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Show arker By GORDON KIRBY Deseret News Staff Writer The beating of Tom Croom in the Salt Lake County Jail took on a new urgency today when County Atty. Carl J. Nemelka started an investigation and Public Safety Commissioner James L. Barker asked that Nemelka answer a few questions. Croom, 22, is being held in one of the jails four holding tanks. This is his sixth day in the cell, which is a bare space with a hole in the floor as a sewage outlet and no water tap. The two officers told Jones they thought the beating w'as unnecessary and excessive. Croom lost two teeth in the fracas. by 12 foot room with no toilet. 'view of the entire jail procedure is in order. He walked over to the Metat Hall of Justice ropolitan Barkers letter contains 8:30 a.m. today and asked seven questions. Nemelka if he intended to conduct an investigation. He asks if the constitution's Nemelka teplied that he did prohibition against cruel and intend to investigate and that unusual punishment applies to he had already written a letter to the members of the County Commission them advising that he will submit his findings and also determine if prosecu tion of jail personnel is neces- Barker reacted strongly this morning after having read in the Deseret News Tuesday night that Croom was being held in an empty, unlighted 5 sary. Barkers 1 Iter to Nemelka stated that news stories of the alleged beating of Croom lead me to believe that a re- - attention Monday. Two Salt Lake City policemen who had arrested him reported to Police Chief J. Earl Jones that they had witnessed s beating given the prisoner in the jail after he was booked for jayand walking, hitchhiking drunkenness. steel-walle- d Croom became the center of prisoners being county jail. mum standards or procedures with regard to their personal welfare? held in the He wants to know to what ' extent jailers may punish" a prisoner, and under what con-- ' ditions. Barker wants to know if present facilities in the jail are adequate to permit the imof proper jail plementation He asks: Are prisoners in the jail entitled to any mini- - procedures. Bancor asks, Are jail personnel adequately screened to make certain they are psychologically equipped to deal with mentally disturbed, sick or abusive prisoners? Anoiher question he asked is whether actions of jail personnel are subject to any rules other than those imposed by the sheriff. His last question is, Can and are jail procedures used for personal vendettas?" The notoriety about the beating of Croom has produced some tension between city policemen and deputy sheriffs. DESERET NEWS SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH Wednesday, November B 15, 1972 One high police administra- tor said the hostility was very noticeable this morning. Aside from the alleged beating of Croon?, the Deseret News noted Tuesday that James C. Solomon, 24, of 3255 Fortuna Dr., who was jailed for traffic offenses, had braided a mattress cover and hanged himself from his cell bars. Solomon was revived and was reported in critical condition after being taken to Holy Cross Hospital. His condition was repotted to be serious todav. HANDICAP? NOT TO HIM Blindness Doesn't Stop This Woodcarver By GERRY AVANT Deseret News Staff Writer Heading Home It might look like a case of the blind leading the blind, but Fritz Bollbach feels there is a lot he can do to help other people who are handicapped. Since the September meeting of the group, inactive. Im still interested in birds, but became ticked when the group served box lunches on the field trip. It was chicken. g Ive become Bollbach had a lot to lose he when he lost his sight was a piofessional woodcarver and cabinet maker wher. he came to the United States 16 years ago. I cant tell you he said of the how I felt, early days of his blindness. an Bollbach, immigrant from Germany, lost his vision five and a half years ago. Cataracts on his right eye took their toll, and an accidental bump into a sharp edge on a table caused nerve damage and blindness in his left eye. Instead of giving up and losing everything, Bollbach decided he had a lot to gain. My goal now is to tell the people the Lord is with us, he said. We are able to do anything we want to do. Just look at the things Ive been able to make I couldnt have done all this without faith and hard work. But, Ive kept my hand in by feeding a stray pigeon. Somehow it has lost contact with the flock and become a' loner. Maybe that is why Ive become so attached to it. We relate. Anyhow, each day the pigeon gets a handout from me. The other day, a woman jumped on me for feeding the bird. She has nothing against pigeons, but said I was spoiling bird by feeding it when food was available with just a bit of hustle on the birds part. She said I should only feed my pigeon when there is snow on the ground, and he cannot find food for himself. ... Bollbach said he realized the necessity to keep working after be became blind. He built his home at 10679 S. 2200 West, South Jordan. Along with his home, he built a complete woodworking shop. He tutors others many of whom are handicapped, on how to use the shops machinery. Some people do not believe a blind man can use a saw and other machinery, he said. But I learned how and now I will teach others. The bird might be a homing pigeon and strayed, or stayed because of the free lunch. There must