The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 3

The Pittsburgh Press Wild Hill from Page Al from Page Al Monday, November 18. 1991 USX plans to attract more wildlife by periodically mowing portions to create meadows. Among other things, this will provide habitat for grasshoppers and other insects that birds feed on, said George Weber, general manager of the plant. Another parcel accessible only by river contains 3.5 acres of heavily forested flood plain occupying land where steelmaking used to take place. It is separated from the plant's operating units by a 30-foot-high embankment.

The smallest parcel a quarter of an acre next to the main office will become the butterfly habitat. Besides helping wildlife, the project seeks to forge closer ties with two frequent adversaries of USX labor and the environmental movement. More than a dozen plant workers recently volunteered to attach wooden boxes to trees for cavity-nesting birds. They got no pay for the chore. "I worked midnight that night, too no sleep," said Bill Silbaugh, a coke loader.

During a recent inspection, he was excited to see straw in some of the nest boxes. Jerry Strelick, president of Local 1557 of the United Steelworkers union and a key proponent of the project, said plant workers are eager to show the public that industry and wildlife can co-exist. "Whatever their motives, I think it's a great thing," said Anthony Picadio, an environmental lawyer in Pittsburgh, referring to USX officials. "I'd love to see an osprey take a fish out of the Mon. If they can bring back ospreys to this part of the country, they should get an award." Ospreys are known to nest in only one place in Western Pennsylvania state game lands in Somerset County.

They occasionally pass through the region. A biologist for the wildlife council saw one recent- .1 LlLi Andy StarnesThe Pittsburgh Press Bill Silbaugh, a USX employee, checks one of the bird houses he and other volunteers installed in a new wildlife habitat near the coke works standing." "Of the $4,588,785 in contracts or commitments we have (awarded) to date, $2,707,569 has been committed to minority or women business enterprises certified by the city," Salazar said, adding that more contracts have yet to be awarded. "We're trying to break jobs down to incorporate as many minority subcontractors as possible but its totally unrealistic to expect to employ every small minority subcontracting company around." Of the 13 subcontracts awarded so far, Salazar said, nine have gone to minority or women business enterprises. Salazar said that although the firm doing the site preparation work at the site now is not minority owned, four of its subcontractors, including the Duane C. Hambrick of New Castle, Lawrence County, are minority-owned.

He said the the $1.3 million contract with Ham-brick is the single largest contract to date. Masloff administration officials today also said the Crawford Square project is well ahead of its goals for minority and female participation. Joseph Sabino Mistick, Mayor Sophie Masloff top aide, said he believes today's confrontation stemmed from local contractors' perception that they were being shut out of the project. Mistick met privately with Curtis Green III of the United Minority Contractors Association and Whitmer for about an hour this morning. Green declined to be interviewed after the meeting.

"They've indicated that they have problems with the process that they believe has resulted in, or will result in, very little work being awarded to local contractors," Mistick said. "It has more to do with geographic issues than anything else." Mistick said he did not know when work would resume or whether to expect additional protests. "It's always better to talk than fight' he said. Construction contracts are awarded by the developer and are not subject to the competitive bidding requirements for public projects, Whitmer said. McCormack Baron set goals of 30 percent participation by minor-.

ity-owned businesses and 10 percent by female-owned businesses for site preparation work. The general contractor also set goals of 25 percent minority-owned and 10 percent female-owned businesses for project construction. But Charles Hawkins, president of the contractors association who led today's demonstration along with City Councilman Duane A. Darkins, said, "We've been lied to. (McCormack Baron) reneged on all the commitments." Both Hawkins and Darkins said they would meet every morning and lead protesters in shutting the job down until the minority hiring commitments are met.

At one point during the demonstration, a black construction worker and a black protester got into a shoving match before being separated by other workers and protesters. On another occasion, when a black construction worker refused to stop working, saying, "I'm a union man," the protesters replied by yelling obscenity-laced threats at him. One demonstrator threw a block of wood in his direction. One white machine operator: told the protesters: "I'm just out here trying to make a living. It's my first day on the job." But a protester yelled back, "It might be your; last day." A backhoe operator who at first refused to turn off his machine had several placards waved in his face and was told, "Come on down before you get stones thrown at you." City police drove by the demonstration but did not stop.

