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SOUTHOFBOSTON.COM CITY EDITION 75 centsTHURSDAY SEPTEMBER 15, 2005

CITY

CMYK

THE SOUTH SHORE’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1837

INDEX

Doc can’t sue whistleblowersCourt says Quincy Medical Center, surgeons protected by law for secret peer r ev i ewBy SUE REINERTThe Patriot Ledger

A former Quincy Medical Center sur-geon, who was investigated by the hospi-tal after three of his elderly patients died,cannot sue the hospital or two doctorswho participated in the secret probe, thestate Appeals Court has ruled.

Dr. Jeffrey Zisk, whose 1996 case

made headlines and shook confidence inthe hospital, did not submit adequate ev-idence to go forward, the court said yes-t e r d ay.

The hospital had ordered Zisk to un-dergo additional training and be moni-tored for four years after an internal in-vestigation of the three deaths and fiveother cases, the decision said.

Separately, state regulators found him

negligent and ordered him to practice un-der supervision and to treat only patientswithout life-threatening conditions.

Zisk’s attorney did not return tele-phone messages yesterday. Zisk did notreturn a message left at his office at 180Rock Island Road in Quincy.

Quincy Medical Center “is pleasedwith the court’s decision,” the hospitalsaid in a statement.

Zisk never returned to the Quincy hos-pital. His profile on the state Board ofRegistration web site says he is not affil-iated with any hospital. He has settledthree malpractice cases, the site says.

The board modified restrictions onZisk in 2000, spokesman Russell Amessaid yesterday. He is now allowed to op-erate on patients with more serious con-ditions but must still be monitored,

Ames said.Zisk’s surgery deaths came to light in

1996 when the state Department of Pub-lic Health investigated another headline-grabbing case at Quincy Medical Center,then the city-owned Quincy Hospital: abotched operation where two surgeonsremoved the wrong kidney.

Please see DOC — Page 2

GoodAfternoon

Latest news from theSouth Shore and world

DEAR ABBY 38BUSINESS 29, 30CLASSIFIED 41-48COMICS 39EDITORIAL 8GET OUT! 31-37LOCALS 11-16MOVIES 34OBITUARIES 26, 27SPORTS 19-25TV LISTINGS 38

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‘ R I S K Y B U S I N E S S ’

ANIMAL RESCUE ATITS MOST DIFFICULTHingham man among those saving pets amid chaos

By DAN DeLEOThe Patriot Ledger

NEW ORLEANS

Paul Murphy opened thedoor of the run-downhome and stepped onto afloor slick with mud, dog

feces and urine.His quarry, a half-crazed

labrador-shepherd mixabandoned when HurricaneKatrina struck two weeks before,darted into a back room of thehouse, but not before snarling,growling and showing its teeth.

This was not going to be aneasy rescue, the animal controlofficer from Hingham thought.He was right. Before it was over,

strays in Cohasset and Norwell.But last week, moved by theimages of abandoned, half-starved pets in New Orleans, hemade the 1,500-mile trek toLouisiana to help in what willlikely be considered the largestanimal rescue mission in thecountry’s history.

The former pet store owner hasjoined hundreds of volunteerscamped out in tents in 90-degreeheat and living on peanut-butter

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� Dogs may land at formerWeymouth air base PAGE 9

blood was shed on both sides.Murphy, 66, usually spends his

time checking dog licenses andresponding to complaints about Please see PETS — Page 9

DAN DELEO/The Patriot Ledger� Paul Murphy of HIngham helps a dehydrated and starving shepherd get back on its feet in New Orleans. Thedog was found on a deserted street Sunday, two weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit.

GAY RIGHTS GROUPS CELEBRATE

Amendment fails: But gay marriageopponents vow new try for ban in ’08By TOM BENNERPatriot Ledger State House Bureau

BOSTON – Massachusettsvoters won’t be weighing in ongay marriage next fall, but foesof same-sex unions vow that theissue will be on the ballot in2008.

As legislators yesterday vot-ed down the same plan they ap-proved last year to substitute

Vermont-style civil unions forgay marriage, gay rights groupsapplauded and pledged to fighta petition drive to put the ques-tion to state voters in threeye a r s .

