The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 17

Thursday. June 25. Philadelphia Inquirer 3-B METROPOLITAN Drug test on elderly criticized Montco center draws FDA fire BROOKHAVEN 1 0Tf- BR00MAVEN W. CMESTER trniditeiphid HANK POM Art! By SaraSchwieder and Dean E. Murphy Inquirer Staff Writers Montgomery County officials failed "to ensure protection for human subjects" during a drug testing program at the county's geriatric home last year, federal inspectors have ruled.

Officials of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in ending their investigation of the testing program, also requested that no future testing be conducted at the Montgomery County Geriatric and Rehabilitation Center, near Royer-sford. The FDA said that "several departures from good clinical investigation practices were noted" during an 1 1 1 CVW it 4 it 4 A debate grows in Brookhaven on lawn lengths In a week Iwhen the grass would grow to over 6 inchesl, that guy's a criminal." Four inches. That's the heart of Brookhaven's controversy. Though most folks in town didn't know it, borough officials have regulated lawn lengths in Brookhaven for years 21 years to be exact.

But under the old law, the length limit was 10 inches. That was the whole problem. investigation last tall of the expert- mental drug testing program. Eighty elderly patients were to be given an experimental anti-diarrhea drug called lidamidine HCL. The Inquirer reported in November that some of the patients did not know that they had participated in the test.

According to center officials, only about 20 of the 600 residents at the center actually took the drug. The tests were supervised by Dr. John J. Maron, the center's medical i director, who received an undis- closed fee from the William H. Rorer Inc.

drug company to conduct the study. The FDA found the following defi-' ciencies in the drug testing proce- dures: At least 11 subjects participating I in the drug test showed evidence of confusion or disorientation, which raised questions about their ability, to understand and consent to partici- pate in the drug test. There were allegations that some patients had been intimidated into consenting to participate. The consent form ed the study, and the language used was too sophisticated for some of the patients to comprehend. At least three subjects were well over age 85, which was the age limit I stated in the study proposal.

Several patients should have been excluded from the testing be-'; cause of their medical conditions or because medication they were taking could affect the test. A review board composed of county commissioners responsible' for the protection of human subjects in the testing of new drugs failed to adequately monitor the testing. PhiladelphM Inquirer WILLIAM F. STEINMETZ Brookhaven resident Dave Schlott is dissatisfied with the borough's 6-inch-lawn rule By Mark Fineman Inquirer Staff Writer They finally laid down the law in Brookhaven all the way down to 6 inches, and no higher. But some folks in that Delaware County borough think the government went too far this time.

Ten inches was plenty low enough, they say. This is a game of inches in the big battle over Urookhavcn's front lawns. The town has ruled that homeowners or businessmen who let their grass grow higher than 6 inches can be taken to court, fined or even jailed. Brookhaven is not some pampered, preppy town. There's Edgmont Avenue, the main drag that has so many franchise outlets that residents have nicknamed it "Fast Food Mile." Brookhaven is next to Chester, where many of the borough's 7,500 predominantly blue-collar residents work, some of them in the shipyards.

This isn't the Main Line, but folks in Brookhaven are just as serious as Main Liners about their front lawns. The seeds of Brookhaven 's grass war were sown at a June 1 borough council meeting, in between debates concerning dog problems and shuffleboard equipment. At that meeting, Councilman Vawn Donaway, 28, who had been on the job only a few months, introduced the ordinance. No sooner was it introduced than Dave Schlott stood up. "I had my 'guns loaded," said Schlott, a Brookhaven resident with apparent political aspirations.

"What about the elderly?" Schlott said he asked the council. "What if they can't get out to cut say borough officials who supported the law. "Going after someone who was breaking the 10-inch law was a long process," said Councilman E. Vincent Pierdomenico, who voted with the four council members who passed the ordinance. "By the time we got them to comply, that 10-inch lawn was 14 inches.

Now, when we finally do get compliance, the lawn is only 10 inches the old limit." Clever, right? Nope, says Schlott. It's just another unenforceable ordinance, he contends. "They weren't even enforcing it when it was 10 inches," he said. "And if they decide to enforce it now, the inspector has to go out twice as often as he would have before." Borough officials, however, insist they have enforced the grass law dutifully, sending letters to violators and hauling the serious scofflaws before district magistrates. And what does Donaway, author of the 6-inch law, have to say about the controversy? "I have no comment on that whatsoever," said Donaway.

