Wednesday, June 15, 1977
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Three
Cityad s istabs
in mayoral'election
y REGERP
T By GREGG KRUPA
An investigation of last Ap-
.5s il's city election directed by
r City Administrator Sylvester
Murray has turned up several
irregularities in voting proce-
dure. But in the opinion of the
City Administrator "the inves-
tigation did not show criminal
intent"
The report released by Mur-
ray yesterday said, "The inves-
ligation exposed a number of
instances of a lack of adequate
procedure being followed, in-
adequate record keeping, and
the need for additional training
by the City Clerk's office staff,
precinct workers and political
party challengers at the plls."
HOWEVER, THE REPORT
goes on to say, "In many cases
where a question arose, the City
Clerk gave benefit of doubt in
favor of the voter. This was a
P LAN L loudable position by the Clerk.
i'Phato by A N ILNSKY lIn those cases criticism is ren-
W isUhfu thinking dered for not requiring those
questionable voters to vote by
School is out, and these two young men waste no time finding paper ballot rather than on the
other subjects to study-namely which confectionary delight machine."
to purchase at Drake's candy store. The April 4 election resulted
Perez denies changing
story to defenad Nrciso
in a one vote victory for incum-
bent Mayor Albert Wheeler over
Republican challenger Louis
Belcher. Belcher is attempting
to get the'4ecision of the Board
of Canvassers overturned in the
courtroom of Monroe County
Circuit Court Judge James Kel-
ley.
The investigation resulted
from a list of "questionable ir-
regularities" brought to the
City Administrator by Belch-
er's attorney, former City
Councilman Robert Henry, Jr.
Henry said the results of the in-
vestigation were "not unexpect-
ed."
"WE WERE A LITTLE dis-
turbed about the procedures fol-
lowed in some of the things that
See CITY, Page 7
Explosion rips local
sewage wafer plant
By GREGG KRUPA
Anti Arbor's Waste Water
Treatment Plant apparently is
jinxed. Monday morning at
10:20 an explosion ripped the
entire top off the number five
sewage sludge digestor.
No injuries were reported as
a result of the blast, although
a crew of 12 persons was work-
ing at the plant during the ex-
plosion.
THE PLANT has been the
subject of recent controversy
over state Department of Nat-
strut Resources standards fosr
permsissible amounts of pollut-
tion allowed to enter the Huron
River. The city has recently
taken several steps to cturb the
ansount of pollution treated by
the plant.
In March when a district
judge ordered a ban on new
tap-ins to the sewer system,
construction in the city came to
a virtual standstill.
City officials are-at aloss to
explain the cause of the blast,
although it may be possible it
was caused by collecting meth-
ane gas.
"THE DIGESTION process
forms methane gas," explained
Fred Mammel, Superintendent
of Ann Arbor's Public Works
Department. "This is vented
to the exterior and is burned
in the atmosphere in a con
trolled methane burner. The
gas line from the digestor has
several flame checks to pre-
vent the flame from creeping
back into the gas pipe.
'We don't know if there was
a malfunction Monday norn-
ing. No fire resulted front the
explosion. A fire should have
resulted if indeed the flamie did
meet the methane gas. No fire
or smoke damage was found
at the explosion site.'
A Washtenaw County Sher-
iff's investigator said a isethane
gas explosion is 'kind of tin-
tsual in coot weather."
Mammel, however has said
the city "does not anticipate a
cutback in the ability to handle
pollution. The effect of digestor
number five being out of serv-
ice will have a minitnuissmeais-
urable effect on operationss."
Soviets call
U.S. reporterI
an agent
MOSCOW Ut'-The Soviet
Union alleged yesterday that
Los Angeles 'toimes corresluon-
dent Robert Toth has been gath
ering secret information and
barred him fron leaving the
country. Toth was interro ttied
for mssore than foutr hutirs and
told 1 treturn today.
In a note to the U. S. Em-
bassy, the Soviet itoreign Min-
istry said the 48-year-old Toth
"has been engaged is . . . the
See SOVIETS, Page 6
By KEITH B. RICHBURG
Special To The Daily
DETROIT -Veterans Administration (VA) de-
fendant Leonora Perez denied trying to protect
her co-defendant Filipina Narciso when Perez
changed her answer during the course of the trial
yesterday.
