The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 2

A-2 Pitts'3ur9'1 Press- Sunday, Sept. 30, 1 973 Not Ploying liquor goto Gome Sidelines Jo furs In the window, there's a set of brass scales, the kind held aloft by that blindfolded chick wearing a maxiskirt. There's a small plaster statue of Plato "one of my ancestors," says Alexander Roy McHugh Coluninist-at-Iarge I -f ilk Jaffurs whose grandfather changed his name from Zafara-kos. I did not notice anywhere a box for donations to the Little Sisters of the Poor. No longer chief counsel to the Liquor Control Board, Jaffurs has reopened his narrow storefront law the stata Senate and lost.

He ran for a judgeship and lost. He ran for district attorney, but, getting no encouragement in any quarter, withdrew from the race. J. Shane Creamer, the state attorney general at the time, put him to work with the Liquor Control Board for $26,000 a year. "He told me he wanted a watchdog," Jaffurs said.

"I knew I was walking into a snake pit, but I felt with the attorney general backing mc, I'd have leverage." Jafuirs did have leverage. But apparently J. Shane Creamer did not. He lost his job. "When Creamer left, I saw that my days were numbered," said Jaffurs, and with three children growing up he was not indifferent to the prospect of starting from scratch again in the law.

He takes it for granted he will never hold another public office, elective or appointive. His track record in campaigns is unpromising and Liquorgate has typed him as unemployable, a subordinate who says what he thinks. "I'm a risky fellow to have around," Alexander Jaffurs concludes. It doesn't really matter, but Jaffurs had not been the villain. His principal crime was to answer the abstract question of a newspaper reporter.

On the counters of state liquor ftores, were collection boxes for private charities legal? Probably not, Jaffurs said. The board itself then ordered them taken out, Press Old Newsboy collection boxes as well as the Little Sisters'. Jaffurs bad simply been forthright, which in politics is a terrible mistake. Shapp, who has learned his lessons, quickly countermanded board's order, and Jaffurs agreed it was the right thing to do. "Considering the big issues I was' grappling with, it's ironical I was done in by an issue like that," he said the other day.

Actually, as he realized, he was done in for not playing the game. He was done in Tor exposing thoughtful gifts of booze from whisky dealers to liquor board members and other state officials; for inquiring from an ethical standpoint about legislators who were also attorneys and represented clients before the board; for complain- pocket for the last $600 cf the sculptor's fee when a public subscription fell short, and council then refused to let it be placed where he wanted it in front of the borough building. He recommended physical-fitness tests for the police, and when they did not respond with anything like enthusiasm, he invited them to keen him company on a 30-mile hike to Greens burg and back. It was rather a lonely walk. Tall and tapering, his face unlincd, at 43, Jaffurs is a gray-haired but still robust athlete, a single-wing quarterback at the University of Pennsylvania when the single wing was not a curiosity, a baseball and basketball player too.

One year he explored Europe on a motor scooter. In his late thirties, he entered the Boston Marathon, finishing the 26 miles well to the rear. Well to the rear is where he usually finishes in politics. He wa3 a Democratic mayor and councilman in a decidedly Republican borough, but there you have a comprehensive summary of what Jaffurs has accomplished as a candidate. He ran for the House of Representatives in Harrisburg'and lost.

He ran for says, before mavericks ever became fashionable. Others have copied his style, others may have gone farther, but out our way, Jaffurs was first. Some examples: During the 11)71 municipal strike, the mayor of Pittsburgh, Pete Flaherty, up garbage himself; as the mayor of Wilkinsburg, Jaffurs was picking up garbage in 1966. i Flaherty ended the fixing of traffic tickets; in Jaffurs beat him to it. Clerk of Courts Robert Pelrce Is trying to stop the ripoff of a $128,000 slush fund left over from the days when Bill McClelland and John McGrady were county commissioners; Jaffurs was saying four years ago that the money should be spent in some useful nonpolitical way.

Then as now, his suggestions were seldom popular, When Jaffurs was a Wilkinsburg councilman, he introduced legislation to re-, duce council salaries by half. The legislation did not pass. He commissioned, as mayor, a bronze bust of John F. Kennedy, going into his lng when legislators pressured the board, subtly or otherwise, to reconsider penalties against liquor and beer distributors and tavern and club owners; for calling attention to the board's habit of publicly announcing fines and suspensions and then revoking them quietly; for precipitating the whole Liquorgate scandal, with hearings that went on and on. He was done in or doing a he thought he was hired to do make sure that the board conducted its business within the law.

