Lead Stories
In January two University of South Carolina professors used a “pursuit decision calculus” to determine that high-speed police pursuits are more dangerous the more cars that are involved, the higher the speed, the darker it is, and the more crowded the streets are. And the research organization Statistics Canada concluded in December that the more alcohol mothers drink the more emotional and behavioral problems their kids tend to have.
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In July inexperienced sailor Richard Stewart and his family set out from Newport, Rhode Island, on their 65-foot ketch, headed for Florida, where the boat had been scheduled for repairs. After a friend lost contact with the Stewarts, he called the Coast Guard, which searched for 30 days, covering 85,000 square miles, to find the vessel. In August the disabled boat limped into Ocean City, Maryland, with the Stewarts completely unaware of the massive $75,000 rescue mission. Three months later, the Stewarts set out for Florida again and again became disabled. On December 19, the Coast Guard found them (at a cost of $38,000) near Cape Fear, North Carolina.
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On November 23, a 42-year-old mechanic was killed when the ambulance he was working under fell on him. Three days later, a 35-year-old worker at a cemetery was killed when the front bucket of a backhoe struck him in the head and knocked him into the newly dug grave.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): illustration by Shawn Belschwender.
