Columbia Missourian Newspaper 1983-06-14

              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