Columbia Missourian Newspaper 1980-12-30

              Engineers
1 are winners
I as the NSF
I regroups
By Robert Reinhold
Eg New York Times
WASHINGTON - The National Sci- -
ence Foundation, set up originally to
H support basic research, will soon
H be putting a strong new emphasis on
H engineering and applied science,
H according to its new director.
EI The shift is certain to stir unease
H among the nation's academic scien--
m tists, who long have considered the
H agency as a kind of sacred institution
if meant primarily to back fundamental
inquiry that promised no quick practi--
P caldividends.
If But growing pressures from Cor- -
m gress, industry, the engineering pro--
m fession and now the incoming Rea- -
k gan administration for more practical
f; research aimed at spurring industrial
i growth is forcing the foundation to
pV re- exam- ine its traditional role.
tk " The engineering societies have
jp strongly proclaimed the need for im--
$ proved support to engineering re--
' search, and the NSF unquestionably
r has to deal with that," said the direc- -
j: tor, John B. Slaughter. " It has to rec--
v ograze that these are valid concerns
A and that some strong effort has to be
-- ; made to provide support for the engi-neering
community."
He added that there would be
: " strong emphais" on engineering and
l technology at the agency, which doles
out nearly $ 1 billion a year for re- -
InsigM
search and education, but said that he
hoped this could be done by finding
f " new funds" rather than by diverting
them from other research.
The 46- year-- old Slaughter, himself
an engineer by" training, is the first
". black to head the science agency.
Even though he was confirmed by
the Senate last September, Slaughter
has not yet been sworn in as the NSF
director. That fueled speculation in
Washington that, as a Carter appoin-tee,
he was having second thoughts
about taking the job. However, he at-tributed
the delay merely to his obliga-tion
to wind up affairs at Washington
State University, where he is provost.
He is scheduled to make the move
shortly after the first of the year.
Slaughter, who previously served as
an assistant NSF director, said that
gfe science, which traditionally has en-joyed
bipartisan support, would" not
suffer under the Reagan administra-tion.
But be agreed that spending prio-rities
would probably change to reflect
" the different mood" of the new Con-gress
and new administration.
He intimated that Reagan aides
strongly backed the shift toward engi-.- .'
neering, although skeptics at the meet-ing
wondered how this could be
achieved, in an administration pledged
to deep cuts in federal spending, with--?'
out seriously underming NSF work in
the biological, behavioral and other
sciences.
In fact, the engineering thrust has
been building for some years. From its
i founding after World War n, the agen- -
', cy had focused almost entirely on
J " pure" research. But beginning in
5iV 1368, under pressure from Congress, it
jS, began several years of fitful support,
. amid frequent reorganizations, for re- -
rSfe- - search- seekin- g solutions to practical
J problems.
Jj At present, about 10 percent of its re- ft-. r
sources are tunneled through its engi-- 0
neering and applied science director.
j Among recent projects were research
jg on the fire resistance of epoxy sub-stances
used to repair buildings dam-aged
in earthquakes and a study of
housing justice in small- clai- ms courts.
Unsatisfied, Rep. George E. Brown,
the California Democrat who heads the
Science, Research and Technology
subcommittee of the House Committee
on Science and Technology, has spon-sored
a bill that would take a large
chunk of money away from the NSF
and set up a new National Technology
Foundation. The NSF responded by
proposing to reorganize itself and cre-ate
a separate engineering directorate.
" Slaughter attributed the pressures
for a stronger engineering component
to a widespread national feeling that
the country's capacity for industrial in-novation
has been weakened in recent
years.
Neglect in this area over the years,
he said, had left many schools with
poor facilities and instruments and un-able
to attract good young professors.
With a growing shortage of engineers,
he went on, " would- b- e faculty' mem-bers
are finding it much more attrac-tive
to take positions in industry,
where they can obtain salaries in a
very brief time that are double or
more" those in the universities.
Ira town iodsfcy
2-- 5 pan. Youth Alternatives
Center members will celebrate
the New Year with a roller- skatin- g
party at the Skate R Bowl,
2116 Vandiver Drive.
Index
Classified 12
Comics 14
Movies 15
I Opinion 4
I People 5
I Sports ...... .... M
1 Stocks .................................. 11
iiiiT - i. :: -- ; ,
CJJH2I.':, m-;- . o---
"
73rd Year No. 90 (; 0( M Morning! It's Tuesday. December 30, 1980 16 Pages - 25 Cents
Robbery failed
Columbia police handcuff a suspect in the at-tempted
robbery of Lamb's Jewelry Store, 26 S.
Ninth St. Two St. Louis men were arrested fol-lowing
a standoff with police Monday night.
CoQeenConbcs
Store merchandise litters the sidewalk at the
suspect's feet. Police said no one was injured in
the incident and the store's property was recov-ered.
For the complete story, see Page 16.
