an dies in crash at University airport By DINA DEFABO, CHUCK HALL and STELIOS VARIAS Daily Collegian Staff Writers An unidentified area resident was killed last night when the six-passenger, twin-engine plane he was piloting crashed and burst into flames between two taxiways at the • University Park Airport. The Cessna 401, which crashed at 8:05 p.m. during practice takeoffs and land ings, is owned by Donald Meyer of Boalsburg. University and Airport offi cials withheld the name of the pilot, pending notification of relatives. Mary Dunkle, assistant manager of the University news bureau, said the pilot —who was the sole occupant of the plane —was pronounced dead at the scene by Centre County coroner Robert Neff. University officials said a part-time employee at the airport, who was work ing about 500 yards from the runway and witnessed the crash, said the right wing of the plane dipped before the crash. However, the witness, who was driving a tank truck to an airport fueling station, did not know if the wing hit the ground before the crash. The witness, whose name was not released by University officials, said it looked like the pilot tried to take the plane bp again before it crashed. The plane was traveling west when it crashed about 200 yards from the run way. The pilot's body, which was badly burned, was removed from the wreck age and taken to the Centre Community Hospital where an autopsy is scheduled to be performed this morning. Dunkle said airport employees began putting out the fire with airport fire equipment about two minutes after the crash. Members of the Alpha Fire Company arrived shortly afterward to help extin *guish the flames. The airport was closed for about an hour and a half after the crash, Dunkle said. The Civil Air Patrol and University police are guarding the wreckage until investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration arrive today. Assistant Vice President for Business Richard L. Crowley said the crash was the first fatal accident at the airport since it opened in 1962. Consumer Party files suit on party status Commoner and Weinberg debate energy sources By JOHN SCHLANDER Daily Collegian Staff Writer The nation's future economic survival will depend on energy choices made today, two prominent scientists said last inside • Andrew Toney scored 26 points last night to lead the Phila delphia 76ers to a 105.104 win over the Boston Celtics in the first game of the Eastern Conference championships Page 8 e The Phyrst Phamily is the best family on a Saturday night in State College • Page 16 Despite charges by the Liquor Control Board of being "lewd and immoral," the male strippers will take it off again at Mr. C's.... Page 20 weather Sunshine today will gradually fade behind increasing cloudiness as temperatures rebound to milder levels with a high of 63. Thickening clouds tonight with showers by morning and a low of 44. Mostly cloudy and cool tomorrow with periods of rain.and a high near 58. Considerable cloudiness Friday with a lingering showers and tem peratures in the 50s. BINDERY vi 202 PATTEE night. sis, disagreed on what form of energy Barry Commoner, noted environmen- should be chosen. talist and Consumer Party presidential In a debate co-sponsored by the Sci candidate in 1980, and Alvin Weinberg, ence, Technology and Society program director of the Institute of Energy Analy- and Colloquy, Commoner advocated im- Barry Commoner, environmentalist and Consumer Party presidential candidate in 1980, discusses his views on energy with a member of the audience after last night's debate. • ()Ile • ian the daily An Alpha firefighter examines the wreckage of a Cessna 901 that crashed at the University Park Airport last night. The pilot, the only person in the plane, did not survive the crash By KAREN KONSKI Daily Collegian Staff Writer The Consumer Party of Centre County yesterday filed suit against the Centre County Commissioners because the commissioners refused to grant it official party status after the November election, party officers said. • "This action, a writ of In Mandamus, asks public officials to perform their duty," Consumer Party solici tor Robert C. Rayman said. "The commissioners serv ing as the election board have not performed their duty." Tom Ortenberg,-chairman, said Douglas M. Mason, Consumer Party candidate for U.S. representative of the 23rd district, received 2,079 votes in the county, constituting 6.9 percent of the total vote in Centre County, therefore making the party eligible for ballot status. The commissioners maintain, however, that Mason had to receive 5 percent of the district-wide vote to have the party qualify for official status. In the district, Mason received 3,138 votes, only 2.5 percent of Rep. William F. Clinger's, R-central Pa., vote. &party% is eligible for ballot status if it receives at least 5 percent of the largest entire vote cast for any elected candidate in the county. The suit was filed in the Centre County Court of Common Pleas because of the 23rd Congressional District race, Ortenberg said. "It is our belief that we have wrongfully been denied ballot status," Ortenberg said. "Since our communica tions with the county commissioners over the past several weeks have been unsatisfactory, we decided to mediate closing of nuclear power plants and a rapid change to solar energy, while Weinberg said nuclear power is nec essary because of uncertainties about solar power. The problem, both men agreed, is developing renewable energy sources in the near future to avoid the possible economic disaster of rapidly escalating energy costs. Since Commoner proposed diffusion of power sources, and Weinberg advocated the continued centralization of power sources, a compromise between the two proposals is not possible, Commoner said. Weinberg said the need for a renewa ble energy source would eventually lead to large scale use of breeder reactors, 'because this type of nuclear reactor is the only one which renews its energy source. A switchover to solar power in the more distant future may then be econom ically feasible, Weinberg said.. "Barry Commoner points out, and cor rectly, that nuclear power is a flash in the pan although a pretty big flash in the pan," Weinberg said. "I, for one, am not prepared to close out the nuclear option. At this time, it seems to be imprudence of the highest order to close down the only other non fossil energy." If the nation immediately commits itself to solar energy and it turns out to be more expensive than estimated, a nation al economic catastrophe could result, Weinberg said. Commoner disagreed with Weinberg that breed& reactors are a viable alter- Alvin Weinberg, director of the Institute of Energy Analysis, disagreed with Barry Commoner in a debate on energy choices last night. Weinberg said the need for a renewable energy source would eventually lead to the use of breeder reactors. native "Nuclear power is what I would call an immature technology," Commoner said. "No breeder will be built soon enough to save the economic system from being wrecked by the rising cost of nuclear power." Commoner proposed the decentraliza tion of power sources to negate the en ergy loss through transporting energy. This loss is especially significant in the case of electricity, he said. Wednesday April 22, 1981 Vol. 81, No. 156 20 pages University Park, Pa. 16802 Published by Students of The Pennsylvania State University seek ballot status through the courtroom." Without party status, the Consumer Party, with 74 registered voters, must file petitions in every election to have their candidates' names on the ballots. Although it is probably too late to have the Consumer Party candidates' names included on the ballots for this spring's primaries, Rayman said they hope to have the names included on the ballots for the general elections in November. Ortenberg said the candidates will petition to be included in the spring primaries. A hearing before a judge is the next step, Rayman said. "There is no dispute as to the facts," Rayman said. "There is no dispute as to the number of votes." The commissioners could not be reached for com ment. Many sets of co-generators run by natural gas and, eventually by meth ane fuel derived from plants and solar power cells will use energy more effi ciently, Commoner said. This would eliminate centralized, gov ernment-regulated public utilities, Com moner said. Weinberg disagreed that electricity is inefficient and would be more expensive than solar fuel and solar-derived fuel such as methane from plants.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers