Indiana Gazette from Indiana, Pennsylvania • 5

State Tuesday, October 3, 2006 Page 5 Hit 3iUimia (fourth Brewing company seeks end to deal Report tracks errors by doctors 6y OAJUEL L0VEMM6 AP Busness Writer Pll Pittsburgh Brewing in. ill renew a request for a judge to throw out a labor deal with its bottlers and brewers after the workers' unions unanimously rejected contract concessions over the weekend, a company lawyer said Monday Attorney Roberi Dimpl said I he bankrupt maker of Iron Cii Beer will seek a healing with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge M. Hruce Mel uiiough promptly lo con-Miuv the ciiuri to reject the collective bargaining agreement' reached last year. "I have lo resect the tact that thex're asserting their position, but we have to move lorward." he said.

Pittsburgh Brewing filed for Chapter 11 bankniptc protection in DecemlKT alter tailing to pay $2 5 million in water and sewage hills. It also had defaulted on sewage treatment paj-mentN dating to IW. The company, which has until Oct. If) to tile a reorganization plan, earlier asked the judge to reject the lahor deal But Ytc( id-lough postponed a hearing on the malier in August so thai txuh sides could try to negotiate it new deal. Pittsburgh Brewing will continue to try to negotiate until a hearing is scheduled.

I.ampl added. It was not immediately clear whether the hearing would be scheduled before the reorganization plan deadline later this month. displayed an advertisement for Iron sions, and that certainly was reflected in the vote." he said. "As far as we're concerned, we're working under our current contract." The company's demands included a 5-percent wage cut and the deferral of 30-cent per-hour pay raises until 2009. he said.

The union workers cam an average of $17.40 per hour, he said. Sharkey said "the biggest sore point" was a bid by the company to eliminate a pension fund introduced in 1995. That would leave workers with only a 401 Investigators: Dispatchers gave information to robber "GREAT TEACHERS are ihe first ami most important component in any sttccessjul educational setting, and we know that students of btKird-certified teachers achieve at higher levels. Gerald Zahorchafc, state Education Secretary State unveils teacher Training centers BRIEFS Ftmh fiazatte wira aanrlc Man, 80, sentenced in prostitution deal PITTSBURGH lAP) An 80-year-old man was sentenced iu six to 18 months in jail for giving crack cocaine lo a prostitute tor sex. followed by probation lor a year.

"I'd like lo say I sorry," told Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey A. Manning on Monday. "I know have to pay something tor it." Cocco's lamer. Martha H. Bailor, argued thai he should be spared jail because he suffers from an aortic aneurysm.

Me has vascular surgery scheduled in January. Bailor filed a petition tor immediate parole, which Manning indicated he was inclined to grant. Police arrested Cnccu on Nov. and again Rb. 4.

In July, he pleaded guilty lo possessing cocaine with intent to deliver. Police arrest 51 after investigation AI.T(X)NA (API A six-month investigation led to the arrests of 51 people on drug and related charges Monday, including a man awaiting trial in a homicide. John Mease. 26. of Alioona.

was in already jail, awaiting trial in Cambria County tor homicide in the April shooting death of 22 year-old lames 'tucker IV. ot Alioona. Monday's charges include possessing and delivering crack cocaine. Some drugs were brought into Blair County and central Pennsylvania from New York City, state Attorney Ceneral lorn Corbell and District Attorney Richard Cnnsigliu said. Authorities had 34 people in custody Monday and 17 suspects were at large.

Man escapes boarding house fire AMJ-NT0WN (AP) A man leaped from a third-story window early Monday to escape a blaze at a boarding house that displaced more than 2(1 residents, authorities said. f-'irefighters used ladders and an aerial truck to rescue second- and third-floor residents of the Hotel Grand in downtown Allentown. About 10 people, including the resident who jumped, were taken to hospitals for treatment of smoke inhalation and minor injuries, tire department spokesman Robert Schcirer said. "When I opened my door. I got hit with a wall of heat and flames (that) were shinning up," said resident Agustin Cxrdero.

who had moved into his second-floor room Sunday. The cause of the fire has not been determined. Officials said the blaze caused about SI 01). (KID in damage. Residents lose court appeal WASHINGTON AP; Pennsylvania residents who were fed up with damage to their property by elk tailed Monday to persuade the U.S.

