Playground Daily News from Fort Walton Beach, Florida • Page 2

Page ZA-PLAYGROUND DAILY NEWS, Thursday Morning, March 21,1974 NASA Fund Drive Backed by Nixon Space Center, Houston, Tex. several thousand NASA em- I President Nixon ployes and their families: "We Wednesday pledged to back the national space program in its drive for more money to finance new projects. Told by astronauts in a tour of the space center that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is asking Congress for increased funds, Nixon replied, "Good luck. You have my support." Later, after awarding NASA's distinguished service medal to the last three Skylab astronauts -Lt. Col.

Gerald P. Carr, Col. William Pogue and Dr. Edward Gibson --Nixon told a crowd of Forest Fire In Florida Spreading NAPLES, Fla. (UPI) A forest fire apparently set by arsonists spread across thousands of acres of swampland in southwest Florida Wednesday, and officials said it could "burn right to Miami" if it succeeded in jumping a canal and getting into the Everglades sawgrass.

"If the wind holds from the south, 1 think there's a good chance we can contain it at the canal," said Geza Wass de Czege, southwest Florida district forester. "Wecan't control it (where it is)," Czege explained," because the terrain is too rough." Czege said the blaze had burned across 25,000 to 30,090 acres and was spreading toward a water conservation canal. "Hopefully, the canal will prevent the fire from getting into the sawgrass areas. If it doesn't, the fire could burn right to Miami." The fire threatened to become the most destructive in recent years in the scenic and remote Big Cypress swamp area, which stretches from Florida's southwest coast eastward to the a a sawgrass areas of the Everglades. The entire section is tinderdry after weeks of sunny, rainless weather, typical of Florida in the winter.

Czege said the fire apparently was started by arsonists last week. know there are other worlds out there, far out. Where are they? What is the end? "We must go there because since it is there failure to try to find what is there means we have lost something that has been great in the American system from the time we were a very small nation. "You need not to know that there is something there in order to have justification for trying to find out what's there. "That is the mark of a scientist, but it is also Ihe mark of a great people.

So we must explore the unknown. "That is why we are putting the money that we are into the space program. We are putting it there because we realize that not only might we learn something but also that we are going to do something for American spirit, which is tremendously important." His audience roared its approval of Ihe presidential pledge to continue to back NASA's exploration of space, for the space program has been languishing as Congress has cut back space exploration appropriations. Noting that Soviet Russian communications technicians were already at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center preparing for next year's joint U.

Soviet space flight, the President said that the American people needed to know that the joint effort with the Soviet Union promoted the cause of peace and progress in the world. ass. 's Conciliatory Remarks Please Europe SPACE CENTER TOUR-Aslronant Thomas Stafford shows an Apollo Command Module to President Nixon during Ihe President's visit to Ihe Lyndon Raines Johnson Space Center Wednesday, Nixon toured a portion of the facility and presented Distinguished Service Medals to the Skylab 3 astronauts. (UPI Photo) Agnew Successor Gets Tax Evade Conviction BALTIMORE (UPI) A federal jury convicted Baltimore County Executive N. Dale Anderson of 32 counts of conspiracy, extortion and tax evasion Wednesday in a further development in the investigation that forced his predecessor, Spiro T.

Agnew, to resign the vice presidency. Anderson, 57, Agnew's successor as county executive and one of Maryland's most powerful Democrats, was convicted of extorting more than $38,000 in kickbacks from engineers and architects in return for no-bid contracts and of evading more than $67,000 in federal income taxes. Hearst Airs Assurance Of Meeting Demands SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) Randolph A. Hearst spoke to his kidnaped daughter by television and radio Wednesday to assure her he is doing all he can to meet Ihe demands of Ihe Symbionese Liberation Army, which kidnaped her 44 days ago. "I just would like to say one thing to Patty, and that is that I am trying to do every thing lean to facilitate the demands of the SLA," Hearst said in front of his Hillsborough home.