“For the moment, this state iswhere it should be,” said theRev. George Welles, rector ofthe Episcopal Church of OurSavior in Milton. “There’s go-ing to be a calm and a peace,

and life would go on, but thatwill be all upset again by thereferendum initiative.”

Opponents say next weekthey will begin to collect signa-tures to place a citizens’ petitionon the 2008 ballot to ban gaymarriage. Same-sex marriagehas been legal in Massachusettssince May 2004.

“However hard it is, we haveto keep at it,” said Wendell Ca-

ley of Quincy, who plans to joina volunteer army of signature-gathers who have between Sept.21 and Nov. 23 to gather 65,825signatures of registered voters.

“It gives the citizens a clearvote, a simple choice, is mar-riage between a man and awoman, yes or no,” KrisMineau, president of Massa-chusetts Family Institute. said.

Associated Press

Robyn Ochs of Boston, right, hugs Kirsten Steinbach of Westboroafter the Legislature rejects a ban on gay marriage.Please see VOTE — Page 2

QuincyCollegepromotesinterimleaderGovernors forgosearch, hireacting presidentto replace BarryBy JESSICA VAN SACKThe Patriot Ledger

QUINCY – The Quincy Col-lege governing board appointedthe school’s acting chief as per-manent president.

Sue Harris is the seventhpresident of the city-owned col-lege since its founding in 1956.She replaces Sean Barry, whowas fired last month for allegedmismanagement.

“I care about this institution,and this is a great honor,” Harrissaid.

The move surprised somewho had anticipated a nation-wide search that the board hadoriginally planned. But board ofgovernors Chairwoman There-sa Lord Piatelli said Harris,who has served on a temporarybasis since May, has proven shecan do the job.

Lord Piatelli said membersof the board were concernedthat, with the college’s accredi-tation up for review next yearand changes looming for theboard, institutional memorywould be critical for the personholding the top job.

“She brought a stability,”Lord Piatelli said.

A nationwide search wouldhave lasted a year, bringing it tofall 2006, when an accredita-tion review by the New Eng-land Association of Schoolsand Colleges is scheduled.

“It made sense to keep SueHarris through the accredita-tion,” Lord Piatelli said.

Harris’s tenure has beenmarked by the wide support ofstaff, students and teachers,even among Barry supporters.Members of the college com-munity said yesterday thatkeeping Harris as presidentwould help the school to moveon from the recent turmoil.

“We needed some stabilityafter the events of the summer,”said Jack O’Donnell, director

Please see COLLEGE — Page 2

Braintreemay get$130Mener gyplantLight departmentsays efficient powerwill keep rates downBy RICK COLLINSThe Patriot Ledger

BRAINTREE – The town’s lightdepartment is readying plans to builda $130 million, 110-megawatt powerplant at its Potter Road facility.

A modern, high-efficiency plantwill keep rates for Braintree residentslow while putting the town-ownedcompany in a strong market positionas demand forpower grows, ac-cording toWilliam Bottig-gi, general man-ager of BraintreeElectric LightDepar tment.

“We’re look-ing for ways toprotect our cus-tomers againsthigh energyprices,” Bottiggisaid. “The wayto do that is tobuild an efficientpower plant.”

The light de-partment oper-ates a 90-megawatt powerplant at its sta-tion on the banksof the Fore River. Known internally asPotter 2, the plant is a “combined cy-cle” generator that uses natural gasand steam to produce electricity.

The plant, however, was built in the1970s and is becoming increasinglyinefficient and expensive to use com-pared to more modern facilities.

Bottiggi said the light departmentruns its generators about 30 days ayear, depending on consumer de-mands upon the regional grid, andwhether it’s cheaper for the depart-ment to buy from the market or pro-duce power itself.

The new plant would also be a com-bined cycle generator. A consultanthired by the department estimates thenew plant would run between 55 to 85

“ We ’ r elooking for

ways toprotect ourcustomer s

against highener gyprices.”Wi l l i a mBottiggi,Braintree

Electric LightDepar tment

Please see POWER — Page 2

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9Thursday, September 15, 2005

CMYK

HU R R I C A N E KAT R I NA

OFFER OF HELP

Homeless dogsfrom New Orleansmay come to base

By MARK FONTECCHIOThe Patriot Ledger

Dozens of dogs from hurricane-damaged areas around New Or-leans might land at the formerWeymouth air base.

