Valley News from Van Nuys, California • Page 1

TODAY'S VMIIY WIATHi Parti? rfW4y rtUt with klight Hiffc tempcratuvi Mar 7f. APGD tefitettat irom NORTH VALLEY EDITION 144 PAGES and GREEN SHEET Established 1911 VOL 62-rNO. 127 HOME DELIVERY BY CARRIER THURS- MONTHLY THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1973 Mo Addr C8 9U08 340-0560 342-6T01 786-7111 lOc Copy Official Says Better Traffic Flow Needed Improved Air Qualify Also a Must, City Engineer Asserts at Hearing A combination of programs 'to 'I improve both mobility arid air quality will be needed to avoid the gasoline rationing in metropolitan Los Angeles suggested by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to City Engineer Don Tillman. Tillman presented his eight-point plan to city's Board of Environmental Quality Commissioners this Week in a public hearing designed to help formulate the" city's position on alternatives ts gasoline rationing; Cite Factors in his plan woulcl be- 'the completion of the system to provide'" continuity; imp ement of surface streets; encouraging improvement in all forms of mass transit systems, and development of peripheral parking systems in the central city area. Also needed, he said, would.be encouragement of bicycling, staggering of work hours and car pools, and the implementation of separate vehicular and pe- "jfo bhe'thihg is the Tillman said, arguing number of created the smog problem.

than a dozen speakers the board, representing private environmentalist agencies and private citizens in'ithe hearings. Actual EPA "hearings for i March. The EPA announced in January the Los Angeles area would need gasoline rationing and resulting reduction in vehicle miles traveled of more than to meet federal air quality standards. i ssioners will meet in a special meeting at 9:30 a.m. today at City Hall.

Chris Dal Dahlstrom, customer services manager for the Southern California Rapid Transit. District, told, gas rationing could lead to a big increase in the number, of buses operated in the metropolitan area. He said if vehicles in use were reduced 1 by the number of buses in operation in the area would have to be increased from the present 2000 to 8000 or 10,000. Sees Reduction "I'm sure this increase Ln- i fuel-burning buses isn't quite what the EPA administrator (William Ruckelshaus) had in mind," Dahlstrom said. However, he said he believes a substantial reduction 'of photochemical-6x1- datits, or smog, would Dahlstrora said the standard RTD bus carries 51 passengers, compared to the average number of 1.2 passengers carried nationally per automobile.

"Therefore, our present 1600 buses are the equivalent of about 75,000 automobiles which at any i time would be Continue! on Page 39 Rocks Area; $1 Million Measured at 5.75 PILES of deodorant and inpools of water on floor, gaping holes in oeiliritg highlighted scene at Disco Fair department store in Oxnard yes- The News photo terday. Earthquake broke main line of store's sprinkler systertr-and buckled frame of false ceiling. Damage to main structure was reported minor. Man Released in Case oi Supervisors Girl Friend Who Vanished Study Rapid INSPIRED BY ANNAPOLIS A Gleridale man booked last week on suspicion of murder in connection with the disappearance of his Sherman Oaks girlfriend has been released from custody, police reported. Ronnie Larry Wayne Hill of 1002 E.

Elk SL was freed last Friday after taking a lie detector cording to Vjin Nuys division investigators. He was arrested by Van Xuys police officers who have been trying to find the whereabouts of Eileen Gene. Smith 21, of 4534 Matilija Ave, who has been missing since Jan. H. The woman's body has noi.

been found by authorities, according to one in- vestigator, and no murder suspects have been taken into custody since Hill was freed. According to one investigator, however, police have not yet disc unted the possibility that Miss Smith was the victim of foul play or suicide. Hill was booked after officers reported finding a white shawl belonging to the missing woman in the trunk of. her car, which Hill had in his possession. Prior to Miss Smith's disappearance, she and Hill had a fight at her home on 14.

police said. Hill reportedly was seen by a witness afterwards getting into her car Continued on Page 22 TODAY'S NEWS INDEX A Oom Uok Jock OoMiNoJ 4 A Rhm-T C-4 A-2 C-5 C-4 PootB.11 Stoior Toooy Poot A-o Soom Poot i-17 Poot A-2 VIM Rccoi4 Orator Poott.2t VCMlfffMl PfeW 51 WHT iPwfWWlfy 9 JUWOft SCHOOU Opooitonitioi Pooct-27 Oot MOM'S V)rw Poot A-l Fiomhn r9J9 A-l 4 B-1S Foot A-7 foot A-4t By BILL PACKER i a nging and sweeping 'transportation proposals including purchase of Southern Pacific Transportation Co. rail lines locally are under re view Los Angeles County officials. roposals were made by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday at its regular meeting, at which Sepiilveda women presented a letter signed by 7000 individuals and sought support of expanded bus service in the San Fernando Valley -part of a 83.000,000 program. Supervisors were told by the women that bus service in the Valley is poor and urged adequate transportation be installed here to "meet our traveling needs." During the discussion, each supervisor seemed to have a slightly different view on how to solve transportation problems in the county.

For instance. Supervisor Kenneth Hahn proposed anization of the board of directors of the Southern Cali- on Page 29 Valley Educators'Sold' on Value of Navy Career Editor's note: Reporter Polly Spain and photographer Herb Carleton accompanied 48 Southland educators, including eight from the Valley area, on a trip to the U.S. Xaval Academy, Annapolis. this month to see how Hie Navy trains its future leaders. Their purpose: Bring back information to students interested in a Xavy career.

This article is the last in a three- part series. By POLLY SPAIN During the home, we interviewed the representatives of local schools, seeking their opinions of the U.S. Naval Academy, what they gained by visiting the facility and how they plan to use information received as an aid to students. Elaine Holzer, counselor at James Monroe High School, Sepulveda. said, "I found it valuable to talk to the midshipmen to get their opinions of the Academy.

"I will be able to use this to encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity, to better inform them on how to go about getting a nomination to the Academy." Mrs. Holzer said she will pass the information on to other counselors and to mathematics and science teachers and their students. (The Academy reportedly has one of the finest engineering schools in the world). She also plans to invite a midshipman or other representative of the U.S. Xavy to participate in the Career Day, in April.

extends an invitation to career advisers Continued an Page 20 Valley Could Get Rain Although skies will remain partly cloudy today, there is only a slight chance of showers in the San Fernando Valley. The National Weather Sen-ice forecasts a wanner day with high tempera- tures expected to register near 70. Overnight lows will range from 52 to degrees. The high temperature yesterday at Weather Station 15-8 in ConlinnH on Page 39 Council Unit Rejects Hills Development By JULIE JACOBS A controversial residential planned development in the hills at the southern end of Lindley Ave. was rejected 2-to-l' this week by the City Council planning committee.

committee was holding its first Valley meeting, convening in the City Planning Commission's Valley hearing room at Van Nuys American Legion clubhouse. Committee chairman Ernani Bernardi (Seventh District) and Councilman Robert M. Wilkinson (12th District) voted against the sal for 22 condominium units on approximately II acres at the terminus of Rancho approximately 1070 feel west of Lindley Ave. Councilman Louis R- well (First District) cast the "yes" vote, saying, "I can't agree that we can keep cutting density back forever. A man is going to Ix; able to use his property for something or you are going to have to buy it from him." Wilkinson, who made i for disapproval, replied that he Page on Richler Scale Report 4 Hurt in Ventura County; Glass Shattered, Chimneys Fall A oderately strong earthquake centered along the coastline north of Los Angeles rocked Southern California yesterday, causing considerable damage and at least four injuries in Ventura County.

he Oxnard-Camarillo area was described as the hardest hit, and Oxnard acting city manager estimated damage in that area at roughly $1,000,000. Roofs collapsed at two i a buildings. Scores of plate glass windows shattered. Chimneys toppled at several single-family homes. Electric and telephone service was disrupted.

An earthslide partially closed Pacific Coast Highway south of Oxnard. "The deeper we get into thing, the more damage we're finding," said Lt. Max Ipson of the Oxnard Police Dept. Condition Stable A Los Angeles County Dept. of Health Services spokesman reported yesterday two Ventura County residents in critical condition from burns suffered in an oil fire inland from Emma Wood State Beach Park north of Ventura, apparently touched off by one of the temblor's aftershocks.

Both men were reported in stable condition in the intensivenare ward of Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. They are Larry Keeter 23 and David Johnson 22, both of whom suffered second- and third-degree burns on their arms, face and back, according to the spokesman. Oxnard authorities also reported an elderly man attending mass at a Catholic church fell and broke his leg when he dashed out of the swaying building shortly after the quake struck. Another injury involved a merchant who received minor cuts trying to clean up shattered glass, police said. Epicenter Found The quake struck at 6:46 a.m.

with a force that Caltech scientists placed at 5.75 on the Richter Scale. It was Southern California's strongest jolt i the devastating quake of Feb. 9, 1971. which registered 6.4 on the Richter Scale. CONEJO, SIMI NEWS INSIDE LAS V1RGENES TO CHECK DAM Don Anderson, director of the Caltech Seismology Laboratory, said the epicenter was along the beach or just offshore near the Point Mugu Naval Base, some 45 miles northwest of the Los Angeles Civic Center.

"It was a moderate quake, but certainly not major one," said Anderson. Its force was approximately three times less a the 1971 quako which caused widespread death and destruction in Sylmar and surrounding sections of the San Fer-, nando Valley. Weak Shocks A explained that the Richter scale is a 1 garithmic progression, with every one point increment representing a tenfold increase in intensity. The main quake was followed by a series of after-shocks through mid- afternoon, most theni too weak to be felt in ropolitan Los Angeles. Much of the iii Oxnard occurred at tho Esplanade Shopping, Center in the 2500 block of Vineyard Ave; Sections of the false ceiling collapsed at the Disco Fair Department Store located in tho center.

There were no injuries. re-front windows were shattered along a three-quarter mile stretch of Oxnard Blvd. in the city's main business dis-. trict Merchandise including of bottles at; liquor stores -came spilling from shelves. The owner of the Palm Market in the 200 block of N.

Oxnard Blvd. Continued Page 33 SCHOOL BOARD SETS PRIORITIES IN BUDGET Story IFOR cussum THURSDAY ckry CkmJHtd.