Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • 12

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1979 TYIOWN Torrington Winsted Enfield Windsor Locks 27 SEAMC1HIIM(E F0E A' NEW START a mj iiiu i mm wwmmviirvwmiumwim! 1 -c 4 ft I FatalAccident Spurs Protest Of Eeg Fests 1 'V 1 I 1 A if 'I 1'; Lf 2 f' 1 sVi I sTv-' V-' 4 2 1 II .1 1 I UK By PATRICIA BAILEY LITCHFIELD -A traffic accident that left two teenagers dead and two seriously injured has moved 17 families to start a petition drive calling on the Board of Selectmen and the Police Department to stop beer parties involving minors. Florence Farrell, spokeswoman for the families, said Wednesday that the parents are concerned with alleged "keg parties" held "as a money-making proposition" where young people pay admission to attend. The Sept. 15 accident on Rt. 202 near Bantam killed Scott Wagner, 18, and Michael Main, 15, and seriously injured Pamela Woodington and Charles Carlson, both 17.

The accident still is being investigated, state trooper John Kamens said Thursday. But he said he didn't know of any arrests that would be made in the case in the near future. The petition, according to Mrs. Farrell, "will show our support and show the police that parents will do their bit, too. We want some kind of action," she said, adding "we want the laws enforced." She said the group also is seeking action in the schools against alcohol abuse.

First Selectman Theodore Litwin said Thursday that the selectmen "will welcome the petition and we recognize the concern" of the parents. But, he said, "I think we are limited" on the kind of action the board can take. "These parties take place on private property and the state is not clear on what we can do." "The burden is on the parents to know where their children are, although we share their concern," he said. Courtnt Photo by Judy OrlottdlKk Courtnt Photo by Jowon Cwnt Jr. Trooper Kamens said that the petition might help make people aware of the parties people who would tell police about them.

But he said, the police need a specific complaint about a party before they can investigate it. He said that if a parent whose child was at a keg party called police or if a child told his parents he was going to attend one, then the police could investigate. If the party took place on public property, ''we could go right in and take a look around," he said. Mrs. Farrell said the petition drive is only one phase of the parents' concern.

The group, which has grown from five to 17 families in two weeks, will meet regularly and intends to write a set of guidelines for parents. "Then the child can't say so and so's parents let him do it," she said, because the parents will be working together. Mrs. Farrell said that the group is working closely with the high school principal, Michael Savage and some activities may be planned for the junior high school level. Savage said Thursday that an area where the petition drive and the community interest will be felt will be in the student assembly program, in which students plan special school programs of interest to the entire student body.

Through this program "we will be hitting the students with more than curriculum," he said. Alcohol and drug abuse discussion are "infused in the regular curriculum," he said, in the health, physical education and home economics programs. The school, he said, "will be playing an active role with both the students and faculty." Courtnt Photo by Michaol McAndrtwt ry-- in 1 1 mar- wv iST" 1 VS. 1 Windsor Locks Tries To Recoup From Loss By ROSEMARY DRISCOLL WINDSOR LOCKS A total of 28 buildings here Savino said the debris strewn over the mile-wide, two-mile stretch is being collected and will be stored at the town-owned property off Old County Road. The debris will be burned when all Savino said, for any resident or property owner needing assistance.

Some businesses lost records which might be kept on file in the town offices and these will be made available, he said. Savino's first action dh were severely damaged by the tornado that swept north along Rt. 75 in a mile-wide swath of destruction Wednesday, and the building in spector will order demon- lion oi i oi meiii, mi ae- lectman Edward A. Savino said Thursday. Related Story, Pictures Page 28.

i Damage to private and commercial property here excluding Bradley Interna Panel Adopts Code of Dress For Teachers hearing that "a roof was down on Rt. 75" was to order the highway department to the scene. "A minute later the police said trucks were flipped over along the roadside and I knew heavy equipment would be needed. I called Frank Mancuso, (state Civil Preparedness director) and told him what equipment we needed immediately," Savino said. He also called Roncari Industries and asked for as many pieces of heavy equipment as possible.

"Then I arrived at the scene and couldn't believe the destruction. That's when I learned it was a tornado and the police and medical people started arriving soon after," he said. Savino set up the emergency command post at the Rt. 75 Ramada Inn and later moved the post to the fire-police complex. tional Airport and military property, was estimated at about $100 million Thursday by Building Inspector Fred Micion.

cleaning up is completed, he said. He also said he received permission from health services Commissioner Douglas Lloyd and Stanley Pac, commissioner of environmental Erotection, to remove the urning Homeowners with debris also can burn on their property. All of the felled trees along the route of the tornado are being cut up and placed behind the fire-police complex. The cut wood can be picked up for use in wood stoves or fireplaces, Savino said. Open burning has been approved for Suf field and Windsor also, he said.

Savino said the town's cost in dealing with this disaster isn't known at this time, but that overtime pay for police and highway personnel may be high. Firemen, who were the first at the scene, are volunteers. Savino said many meci-dally trained persons from Windsor Locks are surrounding towns volunteered as soon as they heard of the disaster. Town Hall will remain open Saturday and Sunday, Savino, who declined to identify those buildings re rV. v.

quiring demolition pending 1 1 official notification of the owners, also said there are 11 buildings which will re in A A quire major repairs, but in v. which aren expected to be in disuse for too. long, and three that require long-term, major repairs and should be closed for a long period of time. Savino was coordinating local emergency crews with state and federal workers' preliminary review of damage along the Rt. 75 or Turnpike Road area, which occurred about 3 p.m.

