The Modesto Bee from Modesto, California • 3

metro Saturday October 14 1978 THE MODESTO BEE Ship open for tour in Stockton as Navy celebrates 203 years 1946 It saw service during the Korean War and later had the distinction of being the first US ship to bombard the North Vietnamese off the shore of South Vietnam It was fired on itself by North Vietnamese shore batteries but its 5-inch guns silenced the enemy guns The Hamner has never been hit in the two wars in which it served The ship was refitted for anti-submarine warfare in 1962 The ship now is assigned to the Pacific Third Fleet and among duties serves as a training ship for naval reservists The Hamner is commanded by John Whitely Jr who was awarded the Vietnamese Cross of Galantry for action during the early stages of the Vietnam War and later received other decorations as an advisor to the Vietnamese Naval Fleet Command Next stop for the Hamner which will leave port Monday is San Diego First attacks since July East Area rapist blamed for 2 Concord assaults McClatchy Newspapers Service Photo Carriers from left Daniel Steve Tom Richard Ed Carrier day knows newspaper delivery ropes or swim "The only time they had subs was for vacations and they went out rain or shine said their mother proudly hurt his leg last year playing football and kept his "I pedal my bike because of the cast on my leg" said Steve had a route for 42 months "so 1 Tom went out when he was getting pneumonia and Ed went out By Tony Walker Bee stall writer STOCKTON It was a lucky Friday the 13th yesterday for the 180 men of the Navy destroyer USS Hamner First they got a two-day liberty But even better it was pay day The crew of the spotless warship greeted with applause an announcement over the public address system that President Carter had just signed an appropriations bill enabling federal employees to receive their pay Most federal employees including servicemen feared they would have to wait for awhile before the appropriations bill was approved The announcement was made as the 300-foot destroyer plied its way up the Stockton Deep Water Channel to the Port of Stockton where it will be on display over the weekend in observance of the 203rd birthday Ship officers said the public is invited to inspect the vessel from 1 to 4 pm today and Sunday at the port Arriving from its home port Portland Ore the sleek ship attracted hundreds of spectators Its 5- inch guns pointed skyward and its men stood in above deck in gleaming white uniforms waving and taking photographs of people lining the banks and others circling in small pleasure boats For the festive occasion the ship was greeted at the dock by various port and city officials and the Lincoln High School band which included in its repertoire a rendition of "Anchors Aweigh" On the docks wives of some of the sailors waited anxiously lor their men their men come ashore A mile from the dock one sailor looked over the flat farmland and delta and remarked disappointedly "I thought there'd be more trees" One of the ship's officers said the Hamner is affectionately known by sailors as "the John Wayne of the Pacific" because it is one of the most active ships in the Pacific Fleet and "its guns are always He said some say that John Wayne himself once wrote a letter to the men of the Hamner Named after a naval gunnery officer who was killed in action during World War II the Hamner was built in New Jersey and commissioned in Ax rape cruel mutilation Ten days later Singleton was arrested at Ms Collins' apartment in Sparks and charged with kidnap rape mayhem and attempted murder of the girl hitchhiker Det Ed Viohl who returned to Sparks to interview the Lundeens said the couple now claim that Single-ton was referring to another hitchhiking incident unrelated and occurring some time before Sept 29 when Mary was left to die in the Stanislaus County canyon Lt Chuck Curtis detective commander said Viohl phoned him Friday with the Lundeen denial that dinner tale might be related to this case "I don't have his written report but this tends to substantiate what they already had told us when we first interviewed them when they Officers find third body in Merced murder case Sereno family Today is International Newspaper Carrier Day and Mike and Martha Sereno of Modesto are well aware of the work involved in delievering a daily newspaper --all six of their sons have been Bee boys "And the only reason the two girls didn't have routes" said Mrs Sereno because they They only let girls be carriers the last cou-pleof