Newspaper Page Text
8A
December 7, 2006
Closed Taco Bells all used same food distibutor, company says
By ANGELA DELLI SANTI
Associated Press Writer
SOUTH PLAINFIELD,
N.J.(AP) _ The nine Taco
Bell restaurants in New
Jersey and New York that
Cl()scd fnlluwing an out
break of E. coli all used
the same food distribu
tor, and hecalth officials
said it may be to blame
for the outbreak that has
sickened dozens in both
states.
Taco Bell said it
planned to reopen the
cateries Tuesday, and
company officials in a
statement insisted that
the restaurants are not
confirmed to be the
source of the outbreak. A
spokesman also said
If Dr. King were Alive...
E&ALAN KING
PA S&ial Contributor
WASHINGTON
(NNPA) - Devoted to elim
inating war, poverty and
racism, if he were alive
today, Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. might be disap
pointed with the Iraq war,
the poverty rate and contin
ued racism, according to
Rev. Joseph Lowery, one his
t()p atdes.
“I think he would also be
disappointed that we've not
climbed higher on the lad
der of spirituality. We don't
have that love that was so
essential to his ministry,”
said Lowery, who co-found
ed the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference
(SCLC) with Dr. King. “I
think he'd be disappointed
that the spiritual dimen
sions of life are weakening
and not being strength
ened.”
He cited the owning of
guns as an example.
“We are addicted to guns in
this country...We seem to
think we can find safety in
Legacy: ‘She was warm, friendly and approachable, not at all possessed by her celebrity
Continued from page 2A
as a team and we will
miss her immcnscl)' and
will love her forever.”
An only child, Elizabeth
Bebe Moore Campbell
Gordon was born Feb. 18,
1950 in Philadelphia,
Penn. to Doris Moore and
the lave George L. P
Moore. She was educated
in the Philadelphia public
schools, graduating from
Philadelphia High School
for Girls. She received her
Bachelor of Science degree
in Elementary Education
from the University of
Pitesburgh 1971 an? the
University of Pittsburgh’s
Distinguished Alumni
Award as well as an hon
orary doctorate. She was
Drug: ‘lt’s ok to adopt someone who's not the same race’
Continued frompage 24
She remembered the
judge, who was black like
Tanesha, asked if she want
ed to live with the Wilsons,
who are both white.
“I want people to know
that it's Olg:o adopt some
one who's not the same
race,” Tanesha said. “It's
OK to have a baby that's
not your own. But treat it
like it's your own.”
Tanesha's sister, who is
11 months older, would be
there was no evidence
the distributor _ which
brought food to all the
affected restaurants _
was at its root, but said
health officials weren't
ruling that out.
“We have no indication
what the source is,” said
Rob Poetsch, a
spokesman for Taco Bell
Corp., based in Irvine,
Calif. “We're looking
into all possibilities.”
He declined to name
the distributor that
serves the eight Long
Island, N.Y., and the one
South Plainfield, N.J.,
restaurants that closed.
Poetsh also said investi
gators were also looking
at Taco Bell's individual
food suppliers, which he
[them]...] think Martin
would be concerned with
violence at every level—
internationally and domes
tically,” said Lowery, who,
during his term as vice-pres
ident of the SCLC in 1957,
participated with Dr. King
in the organization’s gun
buy-back program. Accord
ing to 2005 census data, 25
percent of African Ameri
cans are currently living in
poverty.
“There are too many hun
gry people in the world,
today,” said Rev. Willie T.
Barrow, who worked as a
King ficld organizers. If Dr.
King were alive, “he would
still be dealing with [creat
ing] a living
wage... Nobody should be
going hungry in this
nation.”
Dr. Kings commitment
to equal rights for everyone
went beyond seeking
opportunities for women
and people of color, said
Barrow, who was nick
named “The Little Warrior”
for her social and spiritual
activism.
%Ppnintcd an Alumni
rustee of the University
by Chancellor Mark Nor
denberg on June 24, 2005.
Upon graduation from the
University of Pittsburgh,
Campbell became a teacher
and rtaught eclementary
school in Atlanta Georgia
from 1972 t 011975. She
quickly learned that teach
ing was not her life’s work.
Searching for more, she
enrolled in a writing class
taught by renowned author
Toni Cade Bambara.
“Of course, | didn't think
about becoming a writer
until 20 years later, after |
had graduated from college
and was teaching school.
Before that time it never
occurred to me that | could
do what | loved for a liv
ing.”
adopted by another family.
The sisters have not seen
each other for nine years.
Tanesha also has never seen
seven or eight brothers and
sisters born after she was
placed in foster care.
