St. Joseph News-Press from St. Joseph, Missouri • 1

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1988 ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI FOUR SECTIONS St. Joseph Quayle VP hopeful stops to visit Wire Rope differ on Rape, Reagan-Bush administration. Wire Corp. officers, employees Page 1B.

By MARK SHEEHAN Staff Writer The charter jet Hoosier Pride landed at St. Joseph's Rosecrans Memorial Airport Wednesday afternoon and gave northwest Missouri its first up-close look at Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. Dan Quayle. The Indiana senator swept through a crowd of about 100 cold, but enthusiatic supporters in the archetypical campaign stop. The Missouri Western State College drum corps provided background music.

Election Republican officials including U.S. Sen. Christopher Bond formed the greeting party. Secret Service agents with telltale earphones carefully watched for any signs of trouble as the crowd watched carefully for the first glimpse of the GOP hopeful. "I thought he was more blond," said a grandmother, who came to the airport with her daughter and three grandchildren.

"He reminds me of Pat Sajak." The youthful candidate, who started the campaign with more comparisons to Robert Redford rather than the game show host, came to remind Missouri voters to cast their ballots for the GOP ticket. From the airport, he went to stump at the Wire Rope Corp. before heading south for a rally at William Jewell College in 30 officers brings campaign here help guard hands long enough to pose for tion, but did not elaborate on details. The best word to describe Quayle's visit was controlled. The nearest thing to a press conference came at the airport where the candidate stopped long enough to answer fewer than a half-dozen questions with the steady beating of drums in the background.

At Wire Rope, reporters waited two blocks away from the com- Dan Quayle stops shaking Liberty. With only three weeks left before the Nov. 8 general election, Missouri, and its 11 electoral votes, has become a very important state, according to Quayle. "Missouri is now a swing state," Quayle said as he stopped briefly to field questions. "We want to take it out of that category." Quayle suggested he could be back in the state before the elec- camera of Corey Vaughn at pany's main building before being led to designated press areas.

After the candidate toured the building, he approached the press area for a photograph opporunity. The questions failed to jar loose any unexpected answers. What about the agriculture economy? The Bush-Quayle ticket will work to recapture markets lost during the last Democratic administration, the 'Prosperity erity lifts middle class' President Reagan puts positive face on shrinkage of group Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio President Reagan crisscrossed Ohio on Wednesday for George Bush, saying prosperity has caused the middle class to shrink and "America doesn't want to go" where the Democrats want to take the nation. Making several appearances in a state that strategists say Michael Dukakis must carry to have Rescuers Associated Press BARROW, Alaska Eskimo whalers wielding chainsaws worked Wednesday in a race against time to keep alive three whales trapped by Arctic ice, while a rescue effort using an icebreaking barge got under way from Prudhoe Bay. Two Army National Guard Skycrane helicopters were rigged a chance at the White House, At the Wood County courtReagan said the Democrats have house in Bowling Green, Reagan greater problems than "whether said the Republicans would deal their candidate is likable." harshly with criminals would Fifteen times in a 15-minute continue the kind of firm foreign speech prepared for a Re- policy that led to a publican rally at Ohio State Uni- treaty restricting medium-range versity, Reagan used what he nuclear weapons.

calls the word condemning "Make a false move and the both Dukakis and Sen. Howard next sound you hear is the clang Metzenbaum as liberals. Met- of a jail cell slamming shut," the zenbaum is seeking a third term president said, boasting that his in the Senate. administration has appointed race to save to alternately tow a 185-ton Sheryl Deveau, a spokeswoman Hovercraft breaking for the rescue effort. barge to the whales' location The Skycrane was dragging the about 230 miles to the west.

barge along "an inch at a time," Bitter weather hampered the she said, with 10 miles of sand journey over desolate Arctic bars, mud and shallow water beOcean ice, expected to take 25 to fore the barge would reach 40 hours. smooth ocean ice where the going The first of the powerful would be easier. transport helicopters lifted off at By the helicopter had noon (3 p.m. CDT), and the early towed the barge about four miles going was "real, real slow," said from the dock and it appeared things were looking up. "It's moving about 7 miles an hour said Mike Haller, a National Guard spokesman.

"They've picked up some speed. They'll continue on until darkness, and then they'll return here for some maintenance before picking up the mission again at first light." Workers labored through the night to unload 70 tons of aviation fuel to lighten the VECO Inc. barge, which has no propulsion system. The start of the rescue operation was delayed Monday while the barge was repaired, then again Tuesday after the craft bogged down in mud near shore. Bitter cold and constantly shifting ice trapped the animals in shallow water two weeks ago as they were migrating south to warmer waters.

Since then, they have surfaced every few moments for air in holes about 18 miles northeast of this Inupiat Eskimo village. North Slope whalers have cut at least two new breathing holes for the whales, but by midday Wednesday the animals had shown no interest in them. The whales appeared tired but holding their own, hiologists said. John Lien, professor of animal behavior at Memorial University in Canada, said Wednesday that the whales should survive for several more weeks. candidate By ROGER KIRSCHBAUM Staff Writer AIR a Associated Press A young gray whale surfaces in a small breathing hole.

