The Morning News from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 9

The News-Journal papers Wilmington, Del. What drought? Prices plummet Despite water restrictions, some Crude oil prices fali 68 cents a local companies sport lush, barrel to the lowest level since green lawns, B3 November 1986, B8 Tuesday, July 12, 1988 G38ws 2 Weather, B2 Lotteries, B2 () Obituaries, B4 Business, B8 SECTION '(v4 IOC! AIDS funding grows as does protection for victims By Nancy Kesler Dover Bureau chief Gov. Castle Monday signed into law four bills that will give state workers better guidelines for dealing with AIDS and victims of the disease better protection from discrimination. He also announced that Delaware has received a $538,398 federal grant for AIDS programs in the state, nearly double the amount received last year. "A great deal of emotion surrounds AIDS," Castle said, so the reaction of public officials to the disease is important.

He called the new laws "solid, professional policies" to continue to manage the issue "in a safe, responsible manner." H.B. 559 provides for informed consent and confidentiality when testing a person's blood or body fluids for the AIDS virus. No health-care facility could test for the virus without fully explaining the test to the patient and obtaining consent. But the law does not preclude facilities from testing a person without consent if he or she is unable to give it or if the safety of a health-care worker is involved. The new law also sets up restrictions on who may have access to test results.

H.B. 599 updates the Delaware code relating to sexually transmitted diseases, the first major revision in 40 years. It clarifies procedures and policies related to. the diagnosis, treatment and categorization of the diseases. It also sets standards for confidentiality.

H.B. 136 prohibits discriminatory practices in employment of the handicapped. Although the new law will affect people with a variety of handicaps, it lumped with the AIDS legislation because Delaware law considers AIDS a handicap. Castle said the law will give reassurance to people that they can come forward to be tested for AIDS without fear of losing their jobs. H.B.

637 creates a tissue and sperm bank registry and requires all donors to undergo testing for the AIDS virus prior to donation. Confidentiality is guaranteed under the provisions of H.B. 559. Castle said he was pleased that the Nemours Foundation has "postponed" its new policy barring children with the AIDS virus from the Alfred I. du Pont Institute.

Attorney General Charles M. Oberly III had ordered the policy rescinded because he said it violated state public accommodation laws. The policy also would have been at odds with some provisions of the bills signed by the governor. Castle said the foundation's approach, which also would have included mandatory employee testing, was "too extensive and judgmental." The governor said the state has strong responsibilities in dealing with AIDS, which include education and counseling. Delaware has reported 107 cases of the fatal disease since 1983.

The Department of Health and Social Services has 15 staff members, tered at the Emily P. Bissell Hospital near Wilmington, working on AIDS-re-lated matters. In the last six months, the staff has presented educational programs to 8,000 people and tested 1,000 for the virus. The state provides nine locations for testing; and counseling. -The Department of Public Instruction has developed a model, mandatory educational curriculum for the public schools and is looking at formation of a See AIDS LAWS B2 In the region It i ssS Oi hi" son' vr H'i jt i I fit' 0.1 rv Hi tt tin "I I I 'i rt i r.j 61 of 63 buildings flunk test Ocean City probe-follows fatal fire Associated Press Maryland fire inspectors have flunked 61 of the 63 Ocean City buildings they inspected in the wake of a motel blaze that killed two people last month, the State Fire Marshal's Office said Monday.

The inspections, which focused on hotels, motels, apartment buildings and condominiums in the lower part of the resort cityj revealed a wide range of violations, according to Deputy Fire Marshal Bob Thomas. The most serious were the lack of smoke detectors and a lack of proper fire exits, he said. "We were most surprised by the number of buildings without smoke detectors," Thomas said. "These are very basic items and have been a requirement for several years." These violations should be corrected almost immediately, he added. Other problems included broken emergency lights and exit signs.

Thomas said property owners were being given 10 days to comply with the citations. After that, the buildings will be reinspected, and if the violations continue, the owners could face fines of up to $100 per day for each day the violation is uncorrected, the spokesman said. "If people do not take action to correct the violations, the possible fines they could face could mount and be quite extensive," Thomas said. He urged property owners to work with the two state inspectors and one fire protection engineer, who is a specialist in building construction and design. Thomas said a high percentage of violations are found around the state.

