The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 7

i 4 THE COURIER-JOURNAL, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1986 19G6 KENTUCKY LEGISLATURE Agent says Hall didn't have Meade contract Senate approves adding district judge in Bullitt V't if iv The Senate also passed and sent to the House: SB 134, to prohibit the transportation ot any child, under court order or the direction ot the Cabinet tor Human Resources, unless accompanied by an attendant ot the same sen; 31-4. SB 257, to exempt wholesalers, retailers and installers ot water heaters In urban county governments and cities ot the second class from the requirement that such devices have serial numbers, 34-1. SB 274, to set up new standards tor conversion ot group health insurance coverage upon termination ot membership In a group; 34-1. SB 275, to authoriie lite insurance policies that do not have cash surrender value; 33-2. The bill would not affect existing policies.

The Senate also sent House Bill 148 to the Judiciary-Civil Committee, where it is likely to be reworked. The measure, which was in line for passage yesterday, would have allowed courts not to require the support of adult handicapped children if the parents are certified as indigent. Sen. Ed O'Daniel, a Springfield formers of Hall's caliber generally charge around $10,000, with half paid in advance. Harris said Hall had not received any money from Keene.

The Tavern's current manager, Vince Thomason, said Keene disappeared Feb. 11. Of the 800 tickets the tavern had printed, 250 were unaccounted for yesterday. Stiles said. Those were either at other locations where they were to be sold or had been sold but not returned for a refund, he said.

Stiles said Keene gave away 50 tickets for promotion, and may be able to account for a number of others. The tickets cost $10 each. Stiles said be thinks all but "a couple of hundred dollars" will be accounted for. Meade County Attorney Danny Darnall said it is unlikely that Keene will be charged with anything more than false advertising. Keene is in jail on a charge of receiving stolen property valued at more than $100 in connection with a tractor-trailer rig that was stolen in Nashville, Stiles said.

Darnall said Keene had 50 cents on him at the time of his arrest. Stiles said Georgetown, authorities want to extradict Keene to By TIM ROBERTS Staff Writer Country music performer Tom T. Hall had never signed a contract for a concert at the Rainbow Tavern east of Vine Grove, his agent said yesterday. The concert scheduled for last night was canceled Thursday. Hall's agent, Joe Harris of Top Billing in Nashville, said he had sent the former manager of the tavern, Bill Keene, an unsigned contract to examine, sign and return for Hall's signature.

Harris said the contract was never returned, and he dropped the Vine Grove stop from Hall's agenda. Keene, who police say advertised the concert, is being held in the Meade County Jail on an unrelated charge. State police Detective Tommy Stiles said he is investigating the concert booking, saying advertising without a contract is a misdemeanor. Hall performed in Paducah Feb. 14 and 15 and will return to Kentucky this summer, Harris said.

Harris would not reveal the amount that Hall would have been paid at the Rainbow, but said per By BOB JOHNSON Political Writer FRANKFORT, Ky. Bullitt County would receive a second district judge under a bill approved yesterday by the Senate. Senate Bill 240, sent to the House on. a 33-0 vote, was one of 10 bills that the Senate passed in less than 30 minutes before adjourning for Jhe -weekend. 7 Funds for the new district judge are.

provided in a separate budget bill, said Senate President Pro-Tern Joe Prather, D-Vine Grove. Sen. Fred Bradley, D-Frankfort, told the Senate that 6,892 matters handled in 1985 by Bullitt District Judge Fredric N. Friske. Bradley reminded the Senate that Bullitt, with a population of about 50,000, is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state and in the country.

He also released a letter from Jean Hatzell, the Bullitt circuit clerk, who said there are frequently as many as 125 to 150 people in court, on traffic and misdemeanor charges, forcing the district court to meet in the circuit courtroom. The Senate also passed a bill that would make it unlawful for any person to direct speech or conduct toward a teacher or school administrator when that person knows that his or her conduct would disrupt normal school activities. measure, SB 271, passed 33-1 discussion and goes to the House. Water from old coal mine creates 'Fiddle Bow Geyser' in Hopkins a. Pawnbroker measure approved by House IMS AP Photo Tom T.

Hall Concert was canceled face a charge of theft by false pretenses. A Delaware State Police dispatcher confirmed that an investigation is being conducted, but would not release further details yesterday. Harris said he was surprised by the turn of events in Meade County because he had worked with Keene three years ago when Keene booked Johnny Paycheck for a suburban Philadelphia concert and again last May when Keene booked Hall for a West Virginia concert. mine works being forced through the pipe. "When I was there, the water woui'd jump up about 10 feet for 10 minUfe then shut down for 10 minutes, he said.

