Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • 31

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1978 OWTOWN Hartford Wethersfield Windsor East Hartford Glastonbury Bloomfietd Rocky Hill West Hartford Newington South Windsor 31 Canvass Finds Strong Support For Budget I -i i I V-JY 1 I I i 'I I' i By MARK FRANKLIN WEST HARTFORD A telephone canvass by supporters of the town budget is finding strong support for the town budget coupled with a high proportion of undecided voters, one of the organizers of the canvass said Sunday. Barbara Gordon of Responsible Taxpayers in Support of the Budget estimated that more than 40 percent of the 1,600 persons called last week favor the budget, and about 20 percent indicated they would vote against it. Slightly less than 40 percent were either undecided or uninformed on the issue, she said. Mrs. Gordon said she was surprised at the apparent widespread support for the budget because of the town's history of rejecting spending proposals.

Along with undecided voters, Mrs. Gordon said the canvassers have found a significant number of voters aren't aware of the Dec 5 referendum on the $52.7 million budget. "That's the biggest fear I have an uninformed electorate," she said. Mayor Anne P. Streeter said budget supporters won't become complacent because of the results of the canvass.

"We're cautiously optimistic, but we realize there's a long pull ahead of us," she said. While the canvass shows support for the budget, Mrs. Streeter said, one question is whether the supporters, will turn out to vote. Mrs. Streeter said she is also concerned about voters becoming confused in the voting booth and voting the opposite way from what they intend.

A "yes" vote is in opposition to the budget, she said. Mrs. Gordon said her group is campaigning hard for the budget. The telephone canvass has involved about 20 persons making 20 to 25 telephone calls per night starting last week. The canvass is going slower than expected, she said.

The results are from throughout town, she said. Mrs. Gordon said the group also plans to pass out leaflets in shopping centers and other areas. Mrs. Gordon passed out leaflets at the Hall-Conard football game Saturday.

Absentee ballot forms are also being mailed by Mrs. Gordon's group to the homes of college students who voted in the general election. The referendum was forced by residents critical of the budget and the 76.1 mill tax rate, although that is a reduction from the 79 mill rate last year. Pondering Moves the Hartford Civic Center. Among the players were, from left, Sandi Allard of Rockville, Sanford Waite of Windsor, and Joel Davidson of South Windsor (Courant Photos by Judy Griesedieck).

Concentration, joy, and anguish were evident on the faces of contestants in a backgammon tournament sponsored by the Consortium of All Nationalities Saturday at Comics Convention NoL aughing Matter among the thousands of items for sale at the comic convention, but neither was sold by closing time Sunday. "I don't do this for a living. If I did, I'd starve," Famulari said, as he slipped Fu Manchu's malicious visage back into its plastic wrap and explained that he's really a collector, not a dealer. Famulari was one of about 40 dealers selling comics, posters, science fiction movie stills and bubble gum cards at the convention, which attracted more than 500 persons Saturday and Sunday. Some weren't interested in comics with big prices.

"It's more fun to bring in 400 that go for a nickle and dime," said Syd Schulman of Bloomfield, explaining how his children, ages 8, 10 and 12, were wheeling and dealing comics in the aisles of the convention showroom. "It's like Junior Achievement magni By ROBERT B.STEPNO Charles Famulari of Providence handled the comic book with the $400 price tag carefully, slipping it out of its protective plastic bag to show off the autograph, "Wallace Wood," that was added to the book during this weekend's comic book and science fiction convention at the Hotel Sonesta. "He said the price on this book was more than he got for the original art work," Famulari said. Wood drew the comic, "The Mask of Dr. Fu Manchu," in 1952 when Famulari was 2 years old and comic books cost a dime.

The comic is prized by collectors because Wood's art is popular, Fu Manchu is popular, and because the comic's cover was shown in a recent comic buyer's guide, he said. At least two copies of the comic were fied 50 times. They deal with adults, not just kids The 8-year-old made about $5 yesterday selling comics," Schulman said. The comic sale proceeds go into a special bank account that has accumulated $100 after two and a half years of collecting, he said. It's obviously not a full-time occupation.

"I'm a lawyer," Schulman said, adding that the family was a little embarassed when he opened his briefcase in a judge's chambers, uncovering copies of "Magnus, Robot Fighter" and "Korak, Son of Tar-zan." The convention, organized by Harold Kinney, who operates an East Hartford bookstore, included science fiction and monster movies, Star Trek episodes, and panel discussions featuring professional artists like Wood and, science fiction authors Ron Goulart and Ben Bova, who is also fiction editor of Omni, a new science fiction magazine. With a boost from the Star Wars and Close Encounters movies, science fiction has become popular enough to attract major magazine publishers, including the publisher of Penthouse, who started Omni. Playboy magazine also may start a science fiction title, Bova said. His fans asked him to comment on topics ranging from selling fiction to the chances of some-one hijacking a space shuttle. The latter is inevitable, he said.

But he also offered the way to prevent such evil deeds "create peace, international friendship. Part of the solution, he said, is to use natural resources available in space. "The Yukon gold rush is trivial compared to what we could be doing in space," he said, adding, with a chuckle in his voice, "And if elected, I will. School Suffers Enrollment Drop Tutorial Program Is Bridging Gap Between Citg, Suburbs Ideas Offered On Boosting Test Scores brings the suburban youths in direct contact with the neighborhood." Deidre Walsh of West Hartford, a junior at the pa rochial school, said "I like working with little kids, and I figured this would be fun to do." will be able to work themselves out of poverty," Herzog said. The city children are most deficient, in the basics reading, writing and arithmetic, he said.

