The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 25

The Indianapolis Star SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 1989 Section Classified ads begin on Page 14 City State Charity to end ties with controversial fund-raiser ters March 1 to state attorneys general and secretaries of state throughout the country advising them of the decision. Instead, the charity signed a three-year contract, effective June 1 with another direct-mall firm, L.W. Robbins Associates of Franklin. which. Grove said, was selected for its more traditional approach to fund raising.

President Lee W. Robbins says his 1 9-year-old company neither uses sweepstakes mailings nor sells its lists of donors to other fund-raising organizations. The company helped found a national association of direct-mall firms, which, among other things, developed an ethics code for businesses in the field. i'We're putting a high priority on this (United Cancer Council account)," said Robbins, whose firm has 23 employees. "We understand there's a lot of attention being given to this particular account because of the past.

The sooner we put the past behind them, the better." He said Robert Hoagland, the firm's vice president, will lead the team handling the charity's account. The first job, he said, would be cleaning up a list of more than 2 million past donors to weed out "non-productive names." "If we cannot make money for our client, we should not be mailing letters to See CHARITY Page new direct-mail firm was based on a "renewed direction in terms of changing fund-raising strategies and finding less costly ways to carry out our mission. "This was a decision solely on our part as to what was in our best interests." Grove said. "The attention on Watson Hughey in the past several months has basically focused on their other clients and not the United Cancer Council. We are looking at the end of our contract, and we're Very optimistic with the things we have planned." The cancer council notified Watson Hughey in October that it would not renew its five-year contract when it expires May 30.

The council also sent let protection and charity laws and was scrutinized by a recent segment of 60 Minutes. In addition. Watson Hughey. some of its clients, and Robert R. Stone, a lawyer with ties to the firm, are trying to reach a settlement with U.S.

Postal Service lawyers in Washington. The attorneys maintain the defendants have engaged in a scheme to obtain money through the mail using false representation and an illegal lottery. Randall B. Grove, the cancer council's president, acknowledges that the national publicity concerning Watson Hughey, hasn't helped his organization. He said the charity's decision to hire a By BETH ROSENBERG STAR STAFF WRITER The Indianapolis-based United Cancer Council plans to sever ties next month with a controversial direct-mail fund-raising firm that's been targeted by federal investigators for questionable sweepstakes drives.

In what the council's president calls a major overhaul, the national charity which critics contend spends too much for raising and too little fighting cancer, 'r will not renew its contract with the Watson Hughey Co. of Alexandria. Va. -Watson Hughey has been sued by at least, six states for violating consumer i I s- -j- Dan Carpenter Political change is possible in courts Urban pioneers live in fear 6f crossfire STAR STAFF PHOTO ID. TODD MOORE Restless fans When Michael Damian, pop singer and star of The restless fans.

Karen Goff (far right) was among them, and Young and the Restless visited three Indianapolis-area she gave Damian a wave as he entered a store Saturday department stores Saturday, he found plenty of young, afternoon. Story on Page B5. By GEORGE McLAREN STAR STAFF WRITER A new Democratic governor might mean the first shift of political power in the Marion County municipal court system since its reform 18 years ago. That prospect might be responsible for a spate of Democrats applying for three Judgeships and a Republican-sponsored amendment to a bill before the legislature that would erode Gov. Evan Bayh's control of the process.

"That is not my intent," said Sen. William L. Soards, R-In-; dianapolis, who sponsored the; amendment to House Bill 1388. "I don't see how you could classify it in another countered Ann M. DeLaney, Bayh's executive assistant for legislation.

The four-year terms of municipal Judges A. Toni Cording-ley, Taylor L. Baker Jr. and Pre-siding Judge Harold H. Kohlmeyer will expire May 31.

Bayh's selection, if he fails to reappoint the three Judges, could switch the system's political makeup from a Republican majority to a Democratic one for the first time since 1971. Cordingley and Kohlmeyer are Republicans: Baker is a Democrat. Six other Democrats and two other Republicans are also vying for the spots. There are 15 judges in the Marion Municipal Court system. All serve four-year terms.

The appointments are made by the governor based upon recommendations of a bipartisan judicial nominating commission set up by state law. No political party can have more than eight of the judgeships. Republicans have held an 8-7 advantage since the system was reformed because of complaints of corruption in the late 1960s. Since then. Republicans also have occupied the post of presiding Judge, who runs the courts and is also appointed by the governor.

Under the current system, if nine of the 11 members of the nominating commission recommend an incumbent judge be reappointed, that person's name will be the only one sent to the. governor, and he is bound by law to select him or her. But if only eight members of the commission vote for the sitting judge, the commission must then send the names of the three "most highly qualified candidates" to See COURTS Page 5 Why did social worker join criminal? Background checks reveal feiv clues to crime spree iThey put James and Peggy Casey on the TV news when they bought their house on East 32nd Street back in 1975. They were urban pioneers, ripping the; boards off the window andsetting out to resurrect ai rotting corpse of a building. Today, they have a proud monument to their sweat and The massive two-story frapie dwelling, repainted just last year in deep blue with white trim, seems like a mirage In al of broken windows and vacant lots and scruffy cars full of idle young dudes.

Inside, the laborious facelift Is most obvious In the deep brown paneling that coats the two main downstairs rooms. The effect might be pretty somber if it were not offset by colorful memorabilia from the Caseys'. three athletic sons a University of Kentucky wall clock, a football team photo from Park Tudor School, trophies and ribbons. All is in place for this gentle retired couple, watching television in the late afternoon as a son and grandson chase around upstairs. including the deer rifle propped against the front room chair and the ashtray filled with' bullets.

