Banner Graphic, Volume 21, Number 69, Greencastle, Putnam County, 23 November 1990 — Page 3
Retail council sees so-so yuletide sales this year
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Indiana Retail Council is forecasting a so-so yuletide buying season for Hoosier retailers with the smallest annual sales increase in seven or eight years. Retailers will post revenue increases of 3 percent to 4 percent over a year ago, said trade group President Grant M. Monahan. That compares with increases of 5 percent to 7 percent in previous years and makes it the smallest annual rise since 1982 or 1983, he said this week. “IT COULD BE better. It could be worse,” said Monahan. The group represents about 600 retailers statewide. Ironically, retailers may see higher profits, said Richard A. Feinberg, director of Purdue University’s Retail Institute. Because of their concerns over the economy and the Persian Gulf, Feinberg said, retailers have implemented better cost controls that should give them higher profits per sale. Consumers with patience also should benefit, said Feinberg in commenting on an annual Christmas sales review conducted by Purdue and the retail council. “SALES AND promotions will mean good savings for consumers the closer we get to Christmas,” he said. “Therefore, consumers will find good bargains and retailers may make more money on only modest increases in sales from last year.” Andy Owczarek, senior vice president of Waccamaw.the housewares and home decor retailer, said many worried retailers have trimmed inven-
state
Attacker should be in prison: Victim
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) The man convicted of raping, robbing and leaving Dorothy Hendren for dead with her throat slit will go before the state parole board Nov. 27. Hendren is doing all she can to make sure he stays behind bars of the Indiana State Prison. “I COULDN’T REST if he were released,” she says. “I keep my doors locked all the time now. I’m afraid of what he would do if he could get out. He knows where I live.” Donald Lee Korn was convicted of rape, robbery and inflicting physical injury to Hendren Jan. 24, 1975, in her Jeffersonville home. Investigators said he grabbed Hendren from behind as she sat watching television, cut her throat three times, then raped and robbed her. Korn was sentenced to life plus 50 years imprisonment on the three counts but is now up for parole. Hendren, 70, who is circulating a petition against his release, says, “This will be the third time I’ve had to testify against him, and I’ll keep it up as long as I’m able.” HENDREN IS receiving support from a several sources, including local churches, police officers who worked on the case and Clark County Prosecutor Steve Stewart. Hendren said she feels she has dealt with the situation as well as Gov. Bay h’s press office is Bth in cost INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The $215,000 annual payroll of Gov. Evan Bayh’s press office makes it the nation’s eighth-largest, according to a recent survey of governors’ offices. New York ranks No. 1 in both payroll and staff size with 12 employees and a payroll of $593,148. The governor’s office in Virginia, whose population and size are close to Indiana’s, has a sixmember press operation, with a payroll of $184,000. BAYH’S OFFICE gained its high ranking partly because of the way the office is structured.
tories to lessen their exposure should sales turn sour. “A lot of people have pulled in their ... horns,” he said. But with Christmas sales accounting for anywhere from 30 percent to 70 percent of a retailer’s annual profits, the shops are wary ot overreacting to doom and gloom reports. AT LAZARUS, Mike Trafford, vice president in charge of the department store operator’s Indiana and Kentucky stores, said his shelves are fully stocked. He also hinted that Lazarus, whose parent company is bankrupt, won’t tolerate slowmoving merchandise this season. “We’ll take an aggressive stance on marking down goods that aren’t selling,” he said. Richard J. Wilson, senior vice president of Target Stores Inc., said he believes consumers will adjust their buying patterns given their perception of looming bad times. That will mean less business for retailers. “I THINK IT’S going to be a very difficult Christmas for most retailers,” said Wilson, whose discount chain has 31 store in Indiana. Because of the rise in fuel prices, Wilson said, consumers may dial down their thermostats this winter. For that reason, Target is laying in a big supply of sweaters. Many retailers are extending their hours until Christmas. H.H. Gregg, for instance, opens on weekdays at 8 a.m., two hours earlier than normal. To further prompt buyers, some retailers are offering to delay payments until January or February on big-ticket items.
she could over the years, but the nightmare still lingers. “I’m mad,” she said. “It has always been in the back of my mind.” Kom has affected more lives than just Hendren’s. Shortly after he was convicted for his attack on Hendren, he was tried and convicted for the. murder of a woman in Hamilton, Ohio. Hendren testified in that trial. KORN RECEIVED the death penalty in that case, but the sentence was overturned by an Ohio Supreme Court and reduced to life imprisonment. Former Jeffersonville Detective Ronald Kemp, who was the arresting and investigating officer in the local case, agrees that Kom should not be released. “I wouldn’t be opposed to any
S Greencastle I WYIECH Extension Center Classes Indiana Vocational Technical College will offer selected courses for Spring Semester at the Greencastle Extension Center beginning Monday, January 14,1991 through Friday, May 10,1991. Registration for the courses will be Tuesday, December 11 and Thursday, December 13,1990 from 5-7 p.m. in the Taylor Graphics Building at 1845 S. Bloomington Street. Fees are due at the time of registration. A financial aid advisor will be available Thursday only. It is anticipated that classes will be offered on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings depending on sufficient enrollment. The following classes will be offered: Number Section Course Credit Day Time SPRING SEMESTER 1991 SPC 101 Statistical Process Control 3 Tues. 6-9 p.m. SOC 102 Introduction to Psychology 3 Mon. 6-9 p.m. ENG 101 English Composition I 3 Thurs. 6-9 p.m. BUS 201 Principles of Management 3 Mon. 6-9 p.m. MAT 107 Math of Finance 3 Thurs. 6-9 p.m. BUS 102 Business Law 3 Wed. 6-9 p.m. INF 101 Introduction to Microcomputers 3 Mon. 6-9:40 p.m. INF 101 Introduction to Microcomputers 3 Tues. 6-9:40 p.m. INF 101 Introduction to Microcomputers 3 Wed. 6-9:40 p.m. INF 101 Introduction to Microcomputers 3 Thurs. 6-9:40 p.m. •ND 701 Computer Basics for 50 and over 2 Sat. 9-12 a.m. ACC 102 Accounting Principles II 3 Wed. 6-9:40 p.m. MKT 101 Principles of Marketing 3 Tues. 6-9 p.m. For further information call Lili High at 812-299-1121, ext. 228 or Charlotte Dorrell at 317-653-7410. Classes begin January 14,1991. PRACTICAL NURSING Applications are now being accepted for the Fall 1991 Practical Nursing Program. Interested persons should contact Lucy White, Greencastle Program Advisor at 317-653-7410.
