The Times from Streator, Illinois • 5

Times-Press Page 5 Friday. January 22, 1988 Illinois judge to first-time drunk drivers: Say cheese think it stinks Any sentence that is designed simply to humiliate and disgrace an in -d iv i alls unconstitutional. Glenn Stan ko attorney the terms set down by Ford, though their attorneys disapproved of the judges order. Whats next, are we going to have drunken drivers stand on the street corner with big signs saying theyre drunken drivers? asked Glenn Stanko, Johnsons lawyer. I think it stinks, its contrary to statute.

And it may be unconstitutional, Stankosaidr Any sentence that is designed simply to humiliate and disgrace an individual is unconstitutional. He said he believes the sentence URBANA, III. (UPI) First-time offenders of the states drunken driving laws who are sentenced by Champaign County Judge Jeff Ford had better be photogenic. Ford recently sentenced two offenders to take out display ads in their local newspaper, at their own -cost, and write an apology to accompany the photo. -The unorthodox judge -said-Thursday the sentence will be used only, for first-time offenders who plead for court supervision in violates the First Amendment right to speak or remain silent and the Eighth Amendment protection against and unusual punishment.

Stanko said second or third-time offenders of the DUI statutes do not have to put photos in newspapers and that first-time offenders with no prior convictions should be given a hreak. Im sorry, but thats not how our sentencing system is set up, he said. It is repulsive. relatively minor druken-driving casts. They come in to my courtroom and-say-they are guilty, said -Ford.

They saylhey are willing to apologize to me but Im not the one they put in danger. If someone says I committed a Class Ajnisdemeanor, which is what these violations are.and they apologize and theyve had no-previous convictions, I can find for court supervision. But when they come in and only want to whisper an apology to me and have their offense taken off the record, I am more apt to feel they will do this sort of thing again. Court supervision is the least -serious punishment under the state drunken-driving laws. If the defendant successfully completes the conditions of his or her supervision, no judgment is entered and there is no record of the" offense.

Ford recently ordered Ronald Hayden of Champaign and Julie Johnson of Urbana to place their photos and apologies in the (Champaign-Urbana) News Gazette within 30 days. Hayden and Johnson agreed to Peoria officials Deficits projected at Lostant schools; tax hike possible not told by EPA about ammonia S-AjL this school year ends, (- Adding to the problem, Liesse said, is that the grade school needs to buy a new bus. There will -be -4 about $20,000 left in the transporta-tion fund at the end of this school year, but the bus probably will cost about $25,000, according to yiame PEORIA (UPI) Peoria officials are still wondering why they were not alerted when a half-. million gallons of ammonia-based fertilizer spilled into the Jllinois River "over the New Years weekend. -The jspill occurred when a pipe owned by ContLCarriers and Ter-', minals Inc.

of Chicago ruptured near Seneca, located about 90 miles upriver from Peoria. The Il linois Environmental notified its branch office In Rockford when the spill sgneyoffice in-Peoria was not alerted. The Illinois-American Water which supplies watertol As -a the schools will either have to cut costs or raise taxes, Adams saicL But I doubt we can makemany more cuts, he saidr Were kind of down to the bare bones right now. Tiitfr boaiii a referendum, but took no action on the matter. said the board -probably will wait until the sum- mer, when the exact sizes of the deficits will be known, to discuss the matter A referendum, if the board agrees to ask for a tax hike, would be placed on the November ballot, Adams said.

He said it has-been about 12 years since the districts have had a tax referendum and school taxes -have remained about the same for the last five years. In other business, the board: Heard that the cost of the asbestos inspection that must be completed by October is estimated to be $10,000. Hired Duane Markley as a full-time bus driver. Peoria, discovered unusually high ammonia readings in river water Gil Jan. company spokesman Ray Bowden said Thursday.

On Jan. 11, the river tests showed 3.7 parts per million, about 10 times the normal 0.2 to 0.4 ppm. Ammonia is not considered to be dangerous when it appears iniow levels in drinking yrater. Bowden said concentrations surge slightly higher in the summer because of runoffs from farmers fields. The extremely high levels created by the spill did not affect Peoria drinking water.

Normally, the EPA has been very good about notifying us about things like this, Bowden said Thursday. Why they didnt in this case, I dont know. Maybe it was Bridging the generation gap Grand Ridge students serve lunch to area residents as part of a senior citizens' lunch at the school Thursday. Pictured from left are Betty Dut-tlinger, Ethel Hayward, Missy Washkowiak, June Hettel and Max Duttlinger. (Times-Press Photo by Paula Gillman) an oversight.

