The Daily News-Journal from Murfreesboro, Tennessee • 1

EXPIRATION DATE Z9l't'E6 DE TEN-Ni. STATE uIBRASV 4Z3 7TH AVE. NORTH NASHVILLE TM 37219 -3 4 1 i Jf is 9 4 1 14 Pages RUTHERFORD COUNTY'S HOME NEWSPAPER SINCE 1849 224 N. Walnut St. Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37130 Good Morning Phone 893-5860 136th Year No.

316 Saturday, January 35'-' Jury indicts BFidgestone says ittg offer filial in strike 11, 1986 i 'I jl v. -t 1 jJ two men By MIKE WEST News Journal Staff Writer Two local men were indicted by the grand jury Friday in connection with the sexual molestation of children. Grand jurors indicted David Wayne Seiber, 25, for the aggravated rape of an 8-year-old girl. Seiber, a motel maintenance man, was arrested after a joint investigation by police and Department of Human Services officials. Seiber has been jailed since the arrest' and faces arraignment in February.

The grand jury returned a separate aggravated rape indictment against an appliance repairman, for allegedly engaging in" sex with a minor girl. (Please see Jury, page two) 'ill Jf 1 Rough but ready DNJ Photo by Grg Campbell This recently-opened section of Rutherford Boulevard now connects Bradyville Pike with Sooth Church Street. The road is part of a loop scheduled to connect U.S. 231 North and South by late 1987. Child dies after grandfather kills By SYBIL McLAIN UPI Staff Writer NASHVILLE Just 12 hours after a pharmacist charged into a hospital and allegedly shot the man he believed responsible for beating and burning his grandson, the 2 year-old toddler was declared brain Charles Edward Jones, 48, a pharmacist who made local headlines by killing a robber in 1979, was charged with murder Friday for the night shooting of his daughter's fiance at Vanderbilt Hospital.

Investigators said Jones shot Bobby Gann, 23, -a wrecker service March of Dimes volunteers want defects wiped away Hendersonville police began an investigation after the attending physician called the Department of Human Services because he suspected child abuse. The child's mother, Jones, Jones' wife- and Gann were in the waiting room Where the shooting occurred, Metro Police Capt. Charles Hall said. Police said the shooting was witnessed by the child's mother and Gann's fiance, Angela Reed, 24, and by Jones' wife. Assistant Police Chief Sherman Nickens said police had informed the family that Gann was a suspect and had planned to arrest him Friday.

Asked what could have possibly 5 current contract until 4 p.m. Sunday to allow the union time to vote, a company spokesman said. Takeuchi said contract talks ceased at 5 a.m. Friday with an agreement that the union will present the proposed contract to workers without making a recommendation either for or against the pact. About 600 workers will be affected by the vote, which will take place at the Four Corners Marina-in LaVergne.

The tire manufacturing plant, formerly a Firestone plant, was the scene of violent strikes in the 1970s and early 1980s Emnlnvees of Allied Maintenance Co. of New York, who perform plant (Please see Bridgestone, page two) assailant time if he was actually sleeping," Hall said. The shooting occurred around 11 p.m. Thursday. "There was some conflict between the family and this Robert Gann," said Hall.

Jones offered no resistance to arrest and was released Friday on $10,000 unsecured bond with a preliminary hearing set for Jan. 31. The Hendersonville police report said two detectives worked around the clock Thursday interviewing people who "could have had contact with the child." Jones killed a prison escapee during a 1979 robbery of bis suburban Inglewood pharmacy but no charges were filed. Station at future By TOM SPIGOLON News Journal Staff Writer Channel 39 has purchased the building in which it operates, is working to settle more than $6 million in debts, and is otherwise upgrading its facilities to stay in Murfreesboro as long as possible, its owner says. Bob Hudson, a co-owner of -WHTN-TV, Channel 39, said Murfreesboro Television Corp.

is buying the building and leasing it back to the station. The corporation includes Hudson, president of Bob Hudson and Associates, a Brentwood media consulting firm. Other woners are Nashvillians Jerry and Ann Goad. The trio currently owns AM radio stations in Portland and White Bluff, as well as Channel 39. Hudson said the three are buying the building, in part, to show the community the station is staying in Rutherford County.

