The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 15

I 1 11- I I i 1 Dcsinoim-fl bis conns Section Tuesn Dec. 13, 1983 li if 1 tfA sLtJt safe KuwaiitmsrfcjtoKSwJ REGISTER PHOTO BY DAVE PETERSON Whitney. I won't seed re-election By DICK BROWN Rtarttar Stiff Writer Tom Whitney said Monday night that he won't seek a fifth term on the Polk County Board of Supervisors next year. llllliili "It's time to pursue other adventures," be said. "This has been all I've ever known as i.

'V an adult." 39, said Rt7r Whitney, chal-Yy the job hasn'l lenged him i much in I andhelA TM recent years Sands of Des Moines skis up a hill creased with the paths of previous skiers at Waveland Golf Course. Commissioner: Judge asked to approve proposal to hire more black firefighters Racing in Iowa on wrong track By JOHN CARLSON Ol Tht Rt(ittr'i Cedar RipkM Burnu CEDAR RAPros, IA. A member of Iowa's newly formed racing commission said Morfday the state should Armstrong man, 90, hit by car, dies TM RdliMr'l tawi Niwi tarvkt ARMSTRONG, IA. An i Armstrong man was killed Sunday afternoon when he was struck by a car on Iowa Highway 9. Emmet County sheriff's officials identified the man as Roscoe Mayne, 90.

Mayne was walking along the highway near its junction with Iowa Highway 15 in Armstrong when he stepped into the path of a car driven Leo Zinnel, 51, of Estherville. Mayne was taken to Holy Family Hospital in Estherville, where he died a short time later, the official said. No charges have been filed. Two men accused of stealing grain Tht Rttjtotvr'i towt Item Strvk YETTER, IA. Two Missouri men were arrested here Sunday and charged with taking corn and soybeans, from the Farmer's Cooperative Grain Elevator near Yetter.

Arrested were Milford F. Garrison, 39, of rural Wellington, and Ward S. Dittmer, 23, of rural Higgins-ville, Mo. Both men were charged with second-degree theft and were being held Monday in the Calhoun County Jail at Rockwell City on 111,000 bond. Calhoun County Sheriff Jack Satera said he had no idea how much grain had been taken.

He said the men had been buying grain at the elevator since September. Officials became suspicious, he said, that the men were misreporting grain weights and were taking more grain than they were entitled to. River searched for woman's body TM RMitter't kwa Ntwi Strvk WEST LIBERTY, IA. Rescue officials from Muscatine, Conesville and Louisa County were dragging the Cedar River near here Monday for the body of a middle-aged women they suspect may have jumped into the river. Muscatine County Sheriff's Department officials said they received a call at about 9:30 p.m.

Sunday from a man who said he found a woman's 'coat, purse and shoes on a U.S. Highway 6 bridge over. the Cedar River east of West Liberty. Rescuers began dragging opera-, tions and worked until 2 a.m., and resumed searching for a body until 3 p.m. Monday.

Officials said they had received reports of a missing woman, but they would not elaborate. They were unsure if dragging attempts would continue today. Innocent plea in stabbing death Th Rttert towt Ntw Smrtci CHARITON, IA. A 22-year-old Albia man charged in the stabbing death of another Albia man last month has pleaded innocent to a charge of first-degree murder. Michael Jesperson, who is being held in the Lucas County Jail here on $200,000 bond, entered the plea Monday in Lucas County District Court.

Jesperson has been accused of stabbing Jeffrey Woollums, 18, on Nov. 25. in a pickup truck parked in Derby, a town in southwestern Lucas County. A trial date has been set for Jan. 16.

Man is charged in burning of covered bridge By BARBARA MUSFELDT Rwltter Staff Wrtttr A rural Winterset man has been charged with setting a fire that minus someone eise tom "can bring a fresher wmithiv and newer perspective." "It has never been boring," he said. "But it has become predictable." Whitney said he also has been feeling a little guilty because he hasn't been spending enough time and effort on the job. Whitney, who lives at 2318 N. Union is one of three Democratic supervisors on the five-member board. He has represented the Fourth District, which lies within the city of Des Moines, since 1969.

Whitney said he will announce his decision at a news conference this morning. For the past two years, Whitney has been practicing law in addition to serving as a supervisor. He said he will work full time at his law practice once he leaves the board and also will "pursue some relationships in the private business community," which he declined to identify. There have been grumblings that Whitney could not adequately do his job as a supervisor while practicing law, and it has been obvious that he isn't spending as much time in the county building as other supervisors do. "They his constituents have always gotten my best judgment, but in the past several years, they haven't gotten my best effort," Whitney said.

Whitney ran for governor in 1978 and never disguised his longing for an office higher than that of supervisor. But he said he doesn't need the spotlight as much anymore and doesn't expect ever to seek public office again. Whitney said he intends to be a trial lawyer and also a people's advocate. He said he hopes the uncertainty of a new career will "put some terror back" in his life because "it's a great motivator." Whitney has four children, including one born this year, and he said he hopes to spend more time with them and his wife, Donna. Whitney said he decided in 1978 that he wasn't going to run again in 1980.

