The daily collegian. (University Park, Pa.) 1940-current, August 04, 1976, Image 1

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    20 dead,
as germ
HARRISBURG (AP) Teams of
medical detectives worked with
microscopes and needles yesterday as
they hunted for the tiny disease-causing
that has killed 20 persons since
' an American Legion convention in
Philadelphia 10 days ago.
More than 100 persons have now been
hospitalized.
At laboratories in Philadelphia and
Atlanta; —the scientists tested and
checked samples taken from the bodies
A of the dead and sick persons from across
Pennsylvania.
“This is the freakiest thing I’ve ever
seen,” said Karen Schectman, a state
micro-biologist working at the
laboratory in Philadelphia.
The researchers said they are con
fident of finding the cause of the disease.
’State officials readied plans for a mass
inoculation program should it be needed.
State Health Secretary Leonard Bach
man suggested at a news conference
that the disease is similar to viral
pneumonia and also said the much
, publicized swine flu is a possibility, but
state health official said bac
Swine flu vaccine program
progress in House
WASHINGTON (AP) Concerned
that a type of influenza may have caused
the deaths of 20 persons in Pennsylvania,
a House health subcommittee late
yesterday voted to break an impasse
over lawsuit liability coverage for
president Ford’s massive swine flu
vaccine program.
The committee by voice vote approved
an administration proposal to make the
federal government liable for injury or
death claims arising out of the
Campus
die in Colorado flash floo d
LOVELAND, Colo. (UPI) Search
ers slogged through waist-high mud
“and debris yesterday to recover more
flash flood victims in Big Thompson
Canyon where authorities feared the
death toll might reach 200.
As the sun broke through the clouds for
■ the first time in a week, “sniffer” dogs
were brought in by Army engineers to
help search teams locate bodies buried
in the quagmire of the weekend
catastrophe.
Officials confirmed 88 deaths, with 78
Two women associated with the
Penn State Campus Crusade’ for
Christ were drowned in the recent
flood ndar Loveland, Col., according
to Darrell Barr, acting director of the
Penn State CCC. They are Cathie
Loomis and Carol Rhoad.
Loomis, 29, was a senior staff
worker at the Penn State CCC for the
past five years, Barr said. Rhoad,
23, was graduated from the
University in 1974 and had been
working in California as a secretary.
The women were in Colorado for a
staff training session for the Crusade
and were caught by the flood with 28
others. Twenty-three were found
alive afterwards and four of the
remaining seven were found dead.
The other three are missing and
presumed dead, Barr said.
gning
A sign requesting students to keep off the freshly planted grass in front of Old Main is now history. The wire
fence was cut early Sunday morning by vandals. Erected by the Office of Physical Plant, the barrier was to
be removed at the beginning of Fall Term.
the
daily
100 hospitalized
search continues
teria could be the cause.
A Virus enters a body cell and attacks
from the inside while a bacteria attacks
from the outside.
Meanwhile, representatives of the 41st
International Eucharistic Conference, a
week long gathering in Philadelphia of 1
million Catholics from around the world,
said they planned no changes in any
activities, the White House announced
President Ford still planned to attend
the conference on Sunday.
The 100 state and federal researchers
working nonstop on the problem still
don’t know what causes the flu-like
disease. Its symptoms include fever,
congested lungs and chest pains.
Bachman admitted that it still isn’t
known how the disease was transmitted,
but he said food or drink were not likely
possibilities. Researchers were at a loss
to explain why only the people at the
convention contracted the disease. The
ages of the dead ranged from 39 to 82.
Whatever the disease, Bachman said,
the state is readying the machinery for a
mass inoculation program once the
agent is isolated. State officials said last
inoculation program.
Earlier, the subcommittee met with
Health, Education and Welfare
Secretary David -Mathews to discuss
what to do about the stalled program in
light of the deaths of persons who at
tended the state American Legion Con
vention in Philadelphia July 21-24.
The administration presented a draft
of its proposal, which spokesmen said
had been put together Monday night and
yesterday morning. '
Crusade members
bodies in a makeshift morgue in a
Loveland hospital and 10 others in a
garage at the Estes Park coroner’s
home.
With the break in the weather,
helicopter pilots maneuvered their craft
through the twisting canyon so steep
oxen were used in the 1920 s to pull
Model-T Fords up its 35-mile length
aiding ground teams in the body
recovery.
The increase in air traffic also brought
new hazards. Officials said a helicopter
being used by searchers "had a near
miss” over the narrow canyon with a
private aircraft apparently flown by
sightseers.
The primary morgue remained in
Loveland at the eastern or downstream
end of the canyon. Since few of the badly
battered and dismembered bodies had
been identified, officials brought in two
refrigerated meat trucks to try to keep
the bodies from decomposing in the 75-
degree weather.
A White House aide telephoned
searchers about four of President Ford’s
friends missing in the canyon, Colorado
State Police said. Ford vacations each
year at the Rocky. Mountain ski resort of
Vail about 100 miles away.
