St. Cloud Times from Saint Cloud, Minnesota • Page 1

Beginning bladers learn to take fall AC Sartell golf course sets off debate IB Bush picks Cheney as running mate 3A 1 ST. CLOUD Wednesday July 26, 2000 A Gannett Newspaper 50 Weather Today: Partly sunny High: 80 Low: 60 Details: 10A MIS 2000 ST. CLOUD NEWSPAPERS INC. i ii iiiiiih ii ii wm By David Unze Times staff writer ELK RIVER A man who lived less than a mile from Linda Jensen when she was killed in 1992 was arrested Tuesday and faces murder charges for the death of the Big Lake Township woman. Kent Richard Jones, 37, was arrested without incident Tuesday at his work- Sim 9 Times photo by Jason Wachter Sandi Halverson, sister of victim Linda Jensen; Jensen's husband, Charlie; and son, Andy (right), talk with reporters Tuesday night following the arrest of a suspect.

Tornado hits Granite 11 Linda Jensen Found dead in her home in '92 KentR. Jones Was Jensen's former neighbor convene to consider more serious charges, Anderson said. Only a grand jury can Sauk Rapids respond to the fire Tuesday in Foley. outside, flames were shooting from the back of the barn. Firefighters had the fire under control shortly after arriving.

No one was injured. While firefighters battled the flames, heavy rain and winds ripped through Central Minnesota. The rest of Central Minnesota didn't -n i St. Cloud, Minnesota place in Inver Grove Heights. Jones, Becker, has been charged with second-degree murder and first-degree criminal sexual conduct after a DNA sample found at the crime scene matched his DNA, said Sherburne County Sheriff Bruce Anderson.

Jones will be arraigned Thursday morning, and a grand jury is expected to I Times photo by Paul Middlestaedt Firefighters from Foley and Herbst residence for a barn ported, said Foley Fire Chief Joe Kaproth. Sauk Rapids assisted the Foley Fire Department. Herbst was inside looking at the blueprints for his new house when lightning struck. He'd just sold the barn and his house last week. When Herbst walked $142,897 124,244 96,979 105,339 i 92,052 $60,000 was budgeted for the entire year.

The sherifF department has struggled to remain at full staff. Numerous turnovers have led to em nm 140TH YEAR. NO. 33 ders." Charlie Jensen discovered his wife's dead body Feb. 24, 1992, after he returned home from work.

She was on the floor in the family's master bedroom with a knife protruding from her chest She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed multiple times. See JENSEN, 4A Concorde crashes in France; 113 dead GONESSE, France (AP) With flames and smoke streaking from its engines, an Air France Concorde carrying German tourists to New York for a Caribbean cruise crashed into a hotel outside Paris shortly after takeoff Tuesday. At least 113 people died. It was the first fatal crash for the needle-nosed supersonic aircraft, and all other Concordes were grounded. Air France said one of the plane's four engines appeared to have failed.

Witnesses reported that an engine burst into flame before the plane left the ground. The passengers on flight AF4590, chartered by a German tourist agency, included 96 Germans, two Danes, one Austrian and one American, as well as nine crew members, the airline said. The American was a retired Air France employee, but the company did not release a name. Four other people were killed at the small hotel leveled in the crash, the Interior Ministry said. A pall of acrid smoke rose from the blackened wreckage and over the wheat fields at Gonesse, a small town near Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport.

Firefighters sprayed the rubble with water, and the twisted metal from the plane which was fully fueled for its trans-Altantic run was hardly recognizable as a fuselage. French legal experts were examining the charred bodies of the 113 victims for identification. The transportation ministry today said the plane's two flight recorders, which were damaged in the crash, had been found. Experts said possible causes of engine problems ranged from birds flying into the air intake to mechanical failure. The plane was powered by Rolls Royce Olympus 593 engines.

Crash leaves 'nothing'3A officers looks at whether the final budget numbers are balanced. But commissioner Rose Arnold expressed concern that the increased wage and overtime costs mean other projects aren't getting done. The staffing situation at the jail has been under scrutiny since February, when confessed killer Ole Maxwell broke into a female inmate's cell and had sex with her. An annual Department of Corrections inspection report cited a staffing shortage at the jail. AP photo Two girls hug Tuesday after finding the house of a friend destroyed after a tornado swept through Granite Falls.

The tornado hit the town Tuesday killing at least one, injuring many and damaging or destroying dozens of buildings. Hghtiiing strikes Foley barn issue first-degree murder charges. Authorities were conducting a search of Jones' Becker home late Tuesday. "A long time ago, Bruce promised he'd call one day with the answer to this case, and that happened (Tuesday) at 3 o'clock," said Charlie Jensen, Linda Jensen's husband. "A big burden has been lifted from our shoul- Falls appear to suffer much storm-related damage.

Power lines were reported down in Sauk Centre and flooding was reported in the town of Elrosa, said Marv Hug, Stearns County emergency management director. The National Weather Service reported a rotating cloud in a wall cloud two miles north of Avon about 6:30 p.m. Those conditions usually lead to a tornado, but one never developed, Klugsaid. Doppler radar also indicated a possible tornado about three miles west of Foley, but again, nothing came of the report-Sirens were sounded in Waite Park, St. Stephen and Sartell.

