The Times from Munster, Indiana • 3

TfMIS Wednesday May 9,1984 nsx. A-3 theTimes defeat News briefly Vr wrings ri Thomas said. "I underestimated their (the Leonas' camp) ability." That ability, charged Thomas, was a strident campaign by Van Til and other Leonas supporters in offering Jobs which could not be delivered. "They promised jobs for everyone," Thomas said. "It was allpolitical talk." It is the second time Thomas has cut a Leonas notch in his victory belt Following the forced resignation of former Coroner Albert Willardo last year, Democratic precinct committeemen elected Thomas to fill Willardo's seat at a special caucus in June.

In a campaign with an unlikely mix of politics, pets and podiatry, Thomas said it was a recognition of his professionalism mat brought him a victory. Throughout the campaign, Thomas charged Leonas, a podiatrist, didn't have the medical background to qualify as coroner. "They (the Leonas camp) never talked once about their credentials and experience," Thomas said. "All they stressed was the dog pound no way did they have the credentials and qualifications. The "dog pound" reference regards Thomas' and late Sheriff Chris Anton's controversial proposal to set up a combination morgue and toxicology laboratory at the Lake County Animal Control Center.

Although Leonas charged the proposal was a blow against animal lovers, Thomas reasserted Tuesday a morgue and laboratory either at the animal center "or anywhere" will be a priority. (left) and loser Dr. Ted Leonas By JOHN ZIMMERMAN Tunes Staff Writer MERRILL VILLE What Coroner Daniel Thomas couldn't get from the ballot box as a Republican he has gained as a Democrat Sixteen years after losing the race for Lake County Coroner on the Republican ticket in 1968, Thomas won the Democratic primary nomination Tuesday in a narrow victory over Theodore Leonas. Thomas, with 41,156 votes, defeated Leonas (35,162) in a race given unusual attention. Ironically, because there is no Re- ncan opposition, the seat belongs to iary director Edward Towns finishing with 7,628 votes and medical technologist Larry Haniford with 11,064 votes.

In a brief victory statement, Thomas thanked the few supporters remaining at his headquarters at Promenade Hall at 1 a.m. for their backing and hard work. "I guarantee you are going to be proud of me as a coroner," Thomas said. Thomas' supporters, though, seemed sure be would win hours before his climactic words of thanks. An optimistic atmosphere prevailed throughout the evening at Thomas' camp.

Not a grim or uncertain face could be found in the crowd straining to bear vote results over blaring rock music. Supporters were especially buoyed by Thomas' strong showing in East Chicago Checking the totals yj "ill i i Mle-vnmvma ir III I' director. The Highland results seemed to have a stunning effect on a smattering of volunteers at Leonas' Highland headquarters early in the evening, though they held out hope for victory in Hammond. Thomas carried Hammond by 1,267 votes. Leonas also lost to Thomas in his Schererville hometown.

Assessing his victory, Thomas said he was surprised he didn't win by more. "I didn't expect it would be this close," Clay the CROWN POINT A Gary resident was elected Tuesday to a county-wide otnee, as promised. But he wasn't the one the Gary mayor had in mind when he struck a deal with the Lake County Democratic Central Committee. 1 Lake County Councilman Rudolph Clay, D-Gary, owes his election Tuesday as county recorder to the oveiwhelming CLAY Gary vote in his favor. Clay drew 23,021 votes from Gary, while Gary Mayor Richard G.

Hatcher's choice for recorder Calumet Township Advisory Board Member Johnny E. Mc Williams Jr. got 3,760 votes. More than a year ago, Hatcher had extracted a promise from the central committee to help elect a Gary resident to a county-wide office in 1984. But it's International The Soviet government reportedly is barring the wife of human rights activist Andrei Sakharov from seeking medical treatment overseas.

Sakharov, a physicist and winner of the 1975 Nobel Peace prize, apparently began a hunger strike May 2 to protest the refusal of Soviet authorities "to even respond to his requests" for travel permission for his wife, U.S. State Department spokesman John Hughes said Tuesday. Nicaragua said its forces shot down a military helicopter from Honduras that crossed into its airspace. Honduras claims the U.S-bullt craft was unarmed, part of its air force, and that all eight men aboard died. The foreign minister of Nicaragua's leftist government, Miguel d'Escoto, said the violation of the airspace Tuesday was "evidence one more time of the danger with which the American administration, through the CIA, is pushing Honduras into participating in the aggression against our country." El Salvador's apparent new president has promised a new deal for El Salvador.

