Oelwein Daily Register (Newspaper) - August 24, 1989, Oelwein, Iowa IOWA WEATHER By The Associated Press High pressure over the upper Great Lakes will be drifting east through Friday dragging winds up from the south and allowing a return to warm humid and unstable air into the nations heartland The threat of rain will return tonight and Friday as the warm and moist airmass begins its push north Showers will be scattered and light The forecast calls for mostly sunny and highs in the upper 70s to upper 80s Increasing cloudiness tonight with a chance of showers and thunderstorms west and south Lows in the 60s Mostly cloudy Friday with a chance of thunderstorms PER COPY In Our 2nd Century of Publishing THE OELWEIN DAILY REGISTER OELWEIN IOWA 50662 VOL 107NO 199 Thursday August 241989 Lifetime baseball ban for Pete Rose See page 8 Oelwein school bus routes See page 2 News In brief Tiffin boy dies IOWA CITY AP Brandon Duffy 4 who fell into a municipal water treat ment plant tank in Tiffin Monday night died in Iowa City Wednesday Brandon died at University Hospitals where he had been since being pulled from an aeration tank at the plant Johnson County sheriffs officials said Brandon fell into the tank after neighbors saw him and two friends playing inside the plant about pm Monday The children apparently climbed over the fence gate at the plant which is surrounded by a fence sheriffs officials said Tiffin maintenance man Bob Herring pulled Brandon from the tank after getting a call about the boys But Brandon already was unconscious and showing no detectable pulse at the scene sheriff said Brandon was the son of Lisa Duffy of Tiffin and David Snyder of Coralville Officer shot at WATERLOO AP A shot was fired at a uniformed officer patrolling an east side Waterloo neighborhood for cocaine trafficking police reported The patrol officer Carl Carrier 37 was not injured Police said the shooting occurred at about am as Carrier a veteran of the department was routinely checking vacant houses in the area due to their attraction to crack cocaine dealers The bullet which police said appeared to have been fired from a gun struck the left side of the car at head level passed through the metal frame and left through the rear passenger window authorities said A search of the area did not determine who fired the shot and no arrests have been made police said The incident remained under investigation Murder charge DES MOINES AP A Des Moines man originally arrested for forgery has been charged with murder in the death of a man whose body was found on the citys southeast side last week Des Moines police filed the charge Wednesday against Steven Silliman 31 who was being held in Kansas City Kan bond Silliman lived in the same apartment building as Edward A Devore 26 whose decomposed body was found in a remote area near the Des Moines River last Friday Devore had been missing for about a week BUDAPEST Hungary AP More than 100 East Germans who had sought refuge in West Budapest embassy were allowed to leave the country at dawn today the state news ageny MTI reported It said the Hungarian government on the basis of humanitarian con siderations allowed 101 East Germans with International Red Cross travel documents MTI has been authorized to state that this solution is to be considered an ex ception and may not serve as a precedent the official report said Meanwhile the Die Welt newspaper reported today that the East German government is planning to impose strict new travel regulations to Hungary to stem the flow of refugees fleeing to the West over border with Austria Utilities limited DES MOINES AP Utility com panies are limited in the amount of money they can collect from customers when malfunctioning meters result in the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday The court reversed a utility charge to Waukon Manor an Allamakee County nursing home Court records said a meter installed at the home by In Power Co gave incorrect billing information Because of that court records said the nursing home was undercharged for nine years on its electric bills When the utility discovered the error it sought to recover the money In denying the claim the appeals court pointed to a section of state law that prohibits unreasonable recovery by utility companies The court also noted the law includes a sixmonth statute of limitations Sky diver death SOUTH SIOUX CITY Neb AP A Sioux City woman skydiver fell to her death during a jump near Martins Airport Wednesday night just 11 days after a Denison Iowa man was killed in a similar accident Authorities were withholding the name of the victim Dakota County Attorney Kurt Hohenstein said the woman was jumping from about 7500 feet at pm when the accident occurred The victim was to have free fallen for a time before opening her parachute Witnesses on the ground said they did not see the primary or secondary parachutes come out of their packs at all during the womans fall Hohenstein said the safety instructor who jumped with the woman saw her having trouble with her parachute and tried to slow up enough to get hold of her but he couldn t Unemployment down in Iowa up in Fayette Co By The Associated Press and staff reports DES MOINES The states unem ployment rate slid to 38 percent