Baxter Bulletin from Mountain Home, Arkansas • 1

U.S Rnvinn tMm dpts 1 Rock throwing prompts police to barricade area Shreveport racial tension runs high Page 2A Thursday HHinr" I' 'T'" I I I I II Jil I I I ITrriiJinnin ni i mimmijj Wiihiiiuijiliihiji. fourth straight victory Hogs' Martin honored for defense Page 1B lOOO 1)U i A i 220 .1. Ci" i'TTTLlE F.OCKt i VOL. 87 NO. 262 Copyright 1988 by Baxter County Newspapers, Inc.

PRICE 25C A Multimedia Newspaper MOUNTAIN HOME, ARKANSAS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER Tl, 1988 Alderman Don House: Multipurp ose center tax wou be temporary W'' -'l 19 rr. jro1 't- a 1 r. ru I i Ki -i''-3 1 i ir1 Hj Mini I nxm' 1 By CAROL HOWELL Staff Writer Citizens were given information and allowed to make comments on the preliminary plans for a proposed multipurpose civic center, which would include a swimming pool, at a public meeting Tuesday. The meeting was conducted by Mountain Home Alderman Don House, who initiated the ordinance which will place a temporary sales tax to finance the center before voters in the November election. The meeting was initially delayed by questions and some squabbling among the 25 or so members of the public.

The questions, however, were mostly re- Suests for assurances from House that le one-cent sales tax would indeed be temporary and would be used for the recreation center and not diverted to any other project or department. House assured those present the tax would be temporary and cited safeguards in state law that would prohibit the tax from being imposed for any longer than two years. He also said the ballot question posed to voters would include the fact that the tax could only be imposed for a maximum of one year. As to concerns that some governmental official or process would or could cause the money to be misused for purposes other than the pool project, House said, "No one would have the nerve to do that." House further told the group he would ask the mayor to "immediately name a committee" to do this project if the tax is approved. House said, "We want the politics out of this and this committee would be solely concerned with providing the city with a multipurpose facility, with a pool and recreation for Mountain Home." With the exception of one person who later revealed she lives in Gassville members of the public seemed extremely interested in seeing the plans and mostly in favor of the project.

The individual from Gassville said she was against any tax increase. Concern was expressed as to the cost of operating the facility once it is complete and construction costs are paid. House again assured those expressing concern those figures would be compiled in advance of the election. Emphasizing that the plans, "are not etched in stone," House outlined the financing plan, showing the 1-cent, one-year sales tax should net about $1.2 million in revenue. Combining this with the $480,000 which is now in the pool fund, House said the city would have close to $1.3 million to spend on the construction.

In response to questions as to how much of the funding would actually come from tax paid by Mountain Home residents, House told the crowd there is really no way to compute the ratio. He said it had been estimated in the past about 40 percent of the tax is actually paid by Mountain Home residents. The rest is estimated to be paid by people living outside of, but shopping in, Mountain Home. The interested people present were told the tax being requested could be translated to mean citizens would pay 10 cents per $10 purchase. Several members of the group assembled told of being involved in trying to get a new pool and recreation center for Mountain Home for the past eight years.

Councilman Frank Stevenson told the group of the history of the (See TAX on Page 8A) i i 3 ft 1 an i' i i 30 t'J I Hf ,7" jl '-J 0 PLAN SITE Olympic pool, diving and wading pools; 4. Future pool with water slides; 5. Tennis courts; 6. Volleyball courts; 7. Arts and theater; 8.

Amphitheater; 9. Greenhouse and garden center; 10. Garden plots; 11. Orchard; 12. Gardens and shrubbery; 13.

Soccer Field; 14. Ball field; IS. Scout house; 16. Picnic area; 17. Pond; 18.

New pond; 19. Walking trail; 20. Memorial. An artist's conception of what could be done with the 43 acres of land which the city of Mountain Home owns on Spring Street. The drawing was provided by Scott Farrell and Associates of Little Rock.

