Panama City News-Herald from Panama City, Florida • Page 2

Page 2A NEWS-HERALD, Panama City, Tuesday, December 16,1975 Self Insurance Review Scheduled In Lynn Haven BY JIMMY THARPE Staff Writer Should the city of Lynn Haven switch to a system of self-insurance? Would that move be a money-saving blow to the rising cost of insuring with large companies or would it constitute an irresponsible risk on the city's part? Those two questions should get plenty of airing today at 7 p.m. when the Lynn Haven Commission meets and considers a self-insurance move as one of the points on its agenda. The self-insured system will be looked at as the result of a proposal put before the commission on Dec. 9 by City Manager Billy Kinsaul. At the meeting, Kinsaul pointed to- the: rising costs of the city's present insurance and suggested Lynn Haven switch to a system in which they would save the insurance premium now payed, put this into a "reserve fund" and use the money in this reserve to pay insurance claims accumulated by the city.

"Other cities have done if," said don't see why we can't follow their examples." Kinsaul said his proposal could have already saved the city a great deal of money as much as $340,000 if it had been using the self-insured system for the last 10 years. "We've never had a big loss," said Kinsaul, "and yet we continue to pay $30,00 a year to some big company for our insurance." One person feels those Laws Against Access To Records Opposed TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Federal regulations restricting access to criminal records contradicts decisions of the Florida Legislature and courts and violates states rights, Atty. Gen. Robert Shevin said Monday.

"These issues are uniquely a state and not a federal concern," said a statement read on Shevin's behalf by Deputy Atty. Gen. James Whisenand Equal Fund Cuts Sought TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) State spending for schools should not be reduced without equal cuts in spending for prisons and parole programs, the Florida School Boards Association said Monday. The association sent a resolution to Cabin3t members urging; them to re-examine the spending cut plan scheduled to go to the Cabinet Tuesday.

"The superior education of our youth will reduce significantly the' need for services now provided by other governmental agencies, such as social services and prisons," the resolution said. to the Justice Department in Washington. A Law Enforcement Assistance Administration regulation forbids access to information on past arrests, indictments, convictions and similar matters except by law enforcement agencies. The Florida Legislature, in approving open records law, has decided that such information should be available to anyone and Florida courts have held that state policy cannot be changed except by the legislature, Whisenand said. "The state of Florida is committed to the concept of open government and I have serious doubts about the Florida Legislature's receptivity to change Florida's public records law due to these regulations," the statement said.

Whisenand said the regulation also ignores a provision of federal law which allows access for "other lawful purposes." The regulations would forbid the state to find out criminal histories of persons handling its financial affairs. Smothers Accused Of Joking Publicity "We see all kinds of things where you have had your picture taken," Taylor told Smathers. "It seems to me that a great deal of the work of this committee has been done by a non-voting chairman." Smathers did not respond to Taylor's criticism. He said in a statement earlier that "the secretary of state is fully authorized to tell any potential candidate that he or she cannot avoid the primary with, evasive statements or letters if he or she is recognized or generally advocated by the news media as a presidential candidate. I feel it is important to also get this message across to as many candidates or potential candidates as possible." The committee will meet Jan.

19 to'consider a list of candidates- City Amends Trailer Law TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) State Republican Chairman Bill Taylor accused Secretary of State Bruce Smathers Monday of complicating the work of a presidential primary selection comrnmittee for personal publicity. Meanwhile, the March 9 Democratic primary gained its fourth active participant out of 10 probable candidates when Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Shapp said in a statement that he will campaign in Florida. a d'ispufe he started last week, told Smathers at a meeting of the committee "let's quit making headlines and get on to the business of the committee." The Republican leader criticized Smathers last week for flying to Washington to "recruit" candidates.

Panama City's city commission, at a special meeting Monday afternoon, instructed its attorney to amend an ordinance that now permits temporary permits to be issued to park trailers where such parking is prohibited by law Under the amendment no such permits will be issued in the future. The commission approved Phase One of a plat for Dellwood Estates. The commission decided to cancel a Dec. 23 meeting because of Christmas holidays. The next meeting will beheld Jan.

