The Springfield News-Leader from Springfield, Missouri • Page 11

I ACROSS THE OZARKS 2B I NEIGHBORS 3B I DEATHS 4B I LIFE TIMES 6B I COMICS 9B THURSDAY, Septembers, 1996 News-Leader Questions? Story Ideas? Call our Help Desk at 836-1 199. PAGE (Mill the source of the and Greene counties. They still don't know outbreaks in Christian By Susan Wade News-Leader OZARK Eleven cases of hepatitis A have been confirmed in Christian County in the past month and two have been reported in Springfield this week. Hepatitis A is a highly contagious virus transmitted by eating or drinking from the same food or dishes as tary and Ozark Middle School have tested positive for the disease. The health department has not pinpointed where the outbreak began but six cases are in the Sparta area, three in Ozark and one each in Nixa and Highlandville.

"It could get bigger," Edley said. "We're not going to feel comfortable until we've gone one month without a new case." Five cases were reported to the Springfield-Greene County Health Department in August but were Nationwide hepatitis vaccine shortage worries health worker. 58 Tips offered 00 how to avoid hepatitis transmission. 5B probably not related to the Christian County cases, said Barbara Hunter, coordinator for epidemiological services in Greene County. But the two new adult cases are making Hunter uneasy.

"We're monitoring the situation very closely and we're concerned an infected person. The disease also can be carried on a person's hands. The disease is rarely fatal but can make people ill for several weeks. The first Christian County case was diagnosed about a month ago, said Jean Edley, Christian County Health Department administrator. Since then, nine adults and two children students at Sparta Elemen Teen's confession disputed in trial 1 1 Jj MIX BOIS D'ARC Third person sentenced in beating The third suspect in the robbery and beating of an elderly Bois D'Arc woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday for his leading role in the crime.

Brandon Stevens was 16 last November when he and brothers Curtis and Alton Sutton robbed JoAnn Dorser, 65, in her mobile home. Certified to stand trial as an adult, Stevens was found guilty of first-degree robbery in July. The jury recommended 25 years. Greene County Circuit Judge Don Bonacker agreed. Because of the severity of the crime, Stevens will have to serve more than 21 years of the sentence For their part in the robbery, 22, is serving 10 years in prison; Curtis Sutton was sentenced to five years behind bars.

PIERCE CITY Man suspected of killing couple to be extradited Jerimy Sneed, the Pierce City-area man "accused in the shooting deaths of two vendors at the Iowa State Fair, waived extradition Wednesday in Florida and will be taken to Iowa to face charges. Chuck Wood of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said two agents were sent to Miami and will escort Sneed to Iowa today. Wood said after Sneed arrives in Iowa, officials have 24 hours to formally arraign him on first-degree murder charges. Wood said he expects that hearing Friday in Polk County District Court. Sneed, 22, surrendered to Miami authorities Saturday, nearly three weeks after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Sneed is charged with two counts of nrsf-degree murder in the Aug. 12 slayings of Bobie J. Blewer, 56, and his49-yearold wife, Marilyn, of Pierce City. The Blewers, who ran a funnel-cake stand, were found shot to death in their camper at the state fairgrounds. Investigators said Sneed shot the couple during a robbery.

The Blewers' son-in-law, Rodney Borushaski, also is charged in the case. Borushaski, 24, of Granby pleaded innocent Aug. 26 to one felony count of tampering with physical evidence. Prosecutors have accused Borushaski of concealing about $4,000 in cash "for the purpose of interfering with the prosecution of Jerimy Sneed." OZARK Murder-for-hire trial gets change of venue An Ozark man accused of offering $550 and a rifle to two undercover officers to kill his ex-girlfriend was granted a change of venue from Christian County. Billy G.

Bishop's case was transferred to Taney County. A court date has not been set there. Bishop, 34, allegedly hired the officers in June to kill the 25-year-old Springfield woman because he couldn't afford child support. He is charged with conspiracy to commit murder and is being held in the Christian County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. WRIGHT COUNTY Log rolls off of truck, kills Hartville man, 65 A Wright County man was killed Tuesday at a sawmill off Wright County south of Macomb.

Eugene E. Davis, 65, of Hartville died en route to a hospital after he was crushed by a log that rolled off a partially loaded truck. Davis, who had operated a logging business for many years, died of internal injuries, said Wright County Coroner Lynn Hurtt Jeremaine Perry's lawyer says physical evidence doesn't match statements. By Ron Davis News-Leader Jeremaine Perry's statements to the law the words that prosecutors want to use to convict the teen of murder will come to life in court today. Police and juvenile officers are expected to testify that Perry confessed, without coercion or threats, to the 1993 slaying of his grand-father, Samuel Arthur Duke Sr.

"He said, i wouldn't kill my granddad unless his back was to me' so at some distance he pulls the trigger and shoots a bullet into the back of his grandfather's head," lead prosecutor Tim Finnical said Wednesday. But Perry's legal team is already laying the groundwork for disbelief. The lead defender told jurors that "pressures were put on Mr. Jeremaine Perry" to admit to the slaying. And once the teen confessed, attorney Jim Wyrsch said, the police overlooked discrepancies between Perry's statements and the physical evidence.

Discrepancies such as: The lack of blood on Perry's clothes. The lack of gunshot residue on Perry's hands. The lack of Perry's fingerprints on the weapon. "Ultimately," Wyrsch told the jury, "you will have to decide whether his statement to police was voluntary." Perry says it wasn't, and his lawyers have raised the specter of racism, hinting that white police officers were out to get Perry, an African-American with an IQ of 80 and "the emotional functioning of a 10- or 12-year-old." Prosecutors scoff. Perry is guilty, they said, and his own words prove it.

