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Local/Region
Daily newspaper ‘Greetings’
promo draws fire from NASA
.[l Space agency miffed
-that an Augusta
' Chronicle promotion
~uses name of local astro
-naut. Calls practice
“illegal”’ “unethical",
By Gloria Nelor
"AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
| AUGUSTA
- TheAugusta Chronicle newspa
per may have tried to express good
-will with the shuttle greeting card
‘promo, but the government has
said it’s bad business.
* Money raised by donating $2
‘'when signing the card for Augusta
‘astronaut Lt. Cmdr. Susan Still
“and the rest of the crew will sup
posedly be used for the new Na
‘tional Science Center’s Fort Dis
‘covery. A spokesperson from the
‘National Aeronautics and Space
‘Administration (NASA) was cha
‘grined to learn that a business
THE ENVIRONMENT
Radioactive water spill at
SRS raises safety questions
AUGUSTA, Ga.
(AP) Between 25 and 30 gallons
‘of plutonium-contaminated water
‘spilled on the ground at Savannah
River Site this month. The spill
.has been contained but is not yet
.cleaned up, officials at the nuclear
complex said.
The March 8 spill occurred when
a subcontractor failed to follow
proper procedures, according to
aninternal Department of Energy
report obtained by The Augusta
Chronicle.
There were no injuries and the
contaminated area has been se
cured until a cleanup decision can
be made, Westinghouse Savannah
River Co. spokesman Dean
Campbell said Thursday.
Westinghouse runs the complex
for the Energy Department.
Workers were filling an empty
tank with a cement-like material
when water began flowing out the
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such as The Augusta Chronicle
would use the shuttle project as a
local fund-raiser.
“It is illegal and unethical for
NASA federal employees to par
ticipate in fundraising,” said
Eileen Hawley of Johnson’s Space
Center and spokesperson for
NASA. “No agreement was made
between the Chronicle and NASA
or Ms. Still.”
According to Kate Cooper of
Augusta Chronicle’s marketing
department on Wednesday, March
26, the Still family was aware of
the project and had planned to
take the card to the astronauts in
Florida on April 3. Sources close
to the Still family, however, dis
pute this.
In fact, Dr. Joseph M. Still Jr. ,
father of the Augusta astronaut,
said that he was not contacted
until today, March 26, well after
the project was underway.
“Someone cailed my secretary
today toinform me of the card, but
I did not know that they were
“DOE is trying to use
more subcontractors
to save money and
increase their flex
ibility, but this raises
some questions
about accountabil
i',y ”
— Brian Costner, Energy
Research Foundation
top. The report said workers did
not use a rod to check for water as
required and failed to use a kit
designed to contain spills.
“Failure to follow procedures
and poor planning resulted in the
spread of the contamination,” the
report concluded.
While workers collected some of
the water, the rest soaked into the
o
g % o : :
: o G g
LT S A (
Shuttle crew member Susan
Still: Family just learned of
promotion.
charging money for the signa
tures,” said Dr. Still.
This was not the first good will
measure extended to the Still fam
ily. Two weeks prior to the Au
gusta Chronicle’s promotion, the
members of the USS Star League
presented the Still family with a
ground. The area has been cov
ered by plastic tarp.
Brian Costner of Energy Re
search Foundation, an SRS watch
dog group in Columbia, said the
incident raises questions about
how well subcontractors are moni
tored.
__The same week, another sub
contractor was cited for failing to
follow required steps for removing
contaminated sludge from a tank.
There was no spill.
“DOE is trying to use more sub
contractors to save money and in
crease their flexibility, but this
raises some questions about ac
countability,” Costner said.
SRS subcontracts about a third
of its work.
Westinghouse is investigating
the spill to determine why it hap
pened and who is liable for the
cleanup.
Good Luck Card. The USS Star
League began its Good Luck Card
concept in the fall of 1996 and had
collected 4,156 signatures, free of
charge, upon presentation to the
family. The card contains signa
tures from local residents, digni
taries and even President Bill
Clinton.
