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Iii7IATT7E LLIGOTCayRICGATL. SOCIETY 3Ri 9V334 COLUMBIA, MO. 65201 72nd Year No. 170 Good Morning! It's Wednesday, April 2, 1980 3 Sections 26 Pages 15 Cents Voters reject Flat Branch plan 2-- 1 By Wayde Byard and Shawn Balthrop Missourian staff writer Voters killed the Flat Branch redevelopment project by a two- to- o- ne margin Tuesday. " You can kiss Flat Branch goodbye," said County Clerk Chris Kelly as he handed report-ers a computer printout with election results The proposal was defeated 6,323- 3,06- 8. Although the proposal met defeat, it may not be dead. Bob Pugh, chairman of the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, said Tuesday night authority members probably will meet within the next two weeks to develop a new proposal on Flat Branch for the City Council " The fact that . this proposition is defeated does not erase a community problem," Pugh said. " It's not going to be solved as some people think by free enterprise. If that were true it would have already happened.' ' Pugh said Columbia is too content with the status quo to really push for any major commu-nity improvement. In the past, he said, the community has been content to feed off the ex-pansion of the local colleges and the University But the days of University expansion are over and the community must now do something for itself, Pugh said. " This town has been on the trough too long " Yet as long as the community remains con-tent with the status quo, Pugh said, a project such as Flat Branch finds little chance of pas-sage. The project's opponents, however, said that its resounding defeat should bury the Flat Branch issue for good Jay Jones, an opposition leader, said his group believed the council did not represent the majority of voters. 4 This should show the City Council and the mayor a vote of no confidence," opponent A. J McRoberts said " I think that the will of the people, if the council follows the will of the peo-ple, will be to abolish the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority." The opponents, many" of whom argued the project impinged on individual rights, earned the day. " I think private enterprise should do it," one voter said as he emerged from the polls " I'm a strong believer m private enterprise That's what built this country, not govern-ment." Other criticisms ranged from poor economic timing to personal inconvenience One woman voted against the project because it would add to the traffic problem on Providence Road " I live out that way," she said. " I have enough trouble with football games " The proponents of the project, however, ex-pressed concern that the blighted area would never be developed if this proposal were defeat- - ed " It's the only way we're going to get that area cleaned up, and it's gradually deteriorated and will continue to deteriorate," Vernon Kunzler said soon after casting his ballot for the project. Other voters said this project was necessary for downtown to survive competiton against an incoming regional mall ' If they want to main-tain Columbia and keep the downtown alive this is what they need," one voter said Flat Branch is bordered by Providence Road, Broadway, Sixth Street and Stewart Road On Dec 17, 1979, the City Council approved a plan from the Land Clearance for Redevel- - ( See FLAT, Page 14A) Sole ballot jams gears in election It wasn't even a good April Fool's joke. Ballot counting at the County- City Building was proceeding smoothly. Flat Branch was losing. New Haven school annexation was winning But the Columbia Board of Education elec-tion was too close to calL Then the computer coughed, sput-tered and stopped. It was 9: 30 pan. Radio newscasters were left with time to filL Television newscasters had to re-port the 10 o'clock news without final results The editors of this morning newspaper started figuring out last- possib- le press times. And the candi-dates had to bide their tune while ex-perts examined the mechanical pa-tient. Nearly one hour after the break-down, the computer whizzed instead of wheezed, and the results started pour-ing out again. Boone County Clerk Chns Kelly breathed a sigh of relief. A computer card had shredded when it was -- passing through the reader. It jammed the system. " The computer is a mechanical device, and with a me-chanical device, you have to expect this kind cferrorr-' XellysaHi- - There were other problems on this election day when 12,835 of the approxi-mately 41,000 voters went to the polls in Boone County. Not everyone who wanted to vote was able to, however. A number