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- By SHIRLEY CONNER NEWS Staff Writer
A spokesman for the family of Gerald Lane, 49, a Spaulding Fibre Co. employe killed Friday in an industrial accident at the Wheeler Street plant in Tonawanda, said "it took the company five hours to contact" the victim's wife. Mrs. Ann R. Bortz of Buffalo, the victim's niece, said "my aunt was notified by DeGraff Memorial Hospital shortly after 9 a.m. (last Friday) that her husband was in critical condition." Spaulding Fibre did not contact my uncle's family until approximately 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon, when William Billman, manager of the Bakelite Department, expressed his condolences. She said neither the vice president and plant manager, Richard Hunter, nor any other top Spaulding official called her aunt before or after the funeral services yesterday in Tonawanda. "It is no surprise to me that the Tonawanda police knew nothing of this industrial accident, until members of the family called several hours later to find out the name of the Niagara County coroner who investigated the death," Mrs. Bortz said. "In view of this, I would like to take exception to Stan Friedman's (Spaulding's president) statement (in yesterday's NEWS), in that I do not feel that concern for the welfare of the plant workers and the community as a whole is as true as he would like us to believe," Mrs. Bortz said in a statement given to The NEWS. Mrs. Bortz' parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Rietsch, live next door to the Lane home at 618 Adam St., in Tonawanda. Mrs. Bortz said she believes that Spaulding's handling of her uncle's death was "callous," as Mayor Sheridan S. Creekmore stated in Saturday's NEWS. On the other hand, Gary Wolanske, president of Local 2106, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the union which represents a majority of Spaulding employes, today defended Mr. Hunter's actions during and after the tragedy that claimed Mr. Lane's life. According to Mr. Wolanske, "men working near Mr. Lane were knocked to the floor by the explosion," but every effort was made to save Mr. Lane's life after he was sprayed with molten resin." Mr. Wolanske said Pekin Volunteer Fire Chief David Davis, a Spaulding employe, "administered first aid to Mr. Lane and made every effort to save his life." Mr. Wolanske praised Mr. Hunter for being "the first Spaulding official to set up safety and health committees of plant employes and for providing classes in Red Cross first aid for employes." The union chief said that had "Tonawanda police and firemen been notified about the accident, the results would have been academic." The accident occurred at about 8:30 a.m.; DeGraff Hospital officials notified Mrs. Lane her husband was in "critical" condition shortly after 9 a.m.; Mr. Lane was pronounced dead at 9:05 a.m.; Coroner William Brunner was notified by the hospital shortly before 10 a.m.; the coroner reported his findings to Tonawanda police at 12:24 p.m. The cause of the fatal accident is being investigated by Spaulding officials, Tonawanda police, and the federal Office of Occupational Health and Safety (OSHA).
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