The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 11

ST SATURDAY August 11, 2007 KATHY A. BOLTEN, Metro Communities Editor, 515-284-8283e-mail: kboltendmreg.com MwssBflKBk eljc Hcs Jlloincs jRcpistcr tows Champion steer disqualified at Warren County Fair By ABBY SIMONS REGISTER STAFF WRITER State 4-H officials have confirmed that a reserve grand champion steer at the Warren County Fair was disqualified last month when fair officials discovered that air had been injected under the animal's skin to make the steer appear more muscular. The disqualification, which state 4-H officials described as rare, is among a growing number cases nationwide that have prompted more scrutiny this animal, it was injected into a couple of different areas, usually in the rear quarter, to make it look fuller and appear more muscular." The process does not harm the animal, Anderson said, and the air eventually escapes. A volunteer official who "toweled" Smith's steer to check for artificial color in the coat noticed the abnormality. "He felt something funny with his hand," Anderson See STEER, Page 5B Anderson said Smith has been banned as an exhibitor at the Warren County Fair and Iowa State Fair through 2008.

He said a syringe was likely used to inject air between the steer's skin and muscle to make it appear more defined. "The whole idea behind it is to enhance the physical appearance," Anderson said. "Most times, in the case of children showing, it's the parents showing." The crossbred steer was shown by Warren County 4-H member Lexie Smith of Mar-tensdale, said Mike Anderson of the Iowa State University Extension Service, which organizes many youth livestock programs. Neither Smith nor her parents could be reached for comment Friday. of livestock entered in fair competitions, where a blue ribbon can translate to thousands of dollars when the winner is auctioned.

At least one former Warren County 4-Her said the high stakes have changed what used to be a friendly competition. "You basically have to jump through hoops to show now. It seems some people will manipulate the situation," said Holly Illingworth, 18, of Indi-anola, who showed livestock at local and state fairs for nine years. She said cheating is uncommon, but it happens. And it can sour what is supposed to be a labor of love.

"It's no longer a 4-H project, it's a ribbon and a trophy project, it seems," Illingworth said Friday. "Sometimes it's not the Man says cemetery killing fy 4f will torment him forever Terry Joe Williams JfSW5 Tf 9 f. i I I M' VMM i in' vf 'Z I II II tm (iititii ii mid it Ini k.iiimI KnimumutuLi "A I 1 bi --j REID F0RGRAVETHE REGISTER Jill Connot, 21, of Valentine, waits Friday to try out for "American Idol" after driving 5lk hours. She figured that if Sanjaya on the show's last season could sing, she could. She planned to sing Sara Evans' "Real Fine Place to Start." Iowans shoot for 'Idol' fame at Omaha About 8,000 contestants brave the 5 a.m.

auditions for the Fox TV show. By REID F0RGRAVE REGISTER STAFF WRITER Omaha, Neb. Missy Evans woke up at 4 a.m. Friday at the $70-a-night Econo Lodge here. She'd taken a shower and blow-dried her hair the night before, so she popped some three-barrel curlers into her dirty-blond hair and slipped into a black-and-white leaf-print RODNEY WHITE, REGISTER PHOTOS Pastor Patti Webb, left, of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Ankeny and Shelley Stegman, right, mother of Matthew Stegman, lean on Scott Stegman, Matthew's father, after Shelley made her victim's impact statement during the sentencing of Terry Joe Williams on Friday morning at the Polk County Courthouse.

A jury convicted Williams last month of first-degree murder for his role in the September 2006 killing of Matthew Stegman. Williams was given a mandatory life sentence in prison. Williams gets life sentence for his role in Stegman death dress from Candies. Evans had i lr i tta Hroco met frr tViic NCy '4 big occasion. cu -u hearing his screams." Prosecutors say Williams, 24, and four others one ucgmi wiui uie iiianeujj.

foundation, blue-green eye shadow, mascara and blush. But time was running short. The curvy 21 -year-old from Urban- decided to beat and stab Stegman in Woodland Cemetery last fall based on Williams' "vision" that Stegman planned to rape a teenage acquaintance. Williams was found guilty last month. Stegman's parents were in court Friday.

They talked about drastic change in their lives since Shelley, said. "There was no remorse. It felt like he was spitting in our face, kicking dirt in our face." Williams' could be the first of five trials the Stegmans might have to endure. Robert Myers, 25; Robert Johnston, 28; Sheri Fisher, 22; and Andrew Johnson, 2.3, await murder trials. Investigators said the group lured Stegman to the cemetery before he was killed.

Myers, believed to have led the planned attack with Williams, is scheduled to stand trial in November. The Stegmans, as a handful of relatives and supporters looked on, kept their anger toward See STEGMAN, Page 4B By ABBY SIMONS REGISTER STAFF WRITER Terry Joe Williams will spend the rest of his life in prison for his role in a brutal killing in a Des Moines cemetery, but the punishment pales in comparison to the mental agony he will forever endure, he told a judge Friday. "Every day it hits me that I have killed a man. Every day I look in the mirror and ask myself, 'How could I have done Williams told Judge Michael Huppert before he was handed a mandatory life sentence for first-degree murder in the September death of Matthew Stegman, 18. "Every day since this happened, I can't close my eyes without Stegman Evans dale needed to get in line at the Qwest Center by 5 a.m.

So her boyfriend took the car keys, and Evans put on the finishing touches lip gloss, glitter and a deep breath to calm the nerves as they drove to the line already thousands deep. Evans knew she had to impress, and she didn't have much time to do it. Twenty seconds, 30 at the most. She would belt out the upbeat Patti LaBelle song "New Attitude" with her powerful voice. Family and friends were pulling for her back home against this stiff competition: 8,000 people from around the Midwest and further.

They were all shooting for the same thing: Fame. Fortune. Fans. And everything else that comes with becoming the next "American Idol." the death of their oldest son. Williams' speech, they said, lacked something important.

"He did not apologize," Stegman's mother, licI It.tJ liia ii.iiu' in. 'i U. I 5M i i t. Shelley Stegman, mother of Matthew Stegman Terry Joe Williams, convicted killer of Matthew Stegman See IDOL, Page 4B IOWA STATE FAIR 20070 See more coverage, Page 5B Pi IIS f-i 0 Service medley gives rise to goosebumps IUI UU IIIUMLIIO Jir a BLUE RIBBON BL0G can expect a lot of things at the Iowa State Fair. Yi rou bandmaster, asked veterans in the crowd to stand as their branch's song was played.

For example, Navy veterans stood as the band played "Anchors Aweigh." "We really enjoy doing that," Goodwin said later. For each song, a handful of See FUS0N, Page 5B Friday at the Anne and Bill Riley Stage. The unit's soldiers can play anything swing music, Beatles' medleys, rousing marches. But the highlight had to come when they played the theme song for each military branch. Chief Warrant Officer James Goodwin of Runnells, the You can expect to get full.

You can expect to get hot. You can expect to get broke. But you probably don't expect to get goosebumps. Credit the 34th Army Band, the Iowa National Guard unit from Fairfield, which performed KcnllSON.