The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 2

The Pittsburgh Press, Friday, Dec. 20, 1974 Salt Cr ews mures no wed uver ma To Be s' I 5 1 1 -s si He Go Roy r7 Vi 2A By 3:30 yesterday afternoon, Frank Colarusso had put in a 12-hour day. Between now and next spring, he expects to put in many more 12-hour days. Pittsburgh's superintendent of bridges, highways and sewers, Colarusso is responsible for getting salt on the streets when it snows. "Last winter," he said, "was nothin'.

Peanuts." Last winter, according to the DiNardo-McFarland Weather Service, Pittsburgh had only 16 inches of snow. "Now we've had 16 inches already," said Colarusso. Which doesn't surprise him. The worst is yet to come, he predicts. A little brown and black caterpillar tipped him off.

"When I got the other night," he said, "one of the little fellas was on my doorstep. Bitter cold. They say that's the sign of a bad winter, the little woolly brown and black caterpillar. I took him inside. Mv wife said, 'What are you doing with that Its message to her was that she won't be seeing much of husband for several months.

Yesterday morning, Colarusso was up when the snow began to fall. Near the end of the day. sitting behind his desk in the City-County Building, he looked tired. He still had on work clothes a lumberjack shirt and dungarees. Does he go out with the salt crews whenever it snows? Colarusso ran a hand through his smooth gray hair, somehow not disturbing the part.

he said. "I cover the whole city. If it started to snow this minute, maybe I wouldn't get to bed." salt went up on sidewalks and porches. Pne morning Bruce Campbell, the mayor's executive secretary, heard salt crystals bouncing against his windows. The aim now is to lay down 700 pounds mile and to get it all on the street.

desired amount varies with but studies by the American Works Association show that 700 is actually more effective than pounds. Besides, there is not as damage to automobile finishes not as much pollution of underground water. salt costs the city $10.65 a ton, increase to $12.50 taking effect of the year. very cold weather, salt by itself work. A mix of salt and cinders preferred.

At one time the city used alone cinders were always around here but while they furnish good traction they will not melt and ice. will. On Colarusso's desk yesterday a letter of congratulations from school principal who had thought snowstorm would mean a cancellation of classes. course, for every one like this we lot of complaints," said Colarusso. complaints come from people on what the city calls secondary streets streets that are not main or access routes to hospitals stations, or historically treacherous.

But, meanwhile, Bruce Campbell Campbell, not an easy man to please, salt crews are doing an excellent He went to a map on the wall, a map of the city showing the six highway and sewer divisions, each in a different color. He said. "Colarusso lives here King Avenue, East End." He described how, that morning, he drove to third division headquarters at Dallas and Hamilton, then around the corner to the loading station, then -to the other division headquarters, checking the condition of the streets along the way. For salting, the city has 58 dump trucks and two "hogs," or spreaders, with capacities of up to 10 tons. Crews are on duty around the clock.

Until about 1963, a crew consisted of a driver and two shovelers. Then came automation, and now only one man accompanies the driver "just in case of a breakdown," Colarusso explains. "Using spinners," he says, "you can get a loaded truck down in one-third the time that you could manually, and you can to it a little more efficiently." In years past, spinners were throwing out 2,000 pounds of salt every mile. Two thousand pounds was overdoing it. In addition to covering the street, -Press Photo by Robert J.

Pavuchak building in the Golden Triangle. The union had purchased the IBM Building last. year to house the USW main offices. JOE MACARAC'S NEW HOME Workmen place a marble and steel seal of the United Steel Workers (USW) ot the entrance to the USW headquarters It's Skybus Or Nothing, U. S.

Agency Says other PAT directors will agree with Fleming, Robin, Staisey and others that the Kassab plan is unacceptable. Fleming said Kassab's plan would duplicate PAT's earlier Skybus presentation to federal authorities, who have already approved the elevated rapid transit concept. The PAT chairman, once one of the most powerful lawmakers here, warned that the scrap-Skybus, adopt-Kassab-plan would delay mass transit in Pittsburgh from two to five years. Correspondingly, said Fleming, the $295 million project cost, already inflated by previous delays, will climb again. who announced his support of Skybus earlier this week and is ascending to the position of influence long held bj Timing in the legislature, offered another point.

In the private meeting, Nolan asked Shapp why he was putting a clamp on the $3 8 million approved for Skybus by the legislature more than two years ago. Neither the governor nor his top aides had a direct answer. In addition to Staisey and Robin, other local officials at the summit meeting were: County commissioner Thomas J. Foerster; cbtinty administrator Aldo Colautti; Sen. Thomas M.