Supreme Court to consider their claim that state game officials mm pled on their constitutional rights. lustices refused to accept an appeal from a man who killed an elk that was hungrily eyeing his apple trees. Robert l-loyd was prosecuted and found not guilty ot violating state law that limits when and where people may shoot elk. Floyd and four central Pennsylvania residents who complained that elk caused "horrific and expensive destruction to their property" sued state game officials for violating free speech and properly rights in the course of the investigation lhal followed the shooting. J.

ftWUUt Associated Press City beer Monday in Pittsburgh. retirement plan, he said. Union workers argued that the company had not demonstrated that the concessions it sought were necessary. But attorneys for both sides said they hoped to negotiate their own settlement rather than wait for a court ruling that might bring unexpected consequences. Workers have blamed management for the brewery's financial problems.

Tracey Taylor Perles. a spokeswoman for the brewery, said only that the company was evaluating its options. Authorities said they made deals to share in the proceeds of the planned robberies with the man identified in court documents only as "IB to whom they provided the privileged information. "These defendants deliberately undermined the work of the very officers they were supposed to be supporting," Mee-ban said. Bradley worked as a dispatcher from March 2003 until she was fired in February.

Mitchell, who has worked as a dispatcher from 2001 until the present, also will be fired, Mee-han said. A police department spokeswoman said she was not aware of the case and had no immediate comment. If convicted. Bradley faces a maximum sentence of 80 years in prison and a $1 million fine; Mitchell faces a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, authorities said. Neither of the women had listed phone numbers and it was not immediately clear whether they had attorneys.

-B TEETH 98 Charck SI, latfiua 7Z4-MM3M WWWLtfttMtt.CMI KM By PATRICK WAITERS Associated iess Writer PHI I Al H-U'l I Rjmc errors nude by dot tors, including tests ordered too late or not at all and failure to create lulkiw up plans. pta ed role in nearly tU percent ot cases in which patients were allegedly bun by missed or de-Lied diagnoses, a study found. Researchers in the study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Monday, reviewed AO? closed medical malpractice claims, )Ht ut which allegedly involved diagnostic errors that ended up harming patients. A large majority of those cums involved various types of cancer. While researchers acknowledged iliat most claims involved several factors, they said major ones included mistakes by doctors: failure to order appropriate diagnostic tests 1 1 00 cases: failure io create a proper tollow-up plan failure to obtain an adequate history or perform an adequate physical examination and incorrect interpretation of tests Doctors not involved with the study said the findings highlight the fact that physician and patients need to err tin the side of caution when it comes to ordering diagnostic tests, keeping detailed records and doing tollow-up.

"It seemed like the bottom line was that the problems were problems thai would occur less if a person was jusi very compulsive or very diligent." said Dr. Steven Sorscher. an oncologist at Washington University Medical School in Si. Umis. "It highlights the fact (hat the causes ol serious errors are often preventable." The study's lead author.

Dr. legal K. Gandhi, director of patient safety at Krigham and Women's 1 luspiial in boston, said the research shim's that doctors could use more help in making decisions. Things Iliat could help include more use ot electronic records, better algorithms for making evaluations and the use of nurse practitioners to help ensure that follow-ups actually occur, she said. "I don't want to say that its not rhc physician's responsibility." Gandhi said.

"We think there could be tools to help physicians make these decisions better." I he study looked at random samples of claims from tour malpractice insurance companies throughout the U.S. "the reviewers were instructed to ignore the outcomes ot the claims, all of which closed between IMH4 and 2004; nearly bO percent of the cases resulted in serious harm and .) percent resulted in death. All involved missed or delayed diagnoses in office settings. More than half of the missed diagnoses involved cancer, primarily breast and colorectal cancer, and biopsies were the test most frequently at issue. Ihe researchers said tin leading factors that contributed to errors included failures in judgment (79 percent), vigilance or memory knowledge t-lti percent), patient -related factors (4b percent) and handoffs (20 Dr.

