Columbia Missourian Newspaper 1980-10-17

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73rd Year - No. 29 Good Morning! It's Friday, October 17, 1980 3 Section - 36 lujjt - Pages - 1 5 Cents
Many speak out on Rocheport race track
ByTerriBeatyaad EUsabetiiSadd
Missomian staff writers
The proposed Rocheport Grand Prix
race track made its debut before the
Boone County Planning and Zoning
Commission Thursday night amid pro-testing
groans from more than 80 citi-zens,
mostly from Rocheport.
Chief race track backer Jack Palm-er
of Columbia explained specifics of
the track to commissioners for more
man an hour in the packed meeting
room, causing temporary concern
among audience members that they
would not get a chance to voice their
views.
At press time, the commission still
was meeting and had taken no action.
Palmer asked the commission for a
special zoning ruling that would allow
the track to be constructed. The 60.2- ac- re
( 24 hectare) site, ust outside
Rocheport and about 10 miles ( 16 kilo-meters)
west of Columbia, is zoned
recreational.
Residents who live near the site fear
the track will be excessively noisy and
bring gambling and drinking into the
area.
Pat Cronin, a Fayette attorney,
spoke first for the opposing residents,
saying many of Palmer's statements
at the meeting conflicted with what he
had told landowners.
Palmer said Thursday that there
would be folk festivals at the racetrack
but not rock concerts. David Hall,
whose property lies to the south of the
proposed track, said Palmer alternate-ly
had referred to the musical events
as rock concerts and folk festivals.
" There is no way we would do rock
concerts. We have planned folk music
concerts, just like those held in Roche-port
in the past," Palmer said
Palmer responded that he is aware
of neighbors' concerns.
" We have reports from the ( Missouri
state) highway department on noise
levels of a freeway. By the time you go
over tails and through trees, the deci-bel
level of cars is considerably low-ered,"
Palmer said.
His statement drew audible groans
and one expletive from the audi-ence.
Cronin later used Palmer's noise lev-el
estimates, saying that with some of
the decibel reports Palmer gave, the
Hall family would not be able to speak
in a converstional tones during races.
Palmer said the property had been
zoned for recreational purposes before
the residential development
" I think the concern by the neighbors
is not just for racing. They don't want
people in the area. But the area has
been zoned recreational since 1973.
They built their homes there despite
the zoning," Palmer countered.
Palmer said drinking would not be a
problem because drinking would be
confined to beer gardens. Palmer em-phasized
mat drivers and their pit
crews would be restricted from drink-ing
alcohol during the races by Sports
Car Club of America rules.
A member of the car dub, Paul Ab-bott,
spoke in support of Palmer's pro-posal,
saying the track would be simi-lar
to one in Brainerd, Minn., which is
built in a farm setting.
Abbott said the Brainerd track has
L Randolph J Audrain
H Rocheport j
strict noise regulations that keep driv-ers
from starting cars before 8 ajn.
and after 5 p. m.
Abbott repeated statements that
Palmer made earlier at the meeting to
the effect that people attracted to the
sport are " good people."
" We're not troublemakers," be said.
Gary Fisher, whose property is di-rectly
across from the track site, said,
" I put over $ 100,000 in my house, and I
dont want to see a racetrack destroy-ing
my property values."
Debaters disagree
on tax limit method
By Edward M. veid
MfaiWMriaasUflf writer
Proponents of the Hancock tax
limitation rrwndmwtt said in .
Thursday debate that rising state
and federal taxes must be arretted,
while opponents insisted the pro-posed
amendment is not the proper
vehicle to limit taxes.
Mel Hancock, chairman of the
committee that wrote amendment
five on the November ballot, said
the amendment is not perfect and
that it is confusing. Bat he said
" hundreds of hoars" were pat into
the proposal to make sure attorneys
and courts would interpret it cor-rectly.
" It was not written by Matthew,
Mark, Luke and John. It is confus-ing,
especially to the layman, bat a
lot of laws are confusing," Hancock
told an audience at the University's
Memorial Union.
The proposed amendment would
pot a fid on state taxes. Unlike Cali--
fonaa's Proposition 13, which roBed
back property taxes, the amend- - --
ment provides, mat state taxes
would be limited except for yearly
ftdjr3m" fo' bcwH t frrtal vtvp& vn
tat Massoarhms. The jBTicnfflfflMt
wohW not raise er lower taxes, Han-cock
said.
Barry T. Morley Jr., a SL Louis
businessman, said the nnfiliiieut
proviskns " are so flawed, it does
not deserve car vote." He said pro-visions
that wiS provoke constant
court challenges should not be
added to the constitution ,
" We are trying to change the
highest law of Missouri with an ad-mittedly
flawed amendment," he
said.
Morley said the amendment ap-pears
to override recently passed
legislation mat roBs back property
taxes as soon as the current reas-sessment
is completed. The legis-lation
allows a 4 to 5 percent in--
( See TAX, Page 14)
Bonds I easclale both take credit
for good economic management
Editor's sate: Tfcis is the second of
three parts framfaitng the gnberBatori- a- l
records of Democratic Gov. Jeaepb
Tessdale and Ms BepahUeao opponent,
former Gov. Osrlstepher & BsstfL
ByRX. Brokaw
Sale capital bureau
JEFFERSON CITY State govern-ment
spending, efforts to bring more
jobs to Missouri and the regtua& on of
utilities are key issues in mis year's
gubernatorial match between incum-bent
Joseph Tessdale and challenger
Christopher Bond.
