New Jersey Nightly News; 02/09/1980

We are seeing Iraq. There are reports tonight of a completely restructured Casino Control Commission. The old one may be the victim of Abscam. In sports the nets lose an AC y o team heads for the record books. And Patterson police get on their feet after their headquarters burns down. That evening stung by the Abscam corruption probe governor Byrne is reported considering a major overhaul of the state's Casino Control Commission. The governor said to be weighing a proposal that would restructure the commission cutting its numbers from five members to three and making all three

positions full time. The image of the once prestigious panel has been tarnished by the FBI probe of official bribery and influence peddling. One commission member has already resigned and the New York Daily News today reports that Bernie is considering the firing of commission chairman Joseph Lord Lord I has said he will not resign. Published reports earlier this week claimed FBI undercover agents had secretly videotaped a conversation with U.S. senator Harrison Williams. The senator allegedly bragged he'd saved one casino concern three million dollars after talking with Lauren I. Want to denies any discussion with the senator about the Ritz associates casino. But no alleged links between Williams and Ritz continue to surface. Today the Long Island newspaper Newsday says the FBI has Williams on record as having sought financing for writs from the undercover agents in his alleged attempt to arrange a 100 million dollar loan. Williams reportedly told the agents there would be no problem in getting a gambling license from the state.

Williams meanwhile has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. And Paterson police are operating this evening from an all public high school after a fire yesterday destroyed most of the department headquarters in downtown Paterson. Christina Grimmie has the details. It took firefighters several hours to battle the smoky blaze here last night. The fire started in the basement of the building and destroyed that entire floor. Remainder of the building suffered heavy smoke and water damage. Today police and firefighters many working overtime returned to the now soggy headquarters to clean up and salvage police department property. From the fire and smoke that was destroyed at the police department. Some of the records. But I sure this morning they were rather run aboard records actually things of that nature. Our armory was destroyed and most of the violations which is part of the course are still they were wiping.

Some radio equipment and computer terminals were also lost in the blaze. The activity at the fire scene was matched by scurrying police and workmen a few blocks away setting up the department's temporary center at the Martin Luther King adult education school. Yeah they can always reserve the right to be more spacious but it's laid out the way we can utilize it and that is what we are working on now. The spatial visibility tour you are building an eight million dollar public safety complex. This department was scheduled to begin moving in in May and a move that would take for five months. I don't know what the schedule will be now. As for the Spanish American adults who come here for classes no one sure where they will go now. In Patterson I'm Christina Grimmie a 100 ton diesel engine that derailed Thursday night was pulled by giant cranes from North Bay today. The unintended Conrail engine had careened off a freight yard tracks and into the water.

And authorities say that vandals may have been the cause. Someone they say may have engaged the gears on Diesel's sending them racing along the tracks until they hit a curve near the waterfront. Two of the engines jumped the tracks but remained on land. But the third one salvaged today plunged over a rocky embankment and into the water. There were no injuries and there's still no dollar estimate on the damage. A two month manhunt for the killer of Trenton socialite Emma Jane Stockton ended last night with the arrest of a 24 year old truck driver. Reporter says in these last revisited the neighborhood where the brutal slaying occurred. She found a mood of great relief among residents. How to produce a lab results when I gave them the final evidence that's there all I offer to your vote is already accused of murdering an elderly Hamilton townships woman into Want to talk to the star and slang my opinion about his blood was found there's a little town now it's you know writers or street for ten times he shows up in the

principality sent into a stabbed 40 times with a knitting needle corkscrew and knife. Sometime December 7th authorities say blood stains matching Alford's were found both in her house where she lived alone and that of the elderly woman. Alford had also been charged with raping miss Stockton a month before her murder. Neighbors we talked to today including their Aunt their Holland expressed great relief that someone has finally been arrested in the case. Well I'm pleased as I imagine everyone is has been following the case that there is a suspect. About who the evidence well circumstantial seems very convincing and I think because of that people generally and especially people in the neighborhood are relieved and were very happy about it I just hope it's it's the right man that they have. That's all I can say it's been a long time since the murder and

I'm glad it's finally been solved. I wouldn't say that I would say the tension has died down a lot from the beginning but not going to anything from the hopping to say these that word but with a relief that the person is finally caught. During the course of their lengthy investigation police say they questioned more than 500 people. Alford is now in jail with bail posted at $500000. Said high due to what one judge called the heinous nature of the crimes committed in Trenton I'm Susan nice loss. Superior Court judge will allow Atlantic City residents to vote on a referendum that would change the city's form of government. Atlantic City mayor Joseph Lazarou and three commissioners tried to challenge the constitutionality of the ordinance that called for the vote. But Judge Philip said the referendum will be within constitutional limits. The referendum if approved will change the form of government from a five member commission to a city council structure. That vote will come February 26. And today's weather was fair and mild but that's all about to

change tonight. Expects snow a winter storm watches in effect for tonight and tomorrow temperatures will drop into the teens and by late this evening that snow should be falling. We'll continue tomorrow with temperatures in the high 20s and before the storm is over we could see as much as three inches. The outlook for Monday no snow but it will be cold. Now.

