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Daily News from New York, New York • 562

Publication:
Daily Newsi
Location:
New York, New York
Issue Date:
Page:
562
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

JL7 APRIL 24, 1978 V.Mf. frW. 4- 1 liraff of a lifetime Off New Jersey Shore By ROGER WITHERSPOON Nearly 100 miles off the Atlantic City beaches, 89 men are around the clock to try to locate a pocket of oil and natural pas 14,000 teet beneath the ocean llooiv But if they hit their target during the next two months of drilling, only a handful of the men will know about it. "It's not like the image you've gotten from the movies," said burly Tommy Hicks, the veteran drilling supervisor of Exxon's exploration vessel, the Glomar Pacific. "If we hit, we who are working won't feel a thing.

One of Four "A few minutes later, the geologists' machines will tell them, and they'll tell us. It's all scientific these days." He's right, a visit to the Glomar Pacific, one of four rigs seeking petroleum deposits off the New Jersey coast but the only one in a ship, revealed Saturday a gleaming, spotless collage of colorful equipment (whites and yellows predominate) and computer hardware. "If you ever see a gusher then a whole lot of things have" gone wrong," Hicks, a cheerful, 6-foot 2-inch, 335-pounder whose gold hard hat bears the handle "Humble Tommy." news onrsro uy oareno? idvi Oil exploration drUl ship Glomar Pacific 100 miles off Atlantic City. A New Era for Adopted Foster Kids Hicks, who entered the oil business in 1949 after earning an engineering degree, has worked on oil drilling operations on both land and sea. He said offshore drilling poses more of a chal-lente.

More Problems "There are more things that can go wrong," he explained. "You don't have to worry about hurricanes or bad weather or a. million other things when you're on land. The swells during a visit to the drilling ship were around 10 feet high enough to be noticeable to the normally land-bound visitors who gobbled up dramamine pills, but not high enough to disturb the drillers. The ship has four anchors and a computerized positioning system triggers propellers along the sides of the ship to keep it from moving laterally, no matter what the currents -do.

New Pipe Section The drill itself is a 10-foot-wide yellow hulk, which rides a 142-foot high white tower. The frill grabs one end of a 93-foot-long length of drilling pipe and hoists it in the air. The free end at the bottles is caught by two workers, who push it into huge red clamps the so-called "Iron Roughnecks" which then screw the end of the new pipe section into the top of the proceeding one. The hoist which can hold up to one million pounds, then plunges downward, shoving the pipe into the sea bed. As of Saturday, the workers had punched a hole 4,650 feet beneath the ocean tloor.

They expect to take two more months before reaching their goal. The center of the ship has a 26-foot square cut into it the so-called Moon Pool through which the drill operates. Computer-Controlled winches keep the pipe running from the ocean floor to the ship steady with the vessel itself rising and falling around it. This eliminates strain on the pipes. There are 79 workers on the six-tiered vessel, who work 12-hour days for two weeks before being flown to their homes around the country.

Most, like Hicks and driller B. W. Skipworth, are from the Gulf states. "We have a long work period," Hicks said, "but you can't beat that 14-day weekend." The ship has many amenities color television, telephone communications, lounges and exercise areas, and a kitchen staffed 24-hours a day which serves four planned meals and four "snack periods" but is open at all times to anyone who wants between-meal bites. The fare Saturday included steaks, strawberry shortcake, fresh fruits, and bread baked on board.

Within eyesight of Exxon's ship is Texaco's semi-submersible drilling rig a large platform located on two pontoons. spouse's children without going through a formal investigation and waiting a year fo approval. "A man who has taken a woman to be his wife and accepted and is supporting her children tended to resent a state official checking to determine if he is qualified to adopt them," said Donna Amick of the State Department of Human Services. Reduce the waiting time between the placement of a child in the new home and formal adoption from one year to six months. Preclude persons from paying a woman for the right to adopt her baby thus putting a crimp in the black market for children.

The first major revisions in 25 years in New Jersey's adoption laws are now in effect, and child-care officials anticipating a more efficient era in the treatment of youngsters. Two bills dealing with foster care and adoption were signed in February by Gov. Byrne. The adoption regulations are now in effect though not all governmental agencies are familiar with the changes and the care provisions take effect July 1. The major provisions of the adoption code are: Permit adults to adopt their 1 1st Female College Prexy Grant unmarried father full rights as a parent.

