The Bangor Daily News du lieu suivant : Bangor, Maine • 7

ALL Bangor Daily News Thursday March 28 1991 Deaf protesters object to dorm closing 7 A McKeman plan would close dorm at Baxter school By Peter Jackson AUGUSTA (AP) The McKeman budget-cutting blueprint came under attack from new quarters Wednesday as scores of deaf protesters marched around the capitol and urged lawmakers to reject plans to close Hie only dormitory at the state school for the deaf Meanwhile a union representing 1600 state employees at mental hospitals prisons and other institutions filed a legal challenge to various reductions in pay and benefits Gov John McKeman has proposed or imposed as part of efforts to balance the budget Opposition to the plan to close the on-campus residential program at the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf on Mackworth Island in Falmouth dominated testimony before the Appropriations Committee as it continued with its second week of hearings on budget Earlier nearly 100 deaf people joined in a silent but conspicuous demonstration outside the State House carrying signs with slogans like Deaf and Your Car Headlights if You Support and communicating by sign language through interpreters Between one dozen and two dozen of the 70 students currently live in the dormitory said the superintendent Kathleen Fries Closing it and laying off nine employees would save about $200000 a year nearly half of the cost of the residential program The remaining funds would be used to contract for space in a group home outside the campus and to expand after-school activities for deaf students Fries added More than 100 people overflowed from the Appropriations Committee hearing as deaf people and their advocates hailed the school and the residential program in particular as crucial to the socialization of many young deaf people school is the Mecca of deaf cul- residents can succeed in this Fries responding to complaints that the deaf community was not consulted by school administrators in their decision to propose closing the dorm said they were required to make a decision about spending cuts in a single weekend have for extensive discussions she said adding that the school has worked closely with advocacy groups in setting other policies Enrollment at the school has plummeted over the years the result of confusion over a decade-old federal law dealing' with the education of handicapped children and a trend among Earents to keep their deaf children at ome Fries said The number of students at the Baxter school has declined from 181 in 1970 to 122 in 1980 and 79 in 1985 she added Meantime Wednesday Council 93 of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees filed a prohibited practice complaint with the Maine Labor Relations Board over various actions and proposals by the administration At issue were proposals to require state employees to take 20 unpaid days off during each of the next two budget years and to scale back certain coverage and state contributions toward health insurance Both items are connected to the $32 billion biennial budget that is currently being reviewed by the Appropriations Committee Also challenged is a plan already being phased in that effectively forces state employees to forgo a pay through September by gradually pushing back the timetable for paydays AFSCME leader Charles Sherburne said the steps constitute a violation of the three-year contract that runs through mid-1992 have to live with that contract and we would expect that (McKeman) would do the said Sherburne spokesman Willis Ly-ford noted that most of the items being contested have yet to be approved or implemented He said the furloughs are necessary to offset the cost of a 7-per-cent pay raise that is scheduled to take effect under the contract on July 1 kept our end of the insisted Lyford Mill worker gets threats after smoking ban enforced MILLINOCKET (AP) A paper mill worker said he received death threats obscene phone calls and the silent treatment after he piade the 'mill enforce a state law protecting workers from secondhand smoke Donald Frost who is allergic to cig- arettfr'smoke raised the issue be-' cause the smoking areas at either end of the mill marked by yellow lines on the floor protect him from the smoke Georgia-Pacific Corp adhering to the state rule that says employers must ban smoking if they provide smoking rooms that are vented and enclosed snuffed out the cigarettes at the mill altogether on Aug 1 And where trouble began for Frost believe the Frost said work with nine men and only three talk to me My wife has to leave the phone off the hook when not Robert Marks attorney said his client also received death threats from co-workers leave now if I had the resources but I have no Frost said quit your job or you The state Department of Human Services adopted the smoking rule in February 1990 In addition to the Georgia-Pacific Corp smoking will cease May 1 at the Fraser Paper Co in Madawaska Patricia Jones who enforces the code for the state said Frost first complained in 1989 Later after suffering dizziness Frost left work on the advice of his doctor and filed a Compensation claim a human-rights discrimination case and a complaint with the state -Frost lost the Compensation case and 10 months of pay which is being appealed Marks said However the Human Rights Commission concluded the company had discriminated against Frost When negotiations with Georgia-Pacific failed to produce an acceptable accord Jones went to the attorney general and quickly came said Assistant Attorney