The Sedalia Democrat from Sedalia, Missouri • Page 1

Human rights panel joins in call for grand jury By DEE CAIN Staff Writer The Human Rights Commission Tuesday night voted to send a formal letter to the City Council asking the council to request a grand jury investigation of the Saturday night disturbance at the Anthony Buckner Apartments, After much discussion, commission members also resolved to continue a subcommittee investigation into the incident, and to report all findings to the mayor and council. The commission decision came after a special Monday night council session, in which the local chapter of the NAACP proposed a grand jury investigation. The council voted 6-2 in favor of the grand jury probe in a straw poll. Following the disturbance at the public housing units early Saturday morning, several blacks claimed police used excessive force to quell the disturbance. Eight residents of the complex were arrested in the incident, and both residents and police reported injuries.

Sid Harwell, chairman of the Human Rights Commission, said the subcommittee would continue gathering testimony and information about the incident, and could make its findings available to a grand jury, should one be called. He said he did not agree with a suggestion by committee member Benny W'illiams to drop the investigation and Everyday hero They don't make the headlines or TV news shows, but there are many people in everyday life worthy of admiration. They rise above their physical problems and daily perform a service to society. When Minneapolis received its first snow of the season recently, a photographer took notice of this crippled newspaper vendor doing his job, (UPl) Hearnes may run for office in '78 CHARLESTON, Mo (AP) Former Missouri Gov. Warren Hearnes said today he was considering running either for state auditor or Congress in 1978.

Hearnes said he would not make a decision on his future election plans until after the first of the year. The former state chief executive said he was considering running for U.S. representative from the lOth District, or the post. had a lot of urging from friends on both Hearnes said in a telephone interview from his Charleston law offices. I have told them I will not make a decision until the first of the year.

Hearnes said he was thinking about running for the congressional seat now held by Rep. Bill Burlison, D-Mo, which includes 19 counties in the southeastern part of the state. However, Hearnes added that he was leaning toward the race. inclination has always been more toward a statewide Hearnes said. all probablity if I do make a race it will be for state The current auditor, Thomas Keyes, was appoointed by Gov.

Joseph Teasdale early this year, when former auditor George Lehr resigned. Hearnes said one reason he was leaning toward the race was that he had spent much of his life in Jefferson City. Hearnes is the only man to serve two successive full terms as governor. The state Consitution was changed during his first term to allow the governor to serve two terms. Since leaving office Hearnes has been practicing law in Charleston and St.

Louis. Hearnes also said the race was more attractive because it was the only statewide office up for election in 1978 and thus would head the ticket. The former governor said he had to showing there would be a favorable reaction to his candidacy for public office again on a statewide basis. Hearnes was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate last year.

Rep. Jerry Litton, D-Mo, won the Democratic primary but was killed election night in a plane crash on the way to his victory celebration. Later, the Democratic State Committee selected Hearnes as the candidate for the general election. Attorney General John Danforth, the Republican nominee, won the U.S. Senate seat in a landslide election.

A four-year investigation into financial dealings, dropped recently, figures in his decision to attempt another statewide political race, the former governor said. In September, the U.S. attorney for western Missouri, Ronald Reed, announced his office was dropping its investigation of Hearnes because of a lack of evidence to press charges. Hearnes said lot of had a negative reaction to the investigation because it took such a long time to bring it to a close. Now, those people would be receptive to him running again for public office, Hearnes suggested.

simply request a grand jury investigation. we were appointed by the City Council, we should proceed. If we wait for the grand jury, and I think there will be one, we might wait several weeks. Memories are hazy, and an investigation three weeks from now is not as efficient as an investigation right Harwell said. Commission member Harold Vogel said he also felt the commission should merely advise the council to proceed with a grand jury, and said he saw no need to duplicate investigations.

