Curtis Wilson Retires^ E n e r ^ Said Vital Probers ^Find Laws WHA^NHL Merger Policeman for 25 Years Despite its Risks Not Put in Effect Ndw a Reality Page 8 Page 8 Page 8 Page 13 iHanrlt^atFr Fog Today Showers Sunday Delallt on pago 2 Market Falls Vol. XCVIII, No. 153 — Manchester, Conn., Saturday, March 31, 1979 a A Family NEWSpaper Since 1881 • 20C Single Copy • 15« Home Delivered NEW YORK (UPI) - The stock market fe}l in moderate tradng Friday in reaction to the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, Pa., ai|d the government’s report of a dKline in its economic in­ dicators. Melt- Down Feared Thc,^Dow Jbnes industrial averageV.which managed to gain 0.52 point Thursday, lost 4.59 points to 862.18. but ended the week with a gain of 2.43 points. The New York Stock Exchange At Nuclear Plant index dropped 0.21 to 57.13 and the price of a share shed 12 cents. WASHINGTON (UPI) - The water. Officials said they hope to find events that are not happening now. Declines topped advances, 791 to government, reporting the nation’s a way to remove the bubble from the “The White House has set up 607, among the 1,886 issues traded most serious\ atomic emergency is reactor a little at a time and avert ' adequate communications between at 4 p.m. EST. far worse than they^hought, said the threat. the NRO, the White House, the site Nuclear energy stocks general­ Friday there is dafigw of a reactor “It is a ticklish operation,” and the governor’s office,” he added. ly plunged and dragged the rest of melt-down within a few days at Thompson said. "I guess it will take A fictional, exaggerated version of the market with them in the wake Three Mile Island nuclear plant in. tens if not hundreds of hours.” an extreme melt-down is described of the accident near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. If a reactor core loses its flow of in the new movie " The China Syn- Dudley Thompson of the Nuclear Pa. cooling water, temperatures in the drom.e.” General Public Utilities, the Regulatory Commission’s office of uranium fuel can increase enough to The closest a U.S. power plant has holding company that owns the inspection and enforcement said the melt fuel rods dr even part of the come to such catastrophe was in Oc- Three Mile Island plant, asked threat ranges from the reactor core and — at theoretical tob«r 1966 when a piece of metal that trading in its stock be "real possibility" of partial melting worst — melt through the steel reac­ broke loose at the Fermi breeder suspended until the situation of the uranium fuel to the tor housing. reactor near Detroit, partially "miniscule" chance the entire reac­ clears up. The stock was off % to A total’melt-down accident would be blocking the flow M cooling water tor core could melt — the worst type I6V4 in active trading on the , the most devastating catastrophe and causing a partial melting qf reac­ NYSE before transactions were of nuclear catastrophe. that could strike a nuclear power tor fuel. halted. It was down Me to I6V4 in NRC officials also blamed workers plant, with the potential for • Thompson said the term melt-down composite trading. at Metropolitan Edison, the utility spreading high levels of radiation — as he used it — covered everything that operates Three Mile Island, for over many square miles and perhaps from the melting of only a few pellets uncontrolled radition leaks from the killing thousands. of uranium within the reactor fuel plant since the accident Wednesday. At the White House, Powell said a rods to the total melting of the reac­ Farmers^ Markets ’The NRC said reactor operators report about the possibility of a melt­ tor core. erred releasing radioactive water to down “is at the very least RICHMOND, R.I. (UPI) - an unsealed building. speculative.” In a total core melt, he said, the Once-flourishing farmers’ President Carter, reacting swiftly Powell said the federal govern­ molten core would fall into a pool of markets could soon make a to the latest news from the scene, ment has worked out with state of­ water in the basement of the reactor ordered immediate government room. He said the water could turn comeback in Rhode Island. ficials a contingency plan for evacua­ A growers group, ’The Southern measures to help cope with the situa­ tion of high risk areas if the need exploslvefy to steam when the Rhode Island Small Farmers, tion— and indicated the accident will j arises. A decision, on evacuation, he molten core hit, creating enough plans a network of markets where provoke more stringent nuclear safe-' said, would be up to Gov. Richard pressure to burst seals in the contain­ its members can sell their home­ ty standards. Thornburgh. ment building around the reactor aqd grown products directly to the On Whom Is the Joke? White House press