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F STATS HUTRTCXL SOCIETY & L0VR7 ST. SERV 1 CQLUfiSIA, BO. 652X1 ( lilTT 7Sth Year No. 233 Good Morning! It's Tuesday, June 14, 1983 2 Sections 14 Pages 25 Cents By David R. Coaler MloicHirian atatf writer A 53- year-- old Columbia man was charged Monday evening with second- - degree arson. John " Jack" Henry Rodgers, Route 10, is being held in Boone County Jail on $ 100,000 bond. Sgt Dale Richardson, arson task force spokesman, refused to com-ment on the arrest Richardson did say, however, that he has scheduled a special press conference for 8 am. today. This is not the first tune Rodgers has been accused of arson. Rodgers told police in 1880 that he had set 13 fires within a 2- y- ear pe-riod in the vicinity of his home A Columbia Missourian article of Aug 12, 1960, quoted Rodgers as say-ing he had been setting fires since his childhood in St Louis Rodgers also said he liked watch-ing firefighters put out the fires He said he sometimes even assisted firefighters According to the article, Rodgers said he could not help setting the fires even though he realized he was doing wrong. He said he did not want to hurt anyone. In September 1975, Rodgers pleaded not guilty by reason of men-tal disease or defect to setting Ore m 1972 to the Russell Chapel AME Church barbeque stand at the Boone County Fairgrounds. A judge committed Rodgers to Fulton State Hospital The commit-ment was to last until hospital per-sonnel believed Rodgers had been rehabilitated. In May 1975, investigators placed Rodgers at the scene of a burning farmhouse owned by a former Uni-versity of Missouri curator, John Sam Williamson Sr of McBaine. Sheriffs deputies charged him with second- degre- e arson. Richardson said Rodgers' arrest could not be discussed Monday night because Bob Muse, the task force su-- pervisor, advised Richardson not to talk until this morning's meeting Earlier Monday evening, Capt Harold Toalson, the Columbia Police Department's second- shi- ft watch commander, said he could not com-ment on whether the task force had arrested Rodgers When asked if his officers aided the task force in an arrest, Toalson said, " I believe he was transported ( to the task force headquarters) by my officers " It appears the task force first got a break Sunday evening in its investi-gation of numerous recent fires of suspicious origin None of the fires, an undetermined number since late February totaling about $ 5 million in damages, has been solved The break apparently came when fire gutted an expensive A- fra- me house on Creasy Springs Road out-side the city limits The suspect lives near the gutted home Pat Barnes, an assistant fire chief with the Boone County Fire Protec-tion District, said the fire's cause is under investigation Deputy Chief Bill Westhoff also said he could not attribute a cause or give a damage estimate " My report is undetermined at the present time," Westhoff said Asked if the arson task force joined in the A- fra- me investigation, Westhoff said, Various members of the task force I don't know if they were there on an official capacit) We asked a couple of the officials to look at the structure ' ' Another suspicious fire occurred Monday afternoon when a woman reported a mobile home fire at 212 Shady Lake Estates An investigator told a reporter at the scene that the trailer would be added to the list of arson fires A neighbor said no one occupied the trailer, which pnmarly served as a party house Bud Enochs, a trailer court resi ' See ARSON Page8A Jerry Brewer and welfare worker Charles Bentley are still answering phones at 5: 30 p. m. In their temporary offices. Family Services Division copes with moves; volunteers sought to drive clients to office By Thorasa Allan and Mlndy Matthews Missourian staff writers Both clients and employees of the Boone County Divi-sion of Family Services are trying to rebound from the June 6 fire that damaged the division's offices m the Eastgate Building The fire was one of a series believed to have been setby an arsonist. Immediately after the fire, the division moved to 1101 Lakeview Ave. Then on Monday, the DFS opened again yniirt crated boxes, makeshift furniture and unplugged computers in its new office on Boone Industrial Drive on ILS. efrNorth. But what now worries local social service directors is the office's inaccessabdity to many clients. Because the office is outside the city limits, it is not on bus lines. Its location also presents other problems. " The highway has no shoulder and has no place for pe-destrians to walk," said Betty Adams, director of Colum-bia's Voluntary Action Center. " The vast majority of clients we refer to the Division of Family Services