OCR Text |
Show triday, October 16, IWK, THE DAIIY IH RM Labor Dept. , questions charges for direct deposit Qtyage?sti:cEiiiig The Associated Press DALLAS, Ore. i The Associated Prett The POCATEUA Idaho state Department of Labor is questioning FMC Corp.'g decision to charge its elemental phosphorous plant employees a ; - $100 administration fee for electronic direct refusing deposit of their paychecks. FMC maintenance mechanic Sidney Poulton was the only worker to insist on receiving an actual check this week. As a result, he was sent home from work on Monday and lost two days pay. it. "It's preposterous," he said. Ht was done to scara me and it People ing just outside this farming community are fighting a city plan to use a grove of poplar trees to suck sewage and industrial waste from the ground t like soda straws. The experimental new approach is generating interest around the world as a green solution to a messy problem, and Dallas is one of the first 100-foo- nitrogen by safely metabolizing the compounds in their wood, and will keep the heavy metals and salts fixed in place in the soil. But some neighbors believe o m e iidn't work." Poulton returned to work after the Machinist's Union i d liv- s t'r.ivi I uh Cue frees unwelcome in Texas farm town places it is being tried. Dallas plans to spray a grove of the trees with waste water from a computer circuit-boarfactory. The waste contains salts, copper, heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, and possibly cyanide. Scientists say the poplars will rid the ground of ammonia and By HANS GRE1MEL I), V0. i ir the river runs low, the discharge exceeds legal concent ra- have sued to block the plan.' Dallas, an hour southwest of Portland, has planted nearly 1,300 saplings on a three-acrtest plot and could begin dumping the water as early as next spring. If the three-yeademonstration succeeds, a project could reach 1 75 acres. The city of 1 1 ,000 discharges nearly 2 million gallons of treated sewage water a day directly into Hickreall Creek. But during the summer, when knee-hig- tion limits. The solution: a technology develoRd within the last three years that relies on hybrid poplars to lap up nearly 3,000 gallons of waste per acre per day. However, scientists ;.cknowl-edg- e that if the soil acidity carefully maintained, some contaminants could leach into the groundwater. And that's what has the residents worried. h e g r full-scal- newest t h e e the grove taking root in their back yards will be just another toxic waste dump that will poison their wells. Alongside the seedlings has appeared a protest sign with a skull and crossbones and a warning: "Don't Let This Happen." "Were absolutely outraged about the whole process," said Penny Cox, whose family arrived via pioneer train in 1844 to farm the rich land that abuts the poplar grove. Cox heads up a dozen residents who s e id int ears s f Tsvfa" .Local 1933, which represents employees at the plant, moratorinegotiated a um on the new pay program. A total of 481 people work at the 30-da- y plant. A handful of other employees who initially agreed to accept direct deposit have since withdrawn their consent. tt FMC spokesman Arlen Wittrock said Poulton was sent home because there was no way to pay him. The jadministration fee was justified, he said, by the need to 6et 'up a separate payroll system for a small number of workers. "We've given those employees a choice," Wittrock said. "It's a convenience the vast majority of employees prefer." But Idaho law requires direct deposit to be voluntary, in part to guarantee employees are not forced to pay for a bank account, Labor Department spokesman Dwight Johnson r Jf. -- ih a i r,-- " n 1 said. "We don't think you can divert money or charge for ; writing a check to the employ-lee,he said Thursday. "As we understand it, that is pretty standard understanding of the j " law." Wittrock said FMC's lawyers are reviewing the law with the Labor Department. Inmate awarded $37,500 in claim against guard j By ALEXIS CHIU I The Associated Press A federal jury awarded $37,500 to Thursday ' an inmate who said a man he shot in the head in 1991 became a prison guard and tor-- . mented him behind bars. Zeferino DePina, 24, claimed that prison officials did nothing while the guard, Filipe Monteiro, harassed and beat him at the maximum-securitstate prison at Walpole. The jury ordered prison Superintendent Ronald Duval to pay the biggest share, $25,000. The director of the prison's disci-- , ; plinary unit was ordered to pay $5,000. The jury found that the j BOSTON Celebrate GRAND OPENING ; ' j y ! j at Provo Towne Centre ! ! : : two men were "deliberately, recklessly or callously indifferent" to DePina's safety. Monteiro was ordered to pay $5,000. Another guard must pay $2,500. Prison officials said they will appeal. They had argued that the inmate was to blame. "The victim here was consistently Monteiro, the aggressor :was DePina every time," said a Holliday, Christopher Correction Department lawyer. DePina claimed Monteiro flipped his cell lights on and off at night and kicked his door to j I I I keep him awake. He also said he was attacked twice, once in the where Monteiro and j shower, j another guard allegedly punched him in the head and repeatedly threatened to kill him. j - Seven years ago, DePina shot Monteiro in the head on a street in Boston's Roxbury section. DePina claimed Monteiro and a group of friends had bullied him "and tried to take his motorcycle. THE FUN CONTINUES THIS SATURDAY, 4 vw i meet save Mark Eaton, former Center, Batketball Star Save $5 when you apply for the Sears Card Saturday, 11 With Sears Rapid Credit,' minutes. Or call I :0Q am-- 1 :00 pm, Auto Center I i. Eddie Peck, "Cole Howard" on The Young and the iettleu Saturday, 9 :00-4:0- Live broadcast Saturday, 1 KSH-F- 100.3 pm, Electronics I I DePina pleaded guilty to assault and was sentenced in 1992 to four to 12 years at Walpole. win Win it 'Requires positive Hill GIF! ID a trip for four to Disneyland round-tri- p airfare and Disneyland passes for four, Wei accommodations tor 3 nights, $500 in cash and more. Enter through October 17th Includes takes just and major bank card. Now at Searsl There's a convenient way to register and shop for gifts Stop by our store's gift registry kiosks. J 1 7 Subject lo credit approval Issued by Sears National Bank. pm, Women's Apparel Radio personalities from OCTOBER 17 in-to- re j I Sea TS RULES: 'No pure ho imcmmiy to enter or claim prixa. Open to legal U.S. residents 18 years of age or older. Employees of Sears, Roebuck and Co., its subsidiaries, affiliates, agencies, their immediate families and household members of each are not eligible. Void where prohibited. Limit one entry per person per day Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Taxes on prize are the sole responsibility of tne winner. No prize substitution or transfer. Dwteytand Trip winner will be determined in a random drawing to be held at the dose of business on October 17, 1998. Winner will be notified by mail. Deposit trip entries in tde Dunayiaad Trip entry box at Sears in Provo, UT, between October 2, 998 and the close of business on October 1 7, 998. See store for official rules. 998 Sears, Roebuck and Co Satisfaction Guaranteed or your Money Bock. Sears Provo Towne Centre 1200 Towne Centre Boulevard, Provo, UT (801)852-250Mooday-Saturd- ay Sunday 9:30 am -- 9:00 pm pm Noon-5:- 00 f |