Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 19

COURIER-POST I MOVIES COMICS TELEVISION. OBITUARIES ...2 Classified CLASSIFIED Delaware Valley SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1984 Camden widow awarded $10 million CAMDEN A widow and her three daughters have been awarded 810,235,000 in an out-of-court settlement stemming from the death of her husband two years ago in a car accident Martha Pitts, 38, and children, Andria, 14, Nicole, 12, and Robyn, 2, of Camden, are expected to receive their first payment by the end of the year, said family attorney Michael A. Kaplan of Haddonfield. The settlement was reached Thursday, the same day the case was scheduled for trial "It's a fairly high settlement, but her husband, 36 at the time, was just beginning to earn a good income and was sole supporter of the family The settlement is tax free, so they've done better than a lottery winner. They'll be well taken care of for the rest of their lives," said Kaplan.

Robert Pitts, a Bridgeton native, was killed Oct. 29, 1982, in a multi-vehicle pile-up on 1-295. A union carpenter for Bechtel General Contractors, Mr. Pitts was traveling south en route to work at the Salem from Alexandria, to Boston for Intermodal Transportation Inc. of Virginia.

Intermodal will pay the largest portion of the settlement Two other defendants. Great Bear Spring Water Co. of Philadelphia and Liquid Box Company of Dept-ford, which loaded the water truck, will pay the rest The exact amounts are still to be determined by the court In addition, the court will apply a formula to set Kaplan's fee, which could range between 8150,000 to 8300,000. At the time of his death, Mr. Pitts earned 846.000 a year.

His youngest daughter, who was born one month before the accident with limited useof her arm, remains in physical therapy for the defect Since Mr. Pitts' death, the family has been living on the children's Social Security benefits and "minimal" benefits provided by the father's union. "They really struggled and they don't have a dime now. It's really nice to see somebody so deserving get the money. A lot of clients are greedy and just looking for a fast buck, but these people really deserve it," said Kaplan.

nuclear generating plant in Lower Alloways Creek when a tractor-trailer in the northbound lane jumped the medial strip and struck his car. Two other cars also were hit, including one driven by a state trooper. Another truck driver pulled Mr. Pitts from his car, a Lincoln Continental, seconds before it exploded on the scene, but he died three days later at Underwood Memorial Hospital in Woodbury. The trooper was uninjured, but the other driver, Elmer Dorer of Harrisburg, was seriously injured.

His lawsuit still is pending. The accident began in the northbound lane when the rear door of a Great Bear Spring Water Truck accidentally opened, spilling thousands of plastic water jugs onto the highway. Another truck immediately behind swerved to avoid the containers. A third truck, in an effort to do the same, crossed the medial strip. The third truck was a tractor-trailer carrying furniture (Ghoul gallery 7L -j.

(I- i ir' i. 1j sir' hWnW 1 i Courier-Post photos by Evangelos Dousmanis St. Luke School students Laura DelPa- await judging of their painted pumpkins lazzo (above, left) and Bryan Perry of the yesterday while fellow student Brian Gal-St. Luke's School in Stratford nervously lagher (left) displays his creativity. Project opens doors for handicapped pupils IN BRIEF Rep.

Smith wants to halt calls to office TRENTON Rep. Christopher Smith, who is seeking re-election in the 4th District, said yesterday he is seeking an injunction to prevent the campaign committee and employer of his opponent, Democrat James Hedden, from making reputed "harassing and obscene" tele phone calls to Smith's campaign headquarters. Smith said an investigation by the Hamilton Township Police Department traced some of the calls to telephones at offices of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which employs Hedden. He said other calls were traced to Hedden's campaign headquarters. "These calls have continued for several weeks and when continued pleas to callers to stop went unheeded, we decided to contact the authorities and have those calls traced," Smith said.

Smith said police traced more than 35 calls to the federation and Hedden's campaign office. Eric Pritchard, a spokesman for the Hedden campaign, said Hedden does not know if the calls were made from his campaign headquarters and said any such calls were not authorized by the campaign. He said Hedden has written a letter to Smith that he will not tolerate that type of behavior by his campaign workers. "If these calls have been made from my campaign, you certainly have my apology," Hedden said in the letter. "In fact, you have my word that this type of behavior will not occur in the future." Former football player dies in shooting with Phila.

police PHILADELPHIA A former National Football League (NFL) player accused of trying to steal a squad car died last night after he was shot in the head by a police officer, police said. Charles Janerette, 45, of Philadelphia, who police said had suffered from a mental illness for 12 years, died at 5:45 p.m. at Hahnemann University Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said. Police said Janerette, who played for Penn State University and four professional teams in five years, was shot at 2:30 a.m. in Center City.

Officer Kurt VonColln had stopped two men on mopeds for a traffic violation and was questioning the two drivers when Janerette walked up and got Into the squad car, according to Al Lewis of the police public affairs office. VonColln removed Janerette from the car and held him against a wall to begin frisking him when "a scuffle developed and a shot was fired," Lewis said. Janerette, who had moved into his parents' home after separating from his wife, took medicine to control his mental illness, detectives said. Janerette, who graduated from the city's Frankford High School, attended Penn State from 1955 to 1959 and played for the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants of the NFL and the New York Jets and Denver Broncos of the old American Football League. His professional career ended in 1965.

VonColln also was taken to Hahnemann, where he was treated for minor injuries and released. Student in critical condition after being hit by milk truck CAMDEN A second-grade student at the Sumner School was in critical condition yesterday after being hit by a milk truck on the playground of the school here. Injured was Aquil Wiggins, 7, of the 1600 block of S. 9th a student at the school at 8th and Jackson streets. The accident occurred at 8:15 a.m., before school had opened.

