Springfield Leader and Press from Springfield, Missouri • 13

Obituaries 2 Entertainment. pages 6-7 Comics page 12 O' VjjijiJ Wednesday, February 6 ,1 985 ales tax, school boundary changes make April ballot ties and friends. He wants his child to attend school in the larger of the two districts. The Walnut Grove schools have 344 students while Dadeville has about 139 students. However, Dadeville school officials oppose the boundary change.

Joseph D. Marlow, the Dadeville school superintendent, said he's afraid that-allowing -the boundary switch for the McPhail family will set a precedent that other residents of that neighborhood might want to follow. "Nobody wants to give away their land, whether it's a district or a private owner," Marlow said. By Robert Edwards The Leader ft Press A 1-cent sales tax to pay for expanded police protection has made the Fair Grove city ballot for the April 2 elections. In addition, a boundary change re-, quest has been placed on the ballot in the Walnut Grove School District in Greene County and the Dadeville School District in Dade County.

Those are just two items facing voters in Greene County on April 2. Ballots had to be officially Tiled with the Greene County clerk's office by 5 p.m. Tuesday. Most elections April 2 involve choosing school board members and The only countywide issue would add a tax levy of 15 cents per $100 assessed valuation to expand mental health services. The money would be administered by a board appointed by the Greene County Commission.

Voters in Willard, Republic, Ash Grove, Walnut Grove, Battlefield, Strafford and Rogersville will choose municipal officers. Most of the city of Rogersville lies in Webster County. Battlefield area voters will decide whether to eliminate a voluntary membership fire department and form a fire-protection taxirg district. See ISSUES, Page 3B municipal officers, including mayors and aldermen or councilmen. However, there are several ballot issues to be decided as well.

No school board seats are to be elected in the Springfield School District However, there will be a mayor's race and contests for four city council seats in the city of Springfield. Fair Grove Mayor Edwin Coonis said officials want to raise money through a 1-cent sales tax to pay for at least one full-time police officer and maybe buy a newer patrol car and a radio base station "or whatever our budget can afford." The town of about 900 residents has one officer, Lemuel Smith, who works part-time. "I have no idea, if it passes, h'ow much revenue it would be," Coonis said. He said the city will try to get an estimate from the state Department of Revenue on what a 1-cent sales tax would generate in extra tax money. While there is sentiment in town to Improve the police department; Coonis said, a sales tax measure failed in 1983 because the use for the revenue wasn't spelled out on the ballot Fair Grove voters also will choose a mayor, city clerk and two aldermen.

Tommy R. McPhail, Route 1, Walnut Grove, circulated petitions and got a measure on the ballot in both the Walnut Grove and Dadeville school districts to change a boundary line to move his property into the Walnut Grove district McPhail said he thought his property on Route at the Greene-Dade county line was in the Walnut Grove district. His daughter- even started school in Walnut Grove before the Dadeville school authorities notified him that his home was actually in the Dadeville school district, he said. McPhail said he is paying tuition for his daughter to attend school in Walnut Grove, where he has family FCC gives OK to sale of KWFC's frequency By Gary Slfford and Mark Marymont The Leader ft PrM The Federal Communications Commission has approved the sale of Springfield radio station KWFCi frequency to an Arkansas broadcasting firm. KWFC, an FM stereo station broadcasting Christian music, will become a non-commercial educational station, switching iu frequency to 89.1 megahertz and reducing its broadcasting power by one-half, assistant station manager Bill Muench said.

Big Chief Broadcasting, Fayette-ville. Arte, will take over KWFCi present frequency of 97.3 megahertz I 'fit i fflMfcr-sSfr 1 "-v and 100.000-watt broadcasting power. Big Chiefs owner, Pat Dema-ree, said the company has not decided on a format for the new commercial station. KWFC, owned by Baptist Bible College, will retain its call letters and programming format, Muench said. "At this time the management of KWFC anticipates very little change in our programming andor staff except in the change of the status of the tales staff," he said.

The station will continue to rely on commercial support but will not carry actual advertisements, Muench said. Businesses that sponsor programs will be Identified on the air, but will not advertise their products, be said. KWFC will operate with a transmitter, one-half of its present broadcasting power, Muench said. "However, the reduction in wattage will not cut our listeners in half," he said, because of new equipment that will be Installed. "Fifty thousand watts today probably give us 80-85 percent of our present audience." KWFC's studio will stay at 2316 N.