Since 1964 when Tom now 28 started the pattern there has always been a Bee route in the Sereno household and more often two or even three routes at the same time as many as 200 newspapers the Sereno's have been responsible for each day for 14 years Tom Richard 26 Ed 22 and Vince 18 have all leaving only 14- year-old Steve and 12 year-old Danny to keep up the family tradition "When Tom started I didn't expect it would go on so long but they all wanted routes and did it on their own" said Mrs Sereno "We haven't helped them too much Maybe to help them fold papers when the papers got here late and we drove when Ed had mono and was too weak to ride his bike and their dad would drive sometimes when they had routes on streets that would flood when Explained daughter Patricia Simmons who never thought it was fair her brothers could have paper routes and earn all that moeny when she couldn't "We were taught if you took on a job it was your job and not your mom's and dad's to do it for you Sink Rape ends in By William Kane Bet ilaM writer home from Davis High School about 1:30 pm when the car pulled and Vince Sereno with the chicken said his mother "They did their own bookkeeping and bill The dedication to their jobs paid off Their parents suggested a policy of save first and the boys pretty much followed that idea though Steve gave a sheepish grin when his sister kidded him about being a big spender "All of the boys bought cars with their said their dad and that is a goal of Steve and Danny The woman was believed to have been the common law wife of Salvador Vargas 40 who was killed along with his brother Miguel 29 Sunday night at the Manuel Soares dairy near Highway 99 north of Merced Litteral said Keith Williams about 30 of the Galt area is being sought in connection with the murders The sheriff said Tyson reported he and Williams had bought a car fom the Vargas brothers but backed out at the last moment Officers said this apparently led to an argument which resulted in the shootings Tyson and Williams also are suspects in the armed theft in Modesto of a retired Washington camper truck arrests clothes They called the police and the car was stopped 15 or 20 minutes later near Downey High School by Officer Alan Jensen "The girls said they didn't know the boys If it was a prank it wasn't a very funny Lt Elwyn Miller said Three of the boys were lodged in the Stanislaus County Juvenile Hail where they will be kept until Monday the police said Crisp was taken to the county jail about 4:30 pm and held under $5500 bail bond Fleming of Nebraska and Bonard Fleming of Modesto three daughters Hattie Moore of Fontana Edna Short of San Bernardino and Martie Bray-shaw of Santa Rosa three sisters 19 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren Contributions in Mrs memory may be made to the American Cancer Society Margaret Hennings Margaret Veronica Hennings 93 a Modesto resident since 1952 died Thursduy in a local convalescent hospital following a lengthy Illness A native of Minnesota she was a member of St Stanislaus Catholic Church Survivors include a son Jennings of Modesto two daughters Milliccnt Rostad of Modesto and lie len Gray of Oregon a sister six grandchildren and three greatgrandchildren Mass will be held at 9 a Monday at St Stanislaus Chuch Burial will follow in the church cemetery Rosary will be recited at 6 pm Sunday in the Franklin Downs Colonial Chapel SACRAMENTO Sacramento County investigators Friday said that two recent rapes in the Concord area were the work of the East Area rapist He struck Oct 7 and again Friday morning according to officials Lt Ray Root of the Sacramento department East Area rapist detail said "Based on the information we have from those two (rapes in Concord) and what we have here we believe the same The incidents bring to 38 the number of sexual assaults the East Area rapist is suspected of committing Two of the attacks occurred in Modesto during June when the East Area rapist assaulted a woman in a subdi-vison in the McHenry-Standiford area on June 5 and another woman in the Coffee-Sylvan area on June 23 The number of cases attributed to the East Area rapist has varied as rapes have been added and dropped based on new evidence Concord police reported that a man broke into an Ygnacio Valley home at 5:30 a Friday tied both the 29-year-old woman and 30-ycar-old man then rummaged through the house He returned and sexually assaulted the woman Continued made no connection with this Curtis said Friday However exclusive interviews