He changed his mind for a number of reasons, Whitney said, and sought re-election "with a great deal of reluctance" and a firm resolve not to run in 1984. There has been talk in the county building that other Democrats were pressuring him not to run again, but Whitney said he hasn't had any pressure not to run and in fact "a great many people have asked that I not retire." The Fourth District is bordered by the Raccoon River on the south, Euclid Avenue on the north, Forty-first Street on the west and North Union and East Seventeenth Streets on the east. Before reapportionment in 1982, Whitney represented the Second District, which included more of the east side. He graduated from East High School and has lived in the area ever since. ByPAULLEAVITT Rniittr Staff Wrtttr A federal judge was asked Monday to approve an agreement that calls for the city of Des Moines to hire equal numbers of black and white firefighters until the total firefighting force is 6.8 percent black.

The city admits no wrongdoing, but agrees to step up its hiring of black firefighters until it reaches the approximate black-to-white ratio of the city's population. The consent decree, if approved by U.S. District Judge Harold Vietor, would end a class action discrimination lawsuit filed in August 1982 by two black men who alleged the city illegally discriminated against them in denying them jobs as firefighters. The two, Dennis A. Moore of 1118 Twelfth St.

and Gregory B. Perry of 3019 Columbia subsequently were hired as firefighters after the city changed its hiring procedures. The Des Moines chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People later joined in the lawsuit. TJtie proposed agreement is the same as when it was approved by the City Council in September, according to City Solicitor Nelda Barrow Mickle. She said the city does not anticipate any expenditures to individuals eligible for remedies as a result of the agreement.

The city, however, has agreed to pay the costs of the lawsuit and the plaintiffs' attorneys' fees, which is what likely would have happened if the lawsuit had gone to trial and a judgment was entered against the city. Three months ago, when the proposed settlement was approved by the City Council on a 4-3 vote, local NAACP President Larry Carter said his organization's executive board voted almost 2-1 to reject the consent "put the dogs and horses back in the barn" and conduct a thorough study before moving further with pari-mutuel betting in Iowa. Commissioner Steven Sovern of Marion, a former state senator, also took a backhanded Jv STEVEN SOVERN Council endorses D.f.1. goal of being world trade center decree. Carter said Monday that while the formal consent decree remains the same as when presented to the City Council, the terms of the settlement arQ further defined by a new stipulation of the parties.

Carter did not want to discuss specific changes contained in the separate stipulation but those changes appear to deal mostly with a situation where a black is hired but then does not successfully complete his one-year probationary period. In any event, the consent decree says the NAACP agrees that the proposed settlement "provides for a fair and adequate settlement" of the lawsuit. The proposed settlement provides that: Written exams and physical agility tests will be scored on a pass-fail basis and candidates will be ranked only on the basis of an oral interview. (When that system, which was ordered by Vietor, was used for the first time last year, 10 of the top 21 ranked candidates turned out to be black.) The city will seek out black applicants. At least half of all appointments as firefighters will be blacks until the long-term goal of 6.8 percent of the uniformed work force is black, and that percentage is maintained for at least one year.

Mickle estimates it will take four years to achieve that goal. Blacks who can show that during the past 10 years they would have made the eligibility list if the modified scoring system of 1982 had been used earlier will be hired without further competition. Competition on an equal footing with other candidates will be provided to all blacks, regardless of age, who show that during the past 10 years they withdrew an application or just did not apply because they believed the city discriminated against blacks. People in this category will have to show they met the minimum qualifications at the BLACKS Piease turn to Page 5M monthly meetings to deal with some of the issues that arose Monday. In addition to endorsing the trade center concept, the council: Came close to, but finally skirted, taking a more active role in the city's budgeting process.

Urban has prodded council members for several years to get involved early in writing Des Moines' operating budget, a chore generally handled by City Manager Richard Wilkey and his staff. The council usually approves the final product with little or no change. Urban argued that each council member should become familiar with one of the six program areas in the budget and be responsible for informing the other council members. "Right now, these issues come to the council randomly, willy-nilly," said Urban. "It's hard to stay with COUNCIL Pleose turn to Page 5M swipe at Chairman Lawrence Scalise of Des Moines, who said he believes a horse track should be located in central Iowa.

"Racing in Iowa is getting off on the wrong track and we've got to do something about it," Sovern told members of the Cedar Rapids Rotary Club. "It's just a little bit early for us to be getting into the kinds of arguments we're getting into. At this stage in the early history of pari-mutuel betting in Iowa, cities and developers and racing interests have been pitted against one another before they ought to be. And the commission has contributed to this." Central Iowa Sovern was referring by comments by Scalise to Des Moines business leaders earlier this month when Scalise said he favors one thoroughbred horse track in Iowa; preferably located in the central part of the state. "If we don't have some basis for making a conclusion on a track proposal if we say it sounds like a good idea, go for it then we'll be faced with potentially destroying the entire industry.

