The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 8

-v THE COURIER-JOURNAL, FRIDAYTCTOBER 30, 1992 LAST CALL Eerie presence felt in home 7 jv 4" 'l "-t v- 1 I'a -J JLJi One summer night in 1978, Lisa Fields was lying on the living room floor reading a newspaper when she came across an article she wanted her mother to see. "Something caught my eye in the hallway, walking through the living room and out of the dining room, and I said, 'Mom, look at Lisa remembers. "She didn't answer, so I got up and started following her out to the kitchen. She reached the kitchen before I did, and when I got there, she was gone." Lisa then discovered that her mother had been in the bathroom the entire time. And no one else in the family was BYRON CRAWFORD if I home.

She was only about 16 then, and now has a family of her own and lives across town. STAFF PHOTOS BY STEVE SMART Barbara Good and Don Nichols enjoyed an afternoon tea dance yesterday at Flaherty's. Flaherty's customers, staff mourn closing of St. Matthews nightclub STAFF PHOTO BY BYRON CRAWFORD Lisa Fields, left, and her sister, Debbie Brocar. someone in the living room after she was in bed.

"I thought you were going to bed," he said. "What are you doing walking around the room?" She yelled to ask who he was talking to. He yelled back to ask where she was. "I'm in my room," Lisa told him. "He said, 'Never mind.

Go to Of course, I didn't get much sleep," Lisa said. She and the six other children in the family thought it curious that their grandfather often walked through the house at night blessing their rooms with holy water. Now, they wonder if he was concerned for their safety. "He would never have told us if he had seen anything," Lisa said. "He wouldn't have wanted to upset us." Numerous other incidents have occurred in the house, but none more frightening than the time many years ago when Carol awoke with a headache late one night and got up to get an aspirin.

As she turned toward the door in the darkness, she said, a woman with a look of rage came at her with what appeared to be a pillow held above her head. "I screamed loud, and Lisa ran to the door and turned on the light, and when she turned the light on, it was gone," Carol said. After her father was well up in years, Carol recalled, she had to show him through the house when he complained that there was a strange woman in his room. "I took him to every room in the house to show him" there was no one there, she said, "and he just said, 'Well, she was here. But she never goes back to her mother's place a typical older, three-bedroom, two-story frame house off Preston Street near Louisville's Audubon neighborhood without thinking about the woman she followed through the house that night and about some of the other strange things that have happened there.

Her mother, Carol, 60, has lived in the house most of her life since 1938, 10 years after the house was built. Carol, who asked that her last name and street address not be used because of the nature of this story, cannot recall experiencing any eerie occurrences in the house until her daughters began seeing the form of a young woman with long dark hair. Lisa's sister, Debbie Brocar, 31, was skeptical of Lisa's alleged sighting of the woman until one night when Debbie was about 17. She was returning home from a date, and she and her boyfriend stepped onto the front porch. "It was dark, and I was knocking on the door.

I looked in the house through the door and saw somebody walking right through the living room toward the door," Debbie recalled. "It was the figure of a girl. I thought it was Lisa. So I told the boy I was with that Lisa was coming to let me in. But nobody ever opened the door." Finally, Debbie went to the side of the house, pecked on Lisa's bedroom window and awakened her and asked her to open the door.

But first she cautioned her to be careful because someone else was in the house. Then there was the night Lisa and her grandfather, who owned the house at the time, were the only ones home and she overheard him talking to By SHELDON SHAFER Staff Writer The mood last night at Food Fun Spirits in St. Matthews was a mixture of the lightheaded and the somber. Carol Carter, a longtime waitress, said she felt as if a friend had died. "This is more than a job," she said.

"This is my family." Flaherty's, for 20 years a fix-, ture on the north side of Dupont Square, will close for good tomorrow night. "It's been a popular watering hole," St. Matthews Mayor Arthur Draut said. "I went out the other St i inrrmiiiiiiiiiiJrtBHPl-TriiiMiiiiiirrni mvt for a medical facility. Flaherty pledged to be back in business somewhere else, perhaps by next summer, though he declined to speculate where.

He hopes to open a bigger place Flaherty's seats about 450 with more parking, less reliance on liquor sales and more emphasis on food and entertainment. Flaherty, 59, and five brothers, two of whom are now deceased, are perhaps best known because they all worked, at various times long ago, at the Brown Hotel, mostly serving drinks. "We spent more time behind bars than Al Capone," Flaherty said. In combination or alone, the brothers have been involved in several saloonkeeping ventures. Garland operated Flaherty's Tavern on Goldsmith Lane for many years before moving to St.

Matthews. Last night at Flaherty's, Jim Herp, who said he has been a regular customer since the place opened, described it as "just like Everybody knows everybody. It's a nice, comfortable place to come. Yeah, I'll miss it." day to say goodbye. You always miss a good business.

