Galesburg Register-Mail from Galesburg, Illinois • Page 1

Galesbufg Kggisfer-Mail VOLUME A Better Netvspaper GALESBURG, ILLINOIS 61401 THURSDAY, JULY 21, 1977 Chance of rain tonight Low in the mid 60s Partly sunny Friday High in the mid 80s Details on Page 2 PRICE TWENTY-FIVE CENTS air battle Market Street in downtown Johnstown, Is completely nooded while merchants lost millions of dollars wordi of Loss in the milUons goods in the flood caused by heavy rainfall. UNIFAX 37 bodies recovered in Peimsylvaiiia flooding By SCOTT MACLEOD JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (UPI) President Carter declared seven counties in the Conemaugh Valley a disaster area today and the death count continued to climb in Johnstown's worst flood since 1889. Gov. Milton Shapp, who estimated there was more than $200 million damage in Johnstown alone, said the White House action would allow local authorities to begin purchasing badly needed food, emergency equipment and medical supplies.

The governor's office said the number of recovered bodies had reached 37 by midmoming. Shapp is making plans to release an additional $1 million in state aid. "It's too early to tell how much money we will need," the governor said. "We just have no way of assessing the total damage." In the meantime, residents of ravaged Johnstown were digging out of the muddy rubble with bulldozers and shovels. "You don't find anyone sitting around and crying," said Police Chief Ed Piurkowsky.

"They will probably rebuild -Where To Find If 4 SECTIONS 36 PAGES Abingdon 17 Amusement 6 Bushnell 17 Classified Ads 30-35 Comics 2S Editorial 4 Galva 17 Hospital Notes 9 Knoxville 17 Markets 26 Monmouth 11 Obituary 9 Sports 19-22 Weather 2 Women's Pages U-16 Johnstown better than it was before the flood." History was repeating itself. One of the great American tragedies was the flood of 1889 which obliterated this coal and steel town in the Conemaugh Valley SO miles east of Pittsburgh. That time 2,209 persons died. A lesser flood came again in 1936. No one was guessing how many more bodies would be found.

"We are going after the living first and then the dead will come later," said Richland Township Police Chief James Mock. Piurkowsky, wearing a baseball cap and directing the mop up operations from a street comer in downtown Johnstown, said, "I hope in a month we will have it pretty well cleaned up. I'm sure there will be some businesses open in two weeks." Bulldozers pushed at the mud which was spread over the streets as much as two feet thick. A car was leaning against a telephone pole. A washing machine was perched on its top.

Businessmen walked through the streets barefoot, carrying their shoes in their hands. "The river isn't a threat now," said Piurkowsky. "The water has receded so there is no chance of overflow again." Rescue workers slowly made their way into the heart of the flooded downtown area where the American Red Cross center was used as the local command post. Four-wheel drive vehicles were pressed into service on rubble-filled roads. National Guard trucks checked and rechecked the three city hospitals and brought in needed supplies, blood and medical personnel.

Tanker trucks brought in desperately needed water and diesel fuel to run operations for General Telephone which was swamped by emergency calls. The city had no power, no gas and little drinkable water. Everywhere, residents shoveled thick mud from their porches, houses and sidewalks and began to assess the damage. The line of helicopters proclaimed that the search went on for the living and the dead. Sex crimes most difficult Egyptians, Libyans clash along border CAIRO, Egypt (UPI) Egyptian troops shot down 2 Libyan planes and destroyed 40 tanks and 30 other vehicles in a ground and air battle today along the Egyptian-Libyan frontier, a military spokesman said.

He said 12 Libyan soldiers were captured and ,30 "saboteurs" arrested. The spokesman said the two sides both used warplanes in the battle, which ended at 3 p.m. (9 a.m. EDT). The Egyptians suffered no losses "apart from a number of soldiers who were wounded when their vehicle was destroyed," he said.

The action began when a Libyan armored force, backed by artillery fire, advanced from the village of Mosaed, about 10 miles west of the joint border, to the Egyptian border town of Salloum, the spokesman said. "This forced our troops to confront the aggressive forces and chase them to Mosaed and then further west, where more fighting took place between the two sides. "Our land forces managed to destroy 40 Libyan tanks and 30 combat vehicles of various types, and capture 12 soldiers of the 9th Libyan armored brigade and arrest 30 saboteurs," he said. "The Libyan air force then attempted to bombard our positions, but were confronted by our air defense forces, who shot down two of the raiding planes," the spokesman said. "In view of the Libyan air force intervention, the Egyptian air force had to take part in the fighting in order to protect our land troops." He said today's battle was the latest in almost two weeks of gun fights along the joint border.