obtained by The Bee with Mrs Lundeen and Ms Collins clearly established the hitchhiking Incident they said Singleton was referring to on Sept 30 had just occurred Ms Collins also told The Bee last Tuesday that at the Saturday dinner Singleton talked about picking up a girl hitchhiker in the San Francisco Bay area The ex-wife said Singleton told her he stopped at a roadside restaurant but later discovered his money was missing and the girl paid for the food Lt Curtis however said his investigators had located a roadside restaurant where Singleton and a girl are believed to have stopped But Investigators said they learned it was the sound of a crash und seeing a car speed away without lights Because of the park's earthen mounds the resident was unuble to see that the poles had been toppled Vance said the case Is still under investigation and that he is searching for motive However he said he learned that it had the night of Epperson's birthday Damage is estimated at $16500 to $20000 to replace the softball and hardball field lights one of the most Turlock veteran TURLOCK Daniel Oliver Burk ke 36 of Turlock a jobless Vietnam veteran shot himself with his 30 06 rifle late Thursday In an orchard neur Canal Drive und North Walnut Roud Stunisluus County officers reported Burke's body was discovered by a Turlock police officer who stopped to check an unoccupied van with keys In the ignition Inside the van ho found new box of rifle shells with one miss Ing Burke was found ubout 75 yards a wav A report stated a single bullet pierced the victim's chest and powder burns were left from the rifle Ills mother Pauline Burke said her The Oct 7 rape also occurred in the same area The assailant in both cases reportedly wore a ski mask broke into the home and either brandished a weapon or simulated a weapon The crimes closely resemble the way the East Area rapist has carried out his assaults officials said Two Sacramento county sheriff's detectives Root and Sgt Jim Bevins traveled to Concord Thursday and again Friday to check out similarities between the crimes there and those committed by the East Area rapist in Sacramento Stockton Modesto and Davis The rapist who often gets into homes through sliding glass doors or windows began to be charted by the authorities and the news media after assaulting women in the east section of Sacramento County It was from those early attacks that he got the nickname East Area rapist As time went on however he began to commit rapes in other parts of Sacramento and then in other cities The scare thrown into many households in Sacramento and in the other cities in which attacked has spurred the sale of deadbolt locks and special locks for sliding glass doors and windows man who paid for the meal not the girl In another development Lt Curtis said detectives have obtained a copy of medical record for the period between Oct 4 and 8 when he was a patient in the Washoe County Medical Center While he would not reveal the content he said it disproves claims by Singleton's friends and ex-wife thathe was admitted for possible throat cancer as the Lundeens suggested or an accidental overdose of Seconal sleeping pills and liquor as Ms Collins claimed "We also may establish incidents in the recent past linking him with Curtis said "We have another two weeks of investigation and before piecing together more threads of the case he said late Friday destructive and costly acts of vandalism to public property in the city The Bee's Secret Witness Program is offering a $500 reward for Information leuding to the arrest and conviction of other persons responsible for pulling down the light towers Persons with Information may telephone the Secret Witness line at 521-0131 The Bee guarantees that the Identity of callers will not be reveuled Calls are taken between 10 a and 6 pm Monday through Saturday kills himself son former Murine had become disturbed in 1970 und had sought treatment in several Northern California Veterans Administration hospitals Recently he had been an outpatient from the Stanislaus County Mental Health division and had attended his lust counseling session Wednesday the day beforo his death Burke had separated from his wife In 1973 and had been Jobless and penniless according to his mother He admitted himself to the Emanuel Hospital mentnl health center Sept 27 and was released Oct 4 He was a graduate of the University of California Berkeley his mother said Arrangements are pending at Norton Mortuary Turlock Light pole vandalism at Modesto park stirs