Page A1 4th edition
Cyan Magenta Yellow Black
Thursday
EDITION
SPORTS
City/Penobscot
Bouchard Arena owner files
lawsuit against Bapst C4
Bangor Plan for methadone clinic gets another boost B2
Hampden Residents beg board to nix landfill expansion B2
Our 112th Year • Issue 178
the scene
Actor Jason Hodgdon
develops character Inside
Januar y 11, 2001
48 Pages • 60 Cents
Ailing TWA
scooped up
by American
Deal to retire longtime airline
By David Koenig
The Associated Press
DALLAS — American Airlines
agreed Wednesday to buy most of
TWA for about $500 million in a
complex deal that will reshape the
industry and retire one of the most
storied names in aviation history.
American chairman and chief
executive Donald Carty said the
airline jumped at the chance to
scoop up financially troubled Trans
World Airlines and also buy a piece
of US Airways and a stake in a new
Washington-based airline.
The acquisitions give American
“a level of growth that would other-
wise take us years to achieve,”
Carty said.
United set off the buying spree
last year when it agreed to acquire
most of US Airways. Analysts said
No. 2 American wanted to keep up
with United, the nation’s largest
airline.
If regulators approve the United
and American deals, the two airlines will control half the U.S. market, with No. 3 Delta far behind
with 15 percent.
“This is a turning point,” said
Mark Cooper, research director of
the Consumer Federation of America. “Consumers will pay higher
See TWA, Page A4
Water quality
Aging vets bring Navy relic home action deferred
Joe Sadlier of Ketchikan, Alaska, the cook aboard the returning warship LST-325, salutes during arrival ceremonies Wednesday in Mobile, Ala. Sadlier
was one of 29 veterans to sail the aging warship across the Atlantic Ocean from Greece. (AP Photos by Dave Martin)
EPA seeks advice on tribal rights
Atlanta crowds salute WWII warship
that is destined to become a museum
By Garry Mitchell
The Associated Press
MOBILE, Ala. — A rusting relic
from World War II sailed into port
with a jubilant crew of elderly veterans Wednesday after a monthlong
trans-Atlantic voyage that the
Coast Guard had warned was too
dangerous to attempt.
“Bravery is ageless,” Bill Shannon, a veteran from Fort Worth,
Texas, said as the naval vessel LST325 arrived at a celebration.
The 29-member crew, average age
72, was made up mostly of veterans
from World War II and the Korean
War. The 328-foot vessel, which
delivered troops to Normandy during the D-Day invasion, will become
a museum.
“This is the greatest thing I’ve
ever done in my life, but I wouldn’t
do it again for all the world,” said
crewman Jim Edwards of Canton,
Texas. “I like to have froze.”
The veterans left Greece on Nov.
17 and crossed the Mediterranean
in 11 days despite two storms and
equipment problems. One man suffered heart problems and left for
home, dying after he arrived in the
United States. The crew was at sea
continuously after leaving Gibraltar on Dec. 12.
The Coast Guard had warned the
crew against trying to cross the
Atlantic during the stormy winter
months, citing the ship’s lack of
safety equipment, its questionable
steering, and uncertainty about the
crew’s ability to respond to emergencies.
See Warship, Page A2
Education survey
gives state C grade
The LST-325 warship prepares to dock Wednesday in Mobile, Ala., after
completing a trans-Atlantic journey. Thousands of friends and family
members waited to greet the 29 crew members, most of them veterans of
World War II and the Korean War, who want to turn the hulking ship into a
floating museum.
After more than a year of deliberation, the U. S. Environmental
Protection Agency has chosen to
duck a difficult — and sure to be
contested — decision, by asking the
U. S. Department of Justice to help
it decide how much say Maine Indian tribes should have over what is
dumped into waters that flow
through tribal land.
While no official agreement has
been signed, an EPA official confirmed Wednesday the agency has
approved the state’s application to
issue federal wastewater discharge
permits in the vast majority of
Maine. However, the agency
deferred a decision on what should
be done in “the disputed areas,”
said Peyton Fleming, a spokesman
for the EPA’s office in Boston.
Those areas include the Penob-
Education secretary nominee faces questions on vouchers
By Anjetta McQueen
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Senate appeared set to
give easy approval to Rod Paige as education secretary, but the former Houston schools chief had
to reassure top Democrats that private-school
vouchers wouldn’t be a priority in the new
administration.
“What I am trying to find is what works,”
Paige, a self-described supporter of “parental
choice” told the Senate Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday.
“I think there is room for us to talk about this.”
Paige offered assurances at his nomination
hearing for the incoming Bush cabinet that he
would try to work with Democrats as well as fellow Republicans on testing, targeted funds for
poor children, teacher training and school repair.
