The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 1

SEARCHING FOR LZC646 Bombing investigators say the plate may have been on a getaway car Natioxal News, 3A April 29, 1995: Rain; thunderstorms LOW possible: easterly winds 10 to 20 mph. Sunrise: 6: 15 a.m. Sunset: 8:10 p.m. Details: 2M. 0 44 DesMoines, Iowa Saturday, April 29, 1995b Price 35 cents Saturday's Forecast qidOBdw fibsropftic Sffl the state's controversial fiber-optic communications system.

The 31-19 vote came as lawmakers pushed to finish this year's legislative session. They planned to return Monday to finish remaining business, mostly budget bills. The bill, which would lay cable to 361 schools, libraries and area education agencies, had passed the I louse Thursday on a 70-26 vote. Gov. Terry Branstad has backed the plan.

Senators defeated several amend-' ments as they debated the issue into the night Friday. On a 27-23 vote, senators rejected an amendment to limit to just one year the state's commitment to the third and final phase of the Iowa Communications Network. The amendment, which was offered by Sen. Derryl McLaren, R-Farragut, would have reduced the commitment to just $18.5 million and would have connected 102 sites to the network, most of them high schools. McLaren, one of the harshest legis- lative critics of the network, urged colleagues to avoid locking into a four-year commitment to completing the project, which he considers too costly and inefficient.

"If we vote for the bill as it is, we'll have no choices," said McLaren. "We won't be making a one-year mistake, we'll be making a four-year mistake." Recalling the star-crossed past of the network, McLaren told colleagues the vote on his amendment to pare back the commitment "is the last chance we have to do something rational." Sen. Robert Dvorsky, D-Coralville, the floor manager of the legislation, rebutted McLaren's arguments. Dvorsky said the four-year plan still would require lawmakers to vote each year to appropriate money for the following year's construction. Dvorsky also said the plan could be pre-empted if the Legislature decides to sell the network to a private company, as is being considered.

Another amendment rejected by the Senate would have used inmate labor to dig the trenches and lay the table needed to complete the system, which was first authorized in 1989. "They're going to come out of prison with more marketable skills than if we sent them to the upholstery shop," said Sen. Randal Giannetto, D-Marshalltown, who offered the inmate labor amendment. Lawmakers rejected the proposal, 28-2 1 The vote came after legislative SESSION Please turn to Pane 6A They'll return to the Statehouse Monday to pnish this years business. By JONATHAN ROOS and THOMAS A.

FOGARTY Rkgistkk Staff Wkitkrs Bleary-eyed Iowa senators voted early today to send the governor a bill that would spend $95 million over the next four years to complete Drinking Binge Diverging Views Accusers charged with false rape report A. 7 .1 JS i St rV Laying Groundwork Lawyer mulls bid for mayor A. Arthur Davis is starting to look like a candidate in the November council race. By CHRIS 0SHER Wwrm ink v- Investigators say the girls' stories were inconsistent, and they failed polygraph tests on the incident. By PHOEBE WALL HOWARD Rmstrk Staff Wmtkk Two teen-age girls who reported being raped last year have been charged in Humboldt County juve tt J'Jt If i i 1 't.

A' i i Humboldt nile court with filing false reports after failing lie-detector tests. 'i DES MOINES 1 200 The case is a sordid tale of binge drinking in which all three participants the 4 1 it, i I ft- -lf- "'t ft For the past month, Des Moines lawyer A. Arthur Davis has been making the rounds in an attempt to lock up support for a possible bid to unseat Des Moines Mayor John "Pat" Dorrian. Davis, a former chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, hasn't announced whether he's running yet, but he's looking more and more like a candidate. At Davis' request, Frances Koontz, an east-side neighborhood leader, invited about 11 other neighborhood leaders to her home three or four weeks ago to sound Davis out on issues.

Equal Time Dorrian asked for equal time, and Wednesday night she hosted a similar meeting for the mayor and his wife. Davis, also was busy Wednesday, meeting with the Des Moines Police Political Action Committee. Dorrian said Davis' aggressive approach has prompted him to start seeking support for a re-election bid earlier than usual. "I really didn't want to start a campaign early," Dorrian said. "Council campaigns can drag on and wear the community down.

But I don't have the luxury of waiting any longer." The primary for City Council elections will be Oct. 10, and the general election will be Nov. 7. Dorrian, who was elected to the City Council in and was elected mayor in 1987, said he's not taking Davis lightly. "You always get worried when you have an opponent," Dorrian two young women and a man acknowledge not being able to remember everything that happened on a dirt road outside Humboldt one night last August.

