Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 5

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Saturday, February 16, 1991 CITYSTATE uuiiiiinuiuugvwuuuwimuiiunuiiuuuiu Fall victim was gathering copper Police had warned Ducjuesne man to stay off abandoned USX site Court to rule on age 'issue PREATE FROM PAGE 1 By Johnna A. Pro last year, incidents have dropped dramatically, Long said. Davis' death marks the second time that someone who apparently was trying to take copper has been killed on the site. On April 22, 1987, Kerwin Darnell Byrd, 25, of Penn Hills, climbed a tower on the site to copper, made contact with a live wire and fell to I his death. His family blamed USX, saying company was negligent because there was not enough security on the site.

Long said the property is clearly marked as being dangerous. The tower has signs indicating Post-Gazette Staff Writer A man who fell to his death Thursday morning from an electrical tower on the abandoned USX Corp. property in Duquesne had been ordered by police four hours earlier to stay off the site. Police said Harold Davis, 35, of North Second Street, Duquesne, plunged 100 feet from the tower around 1 a.m. when the makeshift hacksaw he was using to cut copper wire made contact with a ljve wire carrying 44,000 volts of electricity.

Police suspect that Davis was trying to steal the copper so he could make money by reselling it. Davis' severely burned body was discovered by security guards at 9 a.m. Thursday. The coroner's office said he died of injuries sustained in the fill Duquesne Police Chief Francis E. Long said two Duquesne police officers saw Davis around 9 p.m.

Wednesday and searched him because they thought he was carrying a concealed weapon. Instead, officers Roger England and DeWayne Tucker confiscated a hacksaw that Davis had hidden under his jacket. "After the officers took the Davis asked them, "How's the Long said, "They told him to stay out of the mill site, and "They told him to stay out of the mill site He failed to heed the warning. Francis E. Long, Duquesne police chief that there was no copper left to get.

He failed to heed the warning," Long said. Vandals often steal the copper, which has a resale value of $1.05 per pound, to buy drugs, Long said. Davis apparently went home, constructed a makeshift hacksaw and returned to the mill site, Long said. He said police were called around 1 a.m. by two men who saw flashes of light coming from the mill site.

Security personnel at the mill were notified, but because of the darkness and the location of the body did not see Davis at that time. Duquesne police have long been plagued by vandals trying to steal copper from the site, now owned by the Regional Industrial Development Corp. But since RIDC hired Security Bureau Inc. tower ladder has been cut away to discourage trespassers from trying to climb it. j' "This guy had to jimmy himself through the support girders to get to that tower," Long said.

Frank Brooks Robinson, head of RIDC, was out of town and unavailable for comment. A spokes- woman for the agency said the incident was under? 5 investigation. RIDC officials have privately expressed concern in recent weeks about possible liability in case of an accident on the property. All precautions were taken here. This guy was trespassing," Long said.

If Newcomer's ruling stands, state officials said, it was unclear whether counties could proceed with judicial elections in districts where judges were forced to retire because they had reached age 70, In Allegheny County, seven Common Pleas judges are up for election, according to county court officials. Four judges John L. Musmanno, Raymond A. Novak, Joseph H. Ridge and Ralph H.

Smith Jr. were previously elected to the bench, and voters will decide whether they should be retained in office. Three judges David W. Murphy, Joan Melvin and Cheryl Craig were appointed to complete the terms of other judges who retired or resigned. Murphy was appointed to fill the term of Judge John W.

O'Brien, who resigned last year after reaching the mandatory retirement age. This contest would be affected directly if Newcomer's decision is upheld. Gregory E. Dunlap, deputy counsel to Gov. Casey, said yesterday that Newcomer's decision left more questions unanswered than it answered.

