| Show rr c i 9 y ( fw Iiilrficyw jr fmi'iiyjrpa Lawmakers Who Created King Holiday Work as Most of Utah Relaxes By Paul Roily Tribune Staff Writer Schools and most state offices will close Monday as Utah celebrates Martin Luther King Day along with 36 other states But the Legislature which made the holiday possible will' have business as usual “We don’t get a holiday We’ll have to work on through We don’t get Presidents’ Day off in February either said Senate President Arnold Christensen The Senate as well as the House of Representatives planned to celebrate Utah’s first official observance of Martin Luther King’s birthday by having a black minister say the daily prayer at the beginning of floor activity It was not clear over the weekend who the minister would be as legislative staffers were working on several alternatives Sen Christensen said also that he would say a few words in observance of the holiday which took up so much of the Legislature’s time last year because of hotly debated disagreements over creating an official commemoration of the slain civil rights leader Legislative staffers who work full time- - throughout the year will work Monday but they will get an day after the session is over in early March Employees in the governor’s office too will not get the normal in-li- alt £ak t holiday off but will make it up later Most of the rest of the state work force will get Monday off as long as their duties are not directly related to the Legislature’s activities Utah is among 37 states that officially observe Dr King’s birthday on the third Monday of January Delaware observed the holiday on his actual birthday which was last Thursday Twelve states do not observe the birthday of the controversial civil rights leader but the federal government celebrates the holiday on the third Monday of January Arizona had an official state Martin Luther King Jr holiday by executive order of the governor But that order was rescinded by new Gov Evan Mecham in one of his first official acts as the state’s chief executive Arizona Democrats have blasted the decision of Gov Mecham who has had strong ties in the past to Utah-base- d conservative groups and a promised controversy in the Legislature over that decision could mirror the fireworks that occurred last year in Utah The scheduled short and quiet observance by lawmakers Monday contrasts dramatically long drawn-ou- t d debates and arguments spawned by the issue in 1986 It took several weeks of debate amendments and conference com red-face- Local ibune r - T- mittees to work out differences between the Senate and the House to even get a Martin Luther King holiday The controversy became so heated that former Rep James Moss who is now the state schools superintendent proposed a bill that would call the observance “Utah People’s Day’’ instead B-- 2 Column v Holiday Schedule Monday GARBAGE PICKUP imlFBj UQUOR STORES Most of the key players in the controversy last year are gone from the Legislature Former Sen Terry Williams the sponsor of the bill and the first black ever to hold a Senate seat in Utah is gone from the Legislature after an See -- CLOSED MAIL DELIVERY NORMAL PARKING UTA METERS BUSSES 1 Monday Morning — January 19 1987 Section B Page 1 Sports is on B-- 3 f Legislators Air Their Pet Peeves Ends Standoff urder-Suici- de Fugitive Kills Wife Himself As Police Storm WV Home GOP’s Budget Cutters By Mike Carter Tribune Staff Writer Trade Tales of Waste By Dan Bates Tribune Staff Writer With the Utah Legislature’s annual session a week old lawmakers have begun to ask what the state can’t do for anyone anymore A House Republican caucus last week candidly concentrated on that question as budget processes gain speed toward an inevitable consensus on spending cuts and higher taxes While the discussion was frank perhaps most of the thinking behind it was wishful It had observers wondering just how much of the ritual talk would hold up once adjournment on Feb 25 rolled around House Assistant Majority Whip Jack DeMann began by alluding to “perks” in state government such as professional association memberships for executives and staff trade-journsubscriptions and travel funds He said there may be up to $500000 worth of savings in those That amount alone may seem like a pittance considering lawmakers in November plugged a $100 million deficit in the current 1986-8- 7 budget and now are deliberating Gov Norm Bangerter’s call for some $230 million in tax increases for 1987-8- 8 WEST VALLEY Steven Bock heard upstairs and sensed acrid tear gas he short On the phone But legislative leaders have rs R-S- journal?” wondered Rep Ray Schmutz R-George He also noted that the Utah Energy Office employs a lot of people “And what do they do?” he asked “Last year I got a little brochure on how oil prices were impacting the Uintah Ba- See B-- 2 Column 4 Tenant Stabbed To Death in SL Apartment woman was found dead Sunday of multiple stab wounds in the bedroom of her ransacked apartment Salt Lake City police said Lt Keith Tolman said officers discovered the body of Madeline Beltran 2484 S 900 East No 4 after a neighbor who was going to work reported the woman’s apartment door was open at 630 a m The woman was found in her bedroom with stab wounds over most of her body The victim’s car apparently was taken by the suspect or suspects who gained entry to the apartment by prying open the front window The apartment was “somewhat ransacked" and several pieces of property may have been taken Lt Tolman said He acknowledged that a burglary in the vicinity was reported to police about 1 a m as well as several car prowls “We’re pursuing these as possible leads” he noted Lt Tolman said the victim’s body was turned over to the State Medical Examiner and