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

PAGE 0k I TODAY'S OZARKS2B I DAILY RECORD 2B I LOTTERY 2B I DEATHS 4B I LIFE TIMES 5B MONDAY, October 16, 2000 News-Leader Questions? Story Ideas? Call our Help Desk at 836-1 199. IB Judges will hear 3 disputes, including one involving a 1997 fatal wreck. The driver and the trucking company argue that sovereign immunity affects personal, not subject matter jurisdiction, and can be waived. The commission waived it by omitting it from its first motion to dismiss. They also maintain that sovereign immunity does not bar a third party from seeking contribution to a judgment Attorneys for the commission will argue that sovereign immunity deals with subject matter jurisdiction, can only be waived by the General Assembly and was properly By Carmel Perez Snyder News-Leader JEFFERSON CITY Three cases with links to southwest Missouri will heard by the Missouri Supreme Court this week.

The court will hear oral arguments Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The first case deals with a September 1997 wreck on Interstate 44 in Laclede County involving an overturned tractor-trailer and a van. A van driven by Jack R. Kramer of Springfield struck a tractor-trailer that had overturned. Kramer's son, Kyle, 11, was killed.

Missouri Highway Patrol reports at the time said the tractor-trailer ran off the right side of the road and overturned when swerving back onto the roadway in front of the Kramer van. In separate actions, the Kramers sued the driver of the prohibits the death penalty for anyone who aids and abets in a felony where death results but who does not kill the victim. In another case to be heard Thursday, Pulaski County attorney James L. Thomas will argue against the Chief Disciplinary Counsel decision in suspending his law license. The Chief Disciplinary Counsel argues that Thomas violated rules of professional conduct by filing a false plead-ing, failing to safeguard his client trust account, and fail- ing to diligently represent a client.

Memorial services planned for racer From Our Staff Funeral services for NASCAR truck racer Tony Dean Roper will be at 12:30 p.m. Strolling to out hunger SPRINGFIELD Parking limited for Cheney visit Those wishing to attend vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney's speech today at Evangel University should park in nearby Smith Park and enter the campus from the Division Street side, Evangel officials said Sunday. The speech is free and open to the public. Officials said parking is limited for the event, which begins at 11 a.m. in the Mabee Student Fitness Center, near the baseball fields on the northwest side of the Evangel campus.

Doors will open at 10 a.m. Off-campus visitors are asked to enter the building through the west door. For tickets, call local Republican Party headquarters at 869-7281. Appearing with Cheney will be the Evangel University Concert Choir and the Evangel University Pep Band. Police investigating shots fired from car Springfield police were questioning a suspect in connection with shots fired Sunday afternoon on the city's east side.

No one was injured and nothing was apparently hit by the shots, which were fired from a car in the 2300 block of Cherry Street. Officers responding to the call saw a possible suspect in a car on North National Avenue. The suspect got out of his vehicle and ran, but was captured a short time later near National and Scott Street and held for questioning. The investigation was continuing. Technology walk to benefit area schools A 5K Run-Walk for Technology will begin at 8:30 a.m.

Oct. 28 at Hillcrest High School. The event is a fund-raiser for all schools that wish to participate. The entry fee is $10 and the first 500 registrants receive a free T-shirt. All registration fees and funds raised by schools stay at those schools.

The foundations will give $1,200 in prizes to runners and school fund-raisers. A trophy will be given to the school that raises the most money. The event is sponsored by Opfer Communications Bank of America, Gordmans and the Greek Center. IfllJI UUIJI, W''WfWPH. 111.4 IIBMJ J'l I' II in.

lt i 1 Churches' Crop Walk raises funds to help feed the needy. By Tom Bray News-Leader Bruce Callen was ready to walk and roll. He and his family strode briskly toward the start line of the Crop Walk to feed needy people, Sunday at National Avenue Christian Church in Springfield. "I think we'll make it," he said with confidence. The entire five miles? "Five?" he puzzled.

"I thought it was three!" Nope, five. Jake Ray, 6, didn't care. "I could walk a hundred miles," he declared. Jake, Bruce and 140 other walkers all lined up to help local churches raise money for Ozarks Food Harvest locally and Church World Service nationally. Rain clouds looked threatening, but the storm waited.

