The Californian from Salinas, California • 2

6 Districts could solve Prunedale water ills Mr Ji lY chemicals to form substances suspected of causing cancer Nitrates can also deplete the oxygen in children under six months old and cause what are commonly called "blue babies If steps are not taken to solve the nitrate problem. Wong said, the county may require North County residents to dig deeper wells to protect public health Wong said the nitrates probably come from septic tanks and fertilizers used on nearby strawberry fields. He said the county is studying the problem to find out exactly where they come Del Piero S8id Monterey County has more contaminated wells than any county in the state and he said most of the contaminated wells are in North County. Because there is a shortage of good water in North County, Del Puro said, there are restrictions on growth. If the public whaler systems are built, growth restrictions in some areas may be lifted, he said.

Del Piero said that at another meeting in May he will ask residents what they want to do. sage of Proposition 28. which provided for a $75 million bond issue lor improvement and rehabilitation of drinking water systems, ri. To receive grants. Del Piero said, residents would have to form or join a special district to run the water systemsand the overage income of the area households could not exceed $17,000 per year.

If residents wanted to receive low-interest loans, they would have to set up service districts or contract with a public utility to run their water systems, he said If special districts are set up. Del Piero said, the districts would probably direct the countys public works department, which he said would probably manage the water systems. Central Prunedale residents currently draw water from small water systems hooked up to privately owned wells. waiter Wong. Monterey County director of environmental health, said many of the wells are contaminated with nitrates, which can combine with other By MIKE WENNERGREN Californian Staff Writer PRUNEDALE Over 100 Prunedale reMdents were told Fridav night they will probably have to form a special district or contract with a utility if they want to rid themselves of their contaminated wells, Monterev County Supervisor Marc Del Piero told residents of lower Echo Valley Itoad, lower Langley Canyon Itoad and Valle Pacifico they will have to set up a special district or contract with a public utility in order to receive state funds to install one or more public water systems.

Del Piero said nitrates have contaminated at least 10 wells in central Prunedale and installing public water systems may be the only solution. Something is going to have to be done," he said. We have a real severe ground water contamination problem in North County and the problem is growing Del Piero told residents they are eligible for state grants or low-interest loans for public water systems The money was authorized in November by pas 4 v.Y tMt -rN YD Death March survivor has no country to call his home CpI. Gilbert Guerrero helps Amy Dutra of Los Angeles over obstacle. High school students get taste of the soldier's life SAN DIEGO (AP) A decision by the Immigration and Naturalization Service has made Gregorio Rivera a man without a country, his attorney says.

Rivera, a survivor of the Bataan Death March, was a soldier for the Republic of the Philippines before he served six years as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War II. Now 68, Rivera renounced his Filipino citizenship last November, when U.S. District Court Judge Gordon Thompson administered the oath making Rivera a naturalized citizen of the United States. The U.S.

citizenship oath requires renunciation of previous citizenship. Two months later, INS officials asked Rivera to voluntarily give up his American citizen Gang shootings more lethal as weapons' power increases t.j ''vd want to find out more about what its like. And then there are those who intend to continue in ROTC in college or military academies. About 25 to 30 percent of the cadets in Wilson Highs junior ROTC program have a sincere interest in military subjects, Woods said. "The junior ROTC does things that other classes dont do, such as rifle range, drill teams, physical education classes and field trips, said Arreola.

The interest that people such as Arreola show in the military is intensified if they come to Fort Ord for the week of training, Woods said. Some, even though we brief them, dont exactly know what theyre getting into until they experience getting up at 5 a.m., experience cleaning the barracks, experience all this regimented schedule. It is quite an eye-opener, he said. But I find it highly successful. They come back every year.

A sense of accomplishment separates the cadets who go to Fort Ord for spring break and those who dont. Woods said. These kids come from the inner city. Unless youre an I athlete competing in sports, I this is the only opportunity to compete. Getting used to the regimen-1 ted way of life isn't easy for some, though, said Gilberts Guangorena, a Wilson High? School senior and three-year member of junior ROTC.

