European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 22, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday August 22, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 5witness s bark puts bite on Florida defendant Cox news service West Palm Beach Fla. A German Shepherd took the witness stand arid wooded for a jury monday the final testimony in the trial of a Delray Beach Man known to police As a the snack time  Eluo a Boca Raton police dog became a canine witness in the Case against Rodney Thomas who is charged with trying to strangle the dog during a confrontation five months ago circuit judge Peter Blanc gave special permission for prosecutors to bring the dog onto the witness stand accompanied by his handler officer Richard Barnett. Police said Thomas a homeless Man nicknamed a the snack time burglary because he allegedly munched junk food while burglar izing houses was hiding in the crawl space under a Delray Beach House on May 2 when police tried to arrest him. He refused to come out so police sent Eluo in after him. The dog found Thomas wedged up on a Rafter and grabbed at his pants leg Barnett testified. That a when Thomas reached Down and began choking the dog Barnett said. A i told him to let go a i yelled a Barnett said. A the kept repeating the fact that he was going to kill the  in the few seconds it took for officers to crawl in and pry Thomas hands from the dogs Throat Eluo a Mouth and nostrils became filled with Sand where Thomas had tried to shove the dog s face into the ground Barnett said. The dog s head was bloody from the attack he said. Thomas was charged with attempting to injure a police dog an offence punishable by up to a year in jail. Defense attorney David Mcpherrin said Thomas was intimidated by the 82-Pound dog and was trying to defend himself. A this dog is not a Small dog a he said. A this dog is physically capable of killing a person. As most human beings would do or. Thomas tried to protect  but prosecutor Maura Mcguigan said Thomas was amply warned that he must surrender to police or the dog would come after him. Although she asked Barnett to a speak for the dog she also requested that Eluo bark for a the jury to show the six member panel How loud the warning had been. A  roof roof a the barks echoed Down the courthouse hallways. The jury appeared transfixed. A  a the dog barked again police badge dangling from his Collar. The demonstration apparently was a convincing one. The jury took 15 minutes to return a guilty verdict. Thomas will be sentenced . National Parks falling apart group warns Washington up a americans National Parks Are a falling apart because of poor maintenance a shortage of rangers and booming tourism an environmental group said tuesday. The National Parks and conservation association said the county a a 358 Park Sites face a backlog of repair and preservation projects that exceeds $2 billion. A a decade of not so benign neglect and a deliberate policy of deferred maintenance is tarnishing americans Parks a the group said. A from the disintegration of roads and trails and col lapse of historic structures to Public health and safety hazards our National Parks Are literally falling  the National Park service had no immediate comment. Problems listed in the groups report include a Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming 60 percent of roads Are in a dire need of  a Martin Luther King or. National historic site Georgia one of oldest buildings at the site fell Down in 1990. A Jefferson memorial Washington . Marble is deteriorating and one column recently fell. A Golden Gate National recreation area California historic sailing Schooner . Thayer rotted apparently because of delayed maintenance. The 28-Page report issued to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the National Park service recommends the Federal government add $250 million annually to the Park services budget. Currently Congress appropriates $1.2 billion each year for National  of North Washington a former National Security aide Oliver North probably will not be tried again for his role in the Iran Contra scandal but a new trial cannot be ruled out prosecutors said tuesday. The statement came in court papers filed by prosecutors who Are urging the in the stars and stripes10 years ago aug. 22,1981 a baseball commissioner. Bowie Kuhn announced a revised playoff system for the season after it was discovered Liat teams might lose regular season games on purpose to enhance their chances of qualifying for the playoffs As Quot wild card.�?�20 years ago aug. 22,1971 a ground fighting appeared to have slowed As More than a score of Thailand based . B-52 bombers staged seven raids Over South Vietnam s Northern front in an intensified Effort to smother a 10-Day-old North vietnamese offensive.30 years ago _ aug. 22,1961 a the Navy patented the a swag might Quot an inflatable air plane that the inventor said could be stored in collapsed form aboard merchant ships destroyers or any sort of vessel and launched when needed.40 years ago aug. 22,1951 a in a report to the state department the . High commissioner reported that the communist propaganda drive in West Germany had failed and that West Germany had chosen to move toward the West Over the eat. Court to reinstate North a convictions in the Iran Contra Case. The papers filed by Independent counsel Lawrence e. Walsh a office also said former National Security adviser Robert Mcfarlane would be the governments Only witness at a hearing scheduled for sept. 11. . District judge Gerhard a. Gesell had Given Walsh a office until tuesday to say whether it would seek to try North again if it failed to win reinstatement of his convictions. The convictions were set aside by an appeals court. A although retrial of the defendant North on any of the remaining counts is unlikely Independent counsel cannot at this time definitively Rule it out a said the document signed by special counsel Michael Bromwich. The appeals court has ordered Gesell a who presided at North a trial a to review the trial testimony to decide whether witnesses were influenced by North a forced testimony Given under immunity to Congress. North a attorneys were not immediately available to comment on the contents of the papers filed tuesday. North was convicted of destroying documents accepting an illegal gratuity and aiding the obstruction of Congress. Leader who reshaped railroads Dies Cumberland my. A former rep. Harley o. Staggers sr., credited with revamping the nations rail Industry at the end of a 32-year career As a West Virginia congressman died tuesday. He was 84. Staggers father of rep. Harley o. Staggers jr., d-., died at sacred heart Hospital of congestive heart failure and respiratory failure said Jim Watkins a spokesman for the younger staggers. He had been ill for several weeks and was hospitalized in july for a blood clot in his leg. He lived in Keyser . Staggers a Democrat served in Congress from 1948 until his retirement in 1980. His son has held the same seat since 1982. Born in a two room log Cabin in Mineral county ., staggers was a Railroad hand a coach and a sheriff before he was elected to Congress. He represented the 2nd District which stretches from Monroe county at the Southeastern tip of West Virginia through the Eastern Panhandle. The District covers More area than any other congressional District East of the Mississippi River. In 1966, he became chairman of the powerful House interstate and foreign Commerce committee which developed and modernized Laws on Energy health environment transportation and consumer Protection. The staggers rail act of 1980, the Centrepiece of his career provided for regu Harley o. Staggers or. La tory Reform of the nations Railroad system. Supporters said it was responsible for the Industry a Rescue from the Brink of collapse. Under the act railroads and shippers were permitted for the first time to negotiate p1 irate contracts for the transportation of goods. The measure also expedited procedures for the merger of Railroad networks. In the decade after its passage the nation saw several major mergers the Chossie system and the Seaboard Railroad became Cox and the Norfolk amp Western Railroad and the Southern Railroad become Norfolk Southern. He also helped persuade the department of transportation to allocate $120 million for the experimental personal rapid transit system which used com Uter controlled passenger cars at West Irginia University in Morgantown. A my father cared deeply about West Virginia and its people a the younger staggers said. A i believe the people of West Virginia understood this and they Hon pred him by electing him to represent them in the Congress for 32  the White haired Cherub faced staggers also was responsible for a 1966 Law requiring uniform Observance of Daylight saving time. A a it a a Small thing but it irritates thousands of people in this land a he said. During one hearing he cited a Moundsville ., bus Driver who encountered seven time changes while making runs to St. Blairsville Ohio a distance of about 20 Miles. After staggers announced his retire ment his son lost his first bid for his fathers former seat in the 1980 democratic primary. He won the seat in 1982. In addition to his son staggers also is survived by his wife Mary and five other children Margaret Ann staggers Mary Katherine Webb Frances Susan Tasker Elizabeth Ellen Shank and Daniel Casey staggers