European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 18, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday August 18, 1994 . The stars and stripes Page 7 Chavis confident7 a act Job is Safe Washington a a act executive director Benjamin Chavis said tuesday he feels he will sur Vive a bid by opponents within the organization to re move him from office for using its funds to Settle a sex discrimination claim. In an interview Chavis said he believes the Board of directors of the National association for the Advance ment of coloured people will give him a fair hearing in its meeting saturday and that he will remain on the Job. I feel very Strong. One reason Why i m confident is i know i have done nothing wrong he said. But Chavis added that he would hot fight the Board if members decide to take away some of his Powers As a result of the controversy. I would Welcome a review of tie division of authority within the a act Chavis said. Up to this Date have made decisions Well within the authority of the executive director. If the Board wants to change that authority that s Well within their prerogative. In other words there s not going to be a new Power  Chavis said he feels he still has a staunch support Erin Board chairman William Gibson even though Gib son recently said he would not be Able to protect Cha vis should other Board members move to oust him. Or Gibson and i Are on the same Wavelength Chavis said. He predicted that,.after saturday s meet ing he and Gibson would emerge unified to reaffirm our Mission and outreach.". The Board is meeting saturday to discuss Chavis Job performance and the settlement with former employee Mary e. Stansel who has made unspecified allegations of sex discrimination and sexual harassment Stansel is suing Chavis and the a act for $245,000she contends she is owed because they failed to find her another Job. Veteran civil rights activists moved to support Cha vis who is under pressure to resign because he committed a act funds to paying a $332,400 sex discrimination settlement without telling the group s Board of directors. The Rev. Jesse Jackson who competed with Cha vis for the a act Job offered words of support tuesday. I m in deep prayer for Ben. I have sent Ben a note of support Jackson said. His Orick has been Chavis against the Wall before. I just Hope this matter can be resolved effectively and quickly. We need that organization s strength. We need its Many  a coalition led by the revs. Fred Shuttlesworth . Vivian planned a news conference wednesday in Atlanta to announce its backing of Chavis. We re not saying Ben is perfect. But we can t sit idly by and let someone destroy him said Connie Tucker a Chavis colleague for 25 years and executive director of the Southern organizing committee a network of 62 Community groups. Chavis met tuesday with officials from the Ford foundation which has held Back half of a $500,000grant because of questions about the a act s plans for the Money. Chavis critics say that is a sign that the a act s financial supporters Are backing out., Chavis denied fund raising is in trouble and. Said Ford officials assured him the Grant Money to Trad be transmitted As soon As negotiations end on the question of which a act programs will receive funding. In a letter Georgia state rep. Tyrone Brooks presi Dent of the Georgia association of Black elected officials called the Stansel matter a sad attempt to Dis credit Chavis for moving the a act closer to the grass roots. I knew. As soon As you moved from stagnation and do nothing ism toward creative and constructive activism you would be brutally attacked Brooks wrote. Jackson urged a act officials to resolve their matter in the boardroom and not in the  Chavis and Jackson competed for the a act executive director s Post in the Spring of 1993, but Jackson withdrew Days before a Board vote. Their Public relationship has been alternately competitive and cooperative. In the stars and stripes 10 years ago aug. 18,1984-Iran said it smelled a conspiracy in the Suez canal and vowed to strike egyptian interests if iranian ships in the water Way were stopped and searched. 20 years ago aug. 18,1974 turkish forces seized the Heights overlooking the Village of Pironi South of Nicosia after renewed fighting broke the latest cease fire on Cyprus less than 24 hours after it began. 