"Then the cycle would be repa ed." ii Ridley said that probably indicates the pressure is lessening. "My theory and I've talked to other miners, and they agree is that one of two things can cause this," he said. "The first possibility is that some old mine seals have broken, allowing water to rush into the seal area. The other possibility is that there has been massive subsidence in the mine, forcing air and water out ing that government agents coerced him to plead guilty. Collett also alleged that his cotrrt-appointed attorney did not adequately represent him and gave him tranquilizers, rendering him temporarily incompetent during the tpal.

Murphy disputed the allegations, referring to repeated statements by Collett in the trial transcript that his guilty plea was voluntary, that he was competent to make the plea and that he understood what he was doing. In the transcript of his sentencing hearing, Collett said he had never been under the influence of drugs or alcohol and was "pleased" with the 10-year sentence, according to Murphy's response. Associated Press FIDDLE BOW, Ky. A spray of water from a vent pipe at an old Hopkins County coal mine has fascinated local residents who have dubbed it the "Fiddle Bow Geyser." The geyser started with strange noises in the vent pipe and culminated when the pipe started to spew water 50 or more feet into the air, neighbors say. "It sounded like a freight train going by at first," said Doug Oldham, who lives about 250 yards from the pipe.

"We've lived here seven years almost, and I never saw it do anything like that before." The water started about last Tuesday, Oldham said. Fiddle Bow is a tiny community Prosecutors deny man's plea was coerced about 1 V4 miles east of the intersection of KY 70 and KY 109 in southwestern Hopkins County. The yellow pipe is about 60 feet off KY 70, standing about four feet in the air and under some power lines. "I went down there and tried to hold my hand over the pipe," Oldham said. "I couldn't do it.

The air was so strong it blew my hands off the pipe." Arthur Ridley, an inspector with the federal Mine Safety Health Administration office in Madisonville, was sent to the scene this week after his supervisors received several complaints about the phenomenon. "What we have is a pipe that had been quiet for years," Ridley said. He said "shrieks" from the pipe probably are caused by air from old Collett pleaded guilty to conspiring to firebomb state police Detective Jerry Brewer's house in Bell County in 1984. He and his wife, Maxie, were charged with a variety of explosives violations in an 18-count federal indictment. They were also charged with conspiring to firebomb at least three business and two other homes in Bell County.

Collett first pleaded not guilty, but three days into his trial he entered a guilty plea to a single charge of conspiring to firebomb Brewer's home. In return, the other charges against him and his wife were dropped. In December, however, Collett asked that the sentence be set aside or that he receive a new trial, alleg Associated Press LONDON, Ky. Federal prosecutors dispute former Pineville used-car salesman Kirby Conn Col-lett's allegations that he was coerced into pleading guilty to conspiring to firebomb a state trooper's house. Collett requested in December that the 10-year sentence imposed on him last summer in U.S.

District Court in London be set aside or that he be granted a new trial. In a response filed with U.S. Magistrate James Cook, Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Michael Murphy said Collett's request was without merit and should be denied.

Cook is expected to rule on the request next month. Democrat who is committee chairman, said the bill is ambiguous and questioned whether there is anything in the statutes that requires parents to support such children. The Senate passed these House bills and sent them to Gov. Martha Layne Collins: HB 48, to repeal sections ot a 1474 law on highway planning thai contlict with another highway planning law enacted in 1982; 33-0. is HB 292, to allow people with handicapped parking permits Issued by Veterans Administration hospitals to park in spaces designated tor the handicapped; 33-1.

HB 434, to require that cars purchased in foreign countries conform to U.S. standards before they can be registered in Kentucky; 27-5. HB 460, to Increase the maximum service charge an insurance premium finance company can charge from SO to $12 per S100 a year; 25-5. God in public schools The phrase is identical to the one used by the U.S. Supreme Court to open its sessions, except that it substitutes "school" for "court." Harper said the similarity should lead the high court to find the measure constitutional unlike other attempts to mention God in public schools since the court's ruling against school prayer in 1963.

"If they can do it there, we can do it in our schools," Harper said, adding that he got the idea from a recent letter to National Review, a conservative magazine. amendment by Rep. Joe Barrows, D-Versailles, that would continue requiring post-election finance reports from such candidates. Police arrest powers The House defeated, 43-41, a measure that would allow police from one county to make arrests in another county if their assistance had been requested. HB 470 failed after Northern Kentucky legislators succeeded in amending it to restore the ability of police in fourth-class cities to make arrests anywhere in their own county, which courts have struck down.

