European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 12, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday december 12, 1985 the stars and stripes Page 7 Iowa Farmer s Story is deadly but not unique by Andrew h. Malcolm Hills. Iowa not when the radio news flashed across the Snow Cov ered Prairies monday during the noon meal ii carried a bulletin shut John Hughes the president of Hills Bank and Trust co. Had been shot and killed. One Farmer just outside this town of 550 residents turned to his wife and said. I wonder if ii was Dale  it was. Burr a 63-year-old Farmer whose Finan Cial troubles were about to claim his land his machinery his stored grains and his beloved Quant horses went on a killing rampage mor v. Shooting three people to death Lefoi committing suicide on lonely Road Cai his Rural Home. It was but the latest in a series of violent outbursts across the nation s heartland. In 1983, James Jenkins a Minnesota Farmer and his son Steve who had lost their land cattle and credit rating lured Rudolph h. Blythe or. The local Bank president and his loan officer to the abandoned farm and killed them both. The elder Jenkins then shot himself. Last year an armed Nebraska Farmer Arthur Kirk was shot and killed after holding police at Bay for several hours. In the last three years thousands of Farmers dozens of Banks and hindi is of Rural businesses have failed. And Accord ing to mental health Counselor and Rural advocates numerous other potentially Vio Lent incidents arc defused regularly by families friends and mediators. Deadly Chain of event monday s events began when Burr de scribed As an outdoors Workaholic shot his wife of 40 years Emily apparently As she sought to Slop him from leaving the House with his 12-Gaugc Shotgun. Burr left a note at horns and drove into town. At la 22 a.m., he walked in the Back door of the shiny modern Bank on main Street where his checking account was overdrawn. He pulled the Long pump action gun from inside his overalls and fired one blast at Hughes head As the 46 year old Bank president looked up from his office chair. Hughes died immediately. Burr pointed his gun at two other Bank a s $100, b s $75 on the farm Iowa Farmland values s2.000 . Monthly crop prices $8 average Price per j acre in dollars 1,000 1977 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 1977-81 prices As of feb. 1 1982-85 prices As of april 1  preliminary note Farmland prices include buildings Chicago to Bune graphic source  Agni Uturo department officers. Dale Kretschmar and Roger rally who fro a the Farmer did not fire. Burr then drove cast a few Miles and a Farmer saw him fire once into the air. At i 3s, Burr entered into inc farmyard of Richard Goody with whom he had had a minor land dispute several years ago. Goody had just been spreading manure on his Fields for next year s crop. As the 36-year-old Man greeted his Visi Tor near some hog feeding pens. Burr shot him twice. He also fired at Goody s fleeing wife and 6-year-old son. He missed. Ten minutes later when David Hender son a sheriffs Deputy pulled Burr onto the shoulder of a gravel Road near his Home a muffled blast from within the pickup truck signalled the Farmer s suicide. Us another tragedy said Peter 7.c  who runs local mental health programs. It was bound to happen some where. And it la happen again  i or Many of these people said Dan Levitas of Prairie tire a pcs Moines group Active in Rural counselling and Legal Aid the Hammer is coming Down. They re Shell shocked. Many keep it Alt inside. But now it s breaking out. I m afraid this Vio Lence is the beginning of what is to  when such incidents erupt Long with a growing number of less publicized Rural suicides  and others say they can almost predict from experience the characteristics a Farmer of any age above 35, a Strong family Man devout churchgoer Well liked by friends but quiet. Typically they say the Man is the son and grandson of Farmers on the same land his family has a reputation for hard work and he is not thought to be in financial Texas Feacher who sold grades resigns fort Worth Texas a a school Board tuesday night accepted the resignation of a teacher who sold grades for up to $100 at a High school hit hard by the slate s no pass no play Rule. The fort Worth school Board voted unanimously at a meeting to accept the res ignation of Harold Dennis Shannon a teacher at Eastern Hills High school. Shannon who taught math and was a coach of the girls basketball team sold a s for $100 and b s for $75, said school Board president Richard o  of schools Carl can Doh told Board members at a weekend Retreat that in his 35 years in Public education he thought he had seen everything but he said he had never seen anything like this o Neal  prayed to god this was All a joke o Neal said. Shannon resigned last week the fort Worth Star Telegram reported tuesday. During the recent High school football season Eastern Hills was one of the schools hardest hit by the new academic Rule which bars failing students from extracurricular activities. Its football program lost 38 players to bad grades after the first six week grading period. School Board vice president Mollie la satyr said the Case involved a few Stu dents and a few  she said she did not know How Many occurrences were involved. If the allegations arc substantiated o Neal said the teacher s certification would be revoked. Or. . Wallace assistant superintendent for personnel said tuesday he could not confirm details of the Case a Ciatu it was a personnel  new York