Thursday, September 1, 1988/The Battalion/Page 5
;ity employees protest
Houston’s pay policy
10USTON (AP) — Hundreds of
ice and firefighters surrounded
^ Hall Wednesday to protest sal-
cuts and rising insurance premi-
ms amid rumors members of the
)0-force may form symptoms of
te flu.”
’op city officials have been brac-
for the possibility of a wildcat job
on Thursday in which large
|ijiibers of officers would call in
against the apparent advice of
city’s two police organizations,
he rally on the steps of City Hall
[dnesday morning included a
dofi' with Mayor Kathy Whit-
e, who was loudly booed and
ied the chance to address the of-
rs and firefighters,
he employees blame Whitmire
or the 3 percent pay cut imposed
years ago, and for funding other
Igrams before restoring their sal-
. Employee insurance premi-
also have risen, and demonstra-
said they’ve been told to expect
tore increases.
‘ l think it’s time that Mayor Whit-
He and this administration begin
nake their employees feel that
Ae a part of the solution instead
of part of the problem,” Tommy
Britt, president of the Houston Po
lice Patrolman’s Union, said.
“Police officers are just like any
body else — you can push them only
so far before they break, and 1 think
they’re very close right now,” Britt,
one of the more than 1,000 people at
Wednesday’s rally, said.
“We made a three percent loan to
the city of Houston back in 1986,” he
said. “Today, we’re calling that
note.”
The rally was part of a week of in
creased tensions between rank-and-
file officers and firefighters and the
city administration, particularly
Whitmire.
Many in the cr«wd shouted “liar”
and “dump Whitmire” when the
mayor arrived unexpectedly at the
rally. And Britt refused to yield his
bullhorn to address the group after
its angry response to her request.
“When additional revenue does
come in, the very first priority en
dorsed by all council members will
be the return of the three percent
pay cut,” Whitmire said later.
“I’m looking forward to the op
portunity to return it,” she said
“Unfortunately with the continued
drop in revenues, we’re having to
ask taxpayers to pay a large tax in
crease just to maintain our current
service levels without any pay in
creases.”
Britt and other organizers said
more would have protested Wednes
day had it not been for what officers
call “Gestapo tactics” by Police Chief
Lee P. Brown to refuse personal
time to attend the rally.
Brown also restricted officers
from wearing their uniforms and
dispatched assistant chiefs and area
captains to monitor the rally, a move
demonstrators said was meant to in
timidate them.
But Brown’s efforts centered on
planning for a possible “sickout” ru
mored to be possible Thursday.
He issued orders restricting nor
mal sick leave procedures in a con
tingency plan that includes close
monitoring of morning roll calls.
“I will personally be aware of what
goes on (in roll calls) and make some
determination,” Brown said, assur
ing that the city will not be without
protection.
ry mee
mmissioners
discuss
is lawsuit
an w
kiiWin
J.m.ir
■MAR1LLO (AP)
p.m.
- City com-
Blissioners next week will discuss
^^fcier to drop Mesa Limited Part-
nor icrsliip from a gas supply lawsuit
Halso names Energas Co. of Dal-
32
move came after Mesa and
iS^H'gas said Monday they were
efforts to settle with the city.
Hhe city has sued the two compa-
H which supply gas to consumers,
I Hiing that gas dedicated to the
ity > being sold elsewhere and that
Hu.ilitv and quantity has been di-
f, Hshed by Mesa over-extracting
■ 30--nl ra * 8 as liquids from the supply.
Btmmissioner Don Chrysler said
nanr^iday that the city has been chas-
ay.Ser)g 'he wrong horse in the suit be-
FMe Energas, not Mesa, is the util-
<Er,Cii»lling gas to the consumers. The
as sold to Amarillo consumers by
Bgas is supplied to it by Mesa.
, Tl suit has sharply divided the
j n '~ : ty and prompted criticism of city
Vhat; (airship from Mesa general part-
/onsa’ep T. Boone Pickens. Mesa is one of
//nriiBrillo’s leading corporate citi-
■ employing more than 400 peo-
e.land business leaders have said
ekuit damages the city’s reputa-
an or having a favorable business
l|te.
HBiergas general counsel Don E.
"‘^nu s said he had not heard of the
Hosal and declined comment, as
iglot. ■Lin Patterson, Mesa’s general
■sel.
EE Mesa and Energas have made sev-
>1 ^‘■settlement offers since the suit
he PanJfiled in March. The city last
. made a counteroffer to the lat-
ffer of a $6 million reduction in
irices, but Mesa and Energas re
el that Monday.
irysler said that while dropping
ifrom the suit would not resolve
te issues addressed in the legal
n, it might enable the city to get
on track with Mesa and gel
back helping us rebuild the
Bastrop Hospital
closes, can’t treat
shooting victim
the city since the suit was f
p ro
iled.
BASTROP (AP) — A shooting
victim, unaware that Bastrop Hospi
tal had been closed only an hour be
fore, was treated in the hospital
parking lot and then taken to an
Austin hospital by private vehicle be
cause the town’s only ambulance was
on a call.
