The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 2

Bloomington-Normal, III. April 10, 1976 Tree tale: tense moments, happy ending Pantagraph A-2 Jmmmh a V'Aww? -jfiw lwd sifTSp By James Keeran When Matt Jensen lined up at the door of his third grade classroom in Stevenson School, he was calm. He waited until the teacher said: "Okay. Have a good spring vacation." It was Friday afternoon, early still, and that morning he and the others in his school and in schools throughout Bloomington had been given a seedling tree. To Matt that was special.

He had a special place picked out for the tree in his front yard at 1312 Townley Drive. Matt Jensen didn't care much about Arbor Day really. He cared about the tree. It made little difference to him, if he realized it at all, that the tree he had was from the Bloomington Beau-tification Committee and that a lot of people had spent a lot of time getting the 4,400 seedlings ready to be distributed through the schools. Matt wanted to plant that tree in the front yard of his home in a small place surrounded by a few grape hyacinths in bloom.

It was where about two years ago another tree had stood, but had been moved. Matt Jensen wanted to fill that hole and as he left school by the back door, the short way to his home, he was in a running mood. He lives only about a block from that door and he wanted to be home, digging. He made the trip without a hitch. No after-school horseplay.

It was a straight shot to Townley, then a quick left and he was home, shovel in hand, foot poised above shovel. Then it happened. "Matthew," came the voice of the unmistakable older sister. "If you plant that there, you're going to be in trouble." Mom was at work. "Huh uh.

She said I could plant it there." The sister, Melissa, moved in. "She said she was gonna fill that up with grass." Mom, on the telephone, settled the difference. The seedling northern pin oak would be planted in the back yard, near a fence. Matt moved his gear and dug. Melissa did her best to keep the family dogs out of the way.

Matt succeeded. Melissa did not. Together they filled in the hole and Matt Jensen got a little help and some It was one of 4,400 given Bloomington Honnn hnnrl advice his sister' Melissa, after school children in an early observance "ff-'''y 'lUllU school Friday. He went directly home of National Arbor Day, which is really and planted the seedling he got in school. April 30.

Suspension in Normal nixed by liquor panel is: tmmmMlfimmmmmmm 8 -m Rick Finley, left, and John Salch and Qrrirtri caninnc other older cnildren helped sort, label OUy itrtrU My and bag seedlings Thursday night. (Pantagraph photos) The reversal was in the case of the National Wine Liquor Store, 711 N. Main. The Normal commission, which is "Oh," said Matt, resigned to the inevitable. No third grader was going to get away with just digging a hole and putting in a seedling.

That tree would get a proper start in life and even though it would be with the helping hands of an adult, Matt knew it would be his tree forever. And perhaps by the time the real Arbor Day arrives on April 30 the seeding would be firmly rooted and doing well in the yard. Mr' I IT it 4 v't The Normal Liquor Control Commission's first license suspension has been overturned by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission. Furry r'f nl IK r4 ') 4 VISltOr 'Nervous, hungry Moroa man wins big The Easter Bunny paid a visit Friday morning to the McLean County Association for Retarded Gtizens (MARC) Center, passing out packages of candy to Michele Leisure and Brian Riggs, amon9 mny others. The bunny and candy were provided by the Blooming-ton Elks Lodge.

The bunny also will visit three Twin City hospitals and two nursing homes next weekend. (Pantagraph photo) comprised of Normal City Council members, ruled Aug. 5 that store employes did not seek identification of a minor to whom beer was sold July 23. The automatic 30-day suspension was held in abeyance pending the outcome of the store owner's appeal to the state commission. The state commission ruled that the Normal commission "did not have sufficient legal grounds based on the facts before to suspend National's license.

In the case, the Normal commission heard testimony from four Normal policemen, four store employes and an 18-year-old girl, who testified that she was never asked for identification on any of the eight occasions she purchased beer from the store. Store employes testified that the girl was sold beer on July 23 under the assumption that she had been asked for identification on previous occasions. The girl was never charged. The commission issued a suspension notice earlier last year to another bar, but later dropped the suspension when two witnesses changed their stories, absolving the bar of any wrongdoing. Veterans to install officers, hear report The McLean County Barracks of Veterans of World War I will meet at 1 p.m.

