Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 3

1 EW i CLASSIFIED ADSBIO OBITUARIESBIO COLUMNS PUZZLES Bll WEDNESDAY APRIL 22, 1992 i Many travelers finding airline-fare cuts non-existent By Kathleen Ingley The Arizona Republic Behind the hoopla since American Airlines announced fare cuts earlier this month, travelers are finding a few surprises. For senior citizens, it's a nasty shock: Their tickets will cost more as American and other carriers eliminate special senior discounts. Other travelers have been disappointed to learn that the biggest price breaks do not apply to excursion fares. The latest round of rate changes began April 9, when American announced that it was simplifying its fare structure. Splashy ads touted sharply reduced rates on first-class and regular full-fare seats.

But late last week, retiree Ed Graham got a different message from his travel agent: Buy your plane tickets right away, because airlines are dropping the traditional 10 percent senior discount. Without the warning, the Sun Lakes resident would have paid a total of $75 more for a pair of tickets to Detroit and to Los Angeles. "It doesn't say that on TV," Graham said acidly on Tuesday. "Big reductions. If you're a first-class flier, why sure.

The 10 percent discount they've done away with that. I don't call that reducing rates." At American Airlines, spokeswoman Laura Hurd said, "We really feel that our pricing system is fair and equitable. It's much easier to deal with." But the changes are frustrating the clients of Ford's World Travel in Sun City, most of whom are senior citizens. "In the majority of cases, they're paying more than they. were two weeks ago," said Dan Bachmann, general manager of the agency.

"The ads really lead people to believe they're getting a better deal." Another hit is coming. Next month, American is adding 20 percent to the price of senior coupon books, which contain vouchers good for four or eight one-way trips. Although most carriers have followed American's lead, America West Airlines still is considering whether to keep the senior discounts or raise the price of coupon books, spokesman Dik Shimizu said. Diane Frazier, who is still far short of the senior category, said the latest airline ads have made her think a lot more seriously about visiting friends in Florida this summer. But the Phoenix resident, who popped into a Dillard's travel office during a lunch break Tuesday, may be in for a letdown.

As she understood the new fares, Frazier said, "I thought they'd all been cut." A stream of customers at Murdock Travel Management, which has two offices in the Valley, has called with the same impression. "What they were expecting is not what they are going to be getting," said Judi Celaschi, general manager' of Murdoch's Arizona offices. The callers did not understand that the advertised discounts were off the coach and first-class fares that business people pay, not the advance-purchase tickets that vacationers usually buy. "Leisure travelers were disappointed," Celaschi said. "But business travelers are elated." American did focus some attention on leisure travelers Monday, when it shortened its advance-purchase requirements for its cheapest fares to 14 days from 21 and lowered some fares.

But in most cases, it matched what other carriers already were doing. Johnson: Take kids 4 J-Ate' 5. -A A ft away i. A.J Lymyyp Vg; A Tuba City pet owners Sup in arms Licensed, leashed dogs seized, killed, they say By George Hardeen Special for The Arizona Republic TUBA CITY Scraps was asleep on the porch of his owner's house when a Navajo tribal dog catcher slipped a catchpole loop around his neck. The friendly, long-haired mutt was dragged to a waiting pickup truck and whipped with a heavy rope to get him to jump into a cage before being hauled away to an animal shelter, his owner said.

"In my opinion, it was cruelty in the handling of animals," said the Rev. Paul Ghee, a Baptist minister. Tuba City pet owners are outraged over how animal-control officers conducted a four-day roundup of about 100 dogs during the first week of April. Such roundups are conducted periodically to curb the reservation's burgeoning dog population. Dogs wearing collars and identification Christine KeithThe Arizona Republic Gabriel and Mary Mathews of Glendale face the media after couple thanked police who searched for the children, and learning that their two children were found safe Tuesday.

