Columbia Missourian Newspaper 1978-04-22

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COLUMBIA, . M,. 65. ) 1
ST. 3- 1- 4- 74
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- Story on Page 6
70th Year - No. 185 Good Morning U Saturday. April 22. 1 978 14 Pages - 1 5 Cents .- -
Wilson now
old veteran
of council
Sixth Ward likes
his political style
Clyde Wilson has represented
Columbians in the southeast part of the
city for so long that some of them can't
recall who their previous councilman
were.
Wilson is the only councilman to
serve the Sixth Ward, created in 1973.
He has served on the council since 1971,
when he was elected by the old Fourth
Ward.
" He's the dean of the council, if
you're going by survival," says Ken-neth
Rail, 1121 Danforth Drive.
Because of his experience, Wilson is
probably the best- qualifi- ed to judge the
performance of this council midway
through its term.
" The most striking difference be-tween
this and the other councils I've
served on," he says, " is that up to now,
fiisigM
This report the sixth of seven
articles on the City Council. In the
series, the opinions of each city
council member and the mayor and
those of some of their constituents
about the council's mid- ter- m per-formance
are reported by Cathy
ReSman, Cameron Cohick, John
CaOison and Kaf-- I Yen of the
Missourian's special reporting team
on government and politics.
it really doesn't ' have any firm direc-tion.
It hasn't developed a program.
Even the lines of division on the council
are not established as yet."
WQson says this council doesn't work
together as smoothly as it should, but
-- he's not sure why."
"" The council's diverse,""..-- r.
Be says.
" That's sort of a good thing, but it also
means people are coming from a lot of
different directions. It's difficult for me
to tell, if I work on a bill, whether I'll be
able to get it passed."
Not all the council's problems are
political, Wilson says. " I know some of
it is personality. It shouldn't make any
difference, but it does."
Wilson once was quoted in an " un-guarded
moment" as saying this
council was the worst of the four he had
served on. After a year, Wilson has
softened his attitude.
" It's difficult to compare councils,"
he says. " Some have more opportuni-ties
man others. I mink we're in a
period of relative calm right now.
" I thought Flat Branch was going to
be the thing that would characterize
this council, but the first time we had an
opportunity to do something we backed
away from it."
Wilson said some of the council's
problems were exemplified by the
decision to dismantle the downtown
loop. " I was disappointed in the action
of the council. It was the first time I got
an inkling of what this council might be
like whether it would follow through
with its programs or whether it would
fold under the pressure."
Wilson feels experience is important
for council members.
" You reach a point where the ex-perience
doesn't add much to your
knowledge and background," he says.
" But up to a certain point, I think it's
( See CONSERVATIVE, Page 14)
Lee Meyer
Officer Tom Halford of the Missouri State Highway Patrol
searches the van abandoned by two armed suspects early
Friday morning. Halford had chased the suspects from In-terstate
70 south on U. S. 63, then west on Missouri 163 to
Bennett Lane, where they abandoned the van.
Fleeing youth shot, dies
after leading wild chase
By Larry King
Missourian staff writer
James Phipps and Anthony Lilly, a
pair of 17- year- o- lds from Kansas City,
Kan., were heading west on Interstate
70 at 7: 30 a. m. Friday, returning from a
trip to Arkansas.
Within the next hour and a half,
Phipps had used a sawed- of- f shotgun
stolen in Arkansas to take Lilly
hostage, and, after holding that shotgun
to Lilly's head, was shot and killed by a
Missouri State Highway Patrol captain
on the edge of a rural wooded area
south of Columbia.
As the episode ended, local officials
had only begun to piece together a
bizarre tragedy that involved a high-speed
chase, airplane and helicopter
surveillance, a march through a
wooded ravine and the evacuation of
several frightened citizens from their
country homes.
As police reconstructed the incident,
Phipps and Lilly decided to stop for gas
at the Millersburg exit east of Columbia
at about 7 : 30 a. m. With them in the van
was Robert Paul Hudson Jr., a San
Francisco- boun- d hitchhiker.
Hudson was not present at the
shooting. He had fled Lilly's van at the
Millersburg exit after he first suspected
trouble.
The trouble began when Lilly and
Phipps openly plotted to steal some
gasoline at Millersburg, Hudson told
police. He said the pair had agreed to
display the shotgun if trouble arose
with station attendants.
Hudson said he persuaded Phipps to
drop him off before they stopped for
gas. He then caught a ride to Columbia,
and told his driver of the robbery plans
he had overheard. After dropping
Hudson off near the Providence Road
exit, the driver called Columbia police,
who picked up Hudson.
Meanwhile, Phipps and Lilly put $ 5.90
worth of gas in the van and drove off
without paying. The station attendant
notified authorities.
As he approached Columbia, Phipps
turned onto U. S. 63 South where he was
spotted by highway patrol troopers
Tom Halford and Greg Overholt. They
began a high- spee- d chase which ended
on a dead- en- d gravel road near Pier- pon- t.
During the chase, which included a U- tu- rn
near Ashland, Phipps bumped the
highway patrol car twice, forcing
Halford to run into the highway's
median.
