Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 1

Say 'thank you' to a Vietnam era serviceman A Jm lJ MATTOON ILLINOIS QDCO DC I TTT I 24 PACES lit YUI 41 13 CI NTS THUISDAY, MARCH 173 PHONE 23S4454 Fatal stabbing of Mattoon man hFd mis Edward Barrett at court Wednesday Three charges Barrett convicted motel. On the night of Aug. 27 the pair "went barhop-ping," said McCarthy, so that Miss Moutria could try to find her children. They met Ashenbramer at one of the bars, the state's attorney said. McCarthy said the women "drank and danced.

He added that Miss Cole later went back to the motel and Miss Moutria and Ashenbramer went to his home where they made further plans for partying. During the time they spent at the Ashenbramer home, aid McCarthy, "Mr. Ashenbramer was stabbed." He said that Miss Moutria and Miss Cole were "apprehended driving Ashenbramer's car when they were arrested in California." During interrogation by the FBI in California Miss Moutria told of the evening in the Ashenbramer home, McCarthy said. He added that Miss Moutria had liquor and "other stuff." Tulin agreed that the letter would substantiate the factual basis for reducing the charges to voluntary manslaughter. Judge Lund scheduled a recess until 1 m.

today to give McCarthy time to provde the court with the letter. He said he would use the letter to determine whether it was factual basis for the new charge. Tulin offered evidence In support of the lesser charge. He noted that Ashenbramer and Miss Moutria did have "sexual relations." He said that Miss Moutria had told of being "abused by men." Tulin added that this history "had resulted In Intense passion which resulted in the stabbing death of Kenton Ashenbramer." Miss Moutria and Ann Cole, 26, were arrested Oct. 31 in El Monte, by the FBI Returned to Coles County on Nov.

3, Miss Moutria has been held in the county jail at Charleston since that time. agreement and be bound by it, the court can tentatively accept the agreement or it can refuse the agreement." Judge Lund said be would tentatively accept the agreement "From what I have heard to far I not going to refuse the agreement," be explained. He added that if he later decides to refuse Miss Moutria would be placed back in the same position as before the- plea-bargaining agreement was proposed. McCarthy provided the court with the basis for his decision to enter plea-tiargalning agreement to the lesser charge of manslaughter. "The state has 69 witnesses," said McCarthy.

"By these witnesses we would establish that on or about Aug. 25, Miss Moutria left St. Louis with Miss Ann Cole and went to her home at Watson." They arrived in Mattoon on Aug. 26 and registered at a CHARLESTON. III.

Miss Shirley Mac Moutria, 27. pleaded guilty today fat Coles County Circuit Court to-a negotiated plea of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the stabbing death of Kenton G. Ashenbramer, 34, of Mattoon on Aug. 27. The plea bargaining agreement was worked out between Public Defender Ronald Tulin, who was representing Miss Moutria, and State's Atty.

John J. Jr. The agreement calls for Miss Moutria to serve a term of not less than 6 years and not -more than 18 years in prison. It also calls for the dismissal of three counts of murder and one count of theft which were previously filed against her. Possible sentences for voluntary manslaughter run from one to 20 years.

Presiding Judge Carl Lund of Paris told Miss Moutria, "The court can immediately accept the plea bargaining "Site admits to realizing that in. the evening or early in the the morning Mr. Ashenbramer was stabbed," said McCarthy. "She also admitted that if he were dead, the did it." Miss Moutria later went back to the motel, McCarthy said. "She was in a very nervous condition, very excited and she had the Ashenbramer car and some property from the Ashenbramer home," The state's attorney said Miss Cole told authorities.

He said Miss Moutria told Miss Cole, that "Mr. Ashenbramer had been stabbed." They then left Mattoon and proceeded west and were later arrested in California. McCarthy said he was waiting for a transcript of a letter Miss Moutria wrote to her 'parents "wherein it admits to the offense of stabbing Mr. Ashenbramer." The state's attorney and CHICAGO (AP) Cook County (Chicago) CTerk Edward J. Barrett has been convicted of mail fraud, tax evasion and accepting bribes in connection with voting machine purchases for the county.

-The verdict Wednesday by a U.S. District Court jury apparently ended a 43-year political career for Barrett, 72, a. former Illinois secretary of state and a political ally of 'Democratic chine Co. of Bala Cynwyd, Pa. He' testified that he paid Barrett the bribes during clandestine meetings at O'Hare International Airport from 1967 through 1970.

Barrett's attorney, Thomas A. Foran, tried to show that Meyers had used the money he said he paid to Barrett to support a "gross gambling habit." Meyers now is serving a prison term for bribery, but he was given immunity in the Barrett Mayor Richard J. Daley. State law prohibits anyone case in return for his testi convicted of a felony from hold mony. Barrett first won elective of fice in 1930, when he bucked the regular Democrats to win the nomination and then the election for state treasurer.

ing public office. Thus the County Board, scheduled to meet March 19, must declare Barrett's office vacant. Judge Richard B. Austin set sentencing for April 17. He could get a maximum of 80 years in prison and a (106,000 fine.

