The San Bernardino County Sun from San Bernardino, California • Page 11

This fellow has a retort for shale oil detractors preheats the shale and maintains its temperature above the dew point to prevent ref luxing, regardless of how-rich the ore might be. The feed trough tapers outward and downward on four sides, preventing any clogging or jamming as the ore moves down the trough. By the time the ore reaches a slowly turning star wheel which feeds it into the heating furnace at the base, all the oil vapors and natural gas have been extracted. Thomas said the residue is a powdery ash that may be a good fertilizer because it is believed to be rich in nitrogen. The University of California at Riverside has agreed to test the ash, and if it is found suitable for fertilizer, the disposal problem may be turned into a profitable by-product, he said.

The natural gas released by the (Continued on B-3, Col. 2) tabletop apparatus extracted about a third of a pint of crude oil and an undetermined quantity of natural gas out of the handful of shale. While the crude oil dripped into a flask, the natural gas was siphoned into a lab torch and burned off. "This is a high-grade, low-sulfur oil," Thomas said, pouring some of the crude from the flask into a test tube and corking it. "You can take this with you, along with some samples of the shale.

And contrary to some of the excuses you may have heard for not developing shale oil, the pour-point of shale oil is below freezing lower than the oil from some fields," Thomas said as he reached into a refrigerator for another flask of oil, which poured as freely as that which he had just extracted from the shale. But Thomas was not just demonstrating how easy it is to extract oil from shale. People have been doing that, especially in foreign countries, since the have major drawbacks. The main problems include clinkering of the shale ore in the furnaces (the shale must be heated to temperatures of 800 to L200 degrees Fahrenheit to extract the oil vapors), ref luxing (condensing of the oil vapors in the furnace rather than in the condensing unit because of extra rich ores), and disposing of the residue after the oil has been extracted. One of the most promising devices, he said, is the "Global" inverted cone retort, fueled by carbonized shale from which the oil has been extracted, invented by 1700s and 1800s, and "stacks" of patents have been granted for shale oil retorts, including some that work by electricity and some, according to Thomas, that use twice as much energy as they produce.

There wasn't much incentive to extract oil from shale in the United States when oil from wells was selling for $1 and less a barrel, particularly after discovery of the vast West Texas oil field. But the Arab oil embargo of 1973 and skyrocketing prices of foreign oil have changed all that. Thomas said all the patented oil retort inventions work, but most The Sun-Telegram, San Bernardino, Calif. ha CPRi for San Bernardino news site: Dnn SruH'c; Hpinkpl mflD mountain By JOE BAKER Sun-Telegram Business Editor REDLANDS A few months ago, Delbert Thomas and Roy Ley drove to Roosevelt, Utah, where they own a lease on 640 acres of oil-bearing shale. The deposit is about 400 feet thick and so close to the surface they dug up several hundred pounds of shale in a short time with just a pick and shovel.

They loaded it in boxes and brought it here. Last week, in a workshop at the rear of 313 High St. here, the two Redlands business owners placed about lVk pounds of the shale in a small retort built by Thomas and fired it up. Thomas, a mechanical engineer and former president of a firm which built the space shuttle at Palmdale, owns Mechanical Systems, and Ley, a plumber, owns Longhorn Mechanical, Inc. Both men also live in Redlands.

Within 40 minutes, Thomas's Monday, August 8, 1977 eeel Hospital By CHUCK PALMER Sun-Telegram Staff Writer SAN BERNARDINO When a San Bernardino County Medical Center patient is visited by a hospital social worker it's not a matter of charity, but of recovery. For the hospital, it's also a matter of economics. John Mellen, supervisor of the medical center's social services, said a hospital must offer the services to patients and their amilies to receive accreditation and to participate in the Medicare program. Mellen sat at his desk, alternately sipping a soft drink and smoking a cigar, while he talked about his division of the county's Department of Public Social Services. He set up the division's format and became its first supervisor in the 1960s.

The medical profession recognizes that illness imposes emotional, social and economic stresses on patients and their families, he said. "The question is not whether patients can afford what we offer. It's available to all, regardless of their ability to pay. "Experience and research prove a healthy attitude is important for recovery. If patients' psychological and social needs are met as fully as i Wayne Chambers of Fontana and designed for him by Thomas several years ago.

The ore is fed from the bottom by two hydraulic rams. Thomas said the Global process is very efficient and "nearest to ready" for the market, but requires relatively expensive ceramic balls. These are heated in the process and must, be replaced when they deteriorate. About 10 months ago, Thomas applied for a patent of his own on an inclined-feed retort which, he believes, overcomes all the problems formerly encountered in shale processing. His retort feeds ore from the top, uses the carbonized shale for fuel in the heating furnace after the oil is extracted, and dumps the residue as a powdery ash at the bottom of the retort after the carbon is burned out of it.

