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

SECTION DES MOUSES November 18, 1986 fL r. fltM 4 1 4 I 1 1 I HUJi i I 4 1 1 REGISTER PHOTO BY BOB NANOELL DATELINE IOWA Sexual abuse charges filed Mirk 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 rm JO fcrnrff ffM; 1 1 i rtp GouncilOKs controversial apartments Flagg casts key vote, but says project likely to fail By ANNE WILLETTE RfvHttr Stftff Wrttw A controversial southeast Des Moines apartment project gained City Council approval Monday when Councilman George Flagg voted for the project, even though he said he believes it will fail. Flagg said he supported the plan, which would renovate the former Washington Elementary School into an experimental housing cooperative, at the request of Mayor Pete Crivaro. The mayor has not attended council meetings since undergoing surgery in April to remove a cancerous tumor from his brain. "I am going to honor the request of the mayor.

I am going to vote yes, although I believe it is a terrible, terrible idea," Flagg said. Because most of the school's neighbors oppose developer Frank Scag-lione's plan to spend $633,000 to renovate the school at 1 Hartford Place into 18 apartments, the project needed six votes. Flagg held the key vote. He passed when the council first considered the project and was not at the meeting during second consideration. Crivaro's Votes Crivaro provided the sixth vote at those meetings, which were transmitted through an electronic speaker to his telephone at home.

He did not participate in Monday's meeting. Neighborhood opposition has centered on possible traffic problems and the fact that the cooperative concept is untested in Des Moines. At two Plan and Zoning Commission meetings and three City Council meetings, neighborhood residents questioned city staff members about the Flagg also complained about unanswered questions. "I believe the fears of the neighbors will come to pass," he said, adding that he also believes the city will be stuck with the building. Manv neighbors said thev original WM am f.

j. Donations down Edward Robertson loads foodstuffs Monday at the Food Bank of Central Iowa in Des Moines. Karen Ford, director of the bank, said donations of food to be distributed to the needy through agencies such as Tiny Tots, Door of Faith Mission and the Salvation Army are running behind last year's amounts. Daring October, 86 percent of the donated food came from the nationwide network of the Second Harvest group. Only 14 percent were local donations.

against man Police say he kept lists of hundreds of teen-agers By TOM SUK Rttfttw Stiff Writer Six charges of sexual abuse were filed Monday against a man who was the subject of an unusual police let ter-writing campaign warning nun dreds of parents that their sons may have been in contact with a pedo phile. Wilbur Julius Millhouse, 43, of 2553 Maury St. was being held in the city jail early today with bond set at $72,000. Millhouse was arrested at his house about 2 p.m. Monday.

Millhouse is charged with six counts of third-degree sexual abuse If convicted on all six counts, he could be sentenced to 60 years in prison and fined $30,000. Earlier this year, police sent nun dreds of letters to parents warning them that their sons may have had contact with Millhouse. The letters were the result of a search of his house in February. The names and telephone numbers of 2,200 persons, mostly young boys, were found. The house was searched after two lb-year-old boys accused Millhouse of sexually abusing them.

A sexually explicit telephone call to a 14-year old boy was traced to Millhouse home, court documents said. In a July interview, Millhouse said the lists of names taken from his house were materials he used in recruiting newspaper carriers when he was a circulation manager for The Des Moines Register. He said he quit his job in 1983 after suffering a heart attack. Millhouse said he has been unem ployed since then because of ill health. Police said earlier this year that the list of 2,200 names was compiled from handwritten notes with names and phone numbers, and from hand written "notations" next to boys' names or pictures in school year books and baseball rosters taken from Millhouse.

Police Sgt. Jack LeCroy said it was unlikely that Millhouse could have had contact with 2,200 teen-agers The form letter's main purpose was to "notify parents that their child's name and phone number were over at this guy house," LeCroy said. He said police had hoped the letter would "enhance the investigation" by prompting teen-agers who may have been sexually abused to report it. According to a police affidavit filed in February, Millhouse "has stated that he uses different names to call young boys. Conversations con sist of soliciting for sex acts." Police said Millhouse used the names Scott and Phil.

