University Daily Kansan, October 25, 1983
Page 3
NEWS BRIEFS From Area Staff and Wire Reports 17-year-old pleads guilty in criminal abortion case
A 17-year-old former Haskell Indian Junior College student, accused of killing her newborn son in August, pleaded guilty yesterday to a charge of criminal abortion in the juvenile division of Douglas County District Court.
The girl, Martha Lacapa, was put in custody of the Douglas County Sheriff's office. Her case was continued until Nov. 11 to allow for psychiatric evaluation through the Bert Nash Mental Health Center, 336 Missouri St.
Lacapa had originally been charged with first-degree murder in the case. She was to have had a formal hearing on the murder charge yesterday but entered a guilty plea to the criminal abortion charge.
Lacapa was tried as a juvenile, which means that the charge is a Class D felony. On a Class D felony, the maximum penalty for girls or girls at Belor
The body of the baby boy was found between concrete culverts on the west side of the Haskell campus Sept. 6 by a woman walking her dog.
Convicted rapist receives sentence
Dennis M. Jackson was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison yesterday as the result of his conviction of sexually assaulting three women in July.
Jackson, 23, will be eligible for parole in about 13 years. Mary Prewitt, assistant district attorney, said yesterday.
Jackson was convicted Sept. 30 of rape, aggravated sodomy and aggravated assault against one woman and of attempted rape, aggravated sodomy and aggravated assault against her roommate. The second conviction occurred on July 11. He was also convicted of aggravated burglary in that incident.
Jackson was also convicted of aggravated burglary, sexual battery and aggravated assault against another woman who said that he entered her apartment on July 27. He had also been ocwncited on eavesdropping in connection with a window-peeping incident on July 27.
Request on redevelopment explained
A Lawrence woman yesterday revealed that she was the person who requested a legal opinion on whether two city commissioners have a conflict of interest in downtown redevelopment.
Council of Interest, New York Tech School
Kate Webber, 819 Maine St., last week asked state Rep. Betty Jo
Charlton, D-Lawrence, for the state attorney general's opinion on the
conflict.
Webber said she had asked for the opinion because she thought it warranted a legal opinion. She said also that she was not representing any group or organization.
Mayor David Longhurst and Commissioner Mike Amyx both own downtown businesses in the area that would be redeveloped under the plan presented by Sizer Realty Co. Inc., Kenner, La. Both men voted this summer against acceptance of the plan.
Jurv selection begins for Litton suit
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jury selection began yesterday in the trial of a lawsuit brought by the family of Congressman Jerry Litton, who was killed in a plane crash the night he won Missouri's Democratic nomination for the Senate.
Jury selection began about 1:30 p.m. in federal district court. The office of U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs, who will preside at the trial, said a pool of 40 potential jurors was called for questioning.
Litton, his wife, Sharon, their two children, the pilot and the pilot's teen-age son were killed in the crash the night of Aug. 3, 1976.
The suit filed seven years ago names the Beech Aircraft Corp. of Wichita as a defendant.
Killer pit bull dogs to be destroyed
HARPER - Two pit bull terrier dogs that mauled an elderly woman to death will be destroyed and a decision whether to file charges against the animals' owner will be made tomorrow, a county attorney said.
Harper County Attorney Phil Unrush declined to say what charges might be filed against the 19-year-old owner of the dogs that mailed Grace Parsons, 67, on Saturday as she went outside to pick up her morning newspaper.
Police Chief Ed Starkes found Parsons' body on the front lawn of her home around 8 a.m. Saturday. The dogs were chewing on the woman, who was still breathing, Starkes said. She died at a hospital about 90 minutes later.
A neighbor reported that she had seen Parsons go outside, apparently to pick up her news reporter, around 6 a.m.
to pick up her newspaper, in Unrhub met yesterday with Sheriff John Catherwood and Starks.
Unruh met yesterday with Sheil John Carter and Sunk." "I was given a formal briefing this morning on the latest developments in the case," Unruh said. "It's being given priority attention here."
Attorney savs phone hike unfair
TOPEKA — An attorney for the Kansas Corporation Commission staff yesterday charged southwestern Bell Telephone Co. with wanting to apply most of its $213.7 million proposed rate increase on "the little person."
Lee Woodard, a Wichita attorney hired by the KCC to handle the largest rate increase ever proposed by a Kansas utility, said in opening statements that "cool deliberations" in the case should not fall victim to "buzz words" used by Southwestern Bell.
“This case is complex and complicated because of radical changes that are occurring in telecommunications,” he said. “These changes are mandated at the federal level but tie the states' hands — or so Southwestern Bell would have you believe.”
Woodard said the KCC staff had reduced its original recommendation of how much of an increase Southwestern Bell should be allowed to between $70 million and $90 million.
Woman reports early-morning assault
The woman told police that someone grabbed her, put his hands over her mouth and told her not to scream.
A 19-year-old woman was assaulted early yesterday morning as she was walking along the 400 block of West 23rd Street, according to Lawrence police.
ON THE RECORD
SOME CHANGE, SEVEN cases of beer, 11 cartons of cigarettes and a 22-caliber pistol were among the items stolen sometime between 12:30 p.m. Saturday and 7:30 a.m. Sunday from the Congo Bar, 520 North Third St. police said. Entry was made through a window. The stolen items were worth $222. An undetermined amount of food from a freezer was also stolen, but police have no suspects.