Joseph Ferson, a spokesman forthe state Department of Agricul-ture, confirmed it is working withlocal animal groups to provide aspot for the canines if needed.

He said nothing has been solidi-f ied.

Most likely the arriving dogswouldn’t be pets displaced andabandoned by Hurricane Katrinaalong the Gulf Coast. They wouldbe dogs that were already in shel-ters before the storm and would bemoved to make room for other an-imals in the shelters.

Terry Fancher, executive direc-tor for base overseer South ShoreTri-Town Development Corp.,said the old firehouse on the basewould be set up as the shelter site.

“They would have to set up san-itary conditions,” he said. “Wecould see the pets here for a periodof two to three months.”

The 1,405-acre base sits in thetowns of Abington, Rockland andWeymouth and has been closed tomilitary operations for almost adecade, but some businesses andagencies still lease property there.

Redevelopment there isn’t ex-pected to start for another threeye a r s .

Tri-Town also sent a letter to the

state offering the base to humanevacuees of the hurricane. Lastweek a spokesman for the state Of-fice of Commonwealth Develop-ment said the operation there, if ithappened, would be relativelysmall, with only a few dozen fam-ilies.

Hundreds of evacuees came intothe state last week, landing at theOtis Air National Guard Base onCape Cod. The evacuees werebrought to Camp Edwards on an-other section of the property,where officials have set up housingcapable of holding up to 2,500people.

Fancher said the South Wey-mouth base could also be used justto store supplies, he said.

Ferson said the state Depart-ment of Agriculture is workingwith the Animal Rescue League,the Massachusetts Society for thePrevention of Cruelty to Animals,and the Massachusetts AnimalCoalition. He said the dogs wouldneed to be examined and givenhealth certificates before theycould be brought to the base.

Though he didn’t know whenthe dogs might arrive, he said offi-cials will probably find out ifthey’re coming by the end of thisweek or early next.

If they do come, Ferson said heimagines citizens would be able toadopt the animals if they wanted.

Mark Fontecchio may bereached atm fo n t e c ch i o @ l e d ge r. c o m .

24-HOUR-A-DAY JOB

Volunteers have key rolehelping New Orleans pets

GONZALES, La. – Caring for the1,000-plus animals at a makeshiftshelter an hour from New Orleanshas become a round-the-clock job.

More than 200 volunteers spendtheir days bathing, feeding and givingmedical attention to the 1,300 ani-mals being housed at the shelter.

Many of the animals have neverspent any time in confinement, butnow must live in tiny kennels side byside. After spending days drinkingcontaminated flood water, many aresick and carrying disease.

Humane Society officials hopethat their stay will be short, and thatowners will begin claiming their petssoon.

But so far, few pets have been re-united and officials don’t expect thenumber claimed to get much higherthan 10 percent.

Many of the animals lacked tags orother identifying marks, and werepicked up roaming the streets, ratherthan at known addresses.

“The next challenge is getting these

animals back together with their own-ers,” said Martha Armstrong, a Hu-mane Society spokeswoman.

Each animal that comes into theshelter is photographed, given a med-ical examination by one of more than40 veterinarians on site and is vacci-nated for rabies and other diseases.

The animals are also implantedwith a microchip that contains a num-ber that corresponds to any identify-ing information available.

All that information is going into adatabase and is also being posted onthe web site petfinder.com.

The animals that aren’t claimed byOct. 16 will be put up for adoption,said Dave Pauli, a Humane Societyofficial. New owners won’t be hard tof ind.

“These animals have a story, theyare Hurricane Katrina victims, andthat will appeal to a lot of people,’’ hesaid. We’ll have more adoptees thana n i m a l s .”

– DAN DELEO

Saving animals ‘risky business’and jelly sandwiches andscant sleep. Many spend theirdays at a makeshift animalshelter in Gonzales, a smalltown about 45 minutes fromNew Orleans. There, they arecaring for more than athousand animals, many ofwhich may never be reunitedwith owners.

Animal control officerslike Murphy venture into thisHurricane-torn city everyday. They wade through fetidwater to get to homes wherethey’re not sure if they’ll findan abandoned pet, a crazy-eyed pit bull trained to kill, ora dead body.