Jaffurs, in short, was a spoilsport. He always has been. He was a political maverick, as he office at 735 JAFFURS Avenue in Wilkinsburg. There were several reasons why Milton Shapp fired him, but the first one the governor mentioned on a recent visit to Pittsburgh concerned Jaffurs' attitude toward the Little Sisters of the Poor and their collection boxes. The man was without judgment, Shapp explained.

"Taking those boxes out of the state liquor stores," he said with a smile that deplored such cold-hearted pettiness. End Missing Link North Side Dead 4 fill i I a fix-up investment knowing their buildings will eventually be torn down. for. the highway. "I won't put 50 cents into my building unless I have Lockhart de clared." "While this uncertainty and delay exist, the property and its value just continue to go downhill." Speed Vandalism Cited He also called attention to vandalism and fires.

"When someone moves out of a building, they're (vandals) in there the same afternoon, stripping out the plumbing and anything else worth any money." He said some residents refused to- sign the petition asking PennDot to act swiftly because they pay $35 to $40 a month in rent and, "Where would they find other places to live as cheap?" i PennDot claims the project Is -in the "programming and corridor location study" phase. Recently the department assigned a 'Tit tv 4 W.i Ml 1 i li; Hit 5 f. I'V, 11' I 'l ife H'l (431 Route 19-65 "thru" traffic emerged In 1961 when a $100 million Lower Belt System was proposed for the North Side. In 1965 owners In the missing link stretch were told by the state that their properties would be acquired "over the next few months." "Those few months have dragged into eight years," according to J. E.

Lock hart who has operated a tavern-restaurant at the corner of Western Avenue and Chateau Street since 1959. "Our neighborhood has decayed to the extent that we now have more than 180 vacant buildings. "The state finished the (Duquesne) bridge and now they're almost done with the new Ohio River Boulevard but we're not sure the two will ever be connected." PennDot Urjeef To Act Lockhart and 40 other property owners signed a petition last spring to ask PennDot to act on the project. They said: "We cannot remodel our property or make alternate plans for the future until PennDot stops dragging its feet. Unlike the East Street Valley, we need action now.

"More and more houses are becoming vacant, posing a hazard to the safety of our community." Some members of the group took a survey in April which showed 168 of 364 buildings in the highway plan were vacant, but the toll has increased. Lockhart said most residents are elderly, tenants, retired, -or living on welfare, claiming owners either don't have the money to remodel or won't risk By JOE GRATA They finished the "Bridge to Nowhere" but forgot the "Missing Link." The Fort Duquesne Bridge" once c3me to a dead end some 50 feet above the Allegheny River and before it reached the north shore, giving the span notoriety. Four years ago, it finally was completed along with ramps to Three Rivers Stadium and North Side streets. In Manchester the state is near completion of a $16.1 million, one-mile stretch of a modern, new Ohio River Boulevard after starting work in January, 1970. Between the two projects, however, lies an important "missing link" in the Pittsburgh highway system.

Although complicated In design, the almost forgotten section: Has not been placed In the slate's capital budget because preliminary project requirements haven't been met. lS Encompasses a blighted area with 364 homes and buildings, about half of which are vacant. May not be built until the 1980s unless government officials push the project. Bridge Unresolved A related and yet unresolved part of the project calls for a new twin-span West End Bridge, or a two-deck variety similar to the Fort Duquesne Bridge. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDot) says another three years at the minimum Will elapse before the first properties can be acquired for the right-of-way of less than one mile.

This means many visitors to Three Prni Photos by Donold Stetzer consultant fon an environmental im- pact statement, which could take as long as a year to complete. r-t Then comes a design location study and public hearing. William Raves, deputy chief highway engineer out of PennDot in Harris-burg, said it will be three years before property acquisition can start. Wore Delays Possible "If we encounter any delays, such as not getting prompt capital budget approval or beqause of objections to the project by any source," he said "then the indicated time scheduled is no longer valid." By the time all approvals are obtained, properties acquired and arguments settled, it could be the 1980s before a bulldozer digs into the dirt. J.