It took me awhile, he said. "But I came here (to, Fort Ord) and I learned more: about it and ended up liking: it. I know how to march bet- ter and stay in step, said 15-? year-old Andrew Bobro, ai freshman at San Marcus Highj School in Santa Barbara. Cadet Sgt. Anna Barragan said she got into ROTC 1M! years ago "because everybody said it was hard and that girls dont join.

But Barragan said she stays in the program because she has gotten much encouragement and has made quite a few friends. It took me two weeks (to get used to it), she said. I got really interested in it. Cadet Capt. Diana Leach of Santa Barbara High School joined ROTC because she wants to go to West Point, the Armys military academy.

Im going to West Point. Thats it, Leach said confidently. When I joined, I thought what better way to learn? she said. I enjoy marching, enjoy the uniforms and like commanding. Going to West Point doesn't mean Leach is definite about making the Army her career.

But she said Its a good foundation for any career." By FELIX GUTIERREZ Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) Machine guns and other illegal weapons, many converted by magazine mail order, are falling into the hands of street gangs and drug dealers at a rapid rate, 'authorities say. There is a definite trend by gangs to use more high-powered semi-automatic or automatic weapons, said Los An- geles police Cmdr. Lome Kramer, who heads gang We have come across automatic pistols, automatic rifles, and rifles such as carbines that have been cut down to make them more maneuverable and easily concealed, said Kramer. As a result, police say, the citys gang shootings are becoming more lethal. Unskilled in handling rapid-fire weapons, gang members often hit innocent bystanders "who just happened acknowledged the agency made a mistake in granting Rivera citizenship.

but he said no one has been able to find another section of law under which to approve Riveras citizenship. Rabinowitz said the INS incorrectly processed Riveras citizenship application under a law that applies to U.S. servicemen from some foreign countries, but not the Philippines. According to Rabinowitz, Rivera now has to reapply for citizenship and be put on a waiting list, a process that could take years. Rivera, a farm worker, said he came to the United States in August 1982 and decided to apply for citizenship because he was attracted by the American style of democracy.

ing its use constitutes excessive force, but no hearings have been held. We will continue to use the car according to circumstances when a place is particularly dangerous and particularly fortified, and where other means of entry are not practical," said Diaz. Although handgun sales have been tapering off nationally, the availability of automatic weapons has increased 300 to 400 percent in the last five years, said Los Angeles police illegal weapons specialist Jimmy Trahin. There are tens of thousands of converted automatic weapons in Southern California. Authorities fear that much more illegal weaponry lies in the hands of those who arent getting caught.

Were only getting the people who are converting them who are caught in crimes, said Trahin in a telephone interview. Then you have the other side: curiousity seekers, survivalists, the quasi-military. Automatic weapons are not illegal under federal law, although 21 states (including California) prohibit or regulate them. Where they are legal, federal regulations require an application and payment of a $200 fee each time one is converted or transferred. Californians can legally buy semi-automatic assault rifles requiring a squeeze on the trigger for each bullet fired.

These weapons can be easily converted to illegal automatics capable of spitting out 30 bullets in less than one and a half seconds. A lot of the automatic weapons are home conversions that theyre doing with parts that theyre buying at gun shows and through advertising in Soldier of Fortune and Shotgun News, said officer Arleigh McCree, who heads the Los Angeles police firearms and explosives section. 2,700 homes lose electricity for hour About 2,700 Alisal houses and businesses lost their electricity for about an hour Friday afternoon. A spokesman for Pacific Gas 4 Electric Co. said a power line near the Salinas Airport failed at 4:40 p.m.

Power was restored by 5:45 p.m., he said. ship, saying they had made a mistake by granting him U.S. citizenship under a law that didn't apply to him. When Rivera refused to relinquish his American citizenship, Thompson ordered it revoked. He is literally today a man without a country." said Gregory Knoll, director of the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, the agency representing Rivera.

