Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 4

Central Decatur, Illinois Herald Review Wednesday, August 10, 1994 i 1 1 All pfif Herald Review Father took nude photos of his son in an attempt to extort money from elderly man. Cumberland County Circuit Court in June to charges of child pornography and theft. Bible was sentenced to five years in prison on the theft charge. That term "will run at the same time as the pornography sentence. Defense attorney Karen Fuqua had sought a term of probation, while Cumberland County State's Attorney Millard Ever-hart sought a prison sentence.

Associate Judge H. Dean Andrews announced the prison term after taking the issue under advisement for almost a week. not to go to police with an allegation that the elderly man had taken the photographs. Police somehow ended up being called to investigate the allegations anyway and originally focused their efforts on the elderly 5 man. Everhart said the man admitted to taking the pictures, but police didn't believe him and continued investigating.

The theft charge stems from Bible having taken a signed check and drawing $3,700 from the man's bank account. In return for the guilty plea, charges of intimidation and obstructing justice were dismissed. According to Cumberland County State's Attorney Millard Everhart, Bible had taken nude photographs of his 13-year-old son inside the elderly man's home Dec. 15, 1993. He planned to use them to blackmail the man.

Everhart said Bible planned to confront the man with the pictures and demand money and property in return for a promise K''L. lX I A 71 -fit I 1 vt I 1 1 I '1 iSJ -1 1-1'- 4 Probation, fine ordered in drug case EFFINGHAM A Houston man pleaded guilty Tuesday to unlawful possession with intent to deliver 48 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $132,114. Mark Arriaga, 21, was sentenced Tuesday in Effingham County Circuit Court to 48 months of probation and 180 days in the county jail. He also was fined $5,000, ordered to pay a $1,000 drug assessment and make a $500 contribution to the Southeastern Illinois Drug Task Force. In return for the guilty plea, charges of unlawful possession of cannabis and cannabis trafficking were dismissed.

The charges stemmed from a May 4 traffic stop along north- bound Interstate 57 south of Effingham. The marijuana was found in a duffel bag in the back seat of the car Arriaga was driving. Two charged with cocaine possession MATTOON A Mattoon woman and a Decatur man were arrested Saturday evening in Mattoon for possession of crack cocaine. Agents from the East Central Illinois Task Force and the Mattoon Police Department, acting on information from a neighborhood watch program, arrested Calvin L. Cunningham, 26, of Decatur and Alicia M.

Hull, 24, of Mattoon at a Mattoon apartment complex Saturday. Both were accused of possession of crack cocaine and possession of cannabis. Cunningham and Hull were taken to the Coles County Jail pending the filing of formal charges. This is the fourth arrest related to the highly addictive form of cocaine within the past three months in Mattoon. Rules of Road Review offered DECATUR Two Rules of the Road Review courses are being offered Friday, Aug.

12, to residents in Decatur and Macon County. This course, sponsored by the Illinois Secretary of State's office, is free to everyone, any age, who wishes to attend. The course will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. at St. Paul's Methodist Church, 1305 E.

Prairie and from 1 to 3 p.m. at Westminister Presbyterian Church, 1360 W. Main St. Get into swim at Splash program DECATUR Openings re main at the First Splash In Learning program at the First Lutheran Preschool at 250 W. Decatur St.

The class for 3-year-olds meets from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday. The class for 4-year-olds meets from 9 to 11:15 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And the Year to Grow class for 5-year-olds meets from 12:30 to 2:45 p.m.

Monday through Thursday. For more information, call 425-6338 or 423-7783. Kent speaking at minority program iDECATUR Decatur schools Acting Superintendent Charlie Kent Jr. will speak at a recognition program next week for enrollees in the Minority Youth Summer Employment Program. A subcommittee of the Decatur Advantage 2020 will host the program from 6 to 7:45 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 15, at the Decatur-Macon County Opportunities Corp. at 1122 E. Marietta St. This is the third annual recognition program, designed to emphasize the success of Decatur's Minority Youth Summer Employment Program.

