The Item from Sumter, South Carolina • 1

The Sumter Daily Item VOL 84 No 91 Founded Oct 15 1894 15 Cents Sumter SC Friday Afternoon February 2 1979 28 Pages 3 Sections No Sign Economic Slide Unemployment Rate McMickell Quits Board Roy McMickell elected to the District 2 school board Nov 7 today resigned The following statement was delivered to the ITEM today: "When I was elected to serve as a trustee for School District 2 1 stated that I would always try to be openminded and objective I felt that this attitude would help settle the divisions that existed in the District It has become very evident that these are still around want to do what I think is right but the pressure from these divisions has made it almost impossible for me to continue to be openminded I can see that this pressure is starting to affect my life in my church my family and my job I am very much interested in education in District 2 but 1 do not intend to spend the next four years under this kind of pressure have given my resignation as a trustee to (board chairman I Watt effective Feb 2 I regret that I might have disappointed those who supported me in November and I hope they will understand this decision that I have No further details were immediately available Down employment rate would worsen inflation in the administration view The administration is projecting a slowing of economic growth to 22 percent this year down from about 4 percent in 1978 That would not be enough to keep pace with new additions to the labor force meaning that unemployment would be bound to increase However the economy finished 1978 with a growth rate for the final three months of 81 percent much higher than expected and more than enough to further reduce the jobless rate So administration officials were uncertain when an actual rise in joblessness might begin Once inflation is controlled the administration says it will again be possible to try to return the economy to full employment officially said to occur when joblessness falls to 4 percent Iranians: employed in 1978 rose to 59 percent Total employment grew by 33 million outstripping an increase in the labor force of 275 million The percentage of women in the labor force -those either working or seeking employment -rose 15 percent last year to 501 percent passing the 50 percent mark for the first time But President Carter and his advisers say the substantial gains in employment in the last two years came at a cost of worsening inflation because the speed of the increase helped push wages up faster than justified by worker productivity For this reason they say slower economic growth is necessary to help restrain the creation of new jobs and to help reduce the upward pressure on wages and prices Any further significant decrease in the un- Both the percentage of the population who had jobs 59 3 percent and the share of the population in the labor force 63 7 percent were at all-time highs The Labor Department said total employment increased during the month by 450000 with gains occurring in most major industries Total employment was put at 963 million while the number of Americans seeking jobs was 59 million Adult men accounted for most of the job gains in January although unemployment declined among all population groups All figures in the report were adjusted for seasonal variations Employment in the last two years increased at a 41 percent annual rate which the administration said was virtually unprecedented in peacetime The proportion of the working-age population By GREGORY NOKES WASHINGTON (AP) The unemployment rate declined slightly to 58 percent in January showing the slowdown in the economy that the Carter administration is planning had not yet begun to occur a government report showed today The jobless rate in December was 5 9 percent and the Labor Department noted in its report that unemployment has hovered at just below 6 percent for the past six months It has been at the 58 percent level twice previously in recent months However the administration predicts that unemployment will rise to 62 percent during this year and remain at that level in 1980 as a result of government efforts to retard growth of the economy to help control inflation ITEMS Dalzell Man Dies WASHINGTON (AP) The Army today identified three warrant officers killed in the crash of a small Air Force transport plane in Iran Wednesday They were: CWO 2nd Class Daniel Bader 29 of Dalzell SC His parents live in Niceville Fla CWO 3rd Class Terrance Compton 32 Orlando Fla CWO Stephen Reynolds 30 Fayetteville NC Two Air Force captains also killed in the crash were identified Thursday They were Capts Leslie A Schreiner of Douglass Kan and Nicholas Weigel North Highlands Calif In addition two Army captains were injured and are in an Iranian hospital the Army said They do not want to be publicly identified the Army added The C-12 twin-engine turboprop plane crashed enroute between a base at Esfahan to Tehran The cause of the crash has not been announced but officials have said there is no evidence the plane was shot down Edwards: CHARLESTON (AP) Former Gov James Edwards is back at his old job of pulling teeth after four years in the political spotlight at a lesser