The inspections focus on buildings that may not have been looked at in the last three to five years, Thomas said. Ocean City officials asked for state assistance in the wake of the June 12 fire at the Beachcomber Motel. After the blaze, city officials admitted they were years behind in conducting inspections. Ocean City Police are continuing their investigation into the fire but have been unable to determine whether it was caused by arson or an accident, said Sgt. Sam Villani.

Police have been unable to locate two young men who were talking to people at the hotel prior to the fire, Villani said. The men, whose ages are between the late teens and early 20s, have been wanted for questioning since mid-June. Killed in the blaze were Beverly Jean Bortz, 19, and Crystal Lee Tate, 17, both of York, Pa. Staff reporter Lawrence Hardy contributed to this article. Staff photo by Patrick Crowe Cool shot Jennifer Hottes, 7, uses her squirt gun on Lynette Stearrett, 5, in Wilmington's Kosciuszko Park on Monday, providing a brief respite from the heat.

V.O.T.E. to sponsor barbecue July 24 Delaware County (Pa.) Project V.O.T.E., a community group aimed at voter registration and education, is holding a barbecue in connection with the city of Chester's annual Black Expo Festival July 24. Bobby Seale, co-founder of the 1960s' Black Panther Party, will be the chef. Seale's recent cookbook, "Bar-B- Q-N with Bobby" will be for available for sale and autographing. Brandy wine students to pay more to eat Students in the Brandywine School District will pay a nickel more for breakfast this fall and a dime more for lunch, the board decided Monday night.

The breakfast price will be 45 cents. Elementary lunches will cost 90 cents, secondary lunches 95 cents, and subsidized lunches 40 cents. Teachers will pay $1.75, up from $1.55. Officials said the increase was necessary to help bolster the district's depleting cash balance. Ocean City, N.J.

beach area still shut OCEAN CITY, N.J. A two-block portion of Ocean City's main beach was closed for a third day Monday because of a sewage spill. The Ninth Street beach was reopened Monday after tests showed that levels of fecal coli-form bacteria were well below the accepted norm, health officials said. But beaches at 10th and 11th streets remained closed because water samples showed readings of fecal coliform that were too high. Bomb threats force evacuations in N.J.

TRENTON, N.J. The second of two bomb threats forced the evacuation of the state Assembly chambers and spectator gallery on Monday, interrupting a heated debate over auto insurance reform. The caller said the bomb would go off at 6 p.m. Hardwick said the caller named Assemblyman Alan Karcher, D-Middlesex, as the target of the bomb. Hardwick attempted to keep the debate going, but members of the lower house objected and he called a brief recess while state police searched the chambers.

Several hours earlier, more than 100 spectators were evacuated from the Assembly's public gallery because of a bomb threat that turned out to be a hoax, state police said. State police evacuated the portion of the Statehouse Annex that contains the Assembly chambers, after a staffer in the Assembly Democratic staff office received the bomb threat in a telephone call about 2:40 p.m. State Police Capt. Joseph Eaton said officers searched the chambers and gallery shortly after 3 p.m., and within a half-hour spectators were permitted back into the chambers. Lawmakers were attending party conferences and were not in the room when the first threat was Swimming ban ordered at 5 Cecil beaches By Suzanne Sczubelek NeWark Bureau reporter NORTH EAST, Md.

Cecil County health officials have closed five beaches to swimming because of high levels of bacteria found in parts of the Northeast River. The beaches at Elk Neck State Park, Red Point, Craft Haven Marina, Charlestown Manor and Chestnut Point Marina were closed within the past month because of a high, level of fecal coliform bacteria in the water, health authorities said. The bacteria are a sign of sewage in the water, "Bacteria in the water means that there are diseases that can be spread. It doesn't happen very often, but it can happen," said Dr. Virginia Bailey, health officer for Cecil County.

Signs forbidding swimming were posted at Elk Neck State Park beach on Friday, and park officials said Monday that most people were heeding them. Bailey said the department has not discovered a cause for the sewage, and it can't predict when the beaches may be reopened. County health officers met with state health officials on Friday to discuss what should be done about the closed areas. Bailey said the department is testing the water quality of all beaches on the Northeast River every week. In closed areas, samplings are being taken every day.

