The Sacramento Bee from Sacramento, California • 12

4 -The Sacramento Bee REPUTE nEpLATE 44-716 Sacramento Bee-' VV I A on I -fts A A took 'on 1 Superior California News NS SECTION Editorials I OpinionsLetters Thursday August 7 1975 SECTIOt Opin 6- Ken Payton Bee Staff Writer CHESTER Plumas Co Already in short supply small town doctors will become more scarce in sparsely populated northeastern California unless malpractice insurance premiums are reduced says a physician here Dr Lynn Dingman president of the Lassen-Plumas-Modoc-Sierra County Medical Society said yesterday he already has cut his private practice to part time and become medical officer at the Congervition Center in Susanville "Recognizing a crisis was coming" he said "I called a meeting of our 30 members last week and 10 Ke Bee CHESTER PI in short supply will become ma populated non unless malpr premiums are physician here Dr Lynn Dir the Lassen-PI County Medi( yesterday he private practio become medic --California- Con! Susanville "Recognizir coming" he said of our 30 memb showed up Seven indicated right then they will quit" Later a poll of 31 physicians in the four counties indicated nine will leave if the situation remains what it is today Dingman said Two others have not made up their minds and the rest indicated they either will not carry malpractice insurance and thus won't be allowed to use local hospitals or they will limit their practices "Many will stop practicing surgery and obstetrics" Dingman said "and none will continue an unlimited practice" Three doctors who will quit says Dingman are Drs Steven Christenson and Thomas Norrie of Quincy and Kenneth Korver of Susanville "It's a sad story" said Dingman "I'm afraid a lot of people are going to get hurt Even if we get relief in legislation it will be several years before it becomes effective because it all probably will have to go through the courts first" Physicians in the four-county area are covered by Traveler's Insurance Dingman said Before the crisis developed malpractice insurance premiums were about $3000 per year depending upon how much surgery and obstetrics a doctor practiced Three months ago the premium went to about $7000 per year and Dingman said doctors have been notified it will go to $22000 Oct 1 "Most doctors favor a self-insurance plan today" Dingman said "but I'm not sure that will work They favor organizing their own insurance company but if that company went broke doctors would be in debt for the rest of their lives" Dingman thinks the answer is in a state board composed of doctors and attorneys eliminating the emotion of a jury Dingman said 50 per cent of the malpractice insurance dollar goes for court costs 26 per cent to the insurance companies and the rest to er year and have been 100 Octl a self-in until they go into labor because most of us won't want the business" Three doctors already have publicly announced they will leave the Butte-Glenn County area and others are considering leaving tbor because most business" already have they will leave county area and ing leaving the injured parties "Even if we all stay in practice we'll have to raise our fees so high many won't be able to afford our services Pregnant women will have to go Chico Reno or Redding to wait -41 1 i 44 'tPl A 441 40 -----t-tk 1 41 -0Re vi 4P 1041 SI 4 i' T'I 0 11 Ii if 0: I 'j 1 -t1 i Vi tt II ti0" 1 1: it 1 1 I i7-111 '0''''N '''''t 'A 1- 4 4' lt 'fit I 't 44 4 11 4 t'so: 1( S' 't '4''' 4 lk :) I 1-k -y 1 04: tveks- I :1 t-N -J LT i of ii 4 :4 Ar 1 )i 0 d- 4 4 k'1" sir'''' ''-r 4-) i k'0 if li 4 A4 'I '1- I 131 l'' '1-If 4 :3 te '4' 1 1441)1'' 1 "''''1 4 I I Stampede To Freedom Sta Fre UPI Photo Pah the horses again said trapper Tom Warr who captured the anim als by boxing them in at waterholes in the hot waterscarce valley "They got caught this time They'll be smarter next time" he said UPI Pho roundup to thin the central Nevada valley's herd of nearly 1- 000 wild free-roaming mustangs but released them because state and federal officials could not agree on who owned the horses Whoever winds up in control will find it tougher to After a few seconds confusion when their captors opened the gate yesterday 71 mustangs charged out of the holding corral In Stone Cabin Valley near Tonopah Nev free again after' two weeks The Bureau of Land Management ordered the $6 Million Estimate Truckee River Sewer Break Illness At Lake Causes Cash Tru( Loss In Oregon Kills Hundreds OF Fish I I I 1 I I K1L Losses 1: said he would recommend that the governor declare a state of emergency in Oroville to pave the way for state assistance He was the one who issued the disputed estimate of $15 million damage to 541 homes 558 mobile homes and 200 businesses in Oroville av "rhe Associated Press Merchants in Southern Oregon are reeling under an estimated loss of $1 million in tourist revenue caused by last month's three-week closure of 1 Crater Lake National Park The National Park Service 0 estimated some 30000 tourists would have visited Crater Lake each week 41 Closure for three weeks due to a 01-1 contaminated water supply meant ::4 1 nearly 100000 fewer tourists visited the park and nearby areas -4v The Travel Information Office of i 1 Oregon reported the average ex- penditure per day per visitor