Border guard in TB case retires

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

June 12, 2007

Champlain inspector allowed high-risk patient into U.S.

Anonymous The Press Republican Tue Jun 12, 2007, 12:00 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. border inspector at the Champlain border crossing who ignored a warning to stop a globe-trotting tuberculosis patient from entering the United States has retired, officials said Monday.

Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the officer no longer works at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.

The 18-year veteran inspector, whose name has not been disclosed, was under investigation and on administrative leave. The inspector was pilloried last week at a congressional hearing on the case of Andrew Speaker.

Speaker, a 31-year-old Atlanta lawyer, sparked an international scare when health officials tried to find -- and isolate -- him because he was infected with an exceptionally dangerous form of TB that is highly resistant to drugs.

Speaker was on his honeymoon in Italy last month when federal health officials reached him by phone, warned him not to fly commercial aircraft, and urged him to turn himself in to local health officials.

Instead, Speaker and his bride flew to Montreal, rented a car and drove across the U.S. border.

The inspector who greeted them in Champlain, received a computer alert to stop Speaker, don a protective mask, and alert health officials, but the Customs and Border Protection employee let the couple pass.

The head of the CBP, Ralph Basham, refused to defend the officer in congressional testimony. "I've got 12 grandchildren, congressman. I do not know any one of them that would not know what to do in that situation," Basham said.

Colleen Kelley, president of the union that represents CBP employees, said the resignation was effective last Friday. In a statement, Kelley described the officer as a Vietnam veteran who is still eligible for retirement benefits.