Tracy Press from Tracy, California • 1

Last Daylight today The passenger train era ends ld I ly news the railroads have long complained that the service didn't pay And persons interested in preserving a bit of the past have registered complaints just as loudly in favor of keeping passenger service The answer seems to have evolved into The National Railroad Passenger Corporation a federally funded corporation authorized by Congress to modernize passenger train service Also included was the money some from railroads to do it Along with the Daylight another 175 passenger trains will chug their last today and five states will be without any passenger train service at all The corporation's takeover Saturday means that rail passenger service will be cut in half Out of the estimated 3300 cars rolling today only 1500 at the most will be running down the tracks tomorrow None of them will roll through Tracy A Tracyite wanting to travel by train after today will have to go to San Francisco the Daylight is still running down the coast It's like the man at the depot said: "We'll have to tell them to take the bus" Joaquin Daylight and makes the return trip to Sacramento just after the Daylight arrives in Tracy from Los Angeles For all intents and purposes today's San Joaquin Daylights will probably look like the rail passenger business is the big diesel engines most likely will be pulling 10 to 15 but that's only a facade True business is booming The trains have been carrying 10 to 15 cars for the past month But the boom is more like a death rattle because passengers are not really interested in taking the all day trip to Los Angeles or Oakland What they are doing is celebrating the old rails who remember the heyday of rail travel taking a last ride and youngsters placed on the train by their parents so they "will have something to tell their grandchildren" Before the news leaked out that the Daylight's days were numbered the train rattled through the valley with three or four cars and few passengers The death of the passenger train isn't real After today they'll be telling them to take the bus That's how one employee at the local Southern Pacific Depot summed up today's demise of the Daylights After today there will be no passenger trains coming through Tracy as the National Railroad Passenger Corporation takes over railroads' people service The San Joaquin Daylight the train that has made the trip between Oakland and Los Angeles along the valley route will be no more after today The train going to Los Angeles is expected to pull into Tracy at 10:20 tomorrow morning It will leave at 10:30 am and then in the afternoon the last passenger train will come through Tracy The Daylight on its way from Los Angeles to Oakland will arrive at 4:20 and will leave town for the last time at 4:40 pm The Sacramento Daylight which connects in Tracy with the San Joaquin Daylight will also make its last run today The short Sacramento train arrives in Tracy just prior to the departure of the San I Friday April 30 1971 Cracy Tress TRACY SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY CALIFORNIA Vol No 24 12 pages 10 cents WM Depot to hire 125 youths for summer work Loyalfy poroders A VINTAGE AUTO a 1919 Nash driven by Richard Hardesty will be one of the entries in the 1971 Loyalty Day Parade which willbeginat 1:31) pm Sunday on 1 1th Street Trying out the auto rear seat are Bert Askren wearing his World War I Army uniform and Ian MacGillivray of the World War I Veterans Seated in front are Mayor Richard Hastie and Hardesty the driver The 40-minute parade will form at Uth and Roosevelt head east on 11th to Holly and then north to Lincoln Park At the park Councilman William Adams will speak Vice-Mayor Robert Wilburn will be master of ceremonies Hastie has proclaimed Sunday as Loyalty Day in Tracy Planners fake no stand on 5-580 scenic plan Plans for Defense Depot Tracy's 1971 summer youth employment program have been announced by the depot's office of civilian personnel mifial plans call for 125 youths to Work al the depot under three separate programs First of the "summer hires" are scheduled to begin work in mid-June There will be 75 summer aids including 25 "stay-in-school" youths currently working part-time who will be converled to full-lime for the summer Employees in this category are recruiled through the State Department of Human Resources Development working wilh local school counselors There will also be 25 general schedule (GS) clerical workers hired from the Civil Service Commission's (Continued on page 2) Members of the Tracy Planning Commission demurred at approving a recommendation Wednesday night that the section of Interstate 5-580 along the foothills west of Tracy be included in the state's scenic highway system Instead they decided to forward