Nevada Evening Gazette (Newspaper) - January 28, 1976, Reno, Nevada A mysterious visitor hovers above Sierra By PHIL BARBER The pre-dawn horizon west of Reno this morning had a mysterious visitor Law enforcement officers in Nevada and California watched a frisky multicolored light for three hours But whether it was a space ship as some secretly hoped or perhaps just a refracted star never was determined Whatever it was it caused a lot of excitement The Washoe County Sheriff's Department kept a chronological log beginning with this entry at CHP California Highway Patrol reports a large UFO hovering southwest of the city Can be clearly seen very brilliant varied colors first seen as reported from Chico FFA Federal Aviation Ad- ministration advised Two Nevada County Calif sheriff's officers Sgt Leroy Brombacker and Steve Bobbitt aw the light moving west toward Truckee They independently made similar drawings which depicted a flashing red and green object turning at right angles at a high rate of speed and a second stationary ob- ject north of the first Washoe sheriff's deputy Jim Von Rosenberg at Incline Village saw the object drifting for about 40 minutes He said it was low enough to illuminate the top of Slide Mountain It was unbelievable I just can't understand it was really he said Dawnette Vonasek a Nevada Highway Patrol dispatcher at Carson City said It sat up in the sky like it was on a hill It was a white light She said she never has seen anything like it except when she was younger when no one would believe her She It kind of twinkled and blinked It moved downward and as it spiraled down it changed colors from kind of to When it stopped it went back to white It moved in squares It went across the sky to the south then back to the north It was really kid of eerie mysterious page 2 coL 3 RENO EVENING GAZETTE Final stocks Year No 261 A Speidel Newspaper Reno Nevada Wednesday January Phone 702 20 Cents Nevada Bell hike adds to family budgeting woes By PHILLIPS Nevada Bell added another in a series of wallops to family pocketbooks Tuesday when it was given the green light to increase rates Chaos is the word families like that of Mr and Mrs Marcus Nelson of Reno use when describing the effect of steady increases in utility and service rates the average household is undergoing Heavens to You can't help but see your spending power draining each month as you pay the Mrs Nelson said Tuesday's approval by the state Public Service Com- mission will result in an individual having to have a nickel along with his dime to use the pay telephones in northern Nevada To the household with a private line it means a jump from per month to even if the telephone is not used Long distance calls within the state will cost more as will installation charges Nevada Bell was given permission to raise rates by 9 million but claims it needs at least another million leaving users wondering when the next rate increase will be coming The telephone company is far from the only utility that is rising almost daily Sierra Pacific Power Co has been granted permission to increase its rates for services twice since school started last September and in it was announced the supplier of electricity natural gas and water is seeking the biggest rate hike ever because of serious financial problems facing the utility Sierra Pacific did request permission to reduce electric rates in September affecting the typical household proximately 15 cents per month That reduction was the result in a lowering of costs by a supplier to Sierra Pacific Those households which use fuel oil rather than natural gas for heating have not escaped the escalating costs of keeping warm Earlier this month the price of oil increased one-half cent per gallon The cost of fuel oil ranges from 41 to 43 cents per gallon depending on the size of the storage tank used Mrs Nelson said her family uses about 100 gallons of oil per month resulting in a in the neighborhood of That is with us conscientiously setting the thermostat at 68 degrees during the day and at Mrs Nelson said The Reno resident said the electricity and water last month was 95 and I've only used my dryer once this winter Mrs Nelson described their home as having about square feet of floor space with five rooms We had an page 2 col 4 O'Callaghan secretary Jean Clark dies at 57 CARSON CITY AP Jean Clark Gov Mike confidential secretary and granddaughter of naturalist John Muir has died of cancer She was 57 Mrs Clark who died Wednesday five weeks after being hospitalized is survived by her husband Noel chairman of the State Public Service Commission two daughters and one son Gcv O'Callaghan said Mrs Clark was a remarkable lady and added her death is a personal and tragic loss to me and an equal loss to Nevada state government Mrs up in Contra Costa County Calif where her famed grandfather had settled She moved to Nevada in 1957 to take a post in state government She later became a legal secretary and in 1963 returned to state government work named her his confidential secretary in 1971 first appointment upon taking office Weather Chuckle Fair too bad mankind and mild through Thursday and Audit reveals freebies New law studied Indians might control Pyramid South landmark This water tower now inhabited by pigeons is a landmark to commuters on South Virginia Street The house it once served has an interesting history and uncertain future To read more about the house turn to Page 6 Gazette photo by Marilyn Newton Index to Gazette 6 sections 64 pages SECTION ONE Editorials 4 Family Living SECTION TWO 8 pages SECTION THREE Amusements Ann Classified Comics 21 Crossword puzzle 29 Doctor column 19 Earl Wilson 21 Markets Public notices 26 Sylvia Porter 19 Television log 21 Topics for Taxpayers 24 Vitals 26 Weather 26 SECTION FOUR SECTION FIVE Grand Central 8 pages SECTION SIX Wards 12 pages Hearst judge hopes to seat jury today SAN FRANCISCO AP The names of three dozen prospective jurors in the Patricia Hearst bank robbery trial were pulled from a wooden drum today as the pace of jury selection intensified The 36 names picked out of the small drum by the court clerk at the start of the trial's second day were among 74 remaining from the first batch of 114 prospects U.S District Court Judge Oliver J Carter who said he intends to seat a panel by the end of the day then began detailed questioning of the potential panelists As for past court appearances Miss Hearst was taken from the San Mateo County Jail at daybreak and driven 25 miles north to the city's federal building She wore a brown pants suit with light brown print blouse today and smiled at her parents upon entering the courtroom The session was delayed 10 minutes as attorneys for both sides met with Judge Carter to discuss the procedure for challenging jury candidates Names of the prospective jurors were drawn from lists compiled by a federal jury commissioner here About 250 persons were notified that they might be called to serve in the celebrated case Carter as proceedings began described the trial as the most fully covered case in this country that I know of and said jurors could expect to be sequestered for at least four to five weeks The remaining 74 potential jurors predominantly