European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 21, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday june 21, 198b the stars and stripes Page 5 coast guard eases towing policy change ends commercial operators monopoly Washington a the coast guard under intense pressure from Congress and boat owners has modified its non emergency towing policy that had leu recreational boaters with Little Choice but to use costly commercial Lowers when their vessels broke Down. But coastal lawmakers boat owners and even High ranking coast guard officials Are not satisfied with the new policy which critics say still underutilized trained volunteers from the coast guard auxiliary in favor of commercial towers. It s very disappointing said Michael Sciulla vice president of boat owners association of the United states a group representing 250,000 recreational boat owners. They be chosen to ignore the pleas of thou Sands of recreational  the controversial coast guard lowing policy was created in 1982 As a Way to boost the fledgling com Mercial lowing Industry. Under that policy coast guard officials would Call a commercial operator by Telephone to Low a disabled boat Back to Harbor boat owners complained that the policy eliminated the Chance for Good Samaritans friends and the coast guard auxiliary to Tow them Back for free. And own ers charged that they were sometimes forced to wait hours for Busy towers. The policy also sunk morale at the auxiliary As volunteers who were anxious to help fellow boaters were forced to sit at the  while commercial towers handled the non emergency situations. How would you like it if you were a Volunteer fireman and you could t go out and put out a fire Sciulla asked. The coast guard held a series of Public hearings to modify the policy and earlier this month issued the Long awaited guidelines. Under the new policy coast guard officials will Send a Marine radio broadcast about a disabled boat giving Good Samaritans the Chance 1o respond As Well As commercial operators. And if no one responds to the Call within 10 minutes or if the Low operator can not be at the scene within one hour then the coast guard auxiliary would be dispatched according to coast guard capt. Ken Holimon. Former my. Congress Mcm Dies after being in coma for 71/2 years Washington a former rep. Gladys noon Spillman died Early Sun Day in a suburban Maryland nursing Home at age 70. She had been in a coma for about 7 is years. Spillman a Democrat who rep resented Maryland in Congress was headed for re election to her fourth term in the House when her heart stopped beating temporarily on oct. 31, 19bo, while she was judging 11 halloween cos tume contest at a shopping mall. Four Days later she was re elected with 80 percent of Hie vote. Spillman remained hospitalized in critical condition for several weeks Fol lowing her heart attack but her Condi Tion later stabilised and she was Able to breath without the Aid of life support equipment. She never regained consciousness after receiving a medical analysis stat ing that Spillman was in a trance like mate and unable to Lake the oath of office the House declared her scat vacant in february 1981. It was the first i time the House vacated the Seal of a member who had become mentally or physically disabled. Thirty two re publican and demo cratic candidates including a Climan s husband Reuben entered a special Pri Mary on april 7, 1981, to select Nomi nees to run for elec Tion in Maryland s fifth District. Reuben Spillman was Defeated for the democratic nomination by Stony Holycr who went on to defeat his Republican foe Spillman diving team completes 8,440-foot Tunnel swim Tallahassee Fla. A four divers claimed records for the longest and deepest traverses of an underwater Cave system sunday after emerging from an 8,440-foot Limestone Tun Nel near where a companion died in a preliminary dive. The divers spent More than an hour before surfacing breathing specially blended gases to decompress from the journey hat took them 240 feel beneath the surface of Leon and Pakulla counties South of Here. My lungs arc a Little scratchy from breathing All that oxygen. Other than that i m Fine said Parker Turner director of safely for the National association for Cave diving. It went real smooth. But boy if you had a problem in would have been  Turner 36, ran into trouble almost immediately after starting the dive four hours earlier in Sullivan sink when his High intensity Light Short circuited. He could have been stranded in the lightness Waters if not for a smaller backup and his compan ions beams. The previous record for the longest Cave traverse was set by a 6.400-foot dive in Keld s head England and the deepest Cave traverse was set during a 230-foot dive in the Sullivan system said Turner. The diving team had measured the 40 million year old Sullivan Tunnel system in january in separate dives by stringing lines from each end set Ting a record for connecting the Long est underwater Cave. But the divers had not traversed the entire system in one dive until sunday. Aimed primarily at mapping the tunnels collecting Rock samples