New Jersey Nightly News; New Jersey Nightly News Episode from 03/02/1981 6:30 pm

From Trenton Here's Cameron St.. Good evening officials in Rockaway are still looking for the source of pollution that is close to of the town's three wells. In sports Bill Perry has details of James Scott's attempt to get out of Rahway Prison to fight. And we'll take a closer look at one New Jerseyan who was lobbying against the proposed Reagan budget cuts. Governor Brewer lost another battle in the state assembly today the assembly voted to reject the governor's proposal to make it harder for some gubernatorial contenders to qualify for public matching campaign funds in the June primary. John McQuaid is here with the story Jim. The governor really believed to be able to get the Assembly to pass this bill the defeat came as a surprise the measure would have raised from 50000 to 150000 the money a candidate for governor would have to raise privately in small donations to qualify for matching public campaign funds. The governor only got 23 of the 41 votes he needed to get it passed this despite the fact members of his Democratic Party or a majority in the Assembly on Thursday burned signed a bill appropriating six and a half million dollars to pay for the matching Public Campaign Fund

program. He signed it expecting the legislature would act quickly and favorably on the threshold bill plus another measure calling for a runoff election if the winner of the June gubernatorial primary didn't get at least 40 percent of the vote. That bill is awaiting the action of the Senate which reconvenes later this month. Chances of passage for the runoff bill aren't so good either by raising the threshold the governor wanted to limit fringe candidates from getting up to $600000 in matching campaign funds. There are expected to be as many as 21 candidates for governor in the June primary. In other business the assembly approved and sent to the Senate a bill increasing the gas and electric bill credits for eligible senior citizens and disabled persons who help those low income residents meet winter fuel bills by raising state aid from one hundred twenty five dollars to one hundred fifty dollars per person. Also final legislative approval was given to a bill allowing a minute of silence to be observed by schoolchildren at the start of classes each day. The bill was sent to the governor for his signature. The legislature by the way was so busy today it presented some problems.

This was today's workload in the assembly 60 bills in position to be voted on. Just a summary of the board list ran four pages. Some say it's almost impossible to keep track of so many bills in one day. I find it very difficult to accept the fact that. The majority party has is a burning desire to bring us back here on Monday and Thursday to pass. Anywhere from 50 to as many as 72 bills. Which is hardly time to. Study the. Short or long range impact on any of this legislation. It's going to impact upon us. Well I was fortunate enough to be able to prepare for them this way. But it's a real gigantic. Assembly leaders of violating their own bylaws by packing the board list Rule 15 section 11 paragraph C says no more than 30 bills can be posted per session. Assembly speaker Chris Jackman claims the rest of the bills are a carry over legislative business and says it's technically not violating the bylaws. Also he says legislators should make it

their own business to find out what's in the bill. Others say packing the board list lets assembly leadership skirt another by law requiring bills to be posted at least six days before a vote to give legislators more time to study them. But the way it is now the Democratic leadership can pluck any one of the bills for a vote any time it wants to. More bills the more political horse trading and all that. More political leverage by leadership several times in recent years to simply pass bills not knowing all that was in the one animal care bill was routinely approved in the rush of business only to be recalled after it was discovered it inadvertently legalized marijuana. Some legislators say more like today means more mistakes like that are possible in the future. Now there's no indication things are OK. Thank you. Officials in the Morris County borough of Rockaway are still searching for the source of chemical pollution that is so far poisoned. Two of their three wells Meanwhile Burl residents there are continue to be warned not to drink the tap

water. The pollutant is Tetra chloride. It's believed to cause cancer reports. Most Rockaway residents weren't born here. They moved him away from the cities looking for a better cleaner life. Now they find their water polluted unsafe for drinking. Instead of turning on the tap they're turning to public tanks. And while they're filling up they're talking about the inconvenience the impact on their property value and especially the danger to their children. I wonder I have children I worry about them. I hope there is no effect to them because of this I have an infant was four months old We've been given to construct a formula so we mix it with the tap water. You really begin to wonder I have a 5 month old son. I'm a little bit worried about. But we took him to the doctor and the doctor said there shouldn't be too many ill effects from it. The problem first surfaced in September and this well was shutdown. But on Friday new tests show that a second well had been contaminated and all the water was

