Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 16

3Bw MetroState news Star Tribune WednesdayOctober 71987 Audubon Larry Race again asks for new trial wife support quest to overturn 1 983 conviction i i lYMflitfflHiilff -ft. ,1....,... Parents of dead By M.L. Smith Staff Writer Convicted murderer Larry Race went to the Minnesota Supreme Court Tuesday for the second time in Vh years to request a new trial in the death of his wife during a late-night anniversary cruise on Lake Superior. Once again Race's three children, his mother-in-law, father-in-law and friends sat patiently in the courtroom.

Ever since Debbie Race's body washed ashore along Lake Superior in May 1982, Debbie Race's children and parents have maintained that Larry Race is innocent. He failed to convince a jury that his wife's death was an accident. David W. Larson, Race's attorney, contends his client deserves a new trial because new evidence has surfaced since his conviction in 1983. dry suit and tried to swim about a mile to shore, towing his wife.

But Race said the cold water cramped his hands and he returned to the boat, signaled for help, restarted the engine and began searching for his wife. Nineteen hours later, Debbie Race's body washed ashore. The prosecution maintains that Larry Race feigned engine trouble and slashed the raft, leaving Debbie Race to die in the frigid water. "Anyone who has known Larry knows he couldn't have done it. You know he couldn't do a thing like that," Sylvia Selvey, the victim's mother, said yesterday outside Supreme Court chambers.

Still at issue in the case is whether there was a second raft. A rubber raft Larry Race The fact that the case has gone on this long and has come before the Supreme Court is unusual, according Race's attorney. "Usually, you get conviction, appeal it and if you lose, that's it," Larson said. But Race said that if he loses this round, he wants to take his case to the federal courts. Around the Twin Cities Minneapolis Wax, Minnesota Orchestra manager, will leave for David Wax, general manager of the Minnesota Orchestra, will leave Dec.

7 to become executive director of the Houston Symphony. Wax, 45, who came to the Minnesota Orchestra in 1984, will succeed Gideon Toeplitz, who left Houston in July to become managing director of the Pittsburgh Symphony. "My decision to leave the Minnesota Orchestra was very difficult," Wax said. "My associations with the musicians, the staff and the community have been rewarding. The last 14 months have been particularly remarkable, watching the orchestra re St.

PaulHome sued over sex-assault claim 'mmmmmA ----iiiifflhirtiiiiiiTnlMmi Staff Photo by Art Hager Plenty o' pumpkins Farm in Lake Elmo. To be sure that 36 don't miss out on their wares, spell out the name of the game. Chad Bergmann, 11, left, and his 9-year-old brother Troy have toted a lot of pumpkins in their young lives. Their parents, Eileen and Dick Bergmann, raise them A mentally retarded woman who claims she was sexually assaulted while a resident of Dungarvin a St. Paul home for the mentally retarded, has sued the home for $50,000.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court, alleges that officials of the home, at 1086 Como Place, did not take adequate measures to prevent the assault in September 1985. The woman, who is physically handi Studies question effectiveness of children's meningitis vaccine District Judge Jack Litman denied Race's petition earlier this year, dis-missing the new evidence as "vague" and "contradictory" and noting that it likely wouldn't have changed the outcome of the trial. But Larson said he believes that any new evidence could sway the jury in his client's favor. The evidence used to convict Race was so weak that anything could have affected the outcome of the trial Larson told the Supreme Court yesterday. According to Race, now 38, a Hoyt Lakes native, he and his wife decided to take a ride aboard their 21 -foot cabin cruiser after celebrating their 14th anniversary with a dinner at Lakeview Castle near Duluth.

He told police that the boat developed engine trouble and his wife, who couldn't swim, panicked. She took to a life raft A second raft on board leaked, so, Race said, he donned a Houston Symphony spond so brilliantly to Edo de Waart's leadership. Among Wax's responsibilities in Houston will be finding a replacement for music director Sergiu Commissiona, who will leave at the end of the season. Wax will be adviser to the orchestra search committee. Before his arrival in Minnesota, Wax served as general manager of the Sacramento (Calif.) Symphony.

A search for his successor will begin immediately, said Richard Cisek, president of the Minnesota Orchestral Association. capped, was in her 30s at the time of the assault, said Jim Betz, her attorney. The woman now lives with her mother, he said. According to the lawsuit, an adult male resident of the facility committed the assault. Dungarvin officials failed to supervise the man and had untrained staff on duty at the time, the lawsuit alleges.

Dungarvin officials could not be reached for comment. According to police reports: Cros by offered the victim $30 tor sex, then took her to his apartment. There, he choked her until she was unconscious. She awoke and found herself tied up in his bed. Crosby then raped her several times.

