Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 1

eBusiness: Despite tech market slowdown, handheld PCs still hot. Page 1D Sunny High in the mid-70s. www.lsj.com Page 63 1 Tuesday September 11, 2001 jUuuydJiiis 1 Police continue probe of suspect in 1970 killing of Lansing girl By Adam Emerson Lansing State Journal A Lansing man told a fellow inmate at the Ingham County Jail 30 years ago that he abducted and killed Laurie Murninghan, according to search warrants unsealed in Lansing District Court on Monday. Investigators also have a fingerprint that places the man in a pharmacy adjacent to the old Gallagher's Gifts and Antiques Shop, where Laurie was kidnapped about 2 p.m. July 7, 1970.

"He's been the lead suspect for the past 31 years," police Lt. Raymond Hall said. But the man, who's now 54, has never been charged with her death. "We don't have enough to prosecute him," Hall said. Laurie, the Laurie daughter of former Lansing Mayor Max Murninghan, was found July 20, 1970, in a swampy pond just southeast of Mason.

Investigators exhumed her body about a month ago from Lansing's Evergreen Cemetery, hoping DNA evidence might lead them to her killer. The suspect was jailed Monday on unrelated misdemeanor charges and couldn't be reached for comment. Shortly after the 16-year-old Sexton High School junior was found strangled, police suspected the Lan sing man because he closely matched the composite drawing of the attacker, Hall said. But the case was difficult. Although a fingerprint was lifted off a box the man touched at the pharmacy just before the abduction, no fingerprints were found in the gift shop, Hall said.

Christine Gallagher, the gift shop's owner, gave police a detailed description of the man who entered the store and struck her with a pistol before taking $68 and abducting Laurie. But Gallagher couldn't pick him out of a police lineup. The jailhouse confession was a surprise to former Ingham County Prosecutor Raymond Scodeller. "I'm not familiar with that at all," Scodeller said Monday. Please see MURDER, 6A Destructive storm made big mark in a half-hour I I I i.

J3ii eh after Sunday's frightening events ri Ul I III III 111 Mil SY- if 'v' t' 4 I i Area cleans up By Katie Matvias and Adam Emerson Lansing State Journal It lasted less than a half-hour and traveled just over eight miles. But the weekend tornado left millions of dollars in destruction. It caused more than $4 million in damage alone to the Lansing Board of Water and Light's Erickson Power Plant. It damaged trees, homes and barns. It destroyed an auto parts store on Canal Road.

It even pulled a double-wide trailer off its foundation. At its strongest Sunday the twister moved at 110 mph and was 900 feet wide the size of three football fields. "It sounded like a jet plane coming at me," said Benito Zamora, whose Delta Township home was damaged by trees. "I went and opened the door, and there it was. I slammed the door shut just in time." The power plant was shut down after powerful winds ripped apart six towers that cool water used to make electricity.

The tower structure, made of redwood and fiberglass, is 60 feet tall and 120 feet long, BWL spokesman John Strickler said. Most of the $4 million damage will be covered by insurance, he said. Strickler said consumers will likely see no impact. The utility's Eckert Plant near downtown Lansing and a Detroit Edison plant in St. Clair Shores will supply the needed power, as well as electricity reserves.

The storm hit at the right time, considering people don't have to use electricity to cool their homes now, said Mark Nelson, Erickson Plant manager. "If this would've happened in July, we would've been hurting," Nelson said. BWL officials met late Monday to determine what would be the most economical way to provide temporary elec- Closing in Bany Bonds is only seven homers away from tying the season record. SportsPage 1C Rival siblings The ground rules parents need to know to keep peace among warring children. LivingPage IE Bonior to leave post as whip in House By Ellyn Ferguson State Journal correspondent WASHINGTON Rep.

David Bonior will give up his post as the No. 2 Democrat in the House to focus on his gubernatorial campaign. Bonior, who will resign as Democratic whip on Jan. 15, will make the official today, the 10th anniversary ofhis becoming whip in 1991. Despite strong sup Bonior port from unions, Bonior, D-Mount Clemens, lags behind former Gov.

James Blanchard and current Attorney General Jennifer Granholm in the bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. "At the present time, he's considerably behind. He may not be doing the smart thing by giving it up now," said Elwin Hartwig, a history and political science professor at St. Clair County Community College. After he steps down, Bonior will continue to serve in the House until his term ends in 2002.

