Delaware County Daily Times (Newspaper) - September 21, 1976, Chester, Pennsylvania Delaware County Ui'lauar 1876 1976 MOTOR ROLTE 90 CENTS Tuesday September 21.1976 FIFTEEN CENTS Foundation provides money for funding new program to aid witnesses crime victims By MARTIN HALSTUK Daily Times Staff Writer MEDIA Delaware County District At- Office has taken a major step in making the criminal justice system more said Dist Atty Frank T Hazel Monday in announcing the establishment of a Service Project The new agency is the first of its kind in the suburban Philadelphia region Hazel said Hazel said the county has received from the William Perm Foundation in Philadelphia to establish the office which will be headed by Wendell M Clark Clark is an administrative assistant in the district attorney's office The Foundation established in 1945 distributes grants for projects it considers worthy Hazel said Grants have been awarded in areas of conservation cultural programs housing medical research and criminal justice Every crime involves said Hazel My feeling and the feeling of those in this office is that we must consider not only the legal problems but the human problems Hazel said the criminal justice system has in large measure neglected to adequately consider the effect and problems encountered by victims of crime and witnesses to those crimes The new agency will serve a variety of needs These include psychological counseling a referral service to community organizations such as Women Against Rape a telephone to provide immediate crisis in- tervention and limited to and from the thouse One of the major aspects of the program is the institution of an on- call communication relay for witnesses said John J Crane Chief Deputy Asst Dist Atty who will oversee the department's operation The procedure has been for and this would include police to spend a full day in the courthouse waiting to be called to the stand Sometimes because of the delays that often arise during a trial a witness may have to wait several days This becomes expensive for the witness who might not be paid by his employer for the lost time and for the municipalities that pay the overtime salaries for police waiting to testify Hazel said Witnesses now will be notified one to two hours in advance Also witnesses have had no place to wait On any day at the courthouse witnesses can be seen wandering in the halls or waiting outside a courtroom where there are no seats In many instances a witness is not allowed in the troom before being called to testify And in those cases where the witness may wait inside Hazel said it's a traumatic experience for a witness to be sitting next to a defendant in the same pew The lobby of the District At- office will be renovated for a waiting lounge Hazel said Hazel said the rights of victims are substantially less than the rights of the people accused of the crime Certainly that same con- sideration should go to people that have been the victims of crime and those that would be called as he said Another aspect of the program Hazel pointed out is that victims will be brought directly into plea bargaining and talks As a result of future public awareness through the Clark said we hope that victims as well as witnesses will want to become more involved The seed money provided by the Foundation will be distributed over a period of three years at the rate of per year for the first two years and for the third year It is our hope that by the third year it the program's funding will be taken over entirely by the county of Hazel said Aside from Clark the director the staff will include a community organizer a senior coordinator a and three Clerical personnel Hazel said the screening of new employes will begin immediately and the office will be operational by Nov 1 Donders budget preparation time approaching township commissioners Monday night were concerned with finances New equipment for both the wading pool and waste treatment plant are already anticipated ex- penses in the 1977 budget which will suffer a loss of revenue from the Lester Industrial Complex destroyed by fire Also actual real estate income from Westinghouse Corporation is unknown until the outcome of peals f by both the company and the School District In addition the township must hold nearly in 1976 taxes already received from Westinghouse If the reduction in assessment given the company earlier this year is upheld in peals that amount must be ded Commissioners are exploring avenues of additional revenue in- the use of a recent state law which enables them to turn off water supplies to delinquent sewer rent accounts About was given as the amount owing from these accounts according to Finance Commissioner Joseph Kastor man wins first round in ballot fight Ridley Park celebrates Benjamin Franklin came to Ridley Township Sunday but be was disguised as Joseph Baransky of the township's business was it the other way around In any event Baransky or Franklin was one of hundreds who turned out for the That's Mrs Ann Klarman post mistress at Folsom who dressed up in colonial clothes for the big event Chester ministers urge high voter registration By DUKE HORSHOCK Daily Times Staff Writer Cocks ad- ministrative assistant to U.S Rep Andrew Young told about 200 persons attending a voter registration rally at the Calvary Baptist Church Monday to use what you got to get what you want Cooks who explained that Young was detained on the House of Representatives floor in Washington to vote on 26 bills advised the If he doesn't ever get here in Chester you've got to make it and you have the inspiration already Cooks was referring to the round of speakers who preceded him with spirited talks about voter registration and the enthusiastic reception by the audience Rev Phillip Accooe pastor of the AME Church said that a person is not a citizen unless he votes He said it is a religious duty to elect those who will guide and lead this nation in the presence of God Ministers of about 25 Chester churches encouraged participation from their congregations in helping to make the week-long drive to register voters a success there are to persons in Chester who are eligible to vote but are not registered William A Spingler Delaware County Council member said that postcard registration provides an excellent opportunity to vote And the only way we're going to get things changed is if people get in- and he said Rev Johnny Monroe pastor of the Thomas M Thomas Memorial Church said if citizens loved the city they would volunteer to go door-to-door from to p.m from Tuesday through Friday and encourage residents to register The power to make things happen within the system is in the ballot box he said State Rep Dave Richardson Dist in Philadelphia made a passionate speech urging the people to make politics a profession of in- by electing only those who can relate to people He said Chester needs a and that adults must uphold their voting responsibilities and thereby give good example by acting and making a commitment to the community Richardson was given a standing ovation Cooks who worked with Dr Martin Luther King on registration drives in the South in the said that 1976 is a very