be nothing more sad to a pigeon fancier than having one of his birds .laying away from home for days. SMART AS AN OWL Im hoping that he is some smart bird and just staying away from the flock and the trigger happy people who shoot at them. Somewhere I read that thousands of homing pigeons disappeared during a big meet just outside of London. There were all kinds of theories. Some said that a thunderstorm had jammed up the built-iradar, or whatever pigeons have built in. Other people thought sun spots had something to do with it. hi n & . fr . a I personally think that they latched on to someone who feeds them, and makes no demands. They liked their freedom and didnt return home. , Normally, specially bred racing pigeons bring joy to thousands of sportsmen around the United States. Owners gather one to two hundred miles away from home. Doors to crates swing open, and the noise of a thousand beating wings can be heard as the pigeons take off into the wild blue yonder. There is no trace of bitterness in Bollbachs conversations about his blindness. There was a time when I cried, prayed and asked, But I realized I why? couldnt go on like that forever, he said. Only my physical eyes are blind. My spiritual eyes still have keen vision and thats w See BLINDNESS, Page Light silhouettes delicately carved cranes. Fritz Bollbach, blind wood artist, works on animal figure. 3 Then the owners get into their big comfortable cars and ride home. S.L. Purchases 3 New 'Chuckhole Repair Kits' The owners are sitting around having a pop or glass of nalk waiting.' HOMEWARD BOUND Hours later, the pigeons flutter down half dead to the home loft. Officials tabulate time, distance, and speeds in yards per minute to determine the winner. And you can bet your last bippy that it is the guy who sat home who gets the trophy. Pigeons, according to the experts, can fly up to 70 miles per hour, depending on the wind and its direction. The American Pigeon Fanciers assured me that what I am going to tell you is the truth. A farmer sold five of his pigeons to a friend in a distant city. He plucked their tail feathers so they couldnt fly home. later, the five pigeons came walking up the driveway, dirty and dusty but undaunted by their long hike. Arid, thats the truth. A month We should erect a statue to the pigeon like we seagull. On second thought, the pigeons seem to rest of tne statues in town are for them anyway. 'News' Wants hav' the think the And then there was the story of a Midway woman whose boy was born on Christmas Eve and a Salt Laker who moved to the Philippine Islands with her serviceman husband to celebrate a most unusual Christmas? These were just three of the six published entries in the Christmas I Deseret News Remember Best series last year. Entries for this years contest are being accepted now. If you have an unusual or in- teresting Christmas you would like to share with others, tell it in about 700 words. Judges will not consider liter-rar- y ability, but interest and -- presentation. Deadline for entries is Nov. 27, io give judges ample time to screen the entries. Each of six winning entries, worth $25 .411 illnc. . V t Salt Lake City motorists may no longer have chuck-hole- s to complain about, thanks to three new trucks purchased by the Streets According to Streets Commissioner Stephen M. Harm-sethe new equipment is scheduled to arrive today and should be in service by the end of the week. The trucks, built to city of specifications at $20,000 each, will each serve a different district of the city. a cost The city also expects delivery of a new snow-throwin- g truck and a half again as we currently reported. The garbage truck big as anything use, Harmsen snow removal - of BOUNTIFUL The, woman sounded nervous when she telephoned police. Can you send an officer over? she asked. Theres a man looking through the window. Five officers responded in their individual cars, arriving at the scene within two minutes. the estimated $6 million in revenue sharing funds which Salt Lake City expects to receive in the next few months will probably go to resurface streets and reconstruct They surrounded the suspect, who got a little bit nervous himself. He was an employe of a local glass who had been company, asked by the womans husband to recheck a window the garbage truck, costing should be in service by the end of the month, he said. $23,000, Harmsen said the Streets Departments share te sewer lines. equipment, costing $28,000, and Gain Support By WANDA LUND Deseret News Staff Writer OGDEN Other projects should take precedence over a Utah bid for the 1976 Winter Olympics, members of the Golden Spike Empire, Inc., decided Tuesday night. installation. The tourist promotion group declined to offer support for a Salt Lake City bid for the winter games which had been ' Your Christmas Stories Remember the story a Cedar City resident told last year of the Christmas he remembered best as a boy living in John's Vailey? By ROBERT MULLINS Deseret News Staff Writer Olympics Bid Fails To Left 5 Officers With Red Faces trated by a Deseret News staff artist. The series will be published during the week befoie entries to Christmas I Remember Best, - Deseret Mail News, Post Office Box 1257, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110. Include a stamped envelope if the entry is to be returned after judging. The trucks, mobile chuckhole repair kits, each carry