European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 18, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes saturday june 18,1988 spotty rainfall brings Little drought Relief b the associated press rain fell in drought is Rickun sections or the nation hut provided Little Relief Friday from inc dry spell marching crops strand ing hundreds of River barges and threaten ing to ruin cattle Farmers including owners Ofa 106-year-old Texas ranch. If we gel rain there la be no problem. If we Don l gel rain we re going to have 1o Cut Short on groceries cattle Farmer Tim Meisler of need Sherg. Wis. Said thursday Al inc Milwaukee stockyards As livestock Winlon the Block amid the worst drought in America s mid scion i inc the dust bowl Days. Secretary of Agri Rulure Richard e. Lyng allowed Hay culling an land in nearly 300 counties in 13 states set aside under a Mas Sive Federal conservation program so farm ers can harm Hay in areas where the Cal her has shrivelled livestock feed. Presi Dent Reagan appointed an inter Agency committee to Deal wish the crisis show arc and thunderstorms moved through the Midwest and from Ohio to Kentucky and the Southern appalachians on thursday but rainfall was spotty the National weather service said. Rain continued Early Friday in Southern South Dakota and Northern Nebraska. Showers and thunderstorms were expected from Eastern Texas and Eastern Oklahoma to North Carolina up to Maine and from Eastern Kansas to Minnesota hut inc storms will be Prelly widely scattered meteorologist Hugh Crowther of the weather service s National severe storms forecast Center in Kansas City mo., said Friday. The five Day Outlook is pretty dry Crowther said. The dry weather has shrivelled or threat ened to damage Corn and other crops in Many slates in Ike Midwest and the South East. There Ain t Gonna be no crops it s the worst i be seen since "36," said Firmun Rel Ting Hauf 72, whose three sons farm his land Nea Gilbertville in Northeast Iowa. Dropping water Levels in the Mississippi and Ohio a Vars have Miido the Waterways a navigable hurting if Inland shipping Industry. The army corps of engineers began dredging the Mississippi near Greenville miss to Clear the Channel to the 9-foot minimum depth needed for rivet traffic and to allow about 750 backed up barges to move army corps of engineers spokes Man Michael Logue said in Vicksburg. A seven mile stretch of the Ohio River near Mound City iii., remained closed to All traffic thursday while a dredge deep ened a shallow Channel. In the lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas ranchers Short on feed had been using propane torches to remove thorns from prickly Pear callus so cattle could Graze on them but some had to Stop be cause even the cac uses Are shr Veling up. Near Lubbock George Mcneil said the dry spell could doom the ranch his family has owned for 106 years which has been plagued by Early frosts and other problems for several years. Mcneil said that if it does t rain soon hell Start Selling off his 500 head of cattle in too head increments. Barges Are lined up along the Banks of the Mississippi Riv a at East Carondelet i. Wrong furn fakes whale up Hudson new York Al a wayward Humpback whale who strayed up the Hudson River Cut his big Apple visit Short after coast guard officials gunned their engines banged pipes and sounded horns to gel him to turn around. The 30 la 40-foot whale described by Ocean researchers As being a juvenile was last spotted just after 6 . Friday off inc Earle naval weapons station in new Jersey said coast guard spokesman Larry Lawrence. The station is approximately 50 Miles from new York City. The Gray and while whale wandered into inc Hudson thursday afternoon. He just made a wrong turn following the contours of the Ocean floor said Judy Rabb of the Long Island based Okanos Ocean research foundation. The whale Winlas far As 80th Street before two coast guard boats that were tracking him got inc endangered mammal to reverse direction by sounding horns banging pipes gunning their engines and doing anything else they could think of to annoy the creature Lawrence said the coast guard was through baby Silling the wandering whale. We be contacted someone from the National Marine fisheries service and icy re taking the Case Over now he said. City Law regulating placement of news Racks is struck Down Washington a the supreme court strik ing Down an ordinance from the Cleveland suburb of Lancewood Ohio Friday limited communities Power in regulate the placement of newspaper boxes on pub Lic sidewalks. The court by a 4-3 vote ruled that the