Record-Eagle (Newspaper) - December 14, 1977, Traverse City, Michigan Two Sections 48 Pages Traverse City Wednesday December 14 Traverse City Mich Price Blackboard flu shuts schools By PRITCHARD writer TRAVERSE CITY It looked like a case of blackboard flu as 216 of the Traverse City Public School teachers called in sick causing both public and parochial schools in the area to close for the day The closing affected more than students Traverse City Education Association officials said no walkout was authorized by the union Tom Stokes crisis committee chairman said the teachers who called in sick followed correct procedure by informing the teacher substitute office With 216 teachers absent there was no way that we could possibly operate a day of said Gene Lawler public schools assistant superintendent Therefore in the best interest and safety of the kids we had to call school off Historic session begins CAIRO Egypt UPH Egypt and Israel today opened direct talks to end three decades of hatred and war but five empty seats at the round conference table emphasized the difficulties ahead Al parties stressed the need fora com- prehensive not a separate Israeli settlement in what amounted to a reply to the hardline Arabs who fear a separate peace and who boycotted the meeting Egypt has launched a new said chief Egyptian delegate Esmat Abdel Meguid seated directly across from the chief Israeli envoy Eliahu at the table President Anwar Sadat sent in from his Cairo palace said in reply It is a real peace that we seek The five empty chairs around the con- ference table were reserved for the Palestine Liberation Organization the Soviet Union Syria Lebanon and dan To emphasize their differences with Sadat Syria Iraq and other of the hardline nations filled the airwaves with broadcasts calling the meeting a humiliating conference of treason and a conference of surrender Israeli Prime Minister Menahem Begin flew from Tel Aviv to the United States for talks with President Carter carrying new proposals that could hold the key to an And despite the hardline opposition Egyptian officials displayed some op- A high level official said We see Begin's trip as an encouraging sign The whole trend here and in Israel is toward accomodation In another diplomatic effort Secretary of State Cyrus Vance arrived in Riyadh for talks with Saudi Arabian leaders whose immense oil wealth has made them traditional power brokers in the region The entire world community earnestly hopes that Egypt's genuine desire to establish a just and lasting peace bo reciprocated by said Meguid in the first of brief language statements by the heads of the four delegations Egypt Israel the United States and the United Nations The lost day will have to be made up sometime before the end of the school year in order to meet with a state requirement to hold 180 days of instruction Grand Traverse Area Catholic schools also called school off today as did Trinity Lutheran Catholic schools superintendent Jerome Allore said he heard the an- of the public schools closing on the radio and decided to close St Francis and Immaculate Conception The Catholic and Lutheran schools depend on public school buses to transport their students Allore said that since 80 percent of the Catholic school students are brought to school by public school buses it was impossible on short notice to make other tation arrangements More than 45 buses were on the road this morning picking up students when the school closing announcement was made Some buses simply turned around and dropped their loads of children back at home Other drivers told groups of students waiting at the roadside that they wouldn't be ing them up this morning Public school principals called homes where both parents worked to tell them so the children wouldn't return to locked empty houses The switchboard at the school administrative offices on Boardman St was jammed with calls from parents seeking information on the closing Most parents simply aske what was happening a switchboard operator said But some were irate One who apparently diagnosed the teachers ailment as blackboard flu said she hoped they wouldn't get a contract until hell freezes over Negotiations between the teachers and the school board have become increasingly tense over the past month as the talks reached an impasse president John Sonneman has been authorized by the membership to call a strike when he thinks it's appropriate Calls from teachers who said they would be sick today were recorded by the teacher substitute office answering device beginning last night There was a meeting of teachers last night at the First Congregational Church When one teacher called in to say he was ill there was a cheer and a smattering of applause in the background Other callers simply said they were going to be away one day because of illness Stokes said that it was an administration decision to close the school This leaves the other teachers who are well and able up in the air The administration must now decide whether to recognize the situation as illness or take some kind of action against the teachers Taking action may require obtaining doctor certification from each of the 216 teachers Rescue workers carry a body through the rubble after