Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 4

4 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Monday, October 1 5, 1990 CITYAREA Charleroi lays off one-third of workers Council cuts 9 to stave off budget deficit TOMIISITZ Captain's elixir best part of cold etting a cold at this time I of the year wasn't so bad a few hundred years ago. Actually, it was kind of Probe set in youth's '87 death Alcohol not a factor, student's family says By Michael A. Fuoco Post-Gazette Stall Writer Members of the family of an Indiana University of Pennsylvania student whose 1987 death by choking was ruled an alcohol-related accident said yesterday that they hoped a new investigation would uncover "the truth." District Attorney William J. Martin said last week that on the basis of a study commissioned by the family, he would reopen an investigation into the death of Jack Allan Davis said John Lynch of Penn Hills, Davis' stepbrother. Lynch said he went to Martin after forensic pathologist Dr.

Cyril H. Wecht, who had been retained by the victim's family, analyzed autopsy and toxicology results and found that they did not support the finding of an accidental, alcohol-related death. Coroner Thomas Streams had ruled that Davis, 20, had passed out and choked to death on his own vomit at the bottom of a stairwell of Weyandt Hall, an IUP science building. Davis' body was found Oct. 21, 1987, five days after he was last seen.

Lynch said the reports studied by Wecht showed only small amounts of alcohol in Davis' stomach and none in his blood. Martin could not be reached for comment yesterday. Streams declined comment, saying he did not know of Martin's decision to reopen the case. "We want to find out what the truth is whether there was a cover-up by the state, borough and university," Lynch said. "We're going to go as far as it takes to know what the truth is.

"AJ least we want to prove the fact that Jack was not intoxicated at the time of death. We're not pointing fingers at anyone or saying that anyone is guilty, but there is no medical proof of it being an alcohol-related death." "Our family never believed that's exactly what happened. My son never drank to excess, to my knowledge," said Jack A. Davis of Millvale, Davis' father. "Knowing he didn't die from alcohol puts a big question mark on what did happen.

Something happened. Whatever that was it certainly, in my opinion, was against his own will. If that's enough of a reason to call it criminal, then yes, it's criminal," Jack A. Davis said. Authorities reported that Jack Davis Jr.

was last seen in the early morning at fraternity and sorority parties where he had been drinking. They said he went down the stairs in Weyandt Hall to urinate, became ill, passed out and bumped his head while collapsing, but continued to throw up. Neither Jack A. Davis nor Lynch believe that's what happened, they said. "Knowing my son, he wouldn't have gone down two flights to steps to urinate.

He would have gone down far enough so no one could see him," Jack A. Davis said. "I don't believe he was there for five days." The father conceded that the new investigation might not give all the answers the family wanted. "Wecht told us that after they do investigate, they still may not be able to get to the real bottom of what happened. At least the investigation should be able to uncover that he did not die of an alcohol-related accident," Jack A.

Davis said. The loss of the four police dispatchers which the police contract requires when officers are laid off leaves the department with one night-shift dispatcher. Police officers will have to staff the dispatch desk at other times, a move that pulls them from the streets. Police Chief Edward Hank could not be reached for comment on the impact of the layoffs. Council personnel director Dave DiPiazza said the cost-saving measures didn't address the long-term spending problem.

"We're prolonging the said DiPiazza, who believes that spending and staffing must be analyzed further. "It's hard to have 5,100 people pay taxes and support the employees," he said. Agamedi said he believed that eliminating the police dispatchers could save up to $60,000 annually. The borough could pay 911 or a neighboring police department to dispatch for Charleroi. Making up this year's deficit could require a tax increase of between 5 and 10 mills, Agamedi said.

Millage in Charleroi, which has not been raised in four years, is 27.2 mills. One mill in the borough generates $18,000. Agamedi said officials were loath to see millage increased to more than 30 mills because the community would begin to lose control over its spending. Under state law, council would have to earmark each mill once residents are assessed 30 mills or more. In addition, once millage is set at 50 mills, council would have to get court approval for any additional increases.

