The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 2

2ATIIEDES MOINES REGISTER Saturday. November 5. 1988 MORE IOWA NEWS: 9Af1 OA Council Bluffs man abducted, killed after cashing check DATELINE IOWA By NICK LAMBERTO Register Staff Writer A Council Bluffs school administrator whose body was found in Georgia this week apparently was abducted after cashing a $400 check at an Omaha bank. The death and disappearance of Lorenzo Harmon Tucker, 55, of Omaha, who disappeared about a week ago, is being investigated as a kidnapping and murder. His body was found Tuesday by a hunter near Valdosta, Ga.

Tucker, 55, was vocational coordinator for the Council Bluffs school district. His body was identified Thursday by fingerprints in FBI files. He was last seen alive Oct. 28 at an Omaha bank. His wife reported him missing the next day.

Tuesday morning, a deer hunter found Tuck he cashed a check for $400. "It's really a mystery," Christie said. "He never would have wound up in Georgia voluntarily. It's so out of place for him. "We don't have a clue about what happened.

He was always either working or at home," he said. Tucker had been with the Council Bluffs schools since 1975 and had worked earlier in Englewood, Christie said. "He was a very kind person," Christie said. "His personal interests were the theater, classical music and reading." Tucker is survived by his wife, Dorothy, and two children. east-west highway that passes through Valdosta.

"It's about 1,370 miles a good 24-hour drive from Omaha so the gunman must have left the highway briefly to dump the body and then returned to the highway," Selph said. Tucker's car, a 1986 dark blue Ford Escort with Nebraska license 1K7409, is listed as stolen in the national crime computer. "We're hoping to find the car with the driver in it," Selph said. Council Bluffs Superintendent Richard Christie said Friday that Tucker had attended a seminar at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs Oct. 28.

He was later seen about 2:20 m. at a bank in southwest Omaha where er's body, still clad in the business suit he wore a week ago. The hunter, Robert Moore, told Lowndes County, officials that he found the body as he was leaving a wooded area seven miles east of Valdosta. Tucker was shot once in the back of his head, said Detective Capt. Billy Selph of the Lowndes County Sheriff's Department.

Once Tucker's body was identified, his name was matched with a national missing person's report. "There was no identification, no billfold, keys, nothing on the body," Selph said Friday. Selph said Tucker was killed Sunday night. The body was near a path not far from the main TERRY FARRISThe Register Plan to divide parks money is criticized College board to consider president's recent arrests Tht Register's Iowa News Service SHELDON, IA. The board of directors of Northwest Iowa Technical College will meet next week to discuss the status of the college president, who was arrested twice in the last week for drunken driving.

Frank Adams, SO, was arrested on Oct. 31 by Sheldon police and Nov. 2 by Osceola County sheriff's deputies, officials confirmed. No further details were available. Board Chairman Howard Borchard would not comment on the charges but said the board will meet to Adams' status.

Man dies, woman injured in crash west of Sioux City STORM LAKE, IA. (AP) A Cherokee man died and his passenger was critically injured Thursday night when the car in which they were riding collided with a skidding truck west of Sioux City. Robert Buenger, 28, died in the ac-Jcident and Laura Coyne, 23, also of I Cherokee, was in critical condition Friday at a Sioux City hospital, the Buena Vista County officials said. Investigators said a truck driven by Harold Medick, 34, of Cleghorn ap- By JONATHAN ROOS Register Staff Writer Some legislators and environmental groups are troubled by a plan to shift money from seldom-visited state parks to more popular parks. "It's not the right approach," said Senator Berle Priebe, vice chairman of both the Senate Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Nat A tmmmmm ")' x.vss, A -v: i 1 yf's I i llfW 'fKIMKl ii 111! Ill" 'I I i.i)M'Cti."W-MIIHl" I 'i fllf 'Hrf l(.

HI II 1 rriTCM I. iAtiiiHimV 'tm. vTk A rj -AS ural Resources Appropriations BERLK PRIEBE parently skidded into the car path. Former bank vice president given probation for assault TM Register's low News Service CARROLL, IA-A former Carroll County State Bank vice president has received a 30-day suspended sentence and a year of probation after plead- ing guilty of assault, reduced from a charge of assault with intent to com- mit sexual abuse. Jerome J.

Rolfes, 54, of Carroll pleaded guilty Oct. 27 to a charge of assault, court officials said. The charges stemmed from a Sep- tember incident in which Rolfes was The lowest-priority parks, including A.A. Call State Park near Algona in Priebe's district, "would just deteriorate to where they aren't worth anything and then Larry Wilson director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Department would just give them to the counties," said Priebe. "I don't think our organization would favor this if it would take a natural resource and see it go to pot.

That's not in the best interest of the people of the state of Iowa," said Richard VanderHorn, executive director of the Izaak Walton League's Iowa division. 1 Three Categories With the goal of targeting parks money where it is most needed, natural resources department officials have divided Iowa's 64 state parks and recreations areas into three groups. Twelve heavily-used parks in the accused of assaulting a Carroll man while the two men were test-driving a car offered for sale by the bank. Man critically injured The groom's a dummy, but his bride's a doll in Marshalltownfire Tht Register's Iowa Ntws Strvict MARSHALLTOWN, IA. A Mar- south of Fort Dodge.

