The Pinewood County News
July 5th, 1995
Happy Independence Day!
Community Calendar
City Council ā July 10, 7 p.m., Town Hall
Pinewood County Fair ā July 12-16, Fairgrounds
Library Summer Reading Program ā Registration ongoing
Weather
Partly cloudy, high 88Ā°F. Fireworks display at Memorial Park canceled due to fire risk.
Overview
America celebrated its 219th Independence Day on Tuesday, July 4, 1995 – a holiday that fell on a Tuesday, creating a rare four-day weekend for millions of Americans. It was a Fourth of July marked by profound contrasts: solemn remembrance in Oklahoma City, record-breaking travel on the nation’s highways, deadly violence in Southern California, and the lingering shadow of an Unabomber threat.
Traffic and Travel: A Deadly Holiday on the Roads
The American Automobile Association (AAA) had projected that 31.8 million Americans would travel more than 100 miles from home by automobile over the holidayāabout 3 percent more than the previous year. The four-day weekend, created by the Tuesday holiday, sent families packing into station wagons, RVs, and cars in search of summer getaways.
But the roads proved deadly. According to AAA, 659 people died in car crashes over the Fourth of July weekend in 1995āmore than any other weekend during the year. Approximately half of those deaths were alcohol-related. Other sources placed the figure at 631 or 635 traffic fatalities, but the 659 figure was widely cited in media coverage of the holiday.
Gasoline prices had reached their highest summertime levels in a decade. Nationwide, consumers paid an average of **$1.228 per gallon** for self-serve regular unleaded gasolineāthe most for a July Fourth since 1985, when gas averaged $1.229. The previous year, drivers had paid about $1.115. In some regions, prices ran even higher; in Allentown, Pennsylvania, regular gas ranged from $1.199 to $1.419 for super grade.
AAA spokeswoman Barbara Crystal attributed the price increases to a combination of factors: demand for gas typically rises 1 to 2 percent between spring and summer, but in 1995 demand had risen about 5 percent. In addition, supplies of reformulated gasolineāthe cleaner-burning but more expensive fuel that went on sale in Januaryāwere down about 20 percent.
Oklahoma City: Flags Rise Again
For Oklahoma, the Fourth of July carried extraordinary weight. Just 76 days earlier, on April 19, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building had been destroyed by a truck bombāthe worst act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history, claiming 168 lives.
At 9:02 a.m. āthe exact moment of the explosionāflags across Oklahoma were raised from half-staff to full staff for the first time since the bombing. Governor Frank Keating had ordered that state flags remain at half-staff until July 4 in memory of the victims.
Fourteen color guards briskly raised 14 American flags on the south steps of the state Capitol, accompanied by a drum roll and the roar of four F-16 fighters flying overhead. “The pessimism and despair of April 19 are over,” Keating told a crowd of thousands.
The ceremonies honored the volunteers and rescue workers who had rushed to help from California, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, Arizona and other states. A communitywide “Thank You From the Heartland” rally had been held on July 2 at the Civic Center Music Hall, honoring search-and-rescue units, victims’ families, and emergency personnel.
Thousands jammed downtown Oklahoma City for fireworks displays. Marquetta Dickenson, wearing a T-shirt proclaiming “Home Is In The Heartland,” told reporters: “It’s something to celebrate every year, but this year is a little more significant because of all the people have been through in Oklahoma.”
Violence Erupts in Huntington Beach
For the third straight year, Huntington Beach, Californiaāknown for its patriotic parade, one of the largest and oldest west of the Mississippiābecame “ground zero” for Independence Day trouble.
Despite the largest police mobilization in city historyā225 city police officers, 26 sheriff’s deputies, and special crowd-control training from the LAPDāthe violence continued. There were torched sofas, blazing trash cans, overturned bus benches, dozens of yards trampled by rowdy party-goers, and more than 100 arrests.
For the first time in the city’s Fourth of July history, there was also a killing. Christopher Albert, 21, of Huntington Beach, was shot in the chest at 11 p.m. at 10th Street and Pacific Coast Highway after an argument with three Riverside County men. Police arrested Estebon Quiroz Jr., 22, on suspicion of murder, and Matthew Wayne Raymond, 21, and Roy Casey Becerra, 22, on suspicion of being accessories.
