Argus-Leader from Sioux Falls, South Dakota • Page 27

Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Thursday, Feb. 27, 1997 71 SIOUX HOW TO REACH US Local news inquiries and tips: Maricarrol Kueter, city editor, 331 2327 or Rosemary McCoy and Mike Trautmann, assistant city editors, 331-2316 or 1-800-530-NEWS STATE NEWS 2,4 OBITUARIES 3,4 BIRTHS JUST CURIOUS Police kill angry 34-pound python after it squeezes owner Pet snake escapes from cage, damages apartment as 20 years and require special handling. "They all try and get out at one time or another. Most of them are mild-mannered and easy to handle," Mahlstedt said. A 10-foot snake should be taken out of its cage with two people present and needs to have a proper feeding schedule to keep it well-tempered, he said.

Such a large snake also should be kept in a large cage, one at least 6 feet long, 2 feet wide and 2 feet high. Willis said he does not intend to replace Squeezer after his bad experience Tuesday night. "I had never even thought I would have a problem," he said. "I don't plan to get another snake." how the snake's capture was handled. He said animal-control officers stood back and watched while he struggled with Squeezer.

"It's a beautiful animal, but if you're going to buy one, don't call animal control," Willis said. "My life was in danger." Don Rieck, chief animal-control officer in Sioux Falls, said workers went beyond the call of duty in helping out with the snake. City officers are not expected to dispose of a pet because the owner is tired of it, he said. "When anybody gets an animal, top of the 55-gallon aquarium where he lived. Willis said he got worried and called animal-control officers and police, asking them to destroy his pet.

Officers with a snake snare a noose on a long stick were unable to catch Squeezer. The snake coiled itself around Willis' leg while he and two neighbors wrestled with it. Squeezer sprayed about a quart of urine around the apartment. Eventually, police lured the snake into a duffel bag and shot it 12 times. Willis said he was unhappy with it's their personal property.

It's not government's job to take care of their personal property for them," Rieck said. In 14 years on the job, this was only the second call in the city that involved a huge snake, he said. Animal-control workers are not trained specifically to take care of such exotic pets, which can be highly dangerous to trap, he said. Scott Mahlstedt, owner of Safari Land Pet Center, said he sells about 50 to 60 boa constrictors and pythons each year. He tells customers that snakes can be a "lifetime commitment" because they can live as long es seare traileiparff Soma i'n'npwimi'i'jwip iiniimj.pl By JENNIFER GERRIETTS Argus Leader Staff When a 10-foot snake gets in a bad mood, things can get ugly.

Squeezer a 34-pound Burmese python with an attitude was killed Tuesday night with 12 bullets after he overpowered several people in a Sioux Falls apartment. His owner, 18-year-old Dustin Willis of 1023 S. Dakota said he never expected to have trouble with the 2-year-old snake. The python had been living with Willis since it was 18 inches long. "It's real hard for me, but better him than me," Willis said Wednesday.

Two days in a row, the snake pushed four 15-pound weights off the By MIKE TRAUTMANN Argus Leader Staff Dozens of elderly and low-income mobile-home owners in Sioux Falls gathered Wednesday night to protest new leases they fear could drive them from their homes. About 80 residents at Sky View Mobile Home Park met with a lawyer to weigh their options. They don't have much time. New owner Norman Rinehart of Sioux Falls has given them until Saturday to sign the new leases or face eviction. In recent months, Rinehart has bought three low-income trailer parks in Sioux Falls containing 87 lots Penn View Mobile Home Court near the penitentiary, Parkview Trailer Court north of Falls Park and Sky View Mobile Home Park in northeast Sioux Falls.

At each, he has given tenants a six-page lease that bumps their monthly rent as much as 40 percent, requires them to purchase liability insurance and lets him seize their home and property should they fail to miss rent or face bankruptcy. "He's got these people, in "situation where they've got no choices, and he knows it," said Doug Cummings of East River Legal Services, which represents more than a dozen tenants. "They've got nowhere to go if they get evicted." Tenants, most of whom own their trailers, would see their rent climb from $130 to $170 a month and require them to pay an extra $170 as a security deposit. Cummings said Rinehart agreed to let the March rent and security deposit to be paid in three installments that month. Trailer owners, many of whom are living on fixed incomes in older homes, say the lease gives them few options.