Benton Ave. General Manager William F. Askew said the station, which has been broadcasting on 97.3 since 1969, will add some new audio equipment to improve its signal quality. "I've already set the wheels in motion finalizing the equipment purchase for our non-commercial station on the new frequency," he said. "We See KWFC, Page 38 Thieves use door opener to in garage get Start PhotoBob Under Cleanup, big and small While a road grader clears heaps of snow along Boon-vllle Avenue a man armed only with a shovel and some muscle power moves the white stuff a shovelfull at a time Tuesday.

Weather forecasters say there'! no more snow in the immediate forecast but what's here should stay around for a while because of extreme cold. How we voted Voters OK charter change, nix seat changes i 1 By Gloria Sunderman The Leader Press As of today, Springfield City Council members no longer will be able to switch seats in midterm without giv-, ing up their positions. Springfield voters Tuesday approved a City Charter amendjnent prohibiting seat swapping. As a result, a general council member who wants to switch to 'a zone seat In midterm will have to give up the general seat. And, a zone council member who wants to switch to a general seat in midterm will have to give up the zone seat.

Thus, if a council member wins a midterm election, he or she will move to a new position. If a council member loses a midterm election, he or she will be off council. The amendment, however, exempts the mayor's position. Council members will be able to file for the two-year mayor's position without jeopardizing their council seats. The proposal received 81 percent of the vote in Tuesday's election.

With all precincts counted, the vote was: Yes 11,742 2,821 Councilwoman Mary Alice Owen, one of the sponsors of the proposal, said she was not surprised by the election outcome. "The amendment sort of plugged a loophole," Owen said. "I really didn't think it was very controversial." Former councilman John Shikany, who switched from a general seat to a zone seat in 1983, also said he was not surprised by the vote. The amendment was expected to be approved, and it was, he said. Shikany, however, said he disapproved of the wording of the amendment.

"There is nothing wrong with the amendment, and I probably would have voted for it if three words had not been in it," he said. "That is one of the tricks. They put things in there that are not significant and are not understood by the public, and they get what they want." The amendment, in reality, is one more chop at the current form of gov- See CHARTER, Page 3B Burglars, using a garage door opener stolen out of a car, took several hundred dollars worth of tools from a Greene County home, Greene County Sheriffs deputies said. Deputies said the burglars stole garage door opener from car in front of the Gerald Plaster, home, 2S06 5. Brandon early Tuesday, and then used it gain entry to the garage.

Several of the tools were recovered Tuesday evening when deputies were called to a bam on Farm Road 205, south of Farm Road 168, east of Springfield. Deputies also recovered Items reported stolen during the night from cart at the Windsor Warren home, 2950 Natural Bridge Drive, and an assortment of other goods, including nine rearview mirrors. Meanwhile, Springfield police are investigating the theft of a 200 pound concrete figurine from a yard. The brown figurine features a boy and girl with an umbrella and stands 3 feet tall. The figurine, valued at 1400, was stolen from the Donald Gregg home, 2130 S.

Catalina Ave. Investigations lead to arrests of three on drug charges Investigations by Springfield police led to the arrests of three people on separate drug charges Tuesday. All were arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance. A 17 year-old Springfield woman was arrested at her home on a warrant for failure to appear in court on a traffic ticket. She was then arrested on the drug charge after she was found to be carrying tome pills, police said.

Police served a search warrant at the home of 37 year-old Springfield man, leading to hit arrest on a drug charge. After stopping a 28 year-old Springfield man whose vehicle had expired license tags and a burned out taillight, police found that the man bad an outstanding warrant against him for failure to register a vehicle. They then found about 150 pills in the man's possession and arrested him on the drug charge. Staff PhotoDan Dyer Springfield developer John Q. Hammons smiles after receiving an award from the Springfield Area Arts Council for outstanding contributions to the performing arts Tuesday night at University Plaza.

Arts council honors Hammons Willard voters pass bond issue, city sales tax city council and I are proud of the city government and the people who have supported it." Additionally, Republic and Walnut Grove residents renewed their towns' natural gas franchises in Greene County's other rural issues. Willard School District's bond issue, which got 73.76 percent support, will fund a new girls' gymnasium and repair the Willard Elementary School roof. Now, the district's bond consultant will complete legal proceedings so bonds can be sold. And an architect See WILLARD, Page 3B placed a lot of calls! We had a calling committee of about 60 people over the last two days. They placed about 1,000 calls asking people to get out and vote.

