Santa Cruz Sentinel from Santa Cruz, California • Page 1

Saga Of The Capitola Police Department added headaches. The variety pack of problems doesn't come cheap. The city pays close to $650,000 a year for its police department, and is extremely generous with its employees. For example, a top-ranking Capitola police sergeant earns just over $1,500 a month plus a 38 percent benefit package. A top sergeant at the county Sheriff's Department earns about $1,400 a month, along with a 17 percent benefit package.

The Capitola sergeant supervises anywhere from zero to two men; his sheriff's department peer must supervise from seven to 14 deputies. What services have some of By TOM HONIG and MARK BERGSTROM Sentinel Staff Writers When Capitola residents demanded to keep their own police department, they bought themselves a host of problems old and new that carry a high price tag. The package they bought is torn, weary and threadbare. It has suffered from long-standing internal strife and administrative shortcomings that culminated in a federal investigation and the dismissal of Police Chief Martin Bergthold. And the future promises nothing.

Even the selection of a new chiefmay not come without these salaries provided? Gun purchases on city vouchers which led to a federal investigation. Hate mail typed at the police department and mailed to Councilman John Dixon. A dead rat placed at the door of a Capitola resident who admittedly had been bothersome to policemen. At outcast officer found that his coffee cup had been placed in a urinal and then returned directly to its shelf. The acting police chief's office was burglarized, and two personnel files were purged of all mention of disciplinary action.

And the problems go on. Many administrative procedures are so problems. Policeman George Tur-egano, formerly a commander who has received disciplinary demotions all the way to the rank of patrolman, again faces problems. A source close to the department said that he refused to work a shift which had been assigned to him, and still further discipline is being contemplated. There is also a question whether a new chief will be chosen and ready to take over by April 19, the date Sheriff Al Noren has set for packing up his administrative support of the department and moving out.

SEE BACK PACE lax in the department that items are purchased without anyone's approval. City Manager Max Kludt confirmed Friday that a walkie-talkie charger a $1,500 gadget which one policeman said is not needed was delivered to the department, and nobody, including Kludt, knows who ordered it. "I don't know who authorized it," said Kludt. "It was not budgeted, and I have no idea why it's here." He said he does not plan to have the city pay for it, but meanwhile, according to a source close to the police department, the charger is in use. The source also reported that Phil Kirkland, a sheriff's sergeant currently acting as police administrator, decided to test the purchasing system of the city.

He telephoned to the city office and asked for a purchase order for 2,000 rounds of dum-dum ammuni tion (illegal in California). Kirkland received a purchase order number and could have bought the ammunition. Kludt defended the city's purchasing process. "If an item like ammunition is budgeted, and if the department head requests it, then they receive what they want. Maybe I'm naive, but I think I can trust my department heads." And there are still personnel Sunday Morning Weather Decreasing Showers Today; Partly Cloudy Tonight, Monday; Rain At Times Tuesday Details Page 2 tUMUt 122nd Year No.

53 Sunday, March 5, 1978 Santa'Cruz, Calif. 95060 72 Pages 15c i vs 1 Cos ow Much Does It 11 fjr- 'ill t' -''f 'W mm 1 a. 4 9J JL 0 To Build A New Jai i nil $, jmmm C3 fs jS3 ess and the court ruled the intitiative should go to the ballot unless the board met a singular provision in the initiative that stated either an election should be held, or the board reach unanimous agreement. A federal court order issued to force the county to improve its jail, and get busy building a new one was becoming costly. It has by now cost the $1.3 million in funds that will have no long-term benefits.

In September, 1976, saying he had run out of other options, Vwr VX mi, if Tl Also that year, the Jail Moratorium Coalition a citizens group that fought against the jail while calling for more pre-trial release programs and other alternatives to incarceration was formed and fought against a new jail project. In 1975, while the citizens were actively opposing the new jail and the grand jury and courts were saying "build the jail now," then-County Supervisor Dan Forbus warned everyone that delays were going to be costly if a time of high inflation came about. In 1975, the Concerned Taxpayers of Santa Cruz County was formed, a group which included Phil Baldwin, a man elected to the county Board of Supervisors in 1976. Petitioning was begun to bring the issue to ballot to let the voters decide if a new jail should be built. The group was successful in getting sufficient signatures, but county counsel advised the supervisors that the petition did not present a proper intitiative.

