The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 53

(TDsn Features And Obituaries Section The IndiananoHs Star PEOPLE fjMA tvfrioK) 1 I IU SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1979 Want Ads Begin In This Section fa) Fire Officials Play Down Mounting Arson Problem, Investigators Claim "buy-and-burn" arson will increase "as we fall on hard times, with interest rates going up and people being laid off," he said. Some arson investigators have charged that the number of arson runj and the actual dollar losses have not been See ARSON Page 10 MARION COUNTY Deputy Prosecutor John S. Beeman, who handles arson cases before the grand jury, agreed that arson for hire is a problem in Indianapolis. Arson is "an economic problem," he said, pointing to evidence that some people here have bought property and then burned it to collect insurance. Such Society Will Endure Language Sins, Says Linguistics Authority had the same statistical weight as a trash fire, according to one investigator.

DURING THE first six months of 1978, investigators probed 366 fires and ruled 196 of them arson, 12 attempted arson and 64 suspicious, said Capt. Robert Lowe of the Indianapolis Fire Department. During the corresponding period in 1979, only 295 fires were investigated, with 155 declared arson, 8 attempted arson and 37 suspicious, Lowe said. "The number of arson responses is down, but the runs we are getting are increasing in dollar value," one arson lieutenant said. Squad members also disagree with their bosses over the nature of arson fires in Indianapolis.

ASSISTANT Deputy Chief James E. Mitchell, who oversees the arson squad from his desk as head of the fire-prevention bureau, said that most arson cases today are the result of children's vandalism, former tenants' vengeance or domestic disputes. He said the squad was investigating several arson-for-hire cases three years ago but has no such cases in the works now. Mitchell's assessment was disputed by an arson investigator, however. "Indianapolis has a major arson problem right now," he charged.

"There are five possible arson-for-hire cases under investigation right now." By DENNIS SULLIVAN The number of arson-related fires in Indianapolis is down from last year, but arson investigators contend those figures hide a dramatic increase in the amount of damage done. The investigators charge that fire officials are using the reduction in the number of arson fires to undercut arson detection and investigation. As a result of a variety of departmental moves, morale in the arson squad is suffering and its effectiveness is dropping, members say. "This city is going up in smoke," one arson lieutenant said. "Arson is a cancer that's eating Indianapolis alive." "AS OF JULY 30th, arson losses were a half-million dollars over the same period last year," he said.

"Right now, losses are within $25,000 of the total for 1978 that's $1,619,460 and we still have three more months to go." Some of the Indianapolis Fire Department's six arson squad lieutenants have charged that the department is biased against arson investigation. Arson statistics released by the department are meaningless because they stress the number of runs and fail to convey the actual dollar amount of damage, some squad members said. Under that system, a fire causing damage estimated at $100,000 to $150,000 at the Penn Central warehouse on Aug. 23 'f 4 I (Star pwtii BARBARA STABLER PRESIDES AT SOUTHSIDE CONGRESS Neighborhood Groups' Delegates Plan 1980 Agenda "There's less need now for refined verbal skills than previously. You communicate less with people and more with machines.

Still, it can only be to your advantage to improve your verbal skills." Kirschner. a consultant to Selchow and Righter was in town recently to promote the firm's new electronic version of the familiar Scrabble word game. The device represents an attempt to develop verbal power by exploiting the society's fascination with the non-verbal language of the computer Kirschner believes strongly in word games as a teaching aid. He's been playing them since early childhood and has traced their origin to the Old Testament and beyond. HIS INTEREST IN linguistics and semantic and syntactic theory, in both English and Spanish, takes him in other directions as well.

A descriptive linguist, rather than a prescriptive should be" i one, Kirschner extends his studies to such modern conveyors and creators of language as toys and television. His conclusion: The printed page is See ENDURE Page 2 By DAN CARPENTER The Edwin Newmans of the English-speaking world, who seek to preserve the precision of the language against the forces of cultural change, may be tilting at windmills, a Rutgers University linguist says. "It's true you need some uniformity in order to pass the language along from generation to generation." Carl Kirschner allows. "But in a sense Edwin Newman is fighting a losing battle." Newman, author of "A Civil Tongue" and other works decrying verbal slop-piness, is a man after Kirschner's own heart especially when he catalogs the grammatical sins of commercial television. But the Brooklyn-born language authority is confident the society will survive the slings and arrows of bureau-cratese, technocratic newspeak.

political euphemism, runaway slang and "in-crediburgible" advertising. "SOCIETY CHANGES and language adapts to fit those changes." Kirschner says. "Now, it's changing more quickly than ever. Kids are growing up knowing how to use computers. I think the alarmists are overconcerned.

Community Congress Vows To Fight Crime, Clean Trash, Halt Heavy Industry's Spread will play a role in developing and rehabilitating Southside neighborhoods. The congress, which was held in the Teamsters Union Hall at 1233 South Shelby Street, drew more than 200 members, plus several candidates for seats on the City-County Council. whenever we can to rehabilitate our buildings instead of tearing them down. We've made good progress in that this year," said Mrs. Stabler.

