The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 13

RegionB2 The Buzz PageB4 ObituariesB6, 7 WeatherB8 The Indianapolis Star fjf lndyStar.comnews Saturday, April 17,2004 Section Woman killed before fire, police say. B3 Marion girl pleads guilty in grandmother's stabbing. B7 MB Warmth heralds return of bad bugs County hatches battle plan to keep mosquitoes at bay, warns that West Nile virus likely will be back by summer. ft ft rt E3 ft -'-J (. zy A TT --r-ifi i i- I i' i V.

JT I jfT i i V' I CI ft, 4 Mi Unarm nye i ne Mar Family mourns: Greg Grinstead, brother-in-law of victim Ralph "Brad" Wilcox, consoles Wilcox's granddaughter, Kaylee Wilcox, at the store where he died. By Rob Schneider rob.schneiderindystar.com The good news is, warm weather is here. The bad news is, so are the mosquitoes. Like a general predicting the enemy's first move, Chuck Dulla, mosquito control administrator for the Marion County Health Department, said the nuisance mosquitoes will appear soon. Those are the forerunners of the pests that will carry the potentially deadly West Nile virus later this summer.

"All the water you see out there has larvae, and they will hatch out after this week with warm weather," Dulla said. In a pre-emptive strike, the Health Department will host a tire amnesty day from 8 am to 4 p.m. today. People can drop off four to six passenger car or pickup truck tires at the mosquito control office, 4001 E. 21st St "There is nothing better a female mosquito would rather do than lay her eggs in a tire," Dulla said.

He referred to tires as "mosquito condominiums" because they hold water inside the rim. It's too soon to say what the mosquito crop will be like this year, Dulla said. The deciding factors will be how much it rains and how hot it is in the months ahead. In 2002, when the county had 40 confirmed cases of West Nile and three deaths from the virus, the summer was hot, with droughtlike conditions. "That was the type of weather that is conducive to having an outbreak of West Nile virus," Dulla said.

Last year, the county had two confirmed cases of the virus but no deaths. The temperatures were cooler, and a lot of rain fell, he noted. But at least twice, over the July Fourth and Labor Day holidays, there was so much rain that the mosquitoes were flushed See Bugs, Page B5 Mosquito bite prevention tips The Marion County Health Department urges residents to follow some simple rules to keep themselves safe during the upcoming mosquito season. Joe Gibson, epidemiologist for the Health and Hospital Corp. of Marion County, suggested the five D's: Dress: Wear appropriate clothing long sleeves and pants to protect against the pests.

Dusk and dawn: Remember that these are the times when mosquitoes are most active. Drain: Make sure to replace birdbath water once a week, as well as the water in wading pools. Also, clean gutters to ensure there is no standing water and make sure there are no cans or other containers collecting water outside. DEET: Use a repellent containing DEET. People are urged Killed at work Ralph "Brad" Wilcox, 55, Anderson, was getting ready to Intruder shoots manager before Safeway opens when 'he was shot rTWvT- and killed during a struggle with an 1 armed assailant.

Manon County 1 'I 56th St. 1Fmile; 1 4W1WUI late Friday. "It was like he just wasn't afraid, no matter how dangerous it was there," Cinda Wilcox said in a telephone interview from her Anderson home. She was stunned but calm hours after her husband's slaying, saying she planned to begin making funeral arrangements today. She said there have been other scary situations at the store in recent years.

A man Wilcox banned from the store for shoplifting returned a couple of days later to scratch Wilcox's pickup with a key. Ralph Wilcox had spent 22 years with Safeway, beginning as a stock boy when Standard Grocery owned the company and working his way up. He came to the Shadeland store 15 years ago and "turned it around, really improved See Deadly, Page B7 Foods store, 4540 N. Shadeland about 5 a.m. Friday, the 55-year-old Wilcox was fatally shot by a robber.

Indianapolis police said Wilcox and an assistant manager were in an office near the front of the store, preparing for the 6 a.m. opening, at the time. The intruder, who had entered the locked store overnight through the roof, was hiding behind a counter. Holding a chrome or silver handgun, he approached Wilcox. The manager struggled with him and was shot three times.

The assistant manager was unharmed. The robber remained at large By John Tuohy and Terry Home john.tuohyindystar.com Ralph "Brad" Wilcox and his wife believed that the neighborhood near the Northeastside grocery he managed had gotten worse in recent years. So recently, they had talked about retirement "I said, 'Maybe you should think about it. It is kind of dangerous around there, and you go in so early in the Cinda Wilcox told her husband. "But he was dedicated to the store.

