Daily Sitka Sentinel from Sitka, Alaska • Page 2

Page 2, Silka Daily Sentinel, Sitka, Alaska, Monday, April 23,1990 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Lebanese Release WoodhOUSC As far as young irccs doing a better s-v A One U.S. Hostage Dear Editor: Virginia (Ginny) Cushing's lelter lo the editor in the April 17 edition of this newspaper was excellent. The school district has never Had a more dedicated individual who was willing to give so many extra countless hours of her own time over 25 years with no remuneration -beyond and above the call! If she had been paid duly for hard work, time spent and knowledge, Ginny would no have yearly gathered more than 'Mr. Woodhouse's annual salary and other bcnefils. Concerning Supt.

Woodhouse's re- 'tirement from the school district, his personal gain has been well padded his usual smooth talk, manipulation and cleverness wilh the school board. The from page article in the April 9 edition of the Daily Sentinel tilled "Vacation Pay Adds Up For Departing Official" atlcsts to this. To make whal could be a long lelter short, I. well remember Mr. Woodhouse's short speech at a retirement dinner for another retiring administrator of several years ago.

In retrospect he said "If you can't speak well of someone, say nothing al all." With that in mind, I will close. Rich Teague, Sitka Finney Response 'Dear Editor: I found the April 19 Forest Service Dissident Employees and Don Finney's leller lo the editor interesting and veiy contrasting view points. Where Mr. Finney purports a rosy vigor in our forest and forest industry, I read a much different from our timber managers Jfrom Forest Service employees lo the chief, Dale Robertson. Mr.

Finney goes on aboul ihe oul- standing record of environmental awareness and commitrnenl lo help the environment by industry. But Forest Service supervisors say we have lost sight of the original goal of stewardship. It's odd ihe industry feels so good aboul ihe environment when our forest managers are ques- lioning the management direction of the same forest lands. Mr. Finney uses data from his allies to say the U.S.

still has more than 70 percent of die forest lands we had Columbus discovered the New I.Wqrld. Great news sir, especially in light of timber shortages in ihe NprthwesU Those up and coming tree farms are great habitat by golly, diverse as a com field. Just to shed another light on trees left, Ihe Native Forest Council estimates only 5 percent virgin old growlh remaining from As far as young trees doing a better job for the environment, I guess it depends on whose environs we're talking about. As far as salmon, deer and some others, old growth is belter and necessary for their well being and population levels. The chief of the Forest Service slates, "There's a change going on in society and the Forest Service can't just ignore that.

We intend to be more environmentally responsible." It's truly about time we grasp the whole and work toward true multi-use, sustained yield forest practices with stewardship taking its place as a guiding principle once again. I'm not going to bow down to the forest products industry on Earth Day as Mr. Finney suggests. I'll work for changes necessary to help bring about a Earth though. Where we share life's abundances with all its inhabitants.

John Murray, Sitka In Response Dear Editor: I would like to comment on the letter to the editor from Don Finney, general manager of the Alaska Loggers Association, which appeared in die Thursday, April 19, 1990, issue of the Sentinel. Mr. Finney's comments are very interesting, but they have a "Mad Hatter" ring lo them. For Mr. Finney to suggcsl lhai Ihe two pulp mills in Alaska are "committed lo taking action to help the environment," is condescending lo the general public; and offensive to anyone with any sort of knowledge of the affairs which led up to the mills' alleged "environmental awareness." Past issues of Ihe Sentinel show lhal both pulp mills have been continual violaiors of clean air and waler standards, as well as having committed a mulliludc of worker safely violations.

Only through complaints, lodged by the public, and court action initialed by die regulators, have the.mills been "dragged, kicking and screaming" toward environmental compliance. Mi. Finney also suggests that, somehow, "old growth" trees USE, rather than produce oxygen. This is gibberish. My only reply lo this suggestion is dial perhaps Mr.

