News-Pilot from San Pedro, California • 1

1 Tuesday Molest suspect denies link to McMartin case PILOT THE ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER SERVING THE HARBOR AREA EXCLUSIVELY 57th year No 290 San Pedro California February 19 1985 832-0221 'r if 9fi i 7" i 4 42 I S''" v- i1 i fW I- i I -w ttlf i I C4 JU 1 I zm -ay --a T4 him Staff photo by Randy Mudrick The tugboat San Pedro operated by Wilmington Transportation Co guides the container ship Korean Jacewon up the channel By Gregg Zoroya Staff writer A 35-year-old man in jail on suspicion of child molestation scoffed Monday at any suggestion that a pair of unusual items severed rabbit ears found among his belongings last week might represent some mysterious link to the Virginia McMartin child abuse case was just kind of a Robert Hamill Winkler said of owning the animal parts he said he cut off a dead jack rabbit shot during a San Bernardino hunt late last year He said if the ears are studied closely from the shotgun blast can be found Those ears a black robe and a dark candle were items reportedly found Thursday night in the Lomita home of girlfriend by sheriffs deputies attached to a special task force investigating alleged child abuse at South Bay preschools including the McMartin school Investigators were cautious in assessing the significance of their find They said Winkler is being investigated as a possible uncharged suspect in the McMartin preschool investigation The Torrance resident stands accused in a child molestation case separate from McMartin in which the victims allegedly were abused while being cared for at a Torrance apartment complex McMartin children have testified publicly about satan worship and animal mutilations that occurred in connection with their sexual abuse at the Virginia McMartin Pre-School in Manhattan Beach Several weeks ago some of the children allegedly identified Winkler as one of several strangers who molested them at the preschool and at a second location During a jailhouse interview Monday the burly and bearded Winkler denied committing any molestations (news)paper has yet to print anything true except the spelling of my Winkler said In response to the criminal allegations he said got to be He said he also took exception with unattributed police remarks that he and former McMartin teacher Ray Buckey 26 one of seven teachers in the McMartin case accused of child molestation were linked in devil worship child molestation or even knew each other Winkler said he had never met Buckey even know where the damn (McMartin) school is Is it (in) he said So far as devil worshiping goes believe in Winkler said not a Bible thumper or a regular churchgoer but the last thing I am is a satanic church Winkler said he has demanded to be given a lie detector test think it would clean this whole damn mess he said Sheriffs detectives interviewed Winkler on Friday and if I knew about the McMartin preschool I said only what I read in the He said he read about the case because was similar to it and I wanted to see how it was Winkler described himself as a former machinist disabled after his foot was crushed in a motorcycle accident He said he lives off his earnings and what extra money he made as a babysitter Winkler said he has two daughters legitimate one ages 12 and 6 who live in Santa Barbara County McMartin A2 Port man killed in fall from park tree A Wilmington man suffered fatal head injuries Monday night when he fell out of a tree at Point Fermin Park in San Pedro after allegedly smoking marijuana and drinking beer with two friends Harbor Division police said Maverick Brown 24 fell 10 feet from a tree about 9:40 pm landing head-first on the pavement Paramedics rushed Brown to San Pedro Peninsula Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:20 pm from massive head injuries Brown and two other young men had smoked marijuana at the park then climbed into the tree where they drank a six-pack of beer police said When Brown attempted to climb from one branch to another he slipped and fell to the sidewalk Police said they suspect foul play Court to rule on prayer in school public address system to promote their meetings About 45 students attended the first meeting but school officials disallowed further meetings The students were told it would be for school officials to give the impression that the meetings were officially endorsed The First Amendment bans the of religion by government Ten student members of the group sued the school district in 1982 charging that their freedoms of speech religion and association and their right to equal protection had been violated A federal trial judge ruled for the students and their group was allowed to meet during activity periods for the 1983-84 school year But the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the ruling by a 2-1 vote last July 24 Weighing the rights against the obligations the appeals court said constitutional balance of interests tilts against permitting the (religious activity to be conducted within the school as a general activity The appeal to the Supreme Court said they were being discriminated against because their speech is In a brief the administration sided with the students to decide whether court-appointed trustees of bankrupt businesses may abandon property that poses a threat to public health and safety an appeal by Roxanne Pulitzer to reopen her property distribution case against her former husband publishing heir Peter Pulitzer to force the federal government to pay $4 billion to the company that owns the closed-down Three Mile Island nuclear plant General Public Utilities Corp had tried to blame the accident on federal regulatory laziness The prayer dispute another outgrowth of the Supreme 1962 decision outlawing organized prayer sessions in public schools arose when a group of students at Williamsport Area High School sought permission to form a religious group The students wanted to meet twice a week during the 30-minute activity periods During those periods held just after homeroom about 25 different student groups as varied as the Future Homemakers of America the Spanish club the ecology club band choir and the school newspaper meet Students also have the option of remaining in their homerooms studying in the library or seeking career guidance Wayne Newton principal of the 2500-student school initially granted the student religious group permission to meet after the students agreed not to use the bulletin boards newspaper or By Richard Carelli Associated Press The Supreme Court urged on by the Reagan administration today agreed to decide whether public high schools may allow students to meet during school hours for prayer and religious worship The court will review a ruling that banned such meetings at a Williamsport Pa high school