is $1036 so a conservative estimate of 21 revenue losses is $1 million 11' Fred Brenne manager of the Klamath County Chamber of Corn- merce said tourist traffic in '1: Klamath Falls about 60 miles south of the Crater Lake area was down k74l about 18 per cent in July 1 iki :::::::::4 Si 11: '3P Aid to the city will be limited added OES regional coordinator Dick Elliott because "this city isn't a big enough 'disaster to get presidential 'attention" 0 Mayor Robert Winston disagreed sharply however saying that The fact buildings have not collapsed is not relevant "We've got rubble" he said "but the rubble is still upright" Winston said structural damage is extensive and a to Orovi lie has the same impact as a million dollar loss would have in Los :44 fs-" 4 i '1 4'' :::1 ti lt )yv 4 of" 40xiN Ir' i Ai 1r 1 3 '4 't irrirt 1K firoNitkAvoltr 51--' 5 iii: OROVILLE After seven days of major earthquakes and aftershocks Oroville and Butte County officials say their damage estimate is nearing $6 million and rising as their inspections continue and the quakes keep coming According to structural engineers Friday's 61 magnitude quake did not cause the most damage Rather say the engineers the aftershocks are wracking buildings in the area with even greater damage The City of Oroville's damage is estimated "conservatively" by state Office of Emergency Services of- ficials at $15 million as of last Sunday Damage in the county is estimated at $198 million in the private sector and $234 million to public buildings for a total of $432 million But Oroville City Councilman Bernard Richter a builder has criticized the city damage estimate as far too low Damage he said "could run as high as $6 million in downtown alone" Rep Harold Johnson was greeted with a mild jolt yesterday when he was on a walking tour to survey the damage to downtown Oroville Others who toured the damage area yesterday included Charles Manfred director of the State Office of Emergency Services Manfred Placer Aide's Fiscal Duties SOUTH LAKE TAHOE Hundreds of fish were found dead in the Upper Truckee River here yesterday after a sewer line erupted and sent thousands of gallons of treated effluent downstream A strong possibility exists that earthquake movement here Friday caused the line to rupture sewer district officials said However there may have been a defect in the section of pipe located 15 feet from the river in a meadow adjacent to Highway 50 they added The 27-mile line used by the South Tahoe Public Utility District to send tertiary-treated effluent to the Indian Creek Reservoir in Alpine County outside the Lake Tahoe Basin was repaired yesterday afternoon 24 hours after it sent a 40-foot geyser into the air: Lahontan Water Quality Control 7-Board staff members discovered the dead fish downstream from where the effluent entered the river "There were several hundred fish of mixed sizes and species dead from the chlorine in the effluent But it was mot a complete kill There were no dead fish above the entry point" said -environmental specialist Bill Davis He said the geyser spewed water nearly 200 feet over the meadow No public health hazard resulted Davis added Staff engineer Dave Antonucci said he is investigating several possibilities to determine the cause of the break "It was either a weak spot in 'line corrosion or a weak spot made worse by the earthquake" he said The line is six years old It is two feet in diameter and 312 feet underground Sewer district engineer 3ohn Gonzales said a defect in the line is a possible cause but not likely "Pipes are pretty well inspected before they are laid We've never had a problem in that specific spot The strongest possibility is that it happened right after the earthquake and took a while for the break to become SOUTH LAI dreds of fish Upper Truckee after a sewer thousands of fluent downs trc A strong earthquake mc caused the lin district official! However the defect in the se( feet from the adjacent to Hig The 27-mile I Tahoe Public tertiary-treate Creek Reservi outside the La repaired yest hours after it into the air Lahontan staff me dead fish dow the effluent ent "There were of mixed sizes the chlorine in mot a complet 'dead fish abov( -environmental He said the nearly 200 feet public health added Staff engine( he is inve possibilities to of the break "It was eith line corrosion worse by the el The line is feet in diamc derground Sewer dist Gonzales said possible cause "Pipes are before they an a problem in strongest pos5 pened right aft took a while fc Angeles Architects for the State Department of Education yesterday said the three remaining elementary schocts in the area that do not meet state earthquake standards will have to be torn down immediately Newer schools suffered only minor damage The three older schools said a report issued yesterday "performed badly" during the quake last Friday and "would have been very- hazardous to students had they been present" I 40000MONIONIMA100010004 1--- 4 Bee Photo after the sewage line broke Davis said the hundreds of (lead fish "suffocated" from chlorine In the treated effluent Environmental specialist Bill Day is examines German browns rain-bow trout suckers and dace found dead in the Upper Truckee River AUBURN The Placer County Board of Supervisors has