/raid1/www/Hosts/bankrupt/TCR_Public/960223.MBX BANKRUPTCY CREDITORS' SERVICE, INC.


Bankruptcy News For - February 23, 1996



  1. G.ROBERT DURHAM TO RETIRE AS CHAIRMAN & CEO OF WALTER INDUSTRIES; KENNETH E. HYATT NAMED SUCCESSOR
  2. Radiant Technology receives final decree releasing it from Chapter 11
  3. KMART WILL CLOSE 15 STORES IN MAY
  4. DCR: SLUGGISH RETAIL INDUSTRY AGGRAVATES COMPANY-SPECIFIC SHORTFALLS
  5. NEW DIMENSIONS IN MEDICINE, INC. COMPLETES SALE OF ASSETS
  6. APPLIED DIGITAL ACCESS ANNOUNCES ASSET PURCHASE
  7. GOVERNMENT ORDERED TO RESTORE MEDICARE PAYMENTS TO FIRST AMERICAN EMPLOYEES WILL GET PAYCHECKS MONDAY



G.ROBERT DURHAM TO RETIRE AS CHAIRMAN & CEO OF WALTER INDUSTRIES;
        KENNETH E. HYATT NAMED SUCCESSOR
        


            TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 23, 1996 - Walter
Industries, Inc.

        today announced that Kenneth E. Hyatt, currently president and chief
        operating officer, will succeed G. Robert Durham as chairman and
        chief executive officer upon Mr. Durham's retirement at the end of
        the company's current fiscal year, on May 31,1996.
        


            Mr. Hyatt, 55, who is also a director, joined Walter Industries
        as president and chief operating officer in September 1995 following
        his tenure as president and chief executive officer of The Celotex
        Corporation, a major building materials manufacturer and former
        Walter Industries subsidiary.  Mr. Hyatt had served in various
        executive and management positions with Walter Industries'
        predecessor company, Jim Walter Corporation, prior to the company's
        1988 leveraged buyout.

        
            He joined The Georgia Marble Company, a former Jim Walter
        subsidiary, in 1966, and rose through its ranks to become president
        in 1976.  In 1984 he was named a vice president and group executive
        of Jim Walter Corporation and for the ensuing four years had
        corporate responsibility for several companies that remain part of
        Walter Industries today, including the company's coal mining and
        methane gas, coke and chemicals, and aluminum operations.
   

     
            He was elected executive vice president and chief operating
        officer of Jim Walter Corporation in 1986; but following the
        company's leveraged buyout by the New York investment firm of
        Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., he joined a group of former Jim
        Walter executives who participated with an Alabama-based investor
        group in the acquisition of Celotex and certain related businesses.
        Celotex achieved record profitability during Mr. Hyatt's tenure as
        its president and chief executive officer.

        
            "Given Ken Hyatt's depth of background with the company as well
        as his broad manufacturing and executive experience, I'm confident
        that Walter Industries will prosper under his leadership," Mr.
        Durham said in announcing the changes.  An executive search firm has
        been engaged to identify internal and external candidates to succeed
        Mr. Hyatt as president and chief operating officer.
   

     
            Mr. Hyatt is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology
        where he earned a bachelor degree in civil engineering in 1962 and a
        master of science degree in industrial management in 1966.  He
        served as an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1962 to 1965.  He is a
        director of Barnett Bank of Tampa and the United Way of Hillsborough
        County, a member of The Florida Council of 100, and a trustee of the
        University of Tampa, also serving as chairman of the Business
        Advisory Council for the University's School of Business.  An Eagle
        Scout, he is a director and immediate past president of the Gulf
        Ridge Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

        
            "Our challenge is to create opportunities for earnings
        consistency and enhanced shareholder value that can be sustained
        over the long term," Mr. Hyatt said.  "Thanks to the efforts of Bull
        Durham and a strong management team, Walter Industries is in the
        best position in many years to build upon the intrinsic strengths of
        our unique mix of businesses."
   

     
            Mr. Durham, 67, joined Walter Industries in June 1991 as
        president and chief executive officer and became only the second
        chairman of the board in the company's 50 year history following the
        retirement of company founder and chairman James W. Walter last
        October.  Prior to joining Walter Industries, Mr. Durham had served
        as chairman, president and chief executive officer of Phelps Dodge
        Corporation, from which he had retired - for a second time - in 1989
        at age 60.

