European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 20, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes wednesday december 20,1989 Navy officers blamed for accidents to of reportedly tells commanders to do better by Susanne m. Schafer a military Filer Washington the Navy s lop Admiral has told commanders they must do better to improve the service s safety record following evaluation of the unprecedented two Day freeze on routine operations last month Navy sources said tuesday. Adm. Carlisle . Trost chief of naval operations faulted commanders for exercising poor supervision during the Navy s Many dangerous operations saying the level of effective supervision on the scene was often inadequate when accidents occurred. Trost offered the critique in a letter monday that summed up his findings in Light of the mid november safety stand Down he ordered after a string of serious accidents killed 10 sailors. The associated press obtained the contents of troll s letter from Navy sources. The Admiral told commanders that he found the stand Down was executed professionally at All Levels and that there was no single thread that tied the string of accidents together. But he said. One life lost is an unacceptable Price. We simply must do  a Navy source who spoke on condition of Anonym Ity said troll complained that sailors had not been properly taught to do their jobs thai supervisors lacked safety training and established safety proce dures were not adequately followed. Safely must remain a direct function of command attention at All Levels and must be underpinned by strict adherence to time proven procedures and prac  said Trost. Trost and Navy Secretary h. Lawrence Garrett Iii ordered the pause in operations in mid november after 10 accidents at sea and in the air within three weeks killed 10 Navy personnel and injured at icasi71. Under the stand Down order All Navy units world wide halted Normal routine and concentrated on safety inspections reviews and lectures for 48 of the ensuing 72 hours. Trost ordered unit commanders to report their find Ings from the stand Down to him and he responded to them on monday. Trost lectured the commanders for an attitude of complacency in his letter saying taking safety for granted is never acceptable. Safely Springs from a command attitude and set of Priori tics that require an everyday building Block approach and  during the review the source said the commanders found problems with proper planning of their operations a Lack of qualified senior Leaden present during operations and compressed at sea schedules that precluded proper training for Junior personnel. Other areas that merited attention the source said included the constant review of All safety procedures the proper use of safety publications so that sailors Don t have to constantly relearn safety procedures and she use of established inspections to reveal improper stowage of dangerous materials. The stand Down revealed that there should be in creased emphasis on safety during All training courses improvement in the Quality of instructors at Navy schools and better use of such safety instruction techniques As training videotapes the source said. The Bottom line is that safety of our personnel is a fundamental obligation and responsibility of leadership Trost told his officers. And he said such responsibility carries with it the need for attention to every safety related detail of what we do on the Tea under the sea and in the  couple 28 kids make it Home for the holidays Indianapolis a a Mission Ary couple and 28 haitian children they intend to adopt and raise As one family were welcomed Home monday by applauding friends and relatives. Dan and Kathy Blackburn. Christian evangelical missionaries who fled Haiti for the dominican Republic with the children in 1987, took the youngsters to a Church Camp in Lens ind., where they will live temporarily in a dormitory. We re coming Home after 15  la just take it Day by Day Blackburn. 45. Said As the Grcic tors gave Candy to the children at Indianapolis International Airport. The children who speak English Range in age from 3 to 14, and most have lived with the Blackburn since infancy. All but two came 10 inc couple As babies including one who was just six hours old. The baby was found in a hut and its Mother was dead said mrs. Blackburn 42. Asked How she and her husband Man aged to keep track of 28 children she said Jesus Christ. There is no other secret. Jesus has always taken care of  her husband asked How the couple planned to feed and clothe inc children said i think the lord will  the family plans to eventually Fin another place or build a Home Large enough to accommodate the group. The churches and organizations that have sponsored them for 14 years will continue to do so a Church spokesman said. The . Immigration and naturalization service granted the children special Holiday parole status allowing them Legal friends of Dan and Kathy Blackburn Greet i laution children at Indianapolis Airport. Entry with the couple. Cases like the Blackburn show us that the Law can be administered with heart ins commissioner Gene my nary said in Miami earlier in the Day. We would have made the same decision at any time of year but getting the family Home before Christmas made it All the More  the Blackburn and the children fled from Haiti to the dominican Republic in 1987 to escape political turmoil when the haitian government collapsed. The two countries share a Caribbean Island. Mrs. Blackburn said they left Haiti be cause of threats from villagers. We left in the Middle of the night with the clothes on our backs she said. We ran for our lives i was trying to save their lives and ours  asked if she had smuggled the Chil Dren out of Haiti she said i guess so. Yeah. 1  ins spokesman Duke Austin said the conditions under which the Blackburn and the children left Haiti were not an Issue. On monday the group flew first to Miami International Airport where the children some clutching stuffed animals played and watched planes take off while their new parents took care of last min Ute red tape. They then boarded a flight to Indiana Polis. Mcnary granted the children humanitarian parole because they were ineligible for entry under any other immigration category. Under ins Law the commissioner May allow an otherwise inadmissible alien to enter the country temporarily for humanitarian reasons or when such entry is in the National interest. The Blackburn went to Haiti in 1976 with their two sons and started a ministry in a Small Mountain Village the jus Tice department said. After about i months they began caring for sick or abandoned children brought to their Home. In the dominican Republic the found a Home with the help of other missionaries while they worked to find a Way to adopt the children and return to Indi Ana. They were unable to Complete the adoptions in Haiti or the dominican re Public because the children s natural parents Are dead or unknown. With the help of various Church groups the Blackburn petitioned the ins to permit the children to come Toi his country so they could Complete the adoptions in Indiana. After their petition was approved by Mcnary in Early december the ins worked with the stale department to Speed up the paperwork so the family could be Home by Christmas. 90 students dreams of scholarships shattered new York a an overnight mail service was late delivering entries by 90 High school seniors to a National science contest setting Back their dreams of College scholarships school and contest officials said. I cried said Ming Ling Peng 17, who wrote one of the late entries from Stuyvesant High school to the Wislin Ghousi science Talent search. It s the ticket to College for most of  the Box of 90 entries from the Manhattan school was due in Washington on Friday but got there Mon Day Westinghouse officials said. It was not known which delivery service handled the entries. Seventy other Stuyvesant entries arrived on time. It s unfortunate this happened and we feel badly it happened but it s policy and we Don t make exceptions said Carol Luszcz program director for the Talent search. She said Many entries arc sent at the last minute although the deadline was made Clear. Abraham Baumel the principal said he Hopes to persuade Westinghouse to accept the entries with proof they were sent on time. He said his assistants have receipts to document the claim. We be never had an experience like this before. At this Point we have no explanation for what happened Baumel said. Stuyvesant is nationally known for academic Excel Lence. Each year its students reach inc semifinals or better of the Westinghouse electric corp s Talent search which began in 1942. We take extra courses at Columbia and n.y.u.," Peng said of new York University. I know someone who did a physics paper he had been working on since eighth Grade. Eileen Finkelstein whose son Steven s project Wassaic said her son was devastated at being Dis qual  should their blood sweat and tears go Down the Drain Finkelstein asked. These kids Are the crime de la Creme of the new York system. These are90 kids who had no control Over what was done to them. Certainly rules can be changed a Little bit. We re talking about children s destinies