Clearly that's not in the best interests of the citizens of Iowa." Sovern said. He suggested the five-member racing commission take a "go slow" approach and determine which type of racing would be most successful in Iowa and where tracks should be located. The commission is charged by law with making such decisions. "Let me tell you, the commission has not even begun to gather the facts on which to make those important decisions," Sovern said. "And for a commissioner or anybody else to speculate about the location of a track or even what type of racing Iowa ought to have, is, in my mind, engaging in speculative whimsy.

And we have experienced that. We need to make these important decisions based on fact." Early Lead Cedar Rapids apparently has taken the early lead in efforts to get a thoroughbred horse track in Iowa with Dr. Norman Crossley, a Solon dentist, initiating a proposal for a $45 million to $50 million track here. Des Moines interests reportedly are attempting to offer track proposals, but those hopes were dealt a harsh blow last week. The only company that has shown any interest in financing a Des Moines track, Delaware North of Buffalo N.Y., RACING 4 Pleose turn to Page SM Whitney said he will "miss that very special relationship with east Des Moines." His decision not to seek re-election probably will prompt a scramble among waiting Democrats to declare their candidacy for the Fourth District seat.

A number of people have been rumored to be considering seeking election, and one, Richard Thomas, 60, of 1508 Twenty-Second declared his candidacy three weeks ago. destroyed a 100-year-old covered bridge near i in By SUSAN CABA Rctfittr Stiff Writer The business community's vision of the capital city as an international agri-business and trade center was endorsed Monday by the Des Moines City Council. The World Trade Center, as espoused by banking and trucking executive John Ruan and other local business leaders, could be the keystone of Des Moines' future, agreed council members. If built, the trade center would provide a strong marketing pitch for the city, they said. "You have to accept Des Moines as a small city.

You have to find the right niche, where you can compete and not go for the whole thing," said Councilman Tim Urban, who will retire from the council this month after serving a decade. "The idea of the city as an agri-research business center could provide that niche." Though Ruan has not publicly announced plans for the World Trade Center, he has been meeting with business and government organizations to stir support. The target date for making a "go-or-no-go" decision reportedly is the first of the year. Except for enthusiastic support, the council had nothing to offer Monday to achieve the goal of creating an international trade center. Members agreed to discuss the matter again if and when the city is asked to contribute.

The discussion took place in Johnston, at a six-hour rap session referred to as a council retreat, seminar or informal meeting. It was the first time in years that the council has met away from City Hall. Though the meeting was not open to the public, reporters were allowed to attend. Six incumbents and the two newly-elected members of the council were at the session to map strategy for the coming year, discuss council procedures and clear the lines of communications. Because of the ambitious agenda, the council decided to have similar V.

Winterset des moines October. A Steve R. Meade, 22, was arrested Monday afternoon by 6 Milti 200 Johnston attacks judge's release order By MELINDA VOSS Rwlster Stiff Writer Polk County District Judge Rodney Ryan acted illegally when he ordered the release of a Des Moines man serving time on theft charges, County Attorney Dan Johnston alleged Monday. i Madison County sheriffs deputies and charged with second-degree arson in connection with the fire that the McBride Bridge just hours before the start of the county's I annual Covered Bridge Festival. Meade is being held in the Madison County Jail on $10,000 bond.

Sheriffs 'officials say the fire is still being in- vestigated. McBride Bridge was one of seven jof the century-old covered bridges in the county. At one time there were 16 such bridges in 1 Madison County. i The bridges had been included on the National Register of Historic 'Places and were the star attraction of the county's annual bridge festival, i which attracts thousands of tourists to the area. The McBride Bridge was closed to vehicles several years ago after a new bridge was built nearby.

Johnston made the allegations in a petition to the Iowa Supreme Court to prohibit Ryan from enforcing an order he issued last Friday. Ryan referred questions to the Iowa Attorney General's Office, which usually represents the court in such cases. A spokesman for that office said no one has been assigned to the case yet. Ryan's order pertained to Dennis Aldrjch, 28, of 15 S.E. Emma who has been serving a sentence in a federal prison after Aldrich pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree theft.

Ryan ordered that the sentence on the theft charges be served concurrently a common practice with the federal charge. In Friday's order, Ryan said, "All time that this defendant has served at the federal facility in El Reno, shall be applied against and satisfy the sentence imposed in this case; and defendant may be released from state custody concurrent with release from federal custody." Aldrich was due to be released from the federal prison last Thursday, according to Johnston's petition. Johnston also alleged in the petition that Ryan held a hearing with Aldrich's lawyer, Timothy Pearson, without anyone present from the county attorney's office. Pearson was out of town Monday evening and could not be reached. The petition asks the Supreme Court to prohibit Ryan from holding such hearings and to hold him in contempt of court if he does.

,4, (5 fVl RODNEY RYAN prison at El Reno, Okla. A federal spokesman would not say how long or on what charge Aldrich had been imprisoned there. Last April, Ryan sentenced Aldrich to uprto 10 years in.