Friday, May 30, 1997
United States Attorney John Kelly, left, speaks with Laboratory Director Sig Hecker Thursday in the J. Robert Oppenheimer Study Center. Kelly was one of 94 U.S. attorneys who visited the Lab to learn about the Lab's mission, programs and technologies aimed at reducing the global nuclear danger. The attorneys also visited several Lab facilities including the Emergency Operations Center and the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrotest Facility, or DARHT, and heard presentations from Department of Energy officials. Photo by LeRoy N. Sanchez |
Survey deadline is today
Today is the deadline for University of California Laboratory employees to turn in the 1997 Checkpoint and Upward Appraisal surveys.
The surveys -- this is the fourth consecutive year for the survey -- allow employees the opportunity to give feedback to their managers and provide Lab leaders with data on how they feel about the Lab, said Steven Stokes of Training and Development (HR-6).
As of Thursday, 44 percent of the employees who received a survey had completed and returned it, said Stokes. Last year, about 57 percent of employees who received a survey returned it, he said.
The Checkpoint Survey contains 59 questions for employees about career development, teamwork, job satisfaction, communication, customer emphasis, management, productivity, performance management, diversity and safety.
About 7,200 surveys were mailed to full-time and part-time regular UC Lab employees, including postdoctoral, graduate research assistants and limited-term employees, at their mail stops.
Employees are asked to return the surveys to Mail Stop M898. Survey results should be available in late June.
The Upward Appraisal Survey contains 20 questions for employees about their managers. This survey allows employees to formally rate their supervisors in areas such as communication skills, trustworthiness, accountability, decision-making ability and fairness toward employees. As with last year's Upward Appraisal survey, employees are being asked to rate their immediate supervisor and their supervisor's supervisor.
Employees shouldn't bend or staple the surveys because they will be scored electronically. They also should complete the survey only with a pencil or a black or blue ink pen.
All responses by employees will be kept confidential.
For more information about the surveys, call Stokes at 5-8655.
--Steve Sandoval
Lab employee helps Russian hospitals and orphanages
get much needed medical supplies
Some sick children in Russian hospitals and orphanages in Chelyabinsk will be getting better soon thanks to the efforts of some Laboratory employees.
The Yabloka Children's Fund's recently shipped an estimated $8,000 worth of medicines and various other medical supplies, the first such shipment under the auspices of the fund, to the orphanages and children's hospitals of the Chelyabinsk region of Russia, said Jim Nesmith of the Staffing Group (HR-5) and one of the founders of the Yabloka Children's Fund.
The medicines and medical supplies were obtained from MAP International, Inc., a not-for-profit Christian relief and development organization, said Nesmith. They were hand-carried to the orphanages and children's hospitals by officials of Rainbow House International, an adoption agency.
The shipment contains antibiotics, antihelmintics, antihistamines, anti-infective medicines, analgesics, vitamins, digital thermometers, various other medical supplies and over 8,000 syringes.
"We are tremendously excited about this first shipment," said Nesmith. "It's modest but we are sending things that are critically needed and will make a difference in the lives of a lot of children. That makes it significant. This would not have been possible without the support and contributions of the people of Los Alamos and the Laboratory."
Nesmith, who along with his wife, Jamie, adopted two children from Russia last year, co-founded the Yabloka Children's Fund to address some of the medical needs of children in Chelyabinsk, Sarov, Los Alamos' sister city, and Chelyabinsk 70.
This shipment of medicines and medical supplies comes on the heels of a large shipment of surplus pharmaceuticals that were given to Sarov Children's Hospital in January 1995. That shipment was collected from the community and spearheaded by Ken Bower of Analytical Services (CST-3).
Bower and Carol Wilkinson of Accelerator Maintenance Development (AOT-2) helped start the Yabloka Children's Fund. Yabloka is the Russian word for apple.
Nesmith and others also created a home page on the World Wide Web for the Yabloka Children's Fund -- http://www.yabloka.org -- where interested readers and web surfers can learn more about the foundation, how to help needy children in these areas of Russia and the process for adopting a Russian child.
Nesmith said earlier this month, the Russian Internet Network selected the Yabloka Children's Fund web site as the Russian Site Link of the Week. Sites selected display originality, excellence in design and content, and promote cultural awareness and understanding via the Internet, said Nesmith, who designed the site.
The fund plans to make additional shipments of much-needed medical supplies to Russia in the near future and as often as money allows, according to Nesmith. "Russia's health-care system is in a state of near total collapse and the children are most vulnerable," he explained. "They need all the help they can get."
-- Steve Sandoval
'Safety First' discussion open to all employees
Director Sig Hecker will lead an open discussion, "The CMR Explosion and What We've Learned," Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Physics Building Auditorium. All employees are invited to attend. Joining Hecker are Alex Gancarz, Chemical Science and Technology (CST) Division director; Ross Lemons, Materials Science and Technology (MST) Division director; Johnny Harper of Environmental Science and Waste Technology (CST-7), Investigation Team leader; and Marc Clay of Occurrence Investigation (ESH-7).
The discussion stems from the Nov. 14, 1996, incident in which a canister exploded during a research project at the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Building. The explosion destroyed equipment and started several localized fires.
The discussion will center around the explosion, its implications and the actions being taken to prevent such accidents from happening again.
CLER given permission to picket and distribute leaflets
Citizens for LANL Employees Rights has received approval to conduct peaceful picketing and leaflet distributing at the Laboratory every Tuesday and Thursday beginning June 1 through Aug. 1 at the following times and places:
Thursdays from 6 to 8 a.m. on the sidewalk across the road from the pedestrian entrance to TA-55.
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the bottom of the steps leading to the east entrance of the Otowi Building.
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. just west of the Badge Office, adjacent to the newspaper racks.
CLER members have agreed not to harass anyone and to abide by all safety and security requirements. CLER also stated that they do not intend to press their leaflets on employees, only to make them available. For more information, call Bill Sprouse at 5-3505.
--Ternel Martinez
Past Daily Newsbulletins | Last week's headlines
Other Laboratory news sources
Reflections
| News Releases
| Dateline: Los Alamos
LANL | Phone Book | Search | Help
L O S A L A M O S
N A T I O N A L L A B O R A T O R Y
Operated by the University of California for the US Department of Energy
Newsbulletin Comments - Copyright © UC 1996 - Disclaimer - 30 May 1997
United States Attorney Kelly visits the Lab