Concord Monitor from Concord, New Hampshire • 1

Concord New Hampshire 173rd Year No 44 Friday February 22 1980 Panel: Fire Lethbridge Slash Budget By ROCHELLE SHARPE Monitor Staff Writer dismissal even if they prove insufficient for criminal conviction" the very least he should be suspended without pay for the duration of the investigation" the report said It said that since the investigation could take a The county began Investigating allegations of pil- act now "to improve forage misuse of personmifand financial abuses at nnjijement of the facility nity to reply to those charges Callahan said that neither he nor Lethbridge had been contacted He called this startling way to deal with an employee of 16 years" Callahan was not alone in critidziiu the report County Commissioner Peter Spaulding called It improper "The law states that the chairman nun and clerk of the executive commil appeals board for the commissioners' cisionsr" he said an absolute conflict of inter et They have obviously prejudged the case (See Page 14) tion'i executive committee voted unanimously to accept the report Said executive committee chairman William Kld- Merrimack County nursing home administrator der: "It's obvious you did a lot of work and the ex-Robert Lethbridge should be fired lor ecutive committee appreciates it" iSSiS? The next step is for the budget committee to dls-home budget should be cut by more than MOO 000 cuss Lethbridge's status and the nursing home bud-awordlng to the leslators who oversee the flnan- get in further detail with the county commissioners ciai operation of the home The commlsaloners have the power tohlre and fire In its report the budget committee also said it did The legislative delegation's nursing home budget not think Lethbridge should be paid Airing the ln-eommitteemade those recommendations yester- vestlgation of Wnanriai matters at the mining day in a detailed eight-page report The ddega- home Lethbridge would not comment on the report but his attorney Michael Callahan said: am shocked that a committee would make such a recommendation based on a presently incomplete investigation I will say that they have never provided Mr Lethbridge with any specification of charges until this general statement that I have just heard nor ha ve they ever afforded him the opportu the nursing home about a month ago In connection with the Investigation Lethbridge agreed to take a leave of absence with pay The budget report sakTuthbridge's in the Job does not hinge on any conviction of criminal charges Mismanagement of funds and maladministration are sufficient grounds for his Price Index Up 14 Worst Rise Since change" said Labor Departmentan-alyst Patrick Jackman A number of OPEC nations including Saudi Arabia the United States' largest supplier raised prices last month In recent days several of them have announced production cuts' which could mean furtherln-creases Prices last year rose 13 percent the worst Inflation rate since 1946 The Carter administration predicts a rate of 104 percent this year The Labor Department also reported that wages did not keep pace with price Taking inflation into account earnings after tax deductions fell 11 percent from December to January The Labor Department report included these specifics Food and beverage prices which rose 14 percent In December rose 1 percent in January the smallest rise since summer -Grocery prices actually fell 3 percent Gasoline prices rose 74 percent during the month home heating oil costa rose 53 percent Transportation coats increased 31 percent In addition to fuel costs thepricesof new and used cars rose Housing was up 14 percent The Consumer Price Index stood at 2332 in January That means that a sampling of goods that cost $100 in 1967 coat 323320 last month WASHINGTON (AP) Gasoline and heating oil coats helped push consumer prices 14 percent higher in January the largest surge in inflation in 64 years If prices were to rise at that rate for tbsbext li months the Inflation would be IS percent Not since it rose 1 percent in August 1973 has the Consumer Trice Index shown as large a monthly Increase It was In that month that Richard Nixon lifted price controls Beef prices shot up dramatically The culprit last month was not food which rosea modest 1 percent from December Aiel prices were responsible for more than a quarter of the Mahre Leads In Slalom LAKE PLACID (AP) -r Phil Mahre of Yakima Wash took the lead after one run of the slalom today putting him into position to claim the first Olympic gold medal ever by an American male in an Alpine Mahre 22 was the first skier down the '66-gate course and turned in a time of 5331 seconds JacqUesLuethy of Switzerland and Hans Enn of Austria were tied for second at 5370 and Bojan KrizaJ of Yugoslavia was fourth in 5379 (ngemar Stenmark of Sweden stood fifth