In 1985, Charleroi faced a $250,000 deficit and made up the difference by laying off employees and restructuring the police dispatching system. By Johnna A. Pro Post-Gazette Staff Writer In an effort to stave off a budget shortfall that could reach 100,000 by Dec. 31, Charleroi Council has cut the town's work force by more than one-third. In addition, council ordered the remaining staff to cease all purchasing unless granted approval by a majority of the seven-member council.

Some bills have also been deferred. The layoffs instituted Friday affect nine of 25 employees, including two police officers, four part-time police dispatchers, two street workers and one bookkeeper Additional layoffs are not expected. Council finance director Allan Agamedi said the budget deficit in the Washington County community could range from $70,000 to $100,000 by the time the year ends. The cutbacks will save the borough between $20,000 and $25,000, but the remaining deficit will have to be accounted for in the 1991 budget, Agamedi said. The borough's budget this year was approximately $1.3 million, and council had anticipated revenues would fall short by $35,000.

Several factors have council seeing a deficit at least twice that large. Agamedi said borough officials had counted on settling a long-running court battle with the local transit authority that would have added $30,000 to the town coffers, but that the case is still pending. In addition, increased salaries and overtime costs in the police department added about $40,000 in costs not anticipated in the budget. Agamedi said garbage fees which went from $60 to $68 this year should have been upped to at least $75. The cutbacks, in particular, affect the police department.

Officer shoots armed suspect 'V 1 I Vvr iff -Scz? 'mZ i fun. You got to stay home from school without faking it. They knew from your sniffling, sneezing and coughing that you were hurting pretty bad. You were tucked into bed and coddled a little. And then there was the remedy the best part of it all.

If it was a really bad cold but not bad enough to warrant calling the doctor the Captain mixed up a batch of his special elixir. A coffee cup containing boiling water, a few tablespoons of sugar and a wee dram of redeye. You weren't supposed to know it was the hard stuff. But you did. Four Roses, if memory still serves me.

You'd blow away at the steam and sip. Slowly. Hot, sweet and slightly heady. A few more sips while they fluffed your pillows. And pretty soon the sandman came calling.

Obviously, it was no cure for a cold. But it was probably as good as any other "remedy" you could then buy at the neighborhood pharmacy. Better tasting than all the syrups and powders sold over the counter. It did the trick because it induced sleep. Science has come a long way since those days.

Medical feats that were undreamed of then are commonplace in our hospitals today. Diseases that killed then are scoffed at now. But the common cold, as is its wont, still lingers reminding us how unclever we really are. A news item a few months ago revealed that a group of British scientists, after having spent something like the past 30 years searching for answers about the cause and possible cure of the common cold, simply gave up. Which was what I was ready to do last week.

I came down with a cold that Saddam Hussein probably would love to add to his arsenal of chemical and biological weapons. I struggled for a few days, trying not to look like I was faking it. Finally, my wife told me to stay home. "Go to bed and I'll go out and get something for you," she said. I obeyed.

She brought me some Extra Strength Alka-Seltzer, which I think contains twice as much salt as the regular stuff does. Some special form of aspirin that, the last time I checked with the American Medical Association, might kill you Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but might protect you against heart disease Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Some lozenges that make your throat feel like it's been shot up with novocaine. And some NyQuil. I've seen NyQuil advertised on television.

I think it's the stuff that the cold-stricken husband keeps at bedside for himself. While the wife tosses and turns and fails to get any relief from her cold "remedy," he snoozes away without a care in the world. Some people think this ad is sexist because the guy keeps the good stuff for himself while he lets his wife suffer. These people are wrong. That husband is a good guy.

He is only protecting his wife. I'll tell you why. There's a little plastic 1-ounce cup it looks like a shot glass that comes with the bottle of NyQuil. I threw a shot, er, dose down. Sweet, sticky, it tasted a lot like any number of cough syrups I've taken at one time or another.

And heady, too. I checked out the active ingredients. Acetaminophen 1,000 mg. That didn't mean much. Doxyla-mine Succinate 7.5 mg.

Nor that. Pseudoephedrine HCI 60 mg. Pseu-, do who? And Dextromethorphan Hy-drobromide 30 mg. Strangely enough, all of this stuff was totally unfamiliar to me. Except for the last active ingredient.

