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Special Black History Edition - Next Week
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& Culpture by
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B oo D
SAVANNAH RIVER SITE
pink slips
M Those with seniority feel
that odds of being retained are
in their favor. Others feel
sense of relief if they are
involuntarily separated.
By Rhonda Y. Maree
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
As of Feb. 7, all Savannah River Site em
ployees received a 120-day notice required
for involuntary separations. Knowing that
by Sept. 30, the end of the federal budget
year, as many as 4,200 site employees may
be unemployed, the question of job security
rings loudly.
e efforts to “There are a lot of
determine the people con
probability of
their receiving cerned about
pink slips, ey losing their jobs,
are computing
their years of se- but "QM now I'm
niority, which is not because I've
a large deter- : 3
mining factor in GO S€niority over
who does and qu“e a bit of
does not go in- 5
voluntarily. people.
. Renee Smith, — James Aaron,
who has been a SRS worker
¢lerical worker
at the site for six years, said she is not really
concerned with the reduction in workforce.
. “My position is not likely to be threatened
because there is a shortage of site-wide cler
ical personnel, and I have six years seniority
in my service group,” she said.
: With her seniority, Mrs. Smith said there
are at least 400 others who would get laid off
before she would.
. JJames Aaron, who has worked at the site
: See SRS, page 3
The Return of
The WONDER YEARS
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SRS Nightiamare
Time running out
on 4,200 workers
By Frederick J. Benjamin, Sr.
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
For years, the Savannah Riv
er Site nuclear complex, located
near Aiken, South Carolina was
the engine that drove the local
economies on both sides of the
river. It has been a prime mover
inthecreation and maintenance
of the black middle class in the
area. But while its influence in
the area will still be dominant,
for some 4,200 workers the ride
will come to an abrupt end. The
plant is scheduled to bear the
brunt of President Clinton’s plan
to cut taxes for the middle class
and reduce the nation’s deficit.
On Tuesday, the entire
19,000-member workforce re
ceived 120-day notices. Along
with the loss of some 4,200 jobs,
the site will undergo a major
restructuring as its mission is
modified to conform to the geo
political reality of the 19905.
The DOE told the news media
this week that the reductions
are part of an effort to “achieve
improved cost effectiveness and
e%ociency in operations at each
of its facilities.”
Ironically, the overall budget
for the Department of Energy
will be increased in Fiscal Year
1996. In FY9S the budget was
$17.5 billion — in FY96 it is
$17.8 billion. So why the cuts, if
theDOE is increasing spending
by S3OO million overall?
The S3OO million increase re
flects several new initiatives,
particularly in the national se-
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February 9 - 15, 1995 VOL. XIV NO. 686
pors 7 VRN, g
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Met inest Weekly Newspaper
ECONOMY
curity and science areas.
It also reflects the costs
of downsizing, particular
ly inenvironmental man
agement where up to
S2OO million will be re
quired in FY96 for major
workforce reductions.
The SRS will be respon
sible for a significant part
of those reductions.
Secretary of Energy
Hazel R. O’Leary ex
plains. “We have already
saved more than $5 bil
lion over the next five
years, including $1.55 bil
lion through a freeze on
contractor salaries, and
more than $3.5 billion
from contract reform and
greater efficiencies in
weapons site cleanup.”
Inan effort tominimize
theeffect of the workforce
reductions on the SRS
employees and t)ir com
munities, the E is plan
ning to develop a workforce
restructuring plan as required
by law. Under the restructur
ing plan, displaced employees
will be assisted in the follow
ing ways:
# Medical benefits will be
extended to ensure that dis
placed workers and their fam
ilies will not be without med
ical insurance;
B Retraining assistance and
tuition reimbursements will
be provided to assist displaced
employees in preparing for
new careers;
# Relocation assistance will
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be offered; e
§ Odt-placement assistance
will provide resume prepara
tion and other employment
searching training;
§ A comprehensive computer
data base will match the skills
of displaced employees with job
openings across the country;
#Voluntary incentive separa
tion programs will be institut
ed.
