The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 16

SECTION Sunbay llccttetcr A r- rtr-l Wf NjSW- CopyrWi) 1M, MotaM Rtelttf nd Trlount Company IOVJA 09Y Ifefwwf May 6, 1984 REGISTER PHOTOS BY CHRIS YOUNG Tight-lipped little Lamoni lawmakers' pay, benefits to be raised Cost of 1984 session is about $7.45 million any county officials eye pay raises Boosts average 5 percent across Iowa this year Xn tm a A f't)Krj iw rf r.H '-Ji i.fi- 'A 1 LAMONI, IA. Two extraordinary things happened in this southern Iowa town of 2,500 over the winter. Back in September, some people decided to give master gardener Delmar Goode, a very popular retired professor at Graceland College, a real surprise for his 75th birthday, which would roll around this year. They quietly took up a community' wide collection of bulbs and money, and on two consecutive weekends in October when he was away at antique shows, they planted 800 tulips in the flower beds at' his home as his wife, Anita, looked on with bemusement They carefully concealed their work the first week and got a real break the second when it snowed to cover all their tracks. Amazingly, Goode, who always has a close eye on his plant plots, didn no tice a thing.

But even more astonishing, espe cially when you consider the sociological certainty that there are no secrets in a small town, all in Lamoni kept their lips buttoned! Not until April 19 did it come to light. "I was walking out to the car to go to Kirksville, the or professor said, "and I noticed a tulip or two poking up through the, soil. I couldn't remember planting any in that spot, but I thought they might have just spread there on their own. But that was a warm day, and by the time I got back home, there were hundreds of them coming up." The stunned Goode stalked his lavishly landscaped property, which he calls The Goode Earth, and then raced to the phone. "Lou," he said in a call to his 47-year old daughter, Louita Clothier, the chief tulip conspirator, "I think some little elf has been messing around in my garden." He knew she had to be behind it, he said last week, "because she's such a fireball when it comes to pulling off something like this.

She can put so much zip into such crazy things." In that way, she's a chip off the old block. After all, Delmar Goode is the man who in 30 years as a chemistry teacher became something of a Graceland legend. Each Valentine's Day he shaped dynamite fuses into the shape of a heart and then sent them sizzling on their way into a heap of red flash powder. And he often would climb atop his desk and waft bubbles of methane gas out over his students, who would gleefully ignite them. "I wasn't the normal, sedate college professor, I guess," he said.

But he got the serious stuff done, too, even in those early times when he was the whole department and taught five different kinds of chemistry each term. All that while, his escape was horticulture. And he didn't merely take care of his Own four-acre yard at home. Goode has landscaped most of the pretty Graceland campus, including converting a tired old corn field the college owned into a spacious, lush lawn and garden. He also did the landscaping at most of the churches in Lamoni and, for two decades, he personally gave and planted a new tree at every new house built in town.

He contributed nearly all of the nursery stock, materials and labor on all his projects. Little wonder, then, that when Louita Clothier put out the secretive notices about the massive "Tulip Shower," as she called it, there was such quick response. After more than 150 people had sent money or tulips, she began closing off the drive. "I decided we really didn't want to plant many more than 800 tulips in his yard," she said. "We didn't want the place to look like a circus." Lamoni Chronicle editor David Allen was in cahoots on the project.

He took photographs of the planting last October and they were published last week under a headline, "Good Surprise for The Chronicle also nad a large ad, listing all the contributors, which led off with this delightful bit of plain talk, "We hope you like your tulips, Delmar." is still shaking his head over it. "I can think back now and realize an awful lot of people were asking me. real early in the spring how my garden was," he said, "but I never caught on. It was the best kept secret ever in Lamoni." Chuck Off enburger Delmar Goode A Graceland legend Veishea on parade Floats constructed by Delta Tau Delta fraternity and Delta Delta Delta sorority pass slowly down Morrill Road during the Veishea parade at Iowa State University in While most spectators watched the colorful street level, some, more daring, got a from a tree across from the ISU library. By DEWEY KNUDSON Rtaltlw Stiff Wrttw A select group of Iowans were a major beneficiary of the two-year session of the 70th General Assembly the 150 members of the 71st General Assembly.

Lawmakers who serve during the next two years will receive bigger paychecks and more expense money and will have the use of a new $1 million computer. Some will be able to take advantage of the state pension system. They will be in a position to move ahead with plans to build themselves an addition to the Capitol. But legislative leaders say it isn't fair to conclude that lawmakers looked out for themselves first during the 1983 and 1984 sessions. "I don't think we've been extravagant in how we've accommodated ourselves or paid ourselves," said House Speaker Donald Avenson Oelwein).

