Sun-Journal from Lewiston, Maine • B5

DENVER (AP) The outgoing Air Force Academy commandant on Monday praised the decision to replace him amid a sexual assault scandal, saying it was the best way to make wholesale changes at the school. In a telephone interview, Brig. Gen. Sylvanus Taco Gilbert III also said he regretted critical comments that he made during a session with a female cadet who reported she had been raped. was never my intention to rebuke or to criticize at all.

My only concern was truly for the future safety, security and well-being of cadet Lisa Gilbert said. had seen that she had gone through physical and emotional trauma and never wanted her to have to endure that Gilbert, 46, is among a handful of academy leaders being replaced or reassigned in the wake of criticism over the handling of sexual assault reports. Dozens of female cadets have said they were ostracized or reprimanded after they told superiors they had been raped. Speaking from the academy in Colorado Springs, Gilbert said Air Force Secretary James Roche and senior commanders were supportive of his leadership but wanted to make changes. you take an organization in a very different direction, the easiest way that we found in the Air Force to do that is to bring in a new leadership said Gilbert.

He came under scrutiny largely for comments he made to the Denver weekly West word about a 2001 case involving Ballas, a 21-year-old senior. Ballas said that after playing strip poker and drinking seven cocktails at a party, she got dressed and went into a bedroom with another cadet. According to testimony at a military hearing, they mutually fondled, kissed and disrobed. Then, Ballas said, she was raped. Gilbert granted Ballas amnesty for other infractions such as drinking and took the case against the male cadet to an Article 32 hearing, the equivalent of a pretrial hearing.

A hearing officer decided there enough evidence and recommended that Gilbert not send the case to its next level, a court-martial. Gilbert agreed. PHILADELPHIA (AP) Doctors are being more careful about prescribing antibiotics for common ailments, but when they do, they are turning too often to powerful new su perdrugs, a new study says. The overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics for minor infections poses a serious health threat because it could speed bacterial resistance to valuable and potentially lifesaving drugs, according to a study in edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study reviewed the prescribing behavior of physicians from 1991-99.

good news is antibiotics are being used less often in situations where they are not needed, such as to treat the common cold and mild said Dr. Michael Steinman of the University of California at San Francisco, lead author of the study. troubling news is that when doctors do turn to an antibiotic they are increasingly turning to broad-spectrum he said. Antibiotics only fight bacteria and have no effect on viruses. Doctors, however, often prescribe them for children with viral earaches or for adults with colds because patients demand them or because not a clear diagnosis and antibiotics kill many different bugs.

As a result, germs are becoming increasingly impervious to antibiotics. Many common infections no longer are treatable with old standbys like penicillin, and some have become untreatable by every antibiotic on the market. Any time antibiotics are used, survivor germs can emerge stronger and spread. Researchers looked at data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from outpatient clinics and found that the number of antibiotic prescriptions doctors wrote decreased roughly 17 percent from 1991 to 1999. However, prescriptions of broad-spectrum antibiotics roughly doubled from 24 percent to 48 percent for adults and from 24 percent to 40 percent for children.

The study also says that broad-spectrum drugs were increasingly being used for bronchitis and respiratory infections over the decade, though almost always useless against those bugs. good news that seeing a downward trend in antibiotics said Dr. Richard E. Besser of the CDC, author of an editorial on antibiotics accompanying the article. we continue to reinforce the appropriate prescribing behavior, the gains achieving will be The broad-spectrum agents might get preference over old standbys because some doctors mistakenly perceive the newer drugs work better or because still under patents and therefore heavily advertised and distributed to doctors in free samples, Besser said.

Steinman noted that there is also a financial drawback to using the more powerful drugs: A typical seven-day course of broad-spectrum antibiotics can cost around $50 compared to the cost of a narrow-spectrum course of around $5. The government estimates that half of the 100 million antibiotic prescriptions written in physician offices each year are unnecessary. Starting next year, the Food and Drug Administration is requiring antibiotics to bear warnings about the dangers of their overuse. NATION Lewiston, Maine, Monday, April 1, 2003 5 UNDER NEW UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP OWNERSHI Many Many Renovations Renovations Impr Impr ovements ovements ONDA YTHRU RIDAY 4:15 AM -9 PM ATURDAY UNDAY 7 AM -3 PM EFT Draft. See Club for Details 770 Main Street, Lewiston, ME 784-1047 www.fitnessworldme.com INTO SHAPE! ASTING EMORIES Save the memory of your loved one with a decorative laminated copy of the newspaper obituary for only $3.25 each.

