The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 38

B2 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Thursday, October 19, 1995 Police searching for N. Phila. boy, 2, who vanished a parole violation. Police that DHS workers took him. Metropolitan Area News in Brief Man dies after being hit by gunfire in Kensington A Fairhill man was fatally wounded last night in a burst of gunfire on a Kensington street, police said.

The victim, tentatively identified as Pedro Rivera, in his early 20s, was shot numerous times about 9:40 p.m. in the 1800 block of East Letterly Street, said police. He was pronounced dead at 10:22 p.m. at Temple University Hospital. Homicide detectives early today were questioning a suspect.

The motive for the shooting was not immediately known. Hearing slated tomorrow on PGW customer cutoffs The Philadelphia Gas Commission will hold a hearing tomorrow on a request by the city-owned gas utility to remove about 10,000 customers from a discount program for poor people because they failed to apply for federal energy-assistance grants last year. The Philadelphia Gas Works asked the commission to approve its plan to remove the customers from the Cus tors that a woman from the Department of Human Services came to her apartment in the 1400 block of 17th Street and took Ke-Shaun away. A DHS spokeswoman said that did not happen, although there was a possibility "pretty remote" that he could be in the system but unidentified. "Anything's possible," she said.

"Sometimes, people simply drop children off without telling us who they are, and they go into emergency placement." Britt said detectives planned to question Vanderhorst more intensively today, and possibly give her a polygraph test. Meanwhile, they were looking for Ke-Shaun's father as they grasped for leads, athough Kim Vanderhorst said he had not seen the child more than a couple of times since his birth. "Either DHS did get the baby or, from past experience, she just knew how the system works and that's an easy out," Britt said of Vanderhorst's account of the woman who arrived at her home with a car seat, Identifying herself as a DHS worker. It was unclear when Vanderhorst last saw her child. Britt said they talked to a male friend of Vanderhorst's who told them that he babysat Ke-Shaun in late September, around the 29th.

Neighbors "said she was always trying to get somebody to watch the kid," according to Britt. Kim Vanderhorst said she last saw her sister and Ke-Shaun on Sept. 24. "We went food shopping," she said. Then, her older nephews visited their mother last Wednesday and didn't see Ke-Shaun.

They returned home to their grandmother with stories of their mom's tears. The grandmother called Tina's sister. Kim Vanderhorst said she had already grown concerned after several phone conversations with her sister in the last week and a half. She said she "had a feeling" that something wasn't right. "He's a beautiful child," Kim Vanderhorst said.

"That's all I can say." Authorities yesterday were holding Tina Vanderhorst, 31, on a parole violation as they searched for clues that might lead to the child, who lived with his mother in North Philadelphia. The mother said a worker from the Department of Human Services came to her house and took Ke-Shaun. Police, however, said the agency did not pick up the child and could not find him in the system. On Tuesday, police dogs raced through Vanderhorst's first-floor apartment, in the 1400 block of North 17th Street and fanned out across the neighborhood. "There was no evidence of foul play in the place," Sgt.

William Britt of the North Central Detective Division said yesterday. Tina Vanderhorst, who has a history of using cocaine, was on parole A church, a steeple and many thankful people I "WW? On the underside of the steeple are the names and sentiments of the pastor and church members. IS i i -ft -fill: The mother was held on disputed her contention By Lea Sitton INQl'IKKK STAFF WRITER Sadness gripped Kim Vander-horst's words, pulling them down to a painful whisper, as she talked yesterday about the little nephew who has vanished from North Philadelphia as if he never existed. "To be quite frank," she said, "I fear for his life." Vanderhorst called police after she heard that her sister, Tina, had cried when asked about her 2-year-old son, Ke-Shaun. When Tina's other sons, a 7-year-old and an 8-year-old who live with their grandmother, visited their mother, they asked about Ke-Shaun.