don't even have telephones, let alone cars," shesaid. In an attempt to meet the demand for transportation to the new office, Mrs Adams has begun coordinating a new volunteer program The program will provide ndes forme division's clients without transportation She estimates that as many as 75 people a day may need rides. Mrs. Adams said a shuttle schedule and centralized pick- u- p point will be established as soon as Thursday, and rivjmi'' that those willing to volunteer need only drive the trip once. " All we ask of volunteers is that they have a valid driv-er's license and liability insurance. " We will make it easy and convenient for people to vol-unteer services We have never been disappointed by our community before, and dont think we will be now," Mrs. Adams said. Those wishing to volunteer to drive should call the Vo-luntary Action Center office at 449- 695- 9 or 443- 25- 46 during business hours, or 443- 250- 2, page 538, after 5p. m Officials of the Missouri Division of Family Services do not expect the transportation inconveniences to be permanent According to Jerry Brewer, director of the Boone County office, a new location eventually will bv deter-mined by a state bidding process " However, before that process begins, I must deter-mine where we stand legally with our present Eastgate lease" Officials recognize the problems the location poses, but believe practical considerations override them. " We needed a building with 12,000 square feet to house our agency and our 90 employees on a very short- ter- m basis," Brewer said. " Also important in our decision were the computer hook- up- s available in this building." The local Division of Family Services provides about 5,000 Boone Countians with food stamps, Aid to Depend-ent Children funds and other services. Brewer estimated that 100 to 150 people visit the office each day Employees of the division spent their first business day in the new location trying to handle food stamp and other relief fund cases Boxes of files, which casework-ers packed and moved themselves, were piled about the new offices. Smoke- damage- d records await refiling by the Division of Family Services While none of the division's case fdes were destroyed m the fire, there are more than 1 million file folders that need to be cleaned because of extensive smoke damage The fire and ensuing moves have held up the process of applying for and receiving food stamps " The DFS directly referred people who needed them to emergency food services such as my agency," Mrs Ad-ams said New applicants for food stamps and those who were re-applying were the ones most seriously inconvenienced, she said During the last week the Voluntary Action Center staff saw an increase in the number of clients needing emer-gency food because of delayed food stamps " While DFS was moving, 90 people came into our of-fice for emergency food," Mrs Adams said The Columbia food bank also experienced an increase in the number of people needing food, said Keith Schaef- fe- r, a worker at the food bank This increase is coming at a difficult tune for the food bank, he said " Right now we have a crisis because we are running out of canned food. We only have about half a dozen cans left and we are trying to get people to donate more " Wilson no longer Is a Senate rookie after successful session ByDeanKahn State capital bureau JEFFERSON CITY John Schneider, a 13- ye- ar veteran of the Missouri Senate, has said it takes five years to learn the ropes to be-come a full- fledg- ed senator Columbia's " Democratic senator, Roger Wilson, appears to be a quick learner. He has been a senator only four years. Yet in in the session that ends Wednesday, Wilson has emerged as a prominent actor in the state's major fiscal issues the Hancock Amendment, a proposed corporate income tax increase and Gov. Christopher Bond's plan to ex-pand state borrowing. " I like to be knee- dee- p in what's going on," Wilson remarked. According to several colleagues and statehoose observers, Wilson's pgag? emergence as an active member of the Senate is due in large part to his personality. Wilson uniformly is de-scribed as personable almost folksy and energetic, as strong- mind- ed but increasingly able to compromise when necessary " Roger can be both a team play-er and an individual, and that's rare," said Sea James Mathewson, D- Sedal- ia. That kind of appraisal did not came easily Wilson faced a series of obstacles after he entered the Senate follow-ing his February 1979 special- electio- n victory. He was just 30 He lacked legislative experience; be previously had been a teacher, as-sistant elementary school principal and Boone County's tax collector M, . Wilson's campaign assets