Argus-Leader from Sioux Falls, South Dakota • Page 12

2B SIOUX EMPIRE Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Saturday, July 2, 1994 snooti mm (dlosMti $1, Sioux Falls paying largest share of expenses, but might have most to gain DAKOTA DATELINES Women plead not guilty to shoplifting Three Sioux City, Iowa, women have pleaded not guilty to charges of shoplifting more than $3,000 worth of merchandise from a half-dozen Sioux Falls stores. Janice E. Brown, 33, and Veronica Joyce Banks, 27, also known as Sissy Jones, entered their pleas Friday in Minnehaha County Circuit Court to charges of grand theft. Portia Latrice Ford, 20, also known as Sarisia Ford, entered her plea to the same charge Thursday. They are free on bond.

Prosecutors filed habitual-offender complaints against Brown and Banks, who were convicted six years ago of shoplifting more than $6,000 in merchandise and sentenced to four years each in prison. expenses are for the districts lawyer, Mark Meierhenry of Sioux Falls, and experts from universities in Virginia and Minnesota. Many districts nationwide call in outsiders when they file lawsuits against funding formulas, Christiansen said. "It lends credibility to the information," he said. "It's a set of eyes not associated with the current structure in the state, an unbiased viewpoint." a rate so far of $2 a student.

Sioux Falls, with 17,600 students, is South Dakota's largest district. Rapid City, the state's second-largest district, will pay about $32,000. Mitchell Superintendent John Christiansen said districts agreed on the fee in 1991 when they started the lawsuit. "We felt that would be a concrete way of apportioning, not arbitrary," Christiansen said. Districts spent $190,000 on the lawsuit through June.

Sioux Falls, so far, has spent $38,000. Most of the 1 Murder suspect's mom says son was spooked by Gulf War service tax property equally, although how much property wealth districts have determines how much aid they receive. Also, the formula deprives many districts of aid, the lawsuit charges. Defending the formula, state lawyers argued that recent changes help property-poor districts. The formula is designed to give money to districts that can't raise enough tax money for education.

Districts in the lawsuit are paying fees on a per-pupil basis, at Lloyd B. Cunningham Argus Leader Bv ANNE-MARIE OTEY Argus Leader Staff The Sioux Falls School District will pay up to $50,000 for a lawsuit against the state school-aid formula. Sioux Falls, which might gain the most from the lawsuit, is paying the biggest chunk of costs among the 27 districts suing the state of South Dakota. Circuit Judge Steve Zinter of Pierre heard closing arguments May 14 and is expected to rule within three months. Close call iygl Sioux Falls Superintendent Jack Keegan Jr.

said the $50,000 is a good investment. "It's worth it, particularly if we win," he said. "There is a real inequity in the state in terms of how assessed valuations are being done and how schools are being funded. This will create a fair funding formula." Sioux Falls will receive no formula aid in the 1994-95 school year. The lawsuit charges that the present aid formula is unfair because it does not require districts to c-sr l.

j. "J1 Paramedics search for personal belongings inside a car that came to rest just inches from Szechwan's restaurant at 41st Street and Kiwanis Avenue after an accident about 10 a.m. Friday. The occupants of the car were not identified. Rodeo clowns fearless while funny wmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmKfmmmmmmmmm w- The Associated Press RAPID CITY Four months of active-duty military service during the Gulf War changed William Helmer into a nervous man, his mother testified Friday.

Helmer is charged with first-degree murder in the November slaying and dismemberment of Randy Dixon near a remote Black Hills campsite. Pennington County State's Attorney Dennis Groff has said he will ask for the death penalty if Helmer is convicted. Helmer's lawyer, Robert Van-Norman, admits Helmer shot Dixon in the head but is trying to convince a jury Helmer was insane at the time. Helmer's mother, Betty Helmer, was the first defense witness Friday afternoon after Groff rested the prosecution's case. She said her son was spooked by his Army service in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during the 1991 Gulf War.

Betty Helmer said she flew to i ia p. Associated Press "Maybe you've got to be a little crazy to stick your neck out on the line," he said. "But can someone be crazy to save someone's life and limb?" As he unwrapped his bandages after a day's performance, Norton reflected upon his life as a bullfighter. He said he would not trade his profession for anything else. "What a great day to fight bulls," he said.

"How many people get to do what they love to do and make a living at it?" I Le Mars celebrates 125th anniversary LEMARS, Iowa This northwest Iowa community celebrates its 125th anniversary this weekend with activities from dawn through the night. Today's events include a bicycle ride, antique-tractor exhibit, wild-west show, parade, crafts fair, dancing, historical tours, barbecue and a jazz festival. Sunday's schedule includes a fly-in breakfast, aerobatic airplane show, church service, trap shoot, tour of homes, talent show, barbecue, icecream social and music concert. Monday's events include a golf tournament, watermelon feed, Rumbles concert, burying of a time capsule, auction, community chorus, municipal band concert and fireworks display. Felon indicted in abduction, rape A Sioux Falls man who recently was released from prison for raping a small boy has been indicted by a Minnehaha County grand jury in the abduction and rape of a 4- year-old girl.

David J. Benson of 2918 S. Western Ave. was indicted Thursday on three counts of kidnapping and one count of first-degree rape. Police arrested Benson on Sunday after witnesses said they saw the man break into a Sioux Falls duplex and take the girl.

A newspaper carrier saw Benson's vehicle and notified authorities, who made the arrest. Murder suspects ask for appointed lawyers ABERDEEN Two men charged with first-degree murder requested court-appointed attorneys in their brief initial court appearance Friday. Harold W. Lemley, 20, and Silver McClanahan, 19, were each indicted on two counts of first-degree murder in the slaying of Ronald Broderson, 60, of Aberdeen. No date was set for their arraignment.

State's Attorney Harvey Oliver said he hasn't decided whether he will seek the death penalty upon conviction of first-degree murder. Brodersen's body was found in his apartment June 23. The coroner said he died five days earlier from blows to the head and strangulation. McCrossan to have reunion on Monday McCrossan Boys Ranch of Sioux Falls will have the 10th annual McCrossan Alumni Reunion on Monday. Hundreds of alumni from South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa are expected to attend the festivities that start at 2 p.m.

A barbecue will be from 5 to 6 p.m. All' former residents and staff members, and their families, are invited. For information, call the ranch at 339-1203. Meierhenry president of Judges Association Minnehaha County Circuit Judge Judith Meierhenry has been elected president of the South Dakota Judges Association. Circuit Judge Timothy R.

Johns of Deadwood was named president-elect and Magistrate Judge Mary Dell Cody of Yankton was named secretary-treasurer at the annual meeting June 16. The judges association is an organization that comprises all justices of the state Supreme Court, plus all circuit and magistrate judges. Germany to visit her son after he returned from the Persian Gulf. "He was very shaky," she said. "His hands shook.

His body shook. The war made him very nervous." Once during her visit, Helmer tried to take cover when he heard a loud noise, Betty Helmer said. He had similar reactions to loud noises later in Switzerland and in Rapid City in 1992, Betty Helmer said. She said her son told her he was afraid of missiles. Under cross-examination from Groff, Betty Helmer admitted her son was a truck mechanic in the Army.

But answering further questions from VanNorman, Betty Helmer said her son told of seeing friends die and having shrapnel hit his truck while traveling through Kuwait. "Would it be fair to say your son exaggerates?" Groff asked. "He used to," Betty Helmer replied, despite VanNorman's objections to the question. Man's death may be linked to woman's disappearance The Associated Press RAPID CITY Two days before he died, Thomas Kueter was at the police station to report Tina Marie Marcotte was missing, according to investigators. Marcotte, a 30-year-old mother of three, is still missing and feared dead, and authorities are investigating the circumstances of Kueter's death Monday morning at a wood-processing plant where he worked.

Investigators won't say whether there is a connection between the two. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is treating Kueter's death as an industrial accident. Kueter, 29, of Rapid City, was working alone in the plant's yard shortly before 8:30 a.m. when an unoccupied forklift ran over him, causing head and chest injuries, County Coroner Mike Jacob said.

Police Capt. Doug Noyes confirmed that Kueter and another man, whom he identified only as Marcotte's boyfriend, came to the police station last Saturday to report her missing. She was last seen early the morning of June 24 at Black Hills Molding, where she worked the night shift. Her car was found at the plant. Workers at Black Hills Molding said Kueter and Marcotte had worked at the plant at the same time.

tinue work on the site. The vote was 4-1 with Nebraska Commissioner Richard Coyne voting no without comment. Low-level nuclear waste includes filters used in nuclear generators and resins, the material collected in the filters. Contaminated tools, clothing and other materials also are included. As of June, licensing of the site has cost $50 million.

