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Quints are five
LIBERTY CORNER, N.J.
(UPI) - The Kienast kids,
America’s second surviving set
of quintuplets on record,
reached their fifth birthday
today, and celebrated it with 16
classmates at St. John’s Nur
sery School.
The cupcake and milk affair
was the fourth consecutive
birthday party this year for the
quints, who are now accus
tomed to seeing themselves on
the front pages of newspaners
and on television.
“I hope they don’t take
pictures. I wish I didn’t have to
take a dumb picture,” mumbles
Gordon, one of two boys, when
photographers arrive.
“It’s just an act, says mother
Peggy Jo Kienast, 35, when
Sara responds to a plea to
smile for the camera by
pouting and staring at her
GRIFFIN
<.?g» ’ -JF<
Anniversary
Mr. and Mrs. Charlie M. Lasseter ts Griffin celebrated
their 50th wedding anniversary with a reception at the
Pininview Baptist Church social hall. The reception was
given by their children, Mr. and Mrs. Clifton F. Lewis,
Mr. and Mrs. James E. Smith of Indian Head, Maryland,
Mrs. Lillian Kyle and Mr. and Mrs. David W. Lasseter of
Tampa, Fla. Seventy local and out-of-town guests
attended the reception.
$230-million
more may not
be ‘enough’
ATLANTA (UPI) - Georgia
will have $230 million more to
»/RFT &
Chief
CHICAGO—Chief Justice
Warren Burger removes his
glasses while making a point as
he tells a meeting of the
American Bar Association that
federal courts may be con
fronted with a crisis brought on
by the passage of the Speedy
Trial Act last December. He
said the administrative office of
the court system estimates that
upwards of $lO-million would be
needed to finance the new act.
He said the federal courts need
more and better paid judges to
head off the crisis. (UPI)
shoes.
“Sara is our Sarah Bern
hardt,” Mrs. Kienast says.
The Kienasts —Amy, Abigail,
Sara, Ted and Gordon —also
are only the sixth set of quints
in the world to survive.
Except for the publicity, they
are typicial Americans youths
“who want to be policemen and
firemen,” said Mrs. Kienast,
who also has two older
children, John, 6, and Meg, 8.
“The hardest job is to make
each one of these guys know
they’re individuals, and not just
a lump of clay labeled
‘quintuplets,’” she said.
But father William Kienast,
43, said “they don’t even know
it.”
“They have no reason to
assume that everyone else
doesn’t have all these kids
running around,” said Kienast,
who owns a firm which
spend next year than in fiscal
1975, but in these inflationary
times nobody in the General
Assembly is calling it a
bonanza.
The General Assembly will be
devoting much time in the
waning days of the 1975 session
figuring out how that $230
million should best be spent.
Having grappled and disa
greed for months about how to
spend the state’s money next
year, the lawmakers must soon
make tough decisions about
which programs to fund with
slumping revenues and which
to postpone for a better year.
Some want to fund generous
raises for teachers and state
employes, others want to give
$35 to SSO million in tax relief to
property owners, and some
want to expand federal social
programs for which Georgia
could receive matching federal
dollars.
Still others would put $lO
million in new state funds into
partial implementation of a
statewide kindergarten pro
gram, which Gov. George
Busbee says would cost the
state about $66 million annually
when fully implemented.
The fact that kindergarten is
a continuing obligation that is
going to get more expensive
each year is a major reason
opponents of the program say
Georgia can not afford it —at
least not this year.
produces plastic for eyeglass
frames.
The quintuplets are in excel
lent health, although Gordon
still carries the trace of a scar
where he broke his nose last
year by falling on a brick.
Abigail and Amy wear glasses
for weak sight.
The younger five see a
natural division between them
selves and their older siblings,
who attend a different school.
Gordon called his group “the
little kids.”
Mrs. Kienast said there is no
doubt they are all individuals,
as their opinions on such
sensitive topics such as school
show.
“It’s so boring,” said Sara.
“I like it, because our friends
are there,” said Ted.
. “I like school, and I like
vacation both,” said Abigail.
Bill seeks to outlaw
bartering to pay rent
ATLANTA (UPI) - Barter
ing between a renter and a
landlord over the rental fee to
be charged on an apartment
would not be acceptable in
Georgia under a proposed law
to be introduced in the General
Assembly today.
State Rep. George Petro, R-
Dekalb, said Sunday he will
introduce the bill to update an
1863 Georgia law which allows
renters to barter with their
landlords using vegetable
Tragedy strikes on bridge
SILOAM, N.C. (UPI) - A
rural bridge collapsed under
the impact of a head-on
collision Sunday night. Seven
vehicles plunged into the foggy
Yadkin River, leaving three
persons dead and one missing.
Authorities said some of the
motorists apparently were una
ble to see in the fog and drove
off the one-lane, wooden
planked bridge before they
realized what had happened.
