| Show c Salt Vol 235 No 97 Utah— Tuesday Morning— January 19 1988 Ike City ark Singer’s Death With Calm Quiet Vigil Is a Relief To Nervous Lawmen before his death ninj years ago By Chris Jorgensen And Mike Gorrell Tribune Staff Writers MARION Summit County — The ninth anniversary of the death of John Singer passed uneventfully Monday as the standoff continued between police and members of Singer’s family Law enforcement officers had feared that vio- lence would flare at 12:30 pm Mon- day — exactly nine years after Singer was shot to death in front of his home by a Narcot- ics and Liquor Law Enforcement agent Instead of violence the 14 members of the Singer family who have barricaded themselves inside the family compound since Saturday marked the moment with a private ceremony according to John T Nielsen state commissioner of public safety Meanwhile law enforcement officials confirmed Monday night that Addam Swapp and Vickie Singer — John Singer’s widow — apparently are polygamist man and wife a turn of events that further complicates the peaceful resolution of the situation Swapp Previously the 27 year-old was only known as Singer’s married to two of John and Vickie Singer’s daughters Authorities also said a blue and white “flag of the kingdom of God” — a standard flown by John Singer -- son-in-la- f1 A C3S a again adorns a pole outside the Singer home Information about the ceremony came from Roger Bates a relative of the Singers who is acting as an intermediary between the family and police He visited the compound twice Monday Direct telephone communications between the Singers and law enforcement officers have been impossible since 9 pm Saturday when lines to the house were either cut or disconnected Mr Nielsen said Mr Bates offered the Singers an alternate form of telephone contact Monday but they refused it "They indicated they wished no more communications” said Mr Nielsen “ Right now Mr Bates is our best option” Despite the failure to he said law encommunications forcement officers are not discouraged “We hope they understand our We want to sincere desire to talk assure them that no one means them harm but we can’t do that unless we have the opportunity to talk” said Mr Nielsen The standoff began Saturday morning after 70 pounds of explosives were detonated in the Kamas Stake Center of the Church of Jesus Saints Christ of Latter-da- y Tracks leading from the Singer compound to the church and a wooden spear with a note mentioning the ninth anniversary of John Singer’s death led police to believe that a member of Singer’s family was responsible for the attack Police quickly converged on the e compound but the Singers’ occupants refused to come out Mr Bates said that 14 people are inside the compound including six chil-Se- e A-- 2 Column 1 10-fo- ot 25-acr- i f ' k k c & vice - p- f 1 i" - David Fleisher A Sense of “Deja Vu” WASHINGTON (AP) — A top State Department official Monday dismissed peace concessions by Nicaragua’s leftist government as a ploy to defeat an upcoming congressional vote on additional aid to the Contra rebels But Nicaragua’s vice president said any renewal of US aid to the Contras could “kill the peace process” in Central America Even though Monday was a federal holiday in honor of the birth of Martin Luther King Jr high-lev- —trtbun C 7p ' ‘M- i 7S ' UrTHtP KLVf I Stall Photo by nm Kelly move in for quick end to siege “We’re ” willing to wait as long as It takes -m 150 g 1 Underdog’ Swapp Won’t Give In Predicts His High School Teacher f concerns me” he said Mr Swapp’s mindset is critical to the siege’s outcome because he has assumed the role of “the new patriarch" over “an Old Testament family” looking to him for divine leadership said the psychologist who examined the late John Singer wife Vickie and their children more than nine years ago “He’s apparently taken over the John Singer role — the strong male figure He’s the patriarch if you will” said Dr Victor B Cline a University of Utah psychology profes- By Rodd Wagner Tribune Staff Writer The man apparently leading the Singer family in its standoff with police was a “very likable” but different youth who wouldn’t back down and always cheered on the underdog one of his high school teachers said Monday “I know that Addam Swapp was a strong enough individual that he won’t give in easily” said the teacher who asked not to be identified “He came to school in his pajamas one day because someone said he wouldn’t dare do that It “I don’t see it ending well sor “My guess is that because he Ad dam is the husband of her Vickie's two daughters that she is supportive of him” he said “What we don’t know is the emotional stability of the man who is the new patriarch of that family" he said “That’s the one element we really don’t know much about" Mr Swapp graduThe ated “just an average kid that you’d never notice” from North Sanpete High School in 1979 said one woman who lives in the community “He was very polite He graduated from LDS seminary He was a good kid" The high school teacher 6aid Column 2 See A-3 During those years he said he got to know John Singer as probably no other reporter had After one lengthy visit John Singer told Vickie