Abilene Reporter-News from Abilene, Texas • 8

Gas pumps telling fibs to motorists 8-A THE ABILENE REPORTER-NEWS Abilwnw Toxoi Fri Evw April 7 Continued from Pg 1A Action Line 1978 3 5 mi I 75rni ST AUSTIN (AP) A check by the Texas Department of Agriculture shows about seven out of 100 Texas motorists have not been getting a true measure at the gasoline pump And some "haywire pumps" according to CommiMioner Reagan Brown actually "burp air" into the tank along with gasoline Brown said Inspections of 24385 pumps in 74 Texas cities resulted in 1643 being condemned for repairs About 730 were delivering a short measure and 548 were dispensing too much Another 365 went to the repair shop for other causes "All inaccurate pumps are immediately locked down and condemned for repairs" said Brown "We find some Instances of deliberate fraud but most violations are the result of careless maintenance the squirrel goes outside he won't be able to get back in There are chemical repellants but the results are variable There are also live traps if you can find a place to set it up (which is difficult when dealing with tree squirrels) You might want to talk to Benson his number is 673-0131 Could you get Nell Diamond to come to Abilene to give a concert? A You'll be surprised to know that Dennis Templeton Coliseum manager has been thinking the same thoughts you have He has in fact talked to Diamond's booking agent However the conversation wasn't too encouraging Templeton reports To even start talking about a Diamond concert we'd have to guarantee 610000 plus a percentage of the gale And to start talking Even if we guaranteed the money the booking agent said Diamond is very choosey about his concerts Templeton said Continued from Pg 1A out the free packages of eigirettee hn no facilities available for the attachment of tax stamps to Individual packages of cigarettes In addition it is not licensed with the State of Texas to purchase cigarette tax stamps" There is a squirrel between the floors in our house We cant find any opening through which he enters or leaves but he's there How can we get him out? A Keep looking for that opening says Monty Benson of Wildlife Damage Control There is one and it's vital that you find it Benson says be sure to check the roof particularly vents It's much more likely that the squirrel would come in high rather than low he says When you've found the opening cover it with a one-way door of sheet metal or hardware cloth Then when Grand jury considers manslaughter Car thefts increasing r2ni 5 10 7 225 mi Design by 125 mi Continued from Pg 1A mostly looking for tapes "They only broke into one Martin uid "and the rest they just opened the door and took what they needed what they wanted" The youths eventually began driving ears around as well Martin said and two of the four youths involved were caught after a chase episode with the police at the beginning of the month Before they were caught at Curry Lane however pickup got wrecked" He added that the pickup's keys were left in the ignition when the boys came upon the vehicle One of the youths is 13 the other three in the group are 14 Martin said All A 42nd District Court grand jury Investigating seven felony cases continued to work through the noon hour today taking testimony from a Dyess sergeant charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with a recent fatal wreck here Stanley Eugene Barfield 30 of 113 Nebraska began his voluntary testimony before the secret body about 11:45 am and was still with the grand jurors at 12:30 pm The charge alleges Barfield was driving while intoxicated (DWI) at the time his pickup struck a pedestrian Lee Medina Melchor 29 of 226 Bowie on March 26 Witnesses said Melchor was walking in the traffic lane of the Winters Freeway when he was struck near North 18th street Also being considered is a rape charge against Jack Martin 34 of 1718 17lh in connection with the March 19 assault of a 22-year-old mentally retarded woman Hill won't respond to Bullock Continued from Pg 1A Louisiana where Hill credits Gov Ed ward Edwards with helping enterpre-even though the decision changed urs eut through governmental red tape to progress toward the construction of a And the lack of leadership privately financed offshore tanker super-he said has put Texas two years behind Port KRBC's Terry wants to change channels Officials really sweated over marathon planning Black given to having a scenic race around Lake Fort Phantom or from Abilene to Buffalo Gap and back But he added those ideas were abandoned because planners wanted the race identified more closely with the city of Abilene A similar proceu was used to eliminate potential names for the marathon Key City Marathon came and went as did the Abilene Marathon "We wanted a race title that was somewhat catchy" Nichols said wanted something that sounded like a race Something with some pizzazz" Next there was the dilemma of how to accurately measure the marathon course so that it came out exactly 26 miles 385 yards long Nichols said officials soon learned that car odometers would not do the job So the search turned for another device for determining course length What was settled on was the use of a "fifth wheel" a device often used in car testing to measure such things as gas mileage Nichols said he contacted the highway department the Abilene Independent School system and all three local colleges in an attempt to locate a fifth wheel The highway department offered to let marathon planners use a manual distance measuring device but Nichols explained that was rejected because weren't too excited about pushing that Officials add lap to marathon When participants in the Marathon of Great Southwest get within sight of the finish line Saturday they'll