The Commercial Appeal from Memphis, Tennessee • 21

THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL Memphis TeniL Wednesday April 21 1982 Shelter Now Recreation Den Judge Skips Jury Finds Seven Guilty On Drug Charges William Graypotter of 4215 Oak Road Later Asst U3 Any Tim DiScenza said all seven of the men wanted tp-dispose of fee matter without going to trlaL Several of the men however) were concerned they would lose their right to challenge the search of several areas should they plead guilty DiScenza said Instead attorneys presented McRae wife stipulated facts in fee case No witnesses were called After bearing the proof offered by the attorney through the agreement McRae convicted all seven men DiScense described the Inchambers trial as an "abbreviated "The hardest part of any trial is preparing for trial DiScenza said rm disappointed not to try it but pleased to save fee court's money and From fee outset fee case was cumber- By WILLIAM THOMAS mi Jnst big party room now but once it was the most sophisticated family fallout shelter in the South Buried 15V4 feet below the ground it waa designed equipped and stocked with enough food water and other essentials to sustain 56 people for a month after an atomic explosion In the vicinity of Memphis A 13-room complex It had its own electrical system taro private wells a morgue a restaurant-sixe kitchen and women's dormitories two full baths a compressor system designed to pump 500 cubic feet of air into the shelter every minute and a plan for human survival in the event of a nuclear attack It was all the work of the late Hoyt Wooten the founder of WREC radio-TV stations who sold out in 1962 for SI million After that Wooten spent the last years of his life perfecting and demonstrating the shelter which was in a side yard near his home at 4938 A 51 South Although the elaborate hideyhole is still there it has been turned into a recreation center for the Lions Gate housing development on the old Wooten property Named the Lions Den it is a place for table tennis pool bridge and civic and neighborhood get-togethers Just about everything that made it a fallout shelter is gone said Waymon Welch one of the developers of the property which sits behind a long brick wall facing Elvis Prelsey Boulevard Eventually it will have 96 homes and condominiums arranged around pretty circular drives inside' a high gtninjint fence Even the elaborate radio eystem wife which Wooten could contact different parts of the world as well as ships at sea is gone So is a 4000gallon diesel storage tank which was buried outside the shelter and used to fuel the generators "We've removed the generators-capped off the wells and have only a blower system to circulate the said Welch who had toured the Shelter while Wooten was still alive He said it would take a panel of technicians and considerable money to maintain it as a nuclear retreat "We Just didn't have the money lfr Wooten said Welch who refurbished the pool table added a Ping-Pong table kept the Howland Van Powell paintings with which the shelter is decorated but gave bunks bedding and footlockers to the Boy Scouts and cleared out everything that tends to smell musty or mildew Over the top of the shelter he built two tennis courts (the escape hatch comes up between them) and off to one side he built a swimming pool "Because of Health Department requirements we had to go with city water rather than well water and because of LGAW we had to use regular electrical service rather than three-phase equipment that lfr Wooten A supply of foodstuff everything from canned goods to was removed by the family as was elaborate radio equipment "Originally lfr Wooten had a very high transmitting tower for his radio We traded that tower for a antenna which is now on top of the bomb Welch said Although the shelter is no longer a safe place to go in an atomic fallout it is great shelter in a storm "Besides a recreation room this has been used a number of times as a storm said Welch 1 think that appeals to people who are building or buying houses out here ITS a good place to go during a tornado And so it is The concrete walls are 15 Inches thick and reinforced with steeL The roof slab is 12 inches of steel and concrete overlaid with five feet of dirt Wooten used to fell visitors there was approximately one million pounds of material over their heads He also told them the bet that the shelter had 13 rooms proved he superstitious Although the shatter looks a lot Eke By LOUIS GRAHAM It took UA Dist Court Judge Robert McRae only one hour yesterday to dis-poee of federal drug charges expected to occupy a 12-member jury for three weeks After lengthy discussions between federal prosecutors and attorneys for seven men charged wife operating a major marijuana distribution network McRae converted an empty bankruptcy courtroom into his chambers He barred spectators and reporters end sent Jurors to the cafeteria for a break One hour later all seven of fee men and their attorneys fifed from the makeshift chambers all convicted on charges they had participated in the conspiracy that ended in January when authorities raided fee Everett-Stewart