the case is being investigated by the homicide division Police recovered the victim's auto Sunday evening However Lt Tom Brown said investigators would not disclose the location of the recovery pending the arrest of the suspect or f suspects A When standoff Members of the heavily-arme- d police Special Emergency Response Team clad in camouflage and gas masks found the bodies huddled in a d corner of a crawl space under the floor of a home at 2831 S 2955 West The SERT team which had first filled the house with tear gas and moved into position with the diversion of smoke grenades did not fire a shot once they were in the house the chief said West Valley City Police Chief David Campbell identified the man as Steven Scott Bock a fugitive from Colorado who at one time lived in Salt Lake City The woman was identified as Ann Volker 18 apparently from Colorado Springs Chief Campbell said that during dirt-fille- —Tribune Staff Photos by Rick Egan Special Emergency Response Team inspects rifles taken from a West Valley A house where a Colorado man killed himself after killing his wife Effort Officer’s To Talk Fugitive Into Surrender Ends in Vain 18-Ho- ur By Mike Carter Tribune Staff Writer - R-R- three-quarte- - hung up Minutes later he shot his wife in the head and then turned the gun on himself — a bitter end to an al pledged to weigh all potential cuts before they pursue a heavier tax load which all concede will come So the “cut caucus” at least enabled GOP representatives to share pieces of their minds and vent frustrations “The only way you make a bureaucracy change is to starve it” mused House Majority Leader Nolan Karras He had had a “gut-full- ” of complaints over both poor services and the prospects of higher taxes He reminded colleagues that tax hikes should be used as “leverage” for deep budgetary reductions and spending reforms sparing “no sacred cows” Paper cuts were popular during the debate “All the reports and published material — I could cut it by and still feel I had adequate information” said House Majority Lake Whip Olene Walker “Who reads the House and Senate CITY the glass shatter the first fumes of knew time was he told the tired hostage negotiator “We’ve had it and we’re checking out right now” and WEST VALLEY CITY West Valley Police Lt Richard Sweeney was about to celebrate his daughter's third birthday Saturday night when the phone rang He would remain on the telephone at a cold police com- mand post for the next 18 hours Lt Sweeney spent his daughter’s birthday trying to talk a desperate man into calming down — trying to prevent the escalation of a delicate situation that could easily break out of control If that were to happen he knew somebody might die The lieutenant spent the night talking to Steven Scott Bock a fugitive from Colorado who said he would rather die than go to prison His long history of violent crime and alcohol abuse proved he wasn't kidding Bock apparently decided the situation was hopeless He decided police said to “check out” and killed Ann Volker apparently his wife and then shot himself During those 18 hours Lt Sweeney was in almost "constant contact” with either Bock or Volker It was the lieutenant who first determined that the woman was not a hostage as police first believed Lt Sweeney also was the man who negotiated several deals with the gunman only to have them turned down at the last minute “It turned out he wanted what we just couldn’t give him” he said “He wanted us to do away with the charges pending against him in ColoHe wanted us to just let rado him walk away” Police couldn’t do that He had threatened officers with a weapon He allegedly had stolen several hundred dollars worth of tools from the man he was living with and he was wanted on felony kidnapping and burglary charges in Colorado “We told him we’d help him fight extradition as is his right" Lt Sweeney said "We told him we’d get him an attorney We told him we’d help get him into an alcohol detoxication program He’d agree and then later back down" Lt Sweeney who appeared haggard as he talked to reporters outside the house where the bodies still lay has negotiated "around 20" barricaded gunman situations Bock he said was “extremely anxious” The woman he believed was in over her head “That’s the saddest part” She loved Bock Lt Sweeney said and refused to abandon him She didn’t seem able to reconcile that if she stayed she might be hurt or killed "She found herself committed and just didn’t know what else to do" A Special Emergency Response Team closes in on 2831 S 2955 at bay for more than 18 hours West where a man held police Crews Reconstruct Planes to Gain Clues to Tragedy By Mike Gorrell Tribune Staff Writers Federal investigators began piecing together twisted wreckage Sunday to help them understand what happened Thursday afternoon when two planes collided over Kearns killing 10 people on the two aircraft The structural portion of the National Transportation Safety Board probe into the collision between a SkyWest Western Express commuter e airplane and a private single-enginseveral as Sunday plane proceeded aspects wound down Dr John Lauber the NTSB member who headed the probe also said investigators intended to retrace the routes of the two planes in comparable aircraft The supposed paths of the planes were based on radar data obtained from the air traffic control center at Salt Lake City International Airport jnd the 299th Radar Range Squadron at Hill Air Force Base The NTSB structures team will attempt to partially reconstruct the Fairchild Metroliner operated by SkyWest and the Mooney using more than 100 small pieces of wreckage and 20 larger sections recovered by the Salt Lake County Sheriffs Office Detailed maps of the debris distribution were