The couple found the dummies compliments of their new neighbors when tbey returned from their honeymoon. Newlyweds Cbarlene and Pat Kelley were surprised to find these replicas of themselves outside their newly purchased home on U.S. Highway 169 Sexual-abuse amnesty suggested shalltown man was critically injured Friday in a fire at his apartment. Alfred Turner was in critical condition Friday night at the University Hospitals burn center in Iowa City. The fire was in a seventh-floor apartment of the Tall Corn Towers.

Discarded smoking materials started the fire, a Marshalltown Fire Department spokesman said. enhanced management category will receive more money for maintenance, equipment and staff, and 21 seldom-used parks in the basic management category will receive less. Reagan won't help patient, 8, renew benefits Another 31 parks in an intermediate group will get about the same amount By CYNTHIA HUBERT Register (tali Writer People who sexually abuse children should be offered amnesty from prosecution in exchange for identifying their victims and undergoing intensive therapy, a prominent national expert in child abuse prevention and of money as they now receive. The plan is certain to generate con By JOHN CARLSON 01 The Register's Iowa Ctfy Bureau troversy in the Legislature, said Senator James Riordan, a Waukee Dem An 8-year-old Davenport liver transplant recipient, jnired in a red tape quandary only the federal gov ocrat and chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee. ernment could ere Ex-funeral director pleads guilty to 7 theft charges The Register's Iowa News Service I MAQUOKETA, IA.

A former Maquoketa funeral director pleaded guilty here Friday to seven counts of theft in connection with prearranged funeral contracts. Joseph Kedley entered the plea after the state agreed to drop its investigation in 85 other similar alleged thefts, Jackson County Attorney Kjas Long said. Kedley, the former operator of Haylock, O'Hara and Kedley Funeral Riordan said the plan raises a lot of ate, will have to look to someone besides President questions. If, as he's heard, the intent is to let the grass grow and eventually turn the low-priority parks into wild Reagan for than the current emphasis on investigation and prosecution of child molesters. "I would rather have the offender paying taxes than being fed and housed by the state, and then coming out of prison unchanged," he said.

"We are talking about offering the offender innovative treatment" aimed at preventing the abuse from happening again, he said. "Because most offenders abuse more than one child, it certainly seems to me to be worth a try." The exchange took place at the second annual Iowa Symposium on Sexual Abuse, sponsored by the Lee County Mental Health Center and Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines. Conte is an internationally recognized expert on child sexual abuse, and has written more than 30 papers on the subject. Besides Conte and Fultz, the panel discussion featured John Holtkamp of the state Department of Human Services and Bill Leonard, an editorial writer for The Des Moines Register. Conte suggested levying fines against those convicted of sexually abusing children and imposing taxes on "X-rated films, adult entertainment establishments and teen-age slasher movies." The resulting revenue, he said, could be channeled into treatment programs for child abuse victims and offenders.

He also urged religious groups across the country to take a vocal stand against sexual abuse of children. "I would like to see churches, synagogues and religious groups in every community take on sexual abuse and sexual abuse prevention," Conte said. "Religious groups are now virtually ignoring the problem." Fultz called for a change in Iowa's law pertaining to child abuse, saying it fails to protect youngsters who have been emotionally abused. "This is a very, very serious problem and should be a No. 1 priority for those who work in this area," she said.

A governor's task force is currently studying how child abuse cases are handled in Iowa, and the public can expect some changes, Holtkamp said. "We are tracking his case," said White House life areas or even public hunting grounds, "then I'm not going to be very happy about it." Hultman In Favor spokesman B.J treatment said Friday. "I would like to see states experiment with amnesty programs for offenders, to encourage people to come forward, and get help," Jon Conte of the University of Chicago told about 200 Iowa professionals who took part in a symposium on child sexual abuse. Conte's idea, expressed during a panel discussion of how child abuse cases might be better handled in Iowa and across the country, came under fire by a fellow panelist. "I think it stinks," said Karla Fultz, a Des Moines defense attorney and part-time juvenile court referee in Polk County.

"I cannot see why anybody ought to get a free abuse, and that is what we are talking about here." Conte, an associate dean in the school of social service administration at the university, argued that the amnesty approach makes more sense Cooper. But we can't interfere in But Senate Minority Leader Calvin the process." Hultman, a Red Oak Republican, said the plan has merit "because unless AUSTIN SZEGDA Austin Szegda gained national attention five years ago as one of the nation's youngest they get the additional dollars, they'll have to focus on where they use the money and go with the higher use liver transplant recipients. When parks." President Reagan came to Davenport The reorganization plan will result last summer, the two had a private meeting. Austin's mother, Becky Szegda, thought the president might in the reallocation of $510,000, the closing of three campgrounds and the also faces a civil suit filed by the Iowa attorney general's office alleging his sale of prearranged funeral Contracts violated state law. Officials mum regarding toddler found on street f'rom Tho RtoJstor'ft Waterloo Bureau WATERLOO, IA.

