.,v r7 ?
(Elfi jßodlauh (Dbarruer
October 13, 1999
$ 3 .7 5 B Phen-Fen Drug
Settlem ent
About 6 million people took the drug combination.
N EW Y O R K - Am erican Home
P ro d u c ts h a s a g r e e d to p a y
$3 .7 5 b illio n to s e ttle th o u ­
sa n d s o f la w s u its by p a tie n ts
c la im in g h e a lth p ro b le m s d u e
to th e c o m p a n y ’s o n c e p o p u la r
fe n -p h e n d ie t d ru g , th e c o m ­
p a n y a n n o u n c e d to d a y .
T h e s e ttle m e n t w ill in c lu d e
m o n ey to p ay p a tie n ts w h o say
th e y w ere in ju re d by th e d ru g s
and for fu tu re m e d ic a l m o n ito r­
in g fo r th o s e w h o a re s till
h e a lth y . P e n d in g a j u d g e ’s a p ­
p ro v al, in itia l p ay m en ts w ill b e ­
g in la te r th is y ear.
A m e r ic a n
H om e
m ade
fe n flu ra m in e , th e “ fe n " in the
f e n - p h e n c o m b in a tio n , a n d
g av e th e dru g a b ra n d nam e o f
P ondim in. It also m ade R edux, a
c h e m ic a l c o u sin . In S e p te m b e r
1997, th e U .S . Food and D rug
A d m in istra tio n pushed for th eir
w ith d ra w a l a fte r a M ayo C lin ic
stu d y lin k e d th e fe n -p h e n c o m ­
b in a tio n to p o te n tia lly fa ta l
h e a rt v a lv e dam ag e.
T h e s e ttle m e n t is o p e n to
an y o n e w ho u se d P o n d im in or
R ed u x in the U n ite d S ta te s ,
w h e th e r o r not th ey file d su it,
A m e ric a n H om e sa id .
S h a re s o f A m e ric a n Hom e
ro se $ 3 .1 2 1/2, o r 7 p e r c e n t, to
$48.25.
A b o u t 4 ,1 0 0 s u its h a v e been
file d a g a in s t A m e ric a n H om e
o v e r th e d ru g , m a k in g it one o f
th e la r g e s t p r o d u c t lia b ility
c a se s e v e r.
A b o u t 6 m illio n p e o p le took
the d ru g c o m b in a tio n .
T he s e ttle m e n t te rm s c a ll for
p a y m e n ts to c o n tin u e fo r about
16 y e a rs.
P a y m e n ts to be m a d e d u rin g
th e n e x t tw o y e a rs a re a n tic i-
p a te d to to ta l $ 1 .8 5 b illio n .
A to ll- f r e e te le p h o n e n u m ­
ber (8 0 0 -3 8 6 -2 0 7 0 )has been e s­
ta b lis h e d to p ro v id e in fo rm a ­
tio n on th e s e ttle m e n t.
T h e s e ttle m e n t c o v e r s a ll
c la im s e x c e p t fo r p a tie n ts w ho
say th e y s u f f e r from p rim a ry
p u lm o n a ry h y p e rte n s io n , a rare
b u t s e rio u s lu n g d is o rd e r.
T he s e ttle m e n t in c lu d e s a $ 1
b illio n fu n d to p a y fo r m e d ic a l
m o n ito rin g a n d $ 2 .5 5 b illio n
fund to pay fo r in ju rie s and $200
m illio n in p la in tif f s a tto rn e y
fees.
UPS Ends Some Gun Deliveries
Leaf program
aims to keep
drains clear
L o c a l re s id e n ts are a sk e d
to u s e c o u p o n s f o r f r e e l e a f
d i s p o s a l r a t h e r th a n r a k in g
le a v e s in to th e s tr e e ts . K e e p ­
in g le a v e s o u t o f th e s t r e e t
w ill h e lp w ith f lo o d c o n tr o l
th is f a ll.
