Chief sees race issue in reactions to children’s murders
KANKAKEE, 111. — He was a
white 10-year-old boy who disap
peared from a riverbank. She was a
black 13-year-old girl suspected of
running away from home.
Different race, different families,
same fate: Both ended up on the police
blotter as young murder victims.
Christopher Meyer’s case riveted
the region for two weeks, prompting
an extensive search and relentless news
coverage. Ophelia Williams’ death
barely raised a cry.
In a candid assessment, Police
Chief William Doster said his com
munity is simply “numb” when it
comes to black victims.
“I’m not tiying to point fingers or
diminish Chris’ death,” Doster, who
is white, said in an interview. “I’m
trying to energize the community....
The community as a whole forgot
Ophelia.”
The police chief put his thoughts
on paper Aug. 22, the same day a
throng of media chronicled
Christopher’s burial. Kankakee’s
newspaper, The Daily Journal, pub
lished Doster’s essay on Sunday in
this town of27,000 people, 37 percent
of them black.
Doster said the blame must be
shared by residents, the news media,
even his own department.
“Christopher was white, and
Ophelia was black. That in itself is
enough reason for shame. But in a
broad sense this racism has brought
about in the community a more tragic
attitude - indifference,” Doster wrote.
“The disease of racism has brought
about the cancer of indifference. In
difference is exhibited in the entire
community, both black and white, and
is characterized by an unwillingness
to become involved in the problem
and not contribute to its solution?’
Christopher was abducted Aug. 7
while playing at the boat launch in
Aroma Park, a smal 1 community where
he spent summer months living with
his mother.
investigators, divers, police dogs
and volunteers searched the Kankakee
River and a nearby park. Eight days
after the boy’s disappearance,his body
was discovered in a shallow grave. He
had been stabbed more than 40 times.
Chicago TV news crews traveled
70 miles to cover the story around the
clock, parking their trucks and huge
satellite dishes outside the courthouse.
“We have a community
that is numb and
accepting. We don’t
have to be accepting of
crime. ”
WILLIAM DOSTER
Kankakee police chief
There also was another stunning
part of Christopher’s tragedy: The al
leged kidnapper, Timothy Buss, had
served time for murder and was re
leased from prison two years ago.
Ophelia lived with her mother,
Regina Collins. The girl was reported
as a runaway March 28, a day before
her 13th birthday. A few days after she
disappeared, her body was discovered
in a burning garage in Kankakee. She
had been sexually assaulted and
stabbed, and her body had been set on
fire.
“The firefighters had only found
the body as they sifted through the
debris for additional hot spots,” Doster
said.
There have been no arrests while
police await results of tests on evi
dence. While the sheriffs department
was inundated with calls after
Christopher’s abduction, Doster said
he has not received any tips on
Ophelia’s killer.
“She had been telling people she
couldn’t stand it at home; there were
too many people in and out,” said
Ophelia’s grandmother, who lives 17
miles away in Hopkins Park and has
the same name. “She was going to run
a way to my house. She didn ’ t make it.”
Ophelia’s story didn’t make any
TV newscasts. The Daily Journal wrote
three brief stories about her death. On
the day the body’s identity was re
ported, the demise of Whitey, a blind
horse, got more ink.
The Associated Press has covered
Christopher’s case but did not report
on Ophelia’s.
Daily Journal news editor Raymond
Bachar acknowledged that his paper’s
coverage of the cases appears unbal
anced. But he 3aid Christopher’s dis
appearance had different elements,
such as a public search for the boy and
the alleged role of a convicted killer.
“I don’t think the paper has done
enough with many of those cases,” he
said, referring to black crime victims.
“Part of the problem is the paper. Part
is the community. We run into suspi
cion, possibly reverse bias, and the
syndrome of the closed mouth.
“We tend to become blase to prob
lems in the black community,” Bachar
said. “We tend to take them for
granted.”
Doster said attitudes throughout
Kankakee must change. He noted the
fatal shooting of a 23-year-old man
during a basketball game in July in
front of 400 people. A man was re
cently indicted, but only after one wit
ness was willing to step forward.