The members of the public who prayed for them. 2 missing kids are found safe Family friend arrested by Missouri officials Mayor is outraged by spree at rink By M.E. Saavedra The Arizona Republic On the heels of a skating-rink shooting spree that led to the deaths of two people, Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson said Tuesday that he will propose a city ordinance banning minors from carrying guns in public without adult supervision. Johnson said that Phoenix has seen too much juvenile-related violence recently and that he has had enough of it. "We have to find ways to begin cracking down on this problem," he said.

The ordinance would give the police "tremendous leverage" in combating gang-related violence, Johnson said. However, he added that it might not prevent incidents similar to the one that occurred at the rink early Saturday. One person was shot to death and another was killed in a subsequent car crash as more than 100 people fled gunfire that erupted during a quarrel at a rap concert at Skate World, 4451 E. Oak St. Gun enthusiasts said the proposed ordinance might clash with a state law that allows minors to carry firearms for uses such as hunting and target shooting.

"We do strongly protect the legitimate use and rights of law-abiding citizens," said Landis Aden, a lobbyist for the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association. Johnson's proposal would prohibit anyone under 18 years of age from carrying firearms, explosives and possibly other weapons in public places unless he was with a parent or had parental consent. The offense would be a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by six months in detention. The ordinance would allow police to seize the weapons of juveniles. Under state law, a person must be 18 or older to buy a rifle or shotgun and at least 21 years old to buy a handgun.

The law does not prevent minors from carrying weapons openly, which Johnson said he finds surprising. "People under the age of 18 just often don't have the appropriate perspective in life to understand the damage they can do," he said. Phoenix Police Chief Dennis Garrett said the ordinance would be an important tool in preventing homicides and assaults by juveniles. Last year in Phoenix, 12 people were fatally shot by See JUVENILE, pageB2 tags indiscriminately were taicen irom yaras, owners say. Worse yet, some owners said dogs were taken to the community's dump and shot before they knew their pets had been picked up.

Tribal ordinances require Lthat even unlicensed dogs are to be held for days. Mike Halona, the tribe's animal-control supervisor, said the roundups are justified. Tribal officials estimate that dog packs cause $3 million in sheep and cattle losses each year, and last year, 2,000 dog bites were reported to health officials. moo i i By William Hermann The Arizona Republic Ellen and Nicholas Mathews will return to their parents' Glendale home today, but details of their seven-day disappearance remained unexplained Tuesday. The children, who were reported missing April 14, were found safe and in good health Tuesday afternoon in Mano, after Ellen, 12, contacted her parents by telephone and said she and Nicholas, 14, were well and wanted to come home, Glendale police said.

Marlin "Marty" Price, 27, a friend of the family with whom the children had been traveling, was arrested Tuesday by Missouri officials and charged with kidnapping and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. At a press conference Tuesday night at Glendale police headquarters, the children's parents, Gabriel and Mary Mathews, thanked police who had searched for their children, as well as a motel room Tuesday after the children said they wanted to go home, police said. Ellen used a pay telephone near the motel to call her parents, found that their line was busy, and called a former neighbor in Dublin. The neighbor called the Mathewses in Glendale, gave them the number of the phone in Mano, and the Mathewses called their daughter. Mary Mathews said Ellen told her, "We love you and want to come home." The Mathewses called Glendale police, who alerted the Barry County Sheriffs Department in Missouri.

Deputies and FBI agents found the children at the motel and found Price hitchhiking near town. Price was arrested and booked into the Barry County Jail. The Mathews children spent Tuesday night in a hotel in Cassville, under care of police, and plans were being made Tuesday for their return to the Valley today. members of the public who had prayed for them, but they revealed little of what their children had told them about their absence. The Mathewses came to Arizona from Ireland about six years ago, but had intended to return to Ireland this month.

Ellen and Nicholas disappeared last week in the company of Price, a friend who lived with the family. Police learned that Price had been convicted of indecency with a child in Texas in 1984 and was sentenced to three years in prison. But it wasn't clear whether he served the sentence. Police said Price and the children were driven to Missouri by Mark and Anna Harrald of Glendale, friends of Price. The Harralds dropped off Price and the children in a wooded area near Mano, then drove back to the Valley, where they were arrested Sunday and charged with custodial interference.