of peo-ple were turned away at the polls be-cause their registrations had been canceled " There were a lot of cancellations because people did not notify us when they moved," Kelly said. " There were also cases where people had registered within the last 28 days The law re-quires voters to be registered for 30 days prior to voting But Kelly said persons who proved their registration error was his office's fault were allowed to vote " If anyone made a reasonable case, we let them vote." Kelly said he did not know exactly how many registrations were canceled. " I know it was substantial more than other elections " Better now than in the primaries." I JJ HHKBBBBBBBBBiBHfflBBHBBE9BiBl& TSSVwKBKIKSmBStBtBBM No 100 Janet Harrison and daughter at the polls BrianMi I New Haven seeks annexation By Stan Herrin Missourian staff writer New Haven residents voted over-whelmingly Tuesday to seek annexa-tion of their school district to Columbia's In a relatively light voter turnout, 281, or 67 percent, voted for annexa-tion, and 138, or 32.9 percent, voted against. Financial problems were cited by proponents of annexation. While annexation still is contingent on approval by the Columbia Board of Education, President Patsy Gamer said Tuesday she saw no obstacles to acceptance by the Columbia board. New Haven board member F. Milton Miller said be was pleased with the election results. " I think we really had no alternative," he said. " You hate to give up the tradition of the New Haven School District, but you have to face the financial realities." Voters Tuesday also elected Jim Moore and Kenneth Gamble to the New Haven Board of Education. If annexa-tion proceeds as planned, however, the two will participate only until the end of this school year in the transition process. New Haven's financial problems were complicated last November, when voters, for the first time in the district's 23- ye- ar history, turned down a levy increase of 50 cents per $ 100 of assessed valuation Even if the in-crease had passed, the ever- increasi- ng deficit produced by New Haven's small, shifting tax base would have swallowed the 50- ce- nt increase whole. Board President Turner Vemer said. But the real alarm did not sound un-til Jan. 14, when Vemer appeared be-fore the Columbia school board to feel members out on the possibility of an-nexation. Board members said they could make no decision until the New Haven residents had had their say, but did indicate ' receptivity," board member Jan Fisch said On Jan. 15, accountant Frank Regan told the New Haven board that the dis-trict was facing a $ 97,000 projected def-icit for 1981, and'to solve the problem internally would require at least a $ 1 21 levy increase. The increase would raise the present levy to $ 5.86, $ 1 23 more than Columbia's Placing the issue before New Haven residents in an old- sty- le town meeting Jan 17, the board heard numerous opinions but no clear- cu- t solutions About half of the residents said they couldn't afford the $ 1.21 increase, the other half said they feared annexation would mean the end of the Tnple-- A rated New Haven District. Two days later, the board decided to put the issue to the voters To provide residents the choice of increasing their financial support for the district before presenting the annexation issue, the board placed the levy increase on a March 4 ballot, along with a $ 258,876 bond issue. The levy increase, which required a two- thir- ds majority, was defeated 312- 20- 4. The bond proposal, which also needed a two- thir- ds majority,-- ' also was defeated. 203- 31- 1. The dilemma: Fulton or prison? By Pat BeHinghaasen Missourian staff writer Herscbel Henderson quietly followed his lawyer into a small courtroom on the afternoon of Nov. 6. Henderson had been in the Boone County Courthouse twice before, but this appearance was to mark his last trip anywhere for a long while perhaps for the rest of his life. Since July 2 when he was arrested and charged with shooting his 60- year-- old neighbor as the man walked by his Columbia home, Henderson had been shuttled between the Boone County Jafl and Fulton State HospitaL Sitting nearly motionless, this heavy, 49- year-- old man in unfaded denim overalls and a red, white and blue plaid flannel shirt seemed bewildered by the legal procedures that swirled around him He was silent while the judge, public defender, prosecutor and psychiatrist talked about him. " He's a sick man," said the doctor. Later, Henderson's lawyer told the judge, " The only Insight thing I can get him to understand is that he can go to one of two