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VOL. 101, NO. 190 * 72 PAGES
Anti-Abortion
Petition Gains
More Support
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — A propos-
al to outlaw most abortions in Okla-
homa now has enough signatures to
get on a statewide ballot, the group’s
organizer says.
But the Oklahoma Coalition to
Restrict Abortion Inc. hopes to
accumulate a 10,000-signature
cushion before surrendering the pet-
ition to the Secretary of State’s
office Thursday for verification and
counting.
The coalition collected the
94,000th signature on its petition at
the State Fair of Oklahoma on
Thursday, said Fred Sellers, the
Norman man who has said God
instructed him to start the coalition.
The anti-abortion petition needs
93,683 confirmed signatures by
next Friday to gain a spot on a
statewide ballot.
The coalition will continue col-
lecting signatures until Thursday
afternoon, Sellers said.
“We are in the process of build-
ing our cushion,” Sellers said.
A booth at the fair, which began
Sept. 14, is collecting 300-800 sig-
natures a day, he said.
The petition calls for outlawing
abortions except in cases of rape,
incest, to protect the physical or
mental health of the mother, or if
there is a grave physical or mental
defect in the fetus.
The proposal has opponents on
both sides of the abortion issues.
People who believe women
should decide without government
interference whether to have an
abortion find the measure far too
restrictive, while other anti-
abortionists believe it doesn’t go far
enough.
“This bill, if it were passed,
would restrict almost all abortions in
Oklahoma,” said Sherri Finik, pres-
ident of Oklahomans For Choice.
“I think it’s a very, very danger-
ous law,” she said.
OPINION
Hunting
Views Stated
By Reader X
PAGE AA •
SPORTS
OU Sooner
Football Team
Rolls Again
PAGE 1B
mulonC
WEEKEND EDITION OF THE EDMOND EVENING SUN
‘FALL IN’ AGAIN
1
LIFESTYLE /
What Turns You Y
Off About J
The Opposite Sex?
PAGE 1C
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1990 * 50 CENTS
Hunting For Truth
Deer Harvest Needed, Official Says
By CURTIS KILLMAN
SUN Staff Writer
The state Department of Wildlife Conserva-
tion estimates 200,000 deer roam the wooded
areas of Oklahoma.
As many as 150 deer are estimated to live in
See Council Agenda
Page 3A
“Last year’s hunt was certainly unneeded,
the area surrounding Arcadia Lake. That’s too unwanted and certainly unwelcome,” said Glyn
many, state and city officials say. A hunt, or Massey, whose back yard fronts Arcadia Lake
harvest as game officials refer to it, needs to be park land.
held to control the numbers.                    But without the hunt, deer and the other ani-
The Edmond Fish and Game Commission mals in the area would suffer, according to fish
has recommended that a shotgun and archery and game commission member Bob Jenni.
deer hunt be held on federally-owned property Additionally, the panel has requested a
surrounding Arcadia Lake to manage the deer waterfowl hunt.
herd. Monday night will mark the second con- Hunters, Jenni said, are being attacked by a
secutive year the commission has asked the minority of the people. He cites a nationwide
City Council approve such a request, poll which says 77 percent of those surveyed
It also marks the second time the commission support hunting as a proper management tool.
and hunters have been asked to defend their “We are the stewards of wildlife,” Jenni said
sport.                                           in describing one of the roles of humans.
Criticism of the hunt has come from those Areas such as Arcadia Lake must be closely
opposed to it on philosophical grounds and
from residents living near the lake.               (Please See HUNT, Page 2A)
I Animal Rights Group Targets Hunters
By CURTIS KILLMAN          many fronts and says that a hunt is not
0               SUN Staff Writer               necessary.
Myra Woodside says her interest in the group But this is not the first issue the group has
. “Volunteers for Animal Welfare” started inno- taken up.
cently enough,                               VAW, which Woodside says numbers about
About seven years ago, Woodside said she 800 members, has a hot line for animal cruelty
contacted the Oklahoma City-based group for complaints. The group also inspects municipal
help when she needed to care for an injured animal shelters in the state to ensure humane
duck.                                              practices are carried out.