Alcohol 25 percent. Now, I realize they put alcohol in a lot of over-the-counter products. Most of them are things you're not supposed to drink like hair tonic, after-shave and deodorant. Some you are, like mouthwash and cough syrup. But 25 percent alcohol? I don't think the average armpit could take that kind of treatment.

I wonder why they don't sell this stuff in six-packs. Ounce per ounce, it packs more kick than beer. It should be advertised as a 50-proof cold remedy. At about $3.50 for six ounces, I think you're a lot better off going to a state store and paying maybe seven bucks for a fifth of creme de menthe. That way, you could put it to other uses when you didn't have a cold.

I don't think I could take NyQuil over vanilla ice cream. It does work, although I prefer the Captain's not-so-potent but much tastier elixir. So until those Brits get back together and come up with some answers about the common cold, I guess I'd have to recommended it. Don't worry too much about over-dozing. That's what the Extra Strength Alka-Selpr is for.

Peter Diana Post-Gazette Diana Fitch holds her son, Zachary Blecher, 4, who needs a bone marrow transplant. Boy with rare disease to be treated in Paris "The only real chance for survival for Zachary is a bone marrow transplant, but there is usually a big risk for children with Fanconi's disease Diana Fitch, Zachary's mother By Michael A. Fuoco Post-Gazette Staff Writer A Greensburg police officer shot and wounded a Hempfield man Saturday after the man pointed a gun at him twice, state police reported. The officer, Richard Baric, a 12-year veteran of the Greensburg force, shot Robert Lyle Miller, 25, on the porch of Miller's Hempfield home, troopers said. Miller was in serious condition last night at Presbyterian University Hospital, where he was being treated for a gunshot wound of his lower back.

The incident is being investigated by state police and the Westmoreland County district attorney's office. Greensburg Police Chief Ray At-tenberger said Baric had been relieved of duty with pay pending the outcome of the investigation. "He's a well-qualified officer," he said of Baric. "I don't have any problems at all with the shooting With what I saw and heard so far, I'm completely satisfied with what took place." Baric and another officer were involved in a shooting incident in the late 1970s in which a man was wounded, Attenberger said. That shooting was ruled justifiable, he added.

State police said Miller had attempted to elude capture after an altercation with his former live-in girlfriend, Deborah Lynne Folio, 23, and her friend, Timothy H. McNa-mara, 24, of Irwin, inside Folio's home on Harvey Avenue in Hempfield. Troopers said the following occurred: Miller forced his way into Folio's home at 6 a.m., assaulted McNa-mara and left. He returned about 15 minutes later with a baseball bat and forced his way in again. Miller chased McNamara, who fled from the residence and waited for police, who had been summoned.

Miller then struck Folio across the back with the bat, threatened her with a Magnum handgun that she had in her home, and left again. Baric attempted unsuccessfully to stop Miller's car as it traveled south on Harvey Avenue toward Greensburg. Trooper Timothy McMichael, who also was responding to the call, saw that Miller would not stop for Baric and positioned his marked squad car diagonally across Harvey Avenue. Miller rammed McMichael's cruiser, then continued to his home about a mile away. Baric followed Miller to his home, where he and Miller left their cars almost simultaneously.

Miller then pointed the Magnum at Baric. Baric ordered him to stop, but Miller ran about 30 feet to his front porch and again pointed the revolver at Baric, who shot him from about 37 feet away. Folio said yesterday that she and Miller had broken up in May but continued to see each other occasionally. She said she had bought Miller the gun when they were living together but had decided to keep it when he moved out. Neither she nor McMichael suffered serious injuries.

By Donald I. Hammonds Post-Gazelte Staff Writer Four-year-old Zachary Blecher of Highland Park is just like many youngsters his age he runs around the house, loves arts and crafts and enjoys a spin on his tricycle. But Zachary is different in one notable way he suffers from Fanconi's disease, a rare type of anemia that afflicts about 1,000 people in the world, said his father, Darryl Blecher, a Blue Cross employee. Zachary's only hope for treatment apparently is a procedure developed by a French physician, and friends and relatives are organizing a fund-raising campaign to help pay costs of the trip. "The gene is carried by only one in 200 people, but two people have to meet to pass the gene on to a child, causing the disease," Blecher said.