He contends that Schlott, a political opponent in the upcoming November council election, has made the grass law a political issue. "I just wish I had never gotten into the whole thing. But I can say that we've gotten a lot of grass cut in Brookhaven in the last month." Added Pierdomenico: "I guess there are a lot of arguments to justify the law long grass can harbor rats and create a health problem, and mosquitoes can breed there. Myself, I was -just concerned about the looks of our borough. But at this point, the whole subject to me is ridiculous." But it's not so ridiculous to officials in many other area suburbs.

In fact, most of the municipalities contacted in a random sampling of suburban boroughs and townships have laws regulating lawn length most of them setting a 12-inch maximum. And it certainly isn't ridiculous to officials in Marple Township, several miles north of Brookhaven in central Delaware County. A few years back, Marple officials spent 58,000 in legal fees to fight a developer concerning the length of grass. The case went all the way to the state Superior Court. Marple Township won.

The developer had to mow about 90 acres of grass and weeds to comply with the township's 12-inch limit. And in another case, Marple Township even went after the Catholic Church, which had also exceeded the lawn limit by failing to cut the grass on vacant land it owned. "We were concerned primarily with safety to prevent rats and grass fires," said Township Manager Jack Lanthrip. "But the aesthetic value certainly is important." It's important on the Main Line, too. While most suburbs surveyed have the 12-inch limit, Haverford Township officials 10 years ago set theirs at 8 inches.

The officials even put teeth into the law. First comes the warning letter. Then, if residents fail to comply, the township cuts the lawn for them and sends the resident the mowing bill. "I've sent threatening letters out many times," said Charles Held, director of township code enforcement. "Usually that's all it takes.

But what continues to amaze me is how many people 'drop a dime' on their neighbors. That's who turns these violators in to us it's the guy who's sick of looking at his neighbor's sloppy lawn." It amazes Dave Laughlin even more. A code enforcement officer in Lower Merion Township, Laughlin says he gets dozens of calls reporting violators of the township's 12-inch limit. "When you listen to some of these people complaining, you wonder why they don't just move into a concrete jungle," he said. "I always thought these people moved out to the suburbs for the grass and the trees.

And they won't even talk to the neighbors themselves. They want the township to do their dirty work for them." But what often is lost in the great grass controversy are the feelings of the real victim the grass. "It's true, you can really hurt the grass if you try to keep it too short," said one Main Line landscapes "Leaving it a little longer chokes off the weeds, and it keeps the sugar in the blades. Both are important to a healthy-looking lawn. And some of your richer grasses should be kept at about 4 inches.

With some good rain, that could reach 6 inches in a week or so." Which is just what Dave Schlott has been saying in Brookhaven all along. "I simply see this grass law as an extra burden a burden on the homeowners, the elderly, the code officer and, yes, on the grass itself." Schlott said. "To me, it's a violation of our basic freedom." the lawn every week, and it grows past 6 inches? What about the family on vacation? What about the guy with a real rich bluegrass lawn that's best kept at 4 inches? jf Utilities to consolidate billing, other functions An FDA spokeswoman said that there would be no penalties levied against the county. Maron said ha had agreed to halt the testing. The FDA refused to provide a copy- of its complete findings on the tests but in a letter sent last month to County Commission Chairman A.

Russell Parkhouse, an FDA official wrote that her agency is particularly concerned with the commissioners' failure to adequately monitor the study. The letter indicated that the commissioners should have examined patient consent forms and protected the "rights of confused or disoriented subjects." "These are serious concerns that need to be addressed by those respon sible for the policies governing the welfare and safety of residents should future studies involving investigational drugs be conducted there," wrote Dr. Frances O. Kelseyl director of the FDA Division of Scientific Investigations. In an interview yesterday, Park-house abruptly changed his previous stance on the drug testing saying, "We're never going to partici- pate in anything like this We've had enough.

All we have been is criticized." Asked if Maron 's job was secure at the center, Parkhouse replied: "It certainly is. He's a great doctor." Maron, interviewed yesterday at'" the center, supplied a copy of his reply to the FDA. In it, he disputed each of the FDA's findings, contending that "much of the investigation was, we felt, done in a. witch-hunt-fashion in which something had to be found." V-w Y' ip y-v $380,000 could be saved yearly in other meter-reading costs. An estimated $230,000 in savings could result from merging the bill-preparation systems, the accounting firm found.