Proprietor Garland Flaherty indicated no one overriding reason closing the nightclub, al-. though he said he has had periodic noise complaints from nearby Humana Hospital-Suburban and Baptist Hospital East. "I figured area is closing in on me." He said he and partners Howard Logan and Kenny Kapp plan to sell the property to an unidenti-. fied group that includes physi- Garland Flaherty says he and his brothers probably have "spent more time behind bars than Al Capone." J3ians who intend to use the site bacco Corp. in Louisville.

Snook, 29, director of the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center, and Walker, 30, a training supervisor with United Parcel Service in Louisville, are running for the District 2-Boone Taylor Township seat vacated by Larry Enlow. Enlow had served eight years and opted not to seek re-election. Enlow and Andy Eschbacher cast the dissenting votes last February when the board voted 5-2 to approve the addition. Assuming that Woertz and Emily won, their votes, along with those of Eschbacher and either Snook or Walker, would form a majority to reconsider the project. Eschbacher said last night that he would vote again to reconsider the project.

The addition, which would include new classrooms, a media center, cafeteria and industrial arts SCHOOL Continued from Page 1 to back off." Emily, 42, who returned to school recently to become a licensed practical nurse, is opposed by Haake, 42, a parent and receptionist in her husband Joseph's dental practice. The winner will replace Katherine "Kay" Moss, who represented the district for eight years and decided not to seek re-election. Incumbent Brown, 55, has been an outspoken member. When no one from the Elizabeth area filed for the seat four years ago, Brown, who helps operate his son's New Albany auto parts store, accepted the appointment. He is opposed by Woertz, 30, a video store owner and an employee of R.

J. Reynolds To Luck and alert victim helped break up fencing operation, Louisville police say By MARVIN GREENE Staff Writer Luck, an alert crime victim and a successful end to an early morning chase may have led to the break-up of a fencing operation, Louisville police said yesterday. Three men were arrested two Wednesday night in connection with a burglary in the Highlands and one yesterday on charges of receiving stolen property and numerous other charges. The incident began about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday behind David M.

CoKen's apartment at 2003 Alta Detective Bill Keeling said. -Cohen, 34, saw two men carrying five guitars, jewelry, clothing and other items that he recognized as his, Keeling said. Cohen tried in vain to stop them and called police. Cohen said in an interview that he played in a now-defunct band called Last Chance and recognized one of the men as a former band member. He gave police the man's address in the 3400 block of Dixie Highway, and Keeling and other officers arrived there about 11 p.m.

Keeling said two men were loading their car to leave for Kansas City, when police arrived. The men told police they had taken Cohen's items to a house in the 2100 block of South 41st Street. Police went there with a search warrant and about 6 a.m. a suspect showed up, Keeling said. He saw police and fled in his car.

When he got to the 2300 block of Belquin Avenue, he ran from the car. Police caught him about 10 minutes later. Keeling said police recovered Cohen's items at the house on 41st Street, along with other items believed to have been taken in home burglaries, including videocassette recorders, stereo systems and a rooms, would boost the school's capacity from 550 to 1,150 students. More than 600 students now are crammed into the high school, Superintendent Kenneth Kidd said, noting that 75 new students enrolled this year and 68 the previous year. Corydon's three schools received most of those newcomers, and the trend likely will continue.

"Anybody who denies we've got a problem with crowding just isn't knowledgeable of the situation," Kidd said. And scrapping the project so late in the game would waste thousands of dollars, he said. The board likely will vote Monday night to hire a construction manager. A lease hearing is tentatively set for early January, with construction beginning in the spring. The $1.5 million Corydon Elementary addition under way now should be paid off by 1995, the same year the tax increase to pay for the $14.5 million project takes effect.

The net increase would total about 50 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, Kidd said. The estimated tax would rise from $4.37 per $100 of valuation to about $4.87 to $4.90 well below that of surrounding corporations whose rates have climbed to nearly $5.50 and $6 per $100, Kidd said. "It's really not the best course of action now to back off the plan," he said. "At some point in time, you get a certain amount invested." However, Kidd said he understands people's hesitation, and he plans to review the project's history with new board members. While she shares others' misgiv-' ings, Haake said she would oppose halting the project because additional delays could cost the school system even more money.

"I do want to know exactly what the, plans are, but I think it would be a mistake to hold it up or stop it." Emily, however, echoed Woertz and Walker, saying she is impressed by how many people urged that the board reconsider. "We're a growing community, but this is also a poor county," Emily said. "A lot of people make $7 an hour. That's the average. We need to build what we need and what we can afford.

I think we need to slow down and look at that." Snook agreed, adding that he wants to know that the new build-ing will serve for 10 years or beyond. South Harrison opened a new Corydon Central High in 1986, the same year the South Central High building opened. "I want to know that this (new building in Corydon) won't get overcrowded again in two to three years," Brown, however, said that questions always linger over such projects but that the school system must keep moving. The addition is needed and he won't change his mind. "You don't sit in 52 meetings (leading up to the decision) and not make up your mind." handgun.