places: the penitentiary in Jeff City or the hospital in Fulton." But the question of trial or hospitalization finally rested with Associate Circuit Judge Joan Pinnell, who said she would stuay the case and announce her decision later. When questions of mental competency and responsibili-ty arise in a criminal proceeding, law and medicine must coalesce. The law relies heavily on psychiatric opinions, but nonmedical people judges, juries or prosecutors make the final decision on the defendant's mental state. In Henderson's case, the doctor, the prosecutor, the public defender and the judge agreed Henderson had a mental problem that rendered him incompetent for trial ( See JUDGES, Page 12A) Harris captures education spot; Middleton wins By Becky Blades Missourian staff writer The Columbia Board of Education Tuesday found its two vacancies filled with a familiar face and a popular new one Dr. Robert J. Hams, a Columbia pe-diatrician, led the three- wa- y race with 6,493 votes The real contest turned out to be between incumbent Charles C " Bud" Middleton and Tom Krynski Middleton won by 139 votes, 5,459- 5,32- 0 If Krynski, a new faculty member in the University's Extension Division and former news director of KFRU ra-dio had been elected, at 29, he would have been the youngest member on the board Hams is part of a five- ma- n pediatric group that cares for 6,000 to 7,000 pa-tients. He said his experience as a chil-dren's doctor gives him personal and professional insights into the needs of Columbia students. He made higher teachers' salaries his No. 1 priority, but also said he wanted to improve the district's health and safety programs Harris said dedicated, well- qualifi- ed teachers are the key to Columbia's ed-ucation system. ' I see kids every day who aren't get-ting any help at home, they don't have any good, strong background coming into the school, and the person who then becomes most influential in their lives, besides their peer group, is the teacher. Some average citizens think teachers are overpaid. I just don't see it that way " Middleton, a University professor of pathology and veterinary medicine, ran on his record established during the three- ye- ar term be is completing. He campaigned on the same " back to basics" and strict financial platform that won nun the board seat in 1977 He said careful allocation of the school district's limited budget is one of the most important considerations in maintaining a strong school system CITY OF COLUMBIA BOARD OF EDUCATION ( Top Two Elected) Middleton . . 5459 Harris 6493 Krynski 5320 Although they listed different priori-ties, all three candidates campaigned on basically the same issues higher salaries for teachers, improved special education for the academically tal-ented and handicapped and better allo-cations of funds The six members of the Columbia Board of Education serve three- ye- ar terms, and the terms of two expire each year. This term's other outgoing board member, Jan Fisch, did not run for re-election because she plans to leave Columbia in September. Other members of the board are Patsy Garner, Ray Lewis, James Oglesby and Charles St. John Inside In town today today Carter, Reagan win President Carter and Ronald Reagan continued their seemingly unstoppable marches toward the major- part- y presi-dential nominations Tuesday with solid wins in Wisconsin and Kansas Carter's victories dimmed the hopes of Sen Edward Kennedy and drove Edmund G. Brown out of the 1980 race John Anderson said he would continue his fight against Reagan in the GOP column, but his disappointing third- plac- e finish in Wisconsin may have in-creased the likelihood that the maver-ick congressman would bolt the party and launch an independent presi-dential campaign ( Story on Page 14A.) 2 pan College baseball, Southern Illinois- Edwardsville vs Missouri, doubleheader, Simmons Field 6 p. m. Children's Dinner Theater for children aged 10 to 12, Assembly Room, Columbia Public Library, 100 West Broadway, $ 1 7: 30 p. m. " The Tempest," Stephens College Playhouse, $ 3 50 for public, $ 1 75 students 7: 30 p. m. ' Everyday Shakespeare Art of Emotion," Chataqua lecture by William Jones, University English professor, Pickard Hall Auditorium. Movie listings on Page 13A strike halts construction By Tim Potter Missourian staff writer It was a strange silence outside Boone County Hospital. Two laborers with picket signs walked slowly back and forth between the padlocked trail-ers and empty scaffolding where work-ers have been busy on a hospital addi-tion. Elsewhere, the 3M Co construction site on Route B was