KS8I
NEWS FOR AND ABOUT EPA EMPLOYEES
INSIDE:
~	88 Olympics
~	Poison Prevention
VOLUME 3 NUMBER 5 February 1986
The Uphill Climb to the Downhill Slopes
Waiter Sandza, (left), and Felix Flechas,
(right), prepare for a day's skiing at
Keystone Ski Resort, their training
center.
by David Wann
Region 8
We all have great ideas
and sudden impulses from
time to time, although we
may not always follow up on
them. But Walter Sandza and
Felix Flechas, both Environ-
mental Engineers with Re-
gion 8 in Denver, did follow
up.
While watching the 1984
Winter Olympics, they de-
cided that what their mutual
homeland of Puerto Rico
needed was an Olympic Ski
Team, and they would be it!
That was the plarw Carrying
it out was harder. They wrote
letters to the Puerto Rican
Olympic Committee, met in
Puerto Rico with the Com-
mittee and with prospective
sponsors, phoned all over the
United States and Europe,
and ultimately helped form a
Puerto Rican Ski Federation.
To demonstrate their com-
mitment to the idea, the pair
started entering amateur ski
events such as the Master's
Ski Series in Colorado.
"Although we've both been
skiing for quite awhile, we
felt a bit out of place at first,
competing with our recrea-
tional skis and equipment. If
we can get enough training
in, though, we're going to
look pretty good in '88. Good
enough to make Puerto Rico
proud of us," said Sandza.
Flechas added, "The idea
of ar^Olympic Ski Team from
Puerto Rico is not as off-the-
wall as it might sound. After
all, there are a great number of
Puerto Ricans living in the
U.S., many of whom enjoy
skiing. And there is already a
Puerto Rico Olympic Luge
team, which competed at the
'84 Winter Games."
Puerto Rico takes it ath-
letics very seriously. Its bas-
ketball and boxing teams
have always been particularly
strong in Olympic compe-
tion. Although Puerto Ricans
are U.S. citizens, some
like to refer to them-
selves as members of an
"associated free state," and
they cultivate an inter-
national affiliation as well as
an American one. Flechas
and Sandza, both of whom
have many relatives in Puerto
Rico, feel that a ski team will
be a positive addition to the
Puerto Rican culture. And
neither objects to the idea of
using annual leave for
rigorous training in South
America in the summer, or
Europe in the winter. "It will
be tough, but our commit-
ment is there," says Sandza.
"Somebody's got to do it."
According to Flechas, the
scheme took on a
sense of reality while they
were in San Juan this sum-
mer. When they became offi-
cially sanctioned by the Puer-
to Rico Olympic Committee,
and a telex was sent to
Switzerland to inform the
International Ski Federation
that Puerto Rico wanted to be
a member, they realized that
their efforts had paid off.
Sandza pointed out that
their ages, 29 and 30, are still
just about prime for competi-
tion, but '88 will be their
"first and last" Olympics.
"After that," he said, "we'll
concentrate on trying to pro-
mote Puerto Rico's skiing, and
helping to keep the team in
good shape."
Their immediate plans are
to work with a Colorado ski
team this winter, and to find
sponsors to help cover some
of the costs that are involved.
Right now, those costs are
coming out of their own
pockets. "We put in over 50
days of skiing last year," said
Flechas. "And that gets kind
of expensive." Fortunately,
Keystone Ski Resort in Col-
orado has offered to be the
training center for the Team.
But Sandza and Flechas
would like to be able to
afford some expert coaching,
which will necessitate the
same sort of backing that
other Olympic athletes re-
ceive. As the president of the
newly-conceived Puerto Rico
Ski Federation phrased it,
"You can't fly without
wings." The skiers have
spoken to some corporations
and foundations which are
interested in promoting the
Hispanic culture, and it
appears likely that by '88,
Flechas and Sandza will be
ready for Calgary,
Canada. ~

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People
Retirees: Nellie Scott, 33 years, Office of the
Administrator. . .Don Bliss, 39 years, and Dan Petke, 24 years,
Kegion 10.'. .David Stephan, 30 years, ORD, Cincinnati.