white and middle-aged with a handful of blacks and Orientals were ordered back in court today Reno city purchasing department probed By BARBARA HENRY Reno City Manager Bob Oldland has ordered an investigation of the city's purchasing department after discovery of a change in a contract bid and discovery of a city audit showing that including a hi-fi set and gold flatware were shipped to city hall Oldland confirmed Tuesday he had turned information concerning a contract for inventory appraisal and irregularities on certain chasing requisitions over to the city attorney for investigation The possibility of gifts being supplied to city employes was discovered when invoices from the U.S Pencil and Stationery Co of West showed gold and silver flatware and a were shipped to Reno City Hall The according to one city employe showed the portion showing the delivery of at no cost But a duplicate invoice without the erasures was found by the auditor in the files A separate incident involved a contract let in March by the City of Reno to Industrial Co of Pittsburgh Pa The contract was found to be more than the company's original bid Also the company was asked to supply a one-year contract but the contract presented was for five years Oldland explained Industrial Appraisal Co submitted a bid of in March of last year for appraising the city's inventory items After the bids were opened the city received a follow-up letter from the company confirming its bid but it was a bid of Oldland said The higher figure was still lower than the other bids submitted the city manager said The city council approved the bid for a one-year contract and the agreement was signed March 12 1975 by former Reno mayor Sam Dibitonto The city council didn't know of the original said Asked if it is normal procedure to receive follow-up letters confirming bids Oldland said His totally asinine to say th e east I've never seen one before The only time it could happen is if firms submitted bids and the council rejected all bids and authorized negotiations for a contract Then a confirmation letter would be received on the negotiations and the whole package This wasn't the case on the bid in question Oldland added Also the city manager added The city asked for a one-year contract and the contract presented called for five years That makes me question the validity of the contract So instead of a one-year agreement the city now has a five-year agreement The purchasing director at the time the bids were opened and the contract let was Ron Aguirre who resigned last October after it became public he received a citation Aguirre was found guilty of petty ceny and fined in November Aguirre couldn t be reached for comment The acting purchasing director now is Stephen Tapogna who is one of three candidates being considered for the purchasing director's job page 2 coL 4 A recent federal law allowing Indian tribes and colonies to set up their own governments independent of state controls could mean the Nevada Department of Fish and Game might not have jurisdiction over Pyramid Lake after its management contract on the lake expires next May A spokesman for Pyramid Lake Indian Tribal Enterprises the business arm of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe said this morning the tribe hasn't made a decision one way or the other But PLITE fisheries director Kenneth Ferjancic added any decision the tribe makes in its future negotiations with the fish and game department will be based on the best biological and economic reasons and what is politically oriented Ferjancic would not comment on whether the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe is considering taking over complete control of the lake under Public Law a federal law signed a year ago by President Ford giving tribes and colonies the right to govern themselves without state in- or jurisdiction One Indian figure said this morning he thought the tribe might be waiting for a similar Indian case already in court to conclude so that the Pyramid tribe would have a court precedent to invoke if it decides not to renew the contract with the fish and game department Elmer Miller editor of the Native Nevadan newspaper said the Washoe Indian tribe's case over deer tags issued for hunters last fall against the fish and game department after the department issued deer tags for pine nut areas over which the tribe claims it has sole control Tribal attorney Mike Deasey said today the case is being prepared for trial but no court date has been set Miller said the fish and game department believes it still has jurisdiction over Indian Country in recreation and fishery management matters despite the passage of Public Law Fish and Game Director Glen Griffith and the department's fisheries director Dale Lockard could not be reached for comment this morning Repeated attempts to reach Allen Aleck chairman of the Pyramid Lake Indian Tribe also were unsuccessful Israeli leader pressing for arms restoration By KENNETH J FREED WASHINGTON AP Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin met separately today with Secretary of State Henry A Kissinger and President Ford in an effort to obtain restoration of a half billion dollar cut in arms aid the administration plans next year Rabin spent about two and a half hours in a breakfast meeting with the secretary of state Their discussion Kissinger said later dealt primarily with bilateral issues presumably aid Rabin's later meeting with Ford was the second between the two leaders since the prime minister arrived in Washington on Tuesday Israeli officials said Rabin intended to continue his pressure to get the 1977 military aid level up from the billion to the 5 billion now scheduled for 1976 The same theme if the United States wants Middle East stability and peace as well as Israeli concessions it must make sure Israel is militarily strong was expected in a speech Rabin was to deliver later in the day to a joint meeting of the House and Senate In a toast at a formal dinner given in his honor by Ford on Tuesday night Rabin noted that Israel is the only Middle East democracy and said No totalitarian regime will tolerate a weak democracy And he said it at a Tuesday lunch telling Kissinger everywhere in the world you can't achieve peace but from the point of strength I know one thing for sure with a weak Israel no one will negotiate and only a strong Israel is a help for peace For his part Ford spoke of the U S determination to maintain the security of the Jewish state and the U S commitment to stand by its friends and allies In working to regain in 1977 the 5 billion n military aid Israel is to get this year Rabin went to unusual and private methods He held a secret meeting with the man Israel privately believes was the primary source for Ford's decision to cut back on the aid William E Colby the outgoing head of the CIA Dinner companions Jack Ford son of the President chats with Chris Evert America's number one ranked women's tennis player after Tuesday night's State Dinner at the White House for Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin The event began with formality but the first family and many of their guests changed all that Sec details on Page 2
