The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California • 14

B2 Wednesday April! 3 1983 THE FRESNO BEE Mariposa state pact ruled illegal Bee Metro staff Defense Continued from Page B1 met Lela "his first love" while they were seniors at Bullard High School Regma recounted Equally independent "they fell in love and told us they decided to get engaged We felt they were hoth quite young" she said "But they didn't ask us They told us" Although he could not afford It his mother said Edelbacher spent $800 on an engagement ring in 1971 But after a month she continued the engagement was ailed off Eventually the pair married and nine months and four days later Lenny their only child was born she said "Their son's birth was a wonderful thing" Edelbacher's mother said "It brought them closer than ever before" Financial problems plagued the young couple she said "Lela started to escape the situation" by going to poker parties with her girlfriends playing softball and other activities while Peter stayed at home and baby-sat "He tried in every way he could to save the marriage" Regina said of her son But I-ela left the family's rural home in Madera she testified leaving Lenny with his father "Peter seemed lost" she said "One week he had plans on what to do with his life land the next week he was just drifting" Kdelbacher laughed when his mother recalled a childhood incident Peter was 6 she said when he noticed that his father did not have to help with the mealtime dishes "Someday if you play your cards right" she recounted her husband as telling the young boy "you won't have to dry dishes either" Friends and neighbors testified that Edelbacher and his family were "loving caring and hard-working" and always did activities as a group A longtime family friend Evelyn James of Madera testified that Edelbacher's wedding was "the most beautiful wedding I ever saw" but that the relationship between Fdelbacher and Lela changed after that Peter for the most part took care of Lenny and James said she never saw Peter and Lela as a family "The boy adores him" she said of Lenny Rev David Sebastian of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Chowchilla the church the Fdelbachers attended and his wife Deborah also testified in Edelbacher's behalf Deborah who is director of the church's preschool said Lenny always arrived at the school "clean and neat and in a happy frame of mind" Andy Weast the best man at wedding called him "a fine guy" with a strong personality Weast who swam with Edelbacher when they were members of the Fresno Dolphins swim club said his close friend was respectful of his teachers as he was of all adults His high school swim coach Daniel Robinson now acting dean at Edison High School described Fdelbacher as a "hardworking swimmer dedicated and motivated" and "very mature" At one point in the hearing Edelbacher's attorney Elia moved for a mistrial He claimed Deputy District Attorney Lawrence Jones in his questioning of Mrs Edelbacher "probed and prodded" her into testifying that her son stopped attending Fresno State University because he was "convicted of a crime" She did not go into details Best however denied the motion "If you offer evidence of good character evidence of bad character is also admissible" said the judge The judge also noted however that her answer was voluntary and admonished the jurors to disregard that specific testimony Jones did not present any evidence Final arguments are scheduled to begin at 9:30 am Fresno Bee Making sure it's out A Fresno firefighter sifts through the burned-out den of a home at 587 MaGill Ave for remaining hot spots Fire investigators said the home of Jack Spangle sustained $18000 in structural damage and $9000 to the contents The fire was reported at 5:04 pm Tuesday It burned through the roof of the den Investigators suspect an overheated Franklin stove in the corner of the den caused the fire Credit union wins suit: $732000 MARIPOSA The state Conservation Department and Mariposa County acted illegally in signing an agreement to transfer the state's mineral exhibit from San Francisco to Mariposa according to San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stewart Pollock But Pollock leaves the door open for a possible transfer once environmental concerns are met Pollock's opinion is contained in a notice of intended decision that was released Tuesday Three San Francisco residents Philip Bradley Wendell Hammon and A Horton filed suit last January to block transfer of 22000-specimen collection valued at more than $1 million The trial was held Thursday The museum now in the San Francisco Ferry Building has to be moved because of state budget cuts and planned remodeling of the building Several areas submitted bids for the exhibit but a proposal submitted by Mariposa County was judged to be the best by the state Pollock said the agreement was signed prematurely because an environmental study to evaluate the proposed construction of a museum to house the collection hasn't been completed yet The agreement for the transfer violates the California Environmental Quality Act Pollock said But Pollock did not object to the transfer if an environmental review study shows no damage to the environment He says he would block the transfer until such time as the state and the county shall reapprove the decision to transfer the collection after their respective decision-making bodies have reviewed and considered in good faith the environmental documentation Robert Borchard chief planner for Mariposa County sees Pollock's decision as a victory "It looks like the rock collection is coming to Mariposa County that is the bottom line" Borchard said "It's not a question of if it's a question of when" He said Pollock's decision "is what we thought was going to come out of this "The suit was all designed to delay us but fortunately they can't delay us indefinitely" Borchard said that in anticipation of an eventual approval of the transfer the county has gone ahead with designs on the museum building County officials have been talking with Bob Gustson curator of the mineral and fossil museum for Fresno State University on new plans to transfer the exhibit to Mariposa Breach Continued from Page B1 as the proper place for rural residential development But the property owners' spokesman said the 204 acres is uneconomical for cattle grazing is next to land that already is parceled up and is at the intersection of two major roads Earlier attempts by Van Vleet and Craven to get commercial