silent. Two cement masons leaned against a parked car, and picket signs lay nearby. The usual clamor at area construc-tion sites ended Tuesday morning after the Construction and General Laborers Union, Local 682, and the Cement Masons Union, Local 411, failed to reach new contract agreements with the Builders Association of Missouri Monday night. And with other trades honoring the laborers' and cement masons' pickets, commercial work at sites m Columbia, Jefferson City, Moberly and Mexico ground to a halt. Hundreds of workers did not report to work, and labor lead-ers said they are uncertain about when the strike will end. Because they pay 20 percent interest on construction loans and have strict schedules to follow, contractors lose money every minute the workers are off the job. " The union decides when to go on strike, and they decide when to go back to work," said Don Wilkerson, chief ne-gotiator for the contractors' bargain-ing agent, the Builders Association. " I'm surprised they would go on strike then the federal mediates are trying to get them to negotiate and stay at work." But Ken Suns, business manager of Columbia's Local 955 of the labours union, said the Builders Association turned down several of the union's 21 proposals During six hours of negotia-tions, Suns said the Builders Association asked the union to cut many of its proposals Although he would not specify what pay raise the laborers are seeking, Sims said pay is not the union's only concern. He mentioned one proposal that would require contractors to give workers adequate notice if work is to be interrupted for any reason. Suns said the strike could last a few days or several weeks The Builders Association thinks that when the labor-ers " get hungry enough, they'll go back to work," Sims said. " They want ( See OTHER, Page 14A)
Object Description
Title | Columbia Missourian Newspaper 1980-04-02 |
Description | Vol. 72nd Year, No. 170 |
Subject |
Columbia (Mo.) -- Newspapers Boone County (Mo.) -- Newspapers |
Coverage | United States -- Missouri -- Boone County -- Columbia |
Language | English |
Date.Search | 1980-04-02 |
Type | Newspapers |
Format | |
Collection Name | Columbia Missourian Newspaper Collection |
Publisher.Digital | University of Missouri Library Systems |
Rights | These pages may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for distribution or publication. |
Contributing Institution |
State Historical Society of Missouri University of Missouri--Columbia. School of Journalism |
Copy Request | Contact the State Historical Society of Missouri at: (800) 747-6366 or (573) 882-7083 or email contact@shsmo.org. Some fees apply:http://shsmo.org/research/researchfees |
County |
Boone County (Mo.) |
Description
Title | Full Page |
Date.Search | 1980-04-02 |
Type | page |
Item.Transcript | Iii7IATT7E LLIGOTCayRICGATL. SOCIETY 3Ri 9V334 COLUMBIA, MO. 65201 72nd Year No. 170 Good Morning! It's Wednesday, April 2, 1980 3 Sections 26 Pages 15 Cents Voters reject Flat Branch plan 2-- 1 By Wayde Byard and Shawn Balthrop Missourian staff writer Voters killed the Flat Branch redevelopment project by a two- to- o- ne margin Tuesday. " You can kiss Flat Branch goodbye," said County Clerk Chris Kelly as he handed report-ers a computer printout with election results The proposal was defeated 6,323- 3,06- 8. Although the proposal met defeat, it may not be dead. Bob Pugh, chairman of the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority, said Tuesday night authority members probably will meet within the next two weeks to develop a new proposal on Flat Branch for the City Council " The fact that . this proposition is defeated does not erase a community problem," Pugh said. " It's not going to be solved as some people think by free enterprise. If that were true it would have already happened.' ' Pugh said Columbia is too content with the status quo to really push for any major commu-nity improvement. In the past, he said, the community has been content to feed off the ex-pansion of the local colleges and the University But the days of University expansion are over and the community must now do something for itself, Pugh said. " This town has been on the trough too long " Yet as long as the community remains con-tent with the status quo, Pugh said, a project such as Flat Branch finds little chance of pas-sage. The project's opponents, however, said that its resounding defeat should bury the Flat Branch issue for good Jay Jones, an opposition leader, said his group believed the council did not represent the majority of voters. 