For example, Dunlap said, it was unclear whether the decision applied only to the eight judges t. Classmates mourn young fire victims tulf VI I If rtj j3k JW" Fisher offers bill to end election of county coroner families." School district support staff again counseled classmates of the children, especially pupils who stayed home The sessions will continue next week, Hoover said. Packer is survived by his wife, Margaret, and by his father and stepmother, Donald and Lillian Packer of Cleveland. Visitation for the Packers will be from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. tomorrow in the Huntsman Aliquippa Funeral Home, 2345 Mill Aliquippa, where services will be at 2 p.m.

Monday. Burials will be in Union Cemetery, Monaca. Darl James Summerville is survived by his mother, Lucinda Knopp, and his grandparents, Darl and Ruth Summerville. Joseph Andrew Knopp is survived by his father, Joseph Knopp; his mother, Lucinda Knopp; and his grandparents, Don and Jean Knopp and Darl and Ruth Summerville. Visitation for the boys will be from 7 to 9 p.m.

tomorrow in the Huntsman Rochester Funeral Home, 502 Adams Rochester, where services will be at 11 a.m. Monday. Burials will be in Sylvania Hills Memorial Park, Daugherty Ernie Preate Jr. State attorney general who brought suit or whether it applied to all Common Pleas judges in the state. Nor, he said, was it clear whether the decision applied only to judges who reached age 70 after Feb.

14 the date of the decision or to judges who retired before that date. "A strict constructionist interpretation would say that the decision only applies to judges who reach age 70 after Feb. 14," Dunlap said. But if this is so, it would mean the eight judges who brought suit could not reclaim their jobs, Dunlap noted. The provision in the state constitution that Newcomer struck down states: "Justices, judges and justices of the peace shall be retired upon attaining the age of 70." Some officials wondered yesterday whether the decision will be extended to cover Supreme Court justices and Superior and Commonwealth Court judges.

panel composed of people with expertise in medicine, law and law enforcement. The medical examiner would serve an unlimited term and could be removed only for misconduct. The medical examiner would have to be a licensed physician with formal training in forensic pathology. The proposal is similar to one being pushed by the outgoing Coroner Joshua A. Perper.

Earlier this month, he announced that he was resigning to become medical examiner-coroner for Los Angeles County on May 1. Perper had submitted legislation to the commissioners that called for the appointment of a medical examiner based on the recommendations of a panel composed of representatives in forensic pathology, medicine, law enforcement, government and other fields. Like Fisher's measure, Perper's bill would require the medical examiner to be a trained forensic pathologist. Changing the coroner's post from an elected one to an appointed medical examiner would require an act of the Legislature. Fisher said yesterday that he felt such an act would have strong bipartisan support.

Commissioner Tom Forester, a Democrat, said he had not seen Fisher's proposal, but that he and Commissioner Pete Flaherty, also a supported the idea of changing from an elected coroner to an appointed medical examiner. If your idea of heaven is improving your arolma ttness is the answer to your By Ken Fisher Post-Gazette Staff Writer Third-grade classmates of Joseph Knopp spent their homeroom period yesterday at Aliquippa Elementary School writing sympathy messages to his parents, Joseph and Lucinda. Knopp, 9, and his brother, Darl Summerville, 10, were among six people who died of smoke inhalation early Thursday in an Aliquippa row house where they were spending the night. i Also killed were Roy W. Packer, 37, who owned the row house, and his children: Raymond, Robin, and Ranay, 6, all of 141 Spring St, State police arson investigtjiors and Aliquippa fire officials say they may determine by early next week what caused the fire that started in the living room and spread upstairs where the six were sleeping.

The fire started about 5 a.m. on the first floor and trapped the occupants, who1 were sleeping upstairs. Packer climbed through a second-story window to summon help, but collapsed and died on the roof of the i front porch. Aliquippa Elementary School pupils and staff devoted attention to the tragedy for the second straight day yesterday. "The third- and fourth-grade children wanted to write letters and send cards to the families," Principal Irene Hoover said.