Williams said he felt a subcommittee investigation would be pointless, in light of a statement made Monday night by Police Chief William F. Miller. Miller told Harwell the subcommittee could not interview any policemen involved in the incident because Miller had asked Prosecuting Attorney Mark Kempton to study the possibility of filing state charges against persons arrested in connection with the disturbance. Kempton had advised against permitting interviews with police, he said. Several members expressed doubt that a grand jury would be called, and for that reasons backed the decision to continue the commission investigation.

At Monday special City Council meeting, Harwell argued for permitting the Human Rights Commission to investigate the incident, rather than a grand jury He said the subcommittee had already uncovered some in police versions of what happened, but conceded that accounts of some Buckner residents also varied. Partially in response to the incidents, the commission also appointed a four-member committee to seek funding for a race relations education program for city employes. Commission member Charlie Moon, who suggested the program, said all public employes should be involved in the program first, and then possibly school children and local educators. Harwell said he has written the governors of California, Texas and Arizona, which now use similar educational programs in the schools, and asked for detailed information on their race relations courses. Harwell said he supervised the establishment of a race relations course in the Air Force that now has been adopted by the Department of Defense for use in all service branches, and said if local schools do not provide such courses now, they should can never eliminate prejudice and bias.

But if we can teach children and adults to recognize it, we can control he said. In other business, the commission elected Mrs. Virginia Walch secretary to replace Stanley Cox, who resigned THE SEDALIA DEMOCRAT Serving the Heart of Central Missouri Vol. 109, No. 212 Sedalia, Wednesday, Oct.

26,1977 48 Pages 15 Cents Demos on labor 'hit list' WASHINGTON (AP) The AFL-CIO, in a major shift of political tactics for the 1978 congressional elections, is planning to punish a number of one-time Democratic friends w'ho voted against key labor issues this year. should we help someone going to put a knife in our said an official of the Committee on Political Education, the political arm. Officials of the committee, known as COPE, say there are several tactiCvS that may be used against their including withholding support. Area towns recognized at banquet JEFFERSON CITY Several west- central Missouri communities were recognized at the 14th annual Missouri Community Betterment Conference awards banquet here Tuesday. Warrensburg placed first in the category of cities over 10,000 population and received a plaque.

Other honored towns included: LaMonte, which won third place in its population division of and received $300; and Lincoln, which placed fifth in this same division and collected $100. Hughesville and Lincoln were both cited for their outstanding youth involvement and Rebecca Ann Schlomer, Hughesville, received one of the five youth leadership awards given. Cole Camp received a certificate of merit for outstanding community involvement in compiling a book of local history and Concordia was designated as a 1977 five- star community. In order to receive this honor, Concordia met community betterment requirements in education, transportation, utilities, community services and planning. Also honored was Mrs.

Marge Stolz, Warrensburg, who received an Ambassador Award in recognition of her enthusiasm and involvement in Missouri Community'Betterment. Odessa received the top award at the (Please see TOWNS, Page 4) weather Clear tonight with the low around 50. Sunny Thursday with the high in the mid 70s. Winds south to southwest 5 to 10 mph. The temperature today was 40 at 7 a.m.

and 63 at noon; high Tuesday was 56, low was 39. Lake of the Ozarks stage 58.1; 1.9 feet below full reservoir. Sunset today will be at 6:20 p.m.; sunrise Thursday at a.m. running someone else in the primaries or endorsing acceptable Republicans. COPE contributed about $3 million to House and Senate campaigns last year, most of it to Democrats.

Of 28 candidates COPE endorsed for the Senate, 19 won. In the House, it endorsed 362 candidates; 256 won. The committee in the past has lent its support to candidates who shared the labor general economic and social objectives. Next year, it will focus more on specific labor issues and be more selective about the Democratic candidates it backs, according to one official. But a top union political strategist said the new policy be a threat at in the business of politics because we expect protection and help, and when they give it, not the kind of guy we need in he said.

