2—The Daily Collegian Friday, July 27, 1984 Student pleads guilty, agrees to aid police By JEFF BARKER Associated Press Writer A former Penn State University student accused of leading a band of students on an $lB,OOO bur glary spree has pleaded guilty and agreed to aid police in their continuing investigation, attorneys said yesterday. Under the plea agreement, authorities will rec ommend that David Schmidt of Acton, Mass., be sentenced and made eligible for parole after two years, said Dennis Pfannenschmidt, Centre Coun ty assistant district attorney. Schmidt quietly entered his guilty plea on July 19 to 19 counts of burglary and one count of receiving stolen property, Pfannenschmidt said. No sentencing date has been set. Under the agreement, Schmidt said he would give a statement to police about the alleged student burglary ring, and would testify if needed in future proceedings involving the campus crimes, Pfannenschmidt said. Former from editor retires from PSU post A. William Engel Jr., recently retired director of the Office of University Development, said ex perience in journalism was his key to dealing with people in the area of public relations. A 19.1 b University graduate, Engel received his bachelor of arts degree in journalism and was editor of The Daily Collegian in 1939-40. His experience with the Collegian led to jobs with the Eve ning News in Harrisburg and the Pittsburgh Press, and later to a career in public relations, he said. "If I had not had background (in journalism) I would have never gone into public relations. You have to know how to communicate with people and know how to deal with people," Engel said. Engel returned to the University in 1966 as director of relations for the Penn State Foundation. He held the dual position of associate director of the foundation and di rector of the Penn State Alumni FOLLOW SMOKEY'S RULES CAREFUL to crush all smokes dead out. 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" not soupit,dallv-,yaomu- TBouogpeerr. osriFnigslhe sCahnodpwpeicdnSlCeaanknot can-eatl. baked potato and warm can-eat) baked potato a roll with butter Cannot be used with other discounts Tax not int I At participating steakhouses Coupon good for any party size. roll with butter Cannot be used be used with other discounts with other discounts 'tax not inci Tax not Ind Al participating At participating sleakhouseS steakhouses Coupon good tor Coupon good tor any party size. any party size. Valid until P0110039' 8 12,84. Valid until POllOal.lSl 812 84. Valid until POPO P l '. 8 11 , 84. MIMI WINO NMI 111M011 WON AO NOM WOO MOO Chopped Steak is U S D A inspected 100°° chopped heel steak 1630 S. Atherton St. (At University Drive) 11l vrsA J PPM Fourteen other students have been charged in the ring, which stole more than $lB,OOO worth of everything from exams, computer parts and a microwave oven to cheese and wine glasses, said Thomas Harmon of University Police Services. More arrests are expected, Harmon said. Police said the crimes began when Schmidt jumped a fence and stole 70 master keys from a campus maintenance truck in August 1982. The keys allowed access to virtually every building on campus, police said Schmidt, a nuclear engineering major before he withdrew from school as a senior earlier this year, was described by his attorney, James Bryant, as "very bright but withdrawn." The crimes "strike me as a Dungeons and Dragons type of game. It was just for the thrill of it. It's like employee theft it just didn't seem wrong," Bryant said. Police alleged Schmidt used other students as middlemen and lookouts during crimes. A search of his dormitory room in April turned up lock picks Fund from 1967 until his retire ment, he said. The Penn State Foundation un derwent several name changes while he was in office, Engel said. Former University President John W. Oswald changed the foun dation to the Office of Gifts and Endowments when he took office in 1970. The name was changed to the Office of University Devel opment about one year ago, Engel said. Engel said he - decided to retire because he was 65 years old and it was time to "let the younger guys take over." He now plans to pur sue freelance writing and "volun teer jobs people have been waiting to snag me on." This includes continued volunteer work for the United Way, he said. He also plans to continue pursu ing one of his favorite pastimes sports. Engel said he is active in golf, racquetball, bowling and fishing. —by Kristine Sorchilla c 1984 Ponderosa. Inc notes • The Pennsylvania Festival •An RD4 Bellefonte man has been charged with check was written in the amount of $430. Theatre Company needs ushers for driVing under the influence and driving at unsafe speeds, today and tomorrow at 8 p.m. and the State College Police Department said. • State College police reported a burglary and theft at 7:30 Sunday night. Brian Lee Ross, 21, drove his pick-up truck off the the residence of