The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 42

A8 Akron Beacon Journal bd Wednesday, August 14, 1985 WORLD AND NATION Social Security benefits program turns 50, and boy has it grown IM LBLRDEF Illinois nun files suit to stop greeting card A Roman Catholic nun has filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago to prevent distribution of a greeting card that she says features her photograph and a "filthy, seamy and degrading verse." Sister Candida Lund, chancellor of Rosary College in IJ-" 4 1 River Forest, is pressing ahead with 1 i ii li'uuii i.m. puwiutn.i vuiiityi nia Dreamers Inc. of Chicago, has withdrawn the card, apologized and offered to discharge' and some use it to mean 'date of Unfortunately, we're not mind readers." Accustomed to criticism and complaints ranging from the philosophical foundation of the system to day-to-day operations, Jencik is staunch in his defense of the agency. "You know, we've still got a frontier mentality in this country, to a great extent. We settled the land and drove off the Indians and we have this great belief in self-reliance, that everyone should be able to fend for himself.

But the elderly and the retired and the disabled and their families and survivors have a right to live decent lives. "I sometimes think it's a wonder we. ever got this social program off the ground. I have to wonder about people who talk about scrapping the system because it's just too important to the country. Look at all those billions of dollars," Jencik said.

rate is 11.8 percent, to a maximum of $4,672.80. Jencik said problems occasionally arise processing claims, "And when it's a problem you can't correct easily, you say, 'Boy, I wish that hadn't One of the most frequent problems is that employers don't have earnings records. In that case, Jencik said, it can take as long as a year to solve the problem because most records today are in computers and, "It can take that long getting the computers to 'talk' to one another." Another common problem is terminating benefits to someone thought to be deceased or continuing to send benefit checks to someone who is deceased, Jencik said. The reason for those errors is that hospitals have not standardized the use of the initials "DOD," Jencik said. "Some of them use DOD to mean 'date of free-enterprise business.

When the economy is good, we have no problem making (benefit) payments. When it's bad and unemployment is high, we don't take in as much as we need and, like business, we have to raise our prices, so to speak, and ask for greater contributions," he said. In contrast to the late 1970s when a national recession forced the system to borrow money for the first time in its history to pay benefits, the system today is well funded, Jencik said. In fact, he said, administration officials say that if the nation's current economic health persists a while longer, the system could accumulate a large surplus that could mean smaller contributions from workers. Workers currently pay 7.05 percent of their gross incomes into the system, up to a maximum of $2,791.80 a year.

Employers match the amount contributed. For self-employed workers, the i I donate any profits from the card to the I 1 I Dominican order, her attorney, William Linklater, said Tuesday. She's "very upset," he said. "She's very embarrassed. She's very humiliated." The card bears a formal black and white photograph of a nun seated in a Sister Land chair, with the words, "It's all right if you kiss me." Inside, it adds, "So long as you don't get in the habit." In the lawsuit filed last week against the firm, she charges California Dreamers with invasion of privacy and misappropriating the picture, presenting her in a false light, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

HAIL STORM HITS KANSAS TOWN: A highway was blocked, homes were damaged and power lines were downed Tuesday night when hail driven by strong winds into 3-foot drifts covered Logan, about 20 miles south of the Nebraska border. A one-mile section of State Road 9 east of Logan was blocked by 3-foot drifts for about two hours, the Highway Patrol said. Heavy rain and strong winds preceded the hail, which ranged from pea-sized to golfball-sized. Hail broke windows of cars and homes, and winds of up to 70 mph drove water inside basements, authorities said. ESTES FACES SEX ASSAULT CHARGE: Continued from page Al Security cards issued to them.