salary After seeing his first patients Thursday Edwards said he feels more as an oral surgeon than he did as governor know what I'm doing he said with a grin Inside Today Groundhog's Word Is The Groundhog Day message on the weather from Punyxsutawney Phil is in a photograph caption on Page 7A Non-legendary weather news is on Page 3A To Hordes Of Khomeini Followers Gather TEHRAN Iran (AP) Shouts of to Carter!" rang out today as tens of thousands of Ayatullah Ruhollah followers surrounded the headquarters of the leader of revolution while he prayed and mapped political strategy The mob also chanted to Huyser! US Gen Robert Huyser deputy commander of American forces in Europe has been in Tehran for several weeks US sources say he is President liaison officer with the Iranian army Prime Minister Shahpour Bakhtiar meanwhile told state radio he wants to meet with Khomeini for an of that could lead to a political solution of the Iranian crisis HE PROPOSED the meeting in an interview with state radio and did not elaborate There was no immediate comment from the Khomeini camp Bakhtiar wanted to fly to France last week to meet with the Moslem religious leader but Khomeini refused saying Bakhtiar first must resign as prime minister of the government appointed by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Karim Sanjaby head of the political opposition to the Bakhtiar government met with Khomeini and said afterward that the tumultuous welcome home the ayatullah received was a of confidence" in his plans for an Islamic republic and that Bakhtiar should resign "since he claims to be a strong believer in The frantic crowd chanted and is But organized by his local aides kept them from touching the 78-year-old religious leader as he walked from the Moslem school he is using as his headquarters to a nearby building for Sabbath prayers Later he appeared at a window and waved to the crowd as aides led led it in chanting to the Pahlavi dynasty" of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Several blocks away 100 soldiers in battle dress with water cannons guarded the home of the Majlis Iran's Parliament but no hostile demonstrators approached the building FOLLOWING HIS triumphant return from France Thursday after more than 14 years of exile the Shiite Moslem patriarch was flown by army helicopter to the house of a or in central Tehran (AP Photo) bodies have been found Fourteen of the 16 unites in the building were occupied FIREMEN CONTINUE to probe through rubble following an early morning fire at the Devonshire Apartments near Goose Creek Two 2 Found Dead In Apartment Fire GOOSE CREEK SC (AP) Two persons died today in an early morning fire which heavily damaged a 16-unit apartment building First reports said three bodies had been found in the rubble and that up to seven persons were missing But Berkeley County Coroner William Smith said it was later learned only two bodies were found and all others believed to have been in the building were reported safe Goose Creek is a northern suburb of Charleston The fire at one of the units in the Devonshire Apartments was reported about 2:15 am One of the residents Billy Benton said he pushed his wife small child and the family dog out of a second story window then jumped himself Persons on the ground broke their falls Benton said His wife received minor cuts and the child was Williams said there was confusion but no panic as occupants quickly filed out of the building Williams said it was about 20 minutes after he notified the Goose Creek Rural Fire Department before the first truck arrived Units from the Goose Creek and Hanahan departments assisted in fighting the blaze Chief Jim Phelps of the Goose Creek department said flames were shooting through the roof when his men arrived Phelps said there were no fire walls in the attic He said the fire apparently started at one end of the unit and then swept through the complex In all the complex contains about 400 apartments separated into units housing several families The complex is operated by and International of Clayton Mo slightly bruised Benton was treated at the Trident Hospital emergency room for a bum on the hand Benton said he awakened and smelling smoke in his apartment tried to open the door He said the door knob was red hot and he then grabbed a rifle and used it to break the glass from a window to provide an escape route Ralph Williams maintenance supervisor for Devonshire Apartments said he received a telephone call about the fire at 2:15 a from the answering service of the complex He said he awoke Jim Johnson the complex manager and they and others ran through the unit awakening residents Two of the 16 apartments in the unit were unoccupied Williams said He said they were barred by flames and smoke from getting into one end of the building where the fire apparently started Index 4-8B Obituaries uA 3B Sports 1-2B 2A TV Listings 2A 6A Weather 3A 8B News 4-5A Classifieds Comics County Fare Editorials Focus Fight Cold Fireside Way And Help Those In Need Sen Dennis Insists Land Clean Often when you enter an older person's house the first thing you notice is the temperature Elderly folks because their circulation declines with age need to