The Roanoke Times from Roanoke, Virginia • 17

Rosnoke Times World News riday March 30 1979 Mx Virginians Vow To ight Army's Plans To Close ort Monroe HAMPTON (AP) The Army has announced that its for the future of historic ort Mon roe is closing it But Virginia Reps Paul Trible and William White hurst and the president of the Peninsula Chamber of Com merce vowed Thursday to fight the proposed closure of the 156 year old fort the nation's oldest disappointed although not surprised by the deci sion to terminate the military activities at ort said Trible a Republican who represents the 1st District where the fort is located "ort Monroe has been a candidate for closing for many years and finally the White House has taken action to close this historic he said Trible vowed to give close scrutiny to any request by the Army to fund the fort's closing and subsequent transfer of the Army's Training and Doctrine Command Center to nearby ort Eustis this day of high inflation and tight budgets there are some real questions in my mind as to whether the Virginia Briefs Va Seeking Money or Mine Program Southwest Bureau BIG STONE GAP Virginia and the US Interior De partment are conferring privately in search of a way to con tinue federal funds for the state's strip mine regulatory program One of the lawyers representing the department in a suit filed against it by strip mine operators confirmed those meetings here Thursday are delicate negotiations going on at this time' said Carol Green Vepco iles Rate Increases RICHMOND (AP) New rate schedules to take effect April 10 have been filed by Virginia Electric Power Co to implement the March 19 rate increase of $1481 million granted by the State Corporation Commission Residential customers using 1000 kilowatt hours (kwh) per month will pay 99 percent more in the winter billing period September May and 87 more in the summer peri od the rest of the year under the rate schedule filed Thursday Incorporated into the base rates is the $82 million sur charge the SCC authorized when Vepco began commercial operation last June of Unit No 1 at its North Anna nuclear power station Judge's Son Cleared of Charge BLACKSBURG A malicious wounding charge against the son of a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge was dismissed Thursday Michael Devore son of Judge Kenneth I Devore was charged with the January assault of a Christiansburg woman Brenda Allen 25 Devore 21 claimed a man he had never seen and could not identify was responsible for the assault and that he had done nothing more than to shove her out of the car as a protective measure as the assault progressed He de nied ever striking the woman Mrs Allen testified that Devore struck her in the face once with his fist after she had been assaulted by a man riding in the back seat of Devore's car Shipyard Witnesses Testify NEWPORT NEWS (AP) Newport News Shipbuild ing and Dry Dock Co is trying to discredit the National La bor Relations Board's handling of a 1978 union election at the yard at the NLRB hearing on voting fraud Three more shipyard witnesses told an NLRB adminis trative law judge Thursday that they saw improper proce dures at the polls during the Jan 31 1978 representation election Two said they saw voters leave with their ballots and return after talking with other workers The alleged incidents set up the circumstances neces sary for chain voting the subject of the hearing on the election in which the United Steelworkers of America oust ed the Peninsula Shipbuilders Association as bargaining agent for the 15500 blue collar workers at the yard Channel 27 rom Page a particular church The station will remain non denomina tional" said ischer ischer said he has established milestones for estab lishing the station The first milestone he said is a bro chure detailing the purpose and operation He plans to mail it to residents in 132 communities that will be in the station's broadcast range The station will be financed through donations and possibly loans ischer said He said he will not receive a salary but that technicians and office staff will sal aries commensurate with similar occupations" After the station is on the air it will be financed through advertising gifts and program support from Christian Broadcasting Network programming (which RCB hopes to air)" ischer said Army can convince the Congress to appropriate these Trible said (The Defense Department announced proposals Thurs day that would trim defense jobs in 36 states and the Dis trict of Columbia The plans call for closing cutting hack and consolidating operations at 157 military bases elimi nating 44500 military and civilian jobs) Col William Bramblet ort Monroe's commanding officer said here Thursday that the closing "could save the Army $104 million annually However that saving wouldn't occur immediately be cause he also estimated that it would take in excess of $50 million to build the necessary facilities at ort Eustis If ort Monroe is closed 868 military and 1224 civilian workers would be transferred and 192 military and 240 ci vilian jobs would be eliminated Since the closing of the fort if finally approved could not come before the 1984 Bramblet said would hope that attrition would take care of any reduction in force" Trible said anv oossible loss of iobs would be offset by sending part of the Air orce's Air