The government, In a 16- In 1932 he was elected state auditor and re-elected in 1936. 26-year-old Mattoon man victim After his election in 1944, he served as secretary of state un til 1952, when he was defeated Hotel to close completely on Saturday count indictment, had charged in the Republican sweep that qM carried Dwight D. Eisenhower Cirssiini) eirosh to the presidency. He won election as county clerk in 1956, and won again in h. Hotel U.S.

Grant will 1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970. Danny Dean Shaw, 26, of the closed completely after dinner hour on Saturday. Ban-eft's conviction came 16 8th was killed shortly noon Wednesday when the I'mfmiMm-'l after days after another federal 'jury The decision to close that Barrett accepted $180,000 in bribes to assure that the county purchased voting machines from a Pennsylvania company; that he received kickbacks on Insurance sold to the county for the machines; and that he failed to pay income tax on the bribe The government's case rested primarily on the testimony of Irving Meyers, "former president of the Shoup Voting Ma- 1.9 per cent southbound Illinois Central longtime Mattoon establishment Gulf Railroad train struck a convicted former Illinois Gov. Otto Kerner and his political associate, Theodore J. Isaacs, was announced in a letter from O.

M. Westrup, president of the board of directors, to of accepting bribes in' a race stockholders of U.S. Grant Hotel track stock scandal. Co. 1973 Coles County traffic deaths 4 The company's U.S.

Grant Motel on south Lake Land Blvd. will continue to operate. "We have plans under consideration Prices soar for certain changes and renovations at the motel which we sincerely trust will warrant the continuance of its operation," Westrup stated in the letter announcing the hotel's closing. On Feb. 20 it was announced pickup truck two miles north of Mattoon just east of U.S.

45. According to Coles County Coroner Richard "Dick" Lynch, Shaw "apparently pulled out in front of the train. He apparently didn't ee it." Shaw, operator of Shaw's 66 Service Station at 300 Lake Land was alone in the truck at the time of the ac- cident. Lynch said an inquest would probably be held within 10 days, "I have to get statements from the train crew and reports, from the sheriff's office," he said. Lynch said the engineer of the train felt Shaw didn't see train coming.

The intersection is not marked by mechanical signals. i Shaw, who was eastbound, "could have teen looking at U.S. .45," and not seen the train, Lynch said. Lynch said the train dragged the pickup south on the tracks for approximately eight tenths of a mile after the initial impact. The force of the collision sheared the cab of the truck niiinit trmm (ha MIiL" (AP) -Wholesale prices soared 1.9 per cent last month for the biggest rise since the early Korean War inflationary surge in 1951, the government said today.

The rise in February included another sharp increase of 3.9 per cent for farm products and processed foods, the third big monthly jump in a row that added up to an annual rate of 56 per cent. Prices of a broad range of industrial raw materials rose 1.1 r. soar. The over-all. rise in the bureau's wholesale price index was a.

little per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis. Farm products and processed foods were up per cent seasonally and industrial raw materials one per cent on that basis. The report said the index rose at an annual rate of 11 per cent over the past six months, which included five months of the more stringent Phase 2 and one month of Phase 3. "Prices in the last three months of the period advanced more rapidly than in the first that the. hotel was discontinuing its room rentals and would continue to operate its food and beverage business.

"Since that time, it has become apparent that the continuance of the food business in the hotel cannot be justified," Westrup said today. "Therefore, effective after dinner on Saturday, March 10, the TT.S. Grant Hotel will be completely closed down. This decision has been made with the greatest regret," Westrup's letter stated. Probe auto the front of the engine.

Mr. Shaw was born Sept. 8, 1946, in Jewett, the son of Dewey and Beulah Coats Shaw. He married Helen Louise Kimball in Mattoon on June 13, 1970. He was a Vietnam veteran and a member of Mattoon Lodge 803, Loyal Order of Moose.

Survivors include his widow; four brothers, Cecil of Jewett, Melvin of "rural Charleston, Billy, of Greenup and Dewey of Mattoon; and three sisters, Mrs, Roy (Carolyn) Irby of Cisco, Mrs. Harley (Loretta) Freeman of Montrose and Mrs. Larry (Marcella) Peddycoart of Sigel. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Mit-chell-Jerdan Funeral Home with Rev.