“Many people are just afraid,” said
the Rev. William Copeland of Morn
ing Star Baptist Church. “They figure
if they tell what they know sometimes,
it will be their own death.... But I’m in
total agreement with the chief.”
Doster said he will take his mes
sage to area churches.
“I’m prepared to hear people say
I’m not right,” he said. “But that’s the
way it plays to me right now. We have
a community that is numb and accept
ing. We don’t have to be accepting of
crime.”
Pete Wilson is latest GOP
presidential hopeful
NEW YORK—With the Statue of
Liberty as a backdrop, California Gov.
Pete Wilson formally entered the GOP
presidential race Monday with a dark
portrait of a federal government “out
of step, out of touch and out of con
trol.”
Wilson pledged to restore fairness
to a nation that he said has slipped into
decline since his immigrant grandpar
ents came from Ireland at the turn of
the century. He said he would keep
faith with Americans who “work hard,
pay their taxes and raise their children
to obey the law.”
Wilson sought to portray himself
as an activist governor who gets things
done while Republican rivals merely
debate the issues. He criticized affir
mative action programs and expan
sion of welfare - central themes, along
with crime, of his effort to tap into
voter anger and fear.
Wilson accused President Clinton
of blocking welfare reform and said
the president has waved a “white flag”
in the war on drugs and waffled on
foreign policy.
“He can’t balance our budget. He
can’t even secure our borders,” he
said.
wuson s campaign has been slow
to start, although he has announced
his candidacy in severaj formats to
reassure supporters that tie is in fact in
the race. Throat surgery and then state
budget talks this summer postponed
plans for a formal kickoff.
Although polls have shown him
running well behind front-runner Bob
Dole even in California, and faring
poorly in the field nationally, Wilson
on Monday noted he has come from
behind before in his long political
career. Last year he overcame a 23
point deficit to beat Democrat
Kathleen Brown for governor.
“I have every confidence we will
change this again,” he said.
The Statue of Liberty provided a
convenient prop for his crusade against
illegal immigration and his bid to un
dercut Dole’s perceived stranglehold
on New York. Dole has secured en
dorsements from virtually all of the
state’s significant GOP officeholders.
Wilson’s police officer grandfa
ther was killed by drug dealers, leav
ing his grandmottier to work as a maid,
Wilson said, but die was guided by
values that “are alive and well, maybe
not in the halls of government but in
the homes of Americans.”
Noting the Liberty statue’s famous
inscription-welcoming “your tired,
your poor, your huddled masses yearn
ing to breathe free,” Wilson said:
“The tired have escaped foreign
tyrants only to suffer the oppression
of federal tyrants.
“Too many of the poor have traded
poverty for welfare dependency,” and
today’s huddled masses are “impris
oned by the fear of violent crime.”
“The values that guided us for 200
years are under siege, and so is
America,” he said. “American opti
mism is being undermined by a fed
eral government that is out of step, out
of touch and out of control. It gives lip
service to our values but doesn’t’ seem
to share them.” v .»
Wilson’s announcement brought
criticism from his opponents, includ
ing former Tennessee Gov. Lamar
Alexander, who views Wilson’s entry
as a threat to his own plodding cam
paign. Alexander on Monday began
airing the first attack ad of the GOP
primary race.
GOP race for the
White House
Who's in on
the 1ddS
| presidential
race:
V*Gov. Pete Wilson, California;
annouooed hts
^Senate Majority leader Bob Dote:
Offidaly announced his candidacy - his
dirt—on Apr# IS.
Rap, Robert Doman, Cahfotnia: L
Officaly announced Ns candidacy on
San. Richard luger, Indiana; '
Offidaly announced his presidential 11 5
candidacy April 10
San. Arte) Specter, Pennsylvania: •'
Fafors abortion rights, announced March 30.
^ Aten Keyes: Mid-fewl Reagan '
administration State Department official
announced March 26.
■$t Ptt Buchanan: Conservative
: commentator who challenged Bush in the
1992 announced March 20 .
V* Former Tenneaaeo Gov. Lamar
Alexander:The Bush administration
education secretary formafly announced
Sou PM Gramm,T«k»; PormaHy '
annouooed Feb, 2*. /,
' ■ .* • . AP
Heat prompting early dismissal
in schools, exposure warnings
OMAHA—Humidity and tem
peratures soaring to around 100
prompted Omaha Public Schools
to release students early Monday,
and the National Weather Service
said neither man nor beast should
be outside.