Jencik said the most common complaint he hears in general about the agency is that it burdens young workers by requiring them to pay the government money that is passed on to people who have retired from the work force. He said he replies that, "People have to realize" that this is a social program. It's not an investment program." But he said he also points out that today a person recovers all the money he has contributed within seven years, "and you can't buy that kind of (insurance) coverage on the open market." To those who prophesy that the system is inevitably doomed to collapse because of economic forces, Jencik says, "That would be true if the system existed in a vacuum, but it doesn't. "We're tied directly to the American economy the same as Survivor recalls 'big noise' Continued from page Al plane's two flight recorders, and maritime officials announced two more pieces of aircraft debris had been found in the sea off the Japanese coast. The recorders, known as "black boxes" although they are painted bright orange for visibility, keep track of cockpit conversations and flight data.

They could help determine why the jetliner plowed into a mountaintop while on a flight from Tokyo to Osaka. Mrs. Ochiai, who has been a JAL flight attendant for about two years, suffered pelvic and arm fractures. She was listed in "relatively stable" condition at Fujioka hospital. According to JAL spokesman Geoffrey Tudor, she told the officials the crash itself was a series of "three jolts," with seats and cushions flying.

She said the next thing she knew, a helicopter was flying overhead. "I waved, but it didn't notjce me," she said. "I fell asleep. I woke up to a man's voice. It was morning." JAL officials said Mrs.

Ochiai was seated in the 56th of the plane's 60 rows. She said oxygen masks came down and a "white cloud" swirled through the cabin. Airline officials suggested it was condensation from sudden pressure loss. There was no announcement from the cockpit, but a purser made an "emergency announcement," and a flight attendant told the passengers to put on life jackets and assume a "crash posi- Convicted swindler Billie Sol Estes was arrested Tuesday and charged with sexually assaulting his housekeeper, police said in Abilene, Texas. Estes, 60, was arrested at his federal probation officer's office in connection with the July 26 sexual assault, police said.

The three-week lapse may have stemmed from the woman's inability to speak English, authorities said. She is from Mexico. Estes posted a $10,000 bond and was released from the Taylor County jail. Estes was convicted of federal mail Ml Estes Associated Press Japanese maritine officials examine tail stabilizer found floating off Sea of Japan fraud and conspiracy to defraud in 1965. Creditors claimed he owned them $38 million.

Convicted of additional fraud charges in 1979, he served another sentence and was paroled in 1983. MIAMI VOTERS REJECT PROPOSALS: Miami voters on Tuesday rejected proposals to transfer day-to-day responsibility from the city manager to a strong mayor and have the mayor elected in a partisan race. With all 85 precincts reporting, the proposal to strengthen the position of mayor lost 12,915 to 6,629 in unofficial returns. The second proposal, whether a strong mayor would be elected in a partisan race with Republican and Democratic primaries, was defeated 12,848 to 5,861. ET CETERA: A station wagon struck the side of a truck Tuesday after running a stop sign, killing five farm workers and critically injuring a sixth in California's San Joaquin Valley, the highway patrol said.

Tests for citrus canker were conducted Tuesday on suspect rootstock found at a 60-acre nursery that has supplied 200,000 orange trees to growers since mid-June, officials said in Orlando, Fla. Danny, the fourth named storm of the 1985 Atlantic hurricane season, swept north through the Gulf of Mexico today as forecasters warned coastal residents to prepare for heavy winds. rear lower fuselage, a section under the tail," when landing at Osaka Airport in June 1978. Tudor said the portion had been "completely replaced" by Boeing, makers of the jumbo jet. Investigators said loss of the tail section might explain why the pilot reported losing control of the plane before it crashed.

Police spokesman Fujkuji Yo-koyama said the impact of the jet stirred up tons of dirt, which buried debris and an estimated 200 to 300 bodies. Rescuers said debris shielded the few survivors. debris found today in Sagami Bay south of Tokyo included an air-conditioning duct and a small plastic-and-metal fitting, evidently from the tail section. Tudor said a vertical tailfin fished out of the ocean Tuesday was positively confirmed as having come from the JAL jumbo jet. The trapezoid-shaped piece was the top and leading edge of the vertical stabilizer that holds the plane's rudder.