Finney should have, "more lea!" Mr. Finney appears lo be reaching the "breaking point." Instead of celebrating Earlh Day, perhaps some time spent quieilyv.rin darkened i Millions Around World Celebrate Earth Day the original vast forest before Colum- would 'be-more WEATHER Sitka Forecast lijostly cloudy light winds and 'temps in the upper 40s today. A 30 percent chance of showers. Tonight and Tuesday, a 50 percent chance of 'showers, winds westerly at 15 mph and temperatures in the 40s. Alaska Temps Annclle.fair Barrow.partlycldy Bcthcl.fair Cordova.cloudy Homerjnissing Kenai.clcar KingSalmon.cloudy Kodiak.panlycldy McGrath Nome.clear PrudhocBay.doudy St.Paul,drizzle :Talkeetna.c!car High, 57, at Wasillj 52 52 12 44 42 44 45 45 50 49 49 50 50 50 44 is 49 3049 20 34 48 47 52 51 49 35" 37 05 26 31 30 32 32 37 25 42 34 35 32 36 10 34 18 35 12 32 34 40 28 37 30 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.04 0.18 0.01 I 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.00" Anchorage Merrill Field tiw, 5 above, al Cape Lisbumc, Barrow Sitka Weather Temperatures ranged from 40 to 48 degrees and rainfall measured .18 inches, in the 24 hours ending mid- nightjast night, reports Sitka Flight Service Station.

The barometer was al 29.71 and steady. Sunup was 5:33 a.m. and sunset will be 8:28 p.m: Nation's Weather Unseasonably warm weather prevailed in much of the nation today, though severe thunderstorms threatened to cause more damage in the South, Southeast and the Plains. Temperatures were expected to edge up into the 70s and 80s in many places today and Tuesday. But clouds and showers were expected to keep temperatures down in the Rockies and the Northwest, while a cold front moving southward through New England was bringing cooling Northeast winds.

On Sunday, thunderstorms in Florida spawned a tornado in Jacksonville and winds that downed trees and power lines around the town of Bunnell. Thunderstorms in Mississippi produced golf ball-size hail at D'Iberville and in.Jackson County on Sunday. Thunderstorms in Oklahoma produced golf ball-size hail at Cheyenne. Showers associated with a 'cold frorit were over the northern and central Rocky Mountain region. Showers associated with another cold front were over Ihe northern and central Pacific Coast region.

Chamberlain and Pickslon, S.D., recorded the high temperatures for Ihe Lower 48 states 94 degrees. Albany.N.Y. Albuquerque Ajnarillb Austin Baltimore Billings Birmingham Boise Boston Buffalo Burlington.Vt. Cispcr Charlcston.W.Ya. Cheyenne Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Columbia Columbus.Ohio Dtllu-HWonh Dayton Denver DcsMoines Detroit ElPalo Hvansville Fargo Flagstaff GrandRapids GrcatFalls Greensboro JV.C.

Hartford Meleni Honolulu'' Houston Indianapolis IU1 HI 67 78 78 77 78 87 72 73 81 62 55 55 66 70 74 78 74 73 74 66 83 73 83 70 77 SI 69 84 78 89 63 71 69 73 72 64 86 85 71 I .1 Lo 50 51 56 52 61 69 48 48 53 47 47 45 42 41 44 53 41 49 49 37 49 41 67 46 47 59 44 61 49 67 32 42 48 45 46 44 73 69 50 cm I'rc Otlk clr cdy clr .02 cdy cdy clr cdy .10 clr cdy clr .06 clr clr cdy cdy clr clr clr clr cdy clr cdy cdy cdy cdy .06. cdy cdy cdy clr .12 rn clr cdy cdy i pa KansasCity LasVcgas LittlcKock LosAngclcs Louisville Memphis Miamillcach Milwaukee Mpls-StPaul NewOrleans NewYorkCily Norfolk Nonhl'latlc OklahomaCity Omaha Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix PtilslHirgh Ponland.Orc. Provider! oj RapidCity Richmond Sacramento StLouis SallLakcCtly SanAntonio SanDicgo SanFrancisco SantaFc Seattle SiouxFalls Spokane Tampa-StPtrsbg Topcki Tucson Tulsa Washinglon.D.C. Wichita Wilminglon.Dcl. 84 83 .79 71 76 86 78 67 81 86 73 64 88 83 85 86 71 89 72 57 66 85 73 70 80 69 86 68 61 in 57 89 53 83 84 88 85 72 84 70 65 60 63 60 5 1 62 69 51 62 63 57 47 56 62 62 63 67 41 50 43 46.