Elements of the incident highlight a debate over the use of polygraph tests on women who report rapes and whether the practice protects someone who is falsely accused of rape or further victimizes people who have been sexually assaulted. Discrepancies Authorities say the girls were charged because of numerous discrepancies in their statements and a lack of physical evidence from medical exams. "Charges were filed as a result of an investigation," Humboldt County Attorney Kurt Stoebe said. "Polygraph results aren't admissible in court. The facts evolved without the polygraph." Jennifer Pedersen, now 18, and Jo-lene Grebner, 16, face being found delinquent in juvenile court, the consequences of which likely would be some form of probation with the possibility of community service, law- IIII.I.NEIIIEKJAI.IRK(;iNrFKl'll()T)S There was a big crowd at the Drake Relays Friday, with something to watch in every direction.

Above, Richard M. Carter and his son Jonathan get close-up views of the action, while at left, Brian Dunn kisses a Relays flag after winning the high school boys' 110-meter hurdles. The second-largest Friday crowd ever saw Carl Lewis lose to a 19-year-old Barbadian and six records broken. Obadele Thompson stunned the crowd by defeating Lewis in the special 100-meter race. Thompson wasn't planning to enter, but "I told him this would be a good opportunity to run against good competition," said his coach.

RELAYS COVERAGE: Sports CHARGE Please turn to Page 2A RACE Please turn to Pacje 2A End of an Era Baseball Skill Explained Inside Your Daily Register Merle Hay Bishop's closing I got it, I got it! (Urn hey, how'd I do that?) Setback for Ethanol An appeals court throws out regulations requiring its use. National News, Page 4A IES Stock Plunges The company may need to cut its dividend, analysts say. Business, Page 12S Friends of TV The cafeteria, a fixture at the mall since 1959, was facing ii huge increase in rent. By DALE KASLER Rkcistkk Hi sinfss Wkitkk Bishop's Buffet will close its cafeteria at Merle Hay Mall on Tuesday, ending an era in Des Moines dining that began when the mall opened in J959. Bill Fleischacker, the restaurant's manager, said Bishop's is closing because the restaurant couldn't agree to new rental terms with the mall's owner.

He said the mall was seeking an 80 percent increase in the per-square-foot rental rate, although the overall rent increase would have been smaller because' Bishop's planned to shrink the restaurant as part of a proposed remodeling project. The mall's managing general partner, Joseph Abbell, wouldn't comment on the lease negotiations or possible replacement tenants. Fleischacker said Bishop's plans The uptown show is the comedy hit of the year on television. Today, Page IT Kki Ml Rh W'lKK Si KA'll i Washington, D.C. The bat cracks and an outfielder races across the grass until ball and glove arrive at the same place, at the same and a fly ball is caught.

It may be routine in baseball, but scientists have long wondered how people are able to perform the feat. Researchers from Ohio's Kent State University and from NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, reported Friday that they have found the answer. The scientists, in a study published in the journal Science, say fielders move to the exact point where a fly ball will land by running along a curving route that gives them the optical impression that the ball is following a straight line. Michael McBeath and Dennis Shaffer of Kent State and Mary Kaiser of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said a fielder runs at varying speeds and changes directions to maintain the sense that the ball is traveling straight. A previous theory held that after 1 i i mr: km 1 HOHN.NIiHI.VTiifKki,ikk Bette Kelderman serves up salad items at Bishop's Friday.

1 Ann Landers 2T Letters 8A Business 12S Lotteries 2A Classifieds 6T Movies 6M Comics bT Obituaries 5M Crossword 4T Religion 4M Editorials 8A TV Schedules 4T USA HRASIKKTHK KKGISTER the ball comes off the bat. the outfielder makes a complex calculation about the arc. acceleration and decel- to open a new cafeteria in the Merle Furr'sBishop's Inc. cafeteria chain Hay vicinity in the near future. But based in Lubbock, Texas.

Fleisehack- in the meantime, the closure will er said the Merle Hay restaurant leave one Bishop's in Des Moines, at serves 1 ,000 diners daily. He said he SouthRidge Mall. There are 13 of the believes about 10 million customers cafeterias overall. Bishop's is part of the BISHOP'S Please turn to PagelH Copyright 19B5 Des Moines Register and Twbi tic Company A Gannett Newspaper Printed with SOY INK FLYB ALL Please turn U) Pafe 2 A 1 I.