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MUFON
1989 INTERNATIONAL UFO
SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS
SUPPORT
UFO
RESEARCH
12 MUFON UFO Journal, No. 256, August 1989
Close Encounter At Elizabeth
By Walter Webb
Webb authors our monthly Night found any news item relating to the overhead. "I was almost in shock,"
Sky column. sighting. Mrs. Servilla asserted. At first they
Mrs. Servilla returned her com- thought it was a blimp but quickly
Early in 1989 I had given a copy of pleted MUFON form May 17. The fol- ruled that out.
a magazine article (containing an lowing account incorporates the tes- According to Debbie, it was an
account of my Buff Ledge Camp, timony of both Deborah Sovinee and "absolutely soundless" oval (not per-
Vermont, CE-IV investigation) to the her mother, Stella Servilla. fectly circular) object encircled by a
Exhibits Secretary at the Boston central row of many, small, round,
Museum of Science, Nancy DiCiac- The Encounter white, very bright lights. She des-
cio. Nancy formerly was the Planeta- cribed seeing a pulse of light moving
rium's Administrative Assistant; I am Both women recalled that the sight- along the row of lights, brightening
the Planetarium Assistant Head. Exhibit ing happened around the middle of each source in the row sequentially.
Designer Deborah Sovinee, 35, hap- May 1971 and about the middle of the The witness referred to this pulse as
pened to glance at the article and tell. week at a time when Debbie attended a "chase light."
Nancy about her own UFO close a livesaving class. (This would place Mrs. Servilla's recollection differed
encounter when she was 17 and living the date around either May 12 or 19.) somewhat. She thought the object
in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Nancy Mrs. Stella Sovinee (now Servilla) mas circular with a row of many
called my extension March 21, but I had driven her daughter home from bluish-white, round lights around the
was unavailable. The next day Planet- the class at the Y and had pulled into middle which were blinking on and off
arium Secretary Jeanette Alabiso not- their driveway at 5 Gibson Place, Eli- like the lights on a Christmas tree.
ified me about the call. I called Nancy zabeth, New Jersey (1970 pop. 112,654). She also said she perceived a faint
and then contacted Debbie. An inter- The time was about 10:30 p.m. sound coming from the UFO, like a
view was arranged for March 23. (EDT), according to Debbie, and "faint motor" or the hum of an
After our meeting, the witness agreed "after nine or after ten," according to air-conditioner.
to get further details from her mother her mother. Both agreed that the object's lights
(who also observed the UFO) and to The Sovinee home was located in were bright enough to illuminate and
fill out a MUFON form. I questioned the middle of a short, dead-end sub- reveal its outline. The witnesses said
Debbie again on March 28 and 31. urban street about a block long, with the UFO appeared to be at a low
On April 15 I called Debbie's five houses on each side. (Although height off to one side of their roof.
mother, now living in Toms River, both witnesses agreed that the street (Debbie indicated an elevation angle
New Jersey, and obtained information ran approximately north and south, of perhaps 60°.)
which both confirmed and altered her Mrs. Servilla implied that their resi-
daughter's remembered version of the dence stood on the west side of the Dimensions
experience. At the same time I also street while Debbie thought it was on
wrote the Elizabeth Daily Journal, the east side.) I asked each observer to attempt to
asking for a copy of the news story The two observers recalled that it estimate the object's height, using
allegedly reporting the UFO. When I was a warm, clear night. Debbie their three-story house as a known
didn't hear from the newspaper's believed others on the street were size marker. Debbie guessed that it
librarian after a month, I telephoned outdoors at the time and assumed might have been about 75 to 100 feet
May 16. The librarian said he hadn't that there were at least three or four above the ground. Mrs. Servilla thought
received my letter. But he promised other possible eyewitnesses to the it was perhaps twice as high as the
to check his files for the UFO story anomalous event, including neighbors house (or around 60 feet up), although
and then call me back the next day. sitting on the porch across the street. she felt very uncertain.