Extortion Attempt Halted By Police, Calm Hostage INDIANAPOLIS (UPI) With a knife at her throat and an extortionist telling her to telephone his demands to an airline, Rebecca Dotlich instead calmly dialed the security police at Weir Cook Airport Wednesday. An officer shot the assailant as he started to cut her throat. The extortionist was identified as Dennis Tillman, 36, of Detroit. Police said he had demanded $1 million and an airplane when he seized Miss Dotlich. He was rushed to General Hospital with a bullet in his neck.

Miss Dotlich, 22, who thwarted the attempt through her coolness and courage, was cut in the neck, but she was not believed seriously injured. Miss Dotlich is an employe of the F. C. Tucker a real estate firm directly across the concourse from the Trans World Airlines check in counter. The extortionist apparently thought the real estate office was part of the TWA operations.

He walked in, whipped out a knife, put it to Miss Dotlich's throat, and told her she was a hostage. The man told her to telephone for $1 million and an airplane. Instead, she sent out a telephone alarm, and Capt. Dennis Maxey and LI. Sam Mendenhall were dispatched.

Maxey talked to the extortionist through the door and then entered the room. As he did so, police said, the man began cutting Miss Dotlich's throat. Maxey yelled to Mendenhall, "Shoot!" Mendenhall did, and the extortionist fell. "We've run into (rouble, had difficulty with the People in Need food program, but that is in the process of being remodeled and I think it will meet and come up to the general specifications of the SLA. "I think the one thing we have in common is that the SLA and I don't want to see my daughter killed.

This is the biggest plus there is. The other things are basically political and I think that there's almost a tragedy here. What the SLA has done can't approve of, because 1 can't approve of anyone taking my daughter or anybody's child, or approve of kidnaping." Hearst said he hoped that the food program would be able to resume Monday. Hearst also said lie would do all he could to make it possible for two imprisoned SLA members to appear on television to meet another SLA demand, in spite of a denial by a judge Tuesday of their request. Hearst said he had met with judges in two counties considering the request, and also with the district attorney in Alameda County, where they are charged with the murder of Oakland Schools Superintendent Dr.

Marcus Foster. Hearst was asked if he would be willing to be a hostage. "Of course I'd substitute myself for Patricia," he replied. "Anybody would--any father would. The grand jury that indicted Anderson also heard evidence that resulted in Agnew's resignation as vice president and his no-contest plea to one count of tax evasion.

Defense Attorney Norman P. Ramsey argued that the kickback scheme operated during the Agnew administration and that Anderson had tried to stop it. The prosecution agreed that Anderson, a former Democratic national commilteeman, had inherited a system of corruption but cliargcd that he exploited it for his own personal profit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell T.

Baker said in his summation that Anderson "inherited the kickback system. Anderson didn't create it, he didn't invent it, but he exploited it and made a lot of money out of it." Anderson, who spent four days on the witness stand in his own defense repeatedly said "I never authorized or accepted kickbacks from anyone." BRUSSELS (UPI) West German Foreign Minister Waller Scheel said Wednesday his country would do its part lo meet President Nixon's call for a strengthened Atlantic Alliance. Britain and France was reported pleased by Nixon's remarks in Houston Tuesday night. "The Federal government will do everything in its power lo conlribule the strengthening of the alliance," Scheel told Ihe Bonn parliament. Scheel, in (he first official European reaction to Nixon's news conference in Houston, said West Germany "welcomes (he determination with which (he United States has declared itself for the strengthening of Ihe Atlantic Nixon said in Houston: "It is in Ihe vital interest of peace in the world and in the interest of the security of America as well as Europe that the alliance be continued and that there be no reduction of American forces in Europe unless it is mutually agreed wild the Warsaw Pact." Diplomats in London said Nixon's tone was considerably milder than his speech in Chicago last week, in which he said Europe could not expect continued presence of U.S.

forces if it "ganged up" on the United States. They said Nixon's change of tone and renewed pledge to keep U.S. forces in Europe would help to calm European anxieties about transatlantic relations. British government sources said they welcomed Nixon's "no isolationism" pledge and said Britain was ready to cooperate closely with the United Stales. Political sources close lo the ruling Gaullist coalition in France said the government was pleased by Nixon's tone.

