The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 2

tarn w- I 1 i 4 Business Back Page ThermoView Industries a Louisville window and door company, announced plans to expand its operations into Phoenix and San Francisco. Tuesday, June 6, 2CCC Regional briefs Louisville news Weather Deaths Bob Hill is on vacation B2 B4 B4 B6 Editor: Gideon Gil Phone: 582-4657 Fax: 582-4200 www.courier-journal.com iEnrUll 1 1 -fl 11 Hf 1X7 Madison judge refuses to seal affidavit, warrant clerk received a faxed copy of the flier. Authorities subpoenaed BellSouth records of phone calls to the fax number in the Richmond City Hall and determined that the fax was sent from Womack's home. As many as nine police officers swarmed Womack's home and spent hours going through it looking for anything associated with the fliers. See SEARCH Page 5, col.

1, this section Smith and Robbins contended that releasing the information would jeopardize the investigation. Walson noted that the document did not reveal confidential informants, give away any "secret, cutting-edge investigative tools or reveal the names of additional suspects." His ruling forced the Madison District Court clerk to release the records. According to the affidavit, Eolice focused on Womack's ome after the Richmond city computers, software, documents and newspaper clippings. Officials at first refused to release the search warrant and affidavit and sought to have them sealed after The Courier Journal requested them Wednesday. But yesterday, District Judge Jeffrey Walson refused the request of Madison Commonwealth's Attorney Thomas Smith and County Attorney Marc Robbins to seal the rec-.

seen a search warrant for a Class Misdemeanor, but we don't know if there is another crime they're looking at." The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $250 fine. The search warrant doesn't indicate that any other charges are being considered, but Smith's motion to seal the file said the investigation could result in felony charges. Smith declined to comment yesterday. ords. The case has raised questions about the right to free speech even if crude or distasteful.

Louisville defense lawyer Thomas Clay yesterday said that police may obtain a search warrant in investigating the offense of harassing communications but that it seems unusual. "This is a Class misdemeanor. It's kind of like going fly hunting with an elephant gun," he said. "I have never their recent search of a Madison County man's home on an allegation of harassing communications, a misdemeanor, an affidavit released yesterday indicated. The affidavit filed with the search warrant stated that the investigation by Richmond police is related to fliers posted throughout the city in late April.

Police entered the home of Steve Womack on May 24 and seized several items, including By JOSEPH GERTH The Courier-Journal RICHMOND, Ky. City police investigating a flier that contained crude accusations against local officials based TTT1 Murder-suicide may be linked to depression I 4. Dynamite is found on car in Franklin Man arrested after incident near courthouse Associated Press 1 'jj 1 4i Jt Jefferson police say stroke patient killed wife, self 4 V. A. 'j PHOTOS BY KEITH WILLIAMS, THE COURIER-JOURNAL Interactions of a newborn giraffe and her mother as well as those with two other female giraffes at the Louisville Zoo are being studied for clues to the infrasonic language of the animals, on frequencies too low for humans to hear.

Giraffe researcher doesn't talk to the animals, but she listens FRANKLIN, Ky. A man was arrested yesterday after the discovery of a stick of dynamite strapped atop a car parked near the Simpson County Courthouse led to the evacuation of homes and businesses. Albert Mike Hunter, 29, of Franklin was charged with burglary, possession of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a destructive device, according to a state police news release. Hunter was being held in the Warren County Jail. Simpson County Sheriff Joe Palma said Miller had not provided a possible motive.

Authorities evacuated homes and businesses within two blocks of the courthouse after a sheriff's deputy found the dynamite attached to the trunk of an old Lincoln Town Car around 7:20 a.m. There were no reports of injuries. The deputy contacted state police, and the agency's bomb squad neutralized the dynamite. Around 1:30 p.m., the vehicle was removed from the downtown square where the courthouse is located, and residents were allowed to return to their homes. A state police dispatcher could not confirm that the car belonged to Hunter.

