Columbia Missourian Newspaper 1976-09-17

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bl. 12- 55-- 74 Schools m seek 19- ce- nt tax rate hike By Gfnny Hilton
Bfissoariaa staff writer
A 19- ce- nt increase in the school tax
rate win be submitted to Colombia
voters Nov. 2 along with a proposal to
provide free busing for all students
living at least one- ha- lf mile ( J
kilometer) from school, the school
board decided Thursday night
The board spurned a counter-proposal
by Ed Bartolacd, 4610 Mexico
Gravel Road, a leader of the movement
to expand the free bus service. His new
plan called for a nine- ce- nt tax rate
increase and a one- mil- e ( 1 6- talom-eter)
limit for free busing
Another alternative, submitted by
board member Charles St John, called
for a nine- ce- nt tax rate increase to be
placed before the voters prior to the
Nov 2 election.
The proposition also included free
busing for seventh through ninth grade
students living two miles ( 3.2
kilometers) or more from school. He
said the cost of busing these students
would be approximately two cents of
the nine- ce- nt rate increase. The other
seven cents would be allocated to the
teachers' fund and to the incidental
fund.
St John said the purpose of his
counter- propos- al was to solve the
major problem of transportation and
raise some money for quality
education, too He said that Jim Ritter,
administrative assistant and former
director of pupil transportation,
advised him that the areas between two
and 3V4 miles ( 3 2 and 5 6 kilometers)
from school were the danger zones for
children. The board decided to discuss
St John's proposal again before Nov 2
Members said they will talk again, too,
about a major tax increase similar to
those rejected earlier this year.
Bartolacci said the free busing group
plans to support both propositions on
the Nov 2 ballot
The two propositions are separate
questions, according to board President
Ray Lewis One proposition could fail
and the other win The first requests a
free busing limit of one- ha- lf mile ( 8
kilometer) The second asks for the 19- ce- nt
tax rate increase with the money
to be used specifically for
transportation costs
Marsha Connor, 1301 Fairview Lane,
questioned the district's figures for the
cost per student with the one- half- m- ile
( 8- kilo-meter)
limit
Board members said they felt Mrs
Connor's questions were directed at
their integrity Oglesby said he
understood her questions to mean that
someone on the board had contacted
R. W Harmon and Sons requesting an
estimate of a higher rate per student
per day in order to assure the failure of
the busing resolution
Mrs Connor also asked the board to
itemize and explain what it is doing to
build the board's credibility. She said
many of the persons signing the
petitions said they would not vote for a
tax increase if the board did not say
what the extra money would be used
for
Bartolacci said the group, however,
had never attacked the board's
credibility " Blame it on Richard Nixon
if you will," he said, " but because of
him, you still need to establish
credibility " Credibility, he said, is
necessary on the board's part for the
free busing group to win its proposition
Lewis said it is impossible to itemize
expenditures on a ballot. " I defy
anybody to show me how it could be
done," he said
Spokesmen from the League of
Women Voters and the Columbia
Community Teachers Association said
they will support any tax rate increase
for the prevention of further reductions
in the quality of education
St John was the only board member
not voting for the resolutions " We need
funds," he said " We need them for
transportation and other things, and we
need them now " He said he opposed
the resolution earmarking the funds
gamed from the tax rate increase
specifically for transportation because
the district had other things the money
should be put into
In town
today I
7: pan. The play " Bring It All
Back Home," Thursday through
Saturday, Gentry Hall,
University.
8 pan. High school football,
Rock Bridge vs. Mexico,
Hickman Field
Exhibits
Continuing: Columbia Art
League, Robert Kabak,
paintings; Mary Benjamin,
Farah Nieuwenhuizen, ceramics
and jewelry; Betty Robins
Gallery, Lois Mikrut,
watercolors, 10 15 a m. to 3: 15
pan ; Columbia Gallery of Photo- gragb- y,
photograghs by Abigail
Heyman, 9 aan. to 5 pan.
weekdays; University Fine Arts
Gallery, Professional Design
Exposition, 9 aan. to 3 pm ,
Columbia- - College Art Gallery
etchings by Rembrandt, 8 a. m. to
10 pan. weekdays; Columbia
Gallery of Photography,
photographs by Peter Miller and
Jim Hill, 9 aan. to 4 p m Davis
Art Gallery, Stephens College,
lithographs, paintings and
drawings by the late Albert
Chnst- Janer-, 8 aan. to 5 pan.
EGis Library, Italian Baroque
Drawings and Textiles rhrough
Two Millenia, 2 to 5 pm.