A metal plate in the feed trough serves as a heat exchanger which em." JL Staff photoi by Jbb Harrli flhnvp Rnars ahnw thp while the ultra-thin skin reflects all the colors of the rainbow. Extended duration models of that type and several other varieties of lightweight model airplanes were flown Saturday and Sunday at the 51st Annual Miniature Aircraft National Championships, Indoor Division, at Norton Air Force Base. The builders and flyers of the tiny airplanes, the little known form of aerodymanics that is the world of ultra-slow flight, came from all over the United States (Continued on B-3. CoL 2) charity signed to one or more areas of the hospital. Some of them work with a review team that investigates possible child abuse cases, Mellen said.

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--AA'AAA tators. Bob Clemens of Rochester, N.Y., left, readies his Farman Mosquito. It takes thin skin to fly these planes County news Section sized Firemen cite 13 who died needlessly By JEANNINE GUTTMAN Sun-Telegram Staff Writer BIG BEAR LAKE People are needlessly dying here. The scene is a hauntingly familiar one. A man walks across the street and suddenly collapses onto the pavement.

People nervously group around him, wanting to help but not knowing exactly hat to do. Finally, someone runs to call the fire department's paramedics. It takes the fire fighters only five minutes to race to the scene. But the man has already suffered permanent brain damage and in another minute, he will be considered biologically dead. "People who watched the victim die always ask me later, 'If I had known CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), could I have saved his And you hate to tell them 'yes'; you hate to see the look on their faces," city fireman Mike Anderson said.

In this mountain retirement area where immediate help is often stymied by the region's vastness and terrain, Anderson estimates that 13 persons ho died here in the past six months may have been saved if an onlooker had had CPR training. "We seem to get a lot of heart attacks because of the high altitude (6,700 to 8,000 feet), the thin air and the fact that vacationers who come here tend to overeat and overdrink," he said. I Statistics clarify the urgency of (Continued on B-3. Col. 5) Plane crash kills two BIG BEAR LAKE Two persons ere killed hen their single-engine plane crashed and burned in a canyon near here Sunday just minutes after the craft had "buzzed" treetops and campgrounds in the area, officials said.

The accident happened shortly before 8 p.m. near Glory Ridge, some four miles west of Big Bear Dam. The victims were believed to be two El Toro men, but their names were withheld pending notification of relatives. Both victims were badly burned and appeared to have died instantly. Due to the ruggedness of the area, authorities decided to wait until this morning to remove the bodies.

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JOHN A. HENDY, cos ANNOUNCES THE OPENING OF HIS GENERAL PRACTICE IN DENTISTRY WITH DR. CHARLES STREBIG AT 25054 E. BASELINE, SAN BERNARDINO l' 889-9591 in could face death more calmly if her husband could be with her. "Since the man was in Mexico, a social worker contacted the Mexican Consulate here and the Immigration Service in Los Angeles.

After several telephone calls, a temporary visa was issued to the husband. Then a relative living here agreed to go to the border and bring the man to San Bernardino. "All that was arranged in a few hours and the man arrived in time to be at his wife's bedside when she died." Another case involved four Mid-Westerners who came to California looking for work. They were injured in an automobile accident near San Bernardino. Mellen said their car was wrecked and they had no money.

Members of his staff assured the patients their stay in the hospital would be paid by the county (from state and federal grants) and that food and shelter would be provided when they were able to leave the hospital. Also transportation to their destination was arranged. "Their anxiety was reduced, their stay with us was made easier and their recovery undoubtedly was social work Not By JOHN WHITEHAIR Sun-Telegram Staff Writer SAN BERNARDINO It as if the whole world is in slow motion. The pilot carefully walks to the launch site, releases his plane and watches as the craft moves forward, less than a mile an hour, slowly climbing in a large circular pattern. Ticking over at about one revolution per second, the propeller adds to the illusion, giving the plane just a little more than enought lift to get off the ground.

After climbing nearly 90 feet, the plane slow ly descends, retracing its upward flight pattern a case of quicker because we were able to help them," said Mellen. His staff includes seven social workers, ho review on the average of six to eight new cases every day, two case aides and two secretaries. Each of the social workers is as FLOWERLAND PLAZA FLORIST OPEN (AFTER FIRE DAMAGE) Same Reliable Service Same Ownership 1379 E. HIGHLAND AVE. SBDN.

A Thought for Today Pessimism is a waste of force. It is the penalty of those who do not know how to live. Charles Wagner First Federal Savings Loin Association ol San Birnitdino 555 St 889 0881 Also in Borttow and Loma Lmda possible while they are with us, chances are good their recovery period will be shorter," he said. "That allows the hospital to spend its time and funds for the benefit of more people. "This goes along with the medical profession's emphasis on treating the whole individual.

The social service staff works with physicians to create a better atmosphere for patients and hospital. "Social workers are involved in reducing patients' anxiety about being away from home and in the hospital, creating bridges to understanding about medical prognoses, helping solve family or financial problems and, when emergencies arise, arranging for clothing or transportation." Mellen said long-term illness and rehabilitation can change life styles and strain family relationships. "Our staff often serves to lessen the strain and helps patients and families deal with emotional stress," he said. "Many of our cases test the resources of the community. For example, one day our radiation clinic notified me a woman patient, who had been visiting here from Mexico, was hospitalized and had only a few hours to live.

The staff thought she 4.