Contra Costa Times from Walnut Creek, California • 1

CONTtA COSTA TIMES GREEN VOL NO 236 SUN TUEIu WPD THURS FRI MORNINGS SI MONTHLY HOME DELIVERY BY CARRIER WANUT CREEK CALIF SUNDAY NOVEMBER 26 1967 10 CENTS FOUR SECTIONS -48 PAGES Ship Collision Emphasizes Hazards Of Naval Weapons Station amazes me that we haven't had a catastrophy before now" Traffic Increases Simonsen also noted the heavy increases in marine traffic in the past few years with the establishment of the ports of Antioch Pittsburg Sacramento and Stockton this period the newer vessels are longer have vaster beams and are deeper when fully loaded When two vessels munition ship meets are loaded with explosive petroleum products or chemicals it really presents an extreme promblem" The former harbor pilot commission president charged isn't fair to expose our citizenry who live and work with two miles of the ship channel to this terrible explosive hazard that could wipe out a whole Half Mile Away Simonsen said Martinez with explosion in the event such an occurance as the one above did occur Letter to Waidie Commenting after the Van-derbilt-Columbia incident Simonsen told of a letter sent only this week to Rep Jerome Waidie in which he warns of the peril to Contra Costa lives and property due to the brisk movement of ammunition laden ships of obsolete vintage and the narrowness and natural dangers of the present deep water shipping channel By ROBERT A NEUMAN TlmM mwt Buthm collision of sn empty ammunition ship and a fully loaded freighter in the fog shrouded shipping channel off Martinez has revealed a frightening new dimension to the controversial location of the Concord Naval Weapons Station The collision of die Vanderbilt Victory and the SS Columbia and the destruction of some 200 feet of dock at the Ozol jet fuel pier has heightened speculation of what would happen to shoreline cities such as Martinez and Benicia in the event a fully loaded ammunition ship and an oil tanker carrying jet fuel from the Ozol facility had a similar collision Capt Henry Simonsen for nearly 10 years president of the State Boanl of Pilpt Commissioners for San Francisco San Pablo and Suisun Bays said Friday the shoreline cities of Contra Costa County are in constant danger from a massive loaded ammunition vessels proceed down the ship channel we are definitely playing Russian Roulette' Simonsen himself a former ammunition ship captain said navigational hazards are such that it is only a question of time before the law of averages catches up with has been over 20 years since we had an ammunition ship blow he wrote Waidie is just a question of time until the Simonsen is especially fearful of the hazards posed by the dimensions and hazards of the channel between Martinez and Port Chicago location of the ammunition docks channel is obsolete and been materially improved in over 30 he said The channel at that point is but 30 feet deep and only 300 feet wide Ships following the channel must also pass through the Southern Pacific lift bridge between Martinez and Benicia which is only 270 feet wide you consider these limiting Simonsen said "along with the strong currents fog heavy rain high winds and the background lights that tend to blind the pilots at night it just are meeting in a narrow ship a in of approximately including the county channel one of the hazards 141 volved is that should a deep government complex is within draft vessel take a suction from I a half mile of the ship channel the bottom it could result in a other cities within the two mile sheer toward the other vessel of the channel are causing a collision Benicia Crockett and parts of you consider that Vallejo and Rodeo many of the vessels an am-i think the advantages Death Takes Noted Local Educator ABAG Meet Wednesday In Berkeley of the site of the Port Chiraeo navy docks are the risk not only of thousands of people but of millions of dollars oi liability that could accumulate if an explosion occurred off i Simonsen said he believes conversion of the present Naval Weapons Station loading operations to container ship operations is more economical and is the answer to the hazard problem Although he would prefer that the risks inherent with the ammunition loading and shipping from Port Chicago be eliminated immediately Simonsen now a Martinez in-jdustrialist recognizes necessity of maintaining operations of the base during the 'Southeast Asia crisis Reduce Tonnage "However a first step for safer operations might be for the navy to reduce the tonnage on each ammunition vessel so that it meets safety standards while plying between Port Chicago and San Pablo Simonsen suggests the Navy could then completely load the vessel from lighters or barges in i the wider and safer confines of San Pablo Bay possibly from a I container ship base which could ibe constructed on Tubbs Island The Case For Moving The Navy In a series beginning Tuesday Times News Bureau Chief Robert A Neuman will detail the background of the current controversy between parties favoring removal of the Naval Weapons Station at Concord and its docks at Port Chicago and the Department of the