Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 9

outh Jersey IE DELAWARE VALLEY THE DELAWARE VALLEY Metro editor Oebra Turner: 486-2408 SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1992 i Counting their pennies Woman's disappearance still a mystery 1 alone in the Cooper Landing apartment complex. Dede, a Canadian national, hasn't been seen since. "It's a real mystery what happened to her," said Detective John Long. "We have re-interviewed everyone in the last few months and come up with nothing. There are no witnesses, and no evidence of a physical altercation.

"We're still hopefui, though," he said. Police originally speculated she might have disappeared because of a few thousand dollars in financial debts or "for whatever reasons people disappear." They still said that might be the case, but added foul play was possible. Dede worked with autistic children at ByLIZAJAIPAUL Courier-Post Staff CHERRY HILL Yeda "Dede" Rosenthal's apartment has been rented out Her family is tired and frustrated. And police have no clues. It's been a year since Rosenthal, 32, was reported missing by a worried co-worker.

She disappeared from her apartment at Somerset Towers sometime between Feb. 22 and Feb. 25, 1991 when she did not report for work. Police found her door closed, but unlocked. Her cat was patrolling her apartment All her belongings were there, and her car was in the driveway.

She lived the Elwyn Institute, a Delaware County, rehabilitation center. Her stepbrother Blaine Rosenberg said, "It's been a year of total distress. No nothing, that's what police have found out. It's a total blank." He said her mother, Dorothy Rosenthal, was upset because Dede always called on her mother's birthday April 30. "She didn't call last year, and we're scared she won't call this year." Rosenberg said he had requested that all three television networks and CNN do a report on Dede, and that none had responded.

He has also tried to get the television show "Unsolved Mysteries" to do a report on her, and is attempting to put together reward money. "Right now, nothing's materialized," he said. And in the past all leads and detective work have come up empty: Dede received an eviction notice from Somerset Towers on Feb. 22, 1991 because she was behind in her rent. And then on March 1, after her disappearance, $586 was transferred from her account to Somerset Towers, by some undetermined person.

A dog trained in finding dead bodies was used to search the apartment complex and found nothing. Two possible suspects one in Cherry Hill and one in Canada were Please see WOMAN, Page 6B i iiiir 0111 "fij! ifccuri Courier-Post photo by Debra L. Bicking 'Pennies from Heaven': Brian Hassinger (left), Catherine Hassinger and Alison Stewart take part in activities Saturday at the Family in Mount Laurel to benefit the Moorestown Creative Playground Committee. (l want to come back here to Hue' ,) u-M'm Car engine catches fire; West Berlin man burned BERLIN TWP. A West Berlin man 1 was badly burned in a car engine fire early Saturday afternoon, police said.

John Przywara of the 100 block of Clif ton Avenue was injured when the fuel delivery system on a car he was servicing caught fire, police said. Police and volunteers from the West N.J., heirs at odds over cleanup By ROSEVENDITTI MclVER Courier-Post Staff TABERNACLE Out here amid the scrub pines in a desolate section of the Pinelands sits a rubberized monument to mankind's affair with the motor vehicle. Eight million tires occupy 89 acres, the largest such graveyard in the state. There are enough tires here to give a spare to every man, woman and child in New Jersey with two for everyone in Burlington County. Fifteen years after tire retreader Asa Foster died, his property has become a legacy of bureaucratic red tape for his heirs, a source of fear for the 13 households that have sprung up nearby, and a wellspring of environmental concern for government agencies.

Everybody wants to get rid of this grimy blot on the landscape. The neighbors are afraid the dump will be torched again turning a virtually indestructible eyesore into a toxic hazard. Burning tires pollute the air and endanger ground water as well. Tire fires are difficult to extinguish and can smolder for weeks, spewing noxious black Please see STATE, Page 2B Berlin Fire Company and the Berlin Ambulance Squad responded to a 12:28 p.m. call about a garage fire.

Because the garage was detached from the house, the fire did not spread, police said. 4 Przywara, 62, who suffered second- and third-degree burns, was taken to West Jersey Hospital Berlin for treatment. He was then flown by helicopter to Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Pa. iii v'viii 5. air" tsv: Courier-Post Dhoto bv Avi Stemhardl Discouraged: Elsie Streater Love stands in front of her family's vandalized home on Sheppard Road in Voorhees.