However, I failed to hear from him. I Her mother stated that she didn't When requested to hold a quarter
called again May 19 and left my recall if there were others outside and at arm's length in order to estimate
address and telephone numbers with was unaware of any other witnesses the UFO's apparent size (an almost
someone. Still no response. Finally, to the event on their street. impossible and perhaps meaningless
on June 12 I was able to contact the As Debbie and her mother got out exercise 18 years after the actual
librarian again. He reported that he of the car and walked toward the event), Debbie guessed that the coin
had conducted a search of his files front of their house, they were stunned was possibly "1/5 or 1/6" the size of
from April to July 1971 and hadn't to see a strange object hovering nearly the object. This means that the UFO
MUFON UFO Journal, No. 256, August 1989 13
might have subtended 12.5 to 15°, or lected the wavy departure path differ- Deborah Sovinee and her mother, I
approximately 25 feet across if 100 ently. She said the object proceeded find no compelling reasons to doubt
feet above the observers. However, if to move across the street and back that the New Jersey UFO encounter
the object actually were higher than again in a "figure 8" before accelerat- occurred approximately as described
estimated, say 200 feet (assuming the ing northward on a straight course, by the witnesses. The variations in
same angular diameter), the UFO's vanishing from sight within a second. the testimonies of the two observers
true size becomes approximately 45 Afterwards, Mrs. Servilla said she are to be expected in view of the 18
to 50 feet, matching Debbie's descrip- called the police to report the sight- years of elapsed time since the actual
tion — "bigger than a helicopter" or ing. The police did state that they had observation.
"about the same size as my house." received a few other calls but explained The aerial event described in this
Mrs. Servilla would not hazard a the object as an advertising blimp. report bears no similarity to any IFO
guess as to the object's true dimensions. The next day the Elizabeth news- that this investigator is aware of,
After hovering for perhaps "a min- paper, according to Debbie's mother, including the advertising blimp or
ute or two," according to Debbie's mother, confirmed that "people had seen night ad aircraft referred to above.
the UFO moved off toward the something in the sky, possibly an The unknown object's appearance
southwest in a "side-to-side, snake- advertising blimp." Mrs. Servilla said and flight behavior place it in the
like" motion and was gone within she was familiar with both advertising UFO category.
seconds. blimps and night ad planes, and the I believe this episode should be
Debbie herself had great difficulty object was neither. However, the classified as an unknown. I also
in recalling the precise nature of the librarian of the Elizabeth Daily Jour- assign it a Paranet/Hynek Strangness/
motion and the sequence of events. nal was unable to find any story relat- Probability Rating of S4/P4 (Strange
Before she telephoned her mother, ing to the sighting. Debbie didn't and not conforming to known princi-
she thought she had remembered first recall any media publicity about the ples/Credible and sound).
seeing the UFO in motion, racing sighting, either in the newspaper or Deborah Sovinee lives at 687 North
from one end of the street to the on radio or television. Gary Street, Brockton, Massachusetts.
other and then halting near her Mrs. Stella Servilla resides at 66 Vir-
house. But now she agrees with her Evaluation gin Islands Drive, Toms River, New
mother's version that it was station- Jersey.
ary at first. Debbie, however, recol- Based upon my interviews with
***
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO — August
1974: Three boys playing along the
banks of the Coquitlam River at Port
Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada,
witnessed the landing of a UFO on
the 16th. David Bates, 8, Henry Stil-
lie, 7, and his 10-year-old brother saw
a craft shaped like an inverted dish Joseph Barbieri examines hole made by "UFO" in signboard at New
land in a gravelled area. Mrs. Lola Haven. A.C. Roberts Photo
MUFON UFO Journal, No. 256, August 1989 21
thing just hit my car ... I don't know
how to explain it ... it's strange ..." "Is
the car damaged? Are you in the
The Night Sky
ditch or what?" "No ... I'm upright ... By Walter N. Webb
Something attacked my car ... I heard
glass breaking and the brakes locked August 1989
up ... I don't know what the hell ..."
Apparent impact of the collision broke Bright Planets (Evening Sky):
a left headlight of the car without Close conjunctions between the crescent Moon, three planets, and the
denting the cowling or fender, dented star Regulus occur just after sunset from August 2-5. To be able to
the hood near the windshield, broke observe them will require an unobstructed western horizon and optical aid
the windshield and a flasher light on such as binoculars or a telescope. Even so, it will be exceedingly difficult
top of the car and sharply bent two to glimpse all of the objects. Persons living in the southern states have the
flexible-mounted antennae. The path best chance as these very low objects will appear somewhat higher there.
of damage indicated six points of On the 2nd the Moon, Mercury, Mars, and Regulus mass together. Two
impact in a line varying only a few evenings later Venus lies near the Moon, and Mercury is very close to
inches off center. Regulus. On the 5th Mercury is extremely near Mars.