move to purchase the town of Port Chicago to provide for a safety zone Watch for Case for Moving the Part One 17 1944 the The Association of Bay Ara Preliminary Regional Plan in relation to the counties of Alameda and Contra Costa will be the subject of a public hearing Wednesday Nov 29 at 7:30 pm at the Hotel Claremont Berkeley Cahirman of the hearing will be Supervisor John Mclnms Marin County chairman of the Association's Regional Planning Committee The hearing is the third in a series of five that will be held' throughout the Bay Area in order to complete the review process of ABAG's regional plan program The deadline for comment and suggestions on the plan has been set on January 31 1968 by the Executive Committee More than 50 meetings have baon held with Bay Area city! end county planning staffs since! the preliminary plan was first presented to the ABAG mem-j bership in November of 1966 In addition more than 6000 conies' of the plan have been distributed to various ju governmental asencies and soecial interest groups in the: nine-county Bay Area The hearing will provide an opportunity for local citizens organizations in the Alameda and Contra Costa! counties to present their views on the subject of the associa-' tion's Preliminary Regional Plan as it relates to their areas BART ON THE MOVE This Highway Department bulldozer is clearing a path through trees along the BART right-of-way between Lafayette and Orinda Harold Hill assistant superintendent in charge of I Secondary Education for the ML Diablo School District died Wednesday after a long illness Mr Hill had been with the district since 1956 Friends and associates are Invited to attend a memorial service for him at 8 pm Monday in the Concord First Presbyterian Church and Salvio and Colfax streets in Concord Private family services were held Saturday at Lough-Ouimet Chapel Concord with Dr Robert Christiansen Concord First Presbyterian officiating Interment is in Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana Mr Hill is survived by his wife Elizabeth a daughter Mrs Diane Webster of Goncord his mother Mrs Effie Hill of Concord and three grandchildren A native of: Colorado Mr Hill was 61 Memorial Fund Friends may make donations1 to the Harold Hill Memorial! Fund of the First Presbyterian I Church or to Diablo! Scholarships Mr Hill was a past president of the Central Contra Costa Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Pleasant Hill and St Helena Rotary Guhs a 1 member of the Clayton Valiev Masonic Lodge a Navy Lieutenant Commander in World War II and an active! member of the Concord First Presbyterian Church where he I served on the Board of Elders I the construction committee and in the choir He Local Teenagers 'Poor Drivers' Teenage drivers have a sor-jeent: and Sun Leandro 24 per ry record considering that 716 per cent of TDarrants -of the National Safety Bureau licensed drivers are under the Eastbay SAii bureau taking a look Easlbay Chapter of the high school driver education National Safety Council because there was too much 1 The council cited the percen- evidence that it wasn't accomplishing what it purports to 'iage of drivers under the' age of COLLISION IN THE FOG A smashed gangplank and a jagged 20-foot gash through her hull is evidence of the damage sustained by the Vanderbilt Victory Following a collision with the US Steel Freighter SS Columbia in the Fog off Martinez Friday morning No one was injured in the mishap now under investigation by the US Coast Guard COLD There will be fair skies to-1 20 that were involved in serious jo" day wilh increasing cloudiness injury producing accidents in The renort also lauded the through Monday with little some East Bay cities last year record" of school change in temperature and a Included was Walnut Cree'c junior safety patrols iTi chance of frost tonight The 29 per cent Alameda 22 perfirained supervised and utilized high today will be in the rent El Cerrito 22 per cent: boys and girls do not direct ofHfomia Ber" and the low tonight from 35 to remort 29 per cent Hayward traffic they wait for logical ffiJJ in Lg '4 Pcr Livermore 35 in the traffic stream) stu-j iluhlir- 'dent patrols are of great benefit Started In I illsburg both to the community they' His first teaching assignment serve and to said a a Pittsburg Junior High the council 0MJS nhnr graduated from the School of Engineering at Stanford in 1928 and received his teaching credentials at Chico State College in 1932 He earned his master's degree in Educa-tional Administration from the School from 1932-35 Other 1 -7 't J4 1 1 V- to Inside The Times AIR FORCE missiles will be on display in the county this week rage 2 NEW RESERVOIR being built by EB-MUD between Walnut Creek and Lafayette has rustic redwood appearance Page 23 RETIRED MAN turns rocking chair into a profitable business Page 34 REMEDIAL READING class in Walnut Creek offers the youngster to Page 37 SALE OF PISTOLS in Contra Costa County is steadily increasing Page 38 an idea he said which Ls included within the recommendations of the Arthur Little Co report given the Navy almost 10 years ago am convinced