El Paso Herald-Post from El Paso, Texas • 1

i I CARACAS Venezuela (UPI) Oil ministers of OPEC the 13-nation oil producers cartel met secretly today without breaking a deadlock on setting world petroleum prices for 1980 A spokesman for the 55th OPEC ministers conference announced at 12:30 pm that the ministers had recessed for lunch but did not leave the area where they were holding the private talks After two days of fruitless discussion the ministers passed up a scheduled formal session in the ballroom of a Caracas hotel this morning and met somewhere else in the hotel Reporters were unable to determine whether all 13 were gathered in one site or if small groups of moderates and radicals were working separately on the wide gap over oil pricing The conference was extended to a third day because the ministers failed to reach agreement last night after four sessions over two days The ministers were trying to resolve their differences over surcharges for high-grade oil and reach agreement on world petroleum prices for the new year The 13 ministers whose countries control about 84 percent of world oil trade were reported close to agreement on the proposal by cartel moderates to set a base price of 824 per barrel virtually unchanged from current prices after two full days of lengthy discussions But they bogged down over radical oil producers' de mands for steep "quality" surcharges which a conference spokesman said caused differences" among the members The base price would be for Saudi Arabian light "marker with a of several dollars per barrel granted to countries with superior quality crude depending on the type Some members were report- Continued on Page A-2) Naval blockade of Iran by is more likely i I i By RH BOYCE Scrifptfiwiri Stiff Writer WASHINGTON A US naval blockade of Iran looks increasingly likely In a warning issued through reporters to the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini American sources said that a trial or any humiliation of the hostages might result in swift military action including a blockade WHITE HOUSE Press Secretary Jody Powell himself warned directly that any such trials would be considered further provocation" and he noted there are remedies" than peaceful ones available to America THE SOURCES SAID military measures are the next step to be taken if economic options are not possible or work They said the military pressures the administration has in mind would be passive and involve That appeared to narrow the military possibilities to a naval blockade the sources said Sources also disclosed that the United States is moving toward formal creation of a new US fleet in the Indian Ocean strong further evidence that a naval blockade is in the offing if the US hostages are put on trial or harmed THE FLEET WOULD be created for permanent deployment in the Indian Ocean and waters adjacent to strategic oil sources according to US officials The move marked an end to President early hopes of a demilitarized Indian Ocean The nucleus of the new fleet is warships borrowed or temporarily assigned from other fleets Twenty-one such US vessels are steaming in the Indian Ocean Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf The intent to create a new and fifth fleet came to light as the Carter administration sent a team of Defense and State Department officials to the Mideast Monday to arrange for US warships and support vessels to have the right to make port calls to use landing and supply facilities and to use airfields for logistical support flights officials said Planning for the new fleet has been (Continued on Page A3) Protests' mount in Iron over Khomeini aide's death Page A-l US sources said the United States has begun discussing a series of graduated economic sanctions against the Iranians in the UN Security Council Under the US plan the sanctions would begin with relatively mild measures which would be gradually tightened in case the Iranians continue to hold the hostages However diplomatic sources said an initial check of the 15 countries now sitting in the Security Council made it doubtful the United States could win the necessary nine votes for meaningful measures against the Traffic tie up A semi-tractor-trailer truck loaded with a belongings enroute to North Carolina caught fire on Interstate 10 at Executive Center Boulevard this morning tying up rush hour traffic Eastbound vehicles were slowed to a crawl from the scene westward to the Mesa Street crossroads Driver William Stephenson stopped the truck when the wheels caught fire from friction at 7 am and police and firemen were still at the scene at 8:30 am Ruined cargo included a 1971 Jaguar worth more than $20000 Christmas story involves family faith football Unhealthy air levels to decline Mountain star will shine on By BILL THOMPSON This is a little story about a brave boy love of family faith and the Dallas Cowboys We hope it will inspire you at Christmastime The boy is Joey Aranda 16 who is named after his father who is the head of the family that lives in El Paso at 3680 Morenci Road and includes his mother and sisters Cecelia 18 Cindy 12 and little Christina 4 THE SLENDER bright-eyed and friendly Joey lived a normal happy