Unusual phenomenon in connec-
tion with the incident included the fol- Saturn (magnitude 0.3) lies low in the SSE at dusk. It moves westward dur-
lowing: (1) Deputy Johnson first ob- ing the evening hours.
served a brilliant light which appeared
to be stationary, then moved toward Bright Planets (Morning Sky):
him so rapidly (from a distance esti- Jupiter (magnitude -2.1), in Gemini, rises in the NE about 1:45 AM in
mated to be about a mile away) that midmonth.
he had no time to anticipate impact.
(2) The light was so brilliant that it Saturn sets in the WSW soon after 2 AM in mid-August.
was painful, causing him to close his
eyes, and lit up the whole inside of Total Lunar Eclipse:
the car at the time Johnson heard The full moon enters the Earth's shadow on the evening of August 16.
glass breaking. (3) Investigation show- Observers in the eastern states are favored for this eclipse since the Moon
ed that Johnson's car coasted 854 is above the horizon during the entire event. Totality begins at moonrise
feet from the point where glass from along a line through central Montana, western Utah, and Arizona. For far
the broken headlight was found to a western observers, our satellite already is in total eclipse at moonrise. The
point where skid marks from locked Moon first touches the dark umbral shadow at 9:21 PM EDT, is totally
brakes began. The skid marks covered hidden from 10:20 to 11:57, and emerges completely from the umbra at
another 99 feet to where the vehicle 12:56 AM.
came to rest on the road.
(4) Examination of Johnson's eyes Meteor Showers:
by Dr. Pinsonneault after the deputy The gibbous Moon sets about 1 AM on the 12th and thereafter the Perseid
was taken by ambulance to Warren meteors should put on a fine show. Radiating from near the Cassiopeia/-
indicated damage similar to "welder Perseus border in the NE, these bright, yellow, swift meteors peak before
burns." An eye specialist at Grand dawn at about 50 per hour. Some of the streaks are spectacular fireballs;
Forks later confirmed similar damage, about a third of these leave filmy wakes (called trains) lasting up to ll/2
although there had been rapid improve- minutes. Both the Perseids and the slower July Aquarids (coming from the
ment. (5) A mechanical watch worn south) dart across the skies in lesser numbers throughout the first half of
by deputy Johnson and an electric August.
clock in his squad car, both of which
had been set at 7 p.m. when he Voyager Encounters Neptune:
started work and checked with the Having already flown by Jupiter (1979), Saturn (1981), and Uranus (1986),
dispatcher, were each 14 minutes the amazing 12-year-old Voyager 2 homes in on Neptune, the probe's last
slow, indicating they had not been solar system target. On the night of August 24-25, Voyager flies within
running for that length of time. (6) 3,000 miles of the cloud-tops of the eighth planet. The probe will take the
Johnson can remember nothing from first close look at Neptune, its odd partial rings, and its satellites.
the time he heard glass breaking, cal-
culated to be 1:40 a.m., until he Moon Phases:
opened his right eye, saw the red New moon — August 1
engine indicator light on the instru-
ment panel of his car (the engine had
First quarter — August 9
Full moon — August 16
€O
stopped but the ignition was turned Last quarter — August 23
Continued on next page New moon — August 31
22 MUFON UFO Journal, No. 256, August 1989
The Stars: LOOKING BACK, continued
As the Summer Triangle (the stars Vega, Deneb, Altair) attains its highest
point in the sky, already we are given a preview of the autumn months to stopped but the ignition was turned
come. The Great Square of Pegasus, Pisces, Aquarius, and Capricornus on) and radioed for assistance at 2:19
all are visible in the east at 11 PM. a.m.
(7) Investigation revealed no other
A few degrees from Vega, the brilliant luminary in Lyra the Harp, is the debris or skid marks on the roadway
famous "double-double" Epislon Lyrae. To the eye the 4th-magnitude star and all aviation sources in the area
appears single. Binoculars reveal two stars, and in a small telescope each confirmed there were no aircraft in
of the components is itself double, making a total of four stars. that area at the time. Johnson said he
heard no engine noise nor did he
Lyra contains another special telescopic object, the Ring Nebula, located smell exhaust fumes. (Editor's note:
between the bottom two stars of the harp's crooked rectangle. Look first For more details see International
for a "smudgy star" then use higher powers to resolve the smudge into a UFO Reporter, Vol. 4 No. 3, Sept./
"smoke ring" or "doughnut." The nebula represents a spherical shell of gas Oct. 1979 issue.)
cast off by a faint dying star in the center.