She eventually escaped when Crosby left the room. food drive empty grocery bags with informa tion about the kinds of foods needed canned goods, cereal and" pasta products to area homes. The Scouts will return Nov. 14 to collect the bags and take the food to neighborhood col lection points. "This is a major program that will address the ongoing problem of hunger in Minnesota," said Jim Soicola, president of Cargill Inc.

and chairman of Scouting for Food. "It will also help Scouts experience the high ideals of the Scouting movement. shotgun robs TCP his 20s, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, with a slim to medium build, dark brown hair and a full black beard. He was wearing a red Canterbury Downs baseball cap, sunglasses, a long-sleeved olive drab Army shirt, and was carrying a bright orange plastic bag with black lettering. trust fund, the interest from which is expected to finance the new professorships.

One position, to be named for Lovell, will be for an Old Testament scholar, reflecting LovelPs interest in the scripture. The other oosition will be named for the Rev. George Weinman of Roseville Lutheran Church, Lov- ell's pastor and friend. reports. group up acid rain monitoring I By Diana Ettel Gonzalez Staff Writer The makeshift acid rain monitoring station in Steve and Barbara Wolf front yard looked more like a display at a school science fair than the seating for a National Audubon Society press conference.

i I But Society President Peter Berle used the St. Paul setting Tuesday announce the organization's 'new monitoring network, designed convince Congress to tighten standards on acid rain pollution. Yestec-day, the Wolfs' home became one cif 80 acid rain monitoring stations ifi that network. "We want congressmen to be aware of the fact that acid rain is a problem and (we want) our friends in the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency!) who say this really isn't a problem to go nuts," Berle said. The national campaign was begun last week firortl Washington, D.C.

"Minnesota has strict laws, but that doesn't help the state (because) 92 percent of the sources of acid rain come from outside the state," He said. Like others in the network, the Wolfs will collect samples of rain or snow and measure their acidity with Iitmis paper. The results won't be painstakingly precise, but Audubon officials said the purpose of their low-tech- stations is to illustrate the nationwide problem of acid rain, not to break new scientific ground. Environmentalists say acid-rain threatens fish and other marine life in sensitive areas where the environment is unable to neutralize acid. Acid rain also erodes urban structures such as monuments, they say.

i Test results will be reported each month to the media and Congress. The U.S. Senate is considering legislation that could halve emissions of sulfur dioxide, a major contributor to acid rain. Berle said Audubon officials are optimistic about the Senate bill, but are worried that the House won't take strong measures against acid rain pollution. Canadian officials also have been pushing for the bill.

At a conference this week in Philadelphia, Canada's environment minister blamed emissions from U.S. factories for damaging thousands of lakes across the border and accused U.S. government researchers of underplaying the issue. Canadian officials and environmentalists disputed a recent U.S. government report that concluded that only a small fraction of U.S.

lakes and streams have been damaged by acid rain, and that the damage is not likely to worsen significantly under current air pollution levels. Except for some piecemeal information, Audubon officials have not been able to get federal government data until one to two years after it has been collected, said Tom McGui-gan, state representative for the group. "We think if we have a particularly bad episode, people ought to know that. They ought to know that a week ago, they had a rainfall that is approaching the acidity of vinegar," Acid rain continued on page 8B at forum Kathy Mackdanz, also an incumbent, agreed. "I do not believe that comprehensive high schools are taking a back seat to the magnet schools in our city," she said.

Candidates also had different views on impending budget cuts and school financing for the next school year. The district made budget cuts last year and will have to deficit spend next year, a situation officials attribute to a shortfall in state financing. Coalition candidates advocate soliciting legislators to put money back into the district. "We need to look to legislators for more resources, said coalition can didate Len Biernat. "We need to convince those legislators that Minneapolis is much different than any other society in our state." violation perform maintenance work on rental property.

Tucker, in a negotiated agreement, was fined $200 and given a 10-day sentence that he didn't have to serve on the condition he have no similar charges in the next year. A city attorney said much of the repair work that Tucker was to perform had been completed. containing cuts and tears was found on Race's boat, and prosecutors maintain that it was the raft that Debbie Race was on. But Larry Race said his wife was on another raft, which a search team never found. Last fall, three years after Race was found guilty of first-degree murder, two Duluth-area residents reported they saw a yelkw-and-blue raft washed up on shore about the same time rescuers were searching for Debbie Race.

But the testimony of Hugh Bernhardt and Theresa Styniski didn't persuade Litman to order a new trial. He said the evidence was "tainted, not credible, vague, contradictory, without corroboration and extremely doubtful." Larson disputed those claims yesterday and asked the Supreme Court to order a new trial. causing about 400 deaths. Hib stands for Haemophilus influenza type although it has nothing to do with influenza. Michael Osterholm of the Minnesota Department of Health said that Minnesota children who got the vaccine were, statistically, more likely to get Hib meningitis and similar infections than were children who did not receive the vaccine.

It is not known whether the vaccine actually increased the risk of disease, or whether the relatively small increase in risk was due to chance. This study was based on 28 cases in vaccinated Minnesota youngsters over a two-year period. "This has been one of the more puzzling issues we've ever had to deal with," Osterholm said at the annual meeting of the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, which is devoted to research on infectious diseases. There is no indication that the vaccine ac pate in the forum last night. Another coalition member, George Dahl, could not attend.

