Altoona Mirror from Altoona, Pennsylvania • Page 1

Httoona SRitrot VOL. 94-NO. IdS PHONE 9M-7171 Altoona, Thursday Evening, Dec. 28, 1978 Founded June 13, 1874 20c a COPY U.S. Negotiators Get Unfriendly Taiwan Arrival TAIPEI, Taiwan (UPI) U.S.

negotiators, braving thousands of demonstrators screaming "Down with Carter" and "Sell-out," met Taiwan's President Chiang Ching-kuo today to map out relations with the island nation after Washington cuts diplomatic ties at midnight Sunday. The U.S. team, led by Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher, were "physically and emotionally exhausted" by the anti-American outburst that greeted their arrival Wednesday and continued today, nn American spokesman said. An estimated 20,000 Taiwanese besieged the Foreign Ministry whore the meetings were scheduled to be held and security police were apparently powerless Rhodesia Hit by Loss Of Whites SALISBURY. Rhodesia (UPI) The government announced today that whites left Rhodesia in November an unprecedented high that pushed emigration figures for the first 11 months nf the year above those recorded for all of 1977.

The figures released in the government's monthly digest of statistics in- tlicated a serious erosion of white confidence in the future of Rhodesia now the scene of an escalating guerrilla war. with no early peaceful majority rule settlement in sight. The worsening emigration trend has sent shock waves through government offices because whites run vital services and lead the reserve-packed armed forces. Prime Minister Ian Smith has frequently appealed to minority whiles to give him a chance to achieve a settlement before they pack their bags a plea that reflects fears that the war against Patriotic Front guerrillas could be lost because of massive white emigration. Government figures show that of the whites lost through emigration between January and August, 2,600 were men between 18 and 50 eligible to fight.

The latest digest showed 223 whites came to Rhodesia in November while 2,057 emigrated. leaving a negative balance of 1,8.14. It surpassed the December 1903 record of 1,634. The November figures raised the total loss uf whiles for the first 11 months of 1978 to 10,938 30 more than the 1977 total, which was a yearly high. The white community in this country of some ii.7 million blanks is now believed to number about 250,000 people, down from an estimated 275.000 in 1975.

The November figures were published one day after Smith suffered a serious setback following an announcment by his former ally Rollo Hayman who charged that the prime minister is "leading Rhodesians into a trap" by rejecting Western plans for black rule." Hayman, 53. announced his resignation Wednesday as cu-minister of internal affairs and declared that Rhodesia should now put itself under British control as suggested by Washington and London. (See RHODESIA, Page 3) to disperse them. The protesters smashed peanuts on the pavement to symbolize their rage at President Carter, a former Georgia peanut farmer. The mob.

mainly students, shouted "Down with Carter." "Sell-out." and "Carter is sacrificing our country." An unidentified taxi driver who said he fought the Chinese Communist army as a youth poured gasoline over his vehicle, climbed back into the taxi and set it and himself on fire. Military policemen immediately pulled the man from the flames. He was hospitalized, but doctors said he was not badly burned. The scene was the most violent anti- American outburst since rioters sacked the U.S. Information Agency in Taipei in May 1957.

Christopher and his colleagues, accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Fredrick Chien. switched the site of their meeting and met with Chiang at the Presidential building for about 40 minutes. A second meeting took place at the Grand Hotel several hours later. As the meetings took place, hundreds of students marched through downtown Taipei with Nationalist Chinese flags and banners protesting Carter's decision to normalize relations with mainland China. The Americans attending the first meeting with Chiang secretly gathered at the Grand Hotel where they were picked up by U.S.

Ambassador to Taipei Leonard Unger. Under escort by 24 police motorcycles, they drove to the Presidential building. An estimated 10.000 demonstrators Wednesday threw paini, eggs, tomatoes, rocks nnd other debris al ihe Amerirnns as they arrived at the airport. Two of the five aulos had windows shattered, and Christopher and Unger sustained minor nils. Unger's glasses were broken.