The city's pool and recreational building would be the first things constructed under this proposed plan, presented to the public in a meeting conducted Tuesday by Alderman Don House. 1." Recreation building; 2. Future addition; 3. Eight-lane Bush and Dukakis preparing for the Sunday night debate Steve Eldridge disqualified as write-in House candidate letter also did not include a home or work phone number, she noted. The secretary of (See ELDRIDGE on Page 8A) discussed at that time.

Eldridge, who could not be reached for comment, was quoted in the Sept. 21 Arkansas Democrat as saying, "I feel certain I did everything I was instructed to do by the state." He also said he made every effort that he could, and had he known about the filing deadline, "I would have hand-carried it back to Little Rock." According to a spokesman at the Izard County Gerk's Office, Eldridge filed the letter with the chairman of the Izard County Democratic Committee who is a also a member of the elec-tion commission. The spokesman explained that candidates for district and state offices file with the secretary of state's office while those running for county and township positions file with the county clerk's office. Dennis said her office received Eldridge's letter by mail Sept. 6 and it did not include a signed political practice pledge, also referred to as a corrupt practice pledge.

The By KRISTIN TURRILL Staff Writer Steve Eldridge of Calico Rock, who last month announced his intention to challenge incumbent state Rep. John E. Miller as a write-in candidate in the November elections, has been disqualified by the Arkansas Secretary of State's Office. The reason given was that Eldridge failed to file the required political practice pledge by the Sept. 9 deadline, according to Jodi Raines Dennis, chief of legal divisions with the secretary of state's office.

Eldridge made the decision to run for the District 6 House position after becoming frustrated with current of icals in his battle to oppose construction of a prison near Calico Rock. Dennis said Eldridge visited the Little Rock office in August to check out the procedure for write-in candidates. He was instructed to file a letter of intent with the Izard County Election Commission. She said she did not believe the pledge was By TERENCE HUNT AP White House Correspondent Presidential rivals George Bush and Michael Dukakis plunged into preparations Wednesday for their first debate, pouring over fat briefing books and getting tips from media and political advisers. Dukakis took out time to propose a "Healthy Start" program guaranteeing basic medical care for poor women and children.

"When children and their families have needed a helping hand, Mr. Bush's administration has given them a cold shoulder," Dukakis said during a visit to Brigham Women's Hospital in Boston, where he met with two new mothers and their babies. "When the time came to stand up for our children's health care needs, George Bush was nowhere to be found," the Democratic nominee said. Target of criticism Bush also was the target of criticism from an unexpected source: retired Sen. Barry Goldwater, the outspoken conservative and 1964 GOP presidential nominee.

Goldwater introduced Bush's Still to be decided is the makeup of the panel of journalists who will question the candidates. Encouragement offered At the White House, President Reagan offered encouragement for his vice president. Asked whether he'd given Bush any debate hints, Reagan responded with a chuckle, "Take no prisoners." Reagan also gave Bush support in his criticism of Dukakis for vetoing a 1977 bill in Massachusetts that would have required public school teachers to lead students in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. "That's what they're there for," Reagan said, referring to the teachers. In Boston, Dukakis spent most of the day getting ready for the debate.

Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey, who has helped advise on foreign policy issues, attended morning briefings with Dukakis and planned to return on Friday for another session. Govs. Mario Cuomo of New York and Bill Clinton of Arkansas also planned to meet with Dukakis this week to help him prepare. "Slowly getting ready," Dukakis told reporters.

'Health Start' Dukakis said his national "Healthy Start" program would be modeled after a Massachusetts program that has served 16,000 women since 1985 and has been cited as a factor in reducing the state's infant mortality rate. The national program, like the state plan, would provide prenatal and post-partum care, including vaccinations, to pregnant women and children who are either uninsured or underinsured. running mate, Sen. Dan Quayle, at a Rotary Club luncheon in Phoenix, and then before relinquishing the microphone said, "I forgot something that I had to say, and I hope you take this kindly. But I want you to go back and tell George Bush to start talking about the issues, OK?" Quayle merely laughed and said, "I wish Barry would just say what's on his mind." Republican Bush, with his schedule cleared of public appearances, spent the day in Washington meeting at the vice presidential mansion with advisers in preparation for the nationally televised debate Sunday night.