Educational information from minority fraternities and sororities will be available, as will career information from local businesses. The event is open to the public. Call 428-2193. Roads to undergo construction DECATUR Motorists wishing to drive on Harrison and Mueller avenues and 40th Street must use the Mueller Avenue entrance as of today. Construction will close the Harrison Avenue intersection.

Brush College Road will be closed to through traffic at the Norfolk Southern Railway Co. crossing north of Faries Parkway at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 21. By SCOn PERRY Effingham Bureau Chief TOLEDO A Greenup man who took nude pictures of his son in an attempt to extort money from an elderly man was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison.

Mark D. Bible, 35, had pleaded guilty in Ex-administrators called back as interim leadership DECATUR The Decatur school board called back some retirees Tuesday to man its vacant princi-palships and a central administra tion slot. Three retired administrators and a principal who had been on general leave were temporarily appointed to administrative spots to start the school year. Lloyd Moma, recently retired principal of En- Ground Back to school terpnse school, will open Washington school. Former Washington Principal Dan Fuentes is now director of special programs for the district.

Connie Ground, who retired from French Academy in 1990, will return to the school to replace Charles Harris. Harris has accepted a middle school principalship in Champaign. Marge Handley, who was director of special programs until she retired this summer, will be human resources director. Charlie Kent current human resources director, is acting superintendent. Alana Kirk was appointed as the principal to open school at Oak Grove school.

She replaces Naomi McPherson, who will move to Stevenson school to permanently fill a principal vacancy there. Kirk was on general leave; she most recently was Coppenbarger school principal. Kent said the appointees will be paid by the day. Also appointed was Susan Kemper as a 12-month dean at Stephen Decatur High School. Her position is permanent.

State Highway department veteran gets the nod despite objection by three members. By DEBSIE PIERCE Mattoon Bureau Writer CHARLESTON A 25-year veteran of the state highway department was appointed Coles County engineer Tuesday, de spite the protests of three county board members. Fred J. Sherer of Hum bolt was named to the post effective Jan. 1, 1995.

His salary will be $54,000 for the first year of a six-year contract. The vote to approve Sherer was 9 to 3. Sherer will replace county engineer Randy Malone, who is retiring at the end of this year. Roberts Says board made good choice. In recommending Sherer for the job, board member Keith Eaton said the county road and bridge committee had received 10 applications and interviewed four candidates.

He said Sherer is a county resident and has extensive experience. But board member Dave Snick had other thoughts. "The easy thing would be to vote yes," Snick told the board. "But I don't believe Sherer was anyone's first choice. He was not highly recommended by the (road and bridge) committee; he was approved by a 3-2 vote." recruited leu iieDiieirs It f) I realtor's By JUDY TATHAM Staff Writer DECATUR Realtors and their business associates around Central Illinois have pledged $10,625 as a reward for the conviction of Sherry Lewis' killer.

The 30-year-old real estate agent was buried Tuesday, four days after she was found strangled on the kitchen floor cf a vacant house on Finch Avenue she was to show a man. The Decatur Area Association of Realtors pledged but Tuesday the group got nelp from mortgage companies, banks and real estate agencies in Central Illinois. A Springfield realtors' association pledged $250 and a DeWitt County association offered $500, said Jack Myatt, chief executive officer of the Decatur group. "Our phones have been ringing off the wall," he said. Myatt notified associations throughout the state about the Friday slaying, he said.

Decatur area real estate people continue to be "totally shocked," by the killing, he said. "They're being extremely cautious." On Aug. 17, Macon County Sheriff Lee Holsapple will meet with area realtors to update them on the murder investigation and talk about precautions they should take, Myatt said. On Tuesday, Holsapple said, "We still feel like we are making progress. It's a tough case.

We are working with a lot of unknowns, but I feel optimistic." He said the investigation is focusing on local people and that only one person is believed to have been involved in the slaying. Lewis is believed to have gone to the house sometime between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Friday. Finch Avenue runs west off Greenswitch Road, south of Mound Road. Anyone who saw suspicious activity in that area should call the sheriff's office at 424-1311 or Crime Stoppers at 423-8477.

