The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

SECTION a - PAGE 4 - PLA1NPEALER - WEDNESDAY. JUNE 0, 1984 National news 'Rock & Roll' beer reaches St. Louis 0zark canoe outfitters are ByTomUhlenbrock United Preea International ST. LOUIS -- The clock on the wall said a quarter to four and Joe Edwards looked a bit nervous -- no Chuck Berry and no Rock & Roll beer. "The truck got stopped in Il­ linois, something about a weight problem," said Edwards, who was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first shipment of the beer. •Edwards founded Rock & Roll beer as a "house" beer at his bar, Blueberry Hill, in 1981. The brand, made by Pilsner Brewing Co, has grown rapidly and now is sold in seven states and two countries. Edwards recently decided to issue a Heroes of Rock & Roll series, and he chose the legendary Berry's picture for the inaugural cans. Berry, who lives in nearby Wentzville, gets a percentage of the sales. A news conference was schedul­ ed for 3:30 p.m. last Wednesday for Berry to crack the first can -- but as yet the star and the beer had failed to show. "I'm dying a thousand deaths," said Edwards. "We sent a pickup truck to pick up enough cases for the celebration." Edwards' bar -- which features his collectionof vintage juke boxes and albufti covers -- was jammed with media and onlookers. Suit-and-tie types who were teenagers in the 1950s when Berry topped the charts mingled A little Florida town tries to shed its lethal rei By United Press International STARKE, Fla. -- The little town of Starke, 11 miles east of the sprawling Florida State Prison compound, is trying to shed its reputation as the execution capital of the nation. Five men have died in the elec­ tric chair in the northern Florida prison in the past five years, and 220 death row inmates are awaiting execution there. The statistics make Florida the nation's most prolific executioner since the Supreme Court lifted its ban on capital punishment eight years ago. They also have given Starke and its 5,500 residents a bad name. "They're calling us the execu­ tion capital of the nation," said Mayor James Crosby Jr. "But Starke's not killing anyone; the people of the state of Florida are. With 1,100 inmates to guard and an annual budget of $13.2 million, the prison provides 503 jobs. More than 2,000 additional jobs are pro­ vided by several other nearby cor­ rectional facilities with a combin­ ed annual budget of $31.1 million. "The prisons are the biggest employers around," said Crosby. "They give us a strong economic base and from that we've developed a quiet, clean town. We're happy like that." Crosby said Starke's problems began in May 1979 with the death of John Spenkelink, the first per­ son in Florida and the second in the nation to be executed since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty. Journalists, state officials, death penalty advocates and death penary opponents poured in, landing helicopters behind the high school and jamming the few motels and restaurants. But each of the four subsequent executions has drawn an increas­ ingly smaller crowd. "After so many executions, they've become routine and the media have started looking for new angles," said Crosby, a 31- year-old journalism graduate from the nearby University of Florida. "It's not fair," said Mike Cooney, director of the Starke Chamber of Commerce. "It's a question of geography more than anything else. The prisons are im­ portant to this town but that's not all there is." Starke also is home to the Na­ tional Guard's Camp Blanding training grounds, a $10 million-a- year poultry industry and "some of the sweetest and largest strawberries" found anywhere, he said. _ with New Wavers and punk rockers with spiked hairdos and leather garb. "It's an event," said a waitress. "A few years ago they'd call it a happening. "I was* 7 years old when my mother bought me a red plastic guitar and I used it to duck hop around the house." ' Shrieks rang out when the pickup loaded with the missing beer pulled up to the back door. Seven husky waiters hauled in the cargo while a tape played the ab­ sent Berry's hits. "All