Battaiion/Page 5
February 5, 1982
1982
state /national
ISix missing following
•Oklahoma hotel fire
United Press International
SHAWNEE, Okla. — Six per
sons are missing and feared
dead in a predawn tire at the
^historic Broadway Hotel Thurs
day. Fourteen survivors fled
into the snow and 14-degree
temperatures.
A police sergeant who disco-
Ifvered the fire at 4:15 a.in. led
H|occupants to safety from the
[two-story frame structure,
which mainly housed low-
1 income elderly residents. Smoke
and (lames prevented him from
goihg back into the rear of the
building.
Htfiventy people were regis-
ered at the hotel. The six mis-
iing occupants include one w'ho
vad confined to a wheelchair
md a couple and their 12-year-
ild son, civil defense Director
lori McCalip said.
“We suspect at this point
there are possibly six fatalities,”
McCalip said. “That is a conser
vative estimate.”
Firefighters hosed down the
ruins before trying to search for
bodies in the shell of the build
ing. Hearses stood by near the
building, which looked as if a
bomb had ripped through it.
“We are trying to get the walls
down, so they won’t fall in on us
when we go in,” battalion fire
chief Hershel Coomer said.
McCalip said: “The ground is
covered with solid sheet of ice
and firefighters were covered
with ice.”
No injuries were reported
among the rescued occupants or
firefighters, who brought the
blaze under control by 8 a.m.
Most of the survivors lived near
Shawnee and were picked up by
relatives, McCalip said.
“The fire is under control but
we have quite a bit of smoke and
ice,” McCalip said. “The old
structure was wood. It’s burned
to the ground.”
McCalip said the hotel was
considered a historical building
in Shawnee, a city of 26,000 ab
out 40 miles east of Oklahoma
City.
“It’s basically a landmark,” he
said. “I’d guess its 40 to 50 years
old.”
Sgt. Victor Lee saw flames
spewing from the hotel as he re
turned to City Hall, which is in
the same block, McCalip said.
The fire also engulfed two
neighboring businesses.
Witnesses said firefighters
climbed to the roof of the nearby
county courthouse and watered
down its roof to reduce the dan
ger from flying embers.
Doctor with MS battles
Dallas County for job
P: United Press International
DALLAS — A doctor suffer-
ig from multiple sclerosis has
-juccessfully battled the bureauc-
LHc Mitchdlacy to keep his job at the Dallas
lounty Health Department, but
■reward for his success is an
fffce, a desk and nothing to do.
uilding’i In the four years Dr. Donald
■than has suffered from MS,
ictias been fired by health dire-
“ 'tors three times. Each time, he
piS reinstated by state and fed-
ral commissions who found he
lid been harassed and that his
/orking conditions violated fed-
ral standards for the hand-
rapped.
And unless the county installs
acilities to accomodate Balaban,
he federal Department of
e jyij; ii dealth and Human Services
, en ( | hreatens to withdraw financing
ers f r(|1 or county health projects.
ofSdte* Meanwhile, Balaban, who is
was frjlind, sits in his office at the
bed irWoodlawn jail, drawing a
for 1(41,200 per month salary and is
tees. :old to do nothing,
claim r> He sits in virtual isolation in a
n was aarren office marked by a card
board sign on the door. The
cafeteria is on the third floor,
reofan b u , q ie e i eva t 0 r does not work,
s altoi So, the health department has
dd. He been required by federal offi-
dor cials to give Balaban fresh coffee
was > and water daily in lieu of lunch,
a situai The pitchers in his office have
atened, no( been cleaned for two weeks
k soiJf and are growing mold.
im< * 11 Balaban, 41, said he only
Randol wants the job he had before —
re thed answering medical telephone in-
if extern quiries from the public and pro-
said confessionals. He was bounced out
on cap of that job three years ago when
lichcarr-health director Dr. Elliot Salen-
t y __uc ger was hired.
i execunfi Intellectually, I’m relatively
)5j intact,” Balaban said. “I can’t see
and feel, but I can think. For the
most part, that’s what a physi
cian does is think.”
The county health depart
ment has only one concern,
Salenger said.
“Is he capable of practicing
medicine?” Salenger said. “His
condition has deteriorated since
I’ve been here. No one feels that
he’s capable of making any
medical decisicms.”
Salenger said he questions
whether Balaban is even capable
of handling phone information.
*ak
i
nd
r
Butter
“He doesn’t have any of the
training in the job he was origin
ally assigned to,” Salenger said.
“We need coverage in our jail
facilities, and we want to know if
he’s capable as a physician, not a
telephone operator.”
In August, Salenger asked the
state Board of Medical examin
ers to evaluate Balaban’s com
petency. The board is still inves
tigating the case.
Salenger also said he would,
not subject patients to Balaban’s
treatment because multiple
sclerosis has caused the doctor to
deteriorate mentally.
Nancy Walters, who is a regis
tered nurse and executive dire
ctor of the Tarrant County Mul
tiple Sclerosis Association Inc.,
disagrees.
“MS affects the sensory and
coordination skills and not his
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Warped
By Scott McCullar
Exec invents kidnapping story
after disappearing for a week
United Press International
LAS CRUCES, N.M. —
An
(Balaban’s) cognizant abilities at
all,” she said. “He would be able
to give advice as well as any doc
tor with his training.”
Balaban said he continues the
struggle to stay with the county
because he needs the insurance
benefits more than his $1,200
monthly part-time salary.
aerospace company security ex
ecutive says job pressures
prompted him to disappear for
a week and then invent a kid
napping and robbery story to
explain his absence.
Thomas G. Gehrts, 26, said
after returning, that he resigned
as security director for Space
Communications Co. of Gaith
ersburg, Md., and intends to re
turn to college to study business
administration.
Gehrts late Wednesday re
turned to Las Cruces, where he
disappeared, for questioning by
local police.
Gehrts said he acted on his
Amity
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harm. He said his life was one
filled with pressure and numer
ous deadlines.
Gehrts failed to show up Jan.
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