Columbia Missourian Newspaper 1984-02-09

              76th Year No. 126 Good Morning! It's Thursday, February 9, 1 984 2 Sections 1 2 Pages 25 Cents
House considers tax to expand prisons
By James V. Grimaldi
Stat capital bureau
JEFFERSON CITY Despite
predictions that a tax increase would
not be seriously considered during
this session, the House will debate a
temporary sales tax to pump up the
state's beleaguered prison system.
The House Budget Committee on
Wednesday voted SS to send to the
floor a half- yea- r, -- cent sales tax in-crease
to pay for the conversion of
the Farmington State Mental Hospi-tal
into a medium- securit- y prison
that wouldhold 1,100 inmates.
Before passing the tax increase
proposal, which was sponsored by
Republican Rep. Bud Barnes of St.
Louis County, the Budget Committee
voted 8-- 7 to kill Gov. Christopher
Bond's proposed $ 175 million bond is-sue
that would have financed an ad-dition
to Ellis Library as well as the
first phase of the Farmington con-version.
Bond had proposed a tax increase
during the special session but it died
in December.
At the beginning of the regular
session last month, Bond and legis-lative
leaders said that a tax in-crease
was next to impossible in
1984, because it is an election year.
After Wednesday's meeting, Budget
Committee Chairman Marvin Prof-fer
agreed the coming election cam-paign
will have an impact on the
House's decision.
Some committee members said
they favored the bill that came out of
the House Budget Committee so all
House members would have an op-portunity
to consider the measure.
" I think it is time for the commit-tee
to give the House the entire
House a chance to decide on the
severe problem we face ( in correc-tions),"
Barnes said. " As far as I'm
concerned, it's a free- for- all- ."
Bond had made the corrections is-sue
a priority during the session. His
proposal would have paid for the
first phase of the renovation of
Farmington, located about BO miles
south of St Louis. The first phase
would have created about 500 addi-tional
beds by summer 1985. Offi-cials
say the corrections system is
packed with 2,000 prisoners beyond
capacity.
Under Bond's $ 175 million bond is-sue
that died Wednesday, the Uni
versity probably would have re-ceived
about $ 26 million in capital
improvement projects that stemmed
from Coordinating Board for Higher
Education recommendations. In-cluded
in that figure was $ 4.5 million
for expansion of Ellis Library.
A bond issue also failed during the
special session. Legislators said they
would not support the bond issue un-less
there was a tax increase to pay
the interest on the bonds, which in
effect serve as loans.
Proffer said there still is a chance
that the bond issue might be revived.
" I have no idea where the bond issue
is going to go, whether it will come
up again or whether it is gone and
dead," he said.
Proffer tried to rally support for
the bond issue by boosting the cost
from $ 175 million to as much as $ 476
million. By boosting the ante. Prof-fer
said Monday that he hoped to in-duce
legislators to support the bonds
by including projects in their own
constituencies.
That proposal failed.
The rejection of the $ 175 million
bond issue this session angered Rep.
Robert Ellis Young, R- Cartn- age.
" I don't think the members of the
Legislature should act like a bunch
of fraidycats,' with the bond issue,"
Young said.
Young also lambasted his fellow
committee members for passing the
tax increase. " We have gone as far
with the sales tax as we should go,"
he said. " There's already a big heap
there and we'd just be heaping on
some more."
Proffer agreed that some Missour- ian- s
may not want the sales tax to in-crease
to about 6 cents, or more, on
the dollar.
The sales tax would collect $ 58
million from July 1 until Dec. 31.
1984, and would pay for the entire
Farmington renovation project Un-der
Bond's bond proposal, only the
$ 20 million first phase of the Farm-ington
project wouid be completed.
Proponents of the sales tax
sounded a note of urgency to solve
the state's prison problems. " I think
we have a responsibility to do some-thing
before the third branch of gov-ernment
intrudes on us and does
something," Barnes said.
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Bih Uvmrmotm Last rehearsal
Members of the Kansas City Ballet perform a stretch combi-nation,
left, at the Stephens College dance studio during a fi-nal
class before the Wednesday evening performance. Mean-while,
a dancer, above, tests turns and positions. The com-pany
performed at Jesse Auditorium.
