Bill revision cuts *student benefits By JUSTIN CATANOSO Daily Collegian Staff Writer An amendment added to Gov. Dick Thornburgh's welfare reform legislation would make all employable college stu dents ineligible for general assistance benefits and eliminate 34 University stu dents from the rolls. The reform legislation, however, would not affect the 21 University stu dents receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children grants, nor the 171 students receiving food stamps, said Waska Polek, director of the Centre County Bureau of Assistance. State Rep. Gregg L. Cunningham, R- Centre County, who supported the amendment, said college students should not be eligible for general assistance because their need is voluntary. "If a college student finds himself unable to carry a full academic load and , still provide for himself financially with all the other (student loan) programs available, then the student should reduce his academic load and increase the num , ber of hours he's working at his part-time job," he said. The original intention of the reform legislation is to eliminate 68,000 general assistance recipients between the ages of :18 and 45, whom the state deems employ : able, within a two-year span. The savings from this phasing out estimated at $93.9 million by the end of fiscal year 1983 would 'be used to increase benefits to those deemed truly needy and fund job-training programs for those eliminated, said bill sponsor Rep. Terry Punt, R-Franklin County. On Tuesday, however, House Demo • crats managed to pass a workfare amendment by a 101-100 vote that effecti vely took the bite out of the Republican advocated legislation. The bill was ta bled and will be reconsidered when the House reconvenes April 21. The amendment, sponsored by Rep. * William Wachob, D-Elk County, stip ulates that the state employment agency find community jobs for employable re cipients. In turn, the recipient would have to work a set number of hours each 4 Water Authority may :•I''impos.e . conservation UPI wirephoto The space shuttle Columbia waits at the Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39-A for its maiden launch,*scheduled for 6:50 this morning. • inside A China analyst for the CIA said relations between the United States and China may encounter some problems especially after the election of President Reagan Page 3 University cows work overtime to produce more than 1,163 gallons of milk each day Page 6 Opening Day in Pittsburgh, and the Pirates fall 6.5 to the Montreal Expos Page 8 weather After a chilly start, brilliant sun shine will help push temperatures to an afternoon high of 68. Consid erable cloudiness tonight and to morrow morning with a period of showers and thundershowers late tonight and early tomorrow and a low in the mid 50s. Intervals of sunshine during Saturday af ternoon and on Sunday, along with warm and rather humid conditions and highs both days in the mid to upper 70s. BINDERY Vi 22.2 PATTEE week to earn his or her monthly $172 check. Under Wachob's amendment, a recipi ent could only be eliminated from wel fare if he or she refused to take a workfare position or found work on their own. "Workfare in theory is excellent," Cunningham last night at his weekly news conference. "But it is very difficult in practice. You simply can't force these people to work." Cunningham said Wachob's concept proposes management and supervising problems and would end up costing the state's taxpayers more because of the additional workers needed to implement the program. "I reject the notion that government has the obligation to make up a job for everybody who is simply not willing to take the jobs that are available," he said. There is a pervasive feeling throughout the state, Cunningham said, that certain jobs, like cleaning restrooms or sweep ing streets, are below the dignity of many unemployed people. "Somehow we have fallen into the notion that there are some types of work that are dishonorable and that it is more honorable to accept welfare," he said. "This to me is very anti-social, disfunc tional and offensive to the many Pennsyl vanians who work hard at difficult jobs and are being taxed heavily to provide welfare payments to these people who have the capacity to work, but do not." When Wachob's amendment came up for a vote Tuesday, 100 Republicans voted against it, 100 DemoCrats voted for it and Rep. Arthur Earley, R-Delaware, a black legislator from a heavily unem ployed district, broke party lines and sided with the Democrats to give them the edge. If the two Republicans absent Tuesday are present when the House reconvenes, Cunningham said the amendment will be stripped from the legislation. "After that's done, I predict the bill will pass the House and Senate," he said, "and I'm confident the governor will sign it into law." • ' • .41* , „Ay. 4 COPT . ,' ....., n•rl: , , - 11 4i ; ''' ' . l • r •44‘ • '"4 , •• - •• 1 •• 1 46::. ': Z ,44,, *k , S r~k daily Fill f ar up Mrs. Fillmore of