that if you consider the potential value of the present site if it were converted to private industry and the potential savings of a rontainer ship operation that this would prove economically sound and would save the Navy millions of dollars the importantly" Simonsen continued Navy would have a safe operation and not expose thousands of in-jnocent people to the hazards of 'an ammunition I Simonsen also called on the 'government to inform the people of the area of the dangers posed by the loading operations at Port Chicago He also expressed bis full agreement with the contention of Congressman Waidie that the Navy is presently exceeding tts iown safety regulations at the Port Chicago facility think the government 'should be ennsistant when it Involves- the safety of our I citizenry When you consider we have a government order to label cigarettes and then to have a department of our government ignore basic safety regulations it doesn't make PH Youth Posts Filled Positions vacated by Norm Golds and Bob Murray in the Pleasant Hill Youth Commission were filled Monday night by the City Council Howard Landers who has jbecn working with the Youth Commission for some time as an adviser to the Auln Center was suggested by the enm-missinn He is expected to be the liasnn between the center and the council if the center forms its own board of directors and becomes independent when the Youth Commission ends its participation in the program the first of the year The second appointee is Jack Claver a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce The Junior Chamber proposed Claver and hopes to increase its interaction with the backing of jthe commission with his ap-! pointment Both Golds and Murray resigned because of conflicting business reasons Golds in July land Murray this month assignments included teaching principal in the Millbrae School District 1935-36 vice-principal and principal at Brentwood School 1936-41 vice-principal School 1936-41 principal of Durham Union High School 1941-43 secondary coordinator for the Colusa City School Office 1945-46 and District superintendent for the St Helena School District 1946-56 He was an active member and served in leadership capacities in many educational organizations including the California Association of School Administrators the California Elementary School Association the National Congress of Parents and Teachers the American Association of School Administrators the National Education Association the California Association and MDUDKA School For Handicapped 'In Limbo' With Highlands School fur physically handicapped children still in limbo two months after portables were supposed to be installed on Monte Cresta Drive Pleasant Hill Contra Costa County Board of Education is seeking to nullify a contract with Universal Classrooms and do business with another firm Two classes of children one each at elementary and secondary levels are temporarily meeting at Hillcrest Congregational Church on Gregory Lane Universal Classrooms was awarded an $80000 contract last spring to provide two portable classrooms and a therapy room The firm was allowed an extension of time for completion to November 1 failing which the county board Wednesday Obituaries 4 Real Estate 33 Sports 25-27 Television 21 Want Ads 38-47 Women 13-18 Bridge II Comics 20 Coming Events 24 Editorial 32 Food 19 Movies 2 A i'C 7 1 i' 'A T1 1 -nr f- -vy -v '-V vO 's- 4 (Continued on Page 2 Col 2) HUMAN PIGGY BANK The most extreme case of coin swallowing was reported by a hospital in Durham England in 1953 when 424 coins and 27 pieces of wire totaling 5 lbs 1 oz had been extracted from the stomach of a 54 year old man If bills are swallowing up too many of your coins replenish them by using Contra Costa Times Classified Ads to sell good things you don't need to cash buyers Mrs Robert Work advertised several miscellaneous items in the Times and said recieved approximately 36 answers to my ad Excellent service everything sold by the end of the first Just make a list and dial 933-2020 for a helpful ad writer Do it today! Traffic Accidents On The Increase Traffic accidents in the City of Walnut Creek totaled 71 during the month of October compared to 65 during the same period in 1966 according to Walnut Creek police Of the 71 accidents 69 involved vehicles and 2 bicycles with 10 persons receiving injuries There were no fatalities Accidents to date ln 1967 have reached 657 with 637 involving vehicles 12 bicycles and pedestrians Total injured came to 137 with 1 fatality STEEL PIER SMASHED More than 200 feet of concrete and steel pier was toppled into the waters of the Carquinez Straits Friday when the ammunition ship Vanderbilt Victory hit the Ozol pier west of Martinez which is used to load jet fuel onto tankers Despite heavy damage to the pier there was no spillage or fire The Vanderbilt apparently came too close to the pier in the early morning fog and struck it As it backed off from the pier it was in turn rammed amidships by the freighter SS Columbia causing structural damage to the Vanderbilt SHOPPING1 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS1.