The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 2

2ATiik Dks Moinks Registkr i Satirday, Fkbkiaky20, 19i.i Iowa Ne Teaching farming the American way at ISU They have been on farms for a few weeks, but they never have had to make decisions. David Topel ISl 'dean of agriculture Dateline Iowa Ottumwa teen accused of tying woman to tree Ti ik Rw I( News Service Ottumwa, la. A 14-year-old Ottumwa boy was being held in Lincoln, Friday after being arrested on charges that he tied a woman to a tree here, then drove off in her car. The unidentified boy was arrested Thursday and charged with second-degree robbery and third-degree kidnapping. Lincoln police also recovered the car stolen from Carolyn Martin, 59, of Ottumwa earlier in the week, Ottumwa police said.

Tuesday, the youth approached Martin with a gun in a parking lot, police said. He then allegedly drove her to a wooded area, where he tied her to a tree and then stole her car. At the time, Ottumwa police said that they believed he was carrying a small pistol, but Lincoln police recovered a BB gun. Martin wasn't injured. sions with the ISU students or farming one section of the property on their own.

The international Ag 450 farm is just one component of the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development's proposal to increase exchanges of farmers and agribusiness people between the United States and former Soviet republics. Last year, about 50 people from each side participated in the exchange, living with families in the countries they visited and learning about agribusiness and farming. Helmuth's proposal, which seeks $5.3 million in financing from the U.S. Information Agency, would increase the exchange to 501 participants from each side, including the Ukrainian students. ISU would contribute the use of the farm, building and equipment to the proposal.

That amount of support helps the proposal's chances for financing, Helmuth said. "I just don't think there are any other universities out there right now that are this generous," he added. harvesting and marketing crops and raising and marketing live-, stock. The number of students may grow to as many as 40 if the program is successful, said John Hel-muth, associate director of the center. Similar Proposal The ISU College of Agriculture is putting forward a similar proposal.

Mary de Baca, associate director of international agriculture programs, said the proposal would bring 24 Ukrainian students a year to the ISU campus to enroll in courses, including one in which students operate a farm. In return, 24 ISU students would travel to Ukraine to study farming there, de Baca said. The proposals are being considered for financing under different programs of the U.S. Information Agency. Helmuth said he believes the odds are good that Ukrainian students could be farming in Iowa next fall.

David Topel, ISU's dean of agriculture, said the Ukrainians are ac customed to working on farms in which government officials decided what to plant and when to sell it. Want To Learn "They don't understand how it works," Topel said. "They have visited us, they have been on farms for a few weeks, but they never have had to make decisions." Helmuth said Ukrainian participants in the 1992 agribusiness exchange wanted to learn more about how decisions are made on private farms and what consequences those decisions carry, ISU is the only U.S. university that has a student-run farm. The "Ag 450 farm" is named for the course in which ISU students make all the decisions on the farm's operation.

The Ukrainian students' program would parallel the Ag 450 course, Topel said. "We're in a position to help them mostly because we've got 40 years of experience in helping our students make decisions" at the Ag 450 farm, Topel said. Students in The university hopes to show Ukrainian students how decisions are made on farms run by individuals, not the state. By THOMAS R.O'DONNELL Of Tiik Register's Ames Bikeac Ames, la. Iowa State University hopes to establish an international farm near here to teach Ukrainian students how capitalists make decisions about planting, harvesting and marketing crops.

The farm is part of a proposal from ISU's Center for Agricultural and Rural Development to boost participation in a farmer-to-farmer exchange program from 100 to more than 1,000 people. Part of that proposal would bring 10 Ukrainian agriculture students to ISU for a semester of study. For a few months, the Ukrainian students would take part in actually operating a farm planting, that class handle all the details in operating the 250-acre farm even when it means overruling their instructors. Site Undecided Where the proposed international Ag 450 farm would be located hasn't been decided, Topel said. One option is to use a 700-acre farm ISU bought recently as a proposed site for a swine research center.

Converting a research farm near Ames also is being considered, Topel said. The most likely choice, Topel said, would be allowing the international students to work on the current Ag 450 farm, making deci Turkeys in the Wild Soda freed; was arrested for child endangerment The Register's IowaNewsSkrvice Creston, la. Sam Soda, a onetime candidate for the Des Moines City Council, was released Friday from Union County Jail, where he had spent a week after being arrested on a charge of child endangerment. Union County Sheriff John Coulter said Soda was arrested Jan. 1 1 for allegedly beating a teen-age stepson.

