Ukiah Daily Journal from Ukiah, California • Page 1

Tuesday, March 6,1979 ITSth Year No. 272 Ukiah Dailq 4 Uklah, AAendocIno County, California WEATHER Mostly fair through tonight hut occasional high clouds night morning hours. Warmer days. Fort Bragg Ukiah SOTS. 16 Cents Co.

wants GP hearings reopened By NANCY STENSON Journal Staff Writer Mendocino County wants to reopen the General Plan lawsuit hearings to duck possible conflicting court orders. County Counsel John Drummond Monday afternoon asked that hearings in suits filed by the state attorney general and a group of Eden Valley Ranch subdivision opponents be reopened March 16 in Mendocinp County Superior Court. Drummong would then argue thai 178 sub dividers trapped under the late December General Plan subdivision moratorium be joined as "indispensable parties" to the Unless this request is granted, Drummond BATTLEGROUND The Mendocino County Social building on Main Street in Ukiah was Dennis Denny's base of operations in his war with Temple pastor Jim Jones. Denny said he had a double agent feeding him information on Temple activities. Journal photo by Kalkman.

Jones vs Denny: Welfare's 'internal securities' By ERIC KRUEGER Journal Staff Writer Copyright )f79 Uklah Daily Journal (Third in a series of six articles) Paranoia or legitimate fear? Mendocino County Social Services Director Dennis Denny said he was not going to let Peoples Temple members and would-be traitors sabotage his operation. To prevent people from tampering with welfare payments, records or cases, the department had "internal securities," he said. "We have many, many securities. Those were put in place the first six months that I was here." Of his department's security system ranking among the best available, Denny said: "We think it speaks for itself." Describing his position, Denny said, "You live in constant fear of somebody stealing from you of doing things to cases. So you put in systems that counteract that.

I put a great deal of energy and time into those systems of protections, possibly more so than maybe a lot of people." One part of the system was to make sure temple members on the department's staff had nothing to do with licensing foster and residential care homes for the elderly, since other temple members ran such homes in Ukiah and Redwood Valley. A licensed home got public assistance money for taking care of elderly clients or foster children. The core of the system, according to Denny, was what might be called the vertical structure of case review within the department. Simply: people watching people watching people. "Never in my ten years here have we ever had anyone inside who committed a fraud," said-a confident Denny.

Such a "tight system" is possible, he said, because the department is much smaller than its San Francisco or Los Angeles counterparts which he said are just too big for tight security. Eight "edits" form the front line against welfare fraud from within or without in Mendocino County Social Services. An edit is a review. It is counter-manipulation. Denny described the department's eight, compartmentalized edits as follows: Eklit an eligiblity worker gets a welfare applicant's case and determines whether the person qualifies for aid.

Edit two a supervisor double-checks the applicant's eligibility. Edit three a continuing eligibility worker takes over the case, so that it doesn't return to the first eligibility worker when the time comes to decide whether the person can stay on welfare. Edit four a second supervisor looRs for mistakes and irregularities in the continuing eligibility worker's caseload. Ekiit five state and federal auditors. Edit six the department's quality control person scrutinizes sample cases to make sure edits one through five weren't fouled by accident or purposely.

Edit seven an account clerk tracks the money flow to aid recipients. Edit eight the program manager, who runs the system under Denny, reviews any case at any time. Said Denny, "We were relatively convinced here that because of our eight edits we were as secure as we possibly could be." Denny said he brought the fraud detection system with him from Orange County. "That's my baby, and that's my management style." Of course, how much fraud gets past the department totally unnoticed is anybody's guess. Said Denny, "What gets by us is always an unknown.

But that which we prosecute, is about three percent of what we investigate of our entire caseload at any time. And what we convict is less than one percent." He said Mendocino County's fraud rate is "pretty comparable" to other California counties and lower than metropolitan areas where "street-wise" people view the welfare system as easy prey and try to cheat it. Denny said he warned temple members on his staff not to tamper with or fabricate cases in attempts to funnel money to the temple. In the world of espionage, a double agent masquerades as a spy for a nation while actually working for its enemy. One of history's most famous doubles, Kim Philby, spent more than 20 years as the second highest officer in British intelligence but was in fact an agent for the Soviets.

Now that's big league. Denny thought big. Sp did Jones. (Cont'd on Page 2) 'BJ, shooting series here By ERIC KRUEGER Journal Staff Writer A band of video gypsies is camped in The 85-member cast and crew of Universal Studios' television series "B.J. and the Bear" is shooting here until Sunday.

Asked why he picked Ukiah, Unit Production Manager David Mentier said the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds was "just for the 60- minute segment he had to shoot. Other locations include the Lu-Ann Motel, an Orr Springs Road mission church and a yet-to-be found cliff the crew can push a motorcycle off. Mentier said his scouts may take a look at Squaw Rock. Meanwhile, the show about a "h-eelance" trucker, B.J., and his chimpanzee sidekick, the Bear, will spend most of its time at the fair grounds, filming interiors, crowd scenes and stimts like a ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jump burning hoops, scheduled for Wednesday if all goes well. According to the script, B.J., a Vietnam veteran who considers his truck "home" and who travels wherever a load to haul, hires out to a carnival.

He quickly gets entangled in the lives of the owner, who owes money to "bad guys," Jand the owner's daughter, an aspiring stuntwoman. The finale a massive chase and, a parachute-rigged bike plunging off a cliff. Production Assistant Lois Taggart said B.J.'s champanzee sidekick, the Bear, is named after University of Alabama football coaching great Paul "Bear" Bryant, The series, which started filming Jan- 2, airs 9 p.m. Saturdays on NBC. The production unit, said Taggart, shoots each episode in seven days and only two weeks head of broadcast schedule (meaning the segment in fnmt of the cameras here should air in late March).

Taggart'said the unit goes wherever it can find locations. Vfhere is the camera-laden caravan going next? "We don't know," she said. The scouts are hunting for new backdrops. Wednesday's motorcycle stunt scene could use up to 1,000 extras, according to Mentier, who seeks unpaid volunteers and is willing to make donations to church and civic organizations supplying people. Although saying his budget is "a lot," Mentier declined to give figures.

His purse, nonetheless, must he sizeable if just because the four-year-old chimp named Sam, who plays Bear, has a four- year-old, female stand-in named Oopsie. The series is "holding its own" in the ratings war, according to Taggart, who said it's captured a 30 percent share of the audience, "good for a mid-season show." Twenty-five-year-old Greg Ejvigan the truck-driving lead, with Chris Nyby and Glen Larson as executive producer. Larson's other producing include "Battlestar and 'Hardy Boys said he fears suits against the county demanding it perform its ministerial duties and process subdivision applications would create havoc. "The county could be caught between two conflicting lawsuits," said Drummond. "We would rather the subdividers be given a chance to speak in this lawsuit," he added.

The county counsel said he previously requested the subdividers be joined to the suit, but that the "judge denied our request in all those cases." Drummond made the request in his answer and complaint, oral arguments, points and authority and motion for reconsideration. Now he will argue that "if the approximately 178 subdividers who have already obtained tentative map approval from the county, and spent substantial sums in completing their subdivisions, bring a lawsuit independent of this lawsuit, it's conceivable they may be successful in obtaining a writ of mandate to compel the county to grant final approval of their subdivision." Drummond further would argue that "if this happens, the county would then be subject to two inconsistent court orders, one preventing the county from approving the subdivision and another compelling the county to approve the subdivision." By joining the subdividers as indispensable parties to the lawsuit, Drummond said the subdividers "would have no basis of a further lawsuit against the county." Zan Henson, the state deputy attorney general who prosecuted the county for General Plan inadequacies, would be able to argue against the county's indispensable parties request. Henson was not available for comment before press time, however. According to Dan Garvin, county planning director, there are 28 major subdivisions pending and 130 minor subdivisions. All have tentative subdivision map approval.

County Superior Court Judge John Ciolden, who heard the case, granted four hardship exemptions from the subdivision moratorium. The judge refused, however, to hear a hardship exemption request from Jack Farmer when Farmer skirted the county and brought his request directly to the court. Golden ruled Farmer lacked standing, that he was not a party to the suit. Meanwhile, Jared Carter, a local attorney, is bringing suit against the county on behalf of his client, Lee McGraw. He is asking the county be forced to perform its "ministerial duties" so McGraw can make needed improvements to qualify his subdivision for final map approval.

Carter said today that he is "pleased to hear of Drummond's move to reopen the hearings. I am gratified he is doing that." He said courts.previously have taken the stand that a case should not be decided when people affected by that case are not joined to it. A preliminary injunction, made permanent Feb. 23, bars the county from approving any subdivison maps, parcel maps, rezonings or certificates of compliance until General Plan inadequacies are corrected. AG: County can't forbid spraying of herbicides State Attorney General George Deukmejian has said that neither the county nor county voters can ban the application of phenoxy herbicides in an opinion released last Friday.

The attorney general said the matter is governed exclusively under the provisions of the state Food and Agriculture code and related statutes and regulations. Additionally, the attorney general said the matter appears to be pre-empted by federal law as far as local agencies of the state are concerned. This opinion, requested by County (Counsel John Drummond, was expected to be presented duping the herbicide Initiative hearing scheduled at 2 today In the county supervisors' chambers. A Mendocino County group opposed to the aerial application of phenoxy herbicides 2, 4, 5 -T and sllvex led a successful petition drive for an Initiative banning the herbicide usage. The petitions were expected to be presented to the supervisors this afternoon for certificatioh.

The board would then be asked to set an election or enact an ordinance banning the spraying. The Environmental Protection Agency last week ordered the emergency suspension of 2,4, 5- and silvex while it studies evidence that there is an apparent correlation between spraying and an incidence of human miscarriages. from the desk By Jim Garner With more meetings scheduled than one cares to attend, the flap over the General Plan continues to heat up. Early this morning, representatives of the Taxpayers Land Use Committee provided documentation that tends to show the number oi building permits issued since the December moratorium has increased. At a noon meeting Monday, the Mendocino County Improvement Committee heard men in the construction field express grave concern about the future if the moratorium Isn't lifted.

Hundreds have signed Tlmm AUred's petition asking the attorney general to withdraw the lawsuit that triggered the moratorium. The board of supervisors have scheduled next Monday a public meeting concerning an appeal to the Office of Planning and Research for moratoritun relief. And the ayerage citizen continues to wonder aloud "what in hell is going on?" An aroused citizenry is apparently what we have. After years of litigation involving practically every development, plus a (X)n8tantcry that the GP is inadequate, the sifpervlsors find themselveb between the (H-overbial rock and the hard place. The "it's them against us" situation Is upon the county.

We might suggest that before bbth sides work themselves into total frenzy and spend untold thousands of dollars promoting their viewpoint, it could be the Ideal time for all concerned to simmer down, meet Jointly, encourage honest debate and dialogue and help resolve this most serious problem. This newspaper has advocated the immediate need tor the compiling of a GP that simply takes the guesswork and the politics out of the picture, There is the intelligence and certainly the concern of enough people to see that this gets done. This county doesn't have to face the future with trepidation. Proper planning right now will accomplish what Is needed to Insure the valley will not be paved wall-to-wall. And also that 12-foot high fences don't surround it to stop a growth that Is Inevitable.

In brief Vietnam agrees to peace talks BANGKOK, ThaUand (UP!) Vietnam agreed tonight to hold peace talks with China if Peking carries out its promised withdrawal of troops immediately, totally and without conditions. But Hanoi said China still was building up its invasion force. A Vietnamese foreign ministry statement broadcast by Radio Hanoi announced Hanoi's conditional agreement to negotiations. But it warned that if the Chinese do not pull out, "Vietnam will mobilize the whole country to attack." City council meets tomorrow The Ukiah City Council meets Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers, 111 W.

Church St. Agenda items Include: ANNEXATION of annexation policies; specifically, the Vineyard View-Las Casas annexation. Developer Bobby Kennedy anked for coimcil direction on the matter. PLANNING COMMISSION Consideration of appohitments to the city commission. The council has received 20 appUcations for two vacant commission seats.

Weather Ebctended forecast Thursday through Saturday: Fair and dry with unseasonaUy warm days. Patchy low cloiudB and fog along the coaat nights and motiings; Temperatures averaging 4 to 8 degrecjs above normal. Highs in the 60s near coast to the 70s inland valleys. Lows in the 40 to low SOS at low elevations. March.

1979 March, HVni Date HI Lo Dale HI Lo 73 44 St 61 46 II a.m. Today LowTodigf 67 4S' Raliimm.