The Mercury from Pottstown, Pennsylvania • Page 11

District Juggling Frustrates Bi-partisan Committee, Senators People in certain sections of Montgomery County are moving without even being aware of it and as much as five and six times a day. Figures representing them and their neighbors are being juggled around from one state senatorial district to another in the interest of good government. At least what the Pennsylvania Constitution says, and nobody can go against the constitution. There are times, however, when frustrated lawmakers find themselves wishing framers of the document never heard of the man-one theory. Tuesday, for example, a special five-man committee made up of two state senators, two members of the state house of representatives and a law professor, rearranged voting districts on their maps seven or eight times in an effort to PLEASE EVERYBODY They are finding they be able to please everybody with an interest in who goes into what senatorial district and what political subdivisions are removed from their existing places.

lots of time remaining for the committee to come up with new district lines but it wants to get the job out of the way as soon as possible because once the new district boundaries are adopted, the pressure from other lawmakers and politicians will evaporate. Under the constitution, state senate and house district boundaries must be idjusted after each census so the population of each is the same as the others. As a result of the 1970 census, a determination was made that all senatorial districts throughout the state should contain a population of 235,000 each. POPULATION SHIFTS Because of population shifts, some existing districts contain many more people than that while others contain less. It is the job to change senatorial district boundaries so each district has 235,000 residents or as close as possible.

But the job is being complicated by wishes of state senators now serving in Harrisburg. Each has certain areas he would like to retain in his district and a few like to see placed in somebody district. Motivation for these desires is politics. A senator of one party would be happy to see a political subdivision removed from his district if voting patterns indicated it primarily was for the opposition party. By the same token, the senators would like to retain the boroughs and townships which continually return strong majorities for their own party.

The committee is about as bipartisan as possible, with neither political party holding the edge. Most think a good thing because it eliminates the possibility of gerrymandering. REDRAWS LINES Gerrymandering is when one political party, the one with more power than the other, redraws district lines to assure its candidates will have a better chance than opposition party candidates. This happen. At least not supposed to happen with two Republicans on the committee, two Democrats and the supposedly independent law professor.

Serving on the committee are House Republican Floor Leader Kenneth B. Lee, Republican State Senator Richard A. Tilghman, House Democratic Whip James F. Prendergast, and Senate Democratic Leader Thomas F. Lamb.

The fifth member is Dr. A. Leo Levin, chairman of the committee. Dr. Levin is a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Tilghman, a resident of Bryn Mawr who represents the lower end of Montgomery County in the senate, said Tuesday no way to tell what the boundaries will be. changed them several times already said Tilghman, probably be changing them a lot more before the day is out. I have no idea when we will resolve this situation. The situation for all of Elastern Pennsylvania is completely up in the NO INDICATION Thus there is no indication what will happen to the district served by State Sen. Edwin G.

Holl, a district which includes all of the Pottstown area. district, the census revealed, has grown in population to well above the 235,000 maximum. Some areas of his district will have to be placed in other districts. According to some reports the district served by State Sen. John Stauffer, which is all of Chester County, might be given part of district which borders the Schuylkill River.

But according to the 1970 census, Chester County contains 278,000 people, which already is too many. If more people are added to district, it might mean removing some by taking part of the Chester County area bordering Delaware County and placing it in one of that district. Delaware County also has too many people. So if some Chester County people were placed in one of its senatorial districts, a number of people in Delaware County bordering Philadelphia would have to be placed in a district represented by a state senator from that city. Philadelphia lost population so it would be the logical thing to do.

Yet the domino effect of changing district boundaries is causing deep interest among state lawmakers and they are making their feelings known to members of the committee. POLITICAL PRESSURE Those feelings represent pressure of a forceful political nature. The committee members are feeling this pressure but they can take comfort in the fact that regardless of what they do the pressure will end Jan. 25. the deadline and if the new boundaries drawn by then, it may be up to the courts to do so.

Once the committee plan is finalized, if ever, it must ba approved by the state senate and house of representatives and be signed by Gov. Milton J. Shapp. Few people in the state, however, believe it will take that long for the plan to be adopted and for people to know whether or not a familiar name will be appearing on their ballots next year as a candidate for the Pennsylvania Senate. Tru-Glo CLEANING SERVICE 933 N.