Zachary's parents noticed in May that "he was bruising very badly, and he had little pink spots on him. We took him in for a blood test, and discovered his platelet count was 20,000, when it should have been 150,000," Blecher said. At birth, there can be obvious signs of Fanconi's such as a lack of thumbs, or double thumbs. But sometimes there are no physical abnormalities, as in Zachary's case, his parents said. ily the parents, the two boys and a third child, 10-month-old Michan must make the trip.

In addition, a jet must be set up providing isolation for Zachary on the way back because he can't be exposed to germs while recuperating. Family members estimate the total cost at about $75,000 for living expenses, transportation and other needs. A Highland Park neighborhood newsletter recently publicized the family's plight by writing about Zachary's condition, and those who know the family have organized an effort to help it. Tax deductible contributions may be sent to Funds for Zachary, 6393 Penn Box 264, Pittsburgh 15206. Checks should be made payable to F.A.

Research Fund, Inc. Zachary Blecher Fund. While he waits to leave for France in January, Zachary is getting along well and is taking drugs to keep his blood count up, his father said. "He's a very sensitive child, and very emotionally connected with other people," Blecher said. "Aaron is very proud about being able to do the transplant and he understands its importance.

And since he goes to East Hills Elementary, the French magnet school, he's looking forward to going to France," he added. About 90 percent of those who have Fanconi's develop aplastic anemia, which is bone marrow failure. When that happens, their platelets fall out, and they bruise easily and can hemorrhage. Then their white blood cells can go down, making them susceptible to infection, said Diana Fitch, Zachary's mother. Fanconi's victims usually die of either severe infections or hemorrhaging.

Half die before age 10 and 80 percent die before they reach adulthood, said Fitch, who has kept her maiden name. Drugs used when it develops into aplastic anemia lose effectiveness for children after a few years. "The only real chance for survival for Zachary is a bone marrow transplant," she said, but there is usually a big risk for children with Fanconi's. "Their chromosomes are very fragile, and when they go through preparation for a regular transplant, the chromosomes shatter and die. They can't survive the regular preconditioning for a transplant," Fitch said.

Fitch said, however, that Dr. Eliane Gluckman in Paris had pioneered a preconditioning that enables a good rate of success for survival of Fanconi's patients, and that the family hoped to take advantage of it. Zachary's brother Aaron, 8, met the one-in-four challenge of matching his younger brother's bone marrow and will provide the donation for a transplant, Fitch said. About 5 percent of Aaron's bone marrow will be used and will sustain Zachary for life, Fitch said. Aaron's bone marrow will grow back in about two weeks, his mother said.

The medical bills are covered by insurance, but the cost of the four- to six-month stay abroad is quite high because the entire fam 2 gorillas are first tenants of zoo's 'tropical forest' have trees, water and humid heat that will simulate Africa. The two apes will be joined early next year by three gorillas from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs, Colo. The new gorillas include another silverback male, a female and a juvenile male. "We're hoping to have two different families of gorillas," Marks said. "Gorillas live in the wild in groups, and that's what we want to around." The gorillas and other primates many of which belong to endangered species will have three times as much living space as they had in the past, Marks said.

The 24-year-old male silverback gorilla, on loan for breeding purposes from the Baltimore Zoo, and the 23-year-old female, which came-to Pittsburgh in 1986 from a zoo in Edmonton, Alberta, are the first inhabifc-ints of the facility, which will A pair of gorillas are the first' residents of new quarters at the Pittsburgh Zoo that are designed to give primates a more spacious, natural environment in which to live. The male and female gorillas, which zoo officials hope will mate, were moved under sedation Saturday morning into the basement of the $10-million Tropical Forest Complex, which is still under construction. The city, which owns the zoo. covered $9 million of the cost; the remainder was provided by the Friends of the Zoo. The structure will house about 50 animals representing 16 species of primates when it opens April 20, 1991.

"From the zoo's standpoint and the gorillas' standpoint, everything went fine," Margie Marks, the zoo's program coordinator, said yesterday of the move. "They were both up Saturday afternoon moving.