Bond charges that dsdinrog rave--
Insight
noes coupled with Teasdale's " reck-less"
spending could create a deficit In
the state budget The Missouri House
and Senate appropriations committee
staffs agree mat lower- than- projeet- ed
revenues wiS result in a decrease in
the state's reserve balance, which
stood at $ ZSO million when the fiscal
year began Jury 1.
But William Dye, Teasdale's budget
director, says the main reason for the
revenue situation is the recession,
which be predicts will ease by the end
Campaign ' 80 (
of the year. That upturn, Dye says, will
increase revenues snore man the
amount predicted by the appropria--
The Senate committee's records
show that MfHf' from the
state's general fund probably win rise
at a higher rate from the fkst year of
the Tessdale JMfrnEiHJflftration to tbslsst
compared to the same period under
Bond.
Expenditures from the general reve-nue
fund rose 2L5 percent from $ 982
""""" in the first year of Bond's ad-ministration
to nearly $ L24 ltfiHm dur-ing
his last year in office. Expendi- tore- s
from the same fund daring
Teasdale's arm have risen by about 51
percent fras& hjs first budget cf $ 1. S?
HTHfm to this swart estimated $ 2.1 bil-lion
budget
Revenues rose at a rate of 35 percent
under Bond and 28 percent under Teas- dal- e.
Teasdate was able to increase spend-ing
near the end of this term because
he bout up a budget sarpios during his
first years in office.
Bom governors have bam forced to
deal with rwtjorml recessiaBS, but the
recession of 1373- 7- 5 did not redoce rev-enues
to the extent the cqst& A reces- sjo- n
has, says Bob Knoto, executive di-rector
of the Missouri Public
pjjwMujitiirip Survey t nonprofit cor-poration
that studies state fssances.
None of the previous four recessions,
dating hack to B63, caused as great a
drop in state government revenues as
the present economic decline, South
says.
Another reason for the dedfop in
state revenue is that state sales tax
was removed from domestic utility
consumption and farm machinery in
January, he says. Those sates tax
exemptions cost & e state about $ 40
million annually. In nfldfttan, the allot-ment
cf half of the sales tax revenues
from new aatomobOes to the highway
fond, also effective this year, has di-verted
$ 45 Twffii" w from the general
reveosefund.
Sen. Richard Webster, a Carthage
Espshlicsn sssi powerful member of
the Semite Appropriations Committee, f
23Qj? 3 the T& Hsdsle ssimtnistration did
not recognize the effect cf the reces- aaa- o
and raised slate espsnditares. The
Bond ffiSwferifffaytk'yi reacted bster to
the recession in 1375, he says, scd pre-paredmasere
stats budget In an ef-fort
to limit state spending, Bond withr
hld 3 percent of the ffrfrnygrffififf to
See CAHD1DATES, Page li)
1 Bosfaags ...................... SJA
I QsssSfesa 1MIA
I Cental ..........; ISA
1 Movies .. .2- a- B
I OfsJsixtE --,..,,,., ,.,,.,,.,,.,..,,. ,$ A
I Spstfs ,........,. WA
I TelevMoa . .-- . B
Mis. itwis. to& y I
7: 2 pjn. " What fee Bate- - Saw,"
Stsdio Theslssr, Gentry BfaTt div-ersity,
50 casts.
8 pin. High school football Bock
Bridge vs. Moheriy, Rock Bridge B
stadium. 3
versify Fine Arts Bectfcel Bafl, Jree.
Suit could cost student $ 40,000
ByEBsabctaSadd
MissonriaD staff writer
A University agriculture student
found this week it may be costly to
have worked for " right- to- work- ."
Carolyn Koenig, 20, has spent the
last two years wrapped up in a court
battle, and now she has been ordered
to pay at least $ 40,000 in legal fees. But
thou costs were not directly incurred
by Miss Koenig; She is saddled with
payment of the opposition's attorneys.
The case, Fantroy vs. Greater SL
Louis Labor Cfeuccfl, began two sum-mers
ago. Miss Koenig, from St Louis,
decided to gather petition signatures to
put a " right- to- work- " measure on the
state ballot The measure would have
outlawed mandatory union mem-bership
for workers.
How will a onilfgp student pay the
" I guess the judge will take away
Carolyn's pencils and books," said
Baker Smith, director of the Center for
National Labor Policy and backer of
Miss Koenig and three other women in
the case.
Bet an attorney who may be paid by
the women says the decision was
aimed atme labor policy center.
" I think these girls were used. In my
opinion this case was solicited and
backed by an organization out of D. C
that promised the girls they wouldn't
have to pay for anything," said defense
attorney Kurt Breeze.
The ire of some union members was
raised by the right- to- wor- k activity.