He fought for us and survived the Bataan Death March, a 55-mile march to prisoner of war camps. About 10,000 Americans and Filipinos captured by the Japanese died during the jungle march. Knoll said that on Monday, Rivera again will appear before Thompson and ask him to reinstate his American citizenship. INS attorney Alan Rabinowitz to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, Kramer said. The city police department recorded a total of 119 gang-related deaths in 1984 and 123 in 1983, according to officer Sergio Diaz.

County authorities said there were 60 gang-related deaths in their jurisdiction in 1984 and 57 in 1983. Local drug dealers are obtaining illegal weapons, as well, stockpiling automatic guns and rifles in the fortress-like rock houses they use to process and sell cocaine. Four of six weapons seized in a recent police raid on a rock house were automatics. These high-powered caches have prompted Los Angeles police to use a controversial battering ram mounted on an armored personnel carrier to break into suspected rock houses. The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department uses tow trucks to rip the houses open.

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit against use of the police battering ram, say- Rita Goel, administrative manager of the company, said the workers were taken to the hospital to be on the safe side in case a refrigeration unit had leaked freon. But repairmen could find no leak in the unit Thursday, she said. The refrigeration unit was left running all night and no leaks could be found today either, said Frank Hebert, of the Montery County Environmental Health Department. Personnel group schedules meeting The Cental Coast Personnel Network, an affiliate of the American Society for Personnel Administrators, is to hold its regular monthly meeting at 11:30 a.m. April 11 at Asilomar Conference Center.

Lunch is included. The organization is open to all personnel adminsitrators, managers and specialists who are interested in professional growth and development. Reservations should be made no later than Monday by calling 372-8016. see the fun stuff firsthand. We try to explain that this isnt the way the Army is all the time.

They are getting a good insight as to what to expect if they should decide to join, though." Having the junior cadets visit is also good training for the Fort Ord soldiers, Pigler said. It gives them a chance to be knowledgable about a piece of equipment and teach someone else who doesnt know, he said. "Its a confidence booster for them." The junior ROTC program, started in 1919, is designed to give high school students leadership and value training. Theres a respect for one another, said Cadet 1st Lt. Hector Arreola, a senior at Wilson High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Everybody treats other cadets in a good manner. Cadets have different reasons for joining the junior ROTC program, which emphasizes the general discipline aspect of military life. Most cadets dont even know whether they want to. join the military. Theyre just high school youngsters who havent made up their minds yet, said ROTC Lt.

Col Roger Woods, who heads the junior cadet program at Wilson High School. Some of his sophomores decide to take junior ROTC as a way of getting out of physical education. Others have a mild interest in the military and 81 mm mortar as Mike are from Los Angeles. By BARBARA DETERS Californian Staff Writer FORT ORD Not many would consider getting up at 5 a m. every day during spring break.

Nor would they consider marching and learning to fire weapons as top choices on their list of recreational activities. But about 450 Southern California high school students found themselves spending the week doing exactly that at Fort Ord. It was all part of the junior ROTC program to bring high school students to Fort Ord for a taste of military life. The students from seven high schools in the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara areas spent their week rappelling off towers, crossing rivers on rope bridges, tackling confidence and obstacle courses, firing M16s and learning about nuclear, biological and chemical warefare. But all of that was after getting up at 5 a.m.

to make it to the mess hall for breakfast at 6. The week at Fort Ord is designed to be fun for the junior cadets, said Army Capt. James Pigler of the 2nd bats, talion of the 8th Field ArtiP lery. Pigler and his unit were in charge of the junior ROTC program this year. We want them to have fun, he said.

As far as training is concerned, they get to Ben Estorgo loads Cazier helps. Both Refrigerant not the cause of shed workers' illnesses Authorities determined Friday that nine Salinas shed workers who became ill Thursday were not exposed to leaking refrigerant as was originally feared. No freon leaks could be found in the refrigeration unit at Yoder Road, authorities said. They could not say why the workers complained of headaches and nausea Thursday. The workers were taken to the 3rothers Inc.

on Esperanza hospital after becoming ill about 10 a. m. Californian UEr.ow'h.d',io 1871 (continuing th. Solmo. Ind.

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