The Desert Sun from Palm Springs, California • 3

c- Cf 1P00FTQUALITY 4t lfil the Desert Sun IW 4 rrfrfM' Inside: On the record A4 Across the valley A4 8-1 0 News from back homeC5-6 MifWtX1 waiumy THURSDAY January 9 1992 Tom Tait City Editor: 778-4620 A3 Painter expressed si Friends remember John Morris notable Palm Springs artist Staff reports American impressionist painter John Morris 71 a Palm Springs resident for more than three decades died Wednesday at Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach Stewart Warren his nurse and friend attributed his death to a heart attack A memorial service is scheduled for 11 am Jan 18 at Wiefels and Son Funeral Home in Palm Springs Painter and sculptor Gant Gaither said Morris a grand humor his own style It was expressed in his art work He will be was a king-size said Allene Arthur Desert Sun columnist was kind of an amused twinkle behind everything he did in his art his letters his phone His brother Ted said Morris had no formal training He was self-taught exhibiting a love of art at an early age His career began with portrait painting at local fairs near his native Laguna Beach He served as a combat Navy artist in the Pacific during World War II After the war he returned to Los Angeles where his oils were collected by many film stars Morris painted all over the world but his greatest influence and love was France In 1988 he was appointed personal conservator to the late composer Frederick Loewe another Palm Springs resident and close friend Gallery owner Jeannette Mclntryre said was fortunate to have an association with him and to represent him for many years presenting a new exhibition of his original oils each season The people who own his paintings are very Douglas Brown an art columnist who wrote about work said was able to inject into his canvases not only his unique humor but the beauty and realism of life and was proud that as an artist during World War II one of his works was accepted for the War Museum in Washington Brown added His works are owned by Bob Hope Mrs George Randolph Hearst the Duke and Duchess John Forsythe Edsell Ford II Mousie Powell Princess Ghislaine de Polignac and CV Whitney His oils are found in the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo the Santa Barbara Museum the John Kennedy Library in Boston the Honolulu Academy of Art Galerie Drap Galleries Ensieme Rome and Cannes He also exhibited at the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds Last summer one of his oils was auctioned at Christie's in London Memorial donations may be made to Desert Mental Health Food For AIDS Restaurant 1117 Palm Canyon Drive Palm Springs CA 92262 ARTIST DIES: John Morris of Palm Springs shows one of his impressionist oil paintings Morris a resident of Palm Springs died Wednesday at 71 Board weighs timing of school bond vote Fire destroys unit near fairgrounds body found below Vista Point PALM DESERT The body of a 53-year-old Palm Springs woman was retrieved Wednesday from below Vista Point Riverside County offij ciais said Mary Lou Costello was the driver of a vehicle that went off Highway 74 a spokesman said Wednesday night Officials said they know when the accident happened Plans to retrieve the remains were called off because of the rugged terrain The California Highway Patrol helicopter was called about 4:30 pm to airlift the body from the site CHP officials said officials said an autopsy will probably be performed today Desert officials honor Martin Luther King Jr RANCHO MIRAGE Representatives of nine Coachella Valley cities and Riverside County Joined Wednesday in urging valley residents to observe Jan 20 as Dr Martin Luther King Jr day The civic leaders signed a joint proclamation at Rancho Mirage City Hall honoring King for his actions King is really a man to be said Joseph Beaver who chairs the Martin Luther King Commemoration Committee and who marched in Washington DC with King on Aug 28 1963 King was horn Jan 15 1929 and assassinated April 4 1968 The Commemoration Committee will sponsor a celebration honoring King on Jan 19 at 2:30 pm at Temple Isaiah in Palm Springs Beaver said Feds seize property of alleged defrauder Federal agents Wednesday seized $10 million in assets of Sjteven Wymer an investment manager accused of defrauding government agencies df $100 million The property included luxury home and two other properties in Newport Beach cars including a 1991 Ferrari three Idaho properties including one worth more than $25 million a New York home and three Florida sites I Local agencies with cash involved in the case include Beaumont Palm Desert Indio La Quinta Coachella Valley Joint Powers Insurance Authority Big Bear Lake and Loma Linda Bank accounts also were seized in what Terree Bowers acting US attorney in Los Angeles called one of the largest financial fraud seizures ever Wymer 43 pleaded innocent Monday to charges carrying a prison sentence of up to 275 years and fines of more than $14 million Btaff reports I Lotto a yVinning numbers picked Wednesday: NUMBERS PICKED: 2 7 25 33 47 SIZE POOL: Six of six share million five of six share $203855 four of six share $530025 three of six $5 Decco Winning card numbers picked Wednesday: Hearts: Eight Clubs: Eight Diamonds: Six Spades: Two Four correct cards $5000 three cards $50 two cards $5 one card free entry in next daily drawing MAX ORTIZThs Desert Sun CHARRED REMAINS: Indio firefighters survey dam- Wednesday afternoon The 2:45 pm blaze left Lau-age after fire destroyed an Arabia Street apartment ra Alvarez her husband and two children homeless Indio family left without home after fire destroys apartment photos grabbed on the way out Firefighters put out the smoky blaze within 20 minutes of their arrival on seme Battalion Chief Robert Green said The quick job prevent the fire from gutting everything in home She was only able to salvage a wad of money hidden inside a child's shoe which survived the fire untouched think I feel too Alvarez said Her sons Omar 4 and Arturo 2 were with neighbors when the fire broke out Her husband a gardener and hotel worker was at work she said Palm Springs officials will decide on Jan 27 By CHRISTINE MAHR The Desert Sun PALM SPRINGS Palm Springs school district trustees and bond election committee members will meet Jan 27 to decide whether a school bond measure should go on the ballot in June or November The district growing at the rate of about 1000 students a year is hoping to get a bond measure of $39 million or more approved by voters to help build new schools and rehabilitate old ones Superintendent William Diedrich said the committee felt November would be the best time for a bond election in terms of the number of voters available But some board members questioned at