European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 23, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday May 23, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 7 Stu cry says health awareness Beffer Washington a the nation got a bluer health awareness report card than in previous years but people can do a better Job of looking after themselves. According to a new Harris poll. The report released wednesday said people Are get Ling belter at using scat Bells checking their blood pres sure using smoke detectors avoiding stress and Acci dents and not driving after drinking. But Here was also some bad news americans Are slipping in their attention to Speed limits exercise and weigh reduction. The result Overall is optimistic. We Are making Prog Reis. But i believe we can do much better in the future and we will do so said Humphrey Taylor. He is presi Dent of Louis Harris and associates which polled 1,256 americans to determine their health concerns and activities.  Mot mint Suzanne Irvine who directs the 3-year-old prevention Index project conducted by Harris for prevention mag Azine said we be seen gradual but significant upward movement Iri americans health awareness and activities. The 1986 prevention Index was reported As 64.1 on a scale of 100. Irvine said. Thai is up from 63.2 last year and 61,5 in 1993, the first year the Survey was con ducted for the health oriented publication. James a. Harrell of he department of health and human services stressed the importance of preventive activities for americans health. With medical science Able to reduce or eliminate Many of the infectious diseases that formerly plagued Humankind we re undergoing a kind of a quiet revolution in this country in this Century a health revolution he said. This Means thai today ire major threats to health come from Choice not Fate and changes in lifestyle can have a major Impact on such problems As heart disease cancer stroke and accidents Harrell said. The improvement in the Overall Index of american s health activities was Small but continued an important upward trend Taylor said. The rating which would be 100 if everyone did every thing possible to maintain his or her health is based on 21 health concerns rated according to importance by a panel of health experts. Top ranking was Given to not smoking with an important of 9,78, while the Low Factor rating was 6.71, for getting seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Others included exercising 8.20 lowering cholesterol in he diet 7,15 wearing Seal belts 9.16 eating More fiber 7,41 controlling stress 7.53 and having an annual Den Ial exam 7.08,. The importance factors were compared with the. Num Ber of people paying attention to these items to develop the final rating scale. The Harris study said its margin of error would vary slightly depending on the number of people responding to a particular question but in general he report was la Tedas having a 95 percent Confidence  identify areas the result in addition to an Overall health rating was 10 identify the areas in which americans most need to improve and Taylor listed those 1986 priorities As maintaining recommended weight for height and body build. Exercising three Days a week. Wearing a scat Belt when Riding in a cur. Lowering the cholesterol obtained from foods. Limiting the amount of sugar and Succi food eaten. .-., while Taylor said  has been made in use of seat belts still Only 41 percent of adults say they buckle up. Even so this was better than the finding of a recent National Center for health statistics study. Which found Only about one third of adults use Seal belts. / Taylor said that Over he three years of the Survey there has been a significant improvement in the number of people who say they never drive after drinking who include More Calcium in their diets who have regular blood pressure and cholesterol tests and in women who examine heir breasts regularly " More people now have smoke detectors in their Homes he said and there has been on increase Iri those who say they take Steps to avoid accidents and reduce stress. In a new question on the Survey Taylor said 41 per cent of adults report taking some step to avoid aids. The fatal acquired immune deficiency that most often strikes homosexuals drug addicts and people receiving blood transitions. He said the. Respondents were not asked what that was done to the disease. On the less positive Side Taylor said Only 30 percent of americans get strenuous exercise three times a week and Only 21 percent Are within their recommended. Weight Range and Only about half reported driving within the pus Ted Speed limit at All limes perhaps a reflection of falling Energy prices and less stringent Speed limit enforcement. Ship s survivors greeted of Airport Schooner Crew tells of painful Days hellish nights Baltimore a the eight survivors of the sunken Pride of Baltimore have returned Home with a tale of painful Days and hellish nights aboard a life raft after he loss of four fellow Crew members in a storm tossed sea. Some of the eight limped wednesday but All smiled As they were greeted at the Airport by hundreds of Well wishers including gov Harry Hughes and a or Wil Liam Donald Schaefer. The ship s Cook James Chesney 25, of Newmarket n.h., who suffered a broken rib. Walked Barefoot because he could t fit his badly swollen feet into shoes the two masted ship built in the City s Harbor nearly 10 years ago in the style of the great Chesapeake Bay Clipper schooners of the mid-19lh Century went Down May 14 in a Squall about 240 Miles North of san Juan puerto Rico. One could barely Sec 50 feet first mat John Flanagan 27, of Nantie Conn., said at an Airport news conference. The eight scrambled to collect iwo Flash lights three flares a life raft food water and a first Aid kit As the ship was sucked under in what might have been two min utes Flanagan said. There was no time to Send out a distress