were shown. One such movie showed picketers firing shots & clubbing people "for the cause." I was naive enough to believe that the police would protect us from this violence. This could not have been further from the truth. We took photographs to the courthouse to show the judge that his injunction was being ignored and that destruction was continuing. The police said they could do nothing unless they saw the crime and soon tired of our phone calls for help. As evidenced by a photo showing tires being cut even while a policeman was present, very little help was given. As a matter of fact, a few non-union employees were given tickets for not completely stopping at the stop sign in the midst of all the picketline destruction. Other strike activities included threatening & obscene phone calls at home, gun shots into homes, cars and several into the hospital. Some security guards were beaten with baseball bats and their videotape camera destroyed. A guard was beaten by 5 women picketers at the courthouse when he went to testify. evidence. A The damage from this strike is much deeper than the multitude of physical The professional, caring image of our staff has been tarnished by the long seige of violence. Community members have expressed a fear of being cared for by people who could be so cruel and destructive. number of employees quit during the long labor dispute and lost their seniority. Marriages during this tense time were strained and some ended for employees on both sides of the line. Striking employees lost houses and cars. The Medical Center lost revenue and patients. It was a nightmare and bitter feelings continue. Amy C. Conn Amy E. Conn Public Information Officer AFFIDAVIT The affiant, Helen Smith, after being duly sworn, deposes and states as follows: My name is Helen Smith and I am employed as Personnel Assistant in the Personnel Department of the Highlands Regional Medical Center. The National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, Local 1199, has been on strike against the Medical Center since March 25, 1981. The Union and strikers have been engaged in numerous acts of violence since the strike began. One of the strikers, Geneva Skeens, was found in contempt of court for violating an Order of the Floyd Circuit Court. Mrs. Skeens and her sister, Gwen Calhoun, have engaged in various acts of misconduct during the entire period of the strike. 11 On Friday, May 1, 1981, I went into Thompson's I.G.A. grocery store in Prestonsburg, Kentucky at approximately 5:00 p.m. I picked up a loaf of french bread, then went to the fresh vegetable aisle. As I entered the aisle I heard someone say, "Scab! Scab!" I looked up to my right and saw Geneva Skeens standing there. She called me a "Bitch". I moved on toward the vegetables. A voice to my left asked, "Who's she?" Geneva said, "Helen Smith, a bitch in Personnel.' I glanced to my left and saw Gwen Calhoun. I proceeded to the vegetable bin and started looking at tomatoes to avoid a confrontation. Geneva and Gwen came in behind me. They stood there and called me "Scab" and "Bitch" several times. They then made some remarks about "my days being numbered" and "we're waiting for you. I discussed the quality of the tomatoes with some lady until I no longer heard Geneva and Gwen. I then moved up the aisle to mushrooms, glancing around to see that they were gone. I picked up a package of mushrooms and went straight to the quick check out lane. The clerk put my groceries in a very small bag and the bread stuck over the top. I went outside, looked around quickly, did not see Geneva or Gwen and started up the sidewalk. I got out my car keys, tried to close my purse as I started across the road. The keys were on a wire ring and it stuck my fingers so I looked at my purse catch. I heard "Scab", looked up and Geneva was walking toward me. I could see Gwen and a tall man about three cars over in the parking lot straight ahead of me. Geneva said, "Bitch". She asked me a question but I could not understand what she said. She repeated it. I said, "Just let me alone." She was within three feet of me. She then said, "Helen, you bitch, I'll get you. My purse started to slip from my shoulder and the bread fell over and I started to loose the bag of groceries. I grabbed at the bread. Geneva grabbed my right arm with her left and started hitting me with her right. She hit the bread and knocked the bag out of my arm. She was yelling and calling me names and hitting my face on the left side with her fist. I pulled away and dropped my purse. She grabbed at my coat with her right hand and hit me with her left. She jerked my coat and it knocked me down. started beating me on the left side of my face and head with both fists. I heard Gwen say, "Don't hit my sister, you bitch." Gwen repeated this several times as she was beating me with both fists on the face, neck, and head. Gwen then said, "I'll kill you. She said this several times and each time she would beat my head against the road. I yelled for someone to call the police. A man's voice said, "Who's