Tallahassee Democrat from Tallahassee, Florida • 1

1 tm PARTLY CLOUDY Partly cloudy through Saturday with a chance of thundershowers. Highs near 90 and the low tonight near 70. (Complete weather on page 15) 72nd Year No. 270 Friday afternoon Florida's Capital Newspaper Friday, September 30, 1977 15 Cents Angry students cramming for literacy test 'Just being upset can make you flunk the test. But if I don't pass that test, I won't go anywhere (to Cynthia Simmons, Leon High student and balancing a checkbook.

Said Carrie Howard: "They should be teaching us a lot of things on the test, but they haven't given it to us yet. A person can't learn something in as short a time as they've given us." Miss Howard's brother, John, also in the class, said he thought the testing program should have been begun with students now in elementary school. Several other students said they believed it would have been fairer to start the test with this year's ninth graders. Some students said it was unfair for the test to be a requirement for a diploma when many of those who failed it might already have the 20 (See TEST, page 15) test will be given in Leon County Oct. 11 and 12.

What upsets many students is that although the test was ordered in a 1975 state law, most students did not realize it would affect them until they reported to school this year. "If they passed the law two years ago, why didn't they tell us then?" said Hope Tate. She is afraid she will do poorly because tests give her the jitters. "Just being upset can make you flunk the test," said Cynthia Simmons. Miss Simmons also wants to go to college.

"But if I don't pass that test, I won't go anywhere," she said. "There are some things on the test I just don't know. They ought to try it on the seniors and see what they know." Her remarks brought applause from her classmates, a number of whom claimed to know seniors or graduates who skipped through the system without learning how to read above grade school level. Addys Walker, 15, said he first thought the state might call the test off when educators realized how many students who were expected to fail it had been getting passing grades in school. Like others in the review class, Walker said he was worried about the math part of the test.

He said many students had never had to apply math to such tasks as figuring car mileage schools are holding similar classes. Most of the students came because they received pink slips. The slips were sent to students who did poorly on part or all of a test given last year. Other students signed up for the class on their own. "I'm mad about it," said Gail Allen, joining a group of about 20 students eager to voice disenchantment with the test.

Required of all Florida juniors for the first time this year, the two-part bomb gets approva nuclear weapons into an altercation that could touch ofa nuclear holocaust, opponents said. "I am frightened to death of this weapon," said Rep. Ron Dellums, D-Calif "Once you start down the road to a nuclear war, there is no turning back. Once we make nuclear war thinkable, we make it possible, and once we make it possible we make it inevitable." Rep. Patricia Schroeder, said the neutron weapon "has a very great potential for blurring the line between nuclear weapons and non-nuclear weapons.

For that reason, it makes it easier for a nuclear war to break out." But supporters of the weapon said the neutron bomb is preferable to conventional nuclear weapons since it is less destructive to property. Rep. Bob Carr, said the neutron bomb will give the President the option of using a less destructive weapon than conventional nuclear bombs. Carr called the neutron bomb "a morally practical weapon when compared to what it will replace." Rep. Charles H.

Wilson, said, "The defense and security of our country depend on having a wealth of weapons that can be used if the necessity arrives." Before the bill reaches the White House, House and Senate negotiators will have to agree on a final version. However, since both bills allow neutron bomb production, the final bill must also do so. How much would be spent on the neutron bomb remains a secret. WASHINGTON (AP) President Carter now has the authority to produce the neutron bomb. The House voted Thursday to give the President the authority already granted by the Senate to produce a new atomic weapon that opponents fear will greatly increase the risk of all-out nuclear war.

The neutron bomb is a small warhead that would be placed on Lance missiles and artillery shells. It produces twice the deadly radiation of a conventional nuclear bomb but less than a tenth as much explosive power, heat and fallout. This means the bomb can kill people while causing little damage to buildings. The warhead is designed to replace the approximately 7,000 nuclear warheads now deployed in Europe. Carter has not announced whether he intends to approve production of the controversial weapon, but he did ask for the authorization that both houses have now granted.

The key House vote came on an amendment by Rep. Ted Weiss, The amendment would have blocked Energy Research and Development Administration money from being used for the neutron bomb. But the amendment was defeated 297 to 109. Weiss and his supporters said the neutron bomb would "lower the threshold" to nuclear war. They said military leaders might feel less inhibited about using the neutron bomb since it has less destructive power than large-scale nuclear weapons.

That could make it easier to introduce said Miss Hall, a 16-year-old junior at Leon High. She said she was making passing grades and thought she was doing well in school. "Then I get this pink slip saying, 'Sorry, you're not doing as well as you thought you Miss Hall is one of dozens of Leon High School students who are spending four afternoons a week in review classes to prepare for the test. The county's other three public high A I IV, Can Iron vV V. I VvUl 1 vv Food stamp recipients will not pay for stamps ByPATHARBOLT Democrat staff writer Sara Page Hall has her heart set on going to college to learn how to be a music teacher.