U. S. shells
rebel areas
BEIRUT, Lebanon ( UFI) The
ILS. battleship New Jersey fired
scores of IB- in- ch shells Wednesday
at rebel artflkry positions east of
Beirut acting on President Reagan's
orders to protect the city as multina-tional
peacekeepers withdraw.
Syria charged the bombardment
kuled " dozens of. civilian women,
children and old men."
Britain began the pullout from the
four- natio- n peace- keepin- g force by
evacuating its US- ma- n unit hours af-ter
Reagan said the 1,400- memb- er
Mideast reaction Z7. Pao 3A
ILS. Marine contingent would with-draw
to 6m Fleet stops in the Medi-terranean.
Scattered shooting and firelights
madethe streets of the battered Leb-anese
espial dangerous, but Mos-- .
lem militiamen controlling west Bei- r- ut
formed an uneasy truce with the
Lebanese army to end the worst
fighting.
The luUm street fighting came af-ter
at least 350 people were killed
during the last week in theworst vio-lence
since fee 1975 civil war.
Bat it did not snip gunners in the
Upper Mem mnontahw east of Bei-rut
from opening op on Christian
areas with artillery and rocket fire
at midday.
The New Jersey, the only active
btWrp m me world, responded
off the Lebanese coast by unleashing
a savage fivehour barrage, three
salvos at a time, from its IB- in- ch
gens, winch had not been fired since
- Dec- 1- 4. ft was the first time U. S. forces
struck other man in retaliation for
attacks on Americans. Reagan coo- ple- d
permission for the ' barrages
with Ins withdrawal order Tuesday,
hoping to end the " sanctuary from
which to bombard Beirut at wflL" '
It was not known if the mountain
. gamers were me Draze who live
there or Syrian troops occupying the
region.
Troubles seemed to stalk murder victim
By IWssourian start writwa
" She told me she loved him," said a neigh-bor
who had come to know Gloria Dianne
Jameson,
The man she loved, James Howard Wil-liams,
was arraigned on second- degre- e mur-der
charges Wednesday in connection with the
beating death of Jameson, 32.
Neighbors were stunned by the circumstanc-es
of her death Tuesday afternoon, although
they conceded her life was filled with personal
troubles.
" She was the kind of person that something
terrible might have happened to," said Pam
Kaegel, who lived across the street from
Jameson in the same condominium complex at
2801 W. Broadway.
Williams denied bringing an end to that trou-bled
life.
" Man, I didn't do it, I just didnt do it,"-- Wil-liams
said to a friend moments before ms ar-raignment.
Williams, 29, whose own turbulent past in-cludes
a checkered stint as an employee with
the Boone Comity Sheriff's Department, was
remembered by neighbors asa friendly man.
Jameson and Williams " bad been going to-gether
for years" said Williams' mother, Edna
Williams of 1013 Jefferson St
Neighbors at the Off Broadway Condomini-ums
where Jameson lived said they saw Wil-liams
throughout the smmner but that he had
been away for the past two or three months be-cause
Jameson's parents objected to the
relationship!
Other neighbors said that when they did see
Williams be was friendly. They didnt believe
that he had anything to do with it Jameson's
death, and they were upset that the police
came with their guns drawn.
One resident, however, questioned the neigh-bors'
response. " I think that reaction ( mat of
the neighbors) is strange considering the cir-cumstances,"
said Phil SiirL
Williams is not fondly thought of by Boone
County Sheriff Charlie Foster.
" I did ran into problems with him," said
Foster of Williams, who was a limited- commissio- n
deputy about four years ago. " He was
in the office more than once to talk about it."
Foster could not remember the exact dates
of Williams' employment, but he did recall
Williams asbeing talkative.
" I try to give people a chance to quit before
they get fired," Foster said.
Williams took advantage of that chance and
quit his job as a jailer.
About 18 months after quitting his job, Wil-liams
was convicted of third- degre- e assault
and later spent 53 days in the county jail for a
probation violation on that conviction. Court
records indicate that Williams chose to serve
time in jail rattier than to continue on proba-tion
for the assault.
While neighbors didn't come to know Wil-liams
as well as Sheriffs Department person-nel
have, the few who did know Jameson say
she was reclusive and lonely. Neighbors said
Jameson was unemployed and had difficulty
finding a job.
" It seemed like her whole life didnt work,"
said KaegeL
Jameson and Kaegel met after their children
bad become friends, " but Kaegel said she
talked to her no more than a half dozen times.