Time for tonight's look at sports with Bill Mallon. Thank you Sandy. The Nets took the Lakers into overtime last night but came out on the short end of a 125 to 120 scored band no one was there and he has this report. Los Angeles traveling magic showed just got away for the first time this season the Rutgers athletic center sold out but not all of the magic came from Ricky Earvin Johnson number 32 for the Lakers didn't get his first field goal until five minutes left in the third period. He did finish with impressive stats no 19 points 13 13 assist veterans came through number 52 just scored 28 points including 10 out of 10 from the field in the first 10 and the big guy Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I don't have to tell you his number was his awesome self finishing with 31 points. For the nets Mike Newman. Robinson provided the magic Newman scored 40 points and Robinson hit a career high 27. The Nets played the talented Lakers tough with 130 left in regulation they were down six but two buckets by Robinson and now by Newman tied at 1 12.

The brawl back with 11 seconds to go but couldn't get a shot off. It looked like he was down but no call was made the only time belonged to the Lakers in this jam by Abdul-Jabbar put the game away. Afterwards I talked to Kareem and asked him about the Nets. We played together better than they do. But they got some talented guys out there. Eddie Jordan and Mike Norman aren't on any structures and I think with Maurice Lucas coming they're going to have the right going to people who could do something. That finally get him going 25 2013. I'm Dan Newman. In another overtime game Rutgers beat West Virginia this afternoon 82 to 80 the Scarlet Knights here in white one over the 500 mark with today's win over the Mountaineers Rutgers is now 11 and 10 and 6 and 2 in their conference. West Virginia took an early lead and held it for most of the game the game was tied after regulation 76. All the knights were paid by Calvin Troy and Kevin Black. They both had 18 points and Troy lay

up with one second left in overtime was the difference. Lolo's Moore led West Virginia with 20 before fouling out again the final record 82 West Virginia 80. And another action Princeton continued its winning ways the Tigers have an unstoppable that's unstoppable they've won the last five straight the latest victim was Harvard last night in a 57 to 53 final. Princeton is now five in one of the Ivy League there are nine and 12 overall. Well Pete corral Tom Young Bob the cat. I've got news for you. You're going to have to step aside tomorrow the limelight is on coach Tony Caetano and his basketball team at St. Margaret's in Morristown. The c y o team has won eighty eight straight and they're on their way to getting printed up in the Guinness Book of World Records. If they win tomorrow against St. Mary's of Denville they'll have the longest winning streak in the world right now. St. Margaret's is tied with UCLA St. Margaret's binge extends over six seasons in the Morris town Morris County area coach Caetano has been at the helm for eight years and he said he never dreamed that he'd capture

international attention. Well first of all I think it's mainly for the kids who have been part of this streak it's been six years. And for Sunday's game we invited him on back you know they mean they were bored of it. And plus he's going to give Seymour gets a little recognition of precision so foreign to us over there and maybe give him a name. First started at a jam or have any idea that you would get this kind of recognition. No not really. My first year of coaching we won that we won the championship but I don't think anything like this would ever happen. OK Lotsa luck guys that game again tomorrow is at 2:30 in Morristown. The two indoor track records were shattered last night at the Mille Rose games in Madison Square Garden. Mary Decker broke the fifteen hundred meter race world record in a time of four minutes. Meanwhile Stephanie Hightower broke the indoor best for the women 60 yard high hurdles and what a Clark she seen here third place she's a student at a South Orange High School. She lost the 800 meter lead to Robin Campbell on the final lap. Madeline Manning crossed the line

first in a time of two minutes five point six seconds. And from the shore of the Athletic Club of West Long Branch Todd Scully won the mile walk. That was his third consecutive victory in that event his time was 6 0 9. Last year high step and Scully broke the world record at 5:55. Now that looks like my pace in the 100 yard dash. Well Case You Missed It. Here it is in slow motion technically Skelly on the right should have been disqualified because both feet left the ground that's a no no in the mile walk. We can barely see that in slow motion I'd sure hate to be a judge in that event. And the high jump with event was won by fairly Dickens and Franklin Jacobs his job was nowhere near his prediction for 1979 of seven feet nine inches. His winning job last night was 7 5 it was another reunion between Jacobs and white stones. Stones had a bad night. He finished third and Ben Mills placed second in that event and that's the shapers force today back to you city. Thank you Bill how are you feeling. Oh I'm feeling fine and you feel half your vacation. I'm feeling fine but we are among the lucky ones because a lot of people are not. And if you've