        
            "I am very pleased to announce this important step in the
        ongoing transition of senior management at the company," Mr. Durham
        said.  "When I emerged from early retirement in 1991 to assume the
        CEO role here, I did so with the understanding of the company's
        board of directors that my tenure would be determined by the earlier
        reaching of our successful emergence and transition from Chapter 11
        reorganization or my fifth anniversary with the comp any.  The
        former goal has been accomplished and Walter Industries is now
        poised for a very positive future.  So, this is both a timely and
        personally gratifying decision for me."
   

     
            Note:  Walter Industries, based in Tampa, Florida, is a
        diversified, multi-subsidiary corporation with major interests in
        two business areas: homebuilding and financing and industrial
        operations.  Walter Industries and its subsidiaries employ more than
        7,800 at manufacturing facilities and sales offices throughout the
        United States, generating sales and revenues in excess of $1.4
        billion annually.
      


        CONTACT:  David L. Townsend of Walter Industries, Inc.,
        813-871-4448; or Brian Maddox or Erika Brown of Morgen-Walke,
        Associates, Inc., 212-850-5600



Radiant Technology receives final
decree releasing it from Chapter 11
        


            ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Feb. 23, 1996 -- href="chap11.radiant.html">Radiant
        Technology Corp.
(RTNC) received the final decree releasing it
from
        Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on Feb. 21, 1996.
        


            The company sought protection of the Bankruptcy Court on Nov.
        12, 1993 as the result of an avaricious lawsuit over perceived prior
        rents owed.
        


            The company produces precision temperature controlled belt
        furnaces that are primarily used by the electronics and
        semiconductor manufacturing industries.
        


            Throughout the reorganization procedure the company was
        supported by its loyal customers, suppliers and shareholders.  It
        emerges from its voluntary confines profitable, with a strong
        backlog and a confident management team.
        


        CONTACT:  Radiant Technology Corp.,
                  Merci Gingrich, 714/961-0200



KMART WILL CLOSE 15 STORES IN MAY
        


            TROY, Mich., Feb. 23, 1996 - Kmart Corporation (NYSE: KM)
        today announced it will close 15 of its discount stores in eight
        states on or about May 26, 1996, which do not meet the company's
        sales, profit and return on investment requirements.  The closings
        are consistent with the company's ongoing efforts to improve the
        profitability of its core discount business.  Kmart previously
        announced it expects to close up to 60 stores in 1996 and open 30
        traditional discount stores.
        


        The closing stores include the following:

        
         CALIFORNIA
         Calexico, 2340 Imperial Ave. East
         Mission Viejo, 28601 Los Alisos
         Perris, 681 E. San Jacinto
         Rialto, 850 E. Foothill Blvd.
         Vista, 650 Sycamore Ave.
        
         MAINE
         Skowhegan, RR .5
        
         MICHIGAN
         Mt. Clemens, 50 N. Groesbeck Hwy.
         Wyoming, 155 28th St., SW
        
         NEW JERSEY
         Pennsville, 247 N. Broadway
        
         OHIO
         Oxford, Toll Gate Mall, S. Locust St.
        
         OREGON
         Medford, 251 Barnett Rd.
        
         RHODE ISLAND
         Coventry, 1141 Tiogue Ave.
        
         TEXAS
         Austin, 4001 S. Lama Blvd.
         Garland, 1406 Walnut
         Houston, 11037 E. Freeway
        
            "Through the company's process of focusing on our core discount
        store business, these 15 stores were identified as not meeting
        Kmart's necessary return on investment requirements to remain open
        or renew the leases," said Donald W. Keeble, executive vice
        president, store operations.

        
            As a result of these store closings, approximately 1,300 jobs
        will be eliminated.  Affected associates will receive any eligible
        benefits due at the time of actual termination.
   

     
            Kmart Corporation serves America with 2,163 Kmart and 167
        Builders Square retail outlets.  In addition to serving all 50
        states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, Kmart
        operations extend to Canada, the Czech Republic and Slovakia and,
        through joint ventures, to Mexico and Singapore.
      


        CONTACT:  Mary Lorencz, Corporate Affairs of Kmart, 810-643-1021



DCR: SLUGGISH RETAIL INDUSTRY AGGRAVATES COMPANY-SPECIFIC
SHORTFALLS
        


            CHICAGO, Feb. 23, 1996 - Retailers looking for a light at
        the end of the tunnel probably won't find it in 1996, according to
        Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co. (DCR) analysts.
        