Airport near Union City Tenn McRae apologising to impatient Jurors who had been held in asmall room all day said my 15 years plus (on the bench) I don't believe I've had any- thing Ufa this" He said each of the men would be sentenced after an Investigation into their backgrounds is completed by the Probation Office Facing up to 10 years in prison and lines of up to 130000 resulting from convictions of a conspiracy to import marijuana into the country are James Christian 35 of Summerland Key FUl and Gary Calhoun 31 of Paducah Ky Christian was the last man to be arrested by authorities after he fled from the Union City airport in a singleengine airplane Officers fired at the plane but were unable to bring it to the ground -The bullet-riddled Cessna Centurian Turbo 210 was discovered two days later at the Jonesboro Ark Municipal Airport Christian later was arrested at a nearby moteL Facing the same possible sentence after convictions yesterday on charges of conspiracy to distribute the marijuana are: Robert Pafford 42 8585 Old Brownsville Road Richard Holdman 31 5347 Rockridge Gary Arnold 30 of Drummond Tenn David Prfefe 34 of 3560 Hazelwood and former Shelby State Community College professor By Barney Sellers entrance to the Lion's Den Adversary Role Of Labor Still Possible Fraser Says Foreclosure To Force Lorraine Sale By CAROLYN GAUSS Even though many unions are granting companies contract concessions the traditional adversarial relationship between labor and management will not completely end according to United Auto Workers president Douglas A Fraser He said the present trend of concessions has cone about because of economic adversities in a number of industries not Just the automobile industry Fraser who calls 1982 a "miserable miserable for car production said he does not expect a turner ound "in the foreseeable future" However "In good times you will have an adversarial relationship as it relates to the economics of cutting up the he said yesterdqy in Memphis After the UAW granted concessions (he prefers to call them to the nation's automakers most recently General Motors Corp Fraser said "I think well (UAW) find our way back (to progressive contracts) when we come upon better Fraser was here as the last speaker- fertile Seidman Memorial Town Hall Lecture Series at Southwestern The series sponsored by Southwestern is called "Management and Labor Must they be adversaries?" About 300 persons attended last night's session Waymon Welch stands at the it did when Wooten built it back in the early '60s at the height of the bomb shelter movement it actually is little more than a playroom where not everything works For example Wooten had eight clocks on the wall of his control room so he could tell the time virtually anywhere in the world Although seven of the eight clocks are working Auckland is stopped Welch said nobody makes sure thqy are synchronised anymore "Thisshelter has square problem throughout increasing worldwide in a number of fields A "new awareness and to quality on the part of auto workers and management came about some 18 months to 2 years ago Fraser said That followed a period in 1977-78 when there was a "relaxation in quality stan-dards" when the plants were operating at capacity and any car that was made was sold he said Fraser disputed the widely held belief feat American-made cars are not high-quality cars "The' quality of fee American auto has improved He said safety is a pert of quality and that is an area where Japanese-made cars fall for Told that GM chairman Roger Smith painted a rosy picture of the auto industry when he was in Memphis last week Fraser said Smith's comments were i llpi 4 T-iVy-'v x-v xj 9 Astronaut Lt CoL Frederick Gregory used the horizontal stabilizer of his T38 for a desk to complete his flight log after ar- seven defendants had difficulty finding enough seating and table space in the courtroom Their individual motions and legal problems caused fee first day of the trial to drag on through the morning Jurors still waiting to make their first appearance in the courtroom grew impatient As McRae was considering a motion to supress some evt dence obtained during a of airplane a knock from the Jury room startled the Judge A concerned juror was curious about fee delay Eventually jurors were reseated in the courtroom but only long enough to hear DiScenza's opening argument During feat statement DiScenza fold' Jurors they would be by the people involved in the "fergeecafo and drug network Among other people the network included a college professor and personnel director for a state agency DiScenza said Authorities acting on a tip from informants had established surveillance of the airport when the plane arrived The raid resulted in the seizure of 1145 pounds of marijuana estimated to be valued at S732JOO death could not be reached yesterday for comment In recent years however Bailey has talked publicly id closing or selling the motel citing his age and mounting debts as factors At various times there has been talk of the county or a group of local-national investors buying the property and turning it into a memorial to Dr King but those efforts fizzled