even though the school allows students to conduct virtually all types of non-religious meetings during the same periods Administration lawyers attacked a federal appeals court ban on the meetings saying it casts constitutional doubt on a new federal law requiring public schools to provide for student religious groups In other major cases the court: a case that could mean fare hikes for the bus and subway riders ruled that publicly owned mass transit systems must pay federal minimum wages and overtime It could also result in higher local taxes -Left intact a ruling that states and communities may be forced to provide year-round schooling for mentally and emotionally retarded children to leave alone a Federal Communications Commission rule approving monthly and user assessments" for all telephone customers The decision is likely to result in a $1 hike of monthly telephone bills of most Americans later this year Port is more 4t than docks and vessels By John Davies Staff writer No port complex the size of the one at Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors could continue to function smoothly for long without the existence of a whole array of maritime support businesses This sometimes hidden sometimes visible infrastructure includes everything from a lone lookout perched with field glasses high atop an old warehouse to the team effort of thousands of men at a state-of-the-art shipyard There are companies that manage longshoremen ones that lease terminals and broker dock space ones that stand in for ship owners ones that satisfy customs regulations and expedite cargo In an era of modern shipping when delay of a ship only a few hours can cost thousands of dollars the availability of such services can be critical Shipyards are probably the most obvious example of facilities aimed at keeping the thousands of commercial ships that call at the harbors operating effectively At Los Angeles and Long Beach the leading yard for large commercial ship work is Todd Pacific Shipyards in San Pedro Todd which traces its roots back to the the company that built the engines for the Civil War ironclad Monitor operates one of its largest yards San Pedro where it has just completed a 346 million ship elevator The submersible elevator makes it possible for Todd to Lft ships out of the water on railroad cars and roll them off onto dry land for repairs Unlike a dry dock which has its lifting capacity tied up as for as long as a ship is being repaired the Todd eievator can lift one ship roll it ashore then submerge again and lift another ship Todd built the sophisticated elevator which is powered by synchornized winches as part of a long-range effort to secure contracts for construction of a the new guided missile platform destroyers The Navy had been critical of Todd for not doing enough of its military ship construction work on level ground ashore where it typically costs less than work done on ways slanting into the water or -after the launch While the elevator will strengthen the yard's potential for military construction it also will enable Todd to carry out many commercial ship repairs faster and easier than the shipyard could in the past Despite the new shiplift the biggest shipyard at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complei in some ways is uncom- Port A2 Collins begins write-in campaign On the inside American and Japanese veterans returned to wo Jima today to place a memorial for the 27000 ildiers killed 40 years ago See page A2 County Supervisor Mike Antonvich has taken over chairman of the state Republican Party See age AS A coalition of groups is fighting an Assembly roposal aimed at preempting rent control See age A7 In addition to Collins picking up his petitions De La Cerda said two other people have picked up papers to run as write-ins one for mayor and another in the the 9th Council District If Collins or anyone else deciding to run a write-in campaign does not comply with city election regulations he or she will not be considered a write-in candidate" De La Cerda said if they get 10000 votes they will not be unless the person follows the prescribed procedures she said Voters wishing to vote for a write-in candidate can receive directions at their polling place on how to mark their ballots De La Cerda said Collins said he is no match for the Flores campaign war chest she has amassed more than 3330000 but still intends to run an intense campaign for the 348424 per year council post This is first foray into the political arena He and his wife Denise have one daughter In addition to working at the bank Collins works with his father at the Ambassadors for Christ Missionary Baptist Church 9 primary ballot but missed the noon Feb 2 deadline for turning them in by seconds when the door to the city elections office and possibly his political future already was locked He said he is conferring with his attorney about the possibility of an appeal or suit against the city but declined to be specific about any action He added that he may conduct a press conference this week if he decides to go on the offensive Suit or no suit appeal or no appeal the Harbor Gateway resident said he still will oppose Flores as a write-in if he make it on the ballot People who opt to run as write-ins have two options according to Esperan-za De La Cerda elections secretary Between now and 14 days before the election Collins can declare his intention to run by paying a 1500 filing fee or by submitting a new petition with signatures of 500 registered voters De La Cerda said Collins has taken out a petition she said Once the petition is returned and the signatures are deemed valid Collins will be certified as a write-in candidate she said By Colleen Bentley-Adler Staff writer Joe Collins Jr expecting an easy fight when he decided to challenge Joan Milke Flores for her 15 th District seat on the Los Angeles City Council But in addition to running against a popular incumbent Collins 20 now has the added burden of seeking office as a write-in candidate Despite the overwhelming odds against a person whose name even appear on the ballot Collins a City National Bank employee and church minister plans to go ahead and challenge Flores people still desire a choice and we will give them a choice" he said recently The 15th District includes San Pedro Wilmington Harbor City Harbor Gateway and Watts Flores has represented the area since 1981 when she succeeded her boss of 26 years former 30-year Councilman John Gibson Jr of San Pedro Collins had collected the money and signatures needed to file for the April Index Weather Low clouds tonight and Wednesday clearing about midday Wednesday Overnight lows 48-56 Highs Wednesday 66-73 Winds over inner waters 8-15 knots wind waves 1-2 feet swells 2-8 feet Winds over outer waters 20-30 knots.