"The best part of this program," Coll said, "is that it the city. "We thought that the best way we could help people in Hartford was with the children's education. We try to show the youngsters the meaning and value of an education, and hope fully with that education, these kids By VIVIAN B. MARTIN WINDSOR A 25 percent decline in enrollment at a non-profit nursery school here has its director looking for new ways to reach out to the community. After enrollment at the Wilson Nursery School dropped from more than 80 children to 66, the school was forced to lay off one of its teachers.

Kathy Madura, director of the school, said that while youngsters from all over town are welcome to attend, she is especially interested in. reaching Wilson residents. "That's where we should be moving," she said. Ms. Madura believes the special emphasis of the school's program could benefit children from Wilson, where there are many low-income families.

The school emphasizes development of social Ms. Madura said, which is more important than academics for some children. If a youngster has trouble learning to read and write, the problem may have more to do with social develop ment than academics, she said. "Children have to learn to play before they can learn to read and write," she said. The Wilson Nursery School is run by the Wilson Congregational Church Board of Christian Outreach, but it is non-denominational.

It is located in the church. Ms. Madura said the school is one of the board's many efforts to serve the community. The board helps support the school, which now has seven staff members. Children attend classes either two or three days a week.

Ms. Madura said she doesn't know why enrollment dropped this year. But she said one problem may be that the program runs only half a day, and working mothers might prefer bringing their children to all-day programs at day care centers. Although the school's program is geared toward half-day sessions, the school might consider adding a limited day care program if one is needed, Ms. Madura said.

1 ft: it' vr 1 SI By STEPHANIE SEVICK Students at Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford are helping bridge the gap between inner city and suburban life by tutoring children in a special program at the Hartford Revitalization Corps. Each Thursday, about 30 Northwest students ranging in age from 14 to 17 tutor city children in mathematics, reading and writing. "Operation Bridge," provides North End children with help in schoolwork and enables the suburban students to learn about city life. "These students are raising the consciousness of the suburban people. Operation Bridge is breaking down the fear and the certain paranoia that many people in the suburbs have about the inner city," said Edward T.

"Ned" Coll, director of the Hartford Revitalization Corps. Kenneth Herzog, a religion teacher at Northwest, said the students decided a few weeks ago to do something to help combat proverty in Leaf Fire Extinguished NEWINGTON Firefighters spent four hours Sunday extinguishing a blaze in a pile of leaves behind Newington Children's Hospital. The fire, which broke out about 5 p.m., was in several tons of leaves, brush and grass on a hill behind the hospital. By MIKE SHERIDAN SOUTH WINDSOR Scores on Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs) could be raised by requiring all students to take a preliminary test the year before and by instituting a special course to prepare students for tests, according to a report by school officials. The report was prepared after the school administration released this year's test scores, which show, a slight decline over the previous year.

J.A. Camille Vautour, director of pupil services for the school system, said declining test scores are part of a national trend, and added that roughly two-thirds of South Windsor seniors take the SATs nearly double the national average. Vautour said that in reviewing the SAT data, he discovered that many students take the SATs out of curiosity or as insurance in case they decide to go to college. Thus, he said, there is a trend toward more students in the middle and lower thirds of the graduating class to take the SATs. "Statistical predictions related to such a trend would be a lowering of overall performance simply due to the fact that more of our less able students are in the pool of test takers," he said.

Restricting the students taking the SATs to the upper third of the class, he said, would have raised the test scores by 75 points on the math and 55 points on the English. "If our prime concern is how to raise the SAT scores, then the obvious answer would be to restrict those students taking the tests to' the upper third or even half of the graduating class," he said, adding "such a procedure would automatically raise scores. Of course, such a solution is impossible." Another method, he said, might be to require all South Windsor juniors to take the preliminary SATs at school board expense. By doing so, he said, there would be a decline in the number of students in the lower two-thirds of the class taking the SATs the next year, with the prediction being higher overall SAT scores. In addition, all juniors who might be eligible for national scholarships would have their scores on the preliminary tests on file.

There also would be a standardized set of measures in math and English, which might prove helpful in evaluating the curriculum, he said. ft IP i 300 Winter Coats Given to Needy 's ft- More than 300 women's winter coats were given to residents of the area's poorer neighborhoods Sunday at Revitalization Corps head- Edward T. "Ned" oil, corps director said. More than 200 good, used coats are left, and will be given away today starting at 9 a.m. at the headquarters, 2550 Main Hartford, he said.

The coats, all women's, were donated by Sage-Allen Co. "There's certainly a need out there," Coll said, after supervising the coat giva-way for five hours Sunday. With winter coming, the corps also will accept donations of men's and children's clothing, bidding, and Christmas gifts, he added. Items can be left at East Hartford and West Hartford fire stations, any state police barracks, or at the corps headquarters on Main Street. The Revitalization Corps meetings are Mondays at 7:30 p.m.

Tutoring Time Mary Grant, 8, of Hartford, gets advice on her school work from Patricia Walsh, of Windsor, a freshman at Northwest Catholic High School, who is tutoring in the Hartford Revitalization Corps' new program, "Operation Bridge" (Coorant Photo by John Long).