New Jersey Nightly News; New Jersey Nightly News 03/21/1979

In in. New Jersey. It was Rebecca suable in Trenton and Clayton Vaughn in Newark. Evening in the news tonight the State College strike is over it took just one day to settle. New Jersey congressman face a battle in Washington tomorrow on the future of Fort Dix and the future of farming in the Northeast is the subject of a Cherry Hill conference. A conference with

a noticeably missing guest Clayton. Good evening Rebecca. Also the New York Post reports tonight that there is an unpublished federal study which says Newark International was the nation's second most dangerous airport in terms of near misses in the air. And in sports the nets broke their five game losing string with the help of Detroit all but line we'll have highlights. We're back on the strike against a New Jersey State College is over. The one day walkout ended when 30 to 100 teachers ratified an agreement with the state that gives them 7 percent pay raises in each of the next two years. Mike Power reports on the day's developments. The tempo at the teachers strike headquarters slowed down today. The exhausted union president who put in thirty nine straight hours at the bargaining table was now waiting for the vote. On each campus road. BLOCK Athena said the teachers wouldn't have gotten the 7 percent raise without a strike. At

least nine out of 10 professors voted to accept the contract. And shortly after noon the strike was over. Listen. The campuses that tell them to go back after voting. Many of the teachers went right back to the classroom. The room is empty of students anticipated a longer strike and took another day off. Latina refused to say the teachers got a good deal. No I don't think I got a good deal. I think I got an equitable settlement under the circumstances. Do you think the taxpayers got a good deal. Yes I think the taxpayers got a good deal. I don't think that we're quite keeping abreast of the cost of living and to the extent that we're not the public got a good deal. The eight colleges will resume a full schedule of classes tomorrow. The union said it won't punish teachers who cross the picket line yesterday since the state's contract with the college teachers was his first labor settlement of the year. All the other unions will use it as a

bottom line for themselves. That means 10 more bargaining groups will be demanding at least a 7 percent pay raises that would cost you 55 million dollars in Trenton. I'm Mike. Our. New Jersey congressmen are gearing up for a fight tomorrow over the future of Fort Dix. The entire congressional delegation from the state is meeting tomorrow in Washington with Secretary of Defense Harold Brown. The Army has already reportedly recommended that ticks be closed in its basic training operations be transferred to South Carolina. If that happens 700 civilian jobs would be lost in this day and about one hundred fifty million dollars. That's the money soldiers now contribute to the local economy. The Army has already officially announced it will cut 300 military jobs and 100 civilian positions at Dicks part of a general cutback. New Jersey congressman may accept that but will argue to keep the for here. Defense Secretary Brown is expected to make a final decision within a week. Clayton.

The New York Post reports tonight that an unpublished federal study of nude near or near midair crashes shows Newark International Airport the second most dangerous in the country. Kennedy first LaGuardia fifth reported a sudden cover of two and a half year period ending last December. The Post says the study attributes the high danger rating at highly controlled airports to the theory that pilots tend to relax when they get into such areas. Assuming that the air controllers really do know where everybody is. Principals of public schools in Essex County agreed today to allow undercover narcotics agents from county prosecutor Donal Coburn's office to operate in their schools. Coburn made the request after a grand jury investigation of drug abuse in the schools and he met with the principals today. But Coburn softened the blow of sending his troops in by trying to calm fears of the principals in the schools were getting a bum rap for drug usage among students. More from reporter Jack Connery. When reporter Jeffrey haul his camera crew shot this videotape last fall it served as graphic evidence of what prosecutors in Essex County were calling a

burgeoning drug problem among school kids. What you see is an alleged sale of marijuana. A drug a recent grand jury report indicated could be used by as many as 90 percent of the students in county schools even down to the fourth grade level. To try and combat that problem. Prosecutor Donald Coburn will use undercover agents agents who will look for major pushers. COBURN believes it will work. I did not sense any resentment. I think there is concern among some administrators although there were some principals here who have undergone the experience and I think conveyed to the others that it does not create a problem with respect to either the students or to the community in general. The high school principals who met with Coburn today including Asics County Association president James Luckily support the idea to get to a point probably one of the major concerns. Was the undue burden that many of them saw being placed on the schools or about the identification and solving of the drug problem when