"She started crying and said that she wouldn't be seeing him anymore," Kim Vanderhorst said. When the boys pressed her about it, she only cried more. Voters to rule on children's testimony The state high court disallowed videotaped testimony. A ballot question seeks a reversal. By Robert Moran INQl'IHER HARRISBURG BUREAU HARRISBURG On the same ballot as this year's choices for the state Supreme Court is a question asking voters to reverse the impact of a controversial decision by the same court.

The ballot question a constitutional referendum asking voters to allow the use of video testimony by children in criminal cases was prompted by a high court ruling that the practice was unconstitutional. If the question is approved, the State constitution would be amended to provide for a defendant's right to "confront" an accuser in court instead of meeting the accuser "face to face," as the constitution now states. Also under the amendment, the General Assembly could adopt legislation outlining the way children may testify in criminal proceedings. The way would be paved for video testimony, either by tape recording or closed-circuit television. Advocates of video testimony say children are often intimidated in the courtroom by the accused adults.

Sometimes, the children forget what happened or simply freeze refusing, or unable, to talk. "I think it's about time that we level the playing field and allow these children a fair chance in the courtroom," said Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf Montgomery), sponsor of the legislation. "All too often, because of this, you have situations where a child will not testify and a guilty person walks out of the courtroom." 1991, the state Supreme Court overturned a statute the result of legislation also sponsored by Green-leaf that allowed for video testimony, saying it deprived the defendant of the right to face an accuser.

The following year, the high court ordered a defendant in a Philadelphia murder case retried because he was convicted based on video testimony. Edward Davis was accused of killing his estranged wife. His daughter, Jennell Field, allegedly witnessed the crime. At the 1988 trial, Jennell, then 6, with her father watching, reportedly froze when she took the witness stand. Only after the court allowed Jennell to testify via video did she identify him as the killer.

"My daddy killed my mommy," she said on TV. "He had a gun. He shot her. My daddy killed her." Davis was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, but the conviction and sentence were eventually thrown out by the high court. A second trial is pending.

As required by the state constitution, the General Assembly has approved the Greenleaf measure in two successive legislative sessions. The referendum is the final step. wm tsw riit Hiiiiirnn- mum t- after being convicted of drug possession, police said. She gave birth to Ke-Shaun while serving time at Muncy State Prison, her sister said. She gained custody of him last year after going through a drug rehabilitation program.

Tina Vanderhorst also had three children who died as babies, Britt said. Records show that an 8-month-old died in 1980 of sudden infant death syndrome, as did a 3-month-old in 1983, he said. In 1985, a third child, who was 10 months old, died after contracting pneumonia. The Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office has pulled records on the deaths for review, Britt said. Kim Vanderhorst reported her sister and nephew missing Friday night.

Police found her sister near her apartment Monday afternoon. She was hanging out on Cecil B. Moore Boulevard, police said. She was being held yesterday at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Institute. Tina Vanderhorst told investiga interest for her, who worked with Frank Antico, to vote for a bar that would be owned by his son," said Geoffrey Jarvis of the law firm Sprague Sprague, an attorney for D'Alessandro.

That proved to be a fateful choice. Mayor Rendell applauded her discretion. At however, she has hardly been rewarded. The day after the vote, commissioner Bennett Levin removed her from the board. And earlier this week, Levin curbed some of her authority as a deputy commissioner.

Now, D'Alessandro wants to see if the commissioner's actions amount to retaliation and run afoul of the state whistleblower law. "I don't know precisely what was in Mr. Levin's head and, I haven't had an opportunity to investigate in detail what he did," Jarvis said. "Obviously, the timing is very suspicious." Levin could not be reached for comment, but the mayor insisted that D'Alessandro was disciplined tries," said Schuler. "I think it's time Pennsylvania inmates have this opportunity to learn responsibility through experiencing the challenges of prison employment." Critics said those benefits would come at the expense of Pennsylvanians who have not committed any crimes.