Hanover St. Ph. 323-4792 Truly Complete Janitorial Service WINDOWS, WALLS, FLOORS SHAMPOOING Commercial and Residential See The All New John Deere 72 AT Feature! Page, FOR PXIZERS APPLIANCES, inc. 100 SO. Pottsfown Dial 469-6200 Pottstown, Wednesday, November 17, 1971 Page Fleven Turkey Retains Prominence On Holiday Dinner Tables More than 200 years ago Ben Franklin proposed making the turkey the national bird.

Congress turned him down but he might have taken solace in the knowledge that the turkey will have an honored place in homes throughout the nation next Thursday. Though some non-conformists a duck or ham on Thanksgiving, the turkey still ranks number one on the dinner table of most Pottstown residents and is being used more and more throughout the year as well. Housewives who have seen the price of most meats skyrocket over the past few years know that turkey is one of the best buys on the market. been in the turkey business 20 declared Kenneth Longacre, of Horace Longacre Franconia, the price of turkey then was higher than it is PRICES VARIED The price of turkey used to vary from year to year but remained about the same for the last few years, area butchers noted. Longacre explained this phenomenon in a time of inflation: are steady because turkey now is consumed on a year round basis and farmers have developed more efficient ways to breed turkeys.

Pet Turkeys Missing From Farm in Area Two wild turkeys, raised as pets on the 108-acre farm of Mr. and Mrs. Carolus Wade, Spring City RD 1, midway between Pughtown and Kimberton, disappeared during the past week. Bloodstains and scattered feathers were discovered near the roosting spots of the foul and both Wade and his wife, Dorothy, suspect the birds were shot. In spring of 1969 Mrs.

Wade was given 15 turkey eggs. Eight hatched and the small birds were raised until full-feathered then put in pens on the Wade farm. Six make the transition and died. Two others, a male and female, were raised as pets. unusual that wild turkeys would stay around a farm and not be frightened Mrs.

Wade said. had complete freedom and never strayed from the buildings. They even were brave and fought with the The turkeys would roost in a tree near the Wade home, atop a utility pole or on top of the 40-foot barn. The past Tuesday the hen was discovered missing. The Wades found bloody feathers beneath the tree where the bird was seen the night before.

Saturday morning the other turkey was gone. Again blood covered feathers were found on the Wade property. thought it might have been raccoons but both birds could fly and defend Mrs. Wade said. Although no one heard any shots, Wade and his wife believe the birds were killed between dusk and dawn by someone using a pellet gun.

Mrs. Wade noted that it is hunting season but hunting is not permitted along a well traveled highway or on private property and less than 50 feet from a house where the turkeys remained. that further processed foods using turkeys are becoming common in supermarkets, there has been a steady demand for turkey throughout the This year, frozen turkey will average 40 cents a pound, while freshly killed turkeys will be 20 cents higher. always a shortage of fresh explained, there just enough time in the week before Thanksgiving to kill and dress enough of the birds to meet the FROZEN TURKEYS Frozen turkeys, however, will be abundant, grocers agree. Allan Birch, meatcutter for Pantry Pride, Norco Mall, finds that 80 per cent of his customers buys frozen turkeys.

rest buy fresh he said, they feel the meat loses some of its flavor in the freezing Supermarkets also feature self-basting and stuffed turkeys at a higher cost. The basting birds are injected with corn oil or a similar oil and baste themselves as they cook. Longacre believes that turkeys will become even more convenient to use in the future. now are being used in a number of pre-processed he stated, will make them much easier to LOW FAT CONTENT He pointed out that turkey has the lowest fat content of any meat, but has one of the highest protein contents. Coupled with its low price, it is exceptional If Tom Turkey is high on brawn, woefully short on brain.

are the most stupid birds you ever said Noryal Yorgey, Boyertown RD 1 Yorgey, a turkey farmer who raises more than 2,000 birds every year, said the worst hazard in raising the fowl is their incredible lack of intelligence. believe how stupid they he emphasized. can hang themselves in places you believe. be amazed at how easily these birds accidentally can kill The turkey raiser said the critical period is when first hatched. know enough to eat.

They just stand there and stare at each other and holler. For the first couple of weeks the racket is he said. COLORED MARBLES Yorgey puts brightly colored marbles in their feed to attract their attention. hope start pecking at it and their beaks will slip off into Lie he explained. The turkeys arrive late in April, timed to grow to the proper size by Thanksgiving.