MESSAGE, continued
MUFON Meetings in New York State There will be three sessions: Satur-
The MUFON membership in New York recently held two organizational day morning, Saturday afternoon, and
and informational meetings in their state. The first meeting was held at the Saturday evening, each costing $10.00,
YMCA in Auburn on May 20 and was attended by Hal Haglund, Ann Forbes, or $30.00 for the full day. A special
Donna McLeod, Barb. Foquet, Tom Nesser, Bill and Rhoda Sherwood, State "early bird" conference price before
Director Dr. Gary Levine, Dana Schmidt, Neil and Tammy Palumbo and Marc August 31st is $20; September 1-30 reg-
Hutchins. Dana Schmidt (Section Director for Monroe County) assisted with istration will be $25, and thereafter the
the arrangements. full $30 fee applies.
The meeting focused on the establishment of a hotline number and ways to For more information or reservations
better coordinate UFO reporting in the upstate area. Slides of UFO types please contact Bruce Widaman, 3112
were shown. Mockingbird, St. Charles, MO 63301,
A second meeting took place in New York City on June 3 and featured telephone (314) 946-1394 or Alex Hor-
several speakers. William Knell, a new member from Flushing, discussed sight- vat, 25 Jackson Place, Apt. P, St. Cha-
ings in New York City and Long Island. He brought with him several photos rles, MO 63303, telephone (314) 947-
of UFOs over populated areas. Budd Hopkins reported on the latest in abduc- 4116. Please make your hotel reserva-
tion cases and augmented his talk with interesting slides. Antonio Huneeus, tions directly with: Harley of St. Louis,
the MUFON representative for South America, discussed UFOs in Puerto 3400 Rider Trail South, St. Louis, MO
Rico and other areas of Latin America. Kevin Lammens and Gene Maron, 63045 (1-70 at Earth City Expressway),
Section Directors from Long Island announced that a new UFO hotline phone (314) 291-6800.
number would be in operation shortly on Long Island. They hoped that their
efforts would result in better cooperation among the membership. Dr. Gary
26
Levine, the moderator, showed slides on UFO types.
Several members at both meetings expressed interest at holding the
MUFON national meeting in New York State. MUFON
MUFON UFO Journal, No. 256, August 1989
MESSAGE, continued
VIDEO and AUDIO TAPES of 1989 SYMPOSIUM
Director for Hillsborough and Merri-
mack Counties. Please ship me video cassettes of the following events:
CUFOS Photo Exhibit 1. The Mansfield Helicopter Case: Jennie Zeidman D
Show-Me Conference
I enclose $_ check D M.O. D
The next MUFON Regional UFO
Conference will be held Saturday,
October 21, 1989 in Earth City, MO
(adjacent to St. Louis), at the Harley (Name - please print)
Hotel. The speakers scheduled are
Stanton T. Friedman, "The Truth
About the Cosmic Watergate"; Ted (Street Address)
Phillips; David Hatcher Childress;
Bob Oechsler, "Correlating the Physi-
cal Enigma of UFOs" (with photos); (City) (State) (Zip Code)
Snowbird (code name); and Mys-
tery Guest, to be announced. Mail all orders to: Hal Starr, 312 W. Frier Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85021
Telephone: (602) 944-4211
Continued on page 26
MUFON UFO Journal, No. 256, August 1989 27
Director's Message
By Walt Andrus
The MUFON 1989 International New Officers sultant in Psychiatry, has accepted
UFO Symposium is now history. For the additional position of State Sec-
those people who were unable to Stephen J. Firmani, State Direc- tion Director for Sacramento and
attend this exciting affair, this issue of tor for Massachusetts, recently resign- Yolo Counties in Northern California.
