Augusta focus. ([Augusta, Ga.) 198?-current, May 25, 1995, Image 2

Augusta focus., May 25, 1995, Page 2, Image 2

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Newspaper Page Text2 May 25, 1995 Zaire’s Ebola epidemic may be winding down Zairians have begun to accept mass burials Kikwit, Zaire (AP) Dressed in heavy rubber boots, gloves, masks and goggles, Red Cross workers placed bodies wrapped in white plastic bags into a mass grave. A bulldozer pushed dirt over Ebola’s latest victims. An international relief effort was too late to save them, but the ghoulish funeral procession Tuesday repre sented a small victory for attempts to stop bodies of the dead from spreadingthe lethal virus to the living. Atlanta to install pay-per-use toilets By Marc Rice Associated Press ATLANTA OK, as landmarks go, they won’t rival the Statue of Liberty or the St. Louis Gateway Arch. But Atlanta is flush with pride over its new, pay-per-use public toilets. “We want a clean, sanitized city,” said : - e City council presi \ 1 dent Marvin i 'R'A'R'RY | Arrington, who EA LY persuacedtis col- Eéwm leagues this week by ~ to approve instal lation of the toilets, which will cost users 25 cents for up to 15 minutes. Arrington had advocated their use for a decade after a visit to Paris, where they are a common sight. Atlanta becomes one of the first U.S. cities to install the permanent toilets. Ten will be erected in downtown Atlanta in time for the 1996 Olympics, and five more are planned before the end of 1996. The city and Olympic organizers also will provide many more portable toilets toserve the big crowds expected during the Games. The enameled steel toilets will cost $150,000 each. They are resistant to graf fiti and vandalism, and feature self-sani tizing seats. Beyond accommodating Olympic visitors, the toilets address a persistent problem Atlanta shares with many big cities. “Every day it smells like urine. Maybe if they had some kind of public toilets now they wouldn’t urinate on the streets,” said Veronica Beasley, who runs the L&V Cus tom Framing and Art Gallery. Her land lord has to hose the area down every day. The city plans to distribute free tokens to the homeless, though Arrington said the toilets are not being installed solely as a service to the homeless. In fact, city officials across the country have said professional people as well as vagrantsareincreasingly uninhibited when they’ve got to go. “When people are approached with new ideas it’s hard to adjust,” Arrington said, explaining why it took so long to persuade the City Council. “But people come to realize you need it — you can’t have people taking care of busi ness on the sidewalk.” Jackson leads anti- Gingrich march in Atlanta SMYRNA, Ga. (AP)JesseJackson today urged students to hold themselves to a higher standard and to stand up to friends involved with drugs or violence. Jackson was in Cobb County for a three-day march, which began on Sunday, to protest the Republican Contract with America. Addressing an assembly of about 1,500 students at Campbell High School, Jack son asked the students to stand if they knew anyone involved in drugs or bringing guns to school. Nearly all of them got up. But when Jackson asked them to stand again if they had ever told authorities what they knew, fewer than 10 stood. Jackson ended by asking students to become more politically responsible. He handed out voter registration forms to 18- year-olds who said they weren’t registered. After the speech Jackson headed to the Marietta office of House Speaker Newt Gingrich to deliver a letter protesting the contract, which would hold down funding increases for social programs. While Jackson was in Georgia, a bomb threat forced the evacuation of the offices of his Rainbow Coalition in Washington, D.C. No bomb was found. AUGUSTA FOCUS Hundreds of onlookers watched as an orange truck collected bodies left outside mud huts, winding along a narrow dirt road to the old, overgrown graveyard of this stricken city on the sa vanna. It was a sign that an edu cation campaign had per suaded Zairians to accept mass burials for Ebola victims, abandoning tra ditions of washing and preparing loved ones for burial — a practice that can spread the virus. NRA warns of ‘police state’ Washington (AP) Taking the offen sive again, the National Rifle Associationis warn ing its members of an impending “police state” and urging them to at tend town meetings with lawmakers to denounce President Clinton’s poli cies. The 3.5 million member NRA, one of Washington’s most pow erful lobbies, is using postcards to lawmakers in its drive to repeal the ban on assault-style fire arms enacted last year. The letter to members, which also urges them to give money, comes as the NRA is embroiled in con troversy over an earlier fund-raising letter that called federal law en forcement officers “jackbooted government thugs.” NRA chief lobbyist Tanya Metaksa writes in the new letter: “Before Bill Clinton pushes legis lation that takes away from our freedoms and creates a police state, we've urged that mem bers of Congress hold town meetings in their P G e e ¥ ‘*"k " % -k"‘ & o e, ; Y. - By - ; % b ' E i T Fal ﬁ;(", E : i Bl R " c:a“ K - ¥ : . et . LR iy G e Lo : ' i 7, ) § s, Network wants to shine light on hate groups B Pennsylvania has 64 identifiable white supremacist organizations, according to a state agency. That makes it second only to the state of Georgia in the