Daily Sitka Sentinel from Sitka, Alaska • Page 1

Member of the Associated Press A I i Monday, February 5,1990 Volume 52 No. 24 Sitka Alaska 35c School Board Near Decision On Supt. By WILL SWAGEL Sentinel Sfaff Writer Interviews with the candidates completed, the Sitka School Board was to meet at 4 p.m. today to complete the process for hiring a new superintendent of schools. The board held a special meeting Sunday night and discussed the candidates for about 90 minutes.

The members then went into executive session to discuss salary and personal matters. The meeting today will be a continuation of the Saturday session, which was recessed rather than adjourned. The board interviewed the five candidates Friday and Saturday, and hosted a public reception for them Saturday afternoon in the Verstovia Elementary School multi-purpose room. More than 100 people attended the reception for the candidates. The board later look them out to dinner.

The candidates are Lewis Holloway, school superintendent in Richton County, Anchorage school principal Orienne Denslow; Assistant Superintendent of Sitka Schools Joe Beckford; Paula Butlerfield, associate superintendent of schools in Wichita, and a former teacher at Mt. Edgccumbc High School; and Mary Francis, superintendent of schools in Correction In Friday's edition, the Sentinel erroneously listed the interview times on Saturday for school superintendent candidates Paula Butterfield and Dr. Mary Francis. The interviews were actually scheduled earlier than the times given in the Sentinel story. The Sentinel regrets the error and apologizes for the inconvenience it may have caused.

Wrangell. Prior to going behind closed doors, board members discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates but did not take a vote or other action to formally indicate a front runner. In a statement proceeding the discussion, board president Michael Meier said all of the candidates were well qualified to be superintendent. The job of the board, he said, was to pick the candidate best qualified in the areas important to Sitka Schools. Board member Ernestine Griffin said one person told her "she wished we could have a little bit of all of them." Board members said they were im- Conlinued on Page 10 Gorbachev: Party Must End Monopoly Lewis Holloway Paula Butterfield Orienne Denslow Arguments Open in Hazelwood's Trial By LINDA DEUTSCH Associated Press Writer ANCHORAGE (AP) Joseph Hazelwood was drunk and absent from his appropriate post on the bridge of the Exxon Valdez when the tanker ran aground, causing the nation's worst oil spill, a prosector told jurors in the trial of the ship's captain Monday.

"The ultimate responsibility for the tanker is with the captain," Assistant District Attorney Brent Cole said in his opening statement. "The most dangerous part of the journey was af- ter.Hazelwood absented himself from the bridge." 3 Suspected In Vandalism By Sentinel Staff Three high-school age boys were identified Sunday as the prirtie suspects in a binge Of weekend window breaking, in which damage was estimated at $6,000. Sitka police said Ihc three drove through neighborhoods shooting car windows and the windows of at least two houses with a Cp-2 gas-powered pistol. Reports indicate glass was damaged in about two dozen cars, though there may be more, police said. Officer Jerc Ryncarson said that while formal charges have not yet been filed, police have talked with the three boys and arc sure they have the right suspects.

He said the investigation was continuing. Between Saturday afternoon and Sunday, police received more than 30 reports of windows smashed out or damaged, apparently by a BB gun. Ryncarson said officers began checking leads immediately and that close coordination between officers on all three shifts led to the suspects being identified. The boys' names were not released because they are juveniles, said Ryn- carson. He asked that anyone who finds damage to (heir properly thai was caused over the weekend, and which has not yet been reported to the police, to contact him at the police department, 747-3245.

However, a defense attorney for Hazelwood told jurors the skipper's judgment was never impaired, that he showed no signs of drunkcness and was "calm, cool and collected as a captain should be" throughout the night and day of disaster. Cole accused the fired captain of leaving control of his ship in the hands of inexperienced crewmembers who were not certified to pilot the vessel through the treacherous Prince William Sound waters. But defense attorney Dick Madson told jurors he would prove that Hazelwood left the ship in the hands of qualifed crewmen who may not have had authorization via the proper licenses, but knew the terriory and took appropriate actions when it appeared the Exxon Valdez was in trouble. Cole alleged that the 43-year-old captain responded inappropriately after the March 24 accident occurred, frantically trying to move the ship off the rocks a maneuver which he said Hazelwood admitted was the wrong thing to do. Cole maintained that if Hazelwood had succeeded in moving the ship, it would have capsized, spilling all of its oil.

He noted that at (east some of the oil was saved, although nearly 11 million gallons spilled into the pristine waters, killing wildlife and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. Madson insisted that Hazelwood never put the ship in reverse and did not try to move it off the rocks. He ridiculed the slate for portraying the Exxon Valdez as "the Titanic" heading at full spcecd toward disaster. Madson said the ship never traveled at full speed. Madson insisted that Hazelwood actually was trying to stabilize the ship on the reef, not move it off the reef, in an effort to prevent further damage.