Upon reaching the dead end, the
suspects abandoned the van and ran
into a nearby barn. At that point,
Phipps, whom highway patrol officers
said was wanted in Kansas for escaping
from a detention center, turned the
shotgun on Lilly.
When Halford and Overfelt tried to
talk with Phipps from outside the barn,
they were met with obscenities. Phipps
threatened to " blow ( Lilly's) head off,"
and vowed not to be captured alive.
Phipps then left the barn and walked
into a wooded area, pressing the gun
against Lilly's head. Halford and
Overfelt followed at a safe distance, but
were close enough to speak with
Phipps.
While other officers from the high-way
patrol, the Boone County Sheriff's
Department and Columbia police
arrived at the scene, residents in the
area were warned to evacuate their
homes. A highway patrol plane and
helicopter flew low over the woods,
following the suspects and the troopers
through the woods.
The four walked through a deep and
densely wooded ravine. Upon seeing a
partially constructed house in a nearby
clearing, Phipps demanded of officers
waiting in the clearing that his van be
driven around to the house, at which
time he would release his hostage.
Halford said, " They disappeared up
over the ridge. I heard some shouting
( Phipps' demands) and then I heard the
shot."
After entering the clearing from the
woods, Phipps apparently had been
briefly confused by the officers on
either side of him and had lowered his
gun for a moment.
That was long enough for highway
patrol Capt. N. E. Tinnin to shoot
Phipps in the abdomen with a high- power- ed
rifle. It was about 8: 45 a. m.
Phipps was taken to Boone County
Hospital, where he soon died.
After the shooting, doubts arose
among officers about whether Lilly had
been a bona fide hostage. " We feel like
they were partners and were just trying
to fool the officers in order to escape,"
said Boone County Sheriff Charlie
Foster.
" The hitchhiker had told the police
( See VICTIM, Page 14) Area residents still shaken by incident
Missourian staff writer
In the grass at the edge of a woods near
Pierpont Friday afternoon, the only remaining
signs of James Phipps were a six- inc- h ( 15- centime- ter)
circle of blood, a doctor's syringe, a
blood- staine- d button and the imprints in the mud
where Phipps fell after he was shot by a highway
patrolman.
Elsewhere in the area, it was a quiet, sunny,
spring day in a countryside dotted by farms and
houses. But inside some of those houses, dwellers
still were shaken by the morning's events that
had forced a police order for them to evacuate
their homes.
Mrs. James G. Thome lives on Cheavens Road
across the clearing from where Phipps was shot.
Mrs. Thome had not heard the evacuation notice,
so when she saw area officers crouching with
guns at the end of her driveway, she decided to
investigate.
" I was the surprise they weren't expecting,"
she told a highway patrolman Friday afternoon.
" I walked out just before the excitement."
When the officers saw Mrs. Thome " they were
obviously vesy upaet and shouted for me to get
out of here," she said. " I was here alone and
asked them how I was supposed to leave. All they
said was ' Just get out of here ! ' "
Down the road, Clarence Stallman had been
warned of the situation by officers, and noticed
the circling airplane and helicopter. " I said, ' Are
they headed this way soon?' and they said
' They're here,' " said Stallman.
After Stallman notified his neighbors, he
picked up Mrs. Thome at her home and left the
area just before the shooting.
On the next street over, Ronald Nichols had no
intention ofrimafag: - -- - -
" I didn't know what was happening," said
Nichols. " The wife was scared to death and
didn't know what to do. I grabbed my gun and
looked for them."
Another neighbor, Mrs. Charles Emmons, first
was alerted by the sound of the surveillance
plane. " The plane was flying so low I thought it
was going to come into the house," she said. " I
was frightened. This is something you think will
never happen to you. "
Then Mrs. Emmons flashed a relieved smile.
" It's been quite a morning," she said.
Panel votes to increase
postal rate to 15 cents
N. Y. Times Service
WASHINGTON The Postal Rate
Commission, accused in the past of
being . a rubber stamp agency, has
rejected an administration proposal
and voted tentatively to raise postage
on first- clas- s letters from 13 cents to 15
cents, according to a commission of-ficial.
The decision, if it becomes final May
12, would constitute a rejection of a two- tier- ed
postage rate advocated by the
Carter administration and recommend-ed
to the commission by the United
States Postal Service. In the past the
commission usually has concurred with
the main elements of rates recom-mended
to it.
The two- tiere- d system would have
kept the postage rates on ordinary
letters at 13 cents, but increased the
rate on first- cla- ss business letters from
13 cents to 16 cents.
The commission source, who insisted
on anonymity, indicated that the
chances were good that the 3-- 1 vote was
likely to stand as the official verdict of
the rate commission.
Only Simeon Bright, an appointee to
the commission by President Carter,
voted against the 15 cent stamp, the
rate commission source said Friday.
Since business letters constitute the
major share of first- clas- s letters, 75 per
cent or more in most years, a decision
against raising that rate to 16 cents
would " cost" the postal service $ 500
million or more in projected revenues,
postal officials say.