The combination of humidity of
40 percent to 57 percent and tem
peratures approaching 100 pushed
neat indexes, or “feels-like” condi
tions, to 110 or higher across east
ern Nebraska by early Monday af
ternoon, forecasters said.
“I know the teachers sure are
trying to alleviate the discomfort
from the affects of the heat by giv
ing as many water breaks as pos
sible, allowing water bottles in class,
ice and turning off the lights during
the afternoon,” said OPS spokes
woman Stacie Thomas Hamel.'
Highs reached the 80s in the east
by 9 a.m. Monday, the weather ser
vice said. Offutt Air Force Base
reported 96 by 2 pjn., while Lin
coln and Falls City had 95. The heat
index reading was 112 at Offutt,
111 at Omaha and Falls City, and
110 at Ord and Lincoln.
The most-humid air was gener
ally east of a line from O’Neill to
Fairbury, the weather service said.
The weather service noted Sidney
had a temperature of 91 at 2 p.m.
but a heat index of only 95 with 26
percent humidity.
Chadron had a high of 104 on
Sunday, while Valentine had 102,
Fairbury 101 and Lincoln and
McCook 100.
The weather service said the hot
weather was expected to continue
through the week with highs mostly
Nebraskan
Editor J. Christopher Hain Night News Editors Mitch Sherman
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Brian Sharp Art Director
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Wire Editor Jamie Karl Production Manager Katherine Policky
Copy Desk Editor Tim Pearson Advertising Manager Amy Struthers
Sports Editor Jeff Griesch Asst. Advertising Manager Laura Wilson
Arts & Entertainment Editor Doug Kouma Publications Board Chairman Tim Hedegaard, 436-9222
Photo Director Travis Heying Professional Adviser Don Walton, 473-7301
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ALL MATERIAL COPYRIGHT 1995 DAILY NEBRASKAN
“Say for a player of285pounds, it ivould not
be unusual for him to lose eight to 10 pounds in
a single practice. ”
JERRY WEBER
Nil physical trainer
in the 90s.
Mrs. Hamel said the school sys
tem has 34 schools without air con
ditioning but because of concerns
for teacher and student equity, and
because of busing of students in the
district, all of OPS’s 43,700 stu
dents were released two hours early
Monday and would be again on
Tuesday.
Prolonged exposure to the con
ditions, combined with physical
activity, can cause heat exhaustion
and heat stroke, the weather service
warned. Forecasters said conditions
can put at risk the elderly, very
young, and people who are sick or
those with heart conditions. People
who were forced to work or be
outdoors were encouraged to drink
plenty of liquids and stay out of the
sun.
Jerry Weber, head physical
trainer for the defending national
champion Nebraska Comhuskers,
said Monday that the football team
and its training staff also had to take
precautions during the final few
practices before Thursday’s season
opener at Oklahoma State.
“The basic thing is you always
are concerned about with this heat
and humidity is the dehydration fac
tor,” he said. “Say for a player of
285 pounds, it would not be un
usual for him to lose eight to 10
pounds in a single practice. If they
lose that much weight, we try to get
them rehydrated over a period of 12
hours or so to get that weight back.”
Weber said cramping from loss
of liquid during practice is the big
gest problem. The Cornhuskers
have been taking additional water
breaks in the heat, he said..
The weather service also warned
pet owners and livestock operators .■
to watch their animals closely, pro
viding adequate water ahd shade to
combat the heat.
The hot weather was expected to
continue much of the week. A cool
front across Wyoming and South
Dakota provided a chance of scat
tered showers and thunderstorms in
Nebraska’s Panhandle and north
ern counties.
However, Tuesday was expected
to be mostly sunny and hot across
the state with highs in the mid-90s
to about 100 again. Wednesday was
to bring back a chance of thunder
storms but more highs of 90 to 95.
Lows Wednesday were expected to
be in the upper 50s to mid-60s in the
west and mid-60s to lower 70s in
the east.