To assist the surrounding
communities that are
dependant on SRS activities, the
DOE plans to promote econom
ic development and diversifica
tion proposals.
20N &SR | I. IF E
B 24 Life S DTS I |
by RIS :
&Y ;tr . e sile
g iragic loss
OLATION ROW
© WhenLukeand Esterean
# Williams bought their house
. in 1952, they probably
thought it would be a haven
of love and safety in which
to raise a family. Forty
three years later, the love
in the*house is still alive,
but the safety haslong been
gone.
While battling with
chronic ailments of his own,
Mr. Williams has witnessed
the death of his wife and
HEALTH PROBLEMS have
plagued family: (L-R) Delores
Williams, Mary Tuft, and Eliza
beth Fryer
sifisessnnnnnsnnnnns
By Rhonda Y. Maree
~ MR. 808 HENNEBERGER
GEORGIA NEWSPAPER
BULK RATE
UNIVERSITY OF GA U.S. POSTAGE
ATHENS GA 30602 12/31/99 PAID
NO. 302
AUGUSTA, GA
Exporting U
Health Caf P
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Story off page 17
McKinney calls
for U.S. probe i
or U.S. probe in
Union Point, G
nion Point, Ga.
W Black teenagers are the only ones
in town banned from entering certain
businesses. Civil rights violations may
have occured.
WASHINGTON D.C.
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is questioning a
ban of 21 African-Americans from select shops in the
town of Union Point, Georgia.
The 11th District town raised
several eyebrows, as well as
provoking a lawsuit, when no
tices were posted on certain
businesses with the names of
21 young African-Americans
who were not permitted to
enter. Upon learning that one
did not have to have a crimi
nal record to be included on
the lists, McKinney alerted
the Justice Department tothe
possibility that civil rights
may have been violated.
McKinney spoke with an
official at the Civil Rights Di
vision of the Justice Depart
ment. During their discussion
she stated, “At first I thought there must be another
explanation, but when I was informed of the details and
circumstances, it became increasingly clear that we
might have a classic case of segregation-era discrimina
tion onwur hands. She proceeded to state, “For these
reasons, I must ask the Justice Department to be aware
that a potentially gross violation of civil rights could be
in progress. I trust your office will evaluate the situation
and determine whether or not an investigation is war
ranted at this time. This is 1995 not 1895.”
McKinney wanted to know why, if these individuals on
the list are potential criminals, why only some business
es brandished the notices and not others? McKinney
posed the question, “Why were these people barred from
businesses such as coin-op laundries where there is
nothing to shoplift but they were allowed to enter others
where merchandise could readily be stolen? Gas sta
tions, banks and convenience stores were off bounds.
Hence, these people couldn’t buy gas, cash checks or buy
food. It would appear someone is systematically trying to
make carrying out a normal life impossible for these
people.”
two of his sons. He watches
two ofhis daughtersin their
bouts with seriousillnesses.
Mr. Williams is a resident
of Virginia Subdivision,
which is situated danger
ously close to the now closed
Southern Wood Piedmont on
Nixon Road. A wood treat
ing plant that used hazard
ous chemicals which can
cause life-threatening ill
nesses, Southern Wood
Piedmont closed in 1990 for
a state-ordered cleanup.
But, according to resi
dents, the cleanup came too
many deaths too late. Eliz
abeth Fryer, Mr. Williams’
30-year-old daughter, is de
4l
LT y
McKinney: “It became
increasingly clear that
we might have o
classic case of segre
e
termined not to be the
plant’s next fatality.
Diagnosed atage 21 with
systemic lupus erythem
atosus(SLE), a diseasethat
attacks internal organs,
Ms. Fryer is undergoing a
kidney transplant during
the writing of this article.
Her sister, Mary Tutt, is
the donor.
Ms. Fryer said she did
not have trouble identify
ing her illness as SLE be
cause she experienced the
same symptoms herbroth
er Kenneth had before he
died of the same disease in
1981 at the age of 25.
In addition to damaging
See LIFE, page 3