Ms. Denise Thompson, vice
president of the USS Star League,
says, “I think it’s sad that the
expression of good will for our
native Augusta astronaut hasbeen
turned into a commercial venture.
I wouldn’t want NASA or anyone
else to confuse the Star League
project of unconditional well-wish
ing with the Chronicle’s recent
misuse of Lt. Cmdr. Still’s name
for monetary gain, even if it is for
Fort Discovery.”
With only a week left to go, the
Chronicle’s card is far from having
4,ooosignatures, muchlessthemoney
generated from them. Oh well, so
much for fund-raising -- maybe the
sentiment is just the same.
Police may have broken law
From page one
knows where it is. All that was
really uncalled for,” said Mr.
Green.
In all, the raid imposed a finan
cial burden on Mr. Green and his
mother and girlfriend, also resi
dents of the house.
Although Mr. Green is looking
for an attorney, he’ll have trouble
affording one.
“Withushavingtocomeupwith
the money to move our trailer, fix
up the damage the police did to
the trailer’s siding, and pay all the
other bills, it’s going to be hard for
AR
r\,
Picture with
Easter Bunny
Fri. & Sat.
12-5 1) I
ETR (The following information is
e ¢ . based on area law enforce-
T Bllpls s
/ E / releases.)
Butter knife used in
assault
An Augusta woman accuseu her
live-in boyfriend of simple battery.
Reports show that Gloria Gail
Ware, 35, stated that her boyfriend,
Antonio McNair, struck her in the
forehead between the eyes with the
butt of a butter knife. He then pre
ceded to strike her in the face with
his fist in front of three children.
A warrant was taken out for
McNair’s arrest.
Man accused of
animal cruelty
A Hephzibah man was charged
with animal cruelty.
According to reports, Jeremy
Mullis, of Horseshoe Circle, shot
and killed a black mixed-type dog
with a rifle. Mullis stated the dog
jumped on one of his dogs and then
turned on him.
The animal control was called to
theincidentlocationand Mullis was
charged.
Motorist accused
of simple assault
A Hephzibah man was accused of
simple assault.
us to pay for a lawyer,” said Mr.
Green.
What recourse do citizens
have if they have been victim
ized by the police?
“Citizens can take recourse
through civil actions and in
ternal affairs at the Sheriffs
office,” according to Judge
Scott Allen.
Suing the police is also an option.
“I would recommend the in
dividual first might want to file
agrievance through the admin
istrative approach and let the
internal affairs conduct an in
vestigation. The next step
would be to pursue a civil suit,”
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855-0796
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AUGUSTA FOCUS MARCH 27, 1997
Sherry Backson, 36, reportedly
stated that after exchanging curse
words with Naaman Smith, 19, on
the roadway, he pointed a shotgun
at her.
Aneyewitness stated that Smith
had a stick and not a shotgun.
The attending officer went to the
Smith’struck and retrieved a three
foot stick with black tape around one
end. No arrests were made.
Man arrested for
obstructing law
enforcement
A 39-year-old Augusta man was
accused of obstructing law enforce
ment.
Officers answering an assault
call at the Georgia Motor Court
reported that Janassen Robin Pol
lard became verbally abusive and
would not cooperate with deputies.
Pollard reportedly walked away
from the scene while officers tried
to question him. He later ap
proached the officer in an offensive
manner and tried to strike him.
Officerswrestled him to the ground
and then handcuffed him.
Pollard was seen at the hospital
after complaining of chest and rib
pains and then taken tojail on an
unrelated warrant.
said Attorney David Watkins.
The decision to take the po
lice department to court could
be quite costly to the victim
ized citizen. Legal experts em
phasize that the public needs
to consider all the costs of their
decision.
“If the grievance is a civil
issue, one could sue police and
possibly win, it all really de
pends on the monetary value of
the damage. That’s the deter
mining factor in making the
decision to go to court. Some
times legal fees exceed the cost
of the damage,“ said Mr.
Watkins.
FOREST
122-0796
3A