Lakewood ordinance violated free pc sch rights because it vested the mayor with Loo much discretion in deciding which boxes would be allowed. The ordinance empowered the City s mayor to Gram or deny applications for annual permits to publishers chlorine Cloud from fire forces evacuation of 1,800 Springfield mass. Up a chemical fire Friday created a Tosic chlorine Cloud injuring five firefighters and two workers and forcing about 1,800 residents to be evacuated officials said. The fire Al the advanced laboratories inc. Chemical Plant broke out about id . When rain pouring through an open window at the facility made Contact with some chlorine and touched off the Blaze said fire chief Raymond Sullivan took Springfield s hazardous materials squad about two hours to bring he situation under control at the Plant officials said. The chemical Plant manufactures chlorine for use in swimming pools officials said. Supreme court Roundup to place the boxes called news Racks on Public prop erty. The supreme court s decision dealt Only with the mayoral discretion. It sent the Case Back to lower courts to determine whether the ordinance which also attached other conditions on the placement of news Racks could survive constitutional attack if the mayor Al discretion is dropped. Writing for the court Justice William j. Brennan said the ordinance could allow a mayor to deny permits based on a newspaper s Content. A Law or policy permitting communication in a cer Tain manner for some but not for others raises inc Specter Bofoon Lent and viewpoint censorship Brennan said. Significantly the court agreed with the american newspaper publishers association and numerous pub Lishing companies that placing newspaper boxes is a form of communication in a Public Torum. A Host of local government  had con tended that no free speech questions existed in the Case. They said various conditions should be attached o the property rights created when a newspaper is allowed to place a news rack on Public property. The Lakewood controversy began in 19s2, when the Plain dealer a Cleveland newspaper sought permission to place Coin operated news Racks in various locations in the Community of about 62,000 residents. The request was turned Down in its entirety and the newspaper subsequently sued the City. A Federal judge ruled that the ordinance As amended was valid. But the 6th Vas. Circuit court of appeals invalidated three parts ruling that the ordinance in permissibly gave the mayor unlimited discretion to Grant or deny a permit and make it subject to almost any conditions he May  that the City s architectural Board of review had standards ass discretion to approve 11 e design of news Racks even when such authority was not narrowly Tai lored to serve a significant governmental interest that the newspaper could not be forced to insure and indemnify the City for personal injury liability that might result from accidents involving news Racks became no such insurance is required for bus shelters or Telephone Booths. The appeals court however ruled that Lakewood could charge ran for news Racks placed on Public prop erty. And it said the City could ban news Racks from residential neighbourhoods. About 5 percent of the Plain dealer s total sales come from news Racks. The bulk of the newspaper s sales come from Home delivery. Brennan s opinion was joined by justices Thurgood Marshall hairy a. Blackmun and Antonin Scalia. Justices Byron r. While John Paul Stevens and Sandra Day o Connor dissented. Chief Justice William h. Rehnquist and Justice Anthony m. Kennedy did not participate. In other action the court ruled that Federal judges May be disqualified from presiding Over cases even when they Are unaware during trial of their personal connection to the cases. In  ruling in a Case from Louisiana the court said the appearance of a conflict of interest is grounds for a judge to disqualify himself from presiding. Made it easier for creditors to Garnish employee benefits from workers covered by the Federal employee retirement income Security act or er1sa. By a 5-4 vote in a Case from Georgia the court Aid erisa benefits Are not shielded from garnishment even when a state Law seeks to protect the benefits from being obtained from creditors. Resolved what it called a Peculiar Battle Between two Federal Appau courts telling one of those courts to tackle an antitrust dispute Over the m-16, the . Mili tary Standard Rifle. The justices unanimously ruled that Pic Chicago based 7lh . Circuit court of appeals should Rule in it Case not the Washington based . Court of appeals Lor the Federal circuit