Despite the approval of several amendments designed to protect civilian jobs, opponents argued that the proposal would enable companies to use cheaper inmate labor. "We're tilting the balance too far toward getting money out of the pris (Wi- 7v I llU -'f v. a The newly constructed steeple rests on the ground before being hoisted to the top of the church. Watching the work are parishioner Flaviano Ong (left) and the Rev. Walker J.

Quinn, the pastor. tomer Responsibility Program because they failed to comply with the program by not applying for the grants. Removal from the program would force the customers to pay the full rate for their gas. The commission, which regulates the utility, will begin the hearing at 10 a.m. at 1600 Arch 15th floor.

Body of N. Phila. man found dumped in Nicetown The body of Damien Wiggins, 20, of North Philadelphia, was found dumped in Fernhill Park in the Nice-town section early yesterday. Police said Wiggins had been shot once in the head. His body, wrapped in plastic and bed coverings, was found by police about 3 a.m.

Investigators said they had no motive or no suspects in the case. State senator's job fair is today in North Phila. The seventh annual job fair sponsored by State Sen. Roxanne Jones Phila.) will be held today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

at Deliverance Evangelistic Church, 21st Street and Lehigh Avenue in North Philadelphia. Employers will represent a variety of organizations on city, state and federal levels offering jobs in fields including medicine, business, food service and cablebroadcast. 3 men killed in blast, fire at refinery are identified The three men killed in a fire at a Pennzoil refinery in Rouseville, were identified yesterday. Two of the men were identified by Pennzoil spokeswoman Carolyn Mag-nuson as Ray Kelosky, 46, of Ellwood City, and John L. Pritchard, 38, of Cooperstown.

Pritchard was employed by Pennzoil, and Kelosky worked for NPS Energy Services. The thhd man was Russell Ward Beers, 61, of Titusville, also an NPS worker, according to Venango County Coroner John Greggs. The three died Monday when tanks of naphtha solvent and oil exploded. Four others were injured, three, of them critically. Investigators from Pennzoil the state Department of Environmental Protection, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration were trying to assess what caused the blast and whether it caused serious environmental damage. Pa. town's recall provisions are ruled unconstitutional Provisions in the Kingston, home-rule charter to recall elected officials violate the state constitution, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled yesterday. The opinion affirms a March ruling by the Court of Common Pleas in Luzerne County, preventing a group called the Kingston Citizens for Change from placing a recall petition against Mayor Gary R.j Reese on the primary ballot. The justices based much of the decision on the court's 1976 ruling invalidating a similar recall effort in Philadelphia, where an attempt was made to remove Mayor Frank Rizzo; after he proposed a heavy tax increase.

The justices in the Rizzo case said that the constitution "indisputably applies to all elected officers, and sets forth in unambiguous language the exclusive method, absent impeachment, conviction of crime or misbehavior in office, of removing such elected officers." Thus Kingston exceeded its powers by providing for a recall, the justices said. Alleged attacker found; prison lockdown called off A lockdown order at the Delaware Correctional Center in Smyrna, Del-was lilted yesterday alter investigators identified the inmate accused of beating a prison guard unconscious, correction officials said, i The inmate, Desi Ricardo Sykes, 24, was moved to a maximum-security unit yesterday. He is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder, correction officials said. Investigators said Sykes struck Samuel Crawford several times in the head with a heavy object Tuesday. Crawford, who has been a guard for eight years, was at Kent General Hospital in stable condition.

Investigators said they were trying to determine what weapons were used and if other inmates were involved. Aide stripped of power in dispute St. Augustine's Church at Fourth and Pine is whole again. The city's fourth-oldest Catholic church lost its steeple in a 1992 storm. A newly constructed one assumed its place atop the church yesterday.