The affidavit also said Millhouse told police his monthly telephone bill has been as high as $383. His highest bills came in 1985 because of his use of a "GAB line" that year, the affida vit says. The GAB line was a party line tele phone service popular with teen-agers provided by Northwestern Bell for several months in 1985. The service was discontinued following complaints that it was being used by teen-agers and adults to solicit sex and drugs. Mixed news in transitional school report By LINDA LANTOR Rtfllftlw Stiff Writer Des Moines transitional schools de serve generally high marks, but they need a different name, says a new report.

The switch three years ago from junior highs to transitional schools which are attended by sixth- through eighth-graders has led to a "slight increase" in academic learning and more improvement is likely, says the school district report. The name "transitional school," however, should be reconsidered, the report says. The report, planned by school administrators several years ago, was done by the school district's Department of Evaluation and Research. "Many parents, community mem bers and professional staff have a tendency to confuse the name. In addition, the title is confusing to people from outside Des Moines and to parents and students new to the dis trict," says the report.

The report also was critical of the amount of time transitional school counselors spend on clerical work because they have little secretarial help. "The district should make every effort possible to confine the respon sibilities of counselors to. counseling," it says. In a separate report on transitional SCHOOLS Please turn to Page 2M Medicaid study urges HMOs for indigent care 2 brothers arrested after Sioux City shooting spree Tht Rtfltitw'l Ntwt Strvtct SIOUX CITY. IA.

Sioux City police talked two brothers out of a near gun battle following a shooting spree Sunday night that damaeed windows in a business and home near downtown Sioux City. Police said Gregory Mace, 26, and his brother Donald, 19. both of Jeffer son, S.D., refused to give up their weapons after their car was stopped and surrounded. Police Capt. Glen Hanson said the brothers got out of their car with their weapons and said, Go ahead and shoot us." Hanson said the situation was tense for a while, but the two surrendered with no shots fired.

The brothers were charged Monday with two counts of terrorism, discharging firearms in the city, and possession of burglary tools. Also, Gregory Mace was charged with drunken driving and possession of a firearm by a felon. Boy, 8, breaks through ice, drowns in farm pond The RtaUttr's Itwa Hmm Strvkt PRESTON, IA. Joshua Jackson, 8, son of William Jackson of Preston, drowned Sunday after breaking through ice on a farm pond near here. A spokeswoman for the Jackson County sheriff's office said William Jackson, called to the pond by another son, found the victim's 10-year-old sister trying to rescue her brother.

The father pulled the girl from the icy water but was unable to reach his son. Elsewhere: A Davenport woman was killed and three people injured in a two-car accident at the junction of Highway 218 and Highway 16, just north of Donnellson, Monday afternoon. The Iowa State Patrol reported that Margaret Witting, 77, of Daven port was killed about 3:15 p.m. when the car in which she was riding, driv en by Stace J. Witting, 80, also of Davenport, turned in front of a car driven by Darla Peterson, 19, of Don nellson.

Margaret Witting was pronounced dead at the scene. Stace Witting was in stable condition and Kim Peterson, a passenger in Darla's car, was treated and released at Henry County Health Center. Darla Peterson was taken to Keokuk Area Hospital where she was treated and released. No charges have been filed. Muscatine man wins share of $4 million Illinois lotto Tht RnMMt Iowa Ntwt Strvtca MUSCATINE, IA.

Ronald Baker of Muscatine will divide with two other people a $4 million prize in the Illi nois lotto game. Baker, who works at the Davenport Works of the Aluminum Co. of Ameri ca, said he hopes to use his estimated $1.3 million to buy a newer home for his family, but has no immediate plans to make other changes in his life. The winning numbers, 5-18-19-20- 37-38, were drawn Saturday night. The other winners are from Chicago and Evanston, 111.