'45 56 63 48 70 57 56 43 48 63 47 63 62 59 65 50 64 49 cdy clr ..08 cdy cdy cdy cdy cdy cdy cdy .36 cdy clr clr cdy .29 clr clr clr .48 cdy clr cdy clr .68 cily cdy .02 cdy .02 cily clr .48 cdy .13 cily .06 cily clr cdy clr cdy clr cdy clr FRANKFURT, West Germany (AP) The first American released by pro-Iranian Lebanese captors in nearly 3'A years, a frail-looking Robert Polhill, walked slowly off a plane today after winning freedom wilh the aid of Syria and Iran. Doctors who later examined Polhill at a U.S. military hospital in nearby Wiesbaden said he was malnourished and mildly dehydrated. "He is alert, stable, ambulatory and somewhat tired," said a medical bulletin based on Polhill's first two hours in the hospital. "Although he appears to be in relatively good shape, he is malnourished and mildly dehydrated." The statement said doctors would also make an evaluation of Polhill's diabetes, which he has had for 25 years.

Polhill arrived at the hospital saying he was hungry, and quickly downed a breakfast of grapefruit, scrambled eggs, bacon, English muffins, milk and coffee. The 55-year-old educator's release Sunday after 1,182 days of captivity was followed by a reported call by Iran's foreign minister for a swift reciprocal move freedom for a Shiile Moslem cleric kidnapped by Israeli troops in July. President Bush thanked Iran and Syria whose military forces in Lebanon picked up Polhill in west Beirut and drove him to the Syrian capital of Damascus for their help in securing the release. But the president said he would make no deals witii the pro-Iranian Shiile Moslem militants in Lebanon still holding 17 Western hoslages, seven of them Americans. An Iranian newspaper close to that country's president, Hashemi Rafsan- jani, loday called on the Lebanese kidnappers to release another American hostage immediately and withoul conditions.

Rafsanjani is among so-called pragmatic Iranian leaders seeking better relations with the West and the Bush administration has expressed a willingness to improve tics if the hostage crisis is settled. Polhill, a New Yorker, looked extremely frail today and was hunched over as he came down the steps of the U.S. Air Force C-141 at Rhcin-Main air base in a cold rain, supported by two airmen. He was dressed in a military camouflage jacket and carried a football given lo him as "a touch of America" under one arm during tbc short walk lo a military van. About two dozen people nearby applauded, and the gaunt Polhill responded with a wave.

A helicopter whisked the freed hostage and his Lebanese wife, Feryal, to a U.S. military hospital in nearby Wiesbaden. "Welcome home, pray for the others," read one banner hung outside Ihe hospital, where Polhill was to undergo a medical examination and debriefing by U.S. intelligence agents. Military spokesman Cmdr.

John Woodhouse said Polhill's stay al ihe hospital, which has received other freed U.S. hostages, could be anywhere from "a couple of days lo a few weeks." Though pale and apparently fatigued, Polhill managed to joke with reporters shortly after being luracd over lo U.S. Ambassador Edward Djcrejian in Syria. "The firsl thing I'd like lo say is lhal I'm sony I kept you waiting so long," he told a news conference at the Syrian Foreign Ministry. "Thir- ly-nine months is a long time lo stand here." Lithuania Girds Up for Economic Blockade VILNIUS, U.S.S.R.

