The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 1

A -d AP a Nd (gib 1-111411e 41411e-tiAr---HviT1-: Foremost Newspaper of the Carolinas Tuesday April 14 1981 A For Home Delivery Assistance: 379-6716 6:30 pm 6 Price: 200 MMUMEEMP ME MI I Observer Series ins '81 Pulitzer nze to Announcement Electrifies Tense Newsroont Brown Lung Articles Get Public Serrice A ward Friends on the Philadelphia Inquirer even sent a belly dancer in to help liven up the already lively celebration Champagne was ready With the advent of computer terminals newsrooms have lost their clatter and confusion Not Monday afternoon Lancaster SC bureau reporter Scott Flander was trying to do a phone interview with a school official who seemed nervous Flander reported: "He said 'I'd rather than an individual Finalists for the public service award were the Long Beach (Calif) Independent Press-Telegram for a series on deaths due to inadequate emergency room care in Los Angeles County and the Nashville Tennessean for its reporting on the national resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan Other journalism awards announced Monday were: National reporting: John Crewdson Houston correspondent of the New York Times for more than 40 articles on illegal aliens and imigration problems Crewdson who walked across the Mexi Associated Press NEW YORK The Charlotte Observer won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize on Monday for meritorious public service for its series "Brown Lung: A Case of Deadly Neglect" The Pulitzer jury said The Observer "focused its editorial resources to expose and draw public attention to a killer invisible cotton dust breathed by 115000 textile workers every day in the Carolinas" In February 1980 The Observer published 22 articles and eight editorials detailing the failure of public officials businesses and doctors to deal with brown lung The series reported on textile companies that did not tell workers they were sick government agencies that did not inspect plants and industrial commissions that allowed disabled workers' claims to languish The Pulitzer Prizes were founded by the late Joseph Pulitzer publisher of the old New York World They have been awarded since 1917 by Columbia University on recommendation of an advisory board Except for the public service category the awards carry a prize of $1000 each The Observer will receive a gold medal for its Pulitzer considered the most prestigious of journalistic awards The public service award is given to a newspaper Insiders gave it a strong crack at the Pulitzer The series included 22 articles and eight editorials detailing the failure of government business and medicine to deal with the cotton textile industry's devastating occupational hazard: byssinosis or brown lung The news came at 3 pm precisely but newsroom cheers drowned all but the first few words Over shouts Observer Editor Rich Oppel said: "It's the gold medal in public service We won the big one" Contributors mounted desks to take their bows Colleagues kissed and hugged broke loose every which way and grinned to split By LOUISE HICKMAN LIONE Observer Staff Writer The announcement was due at 3 pm The tension started earlier By 2:45 Monday the Observer newsroom was electric with anticipation Staffers were standing about in groups of two and three and four talking speculating quietly "When are they going to move it?" one asked anxiously "Who's getting the call?" No one could give a thought to today's paper until the 1981 Pulitzer Prizes had been declared For its week-long February 1980 series "Brown Lung: A Case of Deadly Neglect" The Observer had already taken five major awards See GETTING Page 6A Col 1 Kays Gary comments on his newspaper family's proudest hour His column is on Page IB See OBSERVER Page 6A Col 1 0 Ex-Hostages Receive Award For Bravery Shuttle Gets A Go-Ahead For Lan ing I i 0 o404Is's's: Sit 6': t'5 -P' 4t: 0110: i ::4::: itVit: ::1:: 1 41' :4: 4 1' 'AI :1 1-s 'ti i- Ao 0 10 (ssst i 141 I 4174! i1 46 1 i-- 4- Aef I 47- -7-" 1' i i1 ie' I i- '4- 3- i': 4( ri 1: i Ao 4 "-7 4 ci7 -''744 I -A: '''t--'''' 4: l' 1 4 i-40 kik 5111s f- 44 1 i'As 'A' -1 1 Nti 4:::: 1 '''4-: ''''''''4'14 4lie: A 1 'rrl 4 ''''''t "1 4 1 C' 1' 0e -41e 0 :1 2::::: 'i': ji "Ir i49(54r-'''' Aa Ae :01" A'c' '4v '44 00-3NI 4 -ki' --v' it 4 1': 4' ''4' 1 '''1PA 4: 5i: '4itii 4N A4 4t141'It' -44 J' iac From Associated Press and Los Angeles Times Reports WASHINGTON The US diplomats formerly held hostage in Iran were cited Monday for exceptional bravery and heard Secretary of State Alexander Haig praise them for their courage during the 444-day ordeal Haig pinned the State Department's Award for Valor on the lapel of Bruce Laingen the ranking US diplomat in Iran during the hostage crisis Laingen received the award on behalf of himself and 53 other returnees