"The biggest beneficiaries of the 70th General Assembly were the people of the state." Avenson said Iowans are better served if pay is high enough to attract quality lawmakers and if they have the equipment and facilities to do an effective job. "If there has been an abiding goal of both parties in the Legislature, it is to maintain a citizen Legislature," he said. "I think it is important for each session of the General Assembly to make itself run more efficiently, more openly." Senate Majority Leader Lowell Jun- kins Montrose) defended each of the Legislature's decisions to spend more money on itself, saying that Iowa lawmakers compare favorably to those in other states. "The only thing part-time about this job is the pay," he said. "After the ses sion, people spend their own money, pay their own mileage, to travel all over the district." Cost Going Up The cost of the Iowa Legislature for the 1982-83 budget year was $6,166,000, according to records from the comptroller's office.

That represented nearly a 40 percent increase from five years ago, from $4,407,000 in 1977-78. This year's spending total, after all the bills are paid, is expected to be about $7,450,000, although that includes a one-time $1 million for the computer. Estimated costs for 1984-85 are $6,700,000. Total state appropriations are $2.1 billion. The figures include pay and expense money for 100 representatives and 50 senators, compensation for staff members, supplies, equipment and printing.

Most lawmakers now are paid $13,700 a year, while majority and mi nority floor leaders are paid $16,000. Avenson and Lt. Gov. Robert Ander son receive $20,500. Those salaries will increase 6.6 per cent next Jan.

1, to $14,600, $17,100 and $21,900. Lawmakers of both parties made that decision in the closing days of the 1983 session. 'That'll be the first raise in three years members of the General Assembly had," Avenson said. "If you don't keep track with inflation, you are inviting only wealthy people to become members of the General Assembly. All Iowans should be represented, and the only way is to provide enough money so they, aren't hurt." Legislative salaries last were in creased in 1982.

"A freeze for three years equals a reduction in real dollars," Junkins LEGISLATURE Please turn to Page 4B 20 delegates conventions southeast Iowa Democrats gave Mondale four delegates and Hart two. Mondale delegates were Gerald Messer, 39, a Davenport meatcutter, Patsy Ramacitti, 54, a Bettendorf community activist; Carol Carter, 41, an inspector at a Burlington factory, and Philip Wise, 37, a Keokuk teacher. Hart delegates were Rizwana Amjed, 32, a Fort Madison homemaker, and Patrick McCabe, 33, a Mount Pleasant stockbroker. Second District Democrats from northeast Iowa met at the Dubuque Inn in Dubuque where after a few snafus, they gave Mondale three delegates and Hart two. The hottest convention of the day was in Waterloo where Third District Democrats from east-central Iowa wrangled at Columbus High School.

Convention officials said Mondale was certain to pick up three votes and Hart was assured of two. But supporters of Jackson claimed some ballots were destroyed and that cheated them out of winning the sixth DEMOCRATS Please turn to Page SB By DICK BROWN RcsUtwr Staff Wrtttr July 1 will be a welcome day for many of Iowa's elected county officials: They will get decent and in some cases, hefty pay raises for the 1984-85 fiscal year. That is a change from July 1 last year, when most county officials in the state received little or no pay raises. The most common salary increases were about 3 percent. This year, raises will average about 5 percent, and salaries for a handful of officials will rise by twice that.

For example, Washington County Sheriff Yale Jarvis will be paid $24,761 in 1984-85, a 12.7 percent increase over his current salary. Dallas County Attorney Alan Shirley will receive $23,557, a 12.3 percent boost. And Jasper County Sheriff Alan Wheeler will get an 11.5 percent increase to $27,105. Few county officials were given raises like those last year, largely because of the sour economy. Better This Year Things are a little better in Iowa this year, and some officials said the improvement allowed counties to give at least modest raises that they could not afford a year ago.

Others said the large raises a few counties granted would only offset pay freezes or small raises in 1983-84. "There comes a time when you have to catch up," said Martin Dett-mer, chairman of the Bremer County Board of Supervisors. However, some officeholders will not receive pay increases of more than a couple percent this year, and a few will get no raises at all. Some county officials also noted that even with raises, their salaries still will fall short of those paid to school and city officials and employees in private industry. "They don't even come close," said Richard Blahnik, supervisors' chairman in Marshall County.

"It's a sad inequality." Blahnik and other officials also said it is unfair that supervisors have to set salaries according to the recommendations of compensation boards, while no such bodies exist for school or city officials. A survey by the Iowa Association of Counties found widespread dissatisfaction with the compensation board system, but little consensus about who should recommend salaries instead. How Boards Work The compensation boards vote each fall on recommended pay levels for the next fiscal year and then hold public hearings before voting on a final recommendation. Supervisors can't increase the recommended raises, but they can reduce them uniformly. This year that happened in Benton and Washington counties, among others.

Sometimes compensation boards change their recommendations because of comments made at the public hearings. That was the case in Boone County, where the compensation board first voted to give 2 percent raises to supervisors and 6 percent to all the other officeholders. After the public hearing, the compensation board voted to recommend no raises for supervisors and 4 percent for the others, a recommendation later approved by supervisors. As some officeholders noted, sala ries for elected officials are far from uniform in Iowa's 99 counties. In the 42 counties surveyed by The Des SALARIES Please turn to Page 3B Student's winning Pay kids for going By JACK HOVELSON Of Hw Rtefsttr's WiMfleo Bureau CEDAR FALLS, IA.