Columbia Public Library, photo-graphs
by Jeff Mintz, 9 a m. to 5
pan. I
See Page 15for movk listings 5 I
Low profile
gives way
to new role
ByFoxButterfkld
N. Y. Times Service
HONG KONG After several years
of keeping a low profile, the Chinese
armed forces suddenly are being given
heightened public attention again and
could play a key rote in lbs struggle for
succession te'Cfeairman Mao Tse- Tun- g,
analysts herebeueve
Last week, in an unusual move that
apparently signals an increased role for
the 3.5- mfllian- n- ian People's Liberation
Army, the Party Military Commission
was named along with the Party
Central Committee and the government
as co- auth- or of the message announcing
Mao's death to the Chinese people
Strictly speaking, the Military
Commission is subordinate to the
central committee.
The anny's new prominence began m
July, after thousands of soldiers were
dispatched to the earthquake- devastate- d
city of Tangshan to lead in
the relief work and prevent lootings.
The army had been in some disrepute
since 1972 when Lin Piao, then minister
of defense, allegedly tried to
assassinate Mao, and some senior
commanders were implicated in the
plot Lin reporteffly died In a plane
crash in Mongolia trying to escape.
There have been indications that the
military commission, composed of
senior party leaders involved with the
army and top generals, held an
important series of meetings this
summer, possibly knowing that Mao
was near death.
Mao's departure and the ouster last
apnrsg oLDeputy Premier Teng Hsiao- Pfo- g
leave thearmy without much of its
mm" tiuii top Vili viiip Mao was
chairman of tbeaaMSaty commfaskin
and ownmander in ctJrf of the army.
Teng wasdnef- ofota- ff of the army.
There is also aacetfaiaiy over
several other posts. The soinister of
defense, 7S- yero- ld Yen Craen- Yin- g,
has been in poor health. Audit is not
known whether the new premier, Hua
KuoFeng, and theaecond ranking man
in the ? arty, Wang Hnng- we- n, are
members of the military commission.
Chang Own- Chia- o, who along with
Boa, Wang and Yefa is the fourth
surviving member of the stanitting
csmndttae of the party poBtburo, was
reported last year to be head of Use
anny's general political department.
Bat bis position has never been pohbdy
cmuiiiiBWi.
Hua's position is particularly
SeetflLTTAEY. Paseli)
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Bond seeking
more U. S. aid
By Rick Stoff, Christa Wilm,
andDonitaRay
Missourian staff writers
Gov Christopher S Bond Thursday
requested additional federal aid for 44
drought- stricke- n Missouri counties,
including Boone
Bond asked President Ford to declare
an emergency in Missouri to qualify
more than 64,000 farmers under a
supplemental feed aid program
Bond previously requested aid for 45
counties under a program providing
small loans for farmers, and the
President has issued declarations for
36, including Boone
John Harvey, a farmer program
specialist with the Columbia office of
the Farmers Home Administration,
said the loans would be issued for the
amount of drought loss a farmer could
not cover from other sources They
would be repayable within seven years
at 5 per cent interest
The new aid request is for
authorization for Missouri to
participate in a federal program which
grants farmers and ranchers subsidies
to transport hay, forage, grain and
other feeds to livestock, or to transport
ufestock to better sources of feed and
water
Paul Ward of the Kansas City office
of the Federal Disaster Assistance
Administration explained the program
as it now operates in North Dakota,
Minnesota, and Wisconsin when the
state Agricultural Conservation and
Stabilization Commission emergency
board met here Thursday
In those states the government is
paying two- thir- ds of the cost of
transporting hay and cattle, with the
other one- thir- d being paid by the
farmer, Ward said " The government
doesn't get involved in buying hay or
transporting it It makes availability
lists, and the buyer makes his own
( See MISSOURI, Page 16)
Campaign finance law
valid pending appeal
JEFFERSON CITY AP) A court
decision declaring Missouri's
Campaign Finance and Disclosure law
unconstitutional was modified here
Thursday to allow most of the law to
remain in force while an appeal of the
unconstitutional declaration is being
considered
At the request of the state attorney
general's office, Cole County Circuit
Judge Byron Kinder issued an order
allowing the campaign reporting law to
remain m effect pending an appeal to
avoid any confusion
Kinder had issued a decision Wed-nesday,
throwing out the entire law.