ISmSSSmitSilmk youth, energy, a county govern- - iiWTOremSrWml. ment post and a family tradition of mWfwwvSSSBSBWSmi local political activity did not VIallHifi', Hfi transfer automatically onto the plus BEgg HffiyS side of the ledger in the Senate He rasf ffltSBM was the youngest member in the alii n s filglll chamber of elders, a rookie outsid- - Eggs! ja f "" fBHQM erin the clubtxsh gathering of polit-- Wm " STO 3Y ' jWm ical veterans. And his timing Wgjsi St s fflKs wasn't the best wg? J ' fflBy " I came in right in the middle of Sk ' PV i a session," he recalled. " There V hcC7r U wasnt any breaking- u- i time, no " LLPf ' A freshman tour or any acclimation V vj fr? penod That first session was noth-- Jj ing more than a learning expen- - fs JSn Wilson's fellow senators noticed ifQK the symptoms of inexperience. Jlr Sen. Bob Johnson, R- Le- e's Sum-- tP See WILSON. PageBA RogarWiisort j i I I Development board chooses between local grocery stores By Bill Britt Missourian staff writer The Boone County Industrial Development Authority voted Monday night to issue industrial revenue bonds to build a grocery store on one side of Providence Road and rejected another company's request to build a grocery store on the other side of the road The authority was between a rock and a hard place Its policies hold that the board frewns upon requests that give " a competitive advantage to one firm over oth er firms within the local market ' The authority voted two years ago to give tentative approval to Rock Bndge Development Inc for a grocery store in the Rock Bndge Shopping Center, which now consists of a Wal- Ma- rt store Though not bound by that vote, the authority Mon-day night voted 6-- 2 to go ahead and issue $ 1 million in bonds to the company Raul Walters, co- own- er of the company, announced at the meeting that a Nowell's grocery store would go into the center Walters also said the 30 000- square- f- oot store would employ about 60 people For each dollar in bond revenue used to build the store, Walters said, $ 1 80 would come from private sources But Temple Stephens Co ' s request for an inducement resolution for $ 1 3 million in bonds to build a grocen across the street from the Rock Bridge Shopping Center failed in a 3-- 5 vote An mducement calls for a public hearing but does not commit the authority to approving bonds Rock Bndge Shopping Center Inc plans to add to the Wal- Ma- rt store already at the northeast corner of Provi dence Road and Nifong Boulevard Temple Stephens al ready has begun construction on a shopping center at the northwest corner Temple J Stephens, president of Temple Stepnens Co , said Saturday he would not have sought the bonds if the Rock Bndge center had not earlier received the bonds He said after the meeting that his company had not ap-plied for bonds earlier because the market was not ready font Construction on the 26,000- square- fo- ot store Temple Stephens proposes was expected to begin July 15 The store was expected to open by Nov 1 It would contain a retail grocery and bakery, a remote banking facility, a pharmacy and a hardware store Stephens bought the land in 1973 before Rock Bndge had purchased its site, said Robert Smith, the company's attorney Smith added that until two months ago the company was negotiating a deal with Nowell's to operate the proposed store. " By approving Rock Bndge's application two jears ago, the authority has painted itself into a corner,' said board member Walter Johnson Board president Jerrold Stark disagreed " I don't think we've painted ourself into a corner," he said " Local residents came to us two years ago and asked for a grocery store " If Stephens had come here two years ago I would have voted for him," said board member William Bayer " I think it's ludicrous to vote for two stores when the area cant support two " He also noted that Gerbes and IGA are building stores m the city without bonds The board also approved an inducement resolution for $ 6.5 million to build a health- relate- d retirement facility adjacent to the Candle- Lig- ht Lodge nursing home, 1406 Business Loop 70 W According to its application, the facility will employ 11 people and have an estimated payroll of $ 200,000 by the end of its second business year Revenue bonds would finance 95 percent of the facility Construction would begin in September and would be completed by January 1985
Object Description
Title | Columbia Missourian Newspaper 1983-06-14 |
Description | Vol. 75th Year, No. 233 |
Subject |
Columbia (Mo.) -- Newspapers Boone County (Mo.) -- Newspapers |
Coverage | United States -- Missouri -- Boone County -- Columbia |
Language | English |
Date.Search | 1983-06-14 |
Type | Newspaper |
Format | |
