Hutchinson News (Newspaper) - August 16, 1975, Hutchinson, Kansas Joan Little became symbol for women's rights By United Press International It's been almost a year since a young black woman fled into the darkness from a jail in rural eastern North leaving a 62-year-old white man bloodied from icepick wounds in her On Friday a Superior Court jury acquitted Little of the murder of a A jury of six blacks and six whites deliberated for one hour and 21 minutes before announcing the Joan Little was 20 years convicted of breaking and and had worked at jobs ranging from waitress to a sheetrock She is 21 now according to her chief defense Jerry by to advance the cause of civil rights and women's rights in the Miss Little turned herself in eight days after Beaufort County jailer Clarence Alligood was found dead in her contending that she stabbed him in self-defense after he forced her to perform an oral sex act. With sex and race her plight drew statewide attention at the after women's rights and civil rights groups began hailing the case as an example of sexism and repression in the rural publicity snowballed and the case became one of the year's most celebrated Under the banner of the Joan Little Defense Fund Inc. and through the Southern Poverty Law Center Inc. of more than was raised for her The prosecution contended Miss a native of the community of Chocowinity near lured Alligood into her cell with a promise of sex and stabbed him to Calm and Miss Little was her own best witness in a five-week trial in Wake County Superior Court Unshaken under rigorous she insisted that she grabbed the icepick from Alligood and struck out at him and that the jailer was standing beside her nude from the waist down with a on his when she She said she was not the type of person who would leave anyone not even the man who had attacked She said she thought the wounds were not I had know how many times he had been I would have stayed she wouldn't have left him there to She showed little emotion throughout the except when she described the stabbing of Alligood on the witness stand and broke into A short recess was called and she had composed herself when the trial Miss Little was the oldest child in a family of nine children and missed graduation from high school by three weeks because of an operation for a thyroid She lived with her grandmother during most of her school Her father left home when she was 10 and her mother was absorbed by grandmother was really very close to she told the paid a lot of attention to me. She was really the only mother I had at the She said she read to her helped with chores and ran Her who has attended every session of the sometimes accompanied by one or more of Miss Little's younger brothers or While attending Miss Little worked tobacco and held several waitress After the operation for thyroid which still occasionally bothers she lived briefly with relatives in New York and When she returned to she held a job as a garment worker and then as a sheetrock hanger until she was arrested on two separate shoplifting charges in early 1974. The first charge was dismissed but she was convicted of the second and received a six-month suspended Three days on Jan. 15, 1974, she and a younger brother were charged with breaking and entering at a local trailer In the trial in her brother testified against her and she was convicted and sentenced to seven to 10 years in Her brother received a suspended Miss Little could not make the bond and was jailed at the Beaufort County jail in Washington to await her It was in the early morning hours 81 days on Aug. 27, 1974, that Alligood The prosecution tried to show that Miss Little was desperate to escape to see her Scribbled love notes were introduced as But the defense countered with three former women prisoners who told of sexual advances by Miss who has been free on bond totaling since February and attending rallies around the country in her says that at times she has been exhausted physically and mentally since she became a national But she says she has always been able to steel herself for the ordeal when it became am a black woman fighting for what I thought was says Miss Hutchinson News 104th Year No. 44 30 Pages August 16, 1975 Kansas 662-3311 15c Bennett appeals for disaster aid Kan. Robert Bennett Friday appealed directly to President Ford for a disaster declaration and federal assistance for Cedar Colby and nearby counties struck last June by storms and In mid July the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration turned down the governor's initial request for disaster relief that time my staff has been directed to review the damage sustained by the several counties and to determine the amount of the disaster costs each county was willing to assume without requesting the governor said in his letter to the Bennett said 19 counties sustained estimated damage to roads and bridges and can be assumed by the Bennett said Cedar Vale sustained in uninsured Thomas W. division American Red estimates as many as 55 individuals or families in Colby will need assistance when they return to the two damaged apartment the governor Bennett said Irving estimated would be needed in grant aid for The governor said the state has made contributions or commitments