a chartered plane crashed on takeoff at Indiana plane crash kills basketball team Related story on Page 20 EVANSVILLE Ind UPI Two minutes after takeoff Tuesday night with no time to get off a radio message the chartered carrying the sity of Evansville basketball team plunged into a ravine all on board Only one lived long to reach a hospital The last of the 14 team members Artis Greg Smith 18 of West Frankfort 111 died early today in an Evansville hospital The plane owned by National Jet vice Inc of Indianapolis went down about 1.5 miles east of the main runwav at Dress Regional Airport in this Ohio River city The plane disappeared into the fog and about a minute and a half later I heard the engine cutting out and it went said Rick Notter an airport worker I saw it explode in flame Airport manager James Stapleton said the plane struck below the crest of the small hill at a time when visibility was three-quarters of a mile but fog was heavy in places Bodies in the front were melted into the said Stapleton who rushed to the crash site Some of the bodies were tossed into a gully It was a tragic gruesome scene Shelden left a trail of shock By MARILYN WRIGHT staff writer Copyright 1977 The TRAVERSE CITY When Francis D Shelden went into hiding to avoid prosecution on sexual misconduct charges he left behind a trail of shock disbelief anger betrayal and ul- suicide Although a year has passed since his disappearance Shelden's name today remains on the lobby registry of the Buhl Building in Detroit And authorities say the Ann Arbor millionaire's business is be- ing conducted by the fugitive's mingham attorney L Bennett Young A bachelor licensed pilot graduate geologist part-time university professor amateur botanist land developer oil consultant market in- vestor reputed author and sole owner of North Fox Island Shelden's enterprises across the Oil leases in Kansas City a ski lodge in Aspen a land investment com- pany in Denver the Monroe Creek development in Charlevoix and sive stock holdings in a West Indies trust company Police records indicate Shelden cleaned out his Ann Arbor and North Fox Island residences shortly after Gerald S Richards an associate of Shelden's in Brother Paul's Childrens Mission was arrested on criminal sex- ual conduct charges That was in July 1976 approximately one week before state police obtained a search warrant for the Ann Arbor premises A warrant was issued for his arrest on Dec 7 A second warrant was issued a week later His prominent Grosse Pointe parents the Alger Sheldens say they have had no contact with their son since he fled Michigan Both are reported to be ill His brother Alger Jr is reported to have told authorities that he was hiring an armed guard and posting North Fox Island the alleged site of illicit sexual conduct to keep curiosity seekers and unauthorized police away Many residents of Charlevoix who knew Shelden as a gentlemanly scholar who was willing to share his good life have yet to fully recover from the shock of his alleged sexual deviation and his disappearance Authorities on the other hand now believe that the purported benefactor had ulterior motives when he treated youths to hunting trips on the island skiing trips at Aspen beach parties at the family estate on Antigua in the Caribbean and set up trust funds for their college educations The tiny lakeside community was further jolted when shortly after Shelden disappeared an youth whom the millionaire had befriended since he was nine com- mitted suicide Informed sources say Shelden wrote the youth from Miami explaining that he would be away for awhile working on some personal problems but didn't want the youth to think he had forgotten about his promise to send him through college A trust fund had been set up Shelden wrote to be ad- ministered by his brother Alger Jr A simple phone call would put the money in the youth's hands Shelden said in the letter Three days after the warrant for Shelden's arrest was issued and one day prior to the charges being publicly exposed in the the young man put a rifle in his mouth and pulled the trigger And FBI agents say they plan to con- duct a follow-up interview with another Charlevoix youth who was a frequent traveling companion of Shelden's The young man was reported to be attending college on a similar trust fund Authorities say the young man ly has been driving Shelden's car which earlier had been abandoned at the Charlevoix airport Airport officials confirm that the car has been removed from the parking lot They say who drove it away On the same day that the first young man's letter was sent from Miami Oct 10 1976 another letter purportedly by Shelden was sent to Cranbrook Science Institute in Bloomfield Hills That Francis D Shelden disappeared last year letter submitting his resignation as a member of the board of directors of the exclusive educational community was postmarked from Kearney where Adam Starchild the Church of the New Revelation and Ocean Living Institute are all located About that same time Starchild was reportedly negotiating the sale of Shelden's plane through Aviation in Denver Colo In January of this year Shelden resigned from the board of directors of Boys Republic Inc a Farmington Hills residential center