many of the principles involved that it was a much broader societal problem. Colbert admitted there was some uneasiness about focusing the drug fight in the schools. Though today's close session was described as a good give and take. But now the principals will also come out strongly against the decriminalization of marijuana and they want to pressure judges in the county to come down hard on convicted pushers. All the investigation work will be wasted they say if the rest of the system isn't ready to get tough with the drug problem. I'm Jack Conway. And one New Jersey town has gotten very tough on drug paraphernalia. Hamilton Township near Trenton has passed a law prohibiting the sale of cocaine Spawn's marijuana paper clips and other drug excess arrays. The law the first of its kind in the state is aimed at Hamilton Township so called head shops. One head shop owner says he may take legal action but the legislature is considering a bill just like it for the entire state.

Clayton acts on emergency crews work today at the scene of an explosion at the Bay Area refinery in London continuing to wash it down. The explosion occurred early yesterday in a unit that converts crude oil into a home heating oil. Eight persons heard three still hospitalized. An Exxon investigation team is also at work now looking for clues as to the cause of that blast. In Jersey City today a fire official said it was not arson that started the tenement fire that killed six persons Monday. They said it started when the building superintendent left a lit cigarette on a plastic couch in his first floor apartment and then went to the basement. When he came back the couch was in flames and the fire spread up the stairwell. Jersey City has announced a crackdown on slumlords with Cavils and has scores of buildings in Jersey City and Newark as the main target. And when he showed up this week on 37 housing gold violations he was fined only three hundred seventy dollars total. Now there's a Jersey City report out that says Cavils and has collected more than one hundred eighty one thousand dollars in fire and vandalism insurance claims on his buildings. He's due back in court next month to answer more

charges. City officials say they'll probably appoint another prosecutor. New York officials today held a news conference to explain the city's new smoke detector ordinance starting May 1st every dwelling unit in the city must be equipped with at least one detector read Wells reports the fire director John Coffee old said three out of four fire deaths are from smoke inhalation. That he hopes the detectors will be an early warning system. Last year we lost 46 people in bars in the city of Newark. Most of them needlessly because they didn't have sufficient warning. This ordinance requires a smoke detector in every dwelling unit. This city of New York. What kinds of problems are going to have with the smoke detectors with vandalism and youngsters blowing smoke in the air. Well since the smoke detectors are going to be an individual apartment I don't think it can be a tremendous problem I know the problem. The problems have solutions. Fire officials say they will follow through with periodic inspections just to make sure the detectors work. The mayor of the tiny borough of victory gardens in Morris County said

today that he will lay off all municipal workers and lock the doors of the borough hall that will effectively close down local government. Voters there yesterday rejected a proposal that would raise their taxes by almost 50 percent. Read Wells reports. Victory Gardens New Jersey may be the only town in the continental United States where Washington Avenue intersects with Washington Avenue. But that's the least of the problems here. The people may soon be without a municipal government. Mayor William grad a coach had said that a steep tax hike was needed because the town had lost substantial amounts of state and federal assistance last month the mayor even threatened to layoff all municipal employees and close down the town hall. The tax referendum was defeated. Yesterday's vote was 136 to 29. A resoundingly no. And because of that the mayor says he will live up to his threat. We tried to get a comment from the mayor but we had difficulty locating him this morning. We went to the town hall first. The building was open but apparently the welcome mat had already been removed. Yet.

