The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania • 5

THIRD THE MORN I NCI CALL rn B6 BREAKFAST CHATTER B8 HILL TO HILL 810-13 FAMILY SECTION FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9,, 1979 INSIDE I i'c I ''V Bethlehem gets a windfall bs Embezzlement retrial sought bs OJJI3lJJMI3I ASH joins 3,. for burn-injury care feat iHV v- i immr kx www, injury in a broad corridor of Eastern Pennsylvania. The shared area extends northward from Northern Bucks County to the southern tier of New York. Crozer-Chester and St. Agnes will continue to accept virtually all burn patients referred from elsewhere in the consortium's service area, including the remainder of Eastern Pennsylvania, Central and South Jersey, and Delaware.

"The three hospitals have informally shared referrals ever since they opened their burn units. Recent moves toward a merger reflect an increasing realization of the benefits of a more formal relationship," Brigharryaid. 1 The burn centers at the three hospitals together admit about 400 patients a year and have the largest, coordinated regional burn- care program in the nation. ASH's six-bed unit now joins the 15-bed center at Crozer-Chester, headed by Dr. Charles E.

Hartford, and the 11-bed centerat St. Agnes, directed by Dr. Frederick A. DeClement. in making a 32-bed consortium.

The Allentown and Sacred Heart Hospital Center (ASH) greatly improved its capability of providing high-quality care for severely burned patients yesterday by becoming a member, of the' Burn Foundation of Greater Delaware Valley: Speci'fically it will be ASH's burn unit, under the direction of Dr. Walter J. Okunski, that will operate cooperatively with the other members of the care consortium the Crozer-Chester and St. Agnes medical centers in the Philadelphia area. A formal agreement admitting ASH to the foundation was signed yesterday morning in Philadelphia, and Foundation President Peter Brigham participated in an afternoon news conference in ASH to explain the advantages of the new arrangement.

Joining Dr. Okunski and Brigham at the conference was Ellwyn Spiker, ASH administrator, l. said the entry of ASH will result in a unified system of burn care throughout Eastern Pennsylvania. The six-bed burn unit at ASH will share with the other two hospitals the responsibility of caring for patients with severe burn fife vy. Please See ASH Page B9 Burn groups flying ambulance to be familiar sight at ASH By DAN PEARSON Of The Morning Call Helicopter transport is not new to ASH, whose first pad was staked out in the main parking lot several years ago.

But, because of safety reasons, a new landing site was established in a grassy area near the entrance to the emergency department. Now that ASH will share in the treatment of severely burned patients with the Crozer-Chester and St. Agnes medical centers, ASH personnel and area residents can expect to see more use of the heliport than ever before. Although the foundation has three two of them are sidelined and waiting for engine replacements that will cost $140,000 The large craft that arrived yesterday at ASH was purchased from the federal government and largely renovated as a flying ambulance. Powerful and roomy, the model was the one that the Army frequently used in South Vietnam on rescue missions.

Although it can fly faster, the normal speed of the copter is 100 miles an hour. Please See TRANSPORT Page B9 The temperature was a nippy 51 degrees and the sky above Lehigh County was overcast yesterday afternoon with only feathery breaks in the cloud cover. When the green-and-white helicopter loomed into view from the south, it appeared alien and somewhat intimidating the deep, thumping sound of its engine rending the air. Then the ungainly craft banked, swooped down over the traffic zipping along Route 309 and came to a cotton-soft landing on the blacktopped heliport of the Allentown and Sacred Heart Hospital Center ASH). There were no accident cases aboard the two-litter Huey-type helicopter on this trip from Philadelphia.

The two men with the attache cases who disembarked were of- ficials of the Burn Foundation of the Greater Delaware Valley. They had come to the acute-care center in Salisbury Township (6' welcome ASH's burn unit into the founda-tion's consortium of burn-care facilities. Fish killed by dredging in Allentown The deaths of possiblv hundreds of fish is an adverse side-eifect of the dredging and cleaning of Allentown's Lake Muhlenberg. The tish mostlv carp and suckers are caught up in the muck being pushed toward shore bv bulldozers and die. Parks Supt.

Donald R. Marushak said "mavbe 70-80 percent" of those pushed shoreward managed to get back into the water. "But there is no question that tish are killed in the process." he said. "It is very hard to isolate them. "Our goal is to salvage as manvas we can and take them to Union Terrace Pond." Marushak said 100-125 tish were transferred to Union Terrace Pond, a summer fishing area lor youngsters.

Others are being steered into a channel surrounding the island on Lake Muhlenberg and into deeper water on the south side of the lake. He pointed out that the citv has received a permit from the State Fish Commission to draw down the lake. "There is no practical wav to net them the fish) out because of the 3-3'z feet of silt." he said. What happens to the dead fish? "They will be put in the compost dump and used as a soil material tor the parks." the parks superintendent said. The dredging work began this week to eliminate the polluted sedimentation and give the lake its first cleaning in 20 vears.