Growing up was tough
even in a loving family. The
cocaine had damaged the
left side of Tanesha's brain,
so the right side had to
learn to compensate.
“Every new concept was a
real struggle,” Tammy said.
Tanesha said she had dis
AUGUSTA FOCUS
also declined to name.
At least three dozen
people were stricken in
New Jersey and New
York and nearly all the
victims had eaten at Taco
Bell restaurants last
month. It prompted
Taco Bell to close its
South Plainfield, N.J.,
restaurant, where 19
people ate, and eight in
New York's Suffolk and
Nassau counties to sani
tize them and replace
food ingredients. All
were to bc rc()pcncd
Tuesday, the company
said. The New Jersey
restaurant, where work
ers were busy throwing
boxes into a trash bin,
had not yet rcupcncd b)’
the carly afternoon.
“That’s why he had a
housing program, a jobs
program... Thats the way
he was,” she said. “If he was
still living, he would be
enhancing these philoso
phies...to make sure they
don't go away but that they
would be built up like the
Voting Rights Act... Our
children must know the
works of Dr. King.”
Barrow’s fondest memory
was his ability to organize
people of different classes.
At the staff meetings, he
would listen to the concerns
of the people and consid
ered everyone’s opinions.
“Those that he thought was
right, he would tell them.
Those that he thought was
wrong, he would try to line
them up. That’s the kind of
Dr. King that I knew,” she
said.
Lowery remembered his
friend as “a spiritual giant,”
who was willing to sacrifice
material gains for the sake
of his ministry.
“In the midst of all the
tragedies that surrounded
his life, he could laugh at
“I began sending short
stories and poetry out to
magazines after | graduated
from the University of
Pittsburgh. My work was
rejected for about five years
in a row. Meanwhile, |
began attending writers’
workshops. | honed my
craft during these group
sessions, and my writing
improved. Finally, I dashed
()ffa short st()r)' In one sit
ting, and mailed it off to
ESSENSE magazine. A few
weeks later | received an
acceptance letter.
"l was constantly rejected
for five years. By attending
very supportive writers
workshops | learned that
when the world is telling
me no, | must surround
myself with people who are
telling me yes. I don't think
ficulty learning to read, so
she read to her parents
every night before she went
to bed. She was in the
fourth grade when she got a
teacher who made her read
every day, and her reading
skills jumped from first
grade to fourth-grade level.
She loved math and sci
ence but had trouble with
arithmetic, so she lined up
their shoes to learn to add
and subtract.
When Tanesha was 6, an
ear, nose and throat doctor
Four others who con
tracted the E. coli bacte
ria ate at nearby Taco
Bells in New Jersey, offi
cials said. Those loca
tions, also served by the
same distributor, were
inspected but remained
()Pcn.
Three of the New Jer
sey locations are owned
by the same person; the
New York locations are a
mix of company-owned
and franchise locations.
On Tuesday, county
health officials said the
South Plainfield Taco
Bell had passed all previ
ous health department
inspections.
In New York, Suffolk
County Executive Steve
Levy said health officials
himself. He was a great teas
er, for example,” he said. “Jf
he liked you, he teased
you—always friendly and
never in ridicule.”
A concern for Lowery is
the misappropriation of Dr.
King's name and message by
people whose actions would
be opposed by the late-civil
rights activist. For example,
people who oppose affirma
tive action have used Dr.
Kings “I Have a Dream”
speech as to argue their case.
“When he called for his
children to be evaluated by
the content of their charac
ter rather than the color of
their skin, they say that he
was opposed to affirmative
action. That's a misappro
priation,” Lowery said.
When King said those
words, “it was a hope for
the future and not an evalu
ation of the present. But
they take it and try to use it
to oppose intcn(i()nality in
closing the gap and remedy
ing inequities.”
[ would have ever been
published if I hadn’t found
the friendship and support
I needed in the work
shops.”
Eventually, Campbell left
teaching and pursued a
career in writing. Her
favorite quote on being a
writer: “Discipline is the
servant of inspiration.”
“The entire university
community mourns the
loss of our treasured alum
na, trustee and friend,”
said Pitt’s Nordenberg. “As
a writer, she crafted honest
and riveting prose, illumi
nated the legacies of slavery
and freedom and her care
for the language and
rhythms of urban life have
given the world a perspec
tive that is uniquely hers.
As a daughter of Pitt, she
suggested they enroll her in
karate and cheerleading
classes to improve her coor
dination. They did, and she
improved.
“Between fifth and sixth
grade, things started to
click,” Bill said. “For a lot
of years we thought she
would always be dependent
on us. But she is going to
%o to college and do just
ine.