They said his opposition to a unilateral withdrawal of U.S. forces in Europe and his determination for continued close relations with Ihe European community responded fully to French desires. The Belgian Foreign Ministry said it would have no immediate comment. "Belgium feels that questions about the relationships between Europe and the United State! can belter be dealt with at thj diplomatic level rather than ty public statements," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said, r', A Dutch Foreign Office official said there be op comment and in Italy a Foreigp ministry spokesman said there would be no reaction prior lo Premier Mariano Rumor's speech Thursday presenting his new cabinet. .1.

Bureaucracy's Energy Consumption Reduced: WASHINGTON (UPI) Conservation measures reduced energy consumption within the federal bureaucracy by 19.9 per cent during Ihe last three months of 1973 and may result in even more far-reaching reductions, it was announced Wednesday. Administrator Arthur F. Sampson of the General Services Administration, the federal government's housekeeper, said the 19.9 per cent reduction meant savings of II million kilowatt hours of electricity, 2.4 million gallons of fuel oil, 18,000 tons of coal, and 1.16 million gallons of gasoline. In all, he said, this represented the equivalent of 609,000 barrels of crude oil and far surpassed President Nixon's order last year for the federal government to reduce its energy consumption by 7 per Uganda President Talks Hijackers into Surrender More Teachers Support Strike in Kansas City News Briefs f- DailyCNews FREEDOM A PublishedSundaylhru Friday Mornings by The PLAYGROUND DAILY NEWS Division ol Florida Freedom Newspapers Inc. II Eglin Parkway SE Fl.

Wallon Beach. Florida BOK 1307 IK'S Enlered as second clan nailer February mi, at Ihe pojt cilice cl Forl Wilton Beach, Florida, under the acl cl March 3, IP71. MAIN OFFICE WANT ADS VALP-NfCEVlLLE CIRCULATION 243-3127 2-13-1211 678-1927 miIXIA 2-S3-6232 Subscription Rales By carrier Dailyand Sundaymonth J.W. Single copy daily IDc, Sunday 20c. By Mall Payable In Advfnce, Dally and Sunday year SUM.

mm 111.00, H.SO, I moitlh 13.M. Dally Only year IJ7.00.1 mos SUM, 3 mos 75. I month ll.li, Sunday only year SI 1.00, SO, mos. II75 1 month 11.15 Bureau of Circulation Former Newscaster Huntley Dead BIG SKY, Mont. (UPI) Chet Huntley whose "Good night, David; Good night, Chet" exchange with his colleague, David Brinkley, became a trademark of the nightly NBC television news for more than a decade, died Wednesday.

He was 62. Huntley, who retired in 1970 at the pinnacle of his career as one of the nation's best-known television newsmen, died at his home in Big Sky two months after undergoing surgery for abdominal cancer. In 19C7, Huntley and Brinkley were awarded Ihe National Association of Broadcasters' Distinguished Service Award, Ihe first double recipients of the honor. Huntley also won the Peabody Award four limes and the Overseas Press Club award twice. Memorial services will be held Sunday at Big Sky and on Tuesday at the NBC Studios in New York.

Watergate Hit by Burglars SAN ANTONIO, Tex. (UPI) -The Watergate was burglarized Wednesday. Thieves broke into a saloon with the same name as the famed Washington apartment complex before dawn and took an undetermined amount of goods. Gulf Oil Reduces Prices HOUSTON (UPI) Gulf Oil Co. Monday reduced prices for jet fuel, kerosene and No.

2 distillate and residual fuel oils. "Ending the onerous crude allocation program will also provide the American consumer with more'products as we will be able lo refine more gasoline and jet fuel in our own, more efficient refiners," said Gulf President Z. D. Bonner. The reductions more than offset March 1 increases and become effective immediately, he said.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (UPI) More teachers joined a three- day strike Wednesday and half of Kansas City's 63,000 public school sludenls stayed home. Many schools closed. In support of Ihe strike, local teamsters said they would not deliver milk lo school cafeterias. Scattered incidents of vandalism were reported across the city.