placed off limits for drinking and cooking and emergency system of supply was organized. Some water coming from the safe third well some from neighboring Morris Township. And officials hasten plans for a new filtration plant hoping to see it in place and functioning by next month. And Rockaway officials fear that their troubles may not be over. The pollution began in one well. Now it has spread to a second. And they fear that contamination could hit this clean third Well if they don't find its source. There is speculation that the PC problem began with rocket engine tests in the area more than 20 years ago but officials say that's only a guess. It wasn't until these last tests were taken which we found out about on Friday in which Oh well Number Six went from about 11 parts per billion to over 650 parts. And you can trace where that's coming from. It's like finding a needle in a haystack. The state health department labels anything in excess of 100 parts per billion a

hazard. And in Rockaway the hazards likely to remain for at least another 30 days in Rockaway Barrow. I'm Sandra King. Meanwhile North Jersey reservoirs are at their highest level since last May. That's due both to four inches of rain received last month. Conservation efforts all six water companies involved in rationing reduced their consumption last week. Commonwealth water reduced. It's consumption by more than 18 percent its reservoir capacity is now more than 93 percent. That means a two hundred fifteen day supply. Hackensack also cut consumption by more than 18 percent and there is a 150 day supply of water left with reservoirs there almost at 60 percent capacity. Jersey City registered a sixteen point two percent reduction reservoir capacity there stands at almost 80 percent a supply of one hundred and ninety days. Newark consumption by almost 14 percent has reservoirs are more than half full. That means a supply of about one hundred thirty five days. North Jersey water

district reduce consumption by almost 40 percent. Reservoir capacity stands at fifty three point three percent one hundred thirty seven day supply and Passaic Valley Water Commission registered an 18 percent reduction in consumption total reserve reduction among the six companies last week was almost 17 percent. Total Average consumption was three hundred forty three million gallons total average were reservoir capacity now stands at fifty eight point six percent. That means an average of one hundred forty eight days supply of water. An evaluation team from the Middle States Association of Schools today voted to give full accreditation to Essex County College in Newark last year Middle States investigators threaten to close the school down citing poor school administration and some financial difficulties. The college was granted to defer to accreditation status in November. Today's decision restores the college's status for three years. I know Jersey state police review of the Lindbergh kidnapping case agrees with the original conclusion that Bruno

Richard Helpmann was guilty in the 49 year old case and a summary of the state police reinvestigation says that the body of the 20 month 20 month old infant found some weeks after the kidnapping was indeed that of Charles Lindbergh Jr. the latest investigation using the latest scientific techniques says hair samples taken from the infant's body matched that of hair previously cut from the Lindbergh baby. Now the report also says a flannel shirt on the victim matched cloth garments in the Lindbergh nursery. There has been renewed interest in the case of late prompted by the appearances of two men who claim to be the son of the famed aviator. He lived in hunter County at the time of the kidnapping. Many Jersey Shore communities which attract retirees but little industry face budget problems. Their tax bases are made up of lower middle income homes and there was relatively little industry to relieve the tax burden. Still the communities have to operate under state caps on spending. One is having more than its share of problems though. And South Jersey

correspondent Don Torrance reports. There's no shortage of communities asking their citizens for more money this time of year. Many are seeking waivers in state imposed caps on budgets. But here in Ware town Ocean Township confusion reigns according to one town committeemen. There are supposed to be a vote last week on a cap waiver but that vote was postponed when questions arose about the propriety of the way the vote was advertised. It's been put off until March 30 first but now that vote is being challenged whether or not the vote ever does take place. The question here what's at stake for these people is a tax increase of as much as 40 percent. Township committee Mindy Joseph Clayton the lone Democrat is the man to challenge last week's vote it is challenging the next one. He thinks the waivers being forced on the people with threats of service cuts some of our services will have to be cut back. But I believe that we can still have a 9am please force a three man road department. Most of the cutbacks will be in town hall to the services to the taxpayer that walk in the town hall want to aid our town hall. That's a bit of cutbacks.