Counter said that youth and at least one other had been removed from the home of Sam and Debbie Soda and placed in foster care. Iowa Department of Human Services officials, citing confidentiality rules, would not comment on the case. Debbie Soda said she and her husband wouldn't comment. Neither Union County Attorney Tim Kenyon nor Soda's lawyer, Ronald Wheeler of Des Moines, could be reached for comment. Coulter said Soda was arrested after a stepson, believed to be 15, showed up at East Union High School in Afton with injuries.

He said school officials contacted the Department of Human Services and an investigation led to the arrest. Soda was released under a pre-trial release program after posting $130 in cash. Soda, a former member of the Des Moines Plan and Zoning Commission, operated a private detective agency in Des Moines until he filed for bankruptcy in February 1991. He now operates a business called The Trophy Shop in Creston and lists his address as rural Lorimor. After the disappearance of Des Moines-area youths Johnny Gosch and Eugene Martin, Soda started a group called Stolen Children Are Reported Every Day and campaigned against child pornography.

That organization was disbanded in 1985. Man found guilty in girl's death A Scott County jury finds Stanley Liggins, 32, guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping, sexual abuse and willful injury. By LESLIE YAZEL Register Corresi'ondknt Davenport, la. A Rock Island, 111., man was convicted Friday of kidnapping 9-year-old Jennifer Lewis, molesting her, strangling her and setting her body on fire in a field here in September 1990. "Thanks for helping bring justice for Jennifer," the girl's mother.

Sheri Glenn, said during a cercmo ny afterward near where the bodj was found. "The man who did this to Jennifer, I thought he was my friend. I allowed him into my home. I trusted him. He used that friendship to take my daughter." A Scott County jury found Stanley Liggins, 32, guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping, sexual abuse and willful injury.

He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. Appeared Resigned Ligeins, who had exrjressed a re larry stoneThe Register Wild turkeys have a highly developed survival trait of alertness. Two of them display that trait on the snow near Colesburg. Iowa bands swing their way to contest success Troubled hospital gets bailout from county By DAN EGGEN Register Staff Writer Nearly 8,000 Iowa high school students competed recently in the annual jazz band and swing choir music festivals held across the state. Judges rated the performance of each group during the competition, which was sponsored by the Iowa High School Music Association.

Here are the schools receiving the top ratings from the judges: SWING CHOIRS Algona. Anita. Atlantic, Audubon. Aureha, Battle Creek-Ida Grove. Bel-mond-Klemme.

Benton, Bondurant-Farrar, Carroll. Carroll Kuemper, Center Point-Urbana, Central Lee of Donnellson. Charles City. Colo-NESCO. Also.

Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln. Danville. Davenport Central. Denison, Des Moines Hoover. Des Moines Roosevelt.

Dunlap. Em-metsburg. Forest City. Fort Madison (2 choirs), George-Little Rock, Greenfield, Griswold, Grundy Center. Also, Hampton-Dumont, Hudson (2 choirs), Johnston, of Letts.

Laurens-Marathon, Lewis Central of Council Bluffs. Linn-Mar of Marion. Maple Valley of Mapleton, Montezuma, Mount Ayr, Mount Pleasant, Muscatine Also. North Central of Manly, North Fayette of West Union. North Po of Alleman.

Norwalk, Oskaloosa. Saydel of Des Moines, Sheldon. Sioux City East (2 choirs). South Hamilton of Jewell, South Tama of Tama. Sumner, Tri-Center of Neola, Walnut.

Also, Waterloo West, West Central of May-nard, West Des Moines Valley, Western Dubuque. Westwood, Williamsburg, Winheld-Mount Union, Woodbine. JAZZ BANDS Allison-Bristow, Alta. Ana-mosa. Andrew, Ankeny, Atlantic, Boone.

Boy-den-Hull. Cedar Falls. Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Centerville. Central City, Charles City, Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, Creston. Also.

Davenport Central, Denison, Des Moines Hoover, Des Moines Lincoln, Des Moines Roosevelt. East Greene of Grand Junction, Eddyville, Emmetsburg, Gilbert, Grinnell. Hampton-Dumont, Harlan, Indianola, Jefferson, Lewis Central of Council Bluffs. Also. Linn-Mar of Marion, Lone Tree.