been laid low by cold muscle aches and fever this week you are not alone. The flu bug has hit New Jersey. And with children the most common victims school attendance figures have reflected the outbreak in scattered districts throughout the state. Classes have been decimated and some schools have even shut their doors. The Camden County Superintendent of Schools says school officials there expect the worst is yet to come. At Rutgers there is growing controversy over a proposed change in the way its colleges are set up. Administrators say the plan will be for the good of the students but many students disagree. Says in these last reports. Most Rutgers basketball fans came to today's game with only one thing in mind to see their team beat the University of West Virginia. But others seem much more concerned about a different kind of defeat carrying colorful placards protesters made it clear they want to stop a plan that could change the course of their education. Right now Rutgers is the only university that still has what's called a federated system. Cook

Douglas Livingston Rutgers and university the school's five undergraduate colleges each have their own faculty and departments under the proposal there would be a single faculty of Arts and Sciences serving the undergraduate colleges graduate and professional schools and research programs. If approved the reorganization would begin in the fall of 1981. Provost Kenneth Wheeler who came up with the idea says the merger will greatly enhance the quality of education at Rutgers. We don't envisage any determination we just see an elimination of duplication of courses we have the same number of faculty members the same number of students that we're going to have a broader range of opportunities for the students. So the the movements will be very considerable students will not be expected to move much. We still have major bus operations. Going on on the campuses we don't see that expanded particularly we do see faculty moving to students. Most of the students we talk to meanwhile are strongly against it because it was too big too impersonal and is a personal College for Women and

it's beneficial for me to come here. I would like to graduate from Douglas not from a large university. Well I personally favor the wielder proposal because I feel that undergraduate wise will be able to get a more diversified education bringing departments together instead of having a department say 15. They'll have about 50 professors in the department for your major So you'll be able to get. You'll have more professors and probably have more diversified courses. And today the university said it now has three months to discuss any other plans and it's really dangerous to the school's president might be the letter to the board's governors who met at the last final decision and that's expected sometime in May in New Brunswick. I'm Susan the Sloss. Our education commentator Dr. David wash has been studying the overall look of higher education in the state. Tonight he sounds off on what he's seen so far. Higher education in New Jersey has a new master plan. And includes fewer students and higher standards. But plans are simply plain. And they bear

little resemblance to reality. Widely publicized poor results on freshman tests Rutgers University the state colleges and community colleges can hardly argue with the need to improve standards. Most of those institutions are busy evaluating the steps they need to take. However the question of enrollment is less clear. In spite of the fact we've seen are we dealing with ordinary statistics. Actually many issues are involved. One is the anticipated drop in college enrollment in New Jersey. And Roman may decline by nearly 25 percent over the next 10 years. If the plan is implemented that drop maybe only 7 percent. The plan calls for a shift in clientele. Programs need to be re oriented toward senior citizen disadvantaged young people and part time students. The plan also entails efforts to attract more New Jersey students as well as more out-of-state youngsters. What projections and plans may be obsolete already. Afghanistan Iran not

only affect the economy they also affect education. IN THE STATE OF THE NATION message. President Carter announced his intention to reinstate the Selective Service System. He has now introduced proposals to actually establish a draft registration the draft may be a boon to college in Rome. Making all planes quite worthless. No one plan for the draft and probably no one really wants it. Nevertheless it appears to be coming and with it higher college a moment. Where young people college serves a two whole purpose. It's a convenient place to protest things like the draft. It's also a convenient place to avoid it. With the reappearance of the draft there may be little need to play in porn or Roman decline. For many college. Never look so good. I'm Dr. David wife. State officials believe they found ancient artifacts that may have been used by east coast

Indians. Seventeen hundred years ago all the find was significant. Officials are guarding the undisclosed location to avoid scavengers state transportation workers discovered the pottery and food processing tools while conducting a routine survey of an area where their agency plans a new publicly funded project. According to a Department of Transportation official the site located on three tenths of an acre of land may be the only undisturbed Indian campsite in central New Jersey. Prime it's always been a major concern of people living in urban areas and fear of crime is one reason many families have chosen to move out of New Jersey cities and into the suburbs. But now crimes become a serious problem in suburban and rural areas as well. One way of attacking the problem is crime prevention. Taking steps that will frustrate would be criminals before they get a chance to break the law. Earlier this week Karen Stone and Gus Manning Berg took a look at the problem and here is their report. 1979 was not a good year for law enforcement. Nationwide the crime rate

