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<br />~70 <br /> <br />TUESDAY <br /> <br />APRIL 23, 1974 <br /> <br />the view that such a curtailment would have the effect of cancelling the dance and <br /> <br />that his licensed business, as a dance hall operator, would be destroyed. Following <br /> <br />considerable discussion of the situation, during which the Chief of Police outlined <br /> <br />the problem of adequate police protection for such an affair, there was a unanimous <br /> <br />vote that Council not reverse the decision of the City Manager, and it was explained <br /> <br />to Mr. Stone that he may wish to discuss the situation further with the City Manager <br /> <br />to see if a compromise might result. <br /> <br />Councilman Hobson introduced the matter of public concern which has resulted from the <br /> <br />recent murder of two women, which double murder had occurred on West Fayette Street on <br /> <br />the early evening of March 17. And there followed a discussion of the general community <br /> <br />concern over such an incident and Mr. Hobson pointed out that there are rumors that one <br /> <br />or two other unsolved murder cases had had their origin within the City, even though the <br /> <br />bodies had been found in the County. Further, while expressing confidence in the Police <br /> <br />Department, Mr. Hobson wondered about the need of outside help, such as from Federal or <br /> <br />State agencies. Police Chief Gard went into some detail as to the tremendous investigative <br /> <br />effort which had been going on in the Police Department since the murders, made reference <br /> <br />to the rewards which had been offered by the City, by the family of the deceased women <br /> <br />and by an anonymous businessman in the City but strongly stressed that while the Police <br /> <br />have a very likely suspect it had not been thought to be wise to bring a charge until <br /> <br />more specific evidence is at hand, such as placing the suspect in the immediate area. <br /> <br />Further, the Chief of Police explained that so far, citizens had not come forth with <br /> <br />information, even though it was known that at least a few people were either eye witnesses <br /> <br />to the crime or had surely seen a car or a person leaving the scene of the crime. In <br /> <br />summary, the Chief's view was that unless more information comes from private citizens <br /> <br />there is little likelihood of solving the most recent crime, or other similar crimes <br /> <br />which may happen in the future. Council expressed its collective disappointment that <br />