Right and. Then we went to the mayor's home. Everywhere we went in Victory Gardens today the police department followed Finally the mayor appeared. If there's no money forthcoming from the state or from the county. And that means that it all the full timers will be laid off at the end of the month. Some of the mayor's opponents say the town can be operated with part time employees and it's not necessary to close town hall down. We were secured for a good many many years and we didn't. We only had a part time place force and a part time clerk part time. All the other people were part time. You propose going back to a part time police force. We would have to until we get more rate of those in this time. Many of the people in this town say they think the mayor is bluffing. They say they don't really think he can close down the borough hall and eliminate essential services. But the mayor insists he's going to put a padlock on this building on the first of April in Victory Gardens.

New Jersey has been trying to reel new business into the state and the Supreme Court threw out some bait. The court yesterday ruled that business will not have to pay local property taxes on its machinery and equipment. The court said subjecting business to an equipment property tax would just hurt the state's attempt to attract new industry. The case involved a tax levy Bayonne But the court was not as helpful to owners of mobile homes. The court also ruled that mobile homes parked in a permanent location can be subject to property taxes and the high court said no to some property owners who were trying to get their school taxes cut. When state aid to school districts goes up local school taxes go down and state aid is based in part on the number of students enrolled in local public schools. The property owners had argued that the state aid formula should start to count the private and parochial school students as well. More students more state aid lower taxes. But the Supreme Court disagreed and the state aid formula will

continue to count only public school pupils. New Jersey schools will get rape prevention classes. Governor Byrne signed that bill into law today. The governor also dealt with the fuel shortage. Yes the federal government to find out if a fuel shortage in fact exists in the northeast and if it does the governor wants Washington to relax their standards for the whole region. Right now the federal government makes exemptions from its pollution standards on a state by state basis. But Burns says that could pit the northeastern states against one another. Fighting to be those that get the exemption. Farmers and farm groups from all over the Northeast are meeting in Cherry Hill this week. Their mission to save the farmland. But for New Jersey farmers there's a catch. They're embroiled in a fight that's hurting their cause. Mariama Rosso reports. Gathered in Cherry Hill this week are farmers an agricultural college professors. White House staffers and state cabinet officials from 10 northeastern states. The meeting is

being sponsored by the Association of northeastern governors which governor heads but the state's own farm bureau isn't coming. Then in the Northeast there was no direction for agriculture. We therefore have to find one and therefore it's government's job. We say that's bunk. There's a political struggle here between the state government and the farmers and the victim may well be the farmlands. Over the past decade has been about every three days government and the farmlands. But over the past year they've been fighting about how to do that. Their latest point of contention has been the governor's moratorium on development in the parlance. The farmers say that their land. To a farmer his land is a Social Security this is his retirement check if you will. It's all he's got. And if you take away that now he may never sell. You may decide to pass it along to his children.

He may never sell it but the point is if he ever wants to do that right has been taken away from a farm where you pay the farmer the farmer. Well the agriculture secretary that probably the best way to say farm land transfer rights in other words paying farmers to give up the right to develop their land. But the administration in particular to do that kind of failed farm land. The New Jersey Turnpike which slices through some of the most heavily industrialized areas of the state may get a bit of a facelift. Governor Byrne has written to the Turnpike Authority saying The road has been blamed for giving a distorted picture of the state to millions of motorists whose only view of New Jersey is as they drive along the highway. Burns suggests creative landscaping in the industrial areas to possibly increase tourism.

And we'll get some creative landscaping because it's time for the greening of New Jersey. Spring came rushing in today giving us another dose of sunny brilliant blue skies and pleasant temperatures. Tonight will be there with lows in the mid 30s to low 40s throughout the state. Tomorrow should be much the same as today sunny and mild with highs in the upper 50s to low 60s in the north in the low to mid 60s in the south slightly cooler at the shore. And Friday's outlook is for increasing cloudiness with a chance of rain. What are these two men have in common besides being baseball players. Well one has led the other time to inform the public about the programs of the foundation of lateral sclerosis Lou Gehrig's disease and that's one topic of discussion on this week's dirs and files.