Wheri the protest was almost over, a sergeant arrived and spoke briefly with the protesters. Less than an hour after; the protest began about 7:15 a.m., work on the project was halted for, the day. "The bottom line is if we don't work, you don't work," Gilbert Berry, vice president of the National Association of Minority Contractors told those forced off the job today. I Added Hawkins, "If we can't work in our own back yard, where can we work?" "I grew up in this neighborhood so I am concerned," replied Charles Conley, a black construction administrator for Oakley Industries Oakley is a Downtown construction management firm working on the project for Duane Hambrick. "I'm in charge of the hiring and firing.

More than 50 percent of our (eight) workers here are black." The demonstrators also pointed out they are not members of the Black Contractors Association organization, which apparently has "members working on the project. However, Hawkins charged that the minority firms on the project are only "fronts" for non-minority firms. Darkins said he joined the protest as a city councilman who represents the entire community, not just his home District 9, which is the city's Homewood and East Liberty area. Councilman Jake Mil-liones, who represents the Hill District, did not take part in the demonstration. The development's $19.8 million first phase, including 203 rental -units and 40 for-sale units, is scheduled for completion by May.

Philip Masciantonio, vice president of environmental affairs for the U.S. Steel Group of USX and chairman of the wildlife council, said: "With over one quarter of the American landscape in corporate hands, the potential for protecting our global resources is extraordinary." (Ralph Haurwitz is The Pittsburgh Press environmental writer.) Projects vary widely. Deere the tractor maker, planted native coneflower and switchgrass to restore a prairie in Iowa. Vulcan Materials Co. sowed food plants to attract turkeys at Warrenton, Va.

"BFI Browning-Ferris Industries spent over $25,000 just to create a pond at one of its landfill sites in Memphis, Tennessee," Kelly said. talks were released immediately. The EC and the United Nations have said a cease-fire must be observed before any peacekeeping troops are sent in. Both Croatia and the federal army have called for peacekeepers, but have set differing conditions. Federal forces and ethnic Serbs opposed to secession have captured about a third of Croatia.

The Croatian government says nearly 2,000 people have been killed since the republic declared independence. But the figure does not include substantial casualties suffered by the army or Serb insurgents, neither of which provides 1 comprehensive numbers. population of 40,000 before the fighting began. Tanjug said 5,000 people had left by this afternoon. Karen Saddler, a spokeswoman in Geneva for the International Red Cross, said a truck carrying 1.5 tons of emergency medical and food supplies was on the outskirts of Vukovar and ready to enter the devastated city.

She said a Red Cross official had entered the town to determine aid needs. In Belgrade, the federal and Serbian capital, special U.N. envoy Cyrus Vance met today with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic to discuss the possibility of deploying an international peacekeeping force in Croatia. No details of the $18.00 A Month. Pay As You Go.

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Easy living is getting easier all the time at our place. ly near the Clairton Works. "This is one of the best projects in an urbanized environment," said Joyce Kelly, executive director of the wildlife council. Counting the parcels to be designated tomorrow, the council has certified 142 sites totaling 160,000 acres. In each case, corporate owners must submit wildlife management and improvement plans.

Page Al Commander Mile Dedakovic to units that had defended the Danube River town for three months against the Yugoslav army and Serb insurgents in Croatia. Tanjug said Croatian guardsmen and policemen were surrendering into the evening. It also said civilians were being evacuated but suggested that men of arms-bearing age were not being allowed to leave. Tanjug said some residents of the ethnically mixed town were going into Croatian-controlled territory, while others were leaving for Serbia. Yesterday, 12,000 to 15,000 people remained in Vukovar, which had a as to of or Yugoslavia from apparently had not yet entered the town.

EC spokesman Ed Koestal said the teams would not go in unless shooting in the city stopped. Some street fighting and shelling was reported in Vukovar despite a cease-fire arranged by the European Community, which has attempted to mediate an end to the fighting. Elsewhere in Croatia, fighting slowed after the cease-fire went into effect on Saturday. An Italian naval ship bearing 150 tons of food and medicine arrived today in the besieged medieval port of Dubrovnik. Tanjug, in a dispatch from Vukovar, said the surrender order was issued this afternoon by Croat Slmri Mfmrr I iff, it iLifc 4- if: a ills nfe Join our health club now with a $59 one-time initiation fee and pay just $18 a month for long as you want! There are no long-term commitments.

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