Bowden said the high concentration of ammonia forced illinois-American to switch over to well water. The emergency system has worked in the past. Why it didnt work in this case, jyoull have to ask tne arA.v""' Illinois EPA spokesman' Will Flowers said the agency did not realize the spill would spread as far as it (Mor that the ammonia would linger. Peoria should have been jiotified becsfi ihere was, high: ammonia levels, he said. We didnt think there would be this high a reading in the water.

And we thought it would dissipate. Looking back on the incident, the Peoria office shouidhave been told. But at the time we thought notifying was sufficient. 2 Bowden said Illinois-American -has returned to using river water, but the company is treating it with additional chlorine. Peoria City Manager Tom Mikulecky said Thursday he, was unaware of any danger to city residents but that officials should not have been left in the dark.

I certainly do think we should have been told, he said. We have a normal preparedness process. In this case, it seems we should been notified. ultimately are responsible for setting policy. Rogowski said she understood that and the com-.

mittee only would offer suggestions to the board. What were asking is this Committee make a recommendation to the board and to the administration to look at, she said. The board took no action. In another policy discussion, the board wrestled with the idea of allowing alcohol to be sold at a boxing show. Go-Club President Ilank Walsh said he is trying to schedule a professional boxing show that would guarantee the school plus a portion of concession sales.

But promotes are asking that beer be sold, and board members, noting that students probably will attend, said -Wanda Micklos Times-Press Correspondent LOSTANT Deficits are being projected in the education funds of -Lostant- grade-and high school districts for the first time in about 12 years and school officials say a tax referendum may be needed. -I Iboo-. lltwttwvt UIV00V reported to the LostanrsChdOP board Wednesday that by the end rf cAkAftl (root fko OfsHo ti Ulll lVUVMl bWl kav Mkav school education fund will have a "'deficit' of about $63,000 ancTfhe' high school fund will be short $23,000. The total educatiohlund budgeP for the grade school for the current year is about $330,000, according to Principal Dale Adams. The-high school education fund budget -is about Adams cited decreases in farmland assessments, interest rates and state funding as causes of the deficit.

He said the districts have lost about $300,000 in assess-ed valuation in the last three years. After the deficits are paid for, the grade school will have about $105,000 left in reserves, Adams said. The high school will have about $160,000 left. If the current situation continues, the grade schools reserves will be depleted in 12 to 18 months after this school year ends, Adams said. The high school would go in the red in about two years after Production crop output is attributable to scientific advancements in genetics, according to Werries.

Superior crop Seeds have been developed through years of crossbreeding and experimentation. The rest of the gain is coming from the way we farm, Werries said. Were making fewer tillage trips and being more judicious with the use of fertilizers. Werries also said that the state of farming in Illinois is continuing to improve. About four or five years ago, things were about gs low as they can get, he said.

But were headed in the right direction now. About 15,000 farming operations have gone out of business in the seven-year period that Werries has served as director of the state agriculture department. But he said that with crop prices rising, business is improving for the farmers who remaih: One agriculture project that Werries said he is particularly proud of is the By 2000 program, the goal of the program is to 1- I-- Marquettelooks at committee I I 4 f) yj- kt toaddress drug, alcohol use rocketing have every acre of farmland in the state up to a tolerable level of soil loss by the year 2000. That tolerable level, or T-level, is defined as five tons of soil lost per acre, which is about the amount that is replacedby nature each year. The By 2000 program was started in 1984.

About 60 percent of Illinois farmland is in compliance today, Werries said. The program aims to minimize the soil erosion that threatens farming today. Through the program, farmers who have land where higji soil loss occurs naturally can receive state subsidies to leave the land unfarmed. In place of farms crops, cover crops like grasses, which reduce soil erosion, are planted. Farmers also can help with the program, Werries said.

