| SusQ Vol. 79, No. 18, May 9, 1979 *r UEHANNA Susquehanna Times & The Mount Joy Bulletin MARIETTA & MOUNT JOY, PA. FIFTEEN CENTS Dr. Frank McCormick explains his work. The TMI cooling towers are visible in the background. Tennessee ecologist finds no radiation in the plants or animals near TMI A thorough study of animal and plant life near Three Mile Island has turned up no traces of radio- active accumulations in either. By implication, no one in this area has any reason to fear that he may have radioactive isotopes in his body. The study was conducted by Dr. Frank McCormick, professor and director of the ecology program at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, along with six doctoral candidates in radio- logical ecology. ‘“We were surprised, but relieved, that none of the samples showed more than background radiation,” Dr. McCormick told the Times in a telephone interview. The Tennessee ecologists came to Three Mile Island on April 9th and began collecting hundreds of in- sects, thousands of plants, and dozens of fish, rabbits, raccoons, and other species. The scientists selected the most probable species and locations for detecting any lingering radiation. Samples were taken both on Three Mile Island itself and nearby sites that had borne the brunt of the radiation leaks: for example, hillsides direct- ly downwind of radiation leaks, at the same altitude. Plants were chosen on the basis of structure—being likely to catch radioactive dust—or fast growth during the releases, which would have trapped more radioac- tive elements within the plants. The animals were mostly road kills and freshly slaughtered farm animals. A control site was chosen twenty miles upwind of TMI. Samples were taken there also. If radiation had entered the food chain, it would have shown up mostly in the predatory fish and animals which were analysed by Dr. McCormick's group. Being higher on the ‘‘food chain,” these creatures would have [continued on page 7] He keeps the phones working Lewis Hart is a troubleshooter Jor United Tel You probably don’t think about what’s behind all those clicks, whirs, and beeps that come from your telephone. If you're like most people, you just dial and talk. So what is behind all those whirrs, clicks and beeps? The answer is, a great deal of very complex equipment. Lewis Hart of Maytown works with this equipment —thousands of relays, miles of wire, and scores of ‘‘black boxes’’ and computers—in a large room in Columbia, at the local headquarters “of United Telephone. Lew seems as at home in the large room full of electric signals as you might expect him to be in his living room. Although the path of a call through the maze of wires is torturous, Lew knows it like the back of his hand. Your reporter, a former electronics technician, slow- ly sank into a daze last week as Lew tried to explain the general idea of the gear to him. Lew admits that his work is ‘‘highly technical,” but says he enjoys it. “I like to dig into the equipment,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s a challenge.”’ Lew has been working in electronics since he was a boy, helping out in his Uncle’s TV repair shop in Mount Joy. (His uncle, John Way, now works at Arm- strong. His shop was in the same building Sipling’s Pet Store is in now.) “l did a lot of fooling around with electricity when I was a boy,”’ Lew says. Later he took a mail course with the Cleveland Institute of Electronics, which he describes as ‘‘really tough.” He has also taken short courses of several weeks offered by United Tel. Constant study is import- ant in Lew’s job, because the equipment is constantly being updated: ‘‘Telephone technology has become just amazing in the last ten years,”’ he says. ————— Lewis Hart of Maytown points to the long-distance process control crossbar switch [for you neophytes, that’s a tape recorder] in United Tel’s Columbia office. When the first telephone systems were set up, human operators made all the connections on a switch- board. Later on, electro- mechanical systems were installed: each time a customer dialed a number, a little switch in the telephone office moved the same number of places as the number dialed, down through a series of switches. Thus each telephone num- ber was ‘‘wired in.”’ Today's equipment is far more sophisticated: a com- puter handles each and every call within Columbia and each and every long- distance call into or out of this area—Columbia, Eliza- bethtown, Mount Joy, Mari- etta, and Mounteville. This computer, called the ‘‘processor,”’ picks out a route for each call coming into the office. It decides if the call is local or long- distance, picks alternate wires if some curcuits are tied up, and tell another machine to record on magnetic tape all the data about long-distance calls which appear on your phone bill. Humans are needed only to maintain the equip- ment. The processor has a memory that links up your phone number with one ‘“location’’ in the office— i.e. the end of one wire. This [continued on page 11] Urban experts impressed by Marietta Last week 30 urban renewal experts from a- round the United States visited Marietta as partici- pants in the Sixth Annual National Trust Community Preservation Workshop. The workshop was hosted this year in Lancaster by the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County, which is presided over by Elaine Holden of Mount Joy. The visiting experts had specially requested a visit to Marietta, the only Lancaster County town chosen for this signal honor. Marietta was chosen because of its out- standing historic architec- ture and private restoration efforts. Workshop members saw a slide show ‘‘Marietta: An Architectural Gallery,”’ created and presented by Ken and Linda Ross. The group took a walking tour of Marietta’s Historic District, guided by members of Marietta Restoration Asso- ciates, and then had dinner at the Railroad House. The distinguished visitors expressed admiration for Marietta’s architecture and restoration—but they were most enthusiastic about the people of Marietta. Charles Wyatt, principal planner for Jersey City, NJ, who lives and works in inner city restoration, said that Marietta is a real contrast with his town. ‘‘People really care about each other here. Their attitudes to- wards their town, their integrity, their TLC [*‘Ten- der Loving Care’’—Ed.] is really. more important than architecture.” Paula Low of Havre de Grace is impressed with what Marietta people doin a “private way. ‘‘The most efficient way, often, is private restoration, without government grants and pro- fessional help,” said Ms. Low. ‘““‘Marietta- is a very special place to look at. And combined with the hospital- [continued on page 11]
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