Just fill out this coupon and include a check made out to: Sun Journal. Request must be made within 30 days of publication of obituary Your Name Address Background Design(s) Choice Daytime Phone Date of Obituary Name of Deceased AIL UN OURNAL A TTN INDA OEHLERT 104 ARK TREET OX 4400 EWISTON AINE 04243 1991-92 1998-99 visits that resulted in antibiotic prescriptions. for primarily viral conditions. Broad-spectrum antibiotics include azithromycin and clarithromycin, quinolones, amoxicillin-clavulanate, and second- and third-generation cephalosporins. AdultsChildren Adults Children 1998-99 Doctors overprescribing superdrugs The overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics for minor bacterial infections and viral infections poses a serious health threat because it could speed bacterial resistance to valuable and potentially lifesaving drugs.

SOURCE: Annals of Internal Medicine AP Percentage of broad-spectrum antibiotic prescriptions 1991-92 1998-99 1991-92 1998-99 from of fice visits that resulted in antibiotic prescriptions for primarily viral conditions. Broad-spectrum antibiotics include azithromycin and clarithromycin, quinolones, amoxicillin-clavulanate, and second- and third-generation cephalosporins. Adults Children Adults Children 1998-99 1998-99 Superdrugs overused The overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics for minor bacterial infections and viral infections poses a serious health threat because it could speed bacterial resistance to valuable and potentially lifesaving drugs. SOURCE: Annals of Internal Medicine AP Percentage of broad-spectrum antibiotic prescriptions Editor note: It is mandatory to include all sources that accompany this graphic when repur posing or editing it for publication. Doctors overprescribing superdrugs, study says To learn more go to: Annals of Internal Medicine: http://www.annals.org As a result, germs are becoming increasingly impervious to antibiotics.

Outgoing top gun praises decision to replace him AIR FORCE ACADEMY was never my intention to rebuke or to criticize at Brig. Gen. Sylvanus Taco Gilbert III Man accused of fatal shooting spree in retaliation for charged with murder NEW YORK (AP) A man accused of going on a shooting spree that claimed the lives of four immigrants, allegedly because he was angry about Sept. 11, was put on suicide watch Monday after his arraignment on murder charges. Larme Price, 30, was arrested after walking into a police station Friday and offering to help track down the suspect.

Within a day, police said they obtained confession and his stated motivation: exacting revenge for the terror ist attacks. Price told authorities he intended to target people of Middle Eastern descent when he fatally shot four immigrants in convenience stores and an all- night laundry in February and March, police said. He was charged with four counts of murder, attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon at his arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court. He was placed on suicide watch at the request of his attorney, John Youngblood. first concern is for Mr.

physical Youngblood said. The relatives refused to comment. Price was ordered held without bail until his next court date on April 11. In interviews with police, Price described three of the victims born in Guyana, India and Yemen as The fourth victim, Russian- born laundry manager Albert Kotlyar, was possibly targeted because he asked the suspect to leave, police said. LOUISVILLE, Ky.

(AP) A retired Roman Catholic priest accused of abuse by dozens of plaintiffs pleaded guilty to multiple counts of sexual misconduct Monday as his jury trial was scheduled to begin. The Rev. Louis E. Miller, 72, of Louisville entered his pleas in Jefferson County Circuit Court to 50 counts of indecent and immoral practices and sexual abuse. The charges involve 21 victims, according to court documents.

He faces trial on similar charges in neighboring Oldham County in June. Miller retired from public ministry last year when the accusations became public. He is accused of abuse in more than 80 lawsuits filed against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville, which employed him for more than 30 years. The plaintiffs all now adults claim they were abused by Miller as children. They say the church was aware of the abuse but did nothing to stop it.

A 1990 psychiatric report filed with the court last summer said Miller committed assaults every other month during the 1960s and usually targeting boys 10 to 15. When the church learned of the incidents, it moved him from one job to another, said the report sent to Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly, who barred Miller from working with children in 1990 and later assigned him as a nursing home chaplain. The lawsuits against Miller are among more than 200 filed in about the last year which accuse more than 25 priests in the archdiocese of abuse. guilty plea is the first in the wave of lawsuits.

Two other priests, the Revs. Daniel C. Clark and James Hargadon; a former priest, Bruce Ewing; and two teachers are awaiting trial within the next year in Jefferson, Oldham, Bullitt and Grayson counties. All five have pleaded innocent and were employed by the Louisville archdiocese. Sentencing for Miller was set for May 27.

He faces one to 10 years in prison for each count of indecent and immoral practices with another, and one to five years for each count of sexual abuse. Retired priest pleads guilty CHURCH ABUSE CASES.