Columbia Missourian Newspaper 1982-05-15

              STATE Sir. T'iRIC- V- . .'-. CIS-TT
1" 3-;- '
HITT & L073Y T . '.' tilV
COLU& 3IA. UC-- . 052';:
74th Year - No. 205 Good Morning! It's Saturday, May 15, 1982 3 Sections - 46 Pages - 25 Cents
Going home
There's no room at the inn
as local businessmen reap
cash from student exodus
ByTom Dixon
Misscorian staff writer ;
Gradnatiaii at the University means as
much to local businessmen as it does to the
proud parents who fill the city's motels and
restaurants waiting for the moment when
their four- ye- ar investments in. the futures
of their children pay their first dividends.
It is as big a weekend as homecoming,
said Columbia merchants whose wares in- dn- de
food and shelter. The only difference
is that everyone seems to be homegoing
bat not before giving the local economy a
healthy boost.
Most of the city's 1,800 hotel rooms were
reserved well hi advance of graduation cer-emonies
today.
" Yon can't find a room in Columbia this
weekend, Susie Blakemore, office assist- -
( See other graduation stories, Page
8A)
ant of the Convention & Visitors Bureau of
Columbia, said Friday. A spot survey of the
city's hotels supports that claim.
Campus and Ramada inns were typical of
the major motels. Campus Inn has 90 per-cent
of its 97 rooms filled by people in town
for graduation ceremonies, while Ramada
Inn has 75 to 85 percent of its 205 rooms oc-cupied.
Area restaurants also are reaping the
benefits.
" You have to waita while for a table,".
said Dick Walls, owner'df The Heidelberg
Restaurant, 410 S. Ninth St. " The increase
in out- of- to- wn people makes ' for a super
weekend."
Chris Hahn, manager of Godfather's Piz-za,
7 N. Sixth St., is equally delighted.
" We've had a phenomenal increase in
business all week," he said.
The fact that all good things must end,
does not dampen the merchants' spirits
not anymore. There was a time, they said,
when the living was not so easy in the sum-mertime,
after students had gone home for
vacation.
" It used to be where no money could be
made," Walls said. " Now our business is
steady in the summer, and we don't have
the masses hit at one- tim- e orin peaks."
Increasing numbers of students staying
for summer sessions is one reason busi-nesses
prosper during the long, hot sum-mers.
But students are not the city's only
salvation, said June Dodd, executive vice
president of the Columbia Chamber of
Commerce.
Columbia has become a shopping center
for central Missouri, she said." It is a re-gional
marketplace," Ms. Dodd said.
The city did $ 750 million in retail business
and $ 54 million in food- restaura- nt sales last
year, she said, adding that no single seg-ment
of the city's population can take cred-it
for that success.
Yet student influence has grown as more
and more stay through summer or take up
permanent residence here.
" The drastic exodus is no longer as visi-ble
as it used to-- be," she said. " We are
keeping students longer."
I. Jean Zwoniter, coordinator of registra-tion
at the University, said more than 7,700
students attended summer school at the
University last year. She said 3,084 have
pre- register- ed far this summer a drop of
300 from this tirafe a year ago. She declined
tofestimate howfeany eventually will regis- terf- or
summer sessions.
" At least 15,000 will not they will spend
their sun uthts elsewhere.
But the effect of their absences will be
scattered, Ms. Dodd said.
Hahh said, --' We don't- xpect"- a bi& sum--- "
- mertimelulL We maloseOO- 300- student- s
a day which are duf late night or bar
crowd. But we cater to families and don't
expect to have any big problems when the
students leave."
The city's taverns, however, will miss the
Friday and Saturday night crowds.
" It's common sense when 16,000 students
leave town you will experience some kind
of slump," said Ken McClure, co- own- er of
BuHwinkte's, 1107 E. Broadway. ' But we
have a regular clientele. businessmen,
people passing through Columbia; students
who stay who will help us make it
throughthesummer."
nHHHHBHSSiiiLL RHHBuHHLa, r5BBIHBBMfefi
KBIHWHBpwjwifiirowi in . - HIBHHmHHBflHHHBKu -- wlSHI
IHHBHHHBBBHBBBBSBBm 3fflBBjBjBB8jBBB8""'- rHHBM8BH- P
SfSHHHHHBBiMHHPSRgsilsNiSSn iBBBIHiHWBBBBillWWlw
Pholo illustration by Jerome Delay
Each year, college graduation festivities give an extra boost to Columbia's economy.