She has been told she has a good chance to win a music scholarship. But as she neared the final stretch in work toward a high school diploma, one last hurdle appeared before her. Earlier this month, school superintendent Ed Fenn wrote to tell her and her parents about the 11th grade functional literacy test students will have to pass to graduate next year. With it came a pink slip. That meant she might have trouble passing the test.

"My ego went down six notches," U.S. may not be able to pay bills WASHINGTON The Senate deadlock over natural gas prices is threatening to block action on a crucial debt ceiling measure, leaving the government without the authority to borrow money and pay its bills. Leaders of a filibuster aimed at stopping efforts to lift federal price controls on natural gas switched tactics Thursday and took aim at the debt ceiling bill in an effort to force a Senate vote on a gas-pricing compromise. THE SENATE scheduled continued debate on deregulation today. The new development came shortly before the Senate adjourned late Thursday night after efforts to reach agreement on the natural gas legislation fell through.

One of the leaders of the filibuster, Sen. James Abourezk, objected when Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd asked to temporarily set aside the energy bill for a vote on the debt ceiling legislation. If the debt ceiling bill is not passed by Saturday morning, the beginning of the new fiscal year, the government will lose its authority to borrow money to pay its bills. BUT TERMS under which the Senate is debating the gas bill prohibit interruptions for action on any other legislation without unanimous consent.

Abourezk acknowledged that in refusing to approve a temporary delay in debate his action had the effect of holding the debt ceiling bill hostage to the natural gas legislation. "We won't let it come up. It's a form of leverage," Abourezk said. I Declare by Malcolm B. Johnson Playing around in the woodpile I'VE BEEN playing in my woodpile.

Not the ax and bucksaw stack that makes us sweat in the summer to fuel our fireplace in winter, but the collection of chips, slats, splinters and chunks of unusual native woods that perfume my workshop. They have accumulated over a period of 20 years: and I had almost forgotten them until three weeks of vacation tempted me to piddle around as a dry run for impending retirement. By golly! I've discovered tools and techniques I'd forgotten I ever had, rediscovered enjoyment from the mere fondling of wood with interesting grain and color, letting the shape of the stick dictate the product. The result is a variety of things, some pretty odd, that might be classified as craft objects or pop art or something just to satisfy the impulse of my own fingers: Walking sticks, letter openers, birds and fish redesigned to fit the twist of the wood, an owl that grew from the knot in an ancient cypress fence post which called to mind his beak. Such stuff.

I'm not sure what I'll do with these things. Don't know that anyone would want them. But it has been splendid therapy, maybe an outlet for energy of a man on the verge of the age at (See I DECLARE, page 15) People are starting to notice a little coolness in the air. The afternoons aren't quite as hot and humid. And, yes, it's true.

Fall is here. Proof is in the picture above, where a tree has deposited one of its first fallen leaves next to a blade of grass with the morning mist still in view. Relief from the heat at last is on the way. fits are calculated and new rules that require them to seek work. To continue to be eligible, college students, for example, will be required to work 20 hours a week or at least be registered to work 20 hours a week unless they are or be enrolled in a federally-financed work-study program.

Only students who are heads of households with at least one dependent or who are disabled or aged will be exempt from the work And, because medical expenses will no longer be deducted in figuring a family's net income for eligibility purposes, Hinnant said many of the state's elderly people now receiving food stamps may be eliminated. Last year, 548 student households were declared eligible for food stamps in Leon County. The actual helps here could be gotten through," said Mixson, "and the help in this tropical state by new research in pest control and crop varieties cannot be under estimated." Mixson said Florida's poor, sandy soil and climate, which invites the growth of insects, needs continueous research. He said the improved varieties of peanuts developed by the University of Florida has meant more than $8 million each year to Jackson County alone. Statewide, it has added $15 to $20 million to peanut production.

The law also: Boosts federal price and income support levels for grain and cotton farmers, Launches a new national grain reserve program, Implements Carter administration reforms in the $5.6 billion food stamp program, By PAT HARBOLT Democrat staff writer Food stamp recipients will not have to pay for their food stamps after next spring, although the amount of stamps they get will be reduced by the amount of money they now pay. The change is part of a far-reaching overhaul in the nation's food stamp program contained in the $11 billion farm and food bill signed into law Thursday by President Carter. Other changes may cause many college students and senior citizens to be dropped from the food stamp program entirely. Florida has 800,000 food stamp recipients. "This is almost a totally new program," said David Hinnant, administrator of Florida's $350 million-a-year food stamp program.