for the treatment of emotionally disturbed young boys The envelope bearing the name and address of the family firm Shelden Land Co was postmarked Jan 19 from Detroit That was the last public word from Francis D Shelden A profile of another suspected child pornographer wanted by police Acme OKs Hilton fight looms Pren Ind killing 29 persons Including the University of basketball team Killed in the crash of the vintage plane were all 24 passengers and five crew members Among the passengers were Coach Bobby Watson sportscaster Marvin Bates and executives of the of the charter firm The team was flying to Nashville Tenn for a game tonight at Middle Tennessee State at Murfreesboro The University of Evansville once a Midwestern small college basketball powerhouse which moved into major college competition this season de- clared a day of mourning and cancelled classes for its students By DAVID HAYES staff writer ACME Rezoning for a Hilton Inn hotel a golf course shopping center and large housing complex in Acme Township received final approval from the township board Tuesday night The unanimous approval of the million project by the board will allow developers to submit a site plan for a Hilton Inn hotel and begin construction on the complex next spring However plans for construction may be delayed or upset by township residents who are threatening a petition drive to place the rezoning issue on a ballot A petition drive is in the Kenneth Enyart of Williamsburg who opposed the project said This decision is too important to leave to the board This project would change the entire character of Acme Township The board rezoned the site from and and agricultural to golf course residential a special zoning district established for the Grand Traverse Development Co project Enyart and others who opposed the project during a hearing before the township board Tuesday night ly discussed the possibility of forming a petition drive following the meeting They said they would meet within the next few days to decide if they would seek petitions asking for a referendum I'd like to see the whole township vote on Lyndon Salathiel of Five Mile Road said It might serve notice on other developers that there might be some opposition if they come in again with this type of project To force a referendum township residents must submit petitions with signatures of eight percent of the registered voters who voted in the last gubernatorial election The petitions must be filed with the township clerk within 30 days If township residents voted against the rezoning the decision to rezone the property would be over- turned Approximately 40 attended the special township board meeting called to consider the rezoning request from developer Paul Nine About a dozen persons who split on opposition and support of the project spoke during an informal public hearing Most of the comments dealt with the effects the development will have on the township's taxes road system sewer and water supply and fire department Most of the comments echoed comments aired at a Township Planning Commission public hearing last week Paul Nine heads group Nine who represents a development group consisting of 15 persons owns 411 acres near the intersection of and U.S The property includes the present Sand Trap Restaurant and Grand Traverse Golf Course as well as several apartment buildings The northeast section of the property would consist of another 9 or 18 hole golf course surrounded by a large residential subdivision with as many as 200 single-family houses Apartments or condominiums are planned for the southeast central and southwest portions of the property A large regional shopping center or office center is planned for the northwest corner of the property Up to 837 housing units could be built on the property The Sand Trap Restaurant would remain as would the present golf course although the course presently is being realigned The Hilton Inn tower would stand atop a large ballroom and consist of 190 rooms The tower would adjoin a three-story complex and convention facilities for 1.000 persons The Hilton complex would be located on a hill presently used for cherry ming Above the sixth story Nine said the hotel would offer a view of the en- tire Old Mission Peninsula A restaurant also be located on the top floor of the hotel Ralph Bergsma a project of the development said con- struction will begin soon on the first six units of a condominium ject The final permits for the story buildings were approved last week he said Partly cloudy tonight with a high In the mid 20s Increasing Thursday with a high in the mid Page 14 Flashing arrows and pulsating letters probably will not be on the city scene with the advent of a new control Ing business signs Page 3 A study of the Dam in Leland finds It to be in terrible shape and estimates It will cost to replace it Page 4 The state court of appeals denies a request for an order halting exploratory oil drilling in the Pigeon River Country State Forest Page 7 Frankfort stages a com- eback to hand St Francis a boys basketball loss Page 20 Classified Dixon 40 Farm and Landers 20 Obituaries 30 40 From tree decorations to jewelry area artists and craftsmen have designs on Christmas For a review see page 25