Special Act Awards were presented to: Deborah Taylor and
Robert Wayland, Office of the Administrator. . .Johnnie
Banks, Zelda Wrotzlovsky, Michael Reno, and Betty
Campbell, Office of the Inspector General. . .Charles Rhodes,
External Affairs. . Michael Gruber, Thomas Ingersoll,
Thomas Kelly, William Garetz, Frederick Talcott, Frederick
Allen, Daniel Beardsley, Marilyn Stone, Stephen Vineski,
David Ziegele, and Matthew Perl, Policy, Planning and
Evaluation. . .Prentiss Allen, Enforcement and Compliance
Monitoring. . .Robert English, Mary Miller, William Long,
Susan Weiner, Donald Patton, and Kerry Weiss,
Administration and Resources Management. . .Mary
Radzikowski, Gary Ballard, Fannie Mosley, Rachelle Kudrik,
Joan Moyer, Debra Dobkowski, and John Richards, Pesticides
and Toxic Substances. . .Stephen Bugbee, Office of Water.
Sustained Superior Performance Awards were presented
to: Patricia Thome, Diane Jones, Robert Stewart, William
Whitehouse, Elaine Rice, Brenda Frick, Alice Greene, Janice
Poole, Yvonne Countee, Gladys Stroman, Sharon Brady,
Catherine Makal, Cecilia Scott, Thelma Beverly, Jeralene
Green, Cynthia Payne, Elizabeth Wonkovich, Doris Hottinger,
Jennifer Williams, Janice Elhazz-Jabbar, James Maes, Sue
Tehrani, Virginia Williams, and Brenda Salvador, Office of
the Administrator. . .Barbara Vaughan, Curtis Chitwood,
Peggy Parker, Robert Foster, Dorothy Langford, Frank Pitts,
Barbara Cousland, William Spinazzola, James O'Hara,
Joseph Slaltery, Jacquelyn Davis, Lisa Summers, Lana
Washington, Lawrence Gunn, Anita Dellavechia, Diane
Forrest, William Eichelman, Robert Block, and Alicia
Mosley, Office of the Inspector General. . .Gloria Hendricks,
Debbie Lake, Robert Burke, Albert Heier, Gwendolyn Brown,
Truman Temple, Gene Padgett, Robin Woods, Robert
Flanagan, James Ingram, Doretta Mitchum, Ronald Farrah,
and Priscilla Smith, External Affairs. . .Barbara Willis, Eileen
Sheehan, Sheri Johnson, Sandra Oden, Claudia Payne, Julie
Kiser, Irv Auerbach, David Ziegele, Louise Plater, Michele
Kinard, Cynthia Puskar, David Hamnet, Arthur Weissman,
Steven Vineski, Pamela Cooper, Tapio Kuusinen, Lillian
Beerman, Richard Innes, William Garetz, William Watt,
Beverly Thomas, Michael Grepo, Fredella Baylor, Joyce
Morrison, John Warren, James Zwerneman, Thomas Lareau,
Mahesh Podar, Robert Fegley, Judith Greenwald, Lorraine
Butler, Arthur Koines, Jeffrey Kolb, Delores Thompson, John
Davidson, Deluris Swann, Lavora Holloway, Jeanne Briskin,
Craig Wolff, Peter Caulkins, Albert McGartland, Joel Smith,
Michelle Smith, Sylvia Mayo, Stephen Seidel, Lane Krahl,
Phillip Paparodis, and Slacey Katz, Policy, Planning and
Evaluation. . Allen Danzig, Richard Emory, Joyce Johnson,
Diana Gearhart, Carol Jones, Sharon Drakeford, Merle
Miller, Linda Flick, Robert Banks, James Edward, Darla
Letourneau, Richard Duffy, Renelle Rae, Felicia
Cunningham, Betty Durica, David Lockshin, Howard Berman,
Helen Morrison, Shirley Green, Kathleen Bundy, Bob
Pittman, and Linda Long, Enforcement and Compliance
Monitoring. . Rachel Holloman and Sylvia Ghee, Office of
the General Counsel. . .Connie Posey, Chuck Smith, Barbara
Perkins, John O'Brien, Juelee Street, Patricia Spatarella,
Charlotte Northern, Robert Senty, Stephanie Profater,
Barbara Gudger, Amy Kearns, Kenneth Kurtz, Rita Jones,
Lena Barbara, Anthony Bell, Towanna Jackson, Lela Price,
Ronald Langley, Arvella Brown, Colin Fraser, Bernadine
Davids, Jennifer Levesque, Geraldine McCann, Brenda
Mason, LeaAnne Gleason, Karen Christensen. Angela Major.