General John Wipfler one ever thought it would comCu to said Larry Wedge a smoker who works for Georgia-Pacific Wedge and co-workers gathered about 300 signatures on petitions that were delivered to state Senate President Charles Pray Gordon Manuel a Georgia-Pacific spokesman said nine workers have been disciplined for violating the smoking ban company was forced to do he said Wipfler said penalties of $100 a day could be imposed if the ban enforced I 4 tlJ 'I i 3 fr -1 a LI -y jtr- DEAF PROTESTERS object to the ter School for the Deaf About 100 pro-McKernan plan to testers marched around the capitol close a dormitory at the Governor Bax- Wednesday in Augusta (AP Photo) deaf youngsters on campus helped cushion her from the fear and isolation encountered by many deaf children in other settings in the dorm has really made my life easier and she said Tania Hubacher a residential adviser in the dormitory who can hear said most of her colleagues are deaf and serve as role models who show the said William Nye chairman of the advisory committee to the state Education Division of Deafness Nye like most of the deaf people who testified addressed the committee and the audience with the aid of three sign-language interpreters Lori Morris an Auburn woman who spent 10 years at the school before graduating in 1985 said living with other Technical college trustees OK 10 percent tuition hike of the tuition revenue to assist students in financial need About 70 percent of the student population receives some type of financial aid said John Fitzsimmons system president Kirk noted that despite the increase tuition at technical colleges remains below tuition at other two-year public colleges in the Northeast I The board is exploring other sources of revenue through alumni associations grants and private donations Each technical college campus is activating its alumni association and increasing grant-writing activity The board has set a goal to raise $500000 in cash or equipment donations from the private sector nical College where there are a few apartment-style units for students but no dormitories will be $1250 Trustee Geneva Kirk of Lewiston was head of a subcommittee that reviewed what impact the fee increases would have on the students Recommending the increase Kirk said concern existed the impact a tuition hike could have on our students but we had to balance that with a deep concern for the realities of the budget Fred Kahrl a trustee from Bath said the tuition committee may seek more increases next year re-examine this issue to see if we took a bold enough he said The board agreed to set aside $35000 $200000 in cuts Jess than the $18 million expected but it faces more than $10 million in proposed cuts for fiscal years 1992 and 1993 not trying to solve the revenue problem at the expense of students said Aube Starting next fall tuition for in-state students will be $44 per credit hour or $1320 per year for full-time students Out-of-state students who comprise about 5 percent of the technical college population will pay $100 per credit hour or $3000 a year which is a 25 percent increase Room and board rates will increase $400 to $2800 per year The room only charge at the Washington County Tech By Nancy Garland NEWS Education Writer AUGUSTA Trustees of the Maine Technical College System on Wednesday raised tuition by 10 percent for the 1991-92 academic year The board also increased room and board rates by about 17 percent for the six-campus system Michael Aube board chairman said the system could expect a total of $600000 in new revenues from the increases However the money will not balance anticipated cuts over the next two years he said The technical college system survived this budget review with DHS spending reviews begin Flights of returning troops The following is a tentative schedule of airline flights carrying US troops home from the Persian Gulf War through Bangor International Airport The following flights are expected this week Listed are the anticipated flight arrival times the airlines and final destinations of the flights Broker penalized for frivolous appeal PORTLAND (AP) The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Wednesday threw out the latest in a string of appeals by an Auburn real estate broker and ordered him to pay triple costs and $500 in legal fees to the banker named as defendant in his suit In its sharply worded opinion the court said Clement A St appeal of a ruling in his suit against August Berta was without any and represented an abuse of the judicial process St Hilaire expressed regret at the decision but vowed to continue to bring any appeals he felt were warranted a sad St Hilaire said in a telephone interview not getting a just ruling because not a member of the bar St Hilaire acting as his own lawyer had brought the suit against Berta in his capacity as president of the Auburn Savings Loan Association The justices noted that Auburn Savings Loan had foreclosed on the house in question long before St Hilaire produced a buyer for the property nullifying the listing contract St Hilaire 51 said he had brought as many as nine appeals before the supreme court over the past 10 years As stipulated in the supplemental budget bill enacted two weeks ago the review group has until April 15 to any additional to the program The same group then has until May 1 to conduct a similar review and make budgetbalancing recommendations for the next two-year cycle Meanwhile a second task force has been named and is scheduled to meet this week to seek savings within the Aid to