“It’s a war zone,” Murphysaid, as military helicoptersbuzzed overhead andNational Guard troops armedwith M-16s patrolled thestreets.

Just as state and federalofficials are coming to termswith the human suffering thisstorm has caused, animalwelfare groups are grapplingwith how to deal with thethousands of beloved pets leftbehind in this still largelyflooded city. Pets that aresick, scared, and near death.

“This is like nothing I haveever experienced before,”Murphy said. “Themagnitude is overwhelming.”

On Monday, he and hiscrew of 10 stopped at a homeon Marengo Street, expectingan easy pickup, but the doginside was frightened andagg ressive.

After corralling it in a backroom, volunteers, led byManny Maciel, the animalcontrol officer of NewBedford, managed to snarethe 50-plus pound mixedbreed using a rabies stick, along metal pole with a loop

of rope on one end. Todisarm the animal’s snappingjaws, they jammed anotherpole with a padded fork intothe dog’s mouth.

Just as the situationseemed in control, the franticdog lunged and snapped theface of a volunteer. Bloodshot from the puncturewound. As they pushed theanimal into a kennel, reddrops began collecting on thefloor. The dog had bit hardinto the stick in its mouth.

“This is a risky business,”said Murphy, who hasworked as an animal controlofficer for 27 years. “There’sno blaming the dog. It thinksit’s fighting for its life.”

There is no denying,though, that some of theanimals being rescued aredangerous and will unlikelyever be adoptable. Seven pit

bull fight dogs were rescuedand transported to a shelter atLouisiana State University.Officials there panickedwhen the dogs beganchewing through their cages.

A veterinarian whowitnessed the dogs’ behaviorsaid they had to be sent tomore secure shelters.Animals like that often haveto be destroyed, she added.

So far, more than 3,000animals – dogs, cats, ducks,geese, parrots, horses andeven snakes and exotic frogs– have been rescued byvolunteers like Murphy andtaken to a shelter an hournorthwest of New Orleansrun by the Humane Societyof the U.S.

Hoping that owners willclaim their pets, Louisianaofficials won’t allow theanimals to be adopted by

new families until Oct. 16.So far, only about 300 pets

have been reunited withowners, said Dave Pauli, aHumane Society official.

“We don’t expect thatnumber to get much higher,”he said.

Connie Nela, who is fromGonzales, searched everystall and kennel for two catsand a dog, the pets of a closefriend who lost her house andis staying in Houston. Shehad no luck finding them.

“There is no informationon where the animals camefrom,” Nela said. “It’s sofr ustrating.”

Because of overcrowdingat the shelter, animal welfareofficials are trying to line upplanes, trucks and trailers tohelp move animals to otherstates. Some have alreadybeen shipped to Texas and

Califor nia.On Sunday and Monday,

Murphy – who drove to NewOrleans with Cheryl Malone,the animal control officer inDennis, Pamela Holmes, avolunteer, and Maciel, theNew Bedford director ofanimal control – spent thedays setting up food andwater stations in the dryneighborhoods of the city.

Nearly everywhereMurphy went, though, hefound animals in need ofhelp. Dogs roamed the streetsin small packs. Cats hidunder cars.

At one point, the Hinghamnative spotted a scrawnyshepherd mix lying on thesidewalk atop broken glass.The dog was too weak andcould barely move.

After hand feeding it andpalming water for the dog todrink, he scooped the filthymutt in his arms. Theshepherd made a half-heartedattempt to resist beforeallowing his rescuer todeposit him in the back ofthe van.

Murphy drove the dog to atriage center just across thecity line in Jefferson Parish,where vets have been treatingmore than 200 sick andinjured animals a day. There,it will be cared for until it isready to be transported to thesprawling equestrian centerin Gonzales, or to anothers h e l t e r.

Then he headed back outonto the streets, looking formore.

“It’s a relief when we getthese animals out,” he said,“at least they’ll have ac h a n c e .”

Dan DeLeo may bereached atd d e l e o @ l e d ge r. c o m .

� PETSContinued from Page 1

DAN DELEO/The Patriot Ledger

Manny Maciel, left, New Bedford animal control director, and Cheryl Malone, center,Dennis animal control officer, document animals at a shelter in Gonzales, La., withMark Johnson, a volunteer from Bozeman, Mont.

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