The St. Joseph Police Department added more than 30 local officers to the efforts of the Secret Service Wednesday in providing, on protection his visit for to Sen. St. Joseph. Police Public Information Officer Sgt.

Jim Connors notified said the department was by Secret Service Friday that Quayle would be making an appearance Wednesday at Wire Rope 609 N. Second St. Connors said command officers for the area's law-enforcement agencies met with the Secret Service at the Highway Patrol Monday to discuss the roles that each agency would perform. "Quayle's visit required a great deal of security because of the nature of the plant he chose to tour," Connors said. "The buildings had several entrances and a substantial amount of space inside that had to be secured before he could enter." More than 30 local officers helped protect the senator on his trip from Rosecrans Airport, to the plant, and then out to the city limits on Interstate Highway 29 as he continued on to Liberty Mo.

Connors said at least 20 of the officers used were not working their usual shifts. Taking that into consideration as well as the amount of overtime worked, the city spent more than $1,500 to pay the officers involved. Connors said there were four St. Joseph officers on motorcycles and two in patrol cars that were involved in the Quayle motorcade, in addition to the Secret Service and several members of the Doniphan County Sheriff's Department. Once he arrived at the plant, St.

Joseph police were stationed around the block, on the roof, and inside the building along with heavily armed Secret Service agents. Staff photo by ERIC WELCH Rosecrans Memorial Airport. candidate answered. How important is the National Guard? The campaign jet landed at Rosecrans, home an Air Guard unit, to underline the ticket's support of the Guard, Quayle said. The St.

Joseph visit was brief. Hooiser Pride landed at 12:38 p.m. The Quayle entourage left for Liberty, about 1:30 p.m. Please see 2A INSIDE TODAY judges who "know the meaning of the word Praising the vice president, he said, "George and I also believe that a crack dealer with a machinegun who murders a police officer in the line of duty should receive the death penalty." Reagan said that Soviet Leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev "did business because he knew we meant business." Joan roars at 120 mph Associated Press SAN JOSE, Costa Rica Hurricane Joan churned toward Central America with 120 mph winds Wednesday and forced thousands to evacuate coastal areas after it left 35 people dead or missing in Colombia.

"It will hit Nicaragua or Costa Rica if it keeps on this track, but there will also be heavy rainfall in Panama," said forecaster Max Mayfield at the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables, Fla. He said the eye of the storm probably would hit the coast early Friday and that mountainous areas could suffer flash flooding and mudslides. INSIDE TODAY Index Classified Page 5C Page 5C Page 4A MORNING Comics. Page 4D Dear Page 2D Deaths Page 3B Focus Page 1D Cloudy skies today, high in upper 50s. Cloudy Page 1B low in low 40s.

Partly night, Opinion Page 6A sunny Friday, high in midSports. Page 1C 60s. Weather Page 8A Complete 8A Bakker says all PTL activities for church Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. PTL founder Jim Bakker on Wednesday defended his stewardship of the ministry before it sought bankruptcy protection, denying an IRS claim that the church bought him such luxuries as two Rolls-Royce cars. "We believe in our faith that the church is the center of society," Bakker told U.S.

Bankruptcy Judge Rufus Reynolds. "Everything we did came under the umbrella of the church. There was no profit in anything we did." Bakker took the stand in PTL's $52 million lawsuit which claims he, his wife, Tammy, and former top aide David Taggart mismanaged the ministry into ruin and used PTL funds for their personal gain. Referring to an IRS report listing items it said the ministry had provided Bakker for his personal benefit, Bakker said he personally paid for a houseboat, an unfinished 300-foot water slide at his home and the two luxury cars. "Everything we did came under the umbrella of the church.

There was no profit in anything we did." Jim Bakker televangelist AP Bakker said he donated the houseboat and cars to PTL, as well as a third Rolls-Royce which Please see 2A TV program to feature West case television show "Unsolved Mys- Police heard nothing until By ROGER KIRSCHBAUM Staff Writer Not every mystery has the makings for a prime-time television show, but the disappearance of Micki Jo West has everything that Hollywood needs. Take the alleged abduction of a 19-year-old woman. Throw in some anonymous letters dropped in local shopping malls and truck stops. Let a local convicted murderer tell police she believes West was killed by a satanic cult. Add a dash of legend that keeps building around the case.

And you've got the next episode of the teries." First, a little background. Micki Jo West, 19, 1409 Olive disappeared on her way to catch a bus at 15th and Messanie streets on Sept. 11, 1979. In 1982 and 1983 several anonymous letters were mailed to the St. Joseph Police Department claiming to know the whereabouts of Ms.

West. No one ever stepped forward with the information. Sandra Hemme, the convicted killer of local librarian Patricia Jeschke, once told police of the alleged role of a satanic cult in the West case. 1986, when five letters addressed to the police were located in shopping malls in St. Joseph and Kansas City.

Still no one stepped forward. In January, KCTV-5 received a letter, and in September of this year, KC newscaster Thurman Mitchell received a letter addressed to him. Each time the letter writer says if Arden Locke, Ms. West's father, will drop the $10,000 reward for information in the case, he or she will come forward and tell the police what they know. No one has ever come forward.

Please see 2A.