over Saint Loueee, way down to New Orleans. All the cats want to dance with Sweet Lil* Six­ teen." Finally, only 30 minutes late, Berry strolled through the door resplendent in black cap and black reflector sunglasses. In somewhat of a faux pax, Berry refused a can of the famed beer and opted instead for an orange juice straight. He signed autographs, kissed babies and refused to duckwalk for the photographers. Edwards quieted the crowd for' the announcement. "A music researcher In Califor­ nia told me the Chuck Berry music catalogue -- the songs he wrote -- was the most published, most played catalogue in 1982," said Edwards. "Musicians have gold records and platinium records. But Chuck Berry has a copper record, the one NASA lncluded4n the time capsule blasted Into space." The singer blushed when Ed­ wards unveiled a huge air- brushed potrait of a pompadoured Berry strutting, guitar aimed like a rifle, across a stage many years ago. "Wow, how old is that," said the star. Edwards faded into the crowd and let Berry work the audience. The bar owner looked at ease for the first time, despite an ankle-to- groin cast for a fractured knee said to have occurred while breakdancing. "I knew he'd show," said Ed­ wards, "but I was really worried about the beer." worried about creek usage By United Press International STEELVILLE, Mo. - Some canoe outfitters along the Huzzah and Courtois creeks say the Ozark streams are "going to be ruined" by crowds of floaters unless a per­ mit system Is established to limit use. - . "These two litUe creeks are just going wild," Bob Kramer, owner of Huzzah Canoe Rental near Steelville, told the St. Louis Post- Dispatch. "These creeks are very small and fragile, and they're going to be ruined if this level of use con­ tinues." Kramer and outfitters Keith Tenney and Marvin Hanks are pushing for government officials to institute a permit system similar to the one used on the Cur­ rent and Jacks Fork rivers, part of the National Scenic Riverway Systems. "You used to be able to float for a day and not see anybody," said Tenney, owner of B&H Canca Ren­ tal near Steelville. "Now it's bumpefrto-bumper on weekends." The outfitters say there should be dally limits on the number of canoes permitted on the creeks. They want to revenue from the sale of permits used *to hire rangers who would patrol the Huz­ zah and Courtois, which Hew into the Meramec River In Cf County about 100 miles of St. Louis, and pick up litter. "It would definitely pay us to get bigger and put more canoes on the riyer," Glenda Hanks, who operates Ken's Courtois Canoe Rental with her husband, Ken, told the Post-Dispatch. "But it tru­ ly is getting too crowded. We want to be responsible outfitters." Not all area outfitters support a permit system. "We don't need any more government interference than we already have," said Bob Cottrell, whose 220-canoe H-V Canoe Ren­ tal in Steelville is the largest out­ fitter on the Huzzah. State news Crime rates drop; third stright year By United Press International SPRINGFIELD - Overall crime rates for Illinois' cities, towns and villages outside of Chicago continued to drop for the third straight year in 1983-- main­ ly because the baby-boom popula­ tion is aging, the state Depart­ ment of Law Enforcement reported this week. Chicago figures were not includ­ ed because of problems with the accuracy of the police crime reporting system in the city, DLE officials said. The total number of major crimes committed in Illinois, ex­ cluding Chicago, fell by 3.9 per­ cent in 1983, DLE officials said. Crime rates declined by 7.6 per­ cent in 1982 and dropped by 2.6 percent in 1981, they said. All types of crime fell between 1982 and 1983 in areas outside of Chicago except for forcible rape, figures showed. The total number of violent crimes was down 5 percent In 1963 from the previous year, officials said. Murders dropped 0.6 per­ cent, robberies declined 4 percent and aggravated assault, battery and attempted murder fell 7 per­ cent. Rape cases, however, increased by 3 percent. DLE officials said the increase resulted because more victims were reporting the