Columbia Missourian Newspaper 1979-05-12

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Missouri gas station shutdown called off
From oar wire services
A threatened shutdown of some Missouri
service stations next weekend has been halted
by an agreement reached Friday between state
Attorney General John Ashcroft and the
Petroleum Retailers Organization.
The retailers group, however, left open the
possibility of' a shutdown sometime in the
summer.
In a brief filed Friday in U. S. District Court,
Ashcroft sought a temporary restraining order
to bar the organization from recommending to
its members a shutdown from May 17 to May 20.
But attorneys for the organization agreed not
to call for a shutdown pending the outcome of a
trial to determine whether the shutdown would
violate state anti- tru- st laws. Judge Elmo
Hunter, who presided over Friday's hearing, set
the trial for May 31 in U. S. District Court in
Kansas City.
The retailers group had threatened the four- da- y
shutdown as a protest against federal regu-lations
governing retail gasoline pricing levels.
Similar actions among gasoline retail organiza-tions
have been threatened in as many as 30
states next weekend.
The U. S. Justice Department is investigating
the shutdown threats nationwide in preparation
for possible antitrust action, the department
announced Friday. If investigators determine
" concerted action" is planned, the government
probably will seek a court order barring any
shutdown, said department spokesman
Terrence Adamson.
Representatives of station owners across the
country met Tuesday in St Louis and called for
the shutdown. The dealers are unhappy with
Energy Department regulations which they say
will limit them to the same profit margin
allowed in 1973, despite reduced gasoline
allocations.
Station owners are considering similar protest
actions in June and July, Adamson said.
John Shenefield, assistant attorney general in
charge of the antitrust division, said such action
by dealers raises substantial questions of
violations of theSherman Antitrust Law.
In the Missouri court action, Ashcroft con-tended
the Petroleum Retailers Organization
was trying to restrain trade and he called it an
" action against Missouri consumers."
The attorney general said the public " would
be the victim of any concerted refusal to sell by
the station operators" and he accused the organ-ization
of trying to " hold the citizens of Missouri
hostage."
James Wyrsch, an attorney for the organiza-tion,
said in reply it was simply trying to
" protest some federal government policies in
respect to retail pricing."
Meanwhile, the nation is still caught in the
grip of rising gasoline prices and fuel shortages,
with various effects :
The gasoline situation is seen as partially
responsible for a surge in train ridership that
has forced Amtrak to rush extra cars into
service and to hire more personnel to staff ticket
counters.
But a big increase in Amtrak passengers was
under way even before gasoline prices sky-rocketed,
spot shortages of motor fuel occurred
and a strike hit United Airlines, said Joe
Vranich, an Amtrak spokesman in Washington.
The railroad system already was experiencing a
6.2 percent increase over the 18.9 million
passengers it carried last year, Vranich said.
" There appears to be so much happening so
fast," he said, " that it's hard to get a handle on
what accounts for what."
A Chicago ticket office supervisor with seven
years of experience said, " I haven't seen this
many calls in as long as I've been with the
company."
Many trains are soldout for most of May, and
some into August, particularly on routes to
Florida and in the West Calls to Amtrak's
reservations centers have been running 40 to 50
percent above normal since early April.
A similar surge in ridership occured during
the last gasoline crisis in 1974. But Vranich said
figures so far this year made those increases
( See FARMERS, Page 14)
Insight
Thermostat
control plan
set for July
By Richard HaHoran
New York Times
WASHINGTON Administration
officials said Friday that temperature
controls on public buildings would not
go into effect until July J at the earliest,
even though President Carter had
asserted that he would invoke the
controls as soon as he got the authority
to do so.
The House gave him that authority
Thursday night by a voice vote. The
Senate, had approved the measures
earlier. Since the law under which the
measures were submitted to the
Congress is already on the books, there
is no need for a presidential signature.
Although Carter's press secretary,
Jody Powell, reiterated the president's
pledge that the controls would be im-posed
" very shortly," officials at the
working level- sai- d the target date for
enforcing them was between July 1 and
July 15.
They said time was needed to draft
specific regulations, to put them out for
public comment and to bold at least one
hearing, to revise the regulations based
on these comments, and then to make
public the final rules.
The measure approved Thursday
gives the president the authority to
require that thermostats in office
buildings and most other commercial
establishments be set at a minimum of
80 degrees during the summer and a
maximum of 65 degrees during the
winter. It also sets a top limit of 105
degrees for hot water in those build-ings,
except for that used for washing
dishes or other sanitary operations in
public facilities.