The walkers didn't. They brought their "stop hunger" signs, their best walking shoes and more than $6,000 in donations. Each year, 250,000 Crop-walkers nationwide participate in more than 2,000 local Crop Walks. Houses of worship and their congregations collaborate on the walk, said local Crop Walk coordinator the Steve J.P. Liang News-Leader Desiree Wallenburg, 12, (center) participated in Sunday's Crop Walk with Desiree Larkin, 13, (left) and Erin Stelford, 14.

The walk, which started at National Avenue Christian Church, raised funds for Ozarks Food Harvest. tractor-trailer, Roy S. Golden of Benton, and McNeill Trucking Co. McNeill in turn, sued the Missouri State Highway and Transportation Commission for contribution to the judgment McNeill and Golden allege that the uneven and rough road surface made the highway unreasonably dangerous. Trial courts granted the highway commission's motions to dismiss the case based on sovereign immunity, which in many cases shields government from lawsuits.

stamp Nationwide, 237,731 people walked last year and more were expected this year. In all, 4,349,993 have hoofed it since the event began 15 years ago. More than $192 million has been raised. Some churches raised the money en masse. Some individuals raised their own funds, a pledge at a time.

But 1960 movie "Tormented" in which she played the ghost of a woman who fell to her death from a lighthouse. About the same time, she married Herbert Hutner, an investment banker, former movie studio owner and an ex-husband of Zsa Zsa Gabor. Between them, they have rubbed shoulders and become friends with many well-known people. Hutner never forgot her roots and visited Branson often, helping care for her parents as they grew older. When her mother died in 1995, Reding See GAZEBO, Page 3B ing is not usually the best way to preserve a landmark.

"But if it's a case of move it or lose it let's move it and let's keep it" he said. Guelcher has talked with Burton, Drury President John Moore and project architect John Oke-Thomas. "It certainly sounds like an interesting project" he concluded. "Almost every preservation battle is a compromise," Guelcher said. Burton disagrees: "I don't like to say the word compromise.

The challenge is to address the issue of future function." Guelcher agrees that func asserted. The second case is a death penalty appeal from William Rousan. A jury chosen in Greene County convicted Rousan in 1996 in the September 1993 shooting deaths of Charles and Grace Lewis of Bonne Terre. Rousan argues that his counsel was ineffective. He asserts that his lawyers failed to call his son, who would have testified that Rousan did not kill the Lewises or direct that they be killed but simply went to their farm to steal.

The Eighth Amendment To leam mm For Crop Walk information: Church World Service, 28606 Phillips P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515. 1-800-297-1516, fax (219) 262-0966. hripVww.churchvvorld service.orgcrop.html Jean Cantwell (left), the founder of Blossoms of Branson, talks with Juli Reding Hutner in the gazebo. Blossoms of Branson is dedicated to enhancing the town by encouraging people to create floral landscapes, Cantwell says.

Kathryn BucKstatt News-Leader center, offering it as a museum that could include the church's history as well as the history of the black community and other cultures. Moore said this would be the first such facility in the city and Drury is proud to be a part of that. "If it's an African-American resource and the African-American community is happy who are we to complain?" Guelcher said. Carolyn Moncrief. a community activist business owner and former president of local chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Gazebo reflects generosity of former Branson resident Wednesday in the Fair Grove High School gymnasium.

Roper, 35, a Fair Grove native, died Saturday in a Roper Dallas hospital of injuries he suffered Friday night when his truck hit a wall at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. Roper's cousin, Kyle Farmer, 39, of Fair Grove, on Sunday remembered the racer as a man who always had a smile. "If you ever needed anybody to talk to, you could talk to him," said Farmer, who-grew up with Roper and said the two cousins were like brothers. Roper didn't have an enemy because of his "electric personality," his cousin said. Racing was Roper's life, Farmer said.

The subject of a fatal crash on the racetrack had never come up, he said. "I think he knew that it could happen, but I don't think he ever put the belts on and the helmet on thinking it would happen." Meanwhile, prayers and messages of condolence continued to flow into the message board on the Tony Roper Web page, tonToper.com. By Sunday evening, there were more than 500 posts. In Fort Worth, flags at the Texas Motor Speedway flew at half-staff and a moment of silence was held before Sunday's Excite 500 for Roper and for the 17 U.S. sailors killed in the attack of the USS Cole.