Singer that Mr Fleisher had been sent as a witness to the saga that was to unfold “In my opinion there is one significant difference between John Singer and Addam Swapp” he said “And that is that John Singer would never commit an aggressive act because it was against the Doc-trin- e Mr Fleisher said it is his belief that the last nine years have hard- Tribune Staff Writer PARK CITY — Blowing up the Marion LDS Stake Center is not something John Singer would have done the dead polygamist’s biographer said Monday But author David Fleisher said it will take something miraculous to end the standoff in Marion without bloodshed Mr Fleisher who wen rave reviews from The New York Times and The Christian Science Monitor tor his book “The Death of An American: The Killing of John Singer” said Monday that Singer would not approve of the bombing or of death threats to community leaders that preceded it ened Vickie Singer Compounding that he said Addam Swapp may have influenced the family in a violent manner “I think that Vickie Singer and Addam Swapp are gaining strength from each other to make this standoff” he said Mr Fleisher was a reporter for The Park Record a weekly newspaper in Park City He covered and Covenants of the the Singer story from the summer of 1977 until John Singer’s death on Jan 18 1979 He was the first reporter at the Singer home that morning On Monday Mr Fleisher said he had a sense of deja vu meetings were held as officials sought to assess the latest developments and to determine how much additional assistance for the Contras should be sought Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams said Nicaraguan officials cannot be trusted to implement the promises they made during the weekend summit meeting of Central American leaders in Costa Rica “What is the purpose of it? It seems very clear the purpose is to win that vote” Abrams said on “CBS This Morning" f Americans paid homage Monday j "“S3? j slain civil leader’s tomb on the third national holiday in his honor The graveside ceremony was followed by the ecumenical service at Eben-ezBaptist Church where King served as is still “The disease of racism among us and it has global implications” said the church's pastor the Rev Joseph Roberts before a gath- er —Associated Ptess laserpboto Martin Luther King III with his mother Coretta places a wreath at crypt of his father during rite in Atlanta Monday those who want the law to remain The Senate also advanced two bills that would change Utah's liquor laws The most controversial Senate Bill 67 — which would allow table liquor service in restaurants — passed the vote by preliminary second-readina 27-- 2 margin The second measure SB68 passed on a 28-- vote g Both bills now go to the calendar where they await a final vote that would send them to the House In opposing the repeal of the act Sen Jack Bangerter declared: “People live in Utah for a reason They live here because we have strong moral principles in this state and I don’t think we should back away from those third-readin- to King’s still-un- realized dream of racial harmony In Atlanta Coretta Scott King :r children wreath at s' Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints Section 98” — the fundamental principle by which John Singer lived “It Section 98 was his guiding Column 2 See A-2 To the extent that Nicaraguan has shown an interest in a negotiated settlement it is the result of military pressure applied by the Contras Abrams said suggesting that ending Contra aid would give the Sandinis-ta- s no incentive to continue the peace process Jan 26 the administration will make a formal request to the Congress for more aid A House vote is set for Feb 3 and the Senate will follow on Feb 4 Nicaraguan Vice President Sergio ' '4 ' st Utah Recalls: ' A-- 4 " fi m B--l ering that included Sen Sam Nunn a and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young The Rev Joseph Lowery president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference urged the audience to remember the ideals that King stood for The Rev Ralph D Abernathy a former King aide and former president of the SCLC told an Evansville Ind audience that racism remains a problem subtle in some forms and blatant in others including President Reagan’s unsuccessful nomination of conservative federal judge Robert Bork to the Supreme Court Some 5000 marchers braved a downpour in Phoenix to rally at the state Capitol to make Martin Luther King Day a state holiday despite opposition from that state's embattled governor Evan Mecham “It is time to stop having the rest of the country think of us as the site of a three-rincircus" said Phoenix g 1 f i op- from position John T Nielsen commissioner of public safety says he doesn’t expect lawmen to ! Cable-Televisi- without strong By The Associated Press Arizona marchers called for restoring the Martin Luther King Day holiday and Philadelphia’s mayor set churchbells peal- ing with a tap on Jp the Liberty Bell as r t By Paul Roily Ramirez acknowledged Monday the new steps announced Saturday night by President Daniel Ortega were aimed partly at influencing the Congress to reject more Conra aid The administration’s view is that