At Craft Haven beach, where swimming has been banned for about three weeks, Donna Boas said people are going into the water anyway. She said a health official last week tested the water there and told swimmers that the level of bacteria in the water is no worse this year than it's been in the past two years. Boas said swimmers are told of the high levels of bacteria in the water, but the signs are not enforced in other ways. At Chestnut Point, owner Dorothy Fron-heiser said about three-fourths of the people on the beach are obeying the signs, but also said she was told by the health department that she didn't have to enforce them, i Bailey said that it is up to the, beaches' individual owners to enforce the swimming ban because the health department doesn't employ enforcement personnel. Sussex butcher to pay $50,000 for meat sales scam scheduled for trial July 25.

Tennefoss is to forfeit his $5,000 bond then pay the remaining $45,000 in equal monthly installments from next January until June 1993. 5 Under the plea bargain reached by Deputy Attorney General David Culley and defense attorney Michael Malkiewicz, Tennefoss may do no business with the state until the payments are completed. Superior Court Judge William Swain Lee set sentencing for Sept. 2. He ordered a presentence investigation.

doing in an alleged scam involving the theft of beef from the school district and the sale of substandard beef to the other agencies. John Magathan, former director of food services at the Stockley Center, pleaded guilty Friday to official misconduct and was fined $750. He accepted lesser-quality meat from Tennefoss than a state contract required. Lynda J. Baltzer, former food services supervisor for Capital schools, and Stanley Grzybowski, who worked for Tennefoss, are By Bruce Pringle Sussex Bureau reporter GEORGETOWN A Sussex County butcher's role in a meat sales scam will cost him $50,000.

James Tennefoss agreed Monday to pay that amount to the state as restitution for cheating the Stockley Center, the Department of Corrections and Capital School District. He also pleaded guilty to six charges stemming from his dealings with those organizations. He is the second person to admit wrong Christina district wants 2 new elementary schqols, 4 additions additions for fall 1990. The next year, the district plans an $8.6 million elementary school in a new housing development expected off Walther Road at Old Baltimore Pike. Money to buy the property is in the state capital budget the governor is expected to sign today.

Also planned for fiscal 1991 is an addition to the Frederick Douglass Stubbs School in Canby Park. Douglass will become a kindergarten center this fall, freeing classrooms in three Wilmington elementary schools. The handi to state officials for approval, since Delaware pays 60 percent of school construction costs. Another two elementary schools already are in the works. Construction is to start later this month at Henry M.

Brader Elementary in Four Seasons south of Newark and Elbert-Palmer Elementary in the Southbridge section of Wilmington. Both are scheduled to open in fall 1989. The two additional schools proposed in the capital improvement program would be built in rapidly developing areas off Old Balti more Pike and north of Newark. Both would house kindergarten through grade three. The district's most pressing space need is in its Wilmington schools, where district students spend grades four through six.

Christina last year had 1,200 more students in grades one through three than in grades four through six. "What we're trying to do is plan ahead and make sure those 1,200 seats are available in when last year's first-graders reach fourth grade, Riley said Monday. To provide some of those seats, Christina wants to begin building additions next year to Casimir Pulaski Elementary School in Hedg-eville and Charles R. Drew Elementary on the East Side. Because so much open land is being developed in the district and so many young families are moving in, Christina officials also hope to add classrooms at R.

Elisabeth Maclary Elementary in Chapel Hill near Newark, which serves kindergarten through grade three. The goal is to prepare all three capped students who had been attending Douglass are being "mainstreamed" into regular schools. In fiscal 1992, the district ex; pects to begin a $9 million elementary school north of Newark. The du Pont family is planning to sell 800 acres near the Du Pont Louviers site, and the district hopes to obtain some of that land for a school, Riley said. He expects that school to be needed in about five years, but he said See CHRISTINA B2 By Sandy Dennison Staff reporter The Christina School District is growing so fast that board members will vote tonight on a three-year, $29.6 million capital improvement program that includes two new elementary schools and additions to four others.

Residents could be asked as early as this fall to approve a tax increase to help pay for the new classrooms, said Capes Riley, Christina's director of special projects and planning. Christina will submit the plan later this month.