Collection Name | Columbia Missourian Newspaper Collection |
Publisher.Digital | The Office of Library Systems of the University of Missouri |
Contributing Institution |
State Historical Society of Missouri University of Missouri 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 |
Description
Title | Full Page |
Date.Search | 1983-06-14 |
Type | page |
Item.Transcript | F STATS HUTRTCXL SOCIETY & L0VR7 ST. SERV 1 CQLUfiSIA, BO. 652X1 ( lilTT 7Sth Year No. 233 Good Morning! It's Tuesday, June 14, 1983 2 Sections 14 Pages 25 Cents By David R. Coaler MloicHirian atatf writer A 53- year-- old Columbia man was charged Monday evening with second- - degree arson. John " Jack" Henry Rodgers, Route 10, is being held in Boone County Jail on $ 100,000 bond. Sgt Dale Richardson, arson task force spokesman, refused to com-ment on the arrest Richardson did say, however, that he has scheduled a special press conference for 8 am. today. This is not the first tune Rodgers has been accused of arson. Rodgers told police in 1880 that he had set 13 fires within a 2- y- ear pe-riod in the vicinity of his home A Columbia Missourian article of Aug 12, 1960, quoted Rodgers as say-ing he had been setting fires since his childhood in St Louis Rodgers also said he liked watch-ing firefighters put out the fires He said he sometimes even assisted firefighters According to the article, Rodgers said he could not help setting the fires even though he realized he was doing wrong. He said he did not want to hurt anyone. In September 1975, Rodgers pleaded not guilty by reason of men-tal disease or defect to setting Ore m 1972 to the Russell Chapel AME Church barbeque stand at the Boone County Fairgrounds. A judge committed Rodgers to Fulton State Hospital The commit-ment was to last until hospital per-sonnel believed Rodgers had been rehabilitated. In May 1975, investigators placed Rodgers at the scene of a burning farmhouse owned by a former Uni-versity of Missouri curator, John Sam Williamson Sr of McBaine. Sheriffs deputies charged him with second- degre- e arson. Richardson said Rodgers' arrest could not be discussed Monday night because Bob Muse, the task force su-- pervisor, advised Richardson not to talk until this morning's meeting Earlier Monday evening, Capt Harold Toalson, the Columbia Police Department's second- shi- ft watch commander, said he could not com-ment on whether the task force had arrested Rodgers When asked if his officers aided the task force in an arrest, Toalson said, " I believe he was transported ( to the task force headquarters) by my officers " It appears the task force first got a break Sunday evening in its investi-gation of numerous recent fires of suspicious origin None of the fires, an undetermined number since late February totaling about $ 5 million in damages, has been solved The break apparently came when fire gutted an expensive A- fra- me house on Creasy Springs Road out-side the city limits The suspect lives near the gutted home Pat Barnes, an assistant fire chief with the Boone County Fire Protec-tion District, said the fire's cause is under investigation Deputy Chief Bill Westhoff also said he could not attribute a cause or give a damage estimate " My report is undetermined at the present time," Westhoff said Asked if the arson task force joined in the A- fra- me investigation, Westhoff said, Various members of the task force I don't know if they were there on an official capacit) We asked a couple of the officials to look at the structure ' ' Another suspicious fire occurred Monday afternoon when a woman reported a mobile home fire at 212 Shady Lake Estates An investigator told a reporter at the scene that the trailer would be added to the list of arson fires A neighbor said no one occupied the trailer, which pnmarly served as a party house Bud Enochs, a trailer court resi ' See ARSON Page8A Jerry Brewer and welfare worker Charles Bentley are still answering phones at 5: 30 p. m. In their temporary offices. Family Services Division copes with moves; volunteers sought to drive clients to office By Thorasa Allan and Mlndy Matthews Missourian staff writers Both clients and employees of the Boone County Divi-sion of Family Services are trying to rebound from the June 6 fire that damaged the division's offices m the Eastgate Building The fire was one of a series believed to have been setby an arsonist. Immediately after the fire, the division moved to 1101 Lakeview Ave. Then on Monday, the DFS opened again yniirt crated boxes, makeshift furniture and unplugged computers in its new office on Boone Industrial Drive on ILS. efrNorth. But what now worries local social service directors is the office's inaccessabdity to many clients. Because