He has three breeds, each of different size. The turkey business was revolutionized 10 years ago, Yorgey said, when farmers began to artifically breed the birds. double-breasted turkey, which has more meat than a naturally bred turkey, was developed. The thousands of turkeys who are about to give their lives in the name of good eating may not be too happy, but at least they serve a good purpose. the best test of their character is great said Yorgey.

PR Director Appointed At Center B. Elliott, Pottstown Star Route, was named director of public relations for the Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, according to Albert P. Pollick, president. Mrs. Elliott will be responsible for the public relations program and handle community and press relations, Pollick explained.

She also will coordinate a program of public information, represent the hospital in community activities, direct the volunteer program and assist in some areas of ploye relations. AT FIRESTONE Mrs. Elliott was public relations director of the Lower Pottsgrove plant of Firestone Tire Rubber Co. five years. Prior to that, she was assistant to the public relations director to Appear at Hearings For Failing to File Returns JUANITA B.

ELLIOTT and associate editor of that employe publication. More recently, she was administrative assistant to the personnel manager, John Wanamakers, Berkshire Mall. She received a bachelor of degree cum laude in journalism from West Virginia University and has taken additional courses at Ursinus College and Lehigh University. UF BOARD She is a member of the board of directors of the United Fund of Pottstown and Vicinity. A past board member of the Visiting Nurse Association, she served two terms as president of the YWCA and worked in publicity and public relations for the Northern Branch, American Red Cross, and other community groups.

Pottstown View By JOSEPH E. DOUGHERTY Mercury Staff Writer Twenty taxpayers in the Owen J. Roberts School District were ordered to appear at hearings to face possible fines or jail sentences for failing to file a 1970 return for the earned income tax. There are indications that as many as 343 more district residents will be summoned before the bar of justice for the same thing. Nobody is saying all of the people listed as defendants in the criminal actions refused to pay their taxes.

In most cases, officials believe, a misunderstanding over what the law requires in regard to the 1 per cent income levy. Names of the 20 defendants, 10 each from North Coventry and East Vincent Townships, were on criminal information filed with District Justice Robert G. Mull. They were signed by James Smith, an official of Berkheimer Associates, a tax billing and collecting firm retained by the Owen J. Roberts School District.

MAILED SUMMONS Mull mailed a summons to each of the 20 and set Friday, Dec. 3, as the date of hearings. They will get underway at 9 a.m. and continue until all are disposed of. Under the tax ordinance adopted by the school district one which has similar penalities as governmental agencies with their own earned income tax failure to file a return is punishable by a fine of up to $500 or a jail term of up to 30 days.

Some of the defendants not only have failed to file a return, according to officials, they paid any taxes under the 1 per cent provision either. But in other cases it represent a deliberate effort to avoid taxes. LOCAL MANAGER Mrs. Betty McClimon, manager of the Pottstown office Berkheimer Associates, explained: of the people who failed to file have only one job and their employers withhold the 1 per cent tax. Pottstown pi for example.

withhold the money regardless of where their employes live. Periodically that money is sent to government. From there it is sent to the taxing districts in which those employes reside. Thus the tax is paid. too many of our residents feel that since the tax is withheld and paid, they are under no obligation to file a She noted, however, that the only way her agency can tell if a resident has other income, from a source where withholding was not done, is through the final return.

that final return we have no way of knowing if a man worked only for wages where the tax was withheld or if he had part-time work as DRASTIC ACTION At least one of the 20 who received a summons said he felt the action was somewhat drastic in light of the fact no advance warning was given. Yet Mrs. McClimon said all of the people who failed to file returns were sent delinquent notices the past August. were enough to spur the filing of the returns by some people but others still failed to Mull said he understands the situation in regard to the confusion over filing and said he is prepared to make adjustments at the hearings. the people come in and show that they have filed since they received a summons and they plead guilty to failure to file, the fine and cost will be only $15, the absolute he noted.

those who not only have failed to file but whose taxes remain the procedure will be SITUATION CONSIDERED Mull said in those cases if a conviction is gained the overall- situation will be considered before a fine is set. There is a way for the remaining 343 to avoid a summons and a hearing, according to Mrs. McClimon. only interested in the final determination to clear up our she said. if those who owe any taxes but who still filed a return and do so within the next few days, a summons be sent and they will be up to date as far as we are concerned.