Jose Napoleon Duarte says he will incorporate labor and peasant groups in a new administration, appoint a special commission to look into the problem of rightist death squads and give the government the "moral authority to confront subversion." National A former Army counterintelligence specialist accused of selling secrets to the Soviets insists he has done nothing disloyal. "I'm fust as loyal as anybody in the Justice Department," Richard Craig Smith said Tuesday in Alexandria, after family and friends raised $509,250 to post his $500,000 bond. The former Army Security and Intelligence Command employee is accused of disclosing the names of six double agents working for American intelligence to a Soviet KGB officer stationed in Tokyo. A central Massachusetts plastics company has decided to encourage its workers to quit smoking by offering gift certificates. Flexon Co.

Inc. Is providing $30 worth of gift certificates each month for a year to workers who don't smoke and $15 montly to those who stop smoking at either work or home. Since the program began last month, 34 of the 173 workers who smoked have quit completely, and another 14 have quit smoking either at work or home, she said. Lawyers defending John Z. De Lorean got an apology from the prosecution for an "intimidating" FBI message.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Perry told the lawyers the I was "upset" with pub! ic criticism of I agent Benedict Tisa's testimony, and Perry apologized in court. Indiana It sounded like fun, professor Michael Carrinaton says, when he was asked to arrange security for the Olympic torch relay runners wnue in Indiana. Carrington, who teaches at the Indiana University campus In South Bend, spent two months mapping ways to keep the runners safe. The torch will travel through Michigan City and Gary the first day.

It will then go through East Chicago, Whiting and into downtown Chicago. Illinois A proposal to move the grave of King Neptune, the 700-pound "red, white and blue" pig that gained fame i II aMIUI Judge holds seat i Winner Dr. Daniel Thomas and Gary. "I expected to lose (East Chicago) by 2,500 votes," Thomas said, after learning he had lost the city by 1,191 votes. And Thomas boosters sensed victory when Gary results began trickling in.

Thomas campaigners were predicting a Leonas victory in the city. Instead, Thomas lost by only 288 votes. The Thomas cadre also lustily cheered an announcement that Thomas had carried Highland the stronghold of George Van Til, Highland's Democratic party leader and Leonas' campaign Vmm Pboco by D.M. Fraira Supporters of Rep. Katie Hall, D-hxL listen to primary election results Tuesday nigbt at the Hall Headquarters.

Hall lost to Mer-rillviUe Attorney Peter Visclosky in the election. Center. Democrats are equally determined to preserve their 3 to 0 advantage on the board of commission ers The 3rd District was redrawn in 1981 with the 1984 election in mind. But neither side believes winning the district will be a pushover. Niemeyer stressed to voters during his challenge Nov.

general election. Corey will now face Jerome H. Cop-page, who was uncontested in the GOP primary. Corey became 3rd District commissioner Dec 1, 1983 when Democratic precinct committeemen chose him to fill the unexpired term of former Commissioner Rudy BartolomeL i HII.M winner doubtful he had Clay who was a vocal anti-Hatcher candidate both times he ran for county councilman in mind when he cut the deal. Gary and East Chicago were the only places in the county where Clay beat his chief opponent Lake County Policeman Leonard (Lee) Bielskx Bielski led the field of 11 Democrats vying for the job now held by his brother, William I.

Bielski everywhere but Gary, Hammond and East Chicago. Bielski came in third in Gary behind Clay and McWilliams with 3,085 votes. And he finished second in Hammond with 4,867 votes to former state senator Mathias A. Kerger's 5,926 votes. Bielski also finished second to Clay in East Chicago, drawing 2,584 votes to Clay's 2,858 votes.

The final vote put Clay ahead of Bielski by 3,249 votes 30,420 to 27,171. McWilliams finished fifth in the race behind third-place finisher Kerger, who had 12,498 votes, and fourth-place finisher Ben Kaminskj, who received 10,104 votes. general election. In November, Anderson will face Republican George Fisher, of Crown Point, who was unopposed in the Division III GOP primary. Fisher received 10,482 votes.