On Monday Ford declared Larimer
County a disaster area, making it eligi
ble for federal help. Gov. Richard Lamm
said he , planned massive aid for
homeless and jobless survivors.
, ' u> ’
Collegian
week they could begin a swine flu
inoculation program on short notice...
“Let’s hope its not something new,”
said Dr. Jay Satz, head of the State
Health Department’s immunology
division. If it is a new type of disease; it
could take several weeks to develop a
serum, he said.
Bachman said officials think the
disease was confined to the estimated
10,000 persons who attended the state
American Legion convention in
Philadelphia July 21-24, but cautioned
that “it is too early to discount the
possibility” that conventioneers who
didn’t get sick may spread the disease.
There are no documented cases of.
people getting the disease who did not
attend the convention, Bachman said.
Bachman said state officials became
aware of the problem when state
American Legion officials notified them
Sunday of a series of deaths of legion
naires. About the same time, a hospital
in Williamsport, in the central part of the
state, reported several similar cases.
The first reports of illness were
reported July 26, but many of those who
became sick were thought to simply
have a post-convention cold. The first
death occurred last Friday and it was on
Saturday, when legion officials received
several reports of deaths across the
state, that they began checking a
number of legion posts.
Occupancy in bars to be
By JOANNE KOLLAR
Collegian Staff Writer
After months of consideration, the
enforcement of maximum restaurant
and bar occupancy limits was approved
by State College Municipal Council
Monday night.
In a 6-0 vote with Council member
Dean R. Phillips abstaining, the Council
approved the Departmentof Labor and
Industry occupancy standards. These
standards require three square feet per
person at the bar and lS squarVfeet per
person at tables.
This state standard is stricter than the
federal code that allows an additional
seven square feet per person at fixed
seating areas. For example, under the
state standards, the Phyrst would be
allowed 118 occupants and under federal
standards, with fixed seating, 195. The
Tavern, under the state standard, would
be allowed 182 occupants, while under
the federal standards, this figure rises to
385.
Later this month the Council will hold
a special public hearing to determine the
details of the ordinance.
In large part that ordinance probably
will be based on the report on local bars
given to Council by Council members
Allen Patterson and Richard Kummer.
That report was based on Patterson and
Kummer’s visits to five bars on July 30
between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.
In their report, Patterson and Kum
mer recommended the following
amendments to the building code:
(1) enforcement of the code by code
enforcement officers -and also by
uniformed police officers;
(2) a written notice to the owner or
lessee of a bar on a first violation of the
occupancy or building regulations; a
$lOO fine for the second violation and a
$3OO fine for the third and all subsequent
violations;
(3) application of the code to establish
ments with occupancy limits of 50 or
more persons;
(4) posting in a prominent place by
gh as an elephan
Well, maybe it isn’t, but this corn surely seems to be reaching for the sky, as seen through a'photographer’s
red filter used to enhance the sky.
fire officials the maximum number of
persons allowed in a bar according to the
code and maintenance of that sign by the
bar owner;
(5) permitting more persons than
allowed will be construed as a code
violation.
Patterson said, “It is not our intention
to interfere with the ongoing business of
the bars but simply to issue a first
warning and subsequent fines.”
.. After inspecting the bars, identified as
thrdiigb -E,- Patterson and
Hummer concluded that safety was
questionable. Only one bar, A, most
nearly met building. standards, ac
cording to their report. Exits were
marked, and occupancy was such to
allow quick exit if necessary. The only
question was whether emergency
lighting and fire extinguishers were
available.
In the other four bars, Patterson and
Kummer said they observed various
problems, particularly with the
illumination and location of exits. Three
of those bars, B, C and D, are located
below street level.
According to their report, there is no
panic bar on the main exit door at Bar B.
Backs denial of
Council endorses PLCB
. The State College Municipal Council went on record Monday
night against classifying State College as a resort area.
Based on Council Solicitor Robert K. Kistler’s report that
the borough’s concern would be “admissible testimony” in
court, council approved the motion 5-1. Council members
Richard Kummer opposed the motion and Dean R. Phillips
abstained.
Kistler will now present the motion to the attorney for the
Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB). Further action
on the motion will depend on the PLCB.
. At its July meeting, Council requested Kistler to determine
what action, if any, Council could take concerning the
requested designation of State College as a resort area. This
request was made by the Penn State Faculty Club in its efforts
to obtain a liquor license.
The PLCB denied the request that would have permitted the
issuance of more liquor licenses in the area. The current
allotment of 28 licenses is filled. The club appealed the ruling,
and a hearing has been set for Aug. 26 by Centre County Judge
R. Paul Campbell.
Kistler said, “The borough could probably not intervene as
a party to the court action.”
But Kistler said the borough could probably be a witness in
court for either the PLCB or the faculty club in order to ex
press its views.