Perry knew details of the crime even before the police did, Finnical said. When questioned by police at 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 4, 1993 two days after the slaying Perry said "he accidentally sh6t his grandfather," Dan Dyer News-Leader Jeremaine Perry hugs a supporter, Emily J. Storms of Grandview, shortly before his trial for the slaying of his grandfather, Samuel Arthur Duke begins Wednesday.

due to the proximity of Christian County," she said. The CDC estimates 138,000 people are infected annually in the United States with hepatitis A. Medical expenses and lost work time are estimated to cost the country $200 million each year. The CDC also estimates 33 percent of Americans have had hepatitis Symptoms of the disease include nausea, vomiting, fever, dark urine, light-colored stools, diarrhea, poor See HEPATITIS, Page 5B Voracious migrating wasps buzz; into Ozarks By Karen Testa The Associated Press German yellow jackets have ar rived in Springfield, packing a painful sting, powerful jaws and an indignant attitude. Until the late 1970s, the exotic wasp species had concentrated on the Northeast But in recent years, if made a faster traipse across the country and just arrived in Springfield its farthest documented point south.

Its arrival was greeted with toxic powders, sprays and insect-nabbing gadgets. "We tried near everything that was on the market, and nothingfazed them," said Jane Walton, whose Springfield home was the unsuspecting host of the wasps' nest. Jane and Larry Walton discovered the winged pests about a month ago near the back door to their home. When store-bought pesticides didn't seem to deter them, Larry Walton tried to fill the hole where they were nesting with caulking. The wasps simply chewed through it.

The Waltons finally contacted the Missouri Department of Conservation when an exterminator pointed out a peculiarity of their unwelcome guests: They were nesting in a building. Usually, native yellow jackets live near the ground and are found when someone hits their nest with a rake or lawn mower. A couple of samples were taken from the Waltons' home and sent to Mike Arduser, an urban wildlife specialist with the department in St. Louis. He confirmed the bugs were German yellow jackets, and that until then, they had never been seen so far south.

The real trouble with German yellow jackets is they adapt well in urban settings and love to feast on everything from garbage to buildings. They have been known to eat through concrete or caulking before it sets. Afternearlyamonthwithabout75 houseguests, the Waltons now have only a few stragglers around their patio. An exterminator was able to kill the queen, which left the other wasps to wander aimlessly and die. Bob Linder News-Leader A thumbs-up from Jonathan Whitehead, 16, and a ride with the Red Baron aerobatic biplanes begins.

Whitehead flew thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. "It was wild," the Glendale High student said. "We did loops and a hammerhead stall." He was one of two kids riding Wednesday. More rides are scheduled today. VV-- Dan Dyer News-Leader Lead prosecutor Tim Finnical uses his hands as he explains to the jury facts about the shots that killed Samuel Arthur Duke Sr.

fact until four hours later, when an autopsy showed two fragmented bullets in the 70-year-old man's brain. Perry later dropped the "accidental" part from his statement and said he shot his grandfather because Duke had discovered that Perry had taken his car without permission. The evidence, Finnical said, "is damning Mr. Perry said of the second shot, 'Since he was on the ground, I had to aim down. That's where I wanted to shoot both bullets that's where I was aiming at.

His Big words from a teen who knew nothing about guns, his lawyers replied during opening statements to the jury of nine women and three men. "There is no evidence Jeremaine Perry knew there were firearms in the house," Wyrsch said. "No evidence that he knew how to use a firearm." The state expects to wrap its case by late today or early Friday. The jury, sequestered in a Springfield hotel, could get the case by week's end, Circuit Judge David Darnold said. Bob Under News-Leader Stealing body parts Ride of a lifetime full of loops gets man 3 Jim M.

Debow of Arkansas was sentenced for desecrating two mausoleums in Spnngneld. Finnical said. "The officer said, 'Did you shoot (Perry said) 'I heard another Indeed, Duke was shot twice in the head with his own rifle. But Finnical said police didn't know that year term one tomb and crushed the corpse with a hammer. They stole a skull and other body parts from a second tomb.

Police said they were arrested at Debow's Arkansas garage apartment in May following a tip that the men had stashed body parts there. Arkansas authorities said animal skulls and pentagrams werefoundat Debow's apartment Missouri authorities said books and other occult materials were found at the residence of a friend of the suspects. At the time of their arrest, friends of Debow and Wickersham said the two were not involved in satanism. (f IL y- IV The Associated Press An Arkansas man will spend three years in prison for stealing a human skull and other body parts from a Springfield cemetery. Prosecutors said Jim M.

Debow, 19, of Mountain Home, pleaded guilty to desecrating two mausoleums in April at Maple Park Cemetery. He was sentenced Tuesday. A second man charged with the crime, Jody L. Wickersham, 21, also of Mountain Home, is to be sentenced next week and could get up to five years in jail, prosecutors said. Police said the two men broke into Correction Clifton Farms, the starting point for the National Kidney Foundation's benefit trail ride Sept 27-29, was misidentified in Tuesday's News-Leader.

The News-Leader regrets the error. Readers may request a correction at 836-1258. FOR YOUR INFORMATION I Ctf ShOVK The Greater Ozarks Mustang Club will sponsor GrOUP meeting: The Association of Retired Missouri State Senior prOSftnt Cox Senior Health Services presents an All Ford Car Show on Sunday to benefit Mothers Against Employees will have its monthly meeting at 11:30 a.m. Mort- "Pain Management and You" at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Drunk Driving.

Registration begins at 9 a.m. at Kickapoo High day at Mrs. O'Mealey's Cafeteria, 210 E. Sunshine St. Call Fountain Plaza Room at Cox Medical Center North, Jeffer- School, 3710 S.

Jefferson Ave. Call 883-5812 or 882-6595. Midge at 883-7831 for details. son Avenue entrance. Registration required.

Call 269-3616. "1.