Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 105, No. 54, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 5, 1987 Page: 4 of 18
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EDITORIAL
p age i \
THE POLK COUNTY ENTERPRISE
SUNDAY JULY |<M7
Letter to the editor
Thanks, anyway
Weekly Special
Reservists face additional danger
To the editor:
Having lived for 20 years with
•ne foot in Polk County and the
other'n in Liberty County, quite
often I’ve thought of thanking
people through a letter for some
act of kindness they have done for
tne
Right now, I can't think of any
that wasn't accompanied by a hill
demanding prompt payment.
If I’ve forgotten anybody
please forgive me
Boh “Countdown” Roberts
Star Route, Rot; 144
Cleveland
Spritzing hazards
Disgusted upon seeing a plurnp green pepper
turned into forage for slugs, the summer gardener
reaches for the nearest canister of poison. The
label has the Environmental Protection Agency’s
imprimatur, so it must be safe, right? Maybe,
maybe not
According to a recent report from the National
Academy of Sciences, hundreds of pesticides now
on the market were never adequately tested for
safety, and 98 percent of the cancer risk from
pesticides comes from chemicals approved before
1978. Moreover, 45 percent of the U.S. food supply
is not subject to limits on cancer causing
substances.
Another group, the Natural Resources Defense
Council, warns that, under a worst-case scenario,
28 cancer-causing pesticides found in foods could
result in more than 1 million cancers in the next 70
years. And that may be a conservative estimate,
since it doesn’t include many other cancer-
causing pesticides found in food and ground
water.
So why doesn’t the EPA just yank the suspected
culprits from the market? To get rid of any
pesticide, the agency has to go through a com-
plicated regulatory process that, with appeals,
can take as long as a decade. And current law re-
quires the EPA to pay an indemnity to the
manufacturer of a canceled pesticide. The indem-
nity for just one recently outlawed product will
cost the agency as much as $120 million - twice
the annual budget for all of the EPA’s pesticide
programs. No wonder so many hazards remain in
circulation.
Congress made a good stab at reform last year
with compromise legislation that would have (1)
required complete health and safety testing of all
pesticides; (2) streamlined the process for
removing health-threatening products from the
market; and (3) funded expanded staff for the
EPA with user fees from the chemical industry
Unfortunately, the legislation was gutted at the
last minute by special interests and then failed to
pass.
Lawmakers ought to try harder this* year,
building on last year’s compromise. For starters,
they should repeal the unworkable indemnifica-
tion provision, which an EPA official correctly
describes as “a federal insurance policy for
chemical manufacturers.” Also needed are
stronger safeguards against pesticide contamina-
tion of ground water and raw foods.
The issue of pesticide safety does not come
down to a choice between slug-free green peppers
and chemical-free humans. Bather, it’s a matter
of lessening Americans’ dependence on risky pro-
ducts and encouraging the development of safer
alternatives. There are enough chemical killers in
the environment without making them univited
guests at the dinner table.
(Reprinted by permission of The Milwaukee
Journal)
By JACK ANDERSON
and JOSEPH SPEAR
WASHINGTON - Army reservists
who volunteer for the Special Forces
are aware of the risks they face in
their annual active-duty
assignments. It goes with the ter-
i ;tory.
So Leslie Smith of B Company,
11th Special Forces, had no gripe
when he wound up in the hospital
with a knee injury last April. He had
landed hard on a low-level night
parachute drop over West Germany
with his fellow reservists.
It’s what happened while he was
recuperating from knee surgery that
knocked Smith fora loop. Thesharp-
eyed, swivel-chair set at the Pen-
tagon decided that he wasn’t eligible
for incapacitation pay” to compen-
sate for lost wages - because the
coal mine where Smith worked as a
i ivilian had shut down temporarily
not long before his accident.
This, the Army decided, made
Smith unemployed when he suffered
lis .injury, and thus ineligible for
compensation under the Defense
' .authorisation Act of 1967. Under
the Army’s interpretation of the new
law, reservists injured on active du-
ty receive either their Army pay or
the equivalent of their civilian wage
while they recuperate - whichever
is less.
According to that formula, Smith
- or any unemployed reservist who
gets hurt - winds up with the lesser
amount: zero.
Smith, 26, has been in the reserves
for eight years, and refused to com-
ment for fear of retaliation by his
superiors. But other men in his outfit
and members of his family confirm-
ed his predicament. His family pro-
vided our associate Stewart Harris
with medical records that describe
the injury to his left knee and the
subsequent surgery.
“I never would have let him go on
that mission if I knew before what I
know now.” Smith’s wife, Arlene
told us. She said the doctors say he
can’t return to work until October,
even if the mine reopens.
The new rule on incapacitation
pay was proposed by the Army and
passed by Congress last November
in an effort to eliminate inequities
and double-dipping that had occur-
red under the old system. Congress
failed to consider the effect of the
new rule on seasonal workers and
the unemployed.
Nevertheless, a staff aide to the
House Armed Services Committee
said there should be enough latitude
in the new law to compensate reser-
vists whose injuries keep them from
finding work. The Army's inter-
pretation may be too narrow, he
said.
Douglas tamude, an Army com-
pensation specialist who worked
with Congress on the law, said the
Army was well aware that
unemployed reservists would not be
paid under the new regulation. The
Army’s reasoning, he said, was,
“How can we pay them back for
something they did not lose?”
But Lamude said his office is
working on a change that would let
seasonal workers collect incapacita-
tion pay based on their annual in-
comes, regardless of their job status
at the time of injury.
Footnote: Senate Majority leader
Robert Byrd, D-W. Va., has taken an
interest in his constituent’s case.