During the campaign, Anderson, 59, of Crown Point, attacked his 36-year-old challenger as a "a drunken driving defense lawyer," citing his telephone book Yellow Page advertisements which list that as one of his specialties. Nicosia labeled Anderson a big-spender, charging the budget for his office had increased from $60,000 a year to $400,000 in seven years. chosen Schererville and St. John because it was untried territory. Neither Niemeyer nor Garner had ever run in that area before, she said.

Niemeyer beat Garner by more than 2 to 1 in all but Crown Point, Center Township and Winfield Township. The final count was Niemeyer, Garner, Root Taylor, L209; Langbehn, 578. Scheub, who is also St John Township Democratic Precinct Organization chairman, beat Benjamin only in Schererville, St John and St John Township. Benjamin carried Hammond, Highland, Munster, Dyer, Merrillville, Crown Point Center Township, Cedar Lake, Hanover Township, West Creek Township, Winfield Township, Cedar Creek Township and Eagle Creek Township. with 9,241 votes.

Stodola was third with 8,427 votes. Bodak finished with 4,224 votes. Also in the race were David R. Black, 1,646 votes, and Ronald A. Soverty, 768 votes.

Corey finished second behind Blastick in Griffith and Whiting. He came in third in Hammond with 4,962 votes. Niemeyer, Benjamiiii CROWN POINT Incumbent Orval Anderson was handily renominated Tuesday in the Democratic race for the Division III Lake County court judgeship. Anderson, a judge for eight years, defeated Munster lawyer Gregory Nicosia, 50,429 to 35,225, following a sometimes bitter campaign. Incumbent Judges Nicholas Schiralli and Steven Bielak in Divisions I and II, respectively, were essentially reelected Tuesday.

They faced no opposition in Tuesday's primary, and have no Republicans running against them in the November campaign that he would be the strongest candidate in the fall general election. Garner, who's been on the county council since he unseated Niemeyer in 1966, figured one of the other candidates businessman Judith Root Taylor would cut into his vote because both are long-time Crown Point residents. But Niemeyer more than held his own in Crown Point, which is where be grew up. He took 752 Crown Point votes, compared to Garner's 873 and Root Taylor's 240. The other candidate Donald Langbehn of Merrillville got 50 votes in Crown Point Crown Point was Niemeyer's only loss.

Garner finished third behind Niemeyer and Root Tavlor in Munster, Dyer, Schererville and St John. Root Taylor had concentrated on Dyer, By PETRA LUKE Tunes Staff Writer CROWN POINT Eighteen years ago, Sen. Ernie Niemeyer, R-Lowell, lost his seat on the Lake County Council to fellow Republican Sydney Garner. Tuesday, be evened the score by trouncing Garner and two other Republicans for the 3rd District county commissioner's seat Niemeyer's opponent in the Nov. 6 general election will be Democrat Peter Benjamin, who outlasted an all-out mud-slinging contest from St John Township Trustee Gerry Scheub.

Benjamin beat Scheub by 5,731 votes and his other opponent, Roger DePirro, by 15,499 votes. Republicans figure this fall will be their only chance to get their foot back in the door at the Lake County Government Stodola CROWN POINT Second District County Commissioner Frank A.J. Stodola lost his chance at a second term Tuesday when the 3rd District commissioner beat him in the Democratic primary. The Democrats nominated Steve C. Corey of Hobart as their candidate in the Iauriny vui iu ji iigiwivuiviw Naw mascot, has his former owner I concerned.

ail; Corey wins if iiicttha ntiment former owner Don Llngle said. "That was the original place (near Anna In Southern Illinois) and that pig was buried with Navy honors. It had a Navy salute." A state transportation department official said the problem is that vandals have damaged the pig's granite tombstone and that the park has become a dumping ground for trash. The subsequent redrawing of district lines placed Corey in the 2nd District Gary ironworker Steve Bodak didn't cut into Corey's vote nearly as much as Lake County Councilman Richard J. Blastick, D-Hammond, cut into Stodola's vote.

Blastick came in second to Corey.