Sauer yesterday said hold the note on the moteL They (Bailey) haven't been able to make the payments and rtn starting to foreclose is in default that includes the expenses of foreclosure If he walked in today wife that money the foreclosure would have to be Sauer said the property Includes 3 buildings wife about 52 rooms which collectively are known as the Lorraine MoteL The address is 406 Mulberry which is a block east of Main Street in the Butler-Huling area He said the original building known as fee Lorraine Hotel was built about 75 years ago a small flat was added some years later and then the modern motel lt was one of thooe rooms in which King was staying at the time of his assassination that Sauer helped flnam-a about 1965 Saner who would not disclose his occupation other than to say do anything" said "I loaned him the money when he built the new addition to the moteL the modern He would not say how much he originally loaned Bailey only that about 114000 is past due He said he has had no hand in the operation or management of fee motel but had merely loaned Bailey money The auction will be conducted by Delta Auction A Real Estate Col Inc Jasper Jones owner of the company said one Individual whom he would not identify inquired earlier this week about the possible purchase of fee moteL This weekend he said advertisements to the auction will be placed in Little Rock Nashville and Atlanta' newspapers cently named an administrative law Judge for the Tennessee Medical Malpractice Review Board He received his undergraduate gree from the University of Mississippi and his law degree from Vanderbilt and has practiced law since 196L f- mi ev mH Atf A Fraser said when he Joined the boerd of Chrysler Carp many union leaders were against the move They thought a board position would end fee traditional labor-management adversarial relationship Not so said Fraser He remains firm that a representative should be on the board "because I believe in workers having a voice in their own destiny and future" Fraser feeder of a L2-million member union said unions in the future will have problems if they expect to "play the role of eheiiewring a (management) decision they think Is in error" reacting after the fact He expects "over that other unions will reach the same decision the UAW did regarding seats on corporate boards He said organised labor is going through very difficult period wife ups and downs and peaks and valleys" However the labor movement has faced the same before and come "The labor movement has great resiliency" he said during a press confer ence yesterday afternoon He also made comments during an Interview Fraser complained about Joint refer ences to the auto workers and absenteeism He said absenteeism "is not a phenomenon that belongs only to the auto He said absenteeism is "a feeling (although there is that aspect to it) Love also is an act of the will in which two people vow together to seek fee best interest of each other There is no greater statement on love than the Bibleb analysis: "Love is patient love is kind It does not envy it does not boast it is not proud It is not rude it is not self-aeeknig it is not easily angered it keeps no record of wrongs Love does not delight In evil but rejoices wife the truth It always protects always trusts always hopes alwqys (1 Corinthians 134-7) Pray for your daughterinlaw A life that is lived only for self eventually becomes stale and unhappy She thinks she will find happiness in this way but she will be disappointed She needs to come to her senses but most of all she needs to know Christ Christ shows us what it really means to love and only He can give us the capacity to love to the fullest as we yield our lives to Him twice as much space as an average house and it came with a lot erf specialised he said Just too much to keep up with the way Mr Wooten did It works for us as a recreation center the temperature la about 6B degrees summer and winter and there is little upkeep but it's no longer a fallout shelter Personally I hope those days are past even if this is Ground Zero Week Frankly I wouldn't want to see this place tested for fallout" Douglas Fraser "absolute He said Smith is like a used car salesman "They've got to be the eternal optimists Roger Smith is trying to sell Fraser who returned to his Detroit home last night is scheduled to go to Japan on Sunday He is chairman of the' World Auto Council which will discuss problems confronting the Industry Logging In riving yesterday morning at the Air National Guard Gregory who was greeted by the Raleigh-Egypt Air Force ROTC honor Primary visions 1 and 2 of General Sessions Court as well as the newly created Divisions 7 through 12 of General Sessions Court Like other judgeships where there is no incumbent the Probate bench White is seeking is drawing something of a crowd White has not filed qualifying papers to run but Leonard Pierotti brother of fee late Probate Judge Harry Pierotti filed qualifying papers last week and attorneys Rex Moody and Richard Bethea are also candidates Meanwhile the growing ranks of lawyers who want to be General Sessions Court judges have gained three more