State police and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms found more explosives at a rural location as a result of their investigation, the state police statement said. rZTTT jls By CHRIS POYNTER The Courier-Journal Franz and Maria Roebbert immigrated to the United States from Germany 40 years ago to build a better life and escape their country's disastrous postwar economy. They raised two children, owned a produce company and lived in a tidy one-story brick house in Lyndon. But yesterday morning exactly five months after suffering a stroke that left him dependent on others Franz Roebbert shot and killed his 74-year-old wife with a small-caliber handgun.

The 67-year-old then called 911, telling authorities his wife was dead. Before an ambulance arrived, he turned the gun on himself. Jefferson County police found his body in the kitchen and his wife's body in a hallway several feet away. Police found a handgun in the house. Each died of a single gunshot wound in the head, said Allan Terry, Jefferson County deputy corner.

Authorities found a note, apparently written by Franz Roebbert, which described his illness and depression. It also contained funeral arrangements. "It was very short and to the point," Terry said. The murder-suicide stunned the Roebberts' friends and neighbors. And according to Cynthia McCurren, it shed light on the degree to which depression can affect the elderly.

McCurren, an associate nursing professor at the University of Louisville and a registered nurse, has studied depression among seniors. "I think sometimes as you get older, you feel more vulnerable," McCurren said. "The sudden loss of physical health and independence could affect any one of us, regardless of our age. It especially impacts the elderly. "As we get older, you want to feel like you can still handle things." McCurren said doctors and other professionals sometimes overlook the effects of depression and instead concentrate on physical ailments, like high blood pressure.

McCurren said it's sometimes difficult to tell if depression is the sole reason for murder-suicides or if elderly couples have mm 'a I ip4 II I Franz Roebbert told a friend that he and his wife, Maria, lived on "pills, pills, pills." deeper problems. According to a 1994 study by the National Center for Health Statistics, people over 65 composed 12.5 percent of the population but committed 20 percent of all suicides. Friends, neighbors and police said there was no evidence of domestic problems between the Roebberts. The couple's two children live out of state and could not be reach for comment yesterday. The Roebberts came to Louisville in 1960 when Clarence Mayfield, then-owner of May-field's Produce Co.

on Jennings Road, offered Franz Roebbert a job and helped him get into the country. Mayfield nad heard through a friend about Franz Roebbert's wish to come to the United States. Roebbert worked his way up from clerk to manager to co-owner before retiring five years ago. The Roebberts were among several immigrant families who came to Louisville after World War II, seeking a better life and a good environment in which to raise a family. Franz Roebbert foreshadowed his murder-suicide plans Sunday night, when he spoke to neighbors and long-time friends Lyle and Marge Talbot.

"He said, 'I don't know what's going to happen to your neighbors. All we do is live on pills, pills, pills, pills, Lyle Talbot recalled yesterday. Talbot said after Franz Roebbert's stroke on Feb. 5, he was depressed and felt as though he could no longer support his wife. "When he first came home from the hospital, I think he had some hope of recovering more fully," Talbot said.

"And I kept trying to remind him to be positive." Roebbert was doing well. He could walk and taft, Talbot See MURDER-SUICIDE Page 5, col. 6, this section i) By JAMES BRUGGERS The Courier-Journal What does one giraffe say to another? The equivalent of "Hide," when it sees a lion? "Food," when another finds a tree full of scrumptious leaves? Or "Here I am," when a mother calls her baby? These are only speculations, said animal keeper Stacy Lester of the Louisville Zoo. But a study by Lester and her research partners in North Carolina could shed new light on giraffe communication. Work in 1997 by Elizabeth von Muggenthaler and others at the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro found that giraffes vocalize through infrasonic sound, or at frequencies lower than the human ear can detect.

Now, von Muggenthaler is working with Lester to show a relationship between these sounds and the interactions of a newborn giraffe and her mother as well as those with two other female giraffes at the Louisville Zoo. Put another way, the researchers are seeking proof of a sort of giraffe language. "Humans equate language 1 -v. if Often before sunrise and on her own time, animal keeper Stacy Lester sets up video and sound recording equipment in the zoo's giraffe barn and takes notes. with intelligence," Lester said.