The child was taken to Cooper Hospital-University Medical Center after the accident, where he was being treated for multiple injuries. The driver of the truck, who had been making a delivery at the school, was identified by police as John W. Sykes of Glenolden, Pa. Sykes told police he had checked around his truck before pulling out and had seen no one. No charges were filed pending an investigation.

The incident was handled by Patrolman Arnold Jones. Officials to continue fight against nuclear fuel storage LACEY TWP. Local officials vowed yesterday to continue battling efforts by Jersey Central Power Light Co. to return spent nuclear fuel to a storage facility here. The utility was ordered by a judge In Buffalo, N.Y,to remove the nuclear waste from a site in New York.

A federal judge in Trenton last month overturned a township ordinance that banned transportation of atomic fuel into this Ocean County community for storage. Acting Township Administrator Gary Reith said local officials believe their municipality's right to home rule was violated by the decision that voided the ordinance against transportation of nuclear waste for storage. The problem began last year when a federal judge in Buffalo ordered JCP4L and other utilities to remove the nuclear waste they had stored at a fuel reprocessing plant in West Valley, Y. Jersey Central sent the spent fuel there in 1975. JCP4L planned to move the spent fuel rods from West Valley to the JCPiL-owned Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station In Lacey Township.

Ronald said, "I could hardly read anything. All I know is, I was way down. I couldn't read a newspaper." Ronald's test results showed he was reading between kindergarten and first grade level. Before the new program, some of Ronald's reading test results showed he mistook the words "go" for "new" for "white" for "with," and "my" for "may." Throughasystemofbreathingtechniques(forcalmnessand control), finger arching (tapping the syllables rhythmically using the desk as a make-believe piano to form a word), "and lots of praying," Hawkins says the results are encouraging. However, grants for the three-year project are awarded on a year-by-year basis with a provision that recipients will resubmit their proposals each year.

"We will not be accepting new applications," said Dragan, of the state department of education. "We expect to get the funding unless there are some major changes in Washington such as cutbacks in programs for the handicapped," he added. handicapped children," said Edward F. Dragan, manager of Programs and ServicesDivision of Special Education, state department of education. Lower Camden County Regional is one of 1 0 school systems to be selected statewide for the special funding.

"Our goal is to move each student ahead one grade level in an Leonard Fitts, program coordinator and district assistant superintendent of special services. The extra funds have enabled Fitts to hire a reading specialist, a cooperative industrial education coordinator (who is initiating a job placement program), a psychologist, a vice principal and a special consultant to meet with staff members, children and parents. Unlike traditional reading programs for handicapped students whereeight to 10 pupils are taught in a classroom by a special education teacher Hawkins says the special project has given her freedom to create a teaching environment to "enhance the learning of each student on an individual, one-to-one basis." Before walking through Hawkins' "Archway to Reading," By MARY E. PEMBLETON Of the Courier-Post CLEMENTON When next March comes, Ronald I. (not his real name) will have more than his 18th birthday to celebrate.

For the first time in his life, Ronald will be able to read birthday cards sent to him by friends and well-wishers. It all started a few weeks ago when Ronald walked into teacher Claudia Hawkins' reading center, a component of the newly funded vocational education pilot project designed to help emotionally disturbed junior and senior high school students. Funded undcra 1.5 million specialeducation federal grant, the Lower Camden County Regional High School District One received 8 102,900 for programs to help upper grade students improve their basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics while preparing them for the job market. "Most of the emphasis has been at the elementary level. We've found that the dropout rate is higher, absenteeism is higher and the unemployment rate is higher among Ex-policeman, wife sentenced to jail for drug trafficking ill'1' jt 1 i her to participate in the county jail's work-release program Mondays through Fridays and to spend the weekends at her home in the Erial section of Gloucester Township.

The couple has a 12-year-old daughter. Pierson, 40, a policeman in the township for 14 years, was described by his attorney Maury Cutler as a "cop's cop" who was particularly helpful to new officers. Pierson told Superior Court Judge E. Stevenson Fluharty that drugs found in his house had a value of about 873. Original published reports of his arrest estimated the value of the metham-phetamine at 8100,000.

In sentencing the couple, Fluharty said be was most concerned about deterring others from getting involved in drug sales, and termed the public positions held by both Pierson and his wife aggravating factors in determining their sentences. "When police go astray, it undermines the confidence of others in our system," Fluharty said. Wixted told Fluharty that, if possible, he would have asked to set aside the plea bargain for Mrs. Pierson beca use of a letter she wrote to the probation department stating that she was singled out for harsh treatment because of her status with the CAMDEN Former Gloucester Township police sergeant Albert Pier-son yesterday was sentenced to five years imprisonment on charges of selling methamphetamines and official misconduct. His wife, Nancy, the former township court clerk, was ordered to spend 364 days in theCamden County Jail as a condition of a five-year probationary term on identical charges.

The two were arrested in November as part of an investigation by the Camden County Prosecutor's Office into the murders of three members of the Stuart family in Pine Hill. The Piersons were social friends of Louis Giambi, who was convicted last summer of the Stuart murders. Law enforcement personnel learned of their involvement in drug trafficking when they obtained a court order to place a wiretap on their personal telephone, hoping to gather information to help build a case against Giambi. Among charges that were dismissed against Pierson as part of a plea bargain with Assistant Camden County Prosecutor Dennis G. Wixted were those accusing him of conspiring to withhold information about the Pine Hill killings and turning over a handgun to Giambi in return for a supply of methamphetamines.

The sentence for Mrs. Pierson allows A mr Courf-Pot photo by AlScbeH Katie Bartleson o( Wenonah, and Mel- Bethel Park In Washington Township lisa Riggs of Mantua, both age 3, peer during a recent class trip of the Little through a pipe In the playground at Peoples Day Nursery..