Maple Valley of Mapleton, Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn, Marshalltown (2 bands), Melcher-Dallas, Moulton-Udell. Mount Ayr, Mount Pleasant. New Hampton, Newton, North Central of Manley. North Fayette ot West Union, North Polk of Alleman. Norwalk.

Oskaloosa. Ottumwa. Also. Pella. Pocahontas.

Pomeroy-Palmer, Roland Story, Saydel of Des Moines. Sioux Central of Sioux Rapids. Spirit Lake. Treynor. Turkey Valley of Jackson Junction.

Union. Vinton-Shellsburg. Waterloo West. West Burlington, West Des Moines Valley. West Liberty, West Sioux of Hawarden, Williamsburg.

About $470,000 of the county loan will go to pay a portion of the debts, and the rest will be used to increase the hospital's cash flow, officials said. Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, which manages the hospital, agreed to let a $265,000 debt go unpaid until Grundy Memorial turns its financial situation around. Expects Approval The supervisors have not yet approved an increase in the county's annual financial contribution to Grundy Memorial from about $280,000 to $500,000 but Schildroth said he expects the measure to be approved as part of the county's regular budget. Just nine of Iowa's 99 counties currently have no hospital. But the state has been losing an average of one hospital a year since 1984, due primarily to the high costs of administering Medicare and Medicaid laxed attitude during the seven-day trial, appeared resigned as officers handcuffed and led him from the courtroom.

He did not testify in his own defense. His lawyer, Gary McKendrick, said Liggins would appeal. "Whenever you have a heinous offence, there's a natural desire that someone be punished," he said. "We weren't able to overcome that." Glenn, 30, cried as the guilty verdict was read. Jennifer's stepfather, Joe Glenn, 32, smiled broadly.

Prosecutors rejoiced. Iowa and Illinois law officers congratulated each other. But emotions were sorrowful an hour later at Jefferson Elementary School, near where Jennifer's body was found by a school janitor. The Glenns, Sheri Glenn's mother, and a close friend huddled to Threatened with closure of the county's only hospital, the Grundy County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Friday to bail out the troubled institution with a $615,000 loan. Grundy County Memorial Hospital with its motto, "We're Here for Life" will also be granted an extra $220,000 a year in assistance from the county, according to board supervisor Don Schildroth.

Grundy Memorial employs about 120 staffers and two full-time doctors, for a total payroll of about $2 million. "We certainly intend for them to remain open," Schildroth said. "If they close, it's bound to have an impact on the area." A Catch There is a catch to the deal, however: The loan money will not be released until after a study is completed by Cordes and Associates of Firm wins right to bring waste from Minnesota Tm Rm jistkh's )v. Nkws Skrvick Lake Mills, la. Waste Systems Corp.

on Thursday scored a legal victory in its effort to bring trash from two Minnesota counties to the firm's controversial landfill here. A federal appeals court threw out ordinances passed by Martin and Faribault counties that required that local wastes that could be composted be sent to the Prairieland Solid Waste Composting Facility in Truman, Minn. That plant was backed by $8 million in county bonds. The court ruled that the ordinances violated commerce laws. Iowa environmental officials are moving to close down the Lake Mills landfill until Waste Systems submits required plans and because the facility has not met all environmental regulations.

State officials contend that the landfill's plan to accept wastes from Martin and Faribault counties is unacceptable because those counties have not agreed to the plan. Waste Systems has called the Iowa position an unconstitutional restriction of interstate commerce. The appeals court said 40 percent of the counties' wastes which would amount to $3 1 2,000 a year in revenue for the Lake Mills landfill were affected by the ordinances. Useful Aerial Hunt in rural areas, according to a state wide study released last month. Infrared camera spies on Cedar Rapids' deer Campbell warns of scam Des Moines, a consulting firm.

But both Schildroth and hospital administrator Kevin Kueny said they were hopeful the consultant would not recommend a shutdown. "I'm confident that they'll see it as a viable enterprise," Kueny said. "I'm sure they will." The vote came just days after more than 300 people crammed a public hearing in Grundy Center on gether against the icy wind as Sheri Glenn tearfully thanked the people who brought Liggins to justice. Testimony showed Liggins and the Glenns met through drug dealings. At the time of the murder, the Glenns lived in the poorer west side of Rock Island.