totaling to Cedar Vale and Colby which will not be covered by federal He said the total state and local government contributions to the area is consideration is given to the estimates of all farm and crop damage amounting to a total of number of counties have not completed their this appears to be a significant amount which has been assumed by units of government and the constituents of the Bennett stated in my initial the areas for which assistance is requested are struggling to meet ongoing financial requirements without the added burden caused by this the governor behalf of the citizens of Kansas and the political it is requested that favorable reconsideration be given to declare portions of the state of Kansas a major disaster area and eligible for federal disaster Counties sustaining road and bridge damage from the storms - Decatur - Graham - Rawlins Sheridan - Norton Sedgwick Marion Osage and Franklin Payments balance stays on plus side WASHINGTON U.S. balance of bolstered by less foreign less foreign travel by and more scored a billion surplus in the second quarter of the the Commerce Department reported ' This surplus followed a billion surplus in the first quarter - the first time quarterly surpluses have been posted back-to-back since the measurement began in 1960. The balance of payments is the measurement of U.S. dollar flow abroad compared with the flow of foreign currencies into the United The surpluses indicated that the dollar was stronger against other world and for the average American that means less inflationary pressures at The U.S. balance of payments has traditionally been in deficit because of U.S. Weather KANSAS - Clear to partly cloudy and pleasant Saturday through Highs Saturday mid 80s to around 90. Lows Saturday night mid 50s and mid to upper 60s Highs Sunday upper 80s to lower 90s. Hutchinson Weather Friday's high 93 at 4:15 low 68 at 6 a.m. Record high 108 in 1956; record low 48 in 1920. 0-5 30.02. Sunset 8:24 p.m. Sunrise 6:48 a.m. investment in foreign countries and European vacations by But American businessmen are spending less in foreign plants and Americans are traveling less The second quarter showed a billion surplus in merchandise which reflected sharply higher food exports and lower oil resulting from the recession and rising fuel U.S. business also reduced its investments abroad billion in the first quarter to million in the second The two consecutive surplus quarters followed deficits of billion and billion in 1974. The billion surplus was the third highest on Five nabbed after break in Police arrested five persons early Friday morning in connection with a break in at the Pic shop at 1901 East 4th. Arrested and jailed were Manford D. Larry Dennis both of 521 North Danny D. 528 North and two Entry into the shop was gained by breaking a Officers captured the youths after spotting them running from the Ryan was released on bond Friday afternoon but the others remained in Fire destroys Anthony store READY FOR FOOTBALL - The city of Lewis is installing new bleachers this fall for their football Tony Galyardt and Frank employed by the put a primer coat of Oil tanker blaze photo by Tim paint on the underside of the bleachers before the main coat of paint is The bleachers were turned upright to make the job By Carl E. Richardson ANTHONY - An early morning fire destroyed a supermarket and damaged three businesses here Friday The Larry's 107 East was gutted by the Three adjacent Campbell's Variety Betty's Beauty Shop and the office of dentist Erwin received extensive smoke Damage to the which had only four walls left standing after the is estimated to be between No one was in the buildings time of the nor were there any injuries suffered as a result of the No other businesses or residences were damaged by the The alarm for the fire was received at 6:50 a.m. The Anthony and Harper fire departments responded and had the fire under control within two The two fire companies had a total of six fire trucks and 30 men on the scene according to Anthony Fire Chief Alvin Asked where the fire Paterson started in the mechanical room of the The Anthony fire chief said the cause of the fire is still under Paterson said there was a lot of but not a lot of The Anthony fire chief said there was never any threat of the fire spreading because the small complex of buildings was in an isolated He said an alley was on one side and a parking lot on the The fire alarm was turned in by Paul was putting up a sidewalk in front of Marshall's Jewelry and was barricading up the street so I could get my equipment Cullop Cullop said he looked up and Narrow escape from flames Tex. - The chief officer and engineer of the awakened by the collision with an oil had no time to dress in their scramble to escape the flames sweeping the One made it into a The other jumped into the flaming sea without a lifejacket and swam several miles to Chief Officer Reidar 44, of said his crewmen hurriedly found lifeboats or Already there had been one explosion and another appeared Ran don't think there was any said treated for a minor foot injury and released from John Sealy were trained not to get I have been on the sea since I was 15. You don't get scared when things happen so I scared Knutsen ran out of his