No specific names have been mentioned have an official hit said one labor strategist but officials say there are 30 to 40 congressmen the AFL-CIO helped last year who voted against issues that had top priority. These included legislation to overhaul the labor laws to make it easier for unions to organize plus bills to increase the minimum wage, broaden picketing rights at construction sites, require that more foreign petroleum be carried aboard U.S.-flag ships and allow federal employes to participate in partisan politics. The labor law bill passed the House after a bitter fight and the minimum wage measure passed both the House and Senate, but the picketing and cargo preference bills were defeated. Oil rig in California blows up, killing three The burning team on the way TAFT, Calif. Three workers dangling helplessly in a basket above an oil well were burned to death when the well exploded, forcing officials early today to send for famed oil fire battler Red Adair.

The blaze at the sprawling Elk Hills Naval Oil Reserve, the largest reserve outside Alaska, began Tuesday with an explosion deep inside the well. A geyser of oil and flames spewed more than 100 feet into the air. The blast blew the three men out of their suspended basket and hurtled them more than 50 feet from the oil rig, said Kern County Fire Department Capt. Ron Marshall. man got up and tried to run, but he collapsed after about 125 said Marshall.

their clothes were burned off Two of them still were wearing their heavy work Identities of the victims were not released. Weary oil field crews from this tiny town 140 miles north of Los Angeles worked today to assemble eight to ten 500-barrel water tanks near the well for Houston-based crew pouring 900 gallons of water a minute onto the flames, but no way they can shut off the flow of oil so letting it said Marshall. if they were able to get in, they believe the control devices to shut it off were destroyed in the explosion and Officials said there were no buildings within half a mile of the fire and that no other oil wells appeared to be in danger All oil lines near the fire were shut down, said Howard Schlieman, general manager of Williams Brothers Engineering of Tulsa, prime contractor of drilling operations at Elk Hills, where an estimated one billion barrels of oil is stored underground was either human error or mechanical failure, but we may never know said Schlieman. The well erupted into flames when a packer being placed into the well became jammed Tuesday. A packer is a doughnut-shaped device designed to keep oil and gas from escaping around the outside of the drilling rod Murder suspect shot, apprehended inside support the Human Rights Commission.

Editorial, page 20. Legal advertising may benefit young attorneys more than the consumer. Page 21. Sizing up Cole Camp in the Kaysinger Conference race. SporU, page 23.

COLUMBIA. Mo. (AP) A man charged with murder in Oklahoma and suspected in the shooting of a deputy sheriff in Missouri was being held at the University of Missouri Medical Center after being felled by a bullet fired by a water safety officer. Authorities said Willie Taylor, 22, was shot in the right leg with a high powered rifle as he ran from some woods across an open field near Camdenton Tuesday afternoon. He was taken to a hospital for treatment of a broken leg and later transferred to the University of Missouri Medical Center in Columbia.

His condition was listed as fair. Taylor, who was barefoot, had been flushed from the woods by bloodhounds, who were called in after he abandoned a truck he allegedly stole at gunpoint earlier in the day. 90 local, county, state and federal officials were involved in the search Taylor is wanted on a murder warrant in Muskogee, in the February 1976 stabbing death of his brother-in-law, Cecil Collins, 21. He is also wanted on an assault charge for an attack a year earlier on his wife and sister-in-law Teasdale makes debut as comedian ST. LOUIS (AP) Gov.

Joseph P. Teasdale made his debut as a stand-up comedian Tuesday night, trading barbs with the business and political leaders at the annual Gridiron Dinner. The dinner featured several skits and songs lampooning Teasdale for what the Gridiron roasters consider his unwillingness to recognize St. Louis as part of Missouri. Another skit, noting that Teasdale had skipped a fancy conference reception in favor of a hamburger, featured a sweatsuit-clad actor playing Teasdale in a greasy- spoon restaurant.

us a couple of cheesedale he ordered The real governor then took his opportunity to respond to the roast by saying how much he appreciated the chance meet all you St. Louis Teasdale blamed former Gov Christopher Bond for reputation that as a governor he would rather go fishing than work Bond trained nine security guards as expert fishermen, Teasdale said, and he is now forced to follow their lead The Governor then took a shot at Lt. Gov William (Please see TEASDALE, Page 4).