4 This should show the City Council and the mayor a vote of no confidence," opponent A. J McRoberts said " I think that the will of the people, if the council follows the will of the peo-ple, will be to abolish the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority." The opponents, many" of whom argued the project impinged on individual rights, earned the day. " I think private enterprise should do it," one voter said as he emerged from the polls " I'm a strong believer m private enterprise That's what built this country, not govern-ment." Other criticisms ranged from poor economic timing to personal inconvenience One woman voted against the project because it would add to the traffic problem on Providence Road " I live out that way," she said. " I have enough trouble with football games " The proponents of the project, however, ex-pressed concern that the blighted area would never be developed if this proposal were defeat- - ed " It's the only way we're going to get that area cleaned up, and it's gradually deteriorated and will continue to deteriorate," Vernon Kunzler said soon after casting his ballot for the project. Other voters said this project was necessary for downtown to survive competiton against an incoming regional mall ' If they want to main-tain Columbia and keep the downtown alive this is what they need," one voter said Flat Branch is bordered by Providence Road, Broadway, Sixth Street and Stewart Road On Dec 17, 1979, the City Council approved a plan from the Land Clearance for Redevel- - ( See FLAT, Page 14A) Sole ballot jams gears in election It wasn't even a good April Fool's joke. Ballot counting at the County- City Building was proceeding smoothly. Flat Branch was losing. New Haven school annexation was winning But the Columbia Board of Education elec-tion was too close to calL Then the computer coughed, sput-tered and stopped. It was 9: 30 pan. Radio newscasters were left with time to filL Television newscasters had to re-port the 10 o'clock news without final results The editors of this morning newspaper started figuring out last- possib- le press times. And the candi-dates had to bide their tune while ex-perts examined the mechanical pa-tient. Nearly one hour after the break-down, the computer whizzed instead of wheezed, and the results started pour-ing out again. Boone County Clerk Chns Kelly breathed a sigh of relief. A computer card had shredded when it was -- passing through the reader. It jammed the system. " The computer is a mechanical device, and with a me-chanical device, you have to expect this kind cferrorr-' XellysaHi- - There were other problems on this election day when 12,835 of the approxi-mately 41,000 voters went to the polls in Boone County. Not everyone who wanted to vote was able to, however. A number of peo-ple were turned away at the polls be-cause their registrations had been canceled " There were a lot of cancellations because people did not notify us when they moved," Kelly said. " There were also cases where people had registered within the last 28 days The law re-quires voters to be registered for 30 days prior to voting But Kelly said persons who proved their registration error was his office's fault were allowed to vote " If anyone made a reasonable case, we let them vote." Kelly said he did not know exactly how many registrations were canceled. " I know it was substantial more than other elections " Better now than in the primaries." I JJ HHKBBBBBBBBBiBHfflBBHBBE9BiBl& TSSVwKBKIKSmBStBtBBM No 100 Janet Harrison and daughter at the polls BrianMi I New Haven seeks annexation By Stan Herrin Missourian staff writer New Haven residents voted over-whelmingly Tuesday to seek annexa-tion of their school district to Columbia's In a relatively light voter turnout, 281, or 67 percent, voted for annexa-tion, and 138, or 32.9 percent, voted against. Financial problems were cited by proponents of annexation. While annexation still is contingent on approval by the Columbia Board of Education, President Patsy Gamer said Tuesday she saw no obstacles to acceptance by the Columbia board. New Haven board member F. Milton Miller said be was pleased with the election results. " I think we really had no alternative," he said. " You hate to give up the tradition of the New Haven School District, but you have to face the financial realities." Voters Tuesday also elected Jim Moore and Kenneth Gamble to the New Haven Board of Education. If annexa-tion proceeds as planned, however, the two will participate only until the end of this school year in the transition process. New Haven's financial problems were complicated