Iowa Department of Human Services officials would not say Friday if a toddler found wandering in Waterloo Thursday has been returned to his parents. The unidentified 18- to 24-month-old boy was found by an animal control officer. Police turned the child over to Department of Human Services officials, who would not say if charges are pending. elimination of 18 positions. Priebe, an Algona Democrat, said help when the family faced a "Catch-22" in the loss of federal aid to pay for Austin's life-sustaining, anti-rejection drugs.

Archeologists find ancient Indian site The government ruled that because it now considers Austin "healthy," he is no longer entitled to receive Social Security payments to cover the cost of the drugs keeping him well. But without the drugs, Austin wouldn't survive. the plan ought to be scrapped. "Maybe we ought to upgrade the good parks but I think some of the little parks should have some upgrading too," he said. "You can't complain about the idea of saving money, but service is going to be hurt in a lot of areas," said Don Doolittle, director of the Committee for the Preservation of Brushy Creek Valley.

"You can't expect people to come for a camping experience if they don't have a shower or a latrine or something like that." Doolittle also contends that the Brushy Creek Recreation Area, one of the 21 state parks in the lowest-priority group, was placed in the wrong category. "I think they've kind of zeroed in on Brushy Creek again," he said, referring to a dispute over whether a lake should be built at the park near Fort Dodge. Bill Witt, chairman of the Iowa chapter of the Sierra Club, said he understands the department's approach but he's unhappy that the plan, which department officials had hoped to implement without publicity, received no public discussion. "Given the shortage of resources dealt the department over the last several years, I don't think they have any recourse, but the way they've done it is unfortunate," Witt said. By WILLIAM PETROSKI Register Stall Writer Archeologists inspecting the site of a proposed highway project near Lucas have discovered an Indian village dating to the fourth century, state officials said Friday.

About 1,500 artifacts have been found, including chips of flint, shards from broken pots, an arrowhead and evidence of a hearth, said Michael Perry, a staff member with the state archeologist's office. There also are two Indian burial mounds which have not been excavated, he said. "For southern Iowa, it is a very interesting site. It has never been plowed, and unplowed sites like that are very rare," Perry said. What tribe the Indians belonged to has not been determined, but the level of their culture appeared to be consistent with Indians living in the "Late Woodland Period," he said.

An estimated 40 to 50 Indians camped on the site, hunting for deer and small animals and gathering nuts, berries and other food, he said. The site is near the intersection of U.S. Highways 65 and 34 in Lucas County, where the Iowa Department of Transportation is planning to construct a new bridge over White Breast Creek and to restructure the intersection. The land is privately owned. Maria Pearson of Ames, a Yankton Sioux Indian and a consultant to the Department of Transportation, said she has been assured the burial mounds will not be disturbed, although the construction project will cut through part of the village.

"We're just asking them not to disturb our cemeteries," she said. DOT project planning director Harry Budd said the project will cost $838,000, with no additional expense expected from avoiding the burial mounds. He said his agency routinely works with Indians on highway projects to avoid damaging burial sites, but usually does not disclose such information for fear that artifact collectors will trespass and desecrate Indian graves. The area has been surveyed by archeologists three times, once in 1984 and twice in 1986, Perry said. The site, which is owned by a Chariton resident, is forested and should be eligible for the National Register of His-toric Places, he said.

"We don't really know who these Indians were, if they were Sioux Indians or whatever," he said. The site appears to be that of an extinct culture somewhat different from the Indians who were in Iowa when white settlers arrived in the 18th and 19th centuries, he said. The Indians apparently lived on the site for two to three months. A prairie is nearby where the Indians could have foraged for cereal grains and fiber, Perry said. If construction proceeds, state archeologists probably will conduct a major excavation in the project corridor, he said.

The recovered artifacts would be retained for study and analysis, he added. Police said a baby sitter told them the child was gone when she woke up. Candidate back in race; promise was legal, after all TIPTON, IA. (AP) A candidate for a Cedar County supervisor seat is back in the race after withdrawing two weeks ago in the belief he had made an illegal campaign promise. Gene Weih said a check with the Iowa attorney general's office revealed he had done nothing illegal.

Weih, 62, a Democrat from Bennett, had distributed campaign literature promising to give 13,000 of his supervisor salary to SEATS, a nonprofit transportation system. He withdrew after the promise was determined to be illegal by Cedar County Attorney Lee Beine. Bill Roach, a spokesman for Iowa Attorney General Thomas J. Miller, said Beine evidently had relied on an 1800s case instead of a 1982 US. Supreme Court decision.

Becky Szegda wrote to Reagan, asking him to intervene, and received a form letter advising her to contact the proper government agency. When notified of that impersonal reply to a friend of Reagan's, the White House took a look at the case. But upon learning that Austin's case was being appealed, the White House decided to stay at arm's length. "It's pretty hard to get involved once the appeal process is under way," said Cooper. "It wouldn't be fair to other people in the same position who have to live by those rules." Cooper said the president was made aware of the situation.

Becky Szegda said Friday she was not surprised by the White House response. "I understand what they're saying," she said. James Paulson, a hearing officer employed by the state of Iowa, heard the Szegdas' appeal last month and said he will issue his ruling within a week..