Vandals damage woman's childhood home Where we are An 89-acre Pinelands tract covered by several million tires in piles ranging from a few feet to more than two stories tall. Why we're here A once-successful tire retreader dies and the business languishes. What's next Uncertain. Everyone wants the tires removed but no one is putting up any money to do it. smashed a window in a bedroom and tore out the plywood that covered other windows broken in an earlier incident.

They broke tiles in a bathroom, smashed the electric meter, poured motor oil in a rain barrel, threw window blinds into the yard, stole blankets from a bed. They left behind a message, dated Feb. 16 and written with caulk on a panel of Sheetrock inside the house: "Do not enter or die." The vandals also caused emotional damage: Love, who is black, feels the repeated attacks are racially motivated. The homestead, a country site when the Streater family moved there 50 years ago, now is surrounded by an affluent, largely white suburb, she notes. "I've heard of vandalism, but for somebody to do this they're saying, 'We don't want you said Love, standing on a glass-strewn floor before a gaping windowframe.

The vandals left no racist messages. Still, Love said, "I want to know why and why us?" Voorhees police are investigating, but currently have no suspects, according to Detective Sgt. Jeff Nardello. "It's an unusual case of vandalism," said Nardello, who said police don't know the motive for the incident "If any information surfaces that points to anything racial, it will be investigated to the fullest." Please see VANDALS, Page 6B By JIM WALSH Courier-Post Staff VOORHEES Elsie Streater Love has plans for her family home, a little house on a twisting dirt road in a rural area here. She's fixing up the dilapidated building, which has been vacant for several years.

With a new roof, a heater and other improvements, the Streater homestead could become her home again, says Love, who now lives in an Atlantic City rowhouse far from her childhood roots. But someone else had plans, too. Last Sunday, a vandal or vandals rampaged through the isolated house the third such incident there in a year. They took an ax to a steel door, hacked their way through walls, Hospital officials said he is listed in critical condition. at V'-' i' Man charged with rape MILLVILLE A city man has been charged with abducting, beating and raping a 3'j-year-old Millville girl early Saturday.

Domingo Velez, 36, was arrested following questioning Saturday evening, said Lt. Ron Harvey. Velez, the boyfriend of an aunt of the girl, was charged with aggravated sexual assault, aggravated assault, kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child, Harvey said. Velez is being held on $100,000 cash bail at Cumberland County Jail, he said. The girl was found abandoned at 1:57 a.m., police said.

She was taken to Millville Hospital, where doctors determined she had been sexually assaulted, according to police. The child was in fair but stable condition following minor surgery for her injuries, police said. Officials declined to reveal what the injuries were. The girl was reported missing from her home at 10:20 a.m. Friday by another aunt with whom she was staying, Harvey said.

Arrest follows drug sale CAMDEN A 22-year-old man city man has been arrested and charged with possessing 384 vials of crack cocaine. Police said Junior Rivera of Benson Street was arrested about 7 p.m. Thursday at Broadway and Chestnut Street. Rivera was observed making a drug transaction by members of the police department's special operations unit who had staked out the area. Rivera was charged with possession of crack cocaine, possession of the drug with the intent to distribute and possession of the drug within 1,000 feet of a school.

Police said the drugs confiscated were valued at $3,840. Rivera was being held Friday in the Camden County Jail on $8,000 bail. Drag-racer's trial to start Names of the games are his stock in trade i The name is sewn on a piece of white cloth called a plate. That costs $6. The two large numbers on the back are actually four large numbers, because each must be cut out in two colors.

That's $20. And the two small numbers on each sleeve CAMDEN A manslaughter trial begins Monday in Camden County Supe rior Court for a man charged in the deaths of three people during an April 1990 drag-racing accident. ROSEMARY PARRILL0 Stephen Ballerini, 20, of Pennsauken, faces three counts of aggravated man slaughter in the deaths of Douglas Poplawski, 19, of Willingboro; Michelle Mathes, 17, of Mount Holly, and Maria with sports and how he could not live without a replica of his hero's jersey. But if you're me, you just might question why a grown man in his 30s or 40s, who may otherwise appear completely normal, would want to show up at a game wearing one of these things as if Coach Bill Dineen is going to send him out on the ice any minute. "They're either living or reliving a sports fantasy," says Larry.