W ith a c o u p o n , C ity o f
V a n c o u v e r a n d C la r k C o u n ty
r e s i d e n t s c a n d r o p o f f le a v e s
fre e o f c h a r g e at H & H W o o d
R e c y c le rs , 8401 NE 1 17th A v e,
a n d W e s t V a n M a te r ia ls R e ­
c o v e r y C e n t e r , 6601 N W O ld
L o w e r R iv e r R o a d , a n y b u s i ­
n e ss day th ro u g h D e c e m b e r
15. H & H is o p e n 8 a .m . to 5
p .m . M o n d a y th r o u g h F r id a y
a n d 8 a m. to 4 p .m . S a tu r d a y ,
c lo s e d S u n d a y . C o u p o n s fo r
fre e le a f re c y c lin g w e re in ­
c lu d e d in th e S e p te m b e r /O c -
to b e r C ity o f V a n c o u v e r w a-
te r /s e w e r b ills a n d H a z e l D e ll
S e w e r D i s t r i c t b i l l s , th e O c ­
to b e r C u rb s id e R e c y c lin g
n e w s le tte r , th e O c to b e r is s u e
o f C la rk C o u n ty ’ s “ 6 5 6
S q u a r e ” a n d in m a n y n e i g h ­
b o rh o o d n e w s le tte rs .
F o r a d d itio n a l c o u p o n s,
c a ll 397-61 18, ext. 4352 o r 696-
8186.
T h e p r o g r a m is fo r
l e a v e s o n ly - y a r d d e b r is o r
m ix e d lo a d s w ill be c h a r g e d
th e r e g u l a r r a te .
Will Reduce Risk of Firearms Being Stolen
A L L E N T O W N , P a .- U nited
Parcel Service has decided to stop
delivering h andguns th ro u g h its
g ro u n d
s e r v ic e ,
s e n d in g
gunm akers scram bling to find a l­
tern ativ es to the w o rld ’s la rg e st
package d istrib u tio n co m p an y ,
The M orning Call re p o rte d to ­
day.
A tla n ta -b a se d U PS - w hich
handles the vast m ajo rity o f fire­
arm s shipm ents - is ch an g in g its
po licy b eg in n in g M onday to re ­
duce the risk o f guns b ein g sto ­
len en route.
" W e ’re try ing to p ro te c t o u r­
selves from em ployees stealin g
and crim in als s te a lin g ,” UPS
spokesm an Bob G o d lew sk i said.
H andgun shipm ents have been
sto len in the p ast, G odlew ski
said, although he w ould not say
how many.
The com pany w ill continue to
ship handguns by overnight air
serv ice, since such deliveries in ­
volve less risk than ground sh ip ­
m ents that can take up to six days,
G odlew ski said.
O vern ight d elivery, how ever,
co sts about $25 m ore per gun - or
ab o u t four tim es as m uch for a
c o m p le te sh ip m e n t, sa id Jim
C ham bers, executive d irecto r o f
the Sporting A rm s and A m m uni­
tio n M a n u factu rers’ Institute.
• ’T h a t’s w hat w e ’re trying to
com e to grips w ith. W e’re lo o k ­
n
Refects Drug
Tests
PORTLAND- The superintendent
o f Portland schools says he doesn’t
see any reason to make teachers take
drug tests. Superintendent Ben
Canada says he won’t drug test teach­
ers because he feels it’s demeaning.
But he says if the district ever has a
problem with drugs, he’s confident
teachers wouldn’t mind being tested
to h elp so lv e th e problem .
Poverty Rate
Up In
Oregon
The Census Bureau says Oregon’s
poverty rate went up to more than 13
percent in 1997 and 98. It was about
eleven-and-a-half percent the year be­
fore that. The median household in­
come in the state was just under 38-and-
a-half-thousand dollars in 1997-98.
That’s up slightly from two years ago.
Oregon Gets
HUD Money
O regon is getting n ine-point-
six -m illio n -d o llars from the fed­
eral D epartm ent o f H ousing and
U rban D evelopm ent. The m oney
is supposed to help w ith low in­
com e housing by giving vouch­
ers out for as m uch as 70-percent
o f a p e rso n ’s m onthly rent. The
grant will help tw o-thousand fami­
lies in O re g o n w ith h o u sin g .