You're saying this is a price the people here will have to pay simply because there's not of enough money. I think this is a price that people really want to pay the greatest threat to services comes in the township police department. The 10 man force would be reduced if the spending waiver fails. Chief William Sneddon says it would be reduced to six officers not the nine Clayton claims. SNEDDON campaigns for the waiver have to eliminate the midnight to 8:00 shift. They just would not be enough manpower. What you're saying is that someone should call up at 1 o'clock in the morning with an emergency that requires a policeman on the scene. There would be no need to take that call. There'd be no one here. What would happen would be the officer that would work before 12:00 shift. He would go home. At midnight. Or wherever he'd be he'd leave a telephone number. Now if an emergency came up. He would be notified by telephone. He'd get up get out of bed get dressed and then respond to the call. Some opponents of the cap waiver have threatened a tax revolt. They say they outnumber supporters like the police chief in the mayor five to one. Well March 30 first will tell if that vote

comes off. In Ocean Township Ocean County I'm Don Torrance. The sale of one nuclear power plant in lower alleyways Creek is down again. Officials said today the plant shut down automatically yesterday want to steam pump failed. They say the reactor will be down for about six days while they fix the pump system and they'll also take the opportunity to make some unrelated repairs at the plant that were recently ordered by federal authorities. The continuing war in a civil war in El Salvador has a special significance for a Bergen County couple. Their son has been missing in that war torn Central American country since Christmas. Efforts to find out what happened to their son have been frustrating and so far fruitless. And Susan these last reports the worried families says it's gotten no help so far from the new Reagan administration. Twenty six year old John Sullivan a freelance journalist left for El Salvador December twenty eighth. He was going to write an article on the country's worsening guerilla revolution for

Hustler magazine. But just after he arrived at his hotel he mysteriously vanished. No one has heard from him since. A few weeks ago we talked with John's parents at their home and they expressed great anger towards the Carter administration then in office saying they'd had no help from the State Department. Today we went back to see John's mother who works in the go to high school cafeteria. The rain Sullivan was hoping the new Reagan administration would take action. But still nothing. We have been down to Washington the family for them myself and directly I hope they gave us this town. Who said we would get a deal we've been getting from the State Department. And the system to the fire. Once we have written personal letters to President Reagan. My daughters have written for Mrs. Reagan. We have friends who have written to the White House. There has been absolutely no response from the White House whatsoever.

Mrs. Sullivan says more than 20000 letters have been sent to the State Department Most address to Secretary Haig In addition 1000 fine John Sullivan buttons are now being given out a plea for continued public support. Mrs. Sullivan plans to go to Washington again soon and hopefully speak with President Reagan personally. In the meantime she tries to distract herself by working and believing her son is still alive. Keeps me going through from the beautiful life I could never think I would be to not think of family. Some of the info in the Ghoda I'm sure is a nice loss. The US Supreme Court has let racketeering convictions against three New Jersey Teamster official stand the high court today turned down appeals by the three all officials of local 945 and West Patterson Union President Joseph Sato and business agent Ernest Palmieri and Frank Smith were convicted in

1979 of mismanaging union funds. The court then found them guilty of getting a large unsecured personal loans in exchange for the boss depositing their union's funds into nine New Jersey banks. The Reagan administration wants to scrap plans for a V.A. Hospital in Camden and that has angered New Jersey congressman architectural plans are nearing completion for the 75 million dollar project and ground was to be broken next year. All the money for the project has been authorized and appropriated it's now one of the items President Reagan wants to delete from his budget as part of his huge federal spending cuts. Now here's the weather forecast cloudy and windy tonight with a chance of some snow flurries in North Jersey. Temperatures will be in the upper teens to low 20s. It will be sunny tomorrow except for some clouds and possibly some more snow in north Jersey. Temperatures should be in the high 20s to low 30s. And the outlook for Wednesday is sunny but cold. Congress is coming under increasing pressure to modify or even reverse some of the Reagan