William Powell officiating. Burial will be in Toledo Cemetery, Toledo. Friends may call at the funeral home after p.m. Friday. three an unusual climb in prices of farm products and processed foods and feeds in per cent, tne largest monwuy increase in 22 years, said the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The report appeared certain to raise new criticism of president Nixon's loosened Phase 3 economic controls, particularly from organized labor which has charged that wage hikes are virtually frozen at 5.5 percent while food prices continue to theff ring January and February, together with a faster pace for industrial commodities toward the end of the period," it said. tPMawi ii yji 1 1 viic uuvn jpy bed remained at uX scene of thp rnllisinn and the Cab was EFFINGHAM, 111. Illinois State Police, District 12, Effingham, are investigating a Golden Knights craft "vehicle theft ring Newton in Jasper County. carried down the tracks by the train, Lynch said. -Lynch arrived at the scene, shortly before 1 p.m.

and pronounced Shaw dead. The cab was then separated from The case has been under Airplane crashes Tangled wreckage In which local man died investigation for six months. Parts of 10 stolen vehicles were recovered on the Frank Maxwell farm. Route 3, Newton. Estimated value at the time of the theft was $31,800.

Maxwell, 54, Route 3, Newton has been charged, with possession of stolen property and released on central part of the state. Tipsword files for school board Witnesses said bodies and debris, including baggage and Bomb blasts rock London Journal i SILK HOPE, N.C (AP) A military plane on a recruiting tour crashed in a rural area of North Carolina today.A county 'sheruTs spokesman said at least15 bodies were found in packed parachutes, were scat tered over a wide area sur una inaaier a ucgi ce in education and master of science degree, library Navy during 1948 and 1949 again during the' Korean conflict, 1932 to 1953. Iafr Tipsword of Lafayette Township, has filed a petition of can- 22-23 2 Classified Comics rounding the crash site, a heav $3,000 bond in -Jasper County Circuit Court. sctenceT LONDON (AP) Two pow 4 ily wooded area about 30 miles Editorial the wreckage and there appar i didacy in Mattoon Community is a graduate of Beeehef; Tipsword was part owner erful bombs, aptraitly planH EBtertainnwnt southeast of Greensboro, n.u ently were no survivors. City High School, Central Ted lii cars, went off outside the Your Barber vShop, South S.

22 District Lnit 2. superin Jrrr resident of Obituaries Sports Womea's Old Bailey courthouse and government offices in Whitehall to 13-14 It the area, said he beard the plant's motor "come on and go tendents office for a seat on the Board of Education, He is the third person to file for the April 14 election, A native of Beecher City, The plane was usedby the VS. Army's Golden Knights parachute team, but Army said it could not confirm at once that members of the team were aboard. It was' not known" how many people were aboard the plane. At Old Bailey, a police spokesman said: "There are in excess of 150 casualties." Bombs were found and defused at Scotland Yard and i a a Searchers find missing boy CARRIER MrLLS, IB.

(AP) A 10-year-oM. boy, feared ne ana nn lamuy vjtukuj resided at 3412 Willow Drive, Route 45, for seven years and, barbered for three yearSat Don's Barber Shop, 321 Lake Land. Blvd. coach in Mattoon Babe Ruth baseball for five years, Tipsword and his family has resided in the area 15 years. Others to file for seats on the board are Dr.

Jerry L. Hastings and Paul Halsey both incumbents. is president of the board and Halsey is secretary. The last day to file petitions isMarchSa. Illinois Barber College at Decatur, Laura Hallford School of Beauty Culture and Lake Land College.

Graduated by Lake Land at the end of the winter quarter. Tipsword received ah associate degree in social science. The candidate and his wife, Wilma. are both employed at Lake Land College. Tipsword is on the custodial staff and his wife is assistant holds a bacbelar of science degree in education from Eaatera Blinoia Unmrsty A Golden luugrui spmeswMii.

off. and then nearo wnai sounded like an explosion. Mrs. Alfred Newlin of Silk Hope said she saw the plane as it flew over her house before it crashed. "It came over our house from the south, and it sounded like a plane foing down.

I went out and looked up fa the. air. There was a lot of fog, and visibility was ray poor. I saw it whirling with its nose dowa. A few seconds later.

I beard it missing, was found unharmed, jonservawre ana iauur paiua otvi walking throueh farm fields a Temperature 2 p.m. 65 Yesterday's temperatures high Ww SI Mostly ctewly aad cool toaigBt witk skowert likely by toning. Lows tool flit ta the pper 3to or lower 4s. Friday dowry aad sot to warm witk Aovtn aad ftaarienfcowerf Ekety. Hijcte hi (be apper Ma meet Westminster.

Mattoon. They have three children, Larry, employed by Superior Maftufactunng Roger, employed by Moore Farm Building at Charleston; and Judith, a 1972 graduate of Mattoon High School. Both ons also are MHS graduates. Tipsword aerved to tha Capt Chris Neeldes, said at Ft Bragg, N.C that the C47, a propeller-driven craft of World War II vintage. 'had left Ft Bragg en route to Kansas on an Army recruiting tour.

The crash occurred about 9 At Old Bailey, children wrapped in blankets were seen few miles from his home. More than 100 persons searched most of. Wednesday with the aid of airplanes and bloodhounds for fba boy, John MrTtfi being carried into ambulances. Police said they did not be- fiawa Otero vera any aba to Cfaafliaa Gurry la Cm.