In towi tslsy -
9 a. m. to 4: 15 p. m. Conference
on" Human Sexuality and the
Health and Caring Professions,"
Windsor Auditorium, Stephens
College.
10 a. m. Missouri Chapter of the
National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws, con-ference.
Memorial Union.
1 p. m. College baseball,
Missouri vs. Iowa State, Sim-mons
Field.
7: 30 p. m. Prince of Wales Club
benefit horse show, Stephens
Stables arena.
8 p. m. " The Afro Ball," semi- form- al
dance, Lela Raney Wood
Hall ballroom, Stephens College.
8: 15 p. m. Missouri Contempor-ary
Music Competition Concert, j
Vincent Persichetti, guest I
composer, Fine Arts Recital I
I Hall, University. j
I Comiiiff Mnclay
Shooting a star
Though University student
Louis Psihoyos earned only
$ 85.43, the chance to photo-graph
the filming of Sylvester
Stallone's new film " F. LS. T."
I was worth it Louis relives his
Vibrations.
experience Sunday in
i f
Rating their rate of pay
What do University faculty members think
about their jobs and their salaries? Is it true
that low salaries are driving good faculty
members away from Columbia? A survey
designed to see what the faculty members think
is the subject of a three- pa- rt series of articles
beginning Sunday. The first articles deal with
job satisfaction and salaries.
A woman's place is?
Even with the advent of woman's liberation it
is unusual to find a woman farmer. It was even
more unusual 22 years ago when Helen Flet- cha- ll
began managing the farm she and her
husband, a University agriculture professor,
purchased. " She's the boss," her husband says.
And this includes caring for the 50 head. of
cattle on the farm. Mrs. Fletchall is featured in
a photo story in Sunday's People section.
Fish tales
It is estimated that 60 million
Americans are active fishermen.
They spend half a billion dollars
annually on the sport. Among the
most popular fish sought is the
bass. Bass clubs exist in 49 of the
50 states. Sunday's Sports section
examines bass clubs in Missouri.
mum iiMiiiiiiiiiBii Mawwinwiiim J
Missouri Senate approves
new campaign finance law
ByJodyCox
State capital bureau
JEFFERSON CITY The Missouri
Senate Friday approved a House- Senat- e
conference committee's version
of a proposed new campaign finance
law. The vote was 22- 1- 0.
The bill, a replacement for the 1974
voter- approve- d Campaign Finance and
Disclosure Law ruled unconstitutional
last year, now goes to the House for
consideration. Sen. Warren Welliver,
D- Boo- ne County, voted for the bill.
Senate action came after three hours
of debate, concerned mainly with
corporation and union gifts, which the
Senate had prohibited earlier in the
current session, but which the con
ference committee replaced this week.
If union and corporation con-tributions
were allowed, contended Sen.
Cliff Jones, R- S- t. Louis, a campaign
would be turned into an auction. " The
little guy is going to be let out," Jones
said. " They'll beat you if you don't vote
the way they want you to."
But Sen. John Schneider, D-- St Louis,
who sponsored the original bill and
served as the Senate's chief negotiator
on the conference committee, said,
" There is no way you're ever going to
prevent business and labor from
contributing. It's a fact of life."
By allowing union and labor con-tributions,
Sen. Richard Webster, R--
( See BILL, Page 11)
2 arrested in kidnap
of Columbia children
By RingoF. Cbu and Brent Spsnton
Missourian staff writers
The father of two Columbia children
and another man were arrested in
Jefferson City Friday in connection
with the abduction of the children from
their mother's home at 4700 Orchard
Lane at about 5: 35 a. m.
Thomas Larry Freeman, 33, the
father of the children, and Johnny
Dolan Stablier, 23, both of Rogers, Ark.,
were being held in Cole County Jail
Friday night in lieu of $ 5,000 bail on
charges of carrying a concealed
weapon. The Boone County prosecuting
attorney's office filed charges on one
count of assault, one count of auto
tampering and two counts of kid-napping
against the two men.
Jefferson City policeman William
Mete was patroUng U. S. 63 in that dty
at 6: 12 ajn. when he heard over bis
police radio that two men had abducted
two children from a Columbia
residence and were thought to be
heading south.
Soon afterward Mete spotted two men
and two children in a 1964 Lincoln with
expired Louisiana license plates. He
noticed that the men fit the description
of the men involved in the adbuction in
Columbia.
Metzsaid the two men offered no
resistance and the children James
Freeman, 7, and David Freeman, 4
were not harmed. He said he found two
loaded guns in the glove compartment
Jefferson City police said the two
men had gone to the basement apart-ment
of the mother, Dinah Kathleen
TumbuIL Friday morning, and, after a
dispute, tied her up at gunpoint, and
took the cfaudren with them in Ma.
Turnbull's car. She called Columbia
police when she got free.
Ms. TumbuH and Freeman were
divorced in 1875 and police said they
had been having a court fight over
custody of the children.
Police said the men told the children
they were taking the children on
vacation to Arkansas.
The children were returned to their
motherFridayaftenxxu.