The conversations the two did have were " just
enough to get by," Kaegel said.
" She always seemed nervous."
Jameson's son, Richard, 13, lived with her
until late November. Shhi said Richard was
caught by police late last summer for stealing
checks from mailboxes around the neighbor-hood
and cashing them with a library card.
The child was later released to his mother's
custody.
Shhi said Williams came to the pool at the
condominium complex soon after the incident
and told residents he'd make restitution to ev-eryone
for themoney.
" He never did," Shirl said.
Jameson's father. Dr. Donald B. Holley of
Camdenton, Mo., had bought and furnished the
$ 45,000 residence for his daughter last May,
said Carl Burpo, the broker who sold the con-dominium.
Dr. Jay Dix, Boone County medical examin-er,
said Wednesday afternoon that Jameson's
death was the result of injuries caused by seve-ral
blows to the head. He also said that there
was no- indicati-on
that any weapon had been
used.
Associate Circuit Judge Joan Pinnell set Wi-lliams'
bail at $ 100,000. The preliminary bear-ing
will beset Friday.
Ttus story was compiled by Missourian staff
writers Scott Wflnams, Erik Godcbaox and
Margaret DeRosby
Proposals aim to streamline workings of Legislature
ByWatTM) Strata!
St& AS CflfiftaBw aMaTOaMI
JEFFE8SON CTTY When Missouri tega- lato- cs
ended their two- mont- h special session in
December, some lawmakers voiced frustra-tion.
Too much tmie had been spent, they said,
without action on the session's two major is-sues:
a bondissaeandataxincrease.
" There are still open wounds from. the spe-cial
session," said Rep. Ken Legan, R- Half- wa-y.
" People arent enthusiastic Eke they
usuattyare."
Bwas as a result of las own frustrations and
those of bis colleagues, Legan said, lhat he
sponsored a measure that would limit special
sessiaosfrom60daystol5days.
His measure also would cut 45 days from me
5- mo- nth regular session held in odd- number- ed
years. Sessknsm even- mannere- d years,
which enrrenfly run about four months, woald
beiairhimgedbyLegan'swrantfation.
Legan's proposed constitutional amendment
is one of a plethora of measures that would
ease the burden on state lawmakers. In addi-tion
to tmitmg special sessions, proposals
have been mtroduced to extend the length of
legislative terms, to shorten regular legis- lsbv- e
sessions and to decrease me size of the
ItSnemberHoose.
Although there has been a special session for
eachof the past three years, Legan said, " This
hut one was the most difficult and the long-est"
That feeing of frustration and wasted time
stayed with legislators during the short, 13- da- y
break before the current regular session.
The length of sessions'is not the only frustra-tion
some tegislatois express about their jobs.
One that many lawmakers say is much more
nportant is the trend they see toward a full- rim- e
Legislature whose members are over-worked,
out of touch with their constituents
and frequently on the campaign trail.
Sen. Emory Melton, R- Cassvf-lle,
has a pro-posal
he says will help solve the problem by
limiting even- yea- r activity to two months of
appropriations negotiations.
That, said Melton, was the intent behind the
1972 constitutional amendment that allowed the
Legislature to meet every year. Prior to that
amendment, regular sessions were held during
odd- numberedyea- rs.
Rep. Ed Schwaneke, R- Kan- sas City, also be-lieves
that wasted time plagues the Legis-lature.
But his solution is different: cut the size
of the House from 163 to 100 members.
Shrinking the size of Missouri's lower cham-ber
now the third largest in the union
would save $ 2i million in salaries and sup-plies,
Schwaneke said.
Illinois recently cut the size of its lower
Longer terms for legislators are another
cure proposed to hasten the return to a citizen
legislature.
Schwaneke's measure would limit represen-tatives
to three four- yea- r terms. A dmiiar
measure, sponsored by Rep. Norwood Crea- so- n,
D- Cowg- fll, would extend representatives'
terms from two years to four, and senators'
from four years to six.
Although these ideas have been proposed for
years, Schwaneke and others beueve the the
Senate and House are willing to closely scruti-nize
practices that slow the lawmaking proc-ess
and, perhaps, approve legislation to cut the
red tape.
Schwaneke, sponsor of the proposal that
would both reduce the size of the House and
limit its members to three four- ye- ar terms, re-called
that when be introduced a similar mea-sure
last year, fellow legislators said he was
' crazy- -