"A guy has his Eagles shirt, his Eagles striped pants, his Eagles hat He's in heaven." It's a good thing. Because he obviously has no life on earth. But I digress. "I have people come in here on a Friday with a Flyers jersey who say they will pay anything to get a player's name on it by the next home game on Sunday. I had a customer who wanted a Boston Red Sox home baseball jersey with Roger Clemens' number 21 on it It cost $150.

That's a lot of money for a shirt "Another guy asked if I could get him a University of Kentucky jacket by next Friday. I told him yes, but he never asked what it would cost. It didn't seem to matter." By the way, it cost $225. So as we can see, this uniform replica stuff translates into mucho grande business. Which may have just a little bit to do with why: The Phillies will change their uniforms from head to toe this season.

"I already have six dozen hats on order and no one even knows what they're going to look like yet says Larry." There's serious talk the Flyers will change their uniforms in the next year or two. The Sixers changed their uniforms before the start of this season and I predict the Eagles will not be able to resist doing the same. l.Brry, atop omillDg. RoMfflary Psmllo'i column appear every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. The local sports bulletin was barely minutes old when Larry's phone started ringing.

The Flyers had just dumped right wing Rick Tocchet from their roster, dealing him to the Pittsburgh Penguins. And now it was the fans having their way with him. "How much is it to change a name on a hockey jersey?" asked the tiny voice on the other end of the phone. "Well, it depends," said Larry. "Who are you taking off and who are you putting on?" "I'm taking off Tocchet and putting on Brind'Amour," said the young boy.

Et tu, my little rink rat? Fame definitely is fleeting. Especially here in Phillytown where sports fans change allegiances as often as they change underwear. Actually, judging by some of the people I've seen at games, they probably change allegiances way more often. Anyway, Larry Litwin just couldn't believe the calls he was fielding at his Cherry Hill sporting goods shop, "Hello, Sports Fans." "I'd say Rick Tocchet was our most popular shirt. But when the trade was announced, I must have gotten 15 or 20 calls from people asking to have his name removed from their jerseys." This may not mean much to you, but for sports shop owners a trade can mean lots of new business.

Most of the customers asking to have Toccbet's name and number 22 removed are replacing it with the team's all-star center Rod Brind'Amour, number 17. And how much does this little switcheroo cost? "We're doing it for a flat $50," says Larry. Which may sound like a lot until you look at what it takes to get Tocchet off your back. First of all, Brind'Amour is not a short name. Only fans of New York goalie John Vanbiesbrouck or Detroit defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov pay more for lettering.

Letters cost $1.10 each. So that's $11. Szczepanski, 18, of Mount Laurel. According to an August 1990 indict ment, Ballerini was drag racing with Poplawski on April 8 on Route 130 near Route 73. Their two cars were headed north at about 1:30 a.m.

when Poplawski lost control of his car. The car struck a curb, flew into the air, cut off the tops of several trees and slammed into Pennsauken Creek about are really eight small numbers because they also must be done in two colors. That's $12. Then there's the fee for ripping off Tocchet 's name. Considering the tedious task, it's a bargain at $10.

Actual total: $59. So Larry thinks $50 is a good price. As for the basic hockey jersey. That's a whole other matter. If you want an authentic one, that's $150.

It comes with shoulder and arm pads and something called "fighting straps," which tie around your legs so your opponent can't pull it over your head during a brawl (blood not included). An authentic replica, which is the most popular one, costs $50. And if you want it with a player's name and number included, it's $87.50. Unless, as we've already discussed, you want the man of many letters, Brind'Amour. Then it will cost you $92.50.

So where do kids get all this money? Parents and birthday gift certificates, says Larry. "But we have a policy that we won't let kids buy a lot of expensive things without a paint's OK. People think I'm crazy, but I think it's more responsible." Most people can understand a kid's fascination 20 feet below. i INDEX OBITUARIES 7 ROAD WATCH 2 WEEKLY POLICE 6.