Tammy said Tanesha
processes information dif
ferently than most people.
believe the contaminated
food at the four Taco
Bells in that county came
from the same distribu
tion center and that the
contamination occurred
outside the restaurants.
“We have not identi
fied a partcular food
product. It may be in the
distribution system
involved prior to reach
ing the restaurant,” said
Dr. David Graham, act
ing health commissioner
fnr Suff()lk Cnunt)'.
New York officials said
they may never know
which food was contami
nated. New Jersey's top
state health official has
said the outbreak appears
to have passed.
Taco Bell ships its beef
Hurricane
Continued from page 7A
their discretionary income
than they would have if there
had been an active hurricane
season.
“We do get a financial
bump out of an aggressive
hurricane season but you have
to keep it in perspective,” he
said.
“If everyones out there
dodging hurricanes, no one’s
buying lawn mowers, no one’s
getting their kitchen remod
cled, no one’s buying paint.”
Home Depot will begin
preparing for next year’s hur
ricane season in January. The
home office in Atlanta stays in
constant contact with district
managers and store managers,
he said, holding as many as
three or four conference calls
a day. Hundreds of resupply
trucks roll out on a daily basis,
ready to travel wherever they
are needed.
As seen with Hurricane
Charley, a storm can change
course at any time. Having
supply trucks on the road at
was a role model for stu
dents and a powerful
spokeswoman for the ideals
we hold dear.”
Robert Hill, who heads
Pitt’s office of public
affairs, got to know Camp
bell through her many vis
its to her alma mater.
“She was warm, friendly
and approachable, not at
all possessed by her celebri
ty, reflected Hill. She had
a calm almost serene
demeanor, and she was a
marvel to appreciate - all
this powerful prose from
such a petite, confident
woman of giant leadership
stature.
“A loyal devoted member
of the Pitt community, she
will be sorely missed by all
of us in Pittsburgh as well
as her fans around the
“But she has a real good
mind. She works hard for
her grades, and she can
accomplish ‘anything she
wants."
She has had perfect atten
dance year after year. She
has been invited to join the
National Honor Society.
She worked at Seeds of
Hope and volunteered at
Casa Grande Regional
Medical Center. She also
plans to become a surgical
nurse.
Last year she was a mem
and-bean fillings to
restaurants pre-cooked
and pre-seasoned as a
cost-saving method, and
food industry experts say
that type of preparation
may have shielded the
fast food giant from a
more damaging outbreak
because the food is han
dled by fewer people and
is cooked twice, once at
the plant and once at the
individual restaurants.
New Jcrscy health offi
cials said their investiga
tion was likely to focus
on produce, not just
meat, served by the
cateries because some of
the 23 people who ate at
New Jersey Taco Bells
Sce Taco Bell, page 10A
all umes allows them some
flexibility.
“Mother Nature is calling a
lot of the shots where hurri
canes are concerned,” Harri
son said. “We've taken 1t so
seriously it has become a year
round project for us in our
stores.”
Lowe's has a similar strategy.
“We don't have stuff sitting
around,” saild Dewayne
Branch, store manager of a
Lowe's. “If theres a natural
disaster, we prepare to have
supplies on hand.”
If a hurricane looks like it
might hit a partcular loca
tion, the local stores contact
the command center in the
general offices in Morrisville,
N.C. thn it |()()kcd IIk( a
hurricane might hit near
Bradenton, Branch said the
store sold its share of shutters
and gencrators. But it does
not plan for such boons.
“We don't budget for a hur
ricane,” he said. **We bank
our business on home
improvements.”
world.”
Campbell is survived by
her husband of 22 years
Ellis Gordon, Jr; ber
mother Doris Moore, her
two children, daughter
Maia Campbell, and son,
Ellis Gordon, 111, one son
in-law, Elias Gutierrez, one
daughter-in-law, Monica
Gordon, two granddaugh
ters, Elizabeth Elisha
Gutierrez and Zakariya
Gordon and a host of other
relative and friends.
In licu of flowers, the fam
ily is asking that donations
be sent to two of her
favorites, NAMI — Urban
Los Angeles and The Unit
ed Negro College Fund.
ber of the Casa Grande
Union High School track
team. This year she is a
member ofy Interact, a
Rotary-sponsored service
club (Xr young people.
She loves to sficop. It irri
tates her when store clerks
assume because of her skin
color, she is ;lonc when
shopping with her parents.
']'sgcshga said hcrpfricnds
sometimes ask her if they
are really her mom and
dad.
“l say, 'Yes, they're my
real parents.”