Visitation for Roper will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Greenlawn Funeral Home North in Springfield. Burial on Wednesday will be in Mount Comfort Cemetery in Springfield. Memorial contributions may be made to the Tony Roper Scholarship Fund for Fair Grove High School in care of the Bank of Bolivar. Obituary information is on Page 4B.

This story contains material from The Associated Press. culture National Organization for Women, is pleased with the plan. "I think it will be a great place to come," she said. As far as Drury's unusual way of rebuilding it "After 133 years, it probably needs to be redone," she said. But Athel Ransom, the current NAACP president isn't holding his breath.

"I'll have to see (the diversity center) before I believe it." If Drury keeps its part of the bargain, we will all see it next spring. Contact Me trs-Leader columnist Linda Leicht at Ikkhtdspringfiarinettcom. I' Correction The body of Rachelle Anderson, 18, who had been missing for several days, was found Friday near Cape Fair in Stone County. Because of a reporting error, the location was incorrect in Saturday's and Sunday's News-Leader. Readers may request a correction by calling the assignment desk at 836-1258, day or night.

Our city editor is Bil Tatum, 836-1199; or fax, 837-1381. Rev. Lorene Moore, pastor at Church of the Brethren. More than 140 people representing 30 churches participated locally. "This is a really neat nationwide effort," said Callen, who represented Messiah Lutheran.

"It's a great way to fight hunger in the community." that is now Missouri 248. "I remember visitors coming in and asking what the elevation was here, and if it was true that people here didn't wear shoes," Reding Hutner laughs. After graduating from Branson High School, the former cheerleader moved away, settling in Los Angeles where she took a job as a secretary for a photographer. He sent her photo to a contest to be the mermaid at nearby Marineland. Reding Hutner landed the job and was soon signed by an agent who got her a contract at Warner Bros.

Among her movie roles was the lead in the A't Linda A- lei Leicht Springfield, has called Drury's plan "a sham and a shame." He believes the project would destroy the church's architectural and historic integrity. Jim Guelcher, with the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Chicago, has heard about Washington Avenue Baptist and he agrees that deconstructing the build all donned their sneakers for the helpful jaunt. Well, not all of them. Coco, a long-haired dachshund, and Chewie, a cocker spaniel, tackled the route barefoot, tugging eagerly at the leash of Keith Brooks. "They've been in training," said Brooks.

"We walk every morning." tion is the key. The most important thing to remember about buildings is that they "are in a real estate market and they can't be looked at as museum pieces," Guelcher philosophized. Burton's philosophy: "It is not sufficient to restore a building and mothball it Buildings need to be put into a viable use for today's functions, as well as future functions." How a building is used and appreciated by the community is an important part of its value. Drury intends to use the church building as a diversity By Kathryn Buckstaff News-Leader BRANSON The natural beauty of North Beach Park on the Taneycomo lakefront has an added touch of elegance thanks to the generosity of a former native and her famous friends. The Victorian-style Gazebo by the Lake, to be dedicated Wednesday, was built in memory of Juli Reding Hutner's parents, Ruth and Roy Reding, and her sister, Virginia Reding Gray.

Reding Hutner grew up in Branson, where her parents owned Reding Novelties and Antiques on the country road university's purchase of the historic building and its plans to dismantle it bricks, windows, floors and pews then reassemble it nearby. The plan gives the congregation a new, larger facility and the university the property to construct a new science center. Drury promises to make the reconstructed building into a diversity center that will showcase Springfield's black community. That should make everybody happy. But not everybody believes Drury's motives are pure.

Richard Burton, president of Historic Properties of Proposed diversity center preserves building, The buildings where we live, work and play reveal a lot about us as individuals and a society. What we do with them when they get old says a lot too. In the News-Leader's Progress Edition last week, "Cornerstones for Tomorrow," we learned about buildings that have been razed, remodeled and even moved. Tuesday we watched the stvt of a unique effort to save a building and a culture when a symbolic brick was passed from hand to hand from the congreption of Washington Avenue Baptist Church to Drury University. The event represented the.