ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Tuesday, October 22, 1996              TAG: 9610220085
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-1  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER

SUIT MAY DECIDE DEBT CLOCK'S FATE

A Roanoke organization is taking a stab at recovering what it calls a purloined national debt clock by going to court through an intermediary to seize the device off a downtown rooftop.

A lawsuit was filed Monday in Roanoke Circuit Court by Leonard and Betty Carr Muse, who claim the clock is theirs. The Muses said they would give the clock to the Roanoke area chapter of the Concord Coalition, a national organization that opposes federal budget overruns.

The target of the lawsuit is a legal entity, Marol L.C., and, more specifically, Roland "Spanky" Macher, on whose restaurant the inoperative lighted sign sits.

Macher has claimed the clock is his. He has called it an attention-getter for his business - a quirky accompaniment for his three rooftop statues of a waitress, soda jerk and Big Boy character.

In 13 terse paragraphs, the Muses' attorney spelled out their claim.

In 1993, John W. Hancock Jr., founder of Roanoke Electric Steel Corp., and George Cartledge Sr. of Roanoke, chairman of Grand Piano and Furniture Co., bought the debt clock and rented space for it on a building at Campbell Avenue and Jefferson Street that belonged to a Texas company. The clock tallied the national debt - what the federal government owes bondholders - in lights.

Hancock died March 3, 1994.

In the fall of that year, Macher bought the building, in which he opened the Star City Diner. The clock stayed on.

Last fall, Hancock's estate attorney ordered the clock turned off and signed over the device to the Concord Coalition. But Macher said the clock became his when he bought the building.

In response to Macher, the estate attorney put it in the name of Leonard Muse and his wife, who is Hancock's daughter, so they could file the suit.

The Muses contend Macher must honor a rental agreement clause that says the clock can be removed by its owner. Macher could not be reached Monday afternoon.

The Concord Coalition has said it would haul the clock on a trailer to its rallies and other events to help educate the public about the $5trillion debt. The Muses think that would be a good use of the device, Leonard Muse said, adding that the donation would not trigger a tax break for the Hancock estate or Hancock's heirs.

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