"I like to keep it where I can reach it, because you never know when you might need It," James Casey says. "These dope people will do some funny things." Through his picture window, he can see the dilapidated house in the 500 block of East 32nd Street where a small army of police arrested two pepple Thursday afternoon on charges of cocaine possession. Police said they believed the suspects wanted to use the building as a "crack house" for selling drugs. The concrete block fortress the occupants built around the front door, for a house that doesn't even have glass In a lot of its windows, was; taken as a pretty good clue. The Caseys say they haven't seen any narcotics, but they've suspected the hovel across the street for three months or so.

"People going in there day and night, cars pulling up. it lets you know something's going on that's unusual," James Casey says; was not a Church of God', neighborhood when we moved in, but it was not like it Six feet, 6 inches tall, with a deep steady voice and a ready laugh. Casey does not wear his fear on his sleeve. But the fear is real. "We go to church a lot." he says, "and when you get home you never know who you're going to face.

I don't fear for myself as much as for my family. If I get mobbed or gunned down for what's right, well, somebody's got to take a stand." The Caseys say they haven't been directly affected by the driig traffic they suspect or by the they hear at fright. A few items stolen from the yard, a car broken Into. But they believe they have at least See PIONEERS Page 5 spokesman for the Hamilton County (Ohio) Sheriffs Department, which operates the Cincinnati Jail where Bonvillain met, counseled and fell in love with Plummer in mid-1988. Plummer was held there for several months while awaiting trial for bank robbery.

Records show Bonvillain, who never has married, visited him more than 20 times as a social worker for Correctional Medical Services, a business with which the sheriff's department contracts for Inmate counseling. Their meetings in a small holding cell which guards are trained to check regularly through a window in the door afforded virtually no chance for physical contact, Weikel said. "As best we can tell, the only contact she had with him was in a professional capacity," Weikel said. Apparently unknown to her employers, Bonvillain continued to visit Plummer after he was transferred to Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary in Pennsylvania See WHY Page 5 By KEVIN MORGAN STAR STAFF WRITER Elizabeth C. Bonvillain found herself in a jail cell Friday night and, probably for the first time in her 31 years, she was not an official visitor.

The assortment of federal and state charges already filed against the Cincinnati social worker, whom friends called Lisa, could keep her behind bars for the rest of her life. More charges soon will result from the crime spree that began mid-afternoon on March 24 Good Friday when Bonvillain allegedly helped a federal prisoner kidnap a Wishard Memorial Hospital employee and escape from Marion County authorities. During the 15 hours that ended with their capture in a Wisconsin barn, Ronald R. Plummer and Bonvillain allegedly held up a video store near Chicago and wounded a policeman who confronted them south of Milwaukee. A police dog found the pair under a pile of straw both unconscious from drug over- FILE PHOTOS Elizabeth Bonvillain counseled Plummer in Ohio jail.

mined what attracted her to Plummer a 40-year-old man whose life has been little but trouble they aren't saying. "We haven't even begun to speculate," said Frank Weikel, a Ronald Plummer is convicted bank robber. doses, each holding a loaded handgun. If Bonvillain had been in trouble before, authorities have found no record of it. And if authorities have deter- Publisher's Memo Safety concerns stall plans for national airplane race Sunday newspapers Sunday newspapers In our country are hale, hearty and growing.

Since 1980. the Newspapers Advertising Bureau reports, the number of Sunday newspapers has increased from 735 to 830. And circulation Is up from 54.6 million to 60.8 million subscribers. "Home delivery is highest in middle-sized markets, lower in million-plus cities, lowest of all in non-metro areas. Fifty-eight percent of all college graduates have the Sunday paper home-delivered.

Married adults are much more likely to be Sunday readers than unmarried ones. The average reader spends 62 minutes with the Sunday paper and 47 percent pick it up and read it on more than one occasion." according to the Bureau tators with its demonstrations of military aircraft is tiring for volunteers, who work up to 11 months in advance. "We wanted to avoid burnout. Our show is rated by the International Council of Air Shows as one of ten best in the nation. We have never had a major mishap.

We are proud of that, and we don't want anything to happen to that record. For those reasons, we Just decided last fall not to have a show this When it became known in aviation circles that the show was canceled, a group from Reno. wanting to use the See AIRPLANE Page 5 By GEORGE STUTEVILLE STAR STAFF WRITER A proposal for a national airplane race in Indianapolis appears to be grounded along with the popular annual air show by the Confederate Air Force at Mount Comfort Airport. Concerns about the safety of airplane shows and races have stalled plans for a proposed two- day airplane race. Lewis R.

Shake, commander of the Indiana wing of the Confederate Air Force, said Saturday. The race would have taken the place of the 1989 air show," which wing members decided to cancel late last year. Shake said the yearly event that attracts up to 40.000 spec (The Star has experienced increased circulation on Sunday for a number of years and has a consistent circulation of more than 400,000.) Editorial content has expanded with many sections in metropolitan papers. Advertisers also have found that added circulation attractive. One example: mart's advertising director had to say: "Sunday is mart's favorite day of the week the one day research tells us that consumers have the most time to read the paper If you enjoy your Sunday paper, as we hope you do, don't forget your carrier.

It's a big package and he or she puts in long and mostly dark hours delivering it to you. E.S.P..