secretary Jody “A decision on evacuation," release massive amounts of radioac­ public. ’The first will open behind This is not your run of the mill April Fool’s photograph. The Powell told reporters Carter “has Powell said, “would be based on tive steam. the Richmond School in May. photographer did indeed set out to get a gag shot along with his been briefed repeatedly on developments,” and said the presi­ A second group, the East Bay regular assignments. In the normal course of events, he took a Small farm and Garden Associa-, dent advised a group of visiting tion, plana to open markets in picture of a gentleman, whose name we are not mentioning. editors and broadcasters Friday Carrier and UTC June in Newport, Portsmouth and Later he took a picture of a raccoon, whose nanie we never did afternoon that “this insident will possibly Middletown. learn. Then by means of a mistake too einbarrassing to dis­ make it necessary to reassess our “There are no two ways about cuss, he found both images on the same negative, beautifully present safety precautions and probably lead to even more stringent it,’’ Hopkinton farmer Harold superimposed. John Strempfer is not reluctant to have us tell Agree on Merger Maricham said. “You just can’t safety and design mechanisms and beat locally grown go^s. ’They about it. He thinks nobody will believe it anyway. We know at standards.” HARTFORD (UPI) - Carrier percent of Carrier's voting taste better, are more nutritious least one raccoon and one gentleman who know it’s true. ’Thompson and other officials said Corp. and United Technologies Corp. securities, which were acquired in a and cost less than most of the the melt-down risk can come when Friday announced they have agreed cash tender offer and by open market stuff you buy in the big stores. engineers try to cool the crippled in principle to a merger which will purcha.ses since last December, reactor at Harrisburg, Pa., below its make Carrier a wholly-owned sub­ Public Forum Set present level. sidiary of UTC, ending more than Each share of Ihe new preferred Sees Carter Out Officials said the reactor had four months of litigation. stock will be entitled to one-half vote reached a stable condition Friday Carrier had taken UTC to court and will be convertible into .375 share NEW YORK (UPI) - On CD Funds Ban .afternoon, meaning there was no im­ after it opened its tender offer in of UTC common stock, the statement said. Republican presidential can­ questions to the panelists and to mediate risk and’operators could plot November, charging the merger didate Lowell Weicker Friday MANCHESTER — Six panelists the next steps with extreme caution. would violate federal anti-trust laws. resource people who are qualified to The new preferred stock will be pj^icted he Democratic Party will present opposing views on the give factual information regarding “We are faced with a decision (on Friday's agreement will allow UTC, will dump President Carter in upcoming HUD referendum question how to proceed) within a few days, Connecticut's largest private redeemable beginning in 1986 at $29 the program. per share and thereafter at redemp­ 1980 and instead nominate Sen. at a public forum Monday, April 9, at rather than hours,” ’Thompson told employer, to take over the Syracuse, James Breitenfeld, president of the tion prices declingin $.50 per year to Eidward Kennedy or Vice Presi­ 7:30 p.m. in Illing Junior High School reporters at an NRC news center. N.Y., giant air conditioning Greater Manchester Chamber of $25 per share in 1995 and subsequent dent Walter Mondale or, as “a bad auditorium. “We ultimately face the risk of a manufacturer. Commerce, will moderate the dis­ years. third,” California Gov. Eidmund The Manchester League of Women cussion. melt-down (depending on) the The merger plan will require ap­ Voters and the town's Human manner in which we cope with the proval of the boards of directors of G. Brown. .Speakers favorable to the town's Before the effective date of the Relations Commission are spon­ problem. If there is even a small both UTC and Carrier, as well as the continued participation in the HUD merger. Carrier will redeem its 4'4 soring the event. program will be Gerry Harvey of chance of a melt-down, we will approval by a majority 0 ^ the “Recent polls have indicated recommend precautionar jr shareholders of both companies. Ten­ percent senior preferred stock. In the ^inside Today JOIN; Mayor Stephen Penny; and merger each outstanding share of widespread public uncertainty and evacuation.” William Sieith, a member of the tative plans call for the merger to oc­ ('arricr $1 86 cumulative preferred Business.....................................15 confusion concerning the HUD The NRC said it had sent eight Downtown Coordinating Committee.