Tuesday at Wood Hill Tower, South, to hear a report by Quartermaster John Swearingen and to elect and install officers. Swearingen's report concerns recent legislation affecting veterans. Joseph J. McGovern. past commander, will be on hand for the installation of officers.

The Ladies Auxiliary will serve a luncheon following the meeting. Charles Thomas Judge Davies defendant's conviction, and therefore the judgment of the circuit court is reversed and the cause is remanded for a new Appeal The Tazewell County state's attorney can appeal that ruling. The state's attorney can petition a higher court to reverse the ruling of the appellate court. Or the state's attorney can reinstate the charge and have a new trial. Tazewell County State's Atty.

C. Brett Bode said he doesn't know if charges against Thomas will be refiled in connection with the showing of "Deep Throat." The first trial had been a long and expensive one. It lasted a week, and money from county and state coffers to pay for the trial could hover near $10,000. -TV patted the seedling into place. Symbolically their Arbor Day had ended.

Melissa got a tree at school too, she said, but she was going to soak hers in water before planting it. "We're gonna hafta unplant that one and soak it too," she said, indicating the pin oak. "We are?" asked Matt, a note of genuine worry entering his voice. "That's what mom said." "When they told me, my legs were shaky. I was sick I swear, if I ever get another winning ticket I'll give it away," he said.

"I'll never go through that again." Thomas, a foreman at Revere Clinton, which manufactures copper tubing, said he had no special plans for his new wealth, but he intends "to go on a hunting trip to Alaska with my son in the next year or two." He said he had planned the Alaskan trip for several years but he could never afford it. "I was laid off for eight months last year and that" depleted the trip bankroll, he said. "I've always said I would never change even if I won a million dollars," he said. original goal in filing the charges-getting him out of the county. After the "Deep Throat" trial, Corsentino said, "Our office wasn't concerned with the morality of the films.

The purpose of the charges was to get him out of the county." In early 1974, Thomas had dozens of charges filed against him. They included 14 more charges of obscenity in connection with other films shown at his theater, and more than 50 charges of operating a theater without a license. The license-violation charges resulted after the city council revoked Thomas's theater license. That revocation came soon after Thomas shifted his film format to X-rated. The council objected to the X-rated films.

A court later ruled that Thomas's license was revoked unconstitutionally and the license-related charges were dropped. Legal problems resulting from his films have made him want to get out of Tazewell County. While he had served no time in jail and paid no fines, he has spent thousands of dollars for legal representation. Tuite is a prominent Chicago attorney, and while neither he nor Thomas would reveal how much Tuite has earned as a result of Thomas's problems, both said it was "a lot." But Thomas has made a lot of money showing his films. Ticket sales for "Deep Throat" brought in $40,000 during a week in November of 1973 at Thomas's theater.

During a nine-month period in Error by trial judge clears theater owner By Stephan Gleason MAROA A 46-year-old Maroa man, so nervous about his chances in the Illinois State Lottery's Super Shot Game that he has been unable to eat or sleep for four days, won the top prize of $100,000 Friday. L.C. Thomas won the prize, his first win, but was unable to attend the drawing in Chicago because "I was physically ill." His wife Flora and son Eric attended the drawing. "I told Eric that he was the captain and I knew he would win for me. And he did," Thomas said.

Thomas said he has been unable to eat or drink since Tuesday, when he found out he was eligible for the big drawing. Anlhony Patrick Corsentino Tuite And in a county where prosecutors have a steady docket of violent-crime cases, Corsentino said he spent about 30 eight-hour days just preparing the case for prosecution. The time and money were spent prosecuting a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and a year in jail. As a result of the conviction overturned, Thomas was sentenced to serve two months in jail and fined $1,000. Out of county Thomas hasn't served any of the time and hasn't paid the fine.