Hopes for renewed talks between teachers staging the walkout that violates Missouri law and school officials clouded as Ihe ranks of pickets increased. But the school board said classes would be held Thursday. Pickets for the 2,600 striking teachers manned the lines as schools opened bul concentrated their attention on schools where substitutes and nonstrik- ing teachers worked. Norman Hudson, president of the local American Federation of Teachers, said that all but Rev. Abernathy To Attend Area Dinner Meeting Civil rights leader Ralph David Abernathy has accepted an invitation to speak in Fort Walton Beach March 27 at the quarterly meeting of the i a Association of Community Action Agencies.

Rev. Abernathy, head of the Southern Christian Leadership Council, will be the dinner speaker at 7 p.m. Wednesday at (he Ramada Inn. The group will be in Forl Walton Beach for a three-day conference. one secondary school was either closed or operating with less than 1G per cent staff.

Twenty five per cent of Ihe staff worked Monday and Tuesday. But Earl Fleer, a school district spokesman, said about 15 of 100 buildings closed. He said some of Ihe schools closed right after the opening bell while others closed at noon. "More elementary buildings are closed today than yesterday," Hudson said al an afternoon strikers' rail NAIROBI (UPI) President Idi Amin of Uganda faced an Ethiopian couple Wednesday and talked them into throwing away a pistol and surrendering an East African Airways plane they hijacked from Kenya to Uganda. Then, treating them "like Amin let the couple denounce Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie in a news conference at Entebbe Airport for "perpetuating 3,000 years of slavery" in Ethiopia, a passenger said, The man-and-wife skyjackers took over the Dutch-built, i Fokkcr Friendship with 31 European and African passengers and a fourman crew 20 minutes after it took off from Nairobi, bound for the coastal resort towns of Mombasa and Malindi.

The Ethiopian couple forced the plane's captain to fly first to the Mt. Kilimanjaro area in Tanzania for refueling and then to Entebbe Airport, which juts into Lake Victoria. At first they demanded enough fuel lo fly to Khartoum and then Libya. On a i a at Entebbe, Ugandan troops surrounded the plane until Amin arrived. "The president strode up to Ihe cockpit of (he plane am! began (alking wilh the Ethiopi- ans at pistol point about an hour after we landed al Entebbe airport," said H.J.

Kuiper of Amsterdam. "The gunman then threw his pistol from Ihe plane onto the tarmac and he and his wife surrendered to Ihe president. Amin (rented the hijackers like kings and seemed to be enjoying it." "The captain was very diplomatic in persuading them lo go (o Entebbe first," he said. cent. The Federal Energy Officfe meantime said a had plans lo dispose of some five billion gasoline rationing coupons --reportedly printed al :0 cost of $12 million dollars -even though President Nixon announced Tuesday night thai gas rationing would not be necessary.

"We can never tell what might happen when the nations meeting June 1 to review Ihe decision to lift the oil embargo," an FEO spokesman said. He said Arab oil imports would probably continue bul there was always the possibility they would be halted and make rationing necessary. On Capitol Hill, Rep. Jerry Li Litton, introduced lation he said would prevent future energy crises in the United States. His "plan ahead bill" would create a cabinet level department to report to Congress and the President on all ul nation's human and natural resources.

"If we are going to be short of steel, food, doctors, or other things important to our eco; nomic and social well-being in 20 years, we need to know aboul it now and not in 19 Litlon "The energy conservation program we have instituted in our buildings can be applied by any building owner," said Sampson. "These measures cost little or nothing and can save the building owner money. Energy conservation makes good economic sense." Legislative Delegation Relocates in Tallahassee With (he beginning of the 1974 legislative session April 2, local representatives haveannounced that all correspondence and phone calls should be directed to the following addresses in Tallahassee: -State Sen W.D. Childers, Slate Senate, State Senate Office Building, phone, 4B8-8I45. -Slate Sen.

James A. Johnston, Slate Senate, Slate Senate Office Building, phone 488-1309. -Stale Rep. Edmond M. Fortune, State House of Representatives, House Office FIRST B-l ADVANCES-Fabrication of Ihe first flight lest supersonic B-l strategic bomber is nearing completion in Ih Rockwell International final assembly planl in Palmdale, Calif.

