Daily Sitka Sentinel from Sitka, Alaska • Page 6

Page 6, Daily Sitka Sentinel, Sitka, Alaska, Wednesday, June 26,1985 By CHARLIE SMITH Associated Press Writer HALLETT, Okla. (AP) Most of the 21 people killed in an explosion at a fireworks plant were teen-agers apparently hired to meet demand for the Fourth of July, but severe burns make identification difficult, authorities say. Five other people, including the owner of the Aerlex Fireworks plant, were injured in a series of massive blasts Tuesday which were felt 13 miles away and hurled bodies and debris hundreds of yards. Reports that victims may have been under 18, forbidden by law to work at plants like the one making aerial fireworks used in civic displays, sent state Labor Department officials to the scene along with other investigators. The cause of the blast had not been determined, but Bob White of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said authorities were checking reports of carelessness outside the building as a pickup truck was loaded.

The plant had passed an inspection two months ago, he said. The Tulsa Daily Oklahoman reported today that a 16-year-old and the 18-year- 'old son of plant owner Alan Johnson were killed. Johnson, 40, of Jennings, refused to talk to reporters. He was in good condition at Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa, officials said. James Aveni, an Aerlex worker who didn't go to the factory Tuesday, said only two.

temporary workers were under 18, the youngest 16. Aveni said the plant "had about as much precautions as anybody could have." Authorities searching through the underbrush for victims found "bone fragments and body fragments which were blown apart because of the intense heat and explosions," King said. Four bodies were found about 200 yards away. Pierce said all the victims died instantly of burns and the blast. Alaska Labor Plans To Work on Image By MARLA WILLIAMS Alaska News Service JUNEAU Alaska big labor is preparing, to spend big money on a media campaign in an attempt to dispel the "mystery and distrust" of unions.

"We have an image problem," said Mano Frye, president of the Alaska State American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, "And we're willing to dedicate some dollars to solving it." "Some dollars" could translate as half a million to be spent on radio, TV and newspaper advertisements promoting good news about labor unions. "I'm an optimist," said Frye. "I'd like to see the AFL-CIO put $500,000 into public education in the next 15 months or so. But, we may be able to only spend $100,000. "However much it is, I'll be happy if we can just start to get the word out unions are good for people," he said.

Although Frye says the AFL-CIO's executive committee has made "public education" its top priority for the year, he is not certain when the media blitz will actually begin. Money still must be raised to pay for the media time, and Frye said it could be some months before the first ad appears. Frye said he's anxious for the ad campaign to begin because a recent statewide poll, commissioned by the AFL-CIO, found that a "good number" of Alaskans think industrial unions are no longer necessary to protect workers' rights. Exactly what percentage of Alaskans believe unions have outlived their usefulness, Frye won't The labor leader is holding the poll results close to his vest, until -the AFL-CIO executive committee meets in mid- July. But Frye's generalized report of the JET STEAM 747-3447 Off the regular price of any carpet or order of $75.00 or more Free expires July 1,1985 Friday Is your last chance to hear the Festival this year.

Our Last Concert of the Season. Bach Partita No. 1 in Flat Major for Piano Solo Beach Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Minor Taneyev String Quintet in Major, opus 14 Arturo Delmoni, violin Stephen Kates, cello Nathaniel Rosen, cello Paul Rosenthal, violin Doris Stevenson, piano Marcus Thompson, viola FRIDAY 8:15 p.m. Sharp The Centennial Building poll results is consistent with the public mood in the Lower 48. Unions nationwide lost 1.4 million members in manufacturing between May 1980 and September 1984, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At the same time, the number of non-union manufacturing workers reportedly increased by 700,000. Union membership in Alaska has stayed about the same the last few years. "When you talk about waning support for unions, you can put part of the blame on the federal government and, anti-union companies but the labor movement can also be faulted," said Frye who took over as AFL-CIO president in 1984. Unions have created a major image" problem for themselves, he said. "What do you see on CNN, You see people with bags over their: heads, identified as labor denying they broke the law." A different picture of unions needs to be presented to the public, Frye says.