Leonard Duncan's tongue may have been firmly in cheek when he proposed that stu dents should be paid to go to school, but the idea has paid off to the tune of $5,000. Duncan, an 18-year-old Cedar Falls High School senior, is the national winner of a $5,000 scholarship in an essay contest sponsored by Time publisher of Time magazine. His entry was judged the best of 318 essays submitted by high school students from throughout the country. "Excellence in Education: A Serious Student View" is the title of his satirical approach to solving the nation's educational woes. "Luckily, I've arrived at a simple solution that cannot help but work pay the students.

It can't fail," he wrote. "Do you complain that your English students wouldn't know William Faulkner from Lany Flynt? Do you wonder how you can reach your students? Think for a moment about a Stone City youth 'quits' school to work full time for world peace 4 4 Rather than prepare for a war, I want to prepare not to have one." And so he is. With the blessings of his folks and the administrators at Anamosa West Middle School, Ben Richards was allowed to forgo the last quarter of his seventh-grade education in order to start a non-profit group that he is promoting across the country. Called The Children's Campaign for a Positive Future, its purpose is to encourage the younger generation to stand up and be heard. Lost Hopes "There's a lot of lost hopes and dreams for a positive future that are felt by children, things that adults just don't understand," Ben says.

"If no one takes care of these problems, we're the ones who are going to be forced to live with them, so we have to do something." In just a matter of a few weeks, Ben Richards' small voice has been heard around the nation. Last week he spoke at the Illinois State Democratic Convention. This week he is flying to Los Angeles, where he will be the only child among a group of adult leaders who will put their heads together to develop a plan of action. Ben is part of a growing Kiddie Corps that want to make sure they have an Earth to inherit. Youthlink, a bi-monthly newsletter published in Minneapolis, was born late last year to urge "young people to envision and work toward a positive future." A Washington-based organization, Peace Child Foundation, is headed by adults, but "most of our supporters are children," says David Woollcombe, one of the leaders.

"The children come across much stronger than adults," Woollcombe said. "They're more volatile, excited and committed. Our kids take U.S. THE INDEX Weather Page 2B Dateline Iowa Page 3B Obituaries Pa9e 78 3 Ames Saturday. event from bird's-eye view By VALERIE MONSON Rtaiitor Staff Wrtttr STONE CITY, IA.

Thirteen-year-old Ben Richards, fearing that someone, somewhere was going to drop "the bomb," dropped one Of his own instead. That was several weeks ago, when he asked his parents Mil.i 300 and the administrators at his school if he could quit attending classes for the rest of this semester so he could work full time for peace. "I was scared about our future," Ben said from his bedroom-office atop The General Store and Pub that his parents own here. "I decided I'd rather do something than just be scared. essay idea: to school language they all understand.

It's simple. Money." With some sound reasoning, Duncan predicts that youngsters would be more than willing to sit in an air-conditioned classroom to make a "fast buck." That, he contends, would outrank babysitting and lawn-mowing, a couple of "vulgar acts" children have been content to perform for "$2 an hour or $5 and a glass of watery KoolAid." Class Assignment Duncan wrote his prize-winning essay to fulfill an assignment in his composition and rhetoric class at Cedar Falls High. He later decided to enter it in the Time contest Esther Connelly, a vice president of Time, said Duncan's essay caught her eye immediately while she was reading the 318 entries. A nationally known essay writer was the final judge. "Considering the tender years of the ESSAY Please turn to Page 3B Stone City (PES MOINES) 0 Soviet relations farther they want to go to Moscow." That includes Ben Richards.

He is keeping his fingers crossed that enough money can be raised so he and other youngsters can visit the Soviet Union later this year and talk with Russian children about what can be done to make adults learn to get along. Spreading the Word Meanwhile, Persephene St. Charles, a 13-year-old from Ames, has joined Richards' forces and plans to spread the word during a trip to Israel this summer. Eventually, she wants to co- PEACE Please turn to Page 5B Mondale gets at six district Democratic presidential hopeful Walter Mondale continued to gather strength and national convention delegates from Iowa Democrats at their district conventions Saturday. The former vice president won 20 of the 34 national convention delegates that were chosen Saturday.

Colorado Senator Gary Hart won 13, after a lengthy argument between his backers and supporters of the Rev. Jesse Jackson in Waterloo. Former South Dakota senator George McGovern, who is no longer in the race but who still is seeking delegates, won one. About 3,200 Democrats passed up a' nice day outdoors for some presidential politicking indoors at the six congressional district conventions around Iowa. Most were tame affairs.

But at the Third District convention, things got so angry someone called the police. In addition to selection of national convention delegates, the convention-goers argued over the party platform and heard pep talks from candidates and party leaders. At the First District convention at Muscatine High School in Muscatine,.