Couront Photo by MicMti MCAndrtwi Residents and state police were among those sifting through debris Thursday in the north central Connecticut region, in the wake of a tornado which ravaged this section of the state at about 3 p.m. Wednesday. A woman, top left, gathers up strewn clothing in the midst of rubble on Pioneer Drive In Windsor. This and the other scenes depicted were commonplace in Windsor and Windsor Locks Thursday as residents groped to clean np from the devastating disaster. A state trooper and dog check to determine if anyone is trapped under the debris, at top center, while others seek to pick op the pieces of their lives from the flattened landscape.

One person places her hand on her head in disbelief. "Everyone did such a super job that things went lot smoother than might be expected. The offers of help have been coming from all over the state and from out of state. fantastic," Savino said. Storm Destroys Tobacco Crops tion process deals with personal appearance and that evaluation should suffice.

-The board's new policy puts the judgment of what is good taste and modest in the hands of administrators. Mrs. Michnevitz said some may take it upon themselves to extend their authority on what is appropriate dress. After the meeting, Frank Roxby, president of the Torrington Federation of Teachers said he found the board's action "insulting." Asked why' the teachers should be included n.a formal dress code policy, Mus-chell said those questions should be referred to Esparo because "it was his idea." The new policy that includes both students and staff, reads: 1. Within and without the school, in attitude and action, they will behave in a manner which will reflect credit upon themselves and their school because as others know them so, too, will the Torrington school district be judged.

2. Dress shall be established on the principle of modesty and good taste and appearance shall not be disruptive or impair one's health or safety. 1 3. Whenever there arises the question of a student's attire, the student-faculty committee will decide whether there is an infraction of the code and the decision of the committee is to be final. 4.

Whenever there arises a question of staff member's attire, the same shall be reviewed by the By NEAL E. YATES TORRINGTON How teachers dress became a matter of official school system policy when the Board of Education Wednesday night unanimously chose to include teachers in what always has been a student dress code. The presidents of teacher groups strongly op- Ksed the move, calling it th unnecessary and insulting. Including staff members in the student dress code was made on the joint recommendation of former board Chairman Victor M. Mus-chell and School Superintendent Louis J.

Esparo. Esparo had compiled a lengthy list of recommendations to the board that covered a wide range of topics within the school system. A year ago, Esparo backed a proposal passed by the board that established basic communications skills tests, which all teacher applicants must take before being hired within the school system. Testing teacher applicants nationally is an uncommon practice and the city received national publicity In establishing such tests. That proposal affected only persons seeking teaching jobs, not teachers already on the school staff.

However, the dress code affects all teachers. Grace Michnevitz, president of the Torrington Education Association, told the board she was "very disappointed" at its decision and that, "as professionals, we do not need to be told how to dress." Mrs. Michnevitz said the current tocher evalua 1 i i -1 I ft i 'Vi i Schools in town were closed Thursday because of storm related Eroblems, Superintendent Sidney uPont said. Schools will be open today, he said. Waterman said drinking water is available at the central fire station to residents without power.

State Department of Environmental Protection officials have removed the ban on open burning to allow trees and debris to be disposed of, he said. Residents are allowed to burn fallen limbs and debris on their own property but should notify the Fire Department and take precautions against the fire's spreading, Waterman said. Town officials are working to obtain disaster assistance and loans for farmers and residents affected by the disaster, he said. In Agawam, Mass. roofs were blown off at least 10 houses in a development under construction in the Feeding Hills section of town, police said.

Trees and power lines also were knocked down, but other property damage was slight, police said. By ANDREW WALSH SUFFIELD The ferocious winds that blew through the Connecticut River valley Wednesday also dealt a heavy blow to the town's tobacco growers. The tangled remains of about 50 tobacco sheds lie scattered in the mile-wide swath cut by the storm through fields in the central part of the town. Officials say at least half of the estimated $4 million damage done in the town is agriculture. "We've lost lots and lots of tabac-co, much more than we'd first thought," First Selectman Earl Waterman said Thursday.

Eight tobacco barns were destroyed on the Christian Brothers farm on Hale Street, co-owner Kenneth Christian said. One of his sheds lost its roof during the. storm and all of the aging shade tobacco inside was sucked out and disappeared, he said. He and his brother Danny were standing inside one of the sheds when the storm hit and they stepped outside just before the shed col-, 1 lapsed, he said. Christian estimated he lost $75,000 worth of tobacco In a few minutes.

The hardest hit parts of town were the Windsor Locks border area and a mile-wide belt along Mountain Road in the center of town. Town officials -said they believe the tornado that ripped through Windsor Locks touched down In both areas before jumping into Massachusetts. Waterman said at least 69 houses were damaged in the storm, and one house was uninhabitable because its contents were scattered. At least 800 men worked to restore power and phone service to residents and clear fallen timber, Waterman said. At least 1,500 customers remained without cower Thursday afternoon, utility officials said) i John Crosson, 42, of 9 Briarwood Drive, identified as a cleanup worker by hospital officials, was treated and released from Bay State Medical Center in Springfield after he twisted his neck and passed out, a hospital official said.

JL Courtnl Photo by Mrry Vlnnm Gov. Grasso at press coricrence Thursday.