            "From a business perspective, the retail industry is weaker than
        usual, and it will probably remain so over another cycle. We're
        looking for the environment to stay the same or get even worse,"
        said Thomas Razukas, a DCR group vice president in charge of retail
        ratings.
        


            This is bad news for retailers that have deep-seated, systemic
        problems in operations, merchandise execution or marketing. Such
        weaknesses might be easier to hide in an up-cycle, but given that
        today's conditions bear witness to low consumer demand and a
        saturated marketplace, companies saddled with any combination of the
        above shortfalls are hard-pressed to mask them.

        
            "Regardless of where they are in the business cycle, companies
        with these problems will underperform. But today's conditions
        exacerbate the situation because they're not allowed the time to
        turn things around," said Doris Nakamura, a DCR retail analyst.
   

     
            DCR has taken several rating actions in recent weeks on large
        retailers.  Four of the actions were downgrades, which at first
        glance appears in keeping with the onslaught of gloomy headlines
        that have prevailed recently regarding this industry, and one was an
        upgrade.
      

  
            However, while the rating actions are coincident with all the
        news stories about the sluggish retail environment, including poor
        holiday sales and disappointing yearend results, DCR analysts
        confirm that more contributes to a rating action than what is in
        today's news.

        
            "From a credit perspective, the retail environment being soft
        does not, on its own, necessarily warrant rating action," said
        Nakamura. "We're looking at the entire business cycle. Given that
        longer-term outlook, we look at each company, case by case, and try
        to determine where the credits fall."
   

     
            DCR's recent downgrades of the debt ratings of Woolworth Corp.
        (BBB-) and Kmart Corp. (BB) reflect companywide operational
        difficulties that have been aggravated by the current industry
        conditions. The common denominator of the downgrades is the absence
        of a clearly defined, workable turnaround strategy to combat
        weaknesses that today's environment has brought to the surface.

        
            Dayton Hudson Corp. (A-), on the other hand, owes its recent
        downgrade to the poor performance of one division. The firm's
        apparel- dependent Mervyn's department store chain has tried many
        unsuccessful strategies to win over consumers. The company's other
        divisions, however, including Target, Marshall Fields and Dayton's,
        remain solid performers in their respective formats and have strong
        long-term prospects.
   

     
            And Toys "R" Us Inc. (AA) is finding that, despite its excellent
        financial position, discounters are changing the competitive
        landscape of toy retailing and increasing the level of business
        risk.  Although traditional statistics that serve as benchmarks for
        the economy's health have been strong for more than five years,
        including low unemployment and low inflation, not all indicators
        bode well for retailers.
      

  
            For example, while it's good news for the overall economy that
        inflation has been virtually flat for several years, retailers have
        been unable to pass their rising cost of goods sold and operating
        expenses onto consumers.

        
            Additionally, headline-making layoffs and two partial government
        shutdowns have sent job security shockwaves through the American
        workforce, causing consumers to become more cautious with their
        wallets. Add to this, rising installment debt levels and a shift in
        the spending priorities of the baby boomer generation - the age
        group with the most disposable income - and the result is an all-out
        pressure situation for retailers.
   

     
            The primary problem plaguing retailers today is that the growth
        in the number of competitors - more specifically, growth in actual
        square footage of retailing space - has far exceeded consumer demand
        in recent years, said Marvin Behm, a DCR retail analyst. "Right now,
        it's a huge marketshare game. The demand isn't growing, but the
        individual size and the number of players is," he said.

        
            Companies that have been able to increase marketshare have done
        so by taking marketshare from weaker peers, he added.
   

     
            Despite the formidable retail conditions, there remain strong
        players. Companies with high financial flexibility and strong
        merchandising execution strategies are the ones most likely to make
        it through the current retail downturn.
      

  
            Sears, Roebuck & Co. (A) has consistently demonstrated
        resilience in the face of the challenging retail climate. The firm
        has made good progress in correcting systemic problems such as
        bloated overhead, poor productivity and declining customer
        perceptions. Its solid sales growth, particularly in apparel, and
        control of expenses contributed to the recent upgrade in Sears'
        senior debt.
        


            "Looking five or 10 years down the road, we believe Sears is
        still going to have a strong retail presence, no matter where we are
        in the business cycle," Behm said.

