Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 1

PciiimJtliiinging Mpyals, Jackson beat Tigers, 6-5 Danny Jackson Page 1 May 13,1986 mail A Gannett Newspaper CoPYriahtJ98Q Lansing StaJteJourjoal Tueoday mHHliiy- 'Hour (and-a-half) of Power' ClhieiiTOlbyD's Area visitor was 1 st Gacy victim By MIKE GALLAGHER Lansing State Journal A young man who disappeared in Chicago on a return trip from visiting relatives in Eaton Rapids 14 years ago has been identified as the first murder, victim of convicted serial killer John Wayne Gacy. After a three-month investigation, officials of the Cook County Sheriffs forensic division Friday identified the youth as then-15-year-old Timothy Jack McCoy of Glenwood, Iowa. Chicago police Monday were unaware of McCoy's mm iilllllMipp f) ilptppf iiiPii) ill 1 taP SOVIET NUCLEAR DISASTER TTT Ml mid-Michigan ties. The Lansing State Journal learned of McCoy's family connections from one of the cousins he visited for Christmas and New Year's Eve 1 97 1 That cousin, Beverly Billings, now of Lansing, is responsible for providing authorities with clues that led to McCoy's identification. McCoy's remains have been buried in an unmarked Chicago oraira Ula ramolno uaa omnn Radiation up in state Associated Press MOSCOW A government statement Monday reported six more deaths in the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and said 35 people were in serious condition, nearly twice the number acknowledged previously.

The six dead, reportedly from burns and radiation, apparently were in addition to the two people previously reported killed in the April 26 explosion and fire at the Ukrainian plant 80 miles north of Kiev. Meanwhile in Michigan, trace amounts of radioactive iodine showed up in tests of the state's air Monday for the first time since a Soviet nuclear reactor caught fire two weeks ago, a Department of Public Health official said. "This is definitely something we're detecting from Chernobyl. It is not normally in the air or milk," said Dennis Hahn, chief of the department's nuclear facilities and environmental monitoring section. "It's totally insignificant from a public health standpoint," Hahn said.

In Moscow, Soviet officials said three Chernobyl plant officials had been punished for the three-day delay in telling the world about the disaster and for a bungled evacuation that did not begin until 36 hours after the accident Monday's report on casualties from the Council of Ministers, distributed by the Tass news agency, was the first new official report of Lansing State JournalGINGER SHARP Mary Williams of Alma chats with Robert Schuller at the Dalton Book Store at the Lansing Mall Monday. Schuller, host of the religous television show "Hour of Power," sold more than 200 copies of his book, "The Be-Happy Attitudes." Mcuoy taose of nlne unidentified boys unearthed in 1978 from beneath Gacy's Chicago-area home. Billings never stopped wondering what became of her cousin after he disappeared New Year's Day 1972 from a Chicago bus station while awaiting a connecting Greyhound bus ride to his home in Iowa. Insisting he had to leave his relative's Eaton Rapids home that New Year's Day, McCoy was anxious to return to Glenwood. where he lived with his aunt.

Hazel McCollum, and had a new job awaiting him the next day. The blond-haired youth never got on the Greyhound bus that was to take him to Iowa, though. His 13-hour layover in Chicago proved fatal. The story of how McCoy came to be identified is almost as bizarre as his murder, Chicago police officials say. Billings suspected that one of Gacy's nine uniden-, tified victims might be her cousin after reading a detailed account of Gacy's killing spree in a copy of US magazine while seated in an East Lansing doctor's office last February.

Gacy sold his mass-murder story to writer Tim Cahill. The book, released this spring, is "Buried Dreams: The Chilling Story of Serial Killer John Wayne Gacy." In the book, Gacy details the appearance, conversation and murder of his first victim. Those details deaths in nearly two weeks. Previous official accounts said one person died of steam burns and the other was killed by falling debris as firefighters battled the blaze in Chernobyl's No. 4 reactor.

"Medical and preventive measures are being taken among the injured," the Council of Ministers statement said. "Thirty-five persons are in grave condition, six who suffered from burns and radiation died." According to earlier official statistics, 18 radiation victims were in serious condition. A total of 204 people were reported injured. The Monday announcement said decontamination work was continuing at the plant, as well as efforts to cool the damaged reactor and build a cement "tomb" around its radioactive core, which many Western scientists believe melted. "The radiation situation in Byelorussia and the Ukraine, including Kiev, is improving," it said.

Topsoil in the "danger zone" was being removed and the area covered with concrete, Izvestia said. It did not give the dimensions of the zone. 200 flock to TV evangelist ing Dalton Book Store employees shaking their heads. "I just never saw anything like it," said Barry Johnson of the bookstore staff. He noted the line formed long before Schuller appeared at noon.

"We never had a crowd like this on Monday," said Johnson, watching more than 100 stand in line about three-quarters of the way around the store See SCHULLER. Page 2A By FRANK HAND Lansing State Journal' Hundreds of area residents turned out at the Lansing Mall Monday to see, shake hands with or get a hug from Robert Schuller, host of the nationally syndicated religious television show "Hour of Power." During his 90-minute appearance, he sold more than 200 copies of his book, "The Be-Happy Attitudes" leav- See GACY. Page 2A Victim's cousin solved mystery; Supreme Court to decide Gacy's fate. 1 25 Lansing residents tell council: Raise taxes to keep police copter Kimball gets new MSU assignment 6 6 If the mayor wants to up the taxes, that's fine with me, just to keep the helicopter. Jane Simpson from happening," said helicopter patrolman Greg R.