We'll also take a look at an innovative program for juvenile offenders and see how our libraries are serving our lives. That's Thursday at 10:30 on New Jersey Public Television. Good news for a couple of the state's college basketball teams and here's Paul Budde live very good news we mentioned last night that New Jersey has two college basketball teams in the running for a national championship. Both are still alive after winning opening round games last night. First of all the national junior college tournament in Kansas Mercer came from behind to beat of Indiana by a point in the opening round. In tonight's quarterfinal round Mercer plays Nebraska Western. And the National Women's small college tournament in North Dakota Seton Hall beat Texas Wesley and last night. All tonight play South Carolina State in their quarterfinal around in Piscataway last night the New Jersey Nets broke a five game losing streak by beating the Detroit Pistons in the first half number 15 Eddie Jordan for 13 points. Then he went on to finish with 29. But the show really belongs to number 23 John

Williamson 21 points in the first half. Thirty five in all but Williamson was coming off a very poor performance over the weekend. This was a night when almost everything you threw up when in the take a look at this one. But despite Williamson and Jordan the nets still trail by three at the half. Then after the Nets fell further behind number 40 Harvey Catchings took over. Kaching scored 15 points all in the fourth quarter. He had the fans going wild catching zip for a four from the floor seven of seven from the line. His finest offensive performance since joining the nets in February it led to a seven point net win. Afterwards Bill Berry talked with Harvey Catchings normally Mr. Defense. The necklaces defense I don't know if you can read it or we don't want to talk about your offense 15 big points in the fourth quarter. You caught your best quarter offensively as a pro yet to play out the say so and tried to paint it as probably my career as a pro for one quarter. But again 15 points for a game or a game. Yeah.

It was actually Harvey ketching scored 16 points in one game but two and a half years ago how quickly they forget at halftime of last night's game some of New Jersey's top high school players were on hand for a slam dunk contest. Here's a pretty fair slam dunk with a tuck by unionized Mike Sigel. Then Tony Webster of Valley High. Gets a technical hanging on the rim. Larry furloughing Baz came in with a nice 360 degree spin dunk. But the winner six foot six inch Burnette Adams of St. Patrick's high in Elizabeth ball not spectacular. He was consistent. Many of these same players will be back at the Rutgers gym tomorrow night for the annual high school North-South all star game. The best college fans in the nation are at Princeton University for the NCAA championships which run tomorrow and Friday. This afternoon the fencers began checking in at Jadwin Gym for a total of 56 teams are entered. Notre Dame favored to win its third straight national title. The first order of business today was officially checking out the weapons to make sure that one contact is made a light will go on. Also today a few fencers got in one

final practice session before tomorrow's official start. Princeton is coach of 33 years stand say ha told me today what to look for in the order of fencing. It is not a spectator sport. And it's very difficult for spectators at the Competitive. Performers to see what is the main quality a good dancer with me. Be good deception. And their concept of what you're doing and have to be somewhat like a cat or a tiger told me it has an advantage over a shorter individual. Because of the reach. Of these people good athletes. Yes most of them are very good at our stories. Again at a fencing tournament coming up tomorrow and Friday at Jadwin Gym and the sports. Thanks Paul. New Brunswick has plugged up the lake that allowed thousands of gallons to flow into the Raritan River. City officials say the

inadvertent dumping resulted from a mis placed pipe. City workers shored up the pipe with a want a half inch thick piece of wood in which stop flowing into the river and started flowing into the county. Some realtors on the New Jersey coast are disputing reports that summer rentals in the Atlantic City area are unavailable this year because of the attraction of casino gambling. Realtors in Ocean City only 15 miles south of the casino say rentals are still available. But at the same time a spokeswoman admitted that the rents are sky high. Archbishop Thomas BOWLEN The head of the Newark archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church for 21 years was buried today in New York. The archbishop a retired four years ago was a powerful figure in church affairs in northern New Jersey for nearly half a century. Today members of the clergy joined thousands of other Catholics at his funeral. A solemn pontifical mass and now works at Sacred Heart Cathedral. Sandra King reports