Theyre' changing theyre tillage practices, taking fewer trips over the land, Werries said. The farmers are really the ones that are doing the conservation work today. Ag director: By Keith Harrison Times-Press Writer PONTIAC What do. two bushels of corn have in common with the man on the moon? Plenty, according to Larry Wer-ries, director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Wer-ries spoke Thursday at the annual meeting of the Livingston County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Werries says that farming technologies in recent decades have improved to the same degree as the engineering strides taken by Americas space program in the 1960s. As an example, he said that the average crop-yield per acre for crops like corn has increased from about 66 bushels in 1937 to 166 bushels last year. That is nearly three times the amount of crops that were produced 50 years ago and an increase of almost two bushels per year an accomplishment comparable to the space programs achievements in putting a man on the moon, Werries said. About half of that increase in alcohol should not be available, Jobst added that a nonalcoholic show probably would not keep people away. -1 think (the show) would be a novel enough idea that you" could get the people to without the refreshments, she said.

7 Walsh said he would contact the promoters to "see about a 1 non-alcoholic Citing the fact that underage people can be kept out of March 18 fish stag at the school, the board agreed to let beer be offered at that fund-raiser. other matters; Board member Jim Cap1 pellini said he would price school buses after2 board member Bob Hughes and bus driver Cal Flavel said current buses are getting old. 5 By Joe Corf ado Writer OTTAWA A special com-mittee should be formed to address the Marquette High School discipline code and how it relates to substance abuse. I That was the message given to the MIIS board Thursday night by Nancy RogowsKi, chairman of the local InTcuch group. Rogowski said the committee could be comprised of InTouch members, parents and school employees and could recommend policy ideas to the board.

-Several board members agreed it would be good to have parent input in determining school policy. Principal Joan Jobst agreed, but she stressed that the committee should be only advisory. The board and administrators, she said, Convict Walker wants death penalty 1 without delay CHESTER, 111. (UPI) Death Row inmate Charles Walker says he doesnt want anything or anyone to stop his scheduled May 10 execution by lethal injection. Im going to die anyway," Walker told reporters Thursday during a jailhouse news corlference at the Menard Correctional Center.

Whats the difference if its May 10 or 15 years down the aint no hope, no I aint never going to see the streets. He said any further efforts by the American Civil Liberties Union or anyone else to delay his execution would be in a word He said he hoped the news conference would stop any efforts to delay his execution. The Illinois Supreme Court, in a two- page order issued Tuesday, said they believe Walker is mentally fit to waive further appeals of his death sentence. He will be executed May 10 by the injection of a lethal drug unless further appeals delay his death. Walker disagreed with Justice Seymour Simon, an ardent foe of the death penalty, who wrote in a three-page dissent that, Allowing Walker to call the shots in this case results in nothing short of a state-supported suicide, is inconsistent with constitutional principles, and disrupts the orderly administration of justice.

1 Walker said Simon lets his Christian feelings override his objectiveness." Walker, 47, has spent 22 years in prison on various charges. He pleaded guilty to the June 1983 murders of Kevin Paul and Sharon Winker and was sentenced to death in wishes. For his last meal or last supper, Walker said he will ask for fried rabbit, milk gravy, biscuits and blackberry pie. He said he wants to spending his remaining time in his Death Row cell watching television, reading and crocheting. Walker, who was married once but later divorced, said funeral arrangements were being taken care of by his relatives, including his mother, stepfather, three sisters and a brother.

He said while his relatives did not approve of his decision to seek his own execution, they respected his right to do so. If the execution date stands, Walker will be the first prisoner to die by lethal injection adopted as the form of execution in 1983. January 1984 a month before the victims were to be married. The victims were ambushed while fishing at Silver Creek near Mascoutah, tied to a tree, robbed, then shot. Walker said Thursday the robbery netted him about $50 and that he spent the money on' running around, fishing equipment.

He said he killed the couple beoause Paul recognized him. He said he committed his first crime a burglary at the age 'of 16 but never killed anyone before his attack on Paul and Winker. Asked Thursday if he felt anything for the families of the victims, Walker replied, Yeah, some, but like they say, the sooner you die the better it is for them." i Walker, now among 59 inmates on Death Row at Menard, some of his'i fellow Death Row inmates resented his efforts to have his execution carried out without delay. But, he noted, others say, Its my life to do what I want to. We havent had any-other volunteers, Menard Warden Jim Greer said of Walkers decision.

He described Walker, who was dressed neatly in a light blue shirt and dark blue prison jeans, his hair slicked back and mustache waxed on the ends, as a model prisoner. Walker said he also talked occasionally to another death row inmate mass murderer John Wayne Gacy about generalities suclas ball scores but not his desire to have his execution carried out without delay. He said his family disapproves of the decision but they agree with x- It.