The Springfield News-Leader from Springfield, Missouri • Page 9

THURSDAY. JUNR 16. 19SS oz Daily record 2 Across the Ozarks 3 Marketplace 7-8 The News-Leader To report local news, call 836-1126 SECTION low ft inySooiiiyi By Gloria Sunderman The News-Leader An administrative hearing to determine whether three structures in a south Springfield apartment complex are dangerous buildings has been continued. Building Regulations Director Cory Smith, who is conducting the hearing, said he wants to hear additional evidence from building inspectors. The inspectors have testified about only five of the apartment units, he said.

The hearing centers on three structures in the Wind-stead Commons complex at 718 W. Downing St. The city contends the structures, which house 18 apartments, are safety hazards. Smith continued the hearing Wednesday afternoon at the request of Assistant City Attorney Dennis Budd. Budd said building officials tried Tuesday to inspect all apartments in the three structures but were denied access to some of the units.

The city wants to request a search warrant to complete the inspections but has not had time to do so, he said. Budd said he probably will ask the Municipal Court to grant a search warrant in the next few days. Smith said he expects to resume the hearing in about two weeks. During three hours of testimony Wednesday afternoon, building officials said they found structural, electrical and plumbing problems when they inspected the three structures. Structural engineer Jerry King said he observed walls, floors, ceilings and stairways in poor condition.

In one building, the floor was spongy, which indicates it is starting to come apart, King said. Stairways were decayed, and steps were rotted, loose or gone, he said. "Some of the (steps) were rotted so bad at the end supports that I wouldn't want to try to walk on them," King said. Electrical inspector Dale Tucker, plumbing inspector John Buchholz and combination inspector Phil Lovetere also said they found problems. The plumbing problems included missing water heaters, toilets and sewer caps, Buchholz said.

Lovetere said he observed a beehive in a hole in one of the buildings and fungus on a wall, as well as numerous structural problems. Lovetere also said he Please see HEARINGPage 2B Council considers penalties to deter false burglar alarms IlllHiil By Gloria Sunderman The News-Leader Springfield businesses and residents soon may have to pay more attention to their burglar alarms. The City Council is considering an ordinance that would penalize property owners for alarms that malfunction and summon, police when no break-in has occurred. A property owner would have to pay $25 for each false alarm after the fifth incident and $50 for each false alarm after the 12th incident. The council will give first reading to the proposal Monday night and will discuss the issue at its July 5 meeting.

City officials say the proposal would help reduce the number of false burglar alarms and the number of police calls. They estimate police respond to 16 false alarms a day. Officials say false alarms cost the city $13.92 each, or $104,662 a year, and contribute to wear and tear on police vehicles. Councilwoman Norma Champion said she asked city officials to draw up the proposal after she became aware of the problems with burglar alarms. She said the false alarms take officers off patrol for at least 20 minutes at a time.

"It seems to be the same group of people, the same offenders over and over," she said. "Their system needs to be repaired or replaced or something." At the same time, the ordinance would help businesses and residents in the long run. Champion said. With so many false alarms, an officer could tend to take a call casually, she said. "We hope this will make people very aware of the extent of the problem and take measures to correct it," she said.

In drafting the proposal, city officials met with security industry representatives. Those discussions resulted in the reduction of the proposed penalty, Champion said. She said the proposal started with a fine of 100 per false alarm. The security industry representatives say they plan to monitor the council's consideration of the proposal. The ordinance may deter some people from using security systems because they may fear having to pay the fines, said Jim Vydra, president of the Pro Tech Systems.

He said most of the false alarms are at the same places, and there might be a better way of handling the problem. At the same time, Vydra said, the ordinance's licensing aspect would help improve industry standards by requiring companies to do a better job checking the backgrounds of installers. The ordinance would require anyone who sells, leases, main-Please see ALARMSPage 2B MmmMi Lightning blamed in fire at new home By John Hoogesteger The News-Leader A lightning strike Wednesday night started a fire that destroyed a house east of Springfield three days before a family was planning to move into it. John and Sharon McConnell and their young son were planning to move into their new home Saturday. They were just waiting for the carpet to be laid to close the deal.

"We just couldn't believe it," John McConnell said Wednesday night as the couple watched firefighters. "We're really fortunate that the lightning struck before we moved in so we didn't lose any of our belongings things that we couldn't replace," he said. "It's actually fortunate it hit our house," Sharon McConnell said. "It was the only unoccupied one in the subdivision." The single-story home is in the Thousand Oaks subdivision, west of Greene County and a half-mile south of Greene County D. At about 8:40 p.m.

Terry Owen, who lives next door, heard the lightning strike. "It struck so hard I thought it was my house that was hit. It rattled all my windows," Owen said. "It knocked the power off for about 30 seconds. I looked outside after it hit, but I didn't see anything.