won t dismiss Goez Case new York up prosecutors said tuesday there Are no plans to drop at tempted murder charges against Bernard Goetz because of a statement by a police officer indicating that the subway gunman was the object of a robbery plot. Goelz s lawyers said they were not sur prised that prosecutors refused to dismiss the charges but added that last weeks statement by the officer strengthens their Case for having the court throw out the attempted murder indictment. Officer Peter Smith told in by television that one of the four youths Goetz shot Troy Canty 20, said immediately after the shooting lost dec. 22 on a downtown sub Way train we were going to Rob him but he shot us  said he and his partner who were the first police officers on the scene told detectives about the confession but were never called upon to give their statements to two grand juries investigating the Case. The officer was in the District attorney s office last week on another Case when he mentioned the statement Given to him by Canty. A prosecutor overheard the conversation. Canty s lawyer Scott Greenfield said he did not make that  he was not intending to nor did he take any action toward robbing or. Goelz Greenfield said of the youth. I find it in credible that there was no mention of it the statement in a report or verbally until Al most a year  detectives at the 13th precinct which investigated the Goetz Case said they were try ing to determine Why Smith s statement was never brought to the attention of prosecutors. A spokeswoman for the District attorney s office said there arc no plans to drop the attempted murder charges against Goetz in Light of the new evidence. We re confident this Case will go trial said spokeswoman Mary de Bourbon. But she would not comment on speculation that Canty who is awaiting sentencing on an unrelated robbery conviction will be charged with lying to a grand jury. Goetz 38, who is free on $5,000 bail claims that tie shot the four youths in self defense because he was afraid they would Mug him. At least one of the youths asked the slim bespectacled gunman for $5. Smith s comment was the third statement in the last month that appeared to support Goetz s contentions. Trouble until after the incident. Typically too.  wife has confided the mounting financial and emotional pressures to close friends or family who profess Shock and offer support. Then shortly be fore the incident the husband seems relieved about something. Such was the Case of Burr the hard working son of Vernon Burr a Farmer and Bank Dirac for. The 6-fool-2 Farmer was willing to Chat friends recalled but Only for a moment because he always seemed on the Way 10 somewhere. The burrs were members of our redeemer lutheran Church in Iowa City eight Miles North of this town in Eastern Iowa. Their main so Cial activity was a card club. Burr Farmed about 600 acres with his son John 39. Courthouse records show that while few knew that Burr was in financial trouble he had debts of some $800,000. Many of them due last Friday. Dispute oter $39,000 Check close family friends said the immediate financial pressure involved a $39,000 Check for Corn that Burr had deposited with the government. Because the Corn was mortgaged to the Hills Bank the Check should have been made payable to the Bank too. It was t. Burr deposited the Check in the Hills Bank to pay off fertilizer and herbicide Bills. The Bank found out and sought the Money immediately. Hughes has been leaning on some folks harder than he has to said one Bank Cus Tomer who asked not to be identified. You get so you Don t know where to turn and the Banks push harder. Killing s wrong but every Man has his breaking Point he said. Hughes was widely Gulogi cd As a Fine family Man Active in Many civic causes a successful aggressive businessman who had built the Hills Bank into a profitable institution with More than $200 million in assets despite his town s Small size. State officials who have closed 11 Iowa Banks so far this year compared to three in 1984, said the Hills Bank was not in difficulty largely because it has a Small portfolio of agricultural Loans. Sex employee admits guilt in Navy ring san Diego up a former Navy employee pleaded guilty to charges that he stole and smuggled fighter aircraft parts to Iran agreeing at the same time to testify against seven co defendants the . Attorney s office announced tuesday. Daniel Gerard Wheeler pleaded guilty to three counts including conspiracy to de fraud the government theft of $500,000 Worth of government property and the exportation of the parts to Iran. Wheeler was the most recent arrest made in a san Diego based investigation into a ring that allegedly channelled pilfered f-14 parts to Iran. Wheeler at one time was a production supervisor at the naval air rework facility at Norfolk a. He was arrested oct. 24 at his Home in Leominster mass. Wheeler faces 17 years in prison and a $600,000 Fine said assistant is. Attorney Phillip Halpern. Wheeler also agreed to Tell in court what he knows about any illegal activities. I believe the plea agreement accurately reflect the severity of the offence to the National Security Haltem said tuesday. Haltem said Wheeler in his plea identified Edgardo Franklin Agustin As his Contact for the Sale of equipment stolen from Navy stocks. Agustin is the alleged Leader of the ring which included two Navy Petty officers and civilian employees who had Access to supplies. The alleged ring was broken up in july when Federal indictments were handed Down in Sandiego