prepared before the pieces were moved to a hanger at the main Salt Lake airport Dr Lauber said there are a number of “paint transfers slashes and gouges" in the plane sections and that “one piece of the Mooney wing was recovered with part of the SkyWest wing in it We have a lot of evidence to work with” He also noted the left side of the Mooney’s single engine was badly damaged and relatively little damage occurred on the right side which would foe consistent with eyewitness at C reports that the small plane’s left wing struck just under the right wing of the Metroliner In the first two days of the NTSB probe investigators reviewed radar records and interviewed air traffic control personnel at the main Salt Lake airport including the controller tracking the SkyWest plane’s approach for landing They also interviewed personnel at Salt Lake Airport No 2 from which the singleengine Mooney was conducting takeoff and landing exercises and three dozen eyewitnesses to the collision or its aftermath The controller told investigators he did not recall seeing a radar image of small plane within the outer boundaries of a restricted airspace area north of Airport No 2 but that somewhat earlier he had seen the image of a plane about 3 to 4 miles south of the airport ThJt was the only plane oth it nf irAindl er than the SkyWest commuter that the controller said he observed before the crash Dr Lauber said Dr Lauber said radar data from Hill and the Salt Lake airport re- vealed that an unidentified small plane penetrated about 1 to 1 miles into the outer boundaries of the restricted airspace before converging with the SkyWest plane Airport radar data indicated the SkyWest plane was flying at 7000 feet above mean sea level an elevation within the restricted airspace when the crash occurred Small planes generally are supposed to stay out of the restricted airspace unless controllers grant permission Communication transcripts indicate the unidentified small plane observed within the outer boundaries of the restricted airspace did not contact the control center Dr Lauber said- - the long negotiations the woman had said they were married but police had no way to confirm that information Bock had a long police record that included an incident about 10 years ago when he was a juvenile in which he was involved in a “shootout” with Salt Lake City police Chief Campbell said He said that there was an active warrant for Bock’s arrest out of Colorado Springs on charges of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary Information from the National Crime Identification Computer indicated that Colorado was willing to extradite for prosecution the chief said Colorado Springs police refused to release any information on Bock or any pending charges over the telephone Salt Lake City Police Lt Keith Tolman would say only that the man was known among Salt Lake City officers and that he had an arrest record with the department Any further information would have to come from West Valley City police he said There was no indication that the woman had a prior arrest record The incident began about 6 pm Saturday when West Valley City police attempted to contact Bock over allegations that he had stolen tools from the owner of the home where he was staying and hocked them at a Murray pawn shop When police arrived Bock threatened police with a gun and told them he would kill his wife and any officer who came near him the chief said “He said he was going to blow her head off” said Rod Guest 35 who befriended Bock and his wife at a restaurant before Christmas He and the owner of the home Ray Howa 41 invited the couple to stay through the holidays until Bock could find work While it at first appeared to be a hostage situation Chief Campbell and hostage negotiator Lt Richard Sweeney said the woman stayed in the house voluntarily and at one point “apparently was in possession of a weapon herself” “She had a number of opportunities to get out and she decided not to” the chief said The man and the woman apparently barricaded themselves in the crawl space beneath the home with several weapons owned by Mr Howa It was Mr Howa’s tools Bock was accused of stealing “He has a lot of firepower in there” Mr Howa said He kept a 30 06 rifle a semiautomatic carbine a 9mm pistol several weapons and a Magnum in the home Bock Mr Howa said also owned a pistol Throughout the night negotiators attempted to convince him to give up He made several demands to police that were met but then would change his mind He repeatedly said he would rather die than go to prison "He wanted us to do things that we couldn't do" Lt Sweeney said Negotiations began shortly after the incident with police Saturday afternoon There was “almost constant contact” with the woman or man throughout the night At one point the man called a local television station and talked at length with a reporter About 10 am Sunday however officers positioned outside the home heard a gunshot Minutes later Bock called the police negotiator to say that one of the weapons had accidently discharged It was at that point however that Chief Campbell said he felt that negotiations were failing and that further i delay could needlessly endanger lives He decided to evacuate the rest of the neighbor in preparation for an armed assault on the home Police however were unable to evacuate the entire neighborhood In one home an elderly woman in a wheelchair could not be moved And police feared that movement in the house directly next to the suspect home could draw gunfire Those resi- dents were told to get into the portion of the home farthest from the Howa residence and stay there At 11 40 a m members of the city ! police SERT team fired tear gas pro- ! ? See B-- 2 Column 4 J |