Inside Local Sports eBusiness Living Ann Landers 2E Classifieds Deaths 5B Lottery 2A Movie ads 2E.3E Opinion 8A Stocks 4D.5D Television Copyright O2001 Lansing State Journal, Lansing, Michigan. A Gannett 9 Newspaper A I i J' "i 4 Senator urges payroll tax cuts Reduction could put cash into economy, top Republican says By Curt Anderson Associated Press WASHINGTON The Senate's top Republican suggested Monday that Congress consider coupling a reduction in the Social Security payroll tax with a cut in capital gains taxes to give the struggling economy a fresh infusion of cash. There are people, at the entry level, who are hit very hard by the payroll tax, Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott said. "If you trying to get money into working people's pockets quickly, that's one option you could consider." i -dent Bush Lott Inside Most Americans support tax cut rollback. Page 3A left himself open to Lott's proposal Monday even as aides, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he was in no hurry to commit to it or any other GOP economic stimulus initiatives.

They said Bush was determined to wait and see whether his tax cuts would revive the economy, a process they conceded could take many days or weeks. The president is moving forward on his plan that promotes economic growth and protects Social Security, but he has not closed the door on other ideas," spokesman Scott McClellan said in Jacksonville, where Bush was promoting his education agenda. Republicans have been pushing to cut the capital gains tax, which now tops out at 20 percent, to 15 percent for two years and to boost government revenue as people sell investments. Many Democrats criticize that proposal as tilted toward the wealthy and worry about the long-term costs. Sens.

Phil Gramm, R-Texas, and Zell Miller, a conservative Democrat from Georgia, said they would introduce legislation today to cut the capital gains tax. Rolling back a portion of the payroll tax that goes to Social Security and Medicare would give a tax cut to more than 30 million workers most earning less than $44,000 a year who were left out of this year's $40 billion in tax rebate checks because they didn't have enough taxable income to qualify. by: Assessing the aftermath: The tornado that tore through the Lansing area on Sunday was particularly damaging to the A-1 Auto Parts Co. store on Canal Road (top photo) and to the CHRIS HOLMESLansing State Journal Board of Water and Light's Erickson Power Plant (above). The power plant sustained more than $4 million in damage, but consumers aren't expected to feel the impact.

tricity from the Canal Road plant. The utility could rent portable cooling systems, Nelson said. Cleanup will take about a week, Strickler said. Sunday's tornado was listed as an Fl. Tornadoes are ranked on an F0 to F5 scale.

The twister was just shy of becoming an F2 tornado, said John Laurens, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids. Scott and Allison Pemberton know the strength of the tornado firsthand. Scott Pemberton's father, John Pemberton, owns the auto Please see TORNADO, 6A ally can wear off. While older people usually recover, they can easily spread the illness to infants too young for vaccinations. Whooping cough can kill babies.

So experts warn new parents to keep infants away from anyone who's coughing, even as scientists study whether millions of Americans should start getting booster doses of whooping cough vaccine just as many get regular tetanus shots. The goal is to develop boosters for older children and adults ugh Not a pretty sight: Theron Waterman surveys the damage Monday at the Board of Water and Light's Erickson Power Plant, where a tornado ripped apart six cooling towers on Sunday. Waterman worked at the Board of Water and Light for 33 years, including several at Erickson. Most of the damage there will be covered by insurance. 1980-1 989 1990-1999 5- 10-19 20 and older Prevention; Merck Manual Associated Press Sponsored Whoomng co affects more young people Whooping cough is on the rise Whooping cough is suddenly striking more teenagers and young adults, who in turn are passing it to vulnerable infants too young to have had their vaccinations.

Doctors say the increase in older patients comes because the vaccine they received as a baby eventually wears off. so there's "a wall of protection around the newborn baby," said Dr. Michael Decker, a Vanderbilt University professor who has studied whooping cough, also called pertussis, for 20 years. He just joined vaccine manufacturer Aventis Pasteur, which is working to bring a booster shot sold in Canada to the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 56,775 whooping cough cases during the 1990s, a 51 percent increase from the 1980s.

By Lauran Neergaard Associated Press WASHINGTON Whooping cough is one of those diseases most people think is history but the dangerous germ that can leave sufferers gasping for air is making a comeback. The cough so strong it can break a rib once hit mostly babies and toddlers, but now it's striking more and more teenagers and young adults. Apparently the whooping cough vaccinations Americans get as babies eventu- 20,000 Younger than 1 1- Sources: Centers for Disease Control and DISCIPLED NATION PLAN CURRICULUM WORKSHOP For pastors and lay leaders am 00 The Amy Foundation I 877-727-4262 or 517-323-6233 i wmv.amvfound.org Lanriivrr Center Saturday, Getter 6, I. -I i I know and do what is right Enabling your church to.