He'd spent much of his life there." Shortly after arriving at the Safeway St. 1 i) t- 46th The Star Charges dropped against murder suspect Prosecutors unable to go to trial in time in the case of a pregnant teen slain last year; charges could be refiled. to call (317) 221-7440 if they have standing water on did they arrest him in the first place?" Winters, a Broad Ripple High School student, was eight weeks pregnant when she was gunned down in a Near-Southside alley. Unless a suspect asks for delays, the state has a year to bring him or her to trial. Johnson's year expires May 5.

Deputy Prosecutor Ralph Staples said he had no choice but to dismiss the case because investigators are awaiting the results of DNA tests. He said the state could refile the case. "When additional evidence is developed, the real target should be made more clear," Staples said He refused to comment on whether there are any other suspects in Winters' slaying. "It does nobody any good to convict someone of a crime they didn't commit," Staples said. "We're always supposed to be 100 percent sure when we go to trial.

We're not presenting a jury See Charges, Page B7 on charges of murder, aggravated assault and feticide in the slaying of Tasha Winters on May 5, 2003. "I just want it to be over, but now they're saying we have to wait," said Chaz Hutcherson, Winters' sister. "I can't sleep at night knowing the person who killed my sister is just walking free. If they didn't have strong evidence, why By Vic Ryckaert vic.ryckaertindystar.com Prosecutors on Friday dismissed murder and other charges against a teen accused in the shooting death of a pregnant 16-year-old girl because they were not ready to go to trial. Jarvis "Dennis" Johnson 18, had been scheduled to go on trial Monday their property or have questions about mosquitoes.

Star report I 7 Large number of donors has Daniels' team elated Ex-director: $1.5 billion can meet kids' needs DECISION 2004 By Mary Beth Schneider mary.beth.schneiderindystar.com It isn't just how much money they're raising that has Mitch Daniels' campaign happy. It's the number of people they're raising it from. On Friday, Daniels, one of two Republicans running for governor, filed a campaign finance report showing $3,026 million in his war chest as he heads into the May 4 primary election. Daniels raised more than $1.66 million from Jan. 1 to April 9, the end of the reporting period, and spent $2.6 million.

He started the year with $4.04 million. Bill Oesterle, Daniels' campaign manager, said the campaign had received 4,971 contributions, with an average gift of $334. "The more I see the numbers, the happier I am," Oesterle said. "He's been out on the road campaigning more than he's been fund raising. "The effect of that can be seen in the the money spent on protecting children goes to community-based services, such as juvenile and education programs and community programs, through the state Family and Social Services Administration.

About 42 percent of the $li billion comes from the state, and 37 percent from federal sources, and roughly 21 percent is from local property taxes. The money goes to a variety of state departments and programs, including the departments of Correction, Education and Family and Social Services. Hmurovich, who left in 2002 after serving in state government for most of a decade, said $1.5 billion is a lot of money, "and I don't believe we're using it wisely." Hmurovich said there are many barriers to spending the money more wisely, including getting agencies to better See Needs, Page B7 By Eunice Trotter eunice.trotterindystar.com Indiana spends around $13 billion annually on children, and that should be enough to provide for their needs, a former director of the state's child welfare program said Friday. "If we continue to improve the way we deliver services to a child, then we can reduce administrative costs and offer those services cheaper," said James M. Hmurovich, former director of the Division of Family and Children, addressing the state Commission on Abused and Neglected Children and Their Families.

Hmurovich said Indiana now knows how much it spends on children through the work of the Juvenile Law Commission, one of five commissions and committees studying ways to improve services to children. The law commission compiled figures based on 2002 spending, the most recent numbers available. The report shows that 64 percent of imli I inn iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii mi Photo provided by the Phoenix Theatre Governor's race Coming Sunday: A look at the issues in the race for the Republican nomination for governor. large number of contributors we're pulling in." Eric Miller, the founder of the conservative lobbying organization Advance America, is also running for the GOP nomination for governor. His campaign finance report showed he had $387,000 in cash on hand as of April 9, after having raised $150,000 and spent $668,000.

He started the year with more than $905,000. See Daniels, Page B7 THE BUZZ PAGE Baseball play is a hit "Take Me Out," a play featuring Gerson Decanay (above), is a home run, The Indianapolis Star's critic says. B4.