in S3 J9 After the first heaL Mahre skiing smoothly and consistently through the twisting course turned In an Intermediate time of 3728 seconds second only to Christian Orta Insky of Austria who feu near the bottom Krizaj posted his time only after getting a rerun One pole was misplaced on the course when Krizaj came down the first time The course took its toll on several of the top-seeded skiers including Peter Luescher of Switzerland the defending World (hip champion who fell Also in'Lake Placid today ABC decided against a live broadcast of this afternoon's Uii-Soviet hockey game scheduled for 5 pm Portions of the game will be shown during the Olympic coverage tonight from 8:30 to 11 MonontbeOlympicMpgeilSMndl8 Working close to the station Concord firefighters battle a fire that started in the basement of the Village Giftsmith 36 Warren Street early this morning The fire burned the front window area of the shop The alarm was sounded at 12: 1 1 am and the fire was under control by 1 An employee of the gift shop said that since considerable reconstruction was necessary she did not know when the shop would reopen' Occupants of thrpe apartments on the third floor were evacuated but allowed to return later this morning Second-floor offices suffered little damage Fire officials said this morning the cause of the fire had not been determined Students Say Franklin Got A Bum Rap By MARY WHITEHEAD Monitor Franklin Bureau Have you ever used or are you currently using alcohol (yes or no)? If yes (circle) beer wine hard liquor Have you ever used or ar? you currently using drugs without a doctor's perscription? 'If yes what type? Those two questions were part of a survey distributed to and answered by the students at Franklin JuntorSeniorHighSchooi Some students think the questions were loaded and that when the results of the survey were tabulated what emerged was a iess-than-accurate picture of drug and alcohol use at the school Students took the survey voluntarily but woe given no chance to revfew the questions ahead of time said one of the students who Served on the Drug and Alcohol Abuse Program committee which helped organize the survey agreed to the survey because we felt it would indicate problem areas and grades where more drug and alcohol education would be belp-ful and would Inform the community of the need for this type of said (be student who along with the others who commented asked not to be Identified "But published results have tended to paint the school as a real trouble spot for drugs and alcohol That lsn't really He said there were no similar surveys at other schools with which to compare the results at Franklin And he claimed that the rate of drug and alco- -hol use at Franklin High was well below national levels another fact not mentioned in newspaper accounts of thq survey results he said Students had major objections to several parta of the questionnaire Itself primarily the two questionsabove The questions should have been separated into two parts students said: "Have you ever and you currently 7th Grader Attacked Burned On Way To School burned his eyebrows with wooden matches as well as the backset his hands" At about that time other students on their way to school were approaching the interestection and the three youths fled Russell said The throe were believed to be of high school age Russell said the victim ran to the junior high school and went to the office The police were called! and the boy was taken to Concord -Hospital A hospital' spokesman said this morning the boy was treated for bums around the ayes and released Russell said that the police were Investigating the case this morning but that no motive had been determined "We aren't sure just why it occurred at this point In tbe investigation "he said He declined to release descriptions of the as- sallants or any other information about the case Frank Genovese principal at Rundlett Junior High Said he was mystified by the incident He said lie didn't think the boy had done anything to bring on the attack not that type of Genovese said an active youngster but nothing that would have precipitated Genovese said he knew of no other attacks on children on their way to Rundlett always get the bully picking on the smaller kids but nothing even close to this" be said By RANDALL KEITH Monitor Staff Writer A seventh grader on his way to Rundlett Junior High this morning was grabbed by three youths who burped his hair his eyebrows and the backs of his hands with wooden matches Bruce Russell the Concord police director of investigations- said the boy was walking to school from his house in the South End when he was grabbed from behind at South and Noye streets grabbedhU arms and held them behind his back while the third boy started burning the hair on his forehead with wooden Russell said then