For Crystaldawn: Devin Williams articles

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Paper: Wichita Eagle, The (KS)
Title: AREA BRIEFS
Author: Compiled from Eagle news services and staff reports
Date: May 16, 1997
Section: LOCAL & STATE
Page: 15A

ANDOVER

City Council sets hearing for taxable bond issue

A public hearing for the Flint Hills National Golf Course industrial revenue
bond issue is set for 7 p.m. May 27 at Andover City Building.If approved by the
City Council and the state Board of Tax Appeals, the $12 million in industrial
revenue bonds will be used by Devlin Enterprises of Wichita for construction of
the golf course. The golf course is part of the golf-residential community that
Devlin plans to develop.

Jeff Bridges, Andover city administrator, said the bonds can be used for design
and construction of the golf course as well as amenities such as flags, greens
and a clubhouse. The bonds cannot be used for the residential area.

HAYSVILLE

Holt ends 40-year career with school district

Wayne Holt, the assistant superintendent for personnel, and a teacher and
administrator in the Haysville schools for 40 years, is retiring at the end of
the year.

Holt was a teacher at Nelson and Rex elementary schools and principal at
Hemphill, Freeman, Nelson, and Rex elementaries. He has worked in the central
office for the last 15 years.

Also retiring this year will be Nelson Elementary Principal Mike Wolfe, two
teachers and a number of support staff.

WHITEWATER/POTWIN

Middle School proponents want to convince doubters

Undecided as to whether Remington needs a new middle school? There will be a
public meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Remington High School so lingering
questions can be answered.

On June 3, the district will ask voters for $4.45 million in bonds for a middle
school next to Remington High School. A similar bond was defeated last August
and again in November, but the last time by 12 votes.

DERBY

Derby Cinema to reopen today after week's closure

Derby Cinema, the oldest movie house in Derby, is reopening today after being
shut down one week due to a family illness. Bob Jones, who operates the cinema
with his wife, is reopening with an encore run of the Oscar-winning "The English
Patient."

CHENEY

Yacht club event will be chili cook-off this year

The Ninnescah Yacht Club is hosting a chili cook-off at 7 p.m. May 31 at the
Cheney Lake picnic area or, if it rains, at the shelter house. The entry fee for
chili cooking teams is $10.

Chili tasting kits will be sold for $2 each. Participants can vote for their
favorite chili. Chili tasting begins at 7 p.m. and the awards presentation is at
9 p.m.

For more information call 684-8005.

WELLINGTON

Junior Miss Wheat Queen contestants being sought

Contestants are being sought for this year's Junior Miss Wheat Queen Pageant to
be held July 5. Entrants must be girls at least 5 years old and no older than 16
on June 21 and must be residents of Sumner County.

Entry forms are available at the Wellington Area Chamber of Commerce, 107 S.
Washington. Forms must be completed and returned along with the $15 entry fee to
the Chamber office by 5 p.m. on June 13.

If necessary, a preliminary competition will be held June 21.

WICHITA

Salvation Army honors two for community service

The Salvation Army in Wichita presented its annual William F. Booth Award to
Louis Earle, Salvation Army board, for his contributions to the community and to
the Army.

Renee Zimmerman, who was senior vice president of research, allocations and
community resources for United Way of the Plains for 13 years before joining
Raytheon Aircraft Co. in August 1996, received the Army's Others Award, for
community service.

The awards were presented during the Army's annual civic luncheon, held
Wednesday at Century II.

Teen accused of putting poison in co-worker's pop

A 16-year-old girl is accused of trying to poison a co-worker after an argument
at a fast-food restaurant, said Wichita police Lt. Ken Landwehr.

Police are not releasing the names of the two girls because they are juveniles.

The two were working at Arby's at 21st and Amidon on Wednesday night when a
17-year-old employee noticed what she thought was drain cleaner in the soda she
was drinking, Landwehr said.

She and the other teen had been arguing before the incident, Landwehr said, but
he didn't know why. Police were testing the soda to see what chemicals it
contained.

The 17-year-old was at a Wichita hospital, and the 16-year-old had not been
arrested or charged with a crime, Landwehr said Thursday.

ELSEWHERE IN KANSAS

Governor signs bill making pyramid schemes a felony

TOPEKA - Promoting pyramid schemes - such as high-stakes chain letters - became
a felony Thursday when Gov. Bill Graves signed a bill designed to deter people
from participating in such schemes.

David Brant, state securities commissioner, said that since October, more than
1,000 Kansans from 27 counties have participated in a cash pyramid investment
scheme known as "People Helping People" or "Friends Helping Friends."