Reconstructing Hazelwood's ac- lions during day before the ship left Valdez, Cole alleged the captain spent some seven hours in a bar called the Pipeline Club where he was seen by natrons ordering glasses of vodka. When lie returned io the ship, Cole said other crewmembcrs saw that Hazelwood was intoxicated awl one of them swelled liquor on his breath. After Ihc accident, many hours later, the prosecutor said two investigators arrived to find Hazelwood sitting off in a comer by himself. "It became apparent to both of them that Captain Hazelwood had been drinking. Both of them asked each other, 'Did you smell what I and they both said By the time a slate trooper arrived to investigate, Cole said Ihc man was tokl "they had a wild man on board." Madson said he would dispute that Hazelwood spent the day drinking before he boarded the ship, although he conceded that the captain had one or two drinks about four hours before he returned to the Exxon Valdez.

He claimed Hazelwood was in control throughout the ordeal. "He did not stagger. He did not slur his words. He was cool, calm and collected as a captain should be," Madson said. Cole said Hazelwood's alleged abdication of responsibility is the reason he is charged with four crimes a felony charge of criminal mischief, and misdemeanor charges of reckless cndangerment, negligent discharge of oil and operating a vessel while intox- icated.

Maximum penalty for conviction on all counts is seven years, three months in prison and $61,000 in fines. Cole indicated that many crew members from the Exxon Valdez will testify, including two who allegedly went drinking with the captain before he set sail. In addition, he said other men who held similar posts to Hazelwood's would become expert witnesses. "You will hear tanker captains during this trial, experts who will evaluate CapL Hazelwood's actions." The case opened nearly a year after the ojl spill, which caused so much damage that Exxon said it spent S2 billion on the cleanup. Judges Rule Against Exxon on Documents ANCHORAGE (AP) Federal and state judges say they will not grant Exxon court orders that would allow the company to keep secret documents used in the discovery phase of consolidated oil-spill litigation.

U.S. District Judge H. Russel Holland said in a decision issued Friday that Exxon might ultimately have a good reason for maintaining the confidentiality of its documents. However, "factual substantiation of those reasons has not been established at this Holland said. Anchorage Superior Court Judge Brian Shoncll said he also did not find sufficient reason for a protective order.

The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Ihe Anchorage Daily News and The Associated Press filed motions opposing Exxon's claim to confidentiality. Lawsuits stemming from the Exxon Valdez oil spill that occurred in Prince William Sound last March are being handled in federal and state courts. Exxon said documents involved in the litigation could disclose trade secrets if made public. In December, Exxon and Alycska Pipeline Service Co. filed motions that asked for an order barring disclosure of virtually anything learned during the discovery process in court.

The attorney for Ihe news organizations said in court documents that "there is every reason to worry dial defendants arc inclined to excessive secrecy and lack of candor." Attorney D. John McKay said il appeared Exxon and Alycska wanted to "keep under seal a variety of embarrassing details about how they pol- Inlcd Prince William Sound and other areas, about the events leading up to and resulting from this disaster, and concerning the operation of their tankers and their preparedness to address major spills of this Exxon owns the 987-foot tanker that struck Bligh Reef and spilled nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil. Alyeska, operator of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, was responsible for initial response to the spill. An Exxon attorney said the news organizations' position on access to documents contradicted fundamental privacy rights that the organizations themselves demand in protecting their own files. Attorney Pat Lynch said the company's position was necessary for the proper processing of spill-related cases.

Air Service To Fly Fish ANCHORAGE (AP) An air cargo service that will specialize in Ihe transportation of fresh seafood from Southeast Alaska to Seattle plans to begin scheduled flights Feb. 12, the owner said. In addition to hauling seafood and general cargo, Fresh Air will be authorized to carry hazardous materials, owner Kirk Thomas said. He also owns the Royal Executive Suites hotel in Kctcliikan and previously operated Tycc Air. Fresh Air owns a pair of Fairchild F-27 turbo-prop aircraft built in 1959 and used for transportation of passengers in Nebraska and Honduras.

The cabins were reconfigured to each handle 10,000 pounds of cargo. Southeast Alaska points lliai will be served in addition (o Kcichitcnn are Petersburg, Silka nml Wrangell. By MARK J. PORUBCANSKY Associated Press Writer MOSCOW (AP) Mikhail S. Gorbachev told the Communist Party leadership today that the time has come to loosen the party's iron grip on power and compete with others for the right to rule the Soviet Union.

His landmark speech to the party's Central Committee came a day after perhaps the largest protest in Moscow since the Bolshevik revolution. At least 200,000 impassioned citizens paraded through the streets to the Kremlin, demanding that the party embrace reform and end exclusive control of the government. At the opening session of a pivotal two-day Central Committee meeting, Gorbachev made essentially the same proposal. The party "intends to struggle for the role of ruling party, but do it strictly in the framework of the democratic process, rejecting any kind of legal or political advantage," Gor- bachev told the policy-making body. The party will "present its own program, put it out for discussion, cooperate with other public-political forces," the Soviet leader said in remarks distributed by the Tass news agency.