30 years ago aug. 18,1964 about 1,000 Blacks rioted for five hours before 200 Shotgun carrying police re stored order in the predominantly Black Chicago suburb of Dix More. 40 years ago aug. 18,1954 the Senate joined the House in passing a Bill to strip the communist party of All Legal rights and overrode the Eisen Hower administration s objections by voting to make membership in the party a crime. World War 11 j 50 years ago today aug. 18 american and polish armoured columns meet at Chamois. Closing off the Falaise Gap in Normandy and trapping a Large German Force. The ousted German commander for Normandy Field marshal Gunther von Kluge kills himself rather than face a treason trial ordered by Adolf Hitler. In the South of France . Troops push toward Aix in Provence and free French units move on Toulon and Marseille. Source 2/94 Days of War. W. H. Smith publishers inc. The world almanac of world War ii Bison books corp. 1981 teen guilty of killing 4-year-old Bath . A a 14-year-old boy who bludgeoned and strangled a preschooler while suffering from what his lawyer claimed was disorder that made him prone to uncontrollable rage was convicted tuesday of murder. In convicting Eric Smith the jury rejected the rage disorder claim along with charges of manslaughter. Eric could get As much As nine years to life in prison. He was tried As an adult. The freckle faced redhead said that he saw 4-year-old Derrick Robic walking along the sidewalk to a Day Camp they attended and coaxed him into the Woods on the pretext of taking a shortcut. Eric said he squeezed the boy s neck stuffed a paper Towel and a plastic lunch bag in his Mouth battered his head with a Stone the crushed his Skull with a 26-Pound Rock he had pulled out of the soil. The defense contended that Eric suffered from intermittent explosive disorder a rare condition characterized by episodes in which a person cannot control violent impulses. The prosecution depicted him As a methodical killer who lured his victim into a trap and tried to cover his tracks. If the jury had concluded that Eric was suffering from a mental Dis ease or defect or was under extreme emotional disturbance when he killed Robie in 1993 in the Village of Savona it could have convicted him of manslaughter. Judge Donald purple had instructed the jurors that to convict Eric of murder they must find that he had consciously tried to cause Derrick s death. The defense contended the bespectacled youngster suffers from de. Velo mental abnormalities brought on by his Mother s use of a risky anti epileptic drug while pregnant. Among the telltale signs Are Low set ears that curl downward vision problems upturned eyebrows and unusual delay in learning to walk and talk. While both sides agreed he suffers from developmental abnormalities they disagreed Over whether he also suffers from a dangerous mental defect or illness. Or. Stephen Herman a psychiatrist for the defense argued that Eric had Low self esteem and Over anxiousness that were aggravated by his Stepfather s discipline and his Sisters verbal and physical abuse. District attorney John Tunney said Eric May  angry Eric Smith 14, stands in court after a jury found him about his appearance unpopularity or harsh upbringing but that he guilty of murdering 4-year-old Derrick Robie. Was not in an uncontrollable of age when he bludgeoned Derrick. New suit filed against Michael Jackson Santa Monica Calif. A the Stepfather of a boy who accused Michael Jackson of molestation has brought a new lawsuit against Jackson claiming he broke up the family by plying the boy and his Mother with thousands of dollars Worth of gifts. The suit was filed tuesday on behalf of the Stepfather who lives in Santa Mon Ica and his 6-year-old daughter. It claims that in order to gain Access to the boy Jackson took him his sister and his Mother on no limit shopping sprees and trips to Florida Las vegas and Jackson s Nev Erland ranch. The classic Ped Ophilie strategy disrupted and split the family said the step father s lawyer Danny Davis. The Stepfather and his wife Learned of the 13-year-old boy s molestation claim Ina gust 1993, then separated in october or november after eight years of marriage Davis said. The boy now lives with his biological father and uses his last name. Jackson lawyer Howard Weitz Nan said the entertainer has maintained that he did nothing inappropriate. To ? lawsuit is an attempt to take advantage of his Fame and notoriety in order to get Money he said. The teen Ager his Mother and his biological father settled the molestation lawsuit for a reported $15 million. The Stepfather was not a party to the lawsuit and got none of the settlement. No criminal charges have been filed against Jackson despite yearlong investigations by prosecutors in los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties