The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 1

Times VOL 242, NO. 39 LOUISVILLE, SUNDAY MORMNG, FEBRUARY 8, 1976 Copyright 1976, The Courier-Journal Timet 184 PAGES 40 CENTS Is Indiana man dead or has he assumed some other identity? Just like Abe might9 ve cide role for him, set fire to the man and his garage, then fled. The latter theory has more variations and apparently more believers than the former. Roberts is said to. be either in Europe, living on the proceeds of a Swiss bank account, or hiding in the United States, waiting for the courts to declare him legally dead.

That done, his wife (or widow), Geneva', could receive the $1 million life insurance that Roberts carried to protect his business investments. Among those who apparently believe Roberts is alive are the members of a Brown County grand jury who heard testimony in the case last November. Though their report to Circuit Judge David Woods was sealed, Indiana State Police Capt. Stan Kenny said the grand jury "saw fit to indict" Roberts. "We have a warrant for his arrest," Kenny said.

And newspapers in Indianapolis have See DID Page 16. col. 1, this section stantial amount" of information indicating the body found in. the garage debris wasn't Clarence Roberts. But one of their own, Lt.

Col. Al Walker, a veteran of 23 years of police work and who was directly involved in the investigation, believes the body buried in Nashville is that of Roberts. So does Roberts' wife, Geneva. Theories about the mystery abound, each with its share of official support, each with its share of corroborative circumstantial evidence. But the two main theories are these: Clarence Roberts, a once-successful businessman at the brink of financial ruin and personal embarrassment, decided to end the tragedy through suicide.

Roberts accomplished what, other troubled men only fantasize: He dropped out, left it all behind, disappeared and took on a new identity. He tricked some wine-soaked derelict into playing the sui By GLENN RUTHERFORD Courier-Journal Staff Writer NASHVILLE, Ind. On the evening of Nov. 18, 1970, fire destroyed the five-car garage behind Clarence Roberts' house here. Some people believe the fire also destroyed Clarence Roberts.

Some people don't. The fact is someone did, indeed, perish in the garage more than five years ago. The body lies buried in the Roberts family plot in, Nashville Memorial Park. And the fact is Clarence Roberts, who would be 57 now, hasn't been seen or heard from since the day of the fire. There are, however, few other incontrovertible facts in this bizarre case.

Indiana State Police investigators, physicians and forensic pathologists, and townspeople who knew and liked Roberts all possess enough confusing and contradictory information about the case to baffle both Perry Mason and Ellery Queen. The state police say they have a "sub- Rail-splitting is still much as it was in the days of Abraham Lincoln; certainly the logs are no more willing. So it's likely that Ralph Trumbo's time of 3 minutes, 53 seconds, to split a log into eight rails was respectable in Abe's day as well. Trumbo, of Hodgenville, won the rail-splitting contest in that town's weekend celebration of Lincoln's birthday. Festivities at the town of Lincoln's birth continue today.

New acting premier appointed in China Ford in New Hampshire President Ford took his low-profile campaign for a full-term presidency to New Hampshire yesterday Page A 2. CIA activities A Senate source says a 1975 memorandum drawn up for the director of central intelligence raises "serious questions" about the legality of covert operations between 1947 and 1974 Page A 14. Business-Real Estate Section Classified 11, Section Deaths HRA, 10-11 Lively Arts Opinion I. 2 Outlook Section D-' Sports Today's Living STAFF PHOTO By PAUL SCHUMANN From New York Timet and L.A. Times-Washinston Post Service Dispatches HONG KONG China disclosed yesterday that Hua Kuo-feng, a relatively unknown deputy premier and minister of public security, had been appointed acting premier, succeeding Chou En-lai, who died Jan.

8. The appointment was regarded by some political observers in Hong Kong as Chairman Mao Tse-tung's own. choice. Political analysts" in Hong Kong were surprised by the move as were Chinese Communist sources, who for the month since Chou's death have expressed belief that Teng Hsiao-ping, the senior deputy premier, would replace Chou. In Washington, experts on China, both in and out of government, expressed surprise at the selection of Hua.

(His name is pronounced 'Hwa Koo-oh fung" rhymes with sung with accent on Hwa.) Teng had been China's de facto premier for the last year while Chou was confined to a hospital, and he delivered the See CHINA Back page, col. 2, this section 1 Agency matches kidneys, Higher hpes Dispute over operations of LRC Furnished by the National Weather Service those needing transplants may involve more fire than smoke LOUISVILLE area Portly cloudy and warmer today and tomorrow. Today's high, mid-40s; tonight's low, mid-305. High tomorrow in the 50s. KENTUCKY Slow warming trend through tomorrow.

Today's highs, 40s. Tonights's lows, 30s. High tomorrow, 50s. INDIANA Sunny and warmer today; highs, mid-30s to mid-40s. Tonight's lows, mid-20s to mid-30s.

Tomorrow, partly cloudy and warmer; highs, 40s to mid-50s. High yesterday, 33; low, 16. Year ago yesterday: High 32; low 18. Sun: Rises, sets, 6:13 Moon: Rises, 11:53 a.m.) sets, 1:26 p.m.. Weather map and details, Page 10.

By KEITH RUNYON Courier-Journal Staff Writer CINCINNATI You have to walk a long way through the halls and tunnels under Cincinnati General Hospital to find the office of the Ohio Valley Organ Recovery Program (OVORP). And although the room is small, the task under way there is important pulling together the region's kidney-transplant program. Jointly sponsored by the universities of Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, the OVORP has been keeping tabs by com puter on more than 100 people in this region who have diseased kidneys and are badly in need of transplants. The coordinator, Donald Schott, is making contacts with hospitals and doctors across Kentucky and in parts of Southern Indiana and Ohio. He explained in an interview last week that his job is to educate the public about the need for kidney donations and to help develop a system to speed the delivery of See PROGRAM Back page, col.

4, this section So it may have had little surface significance when the LRC staff operations came under public fire, last week from one formidable But the apparent conflict between LRC Director Philip Conn and Rep. Norbert Blume could have far-reaching consequences for an agency that may be the best hope for legislative independence in a state dominated by the governor, i Behind Blume's criticism last week of LRC operations seems to be a power play to oust Conn from his job at the end of the 1976 General Assembly in late March. The commission itself is made up of the 16 Democratic and Republican leaders in the legislature and has two chairmen, Sen. Joe Prather, D-Vine Grove, the Senate president pro tern, and Rep. William Kenton, D-Lexington, the speaker of the House.

But the 103-m ember professional staff that works for the commission is the See DISPUTE Back page, col. 1, this section News analysis 5 writer is the political reporter for The Courier-Journal and has covered slate politics for more than a year. This story contains some observations and comments. By ED RYAN Courier-Journal Staff Writer FRANKFORT, Ky. Few Kentuckians know much about the state Legislative Research Commission (LRC).

lliilllliiillll Julia Burton and Don Snyder work at Van Hoose Education Center on Newburg Road handling complaints. Here Snyder takes a call from a troubled parent. Staff Photo by Melissa Farlow Teecher kant spel? V. lliliillllliil y.lust. ULii iQA Snyder, who has been listening to complaints about teachers for about seven years, said this year's calls have covered a wide range of concerns that include reports of teachers allegedly using curse words, grabbing children, not following the curriculum, using poor English, slapping children and offering poor instruction.

Snyder, who doesn't keep statistics on his calls, said "a lot of complaints" have been of a general nature concerning poor teaching. Snyder said in some instances "people were uptight and at first were resistant to the changes taking place and believed things that were rumors." "But I won't say there was not validity in a number of complaints," he added. The first thing Snyder does is ask if the caller has contacted the school about the problem. "In three out of four cases this has not been done," he said. He's found that parents working with a local school principal can ease difficult situations.

"Nine times out of 10, this will solve the problem," he said. But some complaints require much more attention and investigation. This is a job complicated by the care with which complaints against teachers especially those who've held their jobs long enough to attain tenure must be handled. Tenure is granted when a teacher meets education and length-of-service requirements. It protects the teacher from firing except on specified, serious charges.

By and largo, local school officials believe that such matters must be dealt with quietly and delicately, and that Li Sec SCHOOLS J. Back page, col. 1, this section By LINDA STAHL Courier-Journal Staff Writer The mother was shocked when she saw the handwritten question on the mimeographed work sheet that was given to her daughter by a teacher. "Who was the arther of the American Dictionary of the English Language?" it said. Other work sheets, hand-printed and reproduced for the same junior high school class contained spelling and grammatical errors.

At another junior high, students grew concerned when they discovered that their algebra teacher didn't know how to figure the square root of a number. They told their parents. What does a parent do if he has reason to believe that his child's English teacher can't spell and uses atrocious grammar? Or that the mathematics instructor lacks certain basic skills? Or that the science instructor is an alcoholic and doesn't do a good job of teaching science anymore? After all, while most teachers may be competent and conscientious, some might not be. If a parent thinks he has a legitimate gripe about a teacher, he should complain to school officials so they can investigate the situation. Designated to hear such complaints in the Jefferson County system is Don W.

Snyder, who has an office at the VanHoose Education Center. This school year many parents, and some principals, have complained to Snyder, who is director of administrative problems for certified personnel. He Mldkfcat during the first month prjso of schorfvthe calls to his office werS "100- i "II JMAmn i liSm Ww mM fold" what they'd been in the past, coming at the rate of about 20 to 25 an hour. Now they have tapered off to 20 to 25 a day at the most, said Snyder, but they are still more frequent than in recent school years. To help Snyder with his workload, the county school board last month approved the appointment of Julia Burton as his assistant.

School officials have several theories about problems that arose when the personnel department swiftly shifted many teachers at the beginning of the year to achieve staff desegregation and merger. The shifting didn't always work out satisfactorily. Because of the busing controversy, officials didn't always know how many pupils would show up at a given school, or how many of those pupils would take a given subject they didn't always have the right numbftjkjpf teachers for the right subjects in tut right places. showing genuine concern for what's going on in the classroom because the dramatic events of the last year have turned the spotlight on Jefferson County public schools and sparked interest where it was lacking before. It also is thought that some people who oppose desegregation and merger stand ready to criticize whatever is going on in the schools, good or bad.

It is known that people complained about why complaints are i It is thought that mo're parents are.