Page tO.2=Friday, June 29, 1979-'-The Michigan Dbiiy.
Oficials: Bad hose caused ire
have occurred in southeastern proximity generates interest." News-Herald said the damage estimate
By TIM YAGLE Michigan within the past two weeks. Wyandotte Assistant Fire Chief John was $500,000, the same estimate as the
Washtenaw County officials investi- One was ignited in Ann Arbor on June DeSana said while investigators there Pittsfield Township fire cost estimate.
gating Tuesday night's propane gas fire 16 at the Gallup-Silkworth storage yard haven't yet determined a cause for that The tanks were owned by S and S
on Carpenter Rd. yesterday blamed the on State St. The other fire erupted in storage yard fire, he said the cause is of Products.
explosion on "a spark igniting a leak downriver Wyandotte, Mich. eight days a "suspicious nature," but could not Pesta explained the investigation of
between the tanker and the receiver later. elaborate. explosions involves talking to the driver
(storage tank)," according to Pittsfield Washtenaw County Sheriff Thomas DeSana said "at least 36" out of 50 "in great depth," questioning wit-
Township Police Lt. Frank Pesta. Minick said "(the Carpenter Rd. fire) tanks exploded. No one was reported in- nesses, and examining the physical
soundssimilar to the Gallup-Silkworth jured, DeSana said, because, "they evidence. Investigators then incor-
He said the origin of the spark "could fire. You can never really rule out ar- (the tanks) all went up so quick, in a porate the evidence and witnesses'
be a number of things," including back son in these things. It's always on the matter of minutes they were gone." statements and "see if it realistically
pressure building up in the hose used to back of our (investigators') minds. The According to DeSana, the Wyandotte could have happened."
transfer the fuel, or a defect in the
workmanship of the connecting hose.
Officials do not suspect arson, Pesta
said.
Pesta said representatives from
Washtenaw County police departments
will convene a meeting, possibly in a
few weeks, to discuss safer ways of
transferring fuel and better connecting
hose design. They will then make safety
recommendations to area propane
distributors.
A propane gas fire and subsequent
explosions caused an estimated $500,000
worth of damage to the Washtenaw
Farmer's Oil and Petroleum Oil Co. on
Carpenter Rd. between Ann Arbor and
Ypsilanti late Tuesday night. The fire
forced nearly 300 residents, mostly
from a nearby apartment complex, to
spend the night in Red Cross emergen-
cy shelters.
Two other propane gas explosions
WEAKENED BILL TO GIVE MORE TO OIL COMPANIES:
House OKs windfall profits tax
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House approval of a tougher "windfall
approved a weakened "windfall
profits" tax yesterday, agreeing with
Republican and oil-state lawmakers
that the best way to spur domestic oil
production is to leave more money with
the oil companies.
However, the weaker tax, sponsored
by oil-state Reps. W. Henson Moore (R-
La.), and James Jones (D-Okla.), is
still stronger than the one President
Carter originally proposed and then
challenged Congress to toughen.
The House approved the Moore-Jones
substitute by a 236-to-183 vote, with 90
Democrats - many from oil-producing
states - joining with 146 Republicans.
A total of 173 Democrats and 10
Republicans opposed the weakening
amendment.
THE VOTE was a stinging defeat for
Democratic leaders, who had urged
profits" tax, arguing that yesterday's
steep increase in world oil prices
already will pour billions of dollars
more into oil company cdffers.
The House then sent the amended bill
to the Senate on a voice vote. The tax is
expected to face more attempts to
weaken it when it goes to the Senate
Finance Committee, chaired by Russell
Long, a Democrat from the oil state of
Louisiana.
The Moore-Jones substitute would cut
the tax's basic rate from the 70 per cent
proposed by the House Ways and Means
Committee to 60 per cent. Carter had
proposed a 50 per cent levy.
THE CHANGE cuts the amount to, be
reclaimed from oil company profits
resulting from oil-price decontrol by at
least $5.9 billion over five years, accor-
ding to congressional estimates.
"'ALIEN' is a corker, a walloper, a rouser, a screecher,
and a ton of fun...if all movies were as thrilling
I would happily spend all of my time N
in the movies."
GenCShalit
NBC-TV ri A f,-
Moore and Jones said their proposal
would boost domestic oil production by
giving the oil companies a greater in-
centive to search for new oil supplies.
Rep. Al Ullman (D-Ore.), chairman
of the House Ways and Means Commit-
tee, opposed the Moore-Jones proposal,
saying that with the OPEC price hike,
the oil companies already would get
enough money to encourage their sear-
ch for oil.
ULLMAN SAID that with the OPEC
price hike and with no "windfall" tax,
the oil companies would more than
double their after-tax profits, from $15
billion a year to $32 billion. He said the
Ways and Means Committee's bill
would have left the oil companies $22
billion in net profits.
Figures were not available on com-
parable profit figures under the Moore-
Jones substitute.
Carter
denounces
OPlEC oil
price hike
(Continued from Page i)
meant the various factions had failed in
an effort to reach a new, unified base
price.
THE BASE PRICE-for a 42-gallong
barrel of Arabian light crude-was
raised to $18 from the current $14.55, a
24 per cent hike. Saudi Oil Minister
Ahmed Zaki Yamani said Saudi Arabia,
the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar
would stick with that benchmark price.
Carter also said checks with oil com-
panies indicate that gasoline supplies
will increase sharply in areas where
there have been long gasoline lines.
He said supplies in these areas would
be increased to 97 per cent of last year's
levels.
"IT WILL BE A much better supply
than we've experienced In the last
couple of weeks," the president said.
Press Secretary Jody Powell later
cautioned that supplies would still fall
short of demand. "We're not predicting.
everything will be all right," hesaid.
HE SAID HE was cancelling a plan-
ned vacation in Hawaii to return direc-
tly to Washington next week to work on
energy legislation.
But Carter, stern and unsmilingas he
spoke to reporters in the residence of
U.S. Ambassador Mike Mansfield, said
the OPEC price hike announced yester-
day in Geneva was "an extraordinary
amount." He said it means oil prices
will have increased 60 per cent since
December.
MON.-TUE.-THUR.-FRI.
7:00-9:35
SAT.-SUN.-WED.
12:00-2.:25-4:40-7:00-9:45
2nd WEEK
StorTxtnes
Late Comers May Not
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AN Shows Ar* NOT
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D GILER
SHUSETT
R lf
t*fTcem~wox"P "" A L i E..
TOM SIGOURNEY VERONICA HARRY E
SKERRITT WEAVER CARTWRIGHT STANTON
JOHN HURT LIAN HOLM and YAPHET KOTTOPAKER
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER RONALD SHUSETT PRODUCED BY GORDON CARROLL, DAVI
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