Slodounik having to hire outside consultants with expertise in this area, and that's coming out of our county budget." Yow continued, "About 25 percent of what's treated in our landfills comes from outside the county. That's on the increase, too. Tipping fees are like user fees if more comes from outside the county, more will be paid by outside sources' There are three major differences between tipping fees and host agreements: Tipping fees are imposed by a county on a landfill based on the amount of waste dumped there; a The money collected must be used for solid waste expenses (such as recy- cling); and The fees are strictly regulated by state statutes. Host agreements, on the other hand, are negotiated fees between a county and a landfill for its use. The money collected can be used for general government pur-; poses and there is no regulation by stat-' ute.

Tipping fees, while charged to the landfill, most likely would be passed on to the garbage haulers and, ultimately, to county residents. According to statistics provided by the Coles County Regional Planning and Development Commission, there are 20,734 businesses and occupied houses in the county. Based on an anticipated $90,000 generated by the fees per year, the an-; nual increase per house or business would amount to $3.27. DEBBIE PIERCE death now at $10,625 Herald ReviewHerb The five chimneys atop the Millikin Homestead are in the process of being tuck pointed. Darren Lemon of Raymond, working for Western Waterproofing, applies cement between the bricks Tuesday.

mtklm selectoem mm emilmeer County leans! toward tipping fees Snick said Sherer was interviewed by the Moultrie County Board a couple of years ago and rejected. He said Sherer's number of years of employment does not prove he is highly qualified. "He's coming in at a higher salary than the present county engineer," Shick said. "And that's about $4,000 a year less than what he asked for. I'd recommend we hire a younger person at a lower salary, someone who'll be here for 20 years or so." Joining Shick was board member Eugene Sims.

"I don't like to be blunt, but if this board had operated the way it should have, the (road and bridge) committee would have taken the time to interview all 10 (candidates)," he said. "Then the full board could have voted. This whole thing is very unfair." Board member Rex Roberts said he thought the committee had done a good job in its selection. "I think he (Sherer) will give the county some leadership," he said. "I talked to two (people) in Paris and got positive feedback." Roberts reminded the board that, "We took an oath to represent the county It disappoints me that this is happening." Besides Shick and Sims, the other "no" vote was cast by Tim Yow, who didn't enter the discussion.

Sherer is a 1962 graduate of Mattoon High School and a 1968 graduate of Eastern Illinois University with a degree in math and physics. As a maintenance field engineer with the Illinois Department of Transportation, he has been responsible for a five-county area: Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, De-Witt and Shelby counties. The Coles County engineer is responsible for all county and township roads and bridges and the disbursement of motor fuel tax funds. Sherer will supervise a staff of three technicians and a secretary. Landfill measure called best, fairest way to alleviate costs to dispose of solid waste.

CHARLESTON Coles County took a step closer to solving its solid waste disposal questions Tuesday, The county board discussed the benefits of an ordinance levying tipping fees for all garbage disposed of at the county's two landfills. No action was taken, but the board agreed to vote on the ordinance at its September meeting. The ordinance was drawn up by the county's regional planning and development commission. Chairman Tim Yow told fellow board members that the mat' ter has been under discussion for several months. "We don't want this to look like a rail road job' he said.

"We care what the public wants. Tipping fees seem the fairest way of covering the county's expenses. 'Tipping fees would affect everyone and would be the same for all users," Yow explained "Another option would be host fees, but those aren't across the board so they open the way for favoritism." According to the proposed ojrdinance, a tipping fee "to the maximum allowed by the state" would be charged to use the landfills currently in the county or ones added in the future. "We're blessed to have two landfills in this county when the state is closing many others' Yow said. VBut we're fcomBCTTOHS: The hrst Lotheran Preschool'g "First Splash in Learning is a preschool learning prograi.

8-11-94.