Gray wants Columbians to help select new chief
BySusan Atteberry
Missourian staff writer
City Manager Dick Gray is on the
lookout for a replacement to fill the
position left by Police Chief Dave
Walsh's forced resignation from the
Columbia Police Department If the
City Council approves his plan Mon-day
night, Gray will conduct the
search and make his choice with the
help of a professional scouting firm
and a seven- memb- er citizens advi-sory
panel- Gra- y
will ask the council for $ 9,500
to hire the employment agency of
KornFerry International of Los An-geles.
The firm specializes in locat-ing
qualified public officials to fill
job openings. Gray was recruited
through the firm two years ago for
the Columbia city manager position.
Before the search begins, compa-ny
representatives will meet with
members of the advisory panel to
create a character sketch or " re-cruit
profile" of the ideal police
chief. KornFerry will then speed
two months searching the United
States and its files before suggesting
three to five candidates.
Candidates will interview with the
firm, with Gray, with the advisory
panel and with the public. Interviews
will be open, although Missouri's
Open Meetings Law does not require
that meetings where personnel are
hired or fired be open.
The public interviews will be a
" radical departure" from city prac-tice
in hiring employees. But Gray
says he has " learned through experi-ence"
about closing such meetings to
the public
Last October, a closed engineering
and economic evaluation selection
committee meeting to select firms
for a city energy study put Gray at
odds with Harriet Darvish Sallach,
the environment and energy com-mission's
representative to the selec-tion
panel. Mrs. Sallach argued that
the meetings should be open to the
public. Gray opened the interviews,"
and he says the process worked well.
" Doing this in the open sunshine
seems to work," he says. t Open interviews will also test a
prospective candidate's ability to
think on his or her feet, Gray says.
" I feel our next chief must be at
ease with the news media. What bet-ter
way to test him in a situation
than to see how he handles himself
when the public's watching him?"
Gray adds he is not " ruling out" the
possibility of a female police chief.
Public proceedings may dispel any
doubts about Gray's integrity in hir-ing
a new chief. Gray says the open-ing
meetings win eliminate any " al-legations
that I brought in an old
crony or in some way it wasn't above
board." Candidates who oppose the
open sessions won't be invited to in--
tenaew, he says.
In keeping with Equal Employ-ment
Opportunity guidelines, Korn- Ferr- y
representatives will ask the
same set of questions in the same
manner to each candidate. Panel
members will then evaluate the can-didates.
Panel members will be :
One representative from the --
City Council to be appointed by May-or
John Westlund.
One representative of the Co--
( See PANEL, Page 8A)
County code revives
familiar arguments
ByCurtVostiandKristieBunton
Missourian staff writers .
As Boone County pieces its way to-ward
implementing new county
bqtldi" g codes, several familiar ob-jections
have been raised to this lat-est
attempt to supplement the coun-ty's
legislative powers.
The County Building Codes Com-mission
and its supporters say the
codes and -- inspections which
would affect only new construction
are necessary to ensure safe de-velopment.
Critics of the codes, how-ever,
have resurrected arguments
from the home rule debate: the
codes would be unnecessary regula-tion
and could be biased against
those rural residents who would be
most affected.
At public hearings this week in
Ashland, Columbia and Centralia,
the commission heard both sides out-line
their positions as it sought opin-ions
about modifying the codes to the
particular needs of Boone County.
Three or four additional hearings
will be scheduled.
The commission was appointed in
May 1981 to devise codes and en-forcement
measures to monitor the
l building, electrical, plumbing and
mechanical stages of all construe- -
I
Insiglet
turn in unincorporated county areas.
Currently, voluntary guidelines and
inspections govern new construc-tion.
To create a framework, the com-mission
has relied heavily on the so- call- ed
" BOCA" codes, a series of
codes used nationwide that set mini-mumstandards
for safety.
Joe Gibbs of Rocneport and Bob
Northup, Route 5, noted opponents of
the home rule' charter, repeated the
concerns they used to help defeat
home rule.