Soon after that, she joined the animal activist    Woodside said the group was instrumental a
group, which has operated in the Oklahoma few years ago in stopping a move to open up a
$ City area 16 years. Now she finds herself on the animal refuge in western Oklahoma City to
■ front lines of a fight to keep hunters out of the hunters.
JAMES COBURN
Bob Sheldon has already got a jump on the fall season by delivering pump-
kins to area merchants in preparation for Halloween holiday next month.
Autumn officially began at 3:55 this morning. The new season also ushered
in new temperatures with highs expected to reach only the low ’70s today.
Arcadia Lake area. The hunt as been proposed     And last year, the group picketed at Penn
to the city to trim overpopulation of deer at the  Square Mall against local furriers.
lake.                                            The group’s latest campaign has been to
The organization, which claims to have  reduce dog and cat population by offering
about 40 Edmond members, has joined with reduced rates for neutering services,
residents of the area opposed to the hunt and But the group has paid a price for its activ-
hope to dissuade the City Council Monday ism. While claiming it’s not a secret, the group
from approving a deer and waterfowl hunt at doesn’t advertise its office location. An office
. the Arcadia Lake area.
The group is challenging the issue from
(Please See RIGHTS, Page 2A)
Slain Girl’s Dad Wants Justice
By CURTIS KILLMAN
SUN Staff Writer
Prompted by a daughter’s
February murder, an Edmond man
is taking on the criminal justice
system by attempting to shorten
what he says is a drawn-out appe-
als process for death-row inmates.
Ken Busch, who moved here
from Virginia after his daughter’s
The death of his daughter has left Busch
with some hard views about sentences
for murderers. He said if the teen was
found guilty, he hopes the jury sentences
him to death.
Fair Mishap
Claims Life
Of Inspector
Today’s
Summary
body was found in a Yukon trash  in the Fifth Circuit Court, has car-  done before is going to make itdif-
dumpster, has launched a petition   ried out 36 executions,            ficult,” Busch said. But he said that
drive to remove Oklahoma from In conjunction with the petition “the people of Oklahoma are dis-
the jurisdiction of the U.S. 10th   drive, Busch said he has formed   gusted” with the time it takes to
Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver  the group “Citizens for Justice” to  execute convicted murderers in the
to the Fifth Circuit Court in New   stand up for the rights of victims,   the state.
Orleans.                            The body of Ken Busch’s Busch said he has support from
Busch says the majority of  7-year-old daughter, Katherine  many state officials and from for-
judges in the 10th Circuit Court are  Ann, was found in the dumpster  mer gubernatorial candidate and
fundamentally opposed to the  shortly after she disappeared while  Edmond resident Jerry Brown,
death penalty and are to blame for playing.                              The death of his daughter has
the low number of executions in A 19-year-old neighbor, Floyd left Busch with some hard views
the six states in the court’s jurisdic-  Allan Medlock, is still awaiting   about sentences for murderers. He
tion. Other than Oklahoma, the   trial on murder charges after  said if the teen was found guilty, he
court covers Kansas, Wyoming,   allegedly confessing to the crime,  hopes the jury sentences him to
Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.   The 7-year-old girl was staying  death.
Oklahoma has carried out just with her mother in Yukon at the “Life in prison for premeditated
one death sentence since the state time,                               murder is not justice,” Busch said,
reinstated the death penalty in Busch said he hopes to collect “I think the sentence should fit the
1976, which was the execution of 700,000 signatures and to present crime.” •
Charles Troy Coleman on Sept 10. them to Congress, which would He also said he believes that the
Death row contains 114 inmates, have to consider the precedent- “insanity defense should not be an
Meanwhile, Texas, which is setting change,                    excuse to not sentence someone to
among Louisiana and Mississippi “The fact that it’s never been death. But he said he opposes the
I —
BUSCH
...daughter killed in February
death sentence for drug smugglers,
a hot topic on Capitol Hill.
He also agrees with those that
say the death penalty doesn’t deter
murder.