Inquirer photographs by Peter Tobia committee that oversees said he shared his qualms with both Levin and Antico Sr. "My druthers would have been that the son and his partners came into the meeting and gave a presentation like any other businessperson would do," Kenney said. "I didn't see a need to have the elder) Frank there. I called him and told him that after the meeting. It didn't make sense why he was there." Inspector General Benjamin Redmond is expected to issue a report soon on whether Antico actions constitute a conflict of interest.

The mayor has already drawn his conclusion. "I've made it clear that it's an absolute conflict and he shouldn't be involved in any phase of this," Rendell said. Joe Rocks, the mayor's GOP opponent in the Nov. 7 election, takes the issue a giant step farther, calling for Levin to resign. Levin is "protecting very questionable behavior within his department," Rocks said.

"I think the guy should step down and let's see what's going on here." The elder Antico could not be reached for comment. 111. px iouiio board that would oversee the program. Lawmakers also approved provisions that capped inmate participation at 75 percent of the population of the prison, and limited each project to no more than 100 inmates. And they added a section to ensure that businesses near a prison that might be affected by a proposed prison industry could object.

The changes led the AFL-CIO to drop its opposition, although the organization still does not endorse the bill. The deputy commissioner declined to vote on a girlie-club variance. She's in the doghouse now. for other, unspecified reasons. "That has nothing to do with her vote on the zoning board Rendell said at a recent news conference.

"I agree with what Mary D'Alessandro did and if that was the reason for this restriction of duties, I would not support it. I would overrule it." To date, Levin has publicly supported the elder Antico, who has drawn criticism for acting as a booster for his son's strip club. Levin told the Philadelphia Daily News that there was no conflict because Antico had disclosed his son's business interest to him and had not shown his son any favoritism. Councilman James Kenney said Antico Sr. was wrong to attend a neighborhood meeting last week at the Methodist Nursing Home and make a presentation aimed at building public support for the club.

The club owners have the right to appeal the zoning board's denial to Common Pleas Court. The father's open support of the Cheerleaders proposal is particularly questionable given that for several years, has gone after the city's strip joints, shutting down the ones that fail to meet codes, Kenney said. Kenney, who chairs the Council oners," said Rep. William Lloyd Somerset). "My constituents, who pay their taxes, who obey the law, are going to lose their jobs, or at least the opportunity to get new jobs that could be created in the community." The prison industry bill is part of Gov.

Ridge's crime-fighting agenda. Opposition by organized labor kept the bill bottled up for months until lawmakers and union representatives worked out compromise language. The House amended the bill to increase the union presence on state By Peter Nicholas INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Mary-Rita D'Alessandro, a member of the city zoning board, believed she was doing the principled thing when she abstained from voting on a strip club on Front Street. But that stance may have cost her some of her power. As a deputy commissioner of the Department of Licenses and Inspections, she is a colleague of Frank Antico, an official who has been enforcing a crackdown on the city's strip joints.

Antico, it turns out, is the father of one of the owners of a proposed strip clab: Frank Antico Jr. D'Alessandro saw a potential conflict in casting a vote one way or another, and so she abstained when the matter came before the board on Sept. 27. The rest of the zoning board voted 5-0 to deny a variance that would have allowed Antico Jr. and his partners to reopen an adult cabaret, Cheerleaders, located on Front Street near Oregon Avenue.

"She believes it to be a conflict of earn restitution money, of civilian jobs. measure now goes to the Senate. Rep. Jere Schuler Lancaster) said his bill gives inmates a chance to learn job skills and make some money to pay fines, support their families and pay restitution to victims. "Correctional departments in nearly 40 states already successfully maintain private sector prison indus xxuuov upjjiurco win iv ict liiuuDW.

ico put pianto Inmates can learn skills and backers say. Foes fear a loss By Ilunter T. George 2d ASSOCIATED PRESS HARRISBURG After extensive negotiations with organized labor, trie House approved a bill yesterday that would allow private industries to set up plants in state prisons. The bill passed 144-50 over some objections that it could put other Pennsylvanians out of work. The mmmm.