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Emergencyofficials stress tornado safetyJordanSENTENCING HEARING — Joe WIordan leaves the courtroom Friday after-loon after a day of testimony at his sentenc-ng hearing. A judge is expected to decide he admitted murder’s sentence Monday. Nick Mariano photo)at3butBy NICK MARIANO Staff WriterA circuit court judge will have the weekend before deciding on a sentence to consider the testimony of a 19-year-old who pleaded guilty to killing a Carrier Mills man in August, 1992.Joe W. Jordan, who admitted his guilt in November to first-degree murder in a negotiated plea, testified Friday he could have left Thompson’s residence but he “freaked out” during the events leading up to Thompson’s death.Jordan, of Bald Knob, Ark., faces between 20 to 60 years in prison for killing 54-year-old Ralph Thompson. Jordan pleaded1 guilty in agreement that the state would not seek the death penalty against him.However, if the state can prove that aggravating factors were involved in the murder then Jordan would be eligible for a life sentence.Thompson, whose body was discovered covered in a quilt 20 to 30 feet away from his residence at 305 Smith Road two days after being killed on Aug. 11, was shot three times. The third, fatal shot came from a 30-30 rifle hitting Thompson in the back outside his home. Jordan had first shot Thompson with a shotgun inside the home. Both guns, which Jordan later pawned belonged to Thompson and were in his bedroom when Jordanoutretrieved them.Jordan was arrested on Aug. 21 in possession of Thompson’s 1989 Ford Mustang convertible in Austin, Nev., and was additionally charged with theft of the car. Several charges of theft against Jordan were dismissed at the plea hearing.First Circuit Court Judge Michael Henshaw gave attorneys the weekend to gather legal precedents before he would decide on Jordan’s fate, whose mother and sister looked on after testifying themselves Friday.The soft-spoken and apparently nervous Jordan testified he lost control when Thompson fondled him by taking a hold of Jordan’s genitals twice and later hitting Jordan in the head with his fist after Jordan pushed him away.“I didn’t want to do it, I just freaked out. There’s nothing I can do about it now. Most of it is blurry. I know I shot him,” Jordan answered to his attorney’s questions about the shootings. Jordan is represented by co-counsel Glenn A. Murphy and Todd D. Lambert.Jordan told the court Thompson invited him over to his home to give him his 1989 Ford Mustang convertible as a gift. According to Jordan, T hompson told him the doors to the house would be unlocked and to wait inside if he was not there.See JORDAN, Page 4 ,Illinois has silver lining in base closing cloudBy BILL VOGRIN Associated Press WriterNews that the Pentagon plans toadd more than 2,500 jobs to the Army’s Rock Island Arsenal was greeted with optimism Friday from officials who anticipate the first major influx of high-paying jobs after a decade of decay.“We’re very excited. But this plan needs to work its way through the political process,’’ said Dan Carmody, executive director of the Development Association of Rock Island.The independent Base Closure and Realignment Commission hasuntil June 30 to accept or modifythe recommendations before forwarding them to Clinton.The president must approve or reject them without any changes before sending them to Congress.Waukegan officials, meanwhile, could barely contain their glee after being notified Great Lakes Naval Training Center likely will absorb 2,000 permanent jobs from other bases and 7,000 new recruits. They worried, however, the decision could be reversed before it is implemented and leave the 150-year-old community of 69,400 in the lurch.Mayor Haig Paravonian said, “We need to press on and not stop stating our case until this thing isdefinitely resolved.”Rock Island would benefit most from Friday's announcement.Instead of losing 1,200 mostly civilian jobs to a base in Huntsville, Ala., the Pentagon plans to keep those positions in Rock Island and add another 2,537 new jobs.Mayor Mark Schwiebert said the most significant factor is that the civilians will provide much needed cash to city coffers, which could offset the loss of 20,000 manufacturing jobs in the past 10years;.“This is really good news, and we’re happy to hear about it,” Schv/iebert said. “It would be amajor shot in the arm for the entire area.’’The Arsenal, which was a munitions storage facility and Unionprisoner-of-war camp during theCivil War, is one of the area’s largest employers, with 247 military and 7,851 civilian employees.The facility purchases and produces weapon systems, ammunition and chemical defense systems for the U.S. military.Other towns in the Quad Cities area — Moline, 111., and Davenport and Bettendrof, Iowa — also stand to gain.Unemployment in the area is about 8 percent, down from highsSee BASES, Page 4By SCOTT L. HINES Staff WriterSchoolchildren marked the beginning of tornado season Friday morning with a preparedness drill.This week, March 8-12, was proclaimed Tornado Preparedness Week by Gov. Jim Edgar.A statewide test was held Tuesday morning, but due to IGAP testing at the Eldorado Unit 4 Schools, the school drill was postponed until Friday.Though most people, emergency personnel included, take such tests in stride, Tuesday’s test of warning sirens in Eldorado paid off.When the early warning sirens were turned on Tuesday, nothing happened. A broken wire on the encoder which triggers the sirens had broken.“Once we repaired it, all the sirens worked,” Eldorado Assistant Fire Chief Mike McKinnies said Wednesday.The staff of Magnolia Manor Shelter Care in Eldorado met wi4h Craig Ninness, Saline County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency Director, Friday afternoon to find outwhat they can do help themselves and their residents in the case of a tornado.“Get into a hallway and close all the doors. That keeps the amount of flying debris down.” Ninness explained. “Stay away from from outside walls. Go to inside walls. The smaller the space the better because that reduces the amount of velocity (debris) has. Most of your injuries are caused from flying projectiles such as glass.”Ninness noted the staff can do more when there is plenty of warning, but he cautioned that tornadoes can start anywhere and can hit with little or no warning.He noted that the practice ofopening windows and doors when a tornado is approachingis a myth. He noted that the pressure will not change enough to cause a house to explode. Another myth Ninness mentioned is the hills of Southern Illinois protect us from tornadoes. He cited the tornado that destroyed the Rudement Post Office as an example that hits close to home.“If the tornado gets close enough to change the pressure, the winds will have alreadydone the damage. Just take cover, that’s what’s important.He urged the staff to hold regular tornado drills to prepare themselves and their charges. He also told the staff members to prepare a plan of action for such emergencies.March through June is considered tornado season. In Illinois the majority of tornadoes occur during April. Accordingto the National Weather Service, the average number of tornadoes in Illinois between 1953 and 1980 was 27. During 1992,there were 24 tornadoes reported in the state.For home delivery in Saline County call 252-2534 — Outside Saline County 1-800-283-8117
Newspaper Details
Harrisburg Daily Register
Harrisburg, Illinois, US
Sat, Mar 13, 1993
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Kat G.
NA, NA 20 Jan 2023
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