When the work is completed, the lake is expected to have clear water. Like umbrellas? Well precipitation today is 90 percent, continuing through tomorrow with gradual clearing Sunday. Daytime temperatures will be in the. mid-50s to low 60s both days. The gloomy weekend forecast will be one more in a nearly continuous string of rainy weekends since the beginning of July Besides the rain forecast for tomorrow," a Canadian cold front expected to move into the area late Sunday could set the stage for snow flurries.

That front will produce the coldest temperatures yet this season, according to Gianetta. It will dip into the 20s Sunday night and Monday morning and warm only into the 40s Monday. Two opposing weather fronts, one moving from the south today and one sweeping down from central Canada Sunday, will determine the course of the Lehigh Valley area weather through the weekend. The low-pressure front which began moving in from the Texas Panhandle region last night, has brought the rain and and gloom which is expected to continue through most of the weekend, according to Charles Gianet-ta. weather specialist for the National Weather Service at Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Airport.

That southern blast of air is responsible for the mild temperatures the area will experience today and Saturday. Chance of Bulldozers have left some fish stranded and dying Photography by GARY FELDER Reward mulled in hunt for teen's murderer 2 Bucks men charged in Californian's slaying ty designated to receive' the money if nothing happens after a. period of time. We'll try to hammer out the details at the meeting," said Dow-die. i He said he has learned from unofficial sources that some corporations in the Lehigh Valley would be willing to contribute and that there would be a good response from individuals because people are still talking about the deaths of Holly and Sean.

"There is so much suspense." he said. While there is evidence that reward money sometimes produces results, a $1,000 offer by city council for information leading to the arrest of the person who killed Mrs. Katie Kerchmar in 1975 has gone un- claimed. The elderly woman was strangled and beaten in her home at 1126 E. 4th St.

on April 27 and her killer is still at large. Dowdle said no target amount has been set for the Branagan reward fund, although one of the earlier conferees talked of trying for $10,000. the feelings of Branagan, who has been active in the association "for quite some time." Dowdle said he called Branagan and was told the issue "comes up every day" and that he would favor -anything that would lead to the apprehension of his daughter's killer, 1 The proposal for the special meeting in Town Hall grew out of a conference the executive committee and its counsel, Atty. Justin McCarthy, had with city off icials. Dowdle said his group has written to community organizations, sent out flyers in the area, and tried to "alert as many people as possible." He said Thursday's session could produce a "Holly Branagan Reward Fund Association," separate from' the Macada association and other groups.

"The plan is to have as many persons as possible involved This could be a gigantic under' taking. It would take a lot of work by volunteers," he said. McCarthy and Leeson reportedly are seeking a bank to be trustee for the fund. "There will be some chari with Lone Star Cement Co. in Nazareth, and Bethlehem Police Com- missioner Stanley R.

Zweif el. Holly, a collegebound Freedom High School senior, was stabbed 15 times in the kitchen of her father's home at 469 Pine Top Trail on March 28. Her body was found the next day by her brother, Sean, 19, and a friend. Another Branagan tragedy occurred Sept. 9 when Sean was critically burned in a gas sta-don explosion.

He died eight days later. Seven months and more than 100 interviews later, the murder investigation is still open, although information and leads have slowed to a trickle. Dowdle said the Macada association was contacted about two months ago by City Solicitor Joseph F. Leeson's office with the news that Mrs. Dolores Caskey head of city council's public safety i committee, and others were interested in learning if the group would -sponsor a reward fund, He said the idea was taken to the association's executive committee, but that a question was raised about By PEG RHODIN Of The Morning Call Warrington Township police have arrested two suspects in connection with the murder of a California man whose body was found in the Delaware Canal in Easton.

Thomas Craig, also known as Thomas Rat ferty 22. of 691 Elbow Lane, Warrington, and Ralph Maser, 24. of Dublin Village Apartments. Dublin, were arraigned before Doylestown District Magistrate Oliver A. Grpman and committed without bail to Bucks County Prison.

They will have hearings at Nov. 19 on charges of murder, robbery, theft, receiving stolen goods, criminal mischief and conspiracy. Police accused the two men of accosting Charles H. McKeen, 53. of Grenada Hills.

in the parking lot of the Warrington Diner. Route 611, on the morning ofOct. 21. McKeen, an employee of Lockheed Aircraft Corp. who had spent five days working on modifications of a Lockheed plane at the Johnsville Naval Air Development Center, was returning to his motel next to the diner when he was attacked, police said.

By TOM SCHROEDER Of The Morning Call The murder last March of 17-year-old Moira Holly Branagan evoked disbelief, revulsion, anger and fear in Bethlehem and elsewhere in the Lehigh Valley. Since then, a persistent curiosity about the crime has led to frustration among many, no less the Bethlehem police, as it defied solution. People have often said they wish they could do something to help. Now, Holly's neighbors are going to try to get city and Valley residents to support a reward fund that might produce new information to bring the murderer to justice. A.B.'Dowdle, president of the' Macada Homeowners Association of Bethlehem, said his group is inviting the public and service organizations to a meeting at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday in Bethlehem's Town Hall to discuss establishment of the lurid. Dowdle said the reward idea has the approval of Holly's father, W. Richard Branagau, a sales manager Please See SUSPECTS Page B9.