administration's proposed budget cuts. Tonight correspondent Gus Henning Burke talks with a New Jersey educator who was active in that lobbying effort. The area of Social Services has turned out to be a prime target for the Reagan administration's budget cuts. The fact which is all too clear both to the people who staff social service agencies and to their clients. Nancy Humphreys is president of the 80000 member National Association of Social workers as well as a faculty member of the Graduate School of Social Work at wrecker's University here in New Jersey. Dr. Humphries NASA is a professional organization for professional social workers nationwide I gather you all don't take too kindly to the president's cuts. They certainly do not we are extremely concerned and will be doing everything we can to get Congress to reverse some of the cuts that have been announced by the president today. He says however he's not going to truly needy. And it depends on how you define the truly needy need is a very subjective definition. And in point of fact he is going to cut from

a variety of programs a number of people who are today eligible for those programs and who themselves very much believe that they are in need of those programs. Let's let's talk about the home for his less shoes in New Jersey as the example. What will be the impact on social service recipients here in New Jersey. Give me some examples. Well there will be several. One there are a number of programs that are car proposed for cuts at the federal level food stamps for example a cap on Medicaid funding and the elimination of the SIDA. Program the jobs portion of the CDR program and also a proposal that unemployment insurance benefits no longer be extended beyond the first benefit period. Those will have a series of very negative affects on a state like New Jersey where there is a high rate of unemployment a highly industrialized urbanized state and the populations that are really most vulnerable to the president's cuts are what are called the working poor. Those

persons who work full or part time but whose earnings do not make it possible for them to be totally self supporting. And there are a large number of such persons in a state like New Jersey and they are going to lose benefits and one can only wonder what will happen as a consequence of the losing of benefits. Well the president has argued as an ex-governor. That it should be. Many of these should be run by the states more local control and so forth. Can New Jersey absorb the additional cost that the president intends to dump on them in social service areas in the state of New Jersey do that. Well I yeah I doubt very seriously that any state including New Jersey has the financial resources to absorb the kinds of costs that would be redistributed back to a state expenditure. The state will be in a position to make a variety of decisions that it currently cannot make by virtue of those programs being centralised in Washington. One of the things that that will do unfortunately is in New Jersey and in the

49 other states simply unleash a wholesale scrambling and competition for what will be fewer and scarcer funds and will really distribute the burden of very difficult decision making back to state legislatures and state planning mechanisms from the standpoint of NASA or of state or local affiliates then those that suggest you may have to direct your political far at the state legislature as well as in that role as it does and it means that every other human service advocacy group is going to be in a similar kind of position. That's also a very effective way and President Reagan and his administration is well aware of it it's a very effective way. Reducing the potency or effectiveness of the human service advocacy groups by sending them scrambling to the state capitals of 50 states or to the county seats of 400 plus counties and he also however in justifying these reductions as he calls them suggests that there is a great deal of fraud and waste.

You all are the professionals who run these services how do you react to that charge. Well I'd react very unfavorably to it certainly there's waste in all programs and no one has only to look at the cost overruns in defense spending which we commonly accept as a kind of standard practice in government spending today. There is waste in all forms of government spending it seems to me however very unfair to single out certain programs and label them as wasteful and suggest to the American public that they are somehow more wasteful than all other programs particularly when the allegation of fraud is then kind of implicit in the feelings about people who are receiving various kinds of vital social service programs. There is fraud for example in the Medicaid program that has absolutely nothing to do with the recipients of that program. And yet all of the discussion of fraud today seems to focus most critically on the beneficiary or the client who receives Social Services.

