Altoona Mirror (Newspaper) - March 7, 1981, Altoona, Pennsylvania Pa Saturday March 7 1981 Founded June 13 1874 a COPY 20th Child Murdered In Atlanta ATLANTA UPI The body of a year-old boy was pulled from a river and officials said he had been asphyxiated the of Atlanta's 20 child murder victims to die by a cutoff of air and the fourth killed since Jan 1 Passing firemen spotted the body of Curtis Walker described as a boy who would follow anyone to make a few lodged against a log Friday in the South River in suburban DeKalb County southeast of downtown Atlanta The discovery of Walker who vanished Feb 19 brought to 20 the number of black children killed in the city in the past 19 months One other Darron Glass has been missing since September Of the victims found quickly enough for a cause of death to be determined 10 died by asphyxiation or strangulation four of this year's victims were killed that way DeKalb County Public Safety Director Dick Hand said Friday night that I think it's logical to assume that the same person who killed Walker also killed trick Baltazar 11 whose body was found in northern DeKalb County Feb 13 Only one other victim has been found in DeKalb County which adjoins Fulton County where Atlanta is located Hand said DeKalb County Medical Ex- aminer Joe Burton identified the body using medical and dental records and reported the cause of death as tion An autopsy however was delayed until today The body was not badly Hand said but there's no ing how long it had been in the river Hand did say that I don't think it floated from Fulton to DeKalb He refused to discuss the body further and would not say whether it was clothed Nearly all the victims have been found clothed though in some cases which investigators feel is significant some articles of clothing have been removed Walker was last seen the afternoon of Feb 19 when he disobeyed his mother and left their Northwest Atlanta housing project apartment and stopped at a shop looking lor work No Fast Fix for Economy WASHINGTON UPI President Reagan senses mounting congressional support for his proposed tax and budget cuts but says the package is no instant cure and that it might be late next year before the plan helps remedy the economy In a news conference Friday that touched on topics home and abroad Reagan also defended sending military advisers to war-torn El Salvador and said We do not foresee the need to send in American troops Today Reagan is at the presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland preparing for his first foreign trip as chief executive a visit to Ottawa next week for talks with Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau Reagan told the news conference his second as president that he sees growing backing on Capitol Hill for his economic recovery program of massive budget cuts and a three-year 30 percent cut in personal income taxes See REAGAN Page 3 President Defends Oil Decontrol PRESIDENT REAGAN no instant cure Mirror photo by Emory Will RIVALS BATTLE Butch Riggleman beats Williamsburg's Pat Brantner for a rebound in a District 6 Class A playoff game Friday night at Hollidaysburg Bellwood won See Page 18 WASHINGTON UPI President Reagan says Jimmy Carter and recent OPEC price hikes not his Jan 28 decontrol order are the main reason why the cost of and heating oil has risen Reagan Friday stuck to his initial estimate that decontrol has added a nickle or less to retail prices and that the action will eventually increase domestic exploration and curb prices I don't have any regrets about the change we Reagan told a news conference after new Labor Department figures showed a 3.6 percent rise in wholesale energy prices in February Since Reagan's decontrol of domestic oil prices retail prices have risen about 8.3 cents a gallon for gasoline and 8.1 cents per gallon for home heating according to experts surveyed by United Press In- The president blamed the bulk of the rise on recent hikes by the Organization of um Exporting Countries and the effects of phased decontrol already set in motion by the Carter administration We do believe as time goes on we are going to see in- creased exploration and de- velopment of oil in this try from decontrol he said That is the road to lower prices when supply matches demand more The Labor Department ures showed a 37 percent ruary jump in the price of crude oil used in the making of raw materials But the figure is deceptively high because it ex- cludes imported oil which did not rise significantly GOP Draws Up New Welfare Reform HARRISBURG UPI House Re- publicans saying Democratic anger over allegedly hasty committee action has ir- reparably damaged Guv Dick initial welfare are in- a new similar measure to cut short the partisan furor House Majority Leader Samuel Hayes said Friday he hoped the new would end procedural questions that erupted over plan to remove persons from the state welfare assistance program Hayes was referring to a controversy that arose several weeks ago when House Republicans with no Democrats present to cast votes approved the measure in the Health and Welfare Committee and sent it to the full House Democrats who arrived at the com- 10 minutes late beause a faulty Capitol elevator had delayed them de- the Republicans for denying them a chance to debate the in committee When the Republicans refused to re- consider the committee vote Democrats held three public hearings of their own on the The lingering question is whether the committee acted too promptly when tain Democratic representatives were The procedural debate has gone on and on with little or no discussion as to whether legislation is worth con- sideration in the House of Hopefully my recommendation as majority leader will provide a new ning that will focus attention on the provisions contained in the welfare re- form legislation Hayes said the new would not differ significantly from original proposal would be referred to the House Health and Welfare Committee for full debate He said he expected the substitute measure to be introduced Monday and that now on the House floor would be referred to the House Appropriations Committee to die I'm very glad to hear said Rep James Barber minority chairman of the committee of the new This will give us the participate in debate Barber said the manner in which the came out of committee was unfair I think that's obvious to Hayes said the substitute would contain several new provisions including extension of tax credits from two to three years for employers who hire welfare recipients The would take away cash grants of Who's in Conrail Still Hasn t Announced Cleveland Jobs Shift to Juniata MAJORITY LEADER HAYES a new beginning monthly from welfare recipients de- emed employable Those receiving welfare would be en a two-year grace period to find jobs before being taken off welfare and the cuts would affect only those between ages years old Most opponents of the measure contend few welfare recipients would be able to find jobs in a depressed economy Thornburgh said he would use the savings generated from the welfare cuts to provide additional state subsidies to the truly including families the handicapped and elderly By TOM GIBB and JEFF MONTGOMERY Staff Writers Could there be two In the case of the proposed closing of the Collinwood locomotive heavy repair shop in Cleveland the answer may be yes One Conrail represented by a public relations department at company quarters in Philadelphia repeatedly re- ports that no decision has been made on Collinwood or the subsequent transfer of an estimated 240 jobs to the Juniata locomotive shop But what often seems to be another Conrail represented by company man L Stanley Crane has unequivocally told Ohio legislators that the Collinwood shop will be closed according to people who attended those meetings On Feb 24 Mr Crane told a press conference in Altoona that a decision would be made within the month on the Collinwood closing Three days later at a meeting in Washington he said the decision to close the Collinwood facility had been made according to tive aides who attended that session You can tell me that Conrail has issued no Charles Steidel president of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 912 in land said this week But Crane told us in Washington Friday that Collinwood would be closed Are we going to wait for a publicity department to make a news release out of it or are we going to lislen to Mr He's the head of the whole operation In so words he Mr Crane said I have no alternative have to See CONRAIL Page 3 Joyce Suing Railroad PHILADELPHIA UPI A former Conrail employee who claims he was fired after telling the FBI of a scam within the company Friday filed a suit against the rail line for medical problems he suffered as a result of the coverup Vincent Joyce of Rosemont a licensed electrician said in the suit filed in U.S District Court that he told his supervisors when he became aware of substantial by one of the contractors working on the million modernization of Conrail's locomotive shop in Altoona last July The suit alleges that Conrail refused to advise authorities admonished Joyce to coverup the and fired him on Feb after he went to the FBI The case assigned to U.S District Judge Edward N Cahn has caused several politicians including U.S Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis to call for an investigation of the charges Conrail claims Joyce resigned In the Funds An official of the Department of Health and Human Services predicted Thursday that Community Action Tiger Kimmen Tracy Kimmen has become the first Altoona Area High School girl to receive a full-paid scholarship to play basketball at a major college She'll attend Auburn University Page 19 INDEX Accidents 3 8 Area 23 Movies 24 So Long Walt Uncle Walter has no intention of fading away but Walter Cronkite Friday night did bow out after 19 years as CBS Evening News anchorman Page 17 Costly Home Preliminary price estimates for the renovation of the former Bedford County Home indicate that the project could cost more than Page 23 Yesterday's Obituaries 4 Religion 10 Features 22 Sports WEATHER Flurries low in teens Occasional flurries high in the 30s Details Page 9 Developer Warns of Possible Tax Increase Stop New School Hollidaysburg Citizens Urged By PHIL RAY Staff Writer HOLLIDAYSBURG P Jules Patt a Hollidaysburg developer who has sued to stop the construction of a million elementary school in Hollidaysburg pre- Friday night that the new building would result in a real estate tax increase Mr Patt addressing more than 50 school district residents in the YMCA said the present Central Elementary School at 401 Spruce St could be re- modeled for thereby enabling the district to use its financial resources to hire more teachers and provide other more necessary amenities to the tion system I'd rather see the money spent for teachers better books and activities not bricks and Mr Patl said The school district residents were urged by Mr Patt and his attorney John Woodcock to contact members of the school board and the Pennsylvania De- of Education to voice their opposition to the new school The school board suggests that taxes will not have to be increased That is absolutely not Mr Patt said He explained that the new school will add a year to the bonded ness of the area school system That will be for a period That addition to the bonded ness is based on a construction cost for the new school at 8 percent interest which now is 4 points below the going rate Mr Patt contended also that the only feature the new school would have that the present Central School does not have is a music room He said it would cost an estimated to add a music room to the Central Elementary School and that is part of the remodeling cost for Central which is projected by Mr Patt Mr Patt said he had an architect from the firm of George Bushy of Hagerstown Md look at Central Elementary School The architect told Mr Patt what would have to be done to Central School He projected expenses for air conditioning carpeting throughout the ing the music room a new roof an elevator for the handicapped reconstruction of the playground new metal windows and cies Although it would cost a dollars to remodel Central School Mr Patt said that is quite a hit less expensive that building a new million tary school between the present Senior and Junior High School or in an area traditionally known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail Mr Patt and Attorney Woodcock are objecting to the way the Hollidaysburg School Board handled the planning for the new building The board hired the architectural firm of Hayes Large Suckling Fruth of Altoona to perform two functions com- plete a study to determine if the school district should build a new school or See HOLLIDAYSBURG Page 3