Thirty-four of the former captives were present for the ceremony The award is given for "unusually difficult or dangerous circumstances which require exceptional personal bravery and perseverence" It was the first reunion of the ex-hostages since they were received at the White House by President Reagan in late January about a week after they left Iran Twelve weeks have passed since then and the returnees appeared fit and relaxed during their appearance on Monday The former hostages remain "steady and resolute" despite the stress the isolation and the "cruelty of confinement" Haig said Monday "The Department of State the foreign service and the entire nation share in the recognition of your ability to overcome this crisis under unusually difficult inhuman and exceptionally dangerous circumstances" Haig and Laingen acknowledged the sacrifice made by the eight US servicemen who died in the failed attempt to rescue the former hostages a year-ago The Award for Valor is a gold medal a lapel emblem and a certificate signed by the secretary of state Non-Marine guard military personnel who were held hostage are not eligible for the State Department award because they were under Defense Department jurisdiction Of the 52 ex-hostages who were released in January about a dozen have returned to work at the State Department on temporary assignment Many of the rest have been kept busy with speaking engagements or writing books The career diplomats among them are expected to have permanent assignments by June Some will go to universities to teach or to continue their education The group will fly to White Sulphur Springs WVa today for three days of meetings with the same government doctors who examined them in West Germany before their return to the United States The doctors will review any problems the former hostages might have had in readjusting to freedom The overwhelming majority are said to have had no significant problems Many former hostages have decided for varying reasons not to make the trip to West Virginia Gary Lee of Falls Church Va spoke for several when he said: "We've all more or less decided that being an ex-hostage is an ex-career It's over with" away this could be a real serious problem because the frequencies are used for tracking and ranging voice communication and telemetry" said Arthur Sigust a radio frequency manager for NASA "The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is helping us and the networks are cooperating and I'm sure the problem will be worked out" he said Columbia is the heaviest manned spacecraft ever launched At 75 tons it will plunge like a huge meteor once it slips out of orbit into the atmosphere And it will land "dead stick" like a glider Touchdown is scheduled for about 1:30 pm EST today on a dry lake bed on the Mojave Desert east of Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce officials in nearby Lancaster Monday estimated that more than 200000 people will gather to watch the landing A mini-midway complete with hot dog peanut and beer stands has sprung up in the public viewing area Early arrivals snapped up space shuttle T-shirts and hats "It's just too much of a good opportunity to miss" said Graham Taylor a British tourist who set up a pup tent in the 80-degree sun Rattlesnakes infest the area accessible only by narrow roads and officials worried about water shortages Live television coverage of the final orbit reentry and landing will begin at noon EST on the three major networks and continue for several hours or as long as it takes for the ship to complete its voyage Cable News Network said it would begin live coverage at 6 am and follow the shuttle throughout the day What life is like inside the space shuttle Story on Page 4A From Associated Press And New York Daily News Reports CAPE CANAVERAL Fla Everything is "go" for Columbia's landing today the most dangerous part of the mission for the world's first space plane During a space-to-White House conversation commander John Young told Vice President George Bush Monday that "the spaceship Is just performing beautifully" "The only thing bad is we're going to have to come down" Young said at another point Because one or more of the shuttle's heat-resistant tiles were missing and about a dozen were damaged a super-secret Air Force satellite tracking camera in Hawaii reportedly took pictures of the ship's underside as it passed over on Monday One source said the pictures showed the crucial underside tiles were apparently all in place But Gene Krantz deputy director of flight operations at the Johnson Space Center in Houston said: "There have been no pictures taken of the underside of the craft that are any way usable" He said the agency is working with the Air Force in using Department of Defense resources and added: "Any further discussion of that subject is classified" There