Most of the activity was in the Wichita area and in Anderson, Barton, Crawford,
Coffey, Pawnee and Reno counties. Brant said participants were told the scheme
was legal and tax free, which it is not.

Body found near Peabody identified as KC woman

The body of a woman found last month by highway workers in Marion County has
been identified.

The Sheriff's Department identified the woman as Meeghan M. Goldsmith, 36, of
the Kansas City, Mo., area.

The investigation into how she died is still under way.

Kansas Department of Transportation workers found the woman's body April 15 in a
ditch about 2 1/2 miles east of Peabody on U.S. Highway 50. There were no
gunshot or other wounds to the body, which was found inside a bag.

Skull identified as that of truck driver from Americus

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - A skull found at the bottom of the Mogollon Rim in eastern
Arizona has been identified as that of a Kansas trucker. The Gila County
Sheriff's Department said Wednesday that dental records showed the man was Devin
Williams, 28, of Americus, north of Emporia.

Williams' semi-tractor became stuck in the woods about 20 miles from Arizona
Route 87 two years ago. He last had been seen a quarter mile north of Mogollon
Rim Road.

His skull was found in the area on May 2. Details as to how he died were
unavailable.

Graves supports keeping strong tobacco laws

TOPEKA - Gov. Bill Graves vetoed on Thursday a bill that inadvertently
eliminated penalties imposed a year ago on those who illegally sell cigarettes
and other tobacco products to minors. It is only the second bill passed during
the 1997 session that Graves has vetoed, and he said he doesn't envision vetoing
any others.

The bill was intended to soften penalties imposed by the 1996 Legislature on
those who illegally sell tobacco products to children under 18. It provided for
graduated fines of $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second conviction and $150
for a third conviction.

The intent was to convert the penalties from criminal penalties to civil fines,
but lawmakers mistakenly eliminated the penalties altogether.

Lawrence rape not tied to Johnson County attacks

LAWRENCE - A rape Sunday in Lawrence was not linked to attacks in Johnson
County, police said.

Authorities in Lawrence had talked to Shawnee and Lenexa police after a man with
a gun abducted a University of Kansas student outside a residence hall and raped
her Sunday night. The rape had similarities to three attacks in Johnson County.

But detectives decided Wednesday that the attacks were not linked.

Doctor charged with assault after incident on airplane

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Thomas Black, 59, a Prairie Village doctor, is accused of
slapping a passenger during an altercation on an airplane and faces a federal
misdemeanor assault charge.

His attorney said he will plead innocent, and Black said in a written statement
that the incident had been misrepresented. A court affidavit said these events
led to the disturbance on a Delta Air Lines flight from Kansas City to Atlanta
on April 4:

A 34-year-old woman from Grandview, Mo., was a passenger in the coach section,
and went to the bathroom in first class to change her son's diaper because the
rest room in coach was blocked.

Five minutes later, a man began kicking the door. She opened it and told him
what she was doing. He told her she should be using the rest room in coach,
"where you paid. You don't belong up here." They swore at each other, and the
man slapped the woman and used a racial slur as she tried to leave the rest
room. She then swung at him.

The co-pilot had to leave his post to calm the two passengers.

Graves will announce 1998 plans later this year

TOPEKA - Gov. Bill Graves said on Thursday that he will make a formal
announcement late this summer or early this fall on whether he will seek
re-election in 1998. However, he acknowledged, "I enjoy what I'm doing."

Graves, a Republican, won a convincing victory over Democrat Jim Slattery in the
1994 governor's race. But he has angered some conservatives in his own party
with his positions in favor of legal abortion and a veto of a bill that would
have licensed Kansans to carry concealed weapons.

Graves said told reporters during a news conference, "I don't probably foresee
the circumstances where I'm not running again."

Foreign television crew working on documentary

COTTONWOOD FALLS - A French television crew has spent the last several days in
the Cottonwood Falls area working on a documentary about writer Truman Capote.

Capote and Cottonwood Falls are not commonly mentioned in the same breath, but
local residents said the crew thinks the town and region offer settings it wants
for portions of its documentary on the author whose works include "In Cold
Blood," his book based on the murders of the Herb Clutter family of Holcomb in
the late 1950s.

Mayo Clinic's CEO to speak in Hays on May 23

HAYS - Robert Waller, president and chief executive of the Mayo Clinic, will be
the keynote speaker for the two-day ground-breaking celebration for the Hays
Medical Center expansion. Waller will speak at 10:30 a.m. May 23 at Beach
Schmidt Performing Arts Center in Hays.

Ground will be broken at 8:30 a.m. May 24 for the new Regional Referral,
Ambulatory Care Complex and Medical Pavilion of the medical center. It is phase
two of the expansion project that began in January with ground-breaking for the
Hays Cancer Center.



Author: Compiled from Eagle news services and staff reports
Section: LOCAL & STATE
Page: 15A

Copyright (c) 1997 The Wichita Eagle

****************************************************

Paper: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Title: UFO believers say lecherous aliens making some really close encounters
Author: Mark Shaffer
Date: August 18, 1996
Section: NEWS
Page: 12

PHOENIX - They came from outer space 20 years ago and hauled poor ol' Travis
Walton away from the piney woods of the Mogollon Rim for five days.

Now, they're back, say some who study unidentified flying objects. This time,
they landed only about 10 miles, as the UFO flies, from where phenomenon
followers say Walton was beamed up by a blue light and later immortalized in the
1993 movie Fire in the Sky.In the latest incident, last year, Devin Williams was
hauling an 18-wheeler full of lettuce and strawberries from Los Angeles to
Kansas on Interstate 40 in northern Arizona when something strange, and perhaps
tragic, happened to him.

Williams veered off the interstate at Winslow and sped 40 miles down Arizona
Highway 87 to the Blue Ridge Ranger Station. He barreled another 15 miles down a
rough Forest Service dirt road, at times menacingly circling campers or running
other motorists off the road, before getting stuck in mud near the edge of the
Rim.

He got out of the truck, got down on his knees and started talking to a tree.

Later, he waved a $20 bill wildly in the air and threw rocks at people who
tried to approach him. He pointed to a rock and said he was about to start a
fire with it.

But it wasn't as much what he did as what he said later that got UFO
enthusiasts all excited.

One man approached Williams and asked him about his bizarre conduct.

"He said, `They made me do it,' " said Bruce Cornish, a Coconino County
deputy sheriff, adding that Williams didn't explain who "they" were.

Then, the 28-year-old truck driver disappeared, leaving behind his semi and
two things he was said to never part with: a police scanner and his favorite
hat.

He hasn't been seen for 14 months.

Some speculate that he lost his way while wandering in the woods and died of
exposure. But that's not the type of scenario that has really loosened lips in
Rim country.

More unworldly explanations have circled about Williams, just as they have
about Walton, a Snowflake resident who wrote about his 1975 experiences with
alien creatures in a book later made into the movie. Walton said the aliens took
him away for almost a week before dropping him off near a telephone booth in
Heber.

"This is really kind of a curious incident," Walton said about Williams'
disappearance. "Of course, we've been having all kinds of weird things up here.

"Three different people told me they saw a big, orange object hit the ground
right before that big forest fire started over near Pinedale last month."

In other words: a spaceship crash. The Forest Service blamed a lightning
strike for starting the 1,800-acre Cottonwood fire.

But Charlie Green of Tucson, who says he speaks with more than a modicum of
authority after having 16 "alien encounters" during the past 55 years, sees a
lot of similarities between the Williams and Walton cases.

"The whole crazy thing seems to tie in to what happened to Travis {Walton},
but the thing that baffles me is that they always bring their victims back
within a reasonable time," said Green, a Tucson insurance salesman and a member
of a Texas group called the Mutual UFO Network.

Not that Green doesn't see a reason for aliens to take Williams away for a
while. There is a reason, and it has to do with the birds and the bees, he said.

"He's the right age. This all has to do with pure ol' semen," Green said.

"They take the semen from the males and the ovaries from females, and mix it
with alien juice to make a half-breed.

"But I still don't understand why he wasn't brought back."

Tom Taylor of Tempe, state director of the UFO network, says he understands.
That's because he said Williams was never taken by little green men.

"We had someone research this thoroughly, and that was the conclusion," he
said. "Just because he said `they' doesn't mean `they aliens.' "

Then, what happened to Williams?

Taylor said, "Only the gods know."

Author: Mark Shaffer
Section: NEWS
Page: 12

Copyright 1996 STAR-TELEGRAM INC.

****************************************************

Paper: Watertown Daily Times (NY)
Title: MISSING MAN SAID VICTIM OF A UFO< DISAPPEARANCE SPARKS TALEARIZONA
REPUBLIC
Date: July 28, 1996
Section: National News
Page: A2

They came from outer space 20 years ago and hauled poor ol' Travis Walton away
from the pine woods of the Mogollon Rim for five days.

