Phi Kappa Psi - University of Iowa

FRIDAY Jan. 21,1994 IOWA TODAY, FINAL EDITION CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA VOL 112 NO. 12 50 CENTS The newspapec^of Eastern Iowa F O R E C A S T : Partly sunny and milder. Highs 2 6 to 32; lows -10 to 0. Today's daylight: 9 hrs., 3 6 m i n . S e e 12C. 1 ;Jfei?. v N* WEEKENDI 'Junk* music is concern of pianist Grant Johannesen P a g e 2 W Sand and gravel pay off for Connie Ross P a g e I B B R I E F L Y Downs indictment Murder charges are filed Ronald Downs Sr. was indicted Thurs day for first-degree murder in the death of Cedar Rapids postal worker Gloria Heising. Details on page IB. C.R. tax-revenue rift Unhappy haves, have-nots Even the organizations already receiv ing funds from Cedar Rapids lodging-tax revenue are unhappy with the allocation process. Details on page IB. Connecting ideas Fiber-optic proposals grow Some lawmakers want the state to lease fiber-optic connections, and a com pany is proposing to simply buy the whole works. Details on page 5A. Incomes take dive Floodwaters take blame A government report says summer flooding caused Iowa's 4.3 percent plunge in personal income for the third quarter. Details on page 5B. Honoring King Columnist speaks at U of I The day commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. is a holiday for every one interested in social justice, says Clarence Page. Details on page 3B. Expectations game Hawkeyes can do without it The potential for a 500th coaching win and a No. 1 ranking do nothing to help the Iowa women's basketball team pre pare for Indiana tonight, says Coach C. Vivian Stringer. Details on page 1C. I N D E X Abby 8B Bridge 8B C a l e n d a r W City Briefs 5C Classified ... 6-11C Comics 4B Daily P l a n n e r . . 2A Deaths 2B Editorial 4A Horoscope .... 10C Legislature 5A Legals 5C Log 3B Lottery 2B M o n e y 5B Movies W Stocks 5-7B TV 8B T O M O R R O W Matthau and Morgan Back in adventure series Walter Matthau and Harry Morgan are back again as partners in a law firm in "Incident in a Small Town" Sunday night on CBS. Set in 1954, this is the third in a four-part adventure series. TV Vision in Saturday's Gazette. Clinton: Ease nominee ordeal President says 1st year difficult but rewarding WASHINGTON (AP) — President Clinton lamented the tough scrutiny of presidential nominees last night and, reflecting on his first year in office, said it had been difficult but rewarding. Marking that anniversary with an appear ance on CNN's "Larry King Live," Clinton discussed subjects ranging from the death of his mother to the qualities of his attorney general, Janet Reno, who he said came onto the Washington scene "hot as a firecracker." He pledged to work with Robert Fiske, the special counsel appointed earlier in the day to • Leach praises special counsel choice for Whitewater, 5A investigate his financial dealings while gover nor of Arkansas. "Whatever he wants to do," Clinton said. "I just want to do my job. I don't want to be distracted by this any more. . . . I didn't do anything wrong." Bemoaning Bobby Inman's decision to with draw as his nominee for secretary of defense, Clinton said he is concerned about the nomi nation process. "These standards are always being raised and heightened," he said. The president made an anniversary appear ance two days after Inman, who would have succeeded Les Aspin in the Cabinet, pulled out unexpectedly and leveled a blast at his critics. "The process takes too long now," Clinton said. "I think maybe it's time to have a bipar tisan look at this appointments process . . . I think it's excessive." Clinton groused that political criticism such as that being leveled .in the Whitewater affair "apparently is part of the price of being in public life in the late 20th century in the United States. . . . The only thing that really steams me is what it does to my wife, my daughter, my family." The president spoke fondly of his mother, Virginia Kelley, who died earlier this month after a long fight with breast cancer. He said he'd had "a wonderful talk" with her the night she died. President Clinton Confirmation "takes too long now" Cable TV taking aim at violence Ratings, monitoring in networks' plan Washington Post WASHINGTON — With Con gress set to return next week and the regulation of violence on television simmering on its front burner, the major U.S. cable networks have approved a plan to regulate themselves. The plan, a copy of which was obtained by the Washing ton Post, mandates the devel opment of a violence ratings system for cable programming and the use of an outside moni tor to report annually on vio lent content. It also endorses technology that would allow viewers to block programs rat ed as violent from being seen in their homes. The plan applies pressure to the broadcast networks to join in, particularly on the ratings system — pressure that is unlikely to be appreciated. NETWORK representatives have said they are highly unlikely to accept such a sys tem, in part because it could cause a drop-off in advertising. They assert cable is less likely to be hurt by advertisers' dis content because it is subscrip tion-based. However, it is unlikely cable could make the ratings system work if the broadcasters do not agree to it, because the four major net works account for about 60 percent of the total television audience. The Satellite Network Com mittee of the National Cable Television Association signed off on the document — titled "Voices Against Violence" — last weekend in Los Angeles, and it has. been approved "enthusiastically" by the asso ciation's board, sources said. Its approval has been spear headed by Michael Fuchs, chairman and CEO of HBO, and Tony Cox, chairman and CEO of Showtime, according to a source. In addition, the major cable networks have endorsed it, and in the next day or two it is expected to be approved by the few remaining. It will then be presented to the four broadcast networks with the hope they will join in. AT THE SAME TIME, members of Congress who have been active on this issue will be briefed, including Sen. Paul Simon, D-Ill., who has long pushed for an indepen dent monitor of television vio lence, and Rep. Edward Mar- key, D-Mass., who has introduced legislation on the so-called V-chip, the technolo gy that would enable viewers to black out certain program ming. Torie Clarke, a spokeswom