Valley News from Van Nuys, California • Page 2

Pagt2 Section 1 VALLEY NEWS Van Nuys, Calif. Thuriday, February Mike Wyma A time to wait, watch and hope LAMONT-- "I've been in this valley all my life and when the farmers don't make money, nobody makes money." Frank Silva Jr. was standing in his equipment yard near this small farming town east of Bakersfield. His two cotton pickers and three grain com bines were parked behind him. If it weren't for the drought, a fourth, new combine would have been there too.

Silva talks in the flat vowel sounds of Californians who grow up in the country, but he's not a farmer. His land holdings consist of the equipment yard and his house. SJJva is contract harvester a freelancer who reaps what others have sown. Last summer he cut 34,000 acres of grain. This year he has signed up just acres.

4" The country has a surplus of wheat, which is the 1 principal grain grown in the southern San Joaquin The surplus depresses wheat prices, which in turn has made farmers here sacrifice wheat when they 2 3ecide what to grow with the available water. "I can't blame them," Silva says. "They have to go with their best money crop. You just pass the prob- t-lemon." This time of year Silva ordinarily is getting his John Deere combines ready for the harvest. There isn't much point in that now, so he's saving a little money by letting the servicing go.

"It's too late for any wheat this year," he says. "It fchould have been planted in late December, early -January." 5 Silva was able to cancel an order for the additional $45,000 combine, which helped the savings account. He also will cut some expenses by not hiring help- ers when harvest time comes. 3 "We're basically a family operation," he explains. "My father drives, and my boys help out: They're 17 and 20.

But I won't be taking on a couple of people like usual. We'll try to make this season with just the 5 family. Like I say, you pass it on." 5 The bright spot in Silva's operation is the cotton harvest Cotton is a high return crop, and the two cotton harvesting machines will be busy in the "We'll make it through this year all right," he says. "I'm worried about next year. I've been up and looked at Shasta Lake.

It's way down. If this drought keeps on, I don't know what will happen next year." Could he sell one of his combines if times got really lean? "Who do you sell it to if you're in this valley and no one's got wheat? The newspaper here's had three machines listed for sale for a week, but who's going to buy them?" If Silva's operation folds, it will mark the end of a lifetime dream to run his own business. "My dad has a farm," he says. "I spent or years on it after high school. My dad kept throwing it at me, 'I raised my family on 200 acres.

You can "I kept saying, 'You got to get big or you got to get Finally I got out and worked on a potato farm for wages for eight years. "Then I started this thing here four years ago." Silva accepts his problems with a shrug and hopes fcr the best. "Maybe the wheat surplus will go down," he speculates. "Then somebody will have to grow wheat." He figures there isn't much to be done except wait for wheat prices to rise and hope for a winter of heavy rains and snow. Hedoesn'texpectanystateor federal help.

"How can the government do anything about it?" he asks. "If the water's not there it's not there. "I've just got to wait and see. I'm hoping to stay in business. I'm not thinking about what happens if I can't." Man charged in rape A man who allegedly raped and pistol-whipped an 18-yearold Pacoima girl twice was arraigned in Van Nuys municipal court yesterday on a seven-count felony complaint- Curtis Harold Ware, 26, 1131 El Dorado Pacoima.

was arraigned in Div. 105 on one count of kidnaping, two counts of sex perversion, two counts of rape, one count of armed robbery and one count of assault with a deadly weapon. His preliminary hearing will be March 8 in Div. 108. He remained in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Ware, who was arrested last Monday allegedly attacked bis victim in a storm drain after accosting her at Eustace Street and Olivers Avenue Feb. 14. Valley News Index Secttonl People. Main Page 4 Section 2--Local News AbsttBTday toyou Page 2 Jack Anderson Page 2 Lamplighter Page 2 Editorials 2 PuWtc forum 2 Valley opart line Page 1 Andrew Greetoy Page 3 Kevin Phillips Page 3 Section FevturM MarirynBeck Page 10 Comics Page 11 Crossword puzzle Page 11 rums, entertainment Page 8 NEW 'SPA'PEllfl IC H1 1 Helen help us HousecaH Kantaron kontraot Frances RusseflKay Mixer Television TVtakes Vital record Weather Page6 Page 11 Page2 Page 11 Page 10 Page 10 Page 12 Page 12 Section 4 -Spom Business Page 10 Section 5 Food Sections Yourbirthday Coping with taxes Vital information on the 1976 Tax Reform Act and useful tips on how to prepare your income tax return will be presented in a series of 11 articles condensed from official texts of the Commerce Clearing House in Chicago. The first segment of easy-to-understand articles will appear Sunday in the Business Section of the Valley News.

Meet Joe Conley Features writer Fran Erwin will present an "at home" interview with Joe Conley of Chatsworth, third generation actor who plays the role of Ike Godsey in "The Waltons" television series. Conley's grandfather operated a touring medicine show and his mother was a vaudevil- Coming Sunday lian, but Conley taught at Beachy Avenue Elementary School in Pacoima and was a Valley real estate man before making his stage debut. Watch for his story Sunday in Features, section 3, page 1. Dealer's choice Southern Californians who travel long distances to satisfy their gambling whims at the tables in Las Vegas or Reno may be pleasantly surprised to learn they can fulfill their wishes much closer to home. Staff writer Richard Sherwood writes about the Pass Club, a thriving gambling enterprise, where panguingue and poker games flourish in the mountains between the San Fernando and Simi Valleys.

Read about this "gambler's paradise" in an unincorporated area of Ventura County in Sunday's INSIDE magazine. The Klingons have struck: 2 model spaceships filched By RIP REUSE Somebody call Star Fleet Command. The Klingons have struck. Well, maybe not Klingons, but someone has made off with two $20,000 spaceships similar to Star Trek's "Enterprise" from a Van Nuys special effects firm. The gray spaceships, about the size of large watermelons, are intricate models that do everything but fly constructed for use in an upcoming motion picture, police reported.

They were otolen sometime during the past several days from Industrial Light and Magic, 6842 Valjean Ave. Police responding to an alarm at the plant Monday night arrived to find the back door open, but nothing apparently taken. Investigators have discounted rumors that the suspects were seen fleeing in the vicinity of Saturn. WICKES FURNITURE 100" SOFA DELIVERY ADDITIONAL Traditional crescent-shaped velvet sofa by Custom Craft- brand-name quality at a money-saving price! Designed for style and comfort in floral-print quilted chenille velvet with deep-channeled back, jumbo rolled arms, reversible polyurethane foam seat cushions. Complete this lovely setting with traditional tables by Riverside! Quality all-wood construction with rich pecan finish, custom hardware.

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