zoning on 13 acres at 168 and Lodge were approved under the old plan Those zoning permits expired and Van Vleet and Craven failed to convince the board on Aug 30 to rezone the 13 acres for a small shopping center Conrad cited those rezoning approvals as one of the reasons he supported rural residential for the entire 204 acres "One thing that concerns me is dwindling agricultural land" Conrad said But he added: "That land is pretty well divided up" He added there is no reason to try to preserve agricultural land in the area because "it's already lost" Koligian said he supported the policies in the plan a document that spells out land uses for the next 10 years in the planning area Reich who represents the area said: "Frankly I'm torn on this one We did establish a policy to restrict rural residential development" Later he noted that the applicants had a petition with 100 signatures supporting the plan amendment and that there was no opposition from the public Forest A Fresno County Superior Court jury has awarded a $732000 judgment in favor of the Fresno County Employees Credit Union and against the Fresno Redevelopment Agency The decision was made late Monday after an 11-day trial before Judge Eugene Krum Credit union attorney Steve Lempel said he was pleased with the verdict According to testimony the credit union wanted to construct a new building in 1977 at Kern and streets The Redevelopment Agency gave its OK Lempel said and the credit union bought the parcel hired an architect and began work toward the new facility In July 1978 he said the agency said it had entered into an agreement to sell the property in the Civic Center Square project to John Tutelian a developer with a proven track record in rehabilitating old buildings The sale was eventually completed and the credit union bought property and constructed its building near the Fresno Air Terminal In addition to the $732000 judgment the agency was ordered to pay $45000 for what was called "wrongful conduct resulting in precondemnation damages" and cover architectural fees and the loss of rent sustained by the credit union The total judgment is $790000 and also includes $12000 or $13000 in interest Lempel said was withdrawn from a list of federal land under consideration Art Cowley the information officer for the Sequoia National Forest at Porterville said the identified land ranges from small summer home tracts to a large fire lookout site a 4800 acre site that extends from the forest boundary into an area of private ownership He speculated that it would be at least a year before any action could be taken toward actual sales The asset management program has already drawn fire from some conservation groups Sierra Club spokesmen have said it would turn over vast federal lands to private interests and developers at "giveaway prices" Forest officials said that any sale of federal land would require an appraisal at fair market values along with competitive bidding Continued from Page B1 boundary and others lack road or other access forest officials pointed out Once the areas are identified special legislation will be required to determine if the land qualifies for disposal Public hearings will be held The total acreage for possible sale is 723000 acres statewide less than 4 percent of the 20 million acres of federal forestland in California On the Stanislaus National Forest east of Sonora and northwest of Yosemite 69108 acres have been identified In November Secretary of Agriculture John Block released a list of about 20 parcels containing 22700 acres in California that could qualify for disposal At that time the 4500-acre San Joaquin Experimental Range 25 miles north of Fresno Intruder rapes Fresno woman after threatening toddler's life about 300 high schools 30 colleges and eight universities that have agricultural programs Ten scholarship-tours for the top student fund raisers using the coupon book have been set up by Private Sector Initiatives and another 10 are likely Young said The students will receive a 42-day tour to agricultural areas in Australia New Zealand Israel Greece France and England Larger donors will be memoralized in plaques in the museum Donations of $1000 $2500 and $3500 will be listed collectively on bronze silver and gold plaques Bronze individual plaques will be engraved for $5000 donations silver for $15000 gold for $25000 and "diamond circle" for $50000 gifts All donors of any amount will be listed in a book on display at the museum Young said The official kickoff of the drive will begin with a "lock-cutting" ceremony at 3 pm Friday at the Old Administration Building Instead of using the traditional ribbon state Parks and Recreation Department deputy director Les McCargo will cut the lock on the main gate leading into the building Free tours of the building will follow the ceremony At 5 pm a reception will be held at the fund-raising office 1459 Van Ness Ave Admission to the event which will feature Central Valley wines is $35 A "barn-raising" dinner-dance will be held at 8 pm Friday in the Del Webb Building Frank Naylor undersecretary for small communities and rural development in the US Department of Agriculture will speak Tickets for the event are $100 and can be reserved by calling the Private Sector Initiatives office at 268-5166 Museum Continued from Page B1 Fresno sponsored by Japanese-American Citizen's League and is evaluating a campaign for the newly formed National Association of Single People The firm has spent about $250000 getting offices set up in Fresno Los Angeles and Sacramento and preparing materials for the museum drive Young said Working on the agricultural musuem drive since last September Private Sector has laid out an elaborate fund-raising plan that will seek donations from both small and large donors The of five full-time workers and one part-timer will swell to 22 people within six months Young said In addition local volunteers are expected to contribute their time and energy he said The staff will operate throughout the state to solicit contributions A team will travel from mid-May through October to the hundreds of local and county fairs with a display on the museum The cornerstone of the campaign for small givers will be distribution of a coupon book with contributions of $10 or more The book offers discounts on products and services With use of the coupons manufacturers and providers will send about 3 percent of the purchase price to the museum drive and another 3 percent to Private Sector The coupon books