A 27-YEAR-OLD OTTAVA man was arrested and booked on drug charges about 1:30 a.m. yesterday near the north end of Clinton Dam yesterday after a sheriff's deputy found two bags of white powder and two bags of what appeared to be marijuana in the suspect's car. The sheriff said he had taken the drugs to see whether he needed help. The deputy saw the drugs when he looked in the car, the Douglas County Sheriff's Department said.
GOT A NEWS TIP?
Do you have a news tip, sports tip or photo idea? Call the Kansan news desk at (913) 864-4810.
The number for the Kansan Advertising Office is (913) 864-4358.
Task force finishes utility financing plan
By JOHN HOOGESTEGER Staff Reporter
The Lawrence Natural Gas Task Force last night made the final revisions in its financing plan to help needy people pay fuel bills.
The plan, which will be presented to the Lawrence City Commission next week, recommends that the city establish a fund to help people pay for services to the city aid in the financing by putting in $2,000 from its contingency fund.
The task force also will recommend that the City Commission appoint a special 15-member board to oversee.
THE TASK FORCE hopes to raise $75,000 in addition to the city's contribution of $25,000. Included in the recommendation is a clause that the city should develop a method for retaining some of the money from year to year to establish a permanent assistance fund.
The task force plan also includes a proposal that the city reduce its natural gas franchise tax from 5 percent to either 4 percent or 3 percent, to make the gas rate about the same as other city utility taxes.
evaluate and audit the program. The
work should also include evaluating
would allow you to accomplish contributions.
Included in the administrative recommendation is a clause saying that program's participants could receive up to $100 of the amount of their utility bill, and half the money requested beyond that point.
The recommendation also establ
THE TASK FORCE has estimated that about 2,000 people will need more training.
liness criteria for applying for aid and a 20-point administrative plan for carriage.
be assisted through the federal Social and Rehabilitative Services.
The group hopes to provide assistance to about 550 people through the new fund. Another 550 could be aided by other groups. The remainder organizations, and the remainder could
The federal Low-Income Energy Assistance Program is financed through the windfall profit tax on oil, although the program might not continue beyond 1984. LIEAP's funds do not increase each year, members of the task force said, so inflation is eating away at the program's effectiveness.
As of Oct. 20, KPS had shut off gas to 620 customers and had sent 920 notices.
Last year a program known as Warm Hearts used donations to help low-income Lawrence residents with their gas bills, but the task force does not think the city can rely on that sort of operation every year.
Students might receive higher dividends KU bookstores' sales up by 10 percent
By ANA DEL CORRAL Staff Reporter
Students could receive higher dividends from the Kansas Union bookstores next semester if a trend towards increased sales continues, the bookstores' general manager said yesterday.
Sales at the bookstore are up nearly 10 percent for the fiscal year that began July 1, said Steve Word, the general manager. His year's growth in sales was 2.34 percent.
CURRENTLY, THE BOOKSTORES pay a six-percent dividend.
The bookstores gross sales were $4.8 million last fiscal year. Word said.
The bookstores pay dividends to students who bring back sales receipts. The stores' profits each year determine the dividend rate.
"Chances are excellent that dividend rates will go up." Word said. "If the increase in sales goes along at the same rate, then dividends receivable go up another percent or two."
The decision about whether to increase student dividends will not be made until January, when figures for sales this semester are ready, he said.
Although inflation is in part accountable for the higher revenue sales, other factors helped increase revenues, he said.
The revenue increase is due in part to students' returning more used textbooks last semester, he said. This increased bookstore invests less in new textbooks.
Also, the introduction of new items that have proved popular with consumers has bolstered sales. Word said.
THE BOOKSTORES invested about $4,000 a year ago in a blueprint machine that reproduced architectural and technical drawings placed in the Frank R. Burge Union.
The machine is in high demand by architecture and engineering students, he said.
"We have a piece of modern equipment that we are literally driving into the ground from overuse," he said. "And the equipment there would be such a need for it."
The bookstore management is now investigating the possibility of purchasing a larger and more efficient point machine next semester, he said.
FOR RENT:
2500 VINYL DISCS. GUARANTEED TO BE IN PERFECT CONDITION. PRICE OF ALBUM REQUIRED AS DEPOSIT. 24-HOUR LEASE. CHECKS ACCEPTED, BUT PLEASE, NO PETS! MUST HAVE OWN CASSETTE DECK HOOK-UPS. NO UTILITIES OR BEDROOMS, BUT PLENTY OF TUNES. MUST SEE TO APPRECIATE! CALL OR COME BY BETWEEN 11:00 and 6:30 MONDAY-SATURDAY.
C90 RECORDS
1422 W. 23RD ST. — 841-0256
NCR computers that are compatible with the Honeywell computers that the University of Kansas uses also are in great demand, Word said.
"We are also leasing them to students," he said.
Also, this week at SUA:
Thurs., Oct. 27:
The Mouse That Roared
(with Peter Sellers, Jean Seberg.
7:30 p.m., Woodruff Aud.
Fri., Sat., Oct.
28th and 29th:
Mel Gibson (Mad Max,
The Road Warrior) in
The Year of Living
Dangerously.
3:30 p.m., 7 p.m., 9:30 p.m.
At midnight,
Andy Warhol's
Dracula (rated X)
All shows in Woodruff Aud.
$1.50 $2. Midnight