These included a four-hour artillery battle Tuesday, in which 20 Libyan military vehicles "were destroyed along with the soldiers riding in them," the spokesman said. He said nine Egyptian soldiers were killed in Tuesday's fight. Egypt deployed troops along its western border with Libya last summer, with the officially declared aim of preventing the infiltration of saboteurs. But today's communique was the first official report of major hostilities breaking out in the region. Egypt had accused Libya of inciting last January's food price riots, in which about 100 persons were killed or wounded, and of backing a fanatic Moslem group accused of attempting to overthrow the government.

Dozens of bombing incidents in several Egyptian cities during the past two years were blamed on Libyan agents. Several have been sentenced to death or long jail terms. Bill collector, German arrested for treason MIAMI (UPI) An unemployed bill collector and a West German facing high treason charges in his homeland were arrested Wednesday by FBI agents and accused of trying to buy parts from the Navy's Tomahawk cruise missile for the Soviet Union. The FBI identified the men as Carl John Heiser III, 32, of Highland Beach, and Carl Lutz Weischenberg, 33, a West German who has been living at Freeport, Bahamas. An FBI affidavit filed in federal court said "a friendly foreign service" identified Weischenberg as among 12 persons facing trial in West Germany on charges of high treason.

It said those charges stemmed from unauthorized export to the Soviet bloc of West German data processing material. U.S. Magistrate Peter Palermo ordered the two held without bond on a technical charge of failing to register as foreign agents. A bond hearing was set for Friday morning. Shortly after the arrests at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport where Heiser had delivered berg to catch an airline flight to the agents with a search warrant went to Heiser's home and seized boxes of files and records.

The 14-page affidavit by FBI Special Agent Bill Windland indicated that Heiser had been under surveillance for more than IS months. The FBI said Heiser was unemployed but had boasted to a confidential informant of having earned nearly in the past 18 months. Heiser's mother, Dorothy, said her son was a bill collector. The affidavit said the two men also had aiicmpted to buy weapons-grade uranium and thorium "in any iniantity available" and 40 aircraft gyro compasses built by Litton Industries. It said Heiser told an informant he had bought a power boat two months ago to be used in delivering the crui.se missile parts to a Soviet agent named Yuri in Cuba.

There was no indication in the affidavit as to how parts for the top secret cruise missile for which President Ca rter scrapped the Bl twmber were to be obtained. Neither was there any indication of whether certain IBM, Memorex and Bendex computer tapes allegedly obtained by the two came directly from the companies or through other parties. Living cost hike slows By LEONARD CURRY WASHINGTON (UPI) Gasoline price cuts and a slower rise in the cost of food held the June increase in the cost of living to 0.6 per cent for the straight month, the Labor Department said today. The average worker had a bit more cash, the department said, because lower income tax withholding rates increased the average worker's spendable income by 3.4 per cent, the largest gain in two years. Labor Department officials said the Consumer Price Index, which treasures average price changes in goods and services for an urban family, was at 181.8 in June, with a 1967 base of 100.

That means consumers needed $18.18 to buy goods worth $10 a decade ago. The 0.6 per cent gain for June was high by traditional standards, but it matched the previous low increases in March and May. Consumer prices rose at a 10 per cent annual rate as recently as April. The Commerce Department was expected to release an overall yardstick today that's expected to show the U.S. economy in good shape.

The Gross Nationl Product is expected to rise about 7 per cent. The rate for the first three months of was 6.9 per cent, the fastest in a year. County conviction rate 78 per cent By DENNIS HETZEL (Staff Writer) The Knox County State's Attorney's Office has won convictions in 78 per cent of cases that were filed and completed in the first six months of 1977, according to statistics released by state's attorney Carl Hawkinson this week. Hawkinson, a Harvard Law School graduate who won his first elective office at age 29 last November, also used the occasion to reflect on his first six months in office. Hawkinson said his statistics reflect good performance by his office.

His predecessor, Donald Woolsey, didn't keep such statistics so there is no standard for comparison, he said. "These will be more valuable as we compare," Hawkinson said. "They're a measure of what we're doing, and learning where we're weak." He said, though, he found no serious problem areas. The statistics record the outcome of all but minor traffic cases and generally show, Hawkinson said, "pretty much what I expected." According to the statistics, in misdemeanor cases, convictions occurred in 79 per cent of cases, or 259 of 326 cases filed. FIFTY-EIGHT cases were not filed, although police made arrests.

Hawkinson said that isn't a cause for concern. "Many of those involve family or drinking situations where the next day the complaining witness decides not to push it," Hawkinson said. "Typically it's a Saturday night and maybe the husband is drunk and hits his wife. The wife wants a complaint filed so the police make the arrest. The next day or Monday she says she changed her mind," he added.