Vinton. "The officers feel we don't fly enough. We have a valuable tool. It's very effective." Leonard McConnel, a member of the police commission since 1967, said he had never felt he had to speak with the council about anything until now. "We can't place a price on a person's life," McConnel testified.

"Any tools that make this a safer city we need. The helicopter is such a tool." A final vote on the new budget is expected next Monday. Further discussion on the issue will take place at the council's Thursday committee-of-the-whole meeting. In other action, the council, by a 5-3 vote, agreed to build an overhead pedestrian walkway that connects the Radisson Hotel and the Exhibition Hall. The council also voted to begin a procedure for selling bonds to pay for any costs over the $1.5 million budgeted originally for thepedway.

By YOLANDA ALVARADO Lansing State Journal About 25 people told the Lansing City Council Monday they would rather pay more than a mill in new taxes than have the police helicopter program eliminated. For Jane Simpson, an instance in which the helicopter proved its worth was fresh in her, mind. About a week ago her son Sean, 14, and a friend both late in returning from an afternoon of fishing were quickly found in a canoe on the Grand River after she called the police. "They went canoeing and fish-ing and time got away from them," Simpson said. "In no time, they had the helicopter out and they found them.

If the mayor wants to up the taxes, that's fine with me, just to keep the helicopter." Leaders of neighborhood groups were well-represented in the stream of people who pleaded with the council not to cut the hel- Kimball said. "There was a strong mutual desire to find where I could continue to be of service. Some opportunities presented themselves, and there was quick mutual agreement I would undertake them," Kimball said. Kimball said he expects to return to his former duties in the president's office when his court case in complete. "This has absolutely nothing to do with my position as executive assistant and secretary to the board," he said.

Terry Denbow, MSU assistant vice president for university relations, said Kimball's new job has no time limit The university has not put any contingencies on this assignment" Denbow said. Kimball's attorney, Donald Martin, is attempting to have the charges dismissed based on insufficient evidence. Martin has filed a motion in Ingham County District Court By JENNIFER HARSHA Lansing State Journal David L. Kimball is back to work at Michigan State University after a nearly seven-week paid leave. Kimball, who requested and was granted a leave of absence March 25 following his arrest on charges of gross indecency with another male, Monday began new duties as coordinator of special writing projects for MSU's Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

He has been assigned an office in Morrill Hall. His $58,000 annual salary as executive assistant to MSU President John DiBiaggio will continue. His leave, which included an offer to assume other university responsibilities, was approved by Provost Clarence Winder pending review. "I am genuinely excited at the prospect of getting back into things on a more regular basis," David Kimball: Charged for alleged homosexual incident at rest stop. claiming a video tape the prosecution plans to use as evidence in Kimball's case fails to support the charges.

The charges stem from an alleged incident at the U.S. 127 rest stop near Holt No date for a preliminary exam before District Judge Thomas Roberts has been set Assistant Prosecutor Neil O'Brien said there is little doubt See KIMBALL, Page 2A icopter program. Two helicopter patrolmen also spoke in favor of the program. The speakers agreed that saving the helicopter program and adding to the proposed mill the council is considering for the 1986-87 budget year would be wise. Only two individuals favored cutting the program.

No one opposed the one-mill property tax increase the council has gone on record as supporting. "I can't give you the totals of possible crimes we have stopped Tomorrow Fletcher sworn in as NASA chief Newsmaker Inside Ann 2C BusinessStocks 6B Classified 5D-1 10 CrosswordComics 5C a Focus 3C 2B Metro 1B-4B 6A a Sports 10-50 Television 6C a Theater 4C 1C-4C Outside Partly sunny today with the high around 70. Details, Page I IIT I II I I 'If Local Senior Power Day draws crowd to the Capitol. Sports Detroit. Tigers at Kansas City.

Today 7 Fashion with an interna-tional flair. Business CWA votes whether to strike By MICHAEL MECHAM Gannett News Service WASHINGTON A confident James Fletcher took control of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the second time Monday and vowed "to fix what went wrong." At a White House swearing-in ceremony. President Reagan said Fletcher brought "the dawn of a new beginning" to the space agency. "Jim, you're coming on board at a time when NASA and the country need you," said need a steady hand." "I'm anxious to get started," said Fletcher, 59, who. becomes NASA's seventh administrator and the first person to head the agency twice.

He sold Congress on the space shuttle when he was administrator from S-t JfoVf. Kit 1971 to 1977. "It won't be long before we're flying again," he said. How long is still a question, however. Stressing safety, Fletcher sided with the estimate made by shuttle director Richard Truly last week that it will be at least 18 months before flights can resume.

Soon after the Jan. 28 explosion of the shuttle Challenger, NASA said flights could resume in a year. "We know what went wrong and how to fix it" be said of the booster rocket failure that caused the explosion. A James C. Fletcher: Takes control of NASA again.

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