Defense Command Cen ter from Colorado Springs Colo to nearby Langley Air orce base will mean 400 new jobs at Langley 325 mili tary jobs and 75 civilian jobs This transfer of activities will occur later this year" Trible said That action along with the transfer of the Training and Doctrine Command Center jobs to ort Eustis and mainte nance of the status quo at the Applied Technology Lab at ort Eustis an increased federal commitment to the Peninsula of Trible said One of the problems with closing ort Monroe is that the fort is a national historic landmark structures of historic value would continue to be preserved and remain accessible to the Bramblet said He also said that maintenance of the fort as an historic landmark probably by the National Park Service might not save the taxpayer any money at all department of the Army would recognize a sav Bramblet said "However if the historical designa tion is maintained and some other agency of the federal government takes it over then the taxpayer would see neg ligible savings and we might even make a case for the cost being Bud West president of the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce admitted the news could have been worse since the Army had been considering transferring most of the fort's operations to ort Knox Ky if the taxpayer isn't going to realize any savings I can't see why the base should be closed The taxpayer is the one who ultimately pays for everything anyway wheth er it comes out of the Army's budget or some other agen West said West said the chamber and other business and civic leaders intend to fight the closing got five years so not whipped he said Staff Photo by Dan Doughtie aCT WM I 111! 4 1 i A 1 iV A oot Work arrier Jack Goodman of Roanoke gives Mar iah owned by Cydney Critcher a new set of shoes for spring Goodman who has a forge in the back of his pickup made the shoes special to fit Mariah Helping Goodman with the shoeing on a farm in Southwest Roanoke is Pommy Reed New Law Allows Some Va Cities To Make Electricity By ROLAND KIDWELL Staff Writer Virginia cities that operate their own electric companies could trim costs of get ting electricity and cut consumer power bills because of recent legislation accord ing to a Rocky Mount state senator State Sen Virgil Goode told the Roa noke Valley Ratepayers Association Thurs day night that a bill which Gov John Dalton has signed would allow cities such as Salem to team up with other municipali ties in generating electricity sources Salem Martinsville and Danville are among cities that run their own electric companies on power bought from Appala chian Power Co The legislation would al low such cities to buy into a power plant or build their own without state approval Goode said the bill would allow cities like Roanoke that do not have their own power plants to ask the General Assembly for permission to start one act gives someone else (aside from power companies) the opportunity to build their own power plant and fight high er prices" Goode said Savings from eliminating the need for buying electricity from the power company could be used to lower taxes Goode said Goode a Democrat said the Electric Authority Act was one of the victories for consumer oriented legislation in the recent ly completed session of the state General Assembly wouldn't say this past session of the General Assembly was a wipeout for the ratepayers" Goode told a sparse gathering of area residents who have organized to fight utility and other rate increases Goode said consumers got another vic tory when the legislature voted to prohibit a Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co request for timed message service The leg islation gave no guarantee that lower phone rates would result Goode said Although consumers won some legisla tive battles Goode said bills to elect the members of the State Corporation Commis sion by popular vote were overwhelmingly defeated Another grass roots proposal that Virginia adopt initiative and referendum was taken under study by a legislative com mittee Initiative would allow residents to pass a law by popular vote and bypass the General Assembly while referendum would let citizens repeal a law through popular vote The ratepayers association voted to support a statewide drive to get initiative and referendum adopted by the legislature The association also reiterated its con demnation of the State Corporation Com mission for taking more than five months to take action on the $512 million rate in crease requested by the Appalachian Power Co Insurance Company Elects Board Officers William A Magee vice president of investments for Shenandoah Life Insurance Co is the new chairman of the board of di rectors for Blue Cross of Southwestern Vir ginia and Dr John Cole was re elected as chairman of the board of Blue Shield The men were elected during the insur ance plan's annual meeting Serving with Magee on the Blue Cross board are William Reid of Roanoke vice chairman and Clyde Garrison of Pulaski treasurer Edward Evans of Blacksburg was elected vice chairman of the Blue Shield board and rank Angle of Roanoke was elected treasurer our new members also were elected to the boards Mrs Helen itzpatrick and Wesley Macy will serve on the Blue Cross board while Drs Harold Hopper and John Knarr will serve on the Blue Shield board Subcommittee