28 Dec 1968
Page 1
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Newspaper
Beckley Raleigh Register And Post Herald
Location
Beckley, West Virginia, United States of America
Date
Dec 28, 1968
Page
1
Apollo 8 returns from a lunar orbital mission to a nighttime sea landing near Hawaii aboard the USS Yorktown. Commanders Borman Lovell and Anders ride the first manned mission back through the atmosphere, greeted by a hovering helicopter and a grateful nation.
President Johnson said his foremost goal is a truce in Vietnam and substantial progress toward peace before he leaves office January 20. He praised Apollo 8 recovery, noted optimism from Cyrus Vance on Paris talks, and stressed ending the war with honor while keeping space program funding.
North Central airliner with 41 on board plunged into a hangar at O'Hare in mist and fog Friday night bursting into flames. Survivors were taken to hospitals with smoke inhalation while officials confirmed 25 fatalities after Flight 458, originating in Minneapolis with stops at Eau Claire and Wausau, Wisconsin.
The AP reports November 1968 saw the steepest inflation in 17 years with a 0.4% rise in the Consumer Price Index to 123.4, erasing wage gains for about 45 million workers. Real purchasing power fell 0.5% from November 1967, with the 1957-59 dollar worth 81 cents and a typical $109.21 weekly pay reduced to $78.06 after taxes.
The news digest notes President Johnson at the LBJ Ranch and Mrs. Johnson reflecting on five years in the White House. The Apollo 8 moon mission completes, with 168 awaiting moonflight reservations. Flu vaccine rush and fuel-related city hardship ease amid the Hong Kong flu outbreak. Don McNeill’s Breakfast Club ends after 35 years on ABC. Riotous crime headlines span hippies jailed in San Francisco, a Des Moines abduction case, and an Athens Airport attack on an Israeli jet. A $2,500 Farmington disaster fund gift completes the string of brief items.
Five children aged 5 to 11 were found strangled beside their mother, who had wrists cut. Coroner Clyde Chamberlain noted possible suicide by the mother. A straight edge razor was found near Mrs Bodeman, who was at work in Madison when the bodies were discovered. An autopsy was planned to determine cause of death and whether the mother died by strangulation or self-inflicted wounds.
A West Virginian Pan Am pilot aboard Flight 811 from Honolulu to Sydney reported sighting Apollo 8 during its fiery re entry. Captain Jake M. Marcum Jr., 5%, of Saratoga California, relayed the sighting to Pan Am Honolulu. Marcum, veteran Pan Am pilot, hails from Hamlin West Virginia.
A large midcontinent storm brought rain fog and snow across much of the United States. Freezing rain iced roads from the central plains to New England causing several traffic deaths and hundreds of fender bending accidents. Winds and arctic air shut routes in many states and a DC9 jet crashed in heavy snow near Sioux City with no serious injuries.
The United States will sell Israel 50 F4 Phantom fighter jets, part of a $200 million package including spare parts and training. Deliveries start before year end 1969 and extend into 1970, with potential delivery beginning after January 1 within the official time frame.
Gov. Smith announced Brig. Gen. Williams resigns as West Virginia adjutant general effective immediately. Col. William E. Miller was named acting adjutant general for the balance of the Smith administration ending Jan. 13.
Officials seek Ralph Copeland 58 of Athens after his body was found burned in a one room building on Edgar Vance property. Copeland reportedly died when his bed caught fire from a cigarette. He had lived in Mercer County about three years and hailed from the Indianapolis area.
Ruth Eisemann Schier, accused in the Barbara Mackle kidnapping, was placed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted list, becoming the first woman listed since the program began nearly two decades ago. Indicted with Gary Krist for kidnapping, extortion, and related charges after Krist was captured in a Florida mangrove swamp.
Saigon AP reports heavy shelling of Can Tho, a major Mekong Delta city, plus a mined bridge. Ground action near Da Nang yields 106 NVA killed in three days. US companies report 41 enemy killed near the Cambodian border. Civilian and soldier deaths noted.
State Police report Friday shows 515 deaths on West Virginia roads so far this year versus 582 by this date last year. Strong entities include West Virginia and State Police with yearly toll figures.
The Beckley vicinity sees rain and wind with a mild high near 56 today. Colder this afternoon tonight with possible snow flurries by morning, low around 20. Sunday brings more snow flurries, windy and much colder. Precipitation probabilities 80 percent today, 40 tonight, 60 Sunday. In West Virginia, showers and thundershowers taper this morning, then windy and colder with highs in the 50s to 60s. Sunday again snow flurries, windy and colder. Details on Page 12.
Bernard Goldfine, famed donor to officials, died in 1967 leaving an estate reportedly over 3.3 million dollars in debt and claims of 10,000 dollars in personal property. The matter was listed for Probate Court Friday.
Sixty six aboard an Ozark Air Lines DC9 escaped serious injury when the jetliner veered into trees and belly landed in 14 inches of snow after takeoff. A nurse described some passengers as looking "in a cat fight." About 35 were hospitalized for cuts and scratches, with 12 admitted including pilot P G Sweeney.
The Atomic Energy Commission reported a successful atmospheric Chinese test at Lop Nor around 2:30 am EST. The yield is about 3 megatons, aligning with the June 1967 H bomb test as the latest significant Chinese explosion after an eighteen month gap.
Jesse Williams Long of Gauley Mills Webster County surrendered to authorities in Richwood West Virginia and was charged with manslaughter in the Christmas day barroom brawl death of George Crawford 45 at the Diamond Inn. Long, a miner, waived a preliminary hearing and is jailed in Summersville. Police say he was one of 14 people allegedly involved in the fight along West Virginia 20 about 13 miles north of Richwood.
A Seoul district criminal court sentenced three South Koreans to death for leading an armed communist insurgency ring based on a small offshore island. The defendants admitted visiting Pyongyang several times from 1962 through last July when authorities cracked the network.
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