Poge Eight ROCKETEER September 23, 1983 Festival parade tomorrow will be highlight of Desert Empire Fair ""~DT~'''''.'LE ENDEAVOR - NWC Fire Chief Lee O'Laughlin and Irene Rillardini. ill member of the Desert Flames. women's auxiliary of the China Lake Fire Division, watch as Dick Johnson (at right), NWC Director of Safety and Security, presen's a check for Slot.12 to Tomya Stensaas. president of the Desert Flames. The money was raised during II chllrity softball game held at Reardon Field on Labor Day between two teams composed 01 'oe.'lirelighlers. - Photo by PHI Benita Tetreault China Lake Players schedule 4-performance run of 'Gin Game' Curtain time is scheduled tonight at 8:15 for the first of four performances of the China Lake Players' production of "The Gin Game." This drama (recommended for adults due to the language used) revolves around the relationahips of two husband-wife teams who meet in a retirement home and find companionship while playing gin rummy. The local actors in Utis tragi-eomedy written by D. L. Coburn are Rudyard and Natalie Stone. This will be the last theatrical venture bere for the Stones, si.~ce he will be Watercolor expert to present program at art league meeting Members, guests and potential members of the Desert Art League will gather on Monday at 7:30 p.m. at the Richmond School auditorium wben Peggy Gray, from Bishop, will present a watercolor demon- stration. Mrs. Gray will develop a mountain land- scape from a loose, abstract background that will emphasize possiblities and techniques that can be used to achieve a realistic painting. Everyone interested techniques, whether professional, is welcome. in painting amateur or This is the beginning of the 25th year that the Desert Art League has been organized in the conununity; a special anniversary cake will be served after the program to celebrate the league's silver anniverAAry. Weekend Roundup Dinner, dancing and a noor show all are on tap Utia evening for members and guests at the auer Petty Officers' Club. According to Dick Davis, CPO Club manager, the Sloe Gin Fizz, a local dance band led by Jeff Cameron, will play for the listening and dancing pleasure of CPO Club patrons from 8:30p.m. until midnight. Part of the evening's program will be a noor show at around 10 p.m. patterned around a tribute to the late Elvis Presley. Special entrees on the CPO Club menu, for dinners that will be served from 6 to 9 p.m., will be Icelandic cod and prime rib of beef. +++ Ramblin' Fever, a musical group com- posed of four local Navy enlisted men, will entertain tonight at the Enlisted Mess (Open). The music will start at 9o'clock and continue until I :30 a.m. retiring as an NWC employee next JanuaryI and moving to Cambria, Calif., where they are building a home. Fred Stahlman is the director of "The Gin Game," while his wife, Diane, who is president of the China Lake Players is the stage manage~. Due to the limited seating capacity of The Playhouse (formerly Station Restaurant), reservations are a must for those who wish to see "The Gin Game," and can be.made by calling 375-9702 or 375-3463. Ticket prices are $3.50 for general ad- mission, and $2.50 for senior citizens, enlisted military personnel, and students under 21 years of age. Doors will be open at 7:30 p.m. Any reserved seats not claimed by 7:45 will be sold to anyone waiting at the door at the time. In addition to tonight's performance, there will be repeat presentations of "The Gin Game" at 8:15 p.m. tomorrow, as well as on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 30 and Oct. I. Support group formed to ease strain of parenting A support group, formed to provide participants with help in relieving the tensions of parenting, is now meeting on Tuesday mornings, starting at 9:30, in Chapel Annex No.4, located near the corner ofBlandy Ave. and Lauritsen Road. The hour long meetings of Utis parent support group are intended to provide an ouUet for and sharing of problems by homemakers and working parents, as well. No appointments are necessary, and no fee is charged. Additional information can be obtained by calling 446-:i296. It's fairtime again in the Indian Wells Valley, and among the highlights of this year's Desert Empire Fair (DEF), which began Wednesday evening and will continue through Sunday, will be a parade starting at 10 a.m. tomorrow on North China Lake Boulevard in Ridgecrest. "Endless Summer" is the theme of the 1983 DEF parade, which will begin at the intersection of French Street and North China Lake Boulevard. The route for the festive procession will follow Ridgecrest's main street to a dispersal point at the triangle formed by the junction of China Lake Boulevard and Inyokern Road. Riding in the prologue of the parade, which will be led by a color guard from the NWC Division of the Sea Cadet Corps, will be Capt. Melvin Etheridge, USN (Ret.), Commander of the Naval Weapons Center during the period of 1967-70, who is grand marshal of this year's event. DIVISION MARSHALS CHOSEN Division marshals, selected for Utis honor because of their involvement in community affairs, are Barbara Kramer and Bill Maddux, presidents of the auna Lake and Ridgecrest LitUe Leagues, respectively; Jim Lewis, a member of the Sierra Sands Unified School District Board of Education; Audrey Nelson, a fonner manager of the Ridgecrest Chamber of Commerce who is now serving on the Kern County Board of Trade; Pat Youngblood, a 4H Club leader and moving force behind the Doodads an- nual charity horse show; and John Parlet, local businessman who owns John's Pizza. According to Roberta Leighton, director of the parade, the division marshals will be dispersed at intervals among the parade entries, which this year have fallen con- Siderably in number even though the deadline was extended. PRINCIPAL PARADE CATEGORIES Principal categories in the parade competition are equestrian, bands, majorettes, drwn