Taiwan's Premier Y.S. Sun and For(See TAIWAN, Page 3) Meat Prices To Increase WASHINGTON (UPI) -That thick, juicy hamburger soon may be as dear to Americans as a sirloin steak. The American Meat Institute pre- dicis ground beef will jump 40 to 50 cents per pound next year, up from the average of SI.20 per pound in mid-1978. The cost of steak was expected to increase by about 25 cents per pound. Sirloin steak sold for about S2.56 per pound this year.

Meat production will drop to 33 billion pounds in 1979. down from 38.7 billion pounds the previous ycnr and a peak of 39.7 billion pounds in 1977, the institute predicted. The AMI said 1979 per capita consumption of red meat mostly beef and pork will be about 180 pounds, six pounds less than in 1978. Poultry consumption, however, should increase from 57 pounds to 60 pounds per person. AMI president Richard Lyng told a news conference Wednesday beef prices will begin rising this spring and will be "sharply higher" by summer.

Lyng said he believes meat production will not fall short of demand, but if it does, the United States could count on importing Australian beef. Demonstrators throw eggs and tomatoes at car with U.S. officials who arrived in Taiwan to form new relationship Local Employment Office Optimistic By TOM GIBB Staff Writer Local employment bureau officials are looking at both clouds and silver linings. In releasing the most current employment figures which show Blair County's unemployment rate holding steady state Bureau nf Employment Security Altoona office manager Donald Ruggery predicted an unemployment rate increase for next month. But after that, he said, the unemployment rate should begin to drop again.

"It's a cyclical trend," Mr. Ruggery said Wednesday. "The peak should be hit next month." The most current unemployment figures released show Blair County's unemployment rate at 8.2 percent of the total work force. Thai's what it was last month, and that's Ihe highesi its been since March, when the county unemployment rate stood at 8.5 percent. Next month, the employment bureau manager said, it may rise "a full point to 9 or 10 percent." If it reaches 10 percent, it will be the first time that has happened since Mav Logan Twp.

Board Adopts Budget With No Tax Hike By KRIS JENKINS Staff Writer The Logan Township Board of Supervisors today adopted a no-tax-increase budget for 1979. Logan Township property owners will be taxed nexl year at 8 mills and 51) percent assessment on real estate; 6 mills will be used for the general fund and 2 mills for fire protection. The township's other taxes, including the wage and profit, occupation privilege, mercantile, business privilege and real estate transfer taxes, will remain unchanged from 1978 levels. The Logan Township budget includes Sl.819,377.36 in income and $1,708,631.29 in expenditures, with a balance of $110,746.07. The balance is held for financial obligations in sewage funds due at the end of the year.

The township's 1978 budget was $1,618,324.13 in income and $1,552,687.44 in expenditures, with a balance of 555,637.09. The supervisors also took action to decrease sewage rates for Lakemont residents. Sewage service charges will go down from $100 to $80 annually and commercial, industrial, school and church users in Lakemont will also receive a 20 percent cut in sewerage charges. The decrease is ihe result of paying off bonds that were sold to construct the sewage project in Lakemont. The supervisors tabled a subdivision request from David L.

Baird after receiving a letter from (he Blair County Planning Commission. The commission members said they "would discourage development" in that location because of Ihe flood plain. Township Solicitor Bertram Leopold said the flood plain has not yet been defined in Logan Township. Township Manager Frank Noye recommended (See LOGAN TAX, Page 3) 1975, when the unemployment. rale climbed lo 11.2 percent.

"That was because of the lail end of the recession," Mr. Ruggery said of the high unemployment rates of 2 years ago. It was also the apparent reason thai Ihe unemploymenl figures broke out of iheir cyclical trend and stayed high enough lo yield a year-end unemployment rate average of 9.2 percent. According to many economic forecasts, the United States is heading for a second recession, although lhal recession, according to many accounts will be neither severe nor long. But Mr.

Ruggery is bucking the forecasts to remain optimistic. "1 don't anticipate a recession," he said, "and if we do. it'll be lute in the year." The Alioona area "is ihe last caboose on the train," he said. "Blair County is usually one of the last in the slate or nation to be affected. "I've talked to a lot of employers, and 1 haven't gotten any adverse information tliis year." he said.