knocked him down and Tax Credits For Wood Stoves A proposed tax credit for purchasers of wood-burning stoves is still alive according to several New England congressmen Story pages '7 A Deadly Protest In Afghanistan At least three people were killed today in anti-Soviet demonstrations in the Afghanistan capital of Kabul That and other stories on the fghancrisis Page Parodies Of People From teddy bear tarzans to a honey of a housewife the soft sculpture on exhibit at the Concord Arts and i crafts Shop gently parodies a little bit of everything StorypegeW A Bird In Hand GOREN ON BRIDGE LOCALSTATE 2 NEW ENGLAND PORTS ut15 spotlight so TV AiihmivmAwmm WORLDNATION 4: CALENDAR CLASSIFIED COMICS DEAR ABB DEATHS EDITORIAL ENTERTAINMENT TV Station Planned: In City A California man who plans tosell a San Francisco television Station for 310 million has applied for a construction permit to set up a smiill commercial television itationln Concord Leon A Crosby of Fremont Calif the president of Crosby Telecasters Inc has asked the Federal Com-" municatlons Commission to approve a' 3582000 UHF station on Channel 21 that would be a low-powered relatively modest community-oriented operation" said lawyer Lauren Colby With a basic power of 205 kilowatts Colby said the station's best signal would cover Concord and Frank- -lln He said reception would be good even without a roof antennq in Pittsfield Hillaboro most of Manchester and to the north hlmost as for as Laconia Wito rooftop antennas Colby said viewers would get a good picture as far sway as Derry Bristol Wasb-lngton and beyond North wood The station would be on the air at least 54 hours a week and would have a fulltime staff of about eight employees according to Colby and the application About 65 percent of the air time would be devoted to entertainment shows with the rest earmarked for news public affairs and other programming Colby said his client had applied for a television construction permit In Portland Maine and would seek another In Connecticut The Concord ppiu--tun aid Crosby was also Involved with plana to establish stations in Texas and California Colby said tbe station could be on the air by December if the FCC granted he permit In June Tpsws-jsesprvisMros mm T71 Howard Baker The Candidates' opening statement in a slick five-minute television ad "I anvnot driven to be president If you have to have such a burning desire to be president you'll probably fall on the Job If you have to be pathological in your desire for it skip It The first viewls harder to combat It has been shaped by Baker's absence In the state until recently his choice of issues and style and the delay by his staff in reaching out to his most likely supporters 7 One of his staunch supporters Sen John Chin fee of Rhode Island offers a candid assessment "of the early problems he sensed In the campaign Chafee says he disagreed with decision to remain hr Washington early the attitude of go meet 200 people in Berlin when you can reach 2 million on He says he also thinks Baker erred by focusing on SALT IL Baker had hoped to use his position to the Senate to gain prominence In theproposed televised debates on the treaty The debate was ikerwlthnolaun (Set BAKER 14) Maybe So But Now Chasing Bush By MEG BURTON Monitor Staff Writer Howard Baker was trying to break the ice with a group of potential supporters recently by Idling them how lovely their town was An avid photographer he arid he had to suppress an urge to leave the reception to capture the picturesque town on film I leave early to take pictures you'll know the charges are he said charge is an amateur politician it's After 13 years in the Senate the last three as Republican leader Howard Baker Is no amateur politician In fact be Was seen last spring In some quarters as thd manaiost likely to defeat Ronald Reagan 7 Baker Jud name recognitioh from his role on tbe Senate Watergate Committee he had experience and the respect of his peers and he was seen as a mlddfeof-the-road candidate who could draw from a broad constituency SO far Baker has not lived up to those expectations And his comment touches on the explanations most often cited: That Baker has put together a campaign or pnizatlon that makes him look like an amateur That bedoes not really want the Job Baker tries to counter the second view with this i i II a a Travel advisories in ef- feet today and tonight Snow this afternoon with two to four inches ex- pected to accumulate Highs around 30 Snow mixing with sleet tonight with lows around 30 Mixed precipitation ending tomorrow morning Highs In the 30s Chance of predpUatlori Is near 100 percent this afternoon and tonight and 40 percent tomorrow Generally (air through Tuesday High! In the 30a David Malay of Bow EtemaF 'tary draws his Idea of a snowy day -1 page 14 -i Baker on the stump.