Christopher James Beppo

What an experience it has been to immerse myself in the diaries of Ezra Small. In the months since my last article on the subject, I have moved forward several years in the man's life, piecing together the scattered fragments of his yellowing pages into some semblance of a logical order. I remain unsure that any concrete answers lie among the remaining crates of brittle papers, but I'm compelled by the wild hope that the mysteries contained in them can and will be solved someday.

Never did I imagine when I first applied for exclusive scholarly access to the McDaniel Collection at the Lowell County Historical Society and dusted off those first, unassuming pages that this initially academic undertaking would become a passion involving not only myself but the numerous members of the Ezra Small Project, a loosely based and rapidly growing consortium devoted to getting inside the mind of the enigmatic man who founded Smallville in the second half of the 19th century.

As we all learned in grade school, Smallville got its name from Ezra's ramshackle assemblage of mud and thatch huts by the side of the Elbow River that comprised one of the first trading posts in the area. But historians have never established some very basic facts of Smallville's early days. When was Ezra born? When and how did he found the town that bears his name? What were the circumstances of his later years and death? And most tantalizing of all, how did this earthy, itinerant trapper who may never have set foot in a classroom seem to know so much about the entire world at the time, arcane facts and theories from the past and, most bizarrely, events that must have followed his death by decades?

One certainty, however, is that Ezra Small was no self-satisfied, bearded mystic, wafting pages from an ivory tower and sagely prophesizing for the edification of future generations. If anything, the process by which these "visions" manifested themselves was an intensely painful and largely unwelcome one for Ezra. In many passages, he describes the dreadful anticipation of another "spell" and his desire for the uneventful, quiet life of hunting and trapping that preceded his fateful encounter with a Windigo in the waning months of 1833. In fact, it is only because of the relief that Ezra apparently gained from purging his thoughts on paper that this extraordinary bequest now exists.

The Ledger has kindly allowed me a sabbatical from my regular reporting duties and will occasionally provide space in upcoming issues for diary excerpts, no matter how cryptic they may appear, for the historical interest of the public. But until Ezra Small's entire output is read, unraveled and catalogued, whether by me or whoever takes up the task after me, his fascinating story can have no beginning, middle or end. At this point, it only exists as endless strings of tightly scrawled words and characters filling the surface of page after page.

LANA LANG'S HOMECOMING

Friends Welcome Back Talon Manager

By Kathy Romita

After suffering a harrowing horse accident last month that left her leg broken in three places, Lana Lang received a hero's welcome at The Talon coffeehouse last night. Over 50 friends packed the popular Main Street hangout. Lang, a junior at Smallville High School, is manager and part-owner of The Talon. Twinkling lights adorned the establishment providing a whimsical atmosphere. Fellow SHS student Pete Ross provided the musical entertainment with his expert deejaying ability.

Lang was hospitalized at the Smallville Medical Center for nearly one month and underwent extensive physical therapy. Just a week ago, Lang needed crutches to walk and now simply uses a cane. Lang said, "It's been a tough road. I didn't give up, though. Sometimes we really need to push beyond our limits in order to succeed. It was an extremely painful process, but it's starting to pay off."

Lang credits the Center's staff and a fellow patient for her successful recovery.