number of such organizations. By Jeffrey Bair Associated Press Writer GREENSBURG, Pa. Unlike the days of frequent Ku Klux Klan march es, hate groups are scarier these days because people can’t tell what they are up to, according to their opponents. The new tactics of hate groups drew attention Friday as community activists, preachers, state troopers and government officials met in the first of three regional meetings of opponents of hate groups such as skinheads, the Klan and the Aryan Nation. June meetings are set for Monroe and York coun ties, and a statewide convention is planned for this fall. “What has me worried is what the hate groups are doing behind the scenes, the infiltrating they are doing in all aspects of society,” said one participant, the Rev. Bob Lewis- of Calvary United Methodist World News In another promising sign, doctors said that in stead of trying to care for the sick at home, Kikwit residents were calling the Red Cross to pick them up. Another Italian nun who cared for Ebola victims at Kikwit General Hospital died Tuesday, raising the death toll to 102. The disease, spread by intimate contact with its victims, has no treatment or cure. Researchers don’t even know where the virus comes from. 'home districts to hear |what you have to say | first.” Liketheearlier appeal, the letter sharply criti cizes federal law enforce ment agents. “Our oppo nents now want to ex pand their attacks on us to include our First Amendment rights, too,” Metaksa wrote. “The right to keep and bear arms, the right to free speech and the right to free association are all on the chopping block.” Sending postcards to members of Congress about town meetings, the letter said, will help to bring a repeal of last year’s ban on assault style. weapons. Rep. Charles Schumer (D- N.Y.), a chief author of the weaponsban, said the letter shows the NRA is using “the same kind of inflammatory language.” | . “Theleadershipof NRA ‘are fear mongers of the 'worst kind,” Schumer 'said. “They are extrem )ists and the American ‘people should reject 'them.” (AP) Flood-weary relief workers won'’t get a break for days from heavy rainstorms that are push ing the Missouri and Mississippi rivers out of their banks and across waterlogged land. It was raining Wednesday morning around Co lumbia and Jefferson City, both on the Missouri River around the cen- Vernon Zimmerman checks the level of the Mississippi River from the porch of his home on Tues day. Some residents refused to leave. Mandela tours ANC- Inkatha battlefield By Ann Eveleth Associated Press Writer GCILAMA, South Africa Everson Xolo fled his village two years ago because of fighting between the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party and the ANC he sup ported. He ventured back Sunday, but only under the protection of President Nelson Mandela. Mandela— and a large con tingent of soldiers and police officers accompanied Xolo to a rally at which the presi dent declared he would not tolerate “no-go areas,” re gions barred to supporters of rival political groups. But local officials of Mandela’s African National Missouri braces for more flooding 5 / ; / ,’ ‘ = 3 . S ‘&.&W "e W \ O P g~ SR C = L B, i 4 \ X \l:\}‘)‘ R 4 s k N e R L 3 RS ) AW et S o USRI R N R o S 8 \ “ir»\‘f 4 \:“ ® 3 NRA members Tom Thompson (R) and Dirk Thompson examine weapons on exhibit at a recent NRA Convention in Phoenix. The organization has been embroiled in contro versy since the Oklahoma City bombing. (AP Photo) Gunman shot at White House The Secret Service is investigating the shoot ing of a mysterious late-night intruder who scaled a White House fence and raced with a pistol toward the presidential mansion. Leland William Modjeski, 37, was subdued not far from where President Clinton had stepped from his limousine just a half hour earlier. An agent was wounded as he scuffled with Modjeski, apparently by the same shot that brought down the gunman. Officials said they had no immedi ate indication of motivation. tral the part of the state, and Hannibal, located along the Missis sippi in northeastern Missouri. A flash flood watch has been in effect for all but Southeastern Missouri. One to 3 inches of rain, and up to 5 inches in some places, was possi ble from Kansas City to Kirksville. With rain in the forecast through Saturday, the Missouri River could begin torise again after falling for 4 days, said Dave Metze, meteorolo gist withthe National Weather Ser vice. Groups such as the National Association for the Advance ment of Colored People, the YWCA and church associa tions are sharing information about groups and organizing a quick-strike task force to be sent o towns where crosses are burned or other hate crimes are committed. Church in Erie. About 150 people exchanged ideas for confronting what they say are increasingly sophisticated hate groups in Pennsylvania, particularly white suprem acists. The state Human Relations Commission has identified 64 white supremacy organizations in Penn sylvania, second only to Georgia. “The face of hate is more easy to accept nowadays. They'’re not wearing hoods, and they’re not wrap ping themselves in the American flag like they used to,” said Barney Ousler, co-chairman of the Pitts burgh Coalition to Counter Hate Groups. What they are doing is infiltrating schools, says a former member of the Aryan Nation who broke ranks three years ago. Floyd Cochran now cam- Congress who had originally plannedto hold