Backs Bill To Trim Legislators' Retirement Benefits By MARGIE ISHER Richmond Bureau RICHMOND The special treatment afforded legislators in the pension system would be ended under legislation endorsed Thursday by a subcommittee of the Virginia Retirement Study Commission Under the bill which the full commis sion will consider next month the $44 daily expense allowance that lawmakers get dur ing the assembly session and their $200 a month office expense allowance between sessions would no longer be included in the base on which their retirement benefits are figured The base for pension benefits would be limited to the annual salary and a $50 per diem expense allotment that they receive when attending legislative committee meetings between sessions The salary for state senators and dele gates now stands at $5475 This is sched uled to be increased to $8000 in January The endorsement of the proposed bill represents a victory of sorts for state Sen Dudley Emick Bote tourt and other Roanoke and Southwest Virginia area legislators who fought unsuc cessfully during the '79 session to end the special benefits for legislators Emick and others argued that the as semblymen should not get benefits unavail able to other public employees in the Virginia Supplementary Retirement Sys tem Emick described his reaction to the subcommittee's action as The Botetourt legislator said having a major chuckle over it I'm glad to see they finally saw the light" He strongly implied the panel had act ed out of fear of public reaction about election time isn't it or am I wrong about They sought to repeal a 1977 law that allowed the lawmakers to beef up their pensions through the inclusion for the first time of the expense money in the retire ment base Under the bill being proposed by the subcommittee headed by state Sen Hun ter Andrews Hampton legislators will still get a better break than they had be fore Prior to 1977 their retirement benefits were based strictly on salary and the $50 per diem was not included Many of the legislators who supported repeal of the 1977 law seemed to agree dur ing the session however that the $50 expense allowance was a legitimate item for inclusion in the retirement base But Emick said he would have pre ferred dropping the $50 from the retire ment base too The subcommittee's proposed bill re sulted from various repeal proposals in cluding Emick's which were killed during the last session but with the understanding that they would be referred to the overall study group looking at the state pension system Honor Student at Elon Mark Payne son of Otho Payne of Roanoke has been named to the dean's list at Elon College Elon NC for the fall semester Blood Count Units sent to hospitals 234 Units collected from donors' 250 Types needed for platelets 0 and A Donate at the Red Cross Blood Center 352 West Church Ave Monday riday from 9 am to 2 pm Tuesday from 9 am to 5 pm Roanoker To Attend Meeting in the Netherlands Kellv Preas daughter of Mr and Mrs George Preas of Roanoke will attend the International Montessori Congress in April in Amsterdam Netherlands She will represent the Montessori Institute of Atlan ta where she is a graduate student Miss Preas is a graduate of North Cross School and of Mary Baldwin College Named to Dean's List Two Roanoke area students at Living stone College Salisbury NC have been named to the list for the first semes ter They are Roy Mitchell Jr and Mollie Deberry Miss Outfit i Jf A VA I I 102 202 LL ll Shrug the collared jacket off and what looks like a suit turns into a sundmner dress Doubly versatile! Rented Pattern 9173: Half Sires lOVa 1216 146 16A 184 204 Size 144 (bust 37) jacket 2 yards 45 inch dress jacket facing 2V yards fabric Send $150 for each patternT Add 40 for each pattern for lirstclass airmail handling Send to: Marien Martin rattern Dept 364 Roanoke Times World News 232 West 18th St New Vork NY 10011 Print NAME ADDRESS ZIP SIZE and STYLE NUMBER All the new clothes you need for your busy life are in our SPRING SUMMER PATTERN CATALOG! Dresses tops skirts pants vests jackets Plus $150 free pattern coupon Send 75C 130 Sweaters Sizes 38 56 $1 50 129 QuickEasy Transfers $150 128 Patchwort Quilts $150 127 Afghans 'n' Doilies $150 Adv Tall! 663 fjocr A A 11 kcdSll Instant joy Charm a child with this stuffed clown doll Embroider or pamt features of this flat stuffed clown whos 19 mches from the top of his pompon to the tip of hts toes'? Pattern 663: pattern pieces directions included $150 for each pattern Add 40 each pattern for fust class air mail and handling Send to: Laura Whealet Netwllacr aft Dept 113 Roanoke T'mea World Nowa Boi 161 Old Chelsea Sta New Yori NY 10011 Print Name Address Zip Pattern Number NE'AI OR 1979! NEEDLLCRAT Hundreds of beauti ful things to make! 3 free patterns inside Send 75 130 SweaterySas 38 56 $150 129 Quick Easy Translers $150 128 Patchwort Quilts $150 127 Afghans Doilies $150 12Wafb lowers $150 125 PeUI Quilts $150 124 Gifis o' Ornaments $150 123 Stitch Patch 122 Stott 'n' Putt Quilts $125 'w 121 Pillow Show 117 tay 116 Nitty ifty 115 Ripple Crochet $100 IBImtaM Gifts $100 11016 httj Rup $100 109 Sew Knit $125 108 Instant Macrame $100 106 Instant ashion $100 105 lnstant Crochet $100 HW Instant Money $100 103 15 Quilts lor Today $100 102Museum Quilts $100 101 Quilt Cottechon $100 Adv of the programs