majors, color guards, drill teams, floats and a miscellaneous category that includes decorated vehicles and bicycles, antique automobiles, clowns and novelty entries. In addition to the musicians from Burroughs High School, or other hands that will be providing a solid musical beat for marchers and other participants in the parade include those from Murray and James Monroe Junior High Schools. Each of the bands will also be accompanied by its own majorettes and drill team There also will be another appearance in the Desert Empire Fair parade by the Ken Robinson Dixieland Band, and the Kern County Shrine Club is sending a clown unit from Bakersfield. The Dust Devils Auto Club will have a contingent of dragsters and a float entered in the parade, and the High Desert Fire In addition to the regular dinner menu, the special tonight in the EM dining room will be T-bone steaks served from 6 to 9 o'clock. Those wishing to dine out tomorrow evening at the EM can select a shrimp or a top sirloin steak dinner. PREPARING FOR SHOW - Anne Brake works on pottery like that which will be displayed at the Sylvia Winslow Gallery of the Maturango Museum starting tomorrow. All local residents are invited to attend a reception for the ceramist at the gallery on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. Approximately 37 pieces of Ms. Brake's unusual pottery will be on display at the museum until Oct. 24. Prevention Association has prepared a float in keeping with the "Outdoor Recreation and Fire Safety" tbeme of Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 2through 8). Following the parade, the fairground gates will open at 12 noon and the awards won by the parade participants will be presented starting at I p.m. in the rodeo arena, where the Dust Devils' drag racers will be on display. Fairgoers will find a wide variety of carnival and midway attractions brought here by Butzer Amusements of Fontana, as well as food and refresment booths that are being operated as fund-raisers by local clubs and organizations. Entertainment and contests on the fairgrounds tonight will include Star Spectrum aerobics and a magical puppet family show at 6:3Oand8p.m., respectively, as well as a whiskerino contest, a root beer drinking contest, and the best dressed western contest at 6, 7and 8o'clock. Professional entertainment, and the times it is scheduled, is as follows: On Saturday - Rimrock Red and his trained dog, Jubal, I p.m.; Flamenco Dancers, 3 and 8 p.m.; Valdivia's Folklorico Ballet, 7:30 p.m.; and the Ten- nessee Valley Blue Grass band with vocalist Emma Pollock, 9 p.m. On Sunday - Rimrock Red and Juhal, 1:30 p.m.; Flamenco Dancers, 3 and 7:30 p.m.; and the Tennessee Valley Blue Grass Boys,4:3Op.m. On Saturday afternoon there will be a watermelon eating contest (4 p.m.) and a pie eating contest (5 p.m.). Other contests include a tortoise race (2 p.m.) and a bubble gum blowing contest (4 p.m.) - both on Sunday. . General admission to the fairgrounds is $1 for adults and 50 cents for children 7 to 12 years of age. Children 6 years of age and under will be admitted free of charge. Vehicle parking in the Desert Empire Fair's lighted 13-acre parking lot is $1 per vehicle. Bargain-priced coupons (five for $2) are on sale at the Desert Empire Fair office and at many business places in Ridgecrest. These coupons are good for admission to the various carnival rides on the midway. ------- "\"~:#} .:)~ --- It:;, ALLAG(~ADM'tl(D G_••' A..c!,.....:n l PG ' AllAG(~ADMltl(D ..."""' G~"""U ~....~\I tll , . , JlUT.'(T(O u_. 1/ ' ......n .(U""."W'''' ...'...,.' ....." GoY.II.... Regul.r starting time 7:00 p.m. FfU.., SAT.., SUN SEPTEMBER 23., 24, 2S "TooTSIE" Starring Dustin Holfman and Jessica Lange (Comedy, rated PG, 117 min.) MONDAY SEPTEMBER 21 " SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES" Starring Jason Robards and Jonathan Pryce (Mystary/Ofama, rated PG, 95 mIn.) WEDNESDAY Sf.PTEIlfIU 21 "'TOUQH ENOUGH" StatTing Dennis OUaid and Carlene Watkins (ActlonlOfama, rated PG, 106 min.) FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 30 " MAN, WOIlfAN AND CHilO" Starring Manln Sheen and Blythe Danner (Drama. rated PG, 101 min.) "'f? U.S. Governmenl Printing Office: t983-No. "5 From: ____ PLACE STAMP HERE To:________ September 23, 1983 lIot XXXVIIII. No. 31 nwc NAVAL WEAPONS CENTER CHINA LAKE eftl'fQRN'A Simulated space shuttle booster drop proves value of new parachute system SUCCESSFUL DEPLOYMENT - The 136· foot main parachute starts to open to decelerate the Drop Test Vehicle as the drogue chute and frustum (above) float gently earthward. Inadvertent launch of Skipper missile under investigation A Skipper missile without a warhead was inadvertenUy launched on Tuesday about 7:20 a.m. over an isolated section of the desert west of the Center's boundaries near the southern tip of Haiwee Reservoir. Skipper is an interim low-eost, increased standoff, ship attack weapon that uses a Shrike rocket motor for propulsion. It is under development at NWC. The heaviest object ever to be tested at the parachute drop test range of the Naval Weapons Center noated genUy to earth last Friday when a simulation of the Space ShutUe booster was dropped from a NASA B-52 aircraft at an altitude of 20,000 feet. Object of the tesi, one of six in a planned series, is to cbeck out a new parachute system that will be employed 50 the booster can be reused for future Space ShutUe flights. The booster provides the large amount of thrust required to lift the ShutUe into orbit, and then is jettisoned two minutes after liftoff. When the 160,oro.pound booster is jet- tisoned, a series of three parachutes is deployed to lower it to earth so that it can be recovered and reused. Considerable impact damage has been sustained by the booster during the Spsce Shuttle flights that have occurred in the past. The new system now being tested uses a 136-foot-