Tudor said the jetliner was involved in a 1978 accident in which its lower tail section was damaged. He said the plane sustained "minor damage to the tion," Mrs. Ochiai said. The pilot reported to Tokyo air controllers that he had problems with a "broken" door in the rear of the cabin, a loss of pressure, and could not control the plane. Yoshinubu Shibakawa, a spokesman for the Gunma prefecture (state) police, said the two recorders were found in a valley below the site where most of the wreckage is scattered.

The recorders were impounded by officials of a Transport Ministry investigating team at the crash site, Shibakawa said. A Maritime Safety Agency spokesman in Yokohama said the Evidence suggests missing chief alive IN WASHINGTON GENERAL DYNAMICS PENALTY ENDS: The Navy lifted its suspension of $1 billion worth of contracts with General Dynamics Corp. on Tuesday after the company began an ethics program and backed off claims for $111 million in disputed overhead payments. Assistant Navy Secretary Everett Pyatt said that business with the nation's third-largest defense firm was "back to normal" after a 12-week ban imposed because the company had padded bills to the government with such unallowable expenses as entertainment, country-club dues, personal use of corporate aircraft and kennel charges for an executive's dog. GASOLINE PRICES HEADED DOWN: Gasoline prices, which traditionally rise during the summer, are falling instead and may drop as much as 10 cents a gallon by late winter, government analysts said Tuesday.

Retail gasoline prices have dropped almost 2 cents a gallon since the beginning of the summer and are expected to fall from an average of $1.22 a gallon in June to $1.13 by the first quarter of 1986, according to the Energy Information Administration, a statistical and analytical arm of the Energy Department. Other analysts say prices won't drop that much. COLLEGE STUDENTS GETTING OLDER: College students tend more and more to come from older age groups, according to newly released Census Bureau figures. While a study released Tuesday showed that the biggest share of college students, 25.1 percent, were those aged 18 and 19, that 1981 figure was down from 31.6 percent in 1970. Those aged 20 and 21 fell from 22.6 percent to 20.9 percent in the same period, while by 1981, 52 percent of the students were aged 22 and older.

Two percent were under 18. turn up, Bigam said. He said it is not likely that Wiley would use his own identity because of his experience in police work and his previous work as an Army intelligence officer. Bigam said Medina Mayor William Lamb and Police Chief Homer Davis gave the case "a high priority." "Throughout the investigation we felt that Mel was alive," Bigam added. "And so far we are convinced that we have a successful conclusion we're sure he wasn't murdered or drowned and that he just decided to walk away from it all." Wiley, of Medina, joined the Medina County Sheriff's Department in 1966.

He joined the Hinckley department in 1978 and became the Hinckley chief in 1982. nia and has many friends who retired from law enforcement and moved to Florida. Bigam said there was no indication that Wiley had withdrawn any large amounts of money from bank accounts. "We'd like to try to help Mel, but we have to find him to do that," Bigam said. "We are reasonably sure that he walked away on his own accord and on his own volition." There are no plans to file any criminal charges against Wiley, Bigam said.

He said Wiley did not commit a crime by disappearing. He said Wiley is being listed in law enforcement computers as a missing person. If Wiley uses his name or social security number, reports on his whereabouts might Continued from page Al Mel's disappearance," Bigam said. Bigam said Wiley had written the letter to an unnamed close personal friend, although the friend has not yet received the letter. Wiley may not have mailed the letter, Bigam said.

Wiley may be in one of three locations the Chinatown area of San Francisco, Burnt Cabins, or Florida Bigam said. The Pennsylvania location is the setting in Wiley's unpublished police detective novel, titled Harvest Madness, according to Bigam. There is no evidence to indicate that Wiley's disappearance was a publicity stunt for the book, Bigam said. He said Wiley used to vacation in Califor Fumes escape at second Carbide plant plume may be contaminated. He said people who eat vegetables from gardens in the area may feel the same symptoms as those who breathed the gas.