Next year, she said, the group's major project will be launching a neighborhood community development corporation that Local Hospitals Hoping 'Bonuses' Will Lure Many Badly Needed Nurses To Their Doors But USCO and other neighborhood groups in cities around the state will first have to begin communicating with each other and coordinating their efforts in order to convince state and federal officials that they're a force to be reckoned with, Kromkowski added. Neighborhoods, he said, are the soul of the city. If they die, so will urban America. USCO MEMBERS say they're not afraid of their neighborhoods dying, and said Saturday's congress was as much a celebration of the year's victories as it was setting a new agenda. Victories USCO members were celebrating included securing federal community block grant money to fund fountain restoration in the Fountain Square area, a residential paint-up project and a free deadbolt lock installation program in Southside neighborhoods.

Barbara Stabler, who was re-elected without opposition to a second term as USCO chairman, said she thought the organization's biggest accomplishment in the past year was in shifting the emphasis away from tearing down buildings in the area and toward restoring older structures. "IN THE PAST, we've had a big trend towards demolition, but now we try Members of the United Southside Community Congress set themselves an agenda on Saturday for the next year that includes cracking down on crime, cleaning up trash and halting the spread of heavy industry and unsightly businesses into thetr neighborhoods. But John Kromkowski of Washington, DC, president of the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs, told USCO members who gathered for the group's 11th annual congress that they have even greater responsibilities. They must goad state and federal government into joining the push for urban development, he said. "That a state that has 24 second-class cities plus Indianapolis doesn't have an urban affairs office in its state government is a cry to high heaven for justice," Kromkowski said in his keynote address.

"It's time that an urban agenda came from the people to the state." ORGANIZATIONS such as USCO, which is an umbrella organization of several block clubs and neighborhood (associations on the city's Southside, are the hope of the future for American cities. Kromkowski said. "This part of Indianapolis could well become the base from which an Indiana neighborhood movement can begin." he said If you're in the market for "sign-up bonuses," you might skip baseball, football or basketball and turn to nursing instead. Three of Indianapolis' largest hospitals are offering "bonuses" more formally, tuition assistance of up to $1,000 to nursing students who agree to work at those hospitals for a year after graduation. Even if the nurse doesn't get a bonus, he or she might earn some money for a Methodist Hospital employee by coming to the state's largest hospital to work.

Methodist pays its employees "bounties" Methodist, however, goes further. It offers bonuses of $50 to $100 for any current employee who a job applicant says was responsible for referring the applicant to Methodist. The Employee Referral Award system extends to all hard-to-recruit jobs, but with 60 vacancies out of 735 positions, nurses are a top priority for the hospital. "We're willing to do almost anything to recruit people to care for our patients," said Dale Harper. Methodist's director of recruitment and employment "We find employees are our best recruiters." Other recruitment tactics are fairly standard from hospital to hospital.

All the most unusual being Wishard's busing plan. "WE'VE STARTED bringing seniors in by the busload to show them Wishard," said Nurse Recruiter Helene Cross. "We go all over the Midwest, but we concentrate on Indiana." Sometimes it isn't necessary to go far, she said: Indiana University's School of Nursing is right across the way, but most people at II'. have never set foot in Wishard." Mrs. Cross said she tries to break down public general hospitals' stereotype as "dark, dank places" and sells Wishard as "a neat place to work." She also sells Indianapolis: "I want to bring See NURSES Page 6 have recruiters who visit college career days and job fairs.

Techniques vary, with No Trace Of Vali Davis, Missing Since Leaving Disco On June 24 for referring new employees to the hospital in certain hard-to-get categories. NURSES ARE certainly hard to get these days. Indianapolis has been feeling a severe shortage of nurses for about a year now, and the rest of the state with an estimated 1,200 vacancies in hospitals throughout the state and country is beginning to catch up. Nurse recruitment is a top priority for hospitals here and elsewhere, and many institutions are resorting to unusual methods to fill their nursing ranks. Wishard Memorial, Community and Methodist hospitals and St.

Francis Hospital Center all have tuition-assistance programs for student nurses. Students willing to commit themselves to one year of employment can receive $500 to $1,000, no strings attached, depending on what degree they are seeking. The money is especially welcome now as federal aid to nursing students has begun to dry up, due to President Carter's stated belief that too many nurses are being graduated. "Scholarships are becoming harder to get," said Fred Bagg, a spokesman for St. Francis.

"And the students can do whatever they want with this money it's not tied to tuition or fees." ST. FRANCIS started paying bonuses last year and netted 16 graduates. It's looking for a similar output this year as It "feels the bite" of the nursing shortage, Bagg said. Still, with 15 vacancies out of a nursing staff of 250, "it's not as bad for us as it is downtown," he said. Downtown, both Wishard and Methodist are offering signup bonuses and declare themselves satisfied with the result.

