The Index-Journal from Greenwood, South Carolina • Page 13

CityState 13 The Index-Journal Friday March 4, 1983 Movie should Commission says of insurance not probe 'kosher' premiering here please soap fans COLUMBIA (AP) The State Insurance Commission decided not to investigate the negotiation of a lucrative state property insurance in 1979 because it wouldn't be "kosher," says the panel's chairman. However, the commission has left open the possibility that it may look into the matter if the "appropriate authority" asks it to. Following a meeting behind closed doors Thursday, the commission announced that it was turning down a request for the probe by state General Services Division Director Michael Copeland, whose agency handles the contract on $6 billion worth of state and local government buildings. Copeland said he wanted the investigation to clear him and his agency of any suspicion. State Rep.

Francis Archibald, who failed in his bid to have another investigation done, has said a probe by the General Services Division lacked candor. The Insurance Commission said it could find no legal authority to meet Copeland's request. "Here we ha ve the heads of two executive branches of state government," said commission Chairman E. Fort Wolfe. "To have one go and audit the other by invitation well, we just don't think that's kosher." Wolfe said he was not sure who the appropriate authority to request the probe would be, but suggested the governor or the General Assembly.

Copeland indicated Tuesday that he' would ask the Budget and Control Board to cancel the $2.3 million per year contract with the Thomas C. Brown Agency if the Insurance Commission decided not to investigate. He would not comment Thursday, syaing he wanted to read the commission's formal position. Archibald, fellow lawmakers last month to have the investigation done, but the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee killed the request Tuesday. Allegations that the 1979 contract was improperly awarded were first raised Counterfeit seizure ranks as largest ever in S.G.

By DUNCAN HITE Staff writer Women with a crush on daytime TV soap opera star Don Stewart (high-powered attorney Mike'Bauer on The Guiding Light) stfould be advised that he has been monkeying around with a chimp. You can catch Him in the act today at at Crosscreek Cinemas when the movie "Carnival Magic" makes its world premiere. Filmed around Gaffney, the movie is also scheduled -to begin showing today in Clinton and other cities. The first showing was at 1:15. Stewart, writer-actor Mark Weston, and producer Elvin Feltner gathered with Gaffney-area officials at a luncheon in Gaffney Thursday to promote the film.

"Carnival Magic," said the casually-but-carefully-tailored Stewart, "is the story of a magician (Stewart) with ESP" who develops "an exceptional chimp" which makes carnival audiences go bananas. Evil research scientists chimpnap Stewart's co-star with plans to "study and then dissect." Can Stewart rescue the chimp before the partnership is literally split up? "I'm not telling that," says Stewart, his words filtered through a screen of microphones stuck in his faee. What Stewart does tell, is that "Carnival Magic" is "a great (G-rated) children's story" one of what he sees as a new trend in kiddie box office. "Before," he said, "(moviemakers) would put something in to try to get a PG rating. That was because a teenager going on a date would rather take the date to a PG film instead of a Now, Stewart says, there seems to be a trend toward more rated films.

"Maybe E.T. has opened a new field for the viewing public," he said. Besides being a fun story, 'Carvin-al Magic (which features another soaper, Jennifer Houlton, in the female lead) captures the spirit of the carnival and the spirit of the South very well," Stewart says. The Gaffney area of South Carolina vaS chosen for the movie because there is a studio there (Owensby Studios which produced "Preacher-man" a few years back), and also because a carnival was in town when the filming began about two years ago, says writer Weston, who also has a part in the movie. Weston likes making movies in the South.

"In New York," he says, "we last year during Sen. Norma Russell's unsuccessful campaign for lieutenant governor. The Lexington County Republican questioned the relationship between the state and the Brown agency. In other business Thursday, the Insurance Department raised rates on homeowner and automobile policies for several companies: The American States Insurance Co. and American Economy Insurance Co.

received an overall 9.9 percent increase in automobile premiums. The approved increase was reduced by 8.6 percent. The Hartford Insurance Group also received an overall 9.9 percent hike in automobile premiums. The Auto-Owners Mutual Insurance Co. received a 5.1 percent increase in its homeowners premiums.