Families with Dependent Children and Medicaid programs Also on a fast track that seven-member panel has been given until May 15 to report findings and make recommendations Serving as chairman of the second group is Joseph Roach the chief executive officer of Millinocket Regional Hospital Membership again was drawn from the Human Services Department and Legislature and includes representatives of the health care industry and low-income citizens A third study group called for in the supplemental budget however has yet to surface Neither McKernan nor the Democratic legislative leaders yet have put forth their appointees to a Special Commission on Governmental Restructuring VMUVMW By Francis Quinn AUGUSTA (AP) The first of two task forces created in this initial budget battle to examine ways to hold down spending in Human Services Department programs has been set to work facing a deadline less than three weeks away Soaring costs in the programs have sharpened the ideological struggle between Republican Gov John McKernan and Democratic lawmakers They include welfare benefits medical cost payments and subsidized health insurance A 13-member group reviewing the controversial Maine Health Program established last year to pay health care costs of thousands of uninsured children and adults assembled for the first time this week Serving as chairman is Rosalyne Bernstein of PorUand the chairman of the Maine Health Care Finance Commission The panel is to determine whether the program can be operated through the end of June without spending more than the $65 million newly authorized by the Legislature and the governor The group is made up of representatives of the department the hospital and insurance industries organized labor and citizen advocates as well as several legislators ICglbldlUiO Thursday March 28 7:20 am United Airlines Pope AFB Fayetteville NC 3:20 pm Hawaiian Airlines Pope AFB Fayetteville 10:40 pm United Airlines Pope AFB Fayetteville NC Friday March 29 12:20 am American Trans Air Cherrypoint NC 2:50 am United Airlines Fort Benning Columbus Ga 5:30 am United Airlines Fort Benning Columbus Ga 8:40 pm United Airlines Fort Benning Columbus Ga People wanting information about arrival times for troop flights should call 942-7606 Sexual abuse trial against Goldman couple to continue judge rules By Margaret Warner trial notebook incident is not of Glen Porter one of four lawyers has been investigating when the trial resumes could not be affected Th By Margaret Warner trial notebook incident is not of Glen Porter one of four lawyers has been investigating when the trial resumes could not be affected such consequence that a mistrial is Silsby wrote in the decision filed in Penobscot County Superior Court Silsby however- did favor sanctions against the errant attorneys ana instructed the pther lawyers involved to file affidavits before April 18 listing their fees and costs resulting from the notebook incident The non-jury trial was three weeks into its expected five-week run when Elizabeth Kelly Ebitz and her associate Judith Thornton who represented the daughter obtained a notebook containing the trial strategy of Of the NEWS Staff A Brewer abuse trial against her parents derailed in October when her lawyers photocopied an notes will pick up where it left off a judge ruled Wednesday In a four-page decision in Joanne case against Sol I and Gladys Goldman Justice Herbert Silsby II rejected motions on behalf of the parents seeking a mistrial dismissal and a summary judgment in their favor i my opinion the trial is not tainted beyond repair and the The lawyers involved met the decision with expected reactions Porter was not available Wednesday but the other three attorneys Carl Rella Jules Mogul and Frederick Badger Jr said they were disappointed Steven Silin who now represents Ebitz and Thornton said ruling was right Wayne Foote who has been representing Joanne Goldman since the matter came to light called the decision excellent He has been acting in an interim capacity and is not expected to represent the daughter Three of the remaining witnesses the judge said not important The fourth was an expert witness who testified for nearly an hour and a half she gave (for testimo-" ny) can be set aside and not considered and new counsel will proceed anew if the witness is wrote Silsby who will preside as the trial continues The judge wrote that he had read none of the pages of the notebook so as to avoid a He set no new date for resumption of the trial In the case itself which was several years coming to trial the daughter now in her late 20s contended that her father physically and sexually abused her re-peatedly throughout her childhood and that her mother failed to intervene on her behalf The parents who live in New York City have denied the allegations Silsby noted that from the photocopying incident until its revelation to die court testimony had come from 10 witnesses But the testimony of six of those witnesses was given by depositions taken before the trial and therefore representing the parents They admitted to photocopying the notebook but said it had been left on their table in the courtroom at the end of the day and that they had picked it up inadvertently Secretaries in and office brought the incident to the attention three days later The secretaries resigned over the matter and testified against their former employer at the October hearing Ebitz and Thornton said the incident was an error in judgment The Board of Overseers of the Bar which has disciplinary authority over the lawyers.