This may help to explain why the Ar-
ftMnswoiecouNioN,
‘■my appears to have changed its
mind. Family members say the Ar-
my is now planning to pay Smith
after his old employer wrote a letter
stating that, even though the mine
remains closed, Smith would be put
to work on a maintenance job if he
weren't incapacitated.
WHITE HOUSE PIPELINE:
What are people calling the White
House about these days? According
to an internal memorandum
prepared by the so-called “Com-
ments Office” at the Executive Man-
sion, 9,003 persons called during the
month of May - an average of 490
each working day. Most came from
people who were seeking relief from
personal problems. A sizable
number - 812 - called “just to say
how they love and admire the presi-
dent.”
But what issues are on people’s
minds? Here’s a rundown on what’s
behind closed doors at the White
House:
-The greatest number of callers
during May wanted to urge the
president to pardon former
Republican Rep. George Hansen.
The Idaho politico was convicted of
filing false financial disclosure
statements and is serving time In
federal prison in Petersburg, Va.
-The next hottest item was the
bombing of the U.S. frigate Stark.
Almost 600 people called to express
their outrage.
-Third most important to the
callers were the Iran-contra hear-
ings still going on in Congress. Sur-
prisingly, 430 of these callers were
characterized as "negative,’’ accor-
ding to the White House memo.
Other issues that were bothering
White House callers had to do with
assisting the Nicaraguan contras,
stationing U.S. ships in the Persian
Gulf and putting Kuwaiti ships
under American flags to protect
them.
An interesting footnote: During
the month of May, according to the
document, President Reagan sent
greetings to 857 people celebrating
their 100th birthdays.
CONFIDENTIAL FILE: The
North Koreans are quietly spreading
word to diplomats in Pyongyang
that American servicemen in South
Korea have spread AIDS to the coun-
try’s 400,000 prostitutes. (American
servicemen are obviously believed
to be very active.) The point of the
whispering campaign is to raise
fears about the 1988 Olympics
scheduled to be held in Seoul.
Sen. Roy Blake Reports
Excess space available for prisoners
By SEN. ROY BLAKE
During the regular session, we
spent a great deal of time working
on issues involving prisons. As you
know, there have been numerous
.i' tes when tin- Texas Department
ot Corrections lias had to dose its
doors because its population exceed-
ed 95 percent of its capadty. In case
you wonder why the Department
cannot accept new inmates after it
has reached 95 percent of capadty,
that figure stems from an order that
was issued by a federal court.
While our prisons are full, we have
a number of mental health and men-
tal retardation institutions thst have
considerable excess space. This has
not resulted from the fact that we
have fewer Texans who are mental-
ly ill or mentally retarded, because
we have more than ever before. The
excess space results from another
federal court order that requires the
Texas Department of Mental Health
and Mental Retardation
(TDMHMR) to deinstitutionalize
large numbers of its residents. Com
munity and area baaed centers have
sprung up all across the state in
response to the court order.
Rusk State Hospital is one
TDMHMR institution that has seen
its census decline significantly. The
hospital is located on approximately
1000 acres of land, and was the site of
the first penitentiary in Texas.
Cherokee County Judge Emmett
Whitehead who is a former member
of the Texas House of Represen-
tatives came up with a plan to utilize
part of the Rusk State Hospital to
house and treat mentally ill inmates
of the Texas Department of Correc-
tions. Representative Cliff Johnson
of Palestine and I introduced legisla-
tion which we Anally pased which
will accomplish this. Senator Ray
Farabet of Wichita Falla has two
TDMHMR institutions In the district
he represents, one in Vernon and one
in Wichita Falla, both of which also
have considerable vacant apace. He.
and Lt Governor Bill Hobby both
became intonated. In our legisla-
tion, because of the promise that it
would provide greater utility of
available aapce, would eaaa prison
crowding, and would save money.
Under provMona of the bill, the
maximum security unit at Rurti
State Hospital, which houses people
^0
stand trial will be turned over te the
The catchment area of the hospital
has been expanded to include Harris
County, and this will increase the
census and allow greater utilization
of vacant space.
Current maintenance, laundry,
and food service workers will pro-
vide services for both facilities. One
of the complaints made to the
federal court was that mentally ill
prisoners were not receiving proper
treatment. The Department of Cor-
rections was considering construc-
ting a new facility to house and mat
mentally ill inmates. Passage of our
bill should eliminate that need, and
save a considerable amount of
money
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POLK COUNTY
ENTERPRISE
ALVIN HOLLEY, PUBLISHER
Telephone Number 327-4357
USPS 437-340
Entered as Second-Class Matter at the Post Office at i jvingston, Texas
77351 under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1987.
EDITORIAL DEP ARTMENT
Barbara Whitf Editor
Beatrice Hall, Special Correspondent
Van Thomas, Sports Editor
Greg Peak, Area News Editor
Don Hendrix, Special Sections Editor
Diana Campbell, Reporter
Kenneth Schmidt, Photographer
PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT
Pressman Personnel
Beamon Goodwin, Roger Holder
Composition Personnel
Dorothy WUson, Compoattkin Supervisor
Valerie Lenox, Assistant Supervisor
Martha O'Bannon, Typeugrapher
CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT
Feiieta Fiscal, Ctrcuiathn Supervisor
Terri Sue Cagle, Fatuna Rudrtqun
ADVERTISING DEPARTMENT
Uada HuUe.v, Ad Manager
Mary Ju Watson, Susan lauding, Paul Colima
• aula Jacobs, Classified Manager
Pally Hanhord
ROUttKEEPlNG DEPARTMENT
Uwculh Mbit Mtwtttftr
Dtanu Fiscal Barbara WDaun, Stephwua Wahora
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 105, No. 54, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 5, 1987, newspaper, July 5, 1987; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth810537/m1/4/: accessed June 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.