last November, when voters, for the first time in the district's 23- ye- ar history, turned down a levy increase of 50 cents per $ 100 of assessed valuation Even if the in-crease had passed, the ever- increasi- ng deficit produced by New Haven's small, shifting tax base would have swallowed the 50- ce- nt increase whole. Board President Turner Vemer said. But the real alarm did not sound un-til Jan. 14, when Vemer appeared be-fore the Columbia school board to feel members out on the possibility of an-nexation. Board members said they could make no decision until the New Haven residents had had their say, but did indicate ' receptivity," board member Jan Fisch said On Jan. 15, accountant Frank Regan told the New Haven board that the dis-trict was facing a $ 97,000 projected def-icit for 1981, and'to solve the problem internally would require at least a $ 1 21 levy increase. The increase would raise the present levy to $ 5.86, $ 1 23 more than Columbia's Placing the issue before New Haven residents in an old- sty- le town meeting Jan 17, the board heard numerous opinions but no clear- cu- t solutions About half of the residents said they couldn't afford the $ 1.21 increase, the other half said they feared annexation would mean the end of the Tnple-- A rated New Haven District. Two days later, the board decided to put the issue to the voters To provide residents the choice of increasing their financial support for the district before presenting the annexation issue, the board placed the levy increase on a March 4 ballot, along with a $ 258,876 bond issue. The levy increase, which required a two- thir- ds majority, was defeated 312- 20- 4. The bond proposal, which also needed a two- thir- ds majority,-- ' also was defeated. 203- 31- 1. The dilemma: Fulton or prison? By Pat BeHinghaasen Missourian staff writer Herscbel Henderson quietly followed his lawyer into a small courtroom on the afternoon of Nov. 6. Henderson had been in the Boone County Courthouse twice before, but this appearance was to mark his last trip anywhere for a long while perhaps for the rest of his life. Since July 2 when he was arrested and charged with shooting his 60- year-- old neighbor as the man walked by his Columbia home, Henderson had been shuttled between the Boone County Jafl and Fulton State HospitaL Sitting nearly motionless, this heavy, 49- year-- old man in unfaded denim overalls and a red, white and blue plaid flannel shirt seemed bewildered by the legal procedures that swirled around him He was silent while the judge, public defender, prosecutor and psychiatrist talked about him. " He's a sick man," said the doctor. Later, Henderson's lawyer told the judge, " The only Insight thing I can get him to understand is that he can go to one of two places: the penitentiary in Jeff City or the hospital in Fulton." But the question of trial or hospitalization finally rested with Associate Circuit Judge Joan Pinnell, who said she would stuay the case and announce her decision later. When questions of mental competency and responsibili-ty arise in a criminal proceeding, law and medicine must coalesce. The law relies heavily on psychiatric opinions, but nonmedical people judges, juries or prosecutors make the final decision on the defendant's mental state. In Henderson's case, the doctor, the prosecutor, the public defender and the judge agreed Henderson had a mental problem that rendered him incompetent for trial ( See JUDGES, Page 12A) Harris captures education spot; Middleton wins By Becky Blades Missourian staff writer The Columbia Board of Education Tuesday found its two vacancies filled with a familiar face and a popular new one Dr. Robert J. Hams, a Columbia pe-diatrician, led the three- wa- y race with 6,493 votes The real contest turned out to be between incumbent Charles C " Bud" Middleton and Tom Krynski Middleton won by 139 votes, 5,459- 5,32- 0 If Krynski, a new faculty member in the University's Extension Division and former news director of KFRU ra-dio had been elected, at 29, he would have been the youngest member on the board Hams is part of a five- ma- n pediatric group that cares for 6,000 to 7,000 pa-tients. He said his experience as a chil-dren's doctor gives him personal and professional insights into the needs of Columbia students. He made higher teachers' salaries his No. 1 priority, but also said he wanted to improve the district's health and safety programs Harris said dedicated, well- qualifi- ed teachers are the key to Columbia's ed-ucation system. ' I see kids every day who aren't get-ting any help at home, they don't have any