"I've returned mine, but I'm a little concerned about it now," said Donna McKnelly, a retired housekeeper and laundress with arthritis in both knees. i "It's $50 more rent than they used to charge. I've lived here 12 years, and we never had to put down a Looking ahead New leas LitoZl Iff f-Sf-- Mfr 'J ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS 77' plates belong to car dealers QUESTION: I've seen a lot of South Dakota license plates that begin with "77." What does that designate? ANSWER: License plates that with "77" are car dealers' plates. i They are used oh cars owned and used by a dealer, said DeLoris Erickson, Minnehaha County treasurer. Address request: Jacki Chan, Waterloo Road No.

145, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Patti Duke, 2950 E. Net-tleton Gulch Road, Coeur D'A-lene, ID 83814. Clint Eastwood, Box 4366, 93921. Chris Farley, 9150 Wilshire Blvd.

No. 350, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. James Michener, 2706 Mountain Laurel Lane, Austin, TX 78703. Brooke Shields, P.O. Box 18, Las Vegas, NV 89125.

Have a general news question? Call the Argus Leader a 1 331-2285 and. leave a message. Or send your questions to Just Curious, Box5034, Sioux Falls 57117-5034. BRIEFLY Mating, stabbing may be connected A stabbing Wednesday morning might be linked to an incident a few hours earlier when two women sprayed mace in a convenience store clerk's face. Francisca L.

Tobacco, 18, of 1900 S. Menlo Ave. was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault. Police were called to a fight disturbance at a trailer at 100 E. McClellan St.

A juvenile girl had been stabbed and was treated at McKennan Hospital and released. Police found another person bleeding from the nose. Lt. Nick Boschee said the case might be connected to a theft at 4 a.m. at the Get-N-Go at 6201 W.

12th St. Two women took a case of beer from the store and sprayed the clerk in the face with mace. The clerk was not seriously hurt and finished her shift, Boschee said. New fund-raiser started for Pavilion The Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science is trying to raise additional funds with a "Buy a Seat" campaign. The donation per seat is $600 in the performing-arts theater and $1,000 in the domed theater.

Contributors will be recognized with a nameplate on a seat. The donation does not have a bearing on seating for perfor- mances. At a reception Wednesday to announce the fund drive, First 5 Bank of South Dakota presented ia check for $55,000 to project coordinators. That brings the bank's total 'contributions to $130,000. i Plans for the Pavilion had to 'be trimmed because of a shortfall in funds.

i The center is expected to open in 1999 at the old high school in downtown Sioux Falls. 'Students to assist at regional airport Twelve Sioux Falls students will spend Wednesday observing and assisting United Airlines employees at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport. Students from Irving Alternative School will help check in passengers and be exposed to other aspects of United's local operation, said R.C. Treat, the airline's general manager in Sioux Falls. The visit is part of the company's Take Your Community To Work Day.

LOTTERIES DAILY MILLIONS: Red: 4- 10, White: 10-13, Blue: 1-3 DAKOTA CASH: 8-17-19-28-29 POWERBALL: 4-8-9-11-44; Powerball 6 TRI-WEST: 2-5-10-12-13-27 DAILY THREE: 9-4-0 SUPER CASH: 1-4-10-16-21-39 i In South Dakota: If you need help with a gambling problem, call 1-888-781-HELP. Frank Robertson Argus Leader Anderson may be forced to find a new home if his landlord insists on an increase in rent and an added security deposit. Jim Anderson, 93, stands next to his trailer in the Sky View Mobile Home Park just off Cliff Avenue in northern Sioux Falls. "Most of these people are elderly and on a fixed income, Pekas said. "There is no place they can go." East River Legal Services is working on revising the lease and plans to have a proposal completed before March 1.

Renters in the Parkview Trailer Court at 100 E. McClellan which Rinehart bought last fall, say they have no problems with their landlord. But they fretted before signing their leases and paying $25 to $30 more rent each month. "I didn't want to sign it, but I did," said Leon Keenan, who owns his trailer on a leased lot. "Wegetalong fine, but I pay him." i wif i ifww jini with them," he said.