Three members of the board voted against putting it on the ballot. The issue was taken to court, W.f Ill-i -rr -rWMiriiilnn in nm if mmmitmM. I CO o- Xl Jg-i. SEE BACK PAGE Killer Storm Hits (Sentinel Photo by 8111 Loveloy) State Southern Owner-built homes, such as this one constructed by Doug Rowe, are a way of life in Last Chance. Last Chance Residents Live In A World Of Their Own By PAUL BEATTY Sentinel Staff Writer How much does it cost to build a new jail? The answer: it costs you more and more the longer you wait.

Four years ago, a new jail for 115 prisoners was estimated to cost Santa Cruz County $2.1 million. Today, one which would house 92 prisoners is estimated to cost $6,681,362. It is still not built. And, in the meantime, the county has had to spend $1.3 million to comply with a court order to Improve the old Front Street jail and to bus prisoners to other counties' jails when the local jail is overcrowded. Also, today, about $1.5 million of the jail costs must be collected from future county property taxes to meet the $6.7 million cost.

And if the Jarvis-Gann amendment on property taxes passes in the June 6 primary, the county may find it doesn't have the money for a jail at today's prices. The jail issue in Santa Cruz County has two histories: one political and one economical. Going back to 1965, county supervisors, realizing that the day was arriving when the local jurisdiction would need a new jail facility, began purchase of land across Water Street from the County Center. In 1967, more land was purchased and officialdom was discussing a law enforcement complex on the site. The grand jury in 1971-72 said the county should move ahead on a jail, and testimony then was describing the Front Street jail "a hole" and unfit for keeping prisoners.

In 1972, attorney Gary Patton (elected supervisor in 1974) was co-counsel in a suit to close the jail. In 1973, money was set aside for a jail study, and by 1974, the firm of Arthur Young had presented a cost estimate of $5 million for a law enforcement complex and $2.1 million for a jail to house 115 prisoners. A court order in 1974 to force improvements at the jail resulted in the sheriff moving his office from the jail building to the County Center so that im-provments could be made at Front Street. LOS ANGELES (AP) Plucked from rooftops, awakened by mud oozing through their homes Saturday, thousands of residents in storm-battered areas of Southern California and northern Mexico fled their houses. At least 17 persons died.

Many others were missing. As the latest of a series of rainstorms subsided, mudslides sent a hospital parking lot tumbling onto a downtown Los Angeles freeway and blocked hundreds of other roads and free ways from Santa Barbara, 100 miles north of Los Angeles, to Ensenada, 80 miles into Mexico. In the Ensenada area, four persons died and 20,000 others were left homeless by floods. Ensenada Mayor Luis Gonzalez Ruiz said Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo had declared the city a disaster area. SEE BACK PACE Early Returns Show Miners Against Pact allow them to remain living in their unique community.

This spirit of cooperation was explained by Last Chance resident Sharon Smith. "We don't want it to be a nasty fight," she said. "We want to work with them. I think we can do a lot better things here then they can." Many have read about and commented on the Last Chance situation, but few have actually visited the isolated spct. Residents closely guard their privacy and have become slightly publicity shy from all the attention they've received.

A trip to Last Chance is a visit into a different world a world where people have built rustic, sturdy homes by thinning out the forests, using slash left by loggers and by laboriously making adobe bricks formed from the mud of the land. Many have criticized their way of life SEE BACK PAGE fore, can't be issued the proper permits. Lately, Last Chance has hit the news again with residents' attempts to keep their land out of a proposed expansion of Big Basin State Park. Instead of fighting the system, Last Chance residents have opted to work with it. Some are members 'of an alternative building standards committee formed by the county Board of Supervisors to work out proposed standards for owner-occupied, owner-built dwellings.

If accepted by (he county, these standards could legalize some alternative methods of waste disposal now used in remote areas like Last Chance and could permit ways of generating electricity other than hooking into the power grid. Although the fight to keep their lands out of the state park expansion is far from won, Last Chance residents are trying to work out ways with the state to By DENISE SIEBENTHAL Sentinel Staff Writer Legend has it that backwoods hunters gave Last Chance its name, considering the remote, mountainous area above Davenport to be the last chance to catch a beast. More photoi on Page 17 Today the hunters, loggers and Indians that occupied the area through the years have been replaced by a group of permanent residents who consider the area to be possibly their last chance to live the way they desire. Despite seclusion behind a locked gate and up miles of private, unpaved road, the people of Last Chance have received more than their token of publicity in recent months. First, it was their effort to live in self-built homes that don't comply with the Uniform Building Code and, there and parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania were scheduled to vote today.

