Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 1

i If 1995 Decatur, Illinois Monday, May 22, 1995 50 cents Home delivery: 38 cents i HM-7 0 ix-08fense iecretary But experts warn results mask wave of teen violence isnin dies WASHINGTON (AP) Former Defense Secretary Les Aspin, who was appointed to steer the Pentagon into the uncharted waters of the post-Cold War era but resigned under pressure, died Sunday night after suffering a massive stroke. He was 56. "I speak for millions of Americans when mourning the death today of Les Aspin and join many others in saying that he was my friend," said President Clinton in WASHINGTON (AP) Violent and nonviolent crime reported to police dipped in 1994 for the third consecutive year, the FBI said Sunday. But experts said the figures conceal trouble ahead as teen-age boys commit murder at alarming rates. Police reports of seven major crimes dropped 3 percent compared to 1993.

That included a 4 percent decline in the violent crimes and a 3 percent reduction in the far more numerous property crimes, the bureau said. Although declines occurred in every region of the country and in cities of almost every size, experts said the heartening statistics mask an explosion of gun murders by teen-age boys. "The overall crime rate hides crime showed a reduction in all but the West, where it remained at the 1993 level. Among cities, the largest decline in overall reported crime was 6 percent in those with more than 1 million residents. All others showed smaller declines except cities of 10,000 to 24,999, where reported crime remained level.

In suburbs, overall crime showed no change; it increased by 1 percent in rural areas. "We're now in the lull before the crime storm," Fox said. As the children of baby boomers age, "by the year 2005, we will have 23 percent more teen-agers than now." The problem is confined to boys with guns. The homicide rate among teen-age girls has not risen. the grim truth because it mixes together two crime trends going in opposite directions," said James Alan Fox, dean of the College of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University.

"The rate adults commit crime is dropping fast. The 76 million baby boomers, who dominate the numbers, are getting into middle age and are not so violent as when they were younger," Fox said. "But the rate at which boys are committing crimes, particularly homicide, is skyrocketing." The FBI's preliminary annual report has no data on the age of offenders. But Fox said final FBI data from 1985-93 show that the number of adults age 25 or older committing murder decreased 20 percent. In the same period, homi cides committed by 18- to 24-year-old males increased 65 percent and by 14- to 17-year-old males by 165 percent.

In 1994, the FBI said, robbery dropped the most, by 6 percent; murder and rape each were down 5 percent; aggravated assault declined by 2 percent. Among property crimes, burglary went down 5 percent, followed by motor vehicle theft, down 2 percent, and larceny-theft, down 1 percent. Partial figures for arson also showed a 1 percent drop. Every region reported a decline in reported crime: 5 percent in the Northeast, 2 percent in the South, and 1 percent in the Midwest and in the West. Violent crime declined in all regions and property Aspin Dead at the age of 56 a statement.

"Les Aspin accomplished greatly because he cared greatly," ASPIN Continued on A2 Postcards Quick Take fl man Ei' Golden ortunity The Golden BM rf III! mr a State mi Warriors, with the fifth-worst league record, HISTORY CASE: Decatur Pastor Wayne Easterling looks through his briefcase for the papers he keeps on the time he spent in the Navy in World War II. Easterling is trying to help a Belleville family untangle a real-life mystery surrounding a sailor involved in a World War II ship disaster. the key family unsolved mystery scored a key win on Sunday by getting the No. 1 NBA draft pick. Sports B1 Ship disaster survivor says TV show wrong about WWII sailor Herald ReviewStephen Warmowski A look at who might compete in Area Best meet Chart inside B3 Mob underboss now a bullseye MOUNT ZION The TV dramatization shows a sad little girl sitting next to her grandma.