Judge expects
to rule this week
on Trice request
By Nick Wreden
Missourian staff writer
Circuit Court Judge EUen S. Roper
said Monday she expects to rule this
week on whether outgoing Boone Coun-ty
Public Administrator William C.
Trice will be appointed guardian for 20
estates worth more than $ 500,000.
As public administrator, Trice has
handled the estates of minors, the de-ceased
and the insane for whom there
is no private administrator or guardi-an.
Under state law, Trice has peti-tioned
the court to let him continue
handling the 20 estates after he leaves
office Wednesday.
Judge Roper said she has asked
Trice's attorney, Elton Fay, to submit
a written brief so she can study the le-gal
issues involved in changing the
public estates to private guardianship.
" I have some doubts about the legal
status of changing guardianships, re-gardless
of the other issues in the
case," Judge Roper said during a hear-ing
Monday morning.
Public Administrator- elec- t Bill Kas- man- n,
who defeated Trice in Novem
ber's general election, said Monday
that his attorney, James C. Butcher,
will file a brief. Trice has been public
administrator since his election in
1963.
Earlier this month, Trice requested
guardianship of 24 estates he handled
as public administrator, telling the
court he wanted to administer the es-tates
because he has developed a " per-sonal
relationship" with the parties in- volv- ed.
Trice since has withdrawn four
petitions.
Judge Roper said she wants the brief
filed as soon as possible. " I think it
would be unfair to both Mr. Trice and
Mr. Kasmann not to get this issue set-tled
before Jan. 1," Judge Roper said.
Judge Roper also asked that four
' court- appointe- d lawyers representing
those whose estates are at issue visit
their clients personally. Although testi-mony
indicated many of the them
would be unable to understand the is-sues
in the case, Judge Roper said she
wanted the attorneys to see if further
evidence is required and to " see how
( See TRICE, Page 16)
County has extended
tax deadline to Jan 4
By Chuck Ervin
Missourian staff writer
If you're rushing to pay your 1980
county property taxes by the end of the
year, relax a little.
Boone County Collector Raymond
Easley has extended the payment
deadline until Jan. 4 because county of-fices
were closed the days after
Thanksgiving and Christmas. Pay-ments
postmarked by midnight Sun-day
will be accepted without penalty,
he said.
" It's more than fair to the public to
offer them a couple of more days," he
said.
There is a catch, though: Paying the
tax after Dec. 31 will keep you from
claiming it as a deduction on 1980 fed
eral income taxes, according to the In-ternal
Revenue Service.
Taxpayers who miss the Jan. 4 dead-line
face a three percent penalty until
the end of January, and the penalty
gets higher each month that payments
remain past due, Easley said.
Taxpayers can protest bills by send-ing
a letter of complaint with their pay-ment
and lodging a formal protest in
the courts, Easley said. In such cases,
the payment is held in escrow until the
dispute is resolved, he said.
Easley's office was swamped with
more than 100 protests last year after a
lower court ruled the state merchants'
and manufacturers' property tax un-constitutional,
a decision that later
was overturned by the Missouri Su-preme
Court. Easley said two protests
have been filed so far this year.
Stipanovich heads home amid mystery
By Brian Smith and Steven L. Yarbrongh
Missourian staff writers
The University basketball team's starting center,
Steve Stipanovich, departed Columbia Monday af-ternoon
with his father, leaving behind a mystery
about his self- inflict- ed gunshot wound and the sug-gestion
that he will return in a few days.
Stipanovich, who claimed Saturday night that he
was shot at his home by a masked intruder but
Monday admitted he shot himself, seemed weary
but in good spirits as he put two shirts, a pair of
gym shoes, a suitcase and a 12- pa- ck of beer into the
back seat of his father's Lincoln Continental.
" I can't practice anyway, so I'm just going home
for a few days," Stipanovich said.
His left arm, the one injured in the shooting inci-dent,
was stiff at his side underneath a jacket, and
his father drove the car. But the 6- foo-t-
ll Stipano-vich
was not wearing a sling.
" It's still pretty sore," he said. " I'm feeling bet-ter
now. There just isn't much I can do right now."
That short conversation with a Columbia Mis-sourian
reporter was one of the few public contacts
made with Stipanovich since the bizarre series of
events started Saturday night when he checked into
Columbia Regional Hospital's emergency room for
treatment of the flesh wound in his shoulder.
He would not comment on the cause of the shoot-ing
or what motivated him to fabricate the story
surrounding it. But before driving away, his father
indicated Stipanovich would return to Columbia by
the end of the week.
" He's just coming home for a few days," the eld-er
Stipanovich said.
The Tiger basketball team, which has not played
a game since Dec. 21, practiced twice Monday, the
second day the Tigers have been without their star
sophomore. Missouri is not scheduled to play until
Saturday night at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa,
Okla.