Perez had been asked by Assistant U.S. Astor-
ney Richard Delonis abost the breathing failure
of patient Lennie Blaine, and about a nurse who
one doctor said stood at Blaine's bedside and
would not help.
DELONIS READ the doctor's description of that
nurse, and asked Perez whether the description
would "fit Miss Narciso?'
Perez anst.ered, "No."
Delonis then asked Perez hat swas significantly
different between the description of the nurse at
the bedside and defendant Narciso, and Perez
could cite no distinction. When asked agiin, how-
ever, if the description fit Narciso, Perez said it
did not.
WHEN QUESTIONED by her own lawyer, de-
fense attorney Lawrence Burgess, Perez said the
description could fit Narciso.
On redirect Delonis asked Perez why she
changed her story.
Perez answered, "I said no becasise she (Nar-
ciso) is my friend, and I ktws' she would not do
anything wrong."
'Are you sure that was ot to protect her?"
D~elonis asked,
Perez replied, "No."
PEREZ AND Narciso are accused of causiig
the rash of breathing failures that swept the Ann
Arbor VA hospital during the summer of 1975
See PEREZ, Page 6
Robber barren
The thief in Pittsburgh had read the script, he
just forgot one of the hand props. Bus ticket agent
Rai Peacce told police the man walked up to his
window and announced "This is a holdup."
"Where's your gun?" Peacoe asked.
"My buddy has it," the man said.
"Well, I can't give you any money if you don't
have a gun," Peacoe said, to which the man re-
plied, "Okay, I'll go get one." John King was ar-
rested outside the bus terminal and charged with
attempted robbery.
Coffee, hold the sugar.
First you stopped drinking sugar in your coffee
because it was too expensive. Then you stopped
drinking cream because it was too fattening. Then
you stopped drinking coffee because that was too
expensive too. But as you contemplate that appetiz-
ing cup of boiling water this morning, be reassured
on at least one count - coffee prices may be going
back down again. The Agriculture Department re-
TODAY
ported yesterday that coffee drinkers can expect
increased supplies of the bean to follow a sharp
recovery in world production this season, even
though the 1977-78 crop remains 9 per cent below
average. Wholesale and retail coffee prices are still
rising, but the increase in supplies could mean re-
lief for coffee drinkers from wholesale prices which
hit a record $3.90 a pound last month.
Undue process
The young couple sat in the living room of their
secluded San Diego beach home. Suddenly they heard
furious pounding onythe front door and the voice
of a man screaming. His wife had been hurt in an
auto accident and needed help, he said. Shades of
A Clockwork Orange! Ah, but when they opened the
door and phoned for an ambulance, the two men
outside turned out to be process servers Howard
Mason and Jerome Lancelle, who had invented the
ruse in order to serve papers on the hard-to-find
couple. Mason and Lancelle served the papers -
and were promptly cited by police for causing a
false emergency report.
*
Happenings
... lead off today with a plug for VISTA, the
federal anti-poverty program. VISTA is looking for
economists, attorneys, law grads and media people
to get involved in a local group to protect hous-
ing consumers. If you're interested, send a resume
to the Center for National Housing Law Reform,
4310 Michigan Union ... Continuing Engineering Edu-
cation sponsors a program on Corrosion Engineering
in the Chrysler Center, 8:30 am. ... George Engel
of the University of Rochester Medical School speaks
on "Psychosomatic Approaches to Individual Sus-
ceptibility to Disease" at 9:30 a.m. in the CPH audi-
torium ... and at 7:30 p.m., the Birdman cometh as
CMU Professor Emeritus of Ornithology Nicholas
Cuthbert speaks to a meeting of the Washtenaw
Audobon Society in the Botanical Gardens.
On the outside
Summer just keeps on coming. It'll be partly
sunny and warm today with a high of 80 and an
overnight low of 60. Tomorrow should be likewise,
but with a high of 82.