Morning Sentinel from Waterville, Maine • 11

MaineLocal Morning Sentinel Wednesday ebruary 1988 Jay school board bids McKernan close mill Letter sent to governor By DON WATERHOUSE Sentinel Staff JAY Gov John McKernan Jr is receiving another in a length erring list of pleas to shut down In ternational Paper Androscoggin Mill Members of the Jay School Committee at their meeting Mon day night joined selectmen strik ing paperworkers and local citizens groups in urging the gov ernor to close the giant paper plant in the wake of a series of chemical spills at IP The five member panel in a let ter drafted and sent Tuesday de manded all operations at the mill be ceased a full scaled in spection (at the mill) has been Jay selectmen at their meeting eb 16 petitioned the governor to close the mill That action came 12 days after a major chlorine spill forced the evacuation of an esti mated 4000 area residents and school children and only two days after another chlorine accident sent seven workers to ranklin Memorial Hospital In addition a newly formed group called Citizens Against Poi son has organized two protest marches to the mill gates and one to the Maine State House Monday demanding the plant be shut down Reasons given by the school committee for its action included: Lack of notification from IP to the Jay School Department that the eb 5 spill had occurred Schools are located about 15 miles downwind from the plant Increasing concerns from par ents about the safety of their chil dren while they attend classes The stress of students which is away from their normal educational de Committee Chairman Alan Labbe said a series of investiga tions into the operation of the mill is not sufficient to allay the fears of townspeople if they find a problem with the Way the mill is being run? be taking a heck of a Reflecting tensions in Jay over recent chemical was this skeletal dummy erected by striking leaks from the International Paper Co mill there union members at the mill entrance last riday I fl I 4 Mt? I li Ik Sraa sB' mkA I mB (r I QUt' 1 1K i raSHOKrl Mran ww I Jw fc S3 i AP photo chance in keeping the place Labbe said McKernan has ordered a to probe of the plant by the Maine Department of Environ mental Protection and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration letter to the governor were for warded to Attorney General James Tierney Senate President Charles Pray House Speaker John Martin Education Commissioner Eve Bither US Sens George Mitchell and William Cohen and Reps Joseph Brennan and Olympia Snowe Also at meeting the committee adopted a written emergency plan to be followed in the event of future evacuations In addition McKernan and IP Chairman John Georges agreed on a plan last week for a company paid independent engineering stu dy of the operations But despite the spate of investi gations McKernan has stated he does not believe a shutdown of the mill is warranted Committee members do not hold out high hopes McKernan will reverse his decision we felt it was important to make our posi tion Copies of the school committee The school svstem had a Dian previously but it was not according to Labbe the one (evacua tion) on the 5th worked out pretty Labbe said Under the adopted plan schools will be notified by the superinten office to prepare for evacua tion and radio stations WKTJ in armington WRUM in Rumford and WBLM in Lewiston will be no tified of the situation and where students will be taken The plan was drafted by Super intendent Grayson Hartley the three school principals and Trans Krtation Supervisor Carroll Mc inald Labbe said In other action the board gave excused absences to an estimated 100 school children who stayed out of school and accompanied a group of parents io the State House rally Monday Without the excuses the stu dents faced loss of credit for the day of work they missed According to Labbe panel members felt the absences were justified in light of the concerns about safety at the mill Hartley said attendance throughout the school system re turned to normal Tuesday Strikers holding their own despite wage credit pinch By BRUCE ELLISON Guy Gannett Service JAY Despite nine months without paychecks strikers at the International Paper mill here ap parently have been able to hold their own when it comes to paying off debts Some even have begun paying off principal when they have to area bankers said Virtually none of the strikers members of the United Paper workers International Union and the Brotherhood of iremen and Oilers has had a car repossessed by a lender or seen his house lost for non payment of a mortgage Officials at local lending institu tions say they understand why strikers might have trouble meet ing regular payments and say their institutions have met with borrowers one on one to resched ule loans or make other payment arrangements or those who simply cannot meet their obligations have been able to raise enough money to take care of those specific prob said UPIU spokesman Pet er Kellman In part the good credit records may be due tothe fact that most strikers have been able to collect about $160 a week in unemploy ment compensation plus $55 a week in union strike benefits Others have working spouses or have found temporary or part time jobs out of town And union officials say the workers saw the strike coming and saved for it have been a few who have had said Gary Knight executive vice president of nearby Livermore alls Trust Co the largest local financial institution we have worked hard on an individual basis to avoid hard Union spokesman Kellman said none of the strikers had lost a car for non payment and added that if a car had been repos sessed word would have spread rapidly Knight at Livermore alls Trust agreed think if even one striker had been with repos session all know he said At the Otis Division Credit Union which serves the IP mill and the James River mill just downriver as well as residents of half a dozen nearby communities manager Roland Poirier said would say that our legal action against people on strike is almost non Still the credit union last year more than tripled its reserve for possible