Leonard said that the feasibility study, which he released at a press conference yesterday, cost $14,000 and that the accounting firm has been awarded a $48,000 contract to work out the "nuts and bolts" of implementing the consolidation. Leonard said he hoped that the city eventually would be able to persuade Philadelphia Electric Co. to enter the consolidation. Thomas Leonard Foresees savings PennDOT to halt commuter trains on Pottsville and Bethlehem lines By Joyce Gemperlein Inquirer Staff Writer By this time next year city water and gas customers probably will have their meters read and bills prepared and hand-delivered by one organization rather than two. City Controller Thomas Leonard announced yesterday that a feasibility study performed by his office and the certified public accounting firm of Arthur Andersen Co.

indicated that the city could save up to $800,000 annually if it consolidated certain functions of the city's Water Department, Revenue Department and the city-owned Philadelphia Cas Works (PGW). Leonard approved the study, and the consolidation will take effect subject to the approval of the city solicitor. how many workers would lose' their jobs in the consolidation, it estimated that 5190,000 will be saved yearly in employee salaries. The study found that the Water Department, which handles 470,000 small meter accounts, and PGW, which has 520,000 residential customers, perform similar billing and meter reading duties with many of the same customers. Leonard said a single system would be economical and practical after an initial two- or three-year period.

Full consolidation of the services probably would take one year. When it is completed, customers will send or take their combined payments for gas and water to PGW's district offices or to the Municipal Services building, where they will be recorded and forwarded to the appropriate utility. Each utility will retain its existing customer services, credit and collections functions. Bills also will be hand-delivered to customers for an additional savings in postage. According to the Andersen report, which is the first phase of a three-part implementation program, about Tr tAi I I "jHr -x 5 "IJ yW3 VV (BARTA) to operate the trains on both lines for the state was rejected by BARTA's executive board at a meeting on Monday in Reading.

BARTA officials said they feared they would lose money by operating the lines because of the uncertainty of continued state and federal funds. As a result, PennDOT has tentative plans to provide shuttle buses between Lansdale in Montgomery County, through Doylestown and Quakertown in Bucks County, and on to Bethlehem in Lehigh County. Buss also would run from Norristown to Pottstown in Montgomery County and on to Reading in Berks County, then to Pottsville in Schuylkill County. Capital Trailways of Harrisburg already has increased its service from Pottsville to Philadelphia. SEPTA will continue to run electrified trains from Reading Terminal to I-ansdale and to Norristown.

SEPTA announced it would operate the diesel-shuttle service that has1 been run by Conrail between the Fox Chase station in Northeast Philadel- phia and Newtown in Bucks County, after track renovations are ed on Sept. 1. SEPTA spokesman David Murdoch said that SEPTA is prepared to reject two bids that it received from private railroad operators on June 9 to run the 15.2-mile diesel portion from Fox Chase to Newtown. Murdoch said passengers aboard Philadelphia-' bound trains from Newtown would transfer to electrified trains at Fox' Chase. He said SEPTA officials had ed to continue operating the diesel-portion of the line even though Con- rail had contended the line was too expensive to run.

However, transportation woes that have continued to mount from other direction might eliminate service altogether. By John Hilfcrty Inquirer Staff Writer Commuter train service between Norristown and Pottsville and between Lansdalc and Bethlehem will come to a halt at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday because a last-minute deal to find a new operator has fallen through. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) agreed in May to take over the failing diesel lines from SEPTA after the authority announced in April it was halting service by July 1. The Pennsylvania General Assembly already had transferred $2.6 million to PennDOT, and with 5600,000 in federal aid, plus up to $300,000 from fares, PennDOT had hoped to keep the little-used lines open from Philadelphia's Reading Terminal to the distant points.

But PennDOT spokeswoman Joyce Tomana said yesterday that a tentative agreement with the Berks Area Reading Transportation Authority Soecisl to rhe Inquirer TOM KELLY FIREFIGHTERS REMOVE the body of Richard S. Codshall, 59, from his third-floor room at the four-story Colonial Inn Hotel, Routes 29 and 73, Zieglerville, Montgomery County. Fire officials said the blaze apparently started when a television exploded early yesterday in another third-floor room..