Benefits for
Victims
If you quit your job in Oregon to
escape domestic violence, you can
qualify for unemployment benefits. The
state changed its rules to give victims
the time and flexibility to find a new job
where they can'tbe tracked down by the
people who were abusing them Before
the rule change, domestic violence vic­
tims could get unemployment benefits
on a case-by-case basis i f they called the
state for help. But the guidelines were
never set out in writing, and most work­
ers never knew about the benefits The
new rules require that victims must try
other options to escape abusers before
they quit their jobs, including transfers
or asking for a restraining order against
the abuser.
“Cast offs” become a
thriving financial Aid
Program
n
Nov. 4th* 5 - 9 p.m. 5th 10am - 9 p.m. 6th 10am - 6 p.m.
7th 10am - 3 p.m. * 25% markup on all items
T M E
C A T L IN
G
A
B
shipm ent, said an em ployee at the
se rv ic e ’s nationw ide Postal A n­
sw er Line.
A s m a ll g u n d e a le r in
W alnutport, Pa., said the UPS
policy change would hurt his busi­
n ess.
•’I t’s going to kill m e ,” said
Paul K eifer, ow ner o f K eifer’ s Gun
Shop.
Joe K oehler, ow ner o f Eagle
A rm s
S p o rt
Shop
near
B reinigsville, said he supported
the change if it helps keep guns o ff
the street.
• ’ So it costs a little more, ’ ’ Koehler
said. ‘T think it’s a non-issue. It’s
theirpolicy. Maybe one day they’ll
say they w on’t ship any guns.”
Rummage Sale
NEWS BRIEF'S
Superintendent
ing for a lte rn a tiv e m e th o d s,”
C ham bers said.
UPS w ill c o n tin u e to ship long
g u n s, rif le s and sh o tg u n s by
ground. G o d lew sk i said hand­
guns are more o f a target for crim i­
nals.
Each b u sin ess day, A tlanta-
based UPS d e liv e rs 12 m illion
packages via its tradem ark brow n
trucks and bro w n -u n ifo rm ed em ­
ployees. U PS h andles up to 75
percent o f guns sent from m anu­
f a c tu re rs to d is tr ib u to r s and
nearly all firearm s shipped from
distributors to d ealers, C ham bers
said.
The U.S. Postal Service also
w ill not send handguns by ground
E
L
SCHOOL
In s p ire d
le a rn in g
le a d in g to
re s p o n s ib le
a c tio n
WHERE: Portland Expo Center exit 306B 1-5 North near
delta park. Hall D
What is the Rummage Sale? The Annual Catlin Gabel Rummage
Sale is one of the largest rummage sales in the world. We fill 60,000
square feet at the Portland Expo Center with merchandise to sell. All
net proceeds go to student financial aid.
What donations are accepted for the Rummage Sale? We sell
everything, but especially appreciate donations o f quality merchan­
dise such as antiques, jewelry, fine clothing, furniture, household
items, toys and books. We are unable to accept chemicals, tires,
mattresses, anything mildewed, wall-to-wall carpet, large appli­
ances, magazines, broken and tom furniture, non-working electron­
ics o f any kind.
To schedule a Rummage Truck pickup call 297-1894, ext. 42.3
Other dates to remember: Blue and White Contest
Fall Drive October 1-2, 1999
Summer Sale at Annual Spring Festival
Want to volunteer or have questions? Call Leah Kemper
at 297-1894, ext. 423
Ever w onder why a bird can sit on a power line and
not get shocked? That's just one of the questions school
kids in Laramie ask Rod Redding. Always quick with an
answer, Rod explains that when a bird sits on a power line,
it's only sitting on one wire and it's not touching anything
that's grounded. There's more to it than that, but it all
becomes clear when you see it demonstrated on the
Hazard Hamlet, a large electronic board that can simulate
electrical hazards. Rod takes it with him when he goes to
grade schools. The kids are startled when they see sparks
come out of a toaster not used safely. Or learn why they
shouldn't let a
Birds do it.You can’t. SSL
Redding has
been giving electrical safety presentations in grade schools
all over Wyoming for 12 years, and that's not even his real
job. When he's not volunteering to teach kids safety, he's a
district meter man for Pacific Power. Rod's probably
taught 15,000 kids, but he figures that if he's kept one child
safe, then it's a good thing. Rod Redding. Meter Man.
Teacher. And the kind of employee that Pacific Power is
proud to have helping in our schools.
# PACIFIC POWER
A PacifiCorp Company
Making it happen.