-the Journal will present some of the ed due to new employment opportun- Karl G. Sanders, M.S., a member
memorable highlights. Attendance-wise, ities requiring more of his personal since 1980, has agreed to take a more
the 1989 symposium surpassed all of time. In an organizational change, active role by accepting the job of
the previous nineteen except for San Edward A. Sanborn of Lowell, MA State Section Director for Victoria,
Francisco (Burlingame) in 1979. The was elected by the State Section Jackson, Goliad and Calhoun Coun-
four unofficial speakers on the Sun- Directors to be the new State Direc- ties in Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Sanders
day morning session provided enough tor replacing Mr. Firmani. In a similar attended the MUFON symposium in
-speculation and claims to keep eve- action Morton Schafer, living in Bel- Las Vegas.
ryone talking, wondering and looking lingham, MA, became the new Assist- Edward F. Mazur, State Director
for facts to either confirm or dismiss ant State Director. Both have received for Arkansas, has selected Dale Wood-
the controversial material presented. the approval of the MUFON Execu- son HI to be the State Section Direc-
Since MUFON could not support the tive Committee and the Eastern Region- tor for the following counties: Lonoke,
claims being made, it was treated as al Director. Ed Sanborn attended Clark, Dallas, Cleveland, Lincoln and
an unofficial meeting where the speak- the State Directors Training meeting Arkansas. Charles R. Vieth, M.S.,
ers had an opportunity to air their in Las Vegas. living in Tahlequah, OK, was appointed
stories. The attendees were thus Jerry F. Hiers, State Director for State Section Director for Cherokee
given the privilege of conducting their Louisiana, is moving back to Califor- and Adair Counties, Research Spe-
own evaluations. Further research will nia, creating a vacancy. Walter L. cialist in Information Science, and
disclose whether such claims are fac- Garner, Jr. ("Barney"), presently the Amateur Radio Operator KG5TV by
tual or science fiction. Dennis Stacy Assistant State Director, will assume Jean Waller, Oklahoma State Direc-
has done an outstanding job of this responsible position and provide tor.
reviewing the official speaker's pres- strong leadership. Both men attended John Altshuler, M.D., of Engle-
entations in this issue of the Journal State Directors meetings in Eureka wood, CO, has volunteered as a
John Lear, Hal Starr and the Springs and Las Vegas. Mr. Garner is Consultant in Hematology, Clinical
host committee in Las Vegas are to a retired U.S.A.F. Lt. Col. and also and Anatomic Pathology. He provided
be commended for their hospitality recently retired from the faculty at unusual surgical analysis on animal
and friendliness. The meeting facilities Louisiana State University. mutilation cases when he appeared
at the Aladdin were superb. The John V. Brown, currently the with Linda Moulton Howe in her
MUFON 1989 International UFO Sym- State Director for New Mexico, has presentation, "Alien Harvest," at the
posium Proceedings are now available asked to resign his post. His nomina- MUFON 1989 International UFO Sym-
for $15.00 plus $1.50 for postage and tion of Teresa Brito-Asenap of posium. He first became involved in
handling. All of the presented papers Albuquerque to fill this position has UFOs with the "Snippy Case" in
are published, except for that of Bill been approved. Mrs. Asenap has Alamosa, CO in September 1967.
Moore and the unofficial speakers represented New Mexico at each of (Snippy was actually an Appaloosa
(233 pages). the last two State Directors Meetings mare named "Lady.")
While the 1989 symposium is still and is anxious to build an energetic John Lear, State Director for Nev-
fresh in our minds, we can start mak- investigative team with, available talent- ada, has submitted his resignation
ing plans to travel to Pensacola, Flor- ed people. due to personal and family problems.
ida for the 1990 extravaganza at the S. Christopher Early has appoint- His resignation was regretfully accept-
Pensacola Hilton on July 6, 7, and 8. ed Larry Hebebrand, a State Sec- ed, considering the fine work that he
The theme tentatively selected is tion Director for Muscogee and has performed on the very successful
"UFOs: The Impact of E.T. Contact Chattahoochee Counties, to the addi- Las Vegas symposium. Peter R.
Upon Society." This will be an oppor- tional role of Assistant State Director Geremia, State Director for New
tunity for many of you to visit with for Georgia. Mr. Hebebrand has also Hampshire, promoted Cheryl L. Pow-
some of the 140 witnesses to sightings attended the recent training meetings ell of Derry, NH to State Section
in the Gulf Breeze locale, as well as in Eureka Springs and Las Vegas.
with Ed Walters and his wife. Michael M. Dullnig, M.D., a Con- Continued on page 27
28 MUFON UFO Journal, No. 256, August 1989