The meeting comes at a time of growing dissatisfaction with Communist leadership by the populace plagued by chronic shortages and ethnic unrest The Tass news agency reported that Gorbachev urged the party to move up the next Communist Party congress, theoretically the party's highest-ranking body, to late June. Tass gave no reason for Gor- bachev's proposal, but presumably it would be to allow him. to choose a new Central Committee and further advance radical reforms in the party. The 251-member Central Committee, despite extensive changes made by Gorbachev in recent years, is still regarded by reformers as a bastion of party conservatives who worry that Gorbachev's reforms are leading the country to economic collapse and ethnic strife. Congresses normally are held every five years, and the next would have been regularly scheduled for spring 1991.

But Gorbachev last year moved up the date of the congress to October, and in his speech today called for it to be moved up again. Judge Orders Reagan To Testify on Video WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge today ordered former President Reagan to give videotaped testimony in the upcoming Iran-Contra trial of his one-time national security adviser, John Poindexter. U.S. District Court Judge Harold Greene gave Reagan and President Bush until Friday to invoke executive privilege as part of any attempt to avoid testifying. "Former President Ronald Reagan is claimed by Admiral Poindexter to have direct and important knowledge that will help to exonerate him from the criminal charges lodged against him," Greene said in a 54-page decision.

"In view of the prior professional relationship between the two men, that claim cannot be dismissed as fanciful or frivolous," said the judge. Greene said "it would be inconceivable to exempt Mr. Reagan from the duty of every citizen to give evidence that will permit the reaching of a just outcome of this criminal prosecution." The process of giving testimony by way of videotape will the "obligation" to protect the rights of the former president and the privileges 'of die presidency, said the judge. Alaskans Off to Assure Airlines About Volcano ANCHORAGE (AP) A state delegation including a pilot and air traffic controller from Alaska Airlines is heading for Europe in efforts io help clear the air about flying in the vicinity of Redoubt Volcano. International airlines funnel more than S30 million a year into Anchorage International Airport, said Anders Westman, a development specialist with the airport who will be accompanying the group when it leaves Saturday.

"That's revenue we derive from duty free (shops), airline fees and charges," Westman said. The object of the trip it to restore confidence in the foreign operators, several of whom canceled or rerouted flights around Anchorage after a KLM jumbo jet flew into a corrosive ash cloud from Redoubt Volcano in December, temporarily losing power in all four engines. The aircraft was able to restore power and make a successful emergency landing at Anchorage, but damage primarily to the engines -was estimated at S50 million, officials said. The group is to meet with senior management and chief pilots from Air France, Iberia, Swiss Air, Sabena, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and SAS, he said. "Those represent all but two of the European airlines that call on our airport here," Westman said.

"The reason we're hitting them is to get a dialogue, a sharing of information and procedures between them and us." Airlines based in or near Alaska can make "real-time" operational decisions about flying near Redoubt Volcano, 120 miles southwest of Anchorage, after it erupts and sends ash and steam more than seven miles into the sky, Westman said. "But overseas carriers' flight decisions arc more lime critical than locally based airlines," he said. "When they launch, they have to make critical decisions about fuel and alternate landing sites. "When they put on more fuel, they lake off cargo and passengers," Weslman said. "That can result in some significant paylond penalties." Gov.

Sieve Cowpcr asked Alaska Airlines to send a couple of its experienced operations people, along Io share information weir Rumpcan counterparts. The airline had assigned its assistant chief pilot and a former air. traffic controller to Anchorage when Redoubt's eruptive activity was at its height to help steer planes around trie ash plumes and into Anchorage. Pat Glenn, vice president of Flight Operations for Alaska Airlines, said qn-board radar is incapable of spotting light ash and even medium ash. "It might register a solid cloud if the mountain had just erupted, but it would be hard to identify from a normal cloud," Glenn said.

Alaska Airlines worked out a reporting system with some of its competition to pool information about ash clouds after the volcano erupts. That compares with using situation reports issued every six hours by the Federal Aviation Administration, Glenn said. "The (FAA) report says where could be," he said. "We're trying to identify where it actually is." The Redoubt flight information system worked, he said. "We feel we can really track it and keep it plotted so there's a way to gel into the Anchorage area and serve our market with no danger io our aircraft," Glenn said.

"If the foreign carriers can leam something from that, fine. Forest Service Sticks to Decision KETCHIKAN (AP) The U.S. Forest Service, responding to an appeal by the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, has affirmed its decision to approve plans for a molybdenum mine 45 miles cast of here. The Legal Defense Fund has until April 27 to respond Io the latest decision by Regional Forester Mike.Bar: ton. At issue is the Forest Service's 1988 decision to approve U.S.

Borax's operating plan, for the proposed Hill molybdenum project in the Misty Fjords area of Tongass National Forest. In 1974, U.S. Borax discovered a deposit believed to contain 10 percent of ihe world's known molybdenum that can be mined. Controversy over the mining plan luis included a dispute about disposal of tailings..