The Daily News-Journal from Murfreesboro, Tennessee • 1

STATE LIBRARY DIVISION TENN. STATE LIBRARY NASHVILLE TlHH, S72I9 7 Cr.r;rna(G) 61 Tcnn.Tcdi 97 .3 i i I 135th Year No. 286 RUTHERFORD COUNTY'S HOME NEWSPAPER SINCE 1849 224 N. Walnut St. 14 Pages Murfreesboro, Tennessee 37130 Phone 893-5860 Good Morn in Saturday, December 31 1 983 fes A Tl didveics' BewstFe "The DUI law in Tennessee is one of the toughest in the nation.

I hope drivers will take a second thought before driving under the influence," he said. Jones said the THP made 5,000 DUI arrests in 1983.. He noted that the THP had hoped to hold Tennessee's traffic deaths to under 1,000 this year, but that goal cannot be met. But he added that the number of fatalities is steadily Year's Eve, but we haven't noticed that much of an increase," the sheriff said. Both the THP and Murfreesboro police plan to be' as visible as possible and will spot-check taverns, looking for revelers who've had too much to drink.

1 Despite all the THP's precautions, Jones said several lives probably will still be lost on Tennessee's roads this weekend. The 1983 deathcount stood at 1,009 Friday night, but by the end of the weekend, he said, that total is likely climb. Last New Year's weekend eight people died on the state's roads, Jones said. Two of those deaths involved drinking. "With the (Murfreeboro) department's extra effort, we hope to keep the statistics Rutherford and 31 other target counties through the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program to increase the number of officers on the highways, he added.

Murfreesboro Police Chief" E.N. Brown said his department will assign traffic officers to 10-hour shifts during the peak danger times of the holiday weekend, which began at 6 p.m. Friday and lasts until midnight Sunday night. "Most of the extra officers assigned will be watching for the drunken driver; he said. Sheriff Truman Jones said his department will use no overtime officers.

But some officers will be on alert and can be called in if needed. "Normally we're a little busier on New down toaveryminimum," Brown said. To help do that, the THP also plans to use manned and unmanned patrol cars sitting on the roadsides. Motorists will have no way of knowing which cars are occupied, and Jones said that slows down traffic. The THP will also continue to use massive roadblocks to deter drinking and driving, Jones added.

In three 60-car roadblocks here in one day in November, troopers checked 1,370 vehicles, wrote 41 tickets and gave 15 warning tickets. Brown said he hopes that revelers will remember that Tennessee's tough drunken driving law calls for a minimum of 48 hours in jail and stiff fines. By BILL LEWIS And JOHN BOCHAN News Journal Staff Writers Extra state troopers and Murfreesboro police officers will be on the streets this holiday weekend trying to stop drunken drivers and speeders before they kill someone. Tennessee Highway Patrol Col. Bill Jones of Murfreesboro said he is taking steps to help make sure that "everyone will be here to enjoy the new year "We are especially looking at Rutherford County as one of the counties" that will get special attention from the THP, Jones said.

Off-duty troopers will be paid overtime in going dowir." "It's been 20 years since we've had fewer people killed than in 1983," Jone said. He attributed the trend partly to increased public awareness, the kind police are asking for this weekend. 77n Mr anciers places to go ii i. huiihmi menu. Both The Peddler and The Parthenon will open and close on New Year's Eve at their regular hours.

"We are not taking reservations, but everyone will be served who is on the waiting list at closing time," said Russell Key, general manager of The- 'X ft i Ii 1 i By JAMIE SUE UNDER Features Editor If you're planning on bringing in the New Year in style or "painting the town red," Murfreesboro has a list of hot spots to chose from. Most clubs and bars are featuring entertainment with cover charge including breakfast and party favors complete with noise-makers and champagne. Although breakfast will be served at most of the parties, two restaurants in town, The Parthenon and The Peddler, will be serving their regular i Peddler. The Parthenon is taking reservations but other than that it's basically just another night for them. But it's not just another night for the Stones River Country Club.