Nolan, D-Wil-kins the Senate major-i leader; Rep. K. Leroy Irvis, D-Hill District, and Robert D. Fleming, PAT chairman. PAT executive director John T.

Mauro, not in on luncheon meeting in Shapp's office, was standing by in Irvis' office to handle any technical questions. But the five-hour meeting dealt more with the politics of approving, holding up, or' rejecting the $38 million in state funds for Skybus. Mauro's expertise, maps, charts, professional studies and other proof Skybus would be economical were not' removed from his briefcase. Instead, the stale-county conferees pored over a Pcnn-. Dot map, local officials said was hastily drawn to Kassab's specifications.

"Itf was a superficial and poorly prepared presentation," said one Pittsburgh transit official. Continued from Pa je' i others a telegram from the mayor to the governor, outlining Flaherty's push for mass transit, short of Skybus. The Western Union wire, sent from Pittsburgh at 11:03 a. m. Wednesday, contained lines picked up by Shapp yesterday.

"I appreciate the difficult position in which you are placed to finally resolve what has been a most controversial public issue in our city and region," the Flaherty wire said. "This is to assure you that should your decision be to support the upgrading of the trolley lines to the South Hills as opposed to the proposed Skybus, you will have my complete support." The mayor's telegram later referred to the replacement of present streetcars with "new light transit vehicles." In his press conference statement, Shapp said Kassab had developed "a proposal for a light rail vehicle system that, would operate in the presently approved South Hills corridor and in the city of Pittsburgh." 'lis? 'JLfc 4 in Aik4 'Super' Trolley Heart McIIugh Columnist-at-large -Press Photo by Albeit Herrmonn Jr. carry the body of one of today in an apartment at Mrs. Mary Majewski, and blaze which caused $1 ,500 Son Killed Fire spotted smoke billowing from the front door of the three-, Story frame dwelling. The second floor apartment was vacant.

The third-floor unit, although rented, was unoccupied. Battalion Fire Chief James Mullen was unable to determine the cause of the blaze, but he estimated damages at S1.500. Mullen said it took about 15 minutes for firefighters to bring the blaze under control. The victims were found fully clothed on the floor of the apartment. Wooden pallets, which neighbors said Majewski always broke up and burned for cooking and heating, were stacked in front of the house.

Thus, neighbors said they disregarded the pungent odor of wood smoke this morning until they saw the smoke. Firemen said they found a combination gas-and-wood burning stove in the burned-out apartment. Thr Pitlhtirpli Press A ScnDDs-Howard Newspaper Crura' Offices "I 14 B' 'ileyo'd of the Al.ies. Pa. 152:1.

Doily, 90 rrn's a v.eek, Sjnrlnv, JO cents a werk tn PilKourciii anrj seven nl.ocent counties. l' cents a vrrk Vol' te irst and Second nostat ones V.herp there IS no corner aeHve-v: Doiiv- one month SI, one vear S32 so. S- nlov one month 50, one vear i'A. tro oostoae cost hevond Sec-or) 7one. Daily ond Sunoov second-cioss post one onid ot P'ttso jrgo, Pn Vail subsrration tei- l-hone UUl 23 1317.

every The conditions, Public pounds 2,000 much and And with an the first In doesn't is cinders cheap snow Salt was a high the last "Of get a The who live arteries, and fire is satisfied. says the job. "We weren't given any details, any engineering studies, any nothina, despite the request for the same information barking, up Skybus the governor asked from us, which we submitted." In his statement, Shapp said he would release the $38 million in state money only if the federal government rejects the latest state plan, devised by Kassab. neither the governor nor the PennDot chief were able to explain their confidence that UMPA would take official action on the latest proposal for mass transit in Allegheny 'County. For Washington traditionally has ignored state requests, looking only to local authorities for applications and most here didn't believt PAT would advance the Kassab plan.

Nevertheless, Fleming, who left the Senate after 36 years in Harrisburg, invited Kassab to present his case to the 10-member PAT board of direc-tors next Friday in Pittsburgh. That presentation could be a waste of time, for most Of Transit over the Panhandle Bridge to Carson and Smithfield streets, where (it could join the present rail route through Mount Washington Tunnel. Should congestion develop in the Mount Washington Tun-n 1 Dormont and Mount Lebanon LRV cars could go through the Wabash Tunnel to Beechview and join the regular route there. This plan makes it possible for LRVs to make additional stops that Skybus could not in the Shadycrest Road area. i Extended service over Library trolley routes which are scheduled for improvement and continued service thanks to a federal grant.