in July as seasonal work on Iowas farms bolstered the labor force officials said today The July jobless rate was the lowest level for the month i n a decade and is down from Junes 44 percent unemployment rate The jobless rate in July of last year was 39 percent said Richard Freeman who heads the Department of Employment Services News was not so good for Fayette County workers as the unemployment rate in that county rose from 40 to 43 percent The jobless rate was down in 78 counties up in 16 and unchanged in five Eight other Northeast Iowa counties showed lower unemployment figures County went from 33 per cent unemployment to 25 Bremer from 35 to 28 Allamakee from 42 to 35 Clayton from 39 to 35 Chickasaw from 54 to 40 Delaware from 47 to 41 Buchanan from 49 to 40 and Black Hawk from 56 to 48 The jobless rate had been edging up as summer began but the July figure reversed that trend An easing in the rate is a sign that many students and graduates who entered the labor force in June have found jobs said Freeman During the month there were 58200 lowans without work down from 66900 in July and 59800 during June of last year Freeman said The bulk of the decline came in farm related jobs Seasonal employment in agriculture accounted for most of the growth as seed corn companies hired thousands of during the month said Freeman Employment off the farm actually declined by 17700 in July as local schools continued to lay off workers during the summer vacation Freeman said employment in private and public education dropped by 19200 over the month but that decline was more than offset by the surge in farm jobs Total employment for the month was 1473800 up from the 1461900 during June and down slightly from the 1477200 in July of last year There was a mixed picture for the states manufacturing sector during July as employment dropped by 700 from Junes level interrupting the growth pattern that had been evident over the last four mon ths Freeman said There were 236100 jobs in Iowas fac tories during the month 7100 more than the same month last year however In addition Freeman said the average pay for factory a week during the month primarily due to less overtime Average weekly pay in the manufacturing sector during July was Drug task force big bucks CEDAR RAPIDS AP A drug task force used shovels and jackhammers to seize in money officials say were profits made by an Ottumwa drug dealer US Attorney Charles Larson Wed called the money the largest single seizure of drugrelated cash in the history of Iowa Members of the Cedar Rapids Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force seized the money Aug 17 claiming it came from the marijuana operation profits of Michael Britt of Ottumwa The cash mostly and bills was in bundles wrapped in duct tape sealed in plastic containers then encased in con crete or buried Displaying the boxes of money at a news conference Larson showed a brief videotape of agents using jackhammers and shovels to break up concrete then removing the money Authorities refused to disclose how they learned of the moneys location or where it was buried Earlier Wednesday Britt pleaded guilty in US District Court to one count of conspiracy to distribute more than 50 kilograms of marijuana His sentencing is set for Oct 16 He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a million fine Assistant US Attorney Richard Murphy said he told the court Wednesday about government evidence proving Britt was responsible for the distribution and importation into this state thousands of pounds of marijuana Hes admitted to those allegations As a part of his new plea agreement Mr Britt has agreed not to contest the forfeiture of the money that was seized last week This is not the first time Britt has lost a large amount of money to the government When arrested in late 1987 in Cedar Rapids while attempting to buy marijuana from undercover officers about cash was seized from Britt along with about worth of assets including a satellite dish now used at the Cedar Rapids Police Academy Murphy said Britt had promised in an earlier plea agreement Murphy said to provide in formation and certain assets Sub sequently Murphy continued It was learned Britt had been untruthful and had not handed over some assets On the governments motion Judge Edward McManus ordered Britts previous guilty plea to the marijuana distribution charge and the previous plea agreement vacated Britts operation involved distribution of marijuana in Iowa with marijuana sources in Louisiana Mississippi Florida and Tucson Ariz said Murphy Much marijuana came into this country from the Central American country of Belize and was distributed throughout the Midwest Murphy claimed Larson said the Linn County Sheriffs Department Cedar Rapids Police Department and Iowa Division of Nar cotics Enforcement will likely each get more than of the money in return for their help in the investigation Spokesmen for the three agencies said the money will help buy needed law en forcement equipment he said The nations unemployment rate in July was 52 percent The lowest unemployment rate in the state was 13 percent posted in Story County while Lee County posted the highest rate at as percent likes Waterloo best DES MOINES AP Money magazine has ranked