Vali E. Davis, 23, of Clayton, vanished in the early-morning hours of June 24 after leaving Lucifer's, a popular north-eastside club that features disco music fortune tellers we're ready to listen to almost anything," she said. "Vali is a shy-type person, not forward, and wherever she is she must be scared to death." Vali is described as being about 5 feet, 7 inches tall, of slender build, weighing about 110 pounds, with red hair and green eyes. When last seen, Miss Davis' hair was shorter than pictured. She was wearing a black quiana square-neck dress with straps over the shoulders, lace on the sides and an A-line skirt.

She also was carrying a matching black purse. Anyone with information which would help locate Miss Davis can call Charters at 633-1964. "This sort of thing happens, but not often," Charters said. Her worried family has gone to nearly every length attempting to find Miss Davis. They have placed an ad in the personal notices in The Indianapolis Star offering a $1,000 reward for Miss Davis' return.

Mr. and Mrs. Dale Davis say no questions will be asked. Private investigators have been hired and several psychics consulted by Willa Davis, Vali's mother, in what so far has been a vain attempt to find her daughter. "I KNOW SHE was abducted," Mrs.

Davis said. "Vali would never go away from home without letting us know. We're looking we have talked to and dancing. A friend last-saw the young woman about 2 a.m. walking toward her brown 1976 Ford Pinto that was parked In the lot there.

In the 3 2 months since that date, no one has seen Miss Davis. Her car was found in the lot at Lucifer's the next I 'i 1 i I A ii 1 iff i 3" I 4 ,0 5 I 1 i v-v "-4 4 4 'tW f-f I H- 1 Miss Davis Muslims, Plainfield Group Clash Over Attempt To Build Mosque day with the driver's door unlocked, but the Pinto had not been moved. Besides a physical description of Miss Davis and of the clothing she was wearing, police investigators have little else to help them figure out the mysterious disappearance. "OBVIOUSLY, we think she was kidnapped, but that's only speculation," said Sgt. Edward Charters of the Indiana State Police, an investigator assigned to the case.

He added that police have found "no trace whatsoever." Other than speculation, Charters said there is little that police can do except wait and hope she turns up unharmed. Charters terms the case unusual because some trace of a missing person usually turns up in this length of time. dresses like a conservative American businessman. That anecdote, he believes, sums up the stereotypes that Americans have of Arabs and Muslims. As secretary-general of the Islamic Center in Plainfield, it's part of Rash-dan's job to deal with those stereotypes and the prejudices that result.

AND WITH THE center caught up in a zoning controversy about the Muslims' right to build a mosque on their property By JOAN RICHARDSON Star Staff Reporter Plainfield, Ind. Whenever Mahmoud Rashdan ventures into an American classroom, he asks students to draw a picture of an Arab. "They always do pictures of camels and tents and belly dancers and ladies with their faces covered and guerrillas. Oh, and oil wells. But they never draw a picture of me," said Rashdan, an olive-skinned, dark-haired son of Jordan who 'here, dissolving prejudices is almost his full-time job.

The Islamic Center is the home of the Muslim Student Association of the United States and Canada (MSA) a organization that links numerous Muslim chapters with one another. The Muslims have made their home in Plainfield for almost two years. They quietly acquired a 123-acre farm south of Plainfield on old Indiana 267 in 1977 and converted several farm buildings into offices. From its space among Indiana corn-See MUSLIMS Page 6 PUBLISHER'S MEMO A Hatchet Job? Following recent stories about problems in the Sanitation and Parks Departments, a number of Mayor William Hudnut's friends and supporters have asked, "Why is The Star doing a hatchet job on Bill Hudnut?" The answer to those inquiries is that The Star has not been doing a "hatchet job." The Star, as it always has, investigated and reported problems in local" government. That has happened no matter who was in office or what his politics.

Such reporting is a responsibility of a newspaper, because only a newspaper has the trained professionals to act as a check on government. The publication of the stories reported some abuses, but they did not condemn the Hudnut administration. Bill Hudnut has done a good job as mayor of this city. He works hard at the job. He has picked, by and large, good people to work with him, and every indication is that he will be re-elected.

He deserves it not only because of his record but because Indianapolis will continue to improve with him as its mayor. E.S.P. City Slicker That little flag doesn't seem very high, but there's a lot of grease between it and the ground, and the only way to get there is the dirty way. That's what Tim Higginbotham of Noblesville found out in the greased-pole contest at Butler University's homecoming Saturday. Higginbotham finally managed to shimmy up the pole after competing teams wore each other out and agreed to cooperate to get the flag down.

Cooperation didn't extend to the football field, however: Butler lojto St. Joseph College, 28-23. (Starfhoto by Frank Fisse) A $29.86 United Way donation makes it possible for a youngster to enjoy the benefits of Boy Scouts membership for a year. Last year, 22,344 youths participated in scouting in Marion County. Thanks to you, United Way works for all i i OI US if.