Patricia Nolet, 1010 S. Pugh St. Several roadway in the 1100 block of Boalsburg Road Wednesday, tapes and a tape player were missing, police said. Entry police said. The truck hit a telephone pole and a fence, was made by removing a screen. The value of the missing police said. It came to rest on the opposite side of the items was estimated at $72. street. Moderate damage was done to the fence, police said. • The State College police reported that unknown items were missing from a Salvation Army collection box Ross was treated for leg injuries at Centre Community Hospital. Police said they smelled alochol on Ross's at 300 W. Hamilton Ave., sometime after 11 p.m. Wednes breath at the time of the accident and had his blood da y alcohol level tested at the hospital • The State College Friends School will sponsor a barbecue and square dance at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Kolln Vineyards in Bellefonte. • The State College Bicycling Club will hold a 60-mile Black Moshannon Ride at 8 a.m. Sunday at Central Parklet on South Fraser Street. ' • The Krishna Yoga Society will hold a free vegetarian feast at 7 tonight and 5:30 Sunday night at 103 Hamilton Ave. o The University Resident Theatre Company will perform the comedy play "What I Did Last Sum mer" at 8 tonight and tomorrow night and at 7:30 Sunday at the Pavilion Theatre. • Interlandia Folkdancers will hold recreational folkdancing and teaching at 8:30 tonight in 196 White Building. and about 60 grams of marijuana, police said. A charge of unlawful possession of a controlled substance against Schmidt was later dropped. Bryant maintained that the ring was "a very loose association" and that Schmidt never exer cised much control. "It was like a high school beer party where everybody knew somebody had the beer," he said. Schmidt was being held at Centre County Prison in lieu of $lOO,OOO bail. The other defendants were free on bail, according to Harmon. Authorities began to make inroads in cracking the ring early this year, 'when the defendants began to deal in stolen exams, according to Har mon. A police informant gathered evidence against students by volunteering to purchase a stolen exam, Harmon said. Stolen exams' commonly sold for $2O or $3O, according to criminal complaints. Under the plea agreement, Schmidt must pay restitution, amounting "to many thousands of dollars," Pfannenschinidt said. police log • Lyn Cecchini, 331 W. Fairmount Ave., reported to • Thomas E. Walker, 17, 382 Douglas Drive, State University Police Services Wednesday that his vehicle College, Wednesday was charged with driving at speeds was struck in the rear while parked in parking lot Orange unsafe for conditions, State College police said. E sometime on July 14. Damage to Cecchini's vehicle was light. Walker attempted to make a turn onto East College Avenue from Sowers Street, where for unknown reasons, • University police reported that two incidents of his car struck a parked car owned by Heather R. Straffn- harassment occurred in parking lot 80 Wednesday night. er, RD2 Lewisburg, police said. Straffner's car was In the first incident, Sharon Tinucchi, 102 Packer Hall, damaged slightly. reported at 9:22 p.m. that the occupants of two cars in • Robert Degus, 21, Bellaire Ave., State College, parking lot 80 were harassing the residents of Packer. reported a tool box and tools missing from the back of his Police found the occupants to have alcoholic beverages. pick-up truck while it was parked at 226 Highland Ave. on One individual was cited and released. Wednesday. The tool box and its contents were valued at In the second incident, Sue Sheets, 3 Packer, reported $278. , at 10:35 p.m. four males in the parking lot were harassing residents of Packer. Police identified and released the • Cilia Traverse, 456 E. Beaver Ave. reported her individuals. paycheck was missing from her residence between 4:45 University police did not comment if the incidents were and 4:50 p:m. Wednesday, State College police said. The related. —by Paul Chitand Tow truck, 'on a roll,' is unwelcome guest BELLEFONTE (AP) - A vacant butler's pantry in a Centre County woman's home was the resting place for a runaway tow truck that mysteriously rolled out of its parked position early yesterday. First, the 1971 Ford tow truck knocked down a mailbox. It then hit the corner of a house and rolled down a hill before careening through a backyard and into the pantry of Nancy Noll, causing more than $lO,OOO in damage, po lice said. Noll said one wheel of the truck ended up in a toilet in a pantry, which is used for storage. "It's just so preposterous I have to laugh," Noll said. Two years ago a runaway car desroyed a crab apple tree in her front yard, and a year ago a black bear was found rummaging through her back yard, she said. "This place is a circus!" Noll said she felt a slight jolt when the truck struck the house. shortly after midnight, but did not call