Both pro-contract and anti-contract forces had predicted the final vote would be close. Carter was being advised of the vote count as he spent the weekend at Camp David, Md. The walkout has forced power curtailments and industrial job layoffs in scattered locations. Late Saturday afternoon, an administration source close to Carter said the president was "extremely concerned about the progress of the vote." The source also left little doubt that Carter was ready to seek an 80-day back-to-work order under the Taft-Hartley Act as early as Monday if the miners reject the agreement. WASHINGTON (AP) Early returns showed striking miners voting 2 to 1 against a tentative contract Saturday as the Carter administration threatened swift action to order the miners back to work if the 89-day walkout continued.

Administration officials said President Carter was ready "to move immediately and decisively" very likely invoking the strike-halting provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act as early as Monday if the pact were rejected. With 264 of the United Mine Workers' locals reporting, 21,624 miners had voted against the pact, and 9,854 had voted for it. That represents about ne-third of the 794 UMW locals, or about one-fifth of 160,000 union members. Miners in many large locals in West Virginia SEE BACK PAGE Inside The Sunday Sentinel CONTRACTORS! HOME OWNERS! I Stop Headquarters lor All Your Building Needs ALL GRADES LARGE INVENTORIES Help For Seniors Call her "Denver." She's in her 90s, has less money than she deserves to have, is a rugged individualist philosophically and almost fiercely proud of her independence, feels unwell, needs help urgently, doesn't know what to do or whom to turn to. Know her? Page 33.

Borovatz Recall Effort State Opinion Favors Old Law An opinion by the Secretary of State's office could go along way in determining that conditions have been met for a recall election of Supervisor Ed Borovatz. "We believe the old (1977) law should govern," the Secretary of State's office announced Friday in handing down its opinion on the Fifth (San Lorenzo Valley-Scotts Valley) District recall effort. The opinion could convince county counsel to advice County Clerk Dick Neal he should proceed with his final count of signatures. The final count had been delayed a few days awaiting the state's opinion. The legal question arose when a local attorney questioned if the Borovatz recall effort, which began in August, 1977, and ended in January, 1978, should come under the new law.

Bringing it under the new law would have meant that about 4,225 certified signatures would be needed, Instead of the present 3,341, and that petitioners should have had only 120 days to petition, rather than 180 days. In effect, the new law would have invalidated the recall effort. Neal said Friday that he expects a county counsel's opinion next week and will release the final count figures. Observers noted that if the signature count had been less than needed, there would have been no reason to wait for the legal opinion. i A i tkmrlmmi Said nrt FMthn Aluminum Nil Dots Row Tib Aluminum lathrMm AcitiMrln Governor Dies Arizona Gov.

Wesley Bolin, 68, died in his home Saturday of an apparent heart attack. Page 62. Ann Landtrs 22 Bridg 57 Busintss Stocks 59-61 Oassifitd Ads 36-47 Comics 56 Crossword Puzilt 56 Education 27-28 Entertainmtnt Dining 30-31 Horoscopt 56 Mostly About Peop 35 Opinion 63 Sports 49-55 TravelVacation 25-26 Tret 'n Sea living 17-24 TV Programs 57 Vital Statistics 62 Voice Of The Peope 34 WeofrterTi'des 2 Tuesday Election Capitola and Scotts Valley residents go to the polls Tuesday to elect new councilmembers. Also, Scotts Valley voters will decide if they want the city manager form of government. Page 10.

Teacher Layoffs Any threats of teacher layoffs or dismissal notices under the gun of the Jarvis-Gann Initiative probably will not come from Santa Cruz County Schools. Page 28. Slow Start If you can sit through a first act, "Misalliance" will provide you with an entertaining little evening of comedy. Page 30. CoUntl Hordwara Klh) lo.flmj IMvkm MuMMta PrWurts UNmjt um, Udu Duttr loriil mMracli Pmh ft ffsmM Ohmuic Hah Tm' 'ww fmt Motwfah bJL? Wrauit Irxi loMnf 2435 41st AVENUE (Off Highway 1) OPEN EVERY DAY EXCEPT SUN DAY! -PH.

475-6100- "WHERE SERVICE IS WHAT WE SELL" FREE DELIVER Yl 'No. I Contender' Former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali went on national television Saturday to present his arguments why Leon Spinks, who beat Ali 17 days ago for the crown, should give him a rematch. Page 49..