US Ecology says it needs the additional $31 million for pre-license activity. If a license is granted, the company says, construction of the concrete reinforced warehouse could cost between $40 million and $60 million. Distracting bulls can be dangerous but life-saving job By KEITH THORPE Associated Press LOWER BRULE Being eye-to-eye with a raging bull can be terrifying, but it's all in a day's work for rodeo clown Jerry Norton. An eight-year veteran of the rodeo circuit, Norton, a Mitchell native, said his job was to be the first line of defense for a fallen rodeo bull rider. He was hard pressed to explain the feeling he gets when he takes on the bulls.

"It's a rush," he said. "I've tried for eight years to describe it and I still can't." When a bull rider falls, clowns risk life and limb to draw the bull away from the rider. Serving as a distraction for the bull, a bullfighter, the term clowns use to describe themselves, does whatever is necessary to protect the rider, Norton said. Often, whatever is necessary results in injury. "Injuries are a part of the game," he said.

"It's a game of inches. If you give the bull an inch, they'll get you." At a recent rodeo, Norton escaped serious injury only by his wits. A rider became tangled in the rope, forcing Norton to get much closer than comfort would allow to assist the cowboy. The bull picked up Norton and threw him several yards. Except for a few bruises, Norton walked away unscathed to the delight of the audience and with the gratitude of the rider.

"It sounds a little crazy, but the closer you are, the safer you are," he said. "If you're close, (the bull) can't rear back with the same force than if you're a few feet away. It i Rodeo clown Jerry Norton of Mitchell has a close call with a bull being ridden June 1 1 by cowboy Craig Andre of Pierre at the Golden Tatanka Stampede Rodeo in Lower Brule. mmmc irv never deny her husband the opportunity to do what he loves best: bullfighting. "I get nervous all the time," she said.

"As soon as the first bull comes out, I'm all right. He's doing exactly what he wants to be doing. It makes him happy and that keeps me happy." For a person to intentionally throw himself in front of an angry two-ton animal, obvious questions about the sanity of the bullfighter arise. Norton said he was frequently asked about his mental stability. the committee to come out of the shadows and meet in public.

The contract was on the agenda of the commission's annual public meeting June 21, but action was delayed until a scheduled telephone conference next Wednesday. Earlier this week, that date was changed to Friday. Nelson aide Steve Moeller said the governor saw no need for an emergency meeting because the commission knew of the need for more money when it met June 21. Nelson had called for the contract to be discussed in an open public meeting in Nebraska. "Public trust is the linchpin of siting a low-level facility," said opponent Diane Burton of Auburn.

A Commission OKs nuclear-waste Decision allows utilities to continue development of warehouse contract facility near South Dakota border becomes second nature. If you have to think about it, it's too late." Besides intervening on behalf of the riders, a bullfighter's job is to provide entertainment for the rodeo audience. Usually working with a "barrel man," who will back up the bullfighter if he gets into trouble, the pair exchanges jokes with the rodeo announcer. Their antics fill the time between bull rides. Norton's wife, April, said she became anxious every time her husband matched wits with the bulls.

However, she said she would Louisiana and Oklahoma voted in favor of having the meeting, but commissioners from Nebraska and Kansas voted no. The contract will allow six major electric utilities that use nuclear energy to provide the money to the compact. The compact will pay bills submitted to it by developer US Ecology for work on the site near Butte in Boyd County. "You have almost totally scuttled any hope for conflict resolution in Boyd County by holding this clandestine meeting," said Loren Sieh, a member of the Boyd County Monitoring Committee. Speaking by telephone from Butte, Sieh said the committee has damaged the public trust.

He urged "If you had paid attention, you'd have known what was going on and there would be no emergency," she told the commissioners. Opponent Bob VanValkenburg of Lincoln said US Ecology should be required to put up a bond to cover the amount spent on the project to date. Moeller, Burton and opponent Lynn Moorer of Lincoln all criticized the contract with the power companies because, they say, it gives the utilities too much control. "This is the largest contract, larger than the initial one in 1990, the compact has ever signed," Moeller said. Commissioners also approved a contract with US Ecology to con By J.L.

SCHMIDT Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. Members of a five-state compact voted Friday to approve a $31.1 million contract to continue development of a low-level radioactive-waste warehouse in northeast Nebraska near the South Dakota border. But the decision didn't come without ample protest from the public before the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission voted during a nearly three-hour telephone conference meeting. It took about an hour just to win 3-2 approval to even have the emergency telephone meeting. Commissioners from Arkansas,.