the police. Police were sum moned instead by a neighbor who said he had heard a loud noise. Police said they don't know why the parked truck began rolling. It took about an hour for another tow truck to remove the vehicle from the pantry. state , Tower operator allowed trains on same track By ED McCULLOUGH rules and suspended pending the completion bound Shoreliner, which had the right of Station dispatcher, at 10:30 a.m. Monday Dispatcher: "You let 168 go (on track) Associated Press Writer , of an investigation. way. the dispatcher told the signal operator to two?" et data do not have enough y "We simply "This operator has been charged with hold all eastbound trains. The signal opera- Tower: "Yeah." to determine whether that cocaine usage WASHINGTON Two passenger trainsviolation of operational rules and instruc- tor responded confirming that a signal had Dispatcher: "You have 19 order 17 in crashed head-on in New York City because occurred at a time near or contempora- tions and has been taken out of service been placed to halt westbound trains, and effect? Rod?" a new signal tower operator mistakenly neous with operation. It is very difficult to pending the formal investigation that is corrected it at the dispatchers order. Tower: "Yeah, let me find it." allowed them onto the same track, the head required by union contracts," Claytor said. At 10:48, the dispatcher called the opera- Dispatcher: "Do you have 19 order 17 in evaluate the potential impact of that test. I of Amtrak said yesterday. Traces of co- The operator is Rodney Rosemond, said tor, about the time the trains crashed: front of you? 11 want to be very clear in saying that," Riley Caine were found in the operator's urine, o the surface transportation subcommit t id' Patricia Goldman, vice chairman of the Dispatcher: "Hey, uh, where's 168 (the Tower: "Yeah." another federal official testified. tee of the Senate Commerce Science and National Transportation Safety Board. eastbound Zip) at now . ? Has he arrived up at The dispatcher instructs the operator to , But because the traces were so small, She said Rosemond was a 10-year railroad Gate? Get him on the radio. Ask him what's read back the order, which he did, to hold all Transportation Committe e. there are "serious doubts" that dru e. gs veteran who had transferred to the signal up." eastbound trains before the point known as played any role in the accident Monday that In a written statement, Claytor told the job on July 2, and then had a week off. Tower: "He's by Gate, Ernie." Gate. Then came this discussion: killed one man and injured 115, John H. subcommittee that "evidence has been de- He had "five or six hours" training on Dispatcher: "What do you mean, he's by Dispatcher: "How did he get railroad at Riley, head of the Federal Railroad Admin- veloped that the tower operator in F tower equipment new to him, and that might have Gate? Ah, Christ." Gate?" istration, told a Senate subcommittee. failed to throw and lock the signal at Gate been insufficient, she said. This was followed by word from an un- Tower: "I don't know, Ern." The test found evidence of cocaine and "a Interlocking in accordance with train or- "The operator told us he asked a supervi- known point reporting that the train itself Dispatcher: "Did you display the sig cannabis derivative," Riley said. Cannabis ders and instructions:" sor for more training .. We have to check had reported a collision on the bridge ap- nal?" is another name for the marijuana plant. • This, he explained, "permitted train 168 that," she said. proaches, and the dispatcher began to orga- Tower: "No, I didn't give him a signal." W. Graham Claytor Jr., president and (the eastbound New England Zip) to paSs According to a transcript released at the nize help. Louis S. Thompson, associate administra chairman of Amtrak, said the tower opera- the point at which it should have been held." hearing of radio and telephone converse- At 10:51 he talked again to the signal tor of the railroad agency, said the engineer tor had been charged with violating Amtrak As a result, the Zip collided with the south- tions among signal operators and the Penn operator: of train 168 needed a signal to proceed. TMI able By JILL LAWRENCE Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON Three Mile Island's management, despite im proper behavior in the past, has the integrity to operate the unda maged TMI reactor, the staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commis sion said yesterday. In written comments to the com mission, the staff said it believes the NRC can authorize the restart of TMI Unit 1 "without any undue risk to the public health and safety provided that operation is limited to approximately 25 percent of full power." Operation beyond 25 percent ca pacity would depend on compli 7 ance with certain inspection conditions and the outcome of management investigations still in progress, the staff said. The NRC