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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 1981)
emerald Vol. 82, No. 98 Eugene, Oregon 97403 Wednesday, February 11, 1981 Council approves weatherization plan Mandatory ordinance draws heated testimony By CAROLYN RAMSAY Of the Emerald A controversial mandatory weather ization ordinance was approved by the Eugene City Council on Monday. The ordinance, which passed 7-1, will become effective Jan. 1, 1985 City of ficials estimate the ordinance will save city residents more than $2.5 million in fuel costs each year. The weatherization program is con sidered a cornerstone in the council's plans to increase energy conservation in Eugene. The original ordinance was written last year, but voting was postponed to deal with questions that arose at the council’s first public hearing on the matter Dec. 22. An amendment added to the ordin ance requires a mandatory assessment of the program by 1984. Under the ordinance, exterior win dows and doors must be caulked and weatherstripped. Attics, floors and water heaters must be insulated to city specifications. Exemptions included in the ordinance allow for safety precautions. Low-interest loans to help finance weatherization will be made available through the Eugene Water and Electric Board. About 35 people — an unusually large number for a council meeting — testified at Monday’s meeting and public hearing on the ordinance, including county commissioners Scott Lieuallen and Jerry Rust. Both commissioners spoke in favor of the ordinance. Others spoke against it, however, complaining the measure does nothing to prevent the distribution of unsafe insulation. Several speakers claimed the concept of a mandatory insulation measure is an invasion of privacy and that the measure is financially prohibitive. “I am a retired peasant among other peasants who are really worried about whether they’re going to be able to live in their homes,” said Bob Wucherpfennig, 3040 Alder St. “There is insulation distributed in this community that I am sure is dangerous to your health.” Another speaker threatened possible court action if the ordinance was ap proved. "I am against mandatory aspects of this ordinance. You could face not only a class action suit, but individual suits in cases of illness,” warned Stanley Greenfield, 2056 Orchard St Real estate agent Alan Evans ex pressed approval of the measure.“New home buyers are taking a good hard look at weatherization,” Evans said. But rental-unit owner Laura Johnson, 1812 Fairmount Blvd., said the ordinance would negatively affect property owners. “We have been told that we can pass the cost along to our tenants, but we care about our low-income tenants." -■'V* -I Emerald Photo Five die as fire sweeps Las Vegas Hilton LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) — A fire erupted and “jumped from floor to floor” at the 30-story Las Vegas Hilton Tuesday night, killing five people, injuring at least 137 and shooting flames 100 feet up the side of one of the world’s largest hotels. Three bodies were found near an elevator on the eighth floor and two were discovered on the 10th floor, said Chief Clark County Medical Examiner Otto Raven holt. The blaze, which was reported at 8:07 p.m. and brought under control an hour later, followed by less than three months the disastrous fire at the nearby MGM Grand Hotel in which 84 people died. Some guests at the 2,783-room stone-fronted Hilton broke windows and screamed frantically for help after the fire started from unknown causes on the southeast corner of the eighth floor, quickly spreading as high as the 24th floor and sending smoke wafting over the nearby Las Vegas Strip. Helicopters evacuated people from the roof, and ambulances rushed to the facility. Several sheets could be seen hanging from eighth-floor windows. “We looked out the window and it was awful scary seeing the chopper and the lights,” said Deborah Sawyer of Key West, Fla., who was in a 23rd-floor room with her husband, Tom. "We saw windows breaking and people screaming. We felt trapped.” She said they called the switcmboard and were told “to put towels under the doors and stay in the room. We did that, and we filled the bathtub with water.” Edward Hammerman and Joseph Adolf, conven tioneers from Chicago, said they were in their 29th-floor room when they heard sirens and saw smoke and headed immediately for the roof. “When we got to the roof, we saw flames coming up the (elevator) shaft through the building,” Adolf said. "So we ran over to the other side of the roof. When we saw flames there, we started to get nervous.” Adolf said that within minutes, two helicopters landed and began taking about 25 people from the roof. Tomseth protestors charged with arson Two Eugene demonstrators were arraigned Tuesday morning on charges of first-degree arson stemming from Monday s protest of ex-hostage Victor Tomseth’s University visit. John Kaiser, 24, and Nancy Whitley, 29, appeared before Lane County District Court Judge Gregory Foote. Both remained in custody Tuesday pending bail. Earlier, Kaiser’s bail was set at $15,000 and Whitley’s bail set at $5,000 The two were arrested Monday after Kaiser, a Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade member, ran to the stage in the EMU Ballroom with a burning piece of yellow cloth as Tomseth made his appearance. Whitley, also known as Nancy Parker, was arrest ed for fourth-degree assault for allegedly attacking Eugene police officer Mike Whitney as he took Kaiser into custody. Whitley was not arraigned on this charge, but the Lane County District Attorney’s office said Tuesday that the grand jury was expected to consider the charge later. Many evacuees walked from the hotel to the nearby convention center, where Red Cross and Civil Defense workers were sent. Authorities at four hospitals said at least 137 people were treated for injuries, mostly smoke inhalation Rodney Davis, desk officer at the nearby Royal Americana Hotel, said half the building was dark and the flames for a time reached up to the side of the building at least 100 feet. Capt. Ralph Dinsman, a Fire Department spokes man said the fire started from unknown causes on the eighth floor and then "jumped from floor to floor,” More than two hours later white smoke was still pouring out of the building but the flames were subsid ing "Yes, there is a large fire at the Hilton. I’ve got to go," said an unidentified official who answered the fire department’s telephone number. A desk clerk who answered the telephone at the hotel said there was a fire but that he did not have time to talk. He then hung up the phone. Andy Williams and Juliet Prowse were among the performers booked for Tuesday performances in the showroom at the Hilton, which is near the Las Vegas Strip, about two miles from the 26-story, 2,076-room MGM Grand Hotel, where a fire last Nov. 21 killed 84 people and injured more than 700. In an interview following the MGM Grand fire, Fritz Huebler, manager of the Las Vegas Hilton, said that his hotel "has the highest degree of safety Like everyone else, we review it every month or so." He said the hotel had smoke alarms and sprinklers on every floor. The MGM Grand had sprinklers on only a few floors and no smoke alarms.