Now, they're back, say some who study unidentified flying objects. This time,
they landed only about 10 miles, as the UFO flies, from where phenomenon
followers say Walton was beamed up by a blue light and immortalized in the 1993
movie "Fire in the Sky."In the latest incident, last year, Devin Williams was
hauling an 18-wheeler full of lettuce and strawberries from Los Angeles to
Kansas on Interstate 40 in Arizona when something strange, and perhaps tragic,
happened to him.

Williams veered off the interstate at Winslow and sped 40 miles down Arizona
Highway 87 to the Blue Ridge Ranger Station. Then, he barreled another 15 miles
down a Forest Service dirt road, at times menacingly circling campers or running
other motorists off the road, before getting stuck in mud near the edge of the
Rim.

He got out of the truck, got on his knees and started talking to a tree.

Later, he waved a $20 bill wildly in the air and threw rocks at people who tried
to approach him. He pointed to a rock and said he was about to start a fire with
it.

But it wasn't as much what he did as what he said later that got UFO enthusiasts
all excited.

One man approached Williams and asked him about his bizarre conduct.

"He said, "THEY made me do it,"' said Bruce Cornish, a Coconino County deputy
sheriff, adding that Williams didn't say who "they" were.

Then, the 28-year-old truck driver disappeared, leaving behind his semi and two
things he was said to never part with: a police scanner and his favorite hat.

He hasn't been seen for 14 months.

Some speculate that he lost his way while wandering in the woods and died of
exposure. But that's not the scenario that has really loosened lips in Rim
country.

Rather, more unworldly explanations have circled about Williams, just as they
have about Walton, a Snowflake resident who wrote about his 1975 experiences
with alien creatures in a book later made into the movie. Walton said the aliens
took him away for almost a week before dropping him off near a phone booth in
Heber.

"This is really kind of a curious incident," Walton said about Williams's
disappearance. "Of course, we've been having all kinds of weird things up here.

"Three different people told me they saw a big, orange object hit the ground
right before that big forest fire started over near Pinedale last month."

In other words: a spaceship crash. The Forest Service blamed a lightning strike
for the fire.

But Charlie Green of Tucson, who says he's had 16 "alien encounters" during the
past 55 years, sees a lot of similarities between the Williams and Walton cases.

"The whole crazy thing seems to tie in to what happened to Travis (Walton), but
what baffles me is that they always bring their victims back within a reasonable
time," said Green, a Tucson member of the Mutual UFO Network.



Section: National News
Page: A2

Copyright (c) 1996 Watertown Daily Times

****************************************************
Paper: The Kansas City Star
Title: Around Kansas City
Date: June 6, 1995
Section: METROPOLITAN
Page: B2

MISSING TRUCKER Search for man called off FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The search for a
Kansas man last seen hauling produce in Arizona was called off Monday after an
unsuccessful weekend, authorities said. Devin Williams, 28, was scheduled to
arrive in Kansas City May 29. His truck was found deserted Thursday in the Buck
Springs area, about 45 miles southeast of Flagstaff, said Detective Bruce
Cornish of the Coconino County Sheriff's Department.

Williams, a driver with Flint Transportation in Emporia, had last checked in
with his company May 27 and was reported missing by his wife three days later.

MISSISSIPPI RIVER Barge traffic resumes

ST. LOUIS - The Mississippi River north of St. Louis is reopen to some barge
traffic, now that river levels have dropped from the spring flood.

U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Chris Otto said Lock and Dam 27 at Granite
City, Ill., was reopened Monday, allowing towboats to begin moving some of the
1,000 barges stranded by the flood at St. Louis.

Only smaller barges are allowed to travel, Otto said.

The river remains closed to barge traffic south of St. Louis because river
levels there are still well over flood stage at many cities. The flooded
Illinois and Ohio rivers continue to dump large amounts of water into the
Mississippi.

The Missouri River remains closed south of Kansas City. No timetable has
been set for reopening the Missouri.

MISSION Woman robbed at knifepoint

A 23-year-old Mission woman was robbed at knifepoint this weekend as she entered
her apartment.

The woman was not injured in the robbery, which occurred about 9:50 p.m.
Saturday in the apartment complex at 6565 Foxridge Drive.

The woman told police she had just opened her apartment door when a man
suddenly appeared, threatened her with a knife and demanded her money and
jewelry.

The robber also stole a laptop computer, said a police spokeswoman.