and replacing it with the old Corrupt
Practices Act
The judge continued his injunctive
order, however, preventing the
Missouri Elections Commission and the
attorney general's office from seeking
any criminal or civil penalties against
those accused of violating the law
Otherwise, the statute, which was
approved by voters by almost a 4-- 1
margin in 1974, will remain in effect
Kinder's modification means that
candidates in the Nov 2 general
election will still be required to report
their campaign contributions and
expenditures
Board asks city to buy power from Sikeston
By David Firestone
Missoarian staff Wtiter
The Water and light Advisory Board
recommended Thursday that Columbia
sign an agreement with the City of
Sikeston, Mo , to buy electricity from
Sikeston's proposed power plant
The" board's action was taken in an
effort to buy tune and reduce the city's
dependence on Union Electric Co.,
which is the city's sole outside supplier
of electricity The City Council is
expected to act on the recommendation
at its meeting Monday night
If the council votes to authorize a
contract, the next step would be made
by Sikeston, which must inform the city
of bow much electric power would be
available for purchase
Sikeston, a town of about 14,000
persons in the Missouri Bootheel,
presented its plans to build a $ 150
million coal- fire- d plant to the board in
August Since the town cannot use all
the electricity the plant would produce,
it has offered to sell some of its
electricity to other Missouri
communities
Before the town can decide how big to
build the plant, however, it must
receive a commitment from Columbia,
the largest of the potential buyers
Charles Moreau, a Water and Light
Department official, said such a
commitment which is what the board
recommended, is retractable, but he
does not think the city would back down
from such an agreement once it is
reached.
The primary reason for the city's
interest in Sikeston's proposal is a
desire to decrease the city's
dependence on UE for electricity In a
report to the board, Water and Light
Director Jim Lundsted listed five
advantages of buying power from
Sikeston
It would eliminate UE as the city's
sole supplier of outside power, thus
improving Columbia's bargaining
power with the company
The city would have tune to assess
the future fuel situation " It may be to
Columbia's advantage to consider
additional coal generation in the 1980s,"
the report said
The city would have a voice m the
operation of the plant something it
does not have with UE
Since Sikeston says it plans to own
its coal field, its fuel costs would be
protected from inflationary pressures
often brought by coal companies
The city could save money by
buying surplus power in off- pea- k
months, and " banking" it for use at a
later date
Lundsted said, however, it appears
likely the cost of regular power from
Sikeston would be close to that of UE
Tax- c- ut hill benefits middle-- income families
WASHINGTON ( UPI) Congress
Thursday sent President Ford the first
major tax law revision in seven years,
continuing tax cuts, curbing some
shelters, increasing the minimum tax
and changing hundreds of other breaks
ranging from child care to retirement
income.
In separate action, the Senate also
approved a system of tax credits for
parents to help with college tuition
costs despite warnings it would drain
f3L3 billion in revenues over five years.
The Senate passed the tax bin 83 to 2
shortly after the House approved it 383
to 26. Ford is expected to sign the bUL
The House has yet to approve fl
college tuition tax proposaL
In general, the major bin would
reduce the tax liability of the average
middle- inco- me American at least a
little through such devices as an
expanded child care tax credit for
working parents of any income level, a
more generous retirement income
credit and the extended tax cuts
As income rises into the upper
brackets, however, taxpayers in
general will find many shelters and
loopholes tightened, although some new
ones are opened and taxes on large
estates are significantly lowered
For industry, the results are mixed.
Corporate tax cuts and the 10 per cent
investment tax credit are extended,
and some industries such as railroads
gam valuable new tax breaks
Overall, the bill raises $ 1 6 billion in
new federal revenue in 1977, falling to a
little less than $ 1 billion a year over the
next four years as estate and gift tax
reductions come into play.
One of the final battles of the bill was
whether to approve a provision in the
estate tax section that could cost
millions of dollars to the heirs of
wealthy estates
This provision will require that
capital gains tax be paid on the
increase in value of an estate during the
lifetime of a property owner, if the
estate is sold by heirs Only the
increase in value after Dec. 31, 1976,
would be recognized, however,
softening the blow for a number of
years
Under present law, tax is paid only on
the increase in value from the date of
death
Here are some of the main
provisions:
Tax cuts for both individuals and
businesses are extended through 1977,
with the increased standard deduction
made permanent
The minimum tax on the wealthy
who pay little or no regular tax is
increased and applied tomore people
Quid care expenses necessary for
both parents to work are allowed as a
tax credit with a saving of up to $ 800,
even if deductions are not itemized.
Tax shelters are curbed in real
estate, farming, od and gas, movies,
sports franchises, equipment leasing
and other enterprises
The sick pay exclusion is repealed
except for a deduction of up to $ 5,200 a
year for those permanently and totally
disabled.
Housewives would be allowed to
share in then husbands' individual
retirement accounts for those whose
companies have no pension
Action on the tuition proposal came
shortly before the Senate took up the
compromise tax reform bilL from
which Senate and House negotiators
dropped a similar tuition tax credit
provision.
The program would provide a full tax
credit for the first $ 100 paid for tuition
costs in 1977 and rise to $ 250 by 1980 and
thereafter The program would not go
into effect until next July 1.