        
            Behm also pointed to Wal-Mart as a retailer "most likely to
        succeed."  The discounter has consistently reinvested the success of
        its core business back into its core business to keep its operating
        performance sharp. On the other hand, Woolworth and Kmart invested
        the cash generated by their core businesses into riskier, unproven
        concepts, losing marketshare in their core operations along the way,
        he said.
   

     
            And for weaker entities, the competitive landscape keeps getting
        rockier. "We expect more consolidation at all levels," said Razukas,
        adding that company-specific weaknesses will lead to the collapse of
        weak discounters, department stores and specialty concepts into
        their stronger competitors.
      

  
            Especially in sectors that remain heavily fragmented, such as
        furniture and auto parts, consolidation is a likely trend for the
        future, Razukas predicted. But even in sectors that are already
        tremendously consolidated, more consolidation is not out of the
        question.
        


            Best Buy (BBB-) and Circuit City, for example, took early
        advantage of the heavily fragmented electronics industry and
        expanded rapidly to most regions of the country. Today, the two
        compete for the same customer base to increase their marketshare,
        simultaneously struggling to fend off superstores and department
        stores that have stepped up their electronics offerings, such as
        Sears and Montgomery Ward.

        
            More than anything, today's conditions demand that retailers
        retain their strength in the formats in which they compete and
        carefully consider at would distract management or dollars from core
        operations, DCR analysts agree.
   

     
            DCR's current outlook on the retail industry is conservative.
        Because the industry has become increasingly volatile and much more
        cyclical in recent years, conditions that exacerbate the industry's
        position in the business cycle make it difficult to predict the
        sustainability of credit strength.
      

  
            Still, although DCR closely monitors industry trends, it is
        company- specific strength - and how that strength is impacted by
        industry trends - that DCR considers primary when assigning or
        adjusting credit ratings.


        CONTACT:  Doris Nakamura, 312-368-3130, or Marvin Behm,
        312-368-3209, both of Duff & Phelps, for information on the retail
        industry

New Dimensions in Medicine Inc. completes sale of assets to CONMED
Corporation and Paul Hartmann AG and stockholders approve plan of liquidation
        


            DAYTON, Ohio -- Feb. 23, 1996 --  New Dimensions In
        Medicine, Inc.  (NASDAQ/OTC: NDIM) announced that at the special
        meeting of stockholders held earlier today, NDM's stockholders
        approved the sale of substantially all of NDM's business and assets
        to CONMED Corporation (NASDAQ: CNMD) and NDM's Plan of Complete
        Liquidation and Dissolution by the affirmative vote of a majority of
        the shares outstanding.  Immediately following the stockholders'
        meeting, NDM consummated the sale of assets to CONMED for
        approximately $32,000,000 in cash, and NDM also completed the
        previously announced sale of its international wound care business
        to Paul Hartmann AG, a company organized under the laws of the
        Federal Republic of Germany, for $5,000,000 in cash, of which
        $600,000 will be held in escrow for up to two years to secure
        certain obligations and potential claims relating to the
        international wound care business.  
        


            Pursuant to NDM's Plan of Liquidation, NDM will transfer all of
        its assets remaining after the CONMED and Hartmann transactions to a
        newly-formed liquidating trust by March 1, 1996, or shortly
        thereafter, for distribution to stockholders after satisfaction of
        NDM's outstanding liabilities.  NDM's Board of Directors has
        appointed James A.  Potter as the liquidating trustee of NDM.  Mr.
        Potter is the administrator of the MEI Diversified Liquidating
        Trust, which was established in connection with the bankruptcy
        proceedings of MEI Diversified Inc., the former parent of NDM.  

        
            NDM anticipates that the initial liquidation distribution to its
        stockholders pursuant to the Plan of Liquidation will be made to
        stockholders of record as of the close of business today in an
        amount approximately $4.32 per share of common stock.  Such
        distribution is expected to be made to stockholders during the week
        of February 26, 1996.  NDM anticipates filing a Certificate of
        Dissolution with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware
        immediately following the initial liquidation distribution to NDM's
        stockholders and the transfer of NDM's remaining assets to the
        liquidating trust.  

        
            It is expected that the final record date for the determination
        of stockholders entitled to any further distributions from the
        liquidating trust will be set as of the close of business on March
        1, 1996, or such later date on which NDM's assets are transferred to
        the liquidating trust.  Subsequent distributions, if any, will be
        made by the liquidating trust, at such time as the liquidating
        trustee determines, after payment or discharge of NDM's remaining
        liabilities and obligations to the stockholders of record as of such
        final record date.  Shares of common stock of NDM will cease to be
        transferable after such final record date and thereafter will
        represent solely the right to receive a pro rata beneficial interest
        in the liquidating trust.  It is possible that any final liquidation
        distribution from the liquidating trust may not be made for
        approximately three years or a longer period of time if the
        liquidating trustee determines that additional time is reasonably
        necessary to pay or make provision for NDM's liabilities.  
   

