European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 17, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 6 the stars and stripes wednesday August 17,1988 Fri sidetracks hispanics agents testify Elpaso Texas a one of the surest ways to end up in a dead end Job in the Fri is to be a Spanish speaking hispanic according to agents testifying in a discrimination suit against the Agency. I think the ability to speak Spanish inthe Fri is a tremendous liability special agent Julian Perez testified monday . District judge Lucius Bunton. The 311 agents who have joined the class action lawsuit contend the Fri discriminates against hispanics in hiring pro motion and discipline. The agents want Crews save afro Laufs in rehearsal Cape canaveral Fla. A air Force Navy and coast guard Crews teamed up monday to rehearse the res Cue of astronauts who might be forced to Parachute into the Atlantic Ocean from crippled space shuttle. The six air Force men playing the roles of astronauts were safely aboard a 20-Man motorized raft awaiting a Heli copter Airlift Back to Shore 70 minutes after they were dropped into the sea from a boat to simulate their bailout from a shuttle. Air Force spokeswoman Anne Mccau Ley gave this account of the make believe shuttle abort and the practice Rescue Effort shortly after the mock liftoff of a shuttle one of the three main engines failed and the Crew was directed to make a emergency Landing on a runway near the launch pad. During the descent theother two engines failed and the Astro nauts Slid from the Cabin Down a Tele scoping pole and parachuted into the sea 25 Miles East of Cape canaveral. Thirteen minutes after the Crew hit the water in the simulated bailout an air Force hb130 aircraft dropped three Par Rescue personnel and a seven Man raft into the water. Three More paramedics and another raft were dropped after an other 22 minutes. The 20-Man raft was deployed an the paramedics quickly secured the Crew members and put them on Board. H3helicopters transported All 12 of those in the water to nearby Patrick fab for medical examinations. Mccauley said the exercise demonstrated the capability of the combined forces to use command control an communications procedures to effectively locate and Rescue shuttle Crew Mem Bers from the Ocean. Damages and a change in Fri promotion practices. The trial is expected to last two weeks with up to 100 witnesses expected to testify. Three hispanic agents who testified monday described the Fri As an Organiza Tion that shunts Spanish speakers into relatively menial tasks As it promotes people who Complete investigations and make important arrests. What happens As a Spanish speaking agent is you might initiate an investigation and have it going pretty Well but you re pulled off Perez testified. That usually happens because the his Paiit agents Are put on a temporary assignment requiring Spanish he said. Other agents who Complete such investigations begun by hispanic agents end up getting the credit Perez said. Non hispanic agents who speak Spanish Don t have to Deal with the same problems the agents testified. The lawsuit was filed in january 1987 by Bernardo Matt Perez assistant special agent in charge at the Elpaso office. From the orbiter 220 changes including rewiring Brake improvements steering upgrades stiffening of the Landing gear strengthening of structures in wings and engine pods and improvements in heat absorbing tiles on the shuttle s surface. The Booster 145 changes affect ing systems including joints and seals be tween Booster Seg ments internal insula Tion the fuel igniter the nozzle and the giant bracket holding the Booster in place. Escape rout for astronauts a telescoping escape pole allows the astronauts to Ball out at High attitudes during Takeoff after Sohd feted boosters have stopped firing. Telescoping pole astronaut wearing Parachute main engines 30 changes to each of the three main engines including the strengthening of Turbo pump Blades to prevent cracking and of the main fuel valve housings to Block structural failure. The pow extends 12 feet beyond the ship s Hatch moving astronauts Down and away from the Craft so powerful headwinds cannot push them into a Wing or engine pod. Parachutes in flight suits open to bring the Astro nauts to a Safe Landing. Graphic not 19 /9 to 1982, Matt Perez worked at the Sanjuan puerto Rico office a Bureau considered an undesirable assignment because of the Island s High crime rate and isolation. The agents charged that hispanics Are routinely transferred to puerto Rico some times punit ively. Fri personnel director David rarity that the Agency does not discriminate against hispanics and said More his panic agents Are transferred to puerto Rico because they Are More Likely to speak Span ish. New tests Clear Dotson lawyer says Chicago a a second request for clemency for convicted rapist Gary Dotson was made monday to Thompson citing new High tech tests Dotson s attorney says support Cathy Webb s recantation and prove his client s innocence beyond a is a Case where a person was arrested convicted and sentenced for crime that never occurred said Dot son s attorney Tom had served six years of a 25-to 50-year sentence following his 1979 rap conviction when Webb stepped Forward to say she had lied when she said heaped her in order to cover up a teen age sexual , who received results of the test last week is in new Orleans for the Republican National convention. Terry Baraich the governor s Lega counsel said that before Thompson makes a decision on the clemency he wants to talk to some scientific types to feel comfortable in his own mind whether this test is scientifically reliable beyond a reasonable , meanwhile remained behind bars monday at the Joliet correctional enter serving the last Day of a six month prison term for failing to Call his parole officer immediately after Thomp son granted him a last Chance release from prison dec. 24. That was Only one of a number of scrapes with the Law Dotson has had since May 1985, when Thompson com muted his sentence on the original rape conviction to the six years Dotson had already served. In commuting his sentence Thomp son bypassed Dotson s request for Clem ency saying he did not believe Webb recantation nor Dotson s denials. Dotson will be released tuesday into an intensive residential treatment pro Gram for an unspecified period double Sunset gives Barrow dark preview Barrow Alaska up after basking in 24-hour sunlight for nearly three months America s northernmost Community experienced two sunsets monday. A couple of weeks ago we had a first Sunset after 24hours of Daylight and now we re having two sunsets in one Day said Earl Finkler who has been broadcasting news of the event on Barrow radio station a Bow. It s no big traumatic event but it kind of give you pause he said. Finkler said some of Barrow s night people planned to catch both of monday s sunsets but Clouds turned the experience into one to be talked about and not seen. For 84 Days in the summer the Sun does not 65 Days in the Winter the Sun does not Rise. And along the Way in Barrow s mad dash toward Winter darkness at noon the Sun sets twice in a single 24-hour period said co. Evans the official in charge of Barrow s National weather service office. Barrow s first summer Sunset came aug. 2 at 1 19a.m. And the Sun has been setting earlier each Day until monday s Sunset at 12 01 . Then the Sun Rose monday at 5 03 . Wit monday s second Sunset at 11 55 . By tuesday Barrow s Sun promised to behave More like most americans expect it to rising in the morning and setting at night once until disappearing below the horizon in november for a win Ter hibernation. News of the Day s double Sunset was conveyed to sceptical tourists visiting the mostly Eskimo Community of 3,000 on the Arctic Ocean coast. Barrow is used to being treated differently by the Sun and residents respond appropriately. Children commonly can be seen playing outside during the summer at 2 . The Sun High in the sky Evans said. But two sunsets in one Day represents a fair warning that Winter darkness is approaching. The Sun sets nov. 19 at 1 20 . And will not Rise again until Jan. 23 at 1 09 . Everybody s really been High on 24 hours of Daylight Finkler said. I prefer the darkness to the Light Evans sleep better when it s