The bridge stood 65 feet above
the water.
Authorities said the collision
on the 37-year-old wood and
steel bridge age, apparently
damaged a steel truss on the
structure, rated to hold only
seven tons.
Two of the victims were
identified as Hugh Atkinson, 75,
and his wife, Ola, 70, an elderly
couple from Siloam in the first
car to drop when the 387-foot
bridge crumpled.
The body of Mrs. Judy Brown
Needham, 28, of Pinnacle, also
was recovered but her 3-year
old daughter, Andrea, was I
missing. Her husband, Thomas,
29, and a daughter, Terresa, 8,
were rescued.
State Highway Administrator
Billy Rose said in Raleigh after
talking to engineers at the
scene that two vehicles collided
on the bridge and the “concen
tration of weight did damage to
the truss itself.”
The bridge, which had been
replanked only a month ago, is
located about 30 miles north
west of Winston-Salem on the
Yadkin-Surry county line and
was used for commuting traffic
between Winston-Salem and
rural northwestern North
Carolina.
Despite the fog, boats and
scuba divers searched the 10-30
foot deep waters.
“I felt like jumping in but it
would have been useless,” said
Eugene Livengood, who was
among the first rescuers to
arrive. “We all could have
drowned.
“The current was extremely
swift at the site and the water
was deep enough to cover some
of the cars,” he said. Although
it had been raining during the
day, the » river was not
abnormally high.
Officials said the Atkinson
vehicle plunged into the waters
crops.
Petro said his 30-page Uni
form Residential Landlord and
Tenant Act is necessary be
cause the old law has become
outmoded for today’s needs.
Petro said renters will soon
comprise half the residents of
the Atlanta metropoUtan area.
Petro said one outmoded
feature of the 111-year-old law
is a section allowing renters to
negotiate their rent with their
landlords using such crops as
Er
‘ ■«.-’^---- 4
nmaHM
Ed Atkinson (r) of Siloam rides in a rescue boat carrying the covered body of his father,
Hugh Atkinson (1) after the two cars they were riding in with their families {dunged into the
Yadkin river when a one-lane bridge collapsed. (UPI)
and was then hit from above by joined rescue workers in
a second car. The others searching for victims in boats,
followed, unable in the fog to Three members of his family,
see the missing span. his wife and two children, also
Among those able to escape escaped although his wife
was Atkinson’s son, Ed, 40, who suffered a broken arm while
clambering from the car.
Train crash kills 127
OSLO (UPI) — Hundreds of
holiday travelers crowded into
an express train to Norway’s
scenic ski country. Hundreds of
other vacationers packed into
an express carrying skiers back
to the Norwegian capital.
A station master near Lil
lehammer, a scenic ski resort
100 miles north of Oslo, was the
first to realize the two trains
were roaring toward each other
on a single track.
He frantically cut off the
overhead power and desperate
ly tried to signal the engineers
of the two 12-car electric trains
to stop. But it was too late.
The expresses smashed into
each other 20 miles north of
Lillehammer Saturday night,
killing 27 persons and injuring
15 in Norway’s worst rail
disaster. Seven of the dead
were children.
All except one of the dead
were Norwegians. The foreign
er was identified as George
Lorenzo Goodman, 55, an
American musician living in
West Germany.
Edvard Heibert, director
general of the state-owned
railway, said Sunday night rail
officials are questioning the
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Five years old now, and no longer cuddly babes in arms,
the Kienast quintuplets of Liberty Corners, N. J. have
taken to bicycles like most kids their age. The quints,
tomatoes, onions or com.
“A new law is needed,” said
Petro. “It’s long overdue. The
bill has only been amended
about three times since it was
enacted in 1863.”
Despite its anacronisms,
Petro said the bill still had
many good points which would
remain in effect if his biU is
passed.
The new law provides that a
security deposit may not
exceed one month’s rent. When
surviving engineers about the
collision.
“Our investigation commis
sion is trying to find out what
really happened and at this
stage I cannot say anything
about the question of respon
sibility,” he said.
Heiberg said the warning and
light system appeared to have
been functioning when the
trains crashed into each other
with a total of 800 persons
aboard outside the small village
of Tretten.
Railway officials said the
express from Oslo was delayed
in leaving the Norwegian
capital, but one of the two
trains still should have pulled
into a siding at Tretten to let
the other pass.
“We don’t know why one of
the trains did not stop at
Tretten to let the other pass,”
he said.
Nearly all the dead were
riding in a car on the train
from Oslo.
Witnesses said the crash
twisted the car into a pile of
rubble and tossed it off the
track. Rescue workers had to
use power saws and cranes to
pry open the car to get out the
Page 3
a renter signs a lease, he must
be given the name of the
person responsible for main
taining the premises and where
to reach him in an emergency.