The temperature control authority
was the only survivor of the four energy
conservation measures the president
sent to Congress for approval 60 days
ago. Turned down on Capitol Hill were
( See MEASURE, Page 11)
BOlSikes Flipped
A 1978 Camaro, owned and driven by Joseph Lecco, came out of an
S- sha- ped curve, spun out of control, flipped over and finally came
to rest in the middle of Bethel Road about three blocks south of
Green Meadows Road Friday afternoon. In the process, the car de-stroyed
the mailbox of Tom Foster, right, of 3612 Bethel Road.
Foster took Lecco's name as officers completed their report of the
accident. Lecco, who lives at 546 E. Winter, walked away from the
wreck with only minor cuts and bruises. Foster said the residents
along Bethel Road had a block meeting with Fifth Ward City Coun-cilman
Ed Vaughan earlier this spring in an attempt to get relief
from fast traffic on the road. " They promised us radar and signs,"
Foster said. " But I only saw radar one time after that. That's about
five times that mailbox has been hit in the last four months."
New York City's ' super rats9
attack woman near Wall Street
NEW YORK ( UPI) Exterminators
closed off a street in lower Manhattan
Friday to do battle with a vicious army
of " super rats" that attacked a woman
just two blocks from City Hall.
Police said the screaming victim, de-scribed
as 30 to 35 years old, fled " in a
state of hysteria," according to a by-stander
who helped beat the rats off her
about 9 p. m. Thursday.
Officials appealed to the bite victim
to report to police or the Health Depart-ment
for treatment.
Dr. Alan Beck, director cf the Health
Department's Animal Affairs bureau,
identified the rodents as Norway or
Brown rats, known as " Super Rats"
because of their size and resistance to
normal poisons.
Beck said rats do not carry rabies but
do have the " potential for other
diseases."
The attack occurred on Ann Street
between City Hall and Wall Street. Offi-cials
closed the street in their campaign
against the rats.
" I think it's a tragedy this woman
was attacked, but the warning was
out," said Christy Rupp, a student of
animal behavior who has been cam-paigning
for a. cleanup of the area by
pasting actual- siz- e posters of the
rodents in areas where they' are
frequently spotted.
" Rats are everywhere," she said.
" They are very successful urban
animals. They are king in New York. I
saw 50 of them in three hours. last
night"
The Health Department sent teams
from the Bureau of Pest Control to
spread poison through the street and in
the basements of buildings for blocks
around.
Ann Street, only 18 feet ( 5.4 meters)
between curbs, is well- know- n by local
residents as a haven for rats because of
a garbage- strew- n vacant lot The sur-rounding
area is thronged at lunchtime
with workers, many from the financial
district
Ms. Rupp said rats usually are not
. aggressive. Dr. Beck agreed. .
He said there were only 201 cases of
reported rat bites in New York in 1978,
and they usually came from ." inad-vertent
encounters" such as persons
who pick up a rat when they put their
hands in a narrow space.
Decision near on utility director
ByMtteMaarar
BfiuaifftaB staff writer
City Manager Stuart Campbell said
. Friday be talked with his top candidate
for water and light director this week
but has not come to any understanding
withtheappllcanL ; ''
CampbeD contacted tfe unidentified
' applicant, one of 94 who have applied
for the Job, to inform him of tbe CSty
Councfl's decision to upgrade the salary '-.-
- forthepostttan. -- -'.
'
;-- -- V ';
The City Council passed an ordinance
April 16 to raise the minimum, and
maximum pay cf the directors position
to $ 32,000 and $ 39,150. The ' previous
range was $ 25,075 to $ 33,441. Campbell
told the council the raise was needed to
get the right kind of person for the job.
. Campbell said the salary offered to
' the applicant, who he would not name, "
probably will be $ 35,900 to $ 37,900 a
year. ' i -- '
' The city manager felt the top candi- - --
- date and the second choice were " excel- -
tently qualified." He added that he
would not hesitate to offerjhe position .
to the second candidate should the first
candidate turn down the city's offer.
If the top candidate does agree to the
city's offer, Campbell said it probably
would not be until the end of June
' before he could assume the duties of
waterandllghtdirector.