the office is outside the city limits, it is not on bus lines. Its location also presents other problems. " The highway has no shoulder and has no place for pe-destrians to walk," said Betty Adams, director of Colum-bia's Voluntary Action Center. " The vast majority of clients we refer to the Division of Family Services don't even have telephones, let alone cars," shesaid. In an attempt to meet the demand for transportation to the new office, Mrs Adams has begun coordinating a new volunteer program The program will provide ndes forme division's clients without transportation She estimates that as many as 75 people a day may need rides. Mrs. Adams said a shuttle schedule and centralized pick- u- p point will be established as soon as Thursday, and rivjmi'' that those willing to volunteer need only drive the trip once. " All we ask of volunteers is that they have a valid driv-er's license and liability insurance. " We will make it easy and convenient for people to vol-unteer services We have never been disappointed by our community before, and dont think we will be now," Mrs. Adams said. Those wishing to volunteer to drive should call the Vo-luntary Action Center office at 449- 695- 9 or 443- 25- 46 during business hours, or 443- 250- 2, page 538, after 5p. m Officials of the Missouri Division of Family Services do not expect the transportation inconveniences to be permanent According to Jerry Brewer, director of the Boone County office, a new location eventually will bv deter-mined by a state bidding process " However, before that process begins, I must deter-mine where we stand legally with our present Eastgate lease" Officials recognize the problems the location poses, but believe practical considerations override them. " We needed a building with 12,000 square feet to house our agency and our 90 employees on a very short- ter- m basis," Brewer said. " Also important in our decision were the computer hook- up- s available in this building." The local Division of Family Services provides about 5,000 Boone Countians with food stamps, Aid to Depend-ent Children funds and other services. Brewer estimated that 100 to 150 people visit the office each day Employees of the division spent their first business day in the new location trying to handle food stamp and other relief fund cases Boxes of files, which casework-ers packed and moved themselves, were piled about the new offices. Smoke- damage- d records await refiling by the Division of Family Services While none of the division's case fdes were destroyed m the fire, there are more than 1 million file folders that need to be cleaned because of extensive smoke damage The fire and ensuing moves have held up the process of applying for and receiving food stamps " The DFS directly referred people who needed them to emergency food services such as my agency," Mrs Ad-ams said New applicants for food stamps and those who were re-applying were the ones most seriously inconvenienced, she said During the last week the Voluntary Action Center staff saw an increase in the number of clients needing emer-gency food because of delayed food stamps " While DFS was moving, 90 people came into our of-fice for emergency food," Mrs Adams said The Columbia food bank also experienced an increase in the number of people needing food, said Keith Schaef- fe- r, a worker at the food bank This increase is coming at a difficult tune for the food bank, he said " Right now we have a crisis because we are running out of canned food. We only have about half a dozen cans left and we are trying to get people to donate more " Wilson no longer Is a Senate rookie after successful session ByDeanKahn State capital bureau JEFFERSON CITY John Schneider, a 13- ye- ar veteran of the Missouri Senate, has said it takes five years to learn the ropes to be-come a full- fledg- ed senator Columbia's " Democratic senator, Roger Wilson, appears to be a quick learner. He has been a senator only four years. Yet in in the session that ends Wednesday, Wilson has emerged as a prominent actor in the state's major fiscal issues the Hancock Amendment, a proposed corporate income tax increase and Gov. Christopher Bond's plan to ex-pand state borrowing. " I like to be knee- dee- p in what's going on," Wilson remarked. According to several colleagues and statehoose observers, Wilson's pgag? emergence as an active member of the Senate is due in large part to his personality. Wilson uniformly is de-scribed as personable almost folksy and energetic, as strong- mind- ed but increasingly able to compromise when necessary " Roger can be both a team play-er and an individual, and that's rare," said Sea James Mathewson, D- Sedal- ia. That kind of appraisal