have their homes warmer than others What is uncomfortably warm to many people is barely acceptable to them As a result winter seems to hit older persons the hardest of all However many older persons have already provided for their retirement years They are comfortable and happy On the other side of the fence are those who for various reasons been able to provide for their futures Mrs JB for instance is well past retirement age She has no family or relatives to lend her a hand when she needs help She MONCKS CORNER SC (AP) -Rembert Dennis one of the state Senate's most powerful members says the purchase by a state-owned electric utility of 75 acres that he and two brothers owned was a clean Dennis a lawyer whose firm is paid $10000 a year by Santee Cooper said Thursday pressures whatsoever were exerted It was a matter of a decision made by the authorities with the advice of their Jacksonville (Fla) consulting firm to make the But Berkeley County land developer Percy Hauglie who offered to sell Santee Cooper another tract of land at less than half the per-acre price of the Dennis's land said the deal smacked of and political pressure Santee Cooper formally known as the state Public Service Authority -announced earlier this week that it was buying the land from Sen Dennis Markley Dennis and Edward Dennis III for $8000 an acre The land is to be used for a new $7 million headquarters The utility turned down bids from Hauglie for 94 acres at the Gippy Plantation at $3990 an acre and from another party for 64 acres at $9500 an acre Dennis defending the transaction to reporters said if we had given tbe land to them there would be questions I welcome William Mescber president of Santee Cooper said the purchase was the up-and-up and will improve Moncks image The town of about 2500 residents has been passed over by businesses wishing to relocate in South Carolina because of its appearance Mescher said Mescher said Dennis' law firm is one of several retained by Santee Cooper Hauglie said he responded to an advertisement the utility placed in newspapers last fall seeking offers of land for relocating its headquarters Santee Cooper asked him if he would also sell a trailer park belonging to the partnership adjacent to the property bringing the tract to 126 acres The utility offered $3200 an acre for the whole tract Hauglie said he agreed but the following week the utility backed off and decided to hire a consultant finally wrote me a letter and said they had decided on another tract of land because of the he said Hauglie said his property was more suitable for the project because it was as well located the Dennis property is on US 52 adjacent to the town limits and it would cost less to have utilities installed That contention was confirmed in a report by the consulting firm Plantec The report said water lines would cost $30000 on the Dennis property sewers $11000 more and electric service $11500 more months Without your aid they might freeze By giving to the fund which the Salvation Army administers you can help someone by making the cold a little more bearable The fund bought Mrs JB 50 gallons of kerosene as it has many others like her The names and circumstances vary but the needs remain the same to stay warm You may never see the person whom your donations help but you will know that it was spent for a good cause Contributing this week were: Mr and Mrs Algie Holland $25 Mrs Bossard Britton $50 Evelyn Camevale $5 Mrs CH and Helen Andrews $10 Eva Bjork $5 Carolina Coca-Cola Bottling Co $100 HD Osteen $50 Margaret Osteen $25 Mrs Virginia Clair $10 Mr and Mrs SM Rhodes Jr $25 The Esther Sunday School Class of Alice Drive Baptist Church $25 In memory of Mr and Mrs Ephraim Boney $10 Mr and Mrs Stephen Blackburn $10 North Main St Community Club $15 Mr and Mrs Albert Truesdale $10 Mrs Amelia Ryan $25 Mr and Mrs Glenn Towery $25 Mr and Mrs Daniel Owens $25 Miss Fannie White $5 Iris Garden Club $10 Simpson Hardware Inc $50 Mr and Mrs Raymond James $20 Mr and Mrs Alva Reid $25 Mr and Mrs George Dew Jr $10 Mr and Mrs Jessie Burgess $5 and Miss Thelma Cassels $25 With $130 anonymous contributions this week's total is $730 The total for the year is a generous $652327 Persons wishing to make contributions to the fund may bring or mail them to the Sumter Daily Item 20 Magnolia St Sumter SC 29150 have any income either How she manages to scratch out a living at all is a mystery Perhaps you passed Mrs JB on the street today and notice her She was the lady who might distantly have resembled your grandmother or your aunt But somehow you picture your grandmother in Mrs worn-out shoes You must realize though that your grandmother could be in Mrs JB 's position had circumstances Marvins In Court APPboto Pomelo Marvin gazes at her husband Lee the actor being sued for $1 million by former live-in mate Michelle Triola Marvin as the couple return to court in Los Angeles Wednesday The property settlement trial continues today after Marvin said he gave Michelle an $833 monthly allpwance because "I though it was the right thing to do" been different Through the Fireside Fund you can help Many already have But the needs of persons like Mrs JB continue throughout the winter.