The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 26

The Kansas City Star Friday October 2 1998 Appeal schedule threatens to delay sale of Woodlands By JOHN DAUNER ClnK Hfi ifi ouiit wmer and said he would try to rule on it track i by Oct 23 The track owners dotte County racing facilities is expected to be a company or companies owned by William Grade of St Joseph Grace owns or operates several gambling facilities in and was uncertain about the an-swer He also said he did not intend to become involved in tire sale Flannagan could not be reached for comment Thursday An attorney for Woodlands also said Thursday they would file an objection to the waythe auction has been structured sale notice is stacked in favor of the Stannard Lentz said The buyer of the western Wyan same day But lawyers for the track and its creditors said that Flannagan in a telephone conference Wednesday questioned whether he could approve the sale while the appeal was pending before The lawyers said the judge asked them to submit briefs on the issue At hearing said he had talked to Flannagan about the jurisdiction issue ated Flannagan rejected the reorganization plan in April and ordered it sold at auction The owners appealed ruling to tne US District Court which like the bankruptcy court is in Kansas City Kan Judge Earl heard arguments in the appeal Thursday contend that Flannagan made several legal errors in rejecting their plan to emerge from bankruptcy in partnership with an Indian-owned casino Meanwhile Flannagan set a hearing for Oct 14 on a motion filed by the trustee to sell the racing facilities at auction The creditors want the auction to be held that the Midwest and holds abouf 95 percent of The $3Sfc7 million debt He also has a partner Racing Inc whose parent The sale of The Woodlands race-tcick might be postponed from Oct 14 because of a question regarding the US Bankruptcy jurisdiction to approve it lawyers involved in the case said Thursday The Woodlands greyhound and horse racing facility has been oper- ny operates casinos in Joliet aadHammond Ind METRO DIGEST LIBERTY Rock on Speedway bid denied Supreme Court rebuffs request for quick ruling on KCK raceway By JOHN DAUNER 'dlnll Um-vmn er Pierson said the driver who did not have a license did not stop because he was afraid his parents would learn he was driving The boy was held temporar--ily and then released to his par- ents Charges had not been filed Thursday night Motorist dies: a Liberty woman died Thursday after she lost control of her car and drove over an embankment police said Coleen Howe 30 was driving south on Route near the Clinton County line around 5 am when the accident occurred She was partly ejected from tire car which overturned and rolled on top of her She was pronounced dead at the scene police said KANSAS CITY KANSAS CITY The Kansas Supreme Court has declined to hear a case that was designed to get a speedy resolution of legal issues delaying development of Kansas International Speedway in western Wyandotte County 11 The project already is several months behind the original timetable and the decision probably will delay it further David Talley a spokesman for Kansas International Speedway Corp the racetrack developer said the company still was buying i and working on the site Parents seek clues: The parents of four missing young people staffed the telephones at tire Ad Hoc Group Against Crime office Thursday night and received about eight calls Alvin Brooks president of the group said police were also present during the nearly five-hour shift and planned to follow up on the leads Tabitha Brewer and Nick Travis disappeared together on April 27 Travis was found dead on Ai 14 Carita Johnson disappeared on 1 May 31 and Crystal Kipper has been missing since Feb 24 1997 Brooks said the parents have agreed to lump all the reward money together 1 0000 for Symposium planned: The International Granulomatosis Support Group will hold a symposium today and Saturday at the Kansas City Airport Hilton hotel granulomatosis is a rare blood-vessel disease affecting the lungs and kidneys The symposium will feature speakers from the Mayo Clinic the National Institutes of Health Stanford University and other institutions The cost is $65 per person plus $10 for a reception this evening For more information call the group at (800) 277-9474 TODD FEEBACKThe Star streets in Overland Park Mohammad Bar-foroush of Shawnee placed decorative manmade rock into one section JACKSON COUNTY A crew from Model Stone Midwest Inc of Kansas City Kan built a concrete retaining wall' Thursday near 119th and Goddard Man sought es still are detectives still are Metro Squad 8 fo searching for a This kill the Talley said delays it still looking at racing in the year On Wednesday the Supreme Court issued a two-word ruling in a motion filed by Wyandotte County District Attorney Nick Tomasic Tomasic wanted the Supreme Court to rule on the racetrack issues but now they will have to be litigated in the district and appeals courtsi It was the second time Tomasic had taken issues related to the vay directly to the Supreme People are invited to bring their pets In addition dogs and cats from the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City will be available for adoption Board of Education member Patricia Kurtz visited the library Thursday and left unhappy about the delay not very good at Kurtz said could have done a whole lot better than Mental illness: The Alliance for the