The Kokomo Tribune from Kokomo, Indiana • Page 5

KOKOMO TRIBUNE STATE, NATION, WORLD WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9,1997 A5 State UPDATE Move will end Plancks' legal battle ANDERSON, Ind. (AP) A prosecutor has filed a motion to dismiss charges against an Alexandria couple charged in the 1995 meningitis-induced death of their son, saying he doubted trial would produce a guilty verdict. Nine of the 12 jurors in William and Sarah Planck's first trial last month thought the couple was guilty. But Madison County Prose, tutor Rodney Cummings said getting a conviction in aother trial would be too difficult. Now, Madison Circuit Judge Fredrick Spencer can sign an order formally dismissing the charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide and three counts of neglect.

He said he will approve the motion. The move will end the Plancks' legal battle that began when 6-year-old Lance died from pneumococcal meningitis on Nov. 30,1995. Women suing country club MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (AP) Five women have filed a civil rights complaint against the Pot- tawattomie Country Club, seeking equal access to the golf course.

According to the 1996 Pottawat- tomie directory and handbook, women cannot golf until noon on Saturdays, 11 a.m. on Sundays or between 11:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Thursdays. "They're making it a money is.sue and it's not.

It's a gender issue," said Virginia Winn, one of the five women who filed the complaint with the Indiana Civil Rights Commission. Winn and Tay Klare, of Michigan City; Marcia Wolly of Chicago; Ethel Siegel of Michiana, and Nora Duffy of New Buffalo, Mich, filed their complaint in October after club officials refused to alter the policy. Attempt to move up tax study deadline fails in rowdy House Gov. O'Bannon doesn't want to make a big move until the commission completes its work. INDIANAPOLIS are making a renewed push to get property tax reduction proposals heard in the Indiana House, but Democrats aren't listening.

"Republicans are now 'deciding they stand for something in the final three weeks of the session," said Rep. Mark Kruzan, D-Bloomington. Republicans pushed the issue again Tuesday by trying to move up the deadline a commission faces for recommending changes to Indiana's tax system. The effort failed on a partisan 5050 vote in the evenly divided chamber, but drew heated debate and shouts of protest from both sides. "The majority is continuing to hide from legitimate efforts from Republicans to enact substantial property tax relief," said Rep.

John Keeler, R-Indianapblis. House Republicans, although 50- members' strong, have failed to move their property tax reduction proposals this session because Democrats control committees and the speaker's post and have rejected the plans. Part of their reason is political. Democratic Gov. Frank O'Bannon does not want to make any major moves in tax restructuring until his recently appointed Citizens' Commission on Taxes completes its work.

O'Bannon gave the 32-member panel until December 1998 to study the entire tax structure and make recommendations for change, with an emphasis on property tax reduction, to the General Assembly. House Republicans proposed an amendment Tuesday that would move up the commission deadline to this December, so changes could be considered in the next short session of the Legislature. Rep. Jeffrey Espich, R-Uniondale, said there was no reason to prolong the study for two years "when so many studies have been done in the past." House Republican Leader Paul Mannweiler of Indianapolis noted that his caucus proposed major cuts in property taxes at the; beginning of the session. The plan called for replacing some of the lost tax revenue with local option income taxes to be set at the county level.

"We feel this is an issue the people of the state of Indiana have a right to have a vote on," he said. "If it is not, given the opportunity, then it becomes questionable why all 100 of us are here." House Democrats blocked the attempt on a procedural ruling that would have taken 51 votes to override. Kruzan said Republicans were trying to make a mockery of floor proceedings by continuing to offer amendments on property tax proposals. Court upholds ban on affirmative action SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A federal appeals court has upheld California's ban on affirmative action, putting it a step closer to becoming law after voters approved it in November. In a 3-0 ruling Tuesday, the 9th U.S.

Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a judge's order that blocked prompt enforcement of Proposition 209. Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain, writing for the appeals court, said the U.S. Constitution "barely permits" preferential programs. "It's a nail, it's a spike, it's a dag- ger in the coffin of preferences," said Ward Connerly, leader of the, pro-209 campaign. The ruling does not take effect for 21 days, a period automatically extended when proposition opponents request a rehearing.

Opponents were optimistic the full court would order a new hearing by an 11-judge panel. "There is no possible conciliation between the court's decision today and decades of Supreme Court precedent upholding the rights of minorities and women to participate equally with all other Americans in our democratic process," said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. O'Scannlain wrote that Proposition 209 is a neutral law that violates no one's right to equal treatment. "When the government prefers individuals on account of their race or gender, it correspondingly disadvantages individuals who fortuitously belong to another race or to the other gender," O'S- cannlain said. Fire hits apartment complex No residents were injured in the blaze.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) Fire has destroyed 28 units at an apartment complex on Lake Monroe, injuring four firefighters. No residents were injured at the blaze at LaSalle Woods, a part of The Pointe condominiums, Tuesday night. But Van Buren firefighter Delbert Hayes was being treated at Bloomington Hospital early this morning for a possible fractured ankle. He was injured when an eight-pound weight fell on him.

Three other firefighters two from Perry-Clear Creek and one from Elletsville were treated for minor injuries including smoke inhalation, abrasions and minor burns, emergency department coordinator Linda Hunter said. Cassie Blake was also treated for exhaustion. Authorities are still looking for a cause in the blaze that broke out around 8 p.m. Perry-Clear Creek assistant fire chief Milan Pece said the rubble would likely burn all day today, and firefighters sprayed water on the remains throughout the night. Firefighters had problems accessing the buildings because they are nestled in a wooded area.

Pece also said the building's construction fueled the fire and hampered efforts to extinguish the blaze. "There's no fire wall, no sprinkler they're difficult to access, and the construction of them, they're just built to burn," Pece said. LaSalle Woods resident Joe Meyers said he heard crackling behind his fireplace just before flames began engulfing the apartment complex. When he realized the building was on fire, he started yelling at other tenants to get out. Nation UPDATE Taco Bell verdict a warning bell SEATTLE (AP) A verdict that could cost Taco Bell millions of dollars in back wages is a warning to other fast-food chains that they better not take advantage of paid workers, lawyers said.

Dozens of Taco Bell restaurants violated state wage laws by pressuring as many as 13,000 workers to pick up trash, prepare food and perform other tasks without pay, a jury ruled Tuesday. The extra work at 62 of the restaurants in the state came before and after workers' shifts and during meal and rest breaks over the last five years, the Superior Court jury said. A hearing to determine back pay and damages in the class-action lawsuit was not immediately scheduled, but the total could exceed $10 million. World UPDATE Two sergeants face sex charges FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) Two sergeants will be court-mar- tialled oh multiple charges of rape and other crimes against 18 women soldiers at the Darmstadt military training center, the U.S. army said today.

Sgt. 1st Class Julius Davis of Fayetteville, N.C., and Sgt. Paul Fuller of Columbus, Ohio, will be arraigned April 11. No date has been set for their courts-martial in one of the most serious sex abuse scandals at a U.S. military installation in Germany.

Davis, of the 440th Signal Battalion in Darmstadt, and Fuller, assigned to the 77th Maintenance Company in Babenhausen, have been confined since Feb. 8 at Coleman Barracks in Mannheim. Who Else Wants Their Gas Company To Buy them A Mew Furnace? Let me If yOll'fO presently heathl0 your home with a gas furnace over 10 years old, you're paying twice as much on your gas bill as you should be. There have been technological breakthroughs in gas furnace design, which when installed properly in your home can reduce the amount you pay the gas company by $40, $50 or more per month! HERE'S THE SURPRISIHG PART! Your payments on one of these super efficient systems will usually be per month, with no down payment required! This means the money you're not paying the gas company is paying for your new furnace. All you have to do to get in on this amazing deal is call one of our Energy Savings Estimators and set up a time for him to survey your home, if you qualify, he can make all the arrangements right there in your home.

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