(AP) -Lithuanian President Vylautas Lancjs- bergis said loday lhal Mikhail S. Gor- bachev is slaking everydiing on the Lithuanian crisis by not excluding the use of Soviet troops in ihe Baltic re- Lilfyiia- cnl, the Supreme Council, i 'emergency' plans to deal with mass layoffs expected in the republic because of die Kremlin's economic blockade. The republic of 3.8 million began its firsl full work week since ihe Soviet president cut off supplies of oil, natural gas and olhcr raw materials lo the republic, which declared independence on March 11. Vilnius', main ihouroughfare, Ged- It's military madness. Force is always a real threat as long as there is no willingness to use politics.

If they use force in Lithuania, it means they would be prepared to use force in the world." i parliamentary Larids- bergis 'later Told' that" by refusing to rule out the'use of force, Gorbachev was slaking everything. The Lithuanian president used card- players' slang that Gorbachev was "playing the bank" literally risking all. "There are signs from the U.S.S.R. that raise Landsbergis added, according to Ms. to Ms.

Dapkus. "President Gorbachev is being placed in the artificial position that plays the imma Street, was practically devoid of role of pulling ihe resl of the world vehicles today as Lithuanians Strug- into a dilemma of whom to support gled with gasolipe rationing that lim- Lilhuania or Gorbachev." its them lo aboul seven gallons per month! Bus service among cities also was curtailed sharply. On Sunday Lithuania halted exports to Soviet republics and foreign customers, claiming Moscow was imposing a total embargo. But also Sunday, a visiting Soviel official denied any general blockade existed. The British Broadcasting meanwhile, quoted Gorbachev's senior military adviser, Marshall Sergei Akhromeycv, as saying ihe Red Army won'l hesitate to use force lo crush illegal protests in Lithuania.

"If die Lithuanian separatists break the law, Ihcn we will take measures lo enforce the'law. I am noi afraid of using force if necessary," he said in Ms. Dapkus said Landsbergis called this "an artificial ploy." Soviel troops have used force twice already, lo round up Lithuanian arrny deserters and lo occupy a Vilnius printing plant. In Moscow, Arkady Maslennikov, Gorbachev's press secretary, said today ihe Kremlin mighl negotiate wilh Lilhuania if il freezes ils declaration of independence for two years. an interview for broadcast on the BBC's "Panorama" program.

asked about Akhromeycv's comments; Lithuanian President Vy- lautas Landsbergis (old "We musl worry about such insanity. But Maslennikov made it clear the breakaway republic also have to admjt it is subject lo the Soviet Constilulion. Lithuanian leaders refuse to do that, saying the republic was forcibly annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940. Soviet leaders are willing to talk to Lithuanian officials if they acknowledge jurisdiction of the Soviet Constitution "either by rescinding or freezing" the independence decisions, Maslennikov said at a press briefing. Ethiopia Rebels Say Gov't.

Bombs Kill 50 NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) Government warplanes dropped cluster bombs in iwo raids on the guerrilla- held Red Sea port of Massawa, killing 50 civilians and wounding 110, Elhiopian rebels said today. The Eritrcan People's Liberation From said it expected Ihe death toll to rise from' Sunday's attacks as most of the wounded were in "very bad con- dilion," according lo a clandestine radio report monitored in ihe Kenyan capital of Nairobi. About 50 houses were destroyed in ihe mid-morning and early evening raids, the radio said. The rcbcl-oncralcd Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea gave no fur- Ihcr details of the air strikes, the latest since secessionist guerrillas captured Massawa' from government forces in February. The report on the air raids could noi be independently verified.