In Mano, Price and the children camped out for several days, then rented I DUl MUI.C 1700, lie lias seen ins uuugci slashed to $150,000 from $400,000. He has eight workers and three trucks to handle the reservation. "It's (animal control) jusi not a priority," Halona said. "I'm afraid something's going to happen. Right now, we're just dealing with the symptoms.

We're not addressing the cause." The tactics used bv the officers, however. lmra kaan 111 1 aft r-tn a j-4 Tn sxm ranant Motorists aid pollution fight Can't hedge her duties incident, fifth-grader Tanya Bilagody pleaded with animal-control officers not to take away her purebred Shar Pei, which, although leashed, had been scooped up from the family's yard and later shot and killed. Halona defended his officers' methods, saying they have been enforcing ordinances. He dismissed complaints as the rantings of the Tuba Animal Interest League. "If it's running at large, it's going to be picked up," he said.

"That's something that they can't accept." "We never had a problem with that," responded Michele Long, a founder of the league. "We do have a problem with the animal-control agency coming in and destroying people's pets with the message that they are ridding the community of stray animals." The league's efforts to deal with overpopulation ended last year when the Bureau of Indian Affairs stopped members from holding spaying and neutering clinics at Tuba City's animal shelter, which had been closed when roundups were not in progress, Long said. The group used the shelter under the HOW PEOPLE GET TO WORK Poll of 468 employed, licensed drivers in Maricopa County. Drive alone 100 80 60 40 20 Alternate modes: Includes car pools, buses, bicycling 2S 15 Car pool only Nov. '88 March '89 Nov.

'90 March '90 March '91 March '92 Source: O'Neil Associates Inc. sponsorship of the BIA's Tuba City Boarding School. But the BIA's area director decreed that the school had no business running an animal shelter, Principal Jerry Diebel said. AA'A A i AA-a' 1 if: r's? AA A4A Vv I By Steve Yozwiak The Arizona Republic In gradually growing numbers, Valley commuters are leaving their cars at home, and some employees aren't traveling to work at all, according to a new poll. Although 84 percent of Valley commuters drive alone to work most of the time, the percentage of total work trips made by people driving alone has dropped to 74 percent from 80 percent nearly five years ago, the survey said.

In addition, 12 percent of those surveyed work at home at least one day a week. That number came as a pleasant surprise to air-pollution officials. The poll was conducted for the Valley Clean Air Force, a consortium of municipal governments and businesses, and was released Tuesday. It was taken last month by O'Neil Associates Inc. of Tenipe and involved 468 employed licensed drivers in Maricopa County.

The margin of error was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. The numbers reflect the sixth year of the "Don't Drive One in Five" program, in which commuters are encouraged to seek alternative transportation to reduce vehicle emissions, the primary source of the Valley's air pollution. "I think this is an important component in the battle against 1 A The Arizona Republic booms, pollster Michael O'Neil cau tioned. "If you're talking about maintaining a steady, constant amount of traffic, and we have increasing populations, clearly, over the long haul, you'll have to get below that" 74 percent level of solo work trips, O'Neil said. Maricopa County officials charged with overseeing pollution-reduction measures said they are pleased with an overall decline of 5.6 percent in commuter trips among people who work for companies with more than 100 workers.

See COMMUTERS, page B6 pollution, and it's going to be more important in the future," said John Teets, president of Dial Corp and chairman of the Clean Air Force. But although the numbers show an increase in commuters willing to car-pool, take the bus or ride their bicycles to work, they may not be enough to offset future population Michael MeisterThe Arizona Republic Pam McCann of the Phoenix Parks, Recreation and Library Department trims sage at Washington Park on Tuesday. McCann and her crew prepared the trees and bushes for the coming summer heat. E.J. MONTiNI Republic Columnist.