and studying the caves geologic Struc Tures the expedition could result in evidence linking the caves to under water riven that flow into the Gulf of Mexico some 20 Miles South. The caves arc pan of what is believed to be a 40,000-foot system which would make it the longest documented underwater Limestone Cave system. Team member Bill Mcfaden 32, died on May 15 while exploring the Little dismal sinkhole. After exhaust ing his air he floated upward about 100 feel but developed an embolism while his partners tried to Man Euver him to safely through the system of caves. His companions had to abandon his body but it was recovered later. In a special election on May 19, 1981. Hoyer continues to serve in the House. Sen. Barbara Mitulski d-md., re called sunday that Spillman was As signed As a big sister to help acquaint her with the Workings of Congress when she arrived in 1977. After an hour and a half 1 fell like an old hand after being in Gladys Spillman s hands Mikulski said. "1 thought Gladys Spillman was great. She knew How to respond to the Day to Day needs of her constituents. She was probably one of the Best Maryland pub Lic servants in terms of constituent serv  Ruth Davis Spillman s office manager and longtime Friend said Spillman died at 12 30 . Sunday. She declined to reveal the name of the nursing Home where she died. Bora in new York City on March 2, 1918, As Gladys noon Spillman was educated in Washington d.c., Public schools and attended George washing Ion University and the graduate school of the department of agriculture. Her first elected position was As a member of the Prince Georges county Board of commissioners in 1962. In 1967, she was appointed by presi Dent Johnson to the advisory commis Sion on intergovernmental relations. She was first elected to Congress in november 1974. She is survived by her husband and three children Stephen Louis Richard Eric and Dana Spellman o Neill and four grandchildren. The changes however Are not enough for boating enthusiasts. It keeps these volunteers chained to the  for a minimum of an hour before they can respond Sciulla said. At the same time it requires a Boal Ower who can be out there with a kid who s screaming and a wife who s getting seasick to be out there  Gene Hummel an aide to rep. Earl Hullo d-f1a., chairman of the House merchant Marine coast guard subcommittee agreed thai the new policy is not sufficient and predicted Congress May consider legislation expanding the auxiliary s role. Even the coast guard is apparently not satisfied with the change. Adm. Paul a. Yost jr., the guard s commandant who publicly sympathized with the boaters plight backed a towing policy that would have allowed auxiliary volunteers to respond to a Call immediately but that was scuttled by the transportation department according to one government source. One Escapee still free in n. Carona Fayetteville . A two More escapees including a former Soldier who pleaded guilty in two ninja style slay Ings were captured sunday leaving one of the six men who broke out of jail last week still at Large authorities said. Jeffrey k. Meyer 21, and Jerry Kon Aid Pond jr., 25, were apprehended at Cliffdale elementary school outside Fayal Mcville just before noon sheriffs spokesman Hurshell Barbour said. Tricia capture came one week after they and four others Cut through a steel bar in their fourth floor cell Block and used knot Ted sheets to reach the ground. Three of the men were captured last week. Barbour said two police officers responded loan alarm Al the school found Pond inside and caught Meyer outside. Meyer a former Soldier at nearby fort Bragg had pleaded guilty in the slayings of Paul and Janie Kulz in Rural Cumber land county in december 1986. Dressed like a masked ninja Warrior he Cut their throats and Slabbed them repeatedly. Pond was charged in january with first degree murder in the slaying of Michael Velazquez 2j, a neighbor whose body was found in a shallow grave be Hind a Fayetteville Pawn shop. Meanwhile the search for five Kentucky state Penitentiary escapees expanded to Tennessee sunday. Stewart county tcnn., sheriff David Hicks said his department received a complaint saturday night about three people trying to Flag Down care on a Highway about 15 Miles from Dover Tenn. Sands of time in the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. June 21, 1948 the . Army refused to submit to russian inspection of a military freight train carrying supplies for Berlin s american Community. 30 years Ogo foday. June 21, 19sb the Central committee of the soviet communist party announced the abolition of compulsory collective farm deliveries to inc slate one of the foundations of the soviet agricultural system and promised a new system of sell ing prices for farm products. 20 years ago foday. June 21, 1968 Secretary of defense Clark m. Clifford said there was some movement in apparently stalemated Paris peace talks Between the United Stales and North Vietnam 10 years ago today. June 21, 1978 Secretary of slate Cyrus Vance announced plans for an activist american Campaign in Africa to counter soviet and cuban activities