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- 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 !!! 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