80-year-old Davenport clothing store closes Tht Rtghttft wa Ntwt Strvkt DAVENPORT, IA. The family- owned Simon-Landauer men's clothing store in downtown Davenport closed over the weekend after more than 80 years of business. The store was one of the Quad Cit ies' best-known men's stores. Owner Alan Landauer said he plans to retire. A Simon-Landauer store in Betten- dorf will remain open as a women's apparel shop operated by Landauer's daughter, Julie.

Former insurance agent pleads guilty of thefts WATERLOO, IA. (AP) A former insurance agent accused of bilking a Waterloo couple and a Jesup woman out of more than $60,000 has pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree theft. James P. Wilson, 51, entered the pleas last week in Black Hawk County District Court. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

Wilson, an agent for New York Life Insurance Co. for 23 years, was accused of taking more than $24,000 from a trust for Warren D. and Gloria M. Jensen of Waterloo and about $40,000 from a trust for Dorothy Jean Schares of Jesup. The thefts occurred in 1985 shortly after Wilson's contract with New York Life had been terminated.

ly signed petitions supporting the project because bcagaone told them it would be for the elderly. However, Scaglione later discovered he could not qualify for a federal low-interest loan if he discriminated by age. "I find it very questionable as to whether the petition was lawful from the very beginning," Flagg said. Brooks Questioned The neighbors targeted their ward councilman, Archie Brooks, Monday, challenging his support of the project. Spokesman Hubert Morris of 2010 S.

Union St. said Brooks had promised to vote for the project only if it was restricted to elderly tenants. "We were just curious as to why he changed his mind, Morris said. Brooks said during a recess in the meeting that he did all he could to get the elderly restriction. "We held the project up for a month, checking every legal requirement trying to change it," he said.

He said he believes the renovation is a good project. City officials have backed the coop erative plan as a way for people with low or moderate incomes to own their homes. Residents would pay $600 to $1,000 to buy shares in the coopera tive, then make monthly payments of $270 to $350. After four years, the residents would own the building and be responsible for its upkeep. In other business, the council adopted San Francisco as a sister city in response to an advertisement in the San Francisco Examiner that shows an overweight couple slumped in front of a TV and says, "For a lot of people, the view in Des Moines is the same as the view in San Francisco." The advertisement was meant to promote the newspaper's new week end section, but the Greater Des Moines Chamber of Commerce Fed eration took it as a cheap shot.

At the request of the chamber, the council also asked the Examiner "to provide equal time in providing true informa tion about this good city to the people of San Francisco." stadium ty and access can be assured." Hospitals should be paid using a "Diagnostic Related Group" system with flat fees for treatment. The federal Medicare program for senior citizens has been criticized harshly by rural Iowa hospitals for such payments, but state officials said such a system would be more fair. New fee schedules should be established for doctors to replace current physician fees, which are based on "reasonable and customary" payments. The report also proposes new fee schedules for dentists and most other medical professionals, and increasing incentives to use generic drugs. Nursing home payments should be split into components for direct patient care, administration and capital costs.

The system now doesn't recognize differences in case-mix of patients, nor varying wage rates, the study said. Norman Pawlewski, executive director of the Osteopathic Medical Association, said many doctors are opposed to requiring patients to enroll in HMOs. But he said the recommendation to revise physicians' fee schedules probably would be welcomed. Linda Goeldner, representing the Iowa Hospital Association, said her group has had concerns about the existing Medicaid payment method to hospitals and hopes the DRG method will be an improvement. put bomb in By WILLIAM PETROSKI RNDNr Still Wrtttr Iowa's needy should be required to curb health care costs by using health maintenance organizations rather than having their choice of personal physicians, says a study on the state's Medicaid program issued Monday.

