European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 13, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes Friday March 13, 1992 air Force mum on mystery of gift Mig Offutt fab neb. A the cold War May officials be Over but air Force officials Are still saying nothing about a Jet of apparent soviet origin a a Mig a parked at Offutt fab. The Jet appeared on the base near Omaha a year ago As a gift destined for the air plane collection at the strategic air come museum that sits North of the base. A we Are very pleased to have the aircraft a said museum director Jim Bert. Quot we can speculate on where it came from but we have no official comment on it. A officially the air Force neither confirms nor denies the existence of that  Linda Smith a spokeswoman for the air Force museum in Dayton Ohio declined to answer questions about the Mig-21. She said her museum handles the Transfer of most air Force planes that Are Lent to regional museums. But intelligence officers chose to bypass Normal channels with the Mig-21, she said. A this is not a museum project a she said. What will air Force intelligence officers say about the Mig a nothing a Matt Foley a civilian employee who works in air Force intelligence in the Pentagon told the Omaha world Herald in a Story published wednesday. The . Government agrees never to divulge the source a even years after the Deal is made a in order to obtain such a plane Foley said. So the fighter Jet sits at the base that is Home to the Headquarters of the nations nuclear command Center a Symbol of the four decade cold War. In March 1991, museum representatives received a Telephone Call from the air Force museum telling them a new air plane would arrive soon he said. The caller did no to identify the kind of plane or provide details about it. A quite literally it was a Midnight activity in that the next morning when we arrived at work there were four rather Large crates out on the base the hand our Fence and there was a disassembled Mig-21c in the crates a Bert said. The soviet Union developed the m�?~g-21  the mid-1950s and later manufactured hundreds for itself and soviet allies around the world. Czechoslovakia India and China made versions of the plane. In the Early �?T80s, the . Air Force said More Mig-21s had been built than any other fighter plane. Bert said the . Military May have obtained the Mig frown a defector from Cuba North Korea or one of the former communist states in Eastern Europe or from a former soviet ally such As Egypt. He said the plane probably was used to acquaint . Aircrews with the capabilities of enemy  skater Witt s Poison pen pal found guilty ice skating Star Katarina Witt talks to reporters in Santa Ana Calif., after testifying at the trial of Harry Veltman Iii. Santa Ana Calif. Up an obsessed fan who followed Katarina Witt across Germany and the United states was found guilty thursday of sending obscene and threatening letters to the figure skating Star. Harry Veltina Iii a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic was convicted by a Federal court jury of four counts of mailing obscene material and two counts of mailing threatening communications after a two Day trial. Jurors deadlocked on one obscenity count because a there were mexican Stamps on the letter prosecutor Wayne r. Gross said. The panel could not determine if the material inside had been mailed in the United states. A this will have no Impact at All on the ultimate sentence a said Gross. Veltman 47, of Westminster faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and More than $1 million in fines. Evidence introduced at the trial showed that Veltman began harassing Witt an International figure skating Star and 1988 olympic Gold medallist in the summer of 1990, by sending her letters that were bizarre and sexually graphic. He also stalked Witt for several weeks at her Home in Germany and on skating Tours in san Francisco and Denver. A subsequent letters the defendant sent is. Witt proved to be not Only sexually graphic but also threatening a Gross said. Non secret vote worries widow democrats to name Al join the move Check bouncers Springfield 111. A the state supreme court on wednesday refused to come to the Rescue of an 86-year-old widow worried about voting in next weeks primary because anyone could learn for whom she voted. A i think that a just terrible a i wonder Why a Lydia Thorpe said in a Telephone interview from her Home in Kewanee in North Central Illinois. Don t know whether i will vote or not. I done to think i  through a quirk of redistricting Thorpe is the Only registered voter in the 6th precinct in Kewa Nee township in the 93rd state House District. Everyone else in her precinct is in the 94th House District. Henry county states attorney Larry Wunders Nick wanted the supreme court to readjust the new legislative District Boundary so that All the precincts voters would be in the 94th District. The court denied Vandersnickt a motions without comment. That Means anybody could see How Thorpe votes tuesday in the presidential primary As Well As local races. Election judges and poll watchers could distinguish Thorpe a ballot because of its unique style and color. Voting results Are tallied by precinct and Are a matter of Public record. Quot our argument is that if you maintain this map it violates the Illinois Constitution and the right to a persons secret ballot a Vandersnick said after filing his motions with the court last week. Washington apr democrats bowed to Republican charges of a cover up thursday and moved to publicly identify the 355 current and former lawmakers who wrote bad checks at the House Bank Over a 39-month period. With an Early House vote scheduled lawmakers who had Long kept their silence about their Check writing practices were confessing in Hopes of limiting the political damage. Rep. Duncan Huntey r-Calif., disclosed he had written an estimated 160 bad checks in the past three the plan to release Only 24 names failed to pass the Public a smell test a charged rep. Jim Bunning Ray. The House ethics committee which devised the plan for naming Only the 24 abusers has More Complete information on 66 account holders than on the others. Years. Rep. Charles Wilson a Texas said he wrote Between 75 and 85 rubber checks at the House Bank during the period under review. Wilson said he was taking advantage of a service that had existed Lor More than 100 years. Under the Bank a procedures checks written on insufficient funds were honoured anyway without a financial charge or penalty. Lawmakers nervously began detailing their financial secrets As House speaker Thomas s. Foley reversed his stand and said he was working with republicans on legislation providing a wider disclosure of the bad Check writers. He Nad been backing release of the names of Only the 24 worst abusers. Reps. Jon Kyi r-ariz., and Nancy l. Johnson r-conn., said after a meeting of All House republicans that most members spoke up for their proposal a although no formal vote was taken. A the vast majority supported full disclosure a Kyi told reporters. He added that some democrats also promised to support his proposal. Johnson said the Resolution quickly won 75 co Spon sors and others were expected to sign on. There Are 166 republicans in the House. Kyi added that he was considering sponsoring a reso1-Lution to fire House sergeant at arms Jack Russ who ran the now closed Bank. A the position is being reassessed Quot Foley spokesman Quot Biggs. J Jeffrey Biggs said adding that the speaker now was discussing ways to have a fair system for disclosing All the names. Democrats account for a majority of the House and Many republicans accused democrats of trying to shelter their colleagues from political harm. The ethics committee said Russ misused his office by cashing his own bad checks at the Bank and failed to carry out reforms. A if the democratic leadership does no to move others will Quot Kyi said. The Republican proposal would accept the ethics committee s a a abusers Label for the 24 account holders who met a committee devised criteria for repeated and routine overdrafts. The bad checks must have been written during the 39 months ended oct. 3, the period under investigation. But it also would release information on the 296 current and 59 former members who wrote at least one bad Check As Well As members who had no overdrafts during the 39 months