Oklahoma crews clean mess left by killer tornado
CATOOSA. Okla. (AP) — Clean
up i.rews hauled away debris Mon
day from demolished homi>s. m hoots
and shops as residents tried to put
their lives hack together after a killer
weekend tornado
Insurance agents fanned out among the flattened homes
in the city of 2.500 residents, and homeowners sorted
through whatever valuables they could find
"Houses are just torn all to hell," said Roger Berry, a
i ity maintenance worker whose brother is mayor. "I didn 't
I-now we had so many power lines until they wen- scat
tered all over the ground "
Seven people died in the twister Saturday night Nine
ty-five people were hurt Authorities on Monday warned
residents about barrels of missing toxic waste.
Emergency teams reported 242 houses and mobile
homes destroyed in Catoosa. 113 houses damaged. 4)
apartment units damaged. 4ll businesses damaged or
destroyed and 14 public buildings damaged.
City workers, who have just two suitable trui ks for the
M
work, *4i<l it t.011 Id take throw weeks to clear roads of tn*w
11nib#, power lines and other debris
"Trying to clean up w ith tw o trucks is like taking a
spoon to drink out of the ocean. ' said Mayor Ron Berry,
who asked for help from residents
Volunteers poured in hv the dozens with pic kup trot ks
loading tnw brant he# and shards of hrtt ks and stone from
shattered homes
liov David Walters who said the damage here and in
Tulsa i ould near SUM) million, asked for a federal dis
aster declaration for two counties President Clinton has
promised a prompt response.
A churt h was demolished in Tulsa and there was oth
er damage, although generally less severe than in Catoosa
Tulsa officials said two houses and a mobile home had
major damage, 2H houses and a mobile home had minor
damage, one public buildingwvas destroyed and two had
minor damage. 13 businesses were destroyed, 1"> had
major damage and 15 had minor damage
Catoosa Publit S< bools were closed for the week and
classes may lie i anceled for the rest of the year because
ol heavy damage to school buildings. All but one ol 2t>
school buses wen* damaged
Hie |iost of fit t* ssas closed Imh .msf of a damaged rt>of
and blown out w indows but Postmaster Mill Bell said car
riers were delivering mail anywhere that had "a mailbox
and a structure
Pubht Service Co. of Oklahoma worked to restore pow
er and remove mangled lines
Rogers County offit ials warned that some barrels ot
hazardous materials mas have been blown miles from
their original site by the tornado and cautioned people to
call authorities if they found the barrels
Two men were arrested Sunday for looting at a dam
ages) golf course, Pol it e Chief Benny Ihrck said A dusk
to-duwn < urfew probabls svill remain in elfin t through
the week, he said
Shaken resident (‘.avia Ca> wood. IV made a welcome
find while looking through her demolished home
I had a glass fishhosvl in ms hand yesterday and I |ust
smashed it against the fire plat e." ( as ssood said Mondas
TAMPA. Fla. (AP) — Angry IHM shareholders unleashed a torrent
of pent-up frustration Monday at new Chairman i.nuis V Gerslner
Jr , who promised to revive the computer maker but asked fur
patience.
In just his lHtli workday at IHM. Gerstner trieii to use the annual
meeting to fix us on a broad outline of goals. Instead, he heard impas
sioned calls by a dozen stockholders for the ouster of the board of
directors, which were greeted with loud applause.
"If I were a director I would lie embarrassed to even show up here
and have my name on a list to he elected,” said Dr Gilbert Jannelli
of Clearwater. "Mow can you work with that group of people when
their attitudes, their trusted del isions caused this company's
demise?"
About 2,100 shareholders, many of them Florida retirees and long
time company employees, attended an unusually contentious meet
ing that reflected just how far International Business Machines Corp
has fallen.
The meeting capped a remarkable four months at 7'1-year-oid IBM,
whose founder's credo — "Think" — set a standard of excellence for
corporate America, In addition to hiring Gerslner us its first outsider
chairman, IBM laid off workers for the first time and lost SliHS mil
lion from January through March.