     
            NDM is a developer and manufacturer of electrocardiograph (ECG)
        monitoring electrodes, electrosurgical products and hydrogel wound
        dressings.  

        
            CONMED is a manufacturer and worldwide distributor of
        electrosurgery, heart monitoring and other medical products used
        primarily in hospital operating rooms and other critical areas.
        Hartman has been NDM's distributor of wound care products in Germany
        and Austria for a number of years.  
   


        CONTACT: Philip J. Oliver,
                 New Dimensions in Medicine, Inc.,
                 (513) 294-1767, ext. 288
        



APPLIED DIGITAL ACCESS ANNOUNCES ASSET
PURCHASE
        


            SAN DIEGO, Feb. 23, 1996 - Applied Digital Access, Inc.
        (Nasdaq: ADAX) has announced that it was the successful bidder for
        certain assets of Applied Computing
Devices
, a company that develops
        and markets operations support software used primarily by
        independent telephone companies to manage certain functions in their
        networks.  The current customer set and products of Applied
        Computing Devices complement those of ADA.  ADA bid $1.7 million in
        cash for the assets of Applied Computing Devices at an auction held
        in Federal Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Indiana, Terra
        Haute, Indiana.  Terms of the bid require the transaction to close
        on Thursday, February 29, 1996.

        
            While Applied Computing Devices has generated significant
        revenue in the past, it has been in bankruptcy since September, 1995
        and has not generated significant revenue in recent months.  At this
        time it is not possible to determine what the effect of the purchase
        of the assets of Applied Computing Device may be on either ADA's
        1996 revenue or its earnings.  As ADA invests in product
        development, marketing, and sales support for the acquired products,
        expenses could have a negative effect on future operating results.
   

     
            ADA is a leading provider of test and performance monitoring
        systems that enable telephone companies to manage their high-
        bandwidth networks from centralized locations.  ADA's products are
        designed to allow rapid restoral of service and reduce costs by
        remotely detecting and isolating problems in telephone networks.
        The Company is headquartered in San Diego, California.


        CONTACT:  Pete Savage, or Rich Carter, both of Applied Digital
        Access, 619-623-2200; Rolf Rudestam of The Rudestam Group,
        909-585-2012




GOVERNMENT ORDERED TO RESTORE MEDICARE PAYMENTS TO FIRST AMERICAN;
EMPLOYEES WILL GET PAYCHECKS MONDAY

        
            BRUNSWICK, Ga., Feb. 23, 1996 - A Savannah Federal
        Bankruptcy court today ordered the government to immediately resume
        Medicare reimbursement payments to First
American Health Care
.
        Following the announcement, the company said that employees will be
        receiving paychecks as of Monday, Feb. 26, 1996.
        


            "This move by the court signals a new beginning for First
        American Health Care," said interim CEO Frank Chamberlain, after
        learning of the court order this afternoon.
        


            The company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
        earlier this week after the Health Care Financing Administration
        (HCFA) cut off reimbursement payments on February 12.  Chamberlain
        said the company has already embarked on a series of moves designed
        to reassure HCFA, its employees and its patients that it will
        continue to provide first quality care throughout the 23 states that
        it serves.

        
            "Our first objective was to demonstrate that we are solvent and
        taking care of every patient and employee," Chamberlain said.  "We
        are most pleased with the quick decision by the court because it
        provides us with the opportunity to move quickly and positively
        toward our new goals."
   

     
            Chamberlain and Charles L. Cansler, interim CFO, were appointed
        to fill posts vacated by First American owners Jack and Margie
        Mills, who withdrew from corporate management Monday.  Chamberlain
        and Cansler are partners in an Atlanta firm specializing in
        corporate transition and have extensive experience in helping
        companies during critical turnaround periods.
      

  
            First American Health Care is the nation's largest privately
        held home health care provider and employees 16,000 people in over
        450 locations in 23 states.  The company provides home health care
        services to more than 32,000 elderly patients.


        CONTACT:  Jeff Stives, First American Health Care, 912-264-1940