two decks above the main and saw the flames all He and others lowered a lifeboat over the side where there was no but the flames quickly spread toward was all over the We couldn't see he water was burning all around on all so we rowed away from Wept his face blackened by the oil stood barefoot outside the Sealy emergency room with seven other including the Sun's Capt. E. who were treated and He stopped a hospital official and asked about another Norweigan Gudmund The official told him Veting was burned over 80 per cent of his body and was in critical Knutsen turned slightly and Chief engineer Reidar 37, was flown with 14 others to Ellington Air Force Base near He said in a telephone interview he had to swim to safety dressed only in his underwear and with no noise from the collision with the platform waked me Marthinsen was an explosion get out of my saw smoke and fire all There was smoke and flames in the It was very hot in I went to cabin again end tried to reach my today Editorial Church Sports Crossword Deaths 4 8-9 11-13 6 10 lifejacket but I couldn't get Marthinsen and five others tried to lower a but the flames forced them Jumped tried to get the boat said a 20-year veteran of the we could not do we all jumped into the sea and swam was burning We jumped about five meters over the flames and tried to swim The group swam more than two staying together to help each including Marthinsen were burned leaving the A rescue crew from another drilling platform picked them up in an air boat and took them to the people from this platform took very good care of he are very thankful to They gave us clothes and food and medical saw smoke billowing out of the building which was across the was really coming but you could not see any I ran down to the cafe and called the police The jewelry store and the which Cullop are both within three blocks of the The supermarket was undergoing renovation at the time of the put in 48 feet of freezers and said Larry owner of the store and were not Olds said he did not know the cost of the but he estimated that the entire project would have cost did a good It got the whole Olds Olds has owned the store for the past seven He said he leases the building from its owner Gertrude Wright of Asked when he would be back in Olds said he did not know until after he met with the insurance Olds said he did not think he had enough insurance to cover the estimated He said he had insurance to er about half that 5 HRC members may be quitting Although only two formal resignations are five members of the Hutchinson Human Relations Commission have indicated they are according to Martha commission Formal resignations from the commission have been submitted by Jim Compton and Doby Mrs. Rawlins said she has written her resignation I'm sure I know who I should give it and has been told by both David Razo and John Walker that their resignations also will be kind of left it to the individual what they were going to Mrs. Rawlins made up our minds on basis of what we felt and saw and Standard procedure for human relations commission resignations is to send the resignation to the commission chairperson and a copy Compton sent letters to both Mayor John Neal and Mrs. and Mrs. Hall sent a letter to Mrs. Rawlins and a copy to The other two plus Mrs. are expected to be in before Tuesday's city commission No kidnap Bronfman says YORKTOWN - An official close to the investigation of the million kidnap of liquor heir Samuel Bronfman said Friday authorities still had no leads After an urgent public appeal Thursday by the family for ransom delivery instructions and proof the 21-year-old Bronfman was the FBI and the family refused any further There were indications arrangements for the ransom payment by board chairman of the billion Seagrams still had not been completed nearly one week after the younger Bronfman called his father to tell him hysterically he had been kidnaped by three masked are no no leads the official been a lot of speculation but no real hard There was little activity at the 160-acre There were the usual two morning helicopter flights used by the elder Bronfman and aides to commute to New York City and an occasional FBI car passed through the stone wall Forty reporters and a small crowd the curious gathered at the entrance where a local woman sold sandwiches and cold Other reporters erected a canvas pavilion for The FBI was reported attempting to chase down a number of tips on where young Bronfman might be hidden in Westchester among the nation's wealthiest The kidnapers reportedly have young Bronfman buried alive with 10 days supply of air and Agents were reported combing the surrounding township area 30 miles north of Police helicopters were areas near Pound Ridge along the New One tipster reportedly said the Williams College graduate was being held in a tool shed on an abandoned Another suggested he was in a cave in the Pleasantville used to house slaves in War A ransom letter was received and tape recording arrived Wednesday after the family placed classified ads in three New York City Intercepted Letter BOB ADAMS Police Chief City Dear You might be able to keep the youngsters away from North Main in the evenings by hiring a sound truck that would play only Lawrence Welk Hutch f r