signal. They endured 30 to 90 knot winds and slinging Rains Hen dung to the raft built for six people for four and a half Days be fore a norwegian Tanker spotted their flashlight and pulled them to safety Early monday morning. The survivors had seen live other vessels but were unable to get their attention Fla Nagan said. The nights aboard the raft were so Hor Rible the Days seemed bearable Flanagan said describing painful sorta from sitting in the water filled raft at night because the survivors could barely see each other it was especially difficult to move. You could not sit in Comfort he said. When one wants to stretch his knee out he other seven have to pull theirs  As Flanagan recounted the tragedy deckhand Leslie Mcnish 30, of semis calif., bit her lip and fought Back tears. Chesney held her hand. Each person subsisted on a Quarter of a biscuit a Day and a Little water. Some of the Crew might have held out five More Days but not All would have stayed alive Flanagan said. We would have started losing people in another Day and a half to two Days the survivors hew from puerto Rico in corporate jets provided by Pride of Balti More inc., the non profit sponsors of the Clipper Schooner s sailing ventures. The other survivors were identified As second mate Joe Mcceady 26, of Severna Park Bosun Dan Rachuck 22, of Spring Field a. Deckhand Susie Huesman 24, of Baltimore deckhand Robert Foster 23, of Alexandria vib. And deckhand Scott Jef Frey of North Linthicum. As they were returning to Baltimore coast guard planes and cutters continued to comb 11,000 Square Miles of Ocean for signs of the ship s Captain Armin e. Elsesser 42, of South Dartmouth mass., and Engineer Vin nay Lazaro of West Redding Conn. Two other missing Crew members ship s Carpenter Barry Duckworth of Georgetown del., and deckhand Nina Schack 23. Of Baltimore Are presumed dead. Meanwhile Baltimore residents touched by the loss of the ship that promoted this historic port City have responded by calling local officials with their messages of sympathy and offers to help rebuild the sailing ship City officials said. However the City is holding Hack during the mourning period. It s much Loo soon to focus on that now is the time to focus on the coming Home of the survivors said pal Bernstein a spokeswoman for Schwac for. Christopher c. Hartman Secretary of Pride of Baltimore inc., said the possibility of rebuilding was under consideration. We Are just beginning to think about it. I think that Over the next few weeks Well be listening to the Public to the people Here and in Maryland to Sec if it s possible to he told Abc s Good morning America the Chance of bringing the Pride of Baltimore up from the Depths was Remote said experts from the Woods Hole mass deep submergence Laboratory. Agriculture department official claims racial persecution Washington a the highest paid Black woman in the agriculture department s Extension service says that within a 48-hour Span this week she was old she was fired told to clean out her desk and old she had been Given a 14-Day reprieve. Edith p. Thomas who holds a doctorate in nutrition and adult education from Indiana us Verity contends he Ichio Ibert in retaliation for her claims of racial Bias in the or ency she b on administrative leave from her s44,000-a-year Job while she responds and us a officials review the in going to fight o keep my Job and if fired i will us Edge it blk bathes Iid at a wednesday new conference. Thomas said the Extension service is continuing to deny a vision services to Blacks and other minorities nationwide i have tried to change this policy from within for several years but i have now Given up any Hope of int Why to Sloteman Larry Speake. Id if the aerie quire department pc not doing what it supposed to Doti link to president would like to straighten it out but he question is what Are he facts and 1 Don t think it s been proven one Way or another the Agency where Thomas worked oversees the operations of Extension programs carried out by land Grant universities. Those Are intended to help Farmers and others with the latest information and technology. Thomas said attempts to negotiate a settlement on her Job situation failed. They said that if i would quit hey would give me a Dean record $25,000 and cancel the proposal to fire me she said Why did she turn it Down " was told to keep silent Thomas said. It was a gag Rule and in Good conscience i could not do  Thomas said he Extension service accused her of five infractions leading to her proposed dismissal but following her lawyer s advice declined to list hem until her Job Appeal with us a had run in course. "1 believe that the Extension service Given the Opportunity will fire me after the 14 Days she said. At Tho agriculture department Telephone Calb to assistant Secretary Orville g. Bentley and his aide c. Michael Hoback who oversee science and education pro Grams including the Extension service were redirected to William j. Riley or. Us a s director of personnel. Riley declined to discuss he specific charges that led to the Agency to seek her dismissal. He said Thomas work record had been a Bone of Contention in he Extension service for some time. He said she was suspended for two weeks last year for violation of personnel  Thomas lined the Extension service in 1980 and said she was subjected to racial slurs by some co workers and that Job discrimination has continued. Moreover she said the Agency has undercut her expertise to Blacks and other minorities by denying permission for her to participate in Many activities outside the Washington area. Thomas went Public with her charges last week at a Capitol Hill news conference in which she accused the Extension service of blatant racism in deliberately deny ing in nutrition services to Blacks and other minorities nationwide Thomas repealed Many of her original charge at wednesday s news conference at the office of her lawyer Joseph a Gebhardt