If health hazards around an
apartment complex are not
taken care of within 14 days
after the landlord is notified,
the tenant may terminate the
lease, or he may have the
necessary work done and
deduct the expenses from the
rent.
Four cars went in on the
Surry County side and three
more on the Yadkin side. A
crane was called in from
Winston-Salem to begin pulling
the wreckage from the river.
victims.
About 300 rescue workers,
including soldiers from Lil
lehammer, cleared the debris
from the track but the
operation was hampered by
heavy snow.
The rescue workers used
three helicopters and 11 ambu
lances to shuttle the dead and
injured to a hospital in
Lillehammer.
What keeps Israelis laughing?
JERUSALEM (UPI) - Thea
ters, movie houses, restaurants,
clubs and the streets of Israel
are empty every second Thurs
day night.
It is the night of television’s
“Nikui Rosh” (Head Cleaning),
the sometimes bitingly satiric
Israeli version of America’s
sometime series, “Laugh-In” or
the defunct “Smothers Brothers
Show.”
Poking fun at everything
from top political leaders to the
latest financial scandal, the
program stirs up nearly as
much controversy as would the
showing of a blue movie at a
church social.
— Griffin Daily News Monday, February 24,1975
whose fifth birthday is today, are (1 to r) Ted, Abigail,
Sara, Amy and Gordon. (UPI)
News summary
By United Press International
Weather kills eight
At least eight persons died in weather-related accidents
around the country over the weekend. There were
tornadoes and thunderstorms in the South, heavy rains
causing flash floods in the Midwest and snow clogged the
Southwest.
‘Emergency’ baby
LATTA, S.C. (UPI) — Mrs. Shirley Jean Abrams, 23,
was dropped as a patient by her doctor last November
because she could not pay her bill. And when it came
time for her baby to be bom the hospital refused to admit
her because only emergency cases are admitted without a
doctor’s orders, and having a baby is not considered an
emergency. Her 7-pound, 2-ounce girl was bom in an
ambulance with the help of two rescue squad members
and one of their wives.
Nixon home from visit
SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (UPI) — Richard Nixon, who
spent a five-day visit at the Palm Desert estate of mil
lionaire publisher Walter Annenberg, is back home today.
The visit culminated with a dinner party in Nixon’s honor
Saturday night attended by some of his famous friends,
such as Bob Hope and his wife, former California Gov.
Ronald Reagan and his wife and singer Frank Sinatra.
Hope described Nixon as being in “only fair spirits” and
looking “as if he needed a lot of rest.” It was the first time
Nixon has spent any time away from his estate since he
was hospitalized for phlebitis last fall.
Ford sees win on oil
WASHINGTON (UPI) - Although President Ford is
optimistic that Congress will not be able to delay his
additional tariff increases on imported oil, head counts on
Capitol Hill show the two-thirds needed to override a veto
will be available although the vote will be close. Congress
finally has moved on its own economy energy program, an
immediate tax cut and tax reductions for 1975, the
framework Ford had suggested. The President heads to
Florida Tuesday to play in the Jackie Gleason Celebrity
Golf Tournament on Wednesday.
Hijacker had breakdown
BRASILIA (UPI) — Joel Siqueira, 30, who hijacked a
Brazilian jetliner with 80 persons aboard Saturday, was
said by relatives to have suffered a nervous breakdown
and was on his way to a mental hospital for treatment
when he hijacked the plane. Siqueiros held the aircraft for
eight hours before being shot and overpowered by police.
The government has declined to disclose his condition, but
a source said he was well enough to be questioned.
King crowned today
KATMANDU, Nepal (UPI) - King Birendra Bir
Rikrarn Shah Dev was crowned at precisely 8:37 a.m.,
today. A guttering assembly of royalty and statesmen
from 58 nations were present at the ceremony. A select
few of the 300 foreign dignitaries — including Prince
Charles of Britain, Prince Akihito of Japan and Vice
Premier Chen Hsi-Uen of China -rode 30 royal elephants
in a procession through the city.
But where the Smothers
Brothers may have gotten into
trouble by satirizing American
politics, Nikui Rosh rolls along
virtually without threat of being
muzzled by the publicly run
Broadcasting Authority despite
numerous complaints from vie
wers.
The 40-minute program is
about the only thing that has
kept Israelis laughing since
widespread demoralization set
in after the October 1973 war.
Life for Israelis since the war
has been one hurdle after
another, including the tough
government austerity program
and rising unemployment. And
there is the constant fear of
renewed war.
Train slowed
CORDOBA, Argentina (UPI)
— Police said that when a train
Sunday slowed to try to avoid a
cow grazing on the tracks, four
of its cars derailed outside
Obispo Trejio. No serious
injuries were reported.
Police said the 700 passengers
climbed out, slaughtered the
cow, built a fire and roasted
the sides of beef. When police
and train repair crews arrived
from Cordoba, there was
nothing left of the cow but skin
and bones.