Colonial Penn Insurance Co. was granted a 7.1 percent raise in homeowners coverages. The Ohio Casualty American Fire, and West American Insurance Co. received a 1.5 percent hike in homeowner premiums. feel of the paper was wrong and it lacked the red and green threads of real money.

So far, authorities have arrested: Ronald Glenn Burgess, 36, owner and operator of Superior Printing; Victor Ray McGuire, 39, also of Anderson Lon-nie Ray Fowler, 40-45, of Union; Dean Edmund LeDoux, 40-45, of Los Angeles; Kenneth Wayne Hankins, 27, and Gary Thomas Hankins, 22, brothers from Winston-Salem, N.C. and two unidentified Florida men. Burgess, arrested in his print shop Monday night, was released on $25,000 bond Tuesday after being charged with manufacturing counterfeit money. Officials have said no counterfeit money was found the print shop. McGuire, an Anderson businessman, was arrested Saturday night at home and charged with transferring and delivering approximately 1,380 $50 bills to an informant.

LeDoux was arrested Saturday as he stepped off a plane in Los and charged with possession of $20,000 in. counterfeit bills. Fowler, arrested Saturday night in North Carolina, was charged with transferring counterfeit money and was being held on $15,000 bond. McGuire was released on $50,000 bond. The first arrest in the case was made in Norfolk, in early January when money was attempted to be passed.

Talking i TV and movie actor Don Stewart (right) and Crosscreek Cinemas Mana ger Ken Ponder talk about the movie COLUMBIA (AP) The $1.25 million in bogus $50 bills seized in Anderson is the "largest seizure of counterfeit money ever in South Carolina" in memory, says a Secret agent. Authorities, who confiscated $225,000 in funny money in the Upstate city Saturday, seized another $1 million there Thursday. Secret Service special agent William McCord says he believes less than $100,000 is still floating around. A number of people, including carnival workers, have spent or tried to spend the fake money in Louisiana, North Carolina, Florida and Virginia. There is no evidence any of it has been spent in South Carolina, McCord said.

"That much money would play havoc with the South Carolina economy if successfully passed in large quantities," he added. in Greenwood today. The G-rated flick, filmed in bouth Carolina, is about a carnival magician who loses his extraordinary chimp to monkeynappers. When authorities announced the seizure of the $225,000 earlier this week, McCord said it was believed only $75,000 in counterfeit cash remained to be found. Officials have not said exactly where the money was seized in Anderson, the alleged headquarters of what they said is a nationwide counterfeit ring.

The owner of Superior Printing Co. in Anderson and seven others have been arrested in the operation. Authorities are seeking "one or two" more people ina the case, McCord said in a telephone interview from his Columbia home Thursday night. The bills recovered Saturday and Thursday are believed to be off the same press, McCord said. The agent has said the first batch of bills were of "better than average quality," but added the minimum of two davs.

A second offense would result in a fine of at least $1,000 and imprisonment for at least 48 hours but not more than a year. The second offender could do community service as an alternative to serving jail time. (Staff photo by Duncan Hite) would have spent more than half a day just getting people out of the way they'd be disrupting, sticking their heads in the camera but here, it was just beautiful. The cooperation was fantastic." For aspiring script writers, Wes ton, who began as an actor butjs now enjoying stage and screen success as "a writer a real Jekyl and Hyde," he says), advises that perhaps the hardest is "getting the product to the right people." Stewart says children who have previewed "Carnival Magic" love the chimp, but he complains that his hairy co-star threw a definite monkey wrench into his love life. "The chimp was a female and very Tougher DUI sentences coming up for final vote Barnwell club deaths blamed on heating 'tab--, movies "Carnival Magic" which premieres jealous," he said.

"I couldn't look at another girl because the chimp would attack them." Being attacked by a chimp, he says, can be serious because "They're about four times as strong as a human, fm told." Stewart's only revelation about what's possibly Upcoming on The Guiding Light was "be ready for anything. "They're changing producers and writers and it's all up in the air." he said. "We don't know what's going to happen." If they introduce the first chimp into the daytime soap scene (would that be a sudsy at least yu'll know where they got the i lea. Weekssaid more private tests will be conducted on the clubhouse heating system before it is decided whether to file civil lawsuits for the victims' families. "After the test results are in, action will be taken by attorneys for the families to see if litigation can be avoided," he said.