"When's uncle coming home?" the girl asks. Grandma cries as she says "I don't know." But Decatur pastor Wayne Easterling knows, and he's carried that knowledge for half a century. "The story Salvatore "Sammy Postcards The Bull" Gravano is getting out of prison this spring and joining the Witness Protection Program with a new name, a new hometown and a mob-ordered bounty reportedly worth up to $1 million on his head. on the 'Unsolved Mysteries' TV show is about a sailor called Frank Bloomer," says Wayne, 76. "His ship was torpedoed and blown up in Gravano 5 ST" Mi nimi li ltw REID Nation B6 Bombed-out building to be imploded Thousands turned out Sunday for one last look at the Alfred P.

Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The bombed-out building, where 167 people died, is scheduled to be demolished on Tuesday. Nation A2 World War II, but his family thinks he survived. Sadly, he did not and I know, because I was a sailor on that ship." NBC's "Unsolved Mysteries" recreates real-life mysteries. Shows are rebroadcast five days a week on the Lifetime cable channel.

"Years ago I was contacted by a member of the family from Belleville, and I did tell them there wasn't any hope," says Wayne, who lives in Mount Zion and pastors First Wes-leyan Church. But the story persists and aired again recently. This time Wayne's wife Ruth saw it, MYSTERY Continued on A7 s--: Tr' 1 Garfield program sparks turf war The Montessori approach to education is catching on at Garfield school. But the school has little space for Montessori to grow, and parents of students who have attended the traditional program for years fear losing their building. Central Illinois A3 Weather Submitted photo A MISTAKEN IDENTITY: The family of sailor Frank Bloomer think he's the man in the middle of this picture.

Decatur pastor Wayne Easterling, left, knows the sad truth. All three wounded sailors had just been rescued from the sea after their destroyer was torpedoed in 1943. National poll shows public more cynical than media Millikin graduation brings father and daughter full circle TODAY: Partly cloudy and warm. High of 77. TONIGHT: Mostly cloudy, chance of t-storms.

Low of 54. Details B12 By TED KLEINE Staff Writer cynical. Nonetheless, when asked if the press is too cynical, more than half the media representatives said yes. The press was also critical of its coverage of complex issues, with 80 percent saying too little attention is paid to them. The poll, conducted in March and April, revealed a gulf between the outlooks of the press and the public.

For instance, newspeople were more inclined than the public to believe that Washington politicians are honest and ethical. More than half the national journalists and one-third of the local media voiced that view, compared to 18 percent of the public. Similarly, religious leaders got a high ethical rating from three-quarters of the national press, compared to 55 percent of the public. WASHINGTON (AP) Cynicism and distrust toward government, corporate executives and religious leaders is greater among the American public than the media, according to a poll contrasting the views of news-people, opinionmakers and the general public. However, nearly two-thirds of the public, and the same percentage of opinion leaders, see the press as too adversarial, according to the poll by the Times Mirror Center For the People and the Press.

Among the press people surveyed, only one-third agreed with that view. When asked about their personal cynicism, only talk radio hosts as a group matched the outlook of the general public, with nearly half describing themselves as highly cynical. By comparison, only a quarter of the media and 13 percent of opinion leaders said they were I -J Index Ann Landers Al 1 Movies Al 1 Classified B7-1 1 Obituaries A5 Comics A8 Puzzles Lifestyle All, 12 Television A12 Our 123rd year Issue 142 Two sections DECATUR As a state department correspondent for CNN, Steve Hurst is used to speaking before millions of people each day. But Hurst's speech before 415 Millikin University graduates made him nervous. "It makes me more nervous to speak in front of a live audience than a TV camera," said Hurst, a 1970 Millikin graduate who spoke at Sunday's commencement in Fairview Park.

In his speech, Hurst drew on his experience as a TV reporter in Moscow, where he witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union. "If you think things are a bit unsetUed in your world," he said, consider the Russians, who have seen communism replaced by "free- Herald ReviewHerb Slodounik PROUD DAD: Steven R. Hurst, keynote speaker at Millikin University commencement ceremonies, poses with his daughter, Sally, who also graduated from Millikin on Sunday. MILLIXIN i i ii in ii in Hill 111 il Continued on A4 ii 02138 "OOOOl" 8f".