important year for the country and for Chester He said there's no get out the vote in black communities of Macon Ga and other Southern cities because 80 to 90 per cent of the people vote They outvote the white community and they're electing people he said Cooks characterized the past eight years as a period of absolute void in good government leadership with no sense of direction He said that although some in the audience were attending the rally on a basis he urged support of Democratic Presidential Candidate Jimmy Carter He said Carter is a man who is compassionate of people's needs By ELLS EDWARDS Dally Times Staff Writer New Castle County Board of Elections Monday night voted to ignore Delaware Attorney General Richard R Wier request that the board disqualify embattled Democratic candidate for county president Edward F Pete Peterson on the grounds that Peterson is unfit to hold public office under Delaware law As a result Wier said that he will ask either the state Superior Court or Court of Chancery to remove Peterson's name from the November ballot Peterson 53 a former Chester resident and son of a former Chester policeman has been the target of an investigation by the Attorney General's office following the disclosure last week of his record of sex crimes convictions in Delaware County Peterson who served as county Democratic Party chairman for the last eight years until his resignation last spring contends that a full pardon granted in 1969 by Pennsylvania Gov Raymond P Shafer qualifies him to seek public office in Delaware Wier however said Monday night that he will seek a court injunction barring Peterson's candidacy on the grounds that a pardon does not alter the prohibition against candidates deemed to have committed an infamous crime spelled out in Article II Section 21 of the state constitution Daily The Board of Elections was informed of Wier's opinion three hours before its 7 p.m Monday meeting The board however voted not to decertify Peterson after the candidate's attorney Harvey Rubenstein argued that Peterson's name could be removed from the November ballot only by court tion Since he Peterson was firmed by the Democratic party voters in the Sept 11 primary election he should not be disqualified at this late date by administrative Rubenstein said If the state wishes to prove that his candidacy is illegal it must be done in a court of law Lower Chi sets earlier curfew Bridge Classified Comics Crossword Editorials Horoscope 22 23 6 23 Movies Obits Outlook Sports TV Weather 16 4 22 LOWER CHICHESTER -An hour earlier curfew was approved Monday night by Lower Chichester Commissioners A siren will sound at 8 p.m and all youths under 18 must be off the streets by then beginning Friday Previous curfew was 9 p.m for the siren and p.m for clearing the streets Fines attached to the curfew law are for the first offense and for the second and third offenses respectively In announcing the curfew change which came in connection with a discussion of township vandalism and plans to assist with the rebuilding of Linwood School which was destroyed by fire Rocco Gaspari president of the township commissioners This is going to hurt some teenagers but curfews aren't made for good kids Good kids have to suffer for the the curfew is made for parents It's up to them to keep the kids off the streets Youths attending school or youth center activities will be given time to return home after these functions Gaspari said Parents youngsters on errands am should give them notes he said Thomas Gray spokesman for a group of youths interested in playing a hockey marathon to restoration of the school secured township support for the event scheduled to start between 9 and 10 p.m Friday fter curfe Gray told me he represented 17 youths ranging in age from 14 to 20 who proposed to play hockey as long as they hopefully for 40 hours Donations from area businesses and residents will be accepted during the marathon which is scheduled at the newly constructed hockey court adjacent to Linwood Youth Center Gaspari assured Grey the group will get 100 per cent cooperation from the township He I think this is a nice gesture from good kids in the township I only hope some parents and other adults will be there to help supervise He promised to have the hockey court in playing condition and said he would work on it beginning at 6 p m Wednesday Volunteer assistance with the job will be welcome he said Gaspari also promised to enlist police aid in securing the area during the marathon He further reported that several youths recently caught vandalizing the area were fined each for disorderly conduct Mr and Mrs Thomas Crowley of 1529 Market St who accompanied the youths seeking support tor the marathon commended the firemen policemen and others who assisted in fighting the school fire Crowley also proposed organization of a citizens group to patrol the township and inform police of problems As murder trial goes to jury Dying girl's statement revealed in court MEDIA defense rested Monday in the trial of Ralph 24 of the 1000 block Darby Road Prospect Park who faces murder charges in the bing death of a Norwood girl last March The case will go to the jury today after instructions from Delaware County Judge Robert F Kelly Cheryl Ann Smith of the 500 block Devon Road was stabbed with a kitchen knife while she lay in her bed She was discovered nude and bleeding from an abdominal wound on the front steps of her neighbors home in the early morning hours of March 6 She lived at the Norwood residence with her father Howard Smith a Penn Central Railroad stationmaster who was working at the time of the slaying The prosecution based its case on Miss Smith's dying declaration to seven persons that whom she had been dating had been her attacker Asst Dist Atty William H Ryan Jr the prosecutor called the seven to testify during the trial which began last week They are Miss Smith's neighbor Thomas R McCammon John Wolfe an ambulance attendant Winonah McNichol a nurse at Taylor Hospital Ridley Park and four policemen Lawrence Wiker William Nichols Robert Moore and Joseph Boyer She died at the hospital about a.m after emergency surgery When Cheryl Ann Smith made the statement she knew she was Ryan said in his closing remarks to the jury She felt the pain she felt the weakness she knew she wouldn't make he said Don't ignore her Defense attorney Jarnes P McHugh told the jury in his mation that the prosecution lacked sufficient evidence aside from the dying declaration to link to the young woman's death McHugh pointed out that police found no blood on any of clothes when he was arrested in the home of his mother and stepfather shortly after the Miss was found McHugh accused the police of conducting a slipshod in- into Miss Smith's death When testified in his own defense he said he had last seen Miss Smith two days before she was stabbed testified he was with friends in the early part of the evening of March 5 and in a bar later until a.m March 6 He testified he went directly home afterwards Among the witnesses called to corroborate alibi were his stepfather and mother Mr and Mrs Joseph A Ciocca and friends who testified they were with that night