In the past, he had no right over the disposition of a child. "The law acted as if the child was conceived without any help from anyone," said Amick, "which obviously wasn't true or fair." Alllow childen over age 10 to have a say in court over their placement with a new family. The judge must give full weight to the child's feelings. Permit persons who are separated for 18 months or more but not divorced to adopt children. Single parents for some years have been able to adopt when children are available.

"In the past, especially in the black community," said Phyllis Gold of the Spaulding for Children agency in West-field, "many women who would be ercellent mothers were denied the opportunity to adopt because, for economic or other reasons, they never paid the money to formally obtain a divorce." "Since single women were allowed to adopt, this was a useless restriction." Most Radical Change But the most radical change comes in the treatment of the 11,000 children in foster care. The new law, Gold says, will require the formation of citizen review panels who will monitor as an arm of the juvenile courts the progress of foster-care children. Linda Wood, of the Citizens Commit tee for Children in Montclair, which proposed the lav, said the committee system provides a means for tracking children who are placed outside of their homes, and making sure that some kind of planning is done for the youngsters. Roger Witherspoon tresses Job, Not Gentler By ALLISON DAVIS Rose N. Channing, who recently became the first female president of a public college in New Jersey, hopes that people will concentrate on her accomplishments and abilities instead -of the fact that she is a woman.

mother of two grown daughters, said that she does not anticipate any prob lem either on a college or a state level because of her sex. I received a very encouraging wei come from Chancellor of Higher Education Edward Hollander she said. An Unflagging Effort to Promote Mall "Too much is being made of the fact that I'm a woman," said Channing. who was appointed president of Middlesex County College last week. "I can understand the initial interest, but it shouldn't be the only topic of discussion.

"Any woman who has the proper experience should be regarded eligible for a job in the same light as a man. I was chosen to head Middlesex because of my qualifications, not because I am a woman." William Walsh, vice-chairman of the college board of trusties, which selected Channing, agreed. "We were looking for qualifications, and sex didn't matter," Walsh said. According to Walsh, Channing was selected from more than 100 candidates from around the country, and has had a long association with the school. She joined Middlesex in 1966, when it opened, serving as chairwoman of the Department of Nurse Education.

In 1968, she was named Dean of the Division of Health Technology. Channing outlined her plans for 'the college within the next few years, saying: It's time to assess where we are. so that we can become more relevant to meeting the needs of the community." The North Erunswick resident said that MCC is entering a period of improvement; its' time to look at the college as a whole, to evaluate our goals and missions and to develop a formal plan for the future." Channins. who is widowed and the or do paperwork or build something. We won't send up someone who says he wants to kill time.

That person would nver stay through Labor Day," added Garrard. Mall officials are secretly hoping for a woman to win the contest, according to Norman Adie, owner of Adie's Museum at the Mall. For those who are interested, the official modern record for flagpole sitting is 399 days, set in 1975. That's nothing, c'aims Adie a student of these things. "There is documentation that starting in 477 A.D.

a monk sat on top of a towerlike pillar of stone for nearly 33 years," said Adie. He confessed that the didn't know why. radio, kitchenette and library for the daring young man or woman who decides to spend an unusua1 summer 65 feet in the air. Why would anybody want to spend the summer on top of a flagpole with according to the rules no visitors and no breaks? Write a Novel? "Why not?" says Jerry Garrard, a spokesman for the mall. "We expect to have over 3,000 applicants by May 26, the day the flagpole sit begins.

We'll screen them by making each person write an essay on why he wants to stay aloft through Labor Day." The contest officials are looking for someone who can intelligent'y the time on top of the pole. Someone who could write up there, The Boardwalk Mall in Wild-wood is offering an entire summer's room and board at the Jersey Shore plus, a 81,000 cash prize to the winner of its latest contest. There's a small catch, though. The winner must spend the summer sitting on top of a flagpole. The mall started its contest' an effort to steal some of the thunder from casinoland in Atlantic City to the north 'ess than a week ago and already has more than 400 applicants, including 75 women.

Mall workers will construct a six-foot square platform, with 3-foot high sides and a 7-foot high roof, atop a flagpole that sits on top of the mall itself. The-open-air apartment will have a bed, chair, television set,.

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Pages Available:
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Years Available:
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