E. LOCKHART Raps PennDot foot-dragging. Rivers Stadium will continue to travel antiquated roads meant for local travel, fight traffic jams and view some rundown buildings in the city. Plans for the highway combined THREE-STORY; ROADBLOCK is what this buildinej amounts to as it and about 173 other vacant structures sit and decay in' an area that eventually will become a vital part of the city highway system. For seven years, the Fort Duquesne awarded two contracts totaling $12.5 Bridge stood dormant after the state minion to speed the completion and spent $8 million to build it almost to the the to Nowhcre.

ta 0c. north shore of the river. foFber) 19 Then the state, acting under public Now motorists contend with the "Miss-pressure and embarrassed, by its folly, lng Link." I MWjWUf XC.T ALLEGHENY (f Wintermantel Magazine Chief "Meanwhile, I am confident Ed Wintermantel is fully capable of maintaining the high quality of The Pittsburgh Press magazines, which rale among the best in the country." Wintermantel is a graduate of Duquesne University, which he attended after serving four years in the Navy during the Korean War period. He also attended Avonworth High School and the Pittsburgh Academy. He and his wife, Ann, and their 21-month-old daughter, Cristin, live In the Banksville area of the city.

Patterson was graduated from the University of Notre Dame and joined The Press as a reporter in 1941. He served three years with the Army in World War II, after which he rejoined the Press features department. He became magazine editor In 1956. Edward D. Wintermantel, 42, has been named magazine editor of The Pittsburgh Press.

He succeeds John W. Patterson, 53, who resigned to pursue other opportunities. Patterson was with The Press for 32 years, including 17 as magazine editor. Wintermantel, who started with The Press as a reporter in 1961, has served as assistant to Patterson for the past years. As magazine editor, he will be in charge of the three locally produced Sunday Press supplements Roto.

TV Graphic and Family Magazine. "John Patterson's decision to move on to other things came as a complete surprise," said Editor John Troan. "We are sorry to see him leave and wish him well in future under-" takings. Hilton, Union Race Strike Deadline A settlement on a three-year contract for employes at the William Penn Hotel raised hopes that an agreement also can be reached with the Hilton Hotel before a strike deadline at midnight tonight. Negotiators for the Hilton and Local 237 of the Hotel and Restaurant Employes Alliance met until late last night in an effort to head off the strike.

William Penn employes overwhelmingly approved the new agreement Friday, thus averting a strike at the downtown hotel. Prior to that settlement, negotiations at the Hiiton were at a standstill. However, the Hilton negotiators called for the meeting to learn if they could digest the terms of the William Penn contract. Union officials refused to on wheXhcr they would extend the deadline should progress be made toward a settlement. Although the contract at Webster Hall Hotel in Oakland also expires at midnight, no negotiations are scheduled since Hhe management proba-' bly will abide by terms set by the William Penn and Hilton hotels.

ED WINTERMANTEL New magazine editor. Confluence Teen Killed In Crash connecting the new $16.1 million, mile-long new Ohio River Boulevard to the Fort Duquesne Bridge and ramps to Three Rivers Stadium and Manchester streets. HIGHWAY SYSTEM CAP The shaded area on the map indicates approximate boundaries and improvements in the stalled "missing link" highway project Prtis Stat Win Housing Unit Plans Spending Cut He said 30 per cent of the agency's 9,500 tenant families weren't paying rent; the payroll had jumped from 478 in 1970 to 988 ik April, 1973: $4 mm Sept. 1, the total owed in back rents was $151,933.97. Annual rents total more than $6 million.

Payroll figures snow employment at 792, not 988. However, of these, 492 are what could be termed "regular" Housing Authority employes 14 more than when Tronzo left. Rathe comptroller's reports show reserves at at the end of 1969-Tron-zo's last full year at now, not at $418,510 as the ex-administrator charged. Lawyers Cited Tronzo said there were four lawyers on the payroll, plus an additional attorney on contract to the agency. General counsel David B.