the proposal made by the San Joaquin County planning department to the city council without a recommendation Commissioner Vince Anlongiovanni said that there has been some opposition to the proposal throughout the county on the part of developers of freeway interchange areas Tracy District Chamber of Commerce directors by a 6-5 vote recently rejected the proposal Commissioner Frank Grande stating Wednesday night that farmer members of the Chamber board opposed the idea Stanislaus Merced and Alameda county authorities have accepted the proposal leaving the section of the freeway in San Joaquin County the only missing link in the north-south scenic highway system in this area Under the proposal certain restrictions would apply to the corridor on either side of the freeway including prohibition of such land uses as junkyards hog farms and other developments considered unsightly Billboards would be banned in the restricted area which would vary in width from 500 to 1000 feet depending on topography of the land Scheduled inspection of maps and development plans of No 2 and No 3 units of Rancho Pacific in Westchester Green was deferred Planning Director Locke stating that these agenda items had been withdrawn at the request of the applicants In other actions Wednesday night planners: copies from the planning staff of answers to questions arising at a recent study session on proposed revision of the city sign ordinance to be sludied prior to the next commission (Continued on page 2 Bubbles in the sky Weather launcher a prize The prizes include a radio donated by Tracy Fisco 10 records from the Firestone store a pair of Keds from Lawrence's Shoes some games from Denzle Thompson civil engineer 10 gallons of gasoline from Jack's Arco and a bicycle from the Central PTA Cost for launching a balloon is 50 cents for one three for $125 and six for $2 Photo by Pat Craig CENTRAL SCHOOL kindergarteners Kathy Lewis and Abel Anastasio peer through a pile of ba lions that tomorrow will be "bubbles in the sky" "Bubbles" is the annual fund raising balloon launching held by the school's PTA Helium-filled ballons with return cards attached will be launched from the school playground tomorrow beginning at 10 am The card and balloon found farthest away will win its FORECAST Variable high cloudiness Friday and Saturday High 70-75 Low 45-50 Light westerly winds TEMPERATURES High Low Wednesday April 28 6 5 44 Thursday April 29 69 43 Helps TES hurts TJUHS State tax and Tracy schools A statewide property tax for school funding appears as a possibility on the horizon and its advent is being hotly contested by school boards throughout California The proposed plan as it is now written would mean increased property taxes in the Tracy High School District and a lower tax in the Tracy Elementary School District Based on the proposed legislation calling for a $375 tax rate per $100 assessed valuation the high school rate would be increased by 20 cents per $100 and the elementary rate would be lowered by three cents Or under this schedule persons living in rural Tracy would have a 20-cent increase and those living within the city would have a 17-cent increase This is outside of any increases to rural elementary school tax rates The $375 proposal has the most it has been endorsed by Governor Reagan Superintendent of Public Instruction Wilson Riles and the State Board of Education But it is not the only proposal for a state wide tax for education several others have been made and all are lower than the $375 figure With all the tax bills in circulation the finished product will probably be somewhat of a compromise Superintendent of Schools James French told trustees at Tuesday's board meeting that the proposals are expected to be greatly changed and amended before they are brought to a vote The concept of a statewide property tax to pay for education is based on the principle that it would offer equal funding for each student attending school (Continued on page 2) She'll reign and ride DIANE BACA who will reign as queen over Saturday's Guadalupe Society May Fiesta readies for the parade that will kick off activities at 11 am The parade route will be from MacDonald Park up Central to Lincoln Park and then west on 10th to the IPFES grounds Activities will continue at the grounds with a jamaica in the afternoon entertainment at 4 pm queen coronation at 5 pm Folklorico Mexicano de Livermore at 6 pm and a dance at 9 pm Children's play which opens Saturday at I pm in the West Building Auditorium Tickets for the production are available at the door for 25 cents CINDERELLA gets the magic wave from her fairy godmother and suddenly she's fit for a prince Grace Vargas plays the part of Cinderella and Janet Hayes is the fairy Godmother in the Tracy High School Zap I You're beautiful.