ordered TMI'4 Unit 1 reactor shut down in 1979 shortly after the nation's worst commer cial nuclear power accident crippled the adjacent Unit 2. Gen eral Public Utilities Corp., the plant owner, has been trying since then to win permission to reopen the undamaged unit. The NRC staff supported GPU on Unit I's restart during Atomic Safety and Licensing Board hear ings in 1980. But three years later, in a re treat from its earlier position, the staff said unresolved questions managers to operate made it unable to certify the integ rity of GPU and GPU Nuclear, a new subsidiary created to operate the plant. The staff said yesterday that its latest conclusion was reached by evaluating GPU's "improper ac tivities," the company's remedial actions and subsequent perfor mance. One of those changes involved creating GPU Nuclear to step in for Metropolitan Edison Co., the subsidiary operating TMI at the time of the accident. Had the staff been aware of Met Ed's activities during the 1980 restart hearings, the staff said yesterday, it likely would have concluded that the company "had not met the standard of reasonable assurance of no undue risk to the public health and safety." "However, the staff reaches a different conclusion with respect to the present ... organization," it said. "There is reasonable assurance that GPUN can and will conduct its licensed activities in accord ance with regulatory require ments and that GPUN can and will operate TMI-1 without undue risk to the health and safety of the public." Met Ed pleaded guilty in Feb ruary to charges of falsifying the results of cooling system leak rate tests at TMI-2 before the accident. nation Soviet woman experiments in space By NANCY TRAVER Associated Press Writer MOSCOW Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya, the first woman to walk in space, carried out more than three hours of strenuous soldering and welding experiments outside the Soviet space station with her flight commander, the official news agency Tass said yesterday. The agency said Savitskaya and her fellow cosmonauts ended their working day late Wednesday night and rested until noon Moscow time (4 a.m. -EDT) yesterday aboard their orbiting Salyut 7 space sta tion. Flight Commander Vladimir Dz h•a nibek ov accompanied Savitskaya on the 3 hour and 35 minute space walk, 186 miles above the Earth on Wednesday, Tass said. Savitskaya is also the only wom an to travel in space twice. A veter an test pilot, she spent nine days aboard the orbiting Salyut 7 in Au gust 1982. The United States plans to have astronaut 'Kathy Sullivan take a space walk during a space shuttle flight in August. That mission also will include Sally Ride, making her second trip into space. Tass said Savitskaya and Dzhani bekov began their walk at 6:55 p.m. Moscow time Wednesday and re turned safely to the orbiting capsule "after the successful accomplish ment of the planned work." Savitskaya, Dzhanibekov and Igor Volk blasted into space July 17 aboard the Soyuz T-12 space ship. The craft docked the next day with the Salyut 7, where three other world cosmonauts, Leonid Kizim, Vladi mir Solovev and Oleg Atkov, have been working for nearly six months. During the space walk, Savitskaya and Dzhanibekov tested a hand-operated tool for cutting, welding and soldering, Tass said. Radio Moscow said the tool will be used to build future space facili ties. American calls Soviet space walk a 'stunt' By PAUL RECER AP Aerospace Writer SPACE CENTER, Houston The Soviets entered the record books with the first spacewalk by a woman, but an American expert says it was merely "a stunt" designed as a public relations gesture. And, NASA says it's not worried because it has dropped the intensive record-setting competition of the early days of the space age. Jim Oberg, an engineer, author and expert on the Soviet space program, said the spacewalk by cosmo naut Svetlana Savitskaya was "just an effort to up stage" American plans to have a female spacewalker in October. "They have been upstaging us for 25 years," said Oberg. "They do it because it's a successful public relations effort." Oberg said the Soviets began pl.inning Savitskaya's spacewalk shortly after the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced astronaut Kathy Sullivan would make a spacewalk on' the space shuttle flight scheduled for October. He said if NASA had scheduled the Sullivan walk earlier, the Soviets would merely have advanced theirs to beat the Americans. "That's the disadvantage of having an open pro gram," said Oberg. The announcement of American plans gives the Soviets a chance to "upstage" the U.S. effort, he said this week. "I wouldn't be surprised to see her (Savitskaya) Senate OKs provision to protect 'Baby Doe' By BILL McCLOSKEY Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON The Senate unanimously passed legislation last night to set up a process allowing for what one member called "a decision that