He recommends that unions buy time oh radio and TV and'space in newspapers-- even though advertising is expensive. That way, he says, unions can be certain the public will hear about the good things organized labor has done for Alaskans. "Organized labor a fundamental interest in health and safety issues in Alaska," said Frye. "What many people now consider standard health benefits, offered by union and nonunion alike, are a result of organized labor arguing for its members but people don't think of that. "We, the unions, need to get people thinking." Fry also wants to organize a mouth compaign to promote organized labor.

In Alaska, there are 82 different union locals under the umbrella of the AFL- CIO which acts as a central union coordinating agency. AFL-CIO direct membership totals 30,000. "That's a lot of people who could be telling their neighbors about how the union has made their jobs and lives a little better," Frye said. FAIRBANKS (AP) A Fairbanks man had a rude awakening early Tuesday when he went to the bathroom and found a five-foot boa constrictor in his toilet bowl. The man, who not want to be identified, said he didn't want to talk about the snake, which officials said probably made its way through the sewer system after slithering down somebody else's toilet.

Fairbanks North Star Borough officials said the man brought the creature to the animal control shelter after discovering it in his toilet. Said Animal Control Director Bob Springer: "I guess he just looked down and there it was." JUNEAU (AP) Alaska's 'two "space teacher" candidates are in Washington, D.C., this week for Congressional and White House receptions and an interview that could make one of them the first private citizen to journey into space. Jan Heinrich, 41, 'and Richard Houghton, 35, are apiong 114 teachers competing for a seat on the space shuttle Challenged next Heinrich teaches chemistry at Anchorage Service High School and Houghton is a math and science teacher Japanese May Boost FAIRBANKS (AP) With backing from Japanese investors, a North Slope gas pipeline could be built in the early 1990s, says Loreh Lounsbury, head of Alaska's Department of Commerce and Economic Development official says. "There's a major project on the horizon to supplant Alaska's declining oil revenues." he said. He was speaking to Pacific Rim business and government leaders at the annual conference of Agricultural Communicators in; Education at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks this week.

"Japan will "study transportation from Alaska to Japan, as well as in- Japan distribution," while Alaska would most likely concern itself with byproduct of North Slope oil production continues to be pumped back into the ground for storage. atNoatakin Northwest Alaska. Twenty judges will harrow, the field to 10 after interviews with the teachers Wednesday. The competitors were chosen to represent their states and territories in NASA's teacher-in-space The winner will fly aboard the Challenger during a four-day mission scheduled to lift off Jan. 22,1986.

Harry Gamble, a spokesman for the state Department of Education, said agency employees sent the Alaska teachers a telegram Friday, wishing them good luck in the competition. "We're pulling for an Alaskan as the first teacher in, space," the telegram said. "But whatever happens, we hope you have a rewarding experience." NASA will unveil the 10 semi-finalists Monday, with the winner and a backup candidate chosen in August after a series of interviews, briefings and medical checks at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. KENAI (AP) The federal nment has changed its mind and decided to allow the state to Jry to enhance salmon production in the Kasilbf Riyeir andTustamena Lake. In its original management plan for --TM AH Alr0 viigiiieii uiemagemeiii plan lor building the pipeline from Prudhoe Bay the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge the tO TT T71- 1 0 to Japan in recent years has had a growing interest in North Slope natural gas, but Americans have been unwilling or unable to attract sufficient investment for the mammoth project.

Now, it appears the Japanese may be allowed to'finance much of the project, officials say. The date for construction of the massive projeqt has been pushed back into the 1990s because of investor wariness 4n the face of declining oil prices. Meanwhile, the natural gas a Drug Center Gets Bill U.S. Fish Wildlife Service said the state would have to stop stocking Tustamena with sockeyes that now account for 20-50 percent of the red salmon returning to the Kasilof River to spawn. The federal agency said then it didn't want the fish' runs in "wilderness" a reas to exceed natural levels.