discover that they still have about a mile to go Officials rechecked the route which had been announced for the maraton earlier and found that they needed to add about one-half mile to the course to make it the certified distance of 28 miles 385 yards The change is on the tail end of the course: Participants will run within a block of the starting line at the YMCA 3250 State then they cross State on Mockingbird But Instead of turning they'll have to continue north to 18th then west to Briarwood and back south to Slate Then even though they are at the "finish line" they aren't They must make a final lap around the YMCA block west to Westview north to North Tenth then tiailly south back to the front of the YMCA YMCA officials are calling it a "victory lap" Participants who are due to finish in the heat of the noonday sun may not have such a nice term for it thing 28 miles" Ultimately a fifth wheel was located at the Goodyear Rubber Co testing grounds in San Angelo But when Nichols ran the course with the fifth wheel he found the route had come up 1V4 miles short The addition of several twists and turns around the building on State Street solved the distance problem for the moment but the course route wasn't finalized until Thursday Another worry was whether enough runners could be attracted to participate in the race Nichols estimated the final number would be between 120 and 140 persons but it that way a month ago "We had 30 runners and we were really feeling shaky We thought did all this for 30 Nichols recalled As it turned out promotional efforts saved the day The mailed out 3500 announcements to schools and track clubs in Texas Arkansas Oklahoma New Mexico and Louisiana Also public service announcements were aired by radio and television stations in Houston and Little Rock The runners came and the race is set to go at 8 am Saturday Nichols said regardless of any surprises Mother Nature might be planning As for after the race and accompanying awards banquet Nichols said he planned to relax come from "good homes" but got into their automobile escapades because of the A different group of youths managed to smash up a Cadillac in which the keys were left once again in a chase episode that also resulted in the scrapping of one police cruiser Martin said Of the youths involved in this particular incident the youngest was 11 while the oldest ones were 16 Martin said he assembled any statistics on the problem yet but just the fact that it's increasing so much just waiting for the car with a key and ZOOM they're the brand new owners of an XR-7 Cougar" Martin said The new station if authorized will be affiliated with CBS It will operate with a maximum effective radiated power of over two million watts almost the identical coverage as KRBC-TV has Proposed site for construction of a broadcast antenna la 15 miles southeast of Abilene near Highway 36 The studios would be located within the city of Abilene but no site has yet been selected Terry said Presently Abilene has an NBC station In KRBC KTXS-TV an ABC station is officially listed as based in Sweetwater but uses the Sweetwater-Abilene designation bill rise seen temperature tendencies of 1977 "but of course Mother Nature cooperate" Rudser said Some complaints that the administration building had air conditioning earlier while the schools went without are largely unwarranted Rudser said especially since he had been asked at a school board meeting to look into the cooling of it with Its peculiar conditions "That building is a sealed building and has very little opportunity to bring in fresh air" Rudser said He added that the prospects of staying out of the red on electricity costs aren't too good He said the school district might be able to keep within budget if it is very careful on conserving the energy "but it's an awful slim might" make home improvements receives the third largest amount ((250000) while a water and sewer program of (119000 goes to replace old and install new water and sewer mains The remainder of the money is distributed through a wide range of programs included such projects as keeping city lots cleared of weeds demolishing condemned buildings picking up large trash items administration of community development programs and studying the needs of low and moderate Income neighborhoods One of the most important programs in the city has been a rent subsidy fund which assists low income people pay for housing Two new programs Included in the 1878 budget are a (25000 paint and weatherstripping program that will provide individual citizens with materials to make their own home Improvements and (25000 for a emergency repair fund to aid citizens who need to make immediate repairs and cannot wait the two or three months it takes to process a loan request Sandlin said before the community development funds were provided several years ago the city had never had the money to start most of the programs Continued from Pg 1A about the prospects I think a third station would be very good for the Big Country and the viewers" "About four years ago an application for an Abilene station to use Channel IS was made by an out-of-town applicant It has never been granted or formally Terry said In stressing there is no guarantee of favorable action on any application to the FCC "Hopefully however we will get approval and will build a station which will serve generally the same area being served by the two existing stations and in which Abilene can take pride" Terry said School electric Continued from Pg 1A tioners turned on Still some of the systems are not working yet partially because of their huge size and certain modifications that must be made Madison and Mann junior high schools probably won't be on until Monday he said Rudser