good, strong background coming into the school, and the person who then becomes most influential in their lives, besides their peer group, is the teacher. Some average citizens think teachers are overpaid. I just don't see it that way " Middleton, a University professor of pathology and veterinary medicine, ran on his record established during the three- ye- ar term be is completing. He campaigned on the same " back to basics" and strict financial platform that won nun the board seat in 1977 He said careful allocation of the school district's limited budget is one of the most important considerations in maintaining a strong school system CITY OF COLUMBIA BOARD OF EDUCATION ( Top Two Elected) Middleton . . 5459 Harris 6493 Krynski 5320 Although they listed different priori-ties, all three candidates campaigned on basically the same issues higher salaries for teachers, improved special education for the academically tal-ented and handicapped and better allo-cations of funds The six members of the Columbia Board of Education serve three- ye- ar terms, and the terms of two expire each year. This term's other outgoing board member, Jan Fisch, did not run for re-election because she plans to leave Columbia in September. Other members of the board are Patsy Garner, Ray Lewis, James Oglesby and Charles St. John Inside In town today today Carter, Reagan win President Carter and Ronald Reagan continued their seemingly unstoppable marches toward the major- part- y presi-dential nominations Tuesday with solid wins in Wisconsin and Kansas Carter's victories dimmed the hopes of Sen Edward Kennedy and drove Edmund G. Brown out of the 1980 race John Anderson said he would continue his fight against Reagan in the GOP column, but his disappointing third- plac- e finish in Wisconsin may have in-creased the likelihood that the maver-ick congressman would bolt the party and launch an independent presi-dential campaign ( Story on Page 14A.) 2 pan College baseball, Southern Illinois- Edwardsville vs Missouri, doubleheader, Simmons Field 6 p. m. Children's Dinner Theater for children aged 10 to 12, Assembly Room, Columbia Public Library, 100 West Broadway, $ 1 7: 30 p. m. " The Tempest," Stephens College Playhouse, $ 3 50 for public, $ 1 75 students 7: 30 p. m. ' Everyday Shakespeare Art of Emotion," Chataqua lecture by William Jones, University English professor, Pickard Hall Auditorium. Movie listings on Page 13A strike halts construction By Tim Potter Missourian staff writer It was a strange silence outside Boone County Hospital. Two laborers with picket signs walked slowly back and forth between the padlocked trail-ers and empty scaffolding where work-ers have been busy on a hospital addi-tion. Elsewhere, the 3M Co construction site on Route B was silent. Two cement masons leaned against a parked car, and picket signs lay nearby. The usual clamor at area construc-tion sites ended Tuesday morning after the Construction and General Laborers Union, Local 682, and the Cement Masons Union, Local 411, failed to reach new contract agreements with the Builders Association of Missouri Monday night. And with other trades honoring the laborers' and cement masons' pickets, commercial work at sites m Columbia, Jefferson City, Moberly and Mexico ground to a halt. Hundreds of workers did not report to work, and labor lead-ers said they are uncertain about when the strike will end. Because they pay 20 percent interest on construction loans and have strict schedules to follow, contractors lose money every minute the workers are off the job. " The union decides when to go on strike, and they decide when to go back to work," said Don Wilkerson, chief ne-gotiator for the contractors' bargain-ing agent, the Builders Association. " I'm surprised they would go on strike then the federal mediates are trying to get them to negotiate and stay at work." But Ken Suns, business manager of Columbia's Local 955 of the labours union, said the Builders Association turned down several of the union's 21 proposals During six hours of negotia-tions, Suns said the Builders Association asked the union to cut many of its proposals Although he would not specify what pay raise the laborers are seeking, Sims said pay is not the union's only concern. He mentioned one proposal that would require contractors to give workers adequate notice if work is to be interrupted for any reason. Suns said the strike could last a few days or several weeks The Builders Association thinks that when the labor-ers " get hungry enough, they'll go back to work," Sims said. " They want ( See OTHER, Page 14A) |