The changes involve how food stamp recipients'incomes and bene- Research Democrat staff and wire report Expanded agricultural research provided in the farm and food bill signed by President Carter Thursday will be a special boon to Florida. The price supports on peanuts and soybeans included in the law will not help because they are lower than production costs. But the ban on real estate foreclosures announced by the Farmers Home Administration for this year may keep a good number of small area farmers from giving up and moving to the city. These were the reactions of Rep. Wayne Mixson, the only fulltime farmer in the Florida Legislature who also heads the House Agriculture Committee.

He gave President Carter, a farmer from neighboring Georgia, an for effort. "It's probably the best law that 7 Earl Warren it be? Tangled Muhammad Ali had his hands full Thursday night as unheralded Earnie Shavers lasted 15 rounds. But the champion is still the champion. STORY: page 23. it A number of students getting the stamps probably was higher, said Helen Shaara, unit supervisor for the local food stamp office.

There is another significant change which Hinnant fears will be misunderstood by many people. Food stamp receipients will no longer be required to pay cash for their coupons, under the proposed changes. But, Hinnant said, this does not mean they will be getting the same benefits for free. Under present regulations, a family of four with a net income of between $100 and $110 a month (after deductions for housing and other fixed costs) is eligible for $170 in food stamps. The family now pays $25 cash for those stamps.

But, said Hinnant, "Under the new program, we would simply give them $145 in food stamps without them having to pay the $25." There also will be changes in how food stamp officials figure families' net income for eligibility purposes. "All of the current allowable deductions are being eliminated," said Hinnant. The new deductions eliminate some people from the program. Another new requirement is that food stamp recipients will be required to actively seek work. At present, Hinnant said, they are required only to be registered with an employment agency.

Overall, Hinnant said he estimates that between 40,000 and 60,000 new households will be eligible to get food stamps. "But we could see enough of a decrease in current participants to offset that." Hinnant said state officials will not receive final regulations for the new program until March or April. It will take the state until May or as late as July to implement the changes, he said. Next month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be conducting public hearings in Atlanta on Oct.

11 and in Homestead on Oct. 25 to hear comments on the proposed regulations. accord Index. Bridge 18 Business-finance 8 Classified ads Comics .18,19 Crossword 18 Editorial columns 4,5 Garden 12 Local news .......17 Obituaries 15 People news 10,11 Sports 23-26 Television 19 Theaters 20-22 Weather 15 Chuckle Modern art is what happens when painters stop looking at girls and persuade themselves they have a better idea. Hopes dashed for new SALT By JAMES MCCARTNEY Knight Newt wire WASHINGTON-President Carter Thursday dashed hopes for a new strategic arms (SALT) agreement with the Soviet Union in the immediate future.

The President told a news conference that an "immediate agreement is not in prospect" despite a flurry of optimistic reports about SALT negotiations in the last few days. It was the first official admission from the White House that there is no hope for reaching a new SALT accord before midnight Sunday, when a five-year agreement, signed by President Nixon in Moscow in 1972 expires. Hopes for a last-minute deal had been stirred earlier this week when Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko came to Washington "and we have tried to match them in their cooperative stance." He also said that plans have not yet been worked out for a summit meeting in the United States with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. The Soviets have taken the position that a summit meeting should be tied to successful conclusion of SALT talks. Carter has wanted Brezhnev to vist regardless of whether a new agreement was reached on schedule.

THE AGREEMENT that expires Monday involves limits on offensive nuclear weapons missiles and bombers. In 1972, the United States also signed a treaty with the Soviets controlling anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs), which are defensive weapons.The treaty does not have an expiration date and continues in force. to negotiate directly with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), providing the PLO will accept the existence of Israel. 2. Warned that an energy crisis is "imminent," and urged the Senate to follow the lead of the House in backing his approach to the nation's energy problem.

3. Declared that Vice President Walter Mondale is his closest adviser, and that the two share a close personal relationship. Questions have been raised about whether Mondale played a role in handling of the Lance case a major Carter crisis. In discussing SALT which stands for Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Carter said that he had been "fairly encouraged" by Soviet attitudes in recent negotiating sessions. "They have been fairly flexible," he said, for a rare night meeting with Carter and other top U.S.

officials to discuss SALT questions. GROMYKO CAME OUT of the meeting declaring that "some further progress in narrowing the differences" had been made and talked encouragingly about prospects, as he put it in English "to finalize it." But the President indicated clearly that no last-minute hard bargains had been reached and that the agreement will expire on schedule, a mark of failure for years of intensive negotiations. IN THE NEWS CONFERENCE, his first since announcing the resignation of Bert Lance as budget director a week ago, Carter also: 1. Declared that the United States is ready 4 i.