can be a source of revenue and self-sufficiency for the museum after the fund drive is completed Young said The musuem's estimated operating costs once it is open are a year The fund drive also is seeking help from student volunteers at screamed but the noise awakened her child who toddled crying into the living room where the man was attacking her "Shut up or I'll kill the kid" she said the man threatened She said the intruder put a towel over her face during the assault The intruder was described as a black man about 20 years old 5 feet 8 inches tall and thin A 21-year-old northeast Fresno woman told police Tuesday that she was raped Monday night by an intruder who threatened to kill her 2-year-old child if she did not submit The woman told investigators that the man entered her apartment about 3:30 am through a rear sliding glass door she had thought was locked She said she fought and Police identify body found in mobile home A man whose body was found in a north Fresno mobile home Monday night was identified as Frank Velasquez 35 Fresno police said Tuesday He had been shot once in the back of the head investigators said His ex-wife and one of his fellow employees discovered the body after they went to the mobile home Velasquez had not shown up for work for several days and she had not been able to reach him on the telephone police said The investigation is continuing Council agrees to video games near schools The Fresno City Council Tuesday agreed to allow video games in commercial buildings within 500 feet of a school but only if the machines are turned off between 7 am and 4 pm on school days The council unanimously introduced an ordinance making the change and set final action for next week The law now bans the use of video games in commercial buildings if the buildings are within 500 feet of a school It does not apply to buildings such as bars in which minors are prohibited The change was requested by Douglas Bess who runs a laundromat at 1066 Martin Ave 454 feet from the nearest street entrance to Edison High School Bess who was found in violation of the law appealed to the council to let him keep four video games in his business The council earlier had introduced an amendment to the law detailing when the machines could be used but scrapped that proposal in favor of the simpler law which bans the use between 7 am and 4 pm on school days Development Department Director George A Kerber said both the Fresno Unified School District and the Police Department which had raised questions about the change support the current amendment KSEE Continued from Page B1 with minority issues at other stations besides KSFN said kimbeur He added that the sale to Meredith is "the best thing that ever happened to KSEE putting professionals back in the business "The biggest mistake that ever happened is that the FCC allowed a group of amateurs to get in the business" Kimber said SJCC acquired KSEE from McClatchy Newspapers for $135 million in 1981 and sold it to Meredith for $176 million in stock and a promissory note In its opinion the FCC said the minority groups had not not raised meaningful objections to pronises by SJCC to provide minority programming or minority job Council OK's sewage pretreatment program opportunities In addition the FCC noted that in Novembei it repealed a regulation preventing broadcasters from selling radio or television stations at a profit within three years of acquisition The regulation had been an issue raised in objection to the sale The FCC also found no evidence that Meredith programming proposals are inadequate to meet community needs as the NBMC had charged The FCC report concluded that the groups "have failed to raise any substantial and material qestions of fact to establish that a grant of the transfer of control application would be prima facie inconsistent with the public interest We also find the applicants fully qualified and that a grant of the application will serve the public interest convenience and necessity" Trafican said notices will be sent to the industrial-commercial users this month notifying them they will need to get permits The permit deadline is October but the new ordinance regulating the wastewater pretreatment will begin in July In addition to the monthly charges the industries will have to pay for any equipment necessary to meet the new regulations Trafican said two-thirds of the cost of the program will be paid by industrial and commercial users while residential users will pay the other one-third There was no one representing industries at the public hearing Tuesday on the pretreatment program and Trafican said most have known about it and accepted it A $161360 pretreatment program for wastewater discharged into the Fresno sewer system has been unanimously approved by the City Council The cost of the program mandated by the federal Clean Water Act will range from $1758 a month for heavy industrial users such as textile firms and food processors to 4 cents a month for residential users Assistant Public Works Director Dan Trafican said the pretreatment program will increase some sewer discharge limitations and relax others He noted that the major objectives of the law are to prevent pollutants that are not compatible with the treatment process at the city's wastewater plant or will interfere with the plant's operation The program is aimed at improving opportunities to reclaim municipal and industrial wastewaters and sludges Trafican said A report to the council said it was impossible to monitor and control the discharge of 122386 residential users into the sewer system but it was agreed that 85 industrial-commercial firms generate much of the problem Those 85 users will pay an additional $1758 a month for the pretreatment program Each of the 85 users will be required to get an individual permit under the new program Another 1157 users needing general permits will pay an extra $258 a month and 5496 industrial-commercial users that need no permits will be charged an additional 82 cents a month Winter More local news on pages C5 F1 Creek its coldest reading of the winter Tuesday morning Below-freezing temperatures also were reported at other mountain locations In the valley Monday night's sprinkle left 05 of an inch of rain in Fresno boosting the season's total rainfall to 2086 inches Continued from Page B1 National Park recorded 6 inches of new snow however Shaver Lake measured 6V2 inches of new snow with the heaviest amount falling about 3 pm A 20-degree minimum gave Big.