Massawa' is one of Iwo strategic harbors that traditionally handle mosi of Ethiopia's trade and relief supplies for millions of people threatened with starvation in the face of war, drought and poor harvests. The Erilrcan Front has been fighting for control of Elhiopia's norlh- crnmosl province since 1961, a year afler (he former Italian colony lost political autonomy and was forcibly annexed by the late Emperor Hailc Selassie as a province. Rebels hold other towns and villages in Eritrea and, with backing from other guerrilla armies, are seeking lo overthrow Marxist President Mcngistu Hailc Mariam. The rebel radio has reported several previous raids by warplanes dropping cluster bombs am! napalm on civilians. They have been denied by the Addis Ababa government.

Israel has been accused of supplying the cluster bombs, which contain dox.cns of smaller grenade-like bomblcls that hurl shrapnel over wide areas. Both Israel and Ethiopia have denied these claims. By DAVID ItRIGGS Associated Press Writer An estimated 200 million people all over the planet celebrated the 20lh anniversary of Earth Day as activists pleaded for the rise of a new "conservation generation" to care for the fragile environment. Even as a hot air. balloon representing the Earth rose in Times Square and tens of thousands demonstrated al the U.S.

Capitol on Sunday, some worried about sustaining intercsl in Ihe environment so thai it becomes more than a fad. "Earlh Day is primarily a light we turn on so that we can see the work. The work is still ycl to be done," said novelist Wallace. Slcgncr, who led a pledge of allegiance lo the Earth in Palo Allo, where Earth Day has ils headquarters. In Washington, Earlh Day founder Gaylord Nelson urged more than 100,000 people massed at the foot of ihe Capilol io work lo moiivale politicians and corporate leaders to environmental action.

"I don't wani lo come back here 20 years from now and have to tell your sons and daughters thai you didn't do your duty," said Nelson, 74, who originated Earlh Day when he was a senator from Wisconsin. "We've gol lo raise a conscrvaiion generation." Earth Day was celebrated in more than 3,600 U.S. communities and in 140 other nations, according to organizers. Environmentalists collected tons of garbage from Japanese beaches, sculpted a gianl thermometer from a French glacier lo prolcst global warming and carried a globe on a stfelchcr, symbolizing a sick Earlh, in a parade in Hong Kong's Iwin cily. of Kowloon.

Dire warnings aboul Ihe planet's future also were issued in rallies and demonsu'alions ihroughoul ihc United Staies. "Widiin 50 years, if we don't change the way we do diings, we won'l recognize Eardi," consumer activisl Ralph Nader lold a crowd of aboul 1,000 al Norlh Carolina Slate University in Raleigh. In New Orleans, nearly 1,000 "mourners" walchcd as a band played dirges in a jazz funeral for pol- lulcd Lake Pontchartram, where envi- ronmentalists have found evidence of "dead zones" areas that no longer support aqualic life. In the nation's capitol, environmental activists blasted President Bush for bypassing the rally to go fishing in Florida. "Where is the president, today? He's gone fishing! Caplan, executive director of "the Environmental Action Foundation.

Bush took a break from his fishing trip in the Florida Keys to give what he calls a "point of light" award to the citizens group Reef Relief, which is working' to save the coral reef flanking the Keys. In Missouri, thousands of-volunteers got down on hands and knees Sunday to plant 10,000 trees along the Mississippi River. "The thing that was so incredible was that it was obvious people w.anted to do this kind of thing. This'is envi- ronmeKial awareness in aclion," said Skip Kincaid, urban forester for the Missouri Department of Conservation. Pennsylvania Gov.

Robert P. Casey led an "All Species in Philadelphia, playing the pied piper to children in animal costumes made from recycled materials. Youngsters dressed up as trees or animals in Carbondale, III. "Earth Day will not save the Earlh it will take several generations of hard work to save the Earth. So that starts with children," said eycnt organizer'.