will make sense" on whether to feed or give medical treatment to seriously disabled newborn babies. In a statement submitted for the Congressional Record explaining the provision, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah, said "we should not turn our heads and deprive necessary medical care ensuring life to chil dremborn seriously ill." He said the legislation "requires states to establish procedures to protect seriously handicapped in fants from illegal withholding of life-saving medical treatment." The issue has sparked bitter conflicts among medical organiza tions and took months of negotia tion to come up with wording that could get the unanimous approval of the Senate. The legislation, a part of a bill to extend the life of a program for treatment and prevention of child abuse and to encourage adoption of handicapped children, was amended to provide language on the newborn because of well-publi cized cases in 1981 and 1982 where medical treatment was withheld from such infants. When these cases came to court with the names of the children kept secret, they became known as "Baby Doe" cases. The legislation requires states which receive federal money for child abuse prevention and treat ment to establish procedures to make sure child protective agen cies are notified when there .is "suspected medical neglect, in cluding instances of withholding of The radio report apparently was referring to the Soviet Union's long range plan of building a permanent ly manned space platform. A Tass correspondent who watched the space walk by tele vision said the hand-operated tool, used by both cosmonauts during their walk, is difficult to operate, and he said its use in space is more continued to be used in such stunts," Oberg said. "I wouldn't be surprised to see her as a commander of one of their flights." No space mission has ever been commanded by a woman. Savitskaya and cosmonaut Vladimir Dzhanibekov spent three hours, 35 minutes outside the Soviet orbit ing space station Salyut 7. Tass, the Soviet news agency, said they performed experiments, including welding, soldering and cutting a metal plate. Oberg said the spacewalk activities were technically useful, but that they could have been performed by any cosmonaut. He said Savitskaya was brought into the program from another job as a test pilot —specif ically to set the record. He said she also was selected to upstage another element of the U.S. flight in October. The space shuttle crew includes astronaut Sally Ride, the only American woman who has flown in space. Ride would have become the first woman to fly twice in orbit, but Savitskaya now has that record. She first flew in August 1982. Oberg said Savitskaya became a cosmonaut because of her family connections, "which she has admitted." Her father was the Soviet Air Force chief of staff during World War II and arranged for her to be admitted to previously all-male flight schools. "She is very talented," Oberg said, but she did not become a cosmonaut in open competition as do Ameri can women astronauts. The Daily Collegian Friday, July 27, 1984 medically indicated treatment from disabled infants with life threatening conditions." That language, according to Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., means decisions to withhold or grant treatment will have to rely heavily on reasonable medical judgment. The explanation came from a joint explanatory statement pub lished in the Congressional Record four weeks ago by the principal sponsors of the compromise amendment. The Reagan administration is sued orders in March 1983 requir ing federally assisted hospitals to post notices that it was a violation of federal law to withhold treat ment or food from babies. The regulations also authorized the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct inves tigations and direct hospitals to provide 24-hour access to their k records and facilities during in vestigations. The rules were challenged and a federal court declared them inval id. "We as Americans would never abandon a child injured in an accident. We agressively protect children from adults who would abuse them. Why is it then that any of us would turn our backs on those children born seriously ill, but for whom medical care today offers the gift of life?" Hatch asked. "Our legislation reassures that commitment," he said. A House-Senate conference committee will resolve differences between the House and Senate versions. Although hospital review com mittees have been set up in many places, some believed more pro tection was necessary. strenuous than on Earth He said that during several hours of work with the tool, a cosmonaut loses as much as 6.5 pounds. Tass said the program yesterday included photographing the Caspi an and Black seas and the use of a camera and spectrometer to study the atmosphere on Earth and out side the space station.
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