the Fillmore General Store fills a customer's gas tank. The store, near Toftrees, has been in business for 28 years By JON HOOVER Daily Collegian Staff Writer The State College Municipal Water Authority last night instructed its solicitor to see if the authority could impose limited, mandatory water conservation mea sures. Authority manager Samuel H. Lucas said that the voluntary conservation measures have been working well but because of dry weather other steps may have to be taken.' "We lost our spring run-off and there's been very little rain. The only good thing is that consumption has been very low, I attribute that to water saving devices Authority.chairman David A. Long said new wells and conservation," Lucas said. are important in maintaining the water supply. He said controls that have been established in water "Right now, without our new wells, we are in worse systems along the Delaware River restrict water use shape than we were last year," he said." People have to All systems go for today's launch By HARRY F. ROSENTHAL Associated Press Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) The test shuttle Columbia stood poised for flight yesterday on moon-launch pad 39A, an untried ship of the future ready to return Americans to space for the first time since 1975. "You go in the hand of God," President Reagan told the shuttle's pilots. John Young and Robert Crippen, the astronauts who will stake their lives today on Columbia's success, said "skies are clear" for their historic mission. Their message from Reagan was waiting for them at 2:05 a.m. today when their summons to space came. "Through you, today, we all feel as giants once again," Reagan said. "Once again we feel the surge of pride that comes from knowing we are the first and we are the best and we are so because '~~: t ;~u3*: }yx ;,< w~ ~k: .If ‘ I t ' • .• • . Friday April 10, 1981 Vol. 81, No. 148 24 pages • University Park, Pa. 18802 the you are free." Reagan, still hospitalized from his bul let wounds, called the flight "a feat of American technology and American will." Young and Crippen ate "Texas-size steaks," and bid a final telephone fare well to their , families late yesterday afternoon. Relaxed and primed to fly, they took a call from Vice President George Bush and told him the "skies are clear." At the same time, the countdown went without a hitch into its climactic hours. Before midnight, the launch pad was cleared so Columbia's fuel tanks could be loaded with volatile gases by remote control. "I think we're go," said launch direc tor George Page. "I think we're going to make it." Lift-off was set for 43 minutes past dawn 6:50 EST this morning. "almost to the gallon." Lucas said rainfall here has been inadequate this year. "The only month we've had normal precipitation was February. As far as we're concerned, we didn't have normal precipitation in February. All that did was cause us to lose our spring runoff," Lucas said. He said consumption is up slightly to 3.4 million gallons g day. During term break it was down to 3.1 million gallons. Before the conservation measures were recommended, consumption was 4 million gallons a day. After all the frantic activity of the past months, building steadily for the "fire in the tail," the astronauts entry into the ship would be a lonely exercise. Besides Young and Crippen only six people were allowed on the pad; the others cleared from the explosive mixture in the ship's tank. Young and Crippen, who say they are "140 percent trained" for their -day, 6'/2- Astronauts John W. Young and Robert L. Crippen, left, finised their trairg: - .g for their pioneer launch yesterday aboard the space shuttle Columbia. Above, the sun sinks below the horizon behind the launch pad of the Columbia, marking the eve of Published by Students of The Pennsylvania State University continue to conserve "It is important that we get the Nixon well field into production so that we don't have the same situation we did last year," Long said. He said the restrictions to be considered will be only on "unreasonable" water use. "I "don't think it is, necessary for, people to ,be watering establisned lawns, but there should be enough water for a newly planted lawn. I hope people will be reasonable about washing cars, I know it is important to protect the finish on a car but shiny cars might not be the best thing now," Long said. "I've never been able to dig my garden so early. It's so dry that there isn't even any worms. I heard a few worms down there gasping for water," Long said. the space shuttle hour flight, visited their revolutionary spacecraft at first light yesterday, were told it was in good shape, and went off for some final landing practice in airplanes. NASA accredited 3,500 journalists and technicians for the launching and their presence created a sizable village of trailers 3'/2 miles from the launch. tower. See related stories on Page 16. Photo by Stellos Varies
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