Skybus could not serve this heavy commuter territory, Kassab said. Exclusive transit vehicle loop in the Triangle via Smithfield, Liberty and Wood streets, allowing extra rush hour trips i a Smith-field, Fourth, Grant and Water Under this plan, movement of nontransit vehicles would not be hindered by stopped transit vehicles which would be traveling in the right-hand curb lanes. In all the foregoing, park-and-ride lots proposed Skybus could be used and, in the second case, service could be extended to include the Pit Pickets Block 3,500 Construction Pact Vote This Weekend Mine construction worker pickets today continued to idle 3.500 coal miners in the Cambria Indiana Somerset counties area of United Mine Workers (UMW) District 2. In other areas, pickets have disappeared and almost all coal mines are working following tentative agreement on a new contract covering the mine construction workers. The 4,500 mine construction workers, members of the UMW, will vote on ratification of the new agreement with the Association of Bituminous Contractors (ABC) over the weekend.

The pact between the UMW and ABCwas( reached Wednesday in Washington. Construction worker pickets prevented up to 50,000 coal miners from returning to work following settlement Dec. 5 of the 24-day strike by coal miners against coal operators. In a related dispute, some 500 District 2 coal truck drivers, covered by the UMW agreement with soft coal operators, are threatening to picket mines if they don't receive a new contract to replace their previous pact that expired Nov. 12.

The air pollution index at 10 a. m. today in downtown Pittsburgh was 46. This is 11 points over the maximum level established by county authorities as satisfactory quality air. Other readings in the county today include: Bellevue, 37; Glassport, 32; Hazelwood No.

1, 37; Hazelwood No. 2. 96; Liberty Borough, 55, ana Logan's Ferry Heights, 59. AIRMETER 300 1 2M 100 rf Proposal parking 1 at Drake and McMurray roads. Kassab also included In his letter to the governor suggestions on how PATways could be improved.

They were: Redesign East PATway for buses to East Liberty, Wilkinsburg and Edgewood so they can travel main line Penn Central Railroad tracks. This would allow express buses to move westbound into the Triangle before noon and eastbound out of downtown Pittsburgh after noon. The reverse would apply to off-direction lanes on the Penn-Lincoln Parkway. Construct a one-way express bus lane over surplus space on retained Penn Central track to provide for the East PATway. Construct the South PATway to bypass congested Liberty Tubes for residents of Brentwood, Pleasant Hills and Baldwin, with new light signal strategy to prevent accidents.

passim irj 'vl it Mine Pickets Facing Fines Bad-To-Work Order Enforced By JAMES McCARRON A federal judge has issued a contempt citation against mineworkers who failed to re-t to work under court order at coal mines operated here by three steel firms. Judge Louis Rosenberg made the ruling late yesterday in U.S. District Court and tentatively proposed heavy daily fines against the United Mine Workers (UMW), its district subdivisions, and more than a dozen locals involved in the litigation. "I'm giving them the right to purge themselves of contempt," said Rosenberg after three days of testimony indicated the UMW members had failed to comply with i back-to-work orders of Dec. 10.

He ordered daily fines of $10,000 each against the UMW international, its District 2, 4, and 5, and $5,000 against each local unless the back-to-work orders were cbmplied with starting at 12:01 a.m. today. Covered under the civil con-temp ruling are the UMW locals representing about 5,000 employes at Western Pennsylvania mines operated by U.S. Steel Jones Laughlin Steel and Bethlehem Steel Corp. through its Bethlehem Mines Corp.

here. The steel firm employes, UMW members with a new national contract since Dec. 6, have refused to cross picket lines despite Rosenberg's orders to do so on Dec. 10. The pickets, according to court testimony, were members of construction worker UMW Local 1846, based at Rices Landing; Local 1934 of Waynesburg, and Local 1 6 4 6 of New Florence.

The construction workers locals have been without a labor contract since Nov. 12. The mine operations covered under the Rosenberg orders are: U.S. Steel's Maple Creek mines, Washington County, and its Robena and ftilworth mines in Greene County. Vista-Shannopin Mining Division works in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties and mines operated by its Gateway Coal Co.

in Greene. Bethlehem's mining complexes in Cambria County a its Ellsworth mines in Washington County. Your Donation Gives Hope To Patients Your contribution, large or small, to The Press Old Newsboys Fund will help a needy patient at Children's Hospital look forward to a healthier, happier future. If everybody helps just a little, a lot of youngsters will benefit. Send your donations to: Press Old Newsboys Fund, Box 715.

The Press, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15230. FlRE VICTIM Firemen the victims killed in a fire 57 Barry South Side. her.son, Archie, died in the damage. Woman, In South Sid A South Side woman and her son were killed this morning when fire broke out in their single-room, ground floor apartment at 57 Barry St.

