European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 16, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday november 16, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 3post office gunman who killed 3 Dies Royal Oak Mich. A a fired postal worker who killed three people and wounded six others before shooting himself died Friday of his injuries. Colleagues predicted that Thomas Mellvane who threatened supervisors and co workers would one Day shoot up the Royal Oak Post office if he did no to get his Job Back. One described him As a a waiting time  on thursday police said the 31-year-old former Manne made Good on his threats spraying the Post office with bullets from a .22-caliber semiautomatic Rifle. Mellvane was pronounced dead Early Friday and doctors removed his organs for transplant said Hospital spokeswoman Karen Trefil. Two of the wounded remained in critical condition. The Post office in this suburb 10 Miles North of downtown Detroit was closed Friday and mail delivery to the City a 70,000 residents was cancelled As counsel ors met with shaken survivors and relatives of the victims. Mellvane was fired from the Post office last year for timecard fraud and had appealed his dismissal. . Postal service spokesman Lou Eberhardt said an arbitrator rejected his Appeal on wednesday. A everybody said if he did no to get his Job Back he was going to come in and shoot a postal worker Bob Cibulka said. A everyone was talking about  a the was a waiting time bomb a said former postal worker Mark Mitchell who was stationed with Mellvane at the Marine corps base in  calif., in the Early 1980s. A one time at  there was a Guy he was mad at and he drove a tank Over his car a Mitchell said. Thursdays shooting came just a month after four new Jersey postal workers were killed during another rampage. In 1986, a part time letter Carrier in Edmond okla., killed 14 people in the Post office before taking his own life. Among those killed thursday was Branch operations manager Christopher Carlisle 33, and labor relations representative Keith Ciszewski 37. Also killed was injury compensation specialist Mary Benincasa 32. Carlisle was mentioned in a government accounting office report issued after an investigation into the 1988 deaths of three postal workers in Indianapolis where workers had complained of undue Job stress. He transferred to Royal Oak last year. Complaints about poor service and Low morale among workers at the Royal Oak Post office had prompted a congressional investigation just before the spree. Mall vane a threats against supervisors had been forwarded to postal officials and postal inspector Art Vandeputte said Steps were taken to prevent a possible tragedy. Doors with combination locks were installed in the loading Dock area about three months ago workers said. A we simply done to have guards guarding the door. There Are so Many mail carriers coming in and so Many vehicles its impossible to keep the Back of the Post office sealed a Vandeputte said. Fire chief Bill Crouch said the shooting spree began about 9 . When Mellvane opened fire on the Post office loading Dock hitting about three people. From there he went to an upstairs office and shot another three people Crouch said before heading Over to the opposite Side of the building and shooting More people then himself. Letter Carrier Rockie Mcdonald said Mellvane fired at him but missed. A i yelled a no Tom Nola a Mcdonald said. A i done to know How Many times i yelled it. He turned and went the other  vet Given princely wedding present new York a when the wedding Bells Stop ringing for staff sgt. Robert Snow the Cash registers will Start. The desert storm Veteran is getting a $100,000 wedding gift from the saudi Prince he met while hospitalized for treatment of his severe wounds. A it really is a fairy tale Story a said Karin Pajor the Bride to be in the Friday night nuptials. A not everybody gets Royalty at their wedding a or a card with a Check for $100,000 inside As she was too polite to add. Think nothing of it the Prince said. A what counts is the gesture rather than the size of it a said Prince Bandar bin Sultan the saudi ambassador to the United states. A whatever we do is not  Prince Bandar also cancelled meetings on Capitol Hill at the state department and with fellow diplomats so that he could attend the reception Friday evening in Farmington Conn. The wedding will be held in nearby Southington where the Bride and Groom live. The Prince was in the Walter Reed medical Center in Washington for Back treatment last March when he heard about a desert storm Soldier who had undergone More surgery than any other wounded persian Gulf Veteran. The Man was Snow who stepped on a land mine and suffered an assortment of injuries including a shattered left  a broken leg and a collapsed lung. Snow has since undergone More than a dozen operations he is still listed As an outpatient at Walter Reed. The Prince immediately asked to see Snow but the sergeant was too badly injured to receive visitors. A few Days later Snow had improved and the Prince was about to leave the Hospital the get together was quickly arranged. A the was in bad shape when i met