Copyright 1990 Gannett Company, Inc.
USA TODAY
August 7, 1990, Tuesday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 3A
LENGTH: 813 words
HEADLINE: Minn. city disinfecting against Legionnaires
BYLINE: Paul Leavitt; Jay Tokasz; Gale Holland
BODY:
Health officials in Mankato, Minn., said Sunday that they had taken measures to contain an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease that has killed one person and sickened 22 since July 22. Six people remain hospitalized.
The disinfection of 25 cooling towers throughout the community is expected to stop the spread of bacteria. But there may be more cases in the next 10 days "because of the incubation period," said Jane Schwickert, an infection-control nurse. The flu-like disease, fatal in 5% to 15% of cases, is transmitted in water droplets in the air, often through air conditioning. Test results on water samples from the towers are expected in two weeks. Cooling towers at Chambersburg (Pa.) Hospital also were suspected as the source of a Legionnaires' outbreak that killed three last month. -- Jay Tokasz
TROPICAL WEATHER: The remnants of what was Hurricane Erin will move into the Atlantic today after drenching the mid-Atlantic states and ending a month-long heat wave there. The storm killed at least four people and caused more than $ 360 million in damage as it lashed Florida and Alabama last week. Meanwhile forecasters are keeping their eyes on a tropical depression off Mexico City and a tropical wave in the western Caribbean. Either could develop into a tropical storm.
CONGRESSMAN'S TRIAL: Beverly Heard, jailed since July 26 for refusing to testify at the Chicago trial of Rep. Mel Reynolds, D-Ill., has changed her mind. Heard, 19, last year accused Reynolds of having sex with her when she was 16. She later recanted. She has been granted immunity from prosecution for everything except lying when she takes the witness stand today. Reynolds, 43, is charged with sexual assault, sexual abuse and obstruction of justice.
DAUGHTER SLAIN: Therressa Ritchie, who sparked a massive, five-day search by telling police in Dayton, Ohio, that her daugher, Samantha, 4, had disappeared, was charged Friday with involuntary manslaughter. The girl's body was found July 23. Authorities said she died of head injuries. Police say neighbor Ernest Brooks, 43, was an accomplice. He is accused of evidence tampering and corpse abuse. No motive was given. Ritchie, 24, pleaded innocent.
'URBAN APATHY' KILLING: Winston Moseley, seeking a new trial in the famed 1964 New York "urban apathy" killing of Kitty Genovese, says he's the real victim. Parole board transcripts show Moseley, who also has acknowledged killing two other women, says the suffering of his victims was only "a one-minute affair; but for the person who's caught, it's forever." Genovese was stabbed 15 times outside her apartment in Queens as 38 neighbors heard her screams but didn't call police. Moseley, 61, is serving a life sentence. He says his first lawyer was ineffective.
TOOTHPASTE THIEF: Autopsy results are pending in the death of a man who police say was wrestled to the ground Saturday by employees of Albertson's food store in Delray Beach, Fla. William Alexander, 33, was suspected of stealing toothpaste and a toothbrush. He began fighting with employees and was unconscious when police arrived. No charges have been filed. The investigation is continuing.
BOMB INVESTIGATION: No one has claimed responsibility for a bomb blast that destroyed U.S. Forest Ranger Guy Pence's van at his home in Carson City, Nev. No one was injured. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., blamed the Friday explosion on "extremist elements" in the states' rights movement. A bomb damaged Pence's office four months ago.
CRIME PAYS LITTLE: A thief who filched $ 100 from a Buffalo woman's wallet taken from a filing cabinet missed the real loot. The discarded wallet contained a state lottery ticket worth $ 2,500. Police said the woman knew her ticket had won and was relieved it was still in the wallet.
More DNA doubt in Simpson trial
Microbiologist John Gerdes, testifying for O.J. Simpson's defense, today is expected to continue his attack on the prosecution's crucial DNA test results.
Gerdes says tests linking Simpson to the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman are invalid because the evidence was contaminated by the Los Angeles police crime laboratory.
Friday, prosecutor Rockne Harmon said a new DNA test may show Simpson's blood was mixed with Goldman's in Simpson's Bronco. Judge Lance Ito said he'll rule soon whether that test is too late to be presented. -- Gale Holland Contributing: Gary Fields, Carrie Dowling and Jeannine Lee.
GRAPHIC: GRAPHIC, b/w, USA TODAY (Map); PHOTO, b/w, William Wilson Lewis, III, AP; PHOTO, b/w, Lee Celano