"We'll have a good year, and if we don't, I'll be suprised." But ii's not only the state of the economy which can make for suprises. Factors like Evey Shoe decision to close its Martinsburg and Altoona shoemaking operations and Warnaco Men's Sportswear decision to cut back its local operations can have a sudden, adverse effect on the local employment and economic pictures. At the same time, announcements like the federal government's decision to grant money for the construction of the crossover between downtown and Station Mall, Metro Envelope decision to set up shop in Duncansville and relocation of businesses to take the places of those that leave the area can suddenly change the picture for the better. Blair County's working population has hovered for the past year between 52.000 and 54,000 while the number of unemployed has stayed pretly much between 3.700 and 4.900. While the county has the blessings of a relatively stable economy, the employment picture here has a tendency to look anemic in comparison with the remainder of the state and the nation.

(For a comparison with the surrounding areas, see the area employment story on Page 18 of today's Altoona Mirror.) In comparison with Blair County's 8.2 percent unemployment rate, the current slatewide unemployment rate average is (See EMPLOYMENT, Page 3) III the Mirror rather a low in the irons. Friday: Cloudy, not as cold. unh a high in the 40s Page 2 Husband aaiuiited of 5 Area budgets approved Page 18 Irij-h pound St. Francis Page 24 Horoscopes 4 Movies 14 N.Y. 23-25 With God 8 Women 6 Area Comics 22 Crossword 18 Doctor 8 Yesterday's Circulation: 36,741 Crown American to Renovate Logan Mall During Expansion Work Continues on Mill Run Bridge WORKMEN ARE COMPLETING construction of the bridge over Mill Run near the Logan Valley Mall.

Part of the mall parking lot and about 15 percent of the Mess's Inc. department store will be built on the bridge as part of a project which mall developer Crown American Corp. of Johnstown figures will cost around $15 million. By TOM GIBB Staff Wriler Crown American Corp. has added a new phase lo its $15 million construction efforl at Logan Valley Mall.

Crown American official Charles Seigh, assistant to the firm's vice president in charge of construction, was in Alioona Wednesday to outline for mall merchants an extensive renovation project "which won't make the old part of the mall jusl like the new part of the mall, but it will bring it as close as possible." As part of a construction effort he estimated would cost "about SI.5 million." Mr. Seigh announced that Crown American would begin in about two weeks lo put down new flooring throughout (he existing mall's indoor walkways, install skylighis there, lower the mall ceilings, remodel the fountains and rcsl areas and undertake other, general refurbishments. While that work goes on inside the existing mall. Crown American workmen are continuing work on the mall expansion which will nearly double the shopping center's floorspace. That project, which Mr.

Seigh estimated is "20 percent complete." is expected to be finished by October. Workmen are finishing up the S4- by-700-foot bridge which spans Mill Run and on which part of the Hess's Inc. Department Store and some of the additional parking spaces will be. "Most nf the work has been underground so far." Mr. Seigh said, "hut in the next few weeks, you ought to see a helluva difference." The wcaiher hasn't ottered any delays so far, Mr.

Seigh said, and workmen are proceeding on schedule. It will be more logistics than weather lhal workmen will have lo contend with when ihey begin renovation of the existing portion of the mall. The work is slated to begin Jan. 8, during part ot what Mr. Seigh terms the merchants' "dead season," and be finished in about six months.

Work will probably grind to a halt, he said, when the Easter 'holiday season sparks more business al Ihe mall. Much of the work will be done through Ihe night, afier Ihe mall closes, "bin there's going to be a lot of work done in the daytime." Mr. Seigh forecast. For starters, workmen will tear out the existing flooring and begin pouring concrete for the new, epoxy terrazzo flooring a mosaic-pattern, whitish-gray material which will take the place of the existing flooring. Crown American is hoping to tear up and replace 2.000 square feet of floor each day.

and finish the job within about 20 days, supplying temporary plywood walkways where needed. "In most cases, we shouldn't disturb your hours," he told approximately 30 mall businessmen who turned out tor the presemation in a Scars Roebuck employee training room. "There may be isolated cases, where you only have a single door for an entrance, whert you mighl have to be closed for a day." Workmen will wait until warmer weather before culling holes in the roof lo install the 13 new skylights Crown American plans to add. (See MALL WORK, J) 3.