she?" and Gwen said, "She's one of Don's shit assistants." Gwen then said, "Kill her, kick her." and Geneva said, "Kill her." A man started kicking me She and he said, "Don't you The I never heard the ending because each time Gwen hit me in the ear. I looked up at the crowd and three or four times again yelled for someone to call the police. Someone kicked me in the neck and shoulders then stopped. I tried to get up and some man helped me. He told me to lean on the post. I looked at him and his mouth was bleeding. Geneva, Gwen and the man had moved over to a car. police were getting out of a car. A woman said, "I have E.M.T. training" and she and a policeman helped me to sit down in the back seat of the cruiser. The policeman asked me my name and where I worked. I told him. He said, "I knew something like this would happen." I asked who the man was who had been kicking me and several people yelled, "Henry Calhoun. A woman in the crowd handed me a paper towel to wipe the blood from my face and eyes. I had more conversation with the police. The man with the bleeding mouth called to the policeman about arresting Henry Calhoun. The policeman told him we'd have to take out a warrant. Someone said I needed medical attention and the E.M.T. got in the car with me. I asked them to call Don Nunnery, the Medical Center's Personnel Manager, at the hospital and tell him what had happened. They took me to the police station and said they'd call an ambulance to take me to the emergency room. I was given oxygen and an ice pack for my face. I asked about the ambulance. The policeman said they had called the ambulance but they refused to come. Said they didn't want to get involved. I said, "Did you call Don?" and he said he had. Within three minutes Don and Phil Damron, the Medical Center's attorney, arrived and took me to the hospital for treatment of the severe injuries which I received about the eyes, head and body. Gwen Calhoun and Geneva Skeens were the two female strikers who attacked me together with their father, Henry Calhoun. The attack was completely without provocation and could easily have resulted in my being beat to death had the one gentlemen and the police not arrived in time. I have given this affidavit of my own free will and everything I have said herein is true and correct. Helen Smith Helen Smith Subscribed and sworn to before me by Helen Smith to me personally known, on this _// _______ day of May 1981. Mascleste Patton NOTARY PUBLIC STATE AT LARGE, KENTUCKY My commission expires 4-17-82 Statement of beating on 5-1-81 at 5:30 5:45 p.m. I saw 2 people beating on a lady as I drove into Heck's Plaza. I had my window down. I pulled over and parked. I heard the big fat girl (Gwen Calhoun) say to the lady on the ground, "I'll kill you. I'll kill you. I'll kill you." Each time she repeated that, she beat the lady in the head with her fist. The lady was trying to cover her head with The lady had hold of the short girl's (Geneva Skeens) blouse. That girl was holding her blouse with one hand and hitting the lady with the other hand. I walked toward them from my car. I could see the lady was bleeding from the head. The large girl then got up and started kicking the lady in the head. I said nothing as I approached in disbelief her arm. that no one was doing anything to help. The fat girl also was grabbing the lady's hair and constantly talking abusively to her. I was about 5 feet away. The fat girl kicked the lady 3 more times in the head and then I took one step toward her. Both of the girls then moved away from the lady on the ground, and moved toward an older man (who was behind me). I watched the girls move away. Both girls were looking at me. The short one said "buzz off." I turned turn to my right watching the girls walk toward the man. Just as the man came into my line of vision, his fist came to my mouth. My head was knocked back and my hat off. I picked up my hat and said to him, "you crazy mother fucker." Those were the only words I had spoken. Then a police car came into the shopping center. I turned away to go help the bleeding lady on the ground. I helped her up and over to a post. I told her to hold onto the post. I was spitting blood. I walked to Officer Hall and said, "I want a warrant for his arrest." Hall said I'd have to go swear it out. I then went back to the beaten lady. The police helped her into the backseat of the cruiser. She said -2 to me, "They were calling me names in the grocery store." Officer Conley then asked me my name and address. I answered his questions and again said, "I want a warrant for his arrest." He said I'd probably have to wait until Monday. The other officer (Hall) told me where I could get a warrant. Officer Hall called an ambulance. The lady said, "call Mr. Nunnery, Administrator on-call at Highlands Regional." The officer asked her if she was 0.K. She answered, "my head hurts and I don't even know if I'm talking straight." A female medic arrived and tended to her. Then they drove off. I got in my car and left. E. Keith Conn Witness: |