"The police and sheriff's office do excellent investigative work. They make good cases for us and these cases that aren't filed do not reflect poor police work." Hawkinson said, in general, misdemeanor cases are rarely pursued by his office unless complaining witnesses are wilting to aid prosecution. However, in one misdemeanor area charges of marijuana possession complaints weren't filed in four of 13 cases. "Most of those came from situations where an arrest was made with four or five people in a car but no one had specific possession," he said. "Recent court cases show you have to mere filing of a sex complaint is very damaging to the individual charged.

We conduct as much investigation as tve can before filing a complaint and we offer polygraph examinations to both the victim and the State''s Attorney Carl Hawkinson Carl Hawkinson prove knowledge that the substance is there." In felony cases filed and disposed of in 1977 convictions occurred in 67 per cent of cases, or 29 out of 43 cases filed which involved 35 defendants. In cases Hawkinson inherited from Woolsey run office and disposed of in 1977, convictions were obtained in 52 per cent, or 28 of 54 cases involving 38 defendants. Hawkinson said that indicates his office could be doing a better job of screening cases and deciding what charges to file. He said it also means his office doesn't file multiple charges against as many defendants. "MAINLY, CASES have been decided by defendants pleading guilty," he said, "because the cases were so strong." He pointed to the two biggest eases he had the theft charge against hotel owner Bennie Amato and murder charge against James Otis Brooks.

In both, the cases were at the trial when the defendants decided to plead guilty. "A lot of defendants are conditioned by television," the prosecutor said. "They think they'll get off on some technicality or other reason." The most difficult cases for his office are sex crimes. "The mere filing of a sex complaint is ver)' damaging to the individual charged," Hawkinson said. "We conduct as much investigation as we can before filing a complaint and we offer polygraph examinations to both the victim and accused." In rape cases, Hawkinson said the victim may be required to take a polygraph test before a coniplaiiu will be filed.

"The victim will be put through a great deal of stress if a rape case goes to trial," he said, "and she should have, and we should h.ive -some idea of how'll she'll handle those pressures." Cooperation between his office and police agencies has been good, he said. "We disagree sometimes about what a charge should be or what we do with it, but that's natural." Apparently the office quietly disagrees with courts too but only rarely. "WE DISAGREED with one sentence," he said, referring to the 6-10 year sentence given Donald Walker, an armed robber with a 40-year prison record. "But we recognize that judges take different things into account than we do." Hawkinson said he and his two assistants try to recommend sentences that are in line with what they think judges will do. "The biggest problem is knowing what to do with the youthful thief or burglar," he said.

"Most burglars seem to be between 18 and 20, they're unemployed and have little family supiwrt. "It's hard to know what to do other than punish." Policy is, ho said, that first lime offenders in cases of non violent crime will get probation which Hawkinson called a "good lever" on a criminal and prison time will be sought on the second offense. Everything he does isn't criminal work and the public sometimes misconceives the state's attorney's job, Hawkinson said. 1 spend a lot of time referring people to other agencies," he said. "We do not handle civil matters." He gets all kinds of questions.

His favorite was a call that came from a woman last December, She wanted to know if it was legal to take a Christmas tree across a stale line. '1 told her 1 didn't know and that she could talk to a private attorney," Hawkinson smiled. Court record The charts below highlight the pert orniaiKo of the Knox County State's Attorney's Office in the first six months of 1977. The statistics were released this week by state's attorney Carl Hawkinson. All numbers reflect cases that were started and later disposed in the first six months of 197? I'liey do not reflect cases begun in 1976, or cases that still are pemlnii! Case dismissals, according to Hawkinson, arf caused by several factors including the following Complaining witnesses decided not to ciMiperaie.

Defendants pleaded to another chartie Insufficient evidence to support ihi' cl. Misdemeanors ll 1 i. 2 11 i i 3 Theft under $150 49 1 4s 4 Battery 41 10 1 4 Driving while suspended il) 0 1 Driving while intoxicated 27 1 IS 0 Disorderly conduct i6 2 1- 1 Vandalism 20 14 0 0 Possession of marijuana 9 4 -1 0 2 VJUICIS Ilh 1 22 TOTALS 326 S8 2.S9 3 61 Felonies 111 111 ill Murder 1 1 1 0 0 Armed robbery 3 4 4 0 0 Burglary 10 12 11 0 1 Drugs 7 12 5 Robbery 1 1 1 0 Theft 5 0 1 Aggravated battery 3 3 0 0 3 Forgery 1 1 1 Unlawful restraint 3 3 0 3 Incest 1 1 I TOTALS 35 43 29 0 14 GRAND TOTALS 369 3 75.