That helped an awful lot. It seems a last-minute reminder to people is what it takes to get people out to vote." Willard Mayor Leo. Hughes said he's pleased, but not surprised at the results. "We were real pleased," he said. "I assumed that if we gave the facts to the residents that it would be passed.

The residents of this city have always supported improvements. As the mayor of this city I'd like to say the By Bill Maurer The Leader Press Willard voters' support of a bond proposal and city sales tax Tuesday reflects their satisfaction with the school district and city government, officials said. Both issues a $550,000 school bond Issue and a 1-cent city sales tax got nearly 74 percent support. Willard Superintendent Jerry Bouse attributed the school bond issue's passage to a last-minute telephone campaign by volunteers. "We're just as pleased as can be that it passed," Bouse said.

"We had lot of real helpful people who Nixa residents reject 1-cent sales tax on third try By Chris Whitley The Leader Press It was midevening Tuesday, and members of the Springfield Area Arts Council were gathering in the west end atrium of University Plaza Hotel. Conversation, cocktails and complimentary champagne flowed freely as some 75 guests sampled hors d'oeuvres around a massive ice sculpture. Suspense was building for the SAAC's Qzzie Award presentation what local arts supporters say will be an annual event to recognize outstanding contributions to performing arts in the Ozarks. SAAC president Dawin Emanuel's welcome to the crowd was barely over when the hotel's roaring two-story multl-tlered waterfall slowed to trickle. And when John Q.

Hammons received the Ozzle, everyone in the place listened even if It meant closing the waterfall tap to focus the center of attention. "I aked Mrs. Hammons what In the world was going on down there," the developer said, accepting his award only minutes after emerging from an adjacent private room. "She said I'd just have to come and see." Hammons said he was proud to be the first person to receive an Ozzle, and prouder of his efforts to coordinate energies of local performing arts groups. In presenting the award, Emanuel likened Hammons to a battle general, and said he has "shown how arts can work together for a common cause." That cause is none other than the goal of building a performing arts center in Springfield, a dream that Hammons and many others have had for years.

Hammons hinted at realization of the dream in his brief remarks after the presentation. "I really and truly think that this is just the beginning," he said. "Greater things are yet to come." Seconds after Hammons stepped down from the platform to applause and handshakes, the waterfall roared back to life. Guests gathered around Hammons, and he seemed proud to show off his Ozzle a small, seashell sunburst In bronze, mounted on dark wood base. Sculptor Curtis Kauffmann said It took him about 40 or 50 hours to work the SAAC's concept Into final form.

In future years, Emanuel told the crowd, more than one Ozzle may be awarded at a time. The SAAC wants to establish a procedure in which nominees for two categories performer and facilitator may be presented for consideration. "It is a kind of laurel wreath," Emanuel said. Today's deaths But the voters decided no, I really hope that some day the people of Nixa will know the need that the city has for a 1-cent city sales tax to provide the services we need. But it wasn't to be this time." The Nixa Board of Aldermen is expected to discuss the defeat at Monday night's meeting.

Chitwood said he doesn't know if the measure will be put on the ballot again. Nixa residents cast 56 percent of their votes to defeat the sales tax proposal. Simple majority support was needed for passage. The tax money would have been used to improve Nixa's streets and parks and to hire more police offl- By Bill Maurer The Leader Press OZARK For Nixa city residents, the third time wasn't a charm. That Christian County town's residents Tuesday rejected a 1-cent city sales tax by a 6 percent margin.

Nixa residents had rejected the same issue two other times. In other Christian County elections Tuesday, Billings residents approved a sewer rate Increase, and residents In four road districts retained the same levies for road Improvements. "I was quite disappointed," Nixa Mayor Bill Chltwood said of the sales tax defeat. "I thought we stood a pretty pood chance with It this trip. cers.

The tax would have raised about $100,000 yearly. Several years ago, city residents rejected a 1-cent city sales tax for undesignated use. The latest vote was Nov. 6 when voters voted against it 739-533. The vote was: 228 Billings residents overwhelmingly approved an Increase In their sewer rates by 25 cents to $1.25 per $100 assessed valuation.

The rates will be based on their water use from January to March. See RESULTS, Page 3B Here are today's new obituaries: Jewel Bllyeu, $4, Ozark; Mottit E. Corroll, V2. Springfield; Norma L. Hallev, 55.

Springfield; John Herbert Londeri, 88, Dadeville; Maurice A. Reynolds, 85, Springfield; Cleta Routh, 77, Sprlnofleld. Complete obituary Information, PooeiB. i.