IBM has lost more than $7 billion in the past two years, cut a ipiar
ter of its work force — or more than 100.000 jobs — since H1H7. and
lost significant market share amid growing competition. The com
pany has sought to reverse itself through restructurings that have giv
en IBM business units more freedom.
Gerstner, the 51-year-old former K)K Nabisco chairman, took over
April 1 after a closely watched search for a successor to now
maligned former Chairman )ohn F. Akers.
In a frank assessment. Gerstner said slow demand and poor
economies had reshaped tin* computer industry, but he defended
IBM's technological and market power
To shareholders' approval, Gerstner didn't try to minimize IBM's
problems
IBM has changed, but most people would sav not fast enough."
Gerstner said. "This slowness and failure to act quickly is really the
root i a use of IBM’s problems
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Cjood Teachers?
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outstanding teacher thin year in an English
composition class (any class with a "WR
prefix), nominate hign or her for an
Outstanding C omposition Ieacher Award.
Leave a note or a detailed letter with the
English Department or mail it to Jim
Crosswhite, Department of English,
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
97403. Nominations must I
postmarked or submitted h
Friday, May 7. For
information, call 340-3911.
Coach’s obsession ends in death
ALBANY. N Y (AH) — A
It>nnis < oti( ti who hot aim*
obsessed with a teen-age play
or hatched a bizarre plan to
keep tier < aplive at a remote
mountain home, authorities
saui But he shot himself to
death aftcrbungling her kid
napping
Gary Wilenskv of New York
City had spent more than
$10.(100 on survedlam e equip
ment and weapons and had
outfitted a house in the Adiron
dack mountains with hand* tiffs
and other restraints. Friday
night, police said, he then tried
to atidui t 17-year-old lenmfer
Rhodes ns she and her mother
returned to a hotel from dinner
VVilensky fled after the girl
got away as he was beating her
mother in the head with a cat
tle prod About two-and-one
half hours later, as police were
closing in on him. he shot him
self in the head with a rifle,
said Detective l.t Steven Hei
der of the Colonie Polo e
Department
"He went through great pains
to make this thing yvork," Hei
dor said Sunday "Obviously
this is someone who has gone
over the edge — probably the
most tragic example of an
obsessive person.”
Rhodes, a promising amateur
tennis player, and fier moth
t»r. Sonya Rhodes. were in the
Albany iirvii for a weekend toil
ms tournament W tleuskv
vs iis iliti girl s i o,n h until Ilif
f.unilv firoil linn about three
months ago
As mother and daughter
returned to lliulr hotel. police
s.iul. Wilenskv approached
them wearing .1 ski mask and
pushing an empty wheeli hair
The teen ager broke away
and ran into the hotel while
Wdeusky lieat her mother, I lei
tier said
He grabbed a rifle from tile
wheelchair's seal and drove
away after a hotel employee
told him police had been
called
Sonya Rhodes was taken to
Albany Medical ('-enter tlospi
tal where she received 70
stitches in her head. Mean
while. police found Wilenskv
silling inside his rental car in
a parking lot near the hotel
about 2i hours later, and as they
apprise lied he killed himself.
Heider said
Police said the Rhodes fam
ily fired Wilenskv after he
liegau calling the girl frequent
ly and buying her expensive
gifts Wilenskv sought therapy
for Ins obsession, hut quit see
ing a counselor last month and
began buying shotguns and
nlies, polit e said
‘Obviously this is
someone who has
gone over the
edge — probably
the most tragic
example of an
obsessive person
Lt Steven Holder.
Cokvvo Poin t} Department
VVilenskv. who lived alone
m iin Upper Cast Side apart
muni in Manhattan, apparent
ly finnni ud his kidnapping
plan through coaching jobs nl
several tennis c.luhs. Hinder
said
Thr Daily Nr a\ reported
today that his students me lod
ed girls from sonnt of the awn's
finest schools.
lie had $50,000 in a chock
ing uccount and $5.(MM) m c.asfi
and had paid a year's rent in
advance on the Adirondac k
home. Hinder said.
The house he rented, m the
town id North River, 70 miles
north nl Albany, is about a half
mile from the nearest road or
neighbor Police usmf four
wheel-drive vehic les to get
there
Prices effective through May,
Some restrictions may apply
896-0101