Paige, 67, who as Houston schools chief raised
student test scores and used vouchers to relieve
overcrowding, said school choice can take many
forms such as charter schools — which are special public schools freed from government rules
in exchange for promises of higher student
achievement.
In a relatively smooth, 3½-hour appearance,
Democrats made it clear that they will oppose
spending federal money on private schooling.
“If we concern ourselves with vouchers and
block grants, we’ll create a lot of heat but very
little illumination,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who ran the
hearing because Democrats have temporary
control of the Senate, cautioned, “We must not
undermine public schools through private
school voucher schemes. ... They are divisive
See Paige, Page A10
King’s program cuts
would mend shortfall
By Michael O’D. Moore
Of the NEWS Staff
Secretary of Education-designate
Rod Paige testifies before the
Senate’s Health, Education, Labor
and Pension Committee in
Washington on Wednesday. (AP
Photo by Dennis Cook)
Sen. Snowe snares Finance Committee seat
INSIDE
Amusements .............C2
Business ................A5-7
Classifieds ......C9-11,14
Comics...............C12-13
Crossword ...............C12
Dear Abby ...............C12
Dr. Donohue ............C13
Editorial..................A8-9
Horoscope...............C13
Joni Averill.................B4
Lottery ......................A2
Maine Day ..............B1-8
Obituaries...............B6-7
Sports....................C4-8
Spotlight ...................A3
Style ......................C1-3
TV Schedule ..............C3
Weather ....................B8
By Myron Struck
States News Service
0
13781 12345
5
© 2001 Bangor Publishing Co.
Periodicals postage paid at
Bangor, Maine 04401
Publication number
USPS 041000
WASHINGTON — For the first
time in history, a Republican
woman — Sen. Olympia J. Snowe —
has been tapped for a full term on
the Senate Finance Committee.
Snowe will give up her seat on
the Senate Armed Services Committee, but in a dramatic shuffling,
the state’s junior senator, Susan M.
Collins, will take that powerful role.
Showing their increasing clout
on Capitol Hill, the Maine senators
were able to pull off this double
Snowe supports Rumsfeld for
Defense post. See Page A10.
play — which should serve to benefit state interests in having a seated
player on all the key tax issues that
are likely to come before Finance —
scot River watershed above Indian
Island and some Passamaquoddy
lands in Washington County. Twenty-two facilities that need discharge
permits are located in those areas.
Three hundred facilities are located in the rest of the state, where
permitting authority will be granted to the Maine Department of
Environmental Protection within
the coming days.
Fleming said he did not know
how long his agency would consult
with the Justice Department before
finally deciding what action should
be taken regarding the tribal lands.
It was also unclear how much, if
any, input from the state, tribes and
other interested parties would be
sought by the Justice Department
in its review of the matter.
In late 1999, the state applied to
the EPA for permission to issue
wastewater discharge permits
See EPA, Page A2
Coalition
to fight for
health funds
Senate likely to OK Paige
By Gordon Bonin
Of the NEWS Staff
A survey by a national education publication
gives Maine a mediocre C grade when it comes
to educational standards and accountability,
ranking the state 28th in the nation.
However, Maine is “struggling with the right
issues” when it comes to applying academic
standards and holding schools accountable,
according to Lynn Olson, a senior editor at the
trade newspaper Education Week and project
coordinator for Quality Counts 2001.
Overall Maine has one of the top three educational systems in the United States, according to
an analysis of the Education Week report by
States News Service.
The report, which evaluates student achievement, standards and accountability, improving
See Survey, Page A2
By Susan Young
Of the NEWS Staff
without losing any significant positions.
Collins apparently will be able to
keep all three of her other assignments, including a high-profile seat
on the Senate Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions Committee,
which Tuesday met to review the
qualifications of Education Secretary-designate Roderick Paige, the
school superintendent in Houston.
See Snowe, Page A2
AUGUSTA — A coalition of
health groups and legislators said
Wednesday they will fight a proposal by Gov. Angus King to plug part
of the state’s Medicaid shortfall
with money previously set aside for
illness-prevention programs.
Speaker after speaker at a
Wednesday press conference at the
State House said King’s plan would
be shortsighted. Cutting The Fund
for a Healthy Maine, a prevention
effort established with part of the
state’s $55 million share of the federal tobacco settlement, would
result in more disease down the
road, they said. Preventable illness
caused by smoking, obesity and
inadequate exercise is expected to
contribute huge increases to the
cost of health care for Medicaid
patients in the coming years.
“Our investment in prevention
cannot be allowed to falter when we
hit hard budget times,” said Ed
Miller, president of the Maine Public Health Association. “We do not
See Health, Page A4