an for the cable association, Thursday confirmed the exis tence of the plan and the time table for its dissemination. The cable plan is not specific about how the monitoring or ratings system would work, saying details will be deter mined over the next several months. Fraternity fire Gazette photo by Linda Kahlbaugh Iowa City firefighters battle fire through an upstairs window Thursday at the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. Three residents were taken to University Hospitals with minor injuries, and the building was a total loss. Burned-down fraternity had 118 code violations By H e a t h e r S l o m a n W o o d l n Gazette Johnson County Bureau IOWA CITY — The Phi Kappa Psi fraternity burned Thursday, about two months after inspectors cited 118 violations of the city's housing code. Most of the violations were minor, such as missing screens, missing light fixtures or broken locks oh windows. But some were more seri ous structural violations, such as fire doors that didn't close properly or ceilings that didn't meet fire safe ty standards. Ceilings in three rooms, including the kitchen, were found to not pro vide the required one hour of fire containment. Damaged or cracked ceilings can provide an avenue for a fire to spread to other floors. There also were seven cases in which smoke alarms were inopera ble or not installed correctly, accord ing to the report. A majority of the violations, did not involve fire safety issues. Still, the six-page list of violations is not unusual for University of Iowa fraternities, Senior Housing Inspec tor Gary Klinefelter said. "Fraterni ties are a constant battle, a constant headache," he said. The fraternity house, 363 N. River side Dr., was a total loss. Three resi dents were treated at University Hospitals for minor injuries. Fraternities are inspected annual ly, Klinefelter said. Phi Kappa Psi officials were notified Dec. 8 of the • Nile Kinnick m e m o r a b i l i a destroyed in fire, 3 B violations found during the Novem ber inspection. They were given 30 days to com ply. The fraternity requested an extension and was allowed another 30 days for most items but was required to have the house's electri cal fire alarm system checked within the original 30-day period. That was done Jan. 10, and the system was found to be in compliance. DOUGLAS PARSONS, a local businessman who is adviser to the fraternity, said steps were being tak en to bring the building into compli ance. They were minor things, such as small cracks in the windows or ceilings, he said. The violations "had no direct bear ing on the fire," he said. However, Iowa City Fire Marshal Andy Rocca said he had not seen the list of code violations and could not comment whether the deficiencies had any bearing on the fire. Cause of the fire has not been determined. Gazette library files indicate this as the worst fraternity fire at the U of I since the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity sustained $250,000 damage in August 1987. There were no inju ries in that fire, blamed on an over heated extension cord beneath a rug. For tow truck firms, business really jumping By T o m Fruehllng Gazette staff writer I f your car won't start, don't feel alone. Tow truck operators have been running around the clock for almost a week now and they still can't keep up. Car repair shops are : wall-to-wall with sick vehicles. And items like engine heaters and batteries are flying off store shelves. "It's been mass hysteria," says Judy Morris of Miller's Towing. "I don't know when it's been this cold this long. i6 My standard answer is that we'll be out in anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours." Freda Long Cars are either flooded or frozen, the gas lines freeze or the batteries have gone out." Freda Long of Long's Auto Repair says she'll be ready for the psychiatric ward when the cold snap finally breaks. The shop has four phone lines, and r - there have been times when two of them have been taken off the hook because all were ringing at once and there weren't enough people around to answer them.: "My standard answer is that we'll be out in anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours. "We'll try to get cars started. But if we can't start 'em, we let them sit. We won't tow 'em in ; because we don't have any place to put them." - Most callers are understanding, Long points ^ out, when told they might have to wait for * service. A few do get irate, however, when • Turn to page 2A: Towing Husband unable; to save wife, 74, from deadly cold Associated Press T he temperature was 20 below zero in northern Wisconsin; the gusts of bitter wind made it feel like 60 below. Toini and Erny Oberg were five miles from home when their car hit an icy rut and slid into a ditch. There was no question who would go for help. Toini Oberg was 74 and had undergone heart • Cold sets records in D e c o r a h , W a t e r l o o , 3B bypass surgery, but her husband was older and more frail and needed a walker. Toini Oberg borrowed her husband's leather mittens, wrapped her coat and scarf tightly around her, .and set out for help. Her destina tion: their son-in-law's home, 500 yards away. She never made it. From the car, 81-year-old Erny Oberg watched in horror as his wife trudged uphill into the wind and collapsed. "He tried to get his walker from the back seat. But it slid from his reach so he couldn't get it," said the couple's son-in-law, Steve Laak- so. Toini Oberg died Tuesday — one of 130 deaths blamed on the record cold weather. The toll has risen daily, even as temperatures edged above zero and, in some cases, reached double digits for the first time in a week. Kentucky interstates and highways were open Thursday for the first time since record snowfall shut down the roads Monday. Many have died in accidents on ice-slick roads. Some have suffered heart attacks while shoveling snow. A few have been killed by their efforts to keep warm, such as a North Carolina man who died in a fire that began when he tried to thaw his water pipes with a blowtorch. The victims include a Minnesota woman who fell as she stepped outside to feed birds; a Pitts burgh woman who collapsed while retrieving mail; and a New York motorist, caught in a snowstorm, who knocked at a house for help and was turned away.

• Gazette, Page1, 1994-01-21
• Gazette, Page9, 1994-01-21