Waterloo as the best city in Iowa to live in prompting a jubilant if admittedly predictable reaction from one of the citys business leaders Weve always known that Money must have just found it out Waterloo Chamber of Commerce President Jim Lawrence said What do you want me to say Im the head of the Chamber of Commerce Lawrence said the citys strong educational system cultural diversity and good medical facilities help make it a desirable community In its September issue the magazine ranks the northeast Iowa community of 75000 No 173 on a list of 300 cities nationwide Waterloo improved from a No 236 ranking which was also the best in the state in a similar list published by the magazine last year The next Iowa city on the list is Cedar Rapids at No 230 which was ranked just behind Waterloo last year at No 238 Des Moines comes in at No 274 up from No 291 a year ago Two Iowa cities dropped in the ranking Sioux City is ranked No 276 slipping from last years No 270 and Davenport at No 288 fell from No 261 Nationally Seattle tops the list followed by Danbury Conn San Francisco Denver and Nashua NH Benton Harbor Mich is listed as the least desirable The 10 criteria used in the listing were ranked in a survey of the magazines readers The top consideration this year was availability of hospitals and doctors followed by the likelihood of housing ap preciation and affordability of housing Other factors were a low crime rate public transportation public schools and colleges weather leisure opportunities and the arts including libraries The rankings were based on an array of government and private data Making medical services the top con sideration this year probably was a factor in Waterloos improvement Lawrence said He said the consolidation of two of the citys three hospitals into the Covenant Medical Center is nearing completion and has improved health care in the com munity rs ready to pull With a bit of maintenance help from Oelwein voag instructor and FFA advisor Brian Knoke Greg Knoke and Sam Peik take test seats on the tractors that will be used for Fridays pedal powered pulling during Ag Appreciation Day in Oelwein is at 9 am Friday with competition at am The tractors were furnished by Hub City Implement and Case International The sleds are from the FFA chapter at MFL and the Avelon Tire Co Photo by Richard Wilkinson Voyager nearing moon PASADENA Calif AP Voyager 2 began its final approach to Neptune today showing the planets strange moon Triton to be a bright pink red and blue marble ringed by what could be a glacier of frozen natural gas scientists say At 9 am PDT today Voyager was ex to be 472056 miles from Neptune caught in the grip of powerful gravity and falling toward the fourth largest planet at a speed of 38599 mph At pm PDT Voyager will pass 3042 miles from cloud tops closer than it has come to any other celestial object on its 44 journey from Earth Researchers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory planned an allnight vigil as the most detailed images begin coming back from the spacecraft early Friday morning It takes 4 hours and six minutes for radio signals from the spacecraft to reach Earth Two days of bracking the spacecraft showed that a difficult course correction Monday had put Voyager smack dab in the middle of the path navigators wanted it to follow said Norman Haynes Voyager project manager The spacecraft launched in 1977 will reach a speed of 61148 mph as it sweeps around Neptune headed for a pass 23888 miles from Triton at am PDT Friday Tritons equator is encircled with what appears to be a slightly blue band of fresh snow or frost probably made of frozen natural gas or methane said Robert Brown of the Voyager imaging team If you were standing there youd see crystals of frost growing much as you see frost growing on a window in the winter time Brown said in an interview Its going to look glacial like a glacier with a thin layer of snow on it he said The band may be white or may be slightly blue said Bradford Smith head of the imaging team If it is indeed blue its the only tiling weve seen blue on any satellite since we launched Voyager he said The band borders a darker reddish area in Tritons northern hemisphere which itself is still as bright as dirty snow Brown said It looks dark only because the rest of the planet is so bright he said The darker region could consist of frozen methane darkened by bombardment with energetic subatomic particles from space researchers said Much of the moons southern hemisphere appears pink Researchers reported the first possibility of a meteorite crater on Triton I saw a circular feature said Smith Certainly an impact crater is a possibility he said Confirmation will await more detailed images he said The pictures have convinced scientists that Triton is unobstructed by clouds Almost certainly were seeing the surface Smith said That suggests some real excitement here Friday morning and again on Saturday when the most detailed photographs reach Earth Friday morning Vice President Dan Quayle head of the policymaking National Space Council will visit the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for a briefing on space activities He will also meet with reporters Among Voyagers findings was the Aug 11 discovery