He is negotiating with Cummings to reach a compromise and plans to improve the roads, sewer and water to Sky View. "If people don't want to pay the amount, they're free to move," Rinehart said. "There's other parks in town." But most won't take older homes, especially those owned by people with little money, said Sioux Falls lawyer John Pekas, who represents several tenants. Rinehart has loopholes written into the leases that allow him to seize the trailers or property if they owe him money, he said. Greg Latza Argus Leader airline layover other passengers on the flight home the next day that he had been assaulted.

They told his mother, who called Bloomington police. Any decision on criminal charges will be made by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, Swanson said. Jennifer Fling, a spokeswoman for the county attorney's office, said Wednesday that prosecutors could not release information on the case because of the age of the suspect. I If. 1 Penn View Benson Rd Mobile Home Park 34th St.

N. Sky View Mobile Home Park Rice Parkview Trailer Court 6th St. 10th St. Linda SmithArgus Leader Charter employees led Maxine Berry to believe she had been abused as a child, when the abuse never occurred, the complaint states. O'Connor-Davis is accused of failing to properly treat her client's psychological problems.

The lawsuit also claims that Vail Williams, a psychologist, provided individual and group counseling to Maxine Berry and also used improper treatment methods. Williams supervised O'Connor-Davis. Dr. William Fuller, a psychiatrist who provided medical and psychological care at Charter, is accused of allowing or failing to prevent Maxine Berry's belief that she was abused. The lawsuit claims that following Maxine Berry's treatment at Charter Hospital, she required additional psychological testing and treatment.

It asserts that her mental health and progress were slowed by the false abuse claims. The family had to spend more money for additional treatment, the complaint states. The Berrys are asking for the court to award an unspecified amount of damages. No trial date has been set. i 01 Hospital's staff falsely made woman believe she was abused, lawsuit says deposit." Jim Anderson, who has lived in his Sky View trailer for 10 years, doesn't know what park would be willing to take his old trailer should he refuse to sign the lease.

But some of his neighbors are looking to move. "Everybody is very much dissatisfied," the 93-year-old man said. Rinehart said he used the same lawyer-prepared lease at his other trailer parks with little or no complaint. He believes his rent is in line with city park rates, ranging from $145 to $230 a month. "If they have a problem, I'll work sexual assault on Airlines flights at Minneapolis-St.

Paul International Airport during a Jan. 4 blizzard. Northwest put them up at the Hilton Hotel in Bloomington and posted a security guard outside the door. They were among several stranded children sent to the hotel that night, Swanson said. Northwest Airlines did not return phone calls asking about security measures for children flying alone.

Swanson said the 6-year-old told Sioux Falls School District employees remove snow Wednesday from the roof of Washington High School in an attempt to minimize the potential for water damage when snow melts. The employees are planning to remove snow from the roofs of all city schools. By JENNIFER GERRIETTS Argus Leader Staff A Sioux Falls woman is suing Charter Hospital, saying psychiatrists made her falsely believe she was sexually and physically abused as a child. Maxine Berry and her husband, Brian Berry have filed a lawsuit in Minnehaha County Circuit Court against Charter Hospital and Charter Counseling Center and a psychiatrist, a psychologist and a counselor who work there. They are accusing the mental-health hospital and its employees of negligently treating Maxine Berry from 1992 through 1995.

The Berrys' lawyer, Brian Donahue of Sioux Falls, wouldn't comment on the case. Joel Weiden, spokesman for Charter Behavioral Health Institute, said the hospital's employees will not comment on the case because of patient confidentiality and the pending lawsuit. According to the filed complaint, Maxine Berry went to Charter Hospital for treatment in 1992 and was counseled by Lynda O'Connor-Davis. The lawsuit accuses O'Connor-Davis of having an improper relationship with Berry, both during and after her treatment. Boy, 14, denies From staff and wire reports A 14-year-old Sioux Falls boy has denied charges that he sexually assaulted a child with whom he shared a hotel room when a blizzard canceled their flights out of Minneapolis.

Bloomington Police Detective Ross Swanson said a 6-year-old Michigan boy has accused the teen-ager of sexual assault. Each of the boys was flying alone and missed connecting Northwest.