their meeting Wednesday whether the bond measure would get lost in the shuffle on a ballot that is likely to be a long and confusing one for voters To get the bond measure on the June ballot the board would have to take action no later than its Jan 28 regular meeting The district previously postponed plans for a November 1991 bond election to allow itself more time to prepare for the election and because of concern there were too many issues on the ballot Board members said there also will be numerous election issues next November concerned be conflicting with presidential congressional and city council elections that will siphon off workers as well as said board member Minna Maryanov Board member Meredy Shoen-berger said the own school board election also will be on the November ballot Three seats including hers are up for election I choose to run have difficulty campaigning for myself and the bond she said The board is uncertain how many state measures will be on the ballot but one that will be is a state school construction bond measure "I don't know if people would vote for both (state and local bond The hospital home to the Coachella Valley's trauma center has adequate supplies to cope with emergencies she said Witty also said she urged staff members during a Wednesday morning meeting to donate blood sensitive to the issue" she said is going to use blood Despite some donations last week the supply remained critically low Tessier said Two emergencies Tuesday an aneurysm patient at John Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio and a car crash victim at Desert Hospital depleted the supply even further Although news organizations have relayed the bank's appeal for donations Tessier said the six hospitals and blood Mnk combined District losing name game trustee says PALM SPRINGS in a name? That which we call Palm Springs Unified School District by any another name seem as rich a school board member suggests think the name Palm Springs connotes playground of the rich and that we need trustee Meredy Shoenberger said On Shoenberger's recommendation the district will explore the possibility of changing its name to one that better reflects the makeup of its constituency The district includes the communities erf Desert Hot Springs Thousand Palms Cathedral City and a portion of Rancho Mirage in addition to Palm Springs and has a diverse student population Shoenberger said talk to people and they say Palm Springs Your district has a lot of It just gives people the wrong idea" Shoenberger said she has been thinking about the idea of a name change for some time but hasn't come up with any ideas for a new name Christine Mahr measures) though we need both" said board President Leslie DeMersseman The board also wants to study the committee's recommendations to: Set the bond issue in the amount necessary to meet facility needs The initial $39 million figure based on a voter survey will meet only part of the district's facility needs Retain professional public information services to communicate the district's problems Diedrich said a recent survey showed a low level of community awareness of district needs have only about 100 units of blood now and should have 500 units in the bank to satisfy any emergen- rtl it cy Tessier said other California blood banks have run dry and so have resources nationwide Officials have said the problem is due partly to a temporary ban on donations by US military personnel who served in the Persian Gulf area That restriction was ordered after a parasite was found in some of the troops Rampant cold and flu viruses this winter also have knocked out many other potential donors cannot get any blood from any of our local resource Tessier said all out of blood" face cutoff from blood bank By DOUGLAS HABERMAN The Desert Sun INDIO Fire destroyed the interior of a studio apartment near the National Date Festival fairgrounds Wednesday leaving a couple and their two young sons without a home or possessions The fire broke out around 2:45 pm in a fourplex unit at the Indio Palms Apartments 46-299 Arabia St It did minor damage to two adjacent units Indio Fire Department officials said No one was injured in the fire Fire Capt Felipe Aguilar said information on the cause and an estimate of the damage would be released today Doctors By JAMIE SHOOP BRAY The Desert Sun RANCHO MIRAGE Still short of supplies the Community Blood Bank has clamped down on distribution to local hospitals medical director Dr Charles McCammon talked to all the doctors Tuesday and said blood will not be released unless an Community Blood Bank spokeswoman Rosemarie Tessier said Wednesday of the doctors really got angry because they already had their elective surgeries she said Last week the blood bank asked the six hospitals it serves to delay elective surgeries that might require blood because of severe shortages Laura Alvarez said she was entering her apartment after washing clothes at a laundromat when she spotted flames leaping up behind the refrigerator know whether to take things out of the house or call the she said in Spanish as firefighters probed through the charred remains was incredible The flames spread extremely Sherrian Meyer was visiting her mother Opal Skinner in the unit next to home when Alvarez knocked on the door showed us the flames and we took off like a streak of Meyer said clutching family hospitals Blood banks in trouble Community Blood Bank 39-OOO Bob Hope Drive Rancho Mirage 773-4190: 9 am to 6 pm Monday Wednesday and Friday 9 am to 8 pm Tuesday and Thursday 9 am to 1 pm Saturday St Andrews Presbyterian Church 47-192 Monroe St Indio 347-5344: 1 1 am to 6 pm Friday Palm Springs Mall next to Eisenhower Memorial Hospital in Rancho Mirage has asked its physicians to cancel elective surgeries and restrict outpatient tranfusions unless it is an emergency said spokesman Jeff Lenburg How to give the gift of life mart 327-9382: 1 1 am to 6 pm Tuesday Hi-Desert Memorial Hospital District Facility 57-045 Yucca Trail Suite 102 Yucca Valley 369-0721: Noon to 7 pm Monday and Tuesday San Gorgonio Hospital 600 Highland Springs Banning (714) 845-8513: Noon to 7 pm Wednesday and Thursday Desert Hospital's blood bank alerted its doctors to the shortage said Laurel Witty director of perioperative services But she said she had not heard of any surgery postponements there Corrections The price for the Palm Springs International Film Opening Night Gala screening of was incorrectly listed in paper The correct price was $125 Closing Night Gala screenings of are also $125 Including a reception But Le Heros" will also be shown Wednesday at 9 pm for $10 We correct errors of fact promptly and courteously If you have a correction or clarification call the city deskfc778-4619.