13. THIS CHRISTMAS Check Re-Check PRICE QUALITY BEFORE You and Your Jewelry Will ALWAYS Come from WARREN'S JEWELRY, Inc. 411 Harrison Ave. 763-4522 Next to The Martin Theater insurance premiums are justified and disagrees with Kinsaul's self-insurance proposal is Jerry Farrell, the insurance dealer who handles Lynn Haven's policy through a larger company. "Even the large insurance companies are losing money on compensation claims," said Farrell, "If they can't afford to insure with all their resources, why should the city of Lynn Haven be able to?" Calling a switch to the self-insured system at this time "an unwarranted gamble," Farrell pointed out that the city has no accumulated reserve funds to cover a major catastrophe should one occur during the first few years of the self insurance program before an adequate reserve was formed by the city.

"A city vehicle could hit a school bus," said Farrell, "and the city could be fiscally wiped out." Kinsaul pointed to the fact that the city had never been involved in a major accident of the hypothetical kind described by Farrell, but admitted that a "risk factor' would be involved. Is there any way to cover the city during the years the "insurance reserve" would be accumulating? Farrell contends that the city could maintain its present insurance while each year matching that insurance premium with funds for a reserve. When several hundred-thousand dollars have been accumulated in the reserve, the city could then drop its present insurance and switch to the self-insured system. In this way, Farrell contends, the city would not be taking the enormous risk it would by just dropping their present insurance and converting to self-insurance without having the reserve. ''I'm convinced a changeover at this time would be a very foolish move," said Farrell.

Police Nab Drug Dealers MIAMI police, working on the largest roundup of drug dealers in the city's history, Monday arrested more than half of 69 persons charged with operating in the area. By mid-afternoon, officers had picked up 36 people and had warrants out for an additional 33 in what they called "Operation Buzzard," because "these guys are picking the bones of the youth of our community." A police spokesman said the suspected dealers apparently operated separately and were not part of a single drug ring. But those arrested included about a dozen "big-time operators," he said. Nine of the 69 were women. Gun Wound Proves Fatal Nick Cannico, 209 North Harris, died at Bay Memorial Hospital Monday at of a gunshot wound that police officials said was apparently self inflicted at his residence.

No details have been announced. WEATHER FORCAST Rain is forecast Tuesday tor parts of New York state, New Jersey and New England. Rain also will occur in parts of Carolinas, Georgia and Florida. Snow flurries are slated in Great Lakes area, Colorado and parts of Wyoming and Utah. Much of the remainder of the U.S.

should have fair weather. AP WIREPHOTO AP). FORECAST Turning cooler today, with rain, thundershowers likely; winds variable 10 to 18 miles per hour, high temperatures in mid 60s, lows in upper 40s, rain probability 70 per cent today, 40 per cent tonight. TIDES: Panama City high 9:30 p.m.. low 7:53 a.m.: Port St.

Joe high 9:49 p.m., low 7:46 a.m.; Apalachicola high 12:09 a.m., low 9:33 a.m.; sunrise 6:28 a.m.,sunset p.m. RIVER READINGS Woodruff Dam 50.0; Blountstown 11.0. Highest temperature in Panama City Monday 66, lowest 40, trace of rain. Prisoner's Sons Ask For Pardon TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Two sons of a man imprisoned last month on a charge stemming from a 1970antiwar demonstration in St.

Petersburg picketed in front of the Capitol Monday, asking Gov. Reubin Askew to pardon their father. Their demonstration coincided with a similar one in Tampa before the federal court house where a federal judge postponed until Friday a hearing on a motion to have Robert Canney released. Canney, 47, was ordered imprisoned at Lake Butler Nov. 26 to begin serving a two-year sentence on a chargeof resisting arrest with violence.

Continued From Page One PROBLEM period of time." Mayor E. R. Pierce agreed the sewage problem had been, going on for some time. "This thing has been going on for two years now," said Pierce. "It's a hazard, a nuisance and we're going to have to get something done about it." Pierce pointed out that the State Health Department had been called in on the matter in July, but had apparently taken no lasting action.