will cover non religious areas things of the right moral values" ischer said like to have locally produced family A board of directors has not yet been established but ischer said it would be comprised of "men well known in the Dean Roper retired civil service investi gator living in Norfolk has been named secretary ischer said he doesn have an air date set but said that if the CC approves the application he hopes to be on the air within several months following the decision John Harkrader president of WDBJ TV (Channel 7) said he believe Channel 7 will contest the proposal if it goes before the CC channel is here and open for whoever can qualify" he said other stations have no real standing before the Robert Teter executive vice president and general manager of WSLS TV said such an operation "might pro vide a further service of a specialized nature for the com munity but have to look at the nature of the programming and what is proposed before 1 could com ment" Roger Divens general manager of WSET TV (Channel 13) in Lynchburg was unavailable for comment Sister Testifies Brother Admitted Shootings By CHUCK BURRESS Piedmont Burtiu MARTINSVILLE An argument that began during a citizens band radio conver sation may have prompted the Christmas night lane killing of a 14 year old Bassett girl and the wounding of her boy friend according to testimony Thursday The sister of the man charged with the shootings testified that Gerald Reece "Blue" Hooper admitted to her that he was responsible for the shootings Hooper believed the victims were the same persons he had argued with earlier Christmas night over a CB radio she said The testimony of Jarinda Jackson es tablished a motive in the shooting that po lice had earlier said may have been done at random and without provocation There is no evidence that Hooper a convicted sex offender knew the victims Mrs Jackson said she was told by Hooper that a man told him to drive to the unpaved lover lane off Smith Lake Road to the argument" Judge rank Greenwait certified to a Martinsville grand jury the charges of mur der malicious wounding and use of a fire arm in committing a felony He ruled after defense attorney Junius Warren conceded that probable cause had been shown against Hooper through his sis terjs testimony Hooper 29 was convicted of' a sex re lated assault charge involving a juvenile five days before the shootings of Cindy Mae Baliles and her 18 year old boyfriend James Osborne Osborne was left partly paralyzed Hooper was released from prison lavt August after serving more than three years for the attempted rape of a 12 year old Martinsville girl in 1975 Police said in December that a check of past sex offenders from the area played a role in the investigation Patrolman Charles Long the first offi cer on the scene after the shooting testi fied that he found the body ol Miss Baliles lying 10 feet in front of the car The Osborne vehicle had been driven up an embankment and still had its lights on when he arrived Police have speculated that Osborne was attempting to drive away before he was wounded in die head spinal cord arm and shoulder Detective David Edwards testified thathe obtained a 25 caliber handgun appar ently used in the shootings from Hooper's mother on Dec 27 Hooper was questioned that afternoon at his home at Ridgeway and agreed to further questioning at the Police Department Edwards said that Hooper admitted to being in the Smith Lake Road area two hours before the shooting but denied being present later Hooper granted police permission to search his car and his room at the Henry Hotel a downtown rooming house Articles of clothing were confiscated as evidence from his room Edwards said Mrs Jackson went to the police station that night Edwards said and told authori ties she believed she could get her brother to admit a role in the slaying Mrs Jackson testified that police asked her to determine if Hooper would talk about the shooting She said that she told police that Hooper might confess to her Detectives agreed to allow her to speak privately with Hooper for about 30 minutes in an office When she was pressed on the witness stand Thursday Mrs Jackson said that Hooper admitted during the conversation that he had done the shooting When Hooper approached the Osborne car Osborne appeared to make a move for the glove compartment and Hooper fired Mrs Jackson said her brother told her Hoope told her he recalled firing only one shot and that he did not mean to shoot Miss Baliles The Ctty of Roanoke Virginia Ms been requested grant a permit to authoriie aircraft access to Taxiway 23 from a portion of a parcel adia cent thereto and lying on the sooth east side thereof bearing Roanoke City Ot'Cia! Tax No Before granting any privilege public property in excess of five years tne City is required after due advisement publicly to receive bids therefor All part es desiring to submit a bd and proposal for such permit mav 00 so in writing OK tB Kser Director of' Utilities and Operations Room 354 Municipal Bui'ding Roanoke Vir gmia 24011 prior to 2 00 PM Gay April 4 At mat time aH bds and proposals will Publicly opened and read Any such permit graced by te City ct Hoanake will be revocable and non subject to condtlort deemed reasonable by the City A A regulations The City serve the right reject any and aikp thos and prooosais tOKUW).