“(By) us simply using the death
penalty is not going to slow down
crime by any means,” Busch said.
“We have to address it from the
penitentiaries.”
Prisons should remove many of
what Busch calls luxuries such as
television and air conditioning.
To kick off the petition drive, a
rally has been scheduled for 10
a.m. Saturday at the state Capitol
South Plaza.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A
ride inspector at the Oklahoma State
Fair died Saturday after being struck
by a roller coaster car, officials said.
Oklahoma City Police Sgt. Joe
Snodgrass said the man, an employ-
ee of Link Attractions, was inspect-
ing the track on a circular ride called
die Scream Machine at 11:40 a.m.
when another employee released the
car from the top.
“The car was stopped upside
down,” Snodgrass said. “The oper-
ator asked the guy to stand back. He
released the break, and the victim
had apparently gotten too close to
• the machine.”
Snodgrass said the man was
crushed between the 18-passenger
car and the track, and died instantly.
The accident occurred before any
rides were open.
The victim’s identity was not
released pending notification of
relatives.
Despite the tragedy, the fair con-
tinued Saturday. Saturday marked
its ninth day of operation.
MOSCOW — Boris Yeltsin,
president of the Russian republ-
ic, was back on a collision
course with Mikhail S. Gorba-
chev Saturday as he challenged
the Soviet leader’s request for
new emergency powers to
rescue the economy.
WASHINGTON — Finance
officials of the world’s seven
richest nations warned Saturday
that spiraling oil prices pose a
twin threat to the global eco-
nomy: higher inflation and slow-
er growth.
Inside
Agendas...............................3A
Bulletin Board......................6A
Classifieds/Legals..........7B-12B
Clubs....................................5C
Comics................................12A
Fashion.................................2C
Local Life.............................3C
Family Album.......................3C
Movie/TV Listings.....10A, 11A
Opinion.................................4A
School Calendar..................9A
Sunbeams............................4C
Youth....................................6C
Military News.......................8A
Local Life.............................5C
Oklahoma Senators Backing Judge Souter
Forecast
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Both of
Oklahoma’s senators say David H. Souter is a
difficult judge to evaluate, but they will vote
for his appointment to the U.S. Supreme
Court.
“He comes across as someone who can’t
be pigeonholed,” Sen. David Boren, D-
Okla., told an Oklahoma City newspaper for
its Sunday editions. “He appears to me to be a
moderate conservative.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee finished
its hearings on Souter’s nomination last week
and is expected to approve him Thursday.
Some senators have called for the full Senate
to take action this week so Souter will be on
the bench when the next Supreme Court term
begins Oct. 1.
“It’s obvious Judge Souter is going to be
confirmed overwhelmingly by the Senate,”
Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., told the
newspaper.
Boren and Nickles said the fact that Souter
is not being embraced by either the far right or
far left will probably make his confirmation
easier.
“Politically, given the makeup of Con-
gress, it may be as good as the president could
do,” Nickles said. “I plan to support him.”
Boren said he, too, would approve Souter’s
confirmation unless something about the
judge surfaces before the vote that would
change his mind.
“My vote will be based upon my assess-
ment on his intellect, on his character,” he
said. “I’m really looking more at his intellec-
tual capacity.”
Pro-choice groups, including Oklahomans
for Choice, have come out against Souter, but
Boren said it was too early for any group to
predict how he might vote on issues like
abortion.
“I think that’s being very short-sighted for
groups to play a guessing game,” he said.
“You can’t really predict what a justice is
going to do once he gets there.”
Many legal experts believe one of the big-
gest issues the court will consider this term is
the Oklahoma City school desegregation
case. Oral arguments in that case are sche-
duled for Oct. 2.
Boren and Nickles said Souter’s testimony
before the committee gave them no indication
of how he might view the Oklahoma City
school district’s effort to be released from a
federal court order.
Today
through
Monday:
Clear to part-
ly cloudy.
High today
lower 70s.
Low upper
40s. High
Monday
upper 70s.
North to
northeast
wind 10 to 20
mph today.
Copyright 1990
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