Mentally 111 of Kansas City will kick off Mental Illness Awareness Week on Sunday with a picnic and candlelight vigil at the Loose Park shelter house The observance will begin at 2 urn with a softball game free ot dogs and hamburgers and entertainment It will conclude shortly before 5 pm with the vigil For more information call the alliance at 931-0030 CUY COUNTY Forensic neuropathologist Michael Handler testified that the death of Malachi Austin was the result of a Under questioning from County Attorney Frank Kohl Handler who conducted the autopsy said Malachi died of a skull fracture Handler also said that face chest abdomen and back all showed signs of bruises ribs he said appeared to have been broken perhaps four to 10 days prior to his death PIPER SCHOOLS KANSAS CITY SCHOOLS Director to retire: For 22 years Norma Gorsett has guided the voters through a maze of elections and referen-dums Now the 67-year-old Republican election board director plans to retire in December already worked past my retirement she said figured I better leave now while still on Gorsett joined the Board of Election Commissioners in 1976 as a part-time clerk She became full-time clerk in 1977 She has been a director since 1992 man who may have information about the death of Kimberley Ruth Wilson whose body was found Saturday near a shelter at Lake Jacomo Police are searching for a man who witnesses said was with Wilson when she was last seen at the Atlantis nightclub in Westport Witnesses described the man as being in his 20s or 30s about 6 feet tall and weighing about 160 to 170 pounds He reportedly has a thin build and dark hair Police on Thursday updated a composite drawing of the man Wilson a midtown resident went to Westport with a group of friends Sept 24 Her body was found by Boy Scouts Police Have not disclosed the cause of death She would have celebrated her 35th birthday last Sunday Anyone with information should call 474-TIPS (474-8477) or the Metro Squad at 525-2970 School vandalism: van- dais broke two windows wrote slogans on other windows and strung out toilet paper rolls Sunday at Piper High School Principal Larry Anderson said 19 students were suspended Tuesday and Wednesday for pprici-pating in the homecoming eek prank at the school at 4400 107th St He said the windows were broken by rocks flung from a passing car Damage was estimated at $1000 RAYTOWN LlffCOin IIDValj One month into the school year students at Lincoln Prep High School still checked outa school library book And they probably for another two weeks But blame the students Furniture delivery mixups and last-minute renovations delayed the opening until mid-October Principal Lynn Kowalski said students are limited to a portion of the reference works A field trip to a public library is scheduled for next week she said LEAVENWORTH KANSAS CUY KAN Car chase: Police chased a 15-year-old boy driving his car through northwest Raytown until the car ran off the road and struck a 16-year-old boy on a running path The runner suffered minor injuries Police Sgt Stan Pierson said an officer saw a car with no license plates about 3:40 pm at 56th Street and Blue Ridge Boulevard When the officer triad to stop the car the driver refused to pull over The car left the road in the 9100 block of East 59th Street Blessing animals: Trinity United Methodist Church will have a "blessing of the service at 2 pm Sunday The blessing will take place in the north parking lot of the church 5010 Parallel Parkway Bound over shaiia Austin charged with first-degree murder in the June 27 death of her 3-month-old son was bound over for trial after a preliminary hearing Thursday in Leavenworth County District Court The Supreme Court accepted and ruled on the first case seemingly clearing the way for resolution of the issues Later however a group of resisting land owners filed another lawsuit attacking the development from a different legal angle The Supreme Court ruling puts the spotlight once again on the lawsuit filed by about a dozen land owners Their lawsuit focuses on the amount of moving and relocation payments and on the issuance and financing of bonds for the speedway A hearing designed to establish a schedule for moving the case forward is to take place today in Wyandotte County District Court Hal Walker chief counsel for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City Kan said the government would continue to push ahead are prepared to litigate from the district court up" he said will add a couple of months but it's nothing we live Meanwhile Walker said negotiations aimed at settling with the plaintiffs will continue live under illusions of stopping the race Janie Stockman the lead plaintiff in the land lawsuit said Thursday if they want to keep from having 250 people come in as interveners going to have to settle with people in the lawsuit and finally negotiate fairly with each one of Before Tomasic filed with the Supreme Court last week Walker said the Unified Government had reached an understanding with all but three or four of the land owners who sued He said he did not know whether those understandings were still good know if they (the holdouts) feel this (the Supreme rejection of the case) is a victory for Walker said one knows why the court did not take the case but they certainly didn't consider it on the Staff writer Steve Nicely contributed to this article YOU CAN HELP The Missouri Court-Appointed Special Advocates Association is lookingfor people to help