those who not only filed but who paid their tax as well, there will be a 9 per cent penalty added to the amount of tax they owe, according to the ordinance, if they file within the next few LOT BETTER Still, she added, a lot better than receiving a summons, going to a hearing, and having to pay a fine on top of the Who will be next on the summons list? Officials of Berkheimer decided. What they do know, however, is that an equal number will be taken from each of the townships within the school district on a regular basis until all outstanding taxes and delinquent returns have been satisfied. Television Documentary Centers on Area Woman YOU RE GOING TO HAVE TO FINP A NEW EXCUSE TO LEAVE VOUR WIFE AT HOME 'Give me morn minutes, I'll think of something. A television program featuring an area woman now recuperating from a fourth hip operation will be shown 6:30 p.m. Sunday on channel 6.

Subject of the program is the a new surgical environment created at Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, where Mrs. Marian Gabuzda, South Pleasant View Road, Sanatoga, underwent surgery Oct. 27. Jon Miller, producer and director for the Channel 6 documentary film, said the entire program was structure around Mrs. Gabuzda, one of the first to undergo surgery in the new unit.

is the person who has the problem, and we open the program explaining what going to In this portion Mrs. Gabuzda and her husband, Edward, a registered nurse and research chemist at Synthane-Taylor Oaks, described the case history. THREE OPERATIONS Mrs. Gabuzda, also a registered nurse, explains that already had three operations, two unsuccessful ones in which cups were placed in the hips and the third, the a 1 performed by Dr. Richard Rothman.

She describes the agony she and her husband experienced when the first doctor told her she would have to resign herself to a life of pain and suffering, according to Miller. But the Gabuzdas accept this prognosis and learned of Dr. John Charnlev, a renowned British surgeon who developed another technique, through an article in Time magazine. They wrote to the surgeon and he replied, suggesting the names of four doctors in the United States whom they could contact. At the same time the Gabuzdas heard of Dr.

Rothman who just returned from England after studying with Dr. Charnley. The first of the program also is interwoven with construction of the greenhouse. 2D SEGMENT When the second segment opens, according to Miller, the rooms now are ready and the nurses and doctors are preparing the room and themselves for surgery. Here he said a comparison is drawn to what used to be a relatively sterile operating procedure.

In the new room, surgeons now wear what looks like space age equipment, gowns covering them from head to foot and space helmets, designed like those in the space program. Communication, between each other and outside the greenhouse is done through transmitters and receivers in the helmet. Even the air they breathe comes from a tube in the helmet which is connected to a system outside. The operation is performed in a fixed position by four people inside the greenhouse: two surgeons, Dr. Rothman and his associate.

Dr. James Marvel; David Seland, orthopedic resident, and Monina Stewart, scrub nurse. Immediately outside is the anesthesiologist, circulating nurse and any visitors, such as student doctors and nurses. NO CONTAMINATION What it means. Miller explained, is that these people, the observers, will no longer contaminate the sterility of the operating area.

As the operation proceeds, Mrs. Gabuzda is partially awake. is able to talk some but feels nothing and she remembers nothing of Miller said the fact that she is partially awake can be seen in the film. The operation is a success and the doctors remark that she was an excellent patient. The producer said there is always one problem in this type of operation.

The use of the glue to hold the prothesis in the bone sometimes causes blood pressure to drop and the anesthesiologist is conscious of this and very concerned. Mrs. blood pressure did not drop. The operation took two hours and 10 minutes from start to finish. Miller said what surprised him and his assistants, two camera editors and a soundman, the most was the preparation timing.

PREPARE ROOM arrived at the hospital at 6 a.m. the day of operation and at 6:30 a.m. the nurses were starting to prepare the room checking to see that all gear was there and in operating order. They finish until 9 a.m. when the operation Wfhen the operation ended, the doctors removed a sterile curtain through which a patient is moved in and out.

Mrs. Gabuzda is shown being wheeled out of the operating room and to the recovery room down the hall. Miller said X-rays were taken there and within a half hour the doctor returned to show the X-rays which indicated everything had gone well and that the prothesis was in the right position. The next sequence, he said, shows the steps in recovery. The TV crew will return to the hospital today as Mrs.

Gabuzda leaves the hospital walking unaided. For the past several years she had been unable to walk without the aid of a walker or crutches. In the documentary, Miller functions as a reporter. He said when he films today, he will interview Mrs. Gabuzda to see how she feels in relation to her co i i following other operations which required more than twice as muc4i time in surgery, hospitalization recuperation..