therally in a school inthe neighboring vil lage of Tholimfundo moved itto an open field in Geilama because of objections from Inkatha leaders. “Next time I come here, I want this meeting to be at Tholimfundo,” Mandela told the crowd of about 10,000, “Nobody is going to tell my people in this country they cannot meet at a certain place.” Mandela later addressed a rally in the northern part of the province, and again con demned political violence. Later, a crowd about 70 kilo meters (40 miles) from that See MANDELA, page 13 Blacks seek voice in GOP platform in ’96 B Black Republicans vow to demonstrate if they are left out of the decision-making process. By Sandra Sobieraj Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON Black Republican leaders want a hand in writing their party’s 1996 platform, and one suggested Friday he’s pre pared to demonstrate at the national convention to make his point. Leaders of the National Black Republican Empowerment Task Force, which met this week in Washington to write its own version of a platform, also took issue with GOP law makers over affirmative action and the budget. “We need to be sitting at the table when the decisions are made and when the pie is cut,” said task force co-chairman Maurice Dawkins, who also is chairman of the Florida Republican Black Caucus. “We'll get there, even if we have to demonstrate outside the convention hall” when the Republican National Convention meets in San Diego, he said. Maintaining affirmative action programs and business set-asides for minorities will be priorities in the blacks’ platform, said Dawkins, declining to outline specifics. The task force, not an official party organization, is comprised of some 30 state and local party officials, many of them veterans of the Nixon administration. Haley Barbour, chairman of the Republican National Committee, has promised blacks a voice in platform discus sions. But the task force’s hopes on affirmative action are not echoed by the GOP’s congressional leaders. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, a presidential hopeful, already has asked Senate committees to schedule hearings on affirmative action. Another GOP candidate, Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, has pledged, if elected, to issue an executive order ending federal hiring and contract preferences based solely on race or gender. “A lot of people are misled in terms of'what affirmative action means,” said James L. Denson, a task force member who is a New Orleans businessman. “We all are opposed to quotas, as such, but we’re not’ opposed to the results of an affirmative-type program,” he said. ' On the budget, Denson criticized GOP proposals to elim inate the Small Business Administration. “They think the SBA only helps women and minorities, but if they did their homework ... they'd find that small business is the backbone of the economy,” he said. Presidential candidate Alan Keyes and Oklahoma Rep. J.C. Watts, both of whom are black, participated in discus sions on the black empowerment platform. Dole and Indi ana Sen. Richard Lugar, another presidential hopeful, sent staff members. The task force hopes to meet personally with each of the would-be presidents before submitting its recommenda tions to the RNC platform committee, Dawkins said. Dawkins, a Washington-area lobbyist, opposed Democrat Charles Robb in Virginia’s 1988 Senate race, but lost with 29 percent of the vote. No let up in trade war threat PARIS Criticized for pushing a dispute over car imports to the brink of a trade war, the United States and Japan gave little indication at an economic summit that they were moving toward a settlement. U.S. Commerce Secretary Ron Brown dismissed sug gestions there would a breakthough in the final day of the two-day meeting of the 25-nation Organization for Eco nomic Cooperation and Development. The Clinton ad ministration says it will impose 100-percent tariffs on $5.9 billion in Japanese luxury cars starting June 28 if Japan doesn’t allow more imports. Japan has threatened to retaliate. paigns against hate groups across the country, carry ing with him videotapes of youth recruiting sessions and the “White Will” comic book. “What they do is tell these kids, ‘We’re family,’ and, ‘No one loves you? We'll love you,’ and a lot of them come from dysfunctional families in the first place, with no father figure, so of course they’re going to join,” said Cochran, himself a divorced father of two. The watchers of hate groups say anecdotal reports indicate more activity around the state lately — a baseball bat beating in Jeannette, a skinheads’ march in New Hope, synagogue vandalism in York and damage to a Pittsburgh-area car dealership owned by a mixed-race couple. Groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the YWCA and church associations across the state are sharing information about groups and organizing a quick-strike task force to be sent to towns where crosses are burned or other hate crimes are committed, Ousler said. The number of hate crimes in Pennsylvania more than doubled in the last five years, Attorney General Ernie Preate Jr. said recently. Communities tainted by hate crime — cross burnings, church vandalism, offensive leaflets and the like — typically react wrongly in ignoring the incidents, he said. “Silence is the welcome mat for hate,” said Ann Van Dyke, assistant education director of the state Hu man Relations Commission.