Section: METROPOLITAN
Page: B2

Copyright 1995 The Kansas City Star Co.

****************************************************

Paper: Wichita Eagle, The (KS)
Title: SEARCH FOR KANSAS TRUCKER IN ARIZONA IS CALLED OFF
Author: Compiled from Eagle news services and staff reports
Date: June 6, 1995
Section: CITY AND STATE
Page: 3D

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. The search for a Kansas man last seen hauling produce in
Arizona was called off Monday after an unsuccessful weekend search, authorities
said.

Devin Williams, 28, was scheduled to arrive in Kansas City on May 29 but was
last seen in northern Arizona by campers, said Det. Bruce Cornish of the
Coconino County Sheriff's Department.Authorities found his truck stuck in the
mud in the Buck Springs area, about 45 miles southeast of Flagstaff. It has
since been towed by Flint Transportation in Emporia, where Williams worked.

Authorities don't suspect foul play, Cornish said. They have ended the search
until they receive more leads as to Williams' whereabouts.



Author: Compiled from Eagle news services and staff reports
Section: CITY AND STATE
Page: 3D

Copyright (c) 1995 The Wichita Eagle

****************************************************

Paper: The Arizona Daily Star
Title: Kan. trucker who left his rig is still missing
Author: Associated Press
Date: June 4, 1995
Section: METRO/REGION
Page: 5B

Authorities yesterday still were unable to determine what happened to a Kansas
trucker who drove his produce-laden rig into a remote area and apparently
abandoned it.Devin Williams, 28, of Americus, Kan., was to have arrived in
Kansas City early last Monday but was reported missing late that day after he
failed to show up.

Williams, who drove for Flint Hills Transportation of Emporia, Kan., was seen in
Kingman on Arizona's western edge earlier. He last checked in with his company
on Saturday.

The refrigerated truck, loaded with salad mix and strawberries, was found stuck
in the mud in the Buck Springs area off Arizona Highway 87, about 45 miles
southeast of Flagstaff, but there was no sign of Williams. The truck was towed
to Flagstaff on Thursday.

``I can't imagine why anyone would have driven there,'' said Sheriff's Detective
Bruce Cornish. ``It's such a remote area. It certainly isn't a shortcut to
Kansas City.''

Authorities said Williams was seen near his truck last Sunday by several
campers.

They told sheriff's deputies they asked Williams why he drove the truck into the
area and that he pointed at the truck and said ``I didn't do it, they did it.''
Then, he walked back to his truck, the family said.

An ice chest, food and a sleeping bag had been left in the truck, authorities
said. They said the load was intact.

Author: Associated Press
Section: METRO/REGION
Page: 5B

Copyright 1995, 1999 The Arizona Daily Star

****************************************************

Paper: Wichita Eagle, The (KS)
Title: ARIZONA POLICE LOOK FOR KANSAS TRUCKER
Author: Associated Press
Date: June 3, 1995
Section: CITY AND STATE
Page: 2D

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. Authorities on Friday were searching for a Kansas man last
seen driving a lettuce truck that was found deserted in a wooded area near this
northern Arizona city.

Devin Williams, 28, a driver for Flint Transportation in Emporia, Kan., was
scheduled to arrive in Kansas City, Kan., early Monday after picking up a load
of salad mix and strawberries in California.He last checked in with his trucking
company Saturday, and his wife reported him missing late Monday, authorities
said.

Bruce Cornish, a Coconino County Sheriff's Department detective, said the truck
had been traveling down Arizona 87, then turned off and traveled about 20 miles
into a wooded camping area. It then turned onto a small path, going only about a
mile before getting stuck in the mud.

A family camping in the area reported seeing Williams near his truck Sunday.
They told authorities they asked him why he had driven the truck down the path.
''They were told that he didn't do it, but that the others had done it. Then the
driver went back to his truck," Cornish said.

The truck was found stuck in the mud in the Buck Springs area, about 45 miles
southeast of Flagstaff and was towed to the sheriff's department Thursday.

An ice chest, food and a sleeping bag had been left in the truck, authorities
said.



Author: Associated Press
Section: CITY AND STATE
Page: 2D

Copyright (c) 1995 The Wichita Eagle

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[crystaldawn]

Yes it seems the only articles that can be found on him have to do with people thinking he was abducted by aliens. I am curious as to if they were able to determine a cause of death. My guess would be he died from exposure.

[Rayroy]

I'm thinking he might have bumped his head really badly and had a concussion then died after he wandered into the forest. Either that or something medically made him flip. Maybe someone drugged him.