European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 24, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The stars and stripes tuesday March 24, 1992 whistle blowers still Fielding flak reprisals continue despite Protection Law mental wards used paper says by Pete Yost the associated press Washington a the army tries to fire a civilian scientist after he criticizes the Pentagon so Star wars program. A senior technician at a government Laboratory questions Plant safety so his Bosses reassign him to a room filled with radioactive chemicals. It has been two years since Congress passed the whistle Blower Protection act but reports of the reprisals it was supposed to discourage Are still rolling in. A we re still shooting the messenger a said sen. David Pryor dark. Take the Case of Aldric Saucier. He told army leaders there was waste mismanagement and fraud in the $30 billion strategic defense initiative commonly known As a Star  a a in be been spit on by senior army officers shoved up against a Wall and elbowed in the head and the neck so hard that i had to get medical treatment a Saucier said in an interview Friday. Saucier a doctor recommended that he be put on medical leave because of the physical stress and abuse he was subjected to. The army wants to fire him saying his work is a poorly organized contains numerous errors and his assumptions conclusions and recommendations Are not substantially  prominent scientists outside the Pentagon who reviewed a recent report by Saucier say he does competent work. The report concerns modifying the Patriot air defense system. One scientist called Saucier a a careful dedicated civil servant who has properly raised questions about Pentagon programs. A spate of news stories on his plight and intervention by Pryor three other . Senators and a congressman have temporarily saved Saucier a Job. The 1989 Protection Law that Saucier is invoking has increased whistle blowers chances of survival. Before the Law was passed employees had to prove that their whistle blowing was the motivating Factor for retaliation. Now they Only have to prove that its a contributing Factor and then the Burden of proof shifts to the pm bostonian take walk on risky Side Boston apr caution walking around Boston could be dangerous to your health. In 1990, pedestrians accounted for half of Bostons 42 traffic fatalities records show. Only new York had a higher ratio 52.4 percent of that City a 643 traffic fatalities were pedestrians. Baltimore san Diego Washington Chicago Detroit and los Angeles have far larger populations than Boston but have a lower percentage of pedestrian deaths. Last Spring mayor Raymond l. Flynn appointed the pedestrian safety task Force to study the problem. After spending the summer sifting through raw data the task Force concluded in october that 50 percent of the City a pedestrian accidents occurred on 10 percent of its 750 Miles of Roadway. Another study is to begin next month. Narrow and crooked streets Are one Factor in pedestrian deaths. Also 17 percent of bostonian walk to work compared with 5 percent nationally. The task Force also found several of the hazardous locations were next to bars 72 percent of pedestrians involved in accidents nationally had been drinking said project manager Karen Anderson. The report concluded no single Factor was to blame for the City a High Accident rate but noted a the City of Boston is unique when it comes to the behaviour of Drivers and  a the notorious Jaywalker is second Only to the infamous Boston Driver a it said. A and while they Are a source of much material for stand up comics the reality is their behaviour is no  Dallas apr some military whistle blowers have been forced to undergo psychiatric evaluations and been sent to mental wards As intimidation or reprisal a newspaper said sunday quoting current and former serv ice members. The Pentagon denied the allegations. The Dallas morning news investigated 27 psychiatric cases involving the military and found most of the service members involved had spotless records until they challenged the system. It did no to say How the cases were chosen. The newspaper examined nine cases in detail in its three month project. Ployer to show that it was not a Factor. A before your chances were As Good As playing the lottery. Now they re about As Good As playing russian Roulette a said Thomas Devine of the government accountability project a non profit group representing Saucier. Saucier was the architect of a ground based laser program to destroy incoming enemy ballistic missiles before they deployed their warheads. Saucier says his architecture was less costly More reliable and could have been in operation years sooner than other proposed systems. But the army and the strategic defense initiative office in the Pentagon a wanted their pork barrel program a Saucier said. His career has been on the skids Ever since. Saucier a allegations of waste fraud and mismanagement Are among some 100 such complaints a year that go to the office of special counsel a Federal Agency that seeks to protect government whistle blowers. The special counsel Kathleen Koch referred Saucier a allegations to the Secretary of defense for further investigation one of about a dozen such referrals in one capt. Denise Kirkland an air Force surgeon who complained about shoddy practices at the Little Rock fab Hospital was told by her supervisor that she had suicidal tendencies and was ordered to have a psychiatric evaluation in san Antonio. Another involved army staff sgt. William t. Murphy who complained in 1988 about How a Friend had been treated by a Superior at the Aberdeen proving ground my. A series of reprimands followed along with a 30-minute psychiatric examination that reached a a diagnostic impression Murphy had passive aggressive traits. He asked for his record to be cleared. The newspaper interviewed Kirkland and Murphy and examined court documents in Murphy Scase. The House armed services committee has held hearings on psychiatric abuses since 1987 and continues to prod the Pentagon for reforms. A it is intolerable that military whistle blowers should be intimidated by such an insidious tactic and that those responsible should go unpunished a said rep. Barbara Boxer a Calif. Chester Paul Beach jr., the defense departments acting general counsel said the Pentagon is strengthening its policies at Congress urging to ensure that psychiatric evaluations Are not used against the whistle blowers. Each year to various agencies. The special counsel gets 500 complaints a year about reprisals and has launched an investigation into Saucier a allegations of retaliation. The new Laws reach is limited. It does not cover government contractors such As Charles Varnadore who has won numerous commendations during his 17-year career in government owned nuclear facilities in Oak Ridge Tenn. Varnadore said the commendations stopped when he questioned safety and other procedures at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory which is owned by the . Department of Energy and operated by Martin Marietta Energy systems inc. According to Varnadore soil samples with potential pollutants were being mishandled and a Secretary was required by her supervisors to put radioactive samples on the front seat of the truck she was driving. As his complaints mounted a they criticized me for incompetence they criticized me for insubordination and then they put me in a room full of radioactive waste a Varnadore said. The 20-foot-by-30-foot room had no windows contained half a dozen Laboratory Bench tops contaminated with radioactive material and had several plastic bags full of radioactively contaminated ceiling tile and lab equipment he said. Martin Marietta issued a statement this month saying it takes Varnadore a allegations a very seriously but Hasni to turned up any evidence that his work area violated Federal health standards. The . Labor department ruled in Varnadore a favor saying he had suffered discrimination for raising safety issues. Martin Marietta moved him to another office but the company is seeking to reverse the ruling. Varnadore who has had Colon cancer is also appealing seeking $1.5 million in damages. The process could take years. A my division chief suggested i quit but whereas a 50-year-old Man with cancer going to get a Job a Varnadore said. Still Varnadore and Saucier say they would not hesitate to blow the whistle again. A a we re telling the truth and our employers done to want people to know a Varnadore said. So no Good for hitchhiking this hitchhiking snowman stands poised for a lift along route 9 near Poughkeepsie n.y., protected from the elements with Only gloves and a Scarf. A storm that dumped Snow throughout the great lakes and the Eastern United states was blamed for a fatal Airliner crash in new York. Three other planes skidded off runways in Chicago and there were numerous traffic accidents. See Page la for additional details on the weather