(Flease see Fartiers, page two) Woman dies from accident By BILL LEWIS News Journal Staff Writer A Murfreesboro woman died Fri-day night at Vanderbiit Hospital of she sustained when the car-she was driving veered off Halls Hill Pike, overturned and burst into flames early that morning. Cheryl Gay Ramsay Pruitt, 23V. of Richland Road in Murfreesboro, suffered second- and third-degree burns over 90 percent of her body when the 1983 Mercury station wagon struck aj fence, flipped end over end several times and burned, state trooper Lynn Pitts said. Mrs. Pruitt's 21-month-old daughter, Naomi, was thrown from the car "and was not seriously injured in the one-car accident at 12:15 a.m.

But the baby was exposed to freezing temperatures for 15 minutes before sheriff's deputies found her. By then she was suffering from hypothermia and her body temperature had dropped to 90 degrees, Pitts said. Bystanders pulled Mrs. Pruitt from the burning wreckage, he added. Her daughter was listed in stable condition Friday" night at Middle Tennessee Medical Center.

All identification was burned off the car, and authorities were able to Identify Mrs. Pruitt and her daughter only after finding the telephone number of a friend on a piece of paper near the car, Pitts said. He added that road conditions are not considered a factor in the accident. Sheriff's deputies could not see the baby and found her only by listening to her cries, the trooper added. Mrs.

Pruitt was the third traffic fatality in Rutherford County this week. A Murfreesboro woman and a (Please see Woman, page two) if 'At 1 'Dram shop' laws keep drunks from being served DNJ photo by Jim Davis CAUTION URGED While law enforcement officials urge caution on the streets this weekend, Murfreesboro firefighters are asking those whose celebration includes fireworks to also be careful. Channel 39 hits airwaves By TIMOTHY HARPER Associated Press Writer It is well after midnight. The hugging, hollering and horn-blowing are over. One of the serious drinkers staggers up to the bar, thrusts forward an empty glass, and slurs', "C'mon, buddy.

One more for the road." It is a scene that will be repeated many times on New Year's Eve: in nightclubs, taverns, fraternal halls, as well as suburban rec rooms. "This is normally the worst night of the year for drunken driving," said Clay Hall, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Ad- ministration in Washington. He said more than 200 people will die in New Year's Eve traffic accidents related to drunken driving. But more and more people behind the bar, professional or otherwise, will refuse to pour that last drink because of the growing public outrage against drunken driving and the growing number of lawsuits against bartenders and hosts who serve drinks to drunks who drive. Perhaps the biggest of those cases was decided last May, when a chain of convenience stores agreed to pay $10.5 million to a 17-year-old San (Please see Dram, page two) Murfreesboro Cable Television Co.

can tune in to WFYZ on channel 13. Technical difficulties at its 878-foot tower in Wilson County and supplier delays kept Channel 39 from going on the air Oct. 1 as originally scheduled. Rattliff eventually stopped making predictions after deadlines for Oc-. tober, November and December were missed.

"This is our first attempt" at a broadcast, Rattliff said. "As far as (Please see Channel, page two) own signal, so the picture of the Praise the Lord Club on Rattliff's screen was slightly hazy. But that did not dampen his enthusiasm. "Channel 39 has the most beautiful picture you've ever seen," he said. The station's signal, which reaches 60 miles and covers all of Nashville as well as Rutherford County, was probably clearer outside the station's offices.

The signal can be received on the regular UHF channel. Subscribers to By BILL LEWIS News Journ al Staff Writer At long last, Murfreesboro's first broadcast television station went on the air at about 5:20 Friday evening. "It's the most beautiful picture I've ever seen in my life," said John Rattliff, Channel 39's president, as he watched the station's first broadcast in his office. Ironically, WFYZ-TV's studios at 111 West College St. lack an outside antenna for reception of the station's Frozen pipes damage 12 buildings at university Tuesday.