Le'Ontyne Buggs, Jean Ewing, Sheila Hall, Portia
Cunningham, Earl Brown, Phyllis McLarney, Steven Burlj
Joseph Brinkmoeller, Carl Martin, Willie Staton, Terri
Owens, Joseph Pryor, Mary Smith, Victor Watson, Larry
Willoughby, Yvette Smith, Wanda Gorham, Donald Webb,
Patrick Marshall, Harry Baker, Joan Clark, Gary Fonteyne,
Betty Gordon, Mildred Green, Linda Washington, Patricia
Limon, Kenneth Puvak, and Karen Reed, Administration and
Resources Management. . .Paul Schwengels, Robert Rose,
Sandra Ransom, John Shakenbach, Raynell Johnson, Joy
Epps, Dennis O'Connor, Barbara Wilcher, Melinda
Ronca-Battista, Rose Henderson, Waynetta Goosby, Elizabeth
Bailey, Stephany Descisciolo, Barry Parks, Felicia Deal,
Angeline Holowka, Angela Whittington, William Houck,
Eleanor Jones, James Gruhlke, Rafaela Ferguson, Timothy
Krohe, Charles Robbins, Elmira Davis, Mattie Bright, Peter
Cosier, Janine Scoville, Marcia Ginley, Diane Green, Vivian
Thomson, Sharon Payne, Charlene Crowe, David Bassett,
Alfonse Mannato, Janet Murphy, Anita O'Brien, Kathleen
Sheehan, Valle Nazar, Ernestine Hall, Larry Blackwood, and
Debra Rosenberg, Air and Radiation. . .Thomas Armitage,
Angela Bright, Michele Loftus, Richard Lee, Bernice Fisher,
John Worthington, John Whalan, William Anthony, Byron
Backus, Carolyn Gregorio, Karen Hamernik, Mildred
Vannony, Allan Vaughan, Martha Bradley, John Bascietto,
John Chen, John Quest, Herbert Lacayo. Henry Spencer,
Thelma Resper, Sharon Little, Alan Katz, Roger Gardner,
Douglas Urban, Margaret Roster, James Adams, William
Boodie, Charles Frick, Charlotte David, Curt Lunchick,
Maxie Nelson, Barbara Pavola, Nathan Ives, David Jaquitjfl
Guynin Myers, Pietro Salatti, James Priestley, Mary Hoo
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Conferences, Etc.
EPA will co-sponsor and participate in the Conference on
the Environment, Minorities and Women hosted by Atlanta
University March 16-19, 1986. For more information, contact
the Office of Civil Rights at 382-4575.
EPA's Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory at
Research Triangle Park, and the Electric Power Research
Institute, Palo Alto, CA, are co-sponsoring the 1986 Joint
Symposium on Dry SO^ and Simultaneous S02/N0x. The
symposium will be held June 2-6, 1986 at the North Raleigh
Hilton, Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information, contact
Jack Greene, MD-60, EPA, AEERL. Research Triangle Park, NC
27711. Telephone: 919-541-2903.
The Hazardous Materials Advisory Council (HMAC) will
hold its 1986 Annual Conference and Exposition May 7-9,
1986 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. For
more information, contact the HMAC office, 1012 14th Street.
