European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 10, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday september 10, 1978 the stars and stripes Page 7 Gas shakes up  personnel Washington a in the biggest personnel shake up yet at the troubled general services administration nearly one third of the Federal building managers or their assistants in the five state Washington d.c., Region Are being replaced. The shifts announced Friday Are the third wave of changes in Gas s washing ton Region which has been a major target of the Many investigations of fraud corruption bribery and waste in the Agency. John t. Myers regional commissioner for the Gas s Public buildings service re fused to link his personnel shifts with the investigations. He emphasized instead that the moves were intended to improve the efficiency of Federal building management As Well As Gas s sagging image. People Are going to think that All of these people Are Crooks Myers said. They Are not. We had some prob lems. Work has not been accomplished. We made some changes managers replaced thirteen building managers were re placed by new personnel Myers said. Six other employees at Levels just below the manager level also were replaced. The changes involved 15 of the 44 Gas Field offices in the Region which includes the District of Columbia Maryland Vir Ginia Delaware Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Gas officials refused to name the employees involved in the changes or to Tell which states they worked in. Gas administrator Jay Solomon had previously replaced the top Gas commissioner in the Washington Region who in turn appointed Myers and some other new subordinates. Sources said the changes also would serve As a warning to those who have been resisting Solomon s efforts to reshape the giant Agency which is the government s main landlord and Supply House. They Are trying to get people s Atten Tion within the Agency said one source who asked not to be identified. Regard less of the allegations of corruption Solo Mon has every intent of asserting his authority Over the Agency. That s what he is  . Attorneys and Federal grand juries in several cities and a Gas task Force have turned up evidence of corruption in the Agency s operations across the country. The operation of buildings in the Washington area has been one of the main focuses of the investigations which have resulted in estimates that the Agency with an annual budget of $5 billion loses $100 million a year through corruption extor Tion fraud and waste. In particular allegations have been made that Gas building managers in the Washington area agreed to repair and alteration contracts that had the government pay the contractors for work that was not done. In return the Gas employees Alleg edly were Given bribes or kickbacks. In another development Friday conflicting statements by Solomon and attorney general Griffin Bell Over Charles Kirbo s role in the investigations illustrated friction Between the Gas and the Justice department Over who is guiding the inquiry , an Atlanta lawyer and close it s a pint of Honor to the Beer drinkers London a Britain s pubs get to keep their  government has decided not to enforce new metric measures for draught Beers and spirits the National Union of licensed Victualler  Churchman 33, of Porthleven can Down a pint in 1.3 seconds and is consid ered the world s fastest Beer Drinker. His comment on the decision you get used to drinking pints and if it was changed to 0.568 of a liter it would be like drinking numbers. It would t sound Good if i said i was the world Champion 0.568 lit ers of Beer  Friend of president Carter was named by Carter to Monitor the investigations while the president is preoccupied with peace talks at Camp David. Or. Kirbo has no role in any investigation conducted by the department of jus Tice Bell said. His function is to offer counsel and advice to or.  Solomon said i Welcome or. Kirbo s participation wholeheartedly. I m sure or. Kirbo will be of considerable help to the Gas and the Justice department in the monumental Job we Are trying to  about an hour after Solomon s state ment was issued and after Gas officials had seen Bell s statement the Gas revised its statement to delete the reference to the Justice department. \ " a l 1 v " v v i Mary Severson kneels on a Cushion inside a wooden Pyramid with a Moon Gate in her St. Paul minn., basement. Severson is currently serving her blizzard baby Boom a phenomenal setting fourth term As president of the Phe nomic research club which As the club s literature puts it is seeking to bring together people interested in investigating obtaining data on and exchanging information about the unexplained mysterious or unusual  up photo obstetricians May be snowed under in oct. Indianapolis a what did you do during the blizzard mom and dad a baby Boom the last half of october May provide the  and maternity shops Here Are expecting More babies than usual around the end of october nine months after a record snowstorm dumped More than 15.2 inches on the City in less than 30 hours. The blizzard confined thousands of people to their Homes for at least three Days. Doctors say the theoretical due Date of a baby conceived during the Jan. 25 blizzard would be around oct. 19. Or. Jonathan Fisch an obstetrician in his first year of practice said he has one third More babies due from mid october to mid november than in any comparable be  May be happenstance but it s Proba Bly from the blizzard said or. Charles edit who estimated his caseload at 20 per cent above  usually deliver 20 to 25 babies a month or. Thomas Ferrara said. I have 40 due in october mostly after the 15th. That s a big big month for  he said some of his patients told him they ran out of birth control pills and could t get  spokesman for the Marion county medical society said its medical Exchange was flooded during the snowstorm with Calls for birth control Pill refills. There were More requests for pills than anything else he said. Some people even placed operator interrupt emergency Calls that broke into conversations of people who needed More vital services or sup plies. I d say the situation was More life promising than life threatening he  blizzard baby Boom also has made for brisk business this summer at local stores that sell maternity clothes. One store has sold out of the blizzard baby of 78" maternity to shirts. Lynda Fie Well owner of Carriage club maternity shops said her mailing list which lists mothers to be by due dates shows double the usual number of babies expected in  and Saleswoman report the pregnant women Are Good natured about their condition. One doctor said that when he teases patients about their blizzard activities they usually joke Back it was  beatle Harrison wed secretly Henley on thames England up beatle George Harrison married the Mother of his 5-week-old son in a civil Cere Mony they kept secret from family and friends a registry office spokesman said. The spokesman said Only the parents of his Bride the former Olivia Arias were present at the sept. 2 ceremony. Dow claims Coal to Oil discovery Midland Mich. A Dow chemical co. Says it has developed a new process it Calls a major Advance in efforts to turn Coal into Oil. If it works out the process could Lead to commercial Coal liquefaction by 1990. According to Edward m. Nussbaum technical director of hydrocarbon research at Dow s Headquarters Here. Several processes have been developed since the first one in Germany about 1925, but All Are expensive. Dow s breakthrough the result of five years of research involves using an inexpensive catalyst a chemical that speeds up the desired reaction which is partly recycled. It results in an Oil product which is essentially free of solid contaminants and is Low in Fulfur. Nussbaum said. The process can make three to four barrels of Oil from a ton of Coal at a Cost of about $80, Nussbaum said. Although four barrels of imported crude Oil currently Cost about $50, Nussbaum said the Price of crude is expected to increase faster than that of Coal making the process More  s process involves grinding the Coal and adding Oil to make a paste. Then the catalyst and Hydrogen Are added while the mixture is heated and finally gasses liquids and solids Are separated. The liquid is Oil. The gases include natural Gas Light Petroleum Gas Hydrogen and Fulfur compounds