Emotional nightmares continue for three Hoosiers who escaped Kuwait
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Three Indiana women freed from Saddam Hussein’s clutches are finding the emotional scars from their captivity in Kuwait and the prejudice that awaited them at home have been difficult to overcome. “The things I saw have sunk in deep. I watched as an Iraqi soldier stuck a rifle into the head of an older man and literally blew his brains all over the pavement His wife and children begged them to stop, but they didn’t listen,” said Debra Hoffer, 31, who currently lives with her parents in Fort Wayne. “I KEPT A JOURNAL in Kuwait, but it had to be destroyed. But even now, I keep a journal, never to be reread. If I get scared, I write it down. It’s a catharsis,” she said. Ms. Hoffer also fears for the safety of her husband, Kuwait native Abdul Latees Hashem, who remains trapped in Iraq. He is living “in a filthy hole,” afraid to lay his head down at night, she said. Ms. Hoffer is confident her husband will return to her unharmed, but she says she is frustrated that more Americans aren’t supporting the president in his actions against Saddam. KATHERINE BAKER said she, too, “has a day-to-day preoccupation with Kuwait” because so many of her friends are still there. Those close personal ties make it difficult for her to deal with the parochial attitudes some Americans have about the Middle East. “We keep ourselves so incredibly isolated. We’re part of a global society, and yet some feel we don’t have a responsibility outside the states. We do have a responsibility. I think Kuwait should be liberated as soon as possible,” said Ms. Baker, 37, formerly of Lafayette. Rene Hariri, 33, thought her life would return to normal when she was reunited in Indiana last month with the husband she’d been forced to leave behind in Kuwait. Although they lost everything by leaving the tiny Gulf state, she believed they could begin rebuilding their lives.
effort to keep him in prison,” Kemp said. “I don’t think anyone of normal behavior would want to see him back on the street.” KORN’S PAROLE hearing is scheduled at state prison in Michigan City. A decision is expected by Dec. 16. Hendren is asking for public support “to please sign a petition or write” if they oppose Korn’s release. Hendren indicated that refusal of parole could help her put the incident behind her for good. “I had kept all the newspaper clippings in my sister’s footlocker,” she explained. “About a month ago, I got them out. I thought it was as good a time as any to put it all behind me, so I just sat down and tore them all up. Now all this has happened.”
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BUT MAMOUN HARIRI, an American citizen of Palestinian descent, hasn’t been able to find a job as an attorney since returning. And Mrs. Hariri believes that’s because of American prejudice toward all Arabs. “Now that there is a backlash (because of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait) people don’t stop to consider which kind of an Arab you are, you’re simply an Arab,” she said. A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Hariri may be forced to take a job offer in Saudi Arabia. If he does accept, his wife and their three boys will remain without him in the United States, Mrs. Hariri said. For now, they continue to live with her parents in Delphi. MS. HOFFER IS trying to change negative attitudes by working with a Washington-based lobbying group called Citizens For A Free Kuwait, testifying before Congress and gathering signatures
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on petitions. Ms. Baker was working with support groups trying to help people who fled Kuwait, but she said she had to stop because it was “emotionally too draining.” “Most of the women (who sought help) had to leave their husbands behind. They had seen castrations and boys hanging from street lamps,” she said. “One woman had children who freaked out every time a door slammed.” WHAT MAKES IT difficult, she said, is that these women and children are supposed to forget what they had in Kuwait and to ask strangers for financial and emotional help. “They have no means of support, and they’re supposed to go to Catholic Relief and the Salvation Army. That’s incredible devastation,” Ms. Baker said. Both she and Ms. Hoffer say they’ve found it helpful to keep in contact with people who have shared their experiences.
OUR YEAR END FINAL
November 23,1990 THE BANNERGRAPHIC
“It’s really important to talk to people who can relate to the situation. It’s so easy to say, ‘Forget about it,’ and go on. But when you’ve lost everything ... you don’t forget,” Ms. Baker said. The toll on the children is just as great. MRS. HARIRI’S third son was bom in Kuwait just days before she escaped, but the two older boys are still dealing with the experience. “At first they were very skittish about noises. A train would go by and it would frighten them. They’d point out every time they’d see smoke. But they have calmed down. Now and then they say they’d like to go home now,” she said. Ms. Hoffer said that even her 1-year-old son was affected by the experience. “He always pretends he has a gun in his hand,” she said. “According to a child psychologist, he’ll forget. But who knows what remains in the subconscious?”
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