The $150,000 report, written by the Maryland-based Center for Health Policy Studies, also calls for sweeping changes in Medicaid payments to Iowa doctors, dentists, hospitals and nursing homes. The study was prepared for the Iowa Department of Human Services and is to be considered by the Iowa Legislature. Medicaid, a state-federal program, cost a record $379 million in Iowa during the budget year that ended June 30. About 225,000 Iowans annually are served by Medicaid, which helps pay for health care costs of the poor, aged, disabled and those eligible for the Aid to Dependent Children program. The report proposes that: Iowa initially should have voluntary Medicaid enrollment in HMOs, but participation eventually should be mandatory in cities served by multiple HMOs.

Davenport has begun en rolling Medicaid participants in HMOs, and some other areas of the state, including Des Moines, are to be added next year. HMOs can provide more efficient medicine than traditional health care, the report said. "With appropriate safeguards and performance monitoring, adequate levels of quali 4 students By VERONICA FOWLER 01 Tht Anwt Bureau PAG money made up half of donations By JANE NORMAN Rnttttr Stiff Wrltw About half the money contributed to legislative candidates in the No vember election came from political action committees, and two Democratic members of the Iowa House re ceived and spent nothing but PAC money, a new report presented to lawmakers Monday shows. Seventeen incumbent members of the Iowa House received more than 90 percent of the money in their cam paign funds from PACs, the study shows. Seven state senators running for re-election got more than 90 per cent of their money from PACs.

Also, the dollar amount of special- interest contributions is rising, according to the report by the Iowa Campaign Finance Disclosure Commission. In all of 1984, candidates for the Iowa House received $547,142 from PACs. But by the end of October, $617,359 already had been contributed by such groups this year. The report was given by Kay Wil liams, executive director of the commission, to a committee of lawmakers that is studying whether limits should be set on contributions to political candidates. The committee also will recommend whether the state should kick in more money for elections to combat the influence of spe cial-interest groups.

No decisions were made on those issues Monday, although committee members tossed around ideas ranging from limiting PAC to shifting the primary from June to September, to placing restrictions on negative campaigning. According to the report, members of the Iowa House raised $1.1 million in contributions as of October and spent $899,777. Of those contribu tions, 52 percent were from PACs. Two Democratic incumbents Michael Connolly of Dubuque, who was unopposed, and Dennis Renaud of Altoona raised and spent nothing but PAC money. A number of other House members took in more than 90 percent of their money from PACs Republicans Wendell Pellett of Atlantic, Kyle Hummel of Vinton, Harold Van Maa-nen of Oskaloosa, Donald Piatt of Muscatine, Victor Stueland of Grand Mound, Robert Renken of Aplington, PACS Please turn to Page 4M AMES, IA.

Four fraternity members have admitted they put a bomb in Cyclone Stadium during Saturday's Iowa State-Kansas State football game, officials said Monday. Thomas Thielen, vice president for with the students Monday afternoon. "Once they saw it get out of hand," Thielen said, the men decided to confess. The students said the bomb was merely a smoke bomb intended to go off at halftime. The device, they said, was filled with gunpowder and wouldn't explode, but would The bomb was taken to a field near the stadium, where it was detonated by the Ames Police Department, burning for 30 seconds and sending a three-foot column of fire into the air.

Before the students came forward, Ames Capt Terry Bird said that if someone had been near the bomb when it exploded, "it would have caused considerable burns at least to whomever was by it." Also, Bird said, the bomb could have sent out shards of metal when it exploded, injuring fans nearby. Thielen said the university would take disciplinary action against the four men. Although they are members of the same fraternity, Thielen said: "We see it as four individuals who came together and did a prank. We don't BOMB Please turn to Page 2M student affairs, met identify the stu up by an 11-year- burn and produce smoke. The bomb wouldn't injure people or damage property, the men told Thielen.

Campus security officials would not dents or their fraternity. The students told Thielen they intended to remove the bomb after the game, but it was picked old boy who was part of a church cleanup crew. The boy alerted ISU's campus security..