“I think the court would hear the borough testimony for
whatever it is worth,” Kistler said.
Phillips asked Kistler for a definition of a resort area.
Kistler said it is an area in which the periodic or seasonal
influx of a large number of persons requires additional liquor
licenses. He said the classic example is the Poconos where the
Bus routes to be
Beginning Sept. 1, four or possibly five
runs will be eliminated from Lemont to
the Nittany Mall on the X route, ac
cording to William Barrett, manager for
the Centre Area Transportation
Authority (CATA).
Barrett said the cuts were made
because the Nittany Mall Merchants
Association has reduced the subsidy for
the bus from $4,200 to 2,400 for the
coming year.
Currently the bus leaves Schlow
Memorial Library every hour from 9:15
a.m. to 6:15 p.m. The bus goes to Lemont
and then to the Nittany Mall, but the
eh cants per copy
/ednesday, August 4,1976 ,
'ol. 77, No. 24 8 pages University Park, Pennsylvania
'ubllshed by Students ol the Pennsylvania State University
s ey
A second exit was blocked by the band,
and a third exit is not marked. In Bar C,
both exits are on the same wall. One of
the exits, unmarked and blocked by
heavy tables filled with customers, was
difficult to find, according to Patterson
and Kummer.
In Bar D, the report pointed out that
one exit opens onto a courtyard, but a
second exit could be found only if one is
familiar with the bar’s layout. In Bar E,
Patterson and Kummer said they.found
the'exit unmarked, unlighted, locked
and located in a narrow passageway
near the toilet.
Patterson said, “Only good luck could
prevent a serious accident in four of
these bars.”
In addition to their suggested
amendments to the buildjng code,
Patterson and Kummer also formulated
the following requirements for public
establishments:
fire extinguishers;
panic bars on all exits; irfcks or
chains would be forbidden on any exit;
two means of exit as far apart as
possible;
emergency lighting with an in
dependent power source;
resort area
service cuts will eliminate the Lemont to
Nittany Mall run until 1:15 or 2:15 p.m.
on weekdays, according to Barrett.
Saturday runs will continue to run from
9:15 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. in the fall, Barrett
said.
Barrett said the morning trips to the
mall were eliminated because ridership
is higher in the afternoons. However,
Barrett said that if the ridership figures
indicate a morping bus is needed, CATA
will consider it.
The operating committee will decide
today whether to begin service at 1:15 or
2:15 and whether increased buses to
Toftrees can be' started, because some
In the discussion following the report,
Council member Arnold Addison said he
agreed that code enforcement should be
expanded. But he said he disapproved of
using policemen for code enforcement.
He said .the .police,should only be in
volved in arson cases or disturbances in
bars.
off-season population of 50,000 becomes 200,000 in the summer.
Phillips said that the issue of the resort classification should
be kept separate from the bar occupancy limits in the
borough’s presentation to the court.
Some Council members were concerned with the con
notations connected with a possible resort area designation.
They said that it might alter the academic character of the
town.
Council member Allen Patterson said, “I don’t think six
football games equals a resort area.”
Council member Mary Ann Haas said, “I resent that six
football games will change this academic town into a resort
area.”
Kummer, the one dissenting vote, said he was not upset by
the resort area terminology. He pointed out that State College,
with some 35,000 students, has a unique population base.
' Council member Arnold Addison said he was disturbed that
the University did not inform the borough about its intended
application for resort classification. He pointed out that it will
affect the borough greatly
Kistler reminded Council that even if the resort designation
is approved, each subsequent license application must be
approved on an individual basis.
“I don’t think the PLCB would be approving bars at every
other storefront, ’ ’ Kistler said.
Council also approved an amendment to the code of or
dinances prohibiting the tying or fastening of dogs on any
public areas in the borough if unattended by the owner. Such a
dog will be considered running at large, according to the
amendment.
time will be freed by eliminating the
portion of the X bus that goes from
Lemont to the Mall and back.
Great weather for anything but
studying! Becoming sunny and warm
after early morning fog, high of 82. Clear
and not as cool tonight, low of 60. Sunny
tomorrow morning; increasing
cloudiness during the afternoon; chance
of a shower or thundershower in the
evening. High tomorrow again near 82,
low tomorrow night around 64.
3 COPIES
limited
. exits marked with illuminated lights
at all times.
They also recommended unannounced
fire safety inspections and spot lighting
of the areas immediately outside the
exits.
"It would be a waste of the taxpayers’
money to have police officers, trained as
they are, bar-hopping five nights a
week,” Addison said.
Hummer pointed out that most
problems in the bars occur between 11
p.m. and la.m.
Council member Ingrid Holtzmann
said that she could see code enforcement
problems easing as the code took effect.
Council member Mary Ann Haas said
she was concerned about the safety
problems in the bars.
“I don’t think we should nickle-and
dime this at the start,” Haas said. “I
think it’s a serious matter.”
reduced
Weather
Joanne Hollar