of what first appeared to be a partial ring around Neptune Scientists say photographs indicate that it probably is a complete second ring around Neptune Probably its a ring said Smith But its a ring like ve never seen before Researchers also expect to find at least two new moons near Neptune beyond the two previously known and the four already discovered by Voyager Smith said Violence erupts in Columbian war BOGOTA Colombia AP Drug traffickers today set fire to the headquarters of two political parties and to two politicians homes in Medellin declaring war on the government in retaliation for a crackdown on the nar cotics trade Police said one person was killed in the bombing of the Liberal Party offices in Medellin an industrial city that serves as a base for the worlds biggest cocaine cartel Also bombed was the Conservative Party headquarters and the weekend retreats of two prominent politicians former finance minister Edgard Gutierrez of the Liberal Party and Conservative Sen Ignacio Velez Escobar police said Officials said they also found powerful bombs in suitcases left at the Medellin offices of two national radio networks Caracol and Radio Cadena Nacional and defused them The wave of attacks occurred between midnight and 4 am It follows an roundup of suspected drug traffickers and suspects in the slaying on Friday of Sen Luis Carlos Galan a leading presidential candidate who was a foe of huge drug trade At the Caracol station the bombers left behind a communique dated Wednesday and signed by The a group known to carry out bloody acts for the Medellin drug cartel We declare total and absolute war on the government on the industrial and political oligarchy on the journalists that have attacked and ravaged us on the judges that have sold out to the govern ment on the extraditing magistrates on the presidents of the unions and all those who who persecuted and attacked us it said We wont respect the families of those who have not respected our families We will burn and destroy the industries the properties and the mansions of the oligarchies it said In another development US Attorney No injuries truck totaled Driver Robert 22 of West Memphis Ark tells how the 1978 Ford semi he was driving went into the ditch Wednesday morning on Highway 3 east of Oelwein wag westbound when the front axle and wheels broke loose He could not maintain control and the semi owned by Wenger Farms of left the roadway and went into the ditch was not hurt and the semi was considered a total loss The Fayette County Sheriffs Department and State Patrol Photo by Richard Wilkinson General Dick Thornburgh announced Wednesday a million program designed to help protect Colombian judges and others threatened by hitmen hired by the drug cartels Police also said they arrested Bernardo Londono Quintero in a raid Wednesday on a daughters apartment in an upperclass neighborhood in the Caribbean city of Barranquilla Quintero 60 nicknamed The Diplomat for his smooth manner has long been considered a pioneer of narcotics business which began expanding in the late Law enforcement officials say he managed to retain some of his power when new violent organizations began muscling into the business in the Quintero offered no resistence during his arrest but a Smith and Wesson revolver was seized in the raid police said He told local reporters in Barranquilla that he used to have legal problems but had resolved them with the Justice Ministry more than a year ago He denied any role in drug trafficking An extradition request from the United States dating to the is believed to have been filed with Colombian authorities A US Embassy spokesman said he could not comment The drug lords who run todays cocaine industry remained at large Wednesday But police reported the arrests of several alleged drug figures including Rafael Garnboa for whom Bogota newspapers said a US extradition request is pending Officials at the US Justice and State departments the Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Administration said they had never heard of him The most prominent alleged drug figure arrested so far Eduardo Martinez Romero was picked up during a weekend dragnet Thames toll now at 50 LONDON AP Two more bodies were found in the River Thames bringing to 50 the number recovered since a pleasure boat was sunk police said today Also today an appeal fund was launched to help those affected by the accident in which a barge rammed the pleasure boat Organizers at the London borough of Southwark which started the appeal said the fund was needed to help dependents of survivors and hose who died We didnt at first know what the con sequences would be but its become clear we are talking about a major tragic disaster Mayor Tony Ritchie told British Broadcasting Corp television Theres almost certainly going to be dependents both of those who have sur vived and of those who unfortunately and sadly have died who will need assistance in the weeks and The Marchioness pleasure cruiser sank early Sunday near the Southwark Bridge in central London after being hit by the dredger Scotland Yard police headquarters said two more bodies were recovered Wed night bringing the total to 50 found Police said 83 people survived and six more bodies were being sought