At tiie Centralia hearing, Gibbs "
said the commission's proposed
Board of Appeals has no representa-tives
from unincorporated areas of
the county. Incorporated areas, such
as Ashland and Centralia, would
have the option of adopting the regu-lations.
County Court Presiding Judge Bill
Freeh responded that it was highly
unlikely that the County Court would
exclude such representatives from
the board
" Fd rather have it in writing,"
( See LEGALITY, Page 8A)
lat towia today
10: 30 ajn. University com-mencement,
Hearnes Center.
7: 30 pan. Maplewood Barn
Theater 10th anniversary re-vue,
Nifong Park off Old 63.
Tickets are $ 2 for adults, $ 1 for
children and senior citizens. e 875- 50- 50
STOPPERS
OF COEATEB COUJMOA
PO031S COUJMBU. K3 G92C
Index
Business
Classified ..... . .3- 4- B
Comics ....... ... SB
Opinion . .. 4A
People .......... ...- 5- A
Religion ..... u...... ..... -- 6A
Sports...........................- l2- B
Theater .......................... SB
State s long- truc- k journey ends
as Gov. Bond puts up roadblock
JEFFERSON CITY ( UPI) - Gov.
Christopher S. Bond Friday vetoed a
controversial bill permitting longer
trucks to be driven on Missouri high-ways.
He said the bill was an insult to
voters who rejected the operation of
oversize trucks at an election less
than two months ago.
" Legislative approval of longer
trucks is inconsistent with the peo-ple's
right to a meaningful referen-dum
andmajoriry rule," Bond said.
Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas re-main
the only three states in the na-tion
prohibiting large trucks. Lobby-ists
for commercial freight haulers
have protested that the three states
constitute a mid- continen- tal barrier
to low- pric- ed transportation of
goods, especially farm produce.
Bond -- did not notify Rep. Stan
Thomas, D- Iibe- rty, House sponsor
of the bill, that he had decided on a
veto.
" I never got a word on it," Thomas
said " I've been in wholehearted
support of longer trucks because the
longer the rig is, the less wear and
tearon the highways."
On April 6, voters at a statewide
referendum repealed the so- call- ed
" big truck" law allowing the opera- -
- tion of heavier and longer trucks in
Cites voters' disapproval of bill
the state. The law was passed in 1981
by the General Assembly and signed
by the governor.
Bond said he signed the 1981 mea-sure
in . order to remove a potential
barrier to economic development
and to help bring new jobs-- . .
Although the measure was ap-proved
by voters in 93 counties, it
was repealed 462,585 to 405,471 be-cause
of heavy opposition from vot-ers
in St. Louis and Kansas City.
The repealed law would have per-mitted
an increase in truck weight to
80,000 pounds ( 38 metric tons), com-pared
to the present limit of 73,280
pounds ( 33 metric tons). An increase
in length to 60 feet ( 18 meters) from
55 feet ( 16.5 meters) also would have
been permitted.
Lawmakers moved on April 29, the
day before adjournment of the Gen-eral
Assembly's 1982 regular ses-sion,
to revive that portion of the
measure on increased truck length.
Action came first in the Senate,
where an amendment sponsored by
Sen. Ralph Uthlaut, R- N- ew Flor-ence,
was introduced permitting the
i
operation of trucks 60 feet ( 18 me-ters)
long. The amendment, defeat-ed
15- 1- 7, was brought back again af-ter
intensive lobbying to switch votes
and was approved 17-- 13 on a motion
for reconsideration.
Uthlaut said he did not think Mis- souria- ns
understood what they were
doing when they repealedthe law at
the earlier election.
The amendment was attached to
Thomas' bill, which restored the size
of special commercial zones in the
' St. Louis and Kansas City areas
where trucks 85 feet ( 25.5 meters) in
length and over 100,000 pounds ( 45.
metric tons) are permitted to oper-ate
- Commercial zones were created to
allow the movement in urban areas
of " piggyback" truck trailers
brought in on flatbed railroad cars.
House members approved Thom-as'
bill with Uthlaut's amendment
96- 5- 8. Passage came after comments
from some legislators who were fu-rious
at the attempt to override neg-ative
public opinion expressed at the --
referendum election.