rose 9 percent in the first nine months of the year. Things were even worse and New Jersey where the rate went up 13 percent during the first nine months of 1979. Union Township might be called a typical suburban community with its tree lined streets and quiet neighborhoods. It's the kind of town that lots of people would love to live in but a few years ago community leaders became concerned. They were worried that the rising crime rate might alter the character of this community and they decided that something had to be done about it. Ted Zappa and Walter Robinson are members of the Union police department's crime protection unit. Ted is a civilian Wafa 12 year veteran on the force. It's their job to teach families how they can protect their own home. Today they're visiting Katherina wealthy before making specific suggestions. A security survey is made of the entire house. OK. First they check door locks were great for me. To double so.

That. These I would recommend adults. I've been doing has also class. Recently for. The world. To have. Seen him. When he had prayed with. Don't. Want to do it myself. We're both great even to keep. Up with just a. Dozen. Different types. Next they inspect the windows. We were placing ourselves. My partner Walter or myself looking at the play says being an actual burglar what how would we get into this particular house. What would be the easiest point or means of breaking into the home and then from there we would tell the person. Maybe you should change this law. Or do this with the window or trim your shrubbery. There are many simple things you can do to protect your own home. Using a timer to turn the light in your living room on and off when you're out of the house is one way. Installing the right kinds of locks is another. This year I'm. Sorry. This is the type of lock that you would use on the solitaire that has no glass and

this same something. If there was glass there so you'd be able to reach in and turn the mark would be worth it to you to spend your money for nothing. And enjoy is of solid use this. There's an old saying that there is security in numbers. There is no place where this is more true than in crime prevention. And union as in other communities there is a limited number of police officers. They can't be everywhere all the time. That's why the union police department has established a program called Neighborhood Watch under the supervision of the Union police department homeowners keep an eye out for suspicious cars or strangers. OK neighborhood watch. Very simply is a particular neighbor would turn around and say sure when you go on vacation when you're not home I keep an eye out for you for your house. You might give them the key note that you have to do that. But that you know they're not home to call the union police department on any suspicious acts. Pomona Peter okra since he helps to coordinate unions a neighborhood watch program

neighborhood watch program. You know our community here is basically the eyes and ears of the police force. We have neighbors who have gotten together to organize meetings. Sanctioned by the police department. To basically fight the juvenile problem in and around the Washington school area. We're protecting our property. We're protecting the town's property. Again we can't expect the policeman on duty 24 hours in every neighborhood. Crime prevention programs like the Neighborhood Watch have made a real difference in union in the two year period in 1977 to 1978. We had a 73 percent reduction in the burglaries most in the home murders like they just about 98 percent or more affection homebrewing dropped from I think it was somewhere around 50 to 60 House voters down there around 250 and of course in two years crime prevention programs aren't cheap.

Unions anti-crime efforts across both the townships police department and individual homeowners money. But the net effect has been to make you know a safer place in which to live. Can you put a price tag on safety and peace of mind. Union Township as you want to glam power is one example of how a crime prevention program should be run. In an era of tight budgets and police layoffs it's one approach that more and more communities should be exploring. Karen Greste union seems to have a pretty sophisticated program how many other New Jersey towns have similar crime prevention programs. My guess is that no more than 25 percent of the communities in the state of New Jersey have such a program Karen. OK. Early this year the governor asked Attorney General John Degnan to come up with a crime preventing plan what kind of progress has been made on that. I think he's still working on that plan but it is not complete I think he's been involved in solving crimes and hasn't gotten around to his crime prevention program. It is not yet complete but

there is speculation that among the items which will be included in it the major ones are an impact program which will trace and track. Criminals right through the system with one single prosecutor. Another is a sophisticated computer which has been used in other states and which is now being tried in Mara's County. Which will identify everything about a criminal or a police officer by punching a set of buttons possibly that will spread to other parts of the state. If the money is available just about everyone agreed. To. We want to try crime as much. Fun a look at tonight's top stories. The governor is reportedly thinking about restructuring the Casino Control Commission and the New York Daily News is reporting that Bernie may fire the chairman of the commission. Joseph Lloyd I both reports come in the wake of the Abscam investigation and for the time being the Patterson Police Department is calling a nearby high school home. A fire destroyed the police station yesterday. The damage has been estimated at more than one million dollars. And that's New Jersey Nightly News the Saturday edition of

the bill Mellon and all of us here good night. Or who.

New Jersey Nightly News is a joint presentation of New Jersey Public Television and w o any TV 13. The program is broadcast Saturdays and Sundays at 6:00 p.m. both the New Jersey Public Television and channel 13 ocean's pre recorded. It.