The recovered goods were worth about $10,000, Keeling said. He said the suspect traded crack cocaine and other drugs for stolen goods, then would sell the goods. Arrested and charged with burglary were David William Welker, 29, and Mark Frederich Renne, 30, both of the 3400 block of Dixie Highway. They are being held in the Jefferson County Jail on $15,000 and $20,000 bond, respectively. Renne was a member of the same band as Cohen, Keeling said.

Leslie Erwin Dickerson, 31, of the 2100 block of South 41st Street, was charged with receiving stolen property over $100, trafficking in cocaine, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, first-degree wanton endangerment, reckless driving, attempting to elude and third-degree criminal mischief. He was jailed last night awaiting arraignment today. Student falls from trestle, is hurt slightly A 19-year-old college student was hurt slightly when he fell about 100 feet from a train trestle in eastern Jefferson County, early yesterday, police said. Kevin C. Grady of Oxford, Ohio, was listed in satisfactory condition at Humana Hospital-University of Louisville last night, a nursing supervisor said.

The hospital would not release the nature of his injuries. "He's awfully lucky," Jefferson County police Officer Stephen B. Hill said. "We just had somebody fall from up there recently, and he broke bones all over his body." Grady, a student at Miami University, was on the trestle about 1:45 a.m. when he saw a train coming.

He held onto a railroad tie but lost his grip, falling about 100 feet, Hill said. The trestle, near Pope Lick Road, is on land owned by Southern Railway. I Utility says lawyer stole $16,000 in electricity to disband and merge with Greater Clark. "I'm afraid if we stir up a mess here, we could lose," Holdaway said, noting that a hostile takeover among school systems recently in Wabash County caught her eye. Hutchings and Broughton said it's important to continue pressing on district lines because shrinking enrollment will soon hamper Clarksville's academic offerings.

Payne, meanwhile, said he is running on his record, including his opinion that Clarksville schools are fine the way they are. "I say keep Clarksville schools as is and keep local control. People inside the district are willing to let it die down." Besides the boundary question, Holdaway and Payne say experience is needed to lead the system. Finding a new school chief and keeping up Clarksville's tradition of providing good, basic education will be a big job, they said. Broughton, who taught for five years, said he believes Clarksville High School should become a magnet school.

The district could enhance offerings there to attract cash-tuition students. The district also needs to expand adult-education courses, he said. Hutchings and Broughton agreed that the district also should explore ways to pay for extracurricular activities. Money from advertising by local businesses could help pay for some activities, they said. No matter who wins Tuesday, Holdaway said, she hopes the board can find a new school chief who demonstrates Conley's flair for public relations, strong organization and skill at placing people in jobs that fit them.

"If we wanted to go into battle to change the boundaries," she said, "I'd want someone who can hold up under pressure." DECISIONS Continued from Page 1 who spoke Tuesday night at a forum sponsored by Citizens for Better Government, blasted the current board for failing to pursue changes in Clarksville's school boundaries. They noted that although the board made an unsuccessful attempt 10 years ago, the group should have made additional tries since. "The present board has not pursued this. They've chosen to ignore it," Hutchings said. School boundaries have been a big topic in Clarksville since the late 1960s.

Officials opted then to stick with the town limits for its school system when the state required the county to redraw all boundaries. The district eventually lost many of the youngsters from west of Interstate 65 to Greater Clark schools. Clarksville's school boundaries have remained unchanged while the town has grown with annexations. People often get confused when they move to Clarksville only to learn that their children must attend Greater Clark not Clarksville schools. They ask why they can't go someplace within walking distance, rather than ride a bus miles to Greater Clark buildings.

The school board petitioned the state Board of Education seeking a change in 1981, but the request was denied. Superintendent Conley has said that records show the board eagerly sought a change and failed and that it's unfair to suggest now they didn't do their utmost. Holdaway said she and others believe that if the question were placed on a referendum ballot, the attempt to regain some of Greater Clark's students- could backfire. Clarksville's district could be forced I Louisville Gas Electric Co. has sued a Louisville lawyer, charging him with stealing more than $16,000 worth of electricity.

filed the lawsuit Wednesday against Edward F. Rectenwald, whose law office is at 721 W. Market St. The suit charges that in Febru-, ary 1991, employees dis-; covered that the electric meter at Rectenwald's law office had been tampered with, allowing the of-; fice to receive electricity that the meter was not registering. The suit charges that computed that the office had re-' ceived $16,290.50 worth of elec-! tricity that no one had paid for and that Rectenwald refused to pay the bill.

Kathy Campbell, a spokeswoman for declined to discuss the case, saying she could not talk about pending litigation. Rick Jones, a spokesman for the Jefferson County commonwealth's attorney's office, said that office is not prosecuting Rectenwald. Theft of services amounting to more than $300 is a Class felony, punishable by one to five years in prison. But before Rectenwald could be prosecuted, Jones said, would have to give prosecutors a file on the alleged theft, which did not do. Claims made in filing a lawsuit give only one side of the case..