A damage assessment was to be made Friday afternoon, then a decision on whether outside help would be needed to make all the repairs, Staley said. MTSU maintenance crews have been working overtime since Christmas day when pipes started cracking inside the buildings. "We still have pipes that are split that we don't yet know about," Staley said as crews tore out walls Friday trying to find leaks. So far, problems have been found in at least seven dormitories Clement Hall, Hall, I Hall, Hall, Hall, High Rise West and Gore Hall students will be moving back into next week. An undetermined number of students staying on campus during the holidays have been transferred to other dormitories because of leaks and flooding, Staley said.

The university's McFarland Health Services, Woodmore Cafeteria, Kirksey Old Main, Livestock Pavilion, Peck Hall and Campus School also reportedly had damage. A ruptured pipe in a wall in the Keathley University Center caused flooding in part of the building's (Please see Frozen, page two ByJIMSPURLOCK News Journal Staff Writer Winter's cold hand has wrought yet more problems in this area this time at MTSU where most students, and staff have been away for the holidays. Water pipes frozen and burst by cold weather have caused problems ranging from minor leaks to flooding in at least 12 MTSU buildings, including the university center, classroom buildings and several university officials say. "I would say this is the most damage from a cold spell that this institution has ever seen," said director of physical plant James Staley. Maintenance workers were still 'discovering problems Friday as they tried to repair broken water pipes students return to the campus 3 i Radio urged for Smyrna hospital By CURT ANDERSON News Journal Staff Writer A car slides off an iced-covered road near Smyrna.

Two people are Injured, one critically. Paramedics on the scene must have minute-by-minute instructions from a physician in order to save the victims. Right now with no direct radio connection between Smyrna Hospital and county ambulance service vehicles those instructions can be difficult to get. "We get a call here in Murfreesboro and we have to call Smyrna Hospital," said Mike Phillips, assistant director of the ambulance service. "We have to hope thei lines aren't busy.

Then we have to' relay messages from a doctor to the paramedics. It's not the most efficient system." i That's why the ambulance service is pushing for a radio at the hospital. The county welfare, health, education and personnel committee is considering the matter now. "Last month we had 47 runs in Smyrna and 14 to LaVergne," Phillips said. "That's not counting the areas around them.

I'd say one-third of our runs are in the north end of the county." The ambulance service maintains a small base next to Smyrna Hospital, which was built and donated to the county by Nissan's main contractor, Daniel Construction Co. Considering the growth occuring in the north end of county, Improvement of am-(Please see' Kadio, page two) I' Pressure mounts for withdra wal of Marines Index Classified Ads 8-10 Comics. 12-13 Crossword 12 Editorials 4 Horoscopes 12 Obituaries 2 Sports 6-7 TV 13 Weather 2 4 WASHINGTON (AP) Congress appeared Friday to be moving toward a showdown with President Reagan over whether to order U.S. Marines home from Beirut much sooner than the April 1985 deadline that Congress approved last fall. As reports circulated In the Capitol that Democrats and Republicans alike were considering a move to shorten the withdrawal deadline posKibly by one year White House spokesman Larry Speakes said Reagan was "veryystrong on that, very adamant" aboi not pulling out the Marines.

Asked about proposals in Congress to reduce the current 18-month authority for the Marines to remain In Beirut, Speakes replied: "We would not like to have that change. We think it's essential to have that timeframe." He said in Palm Springs, where Keagan is spending the New Year's weekend, that the president "feels his policy is a correct one, and he plans to remain with it." Said Speakes: "Bipartisan support (Please see Pressure, page two OHJ ohMo by Mm Dot EXTENSIVE DAMAGE A healer I thawing out frozen water pipes In the laundry room of apartments at MTSU. Extremely cold temperatures, have caused many pipes to leak. If.