boyhood until about a year ago He did all the tilings other boys do playing baseball enjoying his family and becoming an avia Dallas Cowboys fan along with his father Then tragedy struck Doctors discovered Joey had a massive brain tumor and he went into the hospital for brain surgery a stunning setback for a young man who was just getting started in life did real good The doctors removed most of the cancerous tumor but not all of it The doctors told us he is living on borrowed time that he has a couple of good years his mother said So they brought Joey home to the modest little house on Morenci Road and Joey resumed his life DOCTORS thought he would be in intensive care quite a while and he got out in just a few days He did real Big Joe smiled proudly Big Joe is a friendly outgoing man who exudes warmth and sincerity He is a lifelong resident of El Paso who graduated from El Paso High School and has worked more than 20 years for Zale's Jewelry You can walk into some people's homes never having met them before and the sense of family can overwhelm you The Aranda family is like that: Joey quietly sitting on the couch studying the (Continued on Page A-2) Photo by Jfrry Uttnun Joey Aranda end his father -today Almost 2000 years ago our tradition of Christmas got its start when three wise men followed a star to the manger where Christ was born With a symbolic gesture the City Council in cooperation with El Paso Electric Co is expressing hope that the 50 American hostages held in Iran will find the safety of their country At the council's request the electric company has agreed to keep the traditional Star on the Mountain burning nightly until the hostages are released Since 1941 the 495-foot star has burned through the holiday season from its perch 300 feet above Scenic Drive at the south end of the Franklin Mountains this year the star becomes especially significant" said Even Wall EPEC president it we remember our American countrymen who are being held illegally and against their will in Iran The lighted star is a symbol signifying our thoughts prayers and support of them during this holiday season" The idea of keeping the star burning was started by Alder men Joe Divis and David Escobar who presented the idea to the electric company as a symbol of unity and support The star will be turned on at sundown this Friday night and will burn each night until 11 pm except Christmas Eve when it will be kept lit all night By ROBERT PALOMARES Unlike the very unhealthful rating yesterday today's pollution level will slide down into the moderate level according to Jesus Reynoso of the City-County Health Department's Air Pollution Control Office the pollution level will be at the unhealthful level until about noon when it will drop to the moderate he said this morning THE REASON for the drop is blowing in the wind there was no wind to blow away the temperature inversion Reynoso said A temperature inversion occurs when a warm layer of air is held at ground level producing pollution according to Reynoso acts like a cap holding the pollution BY NOON the temperature at ground level should reach the same temperature as the air at inversion level and it will begin to break up coupled with the wind we are experiencing will blow the pollution he said He said a 10 mph wind sustained over a period of three or four hours is necessary to blow pollution out of the city THE POLLUTION looked and was worse yesterday partly because the ground temperature did not reach the same temperature as the warm air above he said Reynoso said the cause of most of the pollution in the El Paso area is the automobile (Continued on Page A-6) Sutherland indicted scheme in bribery El Paso Weather Service forecast: Partly cloudy through tomorrow Details Page C-l 1 Cl Paso Sunshine The sun shone today for the 94th consecutive day The sun has failed to shine only 32 of the last 5743 days (DcNBbcr 1171) On the inside Amusements F7 People CS Classified G5-H3 Records B7 Comics H4 Showcase FT Crossword B3 Sports Fl-5 Dear Abby B3 Star Gazer H4 Deaths G5 Sylvia Porter B3 Editorial B2 Town Talk B1 Markets G2-3 TV F6 PM AS Women B4-4 By PETER BROCK A special federal grand jury closed out 1979 by indicting a municipal judge a local bonding agent ana a retired city policeman in a traffic ticket-fixing scheme that implicates 28 other well-known El Pasoans Municipal Judge Glen Sutherland was indicted on one felony count of conspiracy to pay and accept bribes Also indicted as co-conspirators were Grace Walker of 3025 Orkney Road a longtime employee of Apodaca Bail Bonds of El Paso and retired El Paso Police Department patrolman Ed ward Maynard of 811J Mineola Drive Maynard an unsuccessful 1978 candidate for sheriff and justice of the peace now heads Maynard Real Estate and Insurance at 1205 Overland St Contacted late yesterday Maynard denied knowing he was under federal investigation Mrs Walker was called to testify before the federal panel yesterday and refused to answer questions concerning her employer Victor (Continued on Page A3) If your paper Is not tleliverod by 5:30 pm on weekdays please call 747-6900 by 7 pm On Saturdays call before 9:30 am if paper Is not delivered by 7 am i If Si.