"How long did the state give them to get the problem cleared up?" asked commissioner Calvin Nicewonder. "They gave them 48 hours back in the summer," said Mann, "and they still haven't acted." The owners of the trailer park had originally put the "Septic tanks" in the lowest region of the court, according to mann, so the effluent would flow into them due to the gravitational pull. This reasoning, however, overlooked the possibility that the "drain fills" would not function in the low elevation to remove the remaining effluent as they were intended to do. As a result, according to Mann, the effluent now accumulates in the tanks and eventually overflows. Mann said Monday that he would write a letter to the owners of the park asking that "substantial efforts" be made within 15 days to correct the situation.

"If corrective measures aren't begun in that time," said Mann, "I'll file suit and if the court grants an injunction the park will probably be forced to close down since they don't have any other sewage facility at present." Pierce stressed that the city doesn't want to close down the park but merely wants to get the situation corrected. "We want this problem corrected like it should have been a long time ago," said tired of smelling it." Junior High Accredited Mowat junior high school has been fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, Curtis Jackson, county school superintendent, announced today. This is the first time the school has been fully accredited and was the result of a self study undertaken by the school staff. Of the county schools only Tom P. Haney is not accredited and a self study plan is under way by that faculty.

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He had been operating an antique shop in Alfred, Maine while his case was on appeal. His conviction was upheld recently by the 2nd District Court of Appeal. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) Police put together a composite sketch Monday of an intruder who killed two people and injured three others in a "brutal, senseless" robbery-assault at a Jacksonville home for the handicapped. "It's probably not very good, but it's the best we've got besides a little bit of physical evidence found at the scene, "said police spokesman Mike Gould.

"It's going to take a lot of legwork in checking out a bunch of leads, and I wouldn't say an arrest is imminent. "Robbery is the only motive we can determine at this time," Gould said, adding that the home probably became a target "because it was a soft touch." Gould said there was a possibility that more than one person was involved in the attack at Bethesda Center in the predawn hours Sunday. One of the injured, 19-year-old Gary Jackson Reach, told the center's director, the Rev. J. W.

Wynn, he saw a woman with the male assailant. "This has not been confirmed," Gould said. "It may or may not be that there was another person involved." Reach, who is a victim of cerebral palsy and communicates only by gestures and grunts, is the only one who can identify the intruder, Gould said. One of the other beating victims is blind and the third is in a hospital with a bullet wound in the head, unable to talk to officers. Reach worked with an artist in putting together the sketch, but "it was extremely difficult to do it in this way," Gould said.

"So what we've got isn't very good." Joy Denise Castlen, 22, who was severely beaten, is blind. Joseph Bemis, 62, was shot in the head. He was listed in satisfactory condition. The intruder stabbed to death Thelma Eloise Lehman, 46 and partially blind, stabbed to death, and fatally shot Bemis' wife, Delta, 59. "My staff gave their lives for the residents," the Rev.

Mr. Wynn said. "I guess they saved others by just beifig there at that moment." House Manager Murders Three FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) An elderly guest house manager went on a shooting spree Monday, killing his wife and two other persons and then wounding himself in a suicide attempt, police said. The shooting started when Mario DiProspero, 80, pulled a gun on a tenant after an argument and killed him, officers said.

DeProspero then gunned down a neighbor before going home where DeProspero killed his wife and shot at but missed his son-in-law and then shot himself, police said. DiProspero was in critical condition at a local hospital with a gunshot wound in the back of the head, police said. Police gave this account of the shootings: DiProspero argued with James Doyle, 60, about an known subject at the pool outside the one-story guest house. Doyle started walking away and DeProspero pulled a caliber revolver from his waist- band and shot Doyle, once in the back. Doyle staggered across the street to seek aid from a neighbor, Howard Wentworth, 60, a retired New York City policeman.

But before Wentworth could open the front door to his house, DiProspero shot Doyle several more times, killing him. When Wentworth opened the door, DiProspero fatally shot him once in the chest. DiProspero went back to his apartment and reloaded the gun. He then put the gun behind the left ear of his wife, Marie, 79, who was sitting in a living room chair, and fired once, killing her. GREAT VALUES IN Stone Size Reg.

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