I.dwurd lngston. chair-elect ot the hnanl of the American Medical Association, said doctors have become more aggressive in recent years as far as ordering tests such as biopsies and colonoscopics, hey also do more screens even when the patient shows no symptoms, he said. hut the study also showed the importance of patients paving close attention lo their care, voicing their opinions and hanging Loved ones with them to appointments to help process information and ask questions, he said. "Communication issues are major issues." said angston. a primary-care doctor in Uifayette, Ind.

The message is we need to take a hard look at what's happening and him- can we decrease il." costume sts 59rowi tacbes THE PITTSBURGH BREWING CO. 1 lie dev. elopment comes a day alter the union unanimously rejected proposed revisions to the five-year contract that included pay and benefit concessions. Members ol two unions representing 13 employees voted to reject ihe proposed changes during a meeting Sunday at Moose Ixxlge 5ttl in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood, said George Sharkey, business agent for one of the unions. "The general sentiment of the rank and tile is that they don't want to give up any conces ahorchak also went to the opening of a center at Gannon University in line on Monday.

Centers at lemple University in Philadelphia and at East Stroudsburg University are to open next week. The board certification process costs $2,500. and federal subsidies currently cover only half the costs, the state Department of Education said. Some of the SI. 2 million in state money will provide teachers with stipends to pay the rest of the amount.

Much of the remaining money will help school districts pay lor subsiitute teachers when board candidates must miss class for their own certification course work. The centers will provide a place for certification candidates to study together and conduct research. Siaff members will help recruit candidates as well as solicit private businesses to help pay for scholarships. Ihe certification process which tan include research, videotaped presentations and testing noticeably improves the classroom experience for students, teacliers and school officials said. deraid Longo.

superintendent of the Quaker Valley School District, said standardized testing and No Child left Behind are important programs "hut when you get right down lo it. it 's the teacher in the classroom thai matters most. 1 hat 's where the rubber hits the mad." PA Vtf- vUXU TiUn HUMANE SOCIETY By MICHAEL COW OCR Associated Press Writer PU'ISHI I State education officials hope lo triple the number of board-certified teachers in Pennsylvania by next fall by setting up four new training centers under a SI. 2 million program, officials announced Monday. hmr universities will receive S75.U00 each in state money to establish "(Lenten for leaching Hxcellence" that will recruit top teachers and train them to earn certification from the National Hoard for Professional Teaching Standards.

"Ureal teachers are the first and most important component in any successful educational setting, and we know that students of hoard-certified teacher achieve at higher levels." said stale ion Secretary Gerald ahorchak. who was in Pittsburgh to unveil a center at Duqucsne University. Only 2SU of Pennsylvania's I approximately UO.OMi teach ers are board-certified, said Za-; hnrchak. I hat's far too tew people with the gold standard." he satd. With the new centers, the state hopes to have mow i certified by October 2W7, he satd.

he effort will focus on recruiting certification candidates trom struggling schools, and early childhood education and secondary math and science teachers will also be targeted, officials said. PHILADELPHIA (AP) Two police department radio dispatchers are facing federal extortion charges after investigators said they provided names and addresses connected to auto license tags to someone they thought was going to rob the homes. Patricia Bradley, 35. and Tamara Mitchell, 38, both civilian dispatchers employed by the Philadelphia Police Department, have been charged with extortion and aiding and abetting, U.S. Attorney Patrick Mee-han said Monday.

The women ran license tags on the police department's computer system and gave the names and addresses connected to those lags to a man they believed was going to rob the residences, according to investigators with the FBI and the city police departments internal affairs division. Investigators said Bradley and Mitchell believed that the vehicles, two registered in Pennsylvania and two in New Jersey, belonged to drug deal- "T)m yuMA ptt fluff yw cm gM VMTcJMMrwifctt i your wm." Tim yay fr rtw moUmf mmpt Mow ftjt Wt yu teth ty rtuuAf B.EJMJtok tyre VENDOR Sue Sfntue P4 INDIANA COUNTY "amis Registration begins at 15 al Bute Spruce Part Lake run will start at p.m Late alk will start at ''05 Please call Norma Tarnotf al 724-349-2292 for more information. INDIANA MIAu "If Jk- (available 1 Philadelphia ST. Suite 100 Indiana 724.349 8808.