European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 6, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 b the stars and stripes saturday june 6, 1992sweep finds illegally employed children from wire reports Washington the labor department said t thursday a two week nationwide sweep this Spring uncovered nearly 5,000 illegally employed children at about 1,300 businesses. The child labor sweep which took place primarily in smaller . Cities around the country concentrated on businesses where violations Are most common a retail stores restaurants and recreational facilities. The department said it also targeted garment contractors and construction companies. The sweep uncovered Quot nearly 5,000 minors working in violation of Federal child labor Laws at approximately 1,300 of the 4,700 businesses investigated during March and Early april a Secretary of labor Lynn Martin said. As a result of the Spring strike Force action the department so far has cited 480 businesses in 39 states for illegally employing More than 2,000 minors and imposed penalties exceeding $1.6 million. Janet Ellis a labor spokeswoman said the department expects to cite and Fine the remaining violators discovered in the sweep during late March and Early april. The total of 27,655 minors were found illegally employed in fiscal year 1991 at 2,342 businesses labor said. Martin said the labor department concentrated on smaller areas in its latest sweep in a shift from its usual focus on metropolitan areas. A we wanted to make sure we were looking across the nation not Only one segment a she said. Most of the violations discovered by the department involved minors Between the Ages of 14 and 15 who were working too Many hours. The fair labor standards act of 1938 prohibits children in that age group from working More than three hours a Day before or after school and restricts work to a total of 18 hours during a school week. During school vacations 14 and 15-year-Olds can work Motherly love who says dogs and cats can to gel along certainly not these three. Odie a 5-year-old Dachshund in Sint Jana Guam stepped in As a wet nurse recently after the two Kittens Mother died. And the results have been nothing Short of harmonious. Eight hours a Day and 40 hours a week. About one third of the violations uncovered by the department involved 16 to 17-year-Olds working in hazardous jobs defined by the act As work in mining construction manufacturing and meat slicing of any kind. The department also found children under the age of 14 working which is a violation of child labor Laws. Martin said the More attention sweeps receive the More business owners will find themselves saying a i better make sure my own shop is  a Bill to Amend the child labor portion of the fair labor standards act is expected to hit the Senate floor this summer. The Bill sponsored by sen. Howard m. Metzenbaum a Ohio would expand criminal penalties for employers who Are found in violation of child labor Laws. Martin said she opposes the Bill because Quot it is Clear we have had a positive effects in dealing with child labor  City outlaws guns at certain Sites Tempe Ariz. A the City Council stopped Short of Banning gang related clothing but agreed unanimously that weapons have no place on downtown streets crowded with nighttime revellers on the weekends. The 7-0 vote thursday night declared a 10-Block area of nightclubs cafes and specially stores Quot a Public events site allowing police to bar entry to people with weapons. The designation in effect gives the City the same status As a commercial proprietor to which state Law Grants such authority. State Law normally allows people to carry weapons As Long As they Are not concealed. More than 300 people attended the hearing. The Council heard from a taxi Driver with a holstered pistol on his hip and about a dozen others who spoke against the weapons ban. The Council acted out of rising fears for safety after a recent confrontation Between two youth gangs escalated into gunfire from an ak-47 assault weapon police said. No one was injured but a woman sleeping in a nearby Home narrowly escaped being hit. The original measure before the Council would have allowed police to Force people wearing clothing linked to Street gangs to take off the clothes turn them inside out or leave the area. The Council removed the reference to a gang paraphernalia before passing the measure. A third of . Children drop out fall behind Washington a More than a third of All american youngsters Between the Ages of 15 and 17 have either dropped out of school or Are at least one Grade level behind according to reports published Friday. T he los Angeles times and Usa today Bolh quoted a census Bureau report a school enrolment a social and economic characteristics of  the report noted that the Gap Between White students and Black and hispanic students begins in Middle schools and widens As the youngsters grow older. By 1990, the newspapers said 34.8 percent of All students Between 15 Ana 17 had dropped out or been placed in classes at least one year below their age group a up from 29.1 percent in 1980. About 32 percent of White students fell into that category the report said while the proportions for Blacks and hispanics were 48 percent and 48.6 percent respectively. Part of the trend in older students the report said May be traced to parents who Are trying to help their children succeed in school by having them Start kindergarten at age 6 rather than 5. The report also found a the dramatic differences in Grade Levels among races began appearing with the 9 to 11-year-Olds and continued throughout High school. A Only 49 Perce cof hispanic children Ages 3 to 5 were enrolled in preschool or kindergarten compared with 57.8 percent of Black children and 60 percent of Whites. A the High school dropout rate Between fall 1989 and fall 1990 was 3.8 percent for Whites 5.1 percent for Blacks and 8 percent Kir hispanics. Car collides with ambulance carrying injured Tot Chicago up a toddler who fell out of a third Story window suffered further injuries when an ambulance taking him to a Hospital collided with a car. John Hernandez jr., 3, was in critical condition Early Friday said an administrator at Cook county Hospital. The boy his Mother and seven other people were injured thursday when a southbound ambulance taking him to the Hospital was struck by an eastbound ear that had swerved around a bus at an intersection. The ambulance toppled Over with its right Side on the ears Hood. The two vehicles continued moving together and struck a third vehicle at the intersection. The boys Mot tier Virginia Anaya was in serious condition at Cook county Hospital with head and Chest injuries. One paramedic was in fair condition in a Hospital. Another paramedic and a firefighter were treated and released. The Driver of the ear that collided with the ambulance. Jimmy Jackson was in serious condition but left Cook county Hospital against medical advice a spokeswoman said. A two passengers in his ear were hospitalized and a third was treated and released. Nobody was injured in the third car. Jackson was Given a ticket Tor failing to it Ltd the right of Way to an emergency vehicle police said. The boy suffered a very bad head injuries from both the fall and the Accident said John Barrett director of the Hospi talks trauma unit. A a it a difficult to Tell How serious the first injury was in comparison to those received in the crash a Barrett said. A woman who lived in the apartment below the boy said he and his three siblings All under the age of 6, often gazed out the open window with their faces pressed against the screen. A i had a fear that something would happen a raid Mendez said. A they were always looking out the windows and the windows were always