"A few minutes after the strike, my wife came in and said she smelled smoked. We checked through our house, and when we didn't find anything we looked outside and saw flames coming from the roof of their house." Logan-Rogersville Chief George Nettell said the roof was engulfed and flames were shooting about 20 feet in the air when firefighters arrived. The $75,000 house was insured and the contractor will have it rebuilt for the McConnells in about three months. But that won't solve all their problems. "We're half-packed and there are people who are planning to move into the home we're renting in July," Sharon McConnell said.

to" llilllBiii Woman, 2 girls in Idaho; police end investigation -aamaMtMg Mike WingoThe News-Leader A firefighter with the Logan-Rogersville Volun- Wednesday night. The fire was started by light-teer Fire Department battles a blaze that de- ning during a thunderstorm that moved through stroyed a home southeast of Springfield on the area. Longtime newsman Jim Billings dies at 78 By Bill Maurer The News-Leader The Springfield Police Department has ended its investigation of the disappearance of a city resident and her two young children; Detective Mike Adams said Wednesday afternoon. Adams said he was told Kim Brockman, 25, and her daughters, Rebecca, 6, and Mary, 2, willingly accompanied a man to the Salmon, Idaho, area. Kim Brockman and the man have known each other for years, Adams was told.

"The information that I have is, yes, she is with him," Adams said. Initially, police investigated the disappearance of the Brockmans as a missing-persons case. The man was a suspect in the investigation. No criminal activities were involved, so no charges will be filed, Adams said. Due to an editing error, The News-Leader incorrectly reported in some editions Wednesday that Springfield resident Robert Ingram was the man who drove the Brock-mans to Idaho.

Ingram is a friend of Kim Brockman and her husband, Mark. He was not in any way involved in Kim Brockman's trip to Idaho. A neighbor last saw Kim Brockman and her children on June 7 when they left their house at 440 S. New Ave. They were walking to Children's Home Park, about six blocks away.

Adams said Wednesday afternoon he was told Kim Brockman and the man worked together in Hamilton, Ohio, at one time. She befriended the man when he was hospitalized for medical problems and encouraged him to attend church, Adams was told. When the Brockman family moved to Springfield, Kim Brockman and her former co-worker continued their friendship. Adams was told the man had telephone bills ranging from $500 to $1,000 a month because he continued to call Kim Brockman from Ohio. After a nationwide alert was issued last week, the Springfield office of the FBI told Adams Tuesday the Brockmans were safe in central Idaho.

Adams said he called an Idaho attorney who was able to confirm she willingly left Springfield with her daughters. Kim Brockman couldn't be contacted Wednesday at a Salmon, Idaho, house where she's believed to be staying because the house doesn't have a telephone listing. Meanwhile, Mark Brockman filed papers to end their marriage of seven years. A divorce petition was filed on his behalf Wednesday afternoon, seeking custody of his daughters and child support. By John Hoogesteger The News-Leader Long-time Springfield journalist James Hopkins Billings, who worked for Springfield newspapers over a span of almost 50 years, died Tuesday.

Billings, 78, died at Cox Medical Center South after a long illness. "He was a fine gentleman and newsman. He was a pleasure to know and a pleasure to work with," said Marty Eddlemon, News-Leader sports columnist. "He was a bridge from the old days of competing newspapers to the modern era," Eddlemon said. "He was exceptionally knowledgeable of people in the area.

He had a touch of the Ozarks in him and he related quite well with readers." Frank Farmer, retired News-Leader editorial writer, said Billings was an important part of the newspapers during an important time. "Jim Billings helped shape the course of the paper at a time when the paper had as much to do as any entity in shaping Springfield," Farmer said. When Farmer started as a reporter at the paper, Billings was his editor. "He was a good influence on a young reporter," Farmer recalled. "He was tough.

He expected you to be able to get the stories covered. He was also a good grammarian, a good speller and a man who appreciated good writing. "And he was a witty, intellectual man with a deep, philosophical sense of humor. He had tremendous integrity and professionalism. When he left the newspaper, there was a big hole to Billings, a Springfield native, began his newspaper career in 1927 when he landed a part-time job at the Springfield Daily News during his senior year in high school.

After two years at Drury College, Billings left Springfield to attend the Columbia University School of Journalism, but stayed less than a year. When he returned, he worked for the Springfield Press and then briefly worked for United Press in Memphis, before landing a job as a page editor with the Springfield Leader Press. In the early '30s the Daily News and Leader Press merged some operations. Billings was laid off and briefly sold cars, but he returned to the newsroom in 1935. He worked as a reporter for several years.

He left the Leader Press in 1946 to work in public relations and in 1951 he went to work at The Bias, a weekly Springfield news magazine. Billings was news editor of The Daily Journal in Coffeyville, for two years before returning to the Leader Press in 1957. He remained with the paper for another 29 years, retiring in 1976. During that time he moved from being a copy editor to city editor, editor of the Sunday paper, and finally editorial writer. See obituary, Page 2B James Billing Veteran newsman dies n.ft "28353-44 Have a heart The Greene County Chapter of the American Heart Association is holding a fund-raising auction at 9 tonight at the Ramada Hotel-Hawthorn Park.

Tickets are $12.50 per person. For reservation information, call the heart association office at 881-1121. Microwave warning A University of Missouri food specialist says that although microwave ovens have many uses, home canning of food is not one of them. Until more research is available, the university is recommending that people not use microwaves for home canning. Camp concert A benefit concert for the Southwest Center for Independent Living's Life Skills Training Day Camp will be held at 7:30 tonight at Ellis Hall, Southwest Missouri State University.

The camp is designed for young people with disabilities. Proceeds will go to the camp. Wednesday drawing: $279 Tf CK6 5 numbers.