added that the air conditioning facilities for Woodson High and Woodson Elementary probably won't be on until Wednesday The air conditioners at the two high schoola are on however as are those at Franklin Jefferson and Lincoln junior high schools Rudser added that most elementary schools had their air conditioners running The April 15 date was selected earlier in the year based on the Texas derailment prompts evacuation By STEVE McGONIGLE Staff Writer Wailing and gnashing of teeth over planning the first-ever Marathon of the Great Southwest is almost at an end for Craig Nichols and Mike Osborn of the YMCA By tonight it will be all over but the running Bringing the 28-mile 385-yard run from embryonic stage to fruition has been a full-time chore for Director Nichols but he said with a grin this morning he would do It all again think we knew we could do Nichols said But he noted there were more than a few anxious moments over things the planners hadn't thought of "We'd think we had the thing under control and some guy would say 'What about The result was portable sanitation facilities placed every five miles along the marathon course Early on there was the pesky problem of laying out the race course and settling on a name for the race Nichols said consideration had been United Way fund raisers named By LARRY LAWRENCE Staff Writer Dr Dick Orsini this morning was named campaign director for the 1878-79 Abilene United Way fund drive with Dan Hixson and Ron English to serve as campaign co-chairmen Announcement was made during a press conference at the Abilene Chamber of Commerce offices with HC Zachry United Way president in charge Orsini veteran civic worker and a practicing dentist said that the co-chairmen would divide the responsibility by divisions Hixson owner of Dan Hixson Chevrolet will supervise the commercial major gifts professional advance gifts and college divisions English a partner in Deegan-Proctor-Eng'ish Insurance firm will supervise the fund-raising in the special public employee school employees and combined federal fund divisions Orsini said that both Hixson and English have outstanding records as civic leaders and that the United Way drive is in good hands Zachry said that while details have not yet been completed the drive probably will be kicked off around Sept 15 The United Way has been without an executive director since Bo Justice resigned the position in February to move to the Gulf Coast Zachry said today that it was hoped a new executive could be named within the next to four weeks" "We are in the final stages of negotiating with applicants" he said "We were looking for two things in our next executive experience in the United Way field and in working with large employee groups" Last year's campaign goal was (585000 and it was exceeded by about (6000 $15 million could be cut off Whirlpool AIR CONDITIONERS HIGH Efficiency Means LOW OPERATING COST Be Coot for Many Years! SOMERVILLE (AP) Authorities evacuated an area three miles east of the scene of a train derailment near this South Central Texas town today after one of the derailed ears containing prop-ylaidchyde began to leak Santa Ft Railroad officials could not specifically describe the substance but said It is a "hazardous" material and that an explosives expert was dispatched tn the scene The derailment involved 27 cars of a 45-car freight eight of which overturned including the one leaking the prop-ylaldehyde Burleson County Sheriff Alfred Wilhelm blocked highways in the area and firefighters kept a constant spray of water on the dangerous car A Santa Ft official in Dallas said two ears of hazardous material were involved in the derailment An overturned car carrying xylene was not leaking The train was headed for Somerville from Silsbee in Southeast Texas PRICED FROM YOUR CHOICE OF TERMS Ex-congressman misses arraignment Continued from Pg 1A 1100 evaluation so a public vote would not be necessary The current tax rate stands at (140 per (100 evaluation and would increase to (190 if the council was indeed convinced by citixens that the projects should be reinstated The (15 million is spread out over 14 different community projects in the city's 1978 community development program budget The biggest lump (525013 goes to a public works program to install storm sewers in the North Park area to clean out and improve creek channels to make drainage improvements to build downtown wheelchair sidewalk ramps and to construct sidewalks in school areas The second largest sum la allocated to parks and recreations which provides special programs for mentally retarded and handicapped citixens The funds are also being used to build several new recreational facilities including a pavillion at Cal Young Park and new South Park Community Center In the budget improvements for Woodson Park and Sears Park are also included Parks and Recreation receives a total of (278252 in 1978 A rehabilitation loan program which helps low income people get money to WE INSTALL WIREHODSE PRICED LIMITED QUANTITIES had reported that Passman 77 has no physical medical problem "other than problems connected with age" The lawyer said Passman should be called to the court to plead guilty or innocent While and Passman's lawyer James Hamilton refused tn make any comment to reporters on why prosecutors had a psychiatrist examine Passman WASHINGTON (AP) Former Rep Otto Passman failed to appear today for arraignment on charges of taking 8213000 in bribes to help Tongsun Park sell US rice to South Korea Passman's lawyer asked to postpone his pica indefinitely because of his medical condition Rut US federal prosecutor Jeffrey White said in US District Court a psychiatrist wt want SOUTH FIRST AT ELM to iotiIcr your applianots 48 YEARS IN ABILENE i.