Dr. Humphreys. Thank you very much for joining us and we wish you well in what clearly is going to be a very difficult political fight. It certainly is. Thanks for being with us. Thanks Gus We'll be right back with Bill Perry and sports. Like James Scott the role you made and why you have your way. And. Now here with sports on this Monday was Bill Perry bill. Thank you Karen James Scott the wrong way inmate and light heavyweight boxer was back in court today Scott who

just last month was found guilty of murder in Essex County on an 1075 charge was in Trenton today in U.S. District Court asking for periodic furloughs from wrong way so we can fight. Scott hasn't fought since last May fighters have refused to go to Raul way to fight Scott naturally. Scott wants to pursue his career so to do that he has to fight. Outside. They get taken to justify champs so long as you know people thought of going to that was illegal. Scott is represented by Richard Mauldin and his position is as follows and this is in light of the recent murder conviction. Of James Scott is currently under what's called a work release program which means that he is paying for his room and board and is able to support his family with the money so he earns while in prison. We're saying that since he already is on a work release and there are no detainers against him at this point he should be permitted out to fight on a minimum security basis.

The case was argued before Judge Dickinson or Deborah voice Malvern called three witnesses all right away and mates and part of the lifers program who like Scott are in maximum security at the prison. The three testified that they leave the prison accompanied by security to speak at State Police headquarters at Cedar under cross-examination by Joe Maloney. The three all stated they were allowed out as volunteers and were not paid for their efforts. Maloney is the deputy attorney for the defendant William power in this case. Scott against our Father is the commissioner of the Department of Corrections. So the sparring had begun. Now grinned trying to show cause why Scott should be permitted to pursue his boxing career outside the prison walls. Scott testified in his own defense today citing all he has done for the boxing program it right away and how the prison has benefited financially from his fights inside Scott did not testify at his own murder trial last month. No decision was rendered by Judge Debra Boyce today and the hearing will continue tomorrow. And we'll have more tomorrow it's possible the decision will be rendered Saturday in Atlantic City Matthew Saad Muhammad successfully defended his WBC light heavyweight title but before we get to that Fred Bowman from

Ohio remains in critical condition in Atlantic City hospital after suffering a head injury in a loss to New Jersey lightweight champ Geno Perras on the undercard now the Muhammad fight this is round 11. MUHAMMAD about to score. Johnson is the challenger. Johnson will go down and then later in the round you will see it as the referee stops the fight now Mohamed says he wants to fight one more year then he wants to retire but before that he wants to unify the light heavyweight title and meet WBA champ Mustafa Gregory who lives in Gothenburg New Jersey and also on the cards Saturday New Jersey's heavyweight champ Scott Frank won on a second round over al Brookes now in basketball. The Nets lost to Detroit yesterday 117 to 1 0 4 in college ball. It is torn amid times added a record 61 69 tomorrow night it will be the Scarlet Knights and the Panthers in Pittsburgh in the opening round of the Eastern a tournament with put up 58 56. With just over four minutes to play you sort of learn McMillan mess and then dish inside to Steve Beatty. Roy Hansen with the block at the other end Henson will get the basket Richard Branson gets an inside hits and hit the foul three point play records up 59 58

but with 24 seconds left hits Wayne goes down the lane nicely and picks up by one Rutgers after a timeout you will see the pretty good ball movement and Bronson will get it too. Yes oooo that's right handsome in the way and it's rockers by one. Then after a quick timeout final shot time Wallace's 14 footer spun out. So Rutgers wins it. And guess what as I said we're going to do it all again tomorrow night in Pittsburgh. Eastern a tournament will have more on Rutgers and the rest of the teams in the state and the tournament picture for you right here tomorrow night. Karen at sports I can't wait for tomorrow. Morris got more on basketball. Once again our top stories tonight the search for the cause of chemical pollution in the Morris County borough of Rockaway continues. A cancer causing chemical PCI-E is already poisoned two wells there. The Assembly today rejected governor Byrne's proposal to make it harder for gubernatorial candidates to qualify for public matching funds in the June primary and reservoirs in North

Jersey have reached the highest level since last May thanks to four inches of rain last month and some conservation efforts. And that's the news for Bill Perry and Karen still good night for the New Jersey. And New Jersey Nightly News as a joint presentation of New Jersey Public Television and W in 1839. The program is broadcast weeknights at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 13 and at 7:30 p.m. The New Jersey Public Television. There was a good people cast at 11 p.m. the New Jersey Public Television. And at seven the following morning on Channel 13 pushing was reported.