hot asphalt mix, hot tar kettle, a jack hammer, and a heavy roller. This equipment will allow street crews to make a complete repair with one truck, Harmsen explained. The method of repair will differ sharply from the current system of pouring hot tar in the hole and hoping it holds. The new equipment will allow crews to square off the hole, and the roller facilitates a better compaction, thus making repairs last longer, the commissioner continued. Dunn Quits S.L. County Helm In a surprise shuffle this morning, Salt Lake County Commission Chairman William E. Dunn resigned as chairman and Ralph Y. McClure was unanimously chosen to succeed him. asked that the publicans new assignments be ready by the next regular board meeting Monday at 10 a.m. The shuffle seemed to coincide with the Democratic victory in last weeks general election by NjcClure, who was reelected for a new four year term. Democrats will take control of the County Commission Jan. 1 when commissioner-elect Pete Kutulas joins the three-maboard and Blomquist, who did not seek reelection drops out after six years as commissioner. Flustered at first, the new chairman a Democrat knuckled down to chores, considering a request that he recommend his desired shuffling of responsibilities for the countys 50 to 60 departments. Dunn and Commissioner Philboth Re lip R. Blomquist n scheduled Dunn predicted that the shift might, give the necessary direction and consideration to the upcoming $50 million budget for 1973. The said that Republicans, in majority on the commission since 1968, have accorded Democratic commissioners "fair consideration on assignments and responsibilities. He asked that he receive the same fair consideration as I now become the minority member of the Salt Lake County Commission. ... for Colorado until voters rejected funding for the Olympic event. Board members said they were more concerned with the urgency of developing Great Salt Lake Park on Antelope Island and with a new project vehicle to establish an park on 1,122 acres of land at Little Mountain. Id hate to see us play around with something we dont really want, said Olof E. Zundel, mayor of Brigham City and chairman of the tourism board, as he objected to the Olympic winter games. off-roa- d UTA Votes To Reduce Bus Fare For Elderly By DEANN EVANS Deseret News Staff W riter The Utah Transit Authority board of directors voted .Tuesday to reduce bus fa : to 15 cents for senior citizens and if adehandicapped persons quate funding can be found. The action, coming on the heels of an on board ridership survey in which 43 percent of respondents were over age 65, was coupled with a resolution that UTA officials explain the fare reduction plan and its tha tmvnc cnetc nvpm- - mental units currently subsidizing the transits operation. The fare reduction proposals will receive further attention-a- t a public hearing called by Salt Lake City commissioners. The hearing, called in response to a letter to commissioners from UTA President William L. Fields, was originally set for Nov. 22, but Fields reported he will be unable to attend on that date. willing to pay for the reduced fares out of revenue sharing funds or general revenues. The UTA has estimated the cost of the fare reduction to be $396,000 annually for senior citizens, with no estimate made for the inclusion of the William D. Oswald, UTA said communities counsel, ked if they are would he Taylor called for the UTA to begin in December a trial program in which handicapped. The boards action preceded an appearance by Rep. Samu-- . el S. Taylor, Lake, who outlined his no fare proposal. lt all bus fares are reduced to 15 cents, transfer charges are eliminated, merchants validate bus receipts, downtown merchants help subsidize transit because of operating costs the favored routing to downtown, ar.d fares for children under 16 are cut to 19 cents. The gram, $200,000 trial pro- estimated to cost if no increase in pas- sengers occurs, would give the UTA facts and figures to take to the Utah Legislature, which will still hp in cpscinn when the period is half over in February, Taylor continued. The state legislator said revenue losses resulting from the reduced fares could be made revenue up from sharing funds, adding, There will be no loss to anyone. The people will be getting the benefit of revenue sharing funds through fare reductions. Surely we are entitled to get some of that back. Taylor said he opposes the See I TA on Pape M. Moler, vice Murray chairman of the Utah Travel Council, said the winter games held in Squaw Valley, Calif, in 1960 lost $18 million and some motels went bankrupt. We would like the publicity, but we dont really want the Olympics, he said. bot rd members Instead, were asked to encourage legislative support of projects within the Golden Spike Empire, which includes Davis, Weber, Box and Morgan Elder counties. Mike Munson, a member of the State Park and Recreation Board, described the vehicle park to be created on surplus government land at Little Mountain. off-roa- d He said the iand would be turned over to the state Nov. 24 and plans are being made to open the area for use next spring. It takes a burden off our backs for trail vehicles, commented George Frost, Weber County commissioner. Munson said the State Park and Recreation Board cannot justify keeping the road open to Antelope Island unless the Great Salt Lake Park is SECTION B |