Rape counselors A bill that would allow counselors of rape victims to withhold certain information in any civil or criminal proceeding, passed the House 95-0. As amended, HB 263 would require counselors to testify only about information they have on the identity of assailants, the physical appearance of victims at the time of the sexual assault, possible perjury and the chain of custody of evidence in the case. Rep. Marshall Long, D-Shelby-ville, a co-sponsor, said the measure is "a badly needed piece of legislation to help the people who staff the rape-crisis centers of Kentucky." The House passed and sent to the governor Senate Bill 72, which would require all active real estate licensees, beginning April 1, 1987, to carry errors and omissions insurance. Under the bill, approved 95-0, the state Department of Insurance would have to make the insurance available by contracting with an insurance company for a group policy.

The House passed and sent to the Senate: HB 124, to make a number of changes in state election law dealing with such matters as special elections, filling vacancies on ballots, absentee ballot requests and candidate withdrawal; 90-1. HB 443, to bring natural-gas gathering pipelines that are not now regulated under the scrutiny of the Public Service Commission and require compliance with Its standards for design, safety and construction; 93-0. HB 353, to allow ambulance personnel to use red lights and sirens on personal cars to report to the scenes of emergencies; 92-0. HB 412, to allow epileptics and others prone to seizures to skip taking driver's tests, going to driver school or paying licensing fees when they regain their driver's licenses after suspensions for failure to have proper medications or failure to be seizure-free for at least 90 days; 88-0. HB 540, to regulate consignors of fine art, who would be defined as those people who deliver works of art from artists to art dealers; 94-0.

HB 582, to allow landlords to prosecute and seek evictions or payments from tenants behind on their rent under laws prohibiting "forcible entry or detainer," 89-0. HB 596, to allow purchasers of goods and services to sue the sellers in district court In the county where the goods and services were delivered or performed, and not only in the home county of defendants, 68-19. HB 607, to require the state insurance commissioner to prescribe guidelines for the coordination of benefits provided by group health-insurance policies; 92-1. HB 612, to allow Inflation escalators and other considerations to make more people eligible for Kentucky Housing Corp. loans, which are now set in statute as available only to families with annual aggregate incomes of less than 93-2.

HB 202, to ease current restrictions on how much money bank officers or directors may borrow from their bank; 80-2. HB 524, to create a new state insurance license for "managing general agents," and define qualifications for and activities allowed by such licenses; 83-2. HB 526, to regulate risk-retention groups formed in Kentucky pursuant to the federar Product Liability Risk Retention Act of 1981; 82-0. House Concurrent Resolution 51, which would make the Lexington Children's Theater the official state children's theater; 87-1. State to train laid-off workers Associated Press WASHINGTON Grants totaling $7.1 million will be used to help retrain workers in Indiana, Kentucky and eight other states laid off because of plant closings or foreign competition, Labor Secretary William Brock announced yesterday.

The money is being provided under the Job Training Partnership Act to help such workers re-enter the job market. Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio will get $600,000 for the United Auto Workers-Ford National Development and Training Center in a jointly funded project. The program will assist UAW-Ford workers who have been laid off or are scheduled to be laid off in any of the three states. Kentucky also will get $800,000 to aid unemployed coal miners in major coal-producing counties in Eastern and Western Kentucky. Other recipients are Alabama, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota and Bill seeks mention of The Frankfort Bureau FRANKFORT, Ky.

"God save the United States and this honorable school!" That's what children and teachers in Kentucky's public schools could say at the beginning of their day if a measure introduced yesterday by a majority of the House becomes law. Rep. John Harper, R-Shepherds-ville, and 53 of his colleagues are sponsoring House Bill 746, which would allow a student or school employee to "elect, as is his or her personal choice," to recite the phrase once at the start of each school day. As originally proposed, the bill contained no cap on the service fees. HB 544's sponsor, Rep.

Virgil Pearman, D-Radcliff, Pearman said he successfully offered the 20 percent cap as amendment yesterday in an attempt to appease Overstreet, who had raised objections last week in the House Banking and Insurance Committee. Since 1946, Kentucky law has limited pawnbrokers to the 32 percent monthly interest charges and has prohibited them from charging for "any interest or consideration greater than" that. Attorney General Dave Armstrong and his predecessor, Steven Beshear, have interpreted the law as banning service fees. Armstrong, in fact, has threatened to prosecute Owensboro pawnbrokers who were levying service fees of about 10 percent in addition to interest charges. Pearman, who is running for the state Senate in a district that contains Fort Knox and its many pawnshops, said pawnbrokers have high overhead costs and the loss of about 30 percent of pawned items that are confiscated by police because they are stolen goods.

Pearman described pawnshops as "one of the best agencies we have across the state of Kentucky in helping catch thieves." But pawnbrokers can't make ends meet, Pearman said, adding that it "would be an injustice (to poor people) not to have pawnbrokers ready to give them small amounts of money." Overstreet acknowledged that pawnbrokers "have got to make a reasonable living like anybody else." But he said the message of the bill to poor people is, "I'm sorry, you're in the lower class of our society. We're going to rip you off." He said HB 544 "is a disgrace, and I think it's a glaring indictment of any group of people who would come with this kind of garbage and ask that it become law." The measure now goes to the Senate. Campaign contributions After making one change, the House approved HB 61, which would ease campaign-finance paperwork burdens and increase the limit on individual campaign contributions from $3,000 to $4,000 per candidate, per election. The bill, sent to the Senate 60-29, would increase from $100 to $300 the minimum individual contribution that would have to be reported to the Registry of Election Finance and would increase the size of a legal anonymous contribution from $50 to $100. After extensive debate, the House opted against exempting unopposed candidates who raise less than $3,000 from filing any finance reports with the registry, as HB 61 originally proposed.

It voted 66-25 to tack on an 'Super Tuesday' state primary elections held in May as they are now. The proposal has been billed as a way to increase the South's clout in the presidential selection process. Critics said the additional election would have cost West Virginia $1 million, not counting the cost of another state holiday. Opponents also questioned whether West Virginia, parts of which are farther north than Pittsburgh, should align itself with Southern states. in marijuana case 8 raid on a house in which police said marijuana was being cultivated.

He fled the state after posting a $10,000 property bond, but was apprehended Sept. 28 at the international airport in Anchorage, Alaska, with 17.5 pounds of marijuana in his possession. He was returned to Kentucky and pleaded guilty to the two charges. Coming fcy ROBERT T. GARRETT Staff Writer -FRANKFORT, Ky.

A bill that would allow Kentucky pawnbrokers to charge monthly service fees of 20 percent, in addition to the interest they charge on loans, was overwhelming approved by the House yesterday. Proponents said House Bill 544 is needed to keep pawnbrokers from going out of business and to continue providing a source of loans to people who need money but lack the time or the credit to obtain it elsewhere. But Rep. Raymond Overstreet, R-Liberty, said it would be "an to allow pawnbrokers to go from charging a maximum of 3y2 percent a month on the unpaid balance of a loan to charging up to 20 percent of the original loan each month in service fees, plus 2 percent interest on the unpaid balance. Such action is proposed in HB 544, as amended on the House floor yesterday.

It was later sent to the Senate on a 87-2 vote. If enacted, the bill would reduce the 3 4 percent maximum monthly interest pawnbrokers may charge to 2 percent, but would allow them for the first time to charge "a fee" for their services in processing loans and holding pawned items. Woman pleads guilty to assault with hot grits RALEIGH, N. C. (AP) A woman who hit a police officer with a potful of hot grits pleaded guilty to an assault charge and was placed on probation and fined $100.

i'Jt was a domestic disturbance," District Attorney Karl E. Knudsen said in court Wednesday, when Willa Jean Donaldson entered the plea. "She was not out to injure officer. He was kind of a gratuitous beneficiary for what she did." Officer R. L.

Carroll was answering a report of a domestic dispute last June when, according to testimony, Billy Wayne Wise, 36, and Ms. Donaldson, 48, were arguing. Ms. Donaldson held a pot of steaming grits. She lunged at Wise, who ducked, and the grits landed on Carroll, burning his chest and legs.

Minnesota ice palace falls to wrecking ball ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) At noon, the St. Paul Winter Carnival's centennial Ice palace was a tourist attraction. Half an hour later, it was a memory.

Thousands of people watched as a wrecking ball marked the end of the winter carnival by reducing the 12-story palace to crushed ice. They cheered when the ball knocked over the palace's main tower. West Virginia rejects Associated Press W.Va. The House of Delegates defeated a bill yesterday that would have enabled Virginia to join in a "Super Tuesday" presidential primary election. The House rejected the bill 57-40 following debate that centered on its cost Under the bill, West Virginia would have held a presidential pref-i erence primary in March, with the Berea man sentenced Associated Press RICHMOND, Ky.

A Berea man has been sentenced to eight years in "prison for trafficking in controlled substances and first-degree bail jumping. Madison Circuit Judge William Jennings sentenced William B. Cur- US. 31, on Thursday. Curtis was charged'after a March i bundav in Marketplace The dreaded task of filing income tax returns is looming once again.

But Sunday's Marketplace section will try to make the process as painless as possible. Look to it for information about new features of the tax forms, the difference between state and federal laws and even a list of people to whom the government owes back tax refunds. Wct (fonricr-Slonrnal fiiMQjV -dial to afMMo fctwaokiwA atOM" fcooTea -Wy eaa) li U.S. Individual Income Tax teigfiolQJ illifH tl 2-L EWUWII HUO) HOe0 4 U. Ut Ut I tttuMj BfaMoyoBWMa yon i Cum JA" "ST.