Union Carbide spokesman Richard J. Henderson said he was surprised at that advice. "Our plant doctor says there's nothing wrong with the vegetables. All you're going to do is let some good vegetables go to waste," Henderson said. Aldicarb oxime is a component in the highly toxic pesticide Control's Center for Environmental Health, said he expected no long-term health problems from the aldicarb oxime leak.

"This substance is characterized by acute toxicity for a short duration. It is extremely treatable. It is my opinion that this compound is not a carcinogen," he said, adding that it also should not cause genetic problems or birth defects. But Houk advised the West Virginia Department of Health that vegetable plants in an undefined area covered by the gaseous IN THE WORLD REMAINS OF MIAs ON WAY HOME: A U.S. Air Force plane flew to Vietnam this morning to pick up the remains of 26 Americans missing in action since the Vietnam War, the U.S.

Embassy said. The plane was expected to return to Clark Air Base in the Philippines later today with the remains, said Embassy spokesman Ambrosio Lopez. Later they will be taken to Hawaii for identification. The remains are the most provided by Vietnam at once since the end of U.S. participation in the war a decade ago.

MINE ACCIDENT TOLL REACHES 29: Rescue workers on Tuesday night recovered the bodies of eight miners from South Africa's Middelbult coal mine, bringing the death toll in a methane gas explosion to 29, officials said. The explosion, which also injured 29 miners, ripped through the mine Monday at Secunda, 40 miles east of Johannesburg. TRAIN EXPLOSION KILLS 4 IN INDIA: An explosion Tuesday aboard a train carrying military personnel along the edge of India's Punjab state killed four people and injured 35, railway officials said. The cause of the explosion near Gagwal in Kashmir, about 260 miles northwest of New Delhi, was not immediately determined. Punjab state is dominated by Sikhs, a minority group agitating for autonomy.

Edited from wire reports by the Beacon Journal National Desk fluid. A safety valve on the tank opened, releasing the odor. There were reports of burning eyes and nausea, and officials said irritating fumes were "very, very noticeable" on the west side of Charleston. The Charleston Emergency Medical Service said a 17-year-old girl who complained of eye irritation was treated at Kanawha Valley Memorial Hospital and released. About a dozen people who suffered nausea and irritation of the lungs, skin and eyes in Sunday's leak remained hospitalized.

The condition of one unidentified woman deteriorated from stable to serious. Kanawha Valley Memorial Hospital spokesman Clinton Dailey said the woman had "pre-existing" respiratory problems. Union Carbide employee Stanley Miller, who had been classified in serious condition, improved Tuesday and was to be released today. On a tour of the Institute plant Tuesday, Dr. Vernon Houk, director of the Centers for Disease Continued from page Al ticide ingredient.

The computer said the cloud of gas would remain over the plant, but instead it settled on nearby homes before community warning sirens were sounded. Carbide spokesman Thad Epps said the computer was programmed for chemicals deemed more dangerous, such as methyl isocyanate, the chemical that killed more than 2,000 people in Bhopal, India, last year. The Institute plant is the only U.S. producer of that chemical. "I am sure that if we had used the system correctly it would have worked better," he said.

"We were programming in substances on a priority basis." Union Carbide spokesman Mike Lipscomb said the leak at the South Charleston plant did not pose a threat to the community. He said the extremely pungent odor reported by area residents was the result of a pressure buildup in a tank containing UCON Bar penalized in death against Rainbow Lounge with a corporate president identified by state officials as Robert Gromofsky. He could not be reached for comment. Attorney Dennis Paul of Medina, who represented the bar in the July 19 hearing on the citations, declined comment, saying he had not yet seen the order. Continued from page Al ing drunkness on the premises, permitting sales to intoxicated persons and improper conduct leading to the death of a patron.

The last charge, however, was later dropped by the state Liquor Control Commission. The citations were filed.