Police made 104 arrests overallāfor public intoxication, illegal possession of fireworks, vandalism, burglary, assault and homicide. Roving youths damaged seven police cars, tossing bricks and bottles through their windows. A freelance cameraman was beaten and his equipment damaged. Residents north of downtown battled drunken crowds with garden hoses.
“We’ve gone from the beach to the pier, from the pier to the housing in the residential areas,” said Stephen Daniel, a chocolate shop owner who heads the Downtown Business Association.
The Unabomber’s Shadow Over LAX
The holiday weekend unfolded under the specter of the Unabomber, the elusive serial bomber who had terrorized the nation for 17 years.
On June 27, the San Francisco Chronicle had received a letter from the terrorist group “FC” (Freedom Club), reading: “WARNING. The terrorist group FC, called unabomber by the FBI, is planning to blow up an airliner out of Los Angeles International Airport some time during the next six days”. The FBI authenticated the letter and deemed it a credible threat.
The warning threw air travel and mail delivery into chaos. At airports from San Francisco to Los Angeles and San Diego, passengers had to produce photo ID at counters, curbside baggage check-ins were halted, and bags might be opened. Long lines formed as ticket agents checked passengers’ identification. All mail flown in and from California was ordered halted for most of the day. It was the tightest airport security since the Gulf War.
Some travelers changed their plans. Tracy Woods, originally scheduled to fly from LAX to Dallas, switched to a flight out of Burbank Airport. “I do really take this fellow really seriously, somebody who has been able to elude the FBI for this long,” she said.
But on June 29, the New York Times received another letter in which the Unabomber declared the threat “just one last prank”āan attempt “to remind the nation of his presence and his message”. The FBI authenticated the letter but continued to take the threat seriously.
Security restrictions continued through the holiday regardless. The scare had slowed mail service, unsettled travelers, and infuriated travel agents.
Entertainment and Culture
Box Office: ‘Apollo 13’ Dominates
The film Apollo 13 dominated the holiday box office with an estimated $39 million at 2,198 theaters during the Friday-Tuesday holiday weekend. It was one of the strongest openings ever for the Fourth of July period, trailing only Terminator 2 from four years earlier.
Pocahontas finished second with $23.7 million at 2,577 theaters. *Batman Forever* was a close third with $21.2 million. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers opened in fourth with $17 million. *Judge Dredd* came in fifth with a disappointing $15.2 million.
Overall, the five-day period generated about $140 million at the box office.
Coney Island Hot Dog Contest
At New York City’s Coney Island, Edward Krachieā6-foot-6 and 350 poundsāconsumed 19Ā½ hot dogs in 12 minutes to win the 80th annual frankfurter-eating contest. “At the moment right after, it was a little tough,” he admitted.
Bristol, Rhode Island Parade
About 200,000 people gathered in Bristol, Rhode Island, for the nation’s oldest continuous Fourth of July paradeānow in its 210th year. Some spectators showed up as early as 3 a.m. to stake out vantage points; by parade time, spectators were lined up 15 deep. About 3,000 people marchedāmore than the entire population of Bristol in 1785, the first year of the celebration.
Philadelphia Liberty Medal
In Philadelphia, the nonprofit group We the People 2000 awarded its Philadelphia Liberty Medal to Sadako Ogata, the U.N. high commissioner responsible for the safety of more than 20 million refugees worldwide. “You called some of your earliest settlers pilgrims. We would call them refugees,” Ogata said. “If it weren’t for the courage and initiative of the earliest refugees, would America be what it is today?”
Other News of the Day
Welfare Reform Challenge: President Clinton had challenged the Republican Congress in April to end “welfare as we know it” by the Fourth of July, saying a bipartisan bill would mean Americans could “celebrate Independence Day by giving Americans on welfare the chance, the opportunity, the responsibility to move to independence”.
Government Closings: Government offices, courts, banks, post offices, stock and commodity exchanges, libraries and many businesses were closed on Tuesday, July 4.
PTRI Destroyed in Explosion
Pinewood County ā The Pinewood Technological Research Institute was leveled by an explosion Tuesday evening. Witnesses mistook the blast for fireworks. Emergency crews, hampered by holiday traffic, struggled to reach the scene.
The explosion occurred at approximately 5:09 p.m., according to county officials. Witness Martha Greer, 59, who lives three miles from the facility, said she mistook the blast for fireworks.
Emergency crews were dispatched, though holiday traffic delayed response times.
PTRI spokesman Smith Smith confirmed the facility is a total loss. Minor injuries were reported. The cause is under investigation.