The 1-hour encounter at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., will begin at 8 p.m. EDT. Mock debate Bush's schedule included a mock debate, with former Deputy Treasury Secretary Richard G. Darman playing the role of Dukakis, according to Bush campaign sources. With the real debate just four days away, the two campaigns settled their argument over the height of the lecterns where the two candidates will stand.

The 6-foot-l Bush will stand at a 48-inch high lectern, down slightly from his customary 52 inches. Dukakis, at 5-foot-8, will stand behind a 41-inch lectern and use a small riser, a Bush source said. Before resolving the matter, Dukakis officials had pushed for shorter lecterns for both while Bush staff members argued for a minimum of 46 inches, saying their lanky candidate would not stand behind anything that made him stoop. STEVE ELDRIDGE Forensic photos indicate teens were injured prior to being struck by train, Garrett says Inside train at 4:25 a.m. as they lay motionless.

Members of the train crew testified that neither boy showed any awareness of the approaching train. They also said the youths were partially covered by what appeared to be a green tarpaulin. Two days after the deaths, Rick Elmendorf, then chief deputy for the Saline County sheriff's office, said no foul play was suspected. Malak testified during a hearing in February that he was certain the boys were alive when struck by the train. Last week, Steve Cox, a criminologist for the state Crime Laboratory, said lab administrators had dismissed questions he had about an apparent cut in the shirt of one of the victims.

videotape shown to reporters and others. In that videotape, Burton said Ives had sustained a pattern wound to his left cheek. Prosecutor Dan Harmon defined a pattern injury as a fracture that shows the shape of the object that caused it. The specific pattern has not been revealed. Burton noted that he had been particularly concerned about a shirt that had allegedly been worn by Henry.

A shirt found some distance from Henry's body after he had been struck by the train contained defects that were made by "something actually cutting the fabric," Burton said. The cut in the shirt coincided with the area of Henry's back that had sustained a puncture wound, Burton said. The were struck by the BENTON, Ark. (AP) Forensic photographs indicate that Don Henry was stabbed and Kevin Ives was struck on the face with a blunt instrument before the two were run over by a train, Saline County Deputy Prosecutor Richard Garrett said. Garrett received the photographs Friday when Dr.

Joe Burton, an Atlanta pathologist, was in the state to testify at a coroner's inquest in another case. Dr. Fahmy Malak, the state medical examiner, had ruled that Ives, 17, and Henry, 16, were in a marijuana-induced sleep when they were struck by a train Aug. 23, 1987, near Alexander. He ruled the deaths accidental.

A Saline County grand jury, which began investigating after Malak's ruling was challenged by the parents of the victims and by other medical experts, has ruled the deaths homicides. Burton studied photos made during the victims' first autopsies at the state Crime Laboratory and then performed second autopsies on the victims' exhumed bodies. He submitted those photos to the Dade County, medical examiner's office, where they were subjected to sophisticated microscopic scanning. "Each photo has been computer-enhanced of special injuries of each child," Garrett said. He said he expects to receive a written report from Burton within a week.

Burton testified twice before the grand jury and publicly disputed Malak's ruling Sept. 9 in a Horoscope 3-B Legal Notices 6 A Obituaries 3 A Sports 1-2 Weather 2-A Ann Landers 3 Business News 6-A Classified 6-7-8 Comics 3-B Editorials 4-A TODAY'S YEATHER: Mostly sunny and unseasonably warm. High near 90. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph. Sunrise: 6:57 a.m.

Sunset: 7:06 p.m..