arrest of electrical firm worker TUOLUMNE CITY The body of a woman believed kidnaped Sunday night from a Merced area farm where two brothers were shot to death execution style was found late Friday night In a woody area off Cherokee Lane west of Tuolumne City The woman was identified as Lourdes Meza 27 She had been shot to death according to Tuolumne County sheriff's deputies Sheriff Jack Litteral said Robert Tyson 32 of Merced one of two suspects in the three murders led officers from three counties to the site where the Meza woman's body was found Tyson had turned himself in to San Joaquin County authorities Friday Litteral said alongside them and they were pulled inside One girl was put in the front seat and the second in the back seat According to the police the girls said the boys told them they were "going to take us into the country and rape us and cut our hands The girls said they became hysterical and one of them bopped a boy in the nose whereupon she was let out of the car A block or so down the street the second girl said she was put out after the boys began pawing at her vnleacent hospital will be held at 2 Monday in the Oakdale Memorial Chapel A native of Arkansas she had lived in the Riverbank area since 1951 She was a member of the Riverbank Pentecostal Church of God She is survived bv one son Lawrence Dillion of Oakdale two daughteri Beulah Skelton of River-bank and Bertha Sparks of Arkansas four grandchildren and six grent-grandchildren 1 Burial will be In Lakewood Memorial Park There will be no procession from the funeral home to the cemetery Esther Fleming Services will be held at 3 Monday In the Salas Brothers Funeral Chapel for Esther Jails Fleming 76 of Modesto Burial will follow in Lake wood Memorial Park A native of Kentucky and a Modesto resident since 1970 Mrs Fleming died Thursday In her home following a lengthy Illness Survivors include her husband Millard Fleming of Modesto three sons Basil Fleming of Ohio Ballard In what four car-riding Downey High School football players called "just a prank" two Davis High School girls said they were dragged into a car iday afternoon on the eve of the two rival schools' big game But the Modesto police have charged the oldest student Frank Dean Crisp 18 with kidnapping and attempted rape Crisp a senior has been a starting fullback with the Downey Knights football team The two girls 14 and 16 years old told the police they were walking Obituaries John Webber OAKDALE A rosary will be recited at 8 pm Sunday in the Oakdale Memorial Chapel for John Webber 76 who died Thursday in a local conva lescent hospital Graveside services will be held at 10 a Monday at Oaklawn Memorial Park A native of Iowa Webber had lived in Oakdale for five years after moving from San Jose and Southern California He was a retired employee of Schreiners Farm Equipment Co A Navy veteran of World War II Webber was a member of Romain Schell Post 2922 Vetcruns of Foreign Wars He Is survived by his wife Blanche of Oakdale four children Ardis Huverson of Waterford John Webber of Sacramento Jessie Ryan und Hurry Webber of Iowa three stepchildren James Christopher of Sacramento Kenneth Christopher and Juanita A Henry of Iowa 25 grandchildren and 30 great-grand children Georgia A Darter OAKDALE Funeral service for Georgia Annie Darter 72 of Rlver-Iank who died Friday in a local con Ronald Dean Epperson Jr 18 of Modesto an electric contractor com pany worker has been arrested and charged with felony malicious mischief in the vandalism toppling of two tall ballpark light poles at Downey Community Park Modesto Police Det Gary Vance said three other suspects are being sought Epperson was released from jail under his own recognizance Friday after being held under $5000 bull bond City parks workers found the two steel light towers on the ground Oct 3 totally demolished Some tools and a rope were left on the grass Vance said one 8-Inch crescent wrench bore an engraving from Electric in Modesto Eight large four to five-inch nuts had been unbolted from the base of the towers after protective plates had been removed leaving quarter-inch tooth marks on the big nuts Investigating at Hansen's Vance was shown two four-foot long pipe wrenchs that seemed to match the marks on the nuts Vance said he was called aside by an employee who gave him Information that led to the urrest The light poles one 60 feet und the other 90 feet high were felled about 1 :30 a Vance said A resident near the purk at College Avenue and Rumble Road reported hoaring the.