Coach Norm Stewart said Stipanovich would not
practice until further notice and that he was not
sure if Stipanovich would be available for Satur-day's
game.
Stipanovich had been scheduled to be examined
by Dr. Glenn McElroy in Columbia Monday af-ternoon
but did not show for the 1 pjn. appoint-ment.
He left with his father for their suburban St.
Louis home about 3 p. m. Sam Stipanovich said
Monday evening that his son would see a St. Louis
area doctor today.
The younger Stipanovich left Monday without
clearing up details of the events that started with a
shooting incident at his home Saturday night.
Stipanovich first told police a man wearing a ski
mask had smashed the front door to his house at
1803 Sunrise Drive, entered his bedroom at the rear
of the house and opened fire with a rifle. He said
three bullets struck the mattress on which he was
lying. Stipanovich then told police the man pulled a
revolver, shot him in the left shoulder and fled.
He said he called teammate Mike Foster and told
him he was shot and wanted to be taken to the hos-pital.
The desk receptionist at the hospital said two
men, one clutching his arm, came in about 11 pjn.
asking for the emergency room. She said she found
out later it was Stipanovich.
According to Bob Brendel, University assistant
sports information director, Stipanovich left the
emergency room to spend the remainder of the
night at Coach Stewart's house.
Police said the original story did not ring true
from the beginning, primarily because Stipanovich
" had powder burns on his shoulder. They said this in-dicated
the gun had been fired at close range.
Stipanovich had given police what he said was a
detailed description of the alleged assailant, saying
he had been wearing a light blue rainbreaker, a
red- checker- ed flannel shirt, blue jeans and cowboy
boots. Teammate Foster said that, when he ar- -
( See STIPANOVICH, Page 16)
Mfeseertan file photo
Steve Stipanovich
Incident remains a mystery
Threats to former M. U. player surface
By Steven L. Yarbrough
Missourian staff writer
Tiger basketball player Steve Stipanovich's
short- live- d hoax concerning his self- inflict- ed gun-shot
wound brought to light a story involving life- threateni- ng
phone calls made earlier this fall to a
former University teammate, Lex Drum.
Last October, University police investigated calls
made to Drum, a 21- year-- old center from Poplar
Bluff, Mo., and also vandalism of his car in the
Hearnes Center parking lot.
Major Jack Watring of the University Police said .
Monday that Drum had reported on Oct. 13 that he
had received four threatening telephone calls and
that the top of his car had been slashed.
Drum, who quit the Tiger team Dec. 9, citing
" personal reasons," told police he received the first
call Sept 1 and that the caller told him, " It would
be an advantage to your health not to play basket-ball
this year." Two subsequent calls warned Drum
he was not taking the first call seriously because he
was continuing to attend practices.
Drum told police that, in a fourth call on Oct. 8,
he was told, " Dont be on the court on Oct 15, or
you wont be around for the first game on Nov. 21."
Watring said Drum authorized a phone company
trace on his home phone to determine the source of
the calls.
, O" O- - 9, the caller made his final call, but police
said the attempted trace was unsuccessful because
the caller did not remain on the phone long enough.
Police said the slashing incident occurred Oct 13.
Drum returned to his 1974 Fiat convertible after
class and noticed the hood ajar and a 9- in- ch ( 22.5- centimet- er)
tear in the top. Watring said Drum
feared someone had planted a bomb in his car. Off-icers
checked the vehicle but found no explosives or
other tampering.
Watring said police advised Drum to park his ve-hicle
near the police office at future practices and
sent a plainclothes officer to make sure nothing
went wrong at the Tigers' Oct. 15 practice.
James Drum, father of the former Missouri play-er,
said Monday by phone from bis construction
business in Poplar Bluff that he was surprised to
hear the Stipanovich shooting was fabricated but
was sure threats to his son's life were real.
" I'm sure this was actually happening to Lex,"
he said. " I think there was very much sincerity in
this fellow's approach."
Watring said Drum did not seem overly con-cerned.
" He wasn't to the point where he was letting it af-fect
him. He was very level- head- ed about the whole
thing," Watring said.
Drum's father said his son received several calls
after the Oct. 12 call but the caller only made
heavy breathing or " tsk, tsk, tsk" sounds into the
phone.
Major Bill Whitehead of the Boone County Sher-iffs
Office said Monday that University basketball
coach Norm Stewart had asked his office to watch
Drum's apartment, but that he had no other infor-mation
on the case.
The elder Drum said his son, who missed all of
last season due to an academic suspension, has not
received additional threatening calls since leaving
the team. He said Ms son plans to leave the Univer-sity
for another college but has not yet decided
which one.
The elder Drum said he did not thu the calls to
his son were a consideration in his decision to leave
the team.
" You have to take these things with a grain of
salt," he said.
IGbMtrlufitepMo
Lex Drum
October phase calls reported