The dead were identified by city homicide detectives as Mrs. Mary Majewski, 95, and her son, Archie, 65. The fire was reported at 9:41 a. m. when neighbors Pren Harrisburg Bureau HARRISBURG Long, foreign-made, double streetcars that bend in the middle are the heart of the No-Skybus plan proposed here by the Shapp administration for Pittsburgh.

These 71-foot electric cars, called Light Rail Vehicles (LRV), would replace the present 46-foot streetcars and would take over the job Skybus was designed to do between downtown Pittsburgh and Upper St. Clair. LRVs would require new, welded rails for rides at higher speeds over a 1 1 routes, but the special rails would cost less to build than Skybus tracks, according to reports. In fact, the whole project could be completed more quickly and cheaply than Skybus, according to Jacob G. Kassab, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDot).

In a letter to Gov. Milton J. yesterday, Kassab endorsed the LRVs, describing them as "efficient, high-capacity, silent, air-conditioned, smooth-riding." The cars, with-bodies built in Japan and mechanical components manufactured in Europe, are shipped to Baltimore and assembled in Philadelphia by Boeing Vertol, presently for use in San Francisco and Boston. The cars were desiped by the Urban Mass Transit Administration (UMTA), but are being put together from foreign-made components because no company in the United States manufactures them. W.

Thomas MacNew, communications director for Boeing Vertol in Philadelphia, said this morning his company orders the LRV body shells from Japan "because there are none being made in the United States." He added that the foreign-made trolley shells and mechanical components "some of which are made in Europe" are produced more cheaply overseas than could be done in this country. Here's how the LRVs would fit into the Pittsburgh transit system, according to Kassab: From the Goiden Trian-g 1 to Castle Shannon via Beechview, Dormont and Mount Lebanon, on approximate Skybus route, but at ground level on existing right-of-way. The proposed Mount Lebanon subway also could be used. From Bethel Park to Castle Shannon on approximate Skybus route, at ground level on existing right-of-way, continuing to Pittsburgh via Saw Mill Run Valley right-of-way. From Midtown Plaza at Sixth and Centre avenues Jury lnrJicfs 5 For Prostitution Two alleged members of an interstate prostitution ring were arrested here today and three others were being sought after a federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment against them.

FBI agents arrested Lois Jean Gill, 50, of Edge Road, Brentwood, and Michael Mau-rizio, 35, of Rosecrest Drive, Stanton Heights. Still being sought are Donna Lee Valent, 30, of Newport Drive, Castle Shannon, Sandra Sue Rahenkamp, 30, of Mellon Street, East Liberty, and Thomas Clipp, 35, of Wilson Road, South Park. FBI agents arrested: Lois Jean Gill, 50. of Edge Road, Brentwood; Donna Lee Valent, 30, of Newport Drive, Castle Shannon; Michael 35' of Rosecrest Drive, Lawrenceville; Sandra Sue Rahenkamp, 30, of Mellon East Liberty; and Thomas Clipp, 35, of Wilson Road, South Park. The indictment charged the defendants conducted a prostitution with links in the state of Indiana since 1962.

Milton J. Carp, head of (he U. S. Justice Department Strike Force here, credited a lengthy investigation by the FBI for the indictment. The FBI investigation apparently uncovered a nationwide practice of rotating prostitutes among different cities; The five defendants were to be arraigned late today and then freed' on bond to await trial on the charges.

WW The Family Circus V. Is, 4, ASw Mi It Happened Dec. 20 i By John Pocg FIVE YEARS AGO Castle Shannon volunteer firemen received a new $93,000 snorkel truck but had to remove part of the garage ceiling to get it inside Israeli and Syrian gunners exchanged fire in the Golan Heights. 10 YEARS AGO Pittsburgh Postmaster Edward G. Coll asked the public to be patient with the just-introduced Zip Code mailing system Russian-made Arab fighters shot down a small, American-made plane east of Alexandria.

25 YEARS AGO Tht Civic Light Opera renewed its contract to stage performances at Pitt Stadium The owner of an cocker spaniel named "Rusty" in Bloomfield found his pet's stomach ache came from swallowing a half dozen inch-sized ball bearings. 50 YEARS AGO Ben K. Alward, in the shoe business for 32 years, said Pittsburgh women had bigger feet than women of any other city he had visited but were also "better dressed and more beautiful." He said Boston was second in big feet. 12-20 3sgV rr 'That means we're wishing EVERYBODY a Merry Christmas even the man across the street who told us to get lost on Halloween.".