entries two of them in a division that is expected to have the most crowded field on the Aug 5 ballot Edward Butler no stranger to crowded fields after running in the record crowd of 22 for a special General By SHIRLEY DOWNING The Lorraine Motel site of the 1968 assassination of civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King Jr will be auctioned off to the highest bidder at noon Tuesday on the steps of fee Shelby County Courthouse Foreclosure proceedings are being brought by Hany Sauer who says motel owner Walter Bailey has defaulted about 1140000 on a construction loan for which Sauer holds the mortgage Bailey who turned the motel room where King last stayed into a shrine shortly after the civil rights Leonard Atkins guard (left) was in Memphis to visit several city schools to generate support for NASA and the space program I Billy Graham Hyson's wile hu hell him because she says she is now more interested in her career than her family Do you think it is right for her to thint this way? No I do not Although I am sure I do not have all the facts it sounds as if she has put herself and her own desires above everything else and this is wrong I know feme is a strong tendency today to take marriage rather lightly Far too many young people get married wife the idea in the back of their minds feat if it doesn't work out they can always get out But God sees things differently God takes the marriage vow very seriously and so should we Part of the problem I believe is that we have come to think of love as basically an emotional feeling When the feeling fades (we think) then love is gone But love is not Just an emotional Judge Hopeful Discounts Bar Asks To Be Left Out Sessions election in 1980 and former City Judge Albert Boyd both said they will be candidates for Division 9 of General Sessions Court The division is one of six created by the General Assembly this year but the only one where a current Judge in City Court is not expected to move bom fee city to the General Sessions bench Three lawyers had filed for the post before yesterday and others have indicated thqr will also join the race John Byrne a lawyer in Memphis since 1959 filed for Division 7 of General Sessions a position where City Court Judge Ann Pugh has qualified as a Butler has sat for the past 26 years as a special Judge in General Sessions Court City Court and Juvenile Court and has been a special judge in Probate Court the past four years He was re- primary serves any useful white wrote in a letter to Southern "It is not the same as the recently conduct-1 ed voting on the record of performances of judges already in office "In fact the voters resent the bar association Wiling them whom to vote to White said Judicial candidates who file near the May 4 deadline will not have fee time to seek the support of other lawyers and also told Southern It appears that fee "bar primary is reduced to an Inconclusive popularity contest without any meaningful deter mlnation of the moet qualified or capable candidate I believe these decisions are beat left to the Southern said last night he has not seen letter and probably will refer the matter to the bar association's board of directors "I do feel fee primary serves a very good he said "We're not trying to tell anyone how to However the voters are being asked to vote on numerous Judicial races In most casks without anything to go on and for whatever purpoae the voter wants to use these (bar primary) results we want to make them The bar primary gives lawyers a chance to vote support of Judicial candidates in races in which an incumbent foiled to get the endorsement of 75 per cent of the lawyers voting in the earlier balloting and in races where there is no incumbent The primary to be conducted May 5-6 will be for judicial candidates in Divisions 5 6l 7 and 8 of Criminal Court Divisions 4 and 5 of Circuit Court Parts 1 and 2 of Chancery Court Division 1 of Probate Court Juvenile Court and Di- VL By ROBERT KELLETT The Memphis and Shelby County Bar issodation will hold its usual bar pri- nary unrt month but one of the many ittorneys seeking one of the 34 local odgeshlps on the Aug 5 ballot has dis-Biased It as a popularity contest and that his not be Involved Frank White a former state senator rho has said he will run to the Prolate Court Division I bench told the pealdent of the bar association he does lot plan to enter the Judicial Recom-nendation Election and asked that his name not appear on the bar association lialloL Dann Southern bead of the bar association said bylaws of the organization probably will require that all qualified umdidates be listed on the billot regardless of their preferences 1 do not believe this type i if 'bar defeating the late Judge Ray Churchill in 1975 and lost his race far a second term in 1979 to Judge Nancy Sorak Judge Sorak is among five lawyers who have immuwd as candidates for tiie Chancery Court Part 1 bench from which Chancellor Robert Hoffmann is retiring Byrne has an undergraduate degree from Memphis State University and a law degree from Vanderbilt University He was wife Travelers Insurance Company before beginning his law practice in 1959.