Unless a higher court reverses the decision of the appellate court, or unless he is retried and convicted, he won't serve the time or pay the fine. But the county may have achieved its Thomas plans to continue working at the night shift job, once he recovers from his "illness." Thomas, who has purchased $3 worth of tickets every week since the lottery started, said he will probably continue to buy them. But he hopes he doesn't win big again. Man reports theft A Lexington man reported the theft of a canoe, valued at $350, to McLean County sheriff's police Thursday. The canoe, belonging to Jeffrey Tracy, R.R.

2, was chained to a tree about 14 miles south of Lexington on the old Pleasant Hill Road. The theft occurred between Feb. 29 and April 4, he told police. 1973 and 1974 (not including the week of Deep Throat) ticket sales to X-rated movies brought Thomas $90,000. Still, Thomas said he wanted to get out of Delavan.

Not only had the films resulted in problems for him, they also affected other members of his family. His younger brother, a projectionist at the theater, and his younger sister, a ticket seller, were indicted by a grand jury and qharged with obscenity in connection with the showing of "Deep Throat." The brother and sister were acquitted during the same trial resulting in Thomas's conviction. After Thomas indicated he wanted to leave Tazewell County, Corsentino agreed to drop all pending obscenity charges against him if he would be out by a deadline. Thomas agreed to that, but wasn't out by the deadline. Whether the charges connected to "Deep Throat" are reinstated may depend on the speed Thomas does get out of the county and into a new theater he is having constructed in Peoria.

Larry Rodgers, a Greenview High School teacher, said he plans to rent the Del-Van Theater when Thomas moves out. "Right now, I am planning on being in there by July 1," he said. Rodgers said he will only show movies on weekends during the school year. And those films will be general-audience movies, he said. "I've talked to the Delavan city council about it," he said.

"The members seemed to be very pleased." By Rick Baker DELA VAN Charles Thomas isn't guilty of obscenity anymore. He was guilty of it for about 14 years. And he could be guilty of it again. But for now, the 34-year-old entrepreneur of X-rated films has a clean slate. In January of 1974, Thomas was convicted of obscenity for showing a film called "Deep Throat" in his small theater in the heart of this community of about 1,800 people.

It didn't take a jury long to find him guilty. An appellate court this week said that conviction was bad. The court's opinion said the judge in the trial, Carl O. Davies, made a basic procedural mistakehe failed to clearly tell the jury what obscenity was. And the opinion written by the pellate judges said remarks made by the prosecutor, Anthony Corsentino, during closing arguments were "inflammatory and inexcusable." The court cited Corsentino's reference to a psychiatrist who testified as "a nut." The psychiatrist, Dr.

Richard Green of Los Angeles, had testified there was redeeming social value in the film. Dr. Green, a professor at the University of Southern California, is considered an expert in the field of human sexual behavoir and he said the film appealed to a "healthy curiosity." Responding to Green's testimony, Corsentino said if value could be found in the film, value could be found in murder "because murder helps to quell the population explosion." The Third District Court of Appeals in Ottawa also took objection to Corsentino telling the jury that psychiatrists are "members of a profession responsible for letting murderers out of jail." The court said several other remarks made by Corsentino were unwarranted, had nothing to do with the case of Charles Thomas, and that the remarks may have contributed unjustly to the conviction of Thomas. 'Liar' Patrick Tuite, Thomas's attorney, made several objections during the closing argument. When Corsentino called Tuite a liar in front of the jury, Judge Davies admonished the prosecutor.

The appellate court opinion said it was apparent Corsentino's remarks were not inadvertent errors and that they were severely prejudicial to Thomas. At times while delivering his closing argument, Corsentino's voice had bordered upon shouting and the judge ordered him to lessen his volume. The court said Davies should have informed the jury that to convict Thomas, the jurors had to be convinced the state had proven the film's only purpose was to show sexual activity, that the film affronted community standards, and that it was without redeeming social value. The court's opinion said, "We cannot say that they (the judge's failure to inform the jury and Corsentino's' remarks) did not contribute to the.