are 30759 tiles on the orbiter covering an intricately curved surface the size of two basketball courts and no two of them are alike Experts stress that they don't think the loss of tiles thus far poses any danger to the ship But there were other potential problems Emissions from some television cameras are causing interference with radio frequencies the shuttle will have to use when it lands federal officials said Monday "If we can't get it squared UPI Photo Ex-I lost Bruce Laingen (Right) Gestures During Ceremonies Secretary of State Alexander Haig presented the awards 41k7 Jr rhite House Backers Join In ublicity Blitz Riots Resume As Britain Calls Probe Story on Page 2A "We don't want to even talk about it" Larry Speakes White House assistant press secretary said the president had "authorized no one to offer legislative compromises" and had told his advisers that he is "fully committed" to his original program and is "convinced that the American people do not want it watered down" organization based in Raleigh and associated with North Carolina's two senators Jesse Helms and John East The club has produced 10 commercials extolling the virtues of "Reaganomics" and including film of the president's two nationwide speeches on his economic program Feb 18 and March 10 Carter Wrenn treasurer of the Congressional Club said the commercials will cost about 8250000 and will also be used to collect money for other political activities merce and several large corporations As the president's budget and tax cut proposals have been debated during the past couple of weeks White House officials have noticed a subtle change in the outlook for passage Lawmakers say their mail continues to express general support for the goals of the president's proposals but now has begun to take issue with specific cuts As part of the campaign White House policy coordinator Edwin Mdese appeared early Monday at a press conference called by US Chamber of Commerce officials to announce results of a new poll it said showed widespread public support for the president's program In an effort to hold the president's congressional troops in line Meese and other White House spokesmen sought to short-circuit suggestions over the weekend by House Budget Committee Chairman James Jones D-Okla that the administration may compromise to get most of its program passed "We don't think compromise is necessary" Meese said Monday By SAUL FRIEDMAN Observer Washington Bureau WASHINGTON Worried that suppert for the president's economic program may be falling apart White House officials and administration loyalists have launched a massive publicity campaign aimed at winning over Congress The campaign includes a barrage of television commercials featuring President Reagan and designed to raise political money as well as to sell Reagan's program Much of the costly effort is being led by the US Chamber of Com The Weather Today White House officials also have approved a series of television commercials sponsored by the Congressional Club a national conservative Cloudy High in low 80s low in low 50s Chance of rain 30 today 10 tonight Details Pg 208 Official Links 2 Girls' Killings i 1 I if 4( 1 1 110 fs Oil i i 1 i i i 1 '1 "2 Iv 1 i '1 '''N't i 'ii1 i body in the Smith case the exact cause of her death will probably never be known Wood said Portions of the skull indicated the head didn't suffer any blows or gunshots Wood said leading 'to his conclusion that she might have been strangled Remains of Neely Smith were dispersed by animals Wood said "I suppose people would get alarmed if we say these cases are related but you have to face reality" Wood said "I this February's disappearance of 5-yearold Neely Smith Wood said Those similarities are: Both lived in the same east Charlotte neighborhood The killer's method of operation was similar in that both victims' bodies were disposed of in rural areas Both victims were young girls and there is a possible sex motivation in both cases Furthermore Amanda Ray was strangled and Neely Smith probably was strangled Wood said However due to the lack of a whole By JOHN MONK Observer Staff Writer The abduction-slayings of two young Charlotte girls might have been committed by the same person or persons Mecklenburg Medical Examiner Hobart Wood said Monday "I feel that the two cases are related" Wood said adding he doesn't have medical evidence to support his contention But he said "The coincidences make you uneasy" There are three strong similarities between the July 1979 disappearance and death of 10-year-old Amanda Ray and Index Business 5B Living 8A Classified 10B Movies 14A Comics 18B Obituaries10B Deaths 10B People 20B Editorial 16A Sports 11A Landers 10A TV Listing 15A Young Observer 198 Contints (c) 95 I The Charlotte Observer Amanda Ray See OFFICIAL Page GA CoL 1 Neely Smith I' I.