"There is' no question at this point that something is going to have to be done. These deaths should not have occurred. "We know the ventilation system did not meet standards. We know that the carbon monoxide was caused by the heating system. SLED has completely ruled out any other source there never was any other source," Weeks said.

Med school proposals are presented COLUMBIA (AP) Recommendations on the future of medical education in South Carolina, including a proposal that the state's two medical schools be merged; are now in the hands of the state Commission on Higher Education. The report by the Blue Ribbon Committee on Medical Doctor Education was presented Thursday to the commission, which referred it to its Health and Medical Education Committee for review. Commission Chairman Fred Shee-heen of Camden called for an evaluation "at the earliest possible date. The commission is expected to consider the report at its meeting next month. The medical school merger was approved in a 14-7 vote last week by the task force.

However, the committee did not make a decision on how the combined Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in, Columbia should be run. Committee chairman Dr. Gordon Blackwell. a former Furman University president, defended the report, saying, "There have already been attempts to Hicrowtit mir rnmmittee and its recom mendations." But he said the panel was as objective as he believed "was possible." "We worked hard," Blackwell said. "It was a good committee.

Automotive contest winners ty Vocational School) Michael Johnson, of Pickens (third place Jeff Kelly of Greenwood first place Ed Reams, Calvin Simpkins (GVF instructors) and John Bannister, of Greenwood (second place). (Staff photo by Jennifer Burke) Greenwood Vocational Facility students participated in a District I automotive mechanics competition Thursday. Students. were required to take a written test and a practice test on things learned during the school year. Winners for the contest and their instructors are, left to right, Robert Merrick (instructor Pickens Coun COLUMBIA (AP) The state Senate will consider final approval next week of legislation that would require a jail term or community service for drunken drivers who get caught more than once.

The bill got tentative approval in the Senate Thursday, as the House passed a separate bill outlawing open beer and wine containers in moving vehicles. The open container legislation, part of a popularly-backed effort to crack down on drunken driving, has been introduced for several years but has failed to pass before. A similar bill is before the Senate. The measure on drunken driving punishments would reduce jail terms for second and third offenders, but would take away the judge's option of suspending jail terms or community serviced The change in punishments for drunken driving were passed in the Senate without discussion. But a motion was made to allow for amendments on third and final reading.

Senators who supported the legislation concede the jail terms it sets are shorter than those currently provided by law. But they say the current jail terms are seldom meted out in the first two or three drunken driving tions. Under the bill, the first offender would be fined $50 to $200 or imprisoned for a Defense By ROGER BURTON Staff writer The prosecution rested its case late Thursday afternoon in the murder trial of Michael Anderson Godwin Sloan. Solicitor Donald Myers called 15 witnesses to the stand in a day and a half of testimony. The defense had its third witness on the stand at noon today.

Defense lawyers have indicated they will probably rest their case today and it could possibly go to the jury tomorrow. The last two witnesses for the state, an ex-SLED agent and a pathologist, took the entire afternoon Thursday with testimony involving the death of Molly Royem of West Columbia. Jeff Darling, former SLED employee and fingerprint expert, testified that he examined the handle broken from a travel iron found in the apartment. The iron and handle were found close to the body of Miss Royem at her West Columbia apartment Jan. 12, 1980.

The iron, which had the victim's blood type on it, is believed to be one of the murder weapons. barling testified that the palm print photographed on the iron handle was the same as an inked print taken from Sloan. Darling said the latent print was begins case in murder trial COLUMBIA (AP) -SA gas heating system produced the carbon monoxide fumes that killed five young people and seriously injured a sixth at a Barnwell clubhouse in December, says a prosecutor. "That's the bottom line," Solicitor Robert J. Harte said Thursday.