"It protects our stockholders and, ultimately, our investment. Hopefully, it will protect the stability of the station as well," Hudson said. Hudson said the owners are close to an agreement with Booth Investments, a Nashville company, "to make sure it's on a solid financial footing." The station still has about $6 million in liabilities, on which companies like Paramount Television based suits for alleged non-payment last year. (Please see Station, page two) Index Church Classified Ads 8-11 Comics i 12 Crossword 12 Editorials 4 Horoscopes 12 Today's People 6 Sports 6-8 TV 13 Weather 2 looking By JOHN HOWZE News Journal Staff Writer Bridgestone USA Inc. officials say they have made their "final offer" to striking United Rubber Workers members who are scheduled to vote on a new three-year contract Sunday morning.

Details of the company's offer were not disclosed, but Bridgestone Executive Vice President Nori Takeuchi said the package is "equal to or better than agreements which already have been reached with union members who work for the four largest tire makers in the United States." Union officials refused to comment on the contract. Bridgestone has extended the alleged prompted Jones to act when he did, Hall replied, "You'd have to get inside his mind." The mother, whose husband was killed a year ago in an automobile accident, was "extremely distraught" after the shooting, said Vanderbilt spokesman Wayne Woods. "The family of a child who was in the hospital in critical condition had seen that there was some family problems with the boyfriend of the mother of the child," Hall said. "The grandfather come into the waiting room where his daughter's boyfriend was at and shot the suspect (Gann) several times. Gann was in a lounge chair.

I don't know at this I 7 Last spring, the State Legislature appropriated $4 million for hiring elementary school guidance counselors for the 1985-86 school year. One counselor was hired for each group of 500 first- and second-graders. Locally, the program now includes early identification and attention to problems that are deterrents to learning and development. Mrs. Holloway said the program also involves individual sessions.

"The teacher refers the student to (Please tee Counselor, page two) By CAROLYN BRACKETT CLARK Today's People Editor Some day maybe every child will be born healthy. Volunteers -with the March of Dimes say that's not too much to ask, but currently one of every 12 babies is born with a birth defect more than 250,000 each year. To find cures takes lots of money, and for the 35th year, mothers will be "marching" in their neighborhoods asking for donations to help the Birth Defects Foundation search for those cures. Mothers will be out on Jan. 26 collecting money and aiming for a goal3 of $5,000 in Rutherford County, said county coordinator Pam Byrd.

"We have about 250 marchers in Murfreesboro and a total of 400 in the county," Ms. Byrd said. Last year about $4,000 was collected here, but each county in the state is hoping to increase collections this year for total of $100,000 in 31 Middle Tennessee counties participating. "If all of our babies could be born healthy, what more could we ask dperator from nearby Henderson-ville, "several times" as Gann sat in a chair in a hospital waiting room a short distance from where the child was in the intensive care unit and then calmly handed the weapon to a nurse, Aileen Abernathy, information officer for Vanderbilt University Hospital, said the child, Ryan Reed, was declared brain dead at 11:17 a.m. Friday, just over 12 hours after the shooting.

"The cause of death was listed as severe craniocerebral trauma. That means severe" head injuries," Abernathy said. She said the toddler was kept on for?" said Daphene Coppingerr executive director of the Middle Tennessee chapter. "The mothers' march is one of the oldest traditions for fundraising, and we will always see mothers going door to door. We depend on neighbor-to-neighboi contact, and we are expecting the largest amount ever collected, she said.

The March of Dimes is the only foundation which was formed to cure a disease and succeeded. Founded in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, its purpose was to find a cure for paralytic polio. When a cure was found in the Salk vaccine, volunteers decided to turn their efforts to finding cures for other defects and focusing on education to prevent birth defects. "Prenatal care is one of the most effective ways of preventing birth defects," said Ann Holt, this year's honorary chairman.