A bouquet of flowers was placed on a small memorial stone dedicated to Jennifer near the steps of the school. A pink-framed picture of Jennifer lay next to it, "Sometimes I just wish she'd come walking in the door," Glenn said, crying and reaching for the picture. "She lives in your heart, Sheri," her husband said as he handed her a red rose. Tough Case Scott Cotintv Arrnrnnv Rill Davis By DEB0RA WILEY OfTiie Register's Cedar Rapids Bi reau Cedar Rapids, la. This city's helicopter and its high-tech infrared video camera are normally used to seek out fleeing or hiding crime suspects.

This week, the camera was used to spy on and locate a different fugitive population: Wild deer found in small herds in the wooded edges and interior parks of the city. Two police officers on Monday spotted about 650 deer in about five hours of flying time around the city limits, especially in the areas of Seminole Valley Park, Edgewood Road, Bowman Woods School, Jack's Discount, Squaw Creek Park, the Sac and Fox Trail, Jones Park, Wilson Avenue and 1 2th Street S. W. The aerial deer hunt is useful as a base count of the deer population, said City Council member David Kramer, the parks commissioner. "Most people probably don't have a problem, but if you're out there in the woods or undeveloped area with scrub brush, you've probably got something to deal with," Kramer said.

"It's going to be a problem down the road and having a base count will help us and the Department of Natural Resources determine what to do when it gets to be much bigger." Kramer said another count will probably be taken in another four or five years. The infrared camera is especially useful when temperatures are cold and at night, when heat generated by bodies, or even warm cars, shows up as a white image against a dark background. The deer are easy to see on the film and, depending on the angle, assume a silhouette of their shape, Kramer said. It's easy to tell the difference between deer and cows or horses, he said. "A cow has a lot less fur and shows up lighter," he said.

said the case was the toughest he Attorney General Bonnie Campbell's office warned Iowans Friday about fraudulent door-to-door meat sales in Council Bluffs, Sioux City and Urbandale. "We've heard of dozens of reports of high pressure, door-to-door meat sales," Campbell said. "The companies will claim they had a truck break down or that a restaurant order was not delivered and they offer what they say is a bargain. "It's a very high-pressure sales pitch that too often ends up with the consumer paying top dollar for meat that is sometimes barelv edible." Campbell said the meat sellers typically are selling beef, pork poultry and seafood from coolers in the back of pick-up trucks. According to Campbell, the salesman offers 'restaurant quality" meat at bargain prices.

Campbell said that among the businesses under investigation are Nation's Best of Omaha, Nebraska-Midwestern Steak and Seafood of Omaha, Nebraska; and Countrv-Fed Steak Seafood of Des Moines id ever tried. Davis said in closing statements Thursday that the trial was a memorial to the "child buried in a garbage bag shroud." Jennifer's horiv haH hwn xuesaay, many teartully begging the supervisors to keep the hospital open. Others, however, questioned the wisdom of spending taxpayer money on the bailout, officials said. "I'm thrilled that we got it through," Kueny said. "I'm really surprised they voted unanimously, frankly.

I'm very appreciative." Improvements Kueny, who joined the hospital Vi years ago, said the hospital has improved significantly since he began as administrator. Two new physicians had been hired, and the building had undergone vital renovations, he said. He blamed the hospital's current debt totaling more than $700,000 on the high percentage of Medicaid and Medicare patients carried by the hospital. The federal programs do not fully reimburse providers, which means a hospital needs to maintain a large number of privafe-nav client to cnt bv (irandy, wife to perform in benefit at Sioux Citv Tiik Rki a Nkws Skrvick Sioux City, la. U.S.

Rep. Fred Grandy and his wife, novelist Catherine Mann, will give a benefit performance of a two-character play March 27 at the Sioux City Community Theatre. The couple will perform "Love Letters," the story of a might-have-been marriage that didn't happen. Tickets are $100 per couple, with proceeds going to help build a Ronald McDonald House here to help families of ill children. The event is sponsored by KCAU-TV.

Mann and Grandy, a former television actor, also plan to give a benefit performance of the play March 15 in Washington, D.C. For information about tickets to the show here, call (712) 277-2345. in a large nlastir haa Mnrp hrini! doused with gasoline and set afire. The jury deliberated seven hours and heard almost 50 witnesses testify in the trial Scott County Assistant Attornev Joe Onihisirh railed "complex." Licains is sprvino a fivp-vpar sen tence for sexually abusing a 9-year old Milan, 111., girl. Liggins was free on bond from that crime when Jen- nnpriwiswas slain..