"We can find no foul play involved in the deaths." Harte told The State newspaper he had been briefed on the results of a lengthy Law Enforcement Division investigation into the deaths but had not yet received the written report. SLED spokesman Hugh Munn said the "voluminous" report may be delivered to Harte by the end of this week. The Aiken prosecutor said lje would not decide whether to seek' criminal charges or an inquest until he sees the report. He said he would decide whether to proceed with criminal action within a day or two of receiving the report. I don 't want to rule out the possibility that some regulations may have been violated," the solicitor said.

Harte said the heating system was not ventilated in accordance with state regulations. But, he added that other factors may have contributed to the buildup of deadly carbon monoxide fumes in the clubhouse. The victims were found Dec. 21, the day after a party at the Salkehatchie Coon Hunters Association clubhouse on S.C. 70 about two miles east of Barnwell near the Georgia-South Carolina border.

Authorities said the youths- stayed overnight at the clubhouse the night of Dec. 20 to clean up after a party. Auto- psies listed the cause of the deaths as asphyxiatio from carbon monoxide poisoning. Extensive tests were performed on the clubhouse heating system by gas association officials and the federal Consumer Products Safety Commission, Munn said. A Consumer Product Safety Commission official said in January that the buildup of fumes was caused by improper venting of the heating system, but that explanation was labeled premature by state and local officials.

Independent experts hired by a law firm representing the families of the victims also have tested the heating system, according to Thomas W. Weeks, attorney with the Barnwell law firm of difficult to pinpoint the exact time of death because of the unknown heat factor inside the apartment," said Brissey. The first defense witness took the stand this morning. Lexington County Coroner Harry Harmon told Beck- that he investigated the. death of Molly Royem and placed the time of death approximately two days prior to the discovery of the body.

"The time of death is not an expert opinion," said Harmon. "I don't know what the temperature of the room was. There was an odor about the body when we turned it over which would indicate decomposition." Patsy Habben, a SLED forensic sero-logist, was the third witness to testify. Habben was a state witness but was excused Wednesday, subject to recall by the defense. Habben's testimony this morning centered around a vaginal aspirate sample taken from the victim's body.

Habben testified that the sample was in an elevated state of decomposition. According to Habben, laboratory tests proved that sperm was present, but that due to the state of decomposition the blood type of the male donor could not be determined. Other witnesses for the defense will testify this afternoon. of such good quality he didn't have to use fingerprint powder. "Considerable force was used to get a print that good on the handle," said Darling.

"It didn't even need dusting." He added that the print indicated that the iron was held backward to its usual manner. Darling used photographic enlargements of the two prints to point out 12 identicial characteristics on each print. "There were many more, but 12 is the accepted number for an absolute positive identification," said Under cross-examination. Darling pointed out that nine points are acceptable. Dr.

Robert Brissey, the pathologist that performed the autopsy, was the last witness for the state. Brissey's testimony was lengthy and he used a female mannequin to point out several of his findings to the jury. Defense Attorney Danny Beck objected to the use of the mannequin because of the nature of the model, but Judge Julius Baggett overruled his objection. Using the mannequin, Brissey pointed out his findings to the jury. He told the jury that the head of the victim suffered numerous lacerations and severe traumas.

He added that the head was swollen until it "felt like a grape to the touch." Brissey said it was his conclusion that the weapon causing the head traumas was a flat smooth object. Myers interrupted to ask if the head wounds could have been caused by the travel iron. Brissey responded that it was his conclusion the iron could have caused the wounds. Brissey told the jury that he found bruises all over the body's torso and legs. He said evidence clearly indicated that the victim had been raped.

He said the head had been slammed down, into broken glass with such force that one particle was found embedded next to one eye. "There were also three stab wounds in the upper left portion of the back," said Brissey, pointing at the mannequin. "The upper and lower wounds penetrated the chest cavity and punctured the left lung. It is my opinion that either one of these wounds qould have caused death. The center wound stopped at the rib and could not have caused death." He added that the blows to the head could also have caused death.

In conclusion, Brissey said Molly Royem died as a result of head wounds and stab wounds to the back, some two or three days before she was found. "It's.