The meeting was not intended to be a debate, said Ann Berget, president of the Washburn parents group, but rather an opportunity for parents to hear the candidates views on issues pertaining to their children's high school education. "We feel that most of the issues talked about so far have had to deal with the elementary (schools). We felt they were neglecting the high schools," she said. In one of the first forums since last month's primary elections, the candidates were divided on several issues, including the competitiveness of the city's regular comprehensive high schools with the magnet or specialty two misdemeanors by the city of Minneapolis: one charge of failing to fix up a rental unit and another for allowing someone to occupy a dwelling unit before it was fixed up as ordered by the city. HenneDin County District Judge Ste- ven Lange ruled that Tucker was to a at Country Sun motorists on Hwy.

1,200 pumpkins St. Paul Man pleads guilty to sexual assault Associated Press New York, N.Y. Studies in Minnesota and some other states raise serious doubts about the effectiveness of a vaccine that has been given to more than 3 million American children to protect against a sometimes fatal form of meningitis. The reports, presented at a national medical meeting this week, conclude that the vaccine may be far less effective than researchers believed when the vaccine was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1985.

The Minnesota study raises the possibility that the vaccine might have done more harm than good in that state. But other researchers reported opposite conclusions. They said the vaccine directed against the Hib bacterium is effective and should continue to be used. This type of bacterium is believed responsible for up to 10,000 cases of meningitis (inflammation of the lining of the brain) each year, A St. Paul man has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a prostitute in July after choking her and tying her up in his apartment.

Timothy Joseph Crosby, 31, 120 W. Iowa pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual assault. Ramsey County District Court Judge James Lynch set sentencing for Nov. 18. Boy Scouts begin 1 Area Boy Scouts launched a campaign Tuesday to raise 1 million pounds of food for 74 food shelves in Minneapolis and neigboring counties.

The project, called Scouting for Food, is sponsored by the Viking Council of the Boy Scouts of America and will cover Hennepin, Scott, Carver, Anoka, Kandiyohi, Chippewa, Lac Qui Parle, Yellow Medicine, Renville, Meeker, McLeod and Wright counties. The food drive will not include St. Paul. On Nov. 7, the Scouts will deliver St.

PaulMan carrying A man with a shotgun robbed the Twin Cities Federal Banking and Savings office at 1988 Suburban Av. in St. Paul Tuesday and fled with an undisclosed amount of money, the FBI said. No one was hurt. The robbery was reported at 1:45 p.m.

after the man fled alone on foot. He was described as a white man in School board candidates spar tually causes the illness, but it may temporarily weaken the body's normal defense against this germ and this could allow some cases to occur. Three Minnesota cases occurred within two weeks of vaccination. Another study by Lee Harrison of the federal Centers for Disease Control found that the vaccine was ineffective in Missouri and elsewhere, but that its effectiveness varied in different regions. Osterholm said the Minnesota study found no link to any particular lot of vaccine, or any other clear explanation for the problem.

He said more research is need to explain the regional variations in the vaccine's effectiveness. "We're reaching the point where we may want to stop using this vaccine," said Dr. Dan Granoff, a pediatrician at Washington University in St. Lou-Vaccine continued on page 8B high schools. Coalition members said the comprehensive schools did not offer an education comparable in quality to the magnet high schools.

"Comprehensive high schools are not a competitive alternative to to the other types of high schools that parents can choose," said coalition candidate Sandra Harp. Coalition candidate Ann Kaari agreed. "Comprehensive high schools do not offer the same qualities of education as our magnet schools," she said. School Board Member Joy Davis disagreed, saying that the diverse curric-ulums offered by comprehensive schools are an asset, not a liability. "I have chosen not to support specialty high schools that get focused on a single subject," Davis said.

guilty of the first misdemeanor, but innocent of the second due to lack of evidence. He is scheduled to be sentenced today and faces up to 90 days in jail andor a maximum fine of $700. Tucker pleaded guilty in July to two other misdemeanors for failing to By Jon Jeter Staff Writer It seemed as though the school board candidates from the Minneapolis Quality Education Coalition were saying "Anything you can do we can do better." And the incumbents they seek to replace jn the Nov. 3 election seemed to counter with "Talk is cheap." The two sides jousted at Washburn High School Tuesday, with each taking turns addressing educational issues that may help decide the Nov. 3 election.

The Washburn High School Parents Advisory Council invited the seven candidates, three incumbents, three coalition members, and newcomer Carol Ann White to partici St. Paul Luther seminary given $1 .5 million Elva Lovell of St. Paul has given Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary $1.5 million, which will allow the school to create two top-ranking faculty positions. Lovell, who now lives in a St. Paul area nursing home, lived in the St.

Paul neighborhood surrounding the seminary for many years and be friended many ot its teachers. Most of the money will go into a Compiled from staff and news services Tucker found guilty of housing code Associated Press A St. Louis Park man who built a 40-foot-high treehouse in his back yard was found guilty Tuesday of a housing code violation on another property he owns. Mark Tucker had been charged with.