NW„ Suite 907, Wash.. DC 20005. Telephone: 212-783-7460. ~
Dr. Kenneth Knapp, an EPA Supervisory Research Chemist in
North Carolina and president of the Wake Audubon Society,
sighted a Tropical Kingbird in North Carolina during the
annua/ Christmas bird count. This species is common only to
South America up to Southern Arizona and has never before
been reported in North Carolina. News of the sighting spread
quickly in Audubon Circles. Knapp said about 20 birders
from both Carolinas and as far away as Maryland converged
on Arthur B. Harris' Fairfield hog farm, near Lake
Mattamuskeet, to see for themselves. Knapp said a tropical
kingbird in North Carolina may rank nationally as one of the
most unusual bird finds of 1985.
ters
... a means for Agency employees to communicate (o other employees
whatever messages of criticism, praise, opinion, or explanation they so
desire. Brevity and constructive suggestions are encouraged: obscenity and
rudeness are disallowed. Letters will be published as space allows and nun
be edited for clarity and conciseness. No attempt is made by the editor to
confirm anv data presented by correspondents and the opinions expressed
should not be taken to represent Agency positions, unless signed bv the
head of the appropriate office. All letters must be signed and accompanied
by submitter's office location and telephone number.
Dear Editor:
What can EPA do to improve its suggestion program in the
eyes of its employees? Permitting suggestions to be put on the
back burner at EPA Headquarters surely is not the way to do
it. EPA policy suggests that a 60-day maximum should be
sufficient to process suggestions sent to headquarters. As a
case in point, I was notified on September 25, 1985 that an
award would be forthcoming for my suggestion submitted to
headquarters. As of December 31, 1985, I have neither
received the award nor any information when such award
will be forthcoming.
Margherita Pryor's article highlighting the EPA Times of
May 1985, quoted EPA Administrator Loe Thomas: "It is my
philosophy to encourage creative thinking. I feel the
Suggestion Program is a high priority in the Agency because it
can increase the efficiency with which we carry out our
•jl duties."
ne on EPA! Now that the New Year is upon us, let's
it a New Year's resolution to clear out the cobwebs and
oving on the suggestions you are sitting on.
Arnold L. Cohen
Cincinnati
Available Information
Selections from recent acquisitions by the EPA Library ivhich may be of
general interest.
Groundwater Protection: A Selected Bibliography. Bv
Ned Wolff. TD223.C88. 1985.
Love Canal: The Social Construction of Disaster: Final
Report. By Martha R. Fowlkes and Patricia Y. Miller.
T55.3H3F77. 1982.
The Environmental Effects of Nuclear War. By Julius
London and Gilbert F. White. U263.E58. 1984.
State-of-the-Environment Profile for the People's
Republic of China By Susan Swannack, Kenneth Bowman,
and Pat Heffernan. EPAX 8514-0043. 1985. ~
Erwir
' Sys<
Las
j - w i
EPA's three man team (left to right) John Moore, Don
Betowski, and Bob Sneiiing won third place in the men's
team competition at the COMDEX 5 Kilometer Run on
November 22, 1985. All three are employees of the
Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory-Las Vegas.
Their total time was 55A3.
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Poison Prevention Week Council
As part of Administrator
Lee M. Thomas' emphasis on
greater community involve-
ment throughout the Agen-
cy's program offices, EPA's
Office of External Affairs has
been actively supporting the
Poison Prevention Week
Council. The Council is a
coalition of 34 national or-
ganizations representing gov-
ernment, industry, the health
professions, and consumers.
The Poison Prevention
Week Council was created 25
years ago to focus public
attention on childhood
poisonings. In 1962, when
the Council began operations,
there were approximately 450
deaths among children under
age five from accidental
poisonings as a result of
swallowing medicines or
houshold chemicals. In 1983
the toll had declined to 55
deaths, a decrease of 88 per-
cent.