him. We had a Brief conversation but he made quite an impress staff sgt. Robert Snow and his Fiance Karin Pajor talk to reporters in a july file photo. Sion a the saudi ambassador said. The Prince who spent 17 years in the saudi air Force said he Felt an immediate Bond to the injured Soldier and his Fiancee. He asked the couple to keep in touch. When the Prince returned from the recent Middle East peace conference in Madrid Spain an invitation to the wedding had arrived at his Washington Home. A we sent him a wedding invitation just to let him know that Bob had gotten to the Point where we were Able to go ahead with the wedding a Pajor said. A i sent along a letter saying we knew he obviously was Busy and   but the Prince who said he was touched by the invitation had other plans. A i Felt too strongly about his remembering me and inviting me that there was no Way i  go a he said. A this is what its All about when everything is said and done. It gives you Faith in the  implants to stay in use study continues by the los Angeles times Washington a a Federal advisory committee recommended thursday that widely used silicone gel breast implants be allowed to remain on the Market while researchers continue trying to resolve serious questions about their safety. The general and plastic surgery devices panel a committee of outside experts that advises the food and drug administration concluded after three Days of hearings that a pressing Public health need exists for the implants a particularly for breast reconstruction after cancer surgery. Some witnesses had suggested the implants which contain silicone that May pose Long term health problems in the human body should not be used for purely cosmetic augmentation. But panel members decided not to distinguish Between continued availability for reconstruction after a Mastectomy and for augmentation. The Fra has said it will announce a decision on the future of the devices by Jan. 6. The advisory committees recommendations Are not binding but  panels typically Wield considerable influence upon final decision making. A it would be insensitive unconscionable and cruel to deny women with breast cancer Access to these devices and it would wreak havoc with the management of breast cancer a said or. Jules Harris a panel member who is director of medical oncology for Rush presbyterian St. Lukes medical Center in Chicago. Harris said he believes Many women will fail to seek Early detection of breast cancer if they believe the option of reconstruction is not available. But he said he was reluctant to make a distinction Between making implants accessible to breast cancer patients and those who want to enlarge their breasts. While recommending that breast implants remain available the panel concluded the manufacturers of the devices had thus far failed to provide enough scientific data to prove they were Safe. It suggested the Fra establish a time limit to obtain the necessary information.3 survive 2 missing from downed plane in Atlantic Miami apr three survivors from a plane that crashed at sea battled Sharks and the elements for As Long As 40 hours before one swam ashore and the others were plucked from the Atlantic Ocean. But two companions and their dog were missing. The coast guard said it would continue searching for them Friday. Dan Tuckfield of fort Lauderdale fla., said he swam at least 30 Miles before he reached safety in the Bahamas. He said he saw his two missing companions drown. Tuckfield 35, staggered onto the cat cays at about 7 30 . Thursday. The cat cays Are a string of Small islands near the Bahamas about 60 Miles Southeast of Miami. A i finally got to some shallow ground a Tuckfield said from his Hospital bed in Miami on thursday. A i took my fins off and started walking. I saw somebody working and i started whistling. And waving my  Delano Hicks 58, and Pilot Brad Youngberg 48, both of fort Lauderdale were pulled from the Ocean near the cat cays by coast guard helicopters within the next two hours. Ira Bloom a Charleston s.c., personal injury attorney and his wife Dottie were missing. All three survivors were transported to Jackson memorial Hospital in Miami. Hicks was treated for hypothermia and listed in critical condition Tuckfield was listed in fair condition and Youngberg was treated and released. The five were returning to Florida from Chub Cay in the Bahamas when the two engines on their six seat Piper Seneca failed at about 5 . Tuesday and the plane went Down in about 25 feet of water. Tuckfield said Bloom 54, his longtime Friend died wednesday at about 7 30 . He said he tried to carry the body while towing Dottie Bloom and her Spaniel on his Back. A about 1 of clock a big Tiger shark started swimming around us kept swimming around us getting closer each time. When i saw the shark i said i got to let Ira go cause in a getting tired a Tuckfield said crying. Dottie Bloom 49, died an hour later he said. The blooms had been in the Bahamas to fish members of blooms Legal staff said. Tuckfield said the five passengers lingered by the sunken plane Foi about four hours hoping an emergency signal Box would attract the coast guard before deciding to swim for land