loan losses to about $465000 from $150000 just in case some loans repaid Despite that the credit savings base has continued to grow up by $800000 in a year and its loans increased by about $1 mil lion had an audit by the folks from the National Credit Union Ad ministration and they found noth ing in what we were doing to object Poirier said certainly did not crit icize us for being when the institution tried to treat each borrower as an individual Poirier said that many of his customers who once had asked to defer regular monthly payments and just pay interest now are com ing in voluntarily to begin pay ments on the outstanding balance of them have sold as things like all terrain vehi cles or trailers to pay off loans Poirier said while others me they will be getting income tax re funds and using them to make healthy payoffs if they Many paperworkers probably had too much tax withheld this year both federal and state cause of the sharp drop in their in come when the strike started And said Poirier noth ing to do they had plenty of time to file early ana get the refund on the Still say officials in the Jay Town Hall unpaid tax bills from December total about $26000 more than last year one sign that some people are hurting McKernan airs hopes calm heads By BESS BEZIRGAN Medill News Service WASHINGTON Gov John McKernan Jr said Tuesday that the he hopes heads will among the Jay town officials who have asked him to shut down the International Paper Co mill The officials are concerned that safety requirments at the mill are not being met citing the eb 5th chlorine leak there The Jay schoolboard on Tues day joined in requesting that the governor shut down the mill which in the last eight months has hired a number of replacement workers for the 1200 striking IP employees Union officials have repeatedly claimed that the re placements are inexperienced McKernan in an interview dis cussed the situation in Jay after a meeting with the Maine congres sional delegation here He said I understand the concern and emotions of the people in Jay someone has to shoulder the bur will prevail den and do what is right I am try ing to be While the state Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration who are in vestigating the plant have said the problems have reached a level to be concerned about McKernan said they have also assured him that this does not make the plant unsafe have confidence in the people who have expertise in these he said Responding to critics who have charged him with being pro busi ness in his approach to the IP strike and other issues McKernan said have never been pro busi ness or pro labor for that matter I do right for the state and right for the citizens Some bills vetoed have been sup ported by organized labor and probably where that crit icism comes from But in fact much of what I have done like the railroad workers bill has been supported by the Contributions swell Dean und to $26466 Central Maine residents con tinued Tuesday to add to the Dean fund established by the Morning Sentinel at Casco Northern Bank to aid the Mad ison family contribu tors included: Indian Spring Lodge Odd el lows Madison $100 Co 26d ENGR BN (CBT) (CORPS) of Skowhegan and Newport $34 Alice and Roland Rancourt Winslow $20 Mr and Mrs rancis Roddy South China $10 Victor and Ruth Springer St Albans $25 Arthur and Vio let Whitney Skowhegan $10 Old Point Past Noble Grands As sociation of Madison Mayola Gagne secretary $50 AW and Jayne Larsgn Waterville $25 Trailer Sales Donald and Ellen Carpentier Skowhegan $50 Also Mr and Mrs Laurence Amazeen Skowhegan $25 Mildred Chase Skowhegan $10 ZD Wire Products Inc Skow hegan $50 Robert and Gloria Nicholson Skowhegan $25 Ger ald and Maxine Peters Dryden $10 David and Andra Burrill Canaan $10 The Helping Hand Club of South China $25 Albert and Evelyn ortier Winslow $10 Oran and Betty Atkinson Skowhegan $25 Marty Bev and Brandi Wyman Canaan $15 Also loyd and Ellen James Pittsfield $10 Murielle and Eve Where It stands Tuesday's receipts: $729 Previously reported: $2573785 Total to data: $2646685 Persons who wish to donate may send check to: The Dean amily und cto The Morning Sentinel 25 Silver St Waterville ME 04901 lyn Landry Waterville $10 Malcolm and Irma Swain Nor ridgewock $20 The George Da vis Jr family Mercer $15 Glenn and Cora Williams Athens $10 Ross Allain Mad ison $20 Anonymous $5 Anon ymous Madison $10 Mary Baker Madison $10 Rebecca Bragg Madison $10 Jack and Robin rost and family Anson $30 Also Duke and Nancy Al banese Oakland $20 Kennebec River Rovers Chapter of Good Sam Skowhegan $50 Dana and Veronica Soule Winslow $20 Marilyn Bean Mt Vernon $10 red and Carleen Nelson Clin ton $15 Charles and Carol Phinney Norridgewock $10 rances and Ralph Tozier Bing ham $10 Tim and Debbie Gi roux North Vassalboro $10 and Raymond and Gloria Bowen North Anson $5 IP under orders to clean up its act By STEVE CARTWRIGHT Guy Gannett Service ROCKPORT International Paper is on notice it should clean up its act top environmental official said Tuesday: Dean Marriott commissioner of the De partment of Environmental Protection said a four pronged investigation of Jay mill site of a prolonged strike and several toxic chemical spills is unprecedented want to assure you that this company now knows the state mil not just sit idly oy said Marriott who spoke about the Jay mill controversy in a speech to the Economic De velopment Council of Maine meeting in Rock port He said he has not seen details of a DEP investigation of the plant but stated ing was found that created a risk to public safety Otherwise we would have moved over the to take action such as closing the mill Marriott said closing the mill an action sought by the striking union and Jay town offi cials would make it impossible to study the environmental impact of its operation the DEP had found anything the mill be said Jay based IP spokesman Richard White He announced Tuesday that former Jay mill manager John Nevin has begun an indefinite assignment as liaison between IP and local county and state government But Marriott said Gov John McKernan think IP has taken things seriously He said IP chief executive John A Georges got a lecture last week at a closed door meet ing from McKernan on mill safety and com municating with government officials Marriott who attended the meeting said listened to the lecture that executive Georges is head of the largest paper com pany in the world At Jay Marriott said crawled over that accompanied by investigators from the state departments of health and la bor and the State ire Office His four point investigation includes his own agency the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration an audit by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and a study of the mill by fully independent consultant working for Marriott said the consultant may be named Wednesday represents our commitment to pub lic safety in the state of he declared He pointed out IP agreed to invest $1 mil lion in mill improvements after paying a $55 000 fine in December 1987 for a spill in August that caused water pollution in Jay That incident involved total power fail ure at the he said adding tak ing a lot of heat from the town of Jay because we allow them to participate in any con sent decree Senate delays action on IP closing resolution Associated Press AUGUSTA Majority Demo crats in the Maine Senate on Tues day decided to delay action on a resolution asking the governor to close the International Paper Co mill until a panel of engineers can probe recent hazardous gas acci dents At the State House Senate Democrats met for more than a half hour in President Charles office before deciding to put off action on the non binding reso lution asking Gov John McKer nan Jr to exercise his emergency powers and suspend operations at the strikebound Jay mill Some Democrats wanted to al low time for a special panel of con sulting engineers to examine the operations for potential safety problems After the third in a recent series of hazardous chemical exposures at the mill McKernan and IP Chairman John Georges last week agreed to have the state selected panel inspect the mill deference to the governor give him his said the sponsor Sen Zachary Matthews Winslow But he warned that the resolution may be back on the floor by next week IP spokesman Richard White said company officials have no indication that mill should be shut we were aware of an unsafe condition no one would have to tell us to shut down the mill We would take whatever action was appro priate to correct the White said White said the company has been trying to establish an evacua tion plan with the town since 1985 and continues to work toward that goal Curtis found guilty of killing gay lover By SCOTT HOAR Guy Gannett Service ALRED Dean Alton Curtis 25 was found guilty Tuesday of stabbing his homosex ual lover to death last June at Goose Rocks Beach Curtis was charged with plunging a knife into David back four times near mid night of June 8 on the beach where the pair had gone with a bottle of champagne and two wine glasses body was discovered wrapped in a blanket in a tidal pool about noon the next day car was found abandoned at the New ark NJ airport Credit card purchase rec eipts then showed a trail from ort Lauderdale to Montreal and eventually to Mt Vernon Wash where he was arrested July 14 The jury of 10 women and two men deliber ated for 3 hours and 20 minutes on the fifth day of the trial in York County Superior Court Curtis sat tight lipped ana at attention be tween his lawyers as the verdict was an nounced He looked intently at each juror as they were polled on the verdict Each juror an swered in a firm voice but none of them looked at the defendant Justice Willism Brodrick set 1:30 pm March 18 for sentencing He said that the sen tence can range from a minimum of years to life without parole A pre sentence investigation has been or dered Curtis was taken to York County Jail He ignored a television question on his reaction to the verdict If Curtis had been found innocent he would have been arrested immediately by Maine po lice as a fugitive from Canadian justice In the audience were two police detectives from Peal a suburb of Toronto who last July arrested Curtis in the stabbing death of US Customs officer Steven Johnson also a ho mosexual in Toronto dead body was found June 27 there 2 weeks after body was found Canadian police caught up with Curtis in John car in Washington State Defense co counsel James Boone cross ex amined only a few of the more than two dozen witnesses and confined the defense to his concluding statement to the jury Tuesday morning After the trial Boone confirmed that he had planned to present testimony of a psychiatrist that had interviewed Curtis there were some statements Curtis made that I have wanted the jury to hear so we changed our Boone said no decision has been made on whether to appeal the conviction In his closing arguments Assistant Attor ney General Eric Wright told the jury that avalanche of evidence makes your job (of determining guilt or innocence) easier not He traced the testimony of about two dozen witnesses who saw Curtis with the vic tim to within about two hours of his death then by the trail of sales slips and credit card rec eipts to Newark NJ ort Lauderdale la and to Montreal testimony may suggest (the motive was) theft his need for a car and credit cards the method by which he lived but it necessary for the state to prove he asserted "He took the car used credit cards and checks and used the name of Nixon in Mon treal no one else Wright said and no one else kept calling individuals try ing to find out what the police Boone argued that isn't a nice person but he a cold blooded killer He stressed that the case was "based completely on circumstantial evidence (and) in your deliberations you should ask questions about 1 Boone suggested that Nixon had passed out on the beach and that him taking his car and credit cards made the rails to the family and police after not being able to reach Nixon at his private home tele phone in order to find out if Nixon was going to prosecute him for the Boone admitted that Curtis was known for with male homosexuals stealing from them assuming their identities".