European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 24, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday May 24. 1989page 4 the stars and stripes wednesday a z4. Laos Beretta still army s Standard handgun Baychuc Vinch Washington Bureau Washington the 9mm bar Cotta pistol the target of Quality and procurement questions has won a congressionally ordered contest to remain the army s handgun of Choice officials said tuesday. The italian owned company s . Subsidiary by Octta Usa of acco kick md., will begin providing an additional 56,705 pistols at a Cost of $9.9 million said maj. Barry Bomier an army spokesman in the Penta gon. After this delivery is Complete the army will have purchased a total of 377,965 of the sidearms designated the m9. At a Cost of $67.7 million Bomier said. The Beretta first was picked by the army in 1985 to become the service s Standard handgun replacing the Colt ,45-Calibcr automatic pistol that had been in the inventory since 1911. The awarding of the initial five year contract to by Rolta came amid rumours that the company had been Given an unfair Edge including a secret arrangement Between the United states and Italy to steer the con tract toward Beretta. A general accounting office report in june 1986 failed to substantiate any wrongdoing but Congress ordered another contract Competition anyway. Only two other competitors Sturm Rugur and co of soul port conn., and Smith & Wesson of Springfield mass. Submitted weapons for testing compared with eight competitors for the original 1985 contract Bomier said. Sturm Rugur is an american owned company while Smith & Wesson was purchased recently by Tomms i la of Britain. By Rolta submitted randomly selected pistols from the most recent Batch produced for the army in the Competition. During the testing both of the other candidate weapons failed some of the mandatory requirements Bomier said. The performance of the bar Cotta Usa m9 pistol was significantly better than either of the competing  Bomier could not discuss test deficiencies in the other two weapons because of government contracting regulations. He said the test results were forwarded to Congress on monday. The pistol also has faced questions about the Quality of its Frame. The army twice halted deliveries of the bar Cotta after cracks developed in the gun s Frame and slide mechanism. After a three month delay in deliveries last fall the company agreed to forge the weapons with an improved heating process and add a device that captures any slide that docs crack. Bomier said it still is possible that Congress could intervene in some Way in the Beretta contract. Additionally he said the other two companies submitting test weapons have Legal avenues they could explore. It s possible that something else could happen to affect the contract Bomier said. But at the moment As far As the army is concerned bar Cotta is the company that will continue to procure the  Vietnam War combat Pilot who had sex change Dies de kali111. A Karen Blanc a decorated Vietnam War combat Pilot who was fired by Eastern airlines alter sex change operation in 1980, was killed in the crash of a world War 11-Vintagc charter plane. She was 48. Blanc known until her surgery As Kenneth Blanc was at the controls when the twin propeller dc-3 owned by an air to i and cargo service crashed and burned in a Field near Here monday. Two others aboard were killed. Blanc. Who lived in Aurora had a sex change operation and hormone treat ments in 1980 Afler 12 years with East Ern. The airline fired her citing possible safely a Ards in stressful situations. . District judge John f. Nirady or dered reinstatement and $158,590 in Back pay and other expenses in 1983, saying the 1964 Federal anti discrimination Law protects transsexuals. An appeals court disagreed and re versed the decision and the supreme court in 1985 let the appellate ruling stand. Ulane eventually received a settlement from Eastern that was substantially More than the amount ordered by Grady said her attorney. Dean Dickie. Blanc flew combat missions in Viet Nam from 1964 to 1968, winning numer Ous medals and honors. Survivors include her Mother and a son from a marriage while she was Ken Neth ulane. Funeral arrangements were not immediately known. County begins need ing inmates who use drugs Miami a drug addicts at the Dade county stockade got the Point tues Day 10 Points to be exact As part of a treatment program using acupuncture. The new program will treat 1,500 inmates at a Cost of about $600,000 a year said Cir Cuit judge Herbert Klein the county s anti drug coordinator. I Don t feel there s any other Way 1 could be helped. This is the last Way said Terry Henderson 20. He described the insertion of 10 two Inch Needles in his cars As feeling like a Mosquito  Henderson is serving a one year sentence for cocaine Sale and Possession. He said he smoked crack daily before his arrest. But some doctors say there Haven t been enough scientific studies to determine if Acu puncture actually cases withdrawal symptoms. Acupuncturist Bill Berlin who has been pushing for the program for four years said lie has an 80 percent Success rate in private practice. But he said the jail program would be More difficult. Part of the recovery is rebuilding their lives As Well As eliminating the need for drugs he said. Counselling is the other half of the drug  developed More than 2,500 years ago bythe chinese acupuncture is a technique to relieve pain and stress by inserting Needles the program is aimed at helping addicts into specific Points on the body that lax and reducing their craving for drugs Lic cd to affect organs and bodily Fum relax and that Are by actions. A a the a Yeeee of the Needle Colleen Burt a Junior at the High school in Garden City mich., winces us she receives a a cusses vaccination. Some 65 cases of measles have been confirmed at the suburban Detroit school which has set up a makeshift clinic for students who Haven t been vaccinated or who got the shot before age is months. Exxon Valdex sex Captain indicted on felony counts Anchorage Alaska a a grand jury on monday indicted the former Captain of the Exxon Val Dez on three felony counts for his role in the nation s worst Oil  Hazelwood was charged with three counts of second degree criminal mischief said District attorney Dwayne Mcconnell. I convicted on All counts he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison and a $150,000fme. The indictment by the Anchorage Superior court panel charges Hazelwood with reckless actions before the March 24 Accident when the Tanker ran aground and spilled 10.9 million Gallons of Oil into Prince Wil Liam sound. Mcconnell , a worker on a ship helping clean up the spill was killed in an elevator  said the indictment is based on a state Law making it illegal to recklessly create a risk of More than $ 100.000 to property by use of widely dangerous Means. Hazelwood s blood alcohol Content was illegally High nearly ii hours after the Accident the coastguard said. He had turned Over control of the 987-foot Tanker to the third male who was not certified to Pilot the ship in Prince William , of Huntington n.y., was charged in Valdez in late March with three misdemeanours operating a boat while intoxicated reckless endangerment and negligent  said the state will ask to have All the charges consolidated into a single trial. Hazelwood is free on $50,000 bail on the mis Demea nor charges pending a june 20 trial. No Date has been set for his arraignment on the felony charges. Several Crew members testifying at last week s National transportation safety Board hearings in Ancho rage said they drank with Hazelwood before boarding the ship the evening of March 23. Others testified they smelled alcohol on his breath but said he did t seem to be  death monday occurred aboard the coastal Star a Headquarters ship anchored in n9rthwest Bay on Eleanor Island. The site in Prince William sound is about 55 Miles Southwest of Valdez coast guard chief Mark Kennedy said in Valdez. A food preparation worker aboard the vessel was reported missing for about one hour Kennedy said. Safety team searched the ship and found the worker pinned Between a freight elevator and a Bulkhead on the third deck he  coastal Star serves As a berthing vessel and command ship for the Federal on a conc coordinator Kennedy  was the first fatality involving the cleanup Force since the Tanker ran aground. Exxon has several thousand workers cleaning beaches in the sound and along the Southern Alaska coast most of them housed on ships like the coastal Star. Exxon leased More than 600 vessels for the  name of the victim was t immediately Avail Able Kennedy said