Ms. Holt, who recently had a baby, said all expectant mothers worry about the health of their babies. "Not a day went by that I wasn't concerned about the health of my baby," With the current reappraisal pro-, cess, even those now on the Greenbelt program will need to file a new application, Sanford said. "The state has appraised all property in this county according to fair market value," he said. "They will be sending out notices of the new appraised property value in March.

"A good example would be a farm located near one of the subdivisions at the edge of Murfreesboro," he said. "The state appraisal of this land would be at fair market value, perhaps $3,000 to $5,000 per acre." "However, under the land use, this land might be valued at $1,000 per acre, perhaps even less. It is obvious that land you are using for pasture or crops won't give a return like land you are subdividing," Sanford said. Sanford stressed that a farmer now life support for organ transplant. Officials of the Nashville Regional Organ Procurement Agency said the child's corneas, liver and other organs were retrieved for transplant Friday night.

The liver went to an 11-month-old Chicago girl, Janelle Williams, who was to receive the organ in an operation at Chicago's Wyler Childrens Hospital later that night. Police said Gann brought the baby boy to the hospital Wednesday for treatment. The child sustained "multiple injuries to the head and back and groin," according to a Hendersonville police report. she recalled. Working for the March of Dimes' "is a way to say thank you for a healthy child.

If the March of Dimes program can insure healthy mothers and healthy- insure the future of society' Ms. Holt said. Research funded by the March of Dimes has also helped develop tests and vaccines for newborns including a Rubella vaccination, prenatal diagnosis, prenatal medication and surgery, intensive care of newborns and PKU testing and treatment. PKU tests diagnose a genetic disease which causes mental retardation. With early detection, a special diet is-administered which prevents retardation.

Money is not given directly to families but is used for research to find cures for defects. Funds collected in each county will be used within the county for a year, said Ms. Byrd. Uses range from grants for research to helping a student who' is enrolled in a pre-natal care program. "We want to get the funds built up (in Rutherford County) so that we (Please see March, page two) on the land use value well may see his taxes go up.

Even though the state is reappraising land, the value of farmland is rising. Unless a farmer has made application, he will pay taxes on 25 percent of the appraised value of the land, even if he is farming it. Farmers who file and are approved will pay taxes on 25 percent of the land-use value. "Anyone who is farming should not have to pay taxes as if they were subdividing their land," Sanford said. "Under the Greenbelt Law, this land would be valued according to its use." To do that, Sanford uses guidelines recommended by the state and bases the land use value on the type of soil.

"Basically, we will have three or (Please see Sanford, page two) Sanford: farmers should apply for eligibility under law now OKI photo by Grag. CanptwH TIGHT QUARTERS From left, Carl Tipton, Bill Perkins and Roy Sneed take part in an on-air discussion in Channel 39 present 50-square-foot studio. The station Is renovating an adjacent room to enlarge the studio to more than 1,000 square feet following its purchase of the building. Counselor says home could affect education By JOHN HOWZE News Journal Staff Writer Rutherford County farmers have been urged by tax assessor Tommy Sanford to file applications now if they want their land to be assessed under the state's Greenbelt Law. The law allows people using their land for agricultural purposes to pay property taxes based on a land-use assessment, rather than the.

assessment derived from fair market value as determined in an appraisal. "There are 420 parcels currently assessed according to land-use under thf Greenbelt Law," Sanford said. In Rutherford County, 4,285 other pieces of property are potentially eligible. They are currently classified as agricultural land, but assessed in the usual way 25 percent of fair market value. By ANGELA CANNON News Journal Staff Writer The home situation can act as a deterrent to learning and develop' ment if a child does not learn bow to deal with it early, a local elementary school guidance counselor says.

Whether the child comes from a family with one or two parents or whether the child is disruptive or quiet, his actions can "be traced back to the home," said Elizabeth Holloway, one of two new elementary school guidance counselors in the city school system..