CUB REPORTER
NABS MURDERER

By Kathy Romita

Chloe Sullivan, editor of the Smallville High School newspaper, The Torch, tracked down a suspect in a 32-year-old Seattle murder. Sullivan was interviewing Mrs. Taylor, a Smallville High teacher who was voted "teacher of the year" by her students. Somehow, Sullivan was able to get Taylor to admit that the educator was leading a double life. Taylor confessed that her real name is MaryAnne Lewis and that she was part of a '70s radical organization, the Synergistic Liberation Army based in San Francisco, linked to the murder of a bank guard in Seattle. She swears the death was an accident and that the group was only trying to make a statement when it planted explosives outside of a Seattle bank. One of the guards came to work early that morning and the bomb exploded, killing the man. Taylor/Lewis admits that she was one of the drivers and never intended to kill anyone.

Sullivan was stunned by the confession. Even though she admired Taylor's skills as a teacher, Sullivan felt obligated to print the story. Sullivan said, "I am all for the truth. I think Mrs. Taylor just couldn't keep her lie any longer and needed to confess. I provided the perfect forum for that confession. I know many of her students are upset with me for running the story. I just hope they realize I've always worked hard to tell them the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts."

Interestingly, Sullivan did not call the authorities. Sheriff Adams was alerted to the revelation by reading a copy of the newspaper [The Torch] lying on a table in The Talon. Adams recounted, "I just went in for my daily java jolt and saw the headline 'Exclusive: Beloved Teacher or Fugitive Murderer?' and that caught my attention right quick. I made a few phone calls to Seattle and to my new friends at the FBI. Since the bombing took place at a bank, the feds rushed in and arrested her. Of course, I helped."

Taylor/Lewis is married to Dr. Rupert Taylor, a Smallville dentist. Dr. Taylor was apparently unaware of his wife's past life. Taylor/Lewis took on a new identity soon after the bank bombing. She met her husband more than 20 years ago during "Career Day" when she was teaching at Bludhaven High and the dentist was a speaker. The couple have one child, William, a Smallville High School student.

Late-Breaking News: Upon hearing of his mother's arrest, William Taylor allegedly attacked reporter Chloe Sullivan on Coughlin Bridge by attempting to push her car off the bridge with his truck. Both Taylor and Sullivan were rushed by ambulance to Smallville Medical Center. Sullivan has been released. Taylor suffered a concussion. He will be transferred to Belle Reve when he recovers.

For more on Ms. Sullivan, you can view the go-getting young journalist's series of documentaries. They outline her theories on the dangers of our town.

AOL Broadband users can view them here.
All others, can view them here.

PROSECUTION ACCEPTS JAMISON PLEA

Puppeteer Still Unknown

By George "The Streak" Talmer

Metropolis District Attorney Bobby Adamson confirmed reports that Donovan Jamison has agreed to plead guilty to lesser criminal charges. Jamison will reportedly pay $1 million in fines.

Adamson would not comment on why a plea bargain was offered to Jamison. Rick Lewinson of Metropolis University School of Law speculates, "The defense probably realized the case was pretty strong against them, the publicity behind the case was too intense and they figured it better to cut their losses financially rather than risk jail time."

The $1 million punishment amounts to the approximate sum Jamison would earn, per year, from his executive pension. "For a man of Jamison's net worth, this really isn't a lot of money, and he should be very pleased with the prosecution's willingness to accept," commented Liz Lee, a law professor at Central Kansas A&M.

The real question now is what will Jamison do next? After being promptly voted out as CEO of Nu-Corp Energy upon his indictment, Jamison is now an unemployed scientific genius--albeit a very wealthy one.
"This is not the last we'll hear of Donovan, I can assure you of that," stated Constantine Hardy of Physics Today magazine. "Jamison is just too determined an individual to go into retirement and stay dormant."

Many were upset that the trial ended before Jamison and the defense were able to elaborate in court on their contention that someone was setting him up on these charges. "The Puppeteer" that Jamison often referred to is still unidentified, and now that a deal has been cut, some observers are speculating that the mysterious figure was nothing but a ploy on Jamison's part.

To read more about the Donovan Jamison story, see this archived Smallville Ledger article: JAMISON TO CUT DEAL BEFORE VERDICT?

WHAT IS GOING ON AT
PLANT NO. 3?
By Christopher James Beppo

Standing outside LuthorCorp Fertilizer Plant No. 3 the other night, illuminated only by the flashing lights atop her cruiser, Sheriff Nancy Adams looked baffled.

Many adjectives have been used to describe the woman who tries her best to keep the peace in Smallville, but until now, "baffled," "perplexed" and "befuddled" could rarely be applied to her demeanor. A fourth attitude--"annoyed"--which she also prominently displayed at that moment, was much more familiar, however.

The sheriff was one of several dozen people milling about in front of the plant after alarms emptied the building of its skeleton night crew and automatically summoned Adams.

"Why can't anything be easy in Smallville?" sighed Adams rhetorically, closing her notepad with frustration. "Middle of the night, I get called out here about an intruder, but when I try to get in, some military grunt starts lecturing me about jurisdiction. It's a freakin' factory, for crap's sake, what the hell is the U.S. Army doing here?"

According to the sheriff, at approximately 1:30 a.m., a person or persons somehow gained unauthorized access to Plant No. 3 and triggered an alarm. The
facility's private security team was unable to apprehend the trespasser, but nothing was reported stolen or damaged. Still, Adams hardly seemed satisfied by the situation.

"Now I know why Sheriff Waid went bonkers with this town," continued Adams. "Yes, fertilizer chemicals can be dangerous in the wrong hands, but isn't it kind of overkill to have 25 HAZ-MAT guys and a platoon of armed soldiers on standby during the graveyard shift? This was probably just some kid sneaking around on a dare, not a federal case."

In the absence of former plant manager Gabe Sullivan, no one was present for an official statement, and neither Lex Luthor nor Lionel Luthor could be reached for comment.

Here is this week's entry from the Ezra Small Project. Further information may be found in the Ezra Small House section of http://www.smallville.net.

ryp gjop rywr d fpwoi, ryp fpqq rywr d ciju. iptpo ryjsayr d ujsfn uwir rj qfju njui. bsqr ljesq ji efjsnq di hfsp qcdpq. whjtp wff ryp owdi, ryp qsi qydipq. ledger IV:A:23:vi, 26:i, 27:iv, 27:v, 28:ii, 42:iv, 44:i, 57:ii, 57:iii, 63:ii, 64:vi, 65:i, 66:ii, 69:v, 78:ii, 78:iii, 79:i, 79:ii, 86:iv, 90:iii, B:4:iv, 4:v, 10:ii, 12:ii, 13:iii, 17:i, 20:iii, 22:v, 42:i, 42:v, 42:vii, 44:i, 52:vii, 59:viii.

LUTHORCORP MARKS
15 YEARS IN SMALLVILLE

By Frank Moore

Back in 1989, an Iron Curtain still divided Europe, Janet Jackson's "Miss You Much" topped the charts and Smallville had yet to declare itself the meteor capital of the world. The Crows were having another winning season, The Talon was a rundown movie theater and old-fashioned farming powered the modest local economy.

And then everything changed with a single pen stroke as Lionel Luthor signed the contract that completed his purchase of the Ross Creamed Corn Factory. The property was soon transformed into LuthorCorp Fertilizer Plant No. 3, leading to the creation of thousands of jobs and unprecedented prosperity in this once-sleepy rural town.
Now as the 15th anniversary of LuthorCorp's triumphant arrival in Smallville approaches, the time is right to look back at the inspiring life and career of the man who made it all possible.

Descended from ancient Scottish nobility, Lionel Luthor received an all-American upbringing in Metropolis, where his immigrant father Lachlan instilled in him the ethics that would become the hallmark of the Luthor clan.
"From his first job at a tiny print shop to his current role as CEO of the Midwest's largest conglomerate, Mr. Luthor has been driven by one thing: the will to succeed, no matter who or what is standing in his way," said Mitchell Taylor, LuthorCorp's chief spokesman.

But while Lionel's professional life has been a steady climb to the heights of power, his private life has endured its share of tragedies. His second son, Julian, died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), a fatal illness that has no treatment, symptoms or cure.

Then his beloved wife, Lillian, succumbed after a brave battle with cancer, leaving Lionel to raise his firstborn, Lex, alone. In more recent years, Lex would come close to a premature end when a plane crash left him stranded on a Caribbean island.

"Out of respect to his late wife and son, Mr. Luthor prefers not to comment on the sadder events in his life," Taylor said. "But rest assured, they are never far from his thoughts."

One can only wonder if those experiences are also behind Lionel's history of charitable contributions. Not content to merely count his billions, this titan of industry has given to such diverse causes as the conservatorship of the Kawatche caves, the donation of new computers for the Smallville High journalism program and the funding of scientific research at local universities. He's also created a scholarship, in Julian's name, for students interested in business at Excelsior Academy, the elite New England boarding school that Lex attended.

Speaking of his eldest son, Lionel has watched Lex followed in his footsteps, taking charge of Fertilizer Plant No. 3, investing in the refurbishment of The Talon and serving as his father's closest executive adviser.

"Although Mr. Luthor is too humble to acknowledge this anniversary with a public ceremony, rest assured that Smallville has been far more than another investment for him," said his spokesman. "He looks forward to being involved with this town for a long time to come."