To support the Council's
work, EPA's Office of Ex-
ternal Affairs has provided
both staff and financial re-
sources. In addition, Andy
Robart of the Office of Private
and Public Sector Liaison
(OPPSL) serves as the
Agency's representative to
the Council as well as
several of the Council's var-
ious committees. This year
OPPSL has been especially
active in support of the
Council's 25th Anniversary
Conference and Ceremony
which will be held in the
Senate Dirksen Office Build-
ing on March 17, 1986. At
the Conference, nationally
recognized speakers will de-
scribe a variety of accom-
plishments by organizations
involved in reducing child-
hood poisonings. EPA will
also have a booth and display
literature on a wide range of
toxic substances and pesti-
cides.
In recognizing the im-
portance of the Council's^]
work, Assistant Administra-
tor for External Affairs Jen-
nifer Joy Manson com-
mented, "I am pleased that
through this type of outreach
effort we have been able to
involve the Agency in a
worthwhile and valuable ex-
perience to reach out to the
larger community and show
how a small effort can have a
significant impact on the
health and safety of small
children." ~
The Spirit of Giving
Although we're well into
February now, some holiday
parties from last year deserve
special recognition.
The Office of Administra-
tion, OARM had its First An-
nual Holiday Celebration on
December 16, 1985. Almost
400 OA employees partied
and danced to the music of
disk jockey, John Seitz—an
OA employee himself! The
real beneficiary of this suc-
cessful event, however, was
Children's Hospital. Because
of the employees' over-
whelming support of the
holiday party, Director of Ad-
ministration John C. Cham-
berlin, was able to send a
check for $210 to Children's
Hospital.
The Office of Research and
Development held a Holiday
Party on December 20 and
was able to contribute $218
to Children's Hospital.
Region 10 held a Holiday
Party and raised $3,000 for
Seattle's needy with a unique
auction. Some of the items
auctioned were: 2 Pies per
month for a year (baked by
Ernesta Barnes, Regional Ad-
ministrator); Ralph Rogers'
beard; a weekend kayak trip;
a weekend trip on horseback;
and sailing lessons. ~
Toastmasters International
EPA's Chapter of Toast-
masters International (TI) is
conducting its annual
Speechcrafter Training pro-
gram starting March 11, 1986.
If you frequently avoid
speaking before an audience,
or you anguish over briefing
your AA, then Speechcrafter
Training is right for you!
Enjoy your lunch periods
and put the time to work for
you. In eight 1-hour sessions
over the next few months,
and for only $10, the training
can help you reach one of
those higher rungs. (This
price includes all training
materials, and, upon gradua-
tion, can be applied to TI
membership).
For more information and a
reserved slot in the program,
call Doris Gillispie on 382-
7344, or Ika Joiner on 382-
3177. ~
John T. Anderson (left), who is with EPA's public information
office in Niagara Falls, NY, and Robert P. Bubniak (right),
EPA's deputy telecommunications manager, recently had a
reunion at a rather unusual site. After being out of touch for
six years, they met in the Pentagon office of the Secretary of
the Army John O. Marsh, Jr. on December \ Bubniak, who is
Executive Vice President of the Armed Forces Broadcasters
Association, was at the Pentagon for the presentation of an
Armed Forces Broadcasters Association award, named after
Anderson, to Sgt. Fritz Homann, a sergeant from Korea.
Anderson was a prisoner of war of the North Vietnamese for
more than five years and was imprisoned when the North
Vietnamese Army overran the American Forces Vietnam
Network site at Hue during the Tet Offensive.
Anderson later worked for Bubniak in Germany where
Bubniak commanded the American Forces Network,
Europe.
The EPA Times is published monthly to provide news and information
for and about EPA employees. Readers are encouraged to submit news
themselves and of fellow employees, letters of opinion, questions,
comments, and suggestions to: Marilyn Rogers, Editor, The EPA Ti
Office of Public Affairs (A-107). Telephone 382-4355. Information
selected for publication will be edited as necessary in keeping with
space available.
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