“It’s the first of many dilemmas,”
Karen Kramer, director of nurses,
said at the hospital before it shut
down Tuesday.
Kathleen Brineman, 44, who suf
fered an accidental, self-inflicted
gunshot wound to the hand during a
domestic disturbance, had to be
driven by her daughter to Bracken-
ridge Hospital. She was treated in
the parking lot by emergency medi
cal technicians and a doctor present
after the hospital closed.
Later, a sheriffs deputy took Ken
neth Wayne Wright, 35, to Bracken-
ridge Hospital in Austin for treat
ment of gunshot wounds after his
arrest about an hour after the distur
bance.
Bastrop medical personnel said
the shooting illustrates the problem
the city faces in emergency care in
the wake of the hospital closing.
The Bastrop ambulance was
called on a cardiac patient emer
gency 20 minutes after the hospital
shut its doors. Because there was no
functioning local emergency room,
the cardiac patient was taken to Aus
tin, about 25 miles away.
The ambulance was still in Austin
when the shooting call came in about
4 p.m. The Smithville ambulance,
based 12 miles away, was unavail
able.
“Police called me, and I said we
don’t have an ambulance,” Billy Wal
ters, co-owner of the Bastrop ambu
lance service, said. “Ifs going to get
worse.”
Bastrop Hospital stopped treating
patients at 3 p.m. Tuesday, after
transferring its last patient.
The hospital authority closed the
“This is a very unhappy
day for all breaks all of us.
It breaks all of our hearts
to say the hospital is
closed. ”
—Jack Griesenbeck,
Bastrop Hospital
Authority chairman
hospital after losing about $120,000
in the past three months. An adja
cent clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. Monday through Friday.
“This is a very unhappy day for all
of us,” Bastrop Hospital Authority
board chairman Jack Griesenbeck
said stressing that hospital opera
tions were being suspended but that
efforts continue to get the hospital
reopened.
“It breaks all of our hearts to say
the hospital is closed,” he told em
ployees.
Griesenbeck was a member of the
board when the hospital opened in
1967. The 25-bed facility was aver
aging only four overnight patients
per day, while seven were needed to
break even, Griesenbeck has said.
The hospital employed about 60
full- and part-time employees in
cluding four doctors.
About two dozen people, some
carrying signs advocating a hospital
district with taxing authority,
showed up at closing time Tuesday
to lend support for a local hospital.
“They saved my life here,” said
James Duran, 59, a recent cardiac
patient who was stabilized at Bastrop
Hospital before transfer to Austin.
“I don’t think I’d be here today if it
hadn’t been for therq,” he said. “We
take this place for granted when we
drive by.”
n
4rMSC OPAS*
WE NEED SOMETHING NEW
AND IT’S YOU !!!
MSC OPAS IS NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
FOR FRESHMAN AND TRANSFER STUDENTS
THE MSC OPAS 1988-89 SEASON WILL INCLUDE:
MUSIC SERIES:
BRAZOS VALLEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WITH SOLOISTS
PETER SERMN/YOUNG UCK KIM
JEAN FRANCOIS PAILLARD CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
RUDOLF NUREYEV AND FRIENDS (PARIS OPERA BALLET)
ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN-IN-THE-FIELDS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
BAVARIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF MUNICH
SWINGLE SINGERS
THEATRE SERIES:
MISSOURI REPERTORY THEATRE ’THE IMMIGRANT'
“THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD"
“MY ONE AND ONLY'
MUMMENSCHANZ
ALLEY THEATRE “A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE"
“BIG RIVER''
APPLICATIONS MAY BE PICKED UP AT
THE STUDENT PROGRAMS OFFICE ON
THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE MSC.
APPLICATIONS WILL BE DUE SEPTEMBER 6.
IF YOU HAVE! ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CALL:
PAUL WTESEPAPE 845-1515
OR
ANNE BLACK 845-1661
C
'MEMORIAL STUDENT CENTER OPERA AND PERFORMING ARTS SOCIETY
PHI TAU FAT.T. RUSH ’88
1 and 3
thai 1
Tarn'l
TfrevJ
r trea'1
aital.
Inter-Varsity Christan Fellowship
Presents
ARGE GROUP
ROOM 410
udder Tower
8:30 PM
Welcome Back Ags!
110-gallon tank set ups
^^Bincludes undergravel filter, pump, gravel, tubing,
ii
)U
,, , $29"
■heater, therometer *
I $ioo OFF ANY FISH*
with this ad-one per visit
JCheck out our NEW marine fish & supplies
*exp. Sept. 4-not valid with other offer
Fall Kickoff
FRIDAY
LARGE GROUP
SEPTEMBER 2, 1988
ROOM 410
8:30 PM
Rudder Tower
Friendshio. worshin. and much more!!!
8:30 PM
Sponsored by Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship
FOR MORE INFO CALL PHI TAU HOUSE AT 822-7837
RUSH CHAIRMAN: TOM GORE - 696-2685