Washington said there are three lawyers, one more than when Tronzo left, and explained the agency is in court more these days, in part because of the growth of tenant UNIONTOWN A 17-ycar-old youth from Confluence, Somerset County, was killed and four other persons injured in a two-car collision on Route 40, east of this Fayette County town. The victim, Tim Tressler, was a passenger in an auto believed to have been driven by James 18, also of Confluence. Griffith was reported in serious condition at Uniontown Hospital while a third occupant, William Whaley, 20, of Confluence, was admitted in satisfactory condition. Police said the accident oc-cured early yesterday. The driver of the second car, Herbert Polak, 58, of Brownfield, Fayette County, and an unidentified male companion were in serious condition at the West Virginia University Medical Center in Mor-gantown.

Trie Pittsburgh Press A Scrlppi-Howard Newspaper General Offices at Boulevard of the Allies, Plttsburah, Pa. 15230. DoilV, 90 cents a week; Sunday, 35 cents a week. Atoll In the First and Second costal ione where thert Is no carrier delivery: Dollv-one month $2.50, one vear 128. Sunday one month $1, one veor $20.

ocitooe cost beyond Second Zone. Dolly and Sunday second-class postage said at Pittsburgh, w. Pa. Mail-suhscrlotlon tilt- phent 2oJ-1317. By BETH DUNLOP The City Housing Authority may be in for some belt-tightening to head off a financial crisis, according to Jay Gog-gin, who takes over as director tomorrow.

"We are in a very serious budget situation," said Gog-gin, who is leaving the top post at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for the housing job. Staff Cutbacks Undoubtedly," he added, "there will be some staff cutbacks." Goggin said he "can't be be specific yet" in detailing steps he intends to take to avoid a deficit. But he added he has asked that leases on "several" authority cars be canceled and he's having the staff examine ether expenses such as office supplies. Two weeks ago, Alfred I. Tronzo, who was fired as Housing Authority administrator in 1970, charged the agen million in reserve funds had dwindled to $418,510 in two years, and the agency was top-heavy with lawyers.

He also contended the Housing Authority had a fleet of 14 cars 10 more than he had and gasoline credit ards which were helping push the agency into the red. Charges Disputed Housing Authority Board Chairman Aaron P. Levinson, admitting his panel has not done a "perfect" job in running the agency, disputed many of Tronzo's charges as "grossly inaccurate." Levinson agreed Goggin had been hired to tighten administrative procedures, but he said records nonetheless show many of Tronzo's charges to be wrong. It Happened Sept. 30 v.

By John Place 1 FIVE YEARS AGO The State Highways Department said work would begin in 1970 on improvements to the Liberty Tubes and construction of an interchange at the south portal An aide to Richard M. Nixon, at midpoint in his campaign for the presidency, said "Things arc going so well, it's spooky." 10 YEARS AGO City police were reported averaging more than an arrest a day for numbers violations A "spectacular" photo was taken by scientists at Mt. Palomar Observatory of a galaxy explosion touched off more than a million years ago and still going. 25 YEARS AGO. A special grand jury ripped police inspectors for allowing racket conditions to exist in most city districts President Truman and his Republican opponent, New York Gov.

Thomas E. Dewey, took to the airwaves in network radio talks of "major importance." 50 YEARS AGO The Navy reserve set up an organization in Pittsburgh, with drills including the handling of small boats under sail and with oars A class in lip reading was offered among night courses at Schenley High School. Other Programs The rest work in three other programs. The Public Employment Program (PEP) employs 124. It's an emergency job program funded by the U.

S. Department of Labor. Another 111 staff the so-called ancillary program, a social service operation funded by the U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW).

And 65 work for the Pittsburgh Relocation Agency, an arm of the Housing Authority funded by the city, URA and the state Department of Transportation (PennDot). Records also show Tronzo did not have $4 million in reserves. Crash Claims Life Of Sharpsburg Man' A Sharpsburg man was fatally injured last night in a car crash in the 900 block of Washington Boulevard. Donald J. McKelvey, 33, of 8 Winshell St.

died in Pittsburgh Hospital, police said. Seeer Poster: Franco Harris COLOR COMICS I v'y. He said, too, that last year the authority had a consulting contract with attorney Morton Debroff, who was hired to negotiate labor contracts with the agency's unions. The authority has the 14 cars, but Goggin said he is canceling the leases on several to help avoid a budget crunch. He also said all gasoline cards are now in the possession of the comptroller, who must approve their use.

For example, records show rent delinquencies at 22.9 per cent, not 30 per cent. As of cy was in a state of disarray and vastly overstaffed..