' In the screening cf the . candidates,
'. Campbell said the two finalists " rated
very dose"
Inside
today
Broad talks seen
Administration officials said
they expect to hold intensive dis-cussions
with Soviet officials in
the next five weeks to resolve as
many outstanding issues as
possible for announcement at the
Carter- Brezhn- ev summit next
month. Page 14.
Treaty's OK urged
Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher joined with West
German Chancellor Helmut
Schmidt to call for quick VS.
Senate ratification of the SALT II
treaty with the Soviets. Page 2.
8 thought trapped
Eight men were believed
trapped in an oO rig that toppled
into the Gulf of Mexico near
Galveston, Texas, with 34
crewmen aboard. Page 9.
In town
today
7: 3i p. m. " Tartuffe," Stephens
College Playhouse Theater.
7: 30 p. m. " Smith," Hickman
High School.
MovfelistingBonPagelS
-
President
challenges
Congress
By Terence Smith
New York Times
WASHINGTON President Carter
accused Congress Friday of " political
timidity" and said be was " shocked and
embarrassed for our nation's govern-ment"
in the wake of the House
rejection of bis standby gasoline
rationing plan.
The president said there would be no
purpose in his submitting another plan
and instead challenged Congress to
come up with a rationing scheme of its
own within 90 days.
" I am not predicting that we will
have a shortage," Carter told reporters
summoned to the Oval Office at noon,
" but I am not willing to accept the judg-ment
of a majority of the House of
Representatives whose members have
apparently put their heads in the sand
and refusedto take action."
Asked as he left the room what he
would do if Congress failed to produce a
standby plan, Carter paused, seemed
about to answer, then shook his head
and said: " I'll answer those questions
later."
Despite persistent lobbying by Stuart
E. Eizenstat, the president's domestic
affairs adviser, the House voted by a
decisive 246- 15- 9 margin Thursday to
defeat the standby gasoline rationing
plan approved by the Senate the day
before. Only seven Republicans voted
for it, while 106 Democrats voted
against it.
The opponents of the rationing plan
apparently were motivated by a com-bination
of factors, including the fear of
political backlash from their consti-tuents,
confusion about the details of
the scheme and what some members
described as inept and inadequate
White House lobbying.
Obviously stung by the defeat, the
president decided to respond per-sonally.
At first he was scheduled to
make his statement in the White House
( See CARTER, Page 14 )
Mayor Wilson upset
with illegal meeting;
no action anticipated
ByMikeMansur
Missoorian staff writer
Although angered about the situation,
Mayor Clyde Wilson said Friday he will
take no action on the apparent illegal
session that four City Council members
had Wednesday with members of the
' Columbia Board of Building Codes and
Appeals. "
But he said he would remind the
chairmen of the city's boards and com-missions
next week of their obligation
to adhere to the state's sunshine law.
Missouri's sunshine law requires that
open meetings be held for sessions " at
which any public business is discussed,
decided or public policy formulated."
The stipulation applies to any meeting,
" formal or informal, regular or
special."
Jim Reed, chairman of the Building
and Appeals Board, said the board
called the council members to the
luncheon to discuss some points of
concern. He said the entire incident has
" been blown out of proportion" because
the meeting was not a formal meeting.
' It wasjust lunch," he said.
'" Council members present at the
session were Richard Knipp of the First
Ward, Holme Hickman of the Second
Ward, Jim Goodrich of the Fourth
Ward and Lew Stoerker of the Sixth
Ward.
Understaffing, insufficient money
and the frustration of Charles
Scheurich, building license supervisor,
were discussed at the meeting, Hick-man
said. The 600- cas- e backlog of
applications for rental housing in-spections
also discussed at the meeting
is a direct product of this understaffing
and the cause of the supervisor's frus-- tratio- n,
Goodrich said.
Scheurich supervises two housing
inspectors, two building inspectors, one
plumbing inspector and one electrical
inspector.
Although the meeting centered -
around the understaffing problem the
division is experiencing, Reed said the
meeting was about " personnel mat-ters,"
declining to be more specific. --
Missouri's open meeting law exempts
such topics as employment, promotion
or dismissal of personnel.
But Wilson didn't diminish the impli-cations
of such secret sessions, " I don't
think it's proper for a quorom of one cf .
oar boards or City Council not to meet
in public," he said.
Reed understood Wilson's reaction.
" I would have felt much the same way
asMayorWilsonifIwastdm,'' besaid. -
All of the council members present at
the meeting said they were unaware --
that tteynsght be to violation of tte --
open meetings law;