on. As the choir sang the draped coffin of the archbishop lay in the center aisle of Sacred Heart the cathedral he helped build more than 25 years ago the Archbishop's family and friends. Among them Cardinal Terence of New York and New Jersey governor Brendan Byrne. The mass was led by his successor Archbishop Peter Garrett who had visited with Archbishop Boland in the hospital on the day of his death. Three died in that hospital Friday night following a stroke. He was 83 years as a priest as a teacher. And as the spiritual leader of more than one and a half million New Jersey Catholics. Archbishop Geraghty said today he leaves us a lesson in the midst of multitudinous problems in the guidance of the Spirit. Of Infinite charity in the face of bitter

criticism. I. Oh I'm Louis Rukeyser. And in times like these we ordinary Americans need all the help we can get in trying to plan a more secure financial future. Giving that help is the job before we hear from some of the experts in the country on the business of making a buck and making that. Try to have a laugh or two along the way. Sometimes. I hope you'll join us. Watch Wall Street Week 30 New Jersey Public Television. Some citizens of the Garden State like to accuse state legislators of seeing double on certain issues. Now some leaders are getting accused of serving double

holding down two elective offices are at issue. Commentators Tom Kane and Richard have naturally two opinions on the matter. Dick. What do the mayors of Camden. Damn boy Harrison Linden and Union City all have in common. They're members of the New Jersey state legislature. Together with other assorted May is councilman and freeholders this service in the state senate or assembly makes them dual job holders. I don't believe people ought to receive to pay for two government jobs. Majority Leader Albus stated that one cannot hold both jobs without doing a disservice to one or both. I agree. Conflicts of interest going to occur. What about a funding formula which allocates funds to your town at the expense of others in your district. More often though the conflict is one of responsibility. Let's say your town is in a crisis. Public officials are planning to strike. How can you concentrate in your responsibilities and. How can you go through day after day of legislative hearings if it means being away from the town that you've been elected to

serve. Most of the states have acted. Michigan and Ohio have abolished dual job holding completely. Others like Illinois simply prohibit one government official from receiving two salaries. We should act. Common Cause New Jersey election commission and the New Jersey taxpayers association all think the practice ought to be abolished. It should. After all Dick. New Jersey has no shortage of qualified people to fill government jobs. There's no real need for the same individual to serve on two payrolls. Tom I think there's a difference with legislators. The legislature is a part time job or it's the pay scale is based on that assumption. Every member except for an occasional independently wealthy one has some other form of employment lawyers predominate. But there are also a variety of other occupational groups represented including those elected to other county municipal offices. Now the short answer to why it's OK to let these dual office holders in. Is that the public has seen fit to elect them to two posts and that presumably is what democracy is all about. The right to

hold to office is what is explicitly recognized in 1062 law. I don't know of any evidence that those who serve since that time have been any worse or for that matter any better than their colleagues who held only one post. It's possible of course that their attention was divided especially if they also hold a job in the public sector. And the private sector. But where is the evidence. What wrong with that. Is this bill trying to write. Let me emphasize that there is already a law which prohibits holding a state job while serving in the legislature. And in New Jersey it's illegal to be a municipal office holder and a member of the school board. There are those who will argue that the current situation permits legislators to come to Trenton to represent the narrow interest of a single community. To them I would ask is this somehow worse than the special interest legislator who has a perfect right to get elected if the people will have him or her. Frankly I just don't believe that the public interest is threatened by legislators who hold two posts. In any case the fate of the legislators are already hold

the office is not exactly hanging by a thread. The Senate has referred the bill which passed the assembly to a five member committee. Two of the members are Senator Rogers the mayor of Harrison and Sen. Gregorio the mayor of Linden. But what the heck. If you get elected twice. Why not double your office and double your fun. Once again our top story the strike by state college teachers has been settled. Just one day after it began. And that's the news. Goodnight Clayton tonight and good night for the New Jersey New Jersey Nightly News is a joint presentation of Jersey Public Television and WAPT 13 and is broadcast weeknights at 6:30 at 7:30. An updated edition is broadcast at 10 p.m. at 7:00.