with a fund-raising campaign People with backgrounds in public relations grant writing fund raising and event coordination or with strong organizational skills are preferred Call Joletta Rose of the Missouri CASA Association at 792-7681 LOTTERIES pot Four numbers paid $100 Cash 4 Life: 2-11-51-94 Kansas Pick 3: 3-2-1 Straight-play winners won $500 box-play winner? won $80 A 50-cent bet paid half Powerball: 2-3-8- 12-36 powerball 24 No winner of $10 million jackpot Two tickets matched first five numbers for $100000 each jackpot is estimated at $12 million Please check with the lottery office in your state for official confirmation of these numbers winning lottery numbers: Missouri Pick 3: 7-7-1 Straight-play winners won $500 box-play winners won $160 A 50-cent bet paid half Missouri Show Me 5: 8-10-24-26-29 One winner of $25000 jack- try 71 4 City stakes out illegal dumps Landmark Dodge guilty of causing fatal accident By TONY RIZZO Stall Writer bad The truck had 218083 miles on it at the time of the accident Om-bum said the rear brakes had not been serviced since January 1994 at 98000 miles action or inaction in this case was Ornburn said innocent person in our community was killed as a result Of their Mike Igoe an attorney and the registered agent appeared on its behalf Thursday and pleaded ho contest to a misdemeanor charge of vehicular homicide District Judge Robert Jones accepted the no contest plea and found Landmark guilty based on the information provided by Orn-bum Landmark's attorney Dennis Moore said that there would have been other evidence presented if the case had gone to trial but declined to elaborate Igoe said he could not comment because of a wrongful death law faces a maximum $500 fine and up to six months in jail Brady thinks word has gotten out to stay away After several more days and a total of 40 hours of unsuccessful stakeouts the crew moves to another location Because of the experimental nature the crew plans to constantly reassess and change its operations by switching sites for example or having several spotters out at once can find (dumping) Brady said Dumping something people cm do so quickly why so difficult to A few seconds of illegal dumping can have serious consequences Hauling costs add up and cleanup can easily cost thousands of dollars if hazardous materials such as asbestos electrical components or chemical containers are involved a cpme Brady said To report art illegal dump or for more information call the city's dumping hot line at 274-2200 Continued from C-1 money doing such as contractors discarding home remodeling rubble in wooded areas to avoid disposal fees Brady said For years city leaders were aware of illegal dumps in their districts Councilman Ed Ford said but a 1996 audit report detailing an estimated 250 sites citywide galvanized the council this point we are willing to try about Ford said is so pervasive in the City and state laws make dumping a crime punishable by up to a year in jail and maximum fines ranging from $500 to $20000 But for many jurisdictions with limited or stretched resources the problem was enforcement In Kansas City for example police forces are already stretched thin in some areas Three code-enforcement officers already share daily monitoring and administrative responsibilities for several hundred thousand households Enter early morning operation About four years ago city officials surveyed other cities for enforcement advice Officials decided on a multijurisdictional approach that would pair full-time investigators with police officers They also hope to increase private-sector participation is the optimal mix for Brady said be the eyes and ears and do the investigating The officers will do the Last year city officials began setting priorities among problem dump sites crew launched its operation at one of Kansas largest illegal dumps a 1-acre site containing construction debris electrical equipment and brush in a wooded parcel One way to catch dumpers is for investigators to sift through debris in search of traceable information or objects In mid-September dump detectives confronted a man after tracing items from the Northland dump to him He confessed to using the site several times and An Independence car dealership that failed to repair the brakes on one of its parts delivery trucks was found guilty Thursday of causing a fatal traffic accident last year A Johnson County judge imposed the maximum punishment on Landmark Dodge Inc a $2500 fine It was tire first time a corporation has faced criminal charges in Johnson County for a homicide prosecutors said Margarita Contreras 21 was killed in the July 14 1997 accident in Overland Park when the car she was riding in was struck by a pickup truck owned by Landmark The car driven by her sister was turning off Metcalf Avenue onto 69th Street when the 1990 Dodge Ram truck slammed into the back of the car Contreras suffered massive head injuries She died after being in a coma for nearly a week After the accident the rear brakes were found to be faulty Assistant District Attorney Lannie Ora burn said the company had been warned that tire brakes were IANS AnE Cl For news from Missouri and Kansas communities i to The Star 's site at and dick on To sound off on an issue of Ihe (toy join Talkback Point your browser to Mtpwww kcsiMcofB and dick on kansascitycom representing be suit filed by of family i a resenting reached for comment Thursday Bryson Cloon an attorney the family could not 1.