The storm headed north of St. Cloud so sirens here never sounded, Klug said. "It was tracking away from St Cloud," he said. to train in new ones, Kostreba noted. "That means that no one else leaves," he said.

If the new positions reduce the department's overtime costs by 25 percent in the last three months of the year, "I would think that's pretty good," Koski said. Kostreba has overspent his overtime budget every year for the past five years. In 1999, the sheriff's department budgeted $143,000 for overtime, but spent $303,501. Kostreba said he only Mideast peace talks end without solutions THURMONT, Md. (AP) The Middle East peace talks at Camp David collapsed Tuesday over rival claims to East Jerusalem.

Disappointed, President Clinton said he tried several approaches during 14 days of intensive negotiations but could not come up with a solution. "They couldn't get there. That's the truth," Clinton said at the White House. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat pledged to continue efforts to resolve the issues that have divided their people for 52 years. "This is agonizing for both of them," Clinton said.

"I think they both remain committed to peace. I think they both will find a way to get there if they don't let time run away from them." Clinton, Arafat and Barak met for a final time Tuesday morning, shortly before the official announcement that the talks had collapsed. A photograph released by the White House showed all three looking grim. "Israel was ready to bring an end of the conflict for a painful price, but not at any price," Barak said. "On three things we cannot make concessions: on security for Israel, on the holiness of Israel, and the unity of the nation." Arafat's top aide, Saeb Erekat, said he was confident the differences between the Israelis and Palestinians could be overcome.

Deadlock could lead to new peace talks 3A Times today 2C Lifestyle Births 2B Local Business 8A More Local Classified Nation 3A Comics 60 Opinion 5B Crossword Sports ID Calendar 3B Obituaries On Page 2B Arthur Beack, Hillman Mildred Coursolle, St. Cloud Arthur Franzen, Onamia Alma Hartman, St. Cloud Virginia Inderieden, St. Cloud Mary Lou Olson, Minneapolis Esther Schleif, Monticello Lottery Cash4Life: 26-45-52-81 Daily 3: 8-0-8 Gopher 5: 2-23-26-28-37 (4) Coming Thursday The Times reports on Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, which includes wetlands, prairie and oak savanna near Zimmerman. Storm kills 1 as it destroys west side of town GRANITE FALLS (AP) A tornado slammed into Granite Falls Tuesday night, killing at least one man, injuring about a dozen people and damaging or destroying perhaps hundreds of homes and other buildings.

A rescue command post was set up at Minnesota West Community and Technical College. Snow-plows cleared roads so emergency vehicles could get to the injured. About a dozen people were treated for cuts and bruises at Granite Falls Municipal Hospital, said hospital administrator George Gerlach. Rescue vehicles from nearby towns were dispatched to the southwestern Minnesota town of about 3,000 people. Gov.

Jesse Ventura called out the National Guard for security and rescue. City Manager Bill Lavin said he "very definitely" saw a tornado, both on the ground and then go back into the tlouds. He heard "the typical train sound and the popping of the ear drums as it went overhead." "The west side of town was just destroyed," said Doug Kiesling, a storm spotter who said the damage and debris indicated a strong tornado. The debris field was nearly a mile wide, said Greg Devereaux, a photographer for the Independent of Marshall. One See TORNADO, 4Ai Granite Faiis Times map Stearns Additional officers intended to ease staffing shortage By Kirsti Marohn Times staff writer Stearns County commissioners agreed Tuesday to allow Sheriff Jim Kostreba to hire three new correctional officers to alleviate a staffing shortage.

The new positions will cost $39,966 through the end of the year and might help reduce the amount of overtime sheriff's depart- Minn. st. (f Cloud 1 -hi m- By Kelly Scott and Dave Aeikens Times staff writers Tornadoes and severe thunderstorms threatened parts of Central Minnesota on Tuesday evening. Tornado warnings were issued by the National Weather Service at 6:33 p.m. for Benton and Stearns counties.

The area was under a severe thunderstorm watch until 10 p.m. The most damage happened near Foley where lightning started a barn on fire one mile west of Foley. "We heard a big bang," said Duane Herbst, the barn owner. "It was loud, real loud." The lightning struck the barn, used mainly for storage, about 7:15 p.m. Firefighters were unsure whether to respond or take shelter because the tornado sirens went off at the same time the fire was re- County sheriff to add 3 correctional Overtime salaries and wages Sheriffs staff Jail staff Year Budgeted Actual Budgeted Actual 1999 $88,000 $160,604 31 $55,000 1998 87,444 123,113 55,000 1997...

88,000 .100,169 55,000 1996 120,000 123,346 55,000 1995 85,000 98,274 40,000 Source: Stearns County Sheriff's Department ployees working excessive overtime, causing some to quit because they are unable to get time off. "We're hiring people over there like they're going through a revolving door," said Irene Koski, county human resources director. "This is an attempt to stanch the flow." Because of the training time required for new officers, the new positions likely won't reduce the overtime costs much this year, Kostreba and Koski said. Current officers are needed ment employees are working, Kostreba said. So far this year, the department has spent $77,288 on jail overtime wages, although only 'On'lSe" 1ilww.icUrnes.coni On the phone: 255-8710 or (800) 955-0993 4 1.