requested Treasurer-Tax Collector Earl Corin to appear Aug 19 to explain whether he intends to comply with a court -ruling to follow the board's fiscal policies The supervisors asked Corin to submit written or oral statements on his position relative to Superior Court Judge Harold Woltors' decision that the treasurer-tax collector comply with fiscal procedures outlined by the supervisors and Auditor-Controller Kimbuck Williams Jr Corin said yesterday he would riot comment on the ruling until he consults with his attorney Judge Woltors overruled a demurrer earlier this week filed by Corin's attorney stating it failed to support Corin's position that he did have to follow the fiscal procedures in handling Placer County's money Corin and Williams have been Involved in a dispute over accounting and money handling procedures Corin balked at policies established by Williams the supervisors and the state auditor's office until Placer County officials filed the suit attempting to mandate Corin to follow their instructions Shooting Spree Trial Begins big enough for the water to shoot out" He claimed there are no signs of corrosion or wear near the break The treatment plant had been shut down prior to the break because repairs were being made on a much smaller break in the line near Luther Pass "The eruption occurred as we turned the plant back on so there was not a high concentration of chlorine in the line" Gonzales added The district staff initially was unaware of the fish kill Gonzales said He said the plant and line are designed with earthquake safety precautions He said a pressure test was to be conducted today on the line Repairmen worked nearly 14 hours to seal the two-foot rip in the line Lahontan staff members planned to ask sewer officials for an official explanation of the line failure "We're very concerned about this If the line keeps breaking the district will continue to violate our water quality control standards Even tertiary treated effluent should not escape There are no safeguards at all if something breaks" Davis said REDDING The trial of Robert Paul Sander charged with the Del Norte County shooting spree that left five persons dead has opened here but the prosecutor made no mentiork of a possible motive Robert Weir district attorney for Del Norte County said yesterday in his opening remarks that he would show how Sander 24 shot and killed the five and wounded two others at a Destroyed Smith River resort near the Oregon border last March 2 Philip Schafer counsel for the 24-year-old defendant from Cincinnati made no opening statement A jury of eight women and four men had been selected the day before The case was moved to the Shasta County Superior Court because of pretrial publicity in Del Norte County Sander has pleaded innocent by reason of insanity to an 11-count grand jury indictment Weir said he would show how Sander ran out of his motel room climbed to the top level of the motel hid behind a wooden Indian and fatally shot Ella Beam 22 a maid from Brookings Ore with a rifle He said Sander then shot Percy Harmon 58 a vacationer from Fortuna who was getting into his car in a parking lot Harmon died later Weir said Sander fired through-the restaurant window wounding two women Denise De Graff and Carla Prough Sander then went downstairs where he killed Harmoil's wife Barbara who was running to her husband's aid Weir said The prosecutor said Sander then went to the motel lobby and killed the manager Gordon Knott 42 and his wife Shirley 30 Marysville Woman Killed' JEROME 'Idaho '(AP) Geraldine Saunders 72 Marysville Calif was killed in a one car accident seven miles south of Shoshone on US 93 State Patrolman William Van Dyke said Mrs Saunders apparently lost control of her car swerved back and forth across the road and was thrown from the vehicle She died at St Benedict's Hospital in Jerome a short time after the accident' Tuesday afternoon Her 14-year-old grandson Joel Saunders a 'passenger in the car was uninjured Library Budget Trustees of the city library board have approved a $243000 preliminary budget for the Vacaville Unified School District Library District an increase of 15 per cent It includes an 115 per cent pay and benefit increasefor library employes Marysvill Woman JEROME Geraldine Sau Calif was ki cident seven on US 93 State Patn Dyke said Mn lost control of and forth acr thrown from St Benedict's short time Tuesday after Her I4-yea Saunders a 'I was uninjured Library 1 VACAVILL city library $243000 preli Vacaville Ul Library Dist per cent It ir pay and benc employes 7:7 1: i': 444 i 54' i i it'0 ll 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'-r-- tk f- el '2 'n 4 ''''44414i44 Bee photo ik 4 Firemen labor to knock down flames flaring from all that remains of a large fruit packing shed on the Robbins Ranch In Suisun Valley near Fairfield The shed and equipment inside which had been turning out 10- 000 boxes of pears daily have an estimated replacement value of $100000 The fire broke out about 7 am yesterday from an electrical short and still was being mopped up last night Thirteen fire trucks were called to the scene to fight the fire which was fed by barrels of flammable liquid that exploded and spread the napes There were no inju ries fire officials said lb.