"Perhaps this study will make people look at giraffe differently. They may see they're not just dumb animals standing around chewing their cuds." The study began May 6, when a Masai giraffe named Mariah gave birth to a 5-foot-9-inch, 100-pound calf. The mother stands nearly 16 feet tall and weighs 1,200 pounds. Early in the morning, often before sunrise and on her own time, Lester sets up video and sound recording equipment in the zoo's giraffe barn, turns the machinery on and starts taking notes. Because of the earlier work by von Muggenthaler, Lester watches carefully for times when the giraffes will stretch or twist their necks.

This is when the infrasonic sound has sometimes been detected. Later, Lester sends the video and sound recordings to von Muggenthaler for analysis. Besides working at the North Carolina Zoo, she is president of Fauna Corn-See GIRAFFE Page 5, col. 1, this section ASSOCIATED PRESS Kentucky State Police explosive specialists looked in the trunk of a car parked in Franklin that had had a stick of dynamite attached to it. New logging rules will take effect next month v1 'mi 4 Laws aim to protect water quality State officials are visiting loggers to make sure they understand the new laws before inspections begin next month.

laws before inspections begin next month. Earl Tackett, an independent logger, told Anderson he believes the real problem will be between landowners and loggers, not loggers and the state. He said he fears landowners, many of them absentee owners, will find loggers willing to skirt the law in order to make money, and honest loggers will not be able to get contracts. His co-worker, Phillip Clark, agreed. "We have to deal with pressures from landowners and them too," Clark said pointing at Anderson.

Anderson said he empathizes with the loggers. Calling state officials before the land is logged can eliminate some problems, Anderson said. "If you run into any problems with landowners wanting everything cut by the creek, that's what we're here for," Anderson said. Landowners need to be educated about sustainable logging methods, Begley said. Instead of clear-cutting a forest for quick cash, the same forest can be logged many times, she said.

"Using selected cutting, they'd nave an income for years to come," Begley said. In 1995, the most recent year for which figures are available, the state had $2.7 billion in sales from timber and timber products, said Diana Olszowy, a Division of Forestry spokeswoman. So far, 2,500 of the state's 7,000 to 8,000 loggers have become certified master loggers, she said. cept those using only horses or mules) to have a certified master logger on site. The law also says "best management practices" must be used so that sediment from logging doesn't foul waterways.

The laws, which environmentalists describe as weak, only restrict logging near streams, and not the method of logging or how much is cut. Loggers learn environmentally friendly logging methods at master logger classes. If a master logger is not on site or severe environmental damage is done, an inspector can shut down an operation, Anderson said. Environmentalists say loggers can easily avoid inspectors because the industry's lobbyists succeeded in blocking any attempt to re- By KIMBERLY HEFL1NG Associated Press MOREHEAD, Ky. The Kentucky Forest Conservation Act is almost a misnomer.

It has more to do with conserving lakes and streams than with saving trees. "It actually has nothing to do with the forest itself, state Forest Ranger Dwayne Anderson, who will be enforcing the law, said in an interview. "It's water quality." The new laws, which go into effect July 15, require all logging operations (ex quire loggers to file a notice of intent to cut trees. Coal companies must get permits to mine. But logging inspectors from the state Division of Forestry will not know a logging operation exists unless they come across it or it is reported by a citizen.

"Especially back here in the mountains, you could have an entire plot logged out without them even knowing it," said Malvery Begley, a London-based member of the environmen tal group Kentuckians For The Commonwealth. "The new law just doesn't have any teeth in it." Anderson arrived at a 100-acre logging site recently on Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rowan County. With a regulation booklet in hand, he discussed the new laws with four independent loggers. It was one of several visits Anderson and other Division of Forestry officials have made to ensure loggers understand the new ASSOCIATED PRESS Phillip Clark, a Morehead logger, measured a log to be cut last week. He said loggers have to deal with pressures from landowners and the state..