did not came easily Wilson faced a series of obstacles after he entered the Senate follow-ing his February 1979 special- electio- n victory. He was just 30 He lacked legislative experience; be previously had been a teacher, as-sistant elementary school principal and Boone County's tax collector M, . Wilson's campaign assets ISmSSSmitSilmk youth, energy, a county govern- - iiWTOremSrWml. ment post and a family tradition of mWfwwvSSSBSBWSmi local political activity did not VIallHifi', Hfi transfer automatically onto the plus BEgg HffiyS side of the ledger in the Senate He rasf ffltSBM was the youngest member in the alii n s filglll chamber of elders, a rookie outsid- - Eggs! ja f "" fBHQM erin the clubtxsh gathering of polit-- Wm " STO 3Y ' jWm ical veterans. And his timing Wgjsi St s fflKs wasn't the best wg? J ' fflBy " I came in right in the middle of Sk ' PV i a session," he recalled. " There V hcC7r U wasnt any breaking- u- i time, no " LLPf ' A freshman tour or any acclimation V vj fr? penod That first session was noth-- Jj ing more than a learning expen- - fs JSn Wilson's fellow senators noticed ifQK the symptoms of inexperience. Jlr Sen. Bob Johnson, R- Le- e's Sum-- tP See WILSON. PageBA RogarWiisort j i I I Development board chooses between local grocery stores By Bill Britt Missourian staff writer The Boone County Industrial Development Authority voted Monday night to issue industrial revenue bonds to build a grocery store on one side of Providence Road and rejected another company's request to build a grocery store on the other side of the road The authority was between a rock and a hard place Its policies hold that the board frewns upon requests that give " a competitive advantage to one firm over oth er firms within the local market ' The authority voted two years ago to give tentative approval to Rock Bndge Development Inc for a grocery store in the Rock Bndge Shopping Center, which now consists of a Wal- Ma- rt store Though not bound by that vote, the authority Mon-day night voted 6-- 2 to go ahead and issue $ 1 million in bonds to the company Raul Walters, co- own- er of the company, announced at the meeting that a Nowell's grocery store would go into the center Walters also said the 30 000- square- f- oot store would employ about 60 people For each dollar in bond revenue used to build the store, Walters said, $ 1 80 would come from private sources But Temple Stephens Co ' s request for an inducement resolution for $ 1 3 million in bonds to build a grocen across the street from the Rock Bridge Shopping Center failed in a 3-- 5 vote An mducement calls for a public hearing but does not commit the authority to approving bonds Rock Bndge Shopping Center Inc plans to add to the Wal- Ma- rt store already at the northeast corner of Provi dence Road and Nifong Boulevard Temple Stephens al ready has begun construction on a shopping center at the northwest corner Temple J Stephens, president of Temple Stepnens Co , said Saturday he would not have sought the bonds if the Rock Bndge center had not earlier received the bonds He said after the meeting that his company had not ap-plied for bonds earlier because the market was not ready font Construction on the 26,000- square- fo- ot store Temple Stephens proposes was expected to begin July 15 The store was expected to open by Nov 1 It would contain a retail grocery and bakery, a remote banking facility, a pharmacy and a hardware store Stephens bought the land in 1973 before Rock Bndge had purchased its site, said Robert Smith, the company's attorney Smith added that until two months ago the company was negotiating a deal with Nowell's to operate the proposed store. " By approving Rock Bndge's application two jears ago, the authority has painted itself into a corner,' said board member Walter Johnson Board president Jerrold Stark disagreed " I don't think we've painted ourself into a corner," he said " Local residents came to us two years ago and asked for a grocery store " If Stephens had come here two years ago I would have voted for him," said board member William Bayer " I think it's ludicrous to vote for two stores when the area cant support two " He also noted that Gerbes and IGA are building stores m the city without bonds The board also approved an inducement resolution for $ 6.5 million to build a health- relate- d retirement facility adjacent to the Candle- Lig- ht Lodge nursing home, 1406 Business Loop 70 W According to its application, the facility will employ 11 people and have an estimated payroll of $ 200,000 by the end of its second business year Revenue bonds would finance 95 percent of the facility Construction would begin in September and would be completed by January 1985 |