The decision infuriated commercial fishermen and the Alaska Department of Fish Game. The Kenai Peninsula Borough also pushed to ease the proposed restrictions. They argued the Tustamena project could double the Kasilbf run and pump $3 million a year into the local Now biologist Ed fiangs says ANCHORAGE (AP) Akeela House a non-profit drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, owes the municipality at least $355,971 because of improper accounting practices, city auditors claim. William Stilling, senior municipal auditor, reviewed Akeela House records earlier this year and concluded in a draft report that the group's internal fiscal controls were not up to city standards. "The audit disclosed weaknesses in internal, controls," Stilling wrote.

"Financial records and compliance with municipal contracts were unsatisfactory." He said that as of June 30, 1984, the organization had received more public funds than it was authorized under state and city grant contracts. The draft audit report concluded Akeela House owes Anchorage $355,971 from its 1984 contract, and that $105,915 remained unspent from a 1984 state Department of Corrections contract. An 'audit of the organization's 1985 contracts is slated for late summer or a city early fall, said Peter Raiskums, auditor. Based on the early audit findings, Public Safety Commissioner John Franklin withheld Akeela House's $144,454 fourth-quarter 1985 grant payment. Health and Human Services Director Jewel Jones said the group responded with a letter threatening to sue to acquire the money.

She said she gave them until June 28 to explain the draft audit's findings. "I think there may be a lot of reasonable explanations, but we haven't gotten those explanations yet," she said. Raiskums said Akeela House did not spend as much money as the city gave it in 1983 and 1984 and carried excess funds over into succeeding years without properly telling the city. Auditors also found Akeela House did not retain complete records, and because records were destroyed, they could not evaluate the organization's performance in relation to its stated goals, Stilling said. 'There may be times manager will need to dp some cement," Bangs said.

"We wanted him to have that; flexibility." Tom: Walker of the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association, a non-profit organization that finances fisheries enhancement programs, said Tuesday he generally is satisfied with the changes made by the it seemed like the stocking project was being rejected out of hand, without any consideration of what the study results have been," Waer said. "Now it wUl have a chance to prove itself. That's as fair as anything you can ask for." But Sally Kabisch of the Sierra Club said the large number of hatchery fish could have an adverse impact on the genetics of the wild stocks. And she said the extra commercial fishing time required to harvest the hatchery fish could decimate the river's natural runs. "This is the first refuge plain adopted in Alaska," Kabisch 1 "The decision is precedent-setting and it's a bad precedent in terms of wilderness and wild fish stocks: 'CJpngress is clear in sayjng this is activity," be a lot to 'sly 'no' to enhancement projects the law." YELLOWKNIFE, Northwest Territories (AP) Northwest Territories biologists are pleased but puzzled by the discovery that a large northern caribou herd has doubled in size in just two years.

A 1984 survey calving grounds of the Bathurst herd, which ranges: from the north end of Great Slave Lake to Bathurst Inlet, suggests the- population has increased to 384,000 animals, making it one of the largest herds in the Canadian North. Aerial photo surveys 1982 estimated the herd at 137,000 animals. Nellie Cournoyea, Northwest Territories minister of renewable resources, told tye there is no explanation for the dramatic increase in the herd's size. The herd suffered nearly a decade of population decline because of oyerhunting, harsh winters and predation by wolves. Caribou from adjacent herds may have joined the Bathurst animals.

FDA Reverses Stand WASHINGTON (AP) The Food and Drug Administration, in a new interpretation of food safety laws, says it does not have an absolute legal obligation to ban food additives found to cause cancer in animals. Dr. Frank E. Young, the FDA commissioner, says his reading of the so-called Delaney Clause in federal food safety laws would allow the agency to approve additives if they pose only a small cancer risk. The interpretation marks a sharp reversal in government policy.

Over the years, the Delaney Clause has been criticized by the food industry as outdated and overly harsh. The criticism reached its height in 1977 when the FDA proposed a ban on saccharin because of the clause. the Delaney Clause since its enactment in 1958 always has been interpreted as an absolute ban on any substance found to cause cancer in animals. SAW Ope 256 Katlian 747-8870 am Monday-Saturday SAME OLD GREAT SERVICE BUT NEW OWNERS! We welcome everyone to drop by and meet the new owners, Jim Linda Stewart. Sitka Saw will be offering the same high i service, repairs maintenance.

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