congressional defeat of more Contra aid will mean they soon would cease to be an effective fighting force At that point the administration has said Ortega would reverse his promises to create a democratic system in Nicaragua America Pays Homage to King Arizonans March for a Holiday j : Tribune Staff Writer Utah came one step closer to rid- ding itself of the controversial Decency Act that has been declared unconstitutional but not Aid Kill Contra to Called Concessions Ploy Ortega ? Ur'ju I 1 5j: By Christopher Smart ywyyprjrg l—il-- i'Tv--- V But Liquor Reforms Are Standing Tall Singer Wouldn’t Condone Bombing Says Dead Polygamist’s Biographer Soviet-designe- !i ‘ — 108 Are Killed In Crash of Chinese Plane BEIJING (AP) — A domestic airliner crashed in southwestern China killing all 108 people aboard the official Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday The brief report said the crash occurred at 10:15 pm Monday as Southwest China Airline Flight 4146 from Beijing to Chongqing was approaching Chongqing’s airport d IlyusIt said the hin-18 crashed about five miles from the airport in Sichuan province The plane carried 98 passengers and a crew of 10 said the agency report which was issued nearly 1 1 hours after the disaster There was no immediate word on the cause of the crash Chinese civil aviation officials reported no Americans aboard the plane said Julian Pendergrass consul at the US Embassy The agency said four of the dead were foreigners but did not list their nationalities Officials at the Beijing office of the Civil Aviation Administration of China China’s flag carrier and parent of Southwest China Airline said they were holding an emergency meeting to discuss the crash They refused to answer any questions Southwest China Airline began operations in October as an independently managed subsidiary of CAAO It was established under a CAAC reorganization plan that calls for setting up six smaller regional branch airlines to provide better local ser- rs' Act On Its Last Leg in Senate Cable-T- Mayor Terry Goddard In South Dakota lawmakers for the third straight year Monday turned down a state holiday honoring King The Senate vote on the measure was Democratic-sponsore- d Lines party largely along Shortly after noon Philadelphia n Mayor W Wilson Goode the of a slave tapped the Liberty Bell with his fist to symbolically start the nation’s bells ringing in King's honor Officials in Idaho where the day is not a holiday laid a wreath at the base of a tree planted on the State-hous- e grounds several years ago in honor of King while marchers braved snowstorms in Colorado and Wyoming In New York City hecklers at a Harlem church prevented Mayor Edward I Koch from delivering a speech honoring King while 3000 people rallied outside City Hall and tied up traffic throughout lower Manhattan as they marched to the World Trade Center principles" But despite Sen Bangerter and others House Bill 30 to repeal the act advanced toward a final vote The bill survived a preliminary test calon the Senate’s second-readinendar by a 0 vote It takes a constitutional majority of 15 votes to pass in the Senate HB30 sponsored by Rep Frank Lake passed the Pignanelli House earlier and if it survives the Senate without amendment the conlaw will be troversial struck from the books The repea measure was carried in the Senate by Sen Paul Rogers who sponsored the original Cable-TDecency Act in 1983 “At the time I felt it was a highly g 15-1- lt V reasonable and responsible ap- proach to take given the situation we had before us at the time” Sen Rogers said of the act’s passage in 1983 “But the US Supreme Court has recently allowed lower court rulings declaring the act unconstitutional to stand and that has struck the validity and force of law from the statute “Our actions to repeal the law do not condone the dissemination of indecent material” Sen Rogers said “But it does acknowledge the unconstitutional nature of our statute" law has been on the The cable-Tbooks since 1983 but it has not been enforced pending the outcome of court challenges Former Democratic Gov Scott Matheson vetoed the law when it wa’ passed but the Legislature overrode the veto with a betvote in both ter than houses The law would have allowed the state to regulate toe content of cable-Tprogramming and censor the dissemination of what would be considered indecent programming But federal-cour- t rulings have deemed the law an infringement on the First Amendment and the statp finally gave up the fight last year when the US Supreme Court refused to hear the state’s appeal of the lower-courulings But despite the court defeats and the fact the law is now unenforceable several senators refused to back away from the act and the message it sends “The Supreme Court has acted in a manner that is against the will of this body and the people of this state" said Sen Ivan Matheson City “We should defeat this A-- 4 Column 1 ’( V two-thir- V rt ar at-S- Today’s Chuckle — Beware of backslappers they’re probably trying to make you cough something up great-grandso- Today’s Forecast Salt Lake City and vicinity — Partly cloudy windy and cold Highs 20s Lows teens single digits Details t |