The crew compartment-escape capsule, last major section, was recently maled to Ihe aircraft. Completion of detail fabrication and the checking and verification of the multitude of subsystems already installed are Ihe next steps in Ihe research and development program already installed are the next steps in the research and development program underlaken by the Air Force in 1970 lo find a replacement for the aging B-52's of Ihe Slrategic Air Command. Flight testing of Ihe B-l is scheduled nexl fall. (UPI Photo) Building, phone -Stale Rep. Jerry Melvin, Stale House of Representatives, House Office Building, phone 488-0381.

-Stale Rep. Jere Tollon, Slate House of Representatives, House Office Building, phone 488-1171. The Tallahassee zip code is 32304. Burglary Suspects Arrested Two local juveniles and. an Alabama man were arrested early Wednesday morning by county deputies after allegedly burglarizing a Destin service station.

The Gulf Service Station on Highway 98 was broken into bV way of a side window sometinte late Tuesday night or early Tuesday morning. A i a 5 5 3 i i i a sandwiches, a .38 caliber revolver, and a coinbox of change, were taken by the suspects, according to Deputy Jules Borio, the investigating officer. Perry Wayne Hayes, 22, of Trafford, and Iwo local juveniles were charged with breaking and entering Co commit grand larcency. The Irio was arrested Borio followed footprints from the scene of the crime along ttie beach. The suspects were discovered wearing beach hats alegedly taken from Ihe service station.

Hayes is awaiting arraignment in the Fort Walton Beach Police Department. The youths were turned over to juvenile authorities. Stranded Boater Rescued by Missile Retriever; An Eglin AFB missile relriever boal, returning from a canceled mission in the Gulf of Mexico, sighted and saved Fort Wallon Beach boaler Gary Grothen Monday afternoon afler 46 hours without food or water. Grothen, 36, had been adrift in the Gulf since Saturday evening when his 14-foot boat struck something floating near Dcslin Bridge and the propeller was damaged. Unable lo paddle ashore, he was rapidly swept out lo sea.

Eglin officials said Ihe rescue was nothing short of a miracle because no one knew Grothen was missing. According lo the Eglin authorities, the missile relriever was reluming lo Eglin after a range mission it was supporting was cancelled. Had the mission nol been cancelled, they said, Ihe ship would have been on slation many miles and nol in position to spot Grolhen. Grothen said he had a spare propeller in the boat but (he wrench he needed was missing from (he lool kit. He decided lo wail until daylight to repair motor because he feared he would drop Ihe parts overboard working wilhoul light, "When the shore lights faded away," Grother said, "it was the most frightening experience of my life." "I remember' thinking thai the nexl body of land lay somewhere south of 'South America', I concluded." Grothen said that the wind and waves were prelty rough during the night and bailed water of Ihe boal at least every hour.

He wrapped his only life preserver around the engine lo protect il but il was washed overboard during the night. The next day, Ihe engineer worked on the engine and, by noon, had it working again. The little a i Jboat rode through waves Grothen estimated to be eighteen feet high. "I didn't know if Ihe boat could take it. I thought it was going lo break in he said.

The fuel ran out aflcr two hours and Grolhen lost almost any hope of rescue. When he began his outing Ihe day before in Cinco Bayou, ho had planned to be gone only a couple of hours and lo go no farther than the Destin Bridge. His wife was in St. Louis recovering from an operation and he had not told anyone he was taking Ihe boal out. Grolhen had not seen land since Saturday when the "miracle" occurred.

His boat was spotted bobbing in high waves by Ihe crew of the MR 212110 36 miles south of Panama Cily. The crew of Ihe MR 21-2110 soon had both Grothen and his liltle crafl aboard (ho C5-fool vessel. They are TSgt Theodore TSel Jamej Taylor, firsl male; TSgl Raj Wanger, chicV engineer; Phillip Gibson (who sighted Grothen), seaman; and A Roberl Stout, also a seaman. All are assigned lo Marine Operations Division fjf Eglin's 3240th Test Wing. Grolhen is employed by ttffi McDonnell Aircraft Corp.

and is al Eglin as part of Ihe team testing the F-15 fighter aircraft.