According to Miss Koenig, she and
three other young women found them-selves
the target of this anger when
pftKtaknists narassed them. The
women reported mat union members
followed them during the petition drive
and slashed tires of their cars, threat-ened
their families and ripped up
pages of signatures they had gathered.
One of the women, Fonda Fantroy,
took the problem to Richard M. Mar-shall,
a Clayton, Mo., attorney, who
said be would help the women stop the
harassment
Soon the women found more back-ing.
Officials from the labor policy cen-ter,
located in North Springfield, Va.,
contacted Marshall and offered to pay
court costs if the women would file suit
against the unionists.
The center, formed in 1974, is a pub-lic
interest law firm. Its officials were
drawn into the case when members
read about the situation in a labor pub-lication.
The case was heard last summer in a
four- wee- k U. S. District Court triad. A
jury deliberated four hours before it
announced its decision against the
women.
Monday the case reached another
stage, when US. District Judge Wi-lliam
Hungate, saying the suit was
" verbose and indefinite,' ruled the
women most pay attorney fees for
some 60 defendants. The tab rings up
at about $ 160,000, and calls for $ 40,000
from each plannff.
Miss Koenig prefers not to discuss
the suit Her fattier, Donald Koenig,
said he is shocked at the situation.
" I wouldn't say mis is a lesson for
Carolyn. It is an experience. I find the
amount of money involved unfathoma-ble.
The girls were acting on the advice
of the National Labor Policy," he said.
" They went through what they thought
was the best way to seek action to stop
this harassment"
Koenig said he did not consider his
daughter to be a political activist and
did not consider ' right- to- wor- k" to be
a political issue.
Miss Koenig's backers say they are
not surprised at her refusal to talk
about the case and are sympathetic
with her position.
" Carolyn is a sweet girl," Marshall
said. " At the time of the suit she felt
this was not the way the country ought
to be. These young people sat in my of-fice
crying, ' Mr. Marshall, what can
we do about mis?' I'm sure they didn't
know what they were getting into, and
I didnt know what this would lead to
either," he said.
Smith had similar comments.
" Carolyn is a good plaintiff. She is a
very shy, very private individual, and
rm sure she is very hurt by this whole
thing," Smith, labor policy center di-rector,
said. 4iThere is no way Carolyn
imagined this would happen, but I've
assured her well keep appealing this
thing."
" This was a constitutional suit"
Smith said. " We wanted to go to court
to set a precedent and protect the right
to petition. The fact that it came out of
the right- to- wor- k campaign was not
part of the reason to file. Those girls
could have been petitioning for mom's
apple pie."
Smith and Marsha?! said Hungate's
decision to require the women to fund
their opposition's legal fees is a major
setback for civil rights and public in-terest
law cases.
'' I was chagrined during the trial
when Hungate said this type of thing
( See JUDGE'S, Page 14)
Spirited Paco
sure to please
Tiger backers
By B3i& Brewer
Paco Psvo thinks whistling Dixie is
for the birds m he whistles the Tiger
Fight Song.
Birds are not usually attracted to
cats, but Paco makes an exception for
the Mtzxou Tigers.
Paco Pavo, whose name means
" Little Turkey," is a 1- yea-r-
old cocka- tee- J
belonging to University student
Sheri Nehjon, 1319 Paris Road. And al-though
he cannot attend the homecom-ing
game Saturday, Paco win be
cheering for the Tigers from his cage.
( fi& dsaed with this nasfftfsg's Cohon- ht- a
BnliHtflBrfaiB is a mwM sft- pa- ge
BxHBBeeamSqg 19seethe)
" He tfetsj to the Tiger B?"" P! g on the
radio and loves the excitement. When
he bears the fight ssng he gets real
ersry," Ms. Nelson said. " He picks it
right up."
Ms. Nelson, a lS- year-- oM advertising
major from St Louis, became Paco's
owner in July. Since then & e success-fully
has taught fee bird several tricks,
from whistling the Tiger fight song to
imitating a wolf's howL
" He's real smart and trhpg m
fast," Ms. Nelson said.
Paco, like many performers, is tem- peramest- aL
He likes to be coaxed,
pg& ed and offered a peanut before he
does his suf.
1 " He thinks he's a real tough guy,"
8 JSs. Nelson expined.
" Be a big eagle,'' Ms. Nelson whia--
B perstoFaco.
1 Paco easfidsatly cocks Ms head,
I foOy lifts jrcrai fftPT1 his wings frfil
I arrogantly stmts along her forearm.
1 ThenhsgeisttsepessHst
f itiir.- jfMl- u t rjcitr , r - . --
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'-- -. .:. .
i .'" jTfirtf i!'!' i'i'K;" Sc'-' v-- a '; ' ' '"." '. ; runjfiM', s ,' r'VM.'': M ' -- .., :
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.?," irfiMw.- f. f'';'-- .
" J! sTrftiiI- 1" s.- V f'r " ' in, ? It'-- . W
-- 3!!.
.
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... f'-- .
i.
When he's in the mood, Paco the eockat" r3i y! H vzh& il?
" Fight, Tiger" for his owner, Sheri Nelson. She says be par- ikmar- ly
enjoys hearing Marching Wzzsm play via radio as