crime. "The general consensus is that more women are reporting it, not that it is increasing," said DLE spokesman Bob Fletcher. He said officials estimate about 80-90 per­ cent of rapes now are reported, as MakeYbvir House A Better Place lb Come Home To. You can do it with a home improvement loan from Marengo Federal Savings. - / We'll lend you, the money for a new addition, insulation, a new heating system, landscaping or a new driveway, to name just a few. And you'll be pleasantly surprised that every dollar you invest ' in your home will pay off in two ways. Your home will appreciate in value and you'll appreciate your home more while you're living in it. i? !•? So why wait. Call or stop in at one of our convenient locations. Give us the opportunity to show how we can help. Marengo Federal .. . ^^OAWikinc o i ham Acrai Member FSLIC WOODSTOCK^!m • - SAVINGS & LOAN ASSN. i. 200 E. Grant Highway, 815/548-7250 MBX: 4400 W. Route 120,815/344-1900 f 110 Cass Street, 813/33*2900 47 end Calhoun Street, 015/330-7440 XL LAKE: 550 Crystal Point Drive, 015/455-4300 £ARY: 00 Northwest Hwy, 312/03*4222 FOX RIVER PROVE: 407 Lincoln Ave., 312/439-2350 1 % compared to less than 50 percent 10 years ago. Property crimes experienced an overall drop of 3 percent com­ pared to 1982 figures, officials said. Burglaries declined by 4 per­ cent, thefts and motor vehicle thefts dropped by 3 percent each and arson fell by 6percent. v DLE officials said urban, subur­ ban and rural areas all experienc­ ed a drop in crime. Cities with more than 50,000 residents reported 1 percent fewer crimes in 1983 than in 1982, suburbs showed a 5 percent drop and rural areas 14 percent decline. said Chicago statistics were not Included because the figures would have thrown off the statewide totals. City - statistics were not used in the DLE's 1982 report because of "severe ir­ regularities in their reporting system" that led to inaccurate reports about certain types of crime, Fletcher said. In 1983, reports of all types of crime in Chicago , increased dramatically, with violent crimes showing a 50.6 percent hike and property crimes recording a near 30 percent Increase. The inci Increase, however, is an in­ crease in the number of crimes reported -- not in the ̂actual number of crimes, Fletcher said. "This year, they're back on track," he said. "(But) it's going to take us at least two more years, possibly five, to begin to analyze data at all from Chicago." Fletcher said the reason for the drop In statewide crime rates is simple -- the "baby-boom" generation is growing older and is less likely to commit crimes. "The 16-to-24-year-olds have an arrest rate 10 times greater than those over 30," he said. "We are following what is now a national trend. Cilme nationwide is going ^Twig^UiAaicing laws and In­ creased professionalism in police departments also contributed to the decline in crime rates, Flet­ cher said. Study slams Chicago public housing By United Preas International CHICAGO -- The Chicago Hous­ ing Authority contains 10 of the 16 worst concentrations of poverty in the nation, a Roosevelt University urbanologistsays. s Chicago has more "poor neighborhoods" than any other ci­ ty because there has been "conscious public planning" in the' last 25 years "to concentrate and insulate the city's public housing population," Pierre deVise charg­ ed Saturday in a speech at the an­ nual convention of the Citizens Park of Illinois. The CHA houses the "worst in­ stitutional source of environmen­ tal blight in the nation," deVise1 • said.1 IT'S SO EASY TO EN! tiflnviie^XgifyTo The LAKT BLUFF DINT^V Qyerlooking Beautiful Lai Offering The Finest In American & Continental Cuisine • Daily Luncheon Buffet $5.50 with our famous salad bar A selection of hot entrees * "4- >•' fvite • Friday.. .Seafood Connection $7.95 . A up J :|S (Also offering Fresh Fish Catch of the Day) • Sunday Country Brunch $8.95 M \ (Serving 9:00 AM • 2:00 PM) 4 «¥" Dinner Menu Served 5:30. tit 10 PM t*:Wi '• Weekends Til 10:30 MPIANISTfVOCAUSTW | JOHN FORBISH§ •NTERTAumo t Moms A free WAND SUNDAY MWNCHW 1* 9AT\ 414-248-9121 Hwy. SO Weet, Lake Qeneve Wis.