"And we made an effort to collect donations among students, and staff for the Man guilty in slaying A jury convicted a Maryland man of third-degree murder yesterday in the July 2 shooting death of Yusef Muhammad of East Liberty. Common Pleas Judge Raymond A. Novak set sentencing for April 30 for Kevin Dorsey, 21, also known as Eric Hearley, of Baltimore. Dorsey was convicted of slaying Muhammad, 21, as he randomly fired a weapon through his car window after several pedestrians had thrown bottles at his car while he was driving on Tioga Street in Homewood. fitness equipment in all price ranges, including climbers, treadmills, skiers, bikes home gyms.

CAROLINA FITNESS EQUIFffiJT fitness in the peace of your own home, prayers. oner a complete line ot "AMERICA'S FITNESS STORE!" Road (near Die Galkria) 8354)335 ORIENTAL RUG SHOW Post-Gazette Harrisburg Bureau HARRISBURG Sen. D. Michael Fisher, R-Upper St. Clair, introduced legislation yesterday that would abolish the position of elected coroner in Allegheny County and replace it with an appointed medical examiner.

"Under the current system, there is no requirement that a person obtain special training before running for the position of coroner," he said. "The job is a professional position, and it should require specialized knowledge of forensic pathology." Under his proposal, the county commissioners would appoint a medical examiner based on the recommendations of a five-member School pupils strike over Turkish classes Bulgaria (AP) Thousands of schoolchildren staged strikes yesterday in several Bulgarian cities over the teaching of Turkish where 1.5 million ethnic Turks live, local officials said. Eleven schools in Kardzhali, 150 miles southeast of Sofia, were blockaded by people protesting against paying tuition to have the Turkish language taught in their schools. At the same time, ethnic Turkish schoolchildren boycotted classes in 51 schools in northern and southern Bulgaria, demanding mandatory classes be taught in Turkish. The school strikes began 10 days ago in the south, then spread to northern regions, where 35 schools are currently on strike around Shu-men, 240 miles northeast of the capital of Sofia.

Bulgarian pupils then threatened strikes if the government decides to introduce Turkish as an elective subject to elementary school children on an experimental basis. Turkish was taught up to 1980 in Turkish regions of this nation of 10 million residents. It was prohibited under former Communist strongman Todor Zhivkov, who also forced the Turks to change their names. i About 320,000 ethnic Turks fled Bulgaria in 1989 to escape persecution. Less than half have since returned, saying there was a lack of jobs and proper housing in Turkey.

In November last year, parliament restored the Turks' right to use their language, religion and customs. Education Minister Matey Ma-teev told parliament on Thursday that Turkish will be taught as an elective subject, starting in March. The decision, meant to calm passions, instead angered both sides in the conflict. S3u moll? a rr- Mil, wi MT. LEBANON 1600 Washington Open to the Public February 16 24 Extended hours including Sundays 12 5PM Linders is bringing the nation's premier Oriental rug collection to Pittsburgh.

This spectacular inventory of specially priced new and antique rugs has hundreds of exquisite needlepoints in vibrant floral and geometric designs and thousands of the world's greatest weaves handknotted in wools and silks and imported from Persia, China, Rumania, India, Pakistan, Turkey and Tibet. Don't miss this one time only chance to own an authentic handknotted rug at dramatically reduced prices! Examples of Savings: Indo Hariz 6x9 $595 Chinese 8x11 695 Indo Bijar 9x12 995 Chinese Needlepoint 8x10 $1395 Persian Hamedan 10x13 $3950 Persian Tabriz (wool silk) 7x10 $5500 LINDERS Yunker Street, McKees Rocks (412) 771-6566 tin Computer Centers and Office Desk Systems REDUCED TO SELL! V. i tax am fh 7 Furniture Americana Oak or High Gloss Finishes techline The affordable solution for your home or office. i it- ft iiv Rich mark Wall -Hung Units Many stylesfinishes available l-imm.