Gary Wolf. In New York, an estimaled 1 million people turned lo the greenest part of Central for aeon- cert that included performances, by Hall and Gates, the B-52's, the Roches and the Saturday Night tive Band. Concerts also drew hundreds of thousands to Earth Day activities; in Boston and San Francisco. The day also had ils critics. Earth Day activities represent the "fad stage of issue-awareness cycles," said Steven Lamy, an associate professor of inlcrhalional relations at the Univcrsily of Southern California.

After ihe euphoria "comes the awareness of how much a real' corn- mitmcnl will cosl in time, convenience and money," "That's the stage of cycle when the public lends lo lose and when concern of the issue reverts back to experts." Earth Day Crowd Collects MtssngeBut Nt: Garbage: BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) Old habils die hard, even for the environ- menially aware. After Earth Day 1990 aclivilics Sunday, ihe grounds of the old slate capitol and the Cenlroplex auditorium were strewn with beer soda cups, hamburger' wrappers and other rubbish. "You're not going to change people's actions overnight," said local Earth Day chairman Paul Davidson. "I'd like to think it's cleaner than at past festivals, but I don't know." City worker Bonnie Miles and his seven-member cleanup crew worked for three hours, filling about 65 trash bins lo overflowing.

Early Day Hollywood Actress Paulette Goddard, 84, Dies (AP)-- Pauletle Goddard, a leading Hollywood actress in the 1930s and 1940s who starred in two of her husband Charlie Chaplin's most popular films, died at her home in southern Switzerland loday, aulhpr- ities said. She was 84. The cause of death has not been determined yet, said Pia DellaMora, a municipal employee in Ronco, Switzerland, where Ihe actress had her villa. A household member said she had suffered a brief illness. Ms.

Goddard is listed in reference books as having been born in 1922, bui officials said loday her year of birth was recorded as 1905, making her 84. Ms. Goddard, born Marion Levy in Whiteslone, N.Y., began her career on stage in New York before she went to Hollywood. Her firsl appearance was in "The Girl Habil" in 1931. Il was lo be the first of more than 40 movies.

She starred in two of Charlie Chap- lip's best-known films, "Modem Times" and "The Great Dictator." Their marriage, her second, ended in divorce in 1942. Her other films included "Dramatic School," "Nothing but the Truth," "I Love a Soldier" and a British pro- Alaska Air Has 1st Quarter Loss (AP) Alaska Air Group, owner of Alaska and Horizon airlines, lost $2.1 million or 21 cents a share for the firsl quarter of 1990, the company announced. Bruce Kennedy, chairman and chief executive officer, blamed the loss on fewer passengers, expansion into the Mexican, market, higher fuel prices and a corporate restructuring. The losses, on revenues of $230.8 million, compare with net earnings of $6.4 million or 40 cents a share on revenues of $197.7 million for the same period of 1989. The loss for first-quarter 1990 includes $990,000 for dividends on a new issue of preferred stock.

Kennedy said first-quarter 1989 was a record. The company also won a 1.5 million lawsuit in the period. duclion, "An Ideal last TV film was "The Snoop Sisters" in 1972. Her third marriage, to' American actor Burgess Meredith, brpke-'up in 1944. In she married' Erich Maria Remarque, the German-born novelist who became famous for his anti-war "All Quid on the Western Front." They settled in Ronco, a picturesque hillside village close to the Italian fronlier and overlooking Lago died in services were planned, for Thursday, Ms.

DellaMora said: DAILY SITKA SENTINEL Thad Poulson Managing Publishedby Verstovia Corporation, wholly owned in Sitka, daily except Saturday and Sunday